Posts tagged Mahesh Manjrekar

I want John and me to be like Ajay & Rohit-Sanjay Gupta

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2 weeks ago
by Fenil Seta in

Sanjay Gupta on changing equations, friends, foes and films

Upala KBR (DNA; June 4, 2013)

 

Sanjay Gupta is a talented director, who the industry forgot for some reason. He has got the nod from Quentin Tarantino. The Hollywood director, who most industrywallahs think of as God, has gone on record to say that Sanjay Gupta’s Kaante was better than his original (it’s on youtube.com). Gupta has proved his mettle again with Shootout At Wadala (SAW). His phone has started ringing. Every actor in the top league wants to work with him now. You can’t keep a talented man down. There is speculation about which actor will be in his next film. In a candid interview with the After Hrs, the filmmaker talks about his next film, patching-up with his SAW leading lady Kangna Ranaut, never working with Vivek Oberoi, his promise to his old buddy Sanjay Dutt and his new dost John Abraham. Read on…

So sequel of SAW in the making? For now, I am reviving Alibaug as I want to release it this year. There was just a pre-climax scene left to shoot with Sanju (Sanjay Dutt). When he said he didn’t want to shoot anymore, I sat with my writers, re-worked it and completed the shot. Ironically it’s a film about friendships. Now I will complete the film with the rest of the cast. Alibaug was made with a bunch of my very close friends — Sanjay Suri, Parvin Dabbas, Rohit Roy, Sudhanshu and Sameer Soni. And the girls Sophie Choudry, Masumeh, Shabana (Manoj Bajpayee’s wife), Manasi Joshi Roy and Dia Mirza. It’s More >

Sanjay Gupta on shooting Kaante in a ‘hellish’ LA hotel

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 13, 2013)

 

Sanjay Gupta’s 2002 action thriller, Kaante, was the first Bollywood film to be completely shot in Los Angeles with an American crew, using state-of-the-art technology. It was filmed in South California, not in Beverly Hills but downtown Los Angeles.

One of the locations was The Roosevelt Hotel at the Hollywood Boulevard, named after President Theodore Roosevelt. Opened May 15, 1927, it was dubbed ‘The Million Dollar Hotel’ after it came to light that it had cost its financiers including Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Louis B Mayer nearly $2.5 million.

Gupta decided to set the opening and closing of his film on the hotel’s rooftop and even got a billboard advertising The Million Dollar Hotel. By the turn of the century, the hotel had lost its sheen and mainly offered subsidised living – a room for the night at $2 – drawing pimps, drug peddlers, drug addicts and the likes.

In Kaante, six men – Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Suneil Shetty, Kumar Gaurav, Mahesh Manjrekar and Lucky Ali – are arrested without evidence by the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department). Their antipathy toward the department causes a plan to be hatched – robbing the bank that holds the payroll of the LAPD. The six men meet on the terrace of the infamous hotel to arrange for ammo and getaway vehicles. However, the heist goes wrong and they end up in hell and sit on the ledge again.

“The hotel was hellish and we couldn’t enter through the front More >

Children of musical stalwarts collaborate for Lesle Lewis’ project

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Nine talented children of musical stalwarts collaborate for the first time on a project helmed by Leslie Lewis

Ananya Ghosh (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 7, 2013)

 

They have been singing their way to our hearts for decades now. And now it is the turn of their kids to find their voice. Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa, Kavita Krishnamurthy-L Subramaniam and Leslie Lewis are the proud parents of the next generation of singers who will come together for the very first time for a musical project conceptualised by Leslie.

The project – which is an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) album with generous Bollywood influences – will have Akshay and Karan Hariharan, Siddharth and Shivam Mahadevan, Shane and Alyssa Mendonsa, Bindu and Ambi Subramaniam and Divya Lewis collaborate on the tracks.

Talking about what makes his young team so special, Leslie says: “These kids are the blue bloods of the music industry as their parents ruled their genre. They have learnt from the industry’s best names and have seen the underbelly as well. You can say they have lived the lives others only aspire to.”

About the genre of music, Leslie says he has attempted something new. “I am trying to reinvent electronic dance music and combine it with Bollywood. It is a kind of cross-pollination in a way that will appeal the masses. It is tricky and will require careful handling,” he says, hoping to release the album by August.

The project is still in its initial stages and the compositions are not all quite More >

Gangs Of Wasseypur actor lands role in Gori Tere Pyar Mein

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; April 23, 2013)

 

Vineet Singh who featured in Gangs of Wasseypur has just landed a role in a Karan Johar production. The actor has been cast in the Imran Khan- Kareena Kapoor starrer Gori Tere Pyar Mein being directed by Punit Malhotra.

Says a source, “He is playing an important role in the film. He was taken by surprise when he was approached. What he is most happy about is the fact that character actors like him are being recognised and being cast by big banners.” Vineet, who essayed the character of Danish Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur, attracted attention for his role portrayal.

He also features in Anurag Kashyap’s forthcoming film Bombay Talkies to celebrate 100 years of Hindi cinema who dreams of meeting Amitabh Bachchan.

The actor who started off as an assistant of Mahesh Manjrekar hails from Varanasi. Though he studied ayurveda, his passion for acting made him enter a reality show during which he met Manjrekar who cast him in City of Gold after which B-Town beckoned.

Shah Rukh Khan is no longer a gay according to IMDb

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2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Subhash K Jha (DNA; April 13, 2013)

 

Amidst howls of disapproval and amusement from Bollywood quarters, IMDB’s ‘Famous Gay People From Bollywood’ was pulled off leaving many unanswered questions. Bollywood wondered how did the names of distinctly heterosexual Bollywood males like Shah Rukh Khan, Mahesh Manjrekar and Sanjay Gupta get on the list in the first place. Interestingly filmmaker Onir, who is the only self-proclaimed homosexual in that notoriously short-lived list, found the queer listing weird.

Says Onir, “IMDB’s list was hilarious. Anyone, anytime can make a list on that website. It is idiotic to have a list of supposed homosexuals when there’s no matching list of straight men. The supposed gay list comprised stupid assumptions without a basis. They had no business listing anyone unless the people mentioned voluntarily came out of the closet. Next thing we know they might have a list of Bollywood’s Parsis or Bollywood’s curly-haired. It’s idiotic to make such lists.”

Onir loved the way the men on the list reacted. And he has no qualms about being called gay. He says, “I’ve always been open about my sexual preference. As for why others in Bollywood have not come out of the closet, I suppose everyone has reasons. Our society celebrates silences.” Onir feels many more people would come out about their sexual preference once the laws regarding homosexuality change. “It was easier for me to come out straight about my homosexuality because I was born and brought up More >

Salman Khan offers injured Sonu Sood a film to save his dates

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3 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; February 28, 2013)

 

When an actor suffers a major injury, producers worry about schedules and budgets going haywire. However, Sonu Sood, who suffered multiple fractures in his right leg earlier this week, is believed to have expressed more concern for his filmmakers.

Apparently, his friends suggested that he focus on recovering first and then think about his producers. But soon after he got out of the operation theatre, the actor called up the producers he was committed to and offered to return their signing amounts because he didn’t want any filmmaker to suffer or wait for him for six weeks.

While the producers of the Zanjeer remake told him to get well soon, Prabhu Dheva told Sonu that he had changed the schedule of his movie to facilitate shooting with him after his recovery. The biggest surprise for the actor was when Salman Khan offered him a movie. After inquiring about his progress, the Dabangg dude flummoxed Sonu by suggesting that he do Salman’s role in the Hindi remake of Mahesh Manjrekar’s Marathi movie. Reportedly, Salman said that Sonu wouldn’t have any problem shooting as the character was required to be on wheelchair and later, crutches. So Sonu’s dates wouldn’t go waste like those for his other films that are under-production.

Amjad Khan’s son turns assistant director for Himmatwala

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4 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 4, 2013)

 

Seemaab Khan, son of legendary actor late Amjad Khan is working as an assistant director in Sajid Khan’s remake of Himmatwala starring Ajay Devgn and Tamannah.

A source close to Sajid told Mumbai Mirror: “Seemaab’s brother (Shadaab) is a close friend of Sajid and recommended him. As for Sajid, he has immense respect for late Amjad bhai and regrets the fact that he never got the opportunity to work with his childhood idol. He was happy to have Seemaab on board.”

Seemaab was playing cricket for his university team before he realised that his true calling was films and returned to join Bollywood.

When contacted Sajid said: “Yes, Seemaab is working on the project. He is a fabulous guy and is loved by the entire unit. He is talented and very committed towards his work.”

According to Seemaab, he was emotionally attached to the film as the original Himmatwala had his late father playing Sher Singh Bandookwala—the role now being essayed by Mahesh Manjrekar. Seemaab told Mirror: “The first and last day of the shoot was very emotional for me. I always wanted to be associated with my father’s films in some capacity. I lost my father when I was hardly 10.”

He was all praise for Sajid: “Working with him, I have learnt the importance of being honest with your work. He knows the pulse of the audience and I want to learn that trick from him.”

Manya Surve’s personal tailor shapes up John’s look in Shootout At Wadala

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5 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; January 12, 2013)

 

Everyone’s been raving about the way John Abraham has been looking in his all new avatar of Manya Surve in Sanjay Gupta’s Shootout At Wadala. And we hear among all the people who helped put together his look of the dreaded former gangster for John, is none other than Manya’s own tailor! Sources say that apart from a lot of research that has gone into making the film, Gupta and the actor have drawn inspiration for his look from Baba Baboish, who stitched the gangster’s clothes.

Gupta says, “Baba still has his shop at Shivaji Park and Mahesh Manjrekar who is a common friend introduced us. His inputs went a long way in giving John the look that he has in the film.” Apparently Baba provided designed Kunal Rawal with small but significant details about the way Manya dressed — wearing a round collar and flapwala shirts amongst the others — and the costumes were styled accordingly.

The director adds, “ I told John that he would have to wear Kolhapuri chappals, have a tika on his forehead and even put oil in his hair. Mahesh even helped in many aspects including the way John speaks in the film.”

Picture perfect

Incidentally, since Manya was shot dead in 1982, all that John had as a reference point to build his character was a photograph of the gangster’s dead body. The actor adds, “Then we got a passport picture and I also visited the places he used to frequent.” Digging out the details about the slain gangster took the actor through More >

Kangna bags leading role in a film that was 90% complete?

0
5 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; December 25, 2012)

 

In the mood for a screen makeover, Kangna Ranaut may have given a nod to essay a nautch girl in author-turned-filmmaker Vishwas Patil’s film Rajjo. But to do so the entire project, too, will have a drastic makeover.

Patil’s film was almost complete when Kangs was roped in to play the protagonist Rajjo. With her at the helm of the story now, buzz is that the film will have to be reshot.

Says a source, “Some of the other actors in the film have been asked to give fresh dates. They have been told that certain portions are being redone.” As reported ‘Kangna to play courtesan’ (Hitlist, December 8) the star was keen on preparing for her role by training for the mujra sequences. The director had also claimed that he was doing research of the redlight areas in Mumbai for her screen character.

Adds the source, “It sounds strange that a film that was shot six months ago suddenly announces a new addition to the cast. That too for the title role! The makers may have their reasons as including Kangna in the project takes it to a new level. The film was 90 per cent complete. It was shot with Bengali actress Tanushree Chakraborty as the nautch girl. Having Kangna in the film means that she replaced the original choice.’ The cast also includes Mahesh Manjrekar and Dalip Tahil. As reported ‘ Mahesh Manjrekar to play eunuch’ (Hitlist, July 4), the actor had shot for his scenes wearing salwar kurtas and sarees with garish make- up and gaudy More >

I’d rather play than own a team-Riteish Deshmukh

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7 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

The owner of the Veer Marathi team in the forthcoming edition of CCL

Harshada Rege (BOMBAY TIMES; October 31, 2012)

 

After trying his hand at Marathi film production and making a foray into music with a Marathi song (Inga, for his last release), actor Riteish Deshmukh is now the owner of the Maharashtra cricket team, Veer Marathi, which is one of the two new teams introduced in the third season of Celebrity Cricket League (CCL).

Says Riteish, “CCL wanted to have more teams. They asked me if I was interested in taking on one. Talks were on about adding a Bhojpuri, Punjabi or a Marathi team. We thought about it and decided to go with it.”

The actor, who’s been associated with the league since the first season, used to play for the Mumbai team. On his new role, he says, “I was the vice-captain for the Mumbai team and this is a step ahead. This is a great initiative to have all the actors under one roof, playing against each other. The Marathi team will be a great addition to the league.” And will he play for his team? “I would rather play than own a team. I enjoy playing the game. Hopefully, I will have a larger role to play and eventually get to captain the side.”

When asked about his expectations from his team, Riteish says, “We’ll have to get together faster. We have a short time to get to know each other. But I hope we do well. As more teams join the more difficult it gets.” And will he cheer for his former teammates? “Absolutely, why not?” On choosing the name Veer More >

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