The Bollywood film industry has been the largest producer of drama, action,comedy and romance for over a century now. Owing to its growing popularity, there’s hardly someone who hasn’t watched a Bollywood flick in all its “masala” glory at least once in their life. Creating its own genre, our country’s film industry has served masala in all its possible mix that has been received “with love” by the audience.
The genre, which is like an overdone assortment of all the four major genres, whilst sewing the fabric of the main plot of the film, serves to the Indian audience a fool-proof entertainment formula. A “macho” do-it-all hero, a pretty sidekick whose role is to display her beauty and incompetence to the hero, a villain in a constant tussle with the invincible “Bhai”, these masala flicks never fail to take home bags full of earnings and applause from the audiences. With the increased love for this genre, Bollywood’s filmmakers and audience have found their comfort zone here and do not seem too inclined to be taking a turn from serving the cinemas with this overused yet lucrative recipe.
It would, however, be unfair to not acknowledge the emergence of a more meaningful and content based cinema in the recent times. It is in fact, heartening to know that a certain section of the audience regards and immensely appreciates the presence of such cinema. This paradigm shift has been visible only in the past few years, beginning with box office success of movies like Rang de basanti, Lage Raho Munna Bhai and Taare Zameen Par to name a few.
Although, the demand for “masala” still fares high due to the diversity of interests and expectations of the audiences. People from all backgrounds look up to cinema with their own expectations of it. Interestingly, a large chunk looks up to it as a respite from their daily struggles where Shahrukh Khan’s romance or Salman “Bhai”’s effortless action pulls them away from the stresses they’ve burdening themselves with, albeit temporarily, thus creating a constant demand for masala. Despite this, there has been a remarkable shift in the audience’s choice of cinema. This shift can be observed from their increased inclination to Hollywood in the recent times. Primarily observed among the youth, viewers may not always be as excited to watch the latest SRK or Salman Bhai release, but they might be inclined towards picking the latest Hollywood flick. Moreover, the very rise in the supply of content based movies like Udta Punjab, Masaan or Dangal proves the changing demand of the Indian audiences.
This shift, must make us Indians proud of our evolution from an escapist towards an enlightened audience.
What does Karan Johar’s subtle coming out mean for us?
Karan Johar’s newly released “An Unsuitable Boy” has sparked a conversation about sexuality and privacy in India. Our correspondent tells you how the celebrated director’s autobiography has already impacted the LGBTQ, and otherwise mainstream, Indian society.
The widely publicised release of “An Unsuitable Boy”, Karan Johar’s autobiography, has been accompanied by all sections of society weighing in on Johar’s sexuality and his expression of it. In his own words, Johar states, “Everybody knows what my sexual orientation is. I don’t need to scream it out. If I need to spell it out, I won’t only because I live in a country where I could possibly be jailed for saying this. Which is why I Karan Johar will not say the three words that possibly everybody knows about me.”
Here’s what this means – Karan Johar is gay. Karan Johar will not explicitly state that he is gay. The chances are that many of us who have grown up watching Johar in the public light are not surprised by this ‘admission’. However, while we may be appreciative of his candor, many of us are still disappointed by his lack of explicitness. We place an extraordinary amount of responsibility on Johar to use his platform to raise awareness about LGBTQ issues in as oppressive a society as India. His status as a Bollywood veteran even provides some level of protection and support that many of us fail to identify in our daily lives. As such, surely he owes it to his most ardent followers, and perhaps more importantly, to the thousands of closeted citizens of India, to come out more eloquently and remove the stigma around sexual minorities.
The problem with this assumption and expectation lies in the simple fact that despite his fame and prosperity, Johar is only human. Sure, he may have a voice and the ability to give confidence to people in India who are still struggling to come to terms with their sexualities. And while it is understandable, and even acceptable to some extent, to expect him to “say the three words”, he deserves the same level of privacy that we would expect in our daily lives, away from the limelight. At the end of the day, his sexuality and his expression of it are both his choice alone. Pressurising him to be overtly gay is no better than heteronormative society pressuring him to be straight. Perhaps one day he’ll feel safe enough to declare his sexuality without the fear of law. Until then, we can only appreciate what he has chosen to share with us now.
So if you catch yourself judging him while reading his latest, take a step back to think about the courage he mustered to reveal his sexual orientation at all, and then cut him some slack for only being human.
Life ought to be as simple as that. And it is (or eventually becomes) for the leading couple of ‘Befikre’. But life is never this easy, frivolous and convenient. And that is probably why the narration of ‘Befikre’ seems to take a flight from reality, every now and then.In a nutshell, there is too much intimacy, too much cliché and too much overacting in ‘Befikre’ for one to digest.
Shot largely in the fabled ‘City of Love’, ‘Befikre’ grants itself the license to breezily demonstrate all forms of physical intimacy in the most blatant and unabashed fashion. The movie begins with a five minute long shot of sundry couples making out, with Parisian scenery rolling out in the background.Don’t be fooled by these five minutes. They are integral to the movie. They very aptly set and describe the mood of the entire movie.Because all you get in the next 175 minutes that follow are glimpses of promiscuous and amorous activities, strewn together by a weak story line.
‘Befikre’ is the love story of Dharam and Shyra. Both are wild and represent the ‘free’ spirited attitude of the youth. They share a lusty relationship which comes to its inevitable end when they fail to successfully live together and see eye-to-eye. Then they decide to become friends. Their ambiguous friendship soon blossoms into best friendship. But things get complicated when Shyra starts dating the ‘perfect man’, putting Dharam in an envious spot. Things finally spiral out of control when Shyra gets engaged to the said ‘perfect man’. Dharam’s loneliness, competitiveness, jealousy and inherent stupidity drive him to propose a random French hooker in retaliation. The bottom line:The two protagonists are set to get married to their respective partners in a double wedding celebration on the same day. Sounds all too familiar? Then wait for the climax. Because come D-day and voila!To the shock and horror of the audience( yes, you wish!) only one wedding takes place: the matrimony of Dharam and Shyra. Surprised? Sure, if you’ve never seen a BollywoodYash Raj romcom. Cliché? To the point where you want to hang yourself for spending your last bit of currency on such a movie in times of a dire cash crunch.
There are some mildly likeable things. Like the upbeat music, the groovy dance segments and decent cinematography. Although Vaani Kapoor steals the show, her performance gets overshadowed by Ranveer Singh’s loud, overly boisterous and unnecessarily in-your- face overacting. Unfortunately for the movie, that’s a bad thing.
In all, ‘Befikre’ is the kind of movie you should watch if you have time to kill. However, if you value your time and your hard-earned money, give this one a miss. Also, if you’re a fan of Ranveer Singh, better hold your peace and wait for his next release. Because this one just might kill any (or absolutely all) of the love that you have for him.
Image Credits: www.indianexpress.com
Kriti Sharma[email protected]
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What makes a truly good movie? Is it the script, the direction, amazing actors or catchy music? This is that one question which everyone ponders upon while judging a movie, whether watched in the luxury of a theatre or in the personal comforts of home. But, wasted money and wasted time, as much as foolishly repeated, can never be forgotten. So, this year, while we faced much disappointment from movies like: ABCD 2, Badlapur, Katti Batti and Shaandaar. Some brilliant films involving Salman’s breathtaking performance in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the beautiful story of a daughter-father relationship in Piku, Kangana’s hilarious love escapades in Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Imtiaz’s amazing direction in Tamasha, have proven to mend our broken hearts and make us fall in love with movies all over again.
Thus, overall one cannot deny that 2015 has been a terrific year for movie buffs and there’s no doubt that the coming year will too, produce equally, or hopefully, even more unforgettable movies for us. Therefore, here’s a list of the most anticipated Hollywood and Bollywood movies of 2016:
HOLLYWOOD
1.) Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Okay, you honestly can’t tell me that you haven’t been waiting for this to happen on the big screen ever since you read comics or watched cartoons of your favorite superheroes as a kid. No matter how you feel about Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel or Ben Aflleck’s performances, it’s hard not to get excited about watching Batman and Superman- two of the biggest superheroes of all time, at war with one another and then eventually forming a team, alongside Wonder Woman to fight against evil. Whether it will be an epic blockbuster experience or a major disappointment, it’s definitely the one you wouldn’t want to miss out on. Release date: March 25, 2016
2.) Deadpool
With movies like X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Green Lantern repeatedly letting our hopes down, it’s going to take much more than just Ryan Reynold’s drop dead gorgeous looks and rock-hard abs to fight his way through all the non-convincing arguments of people to watch this one. But then again, the lesser we expect, the more we’re surprised, aren’t we? I say, give Tim Miller’s debut feature film a chance. In fact, for Ryan’s insane love for superhero comics and never-ending spirit, I’d even say a thousand times over. Release date: February 12, 2016
3.) Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
If you’ve seen the first part, you’re certainly not missing this one. If you haven’t, well then, all I can say is that you’re in for a treat. With the amazing direction of Nicholas Stoller, the gang’s all back, including Zac Efron’s charming personality, Seth Rogen’s effortless acting, and Rose Byrne’s unmatched cuteness, along with the surprise arrival of two new sorority sisters in the neighborhood such as Selena Gomez and Chloe Grace Moretz who are bound to bring their own promising share of crazy uniqueness to the sequel, making it even better than the previous one. Release date: May, 2016. The trailers of Neighbors 2 haven’t been released. So, here is a trailer of the fun and frolic life of the Neighbors’ first movie. If you enjoy this, there’s no way you wouldn’t love the next one!
4.) Finding Dory
Thirteen years after the release of ‘Finding Nemo’, which yet remains one of the most loved and best works of Pixar productions, the wait is finally over. Remember that forgettable yet unforgettable cutest little blue fish, we all fell madly in love with? There’s only so much we can adore a character and Dory goes beyond any ordinary limits. So, watching a movie based entirely on her, further voiced by the famous personality, Ellen DeGeneres seems like the most perfect splash of happiness we require this summer. No matter how old you are, you’re sure to keep this one in the very first priority of your wish list. Release date: June 17, 2016
5.) The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist
Who doesn’t love a little horror? Especially if it’s directed by James Wan who may be well known for his movies like Saw and Insidious, but mostly for his critically acclaimed 2013 release ‘The Conjuring’ which was considered as one of the best possession movies ever created and as a result, also succeeded in keeping us terrified for several sleepless nights. The sequel thus, continues the roles of the paranormal activity researchers, Ed and Lorraine Warren, but in a new spine-chilling tale (which also seems to be based on true events- till some extent) revolving around the lives of two sisters, held in a town of Enfield, England. I don’t know about you but I’m ready to get spooked all over again, and as much as possible. Are you? Release date: June 10, 2016
Produced by Aditya Chopra, and directed by Maneesh Sharma (who’s best known for his debut film: Band Baaja Baraat) this is a story about a man and his obsession with his favorite movie star , Aryan (Shahrukh Khan) with whom he shares identical looks, further centering on his journey to meet him in Mumbai, India. It seems like this movie is made for every possible fan of Shahrukh Khan, thereby exceeding the expectations increasingly for all. The movie also stars Vaani Kapoor (known for her debut role in Shudh Desi Romance) and Ileana D’Cruz. Release date: April 15, 2016
2.) Jagga Jasoos
Written and directed by Anurag Basu, this one’s a detective-comedy drama starring Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, and Govinda, who embark on a classic Indiana Jones’ type adventure, in search of the missing father of a teenage detective with the help of his friends. So not only does the story sound fresh and interesting, but with lovebirds like Ranbir and Katrina to pair up once again after APKGK, that too, under Anurag’s superb direction (as revealed in Barfi! with Ranbir), the movie seems very promising and definitely worth watching. Release date: June 3, 2016 Trailer not released.
Jagga Jasoos
3.) Fitoor
An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ beautiful classic novel, Great Expectations, this romantic-drama will be starring Aditya Roy Kapoor and Katrina Kaif as the lead. Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, this movie hopes to inspire the very true idea of love, thereby focusing on not just the aspect of happiness, but a little bit of drama, sadness and passion to go along with it too. All we can hope is that it lives up to our great expectations as well. Release date: February 12, 2016 Trailer not released.
Fitoor
4.) Raees
Hasn’t it been long since we saw Shahrukh Khan in an intense role? Thus, with the release of this crime-drama, we’ll finally get to watch the King of Romance play an extremely powerful character of a cruel and clever bootlegger whose business is obstructed by a tough policeman (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). The movie also stars the Pakistani actor, Mahira Khan who’ll be making her screen debut in Bollywood. Release date: 8 July, 2016
5.) Kapoor and Sons
As if just one pair of dreamy eyes of Siddharth Malhotra wasn’t enough to mesmerize us, this romantic-comedy drama starring Alia Bhatt as the lead, also brought the Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan into the picture to charm us all. Produced by Karan Johar and directed by Shakun Batra, whatever the outcome may be, this movie’s cast alone is too lovable and irresistible enough to not make anyone watch it as soon as it’s released. Release date: March 18, 2016 Trailer not released.
Kapoor & Sons
6.) Udta Punjab
Directed by Abhishek Choudhary and starring Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor (who’ll be seen sharing the screen after a very long time) and Alia Bhatt in the lead, this drama-thriller chronicles the story of the issue of substance abuse among youth in the Indian state of Punjab, and thus, promises to bring us something dark and thought-provoking along with an experience entirely different from the ordinary plots of most movies. Now let’s hope that’s a good different! Release date: March 2016 Trailer not released.
From talking about their characters and relationships to the movie as an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s novel, the star cast of the movie 2 States, Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt recently sat down with our correspondent. Take a look at them talk about their experience of shooting in IIM Ahmedabad, their chance to be students once again and what they enjoyed the most as students. Arjun also tells us how he is envious of actor Varun Dhawan and wants to do comic roles in the future.
PresentingArjun Kapoor and Alia Bhattin conversation with our correspondentIresh Gupta.
Iresh : Tell us something about your character Krish, and in what ways could you relate to it? And what is it that the students will love about the movie and the character?
Arjun : I identified a lot with Krish in terms of emotional quotient, not because he is Punjabi or I am Punjabi, but there is a lot more to it. He is somebody who doesn’t show his emotions. He has a certain take on life. He is very a responsible kid. There is a certain selfless nature. Whatever he does is for his mother. He is brought up properly with family values. There is a certain understanding that he has developed to keep his mother happy and that is something that I completely related to. For a 23-24 year old kid, he hasn’t lost his way, though there have been ups and down in his life. He is a sorted out kid. So the viewers also will be able to relate to the character fully, I suppose.
Iresh: Alia, how was Ananya for you as a character?
Alia : Ananya is much more mature than I am. She is very active with her thoughts and her intelligence is the reason behind it. She is very sensitive to the people she loves. I relate to her ideas. She has an opinion and she puts it forward. The character also thinks that she is right 90% of the times. And when it comes to Krish she would go on her way to convince her parents. And also, in many ways she was very inspiring for me as a woman.
Iresh : The book by Chetan has done really well and is quite popular, especially among young people and students. Has that built up any pressure for you two?
Arjun : It didn’t actually, till I met you all or met all his readers because I haven’t read the book. They all made me realize the unprecedented love the Chetan novel has. This hit me when our first trailer came out; we had six million hits which according to Dharma Productions, was the highest for any Dharma movie till date. Then we realized the expectation the film carries for age groups especially young people, as you say.
Iresh : Alia what do you think? How difficult is it to maintain the originality when a movie becomes an adaptation of a book?
Alia : See, when I hadn’t read the book I was little apprehensive about the fact that this book will be made into a movie. But when I read the adaptation, I read the book, I was happy. After watching the movie now, I feel that the basic skeleton of the book is there. The emotions are in place. Cinematic liberty is what we took but at the end of the day the emotion remains the same.
Iresh : Alia, you have been a student before for Student Of The Year. So how was it this time for 2 States?
Alia : This movie has characters of more older students, it is not high school. The movie is about a relationship that we develop while we are in college. But it was fun working and shooting in a campus.
Iresh : Arjun, any research that you undertook to be a student after different genre of roles you did in the past?
Arjun : I have grown up from being 17 to 25 and I was pretty alert as a student with whatever studies I did then. No research was required as such but there was this body language that Abhishek (Verman) wanted for this character as a director. I had to retain that no matter what I am doing as student in the film.
Iresh : How was it shooting in the campus of IIM-Ahmedabad? Was it among the college students?
Arjun : It was really nice to go back to the college. I enjoyed that experience. I enjoyed shooting in IIM, it is a fantastic campus. And it made much easier for us to believe that we are college students because college poora khaali tha, chutti ke time par gye the. We were there last April for shooting. We used to wake up in the morning, come to college, work whole day and go back. So it was a really cool experience.
Iresh : Alia, how was it working at IIM-A for you?
Alia : It was a great experience. Even when Chetan came to the sets, he was quite happy for the fact that we got IIM-Ahmedabad as the campus which he had visualized in the book. It reminded him of his days in the college with his wife. For us, that was a big thing.
Iresh: Arjun what is that you enjoyed the most as a student?
Arjun : I got to dress well, that is what I enjoyed the most in the film. I got to wear clothes that I would wear in normal life and roam around. I played my age, more or less. I was allowed to dress how I would want to dress. When I say that I could relate to the boy, the sensibility and his aesthetics, the jeans, the shoes, the cargoes, the glasses I wear and the haircut I got. I would like to get rid of this (points towards his present look) for quite some time. So I liked all those changes that happened to me. It was a nice refreshing change.
Iresh : Arjun, when you look at all these movies coming today, what is the genre you would like to do or one director you would want to work with?
Arjun : I would love to do comic roles. I am really envious of Varun Dhawan. Really, the kind of genre that is taken up by David Dhawan, the movies he makes, is something that I would like to do.
Iresh : You both have been to Delhi University before for promotions. So how was the experience? And one last message for our readers?
Alia : We have got lots of love from the age group that you cater to. It is amazing to see how the young generation that is our own generation relates to and also appreciates our work. So all of you out there, please go watch 2 States, One love! It is a movie for everyone. It is coming out on 18th April. Do watch!
It is the end of Dilli’s bone-chilling winters and the beginning of the chubti-jalti garmi, and yes, Holi hai! The great Indian festival of colours is back with a splash and it’s time for dirty buckets full of gruesome concoctions, coupled with desi face painting. With a splash, old grudges and resentments are washed out. It’s also the time when our dearest television channels cash in on the festival, and have a field day broadcasting movie after movie on Holi, indirectly making us all spectators to the dance drama of white-sari clad heroines frolicking around daintily in gardens, avoiding the overly-masculine hero, with the background dancers gyrating in sync to perfectly timed and coordinated steps.
Holi is also the festival of forgiveness and a time to make amends, and according to our family friendly movie industry, the perfect time to indulge in the ecstasy of bhang and chase after the pretty girl. Over the years, Hindi movies have ensured that not a single popular festival is song-less and they seem to make them more and more clichéd over the years.
So here’s a list of the top 5 most clichéd and over used holi songs from various Bollywood movies over the ages:
Rang Barse – Silsila
The staple song for any Holi gathering; it is as typical as it can get. All-star ensemble cast, petals, bheegi chunris and plateful of colours with Big B chasing after his ex-flame Rekha with Mrs. Bacchan in the vicinity. Yeah, this would’ve definitely been the theme song for many love triangles looking for salvation back then.
Holi ke din – Sholay
Another Amitabh starrer, but has Dharmender dancing to impress Hema Malini. If you cannot forget the song, you also cannot forget Gabbar Singh asking his cronies in his characteristic style, “Holi…kab hai Holi”.
Aaj na chodenge – Kati Patang
This wonderful film starring Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh became a super hit in the year 1970. Adding to the success was this typically bhang-filled song, where Rajesh Khanna played the role of the quintessential hero, loving and quite obviously, teasing the heroine on Holi. Set in a rural setting, this song was definitely one for the masses.
Ang se ang lagana – Darr
The title says it all. This song looked more like a Tide ad than a music video and had a plethora of strange background dancers. Juhi Chawla looked pretty as ever. The only contrast was Shahrukh Khan as the obsessive lover boy.
Do me a favour let’s play holi – Waqt
Keeping the worst/best for last, this song had Anu Malik written all over it. Annoyingly nasal voice, funny dance moves, and a very awkward Akshay Kumar. This song was the mother of all holi songs when it came out in 2005.
From talking about the “bewakoofiyan” they did in college, to exploring the urban and corporate side of Delhi with their upcoming movie Bewakoofiyan, we sat down with Ayushmann Khurrana and Sonam Kapoor recently. Hear them speak about love during recession and the experience of working together as co-stars for the first time. Plus, Sonam gives our readers some tips on budget fashion and questions the radicalism of Ayushmann’s dressing sense.
Presenting Sonam Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana in conversation with our correspondents Ishika Gupta and Iresh Gupta (Videographed by Abhinav Arora).
Ishika : Tell us something about Bewakoofiyan and what is it that students will love about your movie?
Sonam : This story is about how love is more important than materialistic needs. Sometimes you get to relationships or get married to people for various reasons like money, job or education. But sometimes you need to be with someone because you love them, because they make you happy and he/she is a nice person. And I think that is the most important thing and at the same time very basic and simple. But kids or young people these days are actually forgetting that. They get to relationships saying that “She is hot” or “She is sexy.”
Ayushmann : (laughs) Sketch of the film is that this guy (points toward himself) is jobless. And his girlfriend earns more than him and she is hot. The father has a problem with that, of course. The sketch is very simple but the story is unusual, it is realistic. It is not those typical rom-com movies. It is based on recession.
Iresh : This is a very unique pairing for the movie. You guys have been paired for the first time together. So how was it working with each other? Like comparing to your co-stars in the past?
Ayushmann : TERRIBLE! It was really bad… It is the first time I am working with a star. I have worked with debutants in the past.Yes, of course she is a star! Lets be straight now. Earlier I thought she is a fashion icon, so the pairing will be quite odd and unusual with I being a guy next door and she being a fashion icon but when I got to know her, personally I got to know that she is very simple, sweet and sorted and she has seen life so I have learned a lot from her, not only how to be on camera but also how to be off camera.
Sonam : (hugs Ayushmann) Okay, honestly it was amazing working with him. Actually, I have never had the same co-star in any film. Everytime I do a film it is someone else. So how is it working with him? The only person I have worked with twice is Abhishek (Bachchan). One was Delhi 6, the other one was this not so happening film, Players. Everybody else has been new. I have worked with 10 different heroes. (laughs)So yeah. He is awesome.
Ishika : As we grow old, we get freedom. With that comes a lot of responsibility and we get a lot of chance to exploit that responsibility. So what were the bewakoofiyaan that you did when you were in college?
Sonam : I only studied till the 12th. Unfortunately I could do bewakoofi only till high school. After that I started working. The biggest bewakoofi I have done in my life is not going to college. So people who are in college, please go to college.
Ayushmann :Bewakoofi in school, having crushes on teachers and seniors. That was crazy. The feelings are not mutual, so that’s the biggest bewakoofi. Apart from that, being an actor is also a bewakoofi. It is quite under weighed for someone who is not from the industry and is unaware about the frills of the industry. When people are judgemental, you have to be a master and completely in control of your head to be an actor. It is very difficult.
Iresh : You both came to SRCC to promote your film, so how was the experience in the university? Or Delhi as a whole, as the movie is majorly shot in Delhi and Gurgaon apart from Dubai?
Ayushmann : I was back with a bang in Delhi. It was my third film in Delhi. The city has a lot of character. There is Old Delhi and New Delhi. Jaise vicky donor purani delhi ki thi, yeh nayi dilli ki film hai. It is more urban. This is the first time we are exploring the urban side of Delhi, its corporate side like Gurgaon and Cyber.
Ishika : When we are in college we have a very minimal budget and everyone wants to look good. So what advice will you give to the students about budget fashion?
Sonam : Go to Dilli Haat, pick up every accessory possible for 100-200 bucks, get a kurta or anything from any of the markets and accessorize yourself and you will look beautiful. I think so. I guess it is all about mixing and matching, being artistic, being yourself and having an expression.
Ayushmann : I don’t know if I should talk about fashion or not. Fashion for me is a mood swing. If you feel like an introvert one day, you can be in jeans and a t-shirt. If you feel like radical or an extrovert one day, you can be radical to fashion. I am only radical when I am with Sonam. Otherwise I am okay with my jeans and t-shirt. When you are with Sonam, you have to make an appearance. There is an extra pressure to look good.
Third day’s the charm, right? It so was. Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan made it to Shri Ram College of Commerce on 26th February to promote their upcoming movie Shaadi ke side effects. Keeping the information to themselves until the very day, the Dramatics society of SRCC restricted the entry to SRites only.
After watching the SRCC’s in-house stage production, “Black comedy”, people proceeded to behold their favorite stars and a huge gathering of more than fifteen hundred students was witnessed in the parking area of the college. The event which was scheduled to begin at 1:15, began around 4:00pm, making the crowd wane a little. In order to keep the constant booing of the crowd at bay, the organizers played songs of Honey Singh at full volume making few dance and few giddy.
When the duo arrived at last, the two and hour wait was completely worth it. While Vidya looked refreshing and addressed the crowd with her beautiful smile, Farhan made the crowd specially girls go week in the knees with his deep sensuous voice. They threw out CDs of the movie to the crowd and interacted with them for about ten minutes. Signing off, Farhan recited the poem from “Zindagi na Milegi Doobara” while Vidya waived and thanked the gathering for having them there.
Director Imtiaz Ali and actress Alia Bhatt visited Miranda House College on 19th February for the promotion of their upcoming film ‘Highway’ which is slated for release on 21st February.
The programme started with the official trailer of the movie, popular songs like Pataka Guddi and Maahi Ve and a behind the scenes video of the movie being played. After that, Pratibha Jolly, the college principal officially welcomed them on stage where both of the stars talked about the movie and their experience while shooting the film. “I totally believe in girl power,” said Alia Bhatt while addressing the all girls’ crowd, “and Highway is true dedication to girl power.”
Open only to students of Miranda House, the event was followed by an interactive session with the students. The students asked Imtiaz about his life as a student of Delhi University, his journey as a filmmaker and his inspiration behind his films. Alia was asked about her debut film, her character in Highway and how much she relates to the character she plays in the film. She also sang a few lines of Ishq Wala Love from Student of the Year on popular demand by the crowd.
After the interactive session, Imtiaz and Alia gave away free music CDs of Highway to the students who asked the best questions. As a memoir, the college principle presented hand-dyed scarves to the guests.
With the end of the interactive session, a small competition among the cultural societies of the college was held, which was judged by Imiiaz and Alia. Anukriti, the Hindi dramatic society of the college won the first prize and was really appreciated for their expressive performance. The second prize was won by Ariels, the English dramatic society.
“The experience was extremely exciting and equally tiring for the film club. From controlling the crowd that went berserk, to running around trying to get small details like Alia’s green tea right, all of it was worth it for we had an amazing time doing it” said Namita Aggarwal, the Film Club president of the college. “The event went successfully and that gives me immense satisfaction” she added.
Jackie Chan loves to sing, the movie 3 Idiots and Biryani. At the China Film Festival held in Siri Fort Complex on 18th June, the multi-faceted actor talked about fostering better ties between the two growing economies. Chan, who was here to inaugurate the first ever China Film Festival in India displayed his interest in acting in a Bollywood movie. “I can sing and dance….I am a good actor,” said the star. He also sent out an open invitation to Bollywood directors to hire him in their movies stating that all he needed was “a good script”. He wishes to change his image as that of an action superstar to that of an actor and added that he wants to be remembered as “Asia’s Robert De Niro”.
Present with him were his co-stars from his latest film ‘Chinese Zodiac’, who were all praises for him as a director to which Chan quipped,“They have to love me or they are fired!” On being questioned about the strain in the India-China relations recently, Chan hesitant at first, replied that we cannot choose our neighbours and that, we should make more movies on peace. On his never playing the role of the ‘bad guy’ in his films Chan said, “Young children watch my movies and I do not want to be a bad influence on them.” As an actor and a director, Chan feels it is his responsibility to produce a clean, free of violence film for his audience.
Chan felt that even though there is a lot of good cinema coming out of India, the producers are just not putting in enough effort to promote it globally. The star quipped that he has no time for vacations and only accepts invitation, if there is work involved.
