Hope my entry helps Punjabi actors in B`wood: Diljit `Art

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The Echo of India Kolkata Monday June 20, 2016
‘Art-loving Bengali audience may be drying up’
KOLKATA, JUNE 19 /--/ Actor Joy
Sengupta regrets that the Bengali audience
is stuck with films having emotional content only. "It seems the middle class Bengali
audience has been watching and patronising only one kind of cinema - reflecting the
middle class emotion, with dollops of sentimentalism and nostalgia and a feel-good
factor," the actor, who starred in Govind
Nihalani's "Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa", told
PTI here. "No issue with the success of one
genre of Bengali cinema, but why a world
class film like 'Asha Jaoar Majhe' is not accepted in the same way by the audience in
the director's home turf ?" Joy feels that
films which could mark a real change in
Bengali film industry were being ignored.
"Why also 'Teenkahon', winner of 18 international awards, did not continue in
Kolkata theatres? It shows that the art-loving Bengali audience may be drying up,"
Joy, whose last Beng ali small-budg et
Bengali release "Parobas" based on Dubai
expatriates' lives also fizzled out at the box
office, said. Pointing out he was positive
about the blockbuster success of the emo-
CREATIVE WORLD
'Udta Punjab' beautiful film,
online leak a tragedy: Katrina
MUMBAI, JUNE 19/--/
Bollywood actress Katrina
Kaif has praised "Udta
Punjab" calling it a "beautiful" film but said it is extremely tragic that the
movie was leaked online.
The 32-year-old "Fitoor" actress, who watched the film
at the special screening
here last night, was impressed with the performances of Shahid Kapoor
and Alia Bhatt. "I thought it
was a really outstanding
film. Both Shahid and Alia
have done an unbelievable
job. Alia's perfor mance is
absolutely brilliant in the
film. I think it is a beautiful
movie," she told reporters.
"The director is passionate
about the story he chose
and he has done justice to
it," Katrina added.
The film stars Shahid as
high-on-drugs rockstar
Tommy Singh while Alia is
seen as a Bihari migrant,
who is an aspiring hockey
player. The Abhishek
Chaubey-directed project,
whic h was involved in a
battle with the censor
board, was leaked on the
Internet two days before its
release.
Katrina says the incident is
a big tragedy as an immense amount of hardwork
has gone behind a film. The
actress
joined
other
Bollywood celebrities including Aamir Khan, Karan
Johar and filmmaker
Anurag Kashyap, who appealed the audience to
watch the movie only in
theaters.
"I think this is a big tragedy.
There is an incredible
amount of work which has
gone into the film. When
you will see the film, hopefully in the cinema hall,
you will appreciate it. I
would urge people to not
watch it online. (PTI)
Tiger Shroff not
part of 'ABCD 3':
Remo D'Souza
NEW DELHI, JUNE 19 /-/ Filmmaker Remo D'Souza
has denied reports that Tiger
Shroff has been roped in for
the third franchise of dance
drama "ABCD". There were
reports that D'souza, who has
directed the first two
installments of the film, was
keen on getting Tiger on
board. "I have not selected
Tiger for 'ABCD 3'. I have not
even written the story, so
how can decide the cast.
First, I will complete my
these two projects ('Flying
Jatt' and next with Ajay
Devgn and Sooraj Pancholi)
then I will start working on
'ABCD 3'," D'souza told PTI.
The National-award winning choreographer, 44, said
he ia rather working with
Tiger in superhero film "Flying Jatt". "I am doing 'Flying
Jatt' with Tiger Shroff and
Jacqueline Fernandez at the
moment. It will release on
August 25." D'Souza was in
the capital to promote his
upcoming Star Plus show
"Dance Plus Season 2",
which will go on air from July
2. "In the previous season of
Dance Plus, we had seen new
talents. But in this season,
the talents which I have seen
in the auditions are amazing.
The expectations are high."
(PTI)
tional genre of Bengali films which was
bringing middleclass family audiences, the
actor, however added, unconventional films
like "Bakita Bykatigato", "Phoring"
should equally do well across segments for
effecting real change in Bengali film industry but all (the last ones) bombed commercially. Joy said he had grown up with Mrinal
Sen films, Sambhu Mitra's theatre and
Suchitra Mitra's songs during his formative days in Kolkata.
"This aesthetic artistic sense gave me a
position of strength and not weakness,
which is missing in today's Kolkata." Asked
about his latest assignments, the actor said
he was pinning hopes on the Hindi feature
film "Rough Book" directed by Ananth
Narayan Mahadevan. The film also features
Tannishtha Chatterjee and Amaan Khan in
lead roles. Jo y, a self-confessed fan of
Bengali theatre group Nandikar and theatre personality Deb Shankar Halder, said
that he was currently working on an European series - for Swedish, Italy and German
TV - the Delhi shooting part of which was
over. (PTI)
Tough to pen Bhupen
Hazarika's journey: Prem Soni
duction "Ishkq In Paris", is
actively working with
Lajmi on the script. She is
helping us a lot with this
film. It's her film, her life.
She knows the story well,"
he said Hazarika has
donned several hats such
as that of a lyricist, musician, singer, poet and filmmaker.
He is acknowledged for
having introduced the culture and folk music of Assam and north-east India to
Hindi cinema "I don't know
yet as there is so much to
show. It's an emotional
film," Soni said, when
asked about the aspects of
Hazarika's life that he
would include in the film.
Names of actors like Irrfan
Khan,
Ajay
Devgn,
Ranveer Singh, Prosenjit
were doing the rounds for
the lead role The "Main
Aur Mrs Khanna" helmer
insists he is yet to cast anyone. "It would be an iconic
role to play on screen. We
will get someone apt for
the role. It would be a challenge to find the right actor. We don't know if w e
will go with an experienced or a young actor to
play his character," Soni
said Lajmi said, "It's not
easy to make a film on a
legend
like
him
(Hazarika). The film will
mostly happen ne xt year.
(PTI)
Hope my entry helps Punjabi
actors in B’wood: Diljit
Pink slamms
hacker
NEW DELHI, JUNE 19 /--/ He is being touted among the most promising
newcomers in Bollywood of 2016 and
actor Diljit Dosanjh hopes his work in
Hindi film industry paves a way for
other Punjabi stars to make it big here.
The Punjabi superstar is making his
Bollywood debut with director
Abhisek Chaubey's "Udta Punjab". He
is aware of the expectations his home
industry has from his debut but Diljit
is also quick to add that he wouldn't
want to take credit for any other
Punjabi actor's journey and success in
Bollywood.
"I hope my entry in Hindi films
makes it easier for other Punjabi actors
to establish themselves in the industry.
But at the same time, I feel whosoever
works with good intention and puts
hard work will excel. One, who is
hardworking, will get opportunities
regardless of him or her being from
MUMBAI, JUNE 1 9 /--/
Director Prem Soni, who is
making a biopic on the late
singer Bhupen Hazarika, is
finding it tough to pen the
journey of the legendary
musician. The yet-to-be-titled film chronicles the
love story of Hazarika and
his companion for 40
years, Kalpana Lajmi.
The film is still in
scripting stage. It would
take time, at least twothree months. It's tough to
make a film on a legendary
personality
like
him
(Hazarika). It is not easy to
create someone's journey
on paper," Soni told PTI.
Soni, who last directed
Preity Zinta's debut pro-
Punjab or any other state," Diljit told
PTI in an interview. His turn as police
officer Sartaj Singh in the trailers of
"Udta Punjab" has generated hype, not
only among his Punjabi admirers but
also Bollywood fans, who have taken
notice of the 32-year-old actor in a
heavy ensemble that boasts of Shahid
Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan and
Alia Bhatt. Besides his acting, audience has been going gaga over his rendition of Punbjabi poet Shiv Kumar
Batalvi's "Ikk Kudi", in the thriller.
Diljit, however, quite modestly says he
is not aware of the increased fan following that he has received courtesy
"Udta Punjab". The "Jatt and Juliet"
actor still feels there's a long way to go
before he becomes a pan-India star.
"People say these things but I don't
know if I my fanbase I have got... I
think that will only happen once people watch the film." "I am not sure how
they will find my work, maybe they
don't like me after watching the film.
The initial reactions that came were
just because of the trailer, the real picture will come out after the movie releases." Morever, for Diljit not letting
down his home fans with his work in
Bollywood is most important.
The actor says he hopes the Punjabi
audience does not get embarrassed
watching him in Hindi films. "According to me, only my Punjabi fans are
going to watch 'Udta Punjab' for me. I
did the film also thinking about them
only. I just want them to be happy with
my work. I hope they don't get embarrassed watching me. "The most important thing is that my admirers in Punjab should like me. I don't have much
greed to have fans beyond that." On his
home front, the actor-singer is gearing
up for the release of "Sardaar ji 2", the
sequel to his last year's hit "Sardaar Ji".
Diljit says he found the story of the
sequel much better than the first film
and if the movie is received well he
would love to have a third part of the
"Sardaar Ji" series.
"I would love to have this franchise
to get bigger. We will plan it. In Hollywood and Bollywood, there are many
successful franchises and closer to home,
we had 'Jatt and Juliet' series. So, a
'Sardaar Ji 3' would be a really good
idea." Also starring Sonam Bajwa and
Monica Gill, the film is slated to release
on June 24. (PTI)
'Udta Punjab' picks up in North India; fails to impress South Salman is a gifted
MUMBAI, JUNE 19 / --/
"Udta Punjab" has garnered a good response in
North India owing to the
controversy and h ype
surrounding its drugtheme, but has failed to
click with the audience
in South and Eastern region "The opening of the
film was not that great
but the film picked up
during the day. It's a
mixed response. The film
is doing decent in the
north belt especially in
Delhi
while
in
Rajasthan, Gujarat and
in the Eastern belt the
response
is
weak,"
Rajesh Thadani, film distributor told PTI.
The Anurag Kashyap
and Ekta Kapoor produced film grabbed eyeballs even before its release, after it got embroiled in a controversy
over the numerous cuts
suggested by the Central
Board of Film Certification (CBFC)
The battle between
the makers and CBFC
ended only after Bombay
High Court cleared the
film with just one cut.
But matters went downhill again when the film
was leaked online two
days prior to its official
release.
However, distributors feel the controversy
is benefiting the movie.
Distributor
Akshay
Rathi says, "The controversy has somewhere
helped in drawing attention towards the film."
"The
response
in
multiplexes is good. The
response in Delhi NCR is
encouraging while the
film did fairly ok in Punjab as well.
But in South and
Eastern side the response was not that
good," he added. Also,
the film failed to pick up
pace in single screen
theatres."It (film) is not
garnering much attention at single screen
theatres. The opening
has been around 50 per
cent, its a let down,"
Manoj Desai, Executive
Director of Gaiety Galaxy
and
Maratha
Mandir Cinema, said.
Both Thadani and Rathi
feel today is the most
crucial day for "Udta
Punjab". "The film has
two weeks time before
"Sultan" releases. Lets
see how it performs,"
Thadani said
While Rathi says,
"The film has been released
substantially
well. We hope the film
will
sustain."
The
Abhishek Chaubey-directed movie talks about
the
insurgence
of
substance abuse in the
state of Punjab through
the stories of a high-ondrugs rock star (Shahid
Kapoor), a migrant (Alia
Bhatt),
a
doctor
(Kareena Kapoor Khan)
and a policeman (Diljit
Dosanjh).
The film opened in
theatres yesterday and
has collected Rs 10.05
cro re in India till now.
(PTI)
human being: Aamir
LUDHIANA (PB), JUNE 19
/--/ Be it Salman Khan's physique, looks or acting prowess, Aamir Khan has said he
and his wife Kiran Rao are
the biggest admirers of the
"Dabangg" star. Aamir said
whatever his "Andaz Apna
Apna" co-star does it becomes
a trend in the Hindi film industry. Both the actors are
portraying wrestlers in their
upcoming films and have
attained a certain body type
to fit into their roles, but the
51-year-old "PK" star does not
want to be compared with
Salman. "My wife and I have
always been Salman's fans.
He has always had a very fit
body and in fact he has been
the inspiration for actors like
me to have a body like him,"
Aamir told reporters here.
"I have just tried to be like
him in 'Dangal' but I don't
feel, my body is as good as
him. He is the original body
builder," the actor said. Earlier, Kiran had praised
Salman's 'langot' clad look in
"Sultan". Quizzed about that,
Aamir jokingly said, "Where
was I?" The actor later added,
"Salman is anyway a handsome actor. He looks more
handsome when he is without
clothes... He is a gifted human
being and very charming."
There are reports that Phantom Films is planning a sequel to filmmaker Rajkumar
Santoshi's 1994 comedy
"Andaz Apna Apna". Aamir
said though he did not have
any idea about a proposed
sequel but if it happens he
would love to star with
Salman in it. "I don't have any
idea that whether Andaz
Apna Apna sequel is happening or not and whether the
makers are retaining the old
cast. (PTI)
LONDON, JUNE 19 /--/
Singer "Pink" has slammed
the person who has hacked
her Instagram account. The
"Just Like Fire" hitmaker
hit out on Twitter after her
private account on the
photo-sharing website was
breached by an unknown
user, reported Female First.
"Your parents must be really proud of you. That's
your contribution to the
world?" she said. Pink also
hit out at other fans, who apparently failed to understand her ordeal after a follower wrote, "It's not the end
of the world get over it," to
which Pink replied "I don't
remember asking you." After replying to a number of
other messages, both positive and negative, the "Just
Like a Pill" hitmaker decided she was out for the
day. (PTI)
Anupam Kher
wraps shooting
for 500th film
'The Big Sick'
MUMBAI, JUNE 19 /--/
Actor Anupam Kher has
completed the shooting of
his Hollywood project "The
Big Sick," which happens to
be his 500th film. The 61year-old actor, who was
shooting in New York for the
movie, took to Twitter to announce the wrap. "Finished
shooting of my 500th film
#TheBigSick in NY. It was a
pleasure to be part of this
LANDMARK film. "Thank
you
my
producers
@JuddApatow & Barry
Mendel for making me part
of #TheBigSick. It has been
a pleasure," Kher wrote. The
actor also shared few pictures with Hollywood star
Robert De Niro, whom he
met during his stay in the
city.
Kher will be seen sharing screen space with Hollywood actors Holly Hunter,
Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano,
Kumail Nanjiani and Adeel
Akhtar among others. Judd
Apatow is producing the
film based off Nanjiani and
Gordon's own relationship
as a Pakistani-born man and
an American woman. Kher
is playing the role of
Nanjiani's father. Romano
and Hunter will be essaying
Kazan's character's parents.
(PTI)