Posts tagged mani ratnam

AR Rahman introduced me as a playback singer-Mili Nair

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

The Meethi Boliyaan girl, Mili Nair, talks about how she moved from jazz concerts to films as she opens up on her life, influences and more…

Sunayana Suresh (BOMBAY TIMES; April 19, 2013)

 

Tipped as one of the new voices to watch out for, jazz musician Mili Nair entered films thanks to one of Indian cinema’s prodigal sons, AR Rahman. After singing for films across all four South Indian languages, Mili made her debut in Bollywood this year as a playback singer. Drawing inspiration from rock, jazz and even Indian film music, she has been a part of international music festivals, including the Java Jazz Festival, Indonesia. Here are excerpts from a chat with Mili…

How did Meethi Boliyaan (Kai Po Che) happen? I got an opportunity to work with Amit Trivedi while working for a jamming reality show on a music channel. It was around this time that he told me about this song. When he described what the song should be like, I could relate to it instantly because it was such a beautiful composition. I still recollect the fun we had while recording for the song. Right from the lyrics by Swanand Kirkire to the actual theme of the song in the context of the film, it just fell into place. I appreciate the fact that Amit Trivedi liked my originality and style. He also used the idea of my vocal improvisation, which I love doing for my singing, at the end of Meethi Boliyan, which was unique and something new for a Bollywood number. Personally, I’m very happy that Meethi Boliyan is my first More >

I’m ready for marriage-Siddharth

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; March 26, 2013)

 

Siddharth, 33, is an optimist who grew up being a linguist. He considers doing South films his job and Bollywood, his hobby. The actorwriter-singer and producer hopes to turn director some day. Ahead of his upcoming release Chashme Baddoor, he talks to Bombay Times about the superiority complex of Bollywood, his readiness for marriage and why Mani Ratnam will always remain his boss. Excerpts:

How did you get into films? Born in Chennai, I am a Tamilian. I grew up in Chennai and Delhi. My father retired after working in Nestle for 37 years. Right from my childhood, my mother exposed to me to a lot of music and films across the world and I grew up wanting to be in films. Even though I had a happy childhood, I am not too nostalgic about it and was in a hurry to grow up. As children, you are not allowed to do what you want to. So, I was happy to be older as I could do what I wanted to. I was not too happy with my school life as the academic pressure on kids in Chennai is too high and I was happiest when I went to college. I went to college without an agenda. I went to school to just get out of school. My parents have always allowed me to be myself and are the best parents you can have. There were no beliefs enforced on me and they are both my friends, but wanted me to complete my education. I completed my management and managed to reach Mani Ratnam through email. He met me and even though I had no formal training and had just done More >

Rensil D’Silva is scripting Mani Ratnam’s next

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2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Sneha Mahadevan (BOMBAY TIMES; March 15, 2013)

 

Filmmaker Rensil D’Silva, who last directed Kurbaan (2009), has turned scriptwriter for Mani Ratnam’s next. Rensil is writing for the film while simultaneously directing Ungli. He says, “I have earlier worked with Mani sir on Lajjo. As far as this film is concerned, it is not completely done. It is about Partition, partly a drama and partly a love story, which also depictsthe turbulence between India and Pakistan.”

While many scripts are written to suit certain actors. Rensil, however, says that is not his style. “I never write scripts keeping an actor in mind. Mani sir and I will finalise who best suits the part and take the call.”

The movie will require an ensemble cast with actors from all age groups. About his equation with the veteran director, Rensil says, “Mani sir is a fabulous filmmaker. He is one of the most intelligent men and his thought process is quite intriguing and unique. He is a maestro and it is always a pleasure working with him.”

Rensil, who has wrapped up almost 80% of Ungli, will soon start work on Anil Kapoor’s TV series, 24. He is also scheduled to shoot six episodes for the show that will go on air soon.

Mani Ratnam’s next Hindi film on India-Pakistan partition?

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2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Jigar Shah (MID-DAY; March 1, 2013)

 

While his last Hindi release Raavan didn’t exactly set the cash registers ringing, Mani Ratnam has already begun work on his next Hindi film. The project will be based on the India- Pakistan partition.

A source close to the filmmaker says that the script will be written by Rensil D’Silva, who has earlier penned films like Rang De Basanti and Kurbaan. An insider says, “He has already given a go-ahead to Rensil to write his next Hindi film. The project will be more of drama set in the backdrop of the Partition while there is a love story at the centre of it.” Mani apparently is looking at working with younger actors for this film. This will be the second time that Mani and Rensil will be working together.

Their earlier project Lajjo didn’t take off.

I will never work for an outside producer-Bejoy Nambiar

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3 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Bejoy Nambiar spills the beans on how he has made it so far without any compromise

Jayoti Soor (DNA; January 29, 2013)

 

Bejoy Nambiar has a knack of making unconventional choices. Being a Mumbai boy, he went ahead and shifted base to Chennai when he got the chance to work with Mani Ratnam. While his directorial debut Shaitan made a mark despite having rank-newcomers, his film David has been in news due to the song controversy and for its unusual storyline.

“While Shaitan differed due to its treatment, David has a fascinating story,” says Nambiar. The bilingual film that will release both in Tamil and Hindi tells the story of three distinct individuals across three time zones sharing the same name. When quizzed about how will the ends meet, he laughs and confesses that even when he was pitching the story to producers, he would keep them guessing unless they decided to collaborate with him.

On whether his business degree has helped him negotiate his own terms in the industry, he shares, “I ideate, produce and direct my own movies. That way I shoulder full responsibility about how my product has shaped. I will never work for an outside producer. I come with a baggage, if someone is willing to accept that, then I am willing to collaborate with them.” With no formal training in film-making or having a film lineage, when asked where he gets this conviction from, “As a child I was a movie buff and had exposure to good-quality regional cinema. Winning the reality show and then More >

For Yash uncle I was his Bengali tigress-Rani Mukerji

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6 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; November 22, 2012)

 

Rani Mukerji, 34, went against her father to fulfill her mother’s wish of wanting her daughter to become an actress. Today, 15 years later, her father is her biggest champion. We met her at her serene house in Juhu, where over a plateful of sandesh, she spoke about Yash Chopra, the similarities between Shah Rukh and Aamir and her unfulfilled wish to work with Rajinikanth. Excerpts:

Yash Chopra has a special place in your life. Do you miss him? Of course, I miss him every day of my life. He was the most healthy man I knew which is what made it even more difficult as it brought a lot of shock and pain. His phone calls were as abrupt as his going away. He would just pick up the phone after reading my interview and say, ‘Arey, you are my Bengali tigress’. He would just see a picture in the paper and call and say, ‘you were looking very good’. I just loved his spirit of eating and the way he enjoyed his food. You knew how passionate a person he was just by the way he ate his food. He loved his paratha and makhan and was always wanting to feed me in all my meals with him. I would always tell him, ‘No uncle, I can’t eat it’. When he passed away, I actually ate paratha and makhan just to feel how he used to feel.

The warmth that he had for his employees, his actors or any person around him made him a great human being. He touched so many lives that every one had a Yash Chopra story to tell. When I worked with him in Veer-Zaara, I More >

Kamal Haasan-Mani Ratnam reunite after 25 years?

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7 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

After their 1987 classic Nayakan, the actor and director didn’t work together again… till now

Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 27, 2012)

 

The 21st of this month marked completion of 25 years of Nayakan aka Nayagan, the 1987 Tamil film written and directed by Mani Ratnam and starring Kamal Haasan. The cult classic based on the life of gangster Varadarajan Mudaliar was given pride of place in Time Magazine’s ‘All time 100 Best Films’ for 2005. Strangely though, after this critically acclaimed project, the two movie maestros never really came together. However, all that is about to change now.

We’ve learnt that Kamal and Mani will be reuniting to do their next film although it doesn’t have anything to do with Nayakan. Rumour has it that after Nayakan’s runaway success, both actor and director became too big in stature to be accommodated in one film despite being family. Fact is, Mani is married to Kamal’s elder brother Charu Haasan’s daughter Suhasini. It was only when Nayakan completed a quarter of a century that Kamal and Mani spoke at length and decided their collaboration would have to happen ‘now or never’.

Kamal confirmed the news and said, “Mani and I did speak when Nayakan turned 25. I am not at liberty to divulge the details of our conversation. All I will say is, the answer to the question that haunts both of us — why not another film together after Nayakan? — will soon be answered. Nayakan is no doubt the most influential film of my career. I suspect Mani More >

Suhasini denies Mani Ratnam doing a film with Aishwarya

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7 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

BOMBAY TIMES (October 4, 2012)

 

Suhasini Ratnam denies the Mumbai Mirror story of her husband Mani Ratnam roping in Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca.

“The news is wrong,” said the filmmaker’s wife. Suhasini added, “Mani is currently focussed on his Tamil film Kadal. It will take him eight more months after that to write his next script. So, any news about his future projects that comes up in this time period is false.”

Mani’s spokesperson also reiterated that all the stories doing the rounds about the filmmakers next project with Ash are just rumours.

Aishwarya to return with Mani Ratnam’s Rebecca?

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7 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

The filmmaker is currently busy working on his adaptation of the novel. The film is expected to go on floors late next year

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 2, 2012)

 

It was in June last year, when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had to opt out of a film to be at home. After all, she was pregnant. The actress moved out of the spotlight to take up a role of a very different kind – that of a mother. After almost a year, Mirror has found out that mommy Ash is now ready to face the camera once again. And though many filmmakers have been vying for her attention, the one script that is likely get her nod of approval is Mani Ratnam’s adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s famous 1938 novel Rebecca.

“Ash and Ratnam go back a long way. Her cinematic debut, Iruvar in 1997 was directed by him. They worked again ten years later in Guru. The same year she got married. They again worked in 2010 in Raavan. Whenever Ratnam has offered Ash a role or a script¸ she has always respected it. This time too, it was the same,” an insider told us.

According to the source, the filmmaker is currently busy putting the script together. “Rebecca, the novel is about a newly married woman who is constantly compared to the first wife of her husband by the housekeeper. While she feels belittled by the shadow of the deceased lady of the house, she later realities that her husband was never in love earlier. Ratnam is currently adapting the entire novel into a more contemporary Indian setup,” added the More >

2013 to see release of number of books on Indian cinema’s bigwigs

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8 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Garima Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; September 5, 2012)

 

A few days before Rishi Kapoor’s 60th birthday, it came to light that the actor is working on his autobiography, to be released in 2013, chronicling four decades of his life. But, Kapoor is not the only one inking is life in black and white for his fans. From superstar Amitabh Bachchan, the iconic Rajinikanth to the cinematic genius Satyajit Ray, many of Bollywood’s big names are going to become the subject of books over the next year.

Autobiographies and biographies are top of the list for most publishers. There are soon going to be books on Shammi Kapoor, Mani Ratnam, Manoj Kumar, Guru Dutt and Shatrughan Sinha. Also one on Mohammed Rafi by his son, an Aamir Khan biography as well as Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty’s autobiography. That apart, a book on Satyajit Ray is being written by his wife Bijoya Ray. There is a book on Bollywood villain Ranjeet too in the pipeline.

Then there is a book being written on the entire Bachchan clan, and we hear that it may just have exclusive pictures of Abhishek-Aishwarya’s daughter Aaradhya.

Besides these, graphic novels and screenplays too are being picked up by readers. The script of Rishi-Dimple’s Bobby is being released soon, as is a book on the movie Amar Akbar Anthony, which will also feature its screenplay. Another genre being explored is that of graphic novels. There have already been such novels on Don 2 and Agent Vinod, and more in the future may not be ruled More >

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