Filmi Fundas

‘I like everything about stardom’

Being a celebrity comes with a price but Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor confesses that she likes everything about stardom, including the constant attention and the odd hours.

“I like everything about stardom. I don’t mind being in the public eye. If anyone tells you that they want to be a film actor but they don’t want to be a star, that means they are lying. I love acting and love the fact the people like both my work and me. I am not pretentious enough to say that I cannot stand the attention,” Sonam says.

The 27-year-old, who was seen in Aisha and ‘I Hate Luv Stories’, will be next seen in Anand L Rai’s Raanjhanaa as well as Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and YRF’s untitled film.
Sonam will also be seen in the remake of 1980 film Khubsoorat, which was directed
by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and starred Rekha and Rakesh Roshan in the lead roles.

The fact that she gets to don so many different characters is something which attracted her to the industry.

“I love being in front of the camera and I love creating new things. Can you imagine a girl from Juhu playing a girl from Chandni Chowk, Banaras or Defence Colony? It is amazing to be able to play different people,” says Sonam, who has also been the part of films like ‘Delhi-6’ and ‘Players’.

Having said that, she does believe her job to be a challenging one. “People are not as bad as people think they are in the industry. We work very hard with odd hours. It is not only emotional, but physical and mental work as well,” she explains.

She is inspired by veterans like Rekha, Nutan and Waheeda Rehman.

“I did meet Rekha and she was like, ‘It is amazing that you are doing the remake’. There are three or four heroines who I am obsessed with. They are Waheeda Rehman, Nutan, Rekha, Jaya Bachchan and Sridevi. I copy them all the time,” she confesses. The actress adds that she would love to be a part of ‘Guide’, Saraswatichandra and Umrao Jaan.

 “The make-up and thumris were just amazing. I have completely copied Waheeda ji’s performance in ‘Guide’ in my film Raanjhanaa,” she says. In Sonam’s view, the trend of remakes is good. “I think every generation re-looks at a story. I don’t think there is anything wrong with remakes,” she expresses.

Nostalgic about  the release

Four decades ago, when Zanjeer released, it not only rocked the box office but also changed lead actor Amitabh Bachchan’s fortunes in films and even won him the angry-young-man tag. On completion of 40 years of the film, Big B is ecstatic and thanks his fans. Released on May 11, 1973, the movie starred Big B as police officer Vijay. It was his first blockbuster after a string of flops and after the Prakash Mehra-directed action-revenge thriller, there was no looking back for him. “Zanjeer 40 years of release.

Goodness. An entire lifetime, an entire change of my world (writer duo) Salim-Javed, Prakash ji, thank you (sic),” Big B posts. Before Zanjeer, Amitabh grabbed attention with the 1971 hit Anand, but it was after Zanjeer that he became a star to reckon with and gave hit after hit like Abhimaan, Deewaar, Sholay, Mili, Namak Haram and Chupke Chupke. Zanjeer also starred Jaya Bachchan, Om Prakash, Bindu and Ajit. A nostalgic Big B writes, “I know I repeat the 40 years of Zanjeer, but it just does not leave the system.” Now, Prakash Mehra’s son Amit is producing the remake of 1973 classic, which is being directed by Apoorva Lakhia. Southern actor Ram Charan Teja has stepped into Big B’s shoes. The new version also stars Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt.

The best of friends

Kamal Hassan is all set to view his friend and professional rival Rajnikanth’s latest film,
the long-awaited Kochadaiyaan. The film is crucial for Rajnikanth as it would be his first after his hospitalisation two years ago. The film adopts a new form of storytelling, known as the motion capture technique, where all of his actions would be heightened and amplified through special effects.

Understandably, Rajnikanth is said to be anxious and has asked Kamal Hassan — known to have a deep comprehension of cinema — to step in to suggest changes. Only then will Rajnikanth decide on a release date.

“Rajnikanth considers Kamal to be extremely cinema literate. He respects Kamal’s judgement on cinema. Since this film is crucial (for him), he has asked Kamal to view the film,” says a source from Chennai. A suitable date for the screening is being arranged.

Speaking fondly about his friendship and rivalry with Rajnikanth, Kamal says, “I’d do anything he asks me to, no question of refusing him. Both of us were young actors who started from scratch. He was the bus conductor with acting aspirations. I was the clapper boy who got the clap in my very film. We didn’t have fathers to make movies for us. But we had the same godfather K Balachander. We’ve done around 10 films together, most of them were hits, though we did have failures. We’ve done three films for our mutual mentor Balachander.”

Tough time on the sets

Actress Soha Ali Khan, who was filming the climax scene of her film War Chod Na Yaar near Bikaner with actor Sharman Joshi, says it wasn’t easy to film in such a hot place. The shoot was taking place in a village called Pithrasar in Rajasthan.

“It was just not easy shooting in 45 degree celsius temperature. As soon as you finish the shoot, you feel like taking a bath as there is so much dust all over your body. It was stressful but we had fun,” Soha says. Sharman plays the role of an Indian army captain. He says the film is a satire on war. He explains, “Many films were made on war but never a satire or comedy. It’s a very interesting concept and we just finished shooting the climax scene.” Directed by Faraz Haider and produced by AOPL Entertainment Pvt Ltd, War Chod Na Yaar also features Jaaved Jaffrey and Mukul Dev.