Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged Agneepath
I was never taken seriously as an actor-Rishi Kapoor
01 day ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Rishi Kapoor on having a blast in his second innings and why Ranbir did not want to be the next SRK
Chandrima Pal (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 20, 2013)
Almost all your life, you played a romantic lead. It is easy to be liked when you are the affable one in the story, but how do you make an out and out negative character strike a chord with the audience? This question came to my mind for the first time when I did Bol Radha Bol. It was a double role, where the bad one was more likeable than the good. The trick was with my image, my looks. The audience thought I was the naughty one. But you can’t use the same yardstick for Agneepath. It was not the chocolate boy hero being the bad one. And in Aurangzeb, I play a very different negative character – not the butcher or pimp of Agneepath. But a corrupt man who would do anything to achieve his goals. He is bad, the kind of person we read about every day, involved with some scam or the other. And hence, more relatable.
Do you enjoy your work all the more now that you don’t have to conform to a certain image or carry the burden of box-office success? Absolutely! I am enjoying the best phase of my career now. Different characters, different films… romantic, comic, villainous… I have been experimenting with my look, my wigs, moustaches…
You seem to be having fun… Well, I owe that to myself and my fans. Goddammit! For 25 years, I only sang songs in my films. Right now, it is time to act! That’s why I was never taken seriously as an More >
Hrithik Roshan does a no-show for Sanjay Dutt?
03 days ago
by Fenil Seta
in Rumour has it
DNA (May 18, 2013)
When Hrithik Roshan had dropped in to meet Dutt at his home immediately after his sentence was announced, he bumped into many actors there. Ajay Devgn and Mahesh Bhatt who were also present, were garnering support for Dutt. They were urging Sanju’s pals to speak up for him. When Bhatt asked Hrithik if he would show his support for his Agneepath co-star Sanju, in front of the TV crews, Duggu immediately said yes. Ajay, who was scheduled to talk to the channels the following day told him that he would call him to inform him of the venue and the timing. But the next day Hrithik remained unavailable to give bytes to the channels. Says an insider, “The venue was fixed at Devgn’s office (a few minutes away from Hrithik’s Juhu home). but there was no response from the Krrrish 3 actor. After many calls, Ajay received a message from one of Hrithik’s staffer that the actor was unable to attend as he had to attend to some other prior commitment!” Perhaps the actor who is known for approaching things in a very correct manner, didn’t want to make a statement on a judgement passed by the honourable court. But Dutt’s friends and family took notice of this ‘rebuff’.
I am not a god gifted vocalist-Sonu Nigam
03 weeks ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Play Sonu Nigam’s TOIFA-winning song Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin from Agneepath, followed by Har Ek Friend Kamina Hota Hai from Chashme Baddoor; and you will know why he’s called versatile. In an exclusive interview, the singer tells us about hitting the right chords. Excerpts…
Debarati S Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; April 26, 2013)
Your song Har Ek Friend from Chashme Baddoor has become popular.We believe you were to act in the film too. It is great that songs like Har Ek Friend…and Abhi Mujhme Kahin came to me at a time when I was particularly choosy. I wanted more time with my ailing mother over the past couple of years. I wish she could see that this song has become such a hit. During a recent tour, I was amazed by the kind of response Har Ek Friend received. It is beyond expectations. But I’m unable to enjoy it because we’re still mourning my mother’s demise. About acting in the film, yes Davidji had offered me the role of one of the three guys in 2011. It made news then, but I guess it slipped out of people’s minds.
What happened? Why didn’t you do it? Mere saath toh aisa hai ki doodh ka jala chaach ko bhi phook-phook kar peeta hai. ‘Once bitten twice shy’ wali baat hai. Davidji, the production house and I mutually decided that I won’t do the movie. But I think Chashme Baddoor had to give me something — if not a role, then a great song.
You won the TOIFA for Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin.How did it feel? Everything in my life boils down to my mother. A tradition, which a lot of people do More >
Most remakes made because it earns makers pots of money-Salim Khan
01 month ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Money, name and identity. We talk to Bollywood’s old guard on why they are upset with zippy remakes
Anand Holla (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 14, 2013)
Forty years after Amitabh Bachchan ushered in the angry young man to whistles and cheers in Zanjeer, its writers Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan are channelling the character’s inner rage. Furious and unrelenting, Bollywood’s most successful scriptwriter duo filed a suit in the Bombay High Court this month, seeking a stay on the release of its remake, Zanjeer 2.0.
Their grouse is that producers Amit Mehra (whose father Prakash Mehra directed and produced the original) and Reliance Entertainment didn’t seek their consent for the remake, even though they hold the copyright of the ‘literary work’. While the 1973 film starred Bachchan, Dadasaheb Phalke award-winner Pran and Jaya Bachchan, the remake stars Telugu star Ram Charan Teja (top) and Priyanka Chopra.
Salim-Javed claim they have been trying to resolve the matter for a year now. Says 68-year-old Akhtar, “We tried speaking to Amit. When that didn’t help, we first went to the Film Writers Association and then the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, which also agreed that the rights belonged to us. But the producers didn’t relent. When we own its rights, how can someone make it in Telugu and Hindi without our consent?”
It’s not that the legendary scriptwriters are against remakes. Khan, 77, points out that a remake is a win-win situation for writers. “If it works, it proves More >
Sanjay Dutt’s annual earnings to fall from Rs 20 cr to Rs 10000
12 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
From being one of Bollywood’s heavyweights raking in Rs 3-5 crore per film, to a prisoner labouring in a small-scale unit for Rs 25 to Rs 40 every day ( depending on the skills he masters), Sanjay Dutt’s life is set to take a drastic turn for the worse.
Vinod Kumar Menon (MID-DAY; March 22, 2013)
OF all the roles that he essayed in his long and illustrious career in Bollywood, that of a jail convict was perhaps one that Sanjay Dutt least wanted to enact in real life. The superstar’s conviction under the Arms Act has brought about a dramatic reversal in his fortunes: Dutt (53), who has an average asking price of Rs 3- 5 crore per film, will now earn approximately Rs 25 per day for the first six months of his stay in prison. This would make the millionaire’s earnings decelerate to almost a screeching halt, to Rs 650 a month.
Dutt, apart from having several films on the floor, was also endorsing several products. Taken together, these ratcheted up his annual income to a dizzying Rs 20 crore. In sharp contrast, Dutt’s yearly income in course of his jail stay won’t be over Rs 10,000 — and this, after he sweats it out, labouring in the small- scale unit in the central jail.
A senior jail official said, “Dutt will have to surrender before the TADA court in Mumbai on completion of four weeks, as per the apex court’s order. He can then file a review petition. If the apex court does not grant him bail during the hearing of the review petition, then Dutt will be taken to Arthur Road More >
Bollywood shoots boost Western Railway coffers by 1.5 cr
02 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Bharati Dubey | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; March 17, 2013)
Mumbai: Visibility of local trains in Hindi cinema has increased, so has Western Railways’ earnings from the entertainment industry in the last four years. Film and television shoots earned WR Rs 1.48 crore in 2012-13, up from a measly Rs 8.35 lakh in 2010.
Many recent releases like Dabangg, Gangs of Wasseypur, Agneepath and Kai Po Che have been extensively shot on WR property. “The Kaun Banega Crorepati promo with Amitabh Bachchan was shot at the Jogeshwari yard. Also Emran Hashmi’s Ghanchakkar, Ranbir Kapoor’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Akshay Kumar’s Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again too have been filmed on Western Railway property,” said a WR spokesperson.
WR sources said one of the main reasons for the increased business from cinema and television was streamlining of approval procedures. The spokesperson added, “A day’s shoot without any rolling stock costs about Rs 1.10 lakh while one with special rolling stock is about Rs 4.12 lakh. We have streamlined permissions for shootings and try to grant approvals in three to five days. We have identified scenic locales all over WR and are also approaching production houses to shoot on WR property.”
Arun Mathias, a film location director, said, “An engine with coaches on the platform and a moving train may go up to Rs 4.25 lakh (for 8 hours). But just a platform shoot or a sequence in a railway yard can be done for Rs 2 lakh.” The Kangana Ranaut-starrer Rajjo is More >
2013 still awaits its first hit
02 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in box office
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
The first quarter of the year has nearly finished and the first hit film of 2013 has yet to come. There have been a handful of successful films in 2013 led by RACE 2 but none of them have gone onto to be a major hit. Last year in the first quarter films like AGNEEPATH and KAHAANI had emerged huge hits.
The first quarter still has HIMMATWALA to come which should do the trick while second quarter looks much stronger than the first with potential hits like EK THI DAAYAN, SHOOTOUT AT WADALA, YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI, YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA 2 and GHANCHAKKAR and there is always a chance of a small film or two surprising.
The major problem in the first two months has been the non performance in the North of most films. Today business is such that if a film works in Mumbai and North the job is done as it forms 60-70% of the market depending on the film. Even a film like SPECIAL 26 without doing too well in the Gujarat belt (which is 35-40% of Mumbai circuit) has managed to outperform in Mumbai circuit as it heads to a near 12 crore share compared to near 7 crore collection in Delhi/UP..
I had never met Aamir Khan socially-Sanjay Dutt
02 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; March 9, 2013)
Sanjay Dutt, 53, has personally and professionally been there, done that and done that again. His parents, Nargis and Sunil Dutt, were world famous and have left behind a legacy in arts, politics and society that is unparalleled. Despite the innumerable hiccups Sanju ‘baba’ (as he is still referred to) has faced, be it his tryst with drugs or his incarceration on more serious charges, he remains rock-solid as an actor and as a person. In his 32 years as an actor, he has done rock-solid work with top-notch makers like Rajkumar Hirani, Feroz Khan and Subhash Ghai amongst others.
Today, Sanju is in a transition phase in cinema, having moved on from the leading man to more meaty characters. Excerpts from a chat with the superstar, who prefers to speak less and nod more.
Any more Kancha Cheena (Agneepath) or Billu Bhaisaab (Son Of Sardaar) like characters in your current lot of films? I wish there were more such challenges written for me. I salute Karan Malhotra for giving the Agneepath villain Kancha Cheena such a unique dimension and making it one of the most memorable bad guys of our time. I also thank Ajay Devgn for giving me Billu Bhaisaab. He was pivotal to the SOS plot. I thoroughly enjoyed Agneepath and SOS and I’m glad both these films made commendable profits.
You have outgrown the typical Hindi cinema hero roles, right? Yes, of course I have. If you have sung songs and danced for three decades… you automatically get into More >
Hrithik Roshan bags Karan Malhotra-Karan Johar’s Shuddhi
02 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; March 5, 2013)
After the super success of Dharma Productions’ Agneepath last year, producer Karan Johar, director Karan Malhotra and Hrithik Roshan are teaming up again. Unlike their first collaboration, a remake of the 1991 movie produced by Yash Johar (Karan’s late father), the next venture is based on an original story. Titled Shuddhi, the film starts end-2013 and will release in Diwali 2014. About the film, KJo says, “It’s a large-scale love story, a genre I love.” Recalling the making of Agneepath, he says, “I had a wonderful experience. Karan (Malhotra) has a fantastic vision, a combination of aesthetic and commercial sense. Hrithik is a close friend and an outstanding actor. So, it’s great that the three of us are teaming up again.”
Hrithik says, “I’m really excited to work with the two Karans again. Agneepath is an extremely special film for me and I can’t wait to recreate a new world again.”
Incidentally, this will be KJo’s second Diwali outing since his directorial debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). Hoping that the festival will be as lucky for Shuddhi as it was for KKHH, he says, “Diwali is also synonymous with films that entertain the entire family. Shuddhi is a love story that gives you everything that you look for in a festive release. I hope that we live up to the expectations that Agneepath has generated.”
KJo says, “Karan has been preparing for this film for over a year. I’ve never seen a director work a year in advance on More >