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Posts tagged national awards
Every underdog has his day-Abhishek Kapoor
Mar 23rd
Abhishek Kapoor continues to ‘rock on’ post his victory at the National Awards
HARSHADA REGE Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; March 23, 2010)
Abhishek Kapoor is on cloud nine these days. Not only did Rock On set the box office on fire, it even won the National Award where the movie was adjudged as the Best Film. “It’s a huge deal to be recognised for your work among movies from all parts of the country,” he says. Abhishek had earlier tried his luck as an actor, but when his films failed at the BO, he accepted the fact.
“There was no point in doing a movie that wouldn’t work. There are many things to consider in the moviemaking business,” he points. From acting, Abhishek turned towards direction. However, it wasn’t a easy journey. “I made Aryan with as much dedication as Rock On, but the movie faced many problems,” he says. The road got tougher for Abhishek as Aryan, too, was not well received. A few months later, Abhishek conceived Rock On. But this time around, things fell in place.
“Like-minded people working together makes a huge impact. I’ve always believed in giving the script a lot of importance and that’s paying off now,” says the director. The success of Rock On has obviously changed the equation. “People are now more willing to lend that extra helping hand,” says Abhishek. And though Rock On has been appreciated by the audiences and critics, Abhishek is in no mood to take it easy. The director is currently busy adapting Chetan Bhagat’s Three Mistakes of My Life. Alongside he is also working on a script written by Ashok Banker, which will be made into an English film for the international arena. Rock On fans are also looking for the sequel to the movie, but the director doesn’t seem to be in any hurry. “People often end up making a sequel just because a movie has worked. But I am going to take my time and see how it goes before taking a leap,” he says.
Priyanka Chopra receives National Award
Mar 20th
By Subhash K. Jha, March 20, 2010 – 12:14 IST
For those of her fans who had gotten used to seeing the stunning Priyanka Chopra at social dos in gowns and dresses, the saree that she wore at the National Awards on Friday was a surprising change.
Laughing on the eve of collecting the prestige award, Priyanka said, “I’ve three sarees ready. I haven’t decided which one to wear. I’m tooooo excited.”
Priyanka was in Delhi on Friday feeling much at-peace. “My entire family including parents and my grandparents are all here for the National Awards ceremony. It’s a big moment for me and I wanted my entire family to be part of it. Tomorrow (Saturday) my father’s music album releases. So the family has double reason to be together.”
Priyanka is looking forward to shooting her second film with Vishal Bhardwaj. It’s tentatively titled Saat Khoon Maaf. But that title would change soon.
Anu Kapoor is the latest actor to join Priyanka’s bandwagon of husbands in Bhardwaj’s film.
Anu and Priyanka Chopra are joined by their love for music and singing. Many antakshari sessions with two heading teams are anticipated in Coorg.
BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM
Ranbir-Katrina shoot extra scenes for Raajneeti
Mar 10th
By Subhash K. Jha, March 10, 2010 – 10:57 IST
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When Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif met for a shoot on Monday, it was just like old times when they shot for Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti last year.
The twosome was fiercely competitive when they shot for the two films. So it was when they shot again together on Monday.
The competitive spirit has taken over Raajneeti in a big way. Both Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif see the film as a passport to the National Awards. With stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpai, Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgn in the cast, the young stars of the show have decided to pull out all stops to ensure their performances are noticed at the right places.
All efforts are now on by Ranbir and Katrina to ensure optimum audience participation in Raajneeti. A music video, only a part of which will be included in the film and the rest used for promotion, is to be shot.
Says the director Prakash Jha, “We certainly don’t want to pitch Raajneeti as a dry political drama. Ranbir and Katrina are big commercial stars. We want their fans to see our film as an entertainer. At an edited length of about 3 hours’ playing-time, we want viewers to be glued to the edge of their seats. I wouldn’t call it a multi- star cast film .I’d call it a multi-actor film.”
With the Ranbir-Katrina jodi being hotter-than-July, a certain amount of spicing up is certainly the order of the day. And the hit jodi is more than willing to shoot extra days to ensure the product gets them maximum attention.
On Monday, Ranbir and Katrina did some additional shooting for Raajneeti at Mona Shourie’s Future Studios long after their dates for Raajneeti had dried up.
Ranbir Kapoor just back from Las Vegas rushed to the shooting. close-ups and continuity shots were shot with the two. A sizzling music video featuring Ranbir, Katrina and Arjun Rampal is also on the cards.
So who says politicians can’t dance? Says Prakash, “We did some patchwork shooting on Monday, close-ups, etc. Yes. It’s for the betterment of the end-product. We all want Raajneeti to be a big success. Katrina and Ranbir have surrendered themselves completely to the project and will do whatever is required.”
BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM
Grammy whammy for Rahman
Feb 2nd
SWEEPING ALL AWARDS: A R Rahman
God is great, says double Grammy winner A R Rahman
BINA TRIVEDI Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; February 2, 2010)
After the Oscars and the Padma Bhushan, it’s Grammy time for A R Rahman. On Sunday night, at the prestigious US music ceremony in Los Angeles, the music for Slumdog Millionaire won two Grammy Awards for the Mozart from Madras, setting Rahman’s global score even higher in 2010 than it was last year. The awards were for Best Soundtrack and Best Film Song, beating Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds and rock star Bruce Springsteen in same categories respectively. Last year Rahman won two Oscars, a Bafta and a Golden Globe for his soundtrack to the multi awardwinning film.
“This is insane, God is great again,” Rahman said reacting to the double Grammy whammy, “I never even dreamed about winning all these awards. I once again want to thank the Almighty, my spiritual Sufi teacher Ameen Peerullah Malik Sahib, Danny Boyle and the whole Slumdog creative team.” He also had a special word of thanks for mentors Mani Ratnam, Shekhar Kapur and Subhash Ghai, also Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Just last week, Rahman was happy to receive the Padma Bhushan, but unhappy about the fact that a lot of deserving artistes remained unrecognised by the government. “There are so many deserving candidates for the National Awards still unsung. On the other hand, I believe people with dubious records get recognised. That isn’t fair. I’m was happy to get the Padma Bhushan. My phone didn’t stop ringing. I think I received more congratulations for the Padma than for the Oscars. And now this…”
Rahman wins 2 Grammys
Feb 1st
By Subhash K. Jha, February 1, 2010 – 11:19 IST
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After the Oscars and the Padma Bhushan, it’s Grammy time for A R Rahman. On Sunday night, his music for Slumdog Millionaire won two Grammy awards, setting Rahman’s global score even higher in 2010 than it was last year.
Reacting to the double Grammy whammy, Rahman said, “I never even dreamt about winning all these awards. I once again want to thank the Almighty, my spiritual Sufi teachers Ameen Peerullah Malik Sahib, Danny Boyle and the whole Slumdog creative team.”
After the Grammy, Rahman also had a special word of thanks for his mentor Mani Ratnam and his mentors in Mumbai, Shekhar Kapur and Subhash Ghai and mentor in the West, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Back home, Rahman is happy to have received the Padma Bhushan. But unhappy about the fact that a lot of the deserving artistes remain unrecognized by the government. “There’re so many deserving candidates for National Awards, still unsung. On the other hand, I believe people with dubious records get recognized. That isn’t fair. Personally speaking I’m very happy to get the Padma Bhushan. Ever since the announcement my phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I think I’ve received more congratulations for the Padma than for the Oscars.”
Rahman says he’s prouder of the Padma Bhushan than the Oscar. “It definitely means more when you’re recognized by your own people and country. I definitely value this award more than the Oscar or Grammy,” said Rahman before flying out to Los Angeles for the Grammys. “My award comes in a category that won’t be televised. So it won’t be like Slumdog Millionaire where people back home could watch me.”
Much has been said about the two Padma winners Rahman and sound designer Resul Pookutty’s disappointing follow-up collaboration in Blue after Slumdog Millionaire. But Rahman stands by Blue. “The script was a bummer. But grant the director Anthony D’Souza for the fact that he tried something different. I enjoyed doing Blue.”
Our resident Mozart is amused by premature reports in the press that his song ‘Na Na‘ from his first Hollywood soundtrack has been nominated for and Oscar.
Says Rahman, “‘Na Na‘ is short listed. It’s one of 63 songs in the race. Not nominated yet. It’s an English song.”
BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM
Mom was relaxed, dad was laughing!-Ajay Devgn
Oct 15th
NOTHING BUT THE BEST WILL DO: Ajay Devgn, used to intense action roles, returns to the comedy genre tomorrow with his new film
…Ajay Devgn is confident of his Diwali release All the Best
MARK MANUEL Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; October 15, 2009)
You would have thought, with two other big budget, multi-star films releasing tomorrow alongside his All the Best, Fun Begins…, producer-actor Ajay Devgn might be in an excitable state of nerves. Far from it! On Monday evening, when I met him at home over coffee, Ajay was uber cool. Also, sleepy. That’s because it was 8 pm and in the Devgn bungalow at JVPD, it’s lights out at 9. “My daughter Nysa won’t sleep without me,” said Ajay explaining the early nights. “But, yes, I saw the film again yesterday with family and friends who are absolutely honest in their criticism. And, from seven to 65, they were all laughing nonstop! My mother, who normally worries about my releases, was relaxed. And I’ve never seen my father laughing so much. So I’m quite confident the film will work.”
He’s busy dubbing for London Dreams with Salman Khan. And shooting with Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor for Rajniti. But it’s All the Best that Ajay is living right now. And happily for the producer in him, the book on this Devgn Films release is that it is a clean comedy that families can enjoy for Diwali, there are no double meaning dialogues at the cost of humour, the situations in the script are hilarious, the performances by Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Fardeen Khan and, well, Ajay himself are funny and riotous. “The film takes ten minutes to sink in,” Ajay revealed, “but from then on until the climax, you’ll laugh. There is an emotional moment in between. It’s needed. You take a rest in between laughing!” I understand the production of the film in Goa and Hyderabad was one big party. “We had a blast,” Ajay agreed, “this is a good team, and for 80 to 90 per cent of the film, all the characters are in every scene. Well, five are definitely there… and there are seven or eight characters. The climax has 20! All complement each other. When you are comfortable with your co-stars, when the entire cast understands that the film is the most important thing, then there is no stress. It’s team work. You can see that in All the Best. There’s great rapport between Sanju and me, Bips and I always get along well, Fardeen — I just got to know, but what a great guy he is, and Mugdha took just a day to get comfortable.”
Ajay is handsome in his praise for his director, Rohit Shetty, who apparently knows the pulse of comedies. “A comedy improvises,” said Ajay, “but how much works, when do you stop stretching it? Rohit has mastered the knack of entertaining audiences. He stopped well within the limit.”
And he’s also generous in his acknowledgement of Sanjay Dutt’s performance: “His best — after Munnabhai, what timing, but Sanju was behaving like a producer… he was more worried about the film than me!” His own performance, Ajay is naturally reluctant to discuss. From action and intense roles that won him two National Awards, he’s now doing comedies. “I’m honest at what I do,” he shrugged, “and I guess that works.”
It was getting onto 9 pm and Ajay was stubbing out his last cigarette when the door burst open. Little Nysa bounded in, cutely dressed for bed, but with a reserve amount of energy and mischief left in her to fuss over her father. “How long,” she demanded. “Five minutes, sweetheart,” the big Bollywood produceractor said unconvincingly. She picked up his phone meaningfully and began to fiddle with the keys. “Nysa… please, not my phone,” Ajay was pleading. “All the best,” I told him slipping out.
mark.manuel@timesgroup.com
Anil Kapoor miffed with National Awards?
Sep 12th
By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 12, 2009)
Although Anil Kapoor’s maiden production, Gandhi My Father, won three National awards (Feroz Abbas Khan for Best Screenplay, Darshan Jariwala for Best Supporting Actor and Special Jury Award), Anil is miffed about his film not bagging a major National Award. It niggles at him that Akshaye Khanna did not bag the Best Actor award. The buzz is that the actor-producer is so upset on missing out the major awards that he even skipped his close friends Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar’s bash on Thursday for the National Award winners. Actress Shefali Shah who did not win the award for Gandhi… but won one for The Last Lear attended the party. So did the Gandhi… director Feroz Khan. But Anil didn’t. Apparently, decades of proximity to Shabana and Javed were not a good enough reason to attend the party. When asked about it, Shabana said, “Anil couldn’t attend because he’s in Delhi for his daughter’s film’s shoot.” Considering that Anil is shuttling constantly between the two cities, it shouldn’t have been too difficult for him to catch a flight and attend the party, provided the touchy actor wanted to. According to friends, Anil feels snubbed by the National Awards. “He seriously wanted Akshaye Khanna to win the best actor for his film. Anil thought Akshaye was brilliant as Gandhiji’s wayward son, Harilal. Even Shefali who played Kasturba got the award for another film. So Anil isn’t too upbeat about the National Awards,” said a friend. When we asked Anil why he wasn’t present at the bash, Anil’s cryptic response was, “I was in Delhi for Aisha’s shoot.”
The bash at the Akhtars was attended by Yash Chopra and his wife Pam Chopra, Karan Johar, Vidya Balan and David Dhawan, along with Farhan and Zoya Akhtar. Shabana’s brother, Baba Azmi, who will soon direct a film for Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s production house with Harman Baweja in the lead, was also present. Pakistani musicians, Zeba and Haniya, sang for the gathering. The highlight of the evening was Shankar Mahadevan singing the award winning song Maa from Taare Zameen Par which had Javed sobbing like a baby. |
