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I don't think I was spoilt: Zayed Khan (INTERVIEW)
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, April 8   He's always been the baby of the film industry and his family. But now Zayed Khan promises a new, power-packed version of himself - at least on screen.

"I don't think I was spoilt. I was sent to boarding school when I was 11. That changed my whole perspective to life," Zayed, who is the son of Sanjay Khan and nephew of Feroze Khan, told IANS in an interview.

"I've always been confident about myself. My goals are very focused and real. I've really avoided all negativity. I just wanted to be one of the best, and that's what I'm working towards."

He also spoke about his marriage, his upcoming films "Cash" and "Speed" as well as his three-month long illness.

"Marriage gets you more focused in life. All of the riff-raff are out of your life...It's like my life isn't my own. Marriage has become the centre of my moral universe," he said about wife Malaika.


   

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Excerpts:

Q: What brings on this new power-packed Zayed Khan?

A: You know, whenever people have told me I can't do it I've been even more determined to do it. As a child if my parents said don't go out, I did. Even at school, winning in sports wasn't a possibility. It was the only thing to do. My family has a lot to do with my growth as a professional. They've provided me with unconditional moral and emotional support. I exist in a never-say-die surrounding. My mom always says one has to keep creating opportunities regardless of what people say. I ignored cynics and just kept working. I feel I've come a full circle since my debut in 'Chura Liya Hai Tumne'.

Q: How did you overlook the cynicism about your prospects?

A: I've always been confident about myself. My goals are very focused and real. I've really avoided all negativity. I just wanted to be one of the best, and that's what I'm working towards. No one comes to the industry to be the second-best. Not that there's any pressure to excel from my family. But I've been working with the best talents in the business like Shah Rukh Khan, Farah Khan, Anubhav Sinha, Sanjay Dutt...I don't know whether I deserve their support. But I was a very obedient person. And I followed the whole senior-junior thing, which is very important in the industry. I'm still defiant. But not so aggressively as in the past.

Q: You must have been the spoilt son in a family filled with daughters.

A: I don't think I was spoilt. I was sent to boarding school when I was 11. That changed my whole perspective to life.

Q: Last year you undertook your first world tour.

A: Yes, my Rock Stars concerts. The most important thing about the stage is it gives you a chance to interact with your fans. I understand I've a great international market. I'm told I've considerable crossover appeal. I wanted to go and see what it was all about - who are these people who are watching my films? Are they Americans or Indians? The world tour opened up a whole new vista for me. We covered three continents. It was nothing like dancing at an awards function. These international audiences are true fans. It's not just about live interaction. It's also very lucrative. If you get into the shows business you can monitor and check the quantity and quality of your films.

Q: You were one of the junior-most members of the Rock Stars team.

A: You get to know your colleagues best when you travel and bond with them. For John Abraham, Shahid Kapoor, Esha Deol and Mallika Sherawat this was the first concert. I got along well with Salman (Khan) and Esha (who's an old friend). The rest were all trying to find their own bearings. But we'd bond nonetheless. No matter what they wrote about our rivalry all of us were extremely supportive of one another. Backstage if someone didn't have a shirt, one of us would throw it at him. It was a huge learning experience. The world tour tag strengthened my whole persona.

Q: How has your marriage changed you?

A: I got married in November 2005. Marriage gets you more focused in life. All the riff-raff are out of your life. It's like when my friends tell me about their first child. That's how I feel about marriage. It's like my life isn't my own. Marriage has become the centre of my moral universe. It has begun to affect my whole existence....Malaika and I were going around for 10 years. Very honestly marriage was a social obligation.

Q: Do you take her advice?

A: I do take her advice. My wife is a hardcore filmy. She watches every film. She keeps telling me whom to work with. A woman's opinion has to be taken seriously.

Q: You still live with your family?

A: We're very closely-knit. We're like those loud Italian families, eating, talking loudly, interrupting one another...We're very involved in one another's life. And I don't want it any other way.

Q: So when do you stop being the baby of your family?

A: Never, I hope.

Q: You know what I mean?

A: You mean when would a bigger baby than me come? Ha! Okay. Soon I hope. I'm very fond of children. I've six nephews and nieces who come home every day. They're like my own kids. We all live within a two-minute radius.

Q: Hrithik calls your sister Farah Mother Teresa.

A: That she is. Besides other things she's fantastic with her work. Her jewellery can be compared with any international label. And she has great business acumen. She's eight years my senior. She just ordered me to come and I had no choice.

Q: Does Farah bully you?

A: You want to know the truth? All my sisters bully me. I had shooting on Raksha Bandhan last year. All my sisters agreed to tie me their rakhi in the night. Susanne wondered if I could come before shooting. Then I looked at my other sisters Farah and Simone. And they expected the same. So I had to get up very early and get the rakhi tied by all my sisters.

Q: What new films?

A: I've finished Anubhav Sinha's "Cash" where the opening scene has me surfing bare-chested. I'm toning up my body right now. I had to stop doing exercises because of my slipped disc. My right arm grew so weak I couldn't even lift a glass. That was unnerving because I'm a very physical actor. But god's great. I've recovered.

Q: You've just revived a project called "Speed".

A: Yeah, it got stalled because during an action sequence I injured my back. I had a slipped disc and I was out of circulation for three months, bedridden for 40 days.

Q: What did you do during that time?

A: I started writing. "Rocky" was one of the films where I've contributed immensely to the screenplay. Shyam Bajaj had the guts to sign me for a solo-hero film after "Chura Liya Hai Tumne". I think it is my first baby step into more screen writing. But no I won't take credit for it. It can't be all Zayed Zayed Zayed. I want the team to get their limelight.

Q: Would you like to direct a film?

A: I wouldn't say no. When I was in the London film school, I used to edit my friends' scripts and charge them three to four pounds. That was fun. While seeing other people's works I also got to hone my skills in creating a graph and rounding off a screenplay.

Q: You talk like you are 60.

A: Lots of people tell me I'm an old soul. This could be my seventh life, who knows.

Q: What's the next thing you're looking forward to?

A: A great career, then fatherhood. My baby steps so far have been satisfactory. I'm very happy with my life, touchwood.
 

Mundhra plans film on British Muslim cop
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, April 8   Filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra is planning to move quickly into yet another autobiographical film after "Provoked" and wants to cast Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role of a British Muslim policeman.

"'Shoot On Sight' is the story of a 55-year-old Muslim cop in Britain. After 30 years in England, the July 7 terrorist bombings happen, and the cop's loyalties, priorities and commitment to the law enforcement agencies in Britain are questioned," Mundhra told IANS.

"It's a role that takes on both personal and political colours. The character is modelled on a real-life cop Tariq Gaffoor. And since it requires someone with a strong, assertive but sensitive personality, who better equipped to play it than Bachchan? I'll meet him very shortly."

The film will again take the director into the realm of reality, like "Kamla", "Bawandar" and "Provoked".

"I love going into lives that have struggled. Sometimes the struggle is not so successful. This was the case with the character that Nandita Das played in 'Bawandar'. Her struggle against oppression failed but it's no less remarkable than Aishwarya Rai's struggle in 'Provoked'.

"But I guess Ash's character triumphs at the end, hence the exhilarating impact at Cannes. We went into the real-life character Kiranjit Ahluwalia's life through the book she co-wrote with Rahila Gupta. But I found the book wasn't giving my film the right perspective. So we got Carl Austen in. He got together with Rahila to re-work the book. We picked out episodes and lines from the book that were really shocking."

Jagmohan is all praise for his leading lady. "Ash is undoubtedly very beautiful. Beautiful women are more prone to be abused by men. Ash really worked on her character. Never flinched from doing the brutal scenes. In fact Ash's agent from the US, Simone, felt we weren't going far enough with the brutality. She didn't want the audiences to feel Ash's beauty was coming in the way of her portrayal of the trauma...As for Nandita, she's a dear friend and I had promised her I'd not cast her as a victim this time again after 'Bawandar'. And I kept my word."

"Provoked" is being praised for its hard-hitting theme.

"One of my predominant concerns was the 'David Versus Goliath' theme, how this frail village woman from Punjab took on the British system. I was also interested in the whole sub-plot about the Southhall sisters (Nandita and company) getting together to help Kiranjit in her crisis."

The director never felt better. "We worked so hard on 'Provoked' that I fell ill in the middle of the schedule. But I've started looking after myself now. I've lost a lot of weight, want to lose more. I've finally discovered my metier as a moviemaker. I feel I'm just starting out."

 

A bumper crop for Bobby Deol
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, April 8   Get ready for a big dose of Bobby Deol. He's got six releases lined up for 2007. "That's at least three more than I generally have in a year," says the usually laidback actor.

"Am I tired? No, just apprehensive about how people will react to so many of my films tumbling out all at once. There's a whole lot coming up for me. I guess I've reason to be jittery," said Bobby.

"Last year I had virtually no release. Now, I've projects like 'Shaka Laka Boom Boom', 'Nanhe Jaisalmer', 'Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom', Abbas-Mustan's and Sivan's films and of course our family project 'Apne' directed by Anil Sharma. I hope they're spaced out. But it's not in my hands."

The younger Deol has just returned from shooting in Chandigarh with Sangeeth Sivan, the director who did the comedy "Kya Kool Hain Hum". It's an action flick.

"So what's the big deal. Before 'Kya Kool... Sivan did 'Zor' with my brother Sunny, which was also an action movie," says Bobby. "We've known each other for a long time. Like me, he's a softie at heart. But he's good at making action films too. And I'm doing one after a long time, so it's fun."

Nana Patekar co-stars with Bobby in Sivan's film. "I'd heard so many stories about him. But he's very easy to work with. And he's a unique actor. I also worked with Zarina Wahabji for the first time. She's such a warm person. We had a great time."

Right now, Bobby is anxious about the dark character he's playing in "Shaka Laka..." which is expected to release first.

"Though I've played the role of a ruthless killer in 'Bicchoo', 'Badal' and 'Soldier' my character in 'Shaka Laka...' is different. I'm playing a musician who's so much in love with his music that he's willing to go to any lengths for his passion. Only at the end of the journey does he realise how wrong he was."

Bobby is quite fascinated by the "evil" character. "He's like a small kid who says, 'I want, I want' without realising how selfish he is. I'm also a child at heart, but I don't have that mean streak. I like playing people who are not like me."

"Shaka Laka..." has no romantic lead. "The guy's in love with his music - and only his music. I can't understand that mindset because I'm in love with so many things. Besides my work, I love my family, my privacy, food, a holiday.... In fact I need to take my family out on a holiday this summer. I wonder if I can get away!"

One person Bobby loved working with was Shaad Ali in "Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom". "He's such a chilled out guy. He treats everyone - from actors to spot-boys -equally. I was very comfortable being directed by him."

The 'soldier' is marching into 2007 with a lot of hopes hanging on his well-toned shoulders. "The six films are going to determine my future to some extent."
 

Kumar Mangat aims for films with a message
By Arpana, 

New Delhi, April 7   His first production venture "Omkara" is proclaimed as one of the most intense films of 2006. And Kumar Mangat wants to continue making films that are different from the rest, that have some message.

His next is "No Smoking" directed by Anurag Kashyap with John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, Paresh Rawal and Ranvir Shorey in lead roles. This will be followed by Rohit Shetty's "Sunday" which stars his favourite Ajay Devgan along with Arshad Warsi and Ayesha. The third will be his daughter's launch pad "Haal-e-Dil". Ajay's brother Anil is wielding the megaphone for the film.

"I want to make zara hatke films. I want my films to have some message. For example, 'No Smoking' will show that smoking not only harms the lives of those who are addicted to tobacco but their families as well," Mangat, who is currently shooting "Sunday" in Delhi, told IANS.

" 'Sunday' is a film about Delhi and about life here. It's a crime-thriller with dollops of comedy. I'm planning to release it in October. We are shooting practically everywhere in the city. We've shot at Dilli Haat, India Gate, Chandni Chawk, Connaught Place, Lal Qila, the airport, Pragati Maidan and are planning to shoot in the metro. We took permission two months back to shoot in all these places."

His bonding with Ajay is unshakable.

"I've been with Ajay for so many years. He is one of the best actors in the country and is also one of the best human beings in the world. When I decided to be a producer, he gave me full support. He never let me feel that I'm new in this field.

"No, it's not true that he's acting in all my films but he is like family. Though he isn't working in 'No Smoking' he helped with the script. I always take a second opinion from Ajay."

In "No Smoking", Mangat was impressed with John's level of commitment and professionalism.

"When I signed John, I was told he's a little moody but I never felt it. He was very cooperative. The thing is that actors also see the attitude of producers. Problems crop up when a producer fails to give due importance to his project. In that case actors also take it lightly. The fact is that everybody is looking for success and if a team is doing a good job than every actor gives it importance."

Mangat, who recently launched his daughter's debut film "Haal-e-Dil", says he never took her passion for films seriously till she started getting offers from outside. Then he decided to launch her.

"She was interested in acting since she was a kid but I never took it seriously. She joined John Matthew in 'Shikhar' as an assistant and in 'Omkara' she worked as an executive producer. She took on the responsibility of the entire production work. She would get up at 4 in the morning and get the entire unit ready for the shots. It was after 'Omkara' that I started taking her passion for films seriously."

"Hal-e-Dil" is a triangular love story starring his daughter and two new actors.

"The entire main cast is new. There are two heroes in the film. You must have noticed that if a love story is made with new stars it works. The budget of the film is going to be more than Rs.100 million. We are going to shoot it lavishly."

Talk veers around to "Omkara", which was lauded all over the world but didn't get the same recognition on the home front. But Mangat has no regrets.

"I am more than happy with 'Omkara'. When I released it last year, Mumbai was flooded. Gujarat, Bihar, all these places were flooded. So it had an impact on box office figures. But on the whole, we are more than happy. I'm hugely satisfied after making 'Omkara'. Distributors are happy too."

Mangat says he can't expect more.

"It got four awards in Pakistan and also won trophies in Egypt, Morocco, Singapore and Malaysia. And people are still inviting the film across the globe."

Apart from "No Smoking", "Sunday" and "Hal-e-Dil" he is making two films with Ashwin Dhir.

"One is a comedy with three heroes and is still untitled. The second is 'Headlights', and is about the media. We are going to show how the media manipulates news according to its own convenience."

The latest trend of corporate players entering into showbiz is a welcome relief, says Mangat.

"My production company Big Screen has joined hands with Eros Media. More corporate houses mean more funds. Also, they have networking in the overseas market, so that also helps. Then they have their own people and their own vision, which helps in strategising the marketing and promotional plans. Good marketing can make a good film better and bad marketing can ruin a good film."
 

Randeep Hooda exasperated by lip-lock publicity
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, April 7   The forthright Randeep Hooda is incensed by pictures splashed all over showing him locking lips with Sushmita Sen in the film "Karma Confessions & Holy".

"I'm disgusted by the producers. Surely they've more to bring the public into the theatres than a kiss between two actors? By flashing one scene they're just being cheap and undignified in their promotion. Maybe they need a less cheesy publicity machinery."

The last time when a smooching scene featuring Sushmita Sen was splashed she had blown her top.

"And she should protest against this tacky publicity again. It's not right," says Randeep.

He isn't aware of the film's release plans. "No one has informed me. The kissing scenes are part of the film. And I'm not the least embarrassed about kissing such a gorgeous woman on screen."

But considering how much water has flown under the bridge between Randeep and Sushmita, there's bound to be certain awkwardness about the scenes. "We're both professionals. And we were just doing our job. I'm looking forward to the film. It was a great experience working with her because of our association off-screen. It was very funny maintaining a balance between the rapport on and off screen."

Randeep feels the real-life rapport makes no difference to what happens on screen. "Once the camera rolls the relationship in, the script takes over. I go by the guidelines provided by the script and director."

The actor feels boundaries in cinema have disappeared. "But let me point out 'Karma Confessions & Holy' isn't a Hollywood film. It's an independent film made by Rapture Films. According to me, Hollywood films are those made by the studios in LA... this independent film gave me a chance to feel very independent."

"Having a slice of the Big Apple was a great experience. In essence, Mumbai and New York are very similar. I hired a limousine and travelled all over. I visited every possible watering hole. I loved the freedom and passion in NY," he added.

Randeep says his sister, who is a doctor and stays in NY, is his inspiration to become an actor.

The forthright actor continues to be extra-picky about his roles. "My first film 'Monsoon Wedding' was released in 2000. Now I'm doing my fifth film 'Risk'. I couldn't bear myself on screen in 'Monsoon Wedding'. So I took a long sabbatical to improve myself as an actor. I got involved with theatre.

"I got a strange compliment about my performance, which at that time I thought to be an insult. A distributor in Venice told me, 'In the entire film you were the only one who didn't seem to be acting'. I took it as criticism and decided to improve myself, though in hindsight it seems a compliment."

Is Randeep a sucker for worldly perks? "I go through these phases where I think all success is so transitory. But the next day I'm fighting for material things. I need money to encourage and empower those around me. It's not about owning two cars. I can only sit in one...Though I do drive around in many cars these days. It's very therapeutic."

He's on the verge of signing a bunch of new films.

"I just want to make sure which one to go by. Signing is easy. But would I be able to live with it until its completion? I don't take up a challenge until I'm up to it. Am I a good decision-maker? Sometimes it's better to let the decisions be made for you. I guess I'm childlike and I want the child within me to remain alive. I'm awed by life. I'm excited and challenged by life. I've got certain innocence about me that I value. I watch my two-year old nephew and learn how to live.

"When I was helping Naseeruddin Shah with the staging of Kahlil Gibran's 'The Prophet', I read a line that has stayed with me. 'If you're looking for God, look at the children playing around you.' I love children and they love me back."
 

After 'The Namesake', I seek a better deal: Irrfan Khan (INTERVIEW)
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, April 7   He has won accolades for his powerful performance, including in the most recent "The Namesake", and is recognised as a cerebral actor, but Irrfan Khan is upset that he continues to be shunned by commercial Hindi cinema.

"For me it's important to be commercially viable. The distributors should be willing to pay for my space. I still have very limited choice... So what's the point of being known as a good actor when you need to be recognised as commercially saleable? I want a better deal," Irrfan told IANS in an interview.

And he still regrets having missed out on being a part of Vishal Bhardwaj's "Omkara".

"At first I had thought I would be in 'Omkara'. In this film industry you can't start getting possessive about the people you work with. There's life beyond a film. Sure Vishal has worked with big stars this time. And why not? Everyone needs to have their priorities right... I don't want to play the blame game. It only pulls you down."

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Where did you disappear after the rousing performance in "Maqbool"?

A: I was away in NY shooting for Mira Nair's "Namesake". I had to make more of an effort over that role than anything I've done recently. I had to play an unobtrusive man. When I read the novel I realised I had to play a man who's almost invisible. It was very difficult to do. Also I had to play a man who's approaching old age. That was very disturbing. The reminder that the body is prone to decay was very discomfiting. I had to keep reminding my mind and body what lies in store for me. Just before I joined Mira's unit I had to warm up for 10 days.

Q: How was the experience of working with Mira Nair?

A: It was a roller-coaster ride. She has very strong convictions. She's very vibrant and has innumerable channels in her mind operating at the same time. On the first day when I reached her office I could see Mira was fatigued. But she wasn't putting off anything. She was supervising everything, including the colour of the orchids that were to be brought for Tabu who was arriving in the evening.

Our location was a 90-minute distance from the apartment where we stayed. Mira used to come at 4 a.m. and ask us all to join her for yoga. It wasn't compulsory. But we soon warmed up to doing yoga before shooting. It was very rejuvenating.

Q: How were your vibes with Tabu this time?

A: Very interesting, though not the same as "Maqbool" where we were very demonstrative in our mutual passion. In "Namesake", we aren't dying to touch each other. The feelings here are understated, unspoken and unexpressed. We play a couple beyond this life. But we never express it. In fact, in one scene she asks me if I want her to say she loves me. Then she doesn't say it.

Q: After "Maqbool", any regrets about not being in Vishal Bhardwaj's "Omkara"?

A: At first I had thought I would be in "Omkara". But in this film industry you can't start getting possessive about the people you work with. There's life beyond a film. Sure Vishal has worked with big stars this time. And why not? Everyone needs to have their priorities right. Vishal needed the budget that only the stars could afford for him. I don't want to play the blame game. It only pulls you down. Mumbai city has so many ways of bringing you down all the time. The best thing is to think positively.

Q: Why does commercial Hindi cinema continue to shun you?

A: I do feel that quite often. For me it's important to be commercially viable. The distributors should be willing to pay for my space. I still have very limited choice. Even Mani Ratnam now makes projects with big stars. Everyone is into it. So what's the point of being known as a good actor when you need to be recognised as commercially saleable?

I want a better deal. The Bhatts have taken non-stars and made them hits. I like working with them. I've the freedom to say no to them and there's no bitterness about that.

Q: I expected huge things to happen to you internationally after Asif Kapadia's "Warrior".

A: I thought so too. It should've been made in the English language. And the way Miramax released the film really killed my chances. They waited till last year. It was too late for the film by then. Miramax was on a buying spree. The director Asif Kapadia saw through the game and he took on Miramax. Now Miramax has taken pronounced elements from "Warrior" in a new Nicole Kidman film called "Snow Mountain".

Q: But that's so wrong!

A: When money is a religion, wrong and right don't matter.

Q: Your Bollywood films continue to disappoint?

A: It is. I'm flooded with scripts. But they all disappoint me after two pages. I only get projects with a budget of 2-3 crore rupees. They're main leads. But mostly cheap thrillers. I don't mind doing a 50-lakh film as long as I feel inspired by it.

Q: Jokes aside would you be able to kiss a man on screen?

A: Surely. Why not? Anything for a good role. I want to do roles that will challenge me as an actor. Besides "Killer" there's a film called "Deadline" with Konkona Sensharma. I'm also very excited about new director Kaushik Roy's film. It stars the Tamil actress Shobhana and me. This is Shobhana's first Hindi film.

Q: So the beauty and the beast?

A: That's right. It's a film about parenting and what pressures we put on our children. We've titled it "Buddhi" but I want them to change it. Who wants to watch a film called "Buddhi"? I'm also doing Tigmanshu Dhulia's "Ghulami" and his next "Tevar".

I'm eagerly waiting for "Tevar", which is about two brothers. It has the same rough and rugged feeling as Dhulia's "Haasil" which was a big moment for me as an actor.

Q: What are you looking forward to now?

A: I want another milestone like "Maqbool", "Warrior", "Haasil" and "Namesake". It's been a long journey. But I've a long way to go. I'm happy with life. My wife is writing for Rituparno Ghosh and Bela Bhansali. I've two kids, aged eight and three. I'm enjoying watching them grow. No experience can match that.
 

'Shaka Laka...' embarrasses and disappoints (REVIEW)
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Film: "Shaka Laka Boom Boom"; Cast: Bobby Deol, Upen Patel, Kangana Ranaut, Celina Jaitley; Director: Suneel Darshan; Rating: *

Strange things happen in this tale of two musicians, who are absolute megalomaniacs, and their ego clashes.

When Kangana, playing a ping-pong ball to the two, decides to succumb to the senior musician's sexual advances, she decides to nearly strip right there in the hallway with the valet looking down at his feet. We second the valet's emotion.

You watch this laugh triangle with a deep sense of embarrassment and regret. This could have been the comprehensive film about the competitiveness that destroys the very core of creativity.

Bobby is the senior musician in "Shaka Laka Boom Boom" who gets jealous of the smug and cocky new kid on the block played by Upen Patel.

The whole ego tussle between the junior and senior musicians echoes the rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Amadeus Mozart. The bits and pieces of life's less spoken drama are turned into a cacophonic celebration of envy and pride, decorated in colours so garish they could make you blind.

And you could go deaf with all the noise that Himesh Reshammiya, Viju Shah (background score) and writer Anurag Kashyap hurl at us.

Surprisingly for a film so steeped in high-drama, there's little motivation for the characters. The crucial jealousy and rivalry between the two musicians is dealt within a few lengthy sequences that are written in the style of random episodes from long-running soap operas.

Bobby conveys angst in some of the scenes. But most of the time he's grappling for a graph.

Upen Patel has a strongly written role, but little to match his embarrassingly high confidence level. He messes up his role with a double dose of self-confidence.

Kangana Ranaut, who was so watchable in her earlier films, looks shockingly lost and washed-out here. Wrong make-up, wrong motivations and wrong film lady!

Celina Jaitley, playing a journalist who sleeps with anyone she writes about, appears almost brain dead.

The marginal characters include Bobby's two sidekicks Asrani and Vivek Vaswani, and his music baron boss Dalip Tahil.

Suneel Darshan probably means well but ends up creating a ritzy mess of the film.

 

India's World Cup debacle boon for 'Namastey London'
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, April 7   Director Vipul Shah must be one of the very few Indians happy with our cricket team's poor show at the World Cup - it enabled his "Namastey London" to fare better at the box office.

The release date of Namastey London coincided with a critical World Cup match that "did affect our film initially", says Shah.

"But the film opened well. I couldn't push my film to the end of the World Cup because Yashraj Films would be releasing 'Tara Rum Pum' on April 27, followed by a spate of Yashraj Films. Where would I have taken my film among these big films? However, once India's verdict at the World Cup was out we had nothing to fear."

Vipul Shah is all praise for the London crew.

"As far as talent is concerned, we don't lag behind. I don't think our Ravi K. Chandran is any less talented as London-based cameraman Jonathan Bloom. But we really need to learn from their way of working.

"The whole crew had a script and each member of the unit knew what was to be done. Everyone went on location together, and all the time on camera was spent directing the actors instead of wasting time in getting shots and scenes organised. That kind of collaboration needs to be brought to Mumbai."
 

'Provoked' belongs to Aishwarya (REVIEW)
By Subhash K. Jha,  

Film: "Provoked"; Cast: Aishwarya Rai, Naveen Andrews, Miranda Richardson, Robbie Coltrane, Nandita Das; Director: Jagmohan Mundhra; Writer: Carl Austen & Rahila Gupta; Music Director: A.R. Rahman; Ratings: ***

In Irish novelist Roddy Doyle's "The Woman Who Walked Into Doors", the battered wife Paula keeps justifying her bruises by saying she as a habit walks into closed doors and hurts herself.

The battered wife Kiranjit Ahluwalia in Jagmohan Mundhra's jolting exposé on domestic values never gets a chance to walk in or out of that closed London door where she lives with her brutal husband. She chooses her husband's death over her own exit.

It's amazing how the true-life Kiranjit found freedom by setting her abusive husband on fire. In one of the film's most sensitively delineated dialogues, Kiranjit says to her rather overly benign prison-mates, "I've never felt freer in my life."

What sort of trauma would it take for a woman to feel free in prison?

"Provoked" answers the complicated question of domestic disharmony with a deft and direct approach to the question of a woman's place in the man's 'scream' of things.

The intermittent flashbacks showing Kiranjit's spousal nightmare, cut deep and hard into the narrative. Full credit to Aishwarya Rai for plunging deep into a part that she plays from her heart.

True, at times she looks too pretty to be ravaged. But the vulnerable, fragile, little-girl-lost quality in her personality works to great advantage in portraying the spouse-burning victim as a woman scorned beyond endurance.

There're moments in the narrative where Aishwarya melts your heart like an ice-cream cone left out in the sun for too long.

Madhu Ambat's cinematography is so sweeping in its specificity that it creates a spatial bond between the protagonist's heart and her hostile-to-compassionate surroundings.

Mundhra and Sanjay Mirajkar have edited the harsh material with extreme economy of expression. The film moves mercilessly forward leaving no room for a breather.

Among the unforgettable sequences, count the one where the stern lady constable asks Kiranjit to take off her jewellery and clothes. Kiranjit pleads in hushed anguish, "Never take clothes off in front of husband."

Aishwarya's inherent inhibitions give the character a mocking edge. How could this tender woman set her husband on fire? Imagine the levels of torture she must have suffered!

Blessedly, we are shown only fragments of Kiranjit's trauma. Director Mundhra makes sure they are enough scenes to make us wince without making our stomachs churn.

Cleverly but tenderly formatted as a thriller-in-flashback, "Provoked" opens with the burning figure of Deepak Ahluwalia (Naveen Andrews) running screaming out of his house. Mundhra moves smoothly backwards into events leading to this gruesome incident.

Female bonding has always been a favourite theme in Mundhra's films - remember Shabana Azmi and Deepti Naval in "Kamla? In "Provoked" the bond that develops between Kiranjit and her cellmate Veronica, played by Vanessa Redgrave's daughter Miranda Richardson with supreme cheer, is remarkably well tuned to the sisters'-solidarity theme that forms the narrative's backbone.

Nandita Das is also in fine form as a spunky 'sister' activist holding up a torch for the torched husband's tortured wife. Every actor in the smallest role gets it right and bright.

Naveen Andrews's despicable brutality as the husband makes your skin crawl, as it's meant to.

But the film clearly belongs to Aishwarya. She gets a grip on her character Kiranjit's predicament with a fluid grace, her large eyes brimming over with untold grief as she pleads with her lawyers, "Please let me see my children."

 

Alok Nath wishes he could play a wicked character
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, April 6   The wonderfully talented and natural actor Alok Nath has come a long way since his amazingly successful role as Masterji in Ramesh Sippy's TV series "Buniyaad", but not far enough.

"I agree with you when you say I deserved a lot more. But this is what destiny had in store for me. And I'm happy to do the work that I get on television. Of course, not all of it is commendable. But one can't blame anybody for the standards on television. The home viewing medium is the essence of middleclass entertainment. I'm very happy with the work I'm doing on television," Alok told IANS.

The actor, however, regrets being typecast.

"The problem in both cinema and television is, an actor gets slotted in a particular character... Once I made a mark in the hearts of the audience as the patriarch, I continued playing that role."

While Aneeta Kanwar refused to be typecast as the matriarch after "Buniyaad", Alok couldn't do the same.

"She had the guts to walk out of the entertainment industry. I didn't. It wasn't easy for me to support a family on my own terms. So I made career compromises, and I'm not ashamed of it. One has to bow down to opportunities. If one fights the system one is taken to be arrogant."

For a while there was talk of Alok's arrogant behaviour.

"Some unfortunate incidents did happen during 'Tara'. But these controversies didn't damage my career. In fact, they added that little bit of spice and helped in my efforts to change my image from Masterji in 'Buniyaad' to the modern city-guy in 'Tara'. But soon after, producers went back to offering me the role of a goody, goody father. That's the role I get. What to do?"

In cinema Alok is struggling to hold up his head.

"The father roles that I did in films are being offered to younger more trendy actors. I've done enough films. And I don't mean to sound defeatist, but I've stopped fighting the system. Ultimately, this is my bread and butter. I've no regrets."

He admits films are a disappointment.

"I've an interesting though small role in Mani Shankar's 'Mukhbiir'. Shankar has the vision to cast me against my popular image as a retired underworld don. In fact, he has cast a talented newcomer Sammir Dattani in the central role. We need more directors with such guts. I enjoyed doing 'Mukhbiir'. But in Rajshri's 'Vivah' I again played the sweet father."

Television still gives Alok the space he wants.

"I get lengthy and meaty roles and I'm allowed to work on my own terms. I'm doing the serial 'Sanskar' for Doordarshan which Chander Behl has directed. Though I play the father again, he isn't submissive. My character gets to fight the world to defend his family. I'm enjoying playing a dad who has his values in place but is nonetheless a modern man."

He's also in the Rajshri Productions TV series "Woh Rehnne Waali Mehlon Ki".

"Again I play an ideal father. I wish I could play a wicked character. But no one wants to cast me in that light. I wish I was as good in real life as I'm constantly made to be on screen."

Alok has often been compared with the late Sanjeev Kumar and the actor is, of course, flattered by the comparison.

"Sanjeev Kumar was a great actor. My career did take off in cinema to an extent. But it didn't reach a stage where roles were specially written for me. The cinema and television mediums changed. I was too busy trying to grapple with the changed reality on both the mediums to care about the content of my assignments."
 

Kangana missed a chance to be Amitabh's Lolita

By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, April 6   If all had gone well, Kangana Ranaut would've been Amitabh Bachchan's Lolita long before Ram Gopal Varma thought of it.

"I was supposed to do a Lolita-like subject with Amitabh for Pahlaj Nihalani. Then they told me Naseerji (Shah) was supposed to replace Amitabh. But Pahlajji was in a hurry and wasn't willing to wait for Naseer. Then I was told Govinda would do Lolita with me. The hero kept changing. I finally returned the signing amount and moved on," Kangana told IANS.

She is upset with the fact that the long buried issue is once again making headlines.

"Suddenly that dead project has been brought up again in the press, as though I had done something dirty. What was the need to shame me for a film that I had signed and backed out properly? I feel it was a deliberate attempt to embarrass me."

Things couldn't look up any more for the plucky and frank "Gangster" girl. In just about six months since her startling debut, Kangana did one more central character of a traumatised girl in "Woh Lamhe" and trotted off to Johannesburg to shoot her first masala film "Shakalaka Boom Boom" with Suneel Darshan that releases Friday.

And that isn't all. She has just clinched a three-movie deal with UTV.

"From Anurag Basu to Suneel Darshan is a long way, isn't it? I'm having so much fun," she screamed with characteristic enthusiasm.

Johannesburg was fun. "When I did 'Gangster', I didn't even realise what I was doing. I did whatever the director said. And I was like a part of the unit, helping out in whatever way I could. Here in Suneelji's film I was treated like a star."

In "Shakalaka Boom Boom", Kangana plays this chic stunner who gets caught between the ego of a music badshah, played by Bobby Deol, and his protégé Upen Patel.

"I loved letting my hair down, loved the dancing, plus the performing scope. It's a Bollywood film. But it gives me a lot to do."

Kangana says she has become used to playing the central character.

"Both 'Gangster' and 'Woh Lamhe' featured me in central roles. Even in 'Shakalaka Boom Boom' I'm no walkover. I'm central to the plot. I feel very satisfied with my progress. To take up such challenging roles at such an initial stage of my career is a big challenge for me.

"I don't know how I'll respond to a role where I just have to stand around looking pretty and dumb. During 'Gangster' I wondered why I had to scream and shout while my co-stars Emraan (Hashmi) and Shiney (Ahuja) were doing their jobs quietly. In 'Shakalaka Boom Boom' I've a much quieter role. I've to emote through the eyes. Even my look has changed completely."

For the first time Kangana got the full glam treatment.

"I play a very glamorous character. I had Manish Malhotra do my clothes. I'd like to believe Manish has transformed me just as he transformed Karisma (Kapoor) and Urmila (Matondkar). I'm not the kind of actress who accentuates her mouth and eyes with makeup. I go for the natural look.

"I feel I look very soft, glamorous, vulnerable and innocent in 'Shakalaka Boom Boom'. I've straightened out my hair. You won't recognise me. I've never felt I looked good. But in 'Shakalaka Boom Boom' I do."

She describes her co-star Bobby as "out of the world".

"He's so down-to-earth and so willing to help a newcomer like me although he's such a big star. Luckily, both Bobby and Upen are tall. I had no issues about shoes. I could wear high heels without feeling guilty."

She's all set for the release of Anurag Basu's next.

" 'Metro' has an ensemble cast. To be honest, I like the thought of not shouldering a film. It's nice to have talented co-stars like Shilpa Shetty, Shiney, Konkona (Sen Sharma), K.K. Menon. I got to learn so much from them, just as I've learnt from Bobby. Even the way he glances at his mirror shows how professional he is."

She sighs. "I think unintentionally I've taken on too much work. Now I'm going to slow down. I want to give my hundred percent to every film."

IANS