Culture & Society

"My debut film 'Lucknowi Ishq' is a clean romantic film retaining the Lucknowi tehzeeb": Anand Raut

March 3, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

An interview with débutante director Anand Raut

Débutante director Anand Raut, a reputed theatre persona, hails from Ranchi, Jharkhand. After winning lots of accolades & critical acclaim in the theatrical arena in Ranchi, Jharkhand it was but natural that Anand Raut headed straight for the Mekkah of Bollywood in Mumbai. And in a short span of time he has succeeded in rolling out a Nawabi romantic recipe in the form of his debut offering named ‘Lucknowi Ishq’. Which is now being planned as a New Year’s release in the 1st week of Jan, 2015.

Are you confident that your debut directorial Nawabi recipe named ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ will be received well by cine goers all over?

If you are trying to compare my film ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ with Yashjraj Films ‘Dawat – E – Ishq’. Then rest assured that my film ‘Lucknowi ishq’ will be well received by the audiences all over as I have made a very clean romantic film based on the love story of Gen X especially based in Lucknow. But of course I have tried to retain the Lucknowi Tehzeeb. Believe me ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ is a purely Lucknowi love story well within modesty and not like a typical Mumbaiyya love story mostly bordering on immodesty.

So what is this pure ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ all about?

Well! ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ will depict the love story of a Doctor who loses everything for the sake of his love. The 1st half of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ deals with the one sided love of the Doctor for his so called beloved and the 2nd half of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ deals with the one sided love of the Doctor’s beloved for him and how they ultimately unite in the bonds of love forms the crux of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’.

What according to you are the highlights of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’?

The main highlights of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ will be its high on adrenaline romantic twist in the climax besides its Lucknowi college romance which will be an eye opener and refresh the memory of yesteryear’s films like ‘Palki’, ‘Mere Mehboob’ and others of its ilk. That apart my hero Adhyayan Suman & heroine Karishma Kotak will be seen in a brand new avatar of Muslim lover boy & Muslim lover girl.

So what’s next on your filmmaking agenda after ‘lucknowi Ishq’?

First & foremost I am too busy in the preparation of the release of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’. But of course I am already on to my next project, the pre – production of which is already underway. It will be an out & out commercial venture, a sort of high octane action drama probably featuring either Ajay Devgn or John Abraham. Talks are already on with them to lure one of the star in the project. That’s it.

"Our Fillm 'Rang-E-Ishq' Is An Unusal Triangular Love Story": Jayveer Panghaal

March 3, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

A Face To Face Encounter With Producer Jayveer Panghaal & Distributor Shakeel Hashmi.

L-R: Shakeel Hashmi and Jayveer Panghaal.

When two diverse personalities like producer Jayveer Panghaal & distributor Shakeel Hashmi join hands they create a cinematic magic. Producer Jayveer Panghaal is a débutante entrant in the field of filmmaking while distributor Shakeel Hashmi has already proved his expertise & versatility in the distribution arena. And now Jayveer Panghaal & Shakeel Hashmi are all set to spread the colors of love, their latest offering symbolically named ‘Rang-E-Ishq’, on the celluloid silver screen on 27th Mar, 2015. This sweet, simple & innocent triangular love story in tandem with its positive & negative shades will keep, both the Multiplex & Single Screen, audiences spell bound till “The End”, especially towards the climax when they will be stunned & shockingly surprised by ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s unusual & unbelievable twists & turns. Present herewith is joint interactive session with the duo.

Shaheen: So let’s start off with both of you giving your brief introduction.

Jayveer: I hail from UP and had made my humble beginning as a steward and then graduated as a Director in Sales & Marketing in the corporate world. Academically speaking I have done Hotel Management from Nainital. Then I acquired my MBA degree from MET University. But I always had this passion for filmmaking as my favorite director is Vishal Bhardwaj and I am a big fan of his realistic films.

Shakeel: I am a North Indian guy also hailing from Uttar Pradesh. I first stepped into Bollywood in the advertising arena. And after gaining expertise I slowly & steadily inched myself into the distribution arena. And now by the grace of Allah – The Almighty I am considered a master of sorts in both the arenas of advertising & distribution.

Shaheen: How did the two of you meet?

Jayveer: Actually speaking I always wanted to be a writer, having written a lot of scripts, but I knew that I would have to struggle like hell to be a writer. So I did the next best thing that is to pursue my passion for filmmaking and the result is my debut film ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ which is all set to release on 27th Mar, 2015. And when the film was ready I was on the look out for a genuine & sincere distributor to get a proper release outlet for my film ‘Rang-E-Ishq’. To be very frank I had heard a lot of Bollywoodian stories on how the distributors take the producers for a merry go ride and cheat them out on their last penny. Anyways one of our common acquaintance suggested Shakeel Hashmi’s name and when I met him all my fears were laid to rest as I found him to be a very honest, sincere & unassuming guy. Instead of discussing about the monetary aspects Shakeel was more interested in knowing about the minutest details of the project, that is about my sorry now our film ‘Rang-E-Ishq’. In fact now I am already thinking on the lines of doing my sorry our next project together.

Shakeel: Yeah! That’s right. One of our common acquaintance gave us a mutual introduction. And on meeting him I found him to be a thorough gentlemen with picture perfect precise ideas. Our chemistry matched spot on although I had taken him to be an arty kind of film festival circuit producer in our initial meeting and when he had told me that his film’s name was ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ I had a hearty laugh as most of the film’s I am distributing of late has a fixture of the word “Ishq” in its title like my upcoming film ‘Lucknowi Ishq’, I think the word “Ishq” is proving very lucky for my distribution concern “Big Curtains Media”. So when Jayveer showed me ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s promos & songs I was floored and took an on the spot decision to be a part of it.

Shaheen: What according to both of you is the story of ‘Rang-E-Ishq’?

Jayveer: ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ is a an unusual triangular love story of a good boy, a good girl and a bad boy. The good boy is a happy go lucky boy more interested in doing social service. The good girl is a school teacher. So when the good boy sees the good girl he falls madly in love with her to a point of no return. And then the bad boy, who is a psycho – a terror in short a bad villain enters the picture perfect love scenario, the loving couple’s apple cart of happiness is overturned as the bad boy also falls in love with the good girl that too beyond redemption. That’s it and to stumble upon the unusual & unbelievable climax you will have to take a stroll in your nearest Multiplex or Single Screen Cinema when the colors of love will be spread, I mean ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ will be released on 27th Mar, 2015.

Shakeel: Jayveer has already given you an insight on the plot scenario of ‘Rang-E-Ishq’. So now I will give an insight on ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s USP. ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ has everything for everyone, for people of all ages and all walks of life. It has romance, emotions, action et al in fact all the ingredients of a commercial potboiler in lieu with the melodious & mellifluous songs. This sweet, simple & innocent triangular love story in tandem with its positive & negative shades will keep, both the Multiplex & Single Screen, audiences spell bound till “The End”, especially towards the climax when they will be stunned & shockingly surprised by ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s unusual & unbelievable twists & turns. Not to forget the brilliant performances of its trio of actors like Mujahid Khan, Kavya Khan & Deepak Kumar.

Shaheen: One last question! Do both of you have any directional plans for future?

Jayveer: Of course I will direct my own films from my own scripts but it is too soon to make any directional plans, let me first pick up some more coordination & directional tips before I set off to wield the megaphone.

Shakeel: No Shaheen Bhai not so soon. As of now I have no directional plans. Right now I am too busy, I would say rather over busy in the operational activities of my advertising & distribution concern namely Big Curtains Media.

"I have no regrets whatsoever as I firmly & strongly feel & believe that my "best" is yet to come": Ashmit Patel

March 2, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

by Shaheen Raaj

Ashmit Patel happens to be a cool and chilled out dude. He is an unassuming guy who is sensible enough to take, everything in his stride, with a pinch of salt. Yes! Even the ups and downs, more downs than ups, in his professional career as well as his personal life. Yet what makes him most happy is the fact that he goes to bed and even wakes up from it with a contented smile on his countenance. In his decade long checkered and illustrious career he may have done films that can be counted on his own fingertips, but he has no regrets whatsoever as he firmly and strongly feel and believe that his “Best” is yet to come. From his debut film ‘Inteha’ to his, this year’s release, ‘Jai Ho’ he has had an interestingly impressive line up of movies. And now he is ready to spring a surprise with a cop’s role in a Horror flick named ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’, whose impending release is just round the corner.

To set the ball rolling in your court how would you describe your film journey till this date?

I would say that it was interesting enough. No doubt I too had my own ups and downs, in my case more downs than ups. But at the end of the day I feel blessed that with every night’s fall, I go to bed with a smile on my face and then again with the rise of the day I wake up, again with a smile on my face. Yet I have no regrets whatsoever as I firmly and strongly feel and believe that my “Best” is yet to come. That apart I am also aware that every actor cannot be an Aamir Khan, a Salman Khan or even a Shahrukh Khan.

Your upcoming film is ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’. So tell us what is it all about?

It happens to be the story of a girl who goes to Coorg to surprise her fiance. Out there she is put up in Home Stay, which is like a rented service apartment, a kind of guest house for a paying guest. In a span of 24 hours, varied spooky incidents take place including a murder.

What kind of character are you enacting in ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’?

I am enacting the role of a cop. My 1st uniformed role. I had earlier played the role of a cop in ‘Nazar’, but I was a plain clothes CID officer. So I am happy that I have finally got my share of a cop’s Stars and Stripes including a cop’s uniform in ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’. And believe me it feels great to be attired in a cop’s uniform. Anyways coming to the cop’s role, he is very forthright and well respected. He does not mince words and puts everyone at ease by giving a good reasoning in a logical manner, especially the way he handles the members of the fourth estate during a murder investigation.

How was the experience of shooting in Coorg with Sayali Bhagat & débutante director Santosh Kodenkeri?

Must say it was great fun. We used to shoot for half a day, in spite of the film being shot in the trilingual language of Hindi, Kannada and Tamil, and the rest of the day used to be spent in exploring every nook and corner of Coorg. And then it used to be party time at night. As for Sayali Bhagat I hardly knew her except for meeting her socially 2 or 3 times but once we met on the sets we developed a good rapport. And as this was the 1st film of my director Santosh Kodenkeri, I found him to be very humble and down to earth and it was great fun working with him. I must make a special mention of Ravi Kale who is playing a negative role in ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’. He is just fantastically fabulous.

What according to you are the highlights of ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’?

I think it is the script, the thrills, the technically sound background score and of course this movie can be rated highest on the performance level of all the artistes including me.

So what’s up next on your professional front?

There are a couple of projects on the anvil but as of now I am very high on a particularly new project, a high octane action drama, for which nowadays I am sporting a heavily bearded look. I can’t reveal anything more about it, no not even the title, because of the strict non-disclosure condition of the contract. Period!

Review: Dum Laga Ke Haisha is an endearingly heart touching movie

February 28, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Aditya Chopra & Maneesh Sharma
Director: Sharat Katariya
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, débutante Bhumi Pednekar along with Sanjay Mishra, Alka Amin, Sheeba Chaddha, Seema Pahwa & Kumar Sanu
Music: Anu Malik & Andrea Guerra

Sharat Katariya in his debut directorial outing ’10 ML Love’ had seemed totally out of focus. No wonder the film had nosedived at the box office turnstiles. Perhaps Sharat learnt his lesson and mended his directorial ways and how? So in his 2nd directorial outing ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, strongly backed by Yash Raj Films, Sharat has crafted an endearingly heart touching movie which comes once in a while like a breath of fresh air and leaves a million dollar smile on your countenance even after you walk out of the darkened auditorium.

The scenario of ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’s plot opens (set in circa 1995 in Haridwar), with a self introduction of a neither qualified nor talented Prem Prakash Tiwari (Ayushmann Khurrana), a high – school dropout & a die – hard fan of crooner Kumar Sanu. He confesses that he has only 3 weaknesses in his life namely exam’s English question paper, his father’s slippers & Kumar Sanu’s melodious voice.

This eventually leads to his matrimonial meet, where his parents meet the parents of the ‘B.Ed graduate but fat’ Sandhya Verma (Débutante Bhumi Pednekar), who wants to become a teacher. Seizing the opportunity, Prem’s parents especially his father Chandrabhan Tiwari (Sanjay Mishra) gets him married to Sandhya, even though Prem is least interested in her because of her fat figure. When a very disinterested Prem does “nothing” on their wedding night, this news reaches the ears of both the families, thus making them nervous and also scared about the couple’s future relationship.

Sandhya, on the other hand, who genuinely loves Prem, on the insistence of her mother Subhadra Rani, even tries to seduce him with a ‘foreign waali VCD’. Meanwhile, a certain incident happens between Prem and his friends, in which Prem confesses his utter disliking for Sandhya, which co – incidentally, Sandhya overhears. This leads to her filing for a divorce with Prem. As a legal formality, the court decides a time of 6 months for the couple to spend time with each other, in case they have a change of mind. Amidst all this chaos, their village announces the annual competition named ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, in which the husbands have to carry their wives on their back and run till the finishing lines, despite all the man made hurdles. Again, on his family’s insistence, a very reluctant Prem agrees to carry the ‘moti saand’ (fatso) Sandhya on his back and take part in the competition.

Director Sharat Katariya is in full bloom in his 2nd directorial offering ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ thereby displaying his sparkling directorial brilliance which touches your heart strings in both the romantic & the melancholic moods of the movie. It seems that Bollywood heroines with svelte figures & sexy persona may now have to take a walk with the arrival of an unconventional heroine like Bhoomi Pednekar. Sharat also deserves a pat on his back for his minutest detailing in the entire film in lieu with each & every character in tandem with their performances. Kudos to Aditya Chopra & Manish Sharma (Producers), Anu Malik & Andrea Guerra (Music Scorers), Varun Grover & Chinni Prakash (Choreographers), Manu Anand (Cinematographer), Shajith Koyeri (Sound), Meenal Aggarwal (Production Designer) and above all brickbats to Namrata Rao (Editor).

Performance wise it is the débutante real & reel life actress Bhumi Pednekar who outshines, but never over shadows the entire cast of the talented & the gifted actors. Bhumi displays her natural flair for acting as if possessing an inborn talent. But her real test in histrionics will be her subsequent outings. The next in line actor who has delivered a par excellence performance is of course Ayushmann Khurana. But a cautionary advice to him, at this juncture will not be out of place, is to take care of his stereotypical expressions & mannerisms mostly in close shots. While the remaining cast members which comprises of Sanjay Mishra, Alka Amin, Sheeba Chaddha, Seema Pahwa et al have once again proved that they still are and will always be stalwarts in the histrionics arena.

Tailpiece: It needs a little more “word of mouth” push to come out as a winner with flying colours. Don’t miss out on this honestly made fare.

Review: Ab Tak Chappan 2 leaves you dazed and confused

February 27, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Raju Chada & Gopal Dalvi
Director: Aejaz Gulab
Cast: Nana Patekar, Gul Panag, Tejas Jagirdar, Ashutosh Rana, Vikram Gokhale, Mohan Agashe, Govind Namdev, Dilip Prabhawalkar, Raj Zutshi et al
Music: Sandeep Chowta & Amal Mallik

Debutante director Aejaz Gulab in his debut directorial offering ‘Ab Tak Chhapan 2’ tries his utmost best to live up to the legacy of the prequel ‘Ab Tak Chhapan’ directed by Shimit Amin, but he seems to be bowed down under a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations of everyone concerned especially its lead character Sadhu Agashe (Read Nana Patekar).

The film is a sequel to ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’ and the story revolves around Inspector Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar) from the Mumbai Encounter Squad. It is inspired by the life of Police sub-Inspector with the Mumbai Police force Daya Nayak. The film carries forward from the prequel where Saadhu Agashe’s wife is shot dead. The scenario opens with Saadhu Aagashe back and taking the encounter count beyond Chappan with ‘Ab Tak Chappan 2’. The sequel of the much applauded film has the Home Minister Janardhan Jagirdar (Vikram Gokhale) along with Chief Minister Anna Saheb (Dilip Prabhawalkar) pledging to eradicate the menace caused by underworld don Rawale (Raj Zutshi) who is operating from Bangkok and don Rauf Lala who is operating from Mumbai. Knowing that the ‘Gandhian’ approach won’t tackle the problem, the Encounter Squad is back to bring justice. A reluctant Saadhu Agashe, due to his son’s (Tejas Jagirdar) insistence, agrees to join the force and do what he does best, remove the pests of the society for good, no pun intended. But will an encounter squad with a clean slate manage to eradicate the menace? At what price would peace be got? Will peace ever come? These are some of the queries that only the filmmakers and above all only Nana can answer.

Debutante director Aejaz Gulab indeed had a gripping story to go ahead but sadly enough with his stuntman oriented background and not to forget his amateurish directorial skills, he fails to deliver the goods. The way he has handled the plot is absolutely confusing. No doubt there is a dirty politician in the midst of this huge mess, but what the actual conspiracy he was involved in remains a mystery even when the end credit title rolls. Either it was a case of the plot being so complex that it was impossible to unravel, or, more likely, it didn’t exist at all.

Performance wise Nana Patekar of course stands apart with his par excellence and unmatched acting skills. Yet it is high time he drops his sometimes stoic and sub-standard expressions especially in close ups. The other veteran actors like Dilip Prabhawalkar, Mohan Agashe, Vikram Gokhale, Raj Zutshi, Govind Namdeo et al lend Nana an able & adequate support to carry on the never ending mysterious plot ahead. Gul Panag appears more like a walkie talkie screeching glamour doll. Ashutosh Rana leaves an impact in his rivalry scenes with Nana. A special noteworthy mention goes to Tejas Jagirdar who leaves a lasting impression with his brief role as Nana’s son.

Tailpiece: Strongly recommended for die hard Nana Patekar fans and for the rest of the mass & class audience too, it will be a sheer waste of time & money too.

"Documentary films are the most effective & the most powerful tools of change": Mike Pandey

February 27, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

An interview with Mike Pandey – President Of Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA)

by Shaheen Raaj

Mike Pandey, an Indian filmmaker specializing in making films on wild life & environmental issues, needs no special introduction. He has won over 300 awards till date, for his work to spread awareness about biodiversity & species conservation. Mike Pandey is now working on his latest documentary,’ The Return Of The Tiger’, which is also supported by Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan & John Abraham. And since he became the president of the Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA), he is doing his best to support the Indian documentary filmmakers to address all their grievances.

What is the current scenario of documentary filmmaking movement?

The documentary filmmaking movement is gaining momentum. In fact the entire scenario & genre of documentary filmmaking is now changing as documentary films are the most effective and the most powerful tools of change.

IDPA has been instrumental in bringing about a lot of encouraging changes as far as Documentary filmmaking is concerned. Comment.

That’s right. And to top it all there is also a good piece of news as after a rigorous & arduous struggle of 5 long years, IDPA has just been successful in signing an MoU with the Government of India that will enable the documentary filmmakers to showcase their films on Doordarshan’s National Channel every week on Sundays and as and when more documentaries will come in then DD National will telecast these documentaries 4 to 5 times a week.

How else will the Documentary filmmakers benefit by this MoU?

Of course the initiative that we have taken with the Government regarding this MoU will certainly benefit them as the filmmakers whose documentaries are telecast will also receive a substantial remuneration which they can reuse it to make other documentaries. And if the telecasted documentaries happens to be an award winning ones then they will also be paid a bonus amount to encourage them to make more such educative, informative, meaningful & entertaining documentaries.

What other initiative has IDPA taken to boost the Documentary filmmakers?

The Indian Documentary Producers Association has also taken an initiative to set up a welfare trust for the documentary filmmakers to bail them out financially on the grounds of their medical crisis. That apart it is also trying to address the needs & the grievances of all the documentary filmmakers.

What other steps are now being taken by IDPA to further the Documentary filmmaking movement?

Frankly speaking at this stage what we at IDPA feel and which is also the need of the hour is that we need to fill up a vast vacuum of really good educational documentary films for children. And we are also trying to get the support of the Government to have an independent documentary channel. As this is the main grievance of the documentary filmmakers that the Government, which honors them with awards galore for their par excellence documentaries, is itself refusing to showcase them on its own platform namely DD National. Besides we are also trying to work on the concept of ‘Playschool’, on the lines of BBC Channel, to showcase inspirational films for children.

Does IDPA lays the blame only on Doordarshan for this step motherly treatment meted out to them?

No, not at all. What’s the point in blaming Doordarshan alone as other channels like BBC and other Satellite Channels too are also refusing to showcase our films. Documentary Filmmakers in general and documentary films in particular are still looked down upon by one & all concerned. In fact the situation is still prevailing as the documentary filmmakers and our films are still meted out a step motherly treatment, more especially by the people who really matters.

So what steps is IDPA taking in this regard?

What can we at IDPA do in this regard. We are just feeling helpless. But of course we are trying our level best to seek Government & some private agencies support to pool in more resources. in fact we are also on the look out for Corporate Social Responsibility funds (CSR) too. CSR is an annual fund of 2% of a businessmen’s profits, which is culled out by them for social work which can really, really help the documentary filmmakers in the long run to make good documentary films as even they in their turn are doing a social service by making educative, informative, meaningful & entertaining docu films for the people at large. In fact many donors are now coming forward to be a part of this initiative.

By the way recently IDPA had also offered some suggestions to IFFI director Shankar Mohan. Right?

Yes Indeed! As the International Film Festival Of India (IFFI Goa) is getting really bigger & better now. We have 2 Baby dreams and as suggested to the Festival Director Shankar Mohan we hope that it is really, really fulfilled and that is to have a separate enclosure in the next IFFI to screen documentary films with separate TV Screens or Computer Monitors so that people are not disappointed in the on rush of the feature films. And secondly we also suggested that there should be a specially created Documentary Lounge’ where all the documentary filmmakers can have an interchange of ideas, other discussions et al. In which both Indian & Foreign documentary filmmakers can view, buy or sell each other’s films.

And lastly what is the advice that you would like to give to the tribe of Documentary filmmakers?

I would like to give a cautionary advice to all the documentary filmmakers to make good, meaningful, informative, entertaining & socially relevant docu films and most importantly their film’s content should be good and their story telling must be powerful enough to have an impactful lasting impression. Period!

An Interview With Javed Jaffrey on the first ever Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA)

February 25, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

by Shaheen Raaj

Javed Jaffrey, son of veteran funster Jagdeep, is an ace comedian cum versatile actor in his own right. The body of his work too, cannot just be recounted on one’s finger tips. Of late his most talked about film was the Malyalam flick named ‘Picket 43’. That apart he had also earned a lot of accolades in films like ‘Mr Joe B. Carvalho’, ‘Bang Bang’ to name just 2. And surprisingly he has just I film in his kitty namely ‘Total Dhamaal’. When asked the reason for this, he just brushed off the query in his own inimitable style, “Sir! We are here to celebrate the announcement of the 1st ever Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA). So let’s talk about it.” This conversation took place when I had recently bumped into him at the The Leela Hotel at the press conference of the Arab Indo Bollywood Awards (AIBA).

Okay! So tell us in a nutshell what is Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA) all about?

First things first. The Arab Indo Bollywood Award is entirely director Tigmanshu Dhulia’s baby. And myself, Arbaaz Khan, Goldie Behl, Shyam Shroff, Komal Nahta, Sridhar Raghavan & Anees Bazmi are just like the caretaker of this baby. But jokes apart and on a serious note I would like to state that all the above mentioned people including me are on the jury panel of the 1st ever Arab Indo Award (AIBA).

Go on!

So to continue I would like to add that the first ever Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA) event will be held on 10th Apr, 2015 at Dubai as Bollywood has millions of its fans in Gulf countries and with this award sincere efforts are being made to promote Indian films out there. To start off with, a jury panel of this out of the box award ceremony was formed and Tigmanshu Dhulia was appointed as the chairman of this jury. And as I mentioned earlier the other prominent members of this jury are myself, Arbaaz Khan, Goldie Behl, Shyam Shroff, Komal Nahta, Sridhar Raghavan & Anees Bazmi. These awards will have 3 categories and these are Main Awards, Technical Awards & Special Awards. The winners of the 1st 2 categories will be chosen by public voting while the jury members will select the winners of the Special Awards.

And what is so special about the Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA)?

The main highlight of the Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA) is that it will promote Indian films in Gulf countries, AIBA will also arrange the premiere of 1 Indian film every month there and the 1st film to be premiered is ‘Roy’. It’s premiere is being held on 12th Feb, 2015.

Would you like to add anything more?

As a parting shot we, that is the jury members, would like to add in unison that with this award Bollywood would come close to the people of the Gulf countries and we are happy that a proper platform is being offered to promote our films there. Besides UAE’s premiere event management, Entertainment Agency Benchmark Media & India’s Global Entertainment Agency have joined hands to make the Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA) a big successful event. Amen!

"After romancing with the small screen, I have just started my affair with the big screen": Actor Nimai Bali

February 24, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

by Shaheen Raaj

Nimai Bali, the veteran small screen actor, a man of a very humble, down to earth & pleasing persona has already scored one and a half century of his romance with the small screen (Read serials). In fact he is popularly known as not only the Big B of the small screen arena but also considered as the Blue Eyed Boy of all the Satellite Channels put together namely Star Plus, Zee Tv, Sony Tv, Colors et al. In fact since the last one and a half decade not a single day has elapsed when he has not donned the grease paint or faced the arc lights so what if it was only for the small screen and not the big screen. Besides Nimai Bali is also vary of boasting about his relational lineage. The departed actor Sunil Dutt happens to be his uncle, Sanjay Dutt his immediate cousin and last but not the least the ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun?’ fame actress Sahila Chadha happens to be his better half who has also given him a lovely and a most precious gift of Princess, his one & only daughter.

How about revealing some nuggets of your small screen endeavor to start off with?

To be very frank i was supposed to get a dream launch on the celluloid silver screen with a dream role in a dream film named ‘Messiah’ to be made by my uncle, the Late Sunil Dutt. But unfortunately this remained a distant dream for reasons best known to God – The Almighty.

And then?

And then fortunately for me began my small screen journey which is still going strong and uninterrupted since the last one and a half decade. In fact not a single day has elapsed when I have not donned the grease paint or faced the arc lights. So what if it was only for the small screen and not the celluloid silver screen.

Now how about elaborating on your small screen achievements in a nutshell?

Well! I had began my career on the small screen by playing the role of Surya in the famous TV series ‘Chandrakanta’. And then I went on to play a detective in the TV series ‘CID: Special Bureau’ & also ‘CID’. And then came the phase of me getting involved in mytho series. In fact I became well-known for portraying Pawan Dev (God of the Winds) & Monkey Emperor Bali in the 1997-2000 television serial ‘Jai Hanuman’, directed by Sanjay Khan.

Not only these I also played Duryodhana in Sanjay Khan’s miniseries ‘Maha Kavya Mahabharat’ in 2001. Besides these I have also acted in varied other mytho serials like ‘Om Namah Shivay’, ‘Jai Jai Bajrang Bali’ et al. And then began the phase of social serials like ‘Bhabhi’, ‘Kumkum’, ‘Doli Sajaa Ke Rakhna’, ‘Amber Dhara’, ‘Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki’, ‘Yug’, ‘Bani…….Ishq Da Kalma’ et al. The list is endless.

Are you content with your small screen journey so far?

Of course, you bet I am contented. I think I would be lying through my teeth if I said no. Tell me which other small screen actor has had such a long, chequered & illustrious career on the small screen. In fact I am popularly known as the Big B of the small screen arena, the Blue Eyed Boy of all the Satellite Channels put together namely Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony TV, Colors et al.

Any regrets?

Having lost out earlier on the Colors Channel’s ‘Balika Vadhu’ because I had got the offer when the Colors Channel was still in its infancy and I was then vary of working in new & unknown channels. But I have rectified my mistake by welcoming offers from one & all with open arms. In fact my currently ongoing serial is Colors Channel’s ‘Balika Vadhu’.

So when are you going to start your affair with the big screen?

I had ventured out earlier on big screen with ‘Refugee’ & ‘Dil Ka Doctor’. But I think I will be lucky with my hat trick outing in ‘Rahasya’. You see after romancing with the small screen (150 Serials Not Out) I have just started my affair with the big screen with ‘Rahasya’ as a freaky Maharashtrian cop. And believe me I am just loving it. It was recently released and my role in it was highly appreciated and even considered as award worthy by critics & fans alike.”

Anup Jalota in remembrance of his departed wife Medha Jalota

February 23, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Bhajan Samrat Anup Jalota’s wife, Medha Jalota has left for her heavenly abode recently. Here, in this interactive session with Shaheen Raaj he shares some of his painful & fond memories too.

by Shaheen Raaj

“I have some very fond memories of Medha. It was a 2 decades long musical journey between us. As she was also very fond of singing, having learnt from Pandit Jasraj, most of the times we used travel to perform together on stage. In fact music was the most wonderful link between us.”

“Medha had one very special quality that she used to ignore trivial matters, so we never used to have any major arguments about anything. I still remember that we never had any major marital fights. In fact Medha was so understanding that she never used to let anything come between us. Whatever little issues we used to have in our day to day life we used to have open discussions about it, sort it out that day itself and then peacefully go to sleep. I had taken a flat in Versova and named it “Kop Bhavan” so that if we ever had any major issues one of us would go and stay there, especially me but such a time never came. And that “Kop Bhavan” become the Bhavan of friendship. That flat is still there which I have been using it to have my music sittings, to create more music, to meet the poets and to meet my friends too.”

“4 times I had brought back Medha from the jaws of death and once when I was not there even my son Aryeman brought her back from the jaws of death and if at that time he was not there with Medha she would not have been alive as within 5 minutes he rushed her to the hospital and Medha was saved. But how many times could we fight with death, at last death had to overtake one day. This time during the surgery of heart & kidney transplant her liver failed and she was no more. I still remember that we were all tear eyed when Medha was wheeled into the operation theatre, but Medha had smilingly gone inside with an idol of Hanuman in her hands to give her strength. Yet this time death won and we lost.”

“Yes! It is very difficult for all of us so we thought that instead of launguishing in sorrow I would totally immerse myself in my musical work and Aryeman got fully immersed in his studies in America. I am still trying hard to sing but I am still finding it very difficult as the moment I face the mike my voice gets choked with emotions. As her memories keep coming back. But very soon I come out of my reverie and start singing again. The idea is to keep myself busy, nay over busy. So I still keep meeting her family, her friends and their husbands too.”

“Medha always used to say that if something happens to her in America then not to take her body back to india for her last funeral rites. So we did as per her wish and then brought her ashes and immersed it in Hrishikesh.”

“The last 2 months that we spent with her in the hospital were very memorable, it was almost like a daily picnic. We used to partake of the choicest food of her choice like Chinese, Japanese, Mexican cuisine et al. Once she expressed a desire for Afghani cuisine so one of my friend from Washington DC specially prepared the Afghani food for us and delivered it after a 5 hours drive from Washington DC to America. And then the evenings would be followed with a delicious ice cream treats.”

“Even earlier on during her sickness we used to have constant vacations in Dharamshala, Chandigarh, Delhi, London, America et al. But wherever we used to go we first used to find out about the hospital and then check into a hotel nearby so that her 4 times a week dialysis treatment continues uninturrupted. So in this way we kept playing hide & seek with her death & her sickness kept playing its own game with us. After being victorious over her death for 5 times we finally lost the battle. I am glad that her last days were full of joy & fun. And God – The Almighty forbid that such a trivial time never befalls on anyone. As sometimes the pain & suffering is just unbearable. Even if one suffers from headache the pain is too much and the person doesn’t like anything at all so one can imagine the pain & suffering that Medha must have gone through.”

“In the end I would just like to say & pray to God – The Almighty to continue to bless her soul. Yes! It is indeed a trying time for me and Aryeman, but he is a strong boy and he will soon recover as he has immersed himself totally in his studies in his new college in Princeton University in America. But I am all alone in this house in Mumbai, a dream house created by Medha & me. But she gave more to it and I can still feel her touch, her presence everywhere in the house. Anyways it is my humble request to all my fans & lovers of music to continue showering their blessings on me so that I may not drift apart and continue making more & more melodious & mellifluous music for them with a positive approach & thinking for the rest of my life. Amen.”

Exclusive interview with writer-producer-director Mukhta Sundar of Paisa Ho Paisa

February 21, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

“My Film ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’ Is A Road Movie, A Romantic Comedy Imbibed With A Roller Coaster Joyride And A Jolly Good Movie.” – Muktha Sundar

by Shaheen Raaj

Muktha Sundar, hailing from Chennai, is a reputed South Indian writer-director-producer having made almost half a dozen films out there including his latest comedy hit film ‘Pathayeram Kodi’, which means “10 Thousand Crores”. And now he is all set to make his bow into the Hindi film firmament with yet again a comedy film named ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’, whose impending release is just round the corner.

Tell us briefly about your film background

I hail from a filmic family of South India. Till this date my family production house has produced more than a golden jubilee films helmed by my father Muktha Srinivasan, who had a penchant for making comedy films. And as far as I m concerned I think even my forte is making comedy films. You see Mr. Shaheen Raaj even I was interested in cinema since I was that high. So after completing my academic qualifications and before venturing into filmmaking I took a formal training in filmmaking by doing my Masters from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Till this date I have written, produced & directed 7 films. ‘Pathayeram Kodi’ in Tamil is my latest hit film. And now I am all set to enter Bollywood with my latest film in Hindi namely ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’ which I would describe as a semi sci-fi thriller comedy which is going to be released very soon.

So what is your film ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’ all about?

My latest film ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’ in Hindi is all about an engineering college student named Ashwin who meets a beautiful girl named Bhoomika in the college campus. After a few playful encounters, they fall in love. Ashwin hails from a lower middle class family and all the time he thinks of making big money in a very short time. When Bhoomika stumbles upon something big, she consults Ashwin and his friends and together they strike it rich in a very big way by using an invisible chemical (A chemical when it is sprayed on anything or anyone the object or the person becomes invisible). However they are forced to be on the run after being chased by the cops. Now starts the wild goose chase with ruthless & buffoonery gangsters, comic cops, bungling CBI officer and the hero and his friends playing all kinds of pranks. The chase & the laugh riot continues all the way from Pondicherry to Sani Singhnapur crossing 4 state borders with innumerable comic situations.

What are the highlights of ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’?

The climax of ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’ has been shot inside Sani Singhnapur Temple. Besides it has also been shot in the exotic locations of Karwar, Goa, Mercara, Pune, Ahmednagar, Mahabaleshwar & Panchagani. The movie has a running time of 1 hour & 45 minutes with 4 songs. Close to 30 minutes of computer graphics work has also been done in the movie. It is a road movie, a romantic comedy imbibed with a roller coaster joyride and a jolly good movie without any boring moments. I shot the film in 65 days but its computergraphics work alone took us almost 85 days in India itself. And let me clear one point that it is certainly not based or inspired by a Bollywood film namely ‘Mr. India’.

Give us some info about the cast & crew of ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’

‘Paisa Ho Paisa’ has been written, produced & directed by me under the banner of Maayaa Creation’s. Besides the other credits of the film are executive producer is V. Vishwanathan, cinematography by Rajkumar, art direction by Vijayanand & music by Manoj, G. D. Prasad & Nirojan. The starcast of the movie comprises of Dhruv Bhandari, Madalasa Shah, Kanishka Soni, Vivek, Antony et al.

It seems that your lead cast namely Dhruv Bhansari & Madalasa Shah played traunt during the promotions of ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’. Comment.

You see making a film in Tamil is quite different from making a film in Hindi. Hindi films have wider reach of audiences all over and they are more colourful. Down South film industry is more organized & more disciplined which is sadly missing in Hindi film arena. And the actors are not much interested in promoting their own films. But of couse there are exceptions to the rule yey certainly not in case of the actors of my film.

So what are the next film on your agenda?

Close on the heels of the release of ‘Paisa Ho Paisa’ I will immediately announce my next Hindi film. That apart I am also busy in making my next Tamil film named ‘Sivappu’ starring Raj Kiran in the title role albeit this time I am making an artistic and not a commercial film.

‘Paisa Ho Paisa’ is all set to release on 13th Mar 2015. It has story, screenplay, dialogues & direction by Muktha Sunder. The other credits of the movie are executive producer is Vishwanathan, cinematography by Rajkumar, art direction by Vijayanand & music by Manoj, G. D. Prasad & Nirojan. The starcast of the movie comprises of Dhruv Bhandari, Madalasa Shah, Kanishka Soni, Vivek, Antony et al.

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