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"I want to be an actress to be reckoned with": Chitrashi Rawat

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chitrashi-rawat

Chitrashi Rawat of ‘Chak De India’ fame happens to be the 1st ever actress of the Bollywoodian Tinsel Town to have got rid of the shackles of the so called glam girls in the conventional mould. So meet Chitrashi Rawat, an unconventional actress, who is no doubt an actress par excellence. She has indeed proved time & again, right from her debut film CHAK DE INDIA to her latest release BLACK HOME, that she can tackle varied roles and further prove her mettle in the histrionics arena. At heart Chitrashi is a sports loving person, having already proved her proficiency in hockey. And now it is her dream to do as many sports films as possible. Present herewith is a telephonic conversation with a very bubbly & an enthusiastic persona known as Chitrashi Rawat.

Pencil in your background in a nutshell.

I hail born from the beautiful city of Dehradun. I have been a hockey player from the very early stage of my life and also represented my state Uttrakhand at the National level. And by a sheer chance of luck I had bagged CHAK DE INDIA.

And then?

In fact CHAK DE INDIA had happened to me almost a decade ago. Since then I have done films like FASHION, LUCK, TERE NAAL LOVE HO GAYA et al on the celluloid silver screen. That apart in the small screen arena too I have ended up taking part in the most popular shows like COMEDY CIRCUS & ISS JUNGLE SE MUJHE BACHAO on Sony TV and a leading role in FIR on Sab TV. Not only this I have also ended up doing the longest running theater plays like BAAP KA BAAP in Hindi & HONEY HAI TOH MONEY HAI in English.

Ok Now give us a brief insight into your latest release BLACK HOME?

Actually speaking BLACK HOME happens to be a very realistic film belonging to a dark genre, its an eye opener that sets you thinking. It is based on the theme of Juvenile Delinquency. And I have a very strong, powerful & an author backed female oriented role. In fact I am one of the main protagonists in the film. And again frankly speaking the Juvenile Act is implied for the betterment of children’s future. But unfortunately the reality is absolutely unimaginable & unthinkable. The child, who comes to the remand home, is not always & really a criminal. But the real fact is that most of the time an unwanted child of the house belongs to a very poor family. The parents are so poor that they find it very difficult to make the 2 ends meet, so to raise this child becomes like a mission impossible. Hence in reality BLACK HOME is a sincere effort to reveal the reality of these remand home girls in front of the society and make the society aware of the facts that these children lead a life worst than hell. We are a part of this society, where we live a very secure life but the other side of the society is very dark, like a BLACK HOME.

Please continue.

So to reveal the plot in a nutshell, Rajawadi Remand Home is in embroiled in a lot of controversy because of many illegal activities. DK, a news channel bureau chief is all over it again and wants to bring the facts out albeit he is surrounded all around with the usual electronic media politics. DK then uses a non – performing female journalist Anjali to expose the racket and the dark side of the society and show its real & ugly face. It unfolds so many cruel realities of the crime & the politics, which we conveniently ignore. Even otherwise it is not so easy to expose the age old system. So I would say that BLACK HOME is fully researched base film with lot of lots of information gathered from media, news papers and real life interviews of remand mome girls to understand the intensity of the subject. Sincerely speaking BLACK HOME is inspired by true events & information. And I am happy that in BLACK HOME I got a chance to work with veteran & extremely talented actors like Ashutosh Rana, Mohan Joshi, Murli Sharma, Achint Kaur, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Sharad Ponkshe, Santosh Juvekar, Raju Kher, Neelu Kohli, Simran Sehmi, Ajay Suryawanshi, Akhanksha Gade, Priya Gamre et al. BLACK HOME also corroborates the truth that India stands 3rd in the world for rape. Every 20 minutes a girl is raped in India. And out of the 12 million girls born in India, 1 million girls do not see their real homes so most of these girls end up in BLACK HOME. Period!

So how would you describe your filmic journey from CHAK DE INDIA to BLACK HOME en route your varied stopovers in the small screen as well as theatrical arena?

All in all I would say that my journey in all the arenas was smooth sailing albeit my path was strewn with many ups & downs, trials & tribulations and sometimes the interim phase was laced with an unseen sign board of “No Vacancy” and then again I would bounce back with renewed energy without any visible signs of fatigue or depression.

And now name your wish list of both the Bollywoodian as well as the Hollywoodian arena.

The Bollywoodian directors on my wish list are Shekhar Kapoor, Vishal Bhardwaj, Anand Gandhi Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Kiran Rao et al and the Hollywoodian directors on my wish list are Majid Majidi, Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino, Deepa Mehta, Mira Nair et al.

Any dream role?

No I won’t say that I would like to perform any yesteryear’s or the current heroines more popular roles. All I aspire to do is as many as and all kinds of sports oriented roles. And of course I would love to work in Hollywood films, Indie films, art house films, festival films & so on and so forth.

Your parting shot?

I want to be an actress to be reckoned with one who will leave behind a mark in remembrance in the annals of the golden pages of the filmic history.

50 plus Heroes ruling the roost In Bollywood

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Earlier on our Bollywood actors had a very limited time span of their professional career. By the time they had crossed the 35 summers of their lives they either had to quit or switch to characters roles. And unconventional heroes in Bollywood firmament was a strict no – no. Only good looking so called chocolate heroes stood a chance to survive in the rat race to Stardom.

But since the last 1 decade this scenario of Bollywood has done a total & complete volte face. Let’s first take the example of Bollywood’s one & only midget hero Aamir Khan, who has just stepped into the 50th summer of his life. But much before that Aamir Khan had already started chartering his success route stardom with hard work and above all his sheer grit & determined resolve. And his repertoire of runaway successful films include ‘Taare Zammen Par’, ‘3 Idiots’ & ‘PK’ to name just 3 and his steady policy of doing only 1 film at a time also stood him in good stead. At this rate he is all set for a still longer innings at the box office turnstiles with his next upcoming project namely ‘Dangal’.

Apart from Aamir Khan it is Big B who is the classic example of this trend of 50 plus heroes ruling the roost. At 70 plus, Big B is still calling the shots on the big screen with his hit films like the sequel of ‘Bhootnath’ to name just one, on the small screen with all the Seasons of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (KBC) and mini series of ‘Yudh’ and he is still going strong with many upcoming films in his kitty like ‘Piku’, ‘Wazir’, ‘Ghoomketu’, ‘Hasmukh Pigal Gaya’ et al. Not to forget the public issue short films and all the endorsements he keeps doing left, right & centre. All this is enough to give the younger breed of actors a run for their money.

Next in line is the ultra energetic actor like Akshay Kumar aka Akki. When he had made his debut eons ago in ‘Saugandh’, he had gone on record saying that he would be most happy if he could survive in tinsel town even for a decade. And look where he has reached now & how?. His successful films include ‘Boss’, ‘Rowdy Rathore’ & ‘Baby’ to name just 3. So even Akshay Kumar is all set to romance with lady luck for a long. Long time to come. Among the many upcoming films that he has lined up is ‘Airlift’ to name just 1.

The same is the case with Ajay Devgn who was ridiculed for his unconventional dark look since his ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ days. But he changed the entire conception in his stride. With his recent successful films like ‘Son Of Sardar’ and the ‘Singham’ series and upcoming films like his own directorial venture ‘Shivaay’ and many more. So now even he is set for a longer dalliance with the Goddess of box office.

And last but not least is undoubtedly our very own Sallu miyan nay Salman Khan who has created his own success history in spite of all the upheavals & roadblocks in his personal life as well as his professional career. Indeed this ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ has given a real ‘Kick’ to all his detractors.

So here is a cautionary piece de resistance advice to all the younger heroes to take a leaf out of the above mentioned REAL HEROES or be prepared to quit, hang their boots or worst still get blown away with the wind. Period!

Movie Review: 'Chappie' is fascinating but fails to live up to everyone's expectation

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Banner: Media Rights Capital
Producer: Simon Kinberg
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Sharlto Copley as Chappie (voice. & motion capture), Dev Patel, Ninja, Yo – Landi Visser, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Anderson Cooper, Brandon Auret &  Watkin Tudor Jones
Music: Hans Zimmer

Director Neill Blomkamp of ‘District 9’ & ‘Elysium’ fame has treaded on a different kind of filmmaking genre, namely that of robotic world in lieu with the multi – million dollar heist angle.

The plotted scenario reveals that Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is the lead programmer of the Scouts programme, which has provided Johannesburg with an all – robotic police force and brought order to the lawless town. Deon Wilson is working on making his machines better through giving them artificial intelligence. Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman) is a war veteran, who doesn’t care for nerds such as colleague Deon Wilson, wears shorts to office unlike Deon Wilson’s tie & shirt and who is pushing for his own Moore programme in which humans will control a crime – busting robot via a neuro – transmitter helmet. Things take a turn when Deon Wilson is denied permission to try his breakthrough A. I. technology on his Scouts. He then secretes a dismantled robot away, is kidnapped on his way home and threatened by his abductors to load this robot with the a new technology. The result is ‘Chappie’, a robot that is like a child when rebooted, but who learns things much, much faster, is curious, inquisitive, has feelings and a consciousness. Chappie is absolutely charming. The scenario takes a turn and brings in South African musicians Ninja & Yo – Landi Visser, along with Cantillo, who play the gangsters who kidnapped Deon Wilson. Yo – Landi Visser takes on the role of Chappie’s ‘mother’, she reads him bedtime stories, delights in his paintings and the speed at which he picks up new words and tells him all about soul. On the other hand Ninja takes on the role of Chappie‘s father and begins to like him, though his primary motive remains using Chappie to pull off a multi – million dollar heist and ward off fellow robotic police officers. Time for another twist, Chappie is attacked, has his arm cut off and stumbles through his first few hours bewildered at how things are turning out. Particularly as “maker” Deon Wilson had instructed him “never, ever” to do anything criminal.

‘Chappie’ (stylized as Chappie) is an American science fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp. The screenplay, written by Blomkamp & his real life spouse Terri Tatchell, is based on Blomkamp’s own 2004 short film ‘Tetra Vaal’. Not to forget his copied inspiration (Read Robocop). The only praiseworthy crew members are cinematographer Trent Opalach and to some extent editor Julian Clarke and music composer Hans Zimmer.

Performance wise it is Dev Patel of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ fame as Deon Wilson who walks away with all the acting honors as he makes his presence felt in all the frames throughout the film’s duration. The next in line impressive performers are Ninja & Yo – Landi Visser. The rest of the actors like Jose Pablo Cantillo, Anderson Cooper, Brandon Auret & Watkin Tudor Jones are ok. But the most let down act has been delivered by Sigourney Weaver & Hugh Jackman.

Tailpiece: ‘Chappie’ can be recommended as an enjoyable fare for Kids.

Southern movies round up

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As compared to films produced in Bollywoodian & Hollywoodian Cinema arena, South Indian Cinema is rapidly & regylaerly progressing by churning out its own brand of gems of milestone movies in all the 4 languages namely Kannada, Malyalam, Telugu & Tamil. In an exclusive Nasheman.In, Shaheen Raaj will present a sneak preview of the productional happenings of Southern Cinema every fortnight. Time to stay tuned in.

AR Rehman – Manirathnam -Vairamuthu Combo To Be Back With A Big Bang

AR Rehman – Manirathnam -Vairamuthu combo to be back with a big bang. A surprise treat is in the offing for all the die hard fans of AR Rehman – Manirathnam – Vairamuthu combo. As the single “Mental Manathil” from ‘OK Kanmani’ is releasing shortly and is all set to rock the music world. Incidentally speaking ‘OK Kanmani’ is all set to release on 14th Apr, 2015 and stars Dulquer Salman & Nithya Menon with cinematography by P. C. Sriram. The film said to be on the lines of ‘Alaipaythey’, one of the most awaited films releasing this summer.

Vishal & Mysskin Join Hands For The 1st Time Ever

Vishal & Mysskin join hands for the 1st time ever. Mysskin, the maverick director is joining hands with Vishal for the 1st time ever. Mishkin is all set to release his assistant Vadivel’s movie ‘Kallapadam’. The music rights have been bagged by Vishal’s “Vishal Music company”. The audio release function is expected soon. “K”, who scored the music for Mysskin’s ‘Yuddham Sai’ & ‘Mugamoodi’ has scored the music.

‘Kallapadam’ movie is based on “Koothupattarai” and there are 5 songs in the movie. Mysskin has written the lyrics and sung one of the songs and the rest of the songs have been sung by “Koothupattarai” members themselves.

Santosh Narayan Chooses ‘Bangalore Day’ After ‘Madras’

Santosh Narayan chooses ‘Bangalore Day’ after ‘Madras’. Santosh Narayan is one of the finest music directors of Tamil cinema as he got the knack of delivering the perfect Bank Ground Music’s and soul stirring songs. His work in ‘Madras’ got him loads of acclaims and he has become one amongst the most sought after musicians in the southern industry. The Malayalam blockbuster, ‘Bangalore Days’ is getting remade in Tamil & Telugu under ‘Bommarilu’ Baskar’s direction and the latest news to emerge from their camp is, Santosh Narayan will be composing music for this bi – lingual fare.

Poorna Shakes A Leg With Jayam Ravi

Poorna shakes a leg with Jayam Ravi. The already star – studded ‘Appatakar’ has one more addition, with Poorna coming on board for a special song. The actress will shake her legs with Jayam Ravi for a pulsating number.

The song is said to be a a mix of folk & western beats and it would have the ‘Muniyandi Vilangiyal Moondramandu’ & ‘Vithagan’ actress in different costumes, along with Jayam Ravi.

Trisha & Anjali are the heroines of ‘Appatakar’, directed by Suraaj. Vivekh & Santhanam are also there. Shooting is currently on in full swing in Pollachi.

Sivakarthikeyan Is Making Waves

Sivakarthikeyan Is Making Waves. Sivakarthikeyan is in the news for all the right reasons. His much awaited ‘Kakki Sattai’, directed by Durai Senthilkuumar & produced by Dhanush has hit the theatres on 27th Feb, 2015. There is more good news for the star’s fans that with the producers of his next film ‘Rajini Murugan’ are planning to unveil the 1st look of this film on 18th Apr, 2015. Rumors are rife that as many as 370 theatres have been booked for this film and some more are expected. This film is produced by Lingusamy & Subash Chandra Bose of Thirrupathi Brothers, Eros International has teamed up to release it worldwide & Studio Green K. E. Gnanavel Raja has acquired the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights.

Nayantara To Enact A Dual Role For The 1st Time Ever

Nayantara to enact a dual role for the 1st time ever. For the 1st time in her career, Nayanthara is playing a dual role in a Tamil movie titled ‘Maaya’. It is a female centric horror entertainer.

Though the makers had first considered the title ‘Night Show’ for the film, they have changed it as ‘Maaya’. This film will be released in Telugu as ‘Mayuri’. Ashwin Saravanan is making his debut as director with this film. Nayanthara will be seen as a mother in this movie. Nayanthara is the leading heroine in Tamil now with half a dozen films in the pipeline and in Telugu, she will be seen opposite Balakrishna in the actor’s 99th film, directed by Sriwass.

Dasari Narayana Rao Teams Up With Pawan Kalyan

Dasari Narayana Rao teams up with Pawan Kalyan. The fans of Pawan Kalyan have been in a shock since Dasari Narayana Rao announced that he is going to team up with Pawan Kalyan for a movie. Though there is no official announcement, the news is that Dr. M. Mohan Babu is being considered as a villain for this movie. Mohan Babu had played negative roles during the early years of his career but it would be interesting to see him as a baddie now.

Many actors are turning villains at present and it is a good sign for the industry that our actors are getting ready to play different roles if the story demands.

Puri Jagannadh May Direct Chiranjeevi

Puri Jagannadh is all set to direct Chiranjeevi. With the big success of ‘Temper’, Puri Jagannadh is back in the big league and now the director’s aim is to direct Chiranjeevi. He said that he has been a big fan of Chiranjeevi since his childhood and will be very happy if Chiru gives him a chance to direct his 150th film. He also said that though he has no story with him, he has registered the title ‘Auto Jaani’ for Chiru long time back. He added the title would strike a chord with the masses easily and no one would bother what the story of the film is, if Chiru acts in a film with that title. Auto Jaani is the name of Chiranjeevi’s character in his super hit film, ‘Rowdy Alludu’. Lets see if Chiranjeevi gives his nod for Puri Jagannadh.

Senior Cinematographer Vincent Is No More

Senior cinematographer Vincent left for his heavenly abode recently. Senior
cinematographer Aloysius Vincent, who has worked for South as well as  Bollywood films, has passed away. He was 86. He worked with many big actors in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam & Hindi films like Sr. NTR, ANR, Rajesh Khanna, Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh et al. He is best known for his work as a cinematographer for films like ‘Adavi Ramudu’, ‘Prem Nagar’ (Hindi), ‘Major Chandrakanth’, ‘Annamayya’ et al in Telugu. He was one of the most revered cinematographers in India. His son Jayanan Vincent is also a cinematographer.

Anoop Menon To Script For Priyan

Anoop Menon to write a screenplay for Priyan. “Priyadarshan…….we as a generation was fed on his films…….a master of the craft, the moments spent with him were replete with anecdotes and sheer movie magic…….will be soon writing for the maverick’…….!” wrote Anoop Menon in his social networking page thereby announcing his new project. Anoop who is excited to be a part of his favorite director Priyadarshan, is planning this project as an out & out commercial entertainer. Anoop who finds Priyadarshan as the big reason for his passion for cinema was also recently seen in a Priyadarshan movie named ‘Aamayum Muyalum’ which uynfortunately failed at the Box Office.

Pranav Says No To Acting

Pranav says no to acting. Following a statement from actor turned director Sajid Yahiya about his new film, ‘Inspector Davood Ibrahim’, reports flooded on the net about Pranav Mohanlal’s entry as hero through this film. All media were after the young assistant of Jeethu Joseph to know about the real story and its confirmation. But incidentally speaking Pranav has not yet confirmed about his entry into film acting. Citing earlier stories as baseless, it is now learned that Pranav still doesn’t have any solid acting plans. Pranav, had earlier acted in films like ‘Punarjani’ & ‘Onnaman’, while he was a child. He is currently assisting director Jeethu Joseph in the Dileep starrer ‘Life Of Josutty’.

Horro To Star In ‘Last Bus’

Horro to star in ‘Last Bus’. Last Bus is very important on many occasions. When the last bus is not caught for reaching the destination, life becomes horrible. It is not horrible but horror says director of ‘Jugari’ in his 2nd film ‘Last Bus’. The shoot has been completed for this film with 6 prominent actors. The grand children of Hasyachakravarthy Narasimharaju – SD Aravind, Avinash & Samarth are part of this film. 6 strangers in the ‘Last Bus’ travelling to Malanad reach a bungalow. They witness lots of strange developments in the stay. Pravin D. Rao has scored the background music & K. Y. Narayanaswamy has lent 3 songs. Aravind has composed songs. Avinash Narasimharaju has high expectations from this film. Deepa Gowda admitted that she had taken 35 takes for 1st shot. Manasa Joshi, Meghasri Bhagavathar expressed happiness while working for this film. Rajesh is playing Kerala Mantrik’s role. 3rd generation from Narasimharaju family Samarth is in a prominent role.

‘Kanana’ All Set To Go On The Floors

‘Kanana’ All Set To Go On The Floors. This is yet another father & son combination project. On the investment of father the young son is entering filmdom via ‘Kaanana’. S. Srinivas of S. Nalige Productions is introducing a new director Radha. Radha has written story, screenplay, & dialogue besides direction.

According to director Radha the film is on crime & punishment. The shoot will be held In Hosur, Kolar & other locales of Kerala. Son of producer Srinivas, Sushanth who is making his debut worked in England for 3 years and is currently an employee of HP company. He is also a close relative of famous comedian N. S. Rao.

"My film 'Monsoon' is the final test of my inborn histrionic talent": Shristi Sharma

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Shristi Sharma, can no longer be termed as a débutante heroine of the celluloid silver screen. In fact she has seen it all & done it all in her illustrious & chequered Bollywoodian journey. And now to bag her share of limelight & stardom she is eyeing the box office Queen to bestow her winsome smile on her. And for that She is keeping her heart, fingers, toes et al crossed for the runaway success of ‘Monsoon’. Here in this interactive telephonic encounter with SHAHEEN RAAJ, she recounts all about the success of her recently released movie ‘MONSOON’.

Please inform us about the latest development in your professional life?

First & foremost I would like to Thank God – The Almighty that slowly but steadily I am inching ahead in my career. And of late one of my film named ‘Monsoon’ has been released and has proved successful and I am 100% sure it has proved to be the final test of my Inborn histrionic talent. I am not like the other débutante starlets who keep on shouting from rooftops to tom tom about, how good & talented actresses they are. As for me I firmly & strongly believe in letting my work speak for me. Just wait & watch out for my other upcoming movies.

So what was your film ‘Monsoon’ all about?

Incidentally speaking in ‘Monsoon’ I had an author backed female oriented role. Which incidentally revolved totally & completely around me. I had enacted a very strong character in ‘Monsoon’. There were  2 looks of my character in ‘Monsoon’. One was that of a silently suffering widow and the other was the imaginary side of her reflecting her romantic side.

How was it working with a débutante actor like Vijay Singh?

My lead hero in ‘Monsoon’ was none other than débutante Vijay Singh, the winner of the Mallika Sherawat’s reality show ‘The Bachelorette India’. So if Vijay Singh was the real life hero of Mallika on the small screen then Vijay Singh happened to be my reel life hero on the big screen. He is a good actor, but he has miles to go is all I can say but of course I found him to be a very intense & dedicated actor.

And what about your director Sujat Khan?

No doubt he is a very talented director and the way he explains the gamut & the nuances of the character is awesome. I think he has a bright future ahead of him.

Anything else that you would like to add?

‘Monsoon’ has been produced by my erstwhile mentor Mahendra Dhariwal and it has been directed by Sujat Khan topped of course with some of the most daring stunts executed by none other than Tinu Verma and last but not the least is Khusi who has styled my character in ‘Monsoon’.

Tell us what other new things are happening in your professional advertisement career?

I have just done 2 ad films one is named “Khushboo” and the other one is named “Mango Freshy” made by one of my favorite directors namely Navin Batra.

Movie Review: NH10 is a brilliant film crafted with a very realistic touch

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Banner: Phantom Films & Clean Slate Films
Producer: Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Sunil Lulla, Krishika Lulla & Anushka Sharma
Director: Navdeep Singh
Cast: Anushka Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Deepti Naval, Ravi Jhankal, Darshan Kumar et al
Music: Anirban Chakraborty, Sanjeev -Darshan, Ayush Shrestha, Savera Mehta & Samira Koppikar

Director Navdeep Singh, of ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ fame, in his latest offering ‘NH10’ seems to have surpassed his own directorial skills. So ‘NH10’ is chilling, blood curdling, horrifying et al beyond imagination. It leaves you speechless & dumbfounded with its shocking twists & turns at every turn of events. Sometimes its scary, true to life, happenings makes you flinch and with a nail biting attitude you are left wondering what next? And the high point of ‘NH10’ is its shockingly spine chilling climax in the last half an hour’s duration of the film. If only Navdeep Singh had resisted the temptation of getting entangled in the inspirational web, of Hollywood films ‘Eden Lake’ and even the blatantly copied poster of another Hollywood film ‘Black Widow’ based on a similar theme.

The film’s title NH10 refers to the 403 km long National Highway 10 that starts from Delhi, passes through Haryana via Bahadurgarh, Rohtak, Hisar, Fatehabad, Sirsa and ends at the Pakistan border in Punjab. So ‘NH10’ unfolds the story of a young couple whose road trip gets upset after an encounter with a group of violent criminals. Meera (Anushka Sharma) &  Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam) are corporate professionals living in Gurgaon. When Meera walks out of a party late one night, she is attacked by a group of unknown men. Although she escapes by the skin of her teeth, the encounter leaves her extremely traumatized. Arjun, partly blaming himself for not being there that night, tries to make up for it by treating her to a luxurious desert holiday. As they stop on a Highway dhaba for dinner, they witness a young girl & a young boy being picked up by a bunch of hoodlums, a clear revengeful case of honor killing, when Arjun chooses to step in unmindful of the danger lying ahead. And that’s when Meera & Arjun’s pleasant & fun oriented romantic road trip goes completly & totally toppsy turvy. No I won’t be a spoiler by revealing the rest of the true to life, spine chilling & horrifyingly dangerous plot. It can happen to anyone on a darkened deserted highway. So “Beware”!!!

Director Navdeep Singh’s carefully assembled directorial treatment is 1st rate, simply outstanding. Hats off to the entire team of producers namely Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Sunil Lulla, Krishika Lulla & above all actor Anushka Sharma for also donning a producer’s hat with an excellent film like ‘NH10’. And due credit of the crowning glory of ‘NH10’ also goes to the behind the scenes team members like Dipa De Motwane (Co – producer), Sudeep Sharma (Writer), Karan Gour (Background Score), Eka Lakhani (Costume Designers), Sanjeev – Darshan, Bann Chakraborty, Ayush Shrestha, Savera Mehta & Samira Koppikar (Music), Jabeen Merchant (Editor), Arvind Kannabiran (Cinematographer), Mustafa Stationwala (Production Designers), Armin Sauer & Abdul Salaam Ansari (Action), Subhash Sahu (Sound), Jogi (Casting Director), Ravi Padda & Binny Padda (Publicity Stills) & Raindrop Media (PRO).

Performance wise undoubtedly the scene stealer is Anushka Sharma, this simple Bangalorean girl, nay an actor perhaps whose potential talent was untapped till this date, but she has finally arrived and how? Her vendetta oriented flawless act doesn’t even give you a chance to bat your eyelids. If she continues in the same team in her subsequent films then there is no looking back for her. Even an extremely talented actor like Neil Bhoopalam is a few shades paler in comparison to Anushka Sharma. Darshan Kumar as Satbir is unbeliably remarkable. Deepti Naval leaves a strong impact. Finally Ravi Jhaankal along with the entire bunch of talented albeit unknown actors in the entire hoodlum’s gang deserves a special & a noteworthy mention.

Tailpiece: ‘NH10’s press preview was a hardcore, nay every critics delight and its theatrical shows will be a moviegoer’s ultimate, with no alternate, movie watching experience. And a cautionary advice: certainly & defintely not recommended for cinegoers with a weak heart.

Movie Review: 'Focus'

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Banner: RatPac – Dune Entertainment, Di Novi Pictures, Kramer & Sigman Films, Overbrook Entertainment & Zaftig Films
Producer: Denise Di Novi
Director: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney, B. D. Wong, Robert Taylor, Dominic Fumusa, Brennan Brown, Griff Furst, Adrian Martinez & Alfred Tumbley
Music: Nick Urata

Director duo Glenn Ficarra & John Requa in their latest outing ‘Focus’ seems to be just a bit out of focus as while mixing the recipe of con-game with love dose they got really carried away by the inspirational game from George Roy Hill’s ‘The Sting’ or even Stephen Frears ‘The Grifters’. Not to forget other “Heist” movies like ‘Out Of Sight’ & ‘Ocean’s 11’. But the over all presentation of good actors, eye pleasing locales (New Orlean & Buenos Aires), some smart twists & turns et al are really note worthy & impressive.

So ‘Focus’ is an American romantic dark comedy film in which a seasoned con – man Nicky Spurgeon (Will Smith) goes to a nightclub, where an inexperienced grifter, Jess Barrett (Margot Robbie), attempts to seduce him by pretending that they’ve been caught by her jealous husband, in order to con Nicky. Seeing through their deception, Nicky exposes their plan and advises them never to lose focus when faced with unexpected situations before leaving. Jess finds him in another nightclub a few days later and convinces Nicky to become her mentor by detailing all information she acquired on him, including that his father, Bucky Spurgeon, was forced to shoot Nicky’s grandfather after a con game gone wrong. Nick takes Jess to New Orleans, where she performs a series of minor cons as a test. After proving her worth, Jess is introduced to Nicky’s crew, and soon Nicky & Jess develop a romantic relationship, upsetting Nicky, who was taught by his father to never become emotionally involved with anyone in their line of business. At a professional football championship game at the Mercedes -Benz Superdome, Nicky & Jess con a compulsive gambler, Liyuan Tse (B. D. Wong) out of all his money. Afterwards, Nicky gives Jess her share but reluctantly sends her away, leaving her heartbroken. 3 years later, Nicky is in Buenos Aires, working for a billionaire motorsport team owner Rafael Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro). Garriga needs to beat a team headed by Australian businessman McEwen (Robert Taylor) to win the championship. Nicky will pretend to be a disgruntled technician on Garriga’s team, and will sell a bogus component to McEwen, slowing their car down during the race. At a pre -race party, Nicky runs into Jess, who is now Garriga’s girlfriend. Nicky has a convincing fight with Garriga in public, and is recruited by McEwen to provide the component. Nicky begins pursuing Jess again, and they eventually rekindle their relationship. The head of Garriga’s security entourage, Owens (Gerald McRaney), is suspicious and follows Nicky & Jess. Nicky delivers the component to McEwen for 3 million euros, but also sells it to the other teams for similar amounts. While he is waiting for Jess at his hotel room, he receives a text saying that he is exposed, and should leave immediately. Nicky & Jess attempt to return to the United States together. However, they are caught by Garriga’s men and taken to an abandoned warehouse, where Nicky pleads for Jess’ life, and is beaten by Garriga. Jess reveals she was trying to seduce Garriga in order to steal his valuable watch, and Owens then shoots Nicky in the chest, causing a horrified Garriga to leave. Owens then reveals himself to be Nicky’s father, Bucky, and assures Jess that he avoided any major arteries.

Bucky drives Nicky & Jess to the hospital to treat Nicky’s punctured lung and departs with Nicky’s money, as a reminder of the consequences of losing focus. After he leaves, Jess reveals that she had snatched Garriga’s watch before he left the warehouse, and Nicky & Jess then go into the hospital together.

Mostly solo directors or even co – directors plan a sequel of a movie once it acquires the box office crown but the director duo Glenn Ficarra & John Requa seems to have set their focus, the other way round as ‘Focus’ is appears garbed more like a prequel.

That apart they had too battle it out with the indian censor board too who indeed allowed scores of cuss words & raunchy innuendo, as well as several sex scenes, though they’re limited to kissing and shots of bare shoulders, backs, and the sides of breasts but no frontal nudity. As we are all morally conscious indians you know! Kudos & bouquets of appreciation to the director duo Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, if only their script did not display loopholes galore, in tandem with their technical team Xavier Pérez Grobet (Cinematographer), Jan Kovac (Editor), Nick Urata (Music) et al for making the movie racy & enjoyable to some extent.

Performance wise, for a change, ‘Focus’ focuses on each & every characters galore. So in brief their individual act can be outlined: Will Smith as Nicky Spurgeon – Outstanding Act, Margot Robbie as Jess Barrett – Brilliantly Sensuous, Rodrigo Santoro as Garriga – Charming, Gerald McRaney as Bucky Spurgeon / Owens – Perfection Personified, B. D. Wong as Liyuan Tse, Extremely Funny, Robert Taylor as McEwen – OK, Dominic Fumusa as Jared – Passable, Brennan Brown as Horst – Adequate, Griff Furst as Gareth – Noteworthy, Adrian Martinez as Farhad – Hilariously Comical & Alfred Tumbley as Dogs – Wicked.

Tailpiece: Worth watching without loosing your focus on the entire proceedings.

Nasheman.in exclusive: A controversial & clarifying interview with producer & director Suneel Kumar

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“I Am Trying To Assemble 300 Small Time Filmmakers Under 1 umbrella (Read Association) To Be Headed By Veteran Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihlani.” – Suneel Kumar

Suneel Kumar

Suneel Kumar maybe a small time filmmaker who has made mostly “B” & “C” grade films. But he has no qualms on being labelled as a “B” & “C” grade filmmaker as he strongly feels that it is the so called “B” & “C” grade films that are largely successful at the box office turnstiles, so what if they run successfully in “B” & “c” grade centres only, the smaller pockets of the distribution sectors of the interior territories. Besides these small films fetch enough coins at the box office turnstiles which feeds 100’s of families of the technical crews. But Suneel Kumar also laments the fact that the small films do not get their due recognition in all aspects & respects. Not only this there is not even a single umbrella (Read Association) protection to safeguard their varied interests.

So what according to you are the main grievances of the small time filmmakers?

The main grievances of us, small time filmmakers is that there is no one to listen to us. There is not even one umbrella (Read Association) to voice our opinions, no one to take heed of our problems, our difficulties in varied aspects & respects.

Kindly elaborate!

To give you a specific example. You see I have made many low budget films. And all of them were released in the single theaters of Mumbai circuits as well as the other circuits @ the All India Level. In the earlier times all the distributors used to take a keen interest in picking up such projects on outright basis at a good price. Then came the trend of releasing them on a joint profit sharing basis with Minimum Guarantee (MG). And now the tables have turned completely as now the distributors, sometimes in connivance with the exhibitors too, have started the trend of releasing the film only at our expense. So now we small time filmmakers have to shell out an additional budget of publicity (materials cost too), promotions and even the theater hire charges (Read Exhibitors) and to top it we do not even get any revenue from the music rights & the satellite rights as the doors of this 2 avenues are closed for us forever. Today the situation has become such that if the making cost is 5 lacs, we end up spending another 5 lacs on other miscellaneous expenses that I have just mentioned above. And after all this we consider ourself lucky if we end up making a marginal profit of just 1 lakh. And if our film becomes a runaway hit, which is very rare nowadays, than that proves to be a Bumper Bonus, almost akin to a Double Bonanza for us. Not only this now we also have to deal with the changing censor guidelines from time to time.

And pray what is that?

Oh! That is one more ailing situation that we small time filmmakers have to face. As the morality conscious Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) feels itself so duty bound that it keeps changing its censor guidelines, to protect public morality, from time to time sometimes without even any prior intimation. And needless to say the CBFC members are very harsh with us small time filmmakers.

How come?

I will cite a latest example. My recently released film was ‘Yeh Figure Hai’. And the film’s title goes with its theme. But the censor board had asked me to chop off all the semi clad shots of a female figure. Then you tell me what would have remained in the finally chopped off movie. I really had a trying time in convincing them not to mar my film in this distorted fashion. Now what are these guidelines wherein a so called male nudity (Read semi – nude) in a recently released film is passed without even batting an eyelid and for a semi – clad female nudity a lot of hullabaloo and even societal eyebrows are raised. And in the end it is the cine goers who feel cheated as they cannot enjoy the semi – clad nudity scenario either on the big screen as the censors chop off their visual delight and they can’t do so by feasting their eyes on the wall posters or even the filmy trade magazines as the Information & Broadcasting ministry has decided to slam it with hammer & tongs.

Are small time filmmakers facing any other problems?

Earlier we used to give manual prints of our films processed in a film laboratory. But now with the advent of the digitized release through UFO, Cube, UMW, K. Sera Sera et al we are facing more problems. Earlier the manual print cost was more but now we find that releasing the film through this above mentioned digitised medium is exorbitant. Not to forget about their high handed tantrums & the non – preferential treatment that they mete out to us over big films.

Anything more that you would like to add on?

Oh! Yes of course, the latest ordinance passed by the Government (Read The Information & Broadcasting Ministry). As now they have become the watchdogs over the semi – nude advertisement that we release in Filmy trade Magazines to promote our films nay to lure the cine goers to the cinema halls which used to boost the collections on the box office turnstiles. So what are we supposed to do as we are trapped from both sides (Read CBFC & I & B Ministry) with no way to escape from any loopholes whatsoever.

So are the small time filmmakers taking any steps to wriggle out of these dire situations that they are facing from all sides?

Yes! Of course we are striving very hard to improve our precarious situation. On a close knit survey I discovered that there are almost 300 small time filmmakers who are suffering including me. I am making all the efforts to assemble all of them under 1 umbrella (Read Association) hopefully & probably to be headed by none other than veteran filmmaker Pahlaj Nihlani, who is now also the new chair person of the Central Board 0f Film Certification. I am sure that under his tutelage & expertise oriented guidance we will surely & definitely solve all our ailing problems galore.

Lets hope for the best and now tell us are you contented with your filmic journey as a small time filmmaker so far?

For that you have to travel with me in the time frame of the year 1991. Almost a runaway lad had arrived & landed in the Bollywoodian capital with starry dreams in his eyes. He struggled a lot and was soon to be clubbed as an extra in crowded sequences, sensing danger he fled and started his struggle all over again, this time as a filmmaker and very soon he gained prominence as a small time filmmaker. So the small time filmmaker that’s me had finally arrived by making his own gem of 2 small screen serials and a few small time big screen films in Hindi, Bhojpuri, chattisgarhi et al. So yes the answer is an emphatic YES I am fully & totally satisfied with my filmic journey as a small time filmmaker. Period!

Nasheman.in exclusive: A nostalgic encounter with Shahrukh Khan

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Shahrukh-Khan

Almost a decade ago veteran film journalist Shaheen Raaj had encountered Badshah Khan who had turned nostalgic while reminiscing about his Bangalorean roots and his deep attachment with his ever-increasing Bangalorean fans.

At that time King Khan Shahrukh had officially visited the Garden City, a favourite city of his and had the Bangaloreans eating out of his hand, it was for the grand ‘Temptation 2005 show at Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Rain Gods playing havoc had marked his 1st round, but he had made it up with his 2nd visit within a fortnight. The show was indeed a grand success. The Khan magic had worked wonders.

What you don’t know is that at that point of time Khan was on an undetected unofficial visit to his aunt’s place in Jaya Mahal. It was strictly a family affair, a kind of a religious ceremony to herald the on coming Holy month of Ramzan. Present herewith is the ad verbatim account in first person.

“I have a special affinity for Bangalore, as I belong here. I can say, in a way, it is like my hometown. I have spent a greater part of my life, especially my childhood and teen summers out here. In fact, my maternal family still stays here and they had all come for my Temptation show (in Chinnaswamy Stadium)!”

“Let me tell you why I love my Bangalore so much. My mother Latifa Fatima hailed from Bangalore. She was born & brought up here and shifted to Delhi only after her marriage. She was a pucca Bangalorean you know. In fact her sister, my aunt, Ahrar Fatima with her entire family including my 1st cousins, Moin Ahmed Shahbaz & Tasneem still reside out here at 18, Nandidurga hills, near Jaya Mahal. Originally, my maternal ancestors were all from Hyderabad but had migrated to Bangalore in the 50’s era.”

“My maternal grandfather Salim Ahmed was an Engineer-in-Chief in Bangalore, a post that was especially created for him, and which ended with him, by the Government of Karnataka.”

“It was my paternal ancestors who hailed from Peshawar and later on migrated to Delhi I think somewhere in the late 50’s era. No wonder I studied in St. Columbus College in Delhi and then acquired my Economic Honors Degree from there.”

“Coming back to my Bangalore days. I still recall two very vivid memories. My cousin Tasneem was a great Amitabh Bachchan fan she used to drag me to various places like M. G. Road, Brigade Road, Commercial Street, City Market & Majestic Circle to hunt for his posters and then she would stick them all up in her room & her vanity cupboard.”

“One fine day I got so bugged that I retorted, ‘You just wait baby, one day you will have to stick my posters too’ and off I went to Brigade Road alone and got my portfolio done in a small dingy studio near Kohinoor Hotel, a Muslim joint which I think still exists. It was the Summer of 82’ and I think my journey to showbiz & stardom began from there. Soon I was back in Delhi and passed my snaps around which got me my small screen break in ‘Fauji’, ‘Doosra Kewal’ and a couple of Telefilms.”

“And you would be surprised to know that it was the same set of snaps, which got me my big screen break in ‘Deewana’ too and the rest, as they say, is history. But the irony of the whole thing is that Tasneem still refuses to buy my posters leave alone sticking them around in her room.”

“My favorite hang out places in Bangalore at that that time was undoubtedly my cousin late Shahbaz Khan’s “Bombay Kababs” joint at the extreme end of Millers Road.”

“Besides how can I forget my movie going trips to Plaza. The Sunday evenings were spent watching the latest English movies with chips, burgers, sandwiches, samosas & soft drinks. Never imagined I would endorse one of them in the near future.”

“Then how can I forget the New Year Nites that I had spent here when we all freaked out by dancing our blues away in ‘The Club’ discotheque on Mysore Road. If time permits, I always make it a point to visit with my best friend Zayed Khan, their family’s resort ‘Golden Palms’ for a chill out spree.”

“Oh! There is so much to speak about Bangalore. But I won’t reveal anymore, as it’s all there in my autobiography to be published soon. Abhi sab bata doonga toh my Bangalorean fans will not pick up my 1st ever written book. Khuda Haafiz”!

Movie Review: 'Hey Bro' is a roller coaster joy ride of fun, comedy & entertainment

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Hey-Bro

Banner: Pushpa Krishna Creations Presents
Producer: Vidhi Acharya
Director: Ajay Chandhok
Cast: Ganesh Acharya, Maninder Singh, Nupur Sharma, Hanif Hilal, Indira Krishnan, Prem Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgan, Ranveer Singh, Prabhudeva & Govinda
Music: Nitin Arora & Sony Chandy

A couple of years ago director Ajay Chandok had, had his 1st directorial outing with ‘Chatur Singh Two Star’ with not much directorial success to his credit. And now years later he has again failed to display his, maybe, latent directorial skills.

So the million dollar question is what is the movie ‘Hey Bro’ all about. Well! ‘Hey Bro’ with the tagline “Judwa (Read Twins) with a twist”, is a comedy action drama film that depicts the journey of a very cute, innocent & loveable Gopi (Ganesh Acharya), a village bumpkin from a small village in Rajasthan who comes to Mumbai in search of his twin brother Shiv (Maninder Singh) & mother (Indira Krishnan) separated from him at birth. He doesn’t have an address or any picture of his brother & mother, but to fulfil his dadaji’s (Prem Chopra) wish; he leaves the village in their search with his ‘own picture’ naively believing that his brother would look ‘just like him’ as ‘twins always do’, because he had seen that in a lot of movies. What follows is a roller coaster ride of fun, comedy & entertainment. The ‘hunt’ for his brother lands the innocent Gopi, in a lot of crazy situations, the wrong side of law as well as a law breaker ‘Land Mafia Don’ Baba (Hanif Hilal). How Gopi gets out of those situations, escapes from the clutches of the villain, finds his brother Shiv & his mother, plays cupid between his brother & the beautiful & sexy Anjali (Nupur Sharma) & finally re-unites the entire family, is one hilarious, funny yet emotional, enriching & entertaining experience.

Director Ajay Chandok’s directorial skills leaves much to be desired but it is the plot and the hilarious twist & turns at the scripting level that takes precedence and enlivens the entire proceedings. And the due credit goes to its technical crew too.

Performance wise It is Ganesh Acharya who scores all the brownie points in the histrionics department. He is cute & he is lovable, just like his character in the film. Besides he defies the convention mores that only smart & dashing person can play the lead role. Next in line is Maninder Singh leaves an impact as the lost brother. He impresses a lot with his dashing persona in a uniformed role having done such roles in the small screen arena too. While the rest of the cast comprising of Nupur Sharma, Hanif Hilal, Indira Krishnan & Prem Chopra (the latter in a brief role) complement the main lead players Ganesh Acharya & Maninder Singh. And as for superstars & stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgan, Ranveer Singh, Prabhudeva & Govinda adequately add to the value of the box office turnstiles by making a very special appearance in a very special song “Birju”.

Tailpiece: To be very frank ‘Hey Bro’ is like a David Dhawan kind of commercial movie. So leave your brains behind and just have a hearty laugh.

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