Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged aiyya
Actresses increasingly paired up with younger heroes
03 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Aakanksha Naval-Shetye (DNA; February 20, 2013)
Bollywood heroes have always worked with actresses younger than them by a decade or so. With most of our top heroes in their 40s, you’d think that our leading ladies didn’t stand a chance of being paired with someone their age, leave alone younger. But that’s what is happening now.
A close look reveals that this year most of our top heroines too are working with actors younger than them. Although it all started last year with a few stray cases like Rani Mukerji being pitted against a younger Prithviraj in Aiyya and Kareena Kapoor opposite Imran Khan in Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, this year most releases will see actresses breaking the age barriers unabashedly. In some cases, the age bar is almost invisible but it is a definite change from the existing scenario of 20-plus actress and 40-plus actor.
One reason why this is happening is that the actresses at the top — Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra — are all in their 30s. Gone are the days when an actress on the other side of 29 was considered ‘untouchable’. Now you have a 37-year-old Ameesha Patel gearing up to share screen space with a 31-year-old Neil Nitin Mukesh in Shortcut Romeo. After Kareena and Imran’s movie hit bull’s eye last year, the jodi is being repeated in Karan Johar’s Gori Tere Pyar Mein. Priyanka Chopra will be seen with newbies Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, both of them younger to her, in Gunday. Ranveer is once again paired with a professionally More >
Superstitious Rani Mukerji prepones Aiyya?
08 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Rumour has it
Three being her lucky number, Rani Mukerji alters the release date of her upcoming film to October 12
Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; September 4, 2012)
Rani Mukerji has altered the release of her upcoming film Aiyya from October 24 to October 12. And that’s because of Rani’s superstitions. The actress believes 3 is her lucky number. Hence, the change of date.
A source from the production says, “Rani is very charged about the film and has even hired her own team to look into the marketing and promotion of the film. Ever since she agreed to be a part of the project, she has been involved in every department. Considering her lucky number is 3, she decided to prepone the film by two weeks. The production house had no problem since they are happy the way Rani has been involved in the project.” The source adds, “Rani is a number 3 and her birth date is also March 21, which is again number 3. She is superstitious and makes most decisions keeping 3 in mind. She is very happy now and is confident about the film.”
Rani makes Aiyya producers poorer by 10 lakh?
09 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Rumour has it
The makers of Aiyya, bowing down to their actress’ wishes, had to shell out one million for her hair and makeup in just one song
Prachi Kadam (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 11, 2012)
Rani Mukerji is leaving no stone unturned to make her next film appearance ‘perfect’. Apparently the actress has been keeping a close eye on every detail of the film Aiyya – even when it comes to her makeup and hair. And recently, while shooting for a special song in the film at YRF Studios, Andheri, the actress unleashed her perfectionist avatar. So much so, that it cost the film’s co-producers Anurag Kashyap and Viacom18 Motion Pictures a whopping Rs 10 lakh just for the hair and makeup fees.
Mirror found out that Rani wasn’t too happy with the initial look and got it changed several times before she felt it was ‘perfect’. When we asked Subbu, Rani’s makeup artist for details, he said, “Rani’s look in the song had to have a Middle Eastern touch. We used lots of bronze shades and smoky eyes. We changed it around four or five odd times till the look matched Rani’s expectations.”
Explaining the several looks he tried on the actress, Subbu added, “We tried nude eyes with a bright mouth. Then we also tried having smoky eyes with a nude face. So on and so forth, till we achieved the perfect look. Rani clearly knows what she wants and does not settle for anything less.”
Anu Kaushik, the actress’ hairstylist for the song revealed that a lot of research had gone into the look even before the day of More >
Rani Mukerji gives Prithviraj Hindi lessons
09 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Rani Mukerji dishes out language lessons to her south Indian co-star Prithviraj to get rid of his accented Hindi
Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; August 10, 2012)
She may be a Bong, but Rani Mukerji prides herself for her Hindi speaking skills. So much so that before the shoot schedule of her new film, the actress decided to give lessons in Hindi to her ‘Aiyya’ co-star Prithviraj Sukumaran.
Rani wanted to make sure that Prithviraj perfects his Hindi before he starts dubbing for the project. Our source says, “Rani loved the script of the film and was keen to do it. However, when she learnt that the actor opposite her was Prithviraj, she insisted that she would be the one who would teach him Hindi before he dubs for the film. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Our source adds that Rani was so impressed with Prithviraj and his performance and commitment that she even suggested his name to Aditya Chopra who has now cast him in the Arjun Kapoor starrer Aurangzeb.
The source adds, “Rani is known for her professional approach towards her film and her commitment in every department of the film. This is just one more example, as she did not want the lead actor to have a South accent during his dialogue delivery in the film.”
The informer from the unit confirmed, “Rani’s only condition was that she would want to test his Hindi by giving him lessons on the same. So Rani gave him tutoring for his Hindi diction to make sure that the film doesn’t look awkward with forced More >
Prithviraj in Arjun Kapoor’s Aurangzeb
111 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
The two will be seen in Aurangazeb, which is the second Hindi film for both the actors
Sanjith Sidhardhan (BOMBAY TIMES; June 12, 2012)
Working with Rani Mukerji in his yet-to-be-released Bollywood film Aiyya seems to have opened new doors for Malayalam star Prithviraj. The actor has reportedly bagged his second Bollywood flick, produced by Rani’s rumoured beau Aditya Chopra. The buzz is that the film, tentatively titled Aurangazeb will be directed by Phir Milenge scribe Athul Sabharwal. The film, which apparently stars Arjun Kapoor in the lead role, is set to go on floors by September.
Prithviraj will be playing a prominent role in the same. The actor, who had previously informed BT that he was in talks for his second Bollywood outing, confirms, “Yes, I’m doing Aurangazeb for Aditya. The film also stars Arjun Kapoor.”
Bollywood is being redefined-Anurag Kashyap
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; May 21, 2012)
Anurag KashyapUncoventional and non-conformist, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has always treaded off the beaten track. From the award-winning Black Friday based on the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai to Dev D, the modern take on Devdas to the recent Gangs of Wasseypur that has been selected for screening at Cannes, the director has come a long way. Here he talks about cinema being redefined, unusual ways of film funding and more…
Q: For the first time a two-part film like Gangs Of Wasseypur from India is being screened at the Cannes Film Festival… A: I didn’t make the film for the festival circuit. It is actually a mainstream Indian film peppered with music. It’s about the mafia in the coal mines of Dhanbad spanning six decades and three generations with a cast of 60 actors. It’s based on real incidents and there is everything in it including romance, violence and humour. In fact, it is a very funny film and there is a lot of curiosity around it. We’ll be showing the film on May 22, 24 and 25.
Q: Your journey in tinsel town hasn’t been easy, but now that you are among the top directors, do you feel vindicated? A: Yes, it was tough in the beginning. I wasn’t considered a safe bet. I had to have a lot of conviction in what I was doing. Be it Black Friday or Dev D, I continued to do what I wanted to irrespective of the conditions that existed then. However, today things are different, the audience has changed and producers are willing to More >
Rani Mukerji takes command?
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Rumour has it
The actress is calling all the shots related to her look in her forthcoming film
By Hiren Kotwani (MID-DAY; May 12, 2012)
It is well known how Aamir Khan aka Mr Perfectionist prefers to take some of the major decisions concerning his films by himself. Looks like we have a Miss Perfectionist on our hands now. Not just content with calling the shots on her costumes in her forthcoming film, buzz is that Rani Mukerji is going a few steps ahead to make sure that she is at the helm of every aspect of her character in her new film Aiyya, directed by Sachin Kundalkar.
Costume fever Rani has been known to be at the helm of things in all her films, produced by her rumoured beau Aditya Chopra. Our source says, “Right from the time she signed the film, Rani has been very particular about every nuance of her character — that of a Maharashtrian girl. So when the look of her character was being planned, she took the initiative of discussing her outfits, accessories, etc with the designers Neeta and Nishka Lulla. What’s more, she was also very particular about the materials to be used for the outfits. She would explain why a particular material was better than the other options available.”
Drama queen If that’s not enough, it is learnt that the actress would also give her inputs to enhance the portrayal of her character. Interestingly, she plays a middle class girl with a tendency to behave theatrically and who woos a stranger just because he smells good. Our source also tells us that More >
It’s raining new filmmakers in Bollywood
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
A whopping 150 new directors have made their Bollywood debut in the last two years
Bharati Dubey | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; May 7, 2012)
It’s an amazing statistic that Bollywood has probably never seen in its history. In the last two years, a whopping 150 directors have made their screen debut, giving renewed hope to others of their ilk.
In the last few weeks, five releases—Agneepath, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, London Paris New York and Blood Money—have all been made by newbies, and coming up are many more, thanks to production houses which have decided to invest money in new talent.
A peek at the statistics shows that UTV launches at least four new directors this year. In 2011 Viacom gave a break to two—Luv Ranjan (Pyaar Ka Punchnama) and Bejoy Nambiar (Shaitan); this year, it is Vishal Mahadkar (Blood Money), Supavitra Babul (Bittoo Boss), Sachin Kundalkar (Aiyya) and Satish Rajawade (Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai). Vinod Chopra Productions is coming out with Rajesh Mapuskar’s Ferrari Ki Sawari in 2012, a film that is generating much buzz as EMET and Agneepath.
What accounts for this sudden generosity to newbies? “The foremost reason is the expansion of the market,” says Vikas Behl of Phantom Films. “More films need to be made, and hence more directors are needed. But, also, today making a film with a first-time director is not as much of a risk because film-making has become very organized. Once a production house is sure of a director’s sensibilities and script sense, s/he is provided More >
Rani Mukherji-Aditya Chopra’s London Dreams?
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Rumour has it
The actress celebrated her b’day with her beau and Yash Chopra in the city
Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 26, 2012)
It’s been B-town’s best kept secret for very long but of late, the elusive couple appears to be throwing caution to the wind. After pictures of them together at the Mumbai airport not so long ago, we’ve now heard Rani Mukherji was in London last week to celebrate her birthday with Aditya Chopra.
A source from Yash Raj Films revealed, “For the past few years, Rani and Adi have been celebrating their birthdays and all important occasions together. With Adi currently stationed in London to look into his father’s directorial venture with Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, Rani decided to take a break from shooting for Anurag Kashyap’s Aiyya and flew down to London to celebrate her birthday on March 21 with Adi.”
Reportedly, there was no elaborate party. The couple, along with Yash Chopra and Shahrukh Khan, went for a quiet dinner and spent some quality time together. The entire Chopra family has been staying together at a villa in London. SRK has a house there and so does Katrina.
The source further said, “Rani also visited the sets of Yash Chopra’s yet-untitled film. He seems to have given his nod to the relationship, and rumour is that the couple will tie the knot this year.”
Another source told Mirror, “Rani has always denied dating Adi. But now that the couple have decided to get married this year, she does not want to hide the More >