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Film Festival Round Up

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A Glance At Tunisian Cinema
The International Film Festival Of India (IFFI Goa 2018) hosted a special session on Tunisian cinema with the motive of promoting tourism of Tunisia through cinema.
The session, led by Tunisian Ambassador H.E. Nejmeddine Lakhal, began with a 3 minute short film promoting the tourism of Tunisia. The session also included a presentation on the topic, “‘Opportunity of making films in Tunisia”.
The presentation touched upon crucial points that play an important role in making Tunisia conducive as a locale for film shoots, such as the history of Tunisia (how it was formed) & reasons for making films such as strategic locale climate, landscapes, historical ruins, modern infrastructure & logistics, et al. The cost of shooting is said to be 30 % less than the other countries.
H.E. Nejmeddine Lakhal said, “There are movies like Star Wars shot in Tunisia. Indian filmmakers should explore this opportunity. When it comes to technician, actors, accommodations, locales, the logistics & documentations are competitors. You have exemption & custom clearance in 24 hours. One thing you have to do is to connect with the movie production team in Tunisia and they will do anything for you. If you need equipment, technician, tourist certificate from the army that will take one week to 12 days.”
IANS

Bollywood Round Up 2

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Filmmaker Sriram Raghavan & Writer Shridhar Raghavan Enthralled The Audiences
 
Talented duo of Siblings namely filmmaker Sriram Raghavan & writer Shridhar Raghavan enthralled the audiences at IFFI Goa 2018 with anecdotes from their years of growing up together in Pune & their journey through the film industry.
Speaking about how they fell in love with cinema, Sriram said, “As a kid I loved movies, that’s the only escape I had”, to which Shridhar added that, “We grew up in Pune next to the Apollo & Alankar cinema halls where we would watch all kinds of films from the past & the present, Hindi & Hollywood. One time I bunked school for 6 months and just watched films. Much like how kids do today using torrents.”
On being asked why it took him 17 long years to make his 1st ever feature film after passing out of the Film  & Institute of India (FTII), Sriram said that, “Hindi cinema in the 90’s wasn’t the kind of films I wanted to make. Also I took time finding out my voice. My critical faculty was much better than my writing ability & hence I didn’t like anything I wrote.”
To the amusement of everyone in the hall, Shridhar added that. “With Sriram screenwriting is like Kamasutra. He tries every position & angle.”
A lot of discussion revolved around his latest thriller, Andhadhun, a film that’s still running to packed houses. Asked about the ending Sriram was cryptic as always. He asked the audiences to telling him what they felt. Shridhar felt that what one thought of the ending revealed a lot about how they looked at the world & human nature. The primarily young student filmmaker community in the audiences asked the duo multiple questions on their writing & filmmaking process, which the siblings answered in detail.

Bollywood Round Up

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A Candid Chat With Varun Dhawan & David Dhawan
 
It is a lesser known fact that David Dhawan started his journey as a filmmaker with editing and the latter is a craft he enjoys more than any other. That his actual name is Rajinder & David was a name fondly given to him by a Jew family in Kolkata, is another trivia. The In-Conversation session titled, “Dha-One”, featuring David Dhawan & his superstar son Varun Dhawan was full of such lesser-known facts surrounding the Dhawan family, a candid recollection of David & Varun’s journey in films and the changes in the film industry from the duo’s point of view. The massive DMK auditorium at Kala Academy failed to contain the huge swarm of Varun Dhawan’s fans who did not stop cheering, whistling & expressing their love for the young icon.
While recollecting his foray into the world of acting, Varun Dhawan was quite vocal about his love for films of darker shades. The actor was all praise for films like Dhobi Ghat, Black Friday & Badlapur. Varun said, “I would have given my right arm to be launched by Anurag Kashyap”, to which David quipped, “Thank God, not!” The senior Dhawan further added, “When I learnt that he had auditioned for Dhobi Ghat, I suggested him to give up the idea and instead do ‘proper’ Bollywood cinema. Later, when Karan (Johar) told me that he is casting Varun in a lead role in his film, I thought ‘what can be better than this?’ I asked Varun to step on his shoulder and take the leap.”
Using the example of the blockbuster film Amar Akbar Anthony, David said, “The scene where the brothers collectively donate blood to their mother still attracts applause. The idea is impractical, but cinema is all about what you make the audience believe. You’re selling dreams, at the end of the day.”
While speaking about what drew him to acting, Varun said, “I always wanted to be the funny guy in the group. I dreamt of owning a channel and do talk shows. I used to be obsessed with improvised  comedy.”
The session moderated by Rumi Jaffery then touched upon varied facets of the Dhawan family, including Varun’s brother Rohit Dhawan who is also a filmmaker, the bonding between the brothers, their mother & the times of growing up.
When asked if he was nervous about his debut film, Student Of The Year (SOTY), Varun surprisingly dismissed the notion. He said, “We all (Varun, Alia & Siddharth) were debutante actors. So Student Of The Year (SOTY) was all Karan’s headache. I knew that if the film did not do well, the blame would be all on Karan. I was stressed in the true sense for the 1st time ever before the release of Main Tera Hero. That was my first solo hero film. I was desperate to convince the audience that I’m their hero who can laugh, cry, dance & romance, be funny & do everything that a hero does.”
The actor said he is very excited about his upcoming film, Kalank, and that he is eager to see how the audience receives him & the film.

Bollywood Buzz

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Sonu Nigam & Hariharan Performed Live For A Chritable Cause
 
One of the choicest of music concerts “Rehmatein” is back with its 6th edition! This time with music veterans Sonu Nigam & Hariharan at the helm of affairs, and an 18 piece orchestra set up, “Rehmatein 6” was bigger. “Rehmatein 6”, the biggest fundraiser event from Sangeetam Charitable Trust, was hosted by E-Bizz Entertainment Pvt Ltd at Shanmukhanand Hall, Sion Mumbai.  
 
The concert was a full house with a noble cause attached to it. Hariharan & Sonu Nigam sang all their major super hit songs for the audiences & the guests.
 
Padam Vibhushan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Padamshri Anup Jalota, Talat Aziz, Salim Merchant, Jaspinder Narula, Leslie Lewis & Yogesh Lakhani of Bright Outdoor attended the concert.
 
Saurabh Daftary thanked all his sponsors namely LIC, Kanakia Builders, SBI, Axis Mutual Funds, Mahindra Finance & even the audiences for their support for this noble cause.
 
The trust, co-founded by Saurabh Daftary, has been extending financial aid to the artists of the music fraternity over the last decade & over the last 5 year via “Rehmatein”. While in the 1styear they presented an amount of 5 Lakhs to the living legends of our industry Khayyam Saab & Rajendra Mehta, in the 2ndyear “Rehmatein” gave medical insurance cover to as many as 20 musicians. In their 3rd, 4th & 5th year they gave medical aide & insurance cover to over 100 musicians.
 
However, this time around “Rehmatein 6” will be contributing to the “Kerala Relief Fund” & little does one know, that the show had already taken up about 80% occupancy!
 

Film Festival Round Up 

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Director Shaad Ali Dicussing Movies With The Film Critics At IFFI
The Internation Film Festival Of India (IFFI Goa 2018) also saw some of the leading film critics of the country engage in a conversation on the new age of cinema & how the lines between commercial mainstream cinema & alternative cinema are blurring. This elite panel included film critics like Bhawana Somaaya, Rajeev Masand & Anupama Chopra along with trade analyst Komal Nahata & filmmaker Shaad Ali (of Bunty Aur Babli & Saathiya fame) & Ankur Mehra (of Facebook fame) moderating the session. 
 
This is especially true in a year where some of the biggest films have been those without stars but with amazingly fresh storylines. These include films like Badhai Ho, Stree & Raazi.
Starting of the panel on a light note Komal Nahata said that, “Because we don’t pay for our tickets & popcorn, we try to save other people’s money by giving a fair opinion.” Rajeev Masand added that “a lot of people don’t know what we do”, to which Komal Nahata retorted, “Even I don’t know what we do.”
Things soon took a serious turn with the conversation veering to how films are judged in India. When asked about his opinion filmmaker Shaad Ali mentioned that, “Films should not be judged by how much money is spent on them. Everyone works equally hard on their films.”
Throwing light on the role of the exhibitors & their perceived knowledge of what works & what doesn’t, Komal Nahata said that, “All the exhibitors understand is that ‘if the film gets an opening, then it will be a hit & if it doesn’t then it will flop.’ I don’t agree with that. That is why I like to see the film with the audience. The opening day figures of a film are not as important as the feeling & mood of the audience when they are watching a film.”
Speaking on the on-going audience evolution & their changing tastes as far as cinema is concerned, Anupama Chopra said, “There is no art-house cinema or mainstream cinema. What is Andhadhun? What is Badhai Ho? What is Sriram Raghavan? Is he an art-house filmmaker or a mainstream filmmaker? Now the lines are blurred, almost extinguished”.
Rajeev Masand added that, “It’s really an exciting time. Ideas & themes that wouldn’t usually be touched upon by the mainstream are today getting funded.” Komal Nahata added, “The audience has evolved, they see world cinema on their smartphones, they are receptive to different themes now. Therefore they appreciate films without a star-cast or middle of the road.”
The audience peppered the panel with questions on what the future holds for Indian cinema and how they see the market evolving further.

  Festival Round Up

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Women Directors Gauri Shinde, Leena Yadav & Meghna Gulzar Discuss Gender Equality & Women-Centric Stories
Women directors in Indian Cinema, saw some of the most prolific filmmakers in India, Gauri Shinde, Leena Yadav & Meghna Gulzar engage in a conversation on gender equality, women-centric stories & their journey in the film industry, moderated exceptionally well by filmmaker Shashank Khaitan.
Usually a good male director is a “genius”, “has an eye for detail” & “knows what he wants”, but his female counterpart is usually perceived to be “finicky”, “too rigid” & “too authoritative”. When asked if this perception has changed, Meghna Gulzar quipped, “I hope not. We are finicky, we are detail-oriented. We like it like that way. That’s what shows in our work & that’s what you as an audience like.” Meghna Gulzar, the daughter of noted lyricist Gulzar, directed her 1st ever film Filhaal that dealt with surrogacy, in the year 2002 and followed it with films like Just Married, Talvar & Raazi.
Gauri Shinde’s film English Vinglish when looked in isolation is about a great character. But when looked through the lens of gender, it becomes a strong “female character” who breaks through after being subdued in society. When asked if she was subjected to questions surrounding gender & feminism a bit more, because of this, Gauri said, “I had never thought that a film about a middle class women & her middle class life could touch people’s hearts. I used to be offended with words like “female director” & “female protagonist” but after some time I learnt that I want to be proud of it. If this is what someone wants to call it, why not? I want to tell stories about women that are not told so often.”
Narrating her ordeal of entering the film industry, Leena Yadav said, “I had a lot of people refuse to work with me because I am a woman. I experienced harsh discrimination but I stopped working with such people. I have had a great journey from there on. But I experienced the existence of this recently when my 1stever assistant director called up a potential second assistant to hire him. The candidate said that working with a woman director will look good on his CV & followed it up by asking, “Does she know anything or do we have to do everything?”
What does the commercial failure of the 1st ever film do to the filmmaker mentally & to the prospects of the next film? Leena Yadav, whose 1st ever film, Shabd wasn’t received well at the box office turnstiles, said, “Post the release, I got an instant PhD into the politics of our film industry. It was heartbreaking; I had never experienced anything like it. I couldn’t function normally for about 6 months. It was like standing naked in the middle of the street & being whipped by everyone from everywhere. I then focused all my energies into writing. I wrote my next film which I thought nobody is going to do but I got to make my film. I think that’s what the journey is. They say, the 1st ever film is the toughest, but the truth is that it only starts getting tougher.”

While speaking about her film Parched, Leena Yadav said, “When Parched was travelling at the film festivals worldwide & winning accolades, a common question that people there asked was, “Are people in India going to see the same film as the international audiences?” When we were called by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), we realized that they were slightly on the backfoot because of the awards that the film had bagged internationally. They told us that the film would be given an “A” rating, which we were fine with. Then they pointed at the chest area and said that “it” will have to be blurred, referring to the scenes involving frontal nudity. I asked them, “It what? Breasts?” The panel members jumped in shock at my utterance of the word. It is sad that in a country that gave the world Kamasutra, we are hesitant to talk about sex, because well you know, children in India are found in temples & sex has nothing to do with it.”
In a society that is still trying to understand & be comfortable with gender equality, it is quite possible that women directors may be treated or looked at differently by big stars? When asked about if they ever experienced this, all 3 of them answered in a negative fashion, thereby dismissing the notion. Meghna Gulzar said, “All actors will always test you to see how much you know about your craft. It is about winning their confidence. It has got nothing to do with gender.” Leena Yadav while agreeing with the thought, added, “All the actors that I have worked with, they know that I know their characters better than them. I have never had any issues. Working with Amitabh Bachchan & Ben Kingsley (on Teen Patti) was amazing.”  

Bollywood Round Up

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Celebs From The Celluloid Silver Screen & Small Screen Arena To Celebrate The 78th Birth Anniversary Of Bruce Lee
 
Chitah Yajnesh Shetty, Martial Art expert Icon invited the celebs from the Film & TV Industry to celebrate the 78th Birth Anniversary of Bruce Lee at the Celebration Club, Andheri, Mumbai.
 
Actors like Rahul Roy, Deepshikha Nagpal, Rakhi Sawant, Nikita Rawal, Aastha Rawal, Aarti Nagpal, Music composer Daboo Malik & Ekta Jain along with Riyaz Bhati attended this celebration.
 
The 8th “National Championship” was organized by his flagship NGO “ChitahJeetKuneDo Global Sports Federation”. 
 
The event promoted the message of “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao”, encouraging girl child & also live with pride & fearlessness by making a better society.
 
Chitah Yajnesh Shetty also distributed necessary things to the under privileged kids at the event. More than 1000 students participated in this event. The students also did live action for the media & the guests. 
 
Chitah Yajnesh Shetty is popularly known for training veteran actors like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Ajith, Amitabh Bachchan & also current ones like Hritik Roshan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Farhan Akhtar, Govinda, Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit and many more in the last 3 decades.
 
Hollywood stars Roger Moore, Jacky Chan, Ben Kingsley, Steven Seagal et al also worked out during their shoots in India with Chitah Yajnesh Shetty.

IFFI Goa 2018 Round Up

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Donbass Bags The “Golden Peacock” Award at IFFI Goa 2018 

The International Film Festival of India (IFFI Goa 2018) held a glittering prize distribution ceremony on 28th Nov, 2018 in a magnificent stadium Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Goa University, Teleigao, Goa.

The 1st ever prize went to a Ukranian movie named Donbass’ which was directed by Sergei Loznitsa, who bagged the coveted “Golden Peacock” award at the 49thInternational Film Festival of India (IFFI Goa 2018), which concluded in Goa on 8th Nov, 2018. The “Golden Peacock” award also carried a cash prize of Rs 4 million (Rs 40 lakhs Indian rupees) to be shared equally between the Producer & the Director, along with a special Trophy & the citation.

Incidentally speaking Donbass tells the story of a hybrid war taking place in a region of Eastern Ukraine, involving an open armed conflict alongside killings & robberies perpetrated on a mass scale by separatist gangs. In Donbass, war is called peace & propaganda is uttered as truth. A journey through Donbass unfolds as a series of curious adventures. This is not just a tale of 1 region or a political system; it is about a world lost in post-truth & fake identities.

Donbass is the official submission of Ukraine for the “Best Foreign Language Film” category at the 91st Academy Awards to be held in the upcoming year 2019. It was selected as the opening film in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, Sergei Loznitsa won the “Un Certain Regard” award as “Best Director”.

The award winners were Lijo Jose Pellissery who was conferred with a “Best Director” award for his Malayalam movie Ee.Ma.Yau. The film was a stunning satire on death & how it affects the human lives. Set in Chellanam, a coastal village in Kerala, the film shows the plight of a son who tries to arrange a worthy funeral for his father; he is however met with unpredictable obstacles & reactions from different quarters. Lijo Jose Pellissery bagged the Silver Peacock Award & a cash prize of Rs 1.5 million (Rs 15 lakhs Indian rupees). He had also bagged the Best Director award at the 48th Kerala State Film Awards for Ee.Ma.Yau.

While the “Best Actor” (Male) award went to Chemban Vinod for his portrayal of a role in the same Malyalam movie Ee.Ma.Yau of “Eeshi”, a son who tries to arrange a worthy funeral for his father but is met with unpredictable obstacles & reactions from different quarters.

And the “Best Actor” (Female) award went to Anastasiia Pustovit  for her portrayal of a “Larysa”, a teenage girl in the Ukrainian movie named When The Trees Fall.

Both the “Best Actor” (Male) Chemban Vinod & the “Best Actor” (Female) Anastasiia Pustovit were honored with the “Silver Peacock” Trophy & a cash prize of Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakhs Indian rupees) each.

Besides Milko Lazarov walked away with the “Special Jury” award for his movie named Aga; the film focuses on the story of Sedna & Nanook, an elderly couple from Yakutia & the particular challenges they face in the midst of a frigid landscape. The “Special Jury” award carried a cash prize of Rs 1.5 million (Rs 15 lakhs Indian rupees), a “Silver Peacock” award & a citation.

That apart Alberto Monteras II received the “Centenary Award for “Best Debut Feature Film” of a Director for his Filipino Movie Respeto.

And the movie Walking With The Wind, directed by Praveen Morchhale, won The ICFT–UNESCO Gandhi Medal instituted by the International Council for Film, Television & Audiovisual Communication, Paris & UNESCO. The criteria for the Gandhi Medal reflect UNESCO’s fundamental mandate of building peace in the mind of men & women, particularly human rights, intercultural dialogue, promotion & safeguard of diversity of cultural expressions.

Walking With The Wind’ tells the story of a 10 year old boy in the Himalayan Terrain, who mistakenly breaks his friend’s school chair. His daily 7 km long journey to school in the mountainous terrain on a donkey, turns mammoth & challenging when he decides to bring the chair to his village.

Los Silencios, the Portuguese, Spanish movie directed by Beatriz Seigner got the “Special Mention” under ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi medal category.

And over & above all Salim Khan, the celebrated actor, story-screenplay-dialogue writer of Hindi films was honored with the IFFI 2018 “Special Award” for his Lifetime Contribution to Cinema. The prestigious award consisting of a cash prize of Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakhs Indian rupees), a Certificate & a Shawl & also a Scroll was conferred upon the master film writer for his “Outstanding Contribution To Cinema”.

Salim Khan revolutionized Indian cinema in the 1970’s, transforming & reinventing the Bollywood formula, pioneering the Bollywood blockbuster format & pioneering genres such as the masala film & the Dacoit in Western style.

Bollywood Actors & Director Get Candid At Iffi Goa 2018

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Actors Jim Sarbh & Chitrangada Singh & Director Rakyesh Omprekash Mehra Get Candid About Their Acting & Directing Process Respectively

After raking in accolades for his performance in films like Neerja, Padmaavat & Sanju, Jim Sarbh is finding himself in the news for all the right reasons. The actor was seen in an In-Conversation session with the gorgeous & talented actress Chitrangada Singh to talk about ‘Unmasking the character actors’.

When asked if it has been an overwhelming experience to have made a mark for himself in a relatively short span of time in mainstream cinema, Jim Sarbh said, “I have acted in the theatre in the States & Mumbai for 4 years before I was cast in Neerja. The journey of acting has been an ongoing process. Getting cast in movies was just a matter of time. When I got cast in Neerja & the role was enough to sink my teeth in, I was very grateful. Sometimes, it is overwhelming – not because of acting, but because of the people that I suddenly had to deal with. It’s about managing this whole new world of egos, hierarchy which is not prevalent in theatre. I enjoy the acting part, I would like to be cast in everything always.”

Recalling the incident when popular filmmaker Ketan Mehta showered praises on Chitrangada for her performance in her debut film, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, by saying that she reminds him of the legendary actress Smita Patil, Chitrangada said, “Till date I remember exactly how he said it. He was very close to Smita ji and he was very moved after watching the film. I couldn’t say anything at that point. But it was very special. It was one of the best compliments I have ever received.”

When asked to talk about character actors, Jim said, “Aren’t we all character actors? I don’t understand any difference between character actors or any other actors. In general, we make this clear distinction between, hero, villain, damsel in distress, character actor – it makes no sense to me! Heroes can be women, villains can be women, damsel in distress could be men and usually all people all 3 of those things at different times in their lives. I don’t know why we make these clear archetypes & continue to force people into certain gender stereotypes that really do not exist in the world.”

When asked Chitrangada Singh about her process of understanding the character that she plays on screen, the model-turned-actress said, “I don’t know much about a process. I try & get the energy of the character that I’m going to play. In Bazaar, I play this very rich woman who doesn’t understand things like ambition, creed – she doesn’t understand these things because she was born in so much luxury. I start from trying to understand the energy of that person & the lines then just come, after which I get an idea of the mannerisms & the body language that the character will have.”

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra regales the IFFI audience with stories from his colourful journey

One of the most interesting sessions of the day had filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra talk to a hall full of interested participants & share nuggets of wisdom from his long filmmaking journey.

“You make films the same way you live your life. You can’t fake it.” Mehra started with how he’s drawn from his life for every film of his. His first film Aks spoke about how good & evil are 2 sides of the same coin. This he said was based on the teachings of his grandmom who would narrate mythological stories to him & his cousins and stress on the 2 faced nature of good & evil.

“I used to study in this school in Delhi where most of the students came from Air Force families. My teacher’s husband was a Commander in the Air Force. We would run around MiG’s while playing. And then I went to Delhi University. The main characters in the film Rang De Basanti are all based on my closest friends. I borrowed from each of them for my characters.”

Even for Delhi-6 he borrowed from his childhood. He spoke about how he’s spent many days in old Delhi where all the communities lived next to each other. “There was a temple next to a mosque & a gurudwara. We would attend the Ram Lila events 1 day & then sit for qawwali sessions the next day. I wanted to bring this alive on the big screen and that’s what I did with Delhi-6.”

The packed hall threw questions at the filmmaker who answered each of them with patience. He exhorted the young crowd of filmmakers to draw from their lives and not be afraid to be brave. He said, “Every time I start a film I think it’s going to be a big disaster. That somehow frees me up. I feel less fearful. I feel braver.”

A PEAKABOO AT IFFI GOA 2018

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From Indian Filmmakers To International Filmmakers Marked Their Presence At The International Film Festival Of India (IFFI Goa 2018)

The 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI Goa 2018 marked the presence of Indian & international filmmakers who interacted with the media sharing their views on film making, storytelling & also their visit to India.

Rhea Kapoor the producer daughter of Anil Kapoor said “I am aware of the privileges of being Anil Kapoor’s daughter, but I have had only 1 father.”

Rhea Kapoor addressed nepotism & conducted a candid chat with father Anil Kapoor on his journey in the film industry, his positive approach & the secret of his evergreen image

I don’t understand any difference between character actors or any other actors, says Jim Sarbh while elaborating on the term “character actors”

I’ve taken inspiration from my own life for all my films: Noted filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra at IFFI 2018

Industry leaders from India & Hollywood discuss the future of film business & possible co-productions at IFFI 2018

Undoubtedly the highlight of the day, the evening saw a candid conversation between superstar Anil Kapoor & his Producer daughter Rhea Kapoor. The actor was welcomed to a loud cheer by a packed house with some even dancing & performing his signature step as a sign of affection towards their icon.

After settling down, daughter Rhea took turns to ask her father about questions pertaining to his journey in the film industry, his positive approach, his fitness & more.

While speaking about his foray into the film industry, the Mr India fame actor said the decision to pursue a career in acting was easy. Anil said, “I was a horse with my blinkers on. From the moment I came to my senses I wanted to be an actor. I was very fortunate to get a break in the form of a young Shashi Kapoor’s role. Since then I have not wasted, constantly dreamt, worked on my craft & worked on being a people’s person. But I am still a work in progress.”

Daughter Rhea then asked her father about the qualities & traits necessary to be an actor, and asked if academic training in theatre & acting is important or whether instincts & practical knowledge matters more. While answering this question, Anil Kapoor said, “To have a foundation of academics is great. But it needs to be combined with the instincts. Everything cannot be studied & planned. I credit my success to my preparedness to fail. But now the stakes are much higher.”

The actor further elaborated, “There are no shortcuts to hard work. I believe that if you’re a trained actor in today’s times, it becomes easy for the director & the writer to mould you. Focusing too much on looks can stagnate you as an actor. It may work for a short period of time but soon there will be nothing left inside to give to the audience, to the writer & to the role. Try & increase your shelf life by being physically, mentally & spiritually fit.”

When asked about the secret of his young appearance, the actor who is a few days short of being 62 years old, said, “I need the energy & stamina to portray the characters. In the process I started looking after myself & working out. I believe you have to look after yourself. For me as an actor I have only one lifetime. I want longevity. I have always believed in marathon. I was never a 100 metre race person. I have been consistent, committed & worked hard, which is why I have been in the business for 38 years.”

When asked by an audience member about what her chosen career path would have been had she not been Anil Kapoor’s daughter, Rhea Kapoor in a frank fashion said, “I am aware of the whole nepotism debate, I know of the privileges of being Anil Kapoor’s daughter. But I have had only 1 father. I cannot help it.” The fashionista then added, “I have been interested in subjects like interior designing, fashion, visual arts & a multitude of other things. But for now I have my focus on producing films.”

 

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