Bollywood – Page 13

Shweta Khanduri walked the ramp for the “BETI” show at IIJW’ 15- A tribute to Indian woman

August 5, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Bollywood stars are considered a part of a glamorous world that is far removed from harsh realities of daily life. Often, we get an illusion that these celebrities are way beyond the problems faced by common man and pay no heed in social issues. However, there are a few celebrities who have tried to break this stereotype and are playing a vital role in shaping our society to make it a better place to live in.

So apart from her work commitments, the pretty actress Shweta Khanduri is occupied with her social activities. Shweta glided down dressed in her best fashion when she made a graceful entry in a dazzling Shaina NC design and displayed a scintillating jewellery set by Leading Jewellers of the World – Gitanjali Gems Ltd. when she walked the ramp at India International Jewellery Week 2015 for the Leading Jewellers of the World – Gitanjali Gems Ltd in association with designer Shaina NC for the “BETI” foundation.

Standing firm in the support of “BETI” foundation, Shweta Khanduri averred “You have two hands, one to help yourself and other to help others. ‘BETI’ is a step in the service of Womankind, we seek & strive to redress the wrongs perpetrated on Women in whatever way we can and to the utmost of our capacities. I am proud to be a part of the “BETI” movement”.

Movie Review: Drishyam is a perfectly crafted masterpiece sans any loopholes

August 3, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Director: Nishikant Kamat
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Rajat Kapoor, Mrinal Jadhav, Kamlesh Sawant et al
Music: Vishal Bhardwaj & Sameer Phaterpekar

‘Drishyam’ has been made & re – remade in every South Indian languages possible and all the versions have ended up winning appreciative accolades galore. And now comes the Hindi version directed by an already reputed director named Nishikant Kamat, who needs no special introduction. Incidentally speaking this particular movie’s original version in Malyalam also had the same name ‘Drishyam’. Its other versions were ‘Drishya’ in Kannada, ‘Drushyam’ in Telugu and its most recent version was ‘Paapnasam’ in Tamil.

The re – directed & re – plotted scenario, to suit the Mumbaiyya sensibilities, of director Nishikant Kamat’s ‘Drishyam’ kick starts with Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) waiting at Pandolem police station in Goa. The story, then goes into a flashback mode in which it mirrors all the events that led Vijay in the present day situation. Vijay Salgaonkar is a middle class hard working businessman, running a cable TV business. His life revolves around movies and his family consisting of his wife Nandini Vijay Salgaonkar (Shriya Saran), his teenage daughter (Ishita Dutta) and his younger daughter. Life goes on pretty smoothly for the Salgaonkars, till one day his elder daughter bumps into a notorious Sam in a school camp. Despite repeated warnings, Sam doesn’t stop pestering her, so much so that he even plants a hidden camera in her washroom. Grabbing this ‘opportunity’ with both hands, Sam demands sexual favour from Vijay’s daughter in return for the MMS being deleted. And when Nandini intervenes, he asks for a sexual favour from Nandini instead. Raging with anger & helplessness, Vijay’s daughter hits Sam with a rod that results in him collapsing on the spot. The mother & daughter get furthermore shocked when they learn that Sam was the only son of none other than IG Meera Deshmukh (Tabu). Frightened & helpless they narrate their ordeal to Vijay when he returns back from his office. Vijay then hatches a master plan that will help his family to get rid from the clutches of the police. After this begins the cat & the mouse game between Vijay & Meera.

Director Nishikant Kamat has excelled in his directional skills and crafted a picture perfect masterpiece almost akin to all the versions. He has taken great pains & care to keep the legacy of the film’s ‘vision’ & all the versions alive. Adding & abetting him in his directional journey was the film’s ever perfect script with not even an iota of a loophole. He has created a perfect ambience oriented suspense to keep the cine goers interest alive from the starting point to the finishing line. In fact the entire, behind the scenes, team of the captain of the ship Nishikant Kamat deserves a special noteworthy mention. And his team comprises of Vishal Bhardwaj & Sameer Phaterpekar (music), Aarif Shaikh (editor), Avinash Arun (cinematographer) & above all Upendra Sidhye (script writer).

Performance wise it is but natural that the top most scorers are Ajay Devgn & Tabu. Their incidental & instinctive battle of histrionics is just seen to be believed. The Southern actress Shriya Saran succeeds in holding her fort amongst the 2 powerhouse performers namely Ajay Devgn & Tabu. That apart the other actors like Ishita Dutta, Rajat Kapoor, Mrinal Jadhav & Kamlesh Sawant too have acquitted themselves perfectly in their respective roles.

Tail Piece: Films like ‘Drishyam’ are made just once in a while. So guys just go for it at the earliest opportunity that you can avail of. Period!

Movie Review: ‘Janiva’ is a bold & meaningful film

August 3, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Banner: Blue Eye Productions & Angel’s Production
Producer: Milind Vishnu, Arvind Kumar, Reshma Vishnu & Srman Jain
Director: Rajesh Ranshinge
Cast: Satya Manjrekar, débutantes Vaibhavi Sandilya, Anuradha Mukharjee, Devdutt Dani, Sanket Agarwal along with Kiran Karmarkar, Renuka Shahane, Atul Parchure, Indira Krishnan, Usha Nadkarni & Kishore Kadam

Director Rajesh Ranshinge, after creating ripples of successful waves on the small screen for almost a decade, has now stepped into the Marathi movies arena with a bold & meaningful film like ‘Janiva’ which means realisation. It underlines not only the trauma that a rape victim undergoes but also how a common boy metes out appropriate justice to the rape victim in his own way.

Sameer Deshpande, a common boy, is a tech savvy guy and always reaches out to help people in distress in his own way. He also runs a band with his 5 friends who also lives a carefree & lively life like him. Sameer gets disturbed once when he comes to know of a rape victim living a life like a vegetable since the last 3 decades. Her rapist has already served a sentence of 7 years but Sameer feels that this is not the right justice as compared to the 30 years trauma that the victim has undergone. So Sameer decides to take the law in his own hand. And then begins a long drawn out court battle.

Rajesh Ransinghe has handled the subject very sensitively displaying his directional expertise. But somewhere along the line he misses the boat precisely because the movie lacks conviction especially for the Marathi audiences who are so used to the tamasha & lavani oriented commercial trappings. He has indeed handled the court scenes brilliantly including extracting a finest performance from the senior actors like Renuka Shahane, Kishore Kadam & above veteran actress Usha Nadkarni. The lack of commercial trappings & romantic angle may not go down well with the cine goers. Yet the producers team headed by Milind Vishnu & director Rajesh Ranshinge deserves full marks for pulling a leaf out of real life and turning it into a an offbeat & a realistic film.

Performance wise it is the senior actors like Renuka Shahane & Kishore Kadam who walks away with all the honours as a defence lawyer & public prosecutor respectively. Satya Manjrekar, as the main protagonist, gives a good account of himself but he still has miles to traverse before he turns into a reliable actor. Other notable performances have been delivered by Indira Krishnan & Kiran Karmarkar as Sameer’s parents and of course veteran actor Usha Nadkarni as the rape victim’s Nurse & Caretaker.

Tail Piece: A good viewing for lovers of good cinema. Besides it will go down well with the festival circuit audiences.

“My film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ is in reality my real life journey from Punjab to Austria”: Navvy Jassal

July 27, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

A Non-Resident Indian named Navvy Jassal makes his debut as an actor with a film titled ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ which is due for release very soon. Actually speaking Navvy Jassal happens to be an actor from Austria. Having lived in Austria since the last 26 years his heart & soul is still rooted in India. Originally hailing from Punjab it was his childhood dream to be an actor. Navy aka Naresh Jassal’s debut making film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ is in fact his own real life journey from Punjab to Austria depicting all the pitfalls, the side effects, the trials & tribulations including all the ups & downs of belonging to the tribe of the scheduled caste.

To begin with enlist your background in a nutshell.

Actually speaking I was born in a small village of Kariha located in the district of Navanshaher in Punjab. Since childhood I have been victimised & harassed a lot for belonging to a scheduled caste tribe. My upcoming debut making film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ is in reality my real life journey from Punjab to Austria. During this journey I had to face all the pitfalls, the side effects, the trials & tribulations including all the ups & downs of belonging to the tribe of the scheduled caste.

What is the significance of the title of the film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’?

From the point of view of the people belonging to the higher caste, the title of my upcoming film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’, means that even if we look down upon and mete out bad treatment to the down trodden lower caste people what difference does it make? Really ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ as they are meant & deserved to be treated like that. While from our point of view it means that let the higher caste people treat us the way they want us to treat, ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’. But then through our film we have tried to show that this attitudinal caste system differences should change drastically on behalf of both the parties and that too with immediate effect. This attitude no longer exists in metro cities but th saddest part is that it is still prevalent in smaller cities & especially in villages.

Fine so tell us more about the storyline of your upcoming film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’.

Through our film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ we are trying to awaken the people. It is time to drive away the evils of caste system and differential casteism is one of them. Besides we have also tried to stress on the fact that their should be complete transparency in a couple’s relationship and a slightest mistake leads to a lot of mistrust & misunderstanding between them. That apart we have also tried to depict the side effects of drugs and all these are the resultant effects of my own real life experiences. In short ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’, is in fact a take on my own real life journey from Punjab to Austria. I have enacted the role of a person who is constantly insulted & humiliated because he belongs to a lower caste. At last getting fed up and in sheer disgust he leaves his village and sets off for Austria. At this point the film also points out that most of the youths undertake the overseas journey illegally and with thinking & consulting anyone and thereby becomes a victim of human trafficking and sometimes even lose their lives. After reaching Austria I complete my academic qualification and become a Professor in college who ultimately falls in love with one of his colleague. But here too he becomes a victim of caste system and is thrown out of the college. Later on he joins politics and forms his own party named OMP and was in power for 5 years whence he fights tooth & nail to eradicate the evils of caste system. And for further developments of the film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ you will have to catch the film on the celluloid silver screen when it hits the marquee very soon.

As a parting shot give us some more details about the cast & the crew of ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’.

‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ has been produced by Charanjit Kaur & directed by Jitendra Jaiswal. Of course the film has been penned by me and backed by me from “The Beginning” to “The End”, while its melodious & mellifluous music, having 5 songs, has been composed by Sanjvee. And besides me the film also stars Pankaj Berry, Kalpana Shah, Jaiseline Sharma et al.

Movie Review: ‘Mr. Holmes’ is an artistic film excellently made

July 25, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

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Producer: Anne Carrey, Lain Canning & Emile Sherman
Director: Bill Condon
Star Cast: Ian Mckellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hattie Morahan, Hiroyuki Sanada, Patrick Kennedy, Roger Allam, Phil Davis, Frances De La Tour, Colin Starkey, Nicholas Rowe, Francis Barber & John Sessions.
Genre: Suspense
Verdict: Good

Bill Condon of Gods & Monsters and the 2 final instalments of the Twilight Sagas fame, has made as artistic film in Mr. Holmes. He has touched upon the core truth of how Sherlock Holmes remained a brilliant sleuth even at the age of 93, barring the fact that age had really started catching him off guard.

Plot: Long retired and near the end of his life, Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) grapples with an unreliable memory and must rely on his housekeeper’s son Roger (Miko Parker) as he revisits the still unsolved case that led to his retirement.

Aces: Bill Condon’s skilful presentation of the last days of Sherlock Holmes topped with extracting excellent performances mainly from Ian Mckellen as Sherlock Holmes & Milo Parker as his sidekick Roger.

Minuses: The snail’s pace of the movie really gets on your nerves.

Last Word: Catch it before it vanishes from the silver screen.

Movie Review: ‘Masaan’ is a very disturbing fare

July 24, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Anuraag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane etc
Director: Neeraj Ghaywan
Star Cast: Richa Chadda, Vicky Kaushal, Sanjay Mishra, Shweta Tripathi, Pankaj Tripathji, Nikhil Sahni, Satyakam Anand & Vineet Kumar
Genre: Drama
Verdict: Good

Debutante director Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan has earned rave reviews in the global festival circuit, but will it suit the palate of the Indian audience is a bit doubtful. Yet the movie in itself is laudable and a critics delight.

Plot: The plotted scenario of Masaan is set in present day Banaras it follows 2 separate story that eventually converge. In the 1st story Devi and (Richa Chadda) and her fellow student, Piyush, check into a hotel room. They are interrupted when the police bursts in, accusing them of indulging in indecent behaviour. In the 2nd story Deepak (Vicky Kaushal), a young boy (also from Banaras) works in a funeral pyre. Deepak meets & falls in love with Shaalu (Shweta Tripathi).

Aces: Neeraj Ghaywan’s apt directorial treatment coupled with stellar performances from Richa Chadda as well as debutante actors like Vicky Kaushal, Shweta & Pankaj Tripathi and a special mention must be made of child actor Nikhil Saini.
Minuses: The grimness of the film leaves you drained of all emotions.

Last Word: Strictly recommended for lovers of art house cinema.

An interactive session with a media guy turned film director Rajesh Ransinghe

July 23, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Rajesh Ransinghe, a director of small as well as big screen, happens to be a very youthful, energitic & dynamic director. Incidentally speaking he had started of his career as a Videographer. And then he made a quick switch as a small screen megaphone wielder. This was almost more than 2 decades ago, when he had dabbled with the small screen shows, starting off with a biggest production house named Contileo films, like ‘Ankhen’ (his debut serial), ‘Aahat’, ‘CID’, ‘CID Bureau’, ‘Bhanwar’, ‘Koi Hai’, ‘Maharana Pratap’, Savdhaan India’, ‘Rishte’, ‘Fear File’ and last but not the least ‘Adalat’. All in all till this date almost 22,000 hours of work has been tucked under his directorial belt. And then his next big leap was in the big screen arena in the year 2010 when he had directed a Hindi film named ‘Rokkk’. And finally after almost half a decade he is ready with his 1st ever Marathi film namely ‘Janiva’.

Just recently the music of your 1st ever Marathi film ‘Janiva’ was released at the hands of Salman Khan. So was it on purpose to cash in on his ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ wave? That apart you were also conspicious by your absence in your own film’s music release event?

No sir, not at all and it was not intentional. I did not attend the music release function of my own film Marathi film ‘Janiva’ as I was busy shooting in Hyderabad and I didn’t feel right that I should leave the entire unit in a lurch just to attend the music release of my own film ‘Janiva’. And releasing the music was Salman Khan’s own choice as he wanted to bless Satya, the son of his best friend Mahesh Manjrekar. And Satya happens to be one of the 5 main leads of my film ‘Janiva’. That’s it.

Tell us something about your upcoming Marathi film ‘Janiva’

First & Foremost I would like to state that Renuka Shahane plays a major role of a lawyer in this film. Besides Satya is playing one of the 5 male leads, there is also Anuradha, Vaibhavi, Sanket, Dev Dutt, Kishore Kadam (also playing the role of a powerful lawyer), Kiran Karmakar, Indira Krishna, Atul Parchure & Usha Nadkarni with a special appearance by Mahesh Manjrekar. Incidentally speaking, we will all see the father – son team of Mahesh Manjrekar & Satya together for the 1st ever time in ‘Janiva’. Also for the 1st time ever, the very popular singer of Bollywood films Deler mehndi has rendered a Ganpati number in Marathi and he makes it a point to croon this number in every show he does whetheer in India or abroad.

How was your experiences on the sets with the seasoned actors like Renuka Shahane & Mahesh Manjrekar?

Renuka Shahane is fantastic. She took only 2 hours to okay the script which I had narrated to her. She even improvised so much on the sets that she exceeded herself 10 times more than what I had expected from her. When I had narrated the script to Mahesh Manjrekar, he had asked me who was the hero. I told him that I need a 17 year old college going boy and just then Satya entered the room. Eureka! I knew that I had found one of the main hero of my Marathi film ‘Janiva’. I immediately offered Satya the role and luckily for me I had both the father – son team on board of my Marathi film ‘Janiva’. Mahesh Manjrekar appears in the Ganpati number which has been crooned by Daler Mahendi, the Punjabi pop singer who is known both fort his racy Punjabi & Hindi numbers.

How come you convinced Deler Mehndi to sing for a Marathi film?

When I went to Daler Mehendi he clearly told me that he can sing only Hindi & Punjabi numbers and not the Marathi ones. But when he heard the scratch number in my voice he really got excited and said that he will certainly give it a try and when he actually belted out the number in the recording room, everybody was stunned including myself.

On a round up note how about giving us an insight into the subject matter of your Marathi film ‘Janiva’!

You see after selecting all the lead actors, 3 boys & 2 girls, I put them through an intense and a gruelling workshop session. And then the 1st 6 days of the shooting I made them to sit for 6 whole days in the courtroom just as a spectator doing nothing, just observing the senior actors in action which proved like a Master Class in acting for them. Now coming to the subject matter of my Marathi film ‘Janiva’. It certainly has an altogether different story which I can’t reveal it now. At the moment it is suffice to say how the college students are trapped by the law and how a powerful lady lawyer like Renuka Shahane fights with the system and saves the future of these college students. This kind of a subject matter will always have a youthful audience connect and the college going boys & girls will also identify themselves with these innocent boys & girls. By the way my debut Marathi film ‘Janiva’ will hit the marquee by the end of July, 2015.

Movie Review: ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is an emotional journey of an Indian man & a Pakistani Child

July 20, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Banner: Salman Khan Films & Kabir Khan Films
Producer: Salman Khan & Rockline Venkatesh
Director: Kabir Khan
Cast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Harshaali Malhotra, Najeem Khan, Ali Quli Mirza, Deepti Naval, Om Puri, Sharat Saxena & Adnan Sami (Spl App)
Music: Pritam Chakraborty, Komail Shayan (KK) & Julius Packiam

Director Kabir Khan is known for his films like ‘Kabul Express’, ‘New York’ & ‘Ek Tha Tiger’. He seems to have a penchant for cross border problems which he keeps showcasing in most of his films including in his latest directorial offering ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ too. But this this time he has succeded in delivering an endearing & a heart touching film.

A 6 year old speech impaired girl Shahida (Harshaali Malhotra) accompanies her mother from Pakistan to Delhi to visit a Muslim Shrine. On her way back to Pakistan Shahida aka Munni gets separated from her mother on the Indian border. Munni then bumps into Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi (Salman Khan), who is a staunch bhakt of Hanuman. After some initial hesitation Pawan takes the oath of Hanuman to return Munni back to Pakistan to deliver her safely in the hands of her parents. So off he goes to Pakistan without even having a Passport not to forget the Visa. He encounters a lot of problems on his way to and in Pakistan too. His trouble starts right from the Wagah border and then continues till the end, during which a local news reporter Chand Pasha (Nawazzuddin Siddiqui) and his cameraman (Najim Khan) also help him a lot.

Except for a few exaggerated hicups & glitches director Kabir Khan does succeed in winning the cine goers heart especially in the 2nd half and post interval portions which is also punctuated with the right doses of humorous punches. Especially notable are the scenes of the trio of Salman Khan, Harshaali Malhotra & Nawazzuddin Siddiqui. That apart Salman Khan deserves a standing ovation for backing such an emotionally oriented sensitive film like ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. A fair share of credit also goes director Kabir Khan and his entire team of the cast & the crew for totally living upto his highest expectations.

Performance wise the film clearly belongs to Salman Khan and the most sensatonal discovery namely Harshaali Malhotra. Yes! Sallu miyan for a change has delivered a very emotionally charged restrained performance, if only he could have resisted those few Dishoom Dishoom scenes. And the girl child Harshaali Malhotra seems to be God gifted. She is so expressive and simply outstanding. Nawazzuddin Siddiqui as usual is brilliant to the core. Sadly enough Kareena Kapoor Khan is not up to the mark as she had nothing much to do in this emotional drama. While the rest of the cast comprising of Najim Khan, Ali Quli Mirza, Deepti Naval, Om Puri, Sharat Saxena, Adnan Sami et al just fit the bill and lend an able & adequate support.

Tail Piece: ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ initially sounds, like it is coloured with communal essence but as the film progresses it leaves you emotionally drained. Don’t miss ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, a perfect festival (Ramzan Eid) & weekend gift for one & all.

“I play a staunch Hanuman Bhakt in ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan'”: Salman Khan

July 16, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Salman Khan has always been surrounded by unwanted & uncalled for controversies galore. But braving all odds he has always emerged a winner. Forgetting all the back lashes in his career and personal life too, he now clears all issues with a pinch of salt. Present here with is an exclusive ad verbatim 1st person account of Salman Khan’s version.

“First of all I would like to wish all my fans & well – wishers a very, very happy Ramzaan Eid mubarak. And I here again with an Eid release ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan’. I lot has been written by you media guys as to why a Hindu oriented film on the eve of a Muslim festival. I would say that a film is a film which mirrors the true picture of society at large. Which can be of any community.So “kya Muslim aur kya Hindu. We are all one. So brothers I would like to say just 1 thing that please don’t try to add communal colour & feeling to ‘Bhajrangi Bhaijaan’ and I think Mr. Pahlaj Nihalani the censor chief also seconds my opinionated train of thoughts. So ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is a gift for all my fans & well – wishers, irrespective of the caste & the creed.”

“In ‘Bhajrangi Bhaijaan’ I am enacting the role of Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi, a staunch Hanuman bhakt. The film revolves around my attempt to take a lost kid back to her home to her parents. It was fun working with the kid, they are so alert & smart you see. 1 day the little girl tells me that, “Ab toh aapke saath kaam kar rahi hoon toh main bhi superstar ban jaaoongi hai na?” Needless to say I was left speechless & dumbstruck. Kabir had a tough time selecting the right kid who could fit the bill and does not look like a precocious kid. The best thing about the kid is that when we started acting together, she told me that she wanted to be a big super star like me. I told her that even I want to be a big super star.”

“After listening to the story & the script narration by director Kabir Khan. I immediately agree to be a part of the film. To be very, very frank & honest I liked the subject of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ too much. There was a comfort level too as I had acted for Kabir Khan in ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ too. Even my dad said that he had not read a script as fine as that of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ or a film as good as this one in the last 2 decades. He also added that SKF (Salman Khan Films) will have to compete with ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ in the future as a production house.”

“People often ask me about my opinion on success & failure. And I always tell them that success has made more failures than failure. It is easy to act when you are successful. After that you tend to get overconfident & monotonous and it is unfortunately seen on the screen when you just do anything & everything. Failure makes you pull up your socks. I should know this because I have been through this game for the last 27 years ever since I made my debut with ‘Biwi Ho To Aisi’. I hope I continue to act even at the age of 70 in roles that centre around me and for another 70 years in character roles. That apart if you succumb to your failures, automatically a stage will arrive when your enthusiasm wanes. However, when a film of yours succeeds at the box office, you start giving everything to your next film because you are sorted out as an actor. If you get carried away by your success and develop an attitude, you will always be like a gas balloon and unhappy. I do not take home my character or the images but the nobleness of my characters. Kabir used to get me charged and make me emotional especially when he shot the climax of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. The niceness of your character always stays in your real life too but you cannot use the same technique that the hero uses in a film.”

“Furthermore I would like to state that life as an actor has always been very, very tough for me. First one has to compete with all the seniors when one makes his debut as the competition is quite tough. Then comes a stage when you have to struggle along with your contemporary actors till you reach the position of you being a senior actor and still realize that it is tough to survive. How long you survive depends on your hard work & efforts, because if you are slack, the next lot is ready to take over. Neither do I jump with happiness when a film of mine is a hit, nor do I have bitterness when a film of mine flops, because I do not want to be insecure as an actor.”

“To continue further I would like to say that content works in a film all the time and not the star. I confess that we used to have a lot more content earlier than what we have now in films. Today we lack emotional quotient in films as we have stopped catering to the pan India audiences and restrict ourselves to the audiences between Andheri & Cuffe Parade. What is of primary importance today is the need to cater to the audiences which stay beyond Andheri railway station.”

“One more point that I would like to stress is that today there is this obsession to get into the 100 cr plus bracket, whether you are a producer, director or for that matter even an actor. It isn’t something that is new. It was there earlier too but at that time we were clamoring for the 100 days run of a film or silver or golden jubilee run. Unfortunately because of this craze for 100 crore plus bracket, the rates of tickets are increasing day by day and it pinches the common man.

When ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ was released 2 decades ago, no one watched the film though the ticket rates were reasonable. Today the film has reached a cult status but everyone prefers to watch it on TV, because repeat value isn’t there for films in theatres. It is sad that today people do not go to see a film if it is a romcom or a sweet film. Unless & until a film is promising and made on a grand scale, the youth is not attracted to watch a film and so most of the films do not touch the 100 crore bracket today.”

“Besides the scenario as far as business of a film is concerned has also changed today. Way back in 1989, as you know, my film ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ was released in just 18 theatres all over Mumbai. The producers Rajshri guys could afford that at that point of time as the film could sustain for a longer period but today the business of a film is restricted to just 2 to 3 weeks. If it is a star studded film with good content, it may run for 6 weeks in a theatre, not more. In fact the Delhi Government led by AAP has increased the rate of entertainment tax in Delhi from 20 to 40% all of a sudden. It is very sad. “Khud toh film dekhne nahin jaate lekin aam aadmi ko bhi tang karte hain”. These people will call us only when they need us to canvass for their votes and use us during the elections. They feel that it is a chotisi industry worth only 8000 crores. The aam aadmi is bleeding today with lesser number of cinema houses to watch films and steep entertainment taxes & costly tickets at the multiplexes. It is sad but the bitter truth that a large country like India which produces over 1200 films every year in several languages does not have adequate number of cinema houses for producers to show case their films. If 1 big star announces his film as an Eid release, then another star is not able to release his film on the same day but Inshah Allah, I think Shah Rukh Khan and I will be able to release our respective films on the same day of Eid next year because by then many cinema multiplexes would have been made.”

“Not only this I still wonder why are films not able to do good business today, I think this mainly because our
films are not able to generate business to a large extent even if they are good, only because we do not have theatres. I am working towards setting up small miniplexes which have a seating capacity of up to 250 patrons all over Maharashtra to begin with. If the experiment is a success, we may invite theatre owners all over the country for franchises.”

“People often ask me as to when will they be able to see the trinity of myself, Aamir Khan & Shah Rukh Khan together on the celluloid silver screen. In this regard I woud like to state that If at all Aamir and I or for that matter Shah Rukh Khan and I have to come together, why should we make a sequel or a remake of ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ or ‘Koyla’. We would rather act together in an altogether new film.”

“One thing that really saddens me is that why do you people have to repeatedly ask me as to why did ‘Jai Ho’ failed at the box office turnstiles. My clarification to that is although it was a superb film, it failed to make it big mainly because we did not want to hike the rates of the tickets. It did a business of just Rs 126 crores. If only we had hiked the rates of the tickets, Sohail could have earned a lot more. Even the ticket rates of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ will not be hiked, because we want the maximum number of people to watch the film.”

“In conclusion I woud like to say that now that ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is all set for release, I will concentrate on the shooting of Rajshree Productions ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ following which I will start acting in Yashraj Films ‘Sultan’. I was also slated to be a part of Karan Johar’s ‘Shuddhi’ but now I am not acting in it. Karan has signed Varun Dhawan to do that film. Period!”

Bollywood stars and Ramadan

July 13, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

The Holy month of Ramadan is almost nearing its end. And like all other non – filmy Muslims even Bollywood Muslim Celebs celebrate the Holy month of Ramadan with complete reverence. In spite of their heavy duty busy schedules they make it a point to observe their Rozas (fast), offer Namaz (prayer), give alms (khairaat) to the poor & needy, read Koran Sharif (the Holy book), remove Zakaat & Sadka (2.5% of their income) for the poor and then after a month long fasting they gear up to celebrate Eid with complete happiness. Shaheen Raaj recently caught up with a few Bollywood Celebs to get their views on how they celebrate Ramadan and what significance does Ramadan holds for them. Tune in for their ad verbatim comments.

Salman Khan

I would say that Ramadan is the month of bountiful blessings from Allah – The Almighty. It absolves you of all your sins. It makes your heart & soul pure. In the month of Ramadan, Allah – The Most merciful gives us a chance to be a good human being. Observing all the rituals of Ramadan is a must, but that doesn’t mean you should commit sins all the year round. Eid al-Fitr is the culmination of the month long fasting and celebration time with all your near & dear ones. I also celebrate it with my fans by giving them the gift of one movie release coinciding with every Ramadan. This year it will be ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. So enjoy the festival of Ramadan.

Sana Khan

It’s the best month for me as I fast for 30 days and do my 5 times prayer, give Zakat of 2.5% out of my own savings. I am very religious in this month and it’s the time we get closest to Allah – The Almighty and ask mercy from him for knowingly or unknowingly committing sins and for all our wrong doings.

Saif Ali Khan

Ramadan is considered as one of the most auspicious & Holy month of the year. In our “nawabi khandaan” Ramadan Eid is celebrated in great style. We abstain from all wrong doings, even otherwise we try to be good all the year round. We try to absorb all the rituals of Ramadan in the best possible way. We also try and see that none of our poor Muslim brethren goes empty handed during this month.

Kareena Kapoor Khan

I am more excited about celebrating Ramadan. Earlier on I used to celebrate Ramadan with most of my Muslim friends and now that I am married into the Khan family I try to follow whatever they do, but of course it will take some more time for me to adjust in Saif’s family as far as the Holy month of Ramadan is concerned.

Shahrukh Khan

For me the Holy month of Ramadan holds a very important significance. As this is the month when one can ask Allah Miyan for retribution of all our sins. Besides one can also observe all the rituals with a clean & pure heart. And most of all one can take care of the poor & the needy as per the best of one’s own capacity.

Aamir Khan

Of course one’s own religion should be closest to one’s heart. Following all the rituals should be the first priority in one’s life. Wishing good of humanity should also be considered as a top priority. And of course Eid is the celebration time after the end of the month long fasting.

Emraan Hashmi

I consider Ramadan as a very devout & a very pious month. Maybe due to time constraints and certain unavoidable circumstances I may sometimes lapse in my religious duties. But I try my level best to observe all the rituals of the Holy month of Ramadan.

Arbaaz Ali Khan

Since childhood I have been brought by my parents (Salim Khan – Honey irani) as a devout & pious kid in a very religious atmosphere. So much so that our entire khandaan was known as a very, very conservative & orthodox Muslim family. In fact the daily routine of all 3 of us that is myself, bade bhaijaan Salman & Sohail was to offer our regular 5 times ‘Namaaz’. After the ‘fazar namaaz’ we were all taken by our servants to the madarsa to learn to read & recite ‘Kalaame Paak’ the Holy book of every Muslim. Besides we were all also taught to be good human beings by being kind to all and more especially to our servants who were always addressed as bade miyan or with their individual names with great respect & courtesy. Even in the Holy month of Ramadan everything like the ‘Saheri’, the ‘Iftar’, the 5 times ‘Namaaz’ including the ‘Taravi Namaaz’ was seriously & strictly observed as per the perfect islamic tenets & principles. That apart the day my maulana had explained to me about the ‘Zakaat’ & the ‘Fitra’ I used to do it with my own hard earned pocket money which my father used to give me only after I had done certain work of his. And even now as far as I am concerned I observe the holy month of Ramadan with the same zest & the same fervour.

Nafe Ali

I wish that our life itself was like ‘Ramzaan’ and our death was like Eid. I wish that the month of Ramadan proves mubarak to all and Eid becomes very special for them. Ramadan is the only month “jab hum Allah Taalah ko mana sakte hain” as during this period he is closest to all his bandas (Disciple). Besides I wish everyone a happy Eid. Mashaallah after fasting for one whole month celebrating ‘Ramadan, Eid has its own charming fun.

Arshad Warsi

To be very honest the real time and fun to observe the fast and more especially to celebrate Ramadan Eid is when you are a small child. I would like to recount my first ‘Roza’ incident. So it was time to keep my 1st ‘Roza’. The entire Warsi khandaan had turned up for the ‘Saheri’ session. You bet I enjoyed hogging all the delicacies especially prepared for me or so they made me believe it. Any way it was a hot summer month and the heat was really getting me. I was hell bent on popping something in my mouth. The whole khandaan was standing guard to prevent me from doing so. Finally before the ‘Iftar’ time I managed to escape, went to a shop bought a chocolate and was about to gobble it when I saw a whole army of the Warsi khandaan chasing me all over the ‘naakhuda’ mohalla the place where we were staying in then. People were shocked at this whole draamebaazi but then my family members saw to it that I observed my complete ‘Roza’.

Javed Jaffri

No matter what people think but I am proud to be a Muslim belonging to the ‘Shia’ community. And I strictly follow all the religious rituals as per the way my dad and my dada par dada “aur phir unke bhi dada aur par dada follow karte aa rahe hain aur ab zaahir hai ki us paanchvin peedi ko yeh majhabi hidayaten ‘Allah’ ki wahi ke roop mein aur Huzoor Sallalahussalam (Prophet Mohammed S.A.W May peace be upon him} ke jariye ‘Koran Sharif’ se mili hogi”. No this is no laughing matter as my entire Jafri khandaan is known for its mock fights regarding this issue. But all these fights used to take place in each individual members of the family in his infancy stage.

Shabana Azmi

You see like a true blue Muslim I have “Khuda ka khauf” in my heart. And I will never betray my ‘Allah Miyan’. So it’s but natural that I will always be true to my faith & to my religion. No doubt I offer my ‘Namaaz’, observe my ‘Roza’, take care of my ‘Zakaat’ & ‘Fitra’. A real Muslim will never avoid the 5 basic principles of Islam. And in this regard my entire Kaifi family & myself included have never neglected our religious duties right since our Azamgarh days. No matter whether it is the month of Ramzaan or not.”

Zayed Khan

Right since childhood my parents had inculcated the finest traditions of Islam which were deeply ingrained in me. So at that stage of life I was a very pious, a devout Muslim. I used to regularly read the ‘Koran Sharif’, offer my ‘Namaaz’, keep my ‘Rozas’. But of course at that point of time I didn’t know much about the ‘Zakaat’, the ‘Fitra’, the ‘Hajj’ & the ‘Umra’. Yet the one thing that really comes to my mind is that during the month of Ramzan I used to get good pocket money which I would spend on the street urchins by arranging for their ‘iftari’ in the park near my house. Of course at that point of time I also did not discourage the Hindu kids too, to join us in our very own chhotasa ‘iftar’ party. This was started by me when I think I was just in my 5th standard. And then from the next year I also started sneaking out of my house during ‘Saheri’ time. As I used to think that “agar un bachon ko main ‘Roza’ khulwata hoon to unko ‘Saheri’ karane ka farz bhi mera hi banta hai”.

Shahid Kapoor

Before I speak about my way of observing the Holy month of Ramzaan I would like to state that in my childhood when my mom & the maulavi (Priest), who used to come every day to teach me to read & recite ‘The Koran’, failed to do so I was myself deeply troubled as to why I could not pick up the flow of at least reading the Arabic & the Urdu language? But try as I might I too failed. Even my friends were fed up of me when I used pester them to teach me to read ‘The Koran’. Finally I spoke to my ‘Allah’ directly through my ‘Duas’ (Prayers) at night, tendered my apology and from next day onwards I started reading & reciting ‘The Koran’ in English language. It really helped me a lot. And now I am proud to admit that I know all the most important ‘Suras’ & ‘Aayats’ (Koranic Verses) by heart. Then I also learnt to say my ‘Namaaz’ (Prayers) in the same way. Coming to this month of the Holy Ramzan, I am not allowing myself to neglect my religious duties & responsibilities. I don’t find it difficult at all to observe all my 5 times ‘Farz Namaaz’ (a prayer which a Muslim person should obey). I am also keeping all my fasts, ‘Allamhodolillah’ (God Bless) till today I have not missed a single fast. That apart since my mom has left (She got married again) us I am also looking after my younger brother Sameer. Yeah! He is a bit lazy so I have to literally be after him. But this has also enlightened me with the fact that religion should always be practiced out of one’s own choice and never be forced upon anyone.