p 10 - The Echo Of India

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The Echo of India Kolkata Monday September 12, 2016
It's about luck: Sukhbir on his
songs not fitting in Bollywood
MUMBAI, SEPT 11 /--/ Despite having given
chartbusters like "Gal Ban Gayi" and "Sauda Khara
Khara", indie popstar Sukhbir fails to understand the
reason behind his songs being a misfit in Bollywood
films. "I have never been able to understand the film industry here (Bollywood). I know quite a few people here
like Akshay Kumar, Farah Khan, Rakesh Roshan. I have
helped quite a few people, have given songs but things
did not work out. May be the song did not fit in," Sukhbir
told PTI. "We are not sitting ideal, we are making and
supplying songs, but things are not working. It's about
luck. I think Mika g ot lucky. There are people who are
lucky and some are not," he said. The "Ishq Tera
Tadpave" singer feels happy that music has evolved in
films and videos as well. "We are going through a nice
phase. I think Honey Singh changed the taste and feel of
music and it's good," he said. "Change is much needed.
We are going through melody, beat, rap. Old songs are
recreated with new swag and it's g ood," he added. With
new crop of singers also entering Bollywood, the
Punjabi popstar feels the new generation is talented. "We
all need change that is good. We need contemporary outlook and they are all really nice," he added. (PTI)
Nomination for Padma Awards
thrown open for general public
NEW DELHI, SEPT 11 /--/
Any Indian can now recommend any achiever for the
prestigious Padma Awards,
with the government throwing open the nomination
process to general public to
make it transparent and
curb the crony culture of influence and lobbying. The
nominations can be made
online but the nominators
would be required to furnish their Aadhaar details
for authenticity and accountability. "For the first
time, government of India
is encouraging the people of
India to nominate achievers
for the Padma Awards,"
sources said.
It is a step towards transforming the national awards
into a truly people's award
which will no longer remain
restricted to elite rulers,
they said. Opening up of the
nomination process to the
general public will also help
in identifying unsung or
lesser known people of excellence, the sources said.
"Simple online nomination
encourages and facilitates
all Indian citizens to participate," the sources added.
They said the changes in the
nomination process is aimed
at curbing the crony culture
of influence and lobbying.
"Online application portal
plus electronic management
system harnesses technology to make processing of
nominations efficient and
transparent," the sources
said. The government has
already received over 1700
nominations and the last
date of nomination is September 15. (PTI)
Horror genre does not appeal Dwayne Bravo salutes
mainstream actors, feels Emraan success of SRK, Salman
MUMBAI, SEPT 11 /--/
While Emraan Hashmi has
been part of a few horror
films, many mainstream
stars have shied away from
them and the actor feels it is,
perhaps, because the genre
is not considered 'performance-oriented'. Emraan,
who was seen in two instalments of the "Raaz"
frnachise, says even he
does not think about winning an award when he
chooses to be a part of such
films but he does them for
the experience. When
asked why do mainstream
actors stay away from horror, Emraan told PTI, "I
think may be they don't
find the genre challenging.
'Performance' is not something which is associated
with horror. You will not see
horror come up in the Os-
cars in the best film list."
"At the same time, you cannot negate its place in the
box office. I am not doing a
horror film thinking I'll win
a best actor award. I am doing it because of the experience it gives me."
The "Azhar" actor, who
features in the upcoming
"Raaz Reboot", feels another
reason could also be that
stars do not understand the
genre properly as horror is
still a niche category in the
country.
"May be they (mainstream stars) don't understand the genre, don't like it.
It is seen as a very limited
genre. There are only one or
two directors, who make it.
No one makes horror. If
there were more scripts
floating around, with more
directors, it would be good."
Directed by Vikram Bhatt,
"Raaz Reboot" also stars Kriti
Kharbanda and Gaurav
Arora in the lead. The 37year-old "Jannat" star was
initially reluctant to sign
"Raaz Reboot" as he did not
see the franchise continue
beyond three parts. "I didn't
see the franchise beyond
trilogy. I felt a part four will
always be like an indulgence, money-making thing
and nothing else. Till I read
the script and I really liked
it. By default it had all the
elements that would entertain people in the horror
space," Emraan said. .
Though the franchise
has been a hit with its own
set of fans, Emraan is aware
that today Indian horror
films are facing competition
from the west.
The best way, according
to the actor, is to try to be as
relevant as possible when it
comes to filmmaking to
make the audience believe
in the film. "It is very difficult (to match audience's expectations) because we have
been exposed to so much in
the last four years since
'Raaz 3' released. So, now we
have to bring something
new in the horror space. "It is
challenging to make something, which is relevant to
the audience. To up the
quotient from the previous
parts, compete with other
films with bigger budgets
like 'Conjuring'. So, it all
comes down to how good a
film you've made." "Raaz
Reboot" is scheduled to release on September 16. (PTI)
MUMBAI, SEPT 11 /--/ West Indies cricketer Dwayne
Bravo, who would be making his singing debut in Bollywood
with "Tum Bin 2", says he looks upto Shah Rukh Khan and
Salman Khan for the success they have achieved in their 25year-old acting career. "I am aware about Bollywood films
and actors. I look up to Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan.
They are my favourite actors. I admire them for the success
they have got. They are so popular internationally as well,"
Dwayne said here.
"Among actresses, I like Deepika Padukone as well. I
have seen a few Hindi films like 'My Name is Khan. It is one
of my favourite films," he said.The 32-year-old cricketersinger seems to share a great bond with the King Khan as
they often party together. Bravo is a member of SRK-owned
The Trinbago Knight Riders, which is a franchise cricket
team of the Caribbean Premier League. "Shah Rukh is my
boss. I represent his team. I get an opportunity to meet him
on different occasions. I meet and party with him," he said.
"I met Salman once during IPL opening. I wish I get the opportunity to meet him again. I met Mr Big B (Amitabh
Bachchan) recently during an event of Yuvraj Singh."
Director Anubhav Sinha had roped in American singer
Akon to sing "Chhammak Chhallo" in his 2011 Shah Rukhstarrer "Ra.One". Now for the sequel of his 2001 hit romantic drama "Tum Bin 2", he has got Bravo. The song called
"Jager bomb" is being shot today in a suburban nightclub.
The star cast of the film - Neha Sharma, Aashim Gulati, and
Aditya Seal - will also make a special appearance in the
song alongside Dwayne. Ask him if SRK is aware about his
upcoming song, Dwayne said, "I think so. He is close friend
of the producer." For this peppy track, Dwayne has learnt
a few new lines in Hindi. The song will also have vocals
from Ankit Tiwari, who has composed the film's music.
"Tum Bin 2" is slated to release in November this year. (PTI)
Indian culture is hypocrite when it comes to women: Richa
MUMBAI, SEPT 11 /--/ Actress
Richa Chadha feels for a country,
which worships several goddesses,
it is hypocritical that the nation has
double standards when it comes to
how the it treats women.
Richa says the huge divide between people worshipping goddesses and at the same time neglect-
ing women is an issue, which has
baffled her ever since she was a
child. "India is one of those few
countries in the world where violence against women starts in the
womb, before the girl is even born.
We have to overcome the hypocrisy
in our culture. On one hand, we celebrate Navratri, nine days of fast-
ing for the goddess, then Durga
Pooja... All kinds of goddesses in
India are worshipped and praised
than in any other culture," Richa
said. "But when it comes to our
women, daughters, wives, mothers,
sisters, we have a completely different standard.
That has baffled me since I was
a child," she said. The "Masaan"
star was speaking at a panel discussion on "Gender Based Violence in
India". The event was held to commence the programme for the 'Justice Institute' in association with the
Avon Foundation and Vital Voices.
The 29-year-old-actress said it is
important to educate men on how to
treat women and give confidence to
girls that they can achieve what
they want in life. "Girls know they
are at par... More than educating
them we need to give them confidence that they can do whatever
they want to in life. It is also about
educating the men how to treat
women. "It stars from there. From
the patriarch, the person in-charge
of the power, who is conditioning
everybody else to a certain way of
life." Richa, however, believes that
the transition will take time, as gender-based violence is an issue,
which has its roots in traditions and
religion. "It will take a lot of time
because somewhere we are conditioned into thinking a certain way,
it is a very large topic. It includes
culture, religion, and tradition. "It's
time we question some stuff. When
somebody from outside questions
it, we get defencive. But we must
question our own culture and use
the best aspects of it." Richa says
often sexual assaults victims are
stigmatised, because of which they
are hesitant to come out and talk
about it. (PTI)
CREATIVE WORLD
Mel Gibson
slams 'Batman
v/s Superman'
LOS ANGELES, SEPT 11
/--/ Hollywood star Mel
Gibson blasted "Batman
v Superman" saying he
is not interested in fake
superheros. The 60year-old director said
making a film with big
budget does not guarantee it to be a good work,
reported Deadline. "I'm
not interested in the
stuff. Do you know
what the difference between real superheroes
and
comic-book
superheroes is?
Real
superheroes
didn't wear spandex. So
I don't know. Spande x
must cost a lot," Gibson
said. The mention of DC
Comics
bloc kbuster,
which was panned by
critics, came up when
Gibson revealed the
modest
budget
he
worked with on his latest
film
"Hacksaw
Ridge."
"I look at them and
scratch my head. I'm really baffled by it. I think
there's a lot of waste,
but maybe if I did one of
those things with the
green screens I'd find
out different. "It seems
to me that you could do
it
for
less ...You'r e
spending outrageous
amounts of money, USD
180 million or more, I
don't know how you
make it back after the
tax man gets you, and
after you give half to
the exhibitors," he said.
(PTI)
Kylie Minogue,
Robbie Williams
collaborating
for new single
LOS ANGELES, SEPT 11
/--/
Singers
Kylie
Minogue and Robbie
Williams are coming together to create new
music. The new track
will be featured in
Robbie's forthcoming
album, his first to be released after signing
with his new label, Sony
Music,
reported
Aceshowbiz. "Where it's
going to go I couldn't
tell you, but it's very
good," Kylie said of the
track. The duo first collaborated sixteen years
back for their hit single
"Kids". "Kids" was released as the second single from Robbie's fourth
studio album "Sing
When You're Winning",
and the third single
from Kylie's seventh
studio album "Light
Year s".
The
48-year-old
songstress is also recording new songs to
add to a reissue of her
"Kylie Christmas" album. "I'm working on
various things . We ' ve
got some really really
good new additions to
the Christmas album for
this year. I have started
work on new material,
the way the year's
panned out I won't have
that much time to work
on it but my brain's
working overtime. (PTI)
I don’t want to spend
money on stars: Jayaraj
NEW DELHI, SEPT 11 /-/ He had a real-life fisherman as the hero in his National award-winning film
"Ottal" and filmmaker
Jayaraj says he would stick
to the formula of casting
people, who suit the character,
and
not
spend
humongous amount on big
stars. The 56-year-old filmmaker's next directorial
venture is magnum opus
"Veeram", star ring Kunal
Kapoor in the lead role of a
Kalaripayattu
warrior.
Jayraj says the "Rang De
Basanti" actor's looks were
apt for the role and that is
the reason he chose him after a series of auditions. "I
am not in the industry to
work with stars. I don't want
to spend money on stardom.
I feel casting has to be done
according to the character.
In my last film, hero was a
fisherman.
"For me, the character
matters and the person,
who suits the characters is
my hero. In 'Veeram', I
chose Kunal because his
physique and looks suit the
character," Jayaraj told PTI.
The six-time National
award-winning director is
not completely averse to
casting big names, but feels
stars at times come with a
baggage and that makes
things tough for him. "I am
not totally against casting
big names, if they are ok
with working on the character and give so much time. I
have
worked
with
Mammootty. But, I am com-
fortable and happy in working with new people. The
only focus is my character.
Stars come at times with lots
of condition and it make
things tough." Jayaraj, who
has always made low budget
films untill "Veeram", which
is his most expensive till
now, says people waste
money on putting unnecessary effect in the films. He
feels a big budget doesn't
make a difference to the
quality of the movie.
"The film I got golden
peacock award for ('Ottal')
was made in seven lakhs.
For me, money is nothing.
In 'Veeram', a lot of technical support is needed, there
is VFX and other things so,
the budget is 20 crores. "But
we have used VFX only
where it is needed and not
for the sake of it. I am not
mentioning names but a lot
of films are made just to
show the grandeur of VFX,
not for valid reason. "In Hollywood, people spend 300
crores because it's needed.
In India it is at times done to
show that we have spent so
much money," he said. The
"Desadanam" helmer says
films like "Baahubali" have
blurred the lines between
South
cinema
and
Bollywood and he hopes
"Veeram" will add on to that.
"Veer am" that opened the
ongoing BRICS film festival,
will be released later this
year in English, Hindi and
Malayalam. The film has
been simultaneously shot in
all the three languages.
(PTI)
Asha Bhosle feels Priyanka
perfect to play her role in biopic
MUMBAI, SEPT 11 /--/ Legendary singer Asha Bhosle
says actress Priyanka Chopra will be perfect to play her
role if a biopic is made on her life. When asked who does
she think will be best to bring her life on big screen Asha
told reporters, "Priyanka Chopra. Because she is also a
singer. So she can understand a singer well." The veteran
singer was speaking at 'Timeless Asha Concert' organized
on her 83rd birthday last evening. The "Chura Liya Hai
Tumne Jo Dil Ko" hit maker feels a biopic should also be
made on music composer and her husband late R D
Burman, to bring back his music in today's times.
"Yes, a biopic on him should be made, so that people get
to hear his music again if a film is made. Even those songs
of his which couldn't come out will be brought back. For
people who have forgotten it, a biopic will be good (reminder)," she said. "The music he made was 40-50 years
ahead of its time, not of the past. He worked very hard on
his music, tunes. That was very important for him...Hence
his music will stay alive forever," she said. Asha is also
done with writing her autobiography and is deciding the
release date. (PTI)