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I’ll not stop for anything or anybody: Deepika Padukone (Interview)

Jai — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:33:05 +0000

New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) She is young and raring to go. Deepika Padukone says she is hardly content with what she does and even though she has managed seven films in her three-year-old Bollywood career, she wants a lot more.

‘I live life on my own terms. I have certain goals that I have set for myself, I want to achieve those goals and I expect a lot from myself. I’m extremely ambitious and I will not stop for anything or anybody. I am a go-getter and I am very rarely satisfied with what I do,’ Deepika told IANS.

The 24-year-old, who was at the Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM studio in the capital to promote her film ‘Lafangey Parindey’, says she may have achieved a lot of success in no time, but it motivates her to continue doing good work.

‘It is still the beginning for me. I have just done around seven films. So there is a lot more that I want to do, a lot more films, work with a lot of directors, give a lot of hit films and get hit songs to my credit which I can perform to later. I know I have come a long way from where I started, but still I have a lot to achieve,’ she said.

Deepika, the daughter of legendary badminton ace Prakash Padukone, stepped into showbiz as a model and started her movie career with Kannada movie ‘Aishwarya’ in 2006, after which she made a dream debut in Bollywood opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Farah Khan’s ‘Om Shanti Om’.

She followed up the success of her first film with ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, ‘Love Aaj Kal’ and ‘Housefull’.

She is seen as a blind woman in her just released ‘Lafangey Parindey’.

‘But what the film is going to do for me professionally, I will have to see after it releases and stays in theatres for a while. For now, the only thing I know is that it has been the most challenging film for me physically, mentally and emotionally,’ said Deepika who plays Pinky, a visually challenged girl with an ability to dance on skates.

Up next after this Pradeep Sarkar film will be a tough phase for Deepika as two of her awaited projects – Danish Aslam’s romantic comedy ‘Break Ke Baad’ and Ashutosh Gowariker’s period drama ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’ – will release at a space of one week.

‘My next film is ‘Break Ke Baad’ with Imran Khan. It will release in the last week of November, and exactly a week after that, it will be time for ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’ on Dec 3…tough time’,’ said Deepika.

Her ‘Break Ke Baad’ is a romantic comedy while in ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’, Deepika will portray the role of revolutionary activist Kalpana Dutta, who took part in the Chittagong uproar for Indian independence in the 1930s.

The film is said to be based on the book ‘Do And Die’ by Manini Chatterjee, the daughter-in-law of Kalpana Dutta, and Deepika will sport a sari-clad, non-glamorous look in the film.

The books that Bollywood celebs love

Jai — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 08:32:26 +0000

Mumbai, Aug 20 (IANS) If you thought Bollywood celebrities only read scripts, here is a surprise. From fiction to philosophy to thrillers to romances, they love reading books and consider it their favourite pastime.

Many of the B-town celebrities IANS spoke to swore by well-known tomes like ‘The Idiot’, ‘Chariots Of the Gods’, ‘The Kite Runner’ and ‘Interview With A Vampire’.

Neil Nitin Mukesh: My favourite book is by a man called Shiv Khera and the book is ‘You Can Win’. The reason it’s one of my favourite books is it makes you feel rather positive about life and about yourself in general. I have read it almost four times and every time I read it, it teaches me something new.

Deepika Padukone: I read ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini and I really liked it. It’s a wonderful book.’

Chunky Pandey: I’m currently reading a series of books by Erich von Daniken, the one I just finished is called ‘Chariots Of the Gods’. I loved it. The book is based on the premise that what humans across the globe refer to as gods were actually extra terrestrials and aliens who visited earth and gave us advanced technology that was described as miracles in ancient texts around the world.

Eesha Koppikar: One of my favourite authors is Richard Bach and I also loved reading ‘The Fountainhead’ by Ayn Rand. I am not too fond of fiction. I like philosophical reads.

Sameera Reddy: I love reading and my favourite book is ‘Losing My Virginity’ by Richard Bradson.

Bobby Deol: I haven’t read a book in some time, but I used to love vampire books. I was obsessed with vampires. I love ‘Interview With A Vampire’ by Anne Rice.

Cyrus Sahukar: I love ‘The Picture Of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde. It was the first book I read by Oscar Wilde and I have been a fan ever since. Every line is so beautifully written that you can revisit it at any stage in your life and it will always make you think.

Mugdha Godse: I like reading and ‘Only Love Is Real’ by Brian Weiss is one of my favourite books. That book has really changed my concept about love. It has pointed out how your soul can find your real love.

Rajat Kapoor: I love reading and my favourite is ‘The Idiot’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It’s a fat book, but it was so engrossing I finished it in just four days. I just didn’t want to leave it.

Trisha: I like fiction. But I liked reading ‘The Kite Runner’. It’s serious and not my kind of book, still I liked it a lot and read it thrice. The first two times I read it in quick succession, with a one-week gap.

Arbaaz Khan: Mario Puzo’s ‘The Godfather’ is one of my favourite books. I have read it a couple of times.

Randeep Hooda: I read a lot. I read biographies. I read every day. I think reading makes your imagination big. My favourite book is ‘Papillon’ by Henri Charriere. It’s a very old book about prison escape. Then I like ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho and there are a number of others.

Koena Mitra: The last book I read was by Paulo Coelho. I really like his writing, it has a sense of realism to it and one can actually relate to it.’

Kim Sharma: I am not an avid reader. I like reading romantic novels. I am the Mills & Boon type of a reader.

Director Pradeep Sarkar’s son sings for ‘Lafangey Parindey’

Jai — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 06:02:20 +0000

Mumbai, Aug 9 (IANS) Director Pradeep Sarkar, who is introducing his son Ronit Sarkar as a playback singer in his forthcoming film ‘Lafangey Parindey’, reveals that he was unaware of his singing talent until he heard him live in a music concert.

Ronit has lent his voice to the title track of the film.

‘I didn’t know such a good singer was growing in my house. I had seen him playing guitar, sometimes humming some tune, but I never lent ear to that very seriously. He has a small band. Once he was performing somewhere and I decided to go and see what he does. To my surprise, he was singing so well that people were clapping and whistling on his performance. He was singing very well,’ says the proud father.

‘I made him sing in a couple of my ads, he was fantastic. Anandh (music director) was looking for a fresh voice, one who could sing in high pitch and modulate well between the notes. He chose him for the song,’ Sarkar told IANS in an interview.

The director, who has given films like ‘Parineeta’ (2005) and ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag: Journey of a Woman’ (2007), has teamed up with Deepika Padukone, Neil Nitin Mukesh and other actors to present the story of a group of youngsters living in the backstreets of Mumbai.

‘We heard a verse ‘Kabhi saaf, kabhi gande, lafangey parindey’ and from that we fell in love with the phrase ‘lafangey parindey’. Lafangey means wild and parindey as we all know means birds. Together it means the flight of a bird. The film is about hope,’ said Sarkar.

It was reported that in the film Deepika and Neil utter some swear words in keeping with the backdrop of the film, but the director puts off such speculations.

‘There is no offensive language used in the film. Those used are the colloquial words which are invariably used by people of that society. Basically, I didn’t get away from the language that is there. There is a phrase called magic reality, I have tried to evolve that,’ Sarkar added.

Talking about the leading lady of the film, Sarkar said: ‘Deepika never takes anything as an obstacle. However difficult things get, she always gives her best with a smiling face. That’s the first interesting quality that you notice about her, she is always smiling. She is always ready to do whatever is asked for the role.’

However, Sarkar doesn’t quite share the same views about her male counterpart. ‘Neil is a sober guy, but every moment he is into some mischievous stuff. During the shooting of the film, he used to do his own make up, practise a lot for his fighting sequences and other times used to play pranks on crew members. So the lafanganess (wildness) is in-built in him.’

‘Lafangey Parindey’ hits the theatres Aug 20.

Filmmaker Kunal Kohli now a certified diver

Raj K — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:52:25 +0000

Kunal Kohli

New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) Filmmaker Kunal Kohli, who has hit movies like ‘Hum Tum‘ and ‘Fanaa‘ to his credit, is now a certified diver. ‘I am now a certified diver. Completed certification and did a fun dive too. Five dives in two days. Three more dives tomorrow, then back home,’ Kohli, who did a diving course in Phuket, posted on his Twitter page.

‘Your life will (undergo) change (from) before you became a diver and after. It’s the highest high you can get. Oneness with nature. Must do in life, for life,’ recommended the filmmaker, who has been working on his next movie ‘Break Ke Baad‘ with Deepika Padukone and Imran Khan.

Kohli also took a PADI open water theory exam for scuba diving and says, ‘to be one with aquatic life is bliss’.

Akshay’s new film resembles Shoaib-Sania affair

Raj K — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 09:16:57 +0000

Akshay Kumar

Mumbai, April 11 (IANS) This has to be the most uncanny coincidence to have happened in Hindi cinema so far. Just when we have Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik being accused of bigamy on the eve of his wedding to Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza, there is Sajid Khan’s ‘Housefull‘ coming up with a situation that bears an uncanny resemblance to the ‘Shonia affair‘.

In the comedy, Akshay Kumar‘s wedding to Deepika Padukone is rudely interrupted by a woman, played by Jiah Khan, claiming to be his wife.

When questioned about the similarity, Akshay Kumar said: ‘I never thought of it. Now that you’ve pointed it out I guess there’s a resemblance. Actually I’ve three women claiming to be my wife in the film.’

But the actual sequence where Akshay’s wedding to Deepika is interrupted is too close to the happenings in the life of the Shoaib and Sania to be a coincidence.

Director Sajid Khan said: ‘What can I say, except that this is a case of life imitating art? We do have a sequence where Akshay’s wedding is interrupted by a woman claiming to be his wife. Compounding the similarities with the real life situation which are grabbing headlines is the fact that the first wife’s claims are not as simple as they seem. But I repeat the similarities are coincidental. I wrote my script two years ago.’

Be as it may, the similarity between Shoaib Malik’s and Akshay Kumar’s respective predicaments seems to be a case of perfect timing.

I’m not directing any film: Lara Dutta

Raj K — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:30:42 +0000

Lara Dutta

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) Bollywood actress Lara Dutta has shot down reports that she’s set to don the director’s hat.

‘I’m NOT directing anything right now guys! Not equipped to do so! Maybe quite a few years from now. In the meantime happy in front of the camera,’ she wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Reports suggested that Lara was planning to direct an independent film and has been working on the script for two years. The film was said to go on floors by July.

Meanwhile Lara is busy promoting her new film ‘Housefull‘ that also stars Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Jiah Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Arjun Rampal.

The film is about a man named Arush played by Akshay Kumar who gets caught in crazy situations all because he has a deep secret – he has three wives. It will release April 30.

Deepika’s date with Shammi Kapoor (Film Snippets)

Raj K — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:20:06 +0000

Deepika Padukone

London, April 7 (IANS) Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone is very happy after her recent meeting with legendary actor Shammi Kapoor. ‘By far one of the best and most memorable days of my life… thank you (Shammi) uncle for a wonderful wonderful evening,’ the 24-year-old posted on her Twitter page.

Deepika got a surprise when she received an invite from Shammi Kapoor, 78, on Twitter a few days ago.
Jaya Bachchan suffering health problems

Actress and Samajwadi party MP Jaya Bachchan has fallen ill, informs her husband and megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

‘Jaya has taken ill… suddenly… and I am with the doctors now investigating the problem. It’s never good to see her like this for she rarely gets in such condition,’ the 67-year-old posted on his blog.

‘And because of this she is most reticent to any doctor visit, and more tablet treatment. But we persist and they have done their bit and gone. The medications have been administered.’

Amitabh said he had to go to an event, but cancelled it.

‘Had to go to Mahesh Manjrekar‘s audio release this evening, for his film (‘City Of Gold’) in Marathi on the mills and mill-workers problems in the city, ages ago. But had to cancel because of the situation in the house.

‘Spoke to him though at the function, and he put me on speaker for the media to hear through the mobile. Feel terrible pulling out of such situations at the last minute, but this was unavoidable,’ wrote Big B.

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SRK visits Juhi Chawla’s brother in hospital

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan spent a whole day in hospital where his friend and actress July Chawla’s brother Bobby is admitted.

Bobby was admitted Sunday.

‘At hospital all day. Strange to see my friend Bobby, who is most frisky during shoots, so still in the midst of one. All pray he should be back,’ Shah Rukh posted on his Twitter account.

‘I realise now that how precious and fragile our bodies are. Need to take care of it as our life depends on it because it really does,’ he added.

Bobby, who works closely with Shah Rukh, was dining at a Versova eatery when he collapsed.

A medic discovered that Bobby’s blood pressure had shot to an alarming high and he was immediately rushed to a leading hospital nearby. Since Juhi was on a flight back from Kolkata after watching her cricket team at the Eden Gardens, choreographer-director Farah Khan rushed to Bobby’s aid.

Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta

Raj K — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:52:55 +0000

Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta

New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta bonded well on the sets of ‘Housefull’, thanks to their common love for shopping. And it has got them closer off the sets.

While shooting in London for ‘Housefull’, Lara and Deepika would often take off to have some uninterrupted shopping time.

‘Lara was familiar with London and since she and Deepika shared a great rapport, she would often take Deepika for the local sales,’ said a source.

‘We also came to hear that both Deepika and Lara spent a bomb shopping in London but in the bargain became great friends,’ added the source.

Eros International and Sajid Nadiadwala’s ‘Housefull‘ also stars Akshay Kumar, Jiah Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Arjun Rampal.

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Saroj Khan finds kids easier to work with

Ace choreographer Saroj Khan, who has made almost all top Bollywood celebrities dance on her tunes, says children are easier to work with.

‘I feel it’s easier to work with children as they are more obedient and grasp quickly. They are full of energy and never say no. They give in their best shot,’ Khan told IANS.

The 61-year-old will soon judge a children’s dance reality show ‘Chak Dhoon Dhoom’ on TV Channel Colors.

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Aarya Babbar’s Punjabi film to premiere at Dallas

Actor Aarya Babbar, who has been part of films like ‘Guru’ and ‘Jail’, will be attending the Dallas International Film Festival where his Punjabi film ‘Virsa’ will be premiered.

‘Virsa’, also starring Pakistani actress Mehreen Raheal, will be screened alongside Hollywood films like ‘The Jones’ starring Demi Moore and David Duchovony.

‘Our film is being showcased at the Dallas International Film Festival amidst great film personalities. It’s an amazing feeling as it’s for the first time a Punjabi film has received such a huge and appreciative platform,’ said Aarya.

The movie will be premiered Saturday at the Magnolia Theatre.

‘Housefull’ is mad, not mindless: Lara Dutta

Raj K — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 04:28:45 +0000

Lara Dutta

Mumbai, April 6 (IANS) She has done drama and action, but Lara Dutta is partial to comedies. And now she is ready with another laugh riot ‘Housefull’ which she says is mad but not mindless.

‘It’s not a mindless comedy. It has a tight screenplay. So if you are not following because of all the confusion, you might lose the plot somewhere. It’s a big entertainer with great music with great comic talent. We hope we entertain,’ Lara told IANS in an interview.

Directed by Sajid Khan, ‘Housefull’ revolves around Aarush (Akshay Kumar), who believes his bad luck will disappear if he finds true love. In his quest for love, one lie leads to another and different people from various walks of life come together adding more confusion and resulting in total chaos.

‘It goes by the literary meaning of it. There is one house crowded with people. One person has three wives and children. These wives also have some complications. Time comes when all family members are together and confusion takes off, and that’s what the film is all about,’ said Lara.

After doing ‘Bhagam Bhaag‘, ‘Partner‘ and ‘Do Knot Disturb‘, why did she choose another comedy?

‘I like doing comedy; so most of the films I do are comedy films. Comedy is something that works. Last year I did ‘Billu‘, which was in a different space, ‘Blue’ was an action film and ‘Do Not Disturb’ was a comedy. You know you have to pick and find your balance somewhere,’ said Lara.

But now the actress plans to try other genres. She said: ‘I would like to take a break from comedy and do something else. I have already shortlisted what I want to do, but I haven’t signed any.’

Lara said that she was tired of playing a Punjabi girl and that the role of a modern Gujarati woman in ‘Housefull’ was a welcome change.

‘We were tossing things around when we were in the initial stages of the script. We didn’t know whether she is going to be Parsi, Punjabi or Gujarati. I got bored of playing Punjabi characters and so I insisted that my character be not made a Punjabi,’ said Lara.

In ‘Housefull’, Lara’s character works in a casino, meets someone, falls in love and gets married.

‘The only aim of her life is that her father, who stays in Ahmedabad, accepts the man she has married. The funny part was they speak to each other through answering machines and in proper Gujarati. It was fun.’

Apart from Lara Dutta, ‘Housefull’ features Boman Irani, Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal and Jiah Khan.

The former beauty queen is mostly seen in multi-starrers but is happy that every character she portrayed has been indispensable for the film.

‘You know I like doing comedy and most comedy films have many characters and therefore they are multi-starrer films. But at the same time every role that I have taken in the comedy films, they are very distinct roles. I genuinely feel that if you take away the character from that film then there would be something missing. The characters really added a lot to the films,’ said Lara.

Katrina Kaif and Shahid Kapoor rock Mirchi Music Awards

Raj K — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:43:35 +0000

Shahid Kapoor performs at Airtel Mirchi Music Awards

February 18, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): The second Airtel Mirchi Music Awards 2009, the Grammy of India, held recently in Mumbai, was a musical night to remember. The best talents, connoisseurs and veterans from the music industry, came together to cheer and applaud the winners who contributed to some of the outstanding songs of the year. Radio Mirchi’s biggest music awards night recognized and awarded some of the finest music talent from the Hindi film industry. The music awards night saw some of the biggest names from Bollywood- Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Rakesh Roshan, Javed Akhtar, Prasoon Joshi, Imtiaz Ali, among others, who graced the occasion.

While the winners came up and received their awards amidst loud cheering and huge applause from the entire music industry, Sunidhi Chauhan, Himesh Reshammiya, Usha Uthup, KK, Rekha Bhardwaj, enthralled the audiences with their melodious singing. Joining them were Shahid Kapoor and Katrina Kaif who literally set the stage on fire with their scintillating performances to some of the popular numbers of the year. Anchored by the witty Javed Jaffery and peppy Sandhya Mridul, Airtel Mirchi Music Awards 2009 is the only awards where musicians and talent from several generations were present to acknowledge and recognize talent from music industry.

-Sampurn Wire