Filmi fundas

The talk of the town

Rani Mukherjee hasn’t been seen on the silver screen for a while, but the actress promises to give an unforgettable performance with the upcoming Aiyyaa.

There have been a lot of comparisons between this film and ‘The Dirty Picture’ — especially since both come across as woman-centric movies. But Rani dismisses these claims, saying that this is just a simple love story. “I would call it a romantic film, and I wouldn’t categorise this as a woman-centric story,” Rani says.

The story of Aiyyaa revolves around a Marathi girl, Meenakshi Deshpande (played by Rani), whose parents are looking for a suitable groom for her. She falls in love with a Tamilian boy, essayed by Prithviraj Sukumaran.

Her belly-dancing movies in the song Aga Bhai are already the talk of the town.Post Aiyyaa, Rani will be seen in director Reema Kagti’s Talaash. She is quite positive, and prefers not to look back at the past. “I am doing Talaash and I am very happy talking about films that I do. There is no point talking about films that I rejected or I regret doing,” she states.

‘I was against love stories’

He is considered Bollywood’s king of romance, but superstar Shah Rukh Khan says he was never keen on featuring in romantic sagas— that is, until film-maker Yash Chopra convinced him to do so. “I was so anti doing love stories because I thought I am not good with them. I remember Yashji tell me, till you love, nobody will love you back. So true (sic),” tweets Shah Rukh, who focussed on negative roles at the beginning of his career.

Shah Rukh, who started his tryst with show business as an army man in the television show Fauji, made his Bollywood debut with a romantic movie titled Deewana in 1992.

His first movie with Yash Chopra was the 1993 film Darr, in which he played an
obsessed lover. Thereafter, under the Yash Raj Films banner, Shah Rukh went on to do films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil Toh Pagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Veer Zaara (2004) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) — all of which cemented his lover boy image on the big screen.

   Now, he has dabbled in romance yet again with Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Chopra’s last directorial venture. He has shared screen space with Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in the movie, set to release on November 13.

Spellbound by the stunt

Ajay Devgan’s eye-catching stunts have won him many admirers and the latest to join this bandwagon is Tollywood director S S Rajamouli.

Rajamouli, who has given major blockbusters in his career as a director, has directed the hit Southern film Maryada Ramanna — of which Son of Sardaar, Ajay’s next, is a remake.
The director happened to see Ajay’s action sequence in the film on television and was completely spellbound by it. And when he learnt that Devgan and team were shooting in Hyderabad for Himmatwala, he specially went over to greet him and congratulate him on the marvellous stunt.

Rajamouli is also a great fan of Ajay Devgan’s father — veteran action director Veeru Devgan ’s — work. The two chatted for hours, discussing various aspects of the film.

‘Big B is an icon’

Amitabh Bachchan turned 70 recently and director R Balki, who has delivered hits like Cheeni Kum and the national-award winning Paa with Big B, describes the Bollywood legend as a once-in-a-lifetime actor. Balki also feels that Indian cinema is going through a special phase with the veteran actor.

“He is once-in-a-lifetime actor,” Balki says, adding that such a multi-talented actor is a rarity. “He is an icon. We are fortunate enough to be living in an era where people like him are there. And I don’t think one will get to see another Amitabh Bachchan in the next 100 years. I don’t think it can happen,” he adds.

“Besides his talent, hard work, his personality and his acting skills is a difficult combination to get all together. He is the heritage monument of India,” he states.

The memoirs of Mallika?

Mallika Sherawat is seriously considering an offer to write her autobiography and if all
goes according to plan, the public will soon have a no-holds-barred account of her tryst with Bollywood and Hollywood, right from the diva’s pen.

She’s a little apprehensive about whether to go ahead with it, though, because of all the controversy attached to her life. Mallika says, “Yes, I have received an offer to pen my journey, but I am in two minds, because there is a lot of masala in my life. But one thing is sure — if and when it comes out, it will be a no-holds-barred affair!”

Maharaja Features