Shilpa Shetty Kundra, the fitness conscious nay fitness freak diva of Bollywood had recently participated in the Saffolalife event on the eve of World Heart day Celebration in lieu with Chef Kunal Kapoor and VJ Cyrus Sahukar at Hotel Grand Hyatt in Santacruz, Mumbai.

What is your take on being a part of the celebration of Saffolalife’s event on the eve of World Heart Day?

I feel great and really excited to be a part of the Saffolalife endeavor that is inspiring people towards a better heart which in turn encourages them to live a healthy life through simple and small steps which are very enjoyable yet effective. Besides I personally believe that the most important thing is to choose a physical activity that works for you and your routine and one which can also lead you to make it a regular habit.

What was the turn of event that lead you to be a total conciseness of fitness?

The birth of my son Viaan Raj Kundra. That is when my disciplined approach towards fitness began. Prior to his birth I was hardly conscious of keeping myself fit & fine. At that time my fitness routine was limited to my profession as an actor. In fact I just used to love to gorge on junk food and eat about anything and everything. I often used to put on weight and then take refuge in workouts to loose my excess weight. But now its reverse. I have turned a total fitness freak and I also take great care of my dietary regime.

What kind of dietary habits one should adopt to always have a healthy heart?

First of all one should believe in the saying, one which is also backed by Saffolalife, “Eat your way to a healthy heart” which is not difficult to put into practise in our day to day life. I would say that the dietary habits are having more food comprising of fibre. Then one should also not skip a meal, no matter what, one should at least have small portions at the right and prescribed time and one should also not forget to drink a lot of water from time to time to ensure that our body remains fit and fine and our heart remains healthy. One more thing is that one should eat one’s food, no matter what you eat, by chewing it properly. One should not just eat in a hurry just to fill one’s tummy. But one should take enough time to chew the food so much so that our saliva gets properly mixed with the food we eat and which in turn will help in proper digestion. All said and done I am most happy that at least Saffolalife is inspiring people to take such small steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

What are the 3 Saffolalife mantras to have a healthy heart?

They are very simple and could always be adopted very easily. The mantras are 1) Eating Better 2) Staying Active and 3) Being Happy.

What is your personal mantra to have a healthy heart?

The following is not my mantra but something that I have come across and I also believe in it, “Eat your food as your medicines. Otherwise you have to
eat medicines as your food. And the 5 Best Doctors in the World are 1.Sunlight 2.Rest 3.Exercise 4.Diet and 5.Self Confidence

So all these proper fitness regime had inspired you to pen down your dietary rules and regime in “The Great Indian Diet”?

At one point of my life I had thought that something was going wrong and a lot of it has to do with what we eat. I was always meditating regularly and even used to practice yoga at least 5 time a week and I have also come out with a Yoga CD. I had started practising yoga since I was in the Big Brother’s house. So I thought why not a book on the Indian Diet and its rules and regime and the result was the book titled “The Great Indian Diet” and believe me both my Yoga CD and the book was really well received and they sold like hot cakes. But incidentally speaking I had co-written the book with a lifestyle coach and health expert Luke Coutinho. Oh My God!!! I feel as if I am promoting our book “The Great Indian Diet” once again and that too on the Saffolalife’s platform!!!

You had also taken part in Saffolalife’s other campaigns namely “Walk Together” & “Protect Her Heart” along with your better half Raj Kundra. How was your experience then?

The experience was no doubt superb and enlightening. You see every year Saffolalife comes up with newer campaigns to coincide with the World Heart Day. I just love to be a part of these campaigns which always urges people to take “Small Steps To Healthy Heart”. That apart these campaigns also helps us to know the benefits of being active and above all being happy. You see with our over demanding lifestyles these days, the one thing we can really do for ourselves is to choose our reactions to the things around us. I for myself think that it is all about finding joy in little things. Besides the Saffolalife campaigns, held every year, enlightens us how the simple act of being happy, laughing or simply spending quality time with your family can help in having a healthier heart and healthier life as well.

Nowadays you are seen as a small screen judge in Sony TV Channel’s Super Dancer. So what else is happening on your professional front.

Frankly speaking nothing much to speak about at the moment. I can’t even say that I am waiting for the right break with a meaty role, either on the big screen or the small screen. All that I am being offered these days are to judge reality shows. But honestly speaking how many such offers can one take on. But nevertheless I am happy doing what I am doing and I am really enjoying every moment of it. At the moment I am very happy judging Super Dancer along with Geeta Kapoor and Anurag Basu. Even the participating kids, even as small as 6 years, are phenomenal. They are just terrific and extremely talented. At the moment we are passing through the show’s newly attempted phase of “Grand Premiere”. But sadly enough this show will also come to an end soon with its “Grand Finale”.

Viacom18’s Rishtey Cineplex Now In Europe & North America

Viacom18 had announced its plans to launch its Hindi movie channel, Rishtey Cineplex in the international markets. Kicking off with high-impact launches in Europe & North America (US & Canada), the channel is an extension of the well-established Rishtey brand, and will be targeted at global film enthusiasts. It was launched in Europe on 29th Sept, 2016 and in North America in Oct, 2016. Rishtey Cineplex will appeal to the sensibilities of global film enthusiasts with its blockbuster content. The channel will showcase the best from Viacom18’s wide library of films as well as newly acquired movies from across genres. The channel will air audience favourites like, Bajirao Mastani, Airlift, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, Kapoor And Sons, Ki & Ka and upcoming films like, Force 2, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil amongst others.

Zee Classic Refreshes To Attract Mass Audiences

The Punit Goenka-led Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has got into a hyper-refresh mood, revamping its channels, one after the other. 1st, it announced the relaunch of Zindagi, and now it’s the turn of Zee Classic. Known for showcasing movies from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s & 90’s era, the channel is being revamped on 3rd Oct, 2016 with a new positioning & programming line-up. The reason: it has ambitious plans to expand its target audience, and thus its viewership. The management says it has come up with a disruptive programming idea: catalogue movies from each era into a separate time band. The channel claims that the Zee Classic is the 1st Indian Hindi movie channel to initiate this, and has roped in the Bollywood heartthrob Arjun Kapoor to be the channel’s ambassador.

Zeel Relaunches Zindagi With New Shows

Zeel relaunches Zindagi Channel with new shows; dual audio feedZee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s alternative Hindi GEC Zindagi, as announced earlier, is going in for a refresh. And in its new avatar Zindagi is rolling out a programming line-up consisting of South Korean, Latin American, Spanish Italian, Turkish and more home grown Indian shows from 3rd Oct, 2016. For the 1st time, it will be available with a dual audio feed – in English & Hindi. In another innovation, the channel will be streamed live on Periscope, along with the live television feed. The channel has garbaged the Pakistani shows for which it has been known. The new programs include a light-hearted Turkish drama, Little Lord at 7.30 pm, which is an endearing tale of a parent-child relationship seen through the lens of a 6 year old, Mehmet. And, the Turkish blockbuster Fatmagul is the story of an innocent girl whose fairytale life is turned into a nightmare when she is raped and is forced to marry the accused will continue to entertain viewers at 9.00 pm.

BARC India Ropes In Jamie Kenny

BARC India has appointed Jamie Kenny as the business head of its digital arm. The move is a part of BARC India’s plan of launching digital audience measurement in the country. Jamie has a distinguished career in digital measurement product rollouts from 18 countries spanning from New Zealand, Japan, China, India, Singapore and many more throughout Asia, EU, Latin & South America. Prior to joining BARC India, Kenny was working with Nielsen in America where he was responsible for strategic digital initiatives, new digital products, expansion & global digital rollouts, training technical client facing teams to support the rollouts on the ground in 10 countries around the world. He is an expert in the area of Digital Audience Measurement system and has diverse experience in multicultural markets.

NDTV 24 x7 Expands Its Presence

New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) on 26 Sept, 2016 announced the launch of its flagship channel, NDTV 24×7, on Singtel in Singapore. The company formally released the information of the launch of its Hindi news channel in Singapore to the BSE today. NDTV India is the other NDTV channel already available on Singtel. With this launch, the channel is expanding its presence in Singapore. NDTV’s 3rd channel in the portfolio is India’s 1st ever 2-in-1 channel NDTV Profit-NDTV Prime (business news & infotainment). The 3 channels target Indians across the global with news. NDTV has had a roller-coaster ride as a media company-turned-broadcaster in the last 25 years.

DD Allocates Rs 4.5 Lakhs For Handloom Programmes

6 kendras of Doordarshan will receive a total amount of Rs 4.5 lakhs for telecast of programmes relating to National Handloom Day celebrated by the Textiles Ministry last month. The decision to reimburse the 6 stations for varying amounts was taken on 22nd Sept, 2016. The ministry has already remitted a sum of Rs 16.38 lakh. The additional sanction follows a note sent by additional director-general (development communication division) Ranjan Mukherjee to director-general Supriya Sahu. The kendras & the amounts each will receive are: Mumbai & Hyderabad (Rs 1 lakh for 2 locations by each kendra); Varanasi (Rs 1 lakh for one local, studio & set); Chennai & Bhubaneshwar (Rs 50,000 each ); and Delhi (studio & set).

Venkatramani New NBA President

ABP News Network CEO Ashok Venkatramani has been elected as the new president of News Broadcasters Association (NBA). Venkatramani was earlier the vice-president & director on the board of NBA India.
Venkatramani has replaced India TV chairman & editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma. Sharma will however continue to be a board member. Venkatramani also chairs the sales & HR committee of NBA and has been with ABP since 2008. Prior to that, he was the vice-president & business head for the consumer goods firm Unilever in India for 18 years. The board has also elected India Today Group CEO Ashish Bagga as the vice president & Times Network MD & CEO M. K. Anand as the honorary treasurer.

NDTV Gets Slapped With Higher Tax Dues Notice

NDTV India’s tax woes continue. The news network which has been under the taxman’s scanner, received another order from the department raising the alleged tax dues from it. The income tax department had issued an order earlier this year claiming Rs 47.27 crore in unpaid taxes on an investment by Fuse + Media Holding (in the assessment year 2007-2008), calling it a sham transaction. On 20th Sept, NDTV received a revised order from the tax folks saying that it had mistakenly under-computed tax to the tune of Rs 12.71 crore under section 234 B for a lesser period for the same financial year and transaction. Hence, the dues claimable by the tax department stand enhanced by that amount, it says. NDTV today informed the Bombay stock exchange about this development but added that it strongly believes that the Order under section 147/143(3) is untenable & misconceived and it has already filed an appeal against it before Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).

Zindagi Expands Programming Duration

Zee Le Zindagi. Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel), Zindagi, positioned itself as a premium Hindi-Urdu channel. Launched in 2014 as the channel for broadcasting short-run programming, it is now expanding the duration of programmes from 26 episodes to 96 episodes. The channel has also changed its slogan from “Jode Dilo ko.” to “Yeh Lamha Hi Hai Zindagi.”

Eiffel Tower in Paris is the most iconic locale in Paris, the city that stands as a testimonial to romance, affection & memories. And for the 1st time ever, the Eiffel Tower, a monument that had 7 million people flocking to it every year, will host a truly unique film event.

On 10th Oct, 2016, Yash Raj Films will launch the trailer of Aditya Chopra’s Befikre at the Eiffel tower, creating cinema history. For the 1st time ever, a film event – across Hollywood, Indian cinema or European cinema – will be held at this globally recognized monument & universal symbol of love!

Ranveer Singh & Vaani Kapoor will turn up in style for this 1st of its kind evening, saluting a mint fresh, celebratory & youthful love story. Befikre by Aditya Chopra, captures the Parisian spirit of freedom & impulsive living. With this collaboration with French authorities, the Befikre trailer launch will set a new benchmark. In this evening, befittingly, cinema will have captured it’s own special moment in history and create an evergreen memory.

Director Vijay Comes Up With A Clean Film Again

Director Vijay’s Devi has achieved a clean U certificate from the Censor board officials. No cuts have been suggested in the film. Devi is the Tamil version of the tri-lingual directed by Vijay in Tamil, Telugu & Hindi. Veteran dance master, director & actor Prabhu Deva makes a comeback to Tamil films as an actor after 12 years. He has played the lead role along with Tamannah who has played the titular character. Sonu Sood, Sathish & RJ Balaji have played the important supporting roles. Sajid Wajid has rendered the musical score for the film. Prabhu Deva also makes his debut as a producer with this film which is all set to hit the screens on 7th Oct, 2016 for the long Aayudha Pooja festival holiday weekend.

Tamil Director’s One Sided Love Creates Havoc

An upcoming actress Athithi from Kerala has lodged a complaint with the Virugambakkam police station, Nadigar Sangam and the Chief Minister’s Cell alleging that director Saamy’s assistant Selva Kannan repeatedly tortured her driving her to attempt suicide.
Selva Kannan is directing a new movie titled Nedunalvaadai in which Athithi is playing the lead heroine role. According to reports the hero of the film made sexual advances towards Athithi and he was thrown out of the film. Then the director started pressuring her to marry him stating that he was madly in love with her. He had gone to the extent of locking her up in a room. Athithi had escaped to Kerala and after a few months returned for an ad shoot when Selva Kannan & his henchmen beat her up on the sets leading her to take the extreme step but was fortunately saved.

Sivakarthikeyan & Keerthy Suresh Go Abroad For Remo

There is a constant complaint from producers in Kollywood that some heroes & heroine never attend the promotions of their films. But Sivakarthikeyan & Keerthy Suresh are true professionals and they are ready to promote their films anywhere & everywhere.
RD Raja, the Producer of Remo has done everything big for his debut film as a producer right from the beginning. The film is all set to hit a huge number of screens across the globe on 7th Oct, 2016 and advance bookings have already started.
The film’s lead actors Sivakarthikeyan & Keerthy Suresh will be attending the Astro Deepavali Kondattam to be held in Klang city of Malaysia for Remo promotions.

Prabhas Joins Suriya In His Next Film!!!

Suriya is gearing up to begin his new film Thaana Serntha Koottam directed by Vignesh Sivan which is expected to co-star Keerthy Suresh & R. J. Balaji. Meanwhile, director Hari is busy giving the finishing touches to S3 in which Suriya reprises his role of super cop Duraisingham with Anushka as his wife & Shruti Haasan as a no nonsense journo. Unconfirmed sources suggest that Baahubali hero Prabhas is likely to put in a cameo appearance also in the role of a cop. It is said that this hot news is kept under wraps and will be known only after the release of the film. Well, it looks like we have to wait till 16th Dec, 2016 to know if this is true.

Manchu Manoj & Pragya Jaiswal Team Up For Gunturodu

Manchu Manoj, who is currently shooting for Okkadu Migilaadu, is simultaneously working for another movie. This film is titled Gunturodu and Pragya Jaiswal of Kanche fame romances the rocking star in it.
Apparently, the film is set in Guntur and it is going to be a full-on commercial entertainer. Satya is the director of this movie, produced by claps & whistles entertainment. About half of the film is said to have been completed and the makers are planning to release it in Dec, 2016. Pragya Jaiswal is also acting in Nagarjuna’s devotional film, Om Namo Venkateshaya, directed by K Raghavendra Rao.

Raashi Khanna Lands Another Tamil Movie

The much-happening Raashi Khanna is going places. This year has been special for her because of a hit in the form of Supreme. A day before the release of Ram-starrer Hyper, which is her another potential hit, she has signed up a 2nd Tamil movie this year. The project is that of R Ajay Gnanamuthu of Demonte Colony fame. The same will star Atharvaa in the role of a male lead. RD Rajasekhar will crank the camera. This is the 2nd film in her kitty days after signing up Siddharth-starrer Shaitan Ka Bachcha, directed by Karthik G Krish.

Tamannah In Trouble

Tamannah started this year in Kollywood with the critically acclaimed super hit Dharmadurai. Her next grand release will be Devi (Abhinetri in Telugu) which is a trilingual in Tamil, Telugu & Hindi languages. Recently the actress took part in the promotional event held in Chennai along with her co-star Prabhu Deva. RK Suresh, the producer of Dharmadurai, has lodged a complaint against Tamannah with the Nadigar Sangam. In his complaint, Suresh has alleged that Tamannah did not participate in the promotional event of his film, but she is taking part in those of Devi. He has urged the Sangam to take action against her “biased behavior”. Tamannah is yet to react to this complaint.

Ghatana Censor Done

Nithya Menen-starrer 22 Female Kottayam is dubbed into Telugu as Ghatana. The same is directed by Sripriya. Director Sripriya says, “This is my 2nd film in Telugu after Drushyam. The film drives home the message that women are not weak but powerful as a goddess. What a woman does when something observed in the society happens to her, is the subject. Nithya Menen has given a terrific performance.” Raj Kandukuri averred, “The film’s subject is very different. This is a subject nobody has touched upon in the past. The film deals with the subject of what problems women who go abroad to find jobs as nurses face. A woman was the apt one to deal with such a female-oriented subject.”

Announced At A Tribute Function Attended By M S Bitta Dr.Lokesh Muniji Mukesh Rishi Yogesh Kumar Shree Rajput Harshvardhan Joshi At Azad Maidan Jay Jawan Army Memorial.

More than 2000 people gathered at Azad Maidan Jay Jawan Army memorial to pay tribute to 18 army officers who lost their life in URI (Jammu & Kashmir) attack.It was headed by World Peace Ambassador & Founder of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni Ji, Chairman of All India Anti Terrorist Front M. S. Bitta & Founder Of Vishwa Jain Parishad Jain Acharya Shri Sagarchandra Sagar Surisvarji.The function was organised by SRK Foundation and Spread The Love Foundation.Founder of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni Ji & Founder Of Vishwa Jain Parishad Jain Acharya Shri Sagarchandra Sagar Surisvarji declare to give 5 Lakh to each family of Martyrs of URI.Dharam guru from different communities like Jainism,Parsee,Muslim,Hindu,Ch ristian etc came to be part of this event.M S Bitta also announced that the programme for giving donation to Martyrs family will be done with Acharya DR.Lokesh Muniji at Vigyan Bhawan,Delhi.Mukesh Rishi,Yogesh Kumar,Harshvardhan Joshi and Shree Rajput from Bollywood also participated in this event at Azad Maidan.

The sinister ploy to pack off Pakistani actors from Bollywood had gathered momentum earlier too but had fizzled out for some reason or the other. But this time around everyone has suddenly woken up and started debating once again over the topic of Country vs Art.

To give an example of filmmaking. Well! Here art & commercial filmmaking go hand in hand. So a filmmaker who claims that his films also have an elemental artistic value but the fact is that he always ends up making an out an out commercial film, now that’s besides the point.

But these sudden conscious awareness of Country vs Art is certainly not without any reason. It has all started off with Raj Thakrey’s MNS protest against Pakistani actors who are working in Bollywood more especially after the Uri attack on the Indian Army by none other than the so called terrorists.

So once again the current hot topic running in Bollywood over Pakistani actors is a hot & happening discussions for everyone these days.

Not only these all of a sudden the Indian Motion Pictures Association (IMPPA) too has recently banned a few Pakistani actors. Some Bollywood Celebs are in favor of this decision while some are not. And Salman Khan is certainly not!!! He has even given media bytes in their favor by stating, “Pakistani actors are definitely not terrorist. They come in our country with proper legal documents including work permits. So why blame the poor guys for the Border attacks & warfare, to the extent of packing them off to their country.”

Salman Khan had even gone to the extent of giving a call to Shri. Raj Thakrey to sort out the matter amicably, but he had got a very unresponsive response from Raj Thackrey in general and his office in particular.

In fact apart from Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan & Karan Johar many more Bollywood Celebs have adopted a very favorable attitude towards the so called Pakistani actors.

And as mentioned earlier such a thing has happened not only now but before also. So it is but natural that many more Celebs will come out in support of Pakistani actors.

To sum it up having a patriotic feeling for our Country is more than fair enough. But for a few terrorist attacks where is the point in hitting out at art (Films) & artistes? So what if these so called artistes belong to a different nation altogether.

Banner: S. K. Pictures Pvt Ltd
Producer: Sushikailash
Director: Israr Ahmed
Starcast: Yogesh Kumar, Madalasa Sharma, Jimmy Shergill, Hrishita Bhatt, Shagufta Ali, Shakti Kapoor et al
Music: Pramod Panth

Director Israr Ahmed has made a cocktail of yesteryears films and the main culprit for this seems to be the writer Aadesh Arjun who has not only borrowed the plot but also most of the dialogues, punches as well as most of the scenarios from the most popular films of yesteryears.

The scripted scenario of Dil Sala Sanki opens with a song & dance of Badal (Debutant Yogesh Kumar) who, since he was that high had been idolizing the most powerful Don Bachcha Babu (Jimmy Shergil) and by the time he grows up he becomes the Don’s trusted right hand man, in fact his Man Friday. And just then a new family of Sharmaji (Shakti Kapoor), his wife (Shagufta Ali) & their daughter Megha (Madalasa Sharma) arrives in the neighborhood and then it is just love at first sight for Badal. But Megha does not reciprocrate’s Badal’s advances mainly because Badal happens to be a criminal. And then tragedy strikes when Bachcha Babu’s wife accidently succumbs, or rather murdered by Bachcha Babu himself, in a kitchen fire. Later on he also expresses his desire to marry Megha. And when Badal tries to intervene as he loves Megha, the Don’s other goons beat him black & blue and he is left for dead. But Badal returns back to save Megha from the clutches of Bachcha Babu.

Director Israr Ahmed has taken over the directorial reigns from where the original director seems to have left off and Israr Ahmed has churned out a totally commercial venture which will be lapped up by the masses.

Performance wise Yogesh Kumar is the mainstay of the film and he has literally proved that he is indeed a “sanki” actor & performer who has really done well in both the action & the dance sequences. But he still needs to hone up his all round skills to go a long way in Bollywood. And the same holds true for Madalsa Sharma. While Jimmy Shergill, Hrishita Bhatt and veteran actors like Shakti Kapoor, Shagufta Ali are no doubt good and do their might in carrying the film forward.

Tail Piece: Dil Sala Sanki is a masala oriented, fairly entertaining film meant for the masses.

Banner: Anand Motion Pictures & Rashmi Sharma Films
Producers: Anand Pandit & Rashmi Sharma
Director: Krishnadev Yagnik
Starcast: Yash Soni, Ansh Bagri, Sanchay Goswami, Nimisha Mehta, Kinjal Rajpriya, Anuradha Mukherji & Sarabjit Bindra et al
Music: Bobby – Imraan

Nowadays regional film directors are tracking their way towards Bollywood. So after Marathi Film director Ravi Jadhav made his entry into Bollywood with Banjo this week, it is now the turn of Gujarati Film director Krishnadev Yagnik who makes his Bollywoodian debut with Days Of Tafree which happens to be a remake of his own superhit Gujarati film Chello Divas.

The scripted scenario of Days Of Tafree centers around 7 best friends namely Nikhil (Yash Soni), Vicky (Ansh Bagri), Suresh (Sanchay Goswami), Dhulla (Sarabjit Bindra), Pooja (Nimisha Mehta), Nisha (Kinjal Rajpriya) & Nisha (Anuradha Mukherjee) all of whom are busy enjoying their college life in Delhi. Their lives, loves, relationships which are mostly full of pranks & fun are explored until the last day (Chello Divas) of the College arrives and all the 7 friends are now all set to start a new chapter of their lives.

Debutant director Krishnadev Yagnik has made or rather remade a totally fun film, full of non-stop laughter & joi de vivre. In fact Days Of Tafree is a merry go round roller coaster ride of comedy. A special vote of thanks goes to the producers duo of Anand Pandit & Rashmi Sharma for joining hands to bring this lovely gift for the Hindi audiences.

Performance wise all the debutant actors like Yash Soni, Ansh Bagri, Sanchay Goswami, Nimisha Mehta, Kinjal Rajpriya, Anuradha Mukherji & Sarabjit Bindra et al have given off their “Best” to the best of their abilities and all of them indeed deserve full marks for that.

Tail Piece: Chello Divas nay Days Of Tafree is a very entertaining film for one & all.

Banner: Eros International
Producer: Krishika Lulla
Director: Ravi Jadhav
Starcast: Riteish Deshmukh, Nargis Fakhri, Dharmesh Yelande, Aditya Kumar, Ram Menon, Mahesh Shetty, Luke Kenny, Mohan Kapur et al
Music: Vishal–Shekhar

Ravi Jadhav, the well – known director of Marathi Cinema, now makes his debut in Bollywood. The conception of the story is good and the film could have turned out to be a good musical entertainer. But alas it was not to be so.

The scripted scenario of Banjo kickstarts with film the “musical introduction” of the Mumbai based Nandkishore aka Taraat (Riteish Deshmukh), an extraordinary banjo player who also doubles up as an extortionist for the sake of earning extra money. His Banjo band consists of 3 (part time) members named Grease (Dharmesh Yelande), Paper (Aditya Kumar) & Vaaja (Ram Menon). On the other side of the globe (New York, to be specific), exists an aspiring & spunky DJ Chris (Nargis Fakhri), who wants to enter a prestigious music championship. While she is searching for the right music as her entry in the championship, her Mumbai based friend (Luke Kenny) helps her by sending a recording of Taraat’s banjo performance during Ganeshotsav festival. Totally impressed by Taraat’s mesmerising tunes, Chris reaches Mumbai, in order to search for Taraat and his talented team members, as she wants to collaborate for a song with them as her entry in the music championship. In no time, Taraat unknowingly becomes Chris’ guide & friend in Mumbai. And while, doing so, he gradually falls in love with her. At the same time, Taraat and his gang refrain from revealing to Chris that they are banjo players, fearing insult & rejection from her. What they don’t realise however is that it is in search of their band for whom Chris has especially flown down to India. One fine day, when Chris gets to know about Taraat and his Banjo band, her happiness knows no bounds and she immediately starts jamming with them for her songs. Amidst all this, an unfortunate incident occurs that completely changes the lives of Taraat, his band members & Chris as well.

Director Ravi Jadhav’s directorial skills have gone awry because of the poorerst writing skills of Ravi Jadhav himself in tandem with
Kapil Sawant & Nikhil Mehrotra. Need I say anything more?

Performance wise Ritiesh Deshmukh has really worked wonders by literally getting into the skin of the character. Just watch out for his new avatar of a Banjo player dwelling in the grimy slums in lieu with his side job as a tapori extortionist and then he also showcases one more side of his as a silent lover. On the other hand, Nargis Fakhri delivers a convincing performance. The next in line superb performance comes from Luke Kenny in a believable role of a street smart musician. Some of the other actors like Dharmesh Yelande as Grease, Aditya Kumar as Paper, Ram Menon as Vaaja & Mahesh Shetty as Pakya are too good to be true.

Tail Piece: Banjo can very well be termed as an arty film lover’s delight and should be promising enough for the global film festival circuits. But its commercial prospects at the Box Office turnstiles are very bleak.

Banner: Fox Star Studios, Inspired Entertainment & Friday FilmWorks
Producer: Arun Pandey & Fox Star Studios
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Starcast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Disha Patani, Kiara Advani, Bhoomika Chawla, Anupam Kher et al.
Music: Amaal Mallik, Rochak Kohli & Sanjoy Chaudhary

Director Neeraj Pandey has proved his worth time & again with his flawless directional skills in scores of movies. And now he his back with his outstanding directorial venture namely M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story. So much so that after this film he may very well be crowned as the “Badshah Of Biopic” movies. Take a Bow Mr. Neeraj Pandey.

Fox Star Studios’ M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story is a film mainly about the untold & unknown aspects of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s life. The film starts off with the iconic match that took place between India & Sri Lanka on 2nd Apr, 2011. This is followed by a series of flashbacks into the life of M. S. Dhoni, who grows up with his passion of playing football. It is during one such match when his sports teacher spots his impeccable talent in goalkeeping. On his insistence, an initially reluctant Dhoni, then starts playing cricket. When Dhoni realises that he is only keeping wickets and not getting an opportunity to bat, he “creates an opportunity” and starts smashing the ball in all directions, thus, impressing one & all. Things, then, start gradually moving forward for Dhoni, who, after playing for a handful of Government organisations, lands up becoming a TC (Ticket Collector) at Kharagpur station and starts playing for the railways. As days pass, his job tires him physically & mentally too, leaving him limited time for cricket practice. When frustration reaches its peak in Dhoni’s mind, he quits his railway job and comes back home, something that extremely annoys his father (Anupam Kher). Amidst all this, when Dhoni gets a call from the selectors to play for India, he does not play well on the ground, despite that being his 1st ever international match. He however gets insipired on meeting Priyanka (Disha Patani) who boosts up his morale and Dhoni regains his form. Just when life starts blooming for Dhoni, both, professionally & personally, an unexpected tragedy buoys him down miserably. Around this time, Dhoni happens to meet Sakshi (Kiara Advani).

Director Neeraj Pandey has done full justice to this Dhoni Biopic. He promised to highlight “the untold story” about Dhoni, whose “private life” has been extremely guarded. The film is all about the trails, the tribulations, the challenges, the failures & the eventual success of Dhoni. And Neeraj does not let the viewers down. He delivers what he has promised. Besides the film remains clear of gossips, scandals & rumors in any form. In fact Neeraj has just presented the true sides of Dhoni’s life. And what a presentation!!! A special worthy mention also goes for the entire technical team. Take a Bow once again Mr. Neeraj Pandey.

Performance wise Sushant Singh Rajput is outstanding & brilliant to the core!!! In fact he is “MS Dhoni personified” in every frame of the film. He has given his all to make sure that his role as Dhoni simply remains “unforgettable” unlike his totally forgettable last outing namely Yashraj Films Detective Byomkesh Bakshi. While Disha Patani makes a picture perfect debut, but Kiara Advani is just about ok. On the other hand Bhumika Chawla enacting the role of Dhoni’s sister springs a pleasant surprise and that too when she has made her comeback to Bollywood after almost a decade. Welcome Back Bhumika!!! Anupam Kher in one word is “Superb”. That apart the entire supporting cast lends an adequate support and makes the film worth watching even more.

Tail Piece: M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story will hit many more centuries at the Box Office turnstiles. Besides In a nation where Bollywood & cricket are considered as religion, the amalgamation of both will really work wonders at the Box Office turnstiles. All in all M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story is a not to be missed film at any cost.