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Posts tagged rabindranath tagore
Dibakar Banerjee opts for Rabindranath Tagore, Chopin music for his next
01 month ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; April 1, 2013)
In the day and age when raunchy item numbers rule the roost in Bollywood, Dibakar Banerjee is thinking thoda hatke. Going against the trend of having dance numbers, Dibakar, who is known for his risk- taking image in the industry, has instead opted to go experimental with the music in his next.
Our source says, “The director has done a short film for the first time with Bombay Talkies and he has used authentic music from both the East as well as the West. He has gone for Rabindratnath Tagore’s music and classic compositions by Chopin. Two different schools of music are coming together for the first time in an Indian film.”
Pooja Pradaan gears up for Bollywood with Sona Spa
02 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
BOMBAY TIMES (March 22, 2013)
Pooja Pradaan, who debuts with Naseeruddin Shah-starrer Sona Spa, which releases today, started as a model in Bangalore. She then moved to Delhi and later to Mumbai, when friends advised her that it was a better place to make a mark as a model and an actress. A post-graduate in Economics, she admits she was bitten by the acting bug early on. “I wanted to express more than I was doing. In Delhi, a writer-director friend introduced me to Arvind Gaur, who initiated me into street plays,” she recalls, adding that theatre was the next step. Months later she joined Salim Arif and Gulzar’s theatre group in Mumbai and acted in plays like Maati Kahe Kumhar Se, Atthanniyaan and Sunte Ho, which was based on Rabindranath Tagore’s Streer Potro.
Then Makarand Deshpande approached her asking if she’d be interested in doing a play with him. She jumped at the opportunity, even taking a break from modelling to focus on theatre. “Back then, he had just a concept — what if people could buy sleep? After six-seven shows, Makarand told us that the play would be made into a movie. My character Indira owns the sleeping spa,” she says.
Pooja wants to do content-driven films and the names she looks up to are Zeenat Aman and Smita Patil. “I can be bold and sophisticated like Zeenat Aman and want to do strong earthy roles like Smita Patil, who was a brilliant actress and also sexy without trying to be.”
Manoj Kumar to star in Kabuliwala
08 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Samata Joshi (DNA; September 12, 2012)
Manoj Kumar DNA Research N ArchivesActor-filmmaker Manoj Kumar, who recently celebrated his 75th birthday, has been approached by French-Afghan writer Atiq Rahimi for a contemporary take on the 1961 film, Kabuliwala. The movie was the big screen adaptation of author-poet Rabindranath Tagore’s acclaimed short story by the same name.
“Mr Rahimi wants me to act in the movie which will have the same script but will be set in the Afghanistan of today,” he smiles. When asked can we expect this film soon, he says, “Waqt se pehle aur kismet se zyada expect nahi karna chahiye. It’ll happen in due time.” Keeping the actor’s comfort in mind, the film will be shot in India. Kumar adds that the movie will have a universal appeal and will cater to audiences in both India and Afghanistan.
Known for his patriotic movies, the actor has earned the moniker of Mr Bharat. He was recently honoured by the ministry of information and culture of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for his contribution to cinema. “They came home and presented me with the award. It was like a token of love and respect for me and I am very touched,” says the veteran actor. “Receiving an award from a country that is itself going through turmoil is a big honour .”
Born in Abbottabad in the North-Western Frontier which is now in Pakistan, Kumar can also speak Pashto and has visited Afghanistan on a number of occasions. He is also looking forward to making films with his More >
I’d lost my power to concentrate-Sharmila Tagore
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Sharmila in a chat with Mirror, talks about life after Tiger, Saif-Kareena and other matters close to her heart
Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 5, 2012)
It’s been a roller coaster ride for the family ever since Mansur Ali Khan (Tiger) Pataudi passed away on September 22 last year. Despite not wanting to be crowned the next (tenth) nawab of Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan had to give in to the wishes of the people of the princely state. The hitherto chote nawab is acutely aware of the many responsibilities the title brings with it. Meanwhile, Sharmila Tagore stands on a bittersweet fork, between coping with the loss of her better half on the one hand and preparing for Saif’s and Soha’s impending marriages on the other.
How are you dealing with the changed circumstances? I really don’t know. Some days are okay, others are not so good. There are times when all that I shared with Tiger seems unreal. Initially, I had completely lost my power to concentrate on anything. At a film festival in Kolkata in November, it was an ordeal speaking even a few lines. I would forget what I was saying. The NDDC film festival in January was a shade better. Things have improved now.
One has to find ways of forgetting the pain… I read Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry on stage with Soumitra Chatterjee in January. It was enriching. I had never done anything on stage, where your performance gets an instant response from the audience. While shooting for a film, you only get the fragmented feedback of a More >
Suman Ghosh talks about Mithun-starrer Nobel Chor
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
The filmmaker speaks about his latest venture and why he feels it will attract the Bengali audience
Kevin Lobo (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 20, 2011)
After two films made for a niche audience (Podokkhep and Dwando) director Suman Ghosh brings together the two people Bengalis love most: Rabindranath Tagore and Mithun Chakraborty in his latest flick Nobel Chor. The film is a fictionalised account of what happened to Tagore’s Nobel prize which was stolen from Shantiniketan in 2004.
Was it difficult directing a star, after making niche films earlier? The first thing I did when I started direction this movie is to tell Mithun that I am a small director and that he will have to guide me. But Mithun turned that around and said that he is nothing more than an actor in the film. I really miss those days when we were shooting.
Did you have to keep Mithun’s signature dialogue delivery and mannerisms in check? It had to be muted for this movie but I didn’t have to ask him to do that. Mithun also comes from a small village, but he didn’t know how to play the character initially. He would come up to me and ask me a lot about the character.
I am surprised at Mithun’s memory. There was this man called Surja Santhal, who seemed similar to Bhanu. So he changed the style he walked in, the way he wiped his face. It really was quite something.
I’m sure there is a lot of hate for the person who stole the Nobel prize. Your film does not pass any judgments on the robber. Do you think this would More >
We’re more transparent than Americans-Sharmila Tagore
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Sharmila Tagore is only the second person to chair the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for two full terms. A three-month extension enabled the I&B ministry to find a successor, giving Tagore the distinction of the longest tenure in that office. The legendary actress, who debuted 52 years ago in Satyajit Ray’s “Apur Sansar”, continues her film career with the just released “Life Goes On”. She spoke to Ratnottama Sengupta on her last day in office at the CBFC. Excerpts:
Ratnottama Sengupta (THE TIMES OF INDIA; April 3, 2011) What do you think you achieved as CBFC chief and what have you learnt? • I realized that we’re far more transparent than the Americans. We speak to the press whenever they want to discuss a decision; we’re not “all white”’ nor all of “a certain age”. Their debate is about “why X, not A”; ours is about “why UA, not U”. Except for “Ghajini” which fell through the net, we give ‘UA’ if there’s violence, item songs, expletives… Tell me honestly, is “Kaminey” watchable by a 12-year-old?
Sometimes a single dialogue tarnishes the dignity of women. One character in “Raajneeti” gave the impression that every woman sleeps around to get a ticket (in elections). Sometimes friendly relations with a country can’t be jeopardized. As an insider, I understand the compulsions of both the industry and the audience. I also know that some people take advantage of our openness and go to the press for publicity. Still, and More >
Rituparno Ghosh’s narrow escape
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 22, 2011)
It was a close call for filmmaker-turned-actor Rituparno Ghosh.
Recently, while shooting for a screen adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Chitrangada in Kolkata, Rituparno was seriously injured when a camera fell straight on his forehead. Thankfully, he was shooting in a real hospital with real doctors.
A source explains what transpired, “It was a sequence showing Rituda being wheeled into the operation theatre.
Since Rituda is, for the first time, simultaneously directing and playing the lead, he was on the stretcher giving his shot and instructing the cameraman to take close-ups of his face.
This was when the camera fell on his forehead. There was blood all over his face.”
Rituparno was knocked unconscious.
But after a CT-scan, several tests and some stitches, he was declared out of danger.
Controversy over Raima and Riya Sen’s next film
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
By Subhash K. Jha, November 16, 2010 – 11:12 IST
Click above for more movie stillsThe lovely Sen sisters, Riya and Raima, are caught in a dilemma. The bone of contention between Ghai and Ghosh, and by extension involving Riya and Raima is the film that brings the two sisters together, a wide-screen adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s controversial novel Nauka Dubi which casts Raima and Riya in a bold wife-swapping tale.
In the novel, as too in Ghosh’s Hindi-Bengali adaptation, the two women protagonists played by Riya and Raima never come together, not even for a passing shot.
Apparently, Ghai who has produced the film, feels the audiences specially in the Hindi belt would feel cheated if the two hotties are not brought together at least once in the film.
Says a source, “Ghai belongs to the hardcore commercial school of filmmaking whereas Rituparno Ghosh’s sensitivities are far more arty. This is the first time that the two sisters Raima and Riya are coming together. Even in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s adaptation of Saratchandra’s Devdas the two female protagonists, rivals in love, came together although their paths never crossed in the novel.”
However Rituparno Ghosh won’t relent.
Protests Ghosh, “Why should Raima and Riya come together just because people expect them to? This is material from Rabindranath Tagore and therefore inviolable. I respect Sanjay Bhansali’s work. But that (Devdas) was his vision and interpretation. In my Naukadubi the two women More >