Posts tagged 50 years

3 reasons why Hum Dono didn’t find audience

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2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

By Joginder Tuteja, February 7, 2011 – 14:03 IST

The weekend gone by saw the re-release of Hum Dono in a coloured version with enhanced picture quality and sound. Though Dev Anand was understandably gung-ho about the event, eventually Hum Dono Rangeen (the new title of the film) just turned out to be a show of goodwill for him with the industry coming in unison on its arrival, 50 years since it’s release. However, the box office told a different tale with audience not quite driving in hordes to catch it in theatre.

The makers may have thought that just like Mughal-E-Azam (which had re-released a few years earlier in a coloured version) or Sholay (which has been re-released a number of times already), even Hum Dono would manage to find an audience for itself. However, when compared to Mughal-E-Azam which had seen good success coming it’s way on it’s re-release 6 years ago, Hum Dono Rangeen didn’t find any takers.

There are three main reasons for that. First and foremost, there was hardly any promotion due to which audience was unaware if Hum Dono Rangeen had actually released in theatres. Yes, Dev Anand did host a premiere for the film and also reached out to the public via a few interviews and appearances etc. However, in the times of an aggressive in-your-face promotion, this wasn’t good enough.

Secondly, Hum Dono was not a classic but just a good film. It was loved when released; it had also done well at the box office. However, it didn’t have the kind of shelf More >

Dharmendra’s back!

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2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

With comedy, action, romance… at 75 today, and with 50 years in Bollywood, the birthday boy’s ready with a new film co-starring sons Sunny and Bobby Deol

Mark Manuel | TNN (BOMBAY TIMES; December 8, 2010)

For his 75th birthday today, Dharmendra could not have asked for anything as fulfiling as a new film with his sons Sunny and Bobby Deol. That too, in his 50th year in Bollywood. But God has been kind, and the Deols have Yamla Pagla Deewana lined up for release on January 14; it is full of comedy, action and romance, the film beginning in Canada, then traveling to Banaras and eventually making its way to Punjab, showcasing the great Indian joint family along the way. It is a Top Angle Productions film, produced by Nitin Manmohan and Samir Karnik, and directed by Samir himself.

Dharmendra is excited, naturally. “After 50, they say the reel of life gets fast, but I am now a 75-year-old boy,” he exclaimed thumping me on the back with his big hand. I was having breakfast with the Deols, stuffed parathas with butter churned on their farm in Lonavala, a tall glass of lassi. This is what Dharmendra has every morning, not just on his birthday. He talked, Sunny, Bobby and I listened. “Fifty years have gone just like that,” he started, “but I have had exceptional luck. I was a school teacher’s son who wanted to be an actor simply because it is human nature to want to be loved, liked and admired. I just wanted a Fiat car, a flat, and to be More >

I’m writing a film called Portable Lover-Dharmendra

0
2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

Dharmendra talks about battling booze, making movies and getting fitter

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 10, 2010)

• In your forthcoming film Yat Yamala Pagla Deewana you are working with your sons Sunny and Bobby for the second time after Apne. How is working with family?

With family, there are no ego clashes, no negativity. It always gives you an extra boost, which shows in the final output. After Apne, we were flooded with offers from filmmakers who wanted to cast the three of us. But we were waiting for a good script.

Yamala Pagla Deewana is a comedy, but the backbone is the emotion. Sunny and Bobby play my sons. I play a thug who has separated from my wife (played by Nafisa Joseph) and take Bobby with me. Let’s keep the rest of the story under wraps (smiles).

• You are working with your daughter Esha too in Tell Me O Khuda…

With daughters, you see, I am still a man from the village. Let’s not go there. All said and done, we live for the happiness of our children, don’t we? I felt very tense when I saw her doing so many action scenes. She was hanging from the wing of a plane. I was waiting in my vanity van and I called her. Her phone was off. I called up the director. She was hauled up and assured me that she was fine. When I wasn’t convinced, she said that she has my Jat blood and I should stop worrying about her.

• Does Hema Malini worry about her?

You rarely get such a brave and strong mother like her.

• And how is she as a More >

Decoding Inception

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2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

It’s a mind teaser of a movie that raises more questions than it answers; here’s an attempt to make the movie easier to understand before you go in for a second viewing

Nikhat Kazmi | TNN (BOMBAY TIMES; August 22, 2010)

SPOILER ALERT: This article should only be read by people who have already seen “Inception”. It is advised to not read ahead if you have not seen the film.

So, how many of you have been able to completely unravel the meaning and mindscape of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception”? Not many, we are sure. It isn’t for nothing that Nolan’s film is being described – by viewers, critics, theorists, scientists, alike – as the biggest mind f**k of the century.

Teaser number 1: The biggest trick that Nolan plays on the mind of the viewer hinges on the spinning of the top. As Cobb explains early in the film, you can only distinguish dream from reality on the basis of the totem’s motion. If it stops, you’re in the real world, and vice versa.

Teaser number 2: Cobb’s ring appears in dream sequences and disappears when he is kicked back into reality. In the last sequence, the top may still be spinning, but there is no ring on his finger, as he moves forward to meet his two children, James and Phillipa, who incidentally, haven’t aged at all despite a considerable time span. Hence the confusion: Was “Inception” dream or reality? There are several theories on the possible interpretations of “Inception”. Some of the most interesting ones More >

Movie on Khap coming soon

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3 years ago
by Fenil Seta in
Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 05, 2010)

Director Ajai Sinha — best known for his TV shows Haasratein, Astitva and Ghar Ek Sapna — is all set to complete his directorial venture tentatively titled Khap.

Incidentally the film is based on the controversial Khap community based in the remote villages of Haryana. The film stars Om Puri, Manoj Pahwa, Mohnish Behl, Yuvika Chowdhury, Govind Namdev, Ravi Jhankal, Anuradha Paudwal and newcomer Sartaj Gill.

Ajai Sinha said, “I had read about the killing of Manoj and Babli three years ago and I had decided to make a film on it. I agree that some people do not believe in getting married within the same gotra, but there is absolutely no justification for killing someone for this. There are numerous other cases just like the Babli and Manoj case and I have shown that in my film. The Khap community was created some 50 years ago and is made up of around 40 villages. They believe that no one should marry within the Khap.”

Khap

This Maha Day is nostalgic for Lataji

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3 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

Lata Mangeshkar is set to create history with a rendition of Bahu asota sundara 50 years after she first sang it on Maharashtra Divas

By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 01, 2010)

It wasn’t only Ae mere watan ke logon that moved Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to tears when Lata Mangeshkar sang the patriotic composition in front of him in 1962 in Delhi.

Two years before that, on the occasion of Maharashtra Divas in Mumbai, Nehruji was equally moved when he heard her sing Bahu asota sundara sampan ki mahaan. Half a century later, again for Maharashtra Divas celebrations, Lata Mangeshkar will be singing the same song, this time at the Shiv Sena Bhavan.

“I still remember Pandit Jawaharwal Nehru had come for the first celebration of Samyukta Maharashtra (United Maharashtra) 50 years ago on May Day,” said Lata taking time off between rehearsals a day before the event. “Was I nervous singing in front of him? When I’m singing, I forget the world around me.”

When she was asked to sing the song for May Day this year, Lata, who tends to forget the lyrics and tunes of even her most popular numbers, recalled every word of the song.

“It’s true that I have limited capacity to remember my numbers,” she laughs. “When people come and rave about this song and that song sung by me, I smile politely, clueless about what they are so gung-ho about. But this song, I remember in all its glorious detail, maybe because of the strong historical association with the More >

I m searching for something deep within-Kangna Ranaut

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3 years ago
by Fenil Seta in
CITY OF DREAMS: Kangna Ranaut

Kangna Ranaut, the small town girl is taking big strides in showbiz

MEENA IYER Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; January 29, 2010)

Kangna Ranaut doesn’t have the measurements to make you sit up and take notice of her. But if she were to make a clean breast of things, she would still have a lot to say. The 22-year-old from Manali made several mistakes (personal and professional) in her first year in Bollywood. But she’s used those very same mistakes as stepping stones on her journey to stardom.

With multiple releases lined up in 2010 including Kites, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, Tanu Weds Manu, Knockout, No Problem and The Actor, life is throwing a rainbow of roles for her.

She recently bagged the National Award as Best Supporting Actress for Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion. Elated with her new honour, Kangna says, “I didn’t know how significant the National Award was till I got deluged with messages from within and outside the film industry.’’ Confessing that she is super-ambitious, she adds, “Till mid-2008, it seemed like nothing was moving in my life. I got good films from Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt. But things were still moving slow. Then all of a sudden I found my career gathering steam. After Gangster and Woh Lamhe, the accolades poured in for Fashion. Makers like Rakesh Roshan, Anees Bazmee and Mani Shankar Aiyar signed me for their projects. And, clichéd as it may seem, there has been no looking back.’’

Showbiz apart, Kangna is one of those More >

I dont organize Awards-Saif Ali Khan

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3 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

Saif Ali Khan breaks his silence after receiving the Padma Shri and speaks exclusively to BT

MEENA IYER Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; January 27, 2010)

Saif Ali Khan exudes supreme confidence. It perhaps comes from a sense of knowing exactly where he is headed in life.

Of course, his career hasn’t been a smooth ride in the last three months. There has been a speed-breaker called Kurbaan; but honestly, superstars don’t get shaken by the odd hiccup. And when you see Saif, calm, composed, confident… you realise he is now moving in another space.

Happy about having bagged the fourth highest national honour, the Padma Shri, the 39-year-old actor says, “I’m thrilled. It is a lovely feeling. When I heard the news, I thought it is an honour that should perhaps have been given to someone slightly more senior. However, that was a fleeting thought. Seconds later I was rejoicing. I also think the success of Love Aaj Kal last year has something to do with this honour. Honours are gratifying because I don’t go out of my way to organise awards.’’

He remembers how he felt slightly shortchanged when Filmfare gave him the trophy as Best Actor in a Comic Role for Hum Tum but gave his costar, Rani Mukherjee, the Best Actress award the same year. “I accepted it because I value Filmfare. It was a bit odd that I was chosen as the Best Comic actor. However, when I received the National Award for the same film, I felt vindicated,’’ he says.

That apart, Saif knows that this certainly is a More >

I like to see myself on posters-Dharmendra

0
3 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

BIRTHDAY BOY: BT caught Dharmendra in a relaxed mood at home Dharmendra on his 75th birthday and start of a new innings in Bollywood

ROSHNI K OLIVERA Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; December 8, 2009)

Yoga, 30 minutes of cycling, and some free form exercises… that’s how Bollywood’s original he-man and endearing actor Dharmendra will start his day today. It’s not just another day. It’s Garam Dharam’s 75th birthday, and while his family and well-wishers are excited, for the man himself it’s only another “beautiful day” that he might spend at his farmhouse in Lonavala. Life, as a whole, is a celebration for Dharmendra. ‘Be happy and spread cheer all around you’ has always been his mantra. “I am a very emotional person. I love people. I want to see genuine warmth in human beings where there is no artificiality, only true care and concern. There should be harmony all around,” is his birthday wish. Talking about celebrations, he says it’s a personal choice not to celebrate his birthday. “I stopped doing so after my mother passed away in 1985. She used to be very excited about my birthday… bahut chahel pahel machati thi,” he fondly recounts. But, wishes from across the globe are going to pour in today, as they have over the years. He’s just received a beautiful t-shirt from a girl in New Zealand and a call from a group of 80 boys from Gwalior, who will be donating blood in his name today. Overwhelmed by the affection, Dharmendra says, “It’s this love from my well-wishers More >

At heart, I’m still Sanju Baba-Sanjay Dutt

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3 years ago
by Fenil Seta in
Sanjay Dutt who turns 50 on July 29, talks about Amar Singh and his much desired freedom By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 27, 2009) • The buzz is that your friends and family are flying in to Cape Town for your birthday? I don’t want any celebrations until Amar Singhji recovers. Once he returns to Delhi, I’ll celebrate my birthday with him. I heard from the grapevine here that the unit of No Problem is planning a small get-together for my birthday. But when I asked them they said there is no party. My friends are flying down though. Paresh is from Chicago. I’ve known him for the last 25 years. We’ve grown up together. Then there is Mac from Los Angeles, another old and dear friend. Then there is Imran Ismail who is already here in South Africa. These are three of my best friends who will be here on my birthday.• Have you invited your sisters?

Yes, I have. The day I turn 50 is important for me. And I’d like my family to be near me. That’s the way my parents would’ve wanted it. I wish they could be here. But I guess my sisters are busy with their own lives. No matter what misunderstandings we had, I’d like to sort them out on my 50th birthday. It’s sad they can’t be here. But I’m sure they’ve more important things to do.

• It’s very difficult to imagine Sanju Baba being 50.

At heart I’m still Baba. But when I look into the mirror, it’s a reality. And I do feel 50, but not old. I’ve been in the film industry for so long and it’s been a long inning. In the last More >

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