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Posts tagged alyque padamsee
Shazahn injured
May 24th
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 24, 2010)
Alyque Padamsee and Sharon Prabhakar’s daughter, Shazahn, who made her Bollywood debut in Shimit Amin’s Rocket Singh, had an accident at Marine Drive yesterday.
The incident in question happened around 6 pm when Shazahn was enacting a scene with Ram Charan for a commercial. Shazahn says, “Ram Charan and I were sitting on the wave breakers for the shoot. Everything was fine till almost the end of the shoot. Just when I was getting up, a huge wave suddenly hit us and I lost my balance. I fell on the rocks.”
The director of the commercial, Bhaskar (who directed the Genelia D’Souza Tamil super hit Bommarilu), organised medical aid before the young actress was taken to her car.
She has been advised rest for a couple of days. “I have hurt myself rather badly on my hands and knees.
I am shaken up as I almost fell into the sea,” adds Shazahn.
‘Things without remedy should also be without regret’
Apr 12th
That’s how Shabana Azmi, who will be missing the premiere of her film in London owing to a leg injury, consoles herself. Roshni K Olivera chats with the actress…
ROSHNI K OLIVERA (BOMBAY TIMES; April 11, 2010)
Shabana Azmi has always been on the move. But for the first time, she’s been forced to rest at home owing to her fractured foot. She will also be missing the London premiere of her film It’s A Wonderful Afterlife. Shabana’s surely disappointed, but she believes in taking things in her stride. In an interview with BT, the very talented actress spoke about her film, her weight gain and loss and Meryl Streep…
How was the forced break?
• I badly needed the break, pun unintended! I was on the go, nonstop living out of suitcases, travelling madly. The enforced rest calmed me down. Sundays have been spent with family and close friends, starting from lunch, tea right up to dinner. My great regret is that I had to cancel all shows of my play Broken Images, but both Alyque and Raell Padamsee have been most understanding.
Will you be travelling abroad for the premiere of your film It’s a Wonderful Afterlife?
• I was looking forward to the premiere in London at Odeon Leicester Square. I had put on 25 lbs for the film and have lost most of it. Goldy Notay, who plays my daughter, went up three sizes too. She is back to size 8 and we were exchanging emails on how glamourous we were determined to look for the premiere in contrast to the way we look in the film etc. Unfortunately when I went to the hospital the other day, my leg had to be put back in a cast for another two weeks! So I’m back on the wheelchair and I’ve had to cancel plans for the premiere…but I tell myself ‘things without remedy should also be without regard’.
What’s the best part about your character in the movie?
• That I’ve never played such a part before. I play Mrs Sethi, a fat Punjabi mother who has a single point agenda… that of getting her daughter married. Roopi, her daughter, keeps getting rejected because she is overweight. The film shows the extreme lengths a mother can go to. It is a Gurinder Chadha brand of film — wacky, mad! In the UK, the Ealing comedies which were comedic but also had an element of horror have been very popular. However, it’s a completely new genre for India. I’m hoping the film does well and opens up the doors for a new genre.
The film will have a simultaneous release in India and Pakistan…
• That’s because it is a British production and although it is in English, it has a core that is South Asian.
Isn’t it difficult to gain weight for a character and then shed those kilos? Years ago you did the same for Mandi…
• Yes, but as the doctor reminded me ‘Ma’am you were 25 years younger!” My cholesterol, triglycerides and thyroid levels went up alarmingly and I’ve been taking medication to get them back to normal, but these are the hazards of an actor’s life because an actor is her own instrument. If you play the sitar for instance, your skill lies in both the dexterity of your fingers and on how finely tuned the sitar is. The actor has only her own head, heart and body to play with… and to scale it to the requirements of the part.
Gurinder Chadha has called you the Meryl Streep of India…is it the finest compliment you’ve received?
• That’s just a manner of speaking. I’ve been referred to as Meryl Streep only to tell an audience unfamiliar with my work what kind of roles I’ve done. It has nothing to do with matching histrionic ability. I am a great admirer of Meryl Streep and I would probably shrivel up and die of embarrassment if someone were to introduce me to her as India’s Meryl Streep!
(Contributed by Meena Iyer, RenukaVyavahare, Smrity Sharma and Sharin Wader Butani)
Shabana takes a break
Mar 10th
The actress bravely performed a play despite breaking her leg, but the fracture has put her out of action for the next six weeks
By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 10, 2010)
On Sunday, Shabana Azmi slipped on the stairs of her home, fractured her leg but still managed to climb on stage the same evening to perform a complex double role in the play Broken Images. But now all further shows of Broken Images in Delhi, Bangalore and Chandigrah will have to be cancelled till Shabana’s broken leg is healed.
“Yes I’ve fractured my left foot, but it has nothing to do with my Leftist leanings,” she grimaces. “My foot will remain in a cast for the next six weeks. We just wrote in a sprained ankle for my character on Sunday. I went on stage pumped up with two injections and four painkillers. No one got to know that my character’s ‘sprained’ foot was actually a real broken bone. That’s acting, my dear.”
But never having been incapacitated like this before, Shabana is at her wit’s end. “I feel so helpless. Maybe this is destiny’s way of making me rest. Until forced, I’d never be at home for more than two days at a stretch. What worries me are all the cancelled shows of Broken Images.”
Though the play’s director Alyque Padamsee has assured her there’s no need to fret, Shabana remains worried. “This is the first time I’ve had to cancel my commitments. And I feel miserable about it. In April I’m supposed to go to London to promote Gurinder Chadha’s It’s A Wonderful Afterlife. I hope I’m able to make it.”
For now, Shabana has plans of taking care of things around the house for the next six weeks. “My domestic staff is in a state of panic, running helter-skelter wondering how they’ll cope with me in the house for six weeks. I wonder how I’ll cope with myself for six weeks!”
Sonam signed for Mausam?
Feb 11th
After auditioning several girls, Pankaj Kapur decides to cast Sonam Kapoor opposite Shahid Kapoor in Mausam – without an audition
By Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 11, 2010)
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| Pankaj Kapur and Shahid Kapoor |
After auditioning a number of aspirants including Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter Sonakshi, Govinda’s daughter Narmada, and even Alyque Padamsee’s daughter Shazahn, Pankaj Kapur has finally decided who he wants to cast opposite his star son Shahid in Mausam – it is Anil Kapoor’s daughter Sonam.
A source says, “Everyone involved with the project – Pankaj, the producers Sheetal Talwar and Madhu Mantena, the creative team, rate Sonam highly as an actress. She fits the role very well. The entire Mausam camp is happy about her inclusion in the film.”
There is word that Pankaj’s wife Supriya Pathak is particularly kicked about Sonam playing the female lead. A source close to the film confirms, “Supriya and Sonam got along like a house on fire during the making of Delhi-6. Sonam was not even auditioned for Mausam.”
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| Sonam Kapoor |
But what happened to the ‘nationwide hunt’ for the heroine, declared when the film was announced? Our source says, “Logistically, a nationwide hunt is a nightmare. The idea was eventually dropped.”
Despite repeated calls and a text message, Sonam remained unavailable for comment. Mausam goes on the floors in June or July.
Shabana Azmi back to theatre
Nov 4th
Shabana Azmi returns to theatre with a challenging role in a one-actor play. She will play her character as well as its spirit
By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 04, 2009)
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If you find Shabana Azmi talking to herself, don’t be surprised. She will now act in a one-actor play where she essays two roles. Broken Images, based on Girish Karnad’s A Heap of Broken Images, will be directed by theatre veteran Alyque Padamsee.
Shabana needs to master the art of playing one character and also its spirit. Though Shabana is not talking about her new venture, reports from the Azmi household suggest that she has been rehearsing the scenes rigorously with her sister-in-law Tanvi Azmi, standing in for the character of her spirit. Shabana’s earlier play Tumhari Amrita with Farooque Shaikh had only two characters and it continues to be a hit more than a decade after its first staging 18 years ago. Ardent Shabana fans hope Broken Images will have a similar impact. A friend of Shabana says, “At this stage of her career, Shabana needs new challenges as an actor. Otherwise, she would rather devote her time to the social causes she stands for.” The friend also expresses concern about the difficulty that Shabana will face while playing the two characters. She adds, “How will Shabana be able to play two characters in a play without any support from another actor? In Tumhari Amrita, she had Farooque. In Broken Images, it’s just Shabana.” Alyque Padamsee said, “Right now, I am in the middle of rehearsals with Shabana. Could you call later?” In a hurry to sign off, an impatient Alyque said that he had convinced big actors like Shabana to work with him earlier too. “I had also directed Smita Patil in a play 20 years ago,” he says. The play is expected to be staged in Mumbai in December, to be followed by other cities in India and abroad. |
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