Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged Paa
Siddharth lets you be the way you are-Vidya Balan
03 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; January 31, 2013)
Vidya Balan, 34, may have been termed the ‘jinx factor’ at the start of her career, but today she has won the award for the best actress back-to-back four times, a feat achieved by none other. In an hour long conversation, she opens up to Bombay Times about her reasons for falling in love with Siddharth, her sister Priya, who is her hero, and the men who changed her life. Excerpts:
The obvious question first. Tell us about your love journey with your husband Siddharth Roy Kapur? We met for the first time at the Filmfare awards. I had won an award for Paa after which I got introduced to him for the first time. I had started shooting a day before for UTV’s No One Killed Jessica and knew of him, but had not met him till then. But we didn’t meet during the film. We met again much later and we started seeing each other even later. A live-in relationship is not for me. I did not see myself living in with Siddharth till we were married. He is my first serious relationship. Marriage was the most natural progression for us and it has happened and I am happy to be married. I don’t think marriage has changed me in any way, except that it allows me to wear the sindoor that I really enjoy wearing.
What attracted you to Siddharth? Apart from his looks… just the person he is. He is non-judgemental, which is rare. He lets people be. He is self-assured and is accepting of people the way they are. He is very easy to be around. He likes to have a More >
I knew I wanted to be with Siddharth-Vidya Balan
04 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
For the first time ever Vidya talks about marriage, husband Siddharth and the personal dynamics of a much in love power couple. Unearthing memories from a marriage album
Vivek Bhatia (FILMFARE; January 11, 2013)
Why were you so tight-lipped about your wedding plans? We are both private people and a wedding is a very personal moment. So we chose to keep it simple. There was never an intention to hide it but we didn’t want it to become a spectacle either. (Laughs) I want to share my joy with the world but it wasn’t humanly possible to invite everyone. But we hope we have everyone’s blessings.
Has marriage changed anything? (Laughs) It’s just been a couple of weeks, so I don’t think anything has changed. But I love being a newly-wed.
No, seriously… (Thinks) I’m no longer staying with my parents. That’s a major change. I’m going to miss waking up every morning and seeing my parents, my sister, brother-in-law and my twin niece and nephew. But my family stays close by; I can go and see them whenever I want. (Laughs) Every morning my niece and nephew would come running to me. But now I have someone else running into my arms.
What about Siddharth attracted you to him? The kind of person he is. (Winks) I won’t talk about the other things that attracted me to him. When things are meant to happen, they just do. That’s the most beautiful truth of life. We keep looking for things in life, whether it’s love or success, but when you’re least expecting it, your dreams walk in and embrace More >
Keeping personal, professional lifes different is bullshit-Gauri Shinde
08 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
They are long-time pals, husband-wife, and now squabbling producer-director. R Balki and Gauri Shinde on surviving English Vinglish
Anand Holla (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 23, 2012)
Making a film together as husband and wife isn’t a dream sequence. A disclaimer makes it all the more clear: Shooting their latest Sridevi-starrer English Vinglish was characterised by countless squabbles, not punch-drunk love. Maverick filmmaker and chairman of ad firm Lowe Lintas India, R Balki and wife Gauri Shinde, who have emerged largely unscathed from the toughest challenge put to their five-year-old marriage, say, “People imagine it’s easy for a couple to make a film. Actually, we wouldn’t recommend it.” Thankfully, their caution note isn’t as dark as their humour. Among several lessons co-filmmaking taught them, the grand one is this: Expectation is not just the mother of all disappointments, it’s also the spouse. Stroking his tousled beard, Balki says, “You expect a lot from your spouse. I expect her to understand and ignore my mistakes more than anybody would. If I slog my butt off, I expect her to acknowledge it with more empathy. She too expects me to be perfect. We have the right to extract the best from each other. This constant, contrary set of expectations is what blows things up.”
At their upbeat seventh-floor office at Bandra’s Waterfield Road, Shinde is zipping through rooms before extricating herself from promo work and slouching into a swivel chair next to Balki. “We are More >
Saif Ali Khan is the most stylish-Mamta Anand
08 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Publicity-shy Mamta Anand has been a designer for a decade, but this is her first interview
Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; September 9, 2012)
Mamta Anand, wife of film director Siddharth Anand, started her career as a fashion designer a decade ago and made her mark with her hubby’s film Salaam Namaste. She prefers to keep a low profile — the reason her name may not ring a bell among B-Town’s designer firmament
What are the highs and lows of your profession? Fortunately, I have not experienced too many lows. I have worked with Saif Ali Khan in Hum Tum, Aamir Khan in Fanaa and Abhishek Bachchan in Paa. When you work on a movie, the character brief is given to you. If I receive appreciation for my work, I get a high. After Salaam Namste, pink became a trend for men since we used it a lot for Saif.
Was it easy for you to get work as your husband Siddhath Anand is a director? In fact I met him on the sets of Hum Tum. He was assisting Kunal Kohli then. We started dating and got married later. Earlier I worked as a stylist for MTV. Eventually I got into films and did Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Paa and Mausam. When I design for his films, he gives inputs. But he doesn’t interfere with my work.
Do actors demand changes in the costumes? Yes, they do give their inputs; we have meetings with the director and actor and then start working. Fortunately most actors have repeated me in other projects. Shahid Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor and Aamir all have their own sense of style that I did not More >
Bollywood remembers Taruni Sachdev
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 16, 2012)
The sweet, impish, 14-year-old who followed a reluctant Auro (Amitabh Bachchan) all over the school campus in Paa, is no more. Taruni Sachdev’s death in an air crash on Monday has plunged filmmaker R Balki and his wife Gauri Shende into a state of shock.
Grief-stricken and disbelieving at the enormity of the tragedy, Balki said, “I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe Taruni is gone. She was quite simply the most versatile actress I’ve ever worked with.”
Balki, who has worked with the likes of Tabu, Vidya Balan and Arundhati Nag, said, “Taruni was like Sridevi. She would have a number of expressions to offer for every scene; each one more perfect than the earlier. On the sets of Paa, she was a natural leader among the kids. She could deliver her lines perfectly, without any fuss.” The director remembered the little girl wasn’t the least bit awed by Big B and simply sailed through her role.
Said Balki, “Taruni was a phenomenon of the ad world. Not just me, she had worked with every major ad director. And they would all tell you the same thing. She was one of a kind. Gauri and I had been working with her from the time she was six. She did numerous ads with us. She was amazing before the camera. She could grasp what was required of her even before she was fully told what to do. Why did this have to happen with her?”
Balki’s last memory of Taruni is the beautiful lampshade she presented the couple. “It is one of our most More >
‘Paa’ actor Taruni Sachdev dies in plane crash
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
THE TIMES OF INDIA (May 15, 2012)
Fate’s cruel hands crushed Taruni Sachdev’s dreams on Monday when a 20-seater plane slammed into a cliff in Jomsom, western Nepal killing thirteen Indians and two crew members. The 14-year-old child actress was last seen in the Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Paa’. Her mother Geetha Sachdev also died in the crash.
Besides the Hindi blockbuster, Tarunai also featured in two Malayalam films, ‘Vellinakshatram‘ and ‘Sathyam‘. Her last TV outing was as a participant on Shah Rukh Khan’s quiz show ‘Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?”. She had done many commercials including the popular Rasna ad.
As per the Indian embassy there were 21 people aboard out of which 16 were Indians. Those rescued included Sreekanth, aged between 35-40 years, and two girls – Sreevardhini (9) and Sreepada (6).
“The injured Indians are undergoing treatment at Manipal Hospital in Pokhara. The other 13 Indians are feared to be dead,” the embassy said in a statement.
Amitabh Bachchan has expressed shock over the death of child artist Taruni Sachdev, who played his school friend in Paa. “Just reading that Taruni Sachdev the girl child artist in Paa, has perished in Nepal plane crash. Please God may this not be true.”
Even Abhishek Bachchan also expressed his grief over the sudden demise of the chid actor. “Shocked and very saddened to hear about the Nepal plane crash. Lost 1 of my cutest co-stars. Little Taruni Sachdev from Paa. More >
Moulding Dharavi’s Bollywood dreams
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Mansi Choksi | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 26, 2012)
Tamatar Mandir, a Digene-pink shrine in Dharavi’s Shastri Nagar, was a spontaneous pile of waste till a woman stumbled upon a tomato with an image of Ganesh on it. The discovery prompted a god-fearing local corporator to clear the dump and establish a temple. But devotees who began streaming in were usually in pursuit of a nirvana more typical of Mumbai — a break in Bollywood. As it happens, Tamatar Mandir is advantageously pureed alongside Dharavi’s one and only, Baburao Ladsaheb’s Five Star Acting Classes. The shanty-turned-studio is a two-room house where chipped clapboards hang on fuchsia walls, a rusted key light stands alone, steel cupboards hide behind velvet curtains, a wall montage of a 101 facial expressions printed on glossy paper bewilders unsuspecting visitors and an easily angered woman in a floral nighty lords over the rattle of kitchen utensils. Every Sunday, from this humongous receptacle of aspirations known as Dharavi, a motley crew of men in ‘Guezz’ t-shirts, women with blonde streaks and animated children dragged in by optimistic mothers queue up to claim a ticket to Bollywood or its half-brother, the telly soap.
Baburao Ladsaheb, the marquee name adopted by Narayan Pundharik Lad, is the man who promises distinction to the star gazers. His fourcourse recipe to ‘make it’: acting, dancing, fighting and modelling. Sitting beside a crimson refrigerator— there’s nothing if not colour in this More >
Evolution of Maa to Mom in Bollywood
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
BOMBAY TIMES (May 8, 2011)
Mere Paas maa hain… Javed Akhtar’s famous dialogue had Indians hooked since Deewar released way back in 1975. More than three decades after this scene became a part of Bollywood folklore, things have changed manifold as far as the role of mothers go. Maa ke haath ka banaya hua kheer isn’t staple in this age of Brand Bollywood. But that does not mean this industry has forgotten maa totally.
The avatar of maa has undergone mammoth changes. Today’s sexy, bold and confident single moms — as played by Vidya Balan in Paa, Priyanka Chopra in Pyaar Impossible, Kajol in My Name is Khan and We Are Family, Lara Dutta in Partner and Preity Zinta in Jaan-E-Mann — has shifted the spotlight completely from a Nirupa Roy in a crumpled cotton saree shedding tears over her morally corrupt son on the wrong side of law. The cool moms, as played by these actresses, are all fiercely independent characters who are in complete control of their lives without their man. In an industry often accused of misogyny, this is possibly the most positive change that’s slowly gaining ground.
The increasingly discerning audiences are looking for variety in scripts and maturity in characters as much as the directors are writing roles keeping this wider horizon of New Age India in mind.
The biggest affirmation of this change is the fact that mainstream actresses like Kajol, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, Preity Zinta aren’t shying away from More >