It is rightly said that before you begin anything fresh you should seek the good wishes & blessings of the divine. The star cast of the upcoming film Saasein – The Last Breath Rajniesh Duggall & Sonarika Bhadoria along with the producer Goutam Jain recently visited Ajmer Sharif Dargah to give an auspicious kickstart to their promotional city tour.

In fact, even before the film rolled, it was decided that the city tours should begin from Khawaja Gharibnawaz Dargah Ajmer Sharif.

Rajniesh stated, “We always wanted to start our journey with the blessings of God. Hence we started our promotions from Ajmer Sharif. Visiting Ajmer Sharif was a divine experience for all of us and I wish the blessings stay with us and our film Saasein – The Last Breath.”

Many Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra, Kapil Sharma, Katrina Kaif have visited the holy shrine of Ajmer Sharif in the past to pray for their films’ success.

Starring Rajniesh Duggall, Sonarika Bhadoria along with Hiten Tejwani, Neetha Shetty, Vishal Malhotra, Amir Dalvi, Saasein – The Last Breath is directed by Rajiv S Ruia. The music is composed by Vivek Kar & lyrics are penned by Kumar. Saasein – The Last Breath is produced by Goutam Jain & Vivek Agarwal under the banner GPA Productions.

Saasein – The Last Breath is all set to be release on 11th November, 2016.

Hiten Paintal, happens to be a chip of the old block namely the erstwhile comedian Paintal who needs no special introduction. Hiten had begun his career simultaneously both on the big screen as well as the small screen. But at one point of time he gave up television completely to get a firm footing on the big screen. Present herewith is a telephonic interaction with an actor par excellence. Tune in.

How would you describe your filmic journey
on the big screen as well as the small screen in a nutshell?

My journey on both the front has been interesting, with a lot of ups & downs and no doubt mixed with a few disappointments. But all said & done I don’t regret anything and if I had to go through it again I wouldn’t change a thing.

So What is your upcoming film 30 Minutes all about?

The film is about a young boy whose father has tortured him all his childhood due to the value of time and when he grows up he has a good job & falls in love. And then an incident happens in his life where he comes on the brink of sanity & insanity and then he plays a game called “30 Minutes”. Hence the title.

What did you enjoy most, working on the big screen or the small screen?

Actually speaking I have enjoyed working in both the mediums. But working on the small screen gives you an opportunity to get connected with some of the most amazing shows even otherwise television and television stars have a far greater reach but still I feel that at some point of time television stops giving you creative satisfaction and you tend to get stagnated by its daily routine. So honesty speaking I prefer working more on big screen.

How would you rate your father Paintal as an actor and as a human being?

I consider my father a great, great actor. He is one of the best actor that we have today and I would rate him 10 on 10 as far as his acting goes. He has been working as an actor for more than 4 and a half decade. Besides I would say that is a wonderful human being, extremely loving and compassionate. So as a human being I would rate him 11 on 10 as for me he is a great, great father.

What did you learn or unlearn from your father Paintal?

Truly speaking I have learned a lot from my father in fact I have gained a lot from him. One thing I have noticed is that he was very punctual, hard working & very down to earth person as far as his work was concerned and when I became an actor he always told me to be always true to my work. Never compromise or cheat my work and always worship and treat my work like a temple. So you see I have always learned good things from him and never unlearned anything from him.

Amongst all the work you have done till date which are your favorites?

One of my all time favorite film is Bachna Ae Haseenon. Believe me it was mad, mad, mad laughriot. Its director. Siddarth Anand was my school friend, I had a special connect with Ranbir Kapoor as my father Paintal and his father Rishi Kapoor too were great friends. So we 3 boys that is myself, Siddharth & Ranbir were always on the sets and after work we used to indulge in a lot of fun & frolic on the sets while the girls used to leave once they had finished their work. So Bachana Ae Haseenon will always remain a special & memorable for me.

How was the experience of working with your father in 30 Minutes?

It was a super experience working with him. Besides we were playing father and son in the film which we are in real life. We were supposed to shoot for 20 days but we could wrap up our work in 12 days. It was easy &
comfortable being with him on the sets. He would correct me, point out my flaws if any and even guide me properly.

You are playing a lead role in 30 Minutes. So what are your expectations from the film?

Yes this is my 1st lead role as I think that till now the industry was scared to give me a lead role probably thinking that “Comedian ka beta hai, toh comedy hi karega” So my expectations from the film have increased far beyond. I think it is should do well for everyone involved in the film specially for my producer Yesudas. I wish that people should just go and watch the film and then decide.

As a parting shot tell us something about your producer & director Yesudas?

Mr. Yesudas who is my producer & director for 30 minutes is an extremely great human being. I have been associated with him for almost 3 years. We took one and a half year for scripting and another one and a half year for shooting. So I think he is a wonderful, wonderful man and he has the cutest smile in the industry. He was very focussed about what he wanted and how he wanted? I thank him for putting his faith & belief in me and I hope I have lived up to his expectations.

Producer: Eyefaa Studio, Pradeep K. Sharma & V. Nazareth
Director: Arshad Siddiqui
Star Cast: Ssharad Malhotra, Hritu Dudani,
Melanie Nazareth, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Deepraj Rana, Gargi Patel, Aprajita Mahajan
Anubhav Dhir et al
Music: Sunil Singh, Liyakat Ajmeri & Ali -Anirudh

Director Arshad Siddiqui in his decade long career has given innumerable films but in his latest offering 1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath he has gone totally wrong in his directorial calculations.

The scripted scenario of 1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath kicks off with a manic depressive prince, Aditya Pratap Singh (Ssharad Malhotra) who not only believes in ghosts, but spends the better part of his days chatting up with them. His palace is a bastion for spirits, with the aatma of his recently deceased wife Kasturi (Hritu Dudani) topping the list. As Aditya sinks deeper into the delirium, a man is killed in the palace and inspector Suryakant Singh (Deepraj Rana) begins investigation. In the meantime, Aditya’s friend from the US, Sonali (Melanie Nazareth), comes visiting and almost falls in love with him. However, she is chased away by the jealous ghost of Kasturi. Just before intermission, the movie changes track so violently, that you’re not sure whether it’s a thriller or your brains are just being picked.

It is sometimes really disheartening to note that even an experienced filmmaker like
Arshad Siddiqui can sometimes make such an inconsiquential movie. The only redeeming factor of the movie is its meliflous & melodious music by Sunil Singh, Liyakat Ajmeri & Ali -Anirudh and they have really delivered some hit numbers like the title track, “Pakeezah” & “Aye Mere Khuda”.

Peformance wise Ssharad’s character is so flat, it’s laughable and his acting skills are. worst to say the least. Hritu Dudani & Melanie Nazareth, minus their oomp factor, are as horrible as they come. Deepraj Rana supposed to be gifted has merely sleep walked through his role. While the other actors of the film too are disappointing.

Tail Piece: 1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath is watchable only for its lilting musical score. But on second thoughts you can listen to its music by buying its music CD and save youself the trouble of sitting through the entire movie.

Producer Pradeep K. Sharma is one cool guy who takes everything in his stride without losing his calm & composure in the least bit. To start off his filmic career as a producer he made a right beginning by launching his own home production banner namely Baba Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd. Present herewith is a one on one interview session with him in Cafe Coffee Day.

How did you begin your filmic journey?

Honestly speaking I always aimed to be a filmmaker. And to make a right beginning towards this end I proceeded by launching my own home production banner namely
Baba Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd and produced my 1st film namely Direct Ishq which was a moderate success. Even my 2nd film released under the same banner namely 1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath has been released but sadly enough it received a very lukewarm response from the cine goer’s all over. But no regrets whatsoever I will continue making good cinema in all genres.

It seems you had a little tiff with director
Arshad Siddiqui during the making of 1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath?

You cannot really term it as a tiff. But then you tend to have a little misunderstanding which was later on cleared amicably. Even otherwise how could I upset my director Arshad Siddiqui who was also a part producer of 1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath. He had used the name of his long standing banner namely Eyefaa Studio.

It seerms singer Swati Sharma happens to be your daughter?

Yes you are right and indeed she has rendered 5 songs in 1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath.
But that’s all! I do not at all interfere in her singing career. In fact she takes her own independent decisions.

To what would you attribute the lukewarm response to your 2nd film 1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath!

No body can really understand the psyche of the Indian cine goer’s. You can never know what they would like and what they would not. Anyways I am very happy that my 2nd film also got released in the same year as my 1st film Direct Ishq. The music & the script were also great. My daughter Swati Sharma’s 5 songs with Raahat Fateh Ali Khan, KK & Aman Trikha were also very melodious. The film also had good actors like Ssharad Malhotra, Hritu Dudani & Melanie Nazereth.

Are you trying to follow in the footsteps of Ramsay Bros of the past era and Vikram Bhatt of the present times by making a film rooted in the horror genre?

No its nothing like that. Once again I would like to stress that I will continue making films of all genres as long as they represent good cinema that would be liked by the masses as well as the classes.

So which are the next films that you are planning under your own home production banner?

I am now planning to launch 2 new films under my own home production banner namely Aashiq Surrender & Ishqabaad as well as a Marathi film next year. Yes you can say that I was highly impressed & inspired by the grand success of Marathi film Sairaat. That apart I am also planning to make 2 big films every year, with big star cast in the coming years.

Banner: Aagman Films Pvt Ltd
Producer: Sudhir Jain & Pratap Singh Yadav
Director: Sanoj Mishra
Star Cast: Om Puri, Sanjay Mishra, Anupam Shyam, Mukesh Tiwari, Dolly Chawla, Meghna Haldar & Rishi Bhutani
Music: Sahil Rayyan & Shivam Pathak

What’s gone wrong on the current directorial scenario front?. As someone tries to showcase the tragedy of the Indira Gandhi assassination while someone is trying to push the Gandhian idealogy deep down the throat of everyone, especially the wrong doers of the nation. But director Sanoj Mishra with his directorial offering Gandhigiri crosses all the patriotic limits by mixing sexual escapades of the goons with the Gandhian philosophy and makes a complete mish mash of it. what’s the logic Mr. Sanoj Mishra?

The scripted scenario of Gandhigiri kicks off with an NRI from dependable Mauritius lamenting for that “greatest nation of all”, Bharat, and particularly that “greatest soul of all”, Gandhi, at a Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet, no less. In no time at all, he is back for good to a fictional native village in a very real “Rae Bareli”. Here the men are thugs, women rapacious, sadhus fraud, and politicians divided by caste & united in bloodlust. All it takes is throwing the Mahatma in the midst, a Gandhi for every occasion, from reforming criminals to helping accident victims on the road, while moving around only & only in an Ambassador. The town, barring a reliably snarling Brahmin leader, is ever so grateful for the NRI benevolence. The aforementioned NRI, with the weighty name of Rai Bahadur Singh (Om Puri), invites a crude assortment of some of the above louts to live in his own haveli. Their criminal goings-on don’t appear to bother the Gandhian Rai Bahadur. On the contrary, even as they plot, Rai Bahadur extends his generosity to opening a “global school”. That school appears & disappears in a flash, but not without offering an unforgettable image of adults dancing draped in Tricolour hues. 2 of the most homely of those adults are in hush-hush love, interspersed with some very loud songs. Both are “medical students”, but in good, old UP, that never did mean attending classes.

Sorry to add but Gandhigiri is absurd, attrocious and what not? It mainly abounds in sex, in innuendoes, talk, gestures, in the back of vans offering a sexual cure, and down the cleavage of a woman who convinces our Rai Bahadur of her destituteness while the mascara, lipstick & hair highlights are still in place. So what was Mr. Sanoj Mishra thinking while directing Gandhigiri or did he leave his directorial brains behind in his own hometown, UP?

No point in discussing about the performance of all the actors especially the veterans. The million dollar question raising its head time & again in one’s mind is, first of all why does Gandhigiri have stalwarts like Om Puri, Sanjay Mishra, Anupam Shyam & Mukesh Tiwari? And above all why does Gandhigiri offers a special thanks to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal? Maybe, some questions are better left unasked.

Tail Piece: Gandhigiri is a sheer waste of time, money, energy & patriotic feelings one still has for one’s nation.

Banner: Shree Rajlaxmi Entertainment
Producer: Baldev Singh Bedi
Director: Harish Kotian & Sandeep Choudhary
Star Cast: Ajaz Khan, Sahil Anand, Harsh Naagar, Shalu Singh, Anant Mahadevan,
Vaibhav Mathur et al
Music: Sumesh Himanshu, Raina Sawan, Sagar Sarkar & Vishnu Narayan

The director duo of Harish Kotian & Sandeep Choudhary have left no stone unturned and tried to pull all the stops in serving a recipe of a full on entertainment in Love Day. But in doing so they have gone desi as well as videsi by drawing a full on inspiration from videsi films like The Hangover & American Pie to name just 2 & a straight on desi film like 3 Idiots. Keep it up 2 idiots!!! Oops sorry Mr. Harish Kotian & Mr. Sandeep Choudhary.

The scripted scenario of Love Day (Oh! What a tongue in cheek title!!!) kicks off with Sandy (Sahil Anand) & Harry (Harsh Nagar) receiving a message from their long lost Best Friend Monty (Ajaz Khan). The boys get nostalgic and then you’re introduced to their sex-charged & vice driven childhood followed by an equally depraved young adulthood. The idea is that Monty always corrupts Sandy & Harry and makes them do things they shouldn’t. They turn their college labs into brothels & canteen into a bar. When water crosses the mark, Sandy & Harry distance themselves from their dangerously inclined Best Friend Monty. But when Monty sends for them again, many years later, they take up the bait and set out on another adventure, thinking that this time they might at least get some hard cash to finance their film.

Director duo of Harish Kotian & Sandeep Choudhary have done a good job & also made good use of their hand in glove directorial skills. But too many twists & turns in the plot from “The Start” till “The End” puts a dampener in an otherwise smooth proceedings. But their purpose of serving a perfect entertainment recipe is fulfilled. And towards this end both the cast & the crew deserves a full on compliment. The entire team of music composers of the film have done a decent job too.

Performance wise it is all the 3 actors like Ajaz Khan, Sahil Anand & above all Harsh Nagar who walk away with all the honors. They complement each other bang on throughout the movie with their camaraderie act, their flawless chemistry including their perfect timings in all the scenes in which they appear together. In fact their on screen bonding itself is seen to be believed. While the supporting cast have also lent an adequate support.

Tail Piece: Gen X will just love & lap up this double entendre fest of Love Day, that is if they don’t mind a hotch potch of masala movie trappings. So all in all Love Day does have the audacity to engage & entertain.