Stardust - February 2021

Throwback: The Three Glam ‘Arty’ Ladies Tell-all On Past Bollywood Heroines!

FEBRUARY 2021 India ₹ 75.00 UK/Europe € 3.99 USA/Canada $ 2.99

A MAGNA PUBLICATION

Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha & other Bollywood stars congratulate

Stardust on turning 50!

Why MX Player refuses to release Big Bollywood films on their platform?

Why Is Priyanka Chopra’s The White Tiger’ Shrouded In Controversy?

Exposed!

The Secret Love Games Bollywood Couples Play!

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Publisher Editor Head of Business Development Graphics Designer

: Nari M. Hira : Sumita Chakraborty : Prashant Rane : Sayad Zaid Inamdar

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Please write to stardustindiamagazine@gmail.com and give us your comments, suggestions, opinions, criticism and feedback.

We have several new exciting things – from great articles, interviews, candid pictures and interactive competitions with great prizes in the offing, so watch this space for more…

50 Glorious Years Of Stardust

Amitabh Bachchan ................................................................................................................................................ 06 Shatrughan Sinha ................................................................................................................................................. 07 Cover Story: Secret love tryst, affairs and Rendezvous…

when will Bollywood couple spill the beans on their love affairs? ............................................16 Melody Alert: Soulful and Melodious: Bole Naina is truly fabulous! ............................................................... 22 Get Snappy: Ananya Pandey ................................................................................................................................. 26 Get Snappy: Gopichand Mallineni ........................................................................................................................ 28 Court Martial: Karan Bedi, CEO MX Player .......................................................................................................... 32 In Focus: “The one thing the casting director is lacking is that I think they are

not getting the due credit they deserve in the industry.” Kunal M Shah ....................................... 42 Blast From The Past: Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil & Deepti Naval ............................................................. 68

FEATURES

Music Room: The Bechainiyan team ................................................................................................................... 60 The Controversy: Why is The White Tiger’s roar being muffled? ..................................................................... 56 Close up: Panja Vaisshnav Tej ............................................................................................................................... 52

COLUMNS Neeta’s Natter ....................................................................................................................................................... 08 Starry Sashay ........................................................................................................................................................ 48 Stardust On The Go ............................................................................................................................................. 50 STARDUST is published monthly by the proprietors MAGNA PUBLISHING CO. LTD., Magna House, 100/E Old Prabhadevi Road. Mumbai 400025, India. Tel No: 91-22-67091234. Editorial texts and illustrations are the copyright of the publishers of this magazine. No one may reproduce any material before permission is obtained in writing.

All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Mumbai (India) only 2020 Copyright Magna Publishing Co Ltd. Volume No 51 (No. 2) Please address all your advertising, subscriptions and trade enquiries for to: Magna Publishing Inc, 125 Central Park North, PH4, New York NY 10026. T: 212-725-7833 F: 212-889-3250 E: stardustmagazine@aol.com

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50 Glorious Years Congratulation Stardust!

Accolades, congratulatory messages and bouquets have poured in. Here’s presenting excerpts of some iconic messages

“The life of Stardust and both Jaya and me in the industry has been synonymous time wise, our good wishes for your continuous success.”

- Amitabh Bachchan

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50 Glorious Years

“Indeed it is a milestone. ”

– Shatrughan Sinha

“At the very onset, I am very pleased to know that Stardust has turned fifty. Please accept my heartfelt congratulations.

Indeed, it has been 50 Glorious years. For me, Stardust is synonymous with the film industry. It has always been an honour for every actor to be featured in it. 50 years of Stardust has seen and covered every aspect of the Hindi Film Industry. Indeed, it is a milestone.”

– Shatrughan Sinha

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Janhvi Kapoor shared a video of her driving an E-rickshaw. And guess what, as she drove her new toy in breakneck speed with a maniacal smile, her passengers were hysterically screaming, “hume bachao.” Sounds awful lot like what the viewers feel after watching some of her movies, right?

Aamir Khan’s daughter Ira Khan has just confirmed that she’s in a relationship with fitness trainer Nupur Shikhare and that too, on Valentine’s week! She’s already got him out of the closet and he’s been seen attending family functions hand-in-hand with the pretty Ira. Well, we have no complaints… they look super cute together.

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Shahid Kapoor’s adorable wifey Mira stunned netizens with a bikini photo claiming “Bikini bodies are like Avocados. You wait forever for it to get ready, and it takes just a day for it to go bad.” Hers look perfect, no worries there!

Shraddha Kapoor is doing good work and we are not talking about rumoured beau Rohan Shrestha.

Shraddha recently spoke out against animal cruelty and has openly said that she supports the Aarey campaign and that she turned into a vegetarian because of this. Good work!

Sure, B-Town celebs have admirers of all sorts but when it comes to Bobby Deol, the fans take it up a notch further. A hilariously funny Twitter page called ‘Bobbywood’ has Bobby Deol’s face morphing the most iconic scenes of Hollywood and Bollywood movies.

Superb! At least we can see Bobby lording it over in Hollywood in ‘morphed’ spirit at least.

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The entire Bollywood Industry woke up to a rude shock when bhabhi Neetu Kapoor tweeted RIP Chimpoo.

The 58-year-old son of Raj Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor died of a cardiac arrest. Randhir Kapoor who rushed him to the hospital confirmed that Chimpoo was declared dead on arrival. Our condolences to the Kapoor Khandaan.

The entire bereaved Kapoor family was at his funeral. Spotted along with them, was Tara Sutaria (Aadar Jain’s girlfriend) and Alia Bhatt who looked quite comfortable with the rest of the Kapoors.

Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s cousin Armaan Jain was summoned by Enforcement Directorate(ED) on an apparent money laundering case. And that’s not it, even his South Mumbai residence at Altamount road was raided too! Definitely, a tough time for the Kapoor Khandaan…

Ranvir Shorey and ex-wife Konkana Sen were quite the power couple and they also looked very good on screen too. But alas, when asked whether he would work with ex-wife Konkana Sen again? Ranvir quipped, “I doubt that.” Sad because they did look so good together.

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Sonakshi Sinha sure has been making a statement not with her acting skills but her poems. Sona recently shared a video of a poem on the ongoing farmer protests and that too with her voice-over!

Where so many stars insist on being fence-sitters, our Dabangg girl dares to step where no man or woman steps.

Did you know Emraan Hashmi once turned down a film opposite Alia Bhatt? Shocking? Not really, it was a romance packed role and Emran and Alia are cousins. …And don’t forget Emraan is known to be the kiss star as in every film, he kisses all his leading ladies. So no kiss for our Alia miss from her own cousin.

Talking about Emraan, we are delighted that after a long hiatus, he’s back with a bang. He is slated to play the antagonist in Tiger 3 alongside Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan. Nice!

Sanjay Dutt and Maanayata looked fabulous together as they celebrated their 13th anniversary. Daughter Trishala from Sanjay’s first wife Richa also showered the happy couple with love and affection. Nice to see the Dutts coping with all the adversaries together.

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What on earth is with this film Cirkus? B-Town hottie Ranveer Singh shared a hilarious video of Rohit Shetty riding a toy car calling him ‘the most serious director.’ What a fun jodi! Can’t wait to see what they’ll do on the silver screen.

Daddy Farhan Akhtar and exwife Adhuna Bhabani recently wished their daughter Akira on her birthday, showering love and affection on their little one. Farhan’s present girlfriend, Shibani Dandekar too was quick to jump in and wish Akira too. How cute! Nice to see everybody behave so mature and sophisticated!

Dhaakad girl Kangana Ranaut, who loves raking up some controversy or the other, recently compared herself to Meryl Streep and Gal Gadot. As shocking as it is, she also won a poll on Twitter beating Meryl Streep and Gal Gadot. Umm… who actually took part in this so-called poll?

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Priyadarshini’s Hungama 2 will soon get a theatrical release around midyear soon. This film also stars Jaaved Jafferi’s handsome son Meezaan Jaaferi, who by the way, is “good friends” with Big B’s granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda. The two are seen hanging out quite a lot and Navya seems to take a special interest in commenting on Meezaan’s social media platforms. That’s the great thing about young love, they don’t give damn!

Cat’s Crown

This month goes to...

Arjun Kapoor With Mom Mona succumbing to cancer, Arjun is always ready to pick up the cudgel for cancer patients. This time, he has collaborated with the Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) and is sponsoring treatment to 100 cancer patients! We are sure Mona would be proud of her son.

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Cover Story

Secret

Love trysts, affairs and Rendezvous… when will Bollywood couples spill the beans on their love affairs?

There are too many closed-door love affairs happening in Bollywood.

Sumita Chakraborty exposes the secret love games that Bollywood actors play.

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ove is in the air… and who better than Bollywood to understand that to reel-to-real perfection. Secret romance, closed door love, smokin’ hot passion and so much more are all part ‘n’ parcel of this ever-so romantic Hindi film industry which has been churning out romantic films and loved up jodis for decades. …So no wonder, all our beautiful demi Gods and Goddesses working in close proximity of each other, enacting passionate love scenes including kissing and love making acts, mouthing dialogues of love and ardour, more often than not, fall in love with each other.

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In fact, according to a report by Psychology Today, actors are most probably the first ones to fall in love with their co-stars more than perhaps the 9 to 5 executives.

However, there’s one small woe our pin-up actors face in their rendezvous of love – the thorny war of the paparazzi who not only snap and capture every famous or infamous moment of togetherness and posts them for eternal notoriety. So no wonder, most actors are wary of announcing on rooftops details about their love life.

Look at Varun Dhawan for instance, even though he has been dating the gorgeous Natasha for more than a decade, he officially announced it only a year back even though they attended public events, parties and dos together.

Varun would not mention Natasha’s

name in his interviews nor would he talk about her.

All he would say is “I want my personal life to remain personal.” Fair enough… of course, it warmed the cockles of our heart to see this beautiful couple head to holy matrimony so all was forgotten, after all love is indeed a beautiful thing.

The super-hot Katrina Kaif for instance is the eternal love Goddess who has men from the age of 16 to 60 panting away for her for aeons but she’s been the ice maiden ever since she allegedly broke up with Salman Khan. Incidentally, our gorgeous Kat would never talk about the Sultan, all she would say by rote is the much used and abused “We are very good friends”.

Varun (Dhawan) would not mention Natasha’s name in his interviews nor would he talk about her. All he would say is “I want my personal life to remain personal.”

But now supposedly, the ‘Tigress’ has finally found her soulmate in the Uri actor Vicky Kaushal. A few moons ago at a magical award’s night, Vicky Kaushal who was the anchor announced on bended knee to a blushing Katrina that why doesn’t she find a nice “Vicky Kaushal” and marry him?

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Looks like Kat took that a tad seriously. The lovely couple were spotted soon enough at another event sneaking out together. The pap’s caught Vicky excitedly rushing out after Katrina and then they both entered the same car and zoomed away to a moonlight rendezvous.

“I really want to guard my personal life to some extent because if you open up, it leads to discussions and interpretations and misinterpretations.”

– Vicky Kaushal The lockdown happened but perhaps, the ardour did not cool off despite the barriers between them. On New Year this year, supposedly Katrina with her sister Isabel and Vicky with his brother Sunny made a pretty foursome and headed to allegedly a lover’s tryst in Alibaug. The beauteous Kat however enslaved by the social media obsession of snapping every moment for posterity, clicked a titillating picture hugging somebody whose face couldn’t be seen. Of course his jacket was visible to one and all and so when Vicky Kaushal posed in the same jacket, it didn’t take one to be an Einstein to do the Maths and conclude that Kat was hugging Vicky.

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However, the mystery loving Kat deleted that picture post within minutes after the comment section surged with remarks on her and Vicky Kaushal. So here’s hoping this couple will tire playing hide ‘n’ seek with the world and come out in the open and make things official. We confess… we cats are diehard romantics and our hearts too skip a beat to see two good-looking people like Kat and Vicky madly in love.

“I guess it is better that way that I guard my personal life to some extent and I don’t want to open up about anything.“ Alright, Vicky have it your way but love is something you just cant hide not from the world or the paparazzi. So for now, though we will have to make do with Kat and Vicky playing peek-a-boo with the world and sundry, we will wait for the big announcement which we hope is in the horizon some day soon.

So we hope that some day, some wonderful moonlight night, they throw discretion to the winds and announce to the world that they are in love.

But for now, Vicky when asked if he was dating Katrina, said, “I hope you respect this… I really want to guard my personal life to some extent because if you open up, it leads to discussions and interpretations and misinterpretations. That is something I am not inviting.”

Disha (Patni) has also been spotted having cosy family dinners with the Shroffs every now and then. …But love is something our actors love to hide, don’t they? Ask Tiger Shroff and Disha Patni about their smokin’ hot love affair and they just laugh it off. In fact, Tiger in an interview actually commented when asked if Disha was his rumoured girlfriend: “Kaash! (I wish) She is a very beautiful girl, she’s too good for me. I’m the most ‘uncool’ person, I wish (that) somebody likes me. She’s too cool for me, she’s way out of my league.”

Hmm… nice way to dodge a loaded question like that but what Tiger failed to say was that the “too cool” Disha has been spotted all over town and in picturesque Maldives locales looking utterly lovey dovey with Tiger himself. Not only that, Disha has also been spotted having cosy family dinners with the Shroffs every now and then.

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“Rohan is a very nice boy. He does come home but he has come home since childhood.

Shraddha hasn’t told me that she plans to marry him.

To me, they are still just childhood friends.”

– Shakti Kapoor And of course, be it any event, Varun and Natasha’s shaadi or KJo’s happening parties or anything else, Tiger and Disha walk in together, grinning from ear to ear. Not to forget our fave, ‘the all-knowing and telling’ social media which has Tiger and Disha continuously putting dozens of hearts under each other’s posts. Very telling, indeed!

Sigh.. but they refuse to kiss and tell in front of the media. Nor do Sidharth Malhotra and the gorgeous Kiara Advani. The rumours of them dating each other have been going around for more than a year. In fact, neighbours of Sidharth Malhotra constantly spot Kiara’s car snugly parked at the good-looking Sid’s reserved parking spot. But they keep mum and do not comment or post any pictures with each other.

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However, the dots are not difficult to connect. Onlookers on the Shershaah sets constantly whispered about how Kiara and Sidharth spend every waking hour together. Not only that, this gorgeous couple have been attending parties (Aadar Jain’s birthday bash for one) together. The previous year before the lockdown they had jetted off to South African for some ‘me time’, this time too, the pap’s caught them trying to sneak into the airport. Unable to brazen it out, the couple gracefully smiled and posed for the cameras though not together, and then left hand-in-hand for their magical rendezvous. Their social media told a tale of its own – both put up pictures of the same ambience though they refuse to put up pictures of themselves together.

cause Shraddha is still painting the town red with Rohan. In fact, there have been strong rumours that they plan to marry soon. But for now, predictably, they remain mum about their status quo.

… But as they say, when the time is ripe, they shall do so too. For now, we hear that both Sidharth and Kiara are pretty serious about each other and have even had the proverbial ‘get to know the family’ dinner with each-others parents so something sure is cooking on that front. …But here’s somebody who hasn’t had her “meet the family’ dinner simply because papa Shakti Kapoor supposedly isn’t very keen on her young man. Yes, we are talking about the lissom Shraddha Kapoor who after a rather tumultuous alleged link-up with Farhan Akhtar has supposedly settled for her childhood pal Rohan Shrestha who is ace lensman Rakesh Shrestha’s son, a fabulous photographer himself.

According to our source, Shraddha and Rohan are very serious about each other. But dad Shakti Kapoor insists, “Rohan is a very nice boy. He does come home but he has come home since childhood. Shraddha hasn’t told me that she plans to marry him. To me, they are still just childhood friends.”

Aha, nice way of daddy Kapoor to put the last nail on the coffin of love but if that supposedly has deterred Shraddha, it sure hasn’t worked be-

Bollywood has always been a hunting ground for secret lovers. From smouldering passionate tales of alleged romance between Salman Khan to Iulia Vantur - the status of which we still don’t know till date but Iulia does buzz around Salman constantly like a bee to honey and Salman too takes her every where but of course, we (and perhaps they too) are still at sea to where they are heading on the romantic rose strewn path of love. …Or Kartik Aryan’s very secretive Goa rendezvous with Jahnvi Kapoor which has been making tongues wag. However, they too predictably refuse to comment or make their relationship public.

But love is indeed a soulful experience, so let’s hope our Bollywood lovers find their own ‘love’ path and head to eternal happiness. But for now, we will just wait and watch.

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Melody Alert

Soulful and Melodious: Bole Naina is truly fabulous!

When music legends Gulzar, Zakir Hussain and Deepak Pandit join hands with Pratibha Singh Baghel’s for her first album “Bole Naina”, the result is sheer magic.

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Pratibha Singh Baghel truly epitomizes her name. Brimming with talent, she burst onto the music scene with a craft that she has honed over years of arduous practice and an exacting discipline. There were hurdles on the way, but success has been that much sweeter for it. Today, she is one of the most revered female vocalists in the music circuit today and her talent has been appreciated by musical stalwarts like A.R.Rahman, Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Salim Suleiman to name a few. She has lent her voice to many Bollywood movies and has performed extensively in more than 30 countries.

She has essayed the roles of Bahaar and Umrao Jaan in musical plays like MughalE-Azam and Umrao Jaan respectively.

She remains an integral part of these epic musical dramas to date. Her theatre experience is vast and she effortlessly essays the roles on stage before an appreciative audience. Besides, she is the voice behind Chedkhaniyaan, one of the most loved song from the widely admired web series Bandish Bandits.

Pratibha also seems to have mastered the sinuous calligraphy of emotion and as her voice peaks and cascades with the music, she seems to hit just the right emotional chords. For her, acting seems to be an extension of her singing. Each time she records a song in a studio, she slips into the character to convey the exact mood. Her effortless singing conveys the mood of every song beautifully. In Bole Naina too, she extends her musical signature to acting.

She plays the lead in this song, with a grace and charm that will endear her to her many fans.

Bole Naina is the voice of silence, the romance without words, because silence speaks in the language of the heart. The album combines the poetic genius of Shri Gulzar, the rhythmic prowess of Ustad Zakir Hussain and the musical brilliance of Deepak Pandit with the melodious crooning of Pratibha Singh Baghel. It is the first Indian album launching in Dolby Atmos music.

Gulzar

Zakir Hussain

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Gulzar, Oscar winning legendary poet, has penned the lyrics and the poetry effuses emotion in every phrase. His deep baritone sets the mood for the song and the masterful wordsmith weaves an incredible web of emotions through his poetry. In the present title song, he beautifully captures the range of emotions conveyed through the eyes and personifies them as messengers of our deepest sensibilities. His words evoke distinct imagery and moods, and bind us to the song, lull us into its embrace.

Deepak Pandit

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Maestro of rhythm, Ustad Zakir Hussain weaves umpteen varieties of rhythmic patterns that enhance the composition and magnify the spell it casts over us. The master percussionist and Grammy awardee has added dynamism to the composition with his magical fingers and rhythmic arrangement and makes the melody a true delight!

Speaking of the album, Zakir ji expressed his happiness at being part of this musical journey and was all praise for Deepak Pandit and his incredible music. He was glad to have worked with Gulzar ji and was also appreciative of Pratibha’s remarkable singing talent. His association with this album only magnifies its allure.

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Get Snappy

“I’m very filmy about my breaks-ups.

I cry, listen to music, eat chocolate, and think about the tanhai, I need my filmy moment.”

– Ananya Pandey 26

Love, break-up and moving on… Ananya Pandey gets together with Tinder to reveal how she copes with break-up and makes a new beginning.

It’s the love month and you’ve just had a break up but before you use up all the Kleenex, listen to the gorgeous Ananya Pandey for some ‘Ananys’ism on break up and bouncing back. Young un Ms Pandey wisely claims, “You will kiss many, many frogs before you find your prince or princess charming.”

So what about the earth-shattering break ups, don’t they worry her? The 22-year-old endearingly confesses, “I’m very filmy about my breaks-ups. I cry, listen to music, eat chocolate, and think about the tanhai, I need my filmy moment.” In fact, she sure believes that ‘Bollywoodizing’ a heartbreak can help lighten the mood. “Come to think of it, I’m not even all that sad.”

She confesses her break up mood ranges between two extremes – Channa Mereya by Arijit Singh (who else?) and Don’t You Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me and of course, Arianna Grande’s Thank you, Next - the moving on anthem.

So how does Ananya move on? After all, everyone has their own process and timeline of grieving after a break-up - one can go from burning the ex’s photo Jab We Met style to stalking them on social media soon after. Ananya claims, “I am the biggest jasoos on planet Earth. I start with one profile, then go to their maasi’s, find out their mom’s height, their rashi – anything you’d want to know.” But eventually, the Kleenex runs out, the memories dry up, and you realize your ex’s Instagram profile isn’t all that interesting after all.

Adding, “Honestly, I always say you should rebound with yourself after a break-up, use the opportunity to fall even more in love with yourself.” So what does she do? “I always dance it out after a breakup and believe in the motto that “This too shall pass and Yeh toh trailer tha, picture abhi baaki hai mere dost.”

As for her break-up “routine”, it veers from getting bangs to trying anything to bounce back, stalking your ‘ex on social media to downloading Tinder.

She also loves yoga and does it every morning. Of course, social media is her hunting ground and she puts up Insta stories where she is looking super cute “before, after, while dating - always gotta look cute on the gram.”

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Get Snappy

“I am very happy that my film Krack is India’s first blockbuster to be released in theatres in 2021.”

– Gopichand Malineni In an exclusive conversation with Sumita Chakraborty, Gopichand Malineni, the director of Telugu blockbuster Krack, articulately reasons why he wanted his film to release on the big screen only.

Telugu film Krack starring Ravi Teja and Shruti Haasan is the first film to hit the theatres in 2021 after the horrific lockdown. Not only that, but the film is also a huge blockbuster.

Though now it’s released on AHA platform, director Gopichand Malineni was absolutely sure that he wanted to release the film only in theatres first. Here, he talks about working on Krack, Ravi Teja and Shruti Hassan and his plans of making Krack in Hindi and his dream team.

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Gopichandji, 2020 has not been a happening year for many people but for you, 2021 has started extremely well. Your film Krack is a huge hit. How do you feel at this moment?

I am very happy - Krack is India’s first blockbuster to be released in theatres in 2021. It’s received a phenomenal response. In fact, as we speak more and more people are going to the theatre day by day and making it a bigger blockbuster. I’m really very happy for that. I was a bit worried before the release whether people would come to the theatres because of the pandemic and the eight months lockdown, but we were totally shocked that so many people turned up at the theatre - that too even when it was a little bit delayed for release. But people were waiting for it and it is an unanimous blockbuster. We are very happy that it’s still houseful and going strong.

When you were directing Krack, Gopichandji, did you even think it would be so big or be a blockbuster?

Yes! Right from the scripting stage itself I started feeling that it would do well. But I didn’t imagine it would be this big. It has become the biggest blockbuster.

Gopichand ji, why did you not choose the OTT to release it at first, why the theatre more so after the pandemic everybody has been wary about releasing their films at theatres? Everybody, even the big Hindi film directors, are releasing their films on the OTT. What made you make it a theatrical release?

I made this film for the theatre only and not for OTT. Krack is a very mass film and a commercial one too. People will see this film with the crowd and ambience.

And I shot it for the big screen since it is a commercial film. Not at any point did I think of an OTT release because I didn’t want to compromise on my vision.

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And even my hero (Ravi Teja) supported me on this decision. He kept on telling me that we’ll release our film when the theatres reopen. So if the theatres will open in January, we will release our film in January. If they reopen in February, we’ll release it in February. But we will release it in theatres only.

I believe Krack had a bit of a pre-release jitters as some financers had backed down just before the release…?

Yes, it was a very small thing. We faced some small problems but we sorted them out and it got released – we missed just two shows.

Were you worried at that point. Or were you sure that things would get sorted out?

Yes, I admit I was a bit worried because I was keen to release it on the big screen. So many OTT platforms asked us to release the movie with them but we refused politely. We received all the artwork and then on the day of the release, we missed a couple of shows, so as a director I was worried about that. But I was confident this would be a blockbuster.

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Gopichand ji, you have worked quite a bit with Ravi Teja and Shruti Hassan. Are they your favourites?

Yes, definitely! Both of them are very good. This is my third film with Ravi Teja and my second film with Shruti Hassan after Balupu. We got a great reaction to Shruti Hassan’s character and I am very happy for her.

So what are your future plans?

Are you planning to do Krack 2 because everybody’s expectations are very high now?

Yes, definitely I will do Krack 2. But before that I am doing one more film here with a big production house and a big hero and it will be finalized in the next few days. But I will definitely do Krack 2 with Ravi Teja.

Are you planning to make any Hindi films?

Yes, definitely, if I get a very good offer. I am also planning to do Krack in Hindi, if I get the right production and the right hero, then definitely, I will do that. I have my dream hero too. For Krack, Ajay Devgn will be superb for this character and Ranveer Singh too.

…And for Shruti Hassan’s character?

For Shruti Hassan’s character, it can be any good actress but my choice for Ravi Teja’s character is Ajay Devgn or Ranveer Singh.

Gopichand ji, would you be taking outsiders too - I have so many actors coming to my office showing their pictures so should I pass those off to you?

Definitely! The Telugu people encourage all actors and give them a fair chance.

It’s simple. I was once new in this industry and somebody gave me a chance to grow and so here I am. So it is my duty to encourage other newcomers too. So definitely, I will do that.

So Gopichand ji, what is next for you?

Would you try the OTT platform, dabble on web series or anything? Or is it only films for you?

Only films! I always think in terms of the big screen. I have a few projects and I will do them only for the big screen and not for a digital release.

Gopichand ji, in the Hindi film industry, there is this major thing about nepotism? Do you have that in the Telugu industry too?

No, we don’t have anything like that and we are happy here. Telegu industry has no nepotism. We are like a family. All the stars called me and told me what they felt about this film.

They encouraged me after its release and they felt that this would be the industry hit. After Corona, everybody feels that this is the industry hit not just mine or Ravi Teja’s because this is the first release in our (Telegu) industry. So many people have told me that you’ve shown the way and they are really happy about it.

Gopichand ji, when you look back, you had started out as an Associate Director, you have climbed the steps and you’re so big now, when you look back at your journey, what do you have to say?

I will say only hard work will pay. And whatever small opportunity comes your way, grab it and do your best and work hard. Put 100% team effort and you will succeed. I, personally, believe that. And I will always give my 100% to films. I love films so that’s why there is no shortcut to anything - only hard work pays.

Lastly, how do you balance your personal and professional life? Your wife doesn’t complain that she hardly sees you...

Sometimes, my family definitely complains but I manage to balance things.

(Ha Ha) Gopichandji, Thank you so much. It’s wonderful talking to you.

It was a pleasure talking to you. Do you know when I was a student, I used to buy Stardust magazine, and today, I am giving you an interview. I am really happy!

31

Court Martial

“We took a call very early that economically releasing films on our OTT platform was not working for us because of the cost of acquiring a film and making up the difference of what the producer would have tried to do in the theatre.”

– Karan Bedi

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H

e is young, dynamic and has steered MX Player, a relatively new (two years old) OTT platform to a top-notch position challenging Goliaths like Netflix and Amazon Prime. In an exclusive interview with Sumita Chakraborty, MX Player CEO Karan Bedi reveals why MX Player doesn’t want to dabble in huge theatrical releases of Bollywood films, their exciting new plans for 2021 and much more.

Karan, one of the youngest, MX player, is now one of the biggest platforms in the OTT domain. How has the journey been?

As you said, we are probably the youngest player in the OTT market, we launched only less than two years ago. It’s been a phenomenal journey because we came into the market with a very strong proposition about where we wanted to position ourselves. And, I think we’ve done that with great success. We are now the largest OTT platform in the country and have seen great success on it. So it’s been very hectic, very fast paced but a wonderful journey in the last two years.

Not taking away anything from your success, but do you think you were in the right place at the right time? As you know the pandemic saw the rise of the OTT, right?

While I definitely will not discount the factor of time and place and luck or however you want to call it, but I definitely believe that luck comes to those who are well prepared. And if you saw even during the pandemic, what happened was that there were a number of players on the OTT who got lost too. If you look at the data, the number of players actually grew during those first few months of the lockdowns? However, because many of the player had not invested in good quality, original content and they

were relying simply on catch up TV and TV content, things stopped flowing on the OTT. Whereas people like us, from day one, because we had a very strong belief in the original content we were putting out, we ended up growing very rapidly. And, the more interesting thing is that while during the lockdown, a lot of new people came to sample the content. But obviously they liked what they got and we continued to see really big growth even after the lockdown. Even post that we saw a major increase in consumption and in fact, our usage and consumption went up pretty drastically even after that period of August- September (easing of the lockdown period).

So, while certainly COVID lockdown was a big accelerant on the OTT platform, but in a coherent way, the ingredients were already there.

Karan, why has MX Player stayed away from releasing Bollywood films?

Isn’t that very lucrative?

We have a slightly different view on this.

When we came into the market, we saw a big gap in the market with a particular kind of content and if you go back to the mass content consumption of India or any country for the last 20 years, it has been television, right? And the biggest thing that we saw was that in India television market was very homogenous.

There was not much variety of content 33

“2020 was just the match lighting the fireworks, 2021… now the fireworks will start.” on TV because most of it was focused on a very specific kind of consumer which most of the GEC (General Entertainment Channels) used to focus on because at that time we didn’t have too much target ability - all this cash and gas and all happened much later. So we saw this big gap -there were probably four or 500 million people who wanted entertainment, but actually didn’t have anything to watch on TV that they liked. So that’s the gap we wanted to fill as a lot of young people had content that they wanted to watch. So we started focusing on that service and saying that, we are focussing on creating really good long format series that cater to this young audience that doesn’t have 34

anything to watch on TV. And even when we saw these bigger OTTs come to India, like some of the international players, they started focusing their content on a very multiplex audience kind of content and not a very mass consumption kind of content.

We focused on the mass consumption content and we’ve done extremely well with that. So the reason we didn’t go into the film space yet is that we realized that during the pandemic there was a short stop gap period, where films that normally would have gone to the theatres, have come to the OTT. But I think what it really exposed was the bigger issue. In India, we say that we are the largest film industry in the world, right? About 1200-1300 films are produced in a year but actually, if you look at it, out of 1200 films a year, not more than 200-300 actually get a release.

And of those 200 to 300 also, probably not more than 50-60 get a proper release with enough shows and enough screen.

So what ends up happening in this whole period is that people realize that there are only certain films in India because of the limited number of theatres and this issue happens when two films are releasing, there are not enough shows and all that.

There was that problem that people

realized that actually, for many things it is a better thing to directly release on OTT and there’s no shame in it. Like it’s a very good distribution. And you have to you know, it doesn’t mean that agar theatre mein nahi nikli hai toh picture mein koi kharabi thi, that is not a right thing. So I think that was one very big outcome for the reason why OTT platforms released films. But we stayed away from some of the bigger theatre driven movies because, frankly, the economics have to work. What ended up happening was that producer invested a lot of money into their films. And though you’re not being able to see its theatrical release because of the pandemic, you also want to cover your costs. You want to make sure that if you do an OTT release, additions are covered. Frankly, if you see the theatrical films that were released on OTT, most of them didn’t do that well, apart from one or two exceptions.

I won’t comment on any particular project but most of the films that came out, did not actually perform too well for the platform. I think we took a call very early when this whole thing started to happen.

We talked to everybody - from the pro-

“The content that is coming on Netflix, if you put it on MX player, may not necessarily do well.” ducers to understand what is on offer, what are the potentials for this and we came to the conclusion that economically it is not working for us because of the cost of acquiring a film and making up the difference of what the producer would have tried to do in the theatre with that film. We instead focussed on content, whether it is a series content or even exploring OTT films. They are made with our kind of budget, outlook and subject matter that we feel will be tailor made for our audiences, rather than trying to make a big theatrical film covering the cost of that film via OTT payments.

Okay, sounds absolutely fair. Karan, 35

you have two huge these giants Netflix and Amazon Prime. You think MX Player is bit of a David in front of these Goliaths?

No I don’t think it’s a David and Goliath thing at all. In fact as I told you, if you look at the content challenges of all the players, they are very differentiated.

The content that is coming on Netflix, if you put it on MX player, may not necessarily do well. You put some of MX Players content on Netflix, I think some of it will do very well on Netflix because it is really good stuff. Some of it may not because the audience we are targeting are different. So I believe that the focus that they have is a slightly different audience. We are going to the very large - probably four to 500 million people 36

who are mass everyday consumers. So I don’t see it as a David and Goliath type of thing. And if that is the way it is seen, then good, then you know, David, is doing very well.

Karan, what kind of genre does MX Player focus on like you have the controversial Ashram, right? There are horror series but what kind of genre is basically the ones that you think make up MX Player?

So I think more than the genre, we think about it from the narrative perspective, right? I think all genres are open. We do content in crime drama, we do political drama, we do romantic, romanticdrama, romantic comedy. We’ve done horror. We’ve done action. So I think

we’ve done a lot of genres, I think more than the genre, it is about the target audience and the tone and tonality of the content. If I was to say Ashram is a political drama, rather like a crime political kind of drama whereas a show like Raktanchal for example is an action drama - both are different genres but the audience that we are appealing to focus on the tone and tonality, the type of character or the type of storyline, the pace of story etc. For instance, the saasbahu segment is also romance drama, and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge is also a romantic drama, right? It is basically the treatment of the same genre so we think more in terms of treatment and tonality rather than genre.

The largest regional project on OTT, till

We instead focussed on content, whether it is a series content or even exploring OTT films, made with our kind of budget, outlook and subject matter that we feel will be tailor made for our audiences, rather than trying to make a big theatrical film covering the cost of that film via OTT payments.” date, has been Queen, starring Ramya Krishnan which is our Tamil show, which was released last year on the life of a politician in Tamil Nadu directed by Gautham Menon, who, of course, is one of the best known directors from this market. I think till date it is the largest show that has been in any regional language in India.

What bout say Haryanvi language.

37

Somebody had spoken to me about a fascinating Haryanvi project…

So I tell you what happens with the state of Haryana, largely it gets counted as the HSM (Hindi Speaking Market). So very clearly the content in Haryanvi, for example, is similar to UP, Bihar. Five to seven years ago, Bhojpuri emerged and became very popular. Likewise, you’ll see that in Haryanvi also, you’ll see that emerge soon because as you said the population is huge. The demand is unlimited.

Karan, You had earlier worked with ContentFlow right?

It was a company that was started as a part of my family’s business. I started it as an infotainment kind of thing.

We started doing like educational and infotainment content and now, they’re doing all mainstream work.

So now 2020 has been good for OTT. Where do you think 2021 will take you?

I think 2020 was like day zero. I think that it was it was just a start. I think 2021 will be even more exciting, and because what has happened is that till 2020, OTT had the innovation ground or professional ground. 2021 onwards, actually, we will have the reach and scale ground also.

For the first

38

time today, I saw a report that actually said that the digital advertising industry was bigger than the TV advertising industry in 2020 and it will definitely be the case. So earlier it used to be said that maybe digital will surpass TV in 2023, 24, 25, Now, I believe it may happen in 2021 itself. So I think that what 2020 did was what normally would have taken four or five years to happen for the industry has happened in six months because of the pandemic and the lockdowns.

So I think that what is going to happen in 2021 is an explosion of different types of content. The OTT will become the core medium of consumption over any other media. 2020 was just the match lighting the fireworks, 2021… now the fireworks will start.

Lastly, where will you take MX Player in 2021, Karan?

We have a really exciting state of content coming up. The other really big thing that happened in 2020 for us, and has grown in 2021, is our short video app called Takatak (MX TakaTak). So a few different apps came on at that time and Takatak was one of them, but now TakaTak has clearly taken the market leading position on that, and there is a huge scope. In fact, we talk about

“We are already the number one player but we are going to extend that all through 2021.”

OTT taking over TV. Short Video actually is now already the next step beyond OTT also. So I think that it’s just a huge amount of consumption happening on that. So we want an exciting content set for MX, we’ve got Takatak growing really, really fast and a whole bunch of different new kinds of content coming up. So not just the original set, but some very exciting partnerships coming up that we’ll be announcing in the next few months. We are already the number one player but we are going to extend that all through 2021.

Karan, you have your fingers in so many pies, even gaming, I believe. Will MX Player be able to handle so many?

Actually, we don’t think about it as different things. When you think about it from a logical perspective, we entered music streaming, because we saw a lot of people in the same kind of user base actually want to listen to music. And then we saw that that the same user base is very interested in playing casual games so we entered the gaming part, then on short video, which is a natural extension

of long form videos, and then with TikTok going, it gave us the impetus to enter that.

So all the moves are inter-connected.

We believe that the customers want entertainment in a unified form today.

So somewhere, someone may be waking up in the morning, and listening to some music, he may be watching Takatak during the day for a few minutes. And then in the evening, he may be wanting to watch a half an hour, 40 minutes of some episode.

So you want to take over the entire life of a viewer? (laughs) We want to give our viewers an opportunity to spend more time with us… let’s put it that way.

Any message for your viewers, producers, actors and Stardust readers?

We’re very excited to bring some really exciting content this year. 2020 was a really great year for us on the content front and 2021 is already looking so exciting. We’ve got some really fab stuff coming up over the next few quarters.

And to producers and other creators, please reach out to us. And it is our endeavor is to make sure that we are able to talk to every single one of them.

You can send your creative ideas to submission@mxplayer.in. We try to get back to everybody pretty quickly but sometimes with the high volume, it takes a little time to get back but we definitely try to get back to everybody.

39

Quote Unquote

“I congratulate Stardust for completing 50 amazing years in this industry. 50 is a huge landmark and for me, Stardust is the reason I am in the film industry.

It is through Stardust Talent Hunt that I got selected and I got to be a part of the movies. Stardust cover pages were embedded in my head as a child because the glamour and glitz I was mesmerised by. I was also featured by Stardust many times and also in the cover pages. I congratulate Stardust once again.”

– Divya Dutta

“I Am Aditya Panscholi. My real name is Nirmal Panscholi. When I entered the film industry in 198283, my name was Nirmal. The name Aditya was given to me by Mr Nari Hira (Chairman, Stardust). I think I am one of the few actors who worked for Mr Hira on a payroll. I was on a contract to do 10 video films which we did in a span of three years. I am very grateful to Mr Hira for doing so much for me and my family. There was a Hiba film Kalank Ka Tikka where I met my wife Zarina, today we have been married for 35 years. My family and I have always been supporters of Mr Hira and the entire establishment. It’s a great place. I would like to congratulate to Mr Hira and the entire team.”

– Aditya Panscholi 40

Talent Trove Snapped!

We are starting a listing page to help aspiring actors/singers/ models/ directors/cinematographers/musicians/dancers who are interested in entering the Indian Film & Television Industry.

The listing will have one full length and one close up/profile picture, name, age, dreams & aspirations, hobbies and a link to a performance video (if any), and links to personal Facebook, Instagram & twitter accounts. Stardust e-magazine goes to various production houses, directors, PR agencies, casting agencies and producers. The page will be highlighted so that they can have a look at new talent.

Listing fee applies, Please contact Prashant Rane on 212-725-7833 or send an email to stardustmagazine@aol.com for further details.

Disclaimer: • • • • •

Stardust or Magna Publishing Inc does not guarantee work/assignments in the industry.

The listing is just a point of contact for upcoming artists to be seen by industry professionals.

Stardust does not authenticate or promote any individual in any which way to any industry professional, Group or company.

Stardust does not take any responsibility in any which way for any person, professional, production house or directors who are connected to the film Industry. It is at the sole discretion of the individual to accept any offers.

Stardust or Magna Publishing Inc does not receive or take any kind of commission be it monetary or otherwise in any form from any Industry professional or production house.

41

In Focus

“The one thing

the casting department is lacking is that I think they’re

not getting

the due credit they deserve in terms of the industry.”

– Kunal M Shah Casting director Kunal M Shah has had a very eventful journey - from being a journalist to being given a chance by Vikram Bhatt to be a casting director. He candidly admits his journey started from zero but now he’s inching towards getting better and better in his craft.

In a hard-hitting interview with Sumita Chakraborty, Kunal M Shah demands to know why casting directors are not given their dues in the industry?

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Kunal, the casting department has become a very important department globally. However, it is comparatively a new segment in our Hindi film industry. as perhaps 5 to 10 years ago, it was very disorganized but over the last few years, it started becoming more professional.

I think casting has become one of the most important technical departments of filmmaking or for a web show. It is definitely not disorganized at all any more. I know a few years back, it was still the assistant directors who would cast and call actors and there was no designation as “casting director” as such.

But I think a few films like Gangs of Wasseypur, Chak De India or Madras Cafe have set the tone for the right characters to be cast and the right actors to be cast for a particular character. I think that has suddenly made people open up their eyes. Even web-series like Pataal Lok, Delhi Crime or even a Made in Heaven to an extent have initiated this change to get the right actor for a character. People have finally sat up and taken notice that oh yes, this guy fits in perfectly. The casting has been perfect.

And so the casting department has come into the spotlight.

…And now with the web series also coming in, there must be a lot of opportunities for newer faces, right? So, is it more difficult to put new faces to characters or known faces?

The casting job has become more and more difficult day by day because now the directors have become greedy in terms of what they want. They know that there is a right actor roaming around somewhere, the casting director just needs to zero in on him. When there are known actors, then we know X Y Z actor has done so and so projects and we have seen his work so it is comparatively easier to cast known actors. All you have to do is call them, figure out the dates, figure out the money and put them on to the production. But when you have to cast an unknown face or a newer face or a completely or less exposed person, it becomes difficult because the search keeps on continuing to find that better face. And that is exciting!

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“It’s a fantastic time to be a part of the industry as an actor or even as a technician for that matter.”

It’s a fantastic time to be a part of the industry as an actor or even as a technician for that matter. Everybody’s busy and everybody is getting a lot of opportunities.

I think there are a lot of good actors today, and they don’t have to be jobless any more. It’s just that the right film, right show that can get them the exposure that they deserve.

So what kind of challenges do you face now currently?

The constant hunger of filmmakers to get new faces, or the constant challenge for us to start discovering new faces. That’s why I took the name of shows like Pataal Lok, Undekhi or A Scam for that matter. When I saw Scam I saw so many good actors.

Nobody would have thought of Amjad Khan’s son or Nikhil Dwivedi or Jaimini Pathak if not for perfect casting. Of course, there is Shreya Dhanwanthary and there is Sharib Hashmi and these are all actors who have been doing work from a long time. But for them to go to the next level and get that role, which is career defining is happening now. These are the kinds of actors everybody wants so the good part is that everybody’s open to casting new actors.

Also, where casting is concerned like for instance, Paatal Lok, nobody would have ever thought of giving Jaideep Ahlawat a chance to be a lead.

Exactly! Like Jaideep has been doing brilliant 44

work ever since he did Gangs (of Wasseypur).

He did very commercial films like Commando and so many other films but many people don’t remember him for those roles. Paatal Lok got him that attention. So you need that one role for people to sit up and take notice and for new actors, somebody has to sit up and say, “Okay, I believe in this guy. Let me put him here and let me take it forward.”

So does that fall on the casting director or does the director take the last call?

The director obviously takes the last call because he’s the captain of the ship. It’s just that the casting director has to believe and vouch for the actor in front of the director so that he says: Let me try him. Let me test him. Let’s do a look test. That belief has become stronger in all the casting directors to back those young talents which was lacking before. We used to work on newer talent and audition them and send it to the directors who would reject or select, and we would be happy. Okay, casting hamari ho gayi, khatam ho gaya (the casting has been done and our job is finished).

Now it’s changed, actors whom we believe are good actors we push and we find that the directors and producers have become more open to listening to us. So that really

makes things easier for the casting director and difficult too at the same time as now the filmmakers want more and more. The greediness for good actors has become more demanding and the challenges for us have become more. But we enjoy as we do it in the right way for the betterment of the film or web-series.

So do you think at the moment, the casting department are on par with the international film industry?

Yes absolutely. There are so many brilliant actors and thankfully, it’s not that wherever there is a Hollywood filmmaker or an indie film which is being made in the US or England or Scotland etc, they only come here for Nassirruddin Shah, the late Irrfan Khan, Om Puri, Gulshan Grover or Anupam Kher, these were the few faces which were regular at one point if international filmmakers were casting Indians. But now there are so many films and so many Indian actors who have landed big projects. So, the Indian casting directors who are part of an international film, get an opportunity to basically do a broader search, right? It’s not limited to agar yeh Hollywood ki film hai, toh it has to be Om Puri or Anupam Kher; if it’s a younger cop, it has to be Irrfan Khan, that’s not the case anymore! The hunger for new actors has become a trend. Directors have opened their eyes that India has much more talent than only the few actors that they have heard of.

“There is a Mukesh Chhabra, Shanoo Sharma or Shruti Mahajan doing really very big projects. But what about the guys who are actually slogging their asses and doing so much work?”

What other challenges for the casting department?

Like I said, the casting department has become one of the most important departments but the one thing the department is lacking is that I think they’re not getting the due credit they deserve in terms of the industry. So like if there is an OTT awards that have started, there is no category for best casting director. Or when there is a bigger casting director, they get all the credit, publicity, media mileage and prominence in promotions but not the smaller ones who are doing so much work. Why is it that a costume designers name is there on the poster but a casting directors name is not? Or the lyrics writer or even the marketing guys of the film is mentioned, but a casting director is probably credited in some 10th or 12th slide in the end credits. I’ve been fighting this battle with my own producers too.

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You give a best debutant award or the Supporting Actor award, but who is bringing all these actors? It is the casting director who is getting all of them. Why is he not being credited or given his due respect? Have you seen any Hollywood film or a Hollywood television series which does not have a front title credit of the casting director? So why is it that in India the casting director is not given his or her due credit? Also, there is no Casting Directors Association even though there is an association for actors and other technicians.

You hear of just four or five casting directors but what about the smaller guys who are doing so much work? There is a Mukesh Chhabra, Shanoo Sharma or Shruti Mahajan doing really very big projects. But what about the guys who are actually slogging their asses and doing so much work? Every day, on an average two-three web series are releasing on YouTube or a bigger platform. There is so much content happening, where is the recognition for them? I think everybody has to join hands and make these things pertinent for the casting department.

46

Now there is so much work because of the pandemic, what will happen when things go back to normal?

Of course, the situation will come back to normal. But it will be the new normal.

Like we all have realized that there’s a lot of work which can happen without physical meetings. I have an office in Aram Nagar. Earlier on an average, there would be 20 actors waiting outside my office. Now there are probably 5 actors but it is coming back to normal.

These days, everybody is still waiting outside Mukesh Chhabra or so many top casting director’s office to get noticed. So the casting department is even more significant now. The only thing is that physical meetings have stopped which is a pity because that’s when you can actually analyse an actor you meet personally, understand their body language, the way they speak, plus points, minus points, which is never going to come across in a photograph or an audition. When you spend 1520 minutes with an actor talking about his journey or struggle, that’s when you actually understand nuances about

“I don’t want to be an actor. I don’t want to be a director. I don’t want be anything.

Just a casting director!” his personality. I think once that comes back, and we start meeting more actors when the pandemic is actually gone, or the wave has gone a different way, we will be able to get more actors. A lot of actors have gone back to their respective hometowns, because there was no work during the pandemic, there was no income, and staying in a city like Bombay is an expensive proposition. Well, once all of them are back, and then I think it will be back to normal.

What’s next?

Lots! A lot of bigger international platforms are coming, who are going to be at par with what we see right now.

The industry is divided between two sectors in terms of OTT on one side it is Netflix, Amazon and Hotstar and on the other side it is Zee5 or MX, Voot, Sony liv or other platforms. So there are a set of actors who only want to work in these bigger ones. And there are a set of actors who are okay to work anywhere, not because of the platform, but because of the content. I feel that you should not limit yourself saying that Yaar hum Netflix ya Amazon pe series karenge toh successful honge. I don’t think so. Then then there would never have been A Scam or Undekhi. Or even Bhaukal on MX Player or even Alt(Balaji) fantastic shows. Or Asur or Crack Down.

Kunal, what about you? Beside casting, what are your other passions?

My passion is only films. I’m always going to be a casting director because I’m very happy being a casting director. There are a lot of casting directors who would probably want to be main actors like Mukesh (Chhabra) who had come to be an actor, Jogi had come to be an actor and then they became casting directors and they are brilliant. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong in that. But I had come here to be a casting director. I became a casting director by chance and now I want to be just that. I don’t want to be an actor. I don’t want to be a director. I don’t want be anything. Just a casting director!

For so many years, I spent trying to be a good casting director - I’m taking baby steps towards being a good casting director. My journey started from zero but now I’m still slowly inching towards bettering my craft.

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Starry Sashay

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Not starry but this time, it’s a saree affair! It is sensuous, it’s classy and without a doubt versatile too. There is no perfect occasion to wear a saree but actually, it’s the saree that makes an event a perfect occasion. Shimmery, glittery or even monochromatic, our Bollywood divas can pull off any trend. We picked some of our faves from B-Town which are striking a perfect balance between traditional and modern. Aren’t they all looking just fab!? So what are you waiting for? Get fashion inspired from some of the best Bollywood looks and this time it’s a Yay or Nay ranking system. Start marking them!

49

S t a r d u s t

Are actors outside their shooting world as glamorous as they look on Who are the new love-birds in B-town? Team Stardust brings you a

Aayush Sharma and Ahil Sharma giving father-son goals!

Ishaan Khatter is a water baby.

Fitness is the way for Malaika Arora.

Riteish Deshmukh looks chic as he poses for a candid picture.

Siddhant Chaturvedi enjoying Udaipur’s beauty through a window.

Sara Ali Khan wishes mom Amrita Singh on her birthday.

Janhvi Kapoor raising the temperatures in a red dress.

Newly married Varun Dhawan shows off his body.

Jacqueline spent her weekend horseriding.

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o n

t h e

g o

the silver screen? Can female actors in Tinsel Town be good friends? bird eye’s view into the private lives of Tinsel Town eye candies.

Alia Bhatt with her girl gang.

Mommy-to-be Kareena pouts her way in a lovely Kaftan.

King Khan likes to play Snooker.

Ananya Pandey shares a photo with her furry friend.

All work, no play makes Rajkummar a dull boy!

Yami shares a sun-kissed picture from Himachal.

Winters got Parineeti all packed up in her brother’s jacket.

Mommy duties for Anushka Sharma.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shares a beautiful family picture.

51

Close Up

“When Chiranjeevi gaaru heard it, he told me to jump into it right away and because it’s my first story and I wanted this to happen through his hand.” – Vaisshnav Tej Tollywood just got its rising star and it is none other than megastar Chiranjeevi’s nephew Panja Vaisshnav Tej. He is extremely charming, good-looking and passionate about his craft. Nikita Nikhil talks to the gorgeous Panja Vaisshnav Tej to know more about his new film Uppena, his experience on the set and much more…

The trailer looks amazing. Could you say more about your film Uppena?

It’s a very pure love story.

It’s high on emotions and has its own commercial elements with a bit of comedy and romance. It has everything in it. I guess every age group will connect to it and it’s going to be a good film.

Keerthi Shetty is playing the lead role opposite you in Uppena. How was it working with her?

It’s wonderful actually. She is such a great co-artist and co-actor. She is very hardworking. And she is always in that mood like if there is an emotional scene, she is in that mood throughout the day. She learnt the language in a week and that’s mesmerizing actually. She wants to learn the language better so that she can speak it more fluently.

Besides that, she’s a very good actor.

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Your film has an amazing star cast with Vijay Sethupathi playing the antagonist. This happens to be your debut film. How did you feel working with them?

I’m actually very lucky that Vijay Sethupathi sir is playing a role in the film which is so powerful. I had never even dreamt of acting beside him or even meeting him. It was quite surreal that I was acting with him. And I learnt a lot of tips from him. You know, meeting him off-screen, he is such a nice person. So I was very fortunate. And not only him, I have acted with Sai Chand gaaru and other character artists, and it’s all very surreal and I’m thankful.

What tips did Vijay Sethupathi sir give you?

So basically, on and off screen I have learnt a lot from him.

On screen, he told me that you always have to be aware of your surroundings, how you can use the surrounding objects in the scene. He used to use the surroundings, play with it before the shot and once the shot is on, he used to incorporate it in the scene and the scene would turn out to be very beautiful. So I have learnt that from him. And every take he does, he is magic! Off-screen, he is a great person. He is so simple, so down-to-earth. He is just magic. You will just fall in love with him. If you see him on and off screen, he is a completely different person. He is a great person!

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“On and off screen I have learnt a lot from Vijay Sethupathi.” came from Uppada and they taught me the slangs. And Buchi sir, the director, he even made me practice the walk, there’s a particular walk. So the way the character walks is different and the way I walk is different. So he wanted that and I learnt that. But I think most of the preparation was on set. It took me two to three days… a week or something and after that I think I did good. The director was happy, the cameraperson was happy so, I was happy!

Did you face any kind of challenge since it’s your first time?

Actually, it’s a very challenging role to perform to and to accept this role was very challenging. I think once you watch the film, you will understand why I was so hesitant to say ‘yes’ to this film in the initial stages. But once I was on the sets and once I understood what to do, what the director wants from the character, how he wants it to be and how his character wants to be portrayed, it was quite easy after that. You know, I just put my head into it and gave my hundred percent.

You are playing the role of a lover boy.

How did you prepare for this role?

So basically, we did a couple of workshops with costume and all. The actor who played my friend and I did a lot of workshops and different scenes of different films. I did a month’s course of acting class and it just taught me the basics. And after that I learnt a lot in the workshop. Actually, I learnt the fisherman slang from two fishermen who 54

You are the nephew of megastar Chiranjeevi, did he play any role in the selection of this movie?

Oh yes, of course! So basically, when I got this offer, I was very hesitant to take it. I was like I don’t think I can do such a role, it’s so difficult, it has so many facets in it, and I don’t think I will be able to do this, it is a very tough role to play.

But once Chiranjeevi gaaru heard it, he said just do it. And he played the key role for me to leap into the story and told me to jump into it right away. …

Because it’s my first story and I wanted this to happen through his hand, so it’s like a sentiment and I am happy.

“When I got this offer, I was very hesitant to take it. I was like I don’t think I can do such a role, it’s so difficult. But once Chiranjeevi gaaru heard it, he said just do it.”

Have you always wanted to become an actor?

No, never! (laughs). I don’t know, when I was young I did a couple of films for toys or small pocket money. I don’t know why I did it for toys and money.

And back being on set, I was very pampered because that time I was a small kid. Later, I never wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be a lot of other things.

I think acting just happened to me, it’s destiny to get a main role in this movie.

“Pawan Kalyan gaaru, my uncle, is a great inspiration for me because he just loves his work and he does a lot for people.”

You come from a family of influential and celebrated people. Was there any kind of pressure that you felt to ace the performance?

No, actually there was no pressure.

When I was on set, I used to sleep everyday thinking next day I have to put some more effort. I have to make everyone, the cameraperson and the director happy. I was focused on that.

I never thought of it as a pressure or something like that. So whenever I used

to go to sleep, I was like I have to do this sequence tomorrow, I have to give my 100%, That’s the only thing I had in mind. There was no family pressure or anything like that ever.

Who is your biggest inspiration in life?

AI think it is (Pawan) Kalyan gaaru, my uncle. He is a great inspiration for me because he just loves his work and he does a lot for people. He is a great human being so I get a lot of inspiration from him.

While selecting a movie, what is more important to you, script or the star cast/team?

I think it’s the story. With a good story, I think everything will fall in place. So for me, it’s the story.

What are your future projects?

I did a film with Krish gaaru. He is the director of Manikarnika. So I worked with him in my second film called Kondapolam. It’s based on a novel and I finished dubbing for it. And it was terrific and we shot in the pandemic. We shot it in August of last year during the pandemic situation. Rakulpreet Singh is my co-actress in that movie. So I’m looking forward to it as well.

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The Controversy

Will The White Tiger’s Roar Be Muffled?

Just when the going was going good, controversies have shrouded The White Tiger which is doing phenomenally well globally. Sumita Chakraborty finds out more about the ongoing woes that plague The White Tiger.

Nick Jonas has posted on his Instagram that perhaps Priyanka Chopra Jonas would be the only Jonas to be honoured with an Oscar soon. People in the know claim he is perhaps referring to Priyanka’s mind-blowing performance as Pinky Madam in the film The White Tiger. And we absolutely agree, she was absolutely fabulous in it and if not an actual Oscar, Priyanka would definitely get nominations.

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Globally too, The White Tiger has shown its class and is the number one film in a record breaking eight countries so no wonder both the cast and crew are busy patting each other’s backs. Even in India after Netflix streamed this beautifully made film, both critics and the audience haven’t stopped raving about it. In fact, ‘producer’ Mukul Deora had even tweeted after it was announced that The White Tiger was the Number One

film across the world: “Overwhelmed by the mad love for our film. Thinking back to when I first read the book and felt a burning desire to share it with the world. Any film is ultimately a collaboration between the filmmakers and the audience. Thank you all!” …All hunky dory until news filtered in that veteran Hollywood producer John Hart has dragged Mukul Deora to court over copyright infringement via “A web of offshore entities.”

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The case has been filed at the Delhi High Court. According to a trade sheet Film Information, John Hart and his producing partner Sonia Mudbhatkal have jointly filed a case against film financier Mukul Deora for allegedly “illegally producing The White Tiger which is currently streaming on Netflix. The court has not granted them an ad interim injunction for stalling the release of the Netflix film, primarily because they approached the court at the eleventh hour in spite of being aware of the alleged “doing” in advance.

However, a long-drawn court battle is not ruled out. What more according to Film Information, the court has asked the defendants, Mukul Deora and Netflix, to keep an account of the profits from the film so that the amount be recompensed to Hart and Mudbhatkal would be accounted for and available, in case the need arose.”

Furthermore, according to the same Trade magazine, “Hart and Mudbhatkal claim that Mukul Deora allegedly illegally claimed The White Tiger book rights as solely his own when approaching Netflix and failed to reveal to the streaming giant that he is yet to complete his end of the entire set of obligatory agreements 58

in exchange with the original producers of the film for any such book rights transfer into Particle to take effect.”

The current case relates to the rights of the second-highest-selling Man Booker prize-winning book in its history, Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger, on which the film, which is streaming on Netflix, is based.

Though we would have wanted to hear Mukul Deora’s side of the story unfortunately nobody got back to us. Further more we’ve heard that Mukul Deora’s problems are not just limited to this only, supposedly, he is also under ED probe over “suspicious transactions”.

Since the case is sub-judicial, we would not like to comment on these unsavoury happenings, all we can say is that for the sake of this wonderfully made movie The White Tiger, may peace prevail.

And since the ugly face of controversy has reared its nasty head, we do hope that the producers do some damage control and work things out between themselves or else it would entirely be The White Tiger’s loss in terms of awards, rewards and critical acclaim. Watch this space for more on this ongoing controversy.

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Music Room

Romil Chaudhary is fabulous in Bechainiyan & Aishani Mehta looks pretty.

The soulful music album from Amit Prakash Mishra and Dr Reena Mehta rocks!

It’s the season of love and what better way to celebrate love than with the outstanding music video Bechainiyan sung by Amit Mishra and Dr Reena Mehta, starring Bigg Boss 12 finalist, actor, trendsetter and heart-throb Romil Chaudhary with budding talent Aishani Mehta.

‘Bechainiyan’ has been really creating a huge buzz and is already winning hearts all over the country.

Here, the talented four speak to Nikita Nikhil about their musical journey, bechainiyans and why they feel that the song will win the nation’s hearts! Read on…

Amit Mishra, there is this big buzz about your new music release in collaboration with Dr Reena Mehta titled Bechainiyan which has released on 14th Feb. Can you talk about the song?

So the song is featuring Romil Chaudhary and Aishani Mehta. I have worked earlier with Ayaan Ali Abbas, who did the project. He is a brilliant musician himself so I recorded this project with him. We had a really good time in the studios because he is a great musician too. I really liked the production of the song when I heard it and I am looking forward to this video’s choreography, the editing, mix and master, and the rest of the things. The track is mixed and mastered by Vardhan Chakroborty, I have worked with him earlier and he is a brilliant man. I have already heard the track

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and it is sounding brilliant. Dr. Reena Mehta is sounding brilliant in her vocals as well.

Apart from that, I am looking forward to seeing the choreography because so far, I have not seen the video. Saurabh Khatri has choreographed it and the editing has been done

by Ballu Saluja, so I am looking forward to the track now. And Zee Music of course! With Mr. Anurag Bedi! It has been an honor for me because there have been a lot of tracks that I have worked along with Zee so I am looking forward to this one as well.

Dr Reena Mehta has lent her melodious voice for this song too. How was your experience working with her?

It was brilliant because when I heard the audio I was pretty excited to hear Reena Mehta

ji’s voice and I messaged her too, I texted her back saying that you are sounding brilliant in the vocals and she was really happy with that.

She was happy with my vocals and I was happy with hers. The track has been designed and working with Reena Mehta ji was amazing.

Did you get a chance to visit the set while Romil and Aishani were shooting?

No, unfortunately, I did not. I was busy with the studio sessions. I am not in the video anyway and I don’t think right now I am fit for the video (laughs). But I am looking forward to it.

Till now, you have worked with so many music directors like Pritam Chakraborty, Gourav-Roshin, Sajid-Wajid, Mithoon, Hitesh Sonik, etc. But we would like to know how exactly your music journey started?

My music journey has been going on since childhood. In terms of composers, I first sang a song for Prashant Singh ji. It was a track called “Soniye” for the movie Hum Do Anjaane starring Jackie Shroff. I recorded its flat version and Kunal Ganjawala sang its original version and then I sang the band version of that song.

The song worked as my demo music which I used to send to other composers proudly saying that it’s my voice. Later, I got a chance to meet Chirantan Bhatt. But it was Shakeel Azmi, one of the top lyricists in the music industry, who recommended me to contact Mr. Bhatt. I went to Mr. Bhatt’s studio and dubbed a song for the movie 1920: Evil Returns called ‘Majboor Tu Bhi Kahin.’ I dubbed the song at night and the next morning, it got confirmed. That was my second playback song and I was extremely lucky to record it. It was film director and producer Suneel Darshan who gave me a chance to sing at his son Shiv Darshan’s launch for the movie Karle Pyaar Karle. I got to sing two songs in the movie – Teri Saason Mein with Arijit Singh

and Palak Muchhal and O Darling which was like a party number.

After that, I sang back-to-back for Palash Muchhal and for many others but ultimately, I got my big breakthrough through Pritam da, of course. For him, I got to sing Manma Emotion from the movie Dilwale. Later, I sang Sau Tarah Ke from Dishoom, then Bulleya from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, and then I also got a chance to sing with Rochak Kohli sir. So luckily, I got a chance to sing from one composer to another. And believe it or not, but every composer has become my teacher for that song. The best thing was that they spent time and worked on me because taking out time in a studio and focusing on the artist is a very crucial to the process. So, I just want to thank all the composers.

Later, I sang for Hitesh Sonik for an OTT movie called Rajma Chawal for Netflix and also, my first OTT project. I was honored to be a part of that project because the movie had six songs and I got to sing four of them. I got a lot of opportunities and projects to sing on after that. I got to sing Galti Se Mistake with (Pritam) Dada.

I still undergo training every now and then. I got a chance to work with many musicians like Shalmili Kholgade, Antra Mitra, Shashwat Singh, Shreerama Chandra, Shahid Mallya, and many more through Binaisha Deshmukh’s dance classes. So that’s how the journey has been so far! We are still learning, producing, and delivering on stage.

What are your future projects?

I have a lot of projects lined up with Zee only.

Some regional projects like Marathi songs, apart from that I also have some Hindi language songs coming up too. I’m looking forward to them. As for movies, talks are underway for recording for movies. I have recorded some of the stuff for OTT platforms too. I have started getting some updates about the upcoming movies. Recording sessions will begin soon and I am really looking forward to them.

I also have a lot of independent projects coming up too which are already recorded and are getting released one by one. They all are fabulous songs but because of exclusivity, I cannot reveal much.

Amit sir, you started working in the film industry in 2011 and it’s been 10 years now.

Any words of wisdom for aspiring singers and musicians?

I would like to say that practice, keep yourself motivated, keep yourself fit, eat healthy, feel good. Accha khaao, accha gaao!

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so I had the opportunity to sing it in two ways and one of the ways will be released in the video and after the video is released, we’ll come up with the second version of the song as well. So it was a beautiful experience singing this song.

Dr Mehta, you are known for your melodious voice and people are excited for Bechainiyan which released on 14th Feb. Can you talk about it? How was your experience recording it?

Well, Bechainiyan was a song which I chose to sing when the music composer sent me just a few lines of the song and I really liked it. I said okay, I will sing this song and then it was decided that this song with me will be sung by Amit Mishra. He was also ready. He sang it first and he really enjoyed singing it. When I came to India, I did the same. So, this song is a romantic number. It’s a very beautiful composition, the music, the way it is been composed, the tune – it’s very catchy. I had to re-sing it because the video was designed in such a way that they required a very different tone out of the voice to suit the story of the video. But I had to sing this song twice 62

Your daughter Aishani is cast opposite to the man who won hearts, Bigg Boss finalist and actor Romil Chaudhary.

How do you feel about it?

Well, that was the only Bigg Boss session that I watched in my entire life. Before that, I was completely ignorant of what Bigg Boss was. Because I knew Anup Jalota ji, I’ve sung with him and he was going in Bigg Boss, so he sent me a link saying that I would be in Bigg Boss, so you can watch it, that’s how I came into contact with the session. So I really liked Romil so I had him in mind. Once these people came out from the session, and I was in Mumbai and through Anup Jalota ji, I connected with him. So, I was in contact with Romil for the whole year after the Bigg Boss session. He was very good, polite, very decent. And we were always talking about the song video but he is very choosy and we had different options. And finally, in a year’s time, he kept up to his promise that he chose this song.

And even he liked it. And then we used the whole Kesariya Balam team which helped me produce my album. So, the product has come out looking really very nice. It was quite a nice and different experience to work with Romil. He is a gentleman, very co-operative, very decent and he keeps his word. He has an intellect and you know that when you deal with him. He is very down to earth, very composed. He knows what he’s doing, what he is talking about. He will advise you, he will comfort you, so you know he is very co-operative that way. It was so much fun to work with him. Actually, it was fun to work with the entire team, to be honest. It was just like a family occasion.

This song released on 14th Feb. How do you think it resonated with the audience?

Actually, I got this idea from Stardust to release this on 14th February.

And I requested Zee Music Company and they agreed to it. The song concept itself is kind of a love story, somewhere like missing your partner and then reuniting. The concept suits well so it will be like loving hearts, coming up together. So, I think it will do wonders on that day. It just suits the occasion.

Dr. Mehta, you are a doctor, a scientist, a singer, and a mother to a beautiful daughter. How do you manage your personal and professional life?

I think it’s in my genes. I am quite well organized. I can do multiple things at a time, the way I organize myself.

For music, I have got a passion. No matter how busy I am, music is like a meditation for me. It gets me out of the whole stressful world. I have been pursuing it for the last five-six years and it feels good. Life is just fun when you have your profession, your passion and hobbies on the side and it makes a lot of difference. And my family has been very supportive too – my husband, my daughter. So there is work and family life balance and that worked wonders for a contented, peaceful, and happy life, that’s how I manage it.

What are your future plans now?

Well, music is a passion and a hobby and nothing more than that for me.

And I’m quite happy. I have future projects, you know my next project which will be released is by T-Series which I have sung with playback singer Dev Negi, that’s also a beautiful love

song… a different genre song. And then I’m looking forward to having my own music channel on YouTube, where I can sing and post songs. But it will be just for me. I have taken over the partnership of a music company – Ocean music and entertainment.

So I have a team of composers and directors who are with me, I am looking forward to, only for the sake of my hobby and passion. Because I know it will be harder for me to travel every time to India but whatever little, whenever I get a chance, I will definitely do this on the side.

You have lent your voice to your daughter…

I never thought that my daughter Aishani will feature on my voice.

But it feels very good, it’s a different experience and fortunately, the director is Sunil Agarwal who according to the sequence and song, chooses the artist. So he liked Aishani and he said he can train her to act and he did that. So it was a good experience. I feel good that my daughter would act and lip sync on my voice.

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Romil, Bechainiyan has been creating a big buzz. How do you feel about being a part of such a massive production?

It feels good. But this is just a part of one achievement. Yeah, people are excited and they have a lot of expectations because I have worked a lot till now. This is the first thing that is releasing after my serial. I’m also excited but there are many more things/projects that are coming up. So, this is one of them and I am equally excited. I’m as excited about the next project as I am about this one.

Bechainiyan is a very superb song. If a person composes a song, he does it with his heart. If Amit Mishra and Reena Mehta have sung this song, then they must have put their heart and soul into it. All your projects are like your babies and you nurture your baby with a lot of love and care.

Producing, singing, and composing a song is just like that. So it is like an amazing track, it is like a lovable, romantic track and the listeners will get a full romantic feel while listening to this song. And I hope people like this song as it was superb. Every single person was really nice on the set, be it the choreographer or the director or the assistant directors or Reena Mehta ji or Aishani, they did a superb job and it was a superb experience and I hope we get to do even bigger projects than this together.

It is a romantic song and also happens to be releasing on 14th Feb. How do you think it will connect with the audience?

This is a romantic track and obviously, it’s sung by singer Amit Mishra who is very popular for romantic tracks. They have shown a love angle in this video. It’s the perfect date for this song. And I think they have chosen an apt date to release this song so that it garners great success. Basically, it’s a very romantic track. It showcases a boy’s feelings of true love for his girlfriend. So, it’s good that way. As a matter of fact, I have never celebrated Valentine’s Day in my life. I have always been this seedha-saadha kid from the village. It was only after I finished college that I got to know what Valentine’s day is.

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How was it working with Aishani Mehta?

It was a really good experience. She was very co-operative. She is an amazingly talented girl. She is from Australia and while shooting you basically have to feel the song, so she pulled it off nicely. She was very co-operative and was able to pull off her role in one day only. Also, Reena Mehta ji also supported us a lot during that time along with director Sunil Agarwal. He also explained everything to us very patiently. Often times, students instantly grab whatever the teacher is explaining if he does so diligently. Sometimes, an actor may not be able to perform correctly but if someone comes and explains… for example, I am also not that big an actor. Everybody makes mistakes, I also make mistakes.

When I made any mistake, I was made to understand where I went wrong. Everybody has equally and actively participated in this video. From Dr. Reena Mehta to Mr. Sunil Agarwal, from Assistant Directors to Choreographers, everybody should be equally credited for this video.

You rose to fame with Bigg Boss 12 and now soon you’ll be debuting in a Bollywood movie? How has the journey been so far?

I am not satisfied yet, But if you see me as a commoner, I am the only one who has worked this much. It might sound like a small mouth, big talk kind of thing but it’s a fact. Without knowing anyone, no background, nothing else, I did this much. I think it’s just about shiddat. Either you have to believe in good, either you have to believe in yourself, or either you will have to believe in your destiny.

So I am a person who believes in his destiny.

And when I came out of the Bigg Boss session, I asked myself “what next?”. Should I go back to advocacy or should I become an actor? So it was my mom’s dream. I did not want to go back and I left everything to my destiny.

I believed that if my destiny has brought me to Bigg Boss so it must have thought something good about me. So I left everything to my destiny. Then I came out and thought that I should do a serial (soap drama). I had a lot of offers at that time but I picked up Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum on Star Plus. After I was done with a serial, I thought that now I should go for a movie. So Sarika Sanjot ji, from Kahaani Rubber Band Ki approached me and I said yes, why not! So when I went to shoot that movie, it was a superb learning experience. Then on the set, I saw them shooting a music video, and I was not in it. So

I kind of felt jealous and thought “No, I want a romantic track.” Then I did Bechainiyan and I was quite happy about it. It was only after that I shot for this song that I realized that I have a good screen presence on a romantic track. So then I thought, “Ki okay, ab main ek hero material bann chuka hun.” Then I prayed to my destiny that please give me some movies. Then during the lockdown, I was in my hometown and someone offered me a lead role. I got it! And you won’t believe, whenever I see that movie, it does not matter what the result is, I feel proud of my performance – it made me feel that even I can pull this off, I can also do this. Then I got so used to being busy and shooting, that I could not sit at home idle. So this movie happened and I thought that now I should also do a web series. And can you imagine, at 10 pm in the night I got over with the shoot of my first film and the next day at 11 am, I was doing a negative role for a web series. So my destiny is giving me everything. So now I am thinking bigger and bigger as I believe in my destiny.

I have had some superb experiences. I don’t feel like going back, nor will I ever go back.

I’ll either make it big or choose another option. Let’s see what happens. As of now, I just want to be a star.

You have beautifully honed your acting skills and your work is the proof of that.

Any chance you might try your hands-on music/singing as well?

I have been dramatic since my childhood.

I was the naughtiest kid and used to flunk in my studies. But I would get away with it because of my acting skills. My mom-dad used to smack me a lot and I had to do all sorts of drama and acting to save myself from the beating. So the whole credit goes to my mom and dad because if they had not smacked me in my childhood, I would not have so much drama in me. So I am a born actor. On top of that, a factual truth is that the world’s greatest actor is none other than an advocate. Just saying it from the experience of being an advocate. It is because we have so much experience as a lawyer that we also have to act everywhere. Because we observe people in their good and bad times.

It’s great because as an advocate we get to grab each and every emotion of the other person. We get all kinds of situations, be it domestic, relationship-related, and whatnot. And then we have to adapt to that situation. And acting is all about emotions. You can’t act if you have not felt the situation.

As for the music front, I do rap. To tell you the truth, even as an advocate, I used to do this a lot. I made this rap track. Then I gave a Bigg Boss audition. But the day I was about to launch my rap, I got a call from Bigg Boss.

So I still have that track with me. It was on women empowerment. But right now, I just want to focus on my acting. I don’t want to go off-track. I can’t ride two boats at a time.

If I am focusing on my acting, I want to give it my 100%. I might launch my rap, someday in the future. But right now I don’t think it’s the right time to do it.

You have a huge fan-base who admire and adore you. Any message for them?

For me, my fans are equivalent to God. I was a single child. I have faced my struggles in my life but my fans are like the soul to my body.

They give me happiness. When I’m feeling sad, I look at the comments and messages from them. No matter how sad I feel, my fans are always there with me. For example, the person who stands by you in your bad times, I have never seen God but for me, I believe my God is the one who stands with me in my good and bad times. And my fan base has been with me in my good and bad times. For me, they are like my God. I read almost all their comments, for example, now this song will be released, people write, “der aaye durust aaye, aaye toh sahi” or some will write “bade time ke baad,” things take time.

People think that now that I am out of Bigg Boss and that I have become a reality star… with great power comes great responsibility. And with great responsibilities, there comes more burden. A commoner, who is new to the industry and people expect him to compete with the industry stalwarts overnight, it’s not possible. An advocate, who is standing out, doing serials, songs, and movies, the advocate (like myself) is using his intellect. But things take time. I would like to say to my fans to remain patient, don’t give up on themselves and me. I’m not giving up so I expect my fans to do the same. I will fight till the very end, just don’t give up on me and I will only die after achieving great success. All I know is that in this life, I was born as Romil Chaudhary and Romil Chaudhary does not give up. I will die only after I achieve all my dreams. I won’t run away from things, neither will I disappoint anyone. It is also an appeal to my fans to not leave any of their dreams and ambitions for their previous or next life. Do whatever you want in this life and do it unabashedly.

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Aishani, Bechainiyan has been creating a wave of love for 14th Feb which happens to be its release date.

Can you talk about this song a bit?

Yes, so this song Bechainiyan has released on Valentine’s day, 14th of February. So it is a song about love. It’s a song about how one does not feel complete without having love in their lives. But when you find that you have two souls that are able to unite, the world becomes a much nicer place. So this song kind of reflects it, what we aim to celebrate on Valentine’s Day. You are cast opposite heart-throb Romil Chaudhary. How was it working with him under such massive production because Zee Music is producing it?

Yes, so working with him is not as bad as you make it to be. He is actually really fun, very comfortable to work with. You can’t ever be serious on set because he is always laughing. He is always making everyone feel comfortable, it’s a lot of 66

fun. He has got a lot of energy and he has also got some great ideas. So I have not watched Bigg Boss or I don’t exactly know what is being said about him but from my personal experience, I had a lot of fun working with him and I am sure whoever he works with, will probably say the same.

Aishani, what are your future plans?

Do you also by any chance plan on following your mother’s footsteps?

Well, that depends. Currently, I am in a university. I am not actually in the acting field at the moment, I am doing finance and economics. It’s a very different path to acting, so maybe once I finish studying and if the opportunity arises, I don’t mind expanding my horizons and seeing what’s there for me in the future.

So, I have seen you have been featured in quite some videos, so how did you plan on acting in the first place?

I didn’t actually plan on acting. So, I got an opportunity to film my first

music video which was two years ago.

So initially, I was quite nervous about doing it. When I was a child, I had a lot of ambitions – I wanted to become a teacher, I wanted to become an investment banker, I wanted to work in a store… I had a lot of ambitions.

And one of them was I wanted to be an actress. So, little me had many dreams, so I thought that one by one I would make all these come true. So, when I got the opportunity to do my first music video, I was initially very nervous actually about entering the industry where I never had any experience.

There were many nuances and etiquette that I had never encountered and by the time, I got there, I had actually worked with the same director as I worked with in Bechainiyan. The song was called Saason ki Tarah. He was very sweet, very professional, he guided me through… he allowed me to settle in the first music video. So, it eventuated to be a trip of a lifetime and now we have this second one.

Your mother, Dr. Reena, has lent her voice for this video. How do you feel about it?

I feel great, I think it’s a blessing to be able to perform on a music video that is actually being sung by your own mom.

And I think a lot of people don’t get that opportunity to have that. I feel blessed to be able to do this. She has such an amazing voice and to be able to be the face of that voice is on a an another level.

Aishani, who is the biggest inspiration in your life?

Probably my mother. I think though she is very hardworking, she has done a lot on her own. She is very rooted to her country, to her religion. She is very focused on her work and the fact that she has made it herself into this music industry, she is the biggest inspiration in my life. She has motivated me to do what I am doing now and to become the person I am. So who can be a better inspiration for you than your own parents?

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m o r f t s a l B the past

r u o m a l g e v a w w e n e Th ! t l o v e r s n quee 68

“Sridevi and Jaya Prada have dragged the image of an Indian woman behind by twenty years” – so stated Smita Patil a few months back. And she couldn’t have been more apt. All said and done, the three feminists of the industry – Smita, Deepti Naval and Shabana Azmi, despite their internal rivalries have each in their own way strived to better the status of the Indian woman, through the characters they portrayed.

And a different kind of cinema was emerging.

Reflecting a stronger, thinking woman. Even commercial actresses like Rekha (‘Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye’) and Hema Malini (‘Andha Kanoon’) had begun to change tracks, when Sridevi and Jaya Prada invaded – and took the industry by storm with their writtling hips and crude oomph-appeal. Thus destroying what the other three actresses had struggled to create. Have Deepti, Shabana and Smita accepted defeat?

industry’s juvenile justification. A lot of people don’t think beyond their nose, and the run of it is for the audience.

Somehow everyone’s taste has also become very vulgar. There is one swimming pool song in ‘Inquilab’. God, you make the audience into voyeurs. I wonder how the women audience react. They must be definitely feeling very embarrassed, ashamed at such a blatant display of female flesh. I

Over to them SMITA PATIL’S HONEST APPRAISAL: “Unfortunately I haven’t seen any of these South Indian films, but I know what stuff they are made of. These actresses may have their own reasons to do such roles, I don’t know. But aisi kitni films chalengi? It won’t last. Though, I understand they do the harm that is to be done. But can I tell these actresses, ‘Please forget your ten lakhs and work towards a better cinema.’ You can’t inject commitment. Unless the awareness comes from within. Women working in these kinds of films are living in a world of their own. They don’t think they are being used. They have a sense of superiority which is material. They feel great about being the sex-symbols of the industry. I pity them. I think they are in much worse condition than we are.

The three of us, Deepti, Shabana and myself have been fortunate. We have emancipated parents and come from an entirely different background. We don’t have our parents forcing us to take up films for money. We don’t have to look after our families. We are not compelled to compromise. Whereas may be these actresses have no choice or it is their ignorance. They are just not aware of what kind of a woman they portray on the screen. A person must also have the ability to see things in the right perspective. Films is a strong medium and you are responsible for so much because people start idolising you, identifying with you. Unless you have the sense to judge your own miserable plight, you can go on feeling great. It’s a naïve way of feeling ‘Ah! I am the sex symbol of the

think it is the women audience who should get together and revolt. In Delhi, the ‘Saheli’ group had led out an agitation against the vulgar kind of Malyalam films, and succeeded in getting them banned.

“Sridevi is a good friend of mine. I really would like to talk to her, ask her whether she is aware of the way she is being exploited.”

-Smita Patil The woman sitting in the audience must alienate herself from the woman on the screen.

She must look up to her. The character on the screen should provoke a sense of injustice.

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Maybe, a threat to hold on and maybe years later the middle class woman will change. Our kind of cinema just gives them a helping hand, a feeling that we’ll stand by them.

“The South Indian actresses just want to be sex-objects… I don’t really respect such actresses!”

– Deepti Naval It should create hatred in their minds for themselves. They should get aware and try to rise above the rut. I don’t know when they will start making films which do not slither in sentimentality. Films that don’t make women cry and portray her as a feeble human being. I very strongly feel that a middle class woman is being overpowered by her own image of goodness.

Her natural instincts are completely stifled. This is a dilemma of the maximum women in the audience. Through the characters we portray we try to voice the supressed feelings of the middle class woman. We try to be different, show them a spark.

In ‘Bheegi Palke’ the woman, even when her husband comes back to her, decides to leave him. The decision is justified because you show her going through so much of misery at the hands of the husband. In any other film (and there are so many) the heroine would have touched her husband’s feet and taken it as her saubhagya to have her devata back. A woman who leaves her house is a stigma, if she is kicked out may be she’ll get some sympathy. If a Rekha or Shabana or Smita cry and come back and touch their husband’s feet, the woman watching the film automatically justifies her own misery.

But she should not. She should strive to change.

The characters we portray should give them hope. Yes, you too can be like that. Strong and self-sufficient. But I suppose that will take time.

I don’t claim that one ‘Subah’ can bring any overnight revolution. It will just ignite a spark.

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Unfortunately, the heroine is only titillating in these South made Hindi films. Either titillating or a sentimental fool. But I guess that’s how men want their women to be ridiculous, brainless and seductive. These films are like sugar-coated pills. And they put so much of sugar on the top that towards the end nothing remains. What I feel is that if even in the last half an hour of the film you have said something, it’s worth.

off from the body of the heroine just like that and comes back rolled on the petticoat-blouse clad Jaya Prada after ten minutes! It’s ridiculous.

There have always been two sections of films.

One the more realistic, meaningful kind and one based more on fantasy and made with the box-office in mind. If not Sridevi and Jaya Prada, we had Hema Malini and Rekha. Rekha ko hi dekh lo, har film mein mujra karti aa raha hai. But even then so far it was alright. I mean to Don’t let the films and the characters be totally senseless.

Sridevi is a good friend of mine. I really would like to talk to her, ask her whether she is aware of the way she is being exploited. Maybe she is not. I cannot say I was not exploited. During ‘Chakra’ I was too naïve to realise the suggestion of that bathing scene. I was convinced and I defended it for years. It took me four years to realise – a thinking person like me. And these South Indian actresses have not even been brought up to think. Their surroundings don’t give them a chance to grow very much mentally.

They are groomed to be actresses from their childhood. They are extremely protected on the sets and otherwise. So it is only natural that they look at life through their parent’s eyes. They do these meaningless scenes to make enough money and get married. And by the end of their lives they haven’t even realised that they were being exploited all their life. It’s a pity.

Recently, in an art film, for a delivery scene, the director asked me to show my legs. I said ‘No’.

There was no need. My facial expressions were enough to give the suggestion. And there are so many other films I have rejected because of this.

But this problem is not so simple. Just because I’m not taking these kind of films. I won’t expect the others not to. So someone else takes it.

Someone who is more needy. Someone who is getting ten lakhs for showing her legs. And if Sridevi doesn’t take it, someone else will. Unless, all the actresses get up and revolt against this exploitation. That will be the day and we shall wait for it even if it means another hundred years.”

“I got up and clapped at the climax of ‘Mujhe insaaf chahiye’ – for the change in the commercial cinema.”

– Shabana Azmi

DEEPTI NAVAL’S FIERY OUTBURST: “I saw ‘Tohfa’, ‘Mawaali’, ‘Naya Kadam’ and ‘Maqsad’ in a row on the video recently and it was like seeing one film, with the same funny dances with those sickening gestures in every film. It’s frightening. The absurdity that has been introduced into the Hindi films following the influx of the South Indian actresses and filmmakers is terrifying. In ‘Mawaali’ a saree flies

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get wet in the rain and run around trees, it was okay. But the senselessness of these ‘Tohfas’ and ‘Himmatwalas’ is the last straw. These South Indian actresses could go on provoking the guy in the film left, right and centre with ludicrous, suggestive, gestures but when it comes to their virtue, they are shown to be sati savitris.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got nothing against intimacy, nudity or bedroom scenes. In ‘Kamla’, throughout the film I had to go just in a saree, without a blouse. The kind of woman I was projecting demanded that. Not once was the camera placed in an angle that could make me feel self-conscious. There is nothing wrong even in a nude scene if done with a certain conception and conviction. But on the other hand, even if you’re fully clothed and do these seductive gestures with the camera straight on your bosom or your writhing hips, it can look so vulgar. I think it is absolutely unnecessary. I don’t buy that kind of cinema and I don’t really respect such actresses!

These South Indian actresses just want to be sex-objects and they don’t mind being exploited.

I don’t think any of them have ever stopped to think what kind of a woman they project on the screen what kind of effect it can have on the audience. They just want to make money even if it means being exploited physically and mentally.

They are not bothered about the conditions of the Indian women or what kind of lives they lead, their causes. It doesn’t matter to them one bit, just because there are people who are ready to pay and see them. The ‘Tohfas’, “Mawalis’ are great hits. It’s depressing really.

Many people snigger at us, ‘Why do you all keep harping the same tune of feminism?’ ‘Ek Baar Phir’ shows a woman walking out on her chauvinist husband and so did many more films made after that. Some women libbers demand to know why Shabana stayed back with her husband in ‘Kamla’. See, by doing these films we don’t say all women should walk out on their husbands.

We strive to spread awareness through different

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situations. Awareness of the exploitation that an Indian woman goes through. Whwat she does about it. Is finally her decision. All women cannot walk out on their husbands but at lease they’ll stop living in a fool’s paradise. They’ll realise that they have an identity of their own. They are not just someone’s wife, daughter, sister or mother.

Whereas one can’t look for any meaning in these South made Hindi films, for there is none.

I think the whole thing is too derisory to last.

It’s a phase which will pass off—hopefully. And I don’t see why we should get disheartened or discouraged. If not as much as these films, good cinema is also being appreciated. ‘Saaransh’, ‘Ardh Satya’ are recent examples. We have a cause, we are committed, they are not. We grow, they cannot, they can only repeat. And they have been repeating themselves over and over again.

They cannot reflect the times we are living in.

The present situation. It is the same old ronadhona dishum-dishum in every film.

Films is a strong medium, a lot can be done through it. Sridevi is a fabulous dancer and a good actress but look what she’s doing to herself. I saw ‘Jaag Utha Insaan’ and I was really impressed by her effortless acting and dancing. I think she should come down and do some good films. In ‘Sadma’ too, she was good and I said to myself, ‘God, here is an actress’. But after that it’s just been ‘Tohfa’, ‘Maqsad’, etc. But then for that you must have your priorities clear. I may have gone on believing that you have to be a Rekha or a Hema. I went through a phase of confusion myself and signed a few films here and there, but today I define my own terms of success. If as an actress, I am successful, I am successful.

I don’t care for the box-office where as these actresses do.”

SHABANA AZMI’S DIPLOMATIC STAND: “I don’t want to praise or deride somebody. They are trying to do what they think is right. It is not for me to say anything. I think you should question the girls concerned. It is just that I cannot do these kind of roles because I come from a certain background. I’ve been brought up with certain principles and ideas and I live by them. I’ve set perimeters for myself.

I am willing to play even a degraded woman, if by the very degradation of the character I can convey a new understanding, about how unfair the whole system is. Or it through the film there is a transition in the character of a woman from one point to another, where she evolves to realise her status and asserts herself. However, if it is role which unnecessarily degrades a woman. I get very angry. But there is not too much that

I can do about it. At the most I can speak to the producer or director and try to turn them around to my way of thinking. For example, my ‘Gangva’ producer approached me with a role and insisted that I do it. After hearing the story.

I point blank refused. He was shocked. “But you are in every frame how can you refuse,” he tried to convince me but I was firm. He said that if I didn’t, some other actress would grab the role.

So I said, “Fine, let somebody else do it. I won’t.”

But the producer was very keen to make a movie with me so her offered me another role in a film with Rajnikant. I at once accepted it because the woman in that film is somebody assertive, somebody who takes stand.

There has been a stereotype of Indian woman, and not just we actresses but even the audience I think is fed up of this cliché stand – there is the suffering mother, the all forgiving housewife and the vamp. These are all cardboard characters.

The whole characterisation is one dimensional and it doesn’t give you a chance to get under

the skin of the person. We need more women directors and writers. They can understand and portray us better.

Any change that has to brought has to be in the main-stream of cinema. It is these films which need to be re-vamped. After all, the change that has been brought about by a certain section of cinema is viewed only by the intelligentsia. And this section is already aware of the challenging Indian woman. That is why I was absolutely thrilled with this film ‘Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye’. Rati and Rekha are assertive about their rights, they fight for it. I got up and clapped at the climax of the film -- for the change in the commercial cinema.

I don’t want to keep making feminist statements.

I don’t want to stand in a pulpit and make speeches all the time. Women are changing and all I want to do is to help these women who are changing by portraying a flesh and blood ‘real’ woman.”

- Nish Prem

FAST FORWARD These three iconic ladies – Smita Patil, Deepti Naval and Shabana Azmi had created an indelible niche for themselves amongst the glamour dolls of the industry. Strong, opinionated and articulate, all these three ladies never hesitated to voice out what they felt even if it caused ripples of turmoil in a hitherto male chauvinistic industry.

Smita Patil, award winning actor, one of the best in the industry, unfortunately expired after a post pregnancy complication. Her amazing genes however sparkle in her son Prateik Babbar who has at last found his mettle and is enjoying his craft as an actor.

Shabana Azmi worked in several awardwinning films. Till date, she doesn’t hesitate to take up cudgels for issues that need to be heard.

Deepti Naval too has acted in her share of very fine films. She was last seen in the critically acclaimed Criminal Justice – Behind Closed Doors starring the ever so fabulous Pankaj Tripathy.

All these ladies have shown women power and have made their presence felt in the industry.

- Sumita Chakraborty 73

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