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Posts tagged Ishqiya
Film studios hesitant to work with Vishal Bhardwaj?
02 weeks ago
by Fenil Seta
in Rumour has it
A maverick and one of the most respected filmmaker he is, but lately we hear corporate houses are shying away from investing in his films. Will Vishal Bharadwaj tide over this difficult phase?
Jigar Shah (MID-DAY; May 10, 2013)
Vishal Bharadwaj can safely be called the thinking man/ woman’s director. This filmmaker has earned huge respect thanks to his immense talent in music and film- making.
While his music was accepted whole heartedly (he recently claimed that music will remain his first love), unfortunately his recent movies have not been able to create any ripple at the box office. It is said that the last film of his that actually made some money is Ishqiya back in 2010 — which was produced by him but directed by his protégé Abhishek Chaubey. It’s been three years since a film that came from the Bharadwaj stable has apparently managed to make much profit. So understandably, the corporate houses are not so sure of backing the film- maker.
According to a source, Bharadwaj is planning to direct a film but when he approached Fox Star Studios, which had earlier produced his film, he was apparently turned down. But later, they budged and put down a condition that they will produce a film provided Chaubey directs it.
However, they deny the whole episode. “ We have had a great association with Vishal on Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola.
The film’s opening weekend is among the top five of the year and we recovered all our costs.
While at this point, there is no discussion with More >
Critics rarely acknowledge the writers-Sabrina Dhawan
02 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Sabrina Dhawan says film writing could be quite a thankless job
Shakti Shetty (MID-DAY; March 12, 2013)
She quips that she prefers ‘Ask mummy’ to the clichéd ‘No comments’. However, she she answers all the ensuing queries without resorting to either of them. The New York-based Sabrina Dhawan, who co- wrote the screenplays for Kaminey and Ishqiya and was a script consultant for Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, is in the city thanks to her association with Screenwriters Lab. In a tête-à-tête with us, the jovial film writer shares her thoughts on several topics…
Do you visit India often? Yes, I do. I have a six-year-old son so it’s very important to me that he visits his country of origin regularly. On a professional level, it’s a basic necessity as well. If I don’t come back often, I won’t have anything to write about contemporary India. So I keep coming back again and again.
There aren’t many female screenwriters in the industry. Why? It’s a historical fact but things are drastically changing now — not only in cinema but also in other spheres of life. The numbers are steadily going up. Something totally unheard of, say, about a decade ago.
How responsible is a writer for the outcome of a film? I’ll tell you what, when a film works, the director takes all the credit but when it fails, the writer squarely gets the blame for messing up! Directors don’t direct blank pages, do they? It begins with the writer. Film critics rarely acknowledge the writers and their contribution. Having More >
Nowhere close to my real potential; will be there soon-Adil Hussain
05 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Despite a recent slew of highprofile films, Adil Hussain insists that he’s yet to arrive
Shakti Shetty (MID-DAY; December 5, 2012)
Adil Hussain initially got noticed in Ishqiya and was next seen in Agent Vinod playing a rather minor role. Then he portrayed Sridevi’s husband in her comeback film English Vinglish. He continued the spousal act with Tabu in Life of Pi. Adil will be next seen in Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist. However, the Assamese actor feels he has done nothing exceptional in any of the aforementioned movies and that his best is yet to come.
“I am nowhere close to my real potential but am sure I will be there very soon,” he says. Nonetheless, the Delhi-based actor admits to getting better offers than ever before. “I try to see if the script and situations are challenging enough. I stay away from one-dimensional roles as I often ask myself – is the role worth exploring or is the director exciting? There are so many elements I look into now,” he adds.
The 49-year-old is currently shooting in Assam for a local film and is looking forward to the release of two of his projects from the so-called parallel cinema. On being asked how come north-easterners are almost absent in Bollywood, Adil gives a convincing explanation. “The north east is a huge area with an extraordinary mix of languages. And to get out of that vernacular influence on Hindi is quite difficult. So in my opinion, our poor diction betrays us. On the other hand, you’ll find Assamese people More >
I never had any illusions of grandeur-Naseeruddin Shah
011 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Aakansha Naval-Shetye (DNA; June 28, 2012)
Naseeruddin ShahSwinging between offbeat cinema and hardcore commercial masala fare with absolute ease, actor Naseeruddin Shah’s choices have been rather unpredictable. “That’s the whole idea. I think people should give up trying to figure it out. I have never been able to do it myself and gave it up a long time ago,” laughs Naseer, who will now be seen playing a power-hungry cop in Maximum. As we settle down for a tete-a-tete, the actor talks about his career graph; and also reveals why he resented being called the ‘Amitabh Bachchan of art cinema’!
How would you describe your career graph? A lot of consistent highs, but dips too during many failures, bad decisions and wrong choices, but to be honest I’ve never looked at my life as a career. Instead I treated it as a joyride, so I can do what I please, and that’s what I have done. In the beginning it was by chance that it happened because I didn’t get too many offers that I could refuse and by the second film I was entrenched in art cinema and working with the best filmmakers there. So, I’ve just gone with the flow.
Do you surprise yourself with your own choices? Yes, particularly when they turn out to be bad ones (laughs). So I look back and wonder why I did them, but there are no regrets. See, it’s always the fall of the dice! A Wednesday, Ishqiya, The Dirty Picture were all films that I took chances with and were all a shot in the dark, but they worked, while there More >
Women gangsters from UP want to meet Madhuri Dixit?
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
By Prachi Kadam (DNA; May 5, 2012)
Madhuri Dixit DNABarely had news of actress Madhuri Dixit-Nene signing films broken out, there was talk of the actress apparently being in a dilemma about certain films.
One of them being Ishqiya’s sequel, Dedh Ishqiya, where she’s required to play not just a bold character, but also mouth some expletives. If that’s not enough, her other film Gulab Gang to be directed by Anubhav Sinha, too may run into rough waters, say sources.
Says an insider, “A group of women gangsters operate in Uttar Pradesh, the kind that Madhuri will be playing in Gulab Gang. The members of this women gang now wish to know the entire plot of the film. The leader of the gang apparently wants Madhuri to first visit the place they come from, understand their lives and their way of living before starting the shoot as Madhuri plays one of them. And if that is not done, they have threatened to disrupt the shoot; in fact stall it, if need be, as they feel that they will not be portrayed in the right light.”
However, when contacted, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha said he was unaware of these developments. “I don’t understand how people pass such judgements without really knowing what the film is all about?” says the filmmaker.
“I do not know much about this girl gang, except that they hail from UP. But I plan to find out more about them now. I also plan to find out what exactly is the issue they have with my film. The thing is that a lot of presumptions are being made More >
Arshad walks out, Naseer steps in
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 02, 2011)
Arshad Warsi walked out of director Kabeer Kaushik’s next, Maximum, just a day before it was to go on the floors. Naseeruddin Shah stepped in at the last moment and saved the project.
Kaushik has so far directed Warsi in two films, Sehar and the actor’s first home production Hum Tum Aur Ghost. But the director suddenly found himself in deep trouble because of Arshad’s unprofessional behaviour.
Naseer (L) and not Arshad (R) will star in Kabeer Kaushik’s nextA source said, “From the beginning Arshad had issues with the script. He wanted his character to be more hard-hitting, edgy and diabolic. Kabeer and Arshad are old friends, so he made whatever changes he could to please him.
After that, things seemed to be fine and the film was ready to roll. But at the last minute Arshad backed out.”
This left Kabeer in a state of panic and utter helplessness. But it was Naseeruddin who saved the day for Kaushik. As he not only decided to step into his Ishqiya co-star’s shoes, but also made date adjustments so that he could shoot Maximum between his theatre commitments.
“Arshad Warsi had issues with the project and thus withdrew a day prior to the start of the shoot,” Kaushik confirmed. “It was always my dream to work with Naseer Saab. He graciously agreed to be part of the project. Frankly, it’s a dream come true.”
Our source further informed us that now the role is being modified to suit Naseer. But he will More >
Naseer to do dance number in Dirty Picture
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Naseeruddin Shah is gearing up for a full-fledged dance number with the Vidya ‘Silk Smitha’ Balan in Dirty Picture
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 27, 2011)
The last time he came close to dancing was in Ishqiya last year. And the only time Naseeruddin Shah really shimmied to none other than Saroj Khan’s moves was 22 years back in the superhit song Tirchi Topiwale from Tridev.
However, according to director Milan Luthria, “It’s ‘Oye Oye’ time for the Shah Of Actors again.”
Shah who plays an aging actor in the film, will have to perform a full-fledged dance number for Luthria’s Dirty Picture.
The project, which already has had Vidya Balan who plays Silk Smitha, feel a little out of her element with the kind of costumes and the required weight gain, has now demanded that Shah do what he has never been comfortable doing.
In fact, the last time Shah really danced in Tridev, the media quoted him saying, “I am not really suitable for the role”.
However, since filmmaker Luthria and producer Ekta Kapoor is adamant on Shah shaking a leg, he being the perfectionist actor he is, has demanded practice sessions for the same before the film goes on the floors.
A source informed us, “Naseer saab is rehearsing for his dance in Dity Picture every day at Milan’s office. He comes for the rehearsal every day at 8.30 am.”
“Naseer saab practices about two hours everyday. His wife Ratna comes along to boost him up a bit. And don’t forget that Vidya is playing Silk More >
Ekta Kapoor: From Saas to Saucy
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Ekta Kapoor reveals why she has consciously decided to get bolder with her projects which often deal with taboo subjects rather than continuing with the family driven sagas
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 19, 2011)
Yogen shah
Ekta Kapoor, the queen of TV soaps, the ruler of the living room is slowly but surely moving towards the bedroom with films like Love, Sex Aur Dhokha, Shor In The City, Ragini MMS and Dirty Picture. What brought about this sudden image makeover? The producer reveals the reason behind this very conscious effort. Read On…
You were a drawing room person. Why did you decide to get into the bedroom? Getting bolder eh!
I am not getting into bedrooms and it’s not about being bold. Most American movies have sex scenes. Do you label them as sex films? No, na? Then why my work? I just realised that I needed to change with time. Change is the essence of life, yaar.
I felt that I should dabble at making clutter-breaking stuff. And I saw around myself to see that there was a hunger building up for cinema, which would have sex just as a part of it.
There were movies of this kind, which were making just the right noises.
And I took the final decision to change myself after I saw films like Dev.D and Ishqiya. My company and I decided to tread on issues faced by youngsters. (Pauses).
Go on…
But I was sure that I wouldn’t make such stuff under the banner of Balaji Motion Pictures. Hence, I started a new company, Balaji Alt, where Alt More >
Teen Thay Bhai director buried in snow, found alive!
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Published: Thursday, Mar 17, 2011, 18:42 IST By Taniya Talukdar | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA
It was when Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was looking to produce a film for a debutant director that he came across Mrighdeep Singh Lamba.
The result? A film called Teen Thay Bhai, a comedy caper, which is on the verge of release. On his association with Rakeysh, Mrighdeep says, “I know how producers read a script and interpret it, but Rakeysh does it in a very different way. He doesn’t look at the commercial aspects at all. Instead, for him, the script needs to tug at his heart’s strings.” The director believes that opportunities are created by producers and that is the reason why we got to see great cinema through films like Phas Gaya Re Obama, Tere Bin Laden, Ishqiya, Love Sex Aur Dhokha etc.
The shooting of the film wasn’t an easy task in itself.
“We had a tough time shooting the film, the average temperature was between -10 to -13 in Gulmarg. We had to deal with blizzards and snow storms and if that wasn’t enough, once we got stuck in the hotel for two days. The ground floor was totally immersed in snow and it had reached the first floor. I was worried about the location and decided to go check on it. I came out of the first floor window and started walking towards the destination but on the way, got buried neck deep in the snow. Some of my crew members went out looking for me and found me and I was saved. It was a very funny and dangerous situation,” More >
Vidya shakes a leg with SRK & Jackman, offers Ishqiya 2
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Vidya Balan shakes a leg with SRK and Jackman, asks them for Ishqiya 2
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 28, 2011)
Vidya Balan, Hugh Jackman and Shah Rukh Khan, not only signed (read fake) a film together but also shimmied after ‘the announcement’ and gave each other a group hug on the last day of a recently concluded films and media event.
Friday night saw the three stars having a delightful time on stage, with the audiences’ hearts thumping with excitement on seeing them together.
While they were enjoying in there, a source from the audience, gave us this cute bit of information. At the event, Vidya was announced the best actress for Ishqiya.
Yogen Shah Triple Treat: Jackman, Vidya, SRK get groovingLooking attractive in a green saree with her hair, as usual, tied up in a bun, Vidya walked towards the stage all excited to receive the award from Hugh Jackman.
As she walked down the aisle, Jackman’s wife Deborra, sitting in the audience, stopped Vidya and whispered into her ear, “You are looking gorgeous in this saree!” Vidya turned crimson. She coyly thanked Deborra and moved on.
Once she reached the stage, Hugh Jackman announced that he will soon return to India. A delighted Vidya exclaimed, “Does that mean we will do a film together?” Hugh spontaneously replied, “Yeah! Why not? Let’s rope in Shah Rukh also for that one.” Vidya promptly asked, “Ishqiya 2?” In a courteous and friendly mood Jackman immediately asked FOX to More >