Fenil and Bollywood

By Bollywood Hungama News Network,January 27, 2012 – 05:59 hrs IST

For most of their friends in the film industry, the Padma Shri for the prolific director Priyadarshan and the Padma Bhushan for the illustrious actress Shabana Azmi, the veteran actor Dharmendra and the filmmaker Mira Nair have come a little too late

Priyadarshan disagrees. “Why do you feel it’s come too late? Everything happens in the right time. Until a few years back, I hadn’t received a single National Award. Then I got it for Kancheevaram which many consider my career’s best. But I feel every recognition comes when it is meant to come. The Padma Shri is important for me at this juncture because I’m not in a space where I make both kinds of films, the artistic and the commercial. If I am proud of Kancheevaram, I’m also not ashamed of De Dana Dan. It’s the so-called slapstick comedies that have given me the freedom to make the other kind of films. I’ll continue making both kinds of films. I’ve treated every failure as a means to correct myself and every success as a means to better myself. There is no respite from work for me. As I speak to you I am editing my new film Tezz.”

Priyan is happy that Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi have been given the Padma Bhushan. “I’ve watched their films from the time when I was young. It’s actors like them who inspired me to become a filmmaker. I’d love to direct both of them.”

Shabana who went through a string of mishaps in December feels January has brought joyful More >

However the actor takes back his word post Agneepath’s release

Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 28, 2012)

Karan Johar’s remake of his father’s 1990 film Agneepath has garnered an astoundingly positive reception. But despite the film’s success at the boxoffice, there had been a lot of unprecedented internal turmoil. And we hear that the actor who received the most praise for his performance-Rishi Kapoor – was the one that had the biggest bone to pick with the filmmakers. Mumbai Mirror has learnt that Rishi and director Karan Malhotra had a huge spat over the edited version of the film. According to a unit member, Rishi was very upset when he found that many of his important scenes in the film were edited out, despite being promised a prominent role by Malhotra.

In fact, the actor was reportedly so disillusioned with the amount of screen time he received that he demanded to be billed as a ‘special appearance’ star. The source added, “Malhotra wanted to defuse the tension and so he not only conceded to Rishi’s demand, but also gave the actor top billing over the film’s other actors Sanjay and Hrithik.”

When contacted, Rishi Kapoor said, “When I went in to dub my scenes, I found some of my best sequences were missing. When I asked Karan Malhotra about them, he said they were edited. I got upset. Karan kept assuring me that my part has emerged as a pivotal character in the plot. But, I was unconvinced. Poor Karan. I know him from the time he was a child. I’ve done four More >

BOMBAY TIMES (January 28, 2012)

Another political thriller — Bandook — is all set to release this year. Producer-director Aditya Om says, “We worked on the script for more than two years, involving research on political dons. What came out of research were unknown facts and startling truths. The first myth which was broken was the ease with which criminals are portrayed executing or killing people. A bahubali challenged me to kill a chicken, and then went to tell me that it was not easy to kill even small animals, leave alone human beings. I learned that most of the times it’s an extreme step taken as a last resort. And that the killers intoxicate themselves before executing a hit. It F takes them four to five hours after the killing to return to normalcy. One sharpshooter confessed to shivering of thighs even after years of experience.”

About the funding of Bandook he said, “Since it is a non-starcast film finding the funds was tough but seeing the research and authenticity of the script, total strangers and acquaintances came forward to help both in terms of resources and funding. People were kind enough to give their premises, including villages (Malunge in Maharashtra) almost for free. Sometimes even the unit food was free. A crowd gatherer in Uttar Pradesh who used to work professionally for political parties worked free for us and taught us lessons in manmanagement and ground communications. Someday I will make a documentary on him. Family, friends and my unit More >

Upala KBR (BOMBAY TIMES; January 28, 2012)

The promos of Priyadarshan’s slick thriller Tezz have created quite a buzz. Ajay Devgn and the rest of the cast have performed high-octane action stunts designed by Hollywood power duo Gareth Milne (Bourne Ultimatum and Bourne Identity) and Peter Pedrero (stunt co-ordinator of The Bourne Supremacy and a few action sequences from the Harry Potter series). The film also stars Anil Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Sameera Reddy and Zayed Khan, and has been produced by Ratan Jain.

Says Devgn, “It’s a fabulous mix of international action and Indian emotions. Films work only if they connect with the audience, and Tezz has that emotional element. It has been presented in a very stylised manner with some fabulous action.”

Peter Pedrero who has previously worked in some Indian films says, “Ajay has done a lot of his own stunts and was very focused. He is a very good student; when we demonstrated something, he would listen carefully and then within a couple of attempts perfect the shot. One day we were doing some test shots on a jet ski at very high speeds and close to the riverbank. Priyan asked me, ‘Do you think we could get Ajay to do something like that?’ Just as I was about to answer him, we looked over at the man doing the tests and did a double take. Who we thought was a stunt driver actually turned out to be Ajay!”

Among the many thrilling action sequences in the film, Ajay and Anil have shot a hand-to-hand combat sequence in a tunnel. More >