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Posts tagged NIRMAL PANDEY
Movie Review: VIKALP by TARAN ADARSH
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in External Reviews
By Taran Adarsh, January 7, 2011 – 12:27 IST
This is something I fail to understand. Why do interesting ideas or one-page concepts fail to translate into a fascinating and captivating screenplay? I can list a number of films that boasted of attention-grabbing stories, but the excitement disappears as you watch the reels unfold. VIKALP, directed by Sachin P. Karande, suffers for this reason.
The Australian mini-series BANGKOK HILTON [1989] is fresh to this date. In Bollywood, the most famous interpretation of the mini-series remains GUMRAH [Sridevi, Sanjay Dutt]. VIKALP doesn’t really borrow from BANGKOK HILTON, but you can draw parallels with the plot. Besides, VIKALP also talks of hacking and terrorism, so that makes it all the more interesting.
BY BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COMSo what’s the problem? Well, the writer seems clueless when it comes to doing justice to the subject material. What could’ve been a taut edge-of-the-seat thriller becomes a tame, bland and amateurish attempt in its latter reels. In fact, the sequences leading to the finale and also the conclusion of the film throw a spanner in the works.
Rishika Gandhi [Deepal Shaw], a docile, middle class girl from an orphanage, is a sort of prodigy in the field of computer education. She works in an IT company in Mumbai. Some goof up happens and she resigns from her job. At the same time, her personal life too gets a jolt from the blue when her boyfriend’s family accuses her of using their son More >
Movie Review: LAHORE by TARAN ADARSH
03 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in External Reviews
By Taran Adarsh, March 17, 2010 – 16:11 IST
A title like LAHORE gives you the feeling that it’s an Indo-Pak story. The fact is, it is, but it’s about kick-boxing, a sport that hasn’t been presented on celluloid before, at least on the Hindi screen. Cricket, boxing, hockey and football have found their way on the Hindi screen, but kick-boxing, not to my knowledge.
Sure, there are references to the precarious Indo-Pak relations in a few sequences, but let’s get one thing clear. This is not a ‘war film’. There’s no slogan-shouting or Pak-bashing here. There’s no jingoism either. In fact, the culmination to the story — a shocker, which is sure to raise eyebrows — is absolutely outstanding and will work with both the nations.
BY BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COMLAHORE isn’t about kick-boxing only. It’s about relationships — between two nations and also between two brothers — with a strong undercurrent of emotions. It’s the emotional quotient, besides the penultimate do-or-die match, that tilts things in its favour.
Final word? Take a trip to LAHORE. If you’re a sportsman or even if you’re not, catch this one for sure!
The selection of the Indian kick-boxing team is to be done. The final stage of qualification is in process. Amidst all this there is a minister [K. Jeeva], who wants his favourite participant to be selected; a coach [Farooque Shaikh], who wants merit to be the order of the day; an aspirant [Sushant Singh], who dreams to qualify purely on the basis of More >
Fenil’s Bollywood Talk # 92
03 years ago
THREE INTERESTING FILMS THIS WEEKEND! Tomorrow, three small-budget but very interesting films are all set to hit the screens. My take:
LOVE SEX AUR DHOKHA: The film has a title which more than half of the population would hesitate mentioning! Thankfully, to make things easier, the makers of the film has emphasized more on the abbreviation of the title-LSD! India’s first digital film, LSD is based on a voyeurism and from the promos it seems to be a truly path-breaking film. The film has no famous actor at all and yet the film has scored because of its title, theme and promos. Also it is directed by Dibakar Banerjee who has impressed many by his last 2 films-Khosla Ka Ghosla and ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!’. However, LSD is a completely new territory and there are high chances that the makers might not come with a film that meets the expectations. Let’s hope for the best!
SHAAPIT: Vikram Bhatt is back after the successful 1920 with another horror flick, Shaapit. It marks the acting debut of Aditya Narayan and also television actress Shweta Agarwal. Promotion could have been better but still the film has made many curious. Also it has Aditya who has a considerable fan following. Like for every other film, Shaapit needs to be well-made to get box office success. 1920 also had newcomers and it clicked wonderfully with the audience and was a hit too. And the same is expected from Shaapit too. It would definitely get the best opening out of the three!
LAHORE: More >
The film chose Me-Aanaahad
03 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Debutante Aanaahad has won Best Actor awards for his role as a kickboxer
DEEPALI DHINGRA Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; March 11, 2010)
Probably the most difficult thing for Aanaahad, the lead actor of Warner Bros and Sai Om Film’s Lahore, was to become a non-vegetarian! “I play a kickboxer in the film,” says the 25-year-old newcomer, “The requirement of the role was that I look fit, flexible and lean.” So the actor spent six months in China to train in Wu Shu, a form of martial arts. “Ab China mein main kahaan vegetarian food dhoondta. So I started with fish and graduated to other stuff,” he smiles.
The film has taken three years of Aanaahad’s life, but the actor couldn’t be more grateful. “I was in college in Delhi when I realised my calling was acting. I came to Mumbai and started assisting a director. Here I met director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan who narrated the script of Lahore to me,” says Aanaahad. And the rest is, well not history, but it certainly opened up a whole new world for the actor. Along with learning martial arts for a period of almost two years, Aanaahad got a chance to work with veteran actors like Farooque Shaikh, Nirmal Pandey, Sushant Singh, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Saurabh Shukla. “From Farooque sir, I learnt that if you want to be successful, you should do your work with complete honesty,” says the actor.
The honesty certainly seems to have shone through. The film has garnered critical acclaim in film More >
Nirmal’s journey began in Chambal, ended in Lahore…
03 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Nirmal Pandey has been synonymous to many as Vikram Mallah from Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen. But a few know that the intense actor, who passed away recently, apparently happens to be the only Indian actor to have won a Best Actress Award! Yes, he won the Best Actress Award for his performance as a transvestite in Amol Palekar’s Daayraa. Unfortunately, the great actor who began his journey in Chambal, ends it in Lahore. Reminiscing the time spent with Nirmal, director of Lahore, Sanjay Puran Singh said, “I found Nirmal as the one of the most jovial persons in the industry. He was always supportive and never had any attitude issues. When you are a debutant filmmaker it gets difficult to deal with established actors, but with Nirmal, I never faced that.” Adding further, Sanjay said, “Nirmal was very keen on watching the film. In fact, we were to meet on the weekend for a special screening of Lahore. It’s sad to say, but an actor of his stature couldn’t live to see his own great performance!” Reacting to the sudden demise of Nirmal, his co-star from the film, Saurabh Shukla said, “It’s come as a shocker to me. Life is so very uncertain. I have known Nirmal for the last 20 years, but we could never work together. I was lucky to get Lahore and enjoyed every bit of the time spent with him on the sets!”
BOMBAY TIMES (February 23, 2010)
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 >
Nirmal Pandey dies
03 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
The sudden demise of the 48-year-old actor has shocked his friends in the industry
By Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 19, 2010)
Nirmal Pandey, who came into prominence with his roles in Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin and Bandit Queen, passed away yesterday afternoon following a massive heart attack. He was 48 years old.
An official from the hospital in Andheri East where he was brought in a critical condition, told Mumbai Mirror yesterday evening, “Actually, Nirmal was almost dead when he was brought to our hospital around 3.15 pm. He was completely unconscious and his vital parameters were almost at zero level.”
The hospital official added that they might do a post-mortem, if Nirmal’s relatives allowed it. “We have not taken a decision yet.” Nirmal had married writer Kausar Munir in 1997, but they reportedly separated a few years later.
Shekhar Kapoor, who directed Nirmal in Bandit Queen, was shell shocked. “That’s terrible news. I have some very fond memories of Nirmal.”
File picture of Nirmal Pandey (centre)Nirmal was last seen in the Telugu movie Kedi, starring Nagarjuna, which released last week. In fact, today Nirmal was supposed to shoot for Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan’s film Lahore.
Said a shaken Chauhan, “He was to spend the whole of Friday and Saturday with me.”
Chauhan further said that Nirmal was quite happy in life. “Nirmal had settled down and married a girl called Archana after his divorce from his first wife, Kausar Munir. I am More >
Actor Nirmal Pandey passes away
03 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
By Bollywood Hungama News Network, February 18, 2010 – 18:28 IST
Actor Nirmal Pandey passed away today afternoon.
Nirmal, a graduate from the National School of Drama, is known for his performances in films like Bandit Queen, Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Godmother and Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya amongst many others. His next release is Lahore which comes out next month.
Pandey, reportedly, suffered a major heart attack which caused his unfortunate demise.
We at Bollywood Hungama offer our humblest condolences to the actor’s family and friends.
BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM