Posts tagged shabd

‘I Am’ is not about homosexuality-Onir

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2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

MM.com had an exclusive chat with filmmaker Onir on his latest film ‘I Am’, an alleged cold war with Rahul Bose, and what makes a film ‘commercial’

Varun Vazir | MM Online Bureau (May 02, 2011)

Onir, whose film I Am released last Friday, confesses that he did not have money to pay his actors yet managed to assemble a strong cast comprising Nandita Das, Juhi Chawla, Rahul Bose, Sanjay Suri and Abhimanyu Singh.

The film was shot in a mere 24 days at a budget of Rs 3 crores. Excerpts from an interview:

I Am released on Friday along with four other films. Does that make you apprehensive?

Each film is of a different genre and defines its own audience. Anything good will find its audience. Footfall in the theatres has been increasing as there is a good buzz surrounding the film.

How did you manage to assemble such a cast?

We did not have money to offer the actors. Each of the cast members did this film only because the script excited them.

Which is your favorite story out of the four?

‘I Am Megha’ is very special to me as it is based on the loss of home and identity. I was born and brought up in Bhutan and had to leave the country due to political situations. Loss of home is a subject that touches me personally.

Rahul Bose was annoyed with you because you used his kissing scene with Arjun Mathur for publicity.

Rahul and I have a different take on that. I feel a scene of two people kissing is a beautiful emotion. There is no drama between me and Rahul. We respect More >

Arjun signs PNC’s next

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2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in ,

Despite SRK’s and Karan Johar’s six-year-long war with Pritish Nandy Communications, Arjun Rampal chooses to sign Rangita Nandy’s next

Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 13, 2010)

This could well be out of the Mahabharata, where Arjun went against his own brothers, the Kauravas. Recently, Arjun Rampal signed his next with Pritish Nandy’s older son, Kushan Nandy, a film that will be made under the Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) banner.

On the surface, this may seem like any other piece of news but it isn’t. Arjun may argue that he was being professional in signing the project but his best buds Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar may not buy into that. For the past six years KJo and SRK have been at loggerheads with PNC.

That after so many years Arjun would go against his friends and sign a film with PNC comes as a huge shock to everyone connected with the SRK camp.

Reportedly, in 2004 during the private screening of one of PNC’s films, Shabd, Gauri Khan and Karan Johar came to watch the film with a friend. Pritish Nandy’s daughter Rangita Nandy had produced the film and she asked Gauri and KJo to leave. KJo, Gauri and later Shah Rukh were very upset with this treatment. They decided never to attend an awards ceremony that PNC used to host every year.

Our source says, “When the entire SRK clan banned the awards ceremony a lot of A-listers also abandoned the awards. As a result the ceremony eventually got cancelled.

This had colossal More >

Fenil’s Bollywood Talk # 89

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3 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

TWO THRILLERS RELEASING TOMORROW!

Following the debacle of last week’s Toh Baat Pakki and Click, all eyes now are on tomorrow’s two big releases, Karthik Calling Karthik (KCK) and Teen Patti (TP). After these films, there would be no biggie releasing till April end as it is (wrongly) assumed that people don’t go to theatres when IPL is going on!

My take on these two films:

KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK: The promos of this Farhan Akhtar-Deepika Padukone starrer has clicked with the youngsters. Also, the title of the film and that the protagonist in the film getting a call from himself has made everyone curious. “How can that happen?” they are asking themselves and will be surely catching the flick to get the answer! However, such kind of a psychological thriller might not be accepted by all, especially the masses. Till now very few films in this genre has succeeded (classic example-Bhool Bhulaiyaa). Hence, the commercial prospects for KCK shall be bright only if it gets a great response. It would surely get a better opening than Teen Patti, the other release.

TEEN PATTI: TP gives us a chance to see two ‘living legends’ together-Amitabh Bachchan and Sir Ben Kingsley! The plot seems similar to the Hollywood film 21 but the film has managed to make its presence felt. It also stars Madhavan and it marks the debut of Shakti Kapoor’s daughter Shraddha along with three other newcomers. If one goes by the promos, then the film seems to be a thrilling heluva ride. More >

Women on Top

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3 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

Amitabh Bachchan in Teen Patti, direcctor Leena Yadav and (left) producer Ambika Hinduja

Two women put together the pre-dominantly male dominated flick Teen Patti with panache

MEENA IYER Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; February 14, 2010)

Life is a gamble! But when you have Lady Luck (or two ladies) on your set, you’ve nothing to lose. No wonder, Bollywood’s biggest legend Amitabh Bachchan and Hollywood’s tour de force Sir Ben Kingsley feel that they are on a winning streak with Serendipity Films’ razor-sharp thriller Teen Patti.

This film, releasing on February 26, is produced by the attractive, petite Ambika Hinduja and is directed by the affable, nononsense Leena Yadav, who earlier made Shabd with Sanjay Dutt and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film also has Madhavan, Raima Sen and is introducing stardaughter Shraddha Kapoor (daughter of screen baddie Shakti Kapoor). Leena and Ambika are forces to reckon with in their own way. Of course, neither gives too much importance to their gender; they’re just competent people for whom this project perfectly fell in place. Says Leena, “I hate being asked ‘How does it feel like to be a woman filmmaker?’ How different can it be from being a male director? The film industry is an evolved place. In the last two decades the line between male/female filmmakers has blurred. Aparna Sen, Simi Garewal, Hema Malini, Kalpana Lajmi, Reema Kagti, Farah Khan, Nandita Das — the list of women who’ve ventured into filmmaking is growing. And the work More >

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