Ajith tells it like it is

8
BACKBEAT
BANGALORE TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA
Not a sports film
I
ndian Film Company’s Striker, directed by Chandan Arora, explores
the world of ghettos where bets are placed to win a game of carom.
And though the movie puts emphasis on the game, according to
Chandan, this is not a sports film. He says, “When we set out to tell a
story set in the mid-80s based on a particular rung of society, we realised
people used to be crazy about carom. While going through material on
that era, we found that carom was making its presence felt. But this is not
a sports film as the screenplay doesn’t depend on the game. Even the climax of the film is not about the game. It’s a journey of a guy who
happens to possess the skill of playing carom.” The director says that
Siddharth was the perfect choice for the role. “He was ready to give more
than what was required of him. I had seen his work in Boys and was
impressed at that time. After that I followed his work in Telugu films and
once Rang De Basanti released, his talent was for everyone to see.”
Chandan’s earlier movies were based in smaller towns. So what made
him explore the big, bad world of Mumbai ghettos in Striker? “It wasn’t a
planned move. Those were simpler stories, whereas this is a tougher
film,” he explains.
CUT! Chandan Arora
Ajith tells it
like it is
SHERLYN
HITS
SRK
FOR A
SIX
S
O
n a stage that had the who’s who of the
Tamil film fraternity honouring chief
minister M Karunanidhi, actor Ajith gave
a heroic speech stating that “actors only want to
act and are not interested in taking a stand on
issues.” The words immediately got
appreciation from none other
than superstar Rajnikanth, who
stood up and put his hands
together.
While a certain section of
the audience felt that this
wasn’t the right forum to put
forward such ideas, most of
them — including many
young stars (who have posted
their views on the Internet, congratulating
Ajith’s speech) — felt that there couldn’t have
been a better forum as the who’s who of the film
and political fraternity were present on the
same dais.
When BT contacted Ajith about his hardhitting speech, this is all he had to say. “My
role model is AR Rahman, who is a true
Tamilian. He has worked against all odds
and struggled hard in life to get to where he
is now. He made people forget their worries
by providing them with superb music,
which fetched him awards at the global
level. And, when he got the opportunity
to stand in front of a global audience, he
spoke in Tamil to tell the world that he
was from Tamil Nadu in India.”
WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2010
Malli out, Diana in!
M
alaika Arora Khan has reason to celebrate. Her sister Amrita Arora gave
birth to a son recently. So Malaika
has become an aunt and is certainly over the
moon with all the excitement the new baby in
the family has brought. But the beautiful lady
who has graced many commercials and print
ads also has reason to sulk. She has been
replaced by ex Miss World Diana Hayden as
the brand ambassador of a lifestyle product.
It’s okay Malli; contracts come and go. Don’t
let it spoil the party spirit. The show must go
on after all.
PARTY GOES ON:
Malaika Arora Khan and
(top) Diana Hayden
herlyn Chopra is going places.
Literally! For starters, it will be
Kolkata. And, from mid-March to end
April, the sexy Bollywood starlet will be
zipping across the country in the
distinguished company of Bollywood
Badshah Shah Rukh Khan. Sherlyn, who
has a presence on the Internet that not even
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan can match, has
been invited by King Khan to
be his
privileged guest during all
his team’s matches. The two
met recently when Shah
Rukh announced his
official alliance with an
innerwear brand to
manufacture and market
clothing merchandise for
his team. Sherlyn, who
bumped into SRK backstage, politely asked if
she might be his team’s
official cheer leader
during the cricket
extravaganza. But
SRK
gallantly replied that
he would rather have
the sexy siren as his
guest seated in the
VVIP box
during the matches.
May Sherlyn Chopra
bring SRK’s team the
good luck it was
denied in the first
two seasons of the
popular Twenty20
event.
RNI No. KARENG/2007/20799
VOLUME No. 3, ISSUE No. 196
A still
from
Aasal
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LADY LUCK: Shah Rukh Khan
and (above) Sherlyn Chopra
Sheer
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