Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged misfit
Nirmal Pandey-Death of an actor
13 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Meena Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 20, 2010)
“I’m not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.’’ —Woody Allen. B-4, Flat 48, Greenfields, Andheri East, a pokey little flat in a nondescript society was the address of international award winning actor Nirmal Pandey (Bandit Queen, Daayraa, Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Train to Pakistan) until his untimely demise on February 18, 2010. Like his address, his fate under the arc lights too didn’t change in the last 15 years.
The National School of Drama alumni, who was born in Nainital in 1962, is one of those countless actors who came to Mumbai in the early ‘90s to find his place in the sun. And though he got his 15 minutes of fame, he never could quite crack the Bollywood code – a fact that left him disillusioned till the end.
On February 19, an ambulance (bedecked with red roses) bearing the registration MH-10 2530 carried the dead actor to the crematorium in Oshiwara. A cloth banner that said ‘Nirmal Pandey Amar Rahe’ attempted to show reverence to his fame. With the exception of his immediate family; and two lesser-known actors Girija Prasad and Ramesh Goyal, a handful of anonymous B-town types followed the body on bikes.
A lone cameraman captured the actor’s last journey; and even the two policemen on duty at Cooper Hospital, seemed indifferent. They had no crowds to man, no road to cordon off. No paparazzi turned up to capture this funeral; nor were there any grieving crowds to suggest that a famous More >
Movie Review: AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI by FENIL SETA
03 years ago
I am out of the theatre and still thinking, “Is this the same Rajkumar Santoshi who gave some hard-hitting and intense films for a long time?”. Yup, he directed Andaz Apna Apna but that was like some 15-16 years ago. Post-AAA, he came up with close to dozen intense and almost realistic films. A certain image of Santoshi was carved out thanks to his kind of films. But with Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, he breaks that image and proves that he STILL can come up with solid youthful entertainers! Sweet, witty, little absurd… Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani succeeds completely in making you laugh!
The story of the movie: Prem (Ranbir Kapoor) lives in a town called Mount Valley and runs ‘Happy Club’ in the coffin shop of one of his friends’ father! He is carefree, happy and wants to make others happy. A case of mistaken identity leads him to meeting Jenny (Katrina Kaif). He soon falls in love with her but doesn’t profess even though both he and Jenny become thick pals. The reason-both are as different as chalk and cheese. To begin with, Prem is the son of a staunch Hindu while Jenny is Catholic. Jenny wants her dream man to be literate and who works hard for his family. But Prem is 9th standard pass and doesn’t work at all. And lastly, Prem is a vegetarian and Jenny is not (or is she?)! And does Jenny feel the same for Prem? Or does she love someone else?
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is a different entertainer, esp in terms of storytelling and execution. Every More >