Mahesh Bhatt: Theatre connects people with each other
Mumbai– Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says theatre connects people with each other. He adds the emergence of digital platform has divided the theatre-going audience.
“I feel theatre connects people with each other. Art forms like theatre, film and music originated to bring people closer to each other,” said Bhatt at Jairangam Fringes theatre festival, which is being held in Mumbai for the first time and which runs till December 17.
He added: “We all know that Mumbai is called the entertainment capital of the country, but when you see theatre festivals like these — which coming from other parts of the country — you realise they give energy to this city.”
Bhatt was at the festival with actors Rakesh Bedi, Virendra Saxena and Makarand Deshpande.
Asked if he feels popularity of theatre is diminishing in India, Bhatt said: “I think people know the importance of theatre as a medium but the entertainment sector has spread out, especially with the entry of digital medium. Now, entertainment content is available on smartphones to people so, in this scenario, it gets difficult for people to be associated with theatre. Despite that, the atmosphere is exciting.”
Salman, Prabhudeva, Sudeep groove to ‘Munna Badnam’ in Chennai
Chennai– Bollywood superstar took his “Dabangg 3” promotions down South, and painted the city in Chulbul Pandey’s hues, with a rocking performance in the city.
Salman Khan was joined by the film’s director Prabhudeva and Kannada superstar Kichcha Sudeep, who plays villain in the film, he he shook a leg on the beats of the film’s anthemic number, Munna Badnam”.
“Dabangg 3” is set to release on December 20, and Salman is focussed on kicking off a South India publicity blitz for the film in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
This has been prompted by his decision to release the film in four languages. Apart from the original Hindi version, the film will also release in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
At the promotional event, Salman Khan hit full form as Chulbul Pandey and, along with Prabhudeva and Sudeep, made the crowd go wild as he flaunted the popular hook step of the song.
“Dabangg 3” is directed by Prabhudeva and produced by Salma Khan, Arbaaz Khan and Nikhil Dwivedi under the banner of Salman Khan Films.
Varun Dhawan: Children have greater power to deal with disease
Mumbai– Actor Varun Dhawan feels children have greater power and will power to deal with disease as compared to adults.
Varun, who is quite popular among kids, was interacting with the media at an annual event for paediatric cancer patients, ‘Hope 2019’, along with Manisha Koirala, Priya Dutt and Johny Lever.
“My uncle had cancer but unfortunately, he passed away while fighting it. I think this is one disease that has taken away life of a lot of people around the world. A lot of families have suffered owing to cancer, and it feels nice when human beings come together to do something about the disease — especially for kids. They are so small they don’t even realise what has happened to them. I think that’s the reason why 70 per cent kids are able to beat cancer because their will power and power to deal with disease is higher than older people,” said Varun.
At the event, Varun grooved with children and doctors to the beats of his song ‘Baki sab first class hai’ from the film “Kalank”.
“I always enjoy (being) around kids. I think I am the happiest when I am with kids. It makes me happy when I see smiles on their faces, and also their parents’ faces, so it has been an amazing experience spending time with these kids,” said Varun.
‘Hope 2019’ is organised by ImPaCCT (Improving Paediatric Cancer Care and Treatment) Foundation and TATA Memorial Hospital. “I have been associated with this initiative since the beginning. I feel they are doing a great job.”
Kirti excited about Hong Kong release of ‘Mission Mangal’
Mumbai– “Mission Mangal” is heading to Hong Kong, and Kirti Kulhari, who features in the film’s ensemble cast, is excited. This, she says, proves that a good story can’t be restricted to boundaries.
Directed by Jagan Shakti, “Mission Mangal” revolves around the story of India’s Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission. The film will release in Hong Kong on January 2.
“A story like ‘Mission Mangal’ might be based in India but the emotions, the struggle, and the victory has a universal appeal,” said Kirti, who essays role of Neha Siddiqui, one of the five female scientists at ISRO who were instrumental in making the mission possible..
“I was overwhelmed by the response of the film when it released. And now with the film releasing in Hong Kong, it proves that a good story will never be limited by any kind of boundaries. I am excited about the Hong Kong release. For them to see our endeavour in bringing the story of Mangalayan to life,” she added.
“Mission Mangal” stars Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Sharman Joshi, Nithya Menen and HG Dattatreya apart from Kirti. The film released in India on August 15 this year.
Kirti will next be seen in the second season of the web series “Four More Shots Please!” and in the Hindi remake of the Hollywood film “The Girl On The Train”.
Tara Sutaria reminds Milan Luthria of Vidya Balan
Mumbai– Filmmaker Milan Luthria says actress Tara Sutaria reminds him of Vidya Balan, whom he directed in the 2011 hit, “The Dirty Picture”.
Luthria is currently working with Tara on “Tadap”, the Hindi remake of the Telugu hit film “RX100”. “Tadap” marks the Bollywood debut of Suniel Shetty’s son, Ahan Shetty.
“Nostalgia can be eerie. It gives you goosebumps when it catches up in unexpected ways. Tara’s audition wasn’t planned. She flew in from somewhere and on the spur of the moment I asked her to do the scene from ‘The Dirty Picture’ in which Vidya shows Emraan Hashmi her old pictures and they are attracted to each other for the first time,” Luthria said.
“She did it effortlessly and very quickly, and I was transported back to the day of the actual shoot. It was one of the most talked-about scenes from the film. Then, just a couple of days back on set in Mussoorie, she (Tara) was talking about how she is a huge fan of Vidya and the film, and (that she) has seen it eight to nine times. She couldn’t believe she got to do audition on a scene from the film,” he added.
The Telugu version of “RX 100”, which released last year, stars Kartikeya Gummakonda and Payal Rajput. The film is a love story with an interesting twist.
“Tadap” is scheduled to release next year.(IANS)
