Amish Tripathi vouches for ‘Padmaavat’
Mumbai–Amish Tripathi, a master of mythological fiction titles, has vouched for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s forthcoming controversial movie “Padmaavat”, saying it celebrates Rajput bravery and projects India’s culture in a positive way.
Tripathi watched the movie in a pre-release screening here on Monday.
“It is a film which celebrates Rajput bravery. It honours Rani Padmavati. And it says positive things about our culture. I think it is one of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s finest films,” he tweeted.
The Bhansali Productions and Viacom18 Motion Pictures movie is slated to release on January 25. It features Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in a story based on “Padmavat”, an epic “revered work of fiction” by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi.
Shobha Sant, CEO, Bhansali Productions, thanked Tripathi for his “honest opinion”.
Records are meant to be broken: Salman Khan
Mumbai–After setting the cash counters ringing and registering a collection of Rs 325.71 crore net in India with “Tiger Zinda Hai”, superstar Salman Khan hopes many more movies create records for Bollywood for the industry to flourish.
According to “Tiger Zinda Hai” makers, it is Salman’s biggest hit so far.
Salman said in a statement: “I hope the industry has many more bigger successes this year. It is important that we see more hits, more blockbusters. It will expand our industry, provide more jobs for people and entertain audiences much more. I’m happy with the business that Tiger Zinda Hai has been doing at the box office.
“Records are never ever-lasting. Records are meant to be broken and it’s good for new records to happen more frequently. It is healthy and extremely important.”
The high-on-action entertainer is the third Salman movie to surpass the Rs 300 crore mark after “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” and “Sultan”.
Both “Sultan” and “Tiger Zinda Hai” — helmed by Ali Abbas Zafar — are produced by Yash Raj Films.
“Tiger Zinda Hai” emerged as the highest grossing Hindi film of 2017, next only to the Hindi-dubbed version of “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion”.
Jacqueline begins ‘Allah duhai hai’ song shoot
Mumbai–Actress Jacqueline Fernandez has started shooting for the song “Allah duhai hai”, a track repeated in instalments of the “Race” franchise.
Jacqueline, who was also part of “Race 2”, has started filming for the track for “Race 3”, read a statement.
The actress, who is back after a vacation, is in perfect form to shoot the song as she followed a workout regime even during her holidays.
“Race 3” will feature superstar Salman Khan in the lead role.
Produced by Salman Khan Films and Ramesh Taurani under the banner of Tips Films, the film is directed by Remo D’souza and will hit theatres on June 14.
No place for art in my country: Nakuul Mehta
Mumbai–Actor Nakuul Mehta, in reaction to an advertisement of disclaimers from the makers of “Padmaavat” on Monday, said there’s “no place” for art in India.
“Statutory warning on a cigarette pack, I understand. This, I don’t. No place for art in my country. Padmaavat,” Naakul tweeted with a photograph of the full-page newspaper ad which enlists disclaimers busting misconceptions associated with the upcoming movie “Padmaavat”.
The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film has been caught amidst a long-standing row over alleged distortion of facts, a contention the makers have repeatedly denied.
“Padmaavat”, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, is releasing worldwide on January 25.
Some states, including Rajasthan and Gujarat, have banned its release, while Rajput outfit Shree Rajput Karni Sena continues to protest against its release nationwide.
Kangana is like a true goddess on sets: Jisshu Sengupta
Mumbai–Bengali actor Jisshu Sengupta, who is part of “Manikarnika”, says actress Kangana Ranaut is like a true goddess on the movie set.
Jisshu has already completed the first schedule of the film here and will join the team in Bikaner towards the end of the month. He plays Gangadhar Rao.
“Working with Kangana has been such a treat. She is like a true goddess on sets. She is always very polite and quite the earnest type. She is a phenomenal performer and is very supportive towards the entire cast,” Jisshu said in a statement.
With National Award-winning fashion designer Neeta Lulla curating the looks for his character in the Jagarlamudi Radhakrishna-directorial, Jisshu says he is thankful for the “amazing costumes”.
“I have done a lot of fictional reading already for my role. The way the director has envisioned this film, I can’t wait for it to release and I have to thank Neeta Lulla for the amazing costumes,” he said.
Currently, Jisshu is busy shooting a Bengali film tiled “Ek Je Chhilo Raja”, directed by Srijit Mukherji.
In the past, Jishu has worked in Bollywood films like “Barfi!”, “Mardaani” and “Piku”.
Want something challenging as my next film: Ravi Udyawar
New Delhi–“Mom” famed director and ad filmmaker Ravi Udyawar says he wants something new and challenging as his next project.
“Mom” is a thriller about a woman who avenges a crime committed against her step-daughter.
Asked if he would be making films in the same genre as “Mom”, Udyawar told IANS in an e-mail interview from Mumbai: “I want to explore different genres, something new and challenging as my next film. I am working on something really exciting and looking forward to making it.”
Udyawar began his career as an illustrator. His work stints include handling art direction and visualisation at ad agencies, designing graphics for Channel V and MTV and eventually, directing ad films. He even directed the song “Dooba dooba” from Silk Route’s album “Boondein”.
He says there is a contrast in the process of directing commercials and films.
“For advertising, it is all external. Every second counts, every frame is set flawlessly to tell a story and sell a product. But directing movies is internal. What matters is that it is all about the characters and their emotions, and what’s important is the narrative, the story and at the end of the day, its emotional takeout,” he said.
Udyawar finds making movies a “liberating experience”.
In his debut directorial “Mom”, which was aired on Zee Cinema on January 14, Udyawar worked with veteran actress Sridevi, whom he calls a director’s actor.
“Even on the sets of her 300th film, Sridevi was receptive to every idea that I as a director would bring on the set. Enthusiastic and ready to try out different ways to do the scenes, she really believed and was committed to Devki, her character. She is a director’s actor,” he said.
“Mom” dealt with the subject of abduction and rape sensitively.
On cracking the code, he said: “It’s important to know how you are going to present it to the audience… In cinema, a greater impact is achieved by refusing to show violence than showing it, but creating the horror of the emotion that it is attempting to evoke.”
Talking about filming the hard-hitting scenes, he said: “While the abduction and rape scene is a pivotal scene of the film (‘Mom’), the treatment of not actually showing the visual but letting the sound and the atmosphere around portray the horror, sensitises the film.”
