Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged newcomer
Please don’t call me a debutant-Kajal Aggarwal
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
South siren Kajal Agarwal, who is debuting opposite Ajay Devgn, is not taking it kindly that she is being viewed as a newcomer despite giving 15 hits Down Under
Prithwish Ganguly (BOMBAY TIMES; April 18, 2011)
Kajal Agarwal joins the long list of hotties who have joined Bollywood after a successful tryst in the South film industry. When they cross over, they are generally dubbed as debutants (remember Asin Thottumkal who won the Best Debut award for Ghajini despite having a string of hits in the South.) But Kajal wants the industry to look at her as a professional with truck loads of experience under her belt.
“Please don’t call me a debutant. I have many hits in the South and have made my mark before coming to Bollywood. I know people will perceive my first Hindi film (Singham opposite Ajay Devgn) as my debut but I’m hoping that they will see the hard work, professionalism and the acting I have put in the film. I just hope that they like my work. I’m giving it my all. I’m very excited to work in Bollywood and I want my debut to be memorable,” she says.
The actress, who says her sex appeal is in her eyes, adds that she would want to get recognition for her talent and not just her looks. Kajal says, “I became an actor because I loved the profession. As a professional, I essay a character as convincingly as possible in every film and that character need not be just about being glamourous on screen. I’m very happy with the role of my More >
Rana-Shriya split (?); Bips speaks on link-up with Rana
02 years ago
Bipasha denies being with him, but his girlfriend of five years has walked away
Prithwish Ganguly (BOMBAY TIMES; March 26, 2011) South siren Shriya Saran and Rana Daggubati have split. The decision to break their five-year-old relationship (they managed to keep it discreet for the first three years) came after Shriya learnt about his proximity to Bipasha Basu during the shooting of Dum Maaro Dum, in which he debuts in Bollywood.
Shriya lost trust in her man after rumours of Rana-Bips first surfaced. Then came news of the Bips-John split and her worst fears were confirmed. An insider says, “Though Shriya and Rana never made their relationship public, everyone knew about it. It was understood that they would end up together someday. However, Rana started getting close to Bipasha and that’s when Shriya decided to end the relationship rather than wait around for him to outgrow his infatuation. Shriya and Rana are not even on talking terms anymore, even though she is still close to his family.”
BIPS SPEAK Says Bipasha, “It’s preposterous! Surely a gimmick of some sorts. Rana isn’t even my 3 am friend as reported. God knows where all this is coming from… give me a break and some respect, please! Sometimes it’s tiring to know about your own self through papers. Bizarre! Rana is a newcomer who is paired opposite me just like Ranbir Kapoor was in Bachna Ae Haseeno and Neil Nitin Mukesh was in Aa Dekhe Zara. I believe in making a newcomer More >
“Yes I want to be Kareena Kapoor Khan!”
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
BOMBAY TIMES (March 25, 2011)
She’s been in the industry for a decade and is unquestionably the reigning queen of Bollywood. In an exclusive interview with Madhureeta Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor talks about the Bollywood race, friends and foes, all the Khans, and the most special one. Read on…
Many actresses of your league are not in the running, what keeps you on your toes? My work is my passion. It’s the only thing I have been doing for 365 days a year. I am proud to say that and I will probably act all my life.
Do you think the industry is gender biased? Women oriented films do well to a certain extent, but they do not give you super stardom. I balance it out with a full-blown masala flick like Golmaal 3. I really don’t need to do an offbeat film to show my skills as an actor.
How far would you go for a role with Tom Cruise? I wouldn’t go anywhere for him. I think Shah Rukh is our answer to Tom Cruise. For me he is bigger than Tom Cruise. And talking of Hollywood, I don’t like doing things that I will not be able to do. To get a role there you have to give screen tests, park yourself there for about 7-8 months, and then maybe you’ll get a two-bit role. I’d rather enjoy the best of Bollywood.
You keep calling Aamir the ‘God of Acting’? Don’t the other Khans feel offended? No. Both Saif and I are very close to Shah Rukh and we’ve been friends with him even before we were together. Shah Rukh’s friendships start from Gauri, but I’m crazy about More >
Dhoom 3: Aditya’s teenage fixation!
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Is the reclusive filmmaker finding a new face opposite Aamir?
Meena Iyer | TNN (BOMBAY TIMES; February 14, 2011)
Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Freida Pinto are reportedly waiting for their phone to ring. They are said to be desperate to bag the female lead opposite Aamir Khan in Aditya Chopra’s Dhoom 3. But will they? The Yashraj spokesperson told a trade paper, “We are still in conversation with various artistes. No actor has been locked yet.”
Trade sources indicate that there is a certain truth in this statement because according to the grapevine, Adi is very keen to have an 18 to 20 year-old play the role of Aamir’s moll. Adi and Aamir have been in talks about how a fresh face with a striking body would ideally fit the bill for the role essayed by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Dhoom 2. A B-town insider, who bumped into Dhoom 3 director Vijay Krishna Acharya or Victor as his friends call him, apparently heard from him that a teenager is being considered. Our source says, “Adi feels that someone very young and fresh with no inhibitions about kissing and wearing skimpy clothes may actually be the ideal candidate.”
Remember how Ash reportedly had the Bachchans in a flux when they saw her skimpy wardrobe in Dhoom-2.
In other words, whoever the girl is, new or established, she’ll have to machao Dhoom.
Jessica revealed
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 05, 2011)
The best-kept secret is finally out. Speculation about who will play Jessica Lal in No One Killed Jessica is over.
A model called Myra will play the role in the film. The director Rajkumar Gupta met Myra Kam at a coffee shop and finalised her for the film.
Myra (encircled) plays Jessica Lal in No One Killed JessicaOur source said, “It is something that the producers and the director did not want to reveal till the time the film was released in theatres. Considering Myra is a newcomer, no one predicted people would get to know about it.
In fact, no one in the production house has any details about her apart from the fact that Rajkumar met her somewhere and offered her the film. He thought she had the looks and the character to play Jessica. No one even knows what her full name is.”
When contacted, the official spokesperson of the film refused to comment on the story and said, “Wait for the film to be released.”
Film Federation bans Javed Akhtar
12 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Riled by his lobbying for more royalties for singers, composers and lyricists, the Film Federation of India has slammed a ban on the famed lyricist
Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 24, 2010)
The film industry is known for being one big family. But after the copyright issue, in which famed lyricist Javed Akhtar lobbied in parliament for the rights of writers and singers, a visible crack has appeared in this façade of camaraderie.
The Film Federation of India, the mother body of all film associations, has “advised members of the film federation to not employ the services” of the iconic writer. The decision was taken yesterday morning in Chennai by its newly elected president, T.P. Agrawal.
When contacted Agrawal put it mildly, saying, “Yes, it is true. We have advised members of the film federation to ban Mr Javed Akhtar till the time that this entire copyrights issue is sorted. Our whole point is that the producer is the one who takes the entire risk.
If Javed Akhtar wants a percentage as royalty, then he should also be liable to incur a percentage of the losses, if any. If we agree to one such demand, then tomorrow the singer will come up, then the music composer, and then the actor and so on.
What will the producer do and how will he make films? The producer won’t be able to make any money. I just want to say that if you want royalty, then don’t take our money. Merely let’s work as a partnership and also share the losses, if More >
Quality films, not number of films matter to me-Anushka Sharma
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Anushka Sharma speaks to BT about films, fashion and traces her journey in Bollywood while revealing if love-life rumours have taken a toll on her
Aparna Phadke (BOMBAY TIMES; December 2, 2010)
She’s fresh, perky and confident – exactly the blend of qualities that B-town needs. And ahead of the release of her third film, you can sense the excitement in Anushka Sharma’s voice when she says, “My first character Taani (in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi) and my second Bulbul (in Badmaash Company) were diametrically different, and both were loved by the audiences. So, I do hope people would love me in my forthcoming film.”MOVIE MAGIC The actress, who wowed everybody with her confidence in her debut film Rab Ne…, is now all set to work her charm with newcomer, Ranveer Singh. She says, “I’ve worked with SRK, Akshay Kumar and Shahid Kapur, and working with experienced actors proved to be of immense help to me. Also, the buzz such films generate is instant because of their huge star power. That said, working with Ranveer did not ever worry me just because he’s a newcomer. He was taken because he suited the character and I think when people see the film, they’ll agree too.” And her role, too, is supposed to be very different in the film. She says, “I play a wedding planner, who’s in Delhi. Although I am from Bangalore, when I spent some time in Delhi and picked up the nuances in accent and the style of the Delhi girls since I am good at observing More >
YRF’s next starring Shraddha shot inside Studio canteen
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
A new division of YRF films shot a major portion of their next Girls Just Wanna Have Fun around the YRF canteen
Sonal Chawla (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 11, 2010)
In a historical move of sorts, Yash Raj Films has chosen not to shoot at lavish outdoor locations in one of their forthcoming projects.
And that’s not all. For shooting a major section of one of their forthcoming projects, they chose not to step out of the YRF premises at all; they built the sets at the YRF canteen!
Sounds odd, doesn’t it? Yash Raj’s new division of youth movies called Y Films has finished shooting its first project Girls Just Wanna Have Fun… at the YRF canteen. The makers of the film created a set that resembled a college and shot most of the film right there.
Shraddha Kapoor and five other newcomers star in the film.
A source from the unit reveals, “The movie is about college life and relationships. A college set was put up in the cafeteria and around 35 days of the film were shot in the cafeteria. The shoot was wrapped up within two months.”
Without divulging any information on the sets, the official spokesperson for Yash Raj said, “The film being produced by our youth films division, is still untitled and yes, Shraddha Kapoor is playing a significant role in it.”