Stardust - January 2022

Throwback: When Priyanka Chopra & Kareena Kapoor had a catfight…

JANUARY

2022

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

A MAGNA PUBLICATION

Why is the film ‘83’ such a huge flop?

Is Salman Khan in love again?

“I am finally getting the kind of work I want to do, it was a very long wait but I think it was worth it.”

– Shefali Shah

Will Salman, Shah Rukh & Aamir Khan get back their ‘superstardom’ in 2022?

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Cover Story: Will The ‘Superstar’ Khans manage to get back their position in 2022? .......................................15 Get Snappy: ““I remember for the longest time whenever and wherever we would travel,

people would chant, ‘How’s The Josh?” – Yami Gautam ............................................................. 23 In Focus: “I am a greedy actor and I want more!” – Shefali Shah ........................................................................ 25 Stardust Spotlight: Is Salman Khan in love again? ................................................................................................... 31 Stardust Exclusive: Why is ‘83’ the film such a huge flop? ...................................................................................... 44 Music Room: “Actors are singing too, and singers are acting too. I don’t think that creative forms of expression need to be mutually exclusive.” – Jonita Gandhi ................................................................................... 62 Melody Alert: ‘Sakht Jaan is a powerful rock song and I had to maintain the energy throughout the whole song. It’s an inspirational anthem.” – Amit Mishra .................................................................................................... 52 Blast From The Past: “When Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor got into a catfight .................................... 70

COLUMNS Neeta’s Natter .............................................................................................................................................................. 07 Star List .......................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Starry Sashay ................................................................................................................................................................ 60 Stardust On The Go .................................................................................................................................................... 58

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.

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It’s super cute to see Kat looking so loved up and happy - quite a change from the serious ‘nononsense’ ma’am she had become in the middle. After marriage, Kat is super busy - taking pics of her mehndi, bridal bangles and her beautiful home. And in the middle of it all, she sends hundreds of li’l hearts to hubby Vicky Kaushal.

How cute!

Guess what, Katrina spoke only in Punjabi to her Punjabi speaking in-laws throughout her wedding. Supposedly, just before the wedding, Katrina hired a Punjabi tutor so that she could speak to her Punjabi relatives with ease and she became so fluent in the language that these days, she converses with all ‘n sundry only in Punjabi.

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Salman Khan, on the other hand, seems to be rather busy. Supposedly news of his new entanglements are buzzing all around. Salman too is playing ball – he’s giving the impression that he’s weighed down by the pressure of a demanding girlfriend and he’s seriously thinking of ‘togetherness’. Hmm... is it the Kat effect or is Salman, the eternal bachelor, purposely propagating this?

...Now that the wedding trend is over, there’s another trend that’s doing the ‘rounds. Divorce... First, the ‘Atrangi Re’ Dhanush announced on social media that he and his wife of 18 years – Aishwarya, Rajnikanth’s eldest daughter, are separating but of course, they will always be responsible parents and friends. Hmm.. wonder what happened that after so many years, the couple decided to separate. People in the know claim it’s because of Dhanush’s workaholic ways – he just didn’t have time for the family.

Another rumour doing the ‘rounds is that Chiranjeevi’s daughter Sreeja’s marriage is on the rocks. Sreeja recently dropped her husband’s name on instagram. Well, Priyanka Chopra did the same but of course, she clarified later that she would like to die in the arms of Nick putting all rumours to rest. But in Shreeja’s case, the grapevine claims rather vociferously that all’s not well and despite papa Chiranjeevi’s intervention, things have got out of hand in this marriage. Pity!

Yet another divorce in the news is of Nitish Bhardwaj – Krishna from Mahabharat. Well, this is his second marriage but though this marraige lasted for more than a decade, supposedly the couple have opted for divorce as ‘egos’ have killed the last whiff of life in the marriage.

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Since we are talking a lot about South actors, let’s talk about ‘Pushpa: the Rise’ actor Allu Arjun who has become the darling of the masses.

In fact, the current trend on social media is to post snippets of his ‘unique’ hook step on the song Srivalli.

Practically everybody is aping his steps.

‘Pushpa’ has become such a huge hit that it has left distributors stunned. Normally, South films which are dubbed in Hindi would do poorly at the Box office. But Pushpa has done phenomenally well so much so that all the other Hindi films that were going to be released during that time were frantically postponed. Nobody wanted to take on ‘Pushpa’.

Talking about Bollywood, poor Varun Dhawan has had a tragic loss. His driver of 26 years, Manoj Sahu tragically died of a heart attack. Supposed, Varun had gone to Mehboob studio for an ad shoot when the poor man got a fatal heart attack, and though they rushed him to the hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. Our heartfelt condolences to Varun and his family.

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Recently, the grapevine was afire with the news that Arjun Kapoor and Malaika had ended their four years relationship and Malaika had isolated herself, “sad and desolate”.

But we refused to believe it after all we recall how Arjun even when he was dating Arpita aeons ago, was supposedly infatuated with the much older “Mrs Robinson” Malaika. And sure enough Arjun put a lovey dovey picture of them to put all the nasty rumours to rest. True love, you see, never ends.

We love Neetu Kapoor’s spirit. She’s currently enjoying a detox trip with her “like-minded” friends on a yacht.

She put up a whole host of pictures on her social media of her steering the yacht, the azure seas and her beautiful friends. IIndeed, Neetu Kapoor is the captain of her life.

Talking about Neetu Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor has become the perfect boyfriend to Alia Bhatt.

Recently, they were spotted at an event and Ranbir was continuously fussing over Alia, from adjusting her dupatta to holding her tightly as they posed for the pap’s. So to all those naysayers who claim Ranbir is a habitual heartbreaker. Naah! We think this time, Ranbir has finally found his soul-mate!

Amitabh Bachchan on his father’s 19th death anniversary penned an emotional letter to his beloved babuji. He posted on twitter - A few moments ago he had breathed his last. My Father, as I held his hand, soft, still vibrant, the hand that wrote genius.” So beautiful!

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Lara Dutta who worked with both Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar was asked the difference between the two. She said, “Salman wakes up at midnight and all his calls come post midnight, while Akshay Kumar wakes up before everybody wakes up in life even now. Ha Ha!

Did you know that Amitabh Bachchan had caught Katrina Kaif and Gulshan Grover lip-locked once? Well, it was for the movie Boom and was supposed to be an on-screen intimate moment between both the actors. Both Gulshan and Kat were embarrassed and so they were practising to get it right.

Amitabh Bachchan walked in and started cheering them on and that got them more embarrassed. At the end, the scene had to be snipped out completely as it was too explosive for the Hindi cine goers.

Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna celebrate 21 years of togetherness and they whisked off to Ranthambore with their li’l one.

But Twinkle shared their hilarious exchange. She supposedly told Akki that if they had met today at a party, she was sure that they would have not spoken to each other. But the Khiladi quipped back saying, “I would have spoken to you.” Adding tongue-incheek, “I would have said ‘Hello Bhabhiji, how are your kids and husband?” Funny!

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It’s tough to be a star these days. Don’t believe us? Well, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh got brutally trolled recently. What happened was that they had come back from a vacay and the pap’s were waiting patiently for their fave stars to strike a pose. But no, ‘DeepVeer’ refused to play ball and they walked off leaving the pap’s fuming. What happened next was that the disgruntle pap’s posted pictures with a no show caption and the internet did the rest!

Shilpa Shetty too got trolled by the social media. For what?

Well, it was for adjusting her dress while posing for the pap’s and the videos of her doing so became viral. The digital citizens found the act too crass and poor Shilpa got a lot of flak for that.

Cat’s Crown

This month goes to...

Shahid Kapoor, In these times of uncertainties, Shahid and his wife Mira still find time to get lovey dovey with each other, and though they are always accompanied with their two adorable kids, but that doesn’t stop them from stealing a kiss or hugging each other.

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CO V E R S TOR Y

Will The ‘Superstar’ Khans manage to get back their position in 2022?

Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan have had a dream run at the box office for twenty years but now things have changed and their downslide has already begun. Sumita Chakraborty wonders whether the magical Khans can bounce back? Can they storm back on the number one position in 2022?

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sk any avid cine goer which stars have ruled Bollywood in the last two decades and more likely than not, the answer would be the magical ‘Khans’ – Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan. The Khans have enjoyed their superstar tags that veered from ‘Badshah’ to ‘Sultan’ and have been always considered head ‘n’ shoulders above the rest. Yes, Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh, Tiger Shroff, Ranbir Kapoor and some more younger stars have often challenged them at some point or the other but the end result was that, these young guns created a niche for themselves and the Khans

continued to rule the Hindi film industry.

But then the unexpected happened…

The pandemic hit the world and caused severe havoc. People were restricted from going out and a major lockdown happened. Theatres, malls and everything else closed down and a new norm of WFH (work from home) started. Suddenly, the world took a ‘360’ degrees turn and things changed drastically. Entertainment wise, the OTT platforms became larger than life and content became the real superstars. Sitting at home, viewers were exposed to world cinema and they started bingeing on good content.

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In comparison, the masala content of Bollywood seemed rather weak and puerile. Films that became huge successes only on the basis of who starred in them became a thing of the past and thus started the great change.

Newer directors and actors became the flavours of the OTT. Five years ago, Mirzapur and Inside Edge creator Karan Anshuman was shunned as a flop director. He had directed the dark Bangistan which was panned by the critics and the audience alike.

However with the resurgence of the OTT, his original series ‘Mirzapur’ and ‘Inside Edge’ took the digital domain by storm, thus ushering in a new revolution. From then on, series like ‘Family Man’, ‘Gullak’, ‘Mumbai Diaries’, ‘Bombay Begums’ created a unique celluloid revolution wowing the couch binging audience. This further created newer unlikely heroes like Mohit Raina,

It is a fact that much before the pandemic, the downslide for the Khans did initialise.

Ali Fazal, Manoj Bajpayee, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Abhishek Bannerjee, Pankaj Tripathi, Jaydeep Ahlawat – names that have been struggling for years, but suddenly, they were crowned as the new heroes of the OTT. Big stars that looked down at the OTT domain were now looking at it as the ‘go to’ medium. In fact, top directors and stars like Salman Khan were even releasing their films on the OTT platforms.

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So what changed things in the entertainment segment?

Karan Anshuman avers, “Making content that keep the audience engaged became the foremost thing. For me, the giant leap was from films to coming to the digital medium. This was the right time to do this, and bring about a pioneering change in the way we perceived content in India. This is the future. Many big stars will come on this platform, no doubt about it.

Everyone will be looking at this space.”

Adding, “It is important for me to be here and do something different. Here one has to make quality content that would keep the audience engaged.”

What happened to the Khans?

Coming back to the Khans… it is a fact that much before the pandemic, the downslide for the Khans did initialise.

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Suddenly, the world took a ‘360’ degrees turn and things changed drastically.

Entertainment wise, the OTT platforms became larger than life and content became the real superstars.

Salman Khan’s biggest blockbuster ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ was in 2017, after that though his film ‘Bharat’ was a hit while ‘Dabangg 3’ and Antim were semi hits – they were definitely not up to the mark for a Salman starrer which had the reputation of crossing 100 crores within the first two days itself. Even Salman’s blockbuster TV reality show Bigg Boss has been garnering poor TRPs of 1.1 this year.

Likewise, Shah Rukh Khan whose last few films ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ (2017), ‘Fan’ and ‘Zero’ (2018) were duds at the Box office. After that, Shah Rukh took a long hiatus. In fact, there was a huge buzz that Shah Rukh Khan was sitting at home and rethinking his career from scratch. He only started shooting for his next film Pathan in 2021.

Aamir too hasn’t had a dream run at the box office. His last hit film was ‘Dangal’ (2016) and after that both his films ‘Secret Superstar’ (2017) and ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ (2018) were super flops. The pandemic actually gave the Khans respite – a time to sit back and introspect what was going wrong with their careers.

In this new age world, concepts such as ‘superstardom’ have become obsolete.

Unknown and unexpected names are grabbing the superstar tag every week.

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What actually was hitting the Khans?

The Khans have ruled the roost for years but time ‘n’ tide changes and so it did for the three larger than life Khans too. At 55 plus, Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir were not being accepted by the young viewers as romantic heroes.

It was time for the Khans to play their age. Earlier anybody over 40 in Bollywood was relegated to “father’ roles but the Khans were not yet ready to relinquish their ‘superstar’ titles to act as daddies. So but obviously, they stopped connecting with the younger, more intelligent and well exposed to global cinema viewers, resulting in their films bombing at the box office.

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When asked why ‘Antim’ had a damp squib of an opening, Salman Khan insisted that there was a perception that he was only performing a cameo in the film, so the audience presumably shirked away from seeing the film initially in theatres.

The second reason could be the content itself. The Khans especially Salman was still stuck in the old much flogged masala formula that had given him hits twenty years ago. But it was obviously, not working now. It is a new world and the audience has changed. Shah Rukh after the flops of his last two films ‘Fan’ and ‘Zero’, did the wise thing – he just sat back and watched, while Aamir who always experiments started sitting at story narrations with new directors and storytellers.

Will the Khans get their superstardom back?

Perhaps not, in this new age world, concepts such as ‘superstardom’ have become obsolete. Unknown and unexpected names are grabbing the superstar tag every week. For instance, dubbed South film Pushpa: The Rise starring Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna has currently caught the nation’s imagination especially the Hindi belt and has become a superhit. This film has caused such havoc that a film like ‘83’ starring Ranveer Singh was blown to smithereens in front of it. So viewers are experimenting with content – be it Hindi or any other regional language - and embracing the new.

Filmmakers including the magical Khans have to battle not only the pandemic and the lockdown but also the changing taste of the viewers and also the supremacy of the OTT. What Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir should do?

In Hollywood, age is just a number.

Till date, Meryll Streep, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Robert de Niro are considered superstars and their films still do exceptionally well at the box office. The Khans already have a phenomenal following that look forward to their every film release so that’s half the battle done. All they need to do is connect with the youth and the new viewers of today, and of course, honestly have a long and hard look at the mirror for the correct answers. When asked why ‘Antim’ had a damp squib of an opening, Salman Khan insisted that there was a perception that he was only performing a cameo in the film, so the audience presumably shirked away from seeing the film initially in theatres.

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Perhaps the answer here is that the much-flogged content in ‘Antim’ has been done to death, if Salman who has some of the best story tellers, directors and talent at his beck ‘n’ call, could tap something newer and fresher, it would perhaps be more appreciated. Shah Rukh Khan supposedly has gone over and changed the content of ‘Pathan’ several times so that it could be his resurgence into this brave new world.

Aamir too who never shirks from experimenting on newer content, is currently working on Lal Singh Chadda but he too has postponed the release of his film several times perhaps because of the pandemic. In fact, several films from ‘Jersey’ to ‘RRR’ have been postponed because of the pandemic resurgence.

Indeed, times have changed.

Filmmakers including the magical Khans have to battle not only the pandemic and the lockdown but also the changing taste of the viewers and also the supremacy of the OTT. Can the Khan’s get back their fame, fortune and superstar tag again? We’ll just wait and watch…

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The Khans already have a phenomenal following that look forward to their every film release so that’s half the battle done. All they need to do is connect with the youth and the new viewers of today.

GET S NA PPY

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“I remember for the longest time whenever and wherever we would travel, people would chant, ‘How’s The Josh?’.”

– Yami Gautam It’s been three years since URI: The Surgical Strike …and what an overwhelming response it got then… In fact, the impact of this fabulously made film still remains as deep as ever. Yami Gautam, the female protagonist in the film who went from strength to strength after this film, has wonderful memories of this film directed by Aditya Dhar who incidentally is Yami’s husband now. Clocking three is indeed a big thing and so we caught up with Yami to find out her reflections on URI: The Surgical Strike.

Uniting the entire nation in one emotion of patriotism, URI: The Surgical Strike broke all records in 2019. While the film infused the ‘josh’ in the country, Yami Gautam inspired many young girls with her character of an Intelligence Officer.

Yami Gautam, has always impressed the audience more so for her flair for essaying diverse and strong female characters. But undoubtedly, she impressed the audience and critics alike with her ‘on point’ performance in the film.

As URI: The Surgical Strike clocks three years, Yami Gautam takes a stroll down the nostalgic lane. Here, she talks about her character, reactions, how the country would chant ‘how’s the Josh’ and more.

Tell us about your character in the film?

I look back at URI and my character Pallavi Sharma with a lot of fondness. It is a part where the director trusted me with a very assertive character, someone who shouldered a very crucial responsibility and became a part of the most successful collaboration for a mission. I am extremely fortunate to have gotten this opportunity of being a part of an outstanding script. URI is one of the finest team works I have seen in my career.

How did the audience react to your character?

The love and respect it earned from the Army and the audience made it even more special.

I remember for the longest time whenever and wherever we would travel, people would chant, ‘How’s The Josh?’. It felt like the entire country had come together. It felt like a wave and a beautiful sync within the country that was celebrating the Indian Army. So, the film will always remain very close to my heart.”

What’s next in the pipeline for you?

Multiple releases are on the horizon. I have A Thursday, Dasvi, OMG2, LOST, Dhoom Dhaam and an untitled project in the pipeline.

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I N FOC US

“I am a greedy actor and I want more!”

- Shefali Shah She’s a brilliant actor and has proved her mettle over and over again. Delhi Crime was, however, the icing on the cake when the world finally discovered Shefali Shah as being the fine actor she is. Here, Shefali Shah talks to Sumita Chakraborty about her new project ‘Human’, her journey with its twist ‘n’ turns and her take on ‘insiders versus outsiders’.

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Could you tell us about your OTT project Human?

‘Human’ is about the underbelly of the medical world. It’s about medical trials, and how the big pharma companies coax poor uneducated people with a little bit of money to undergo these track trials and also how poor people just for a little bit of money are ready to put their life at risk without knowing the repercussions of it. So that’s what ‘Human’ is about and it has three center characters i.e; Dr. Gauri Nath, Dr. Saira Sabharwal and there is Mangu who gets caught up in the web of the track trials.

So that is what ‘Human’ is all about.

Could you share anecdotes while shooting for it?

I don’t really remember any anecdote as such.

But I remember shooting my last sequence which was kind of scary. I was lying in the sand and the dogs were hovering around. Of course, these were trained dogs that are given to us for shooting. But it’s not like they were my dogs that they were absolutely comfortable and easy with me - and they wanted the dogs to come to me and sniff at me and be around 26

“I remember shooting my last sequence which was kind of scary.

I was lying in the sand and the dogs were hovering around.” me while I was lying in the sand. So the trainers told me to put beaten egg all over me so that the dogs would come close to me - and that didn’t work out very well so they put one of their favorite toy’s in the sand, right under my head and there were these ferocious dogs hovering all over me and not just me but everyone on the sets was very terrified because it would have taken just one little mistake or one dog getting aggressive, to change things.

I would have been the one who would have gotten completely impacted because I was completely exposed to these dogs and I have to lie there still so I remember that stink, how my team and everyone who was behind the monitor were scared and terrified and waiting for it to get over because we didn’t know how these dogs were going to react.

“Thank you for saying that I am a brilliant actor, but I think that finally I am getting the kind of work I want to do and finally I’m doing the kind of work I always aspired to do. It was not exactly easy.”

You’re a brilliant actor. Do you feel you’ve got your due from the industry?

Thank you for saying that I am a brilliant actor, Thank you very much… but I think that finally I am getting the kind of work I want to do and finally I’m doing the kind of work I always aspired to do. It was not exactly easy. It was a very long wait but I think it was worth it, I have always been lucky - blessed with love and respect. There was lots of appreciation but that didn’t exactly translate to work. But since the last two years, since Delhi Crime things have changed and there are people who look at me as a central cast, leads or parallel leads.

So there are amazing scripts, amazing roles, wonderful directors. And finally, I could say I’m getting my due… But I am a greedy actor and I want more.

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You’ve worked for Films, theatre, TV and now digital... Is there any marked difference working on these diverse platforms?

Whether, it’s a film or a play, or a short film or a show, an equal amount of effort goes into it but I must admit that when you are doing a series for an OTT platform, it’s a much longer content, so you can remember a two-hour film but remembering 10 hours of filming is very difficult and then you have to remember the trajectory of the person throughout the show. What she has gone through emotionally, physically, mentally…what has been her interaction with various people so every time I have a scene from episode 9 to shoot I would have to go back right to scratch from the first scene of the script till the 9th to see what has the journey been throughout, to reach the point which we are shooting in the 9th episode.

Could you tell us about your projects?

So last year I did six projects, I never worked so much in my entire life put together. I started with ‘Human’, then I went on to shooting for ‘Darlings’ which is directed by Jasmit Kaur - it has Alia, Roshan Mathew, Vijay Verma, and then I went on to do ‘Doctor G’, which is a very sweet and sensitive script.

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“Whether, it’s a film or a play, or a short film or a show, an equal amount of effort goes into it but I must admit that when you are doing a series for an OTT platform, it’s a much longer content.”

“So last year I did six projects, I never worked so much in my entire life put together.”

It’s an also amazing cast, it has Ayushmaan, Rakulpreet and so many other talented actors. Then I went to do ‘Jalsa’ which is directed by Suresh Triveni and it’s with Vidya and then I finished ‘Telegram 2’ and then I went on to do ‘3 of us’ which is directed by Adna Sharun who has made ‘Kila’ and won the National Award for it and that’s with Jaydeep Ahlawat and Swanand Kirkire.

There is a lot of debate on insiders versus outsiders. What’s your take on it?

Honestly, I don’t have a take about this debate about insiders and outsiders. I don’t even see what is the point of having this conversation. For example, if somebody owned some kind of business or a book store, it would be a natural thing to hand it over to their children so I don’t see why this should be a conversation at all about insiders or kids being from the industry getting better opportunities. I mean that’s what people do in various fields.

They hand over their businesses; they hand over their lineages to their children.

“Honestly, I don’t have a take about this debate about insiders and outsiders. I don’t even see what is the point of having this conversation.”

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“I worked with such amazing people all of them have been fantastic on every project. I have worked with Amit Ji - what an honour, I have gone on to work with Priyanka or Ranveer then I have the opportunity to work with Alia and Kriti, Swanand Kirkire and Jaydeep Ahlawat, Atul Kumar, Ram, Naseer Bhai in Monsoon Weddings.”

So really I don’t see the point of this conversation. And it doesn’t mean that they don’t have to work - they will have to work equally hard as outsiders do.

Who are your favourite co stars and why?

Honestly, I worked with such amazing people - all of them have been fantastic on every project. I have worked with Amit Ji - what an honour, I have gone on to work with Priyanka or Ranveer then I have the opportunity to work with Alia and Kriti, Swanand Kirkire and Jaydeep Ahlawat, Atul Kumar, Ram, Naseer Bhai in Monsoon Weddings. They are such amazing actors.

So I have been really been lucky that I worked with these brilliant, ridiculously talented, and incredible actors, and who are wonderful people.

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STARDUS T S P O T L I G HT

Is Salman Khan in love again?

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There is this beautiful Hollywood female actor Samantha Lockwood who supposedly is creating quite a buzz in Salman Khan’s life. Sumita Chakraborty probes deeper to find out more.

The biggest and the most profound question in India besides when the dreaded pandemic will end, is and will always be when Salman Khan will get married? It’s like a national issue and just the way, there is no proper answer to the end of the pandemic, likewise uptil now, there has been no definite answer to when our Bollywood’s beloved Sultan will get married?

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He’s had relationships with some of the most beautiful women in the country but let’s admit it, nothing has tempted the Tiger to settle down in holy matrimony.

The closest to him getting married is supposedly according to Salman Khan himself, was to one of his earlier girlfriends Sangeeta Bijlani almost three decades ago and at that point, even the wedding cards were printed. But unfortunately, that didn’t see the light of day and Sangeeta went on to marry cricketer Azharuddin.

Now of course, she’s separated from Azhar and lives in Mumbai and is often seen with Salman but so is rumoured girlfriend lulia Vantur, who is admittedly seen at times somewhere in the background, yet Bhaijaan to be honest, doesn’t seem to be a whit bit interested in these women.

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I had interviewed Salman Khan in the garden of his Galaxy apartment some time ago for the Stardust cover and Iulia Vantur arrived dressed nattily in athleisure. She gave her rumoured boyfriend Salman a peck on his cheek and went on to run around the garden and Salman in circles. Salman, honestly, didn’t bat an eyelid and went on fielding my questions like the professional he is. But I did notice Iulia continuously stealing glances at Salman. Salman was however too busy answering the Stardust questions. Of course even after we’ve spotted Iulia accompany Salman to his farm house but Salman has never acknowledged her as his girlfriend.

But recently things changed. No, we aren’t talking about ex girlfriend Katrina Kaif getting married to Vicky Kaushal and not inviting Salman and his family to the wedding, that, he seemed to take in his stride. But the first whiff of something cooking was when Salman confessed to the housemates of Bigg Boss that “it’s difficult coping with a girlfriend’s tantrums and he said, he is “jhailofying (tolerating) it”.

Until somebody spotted a young Hollywood female actor Samantha Lockwood around Salman.

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But obviously, everybody’s ears perked up. Who was he talking about? It couldn’t be Iulia – in fact recently, Salman was even trolled rather brutally for walking rather arrogantly into the lift to Arpita and Ayush’s apartment not bothering to wait for Iulia – the lift doors actually closed on her face – and there she was left all alone to face the paps.

So was it her or somebody else that was suddenly tugged at the cockles of Salman’s heart? Whispers rose to a vociferous crescendo. It didn’t seem like any of Salman’s “usual suspect” girlfriends, was it? …Until somebody spotted a young Hollywood female actor Samantha Lockwood around Salman.

The 20 something Samantha has acted in Shoot The Hero and Hawaii Five-O in Hollywood but recently, she’s been seen rubbing shoulders with Bollywood sparklers in Tinsel Town. The reason for everybody talking about her and Salman was because she was first spotted at the 56th birthday celebration of the superstar. Salman too posed for photographs with her and he definitely looked as if he enjoyed the company.

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The first whiff of something cooking was when Salman confessed to the housemates of Bigg Boss that “it’s difficult coping with a girlfriend’s tantrums and he said, he is “jhailofying (tolerating) it”.

Salman actually confessed to Dibang, ABP former news reader who had come to Bigg Boss to be a part of the media panel that he is thinking of “settling down”.

But the reason for the grapevine to take note of her presence in Salman’s life was because suddenly Salman was himself talking about his personal life that too on a national platform like Bigg Boss. First, he admitted he had to tackle his girlfriend’s tantrums and then he actually confessed to Dibang, ABP former news reader who had come to Bigg Boss to be a part of the media panel that he is thinking of “settling down” but when questioned again, he laughed it off by saying “bolna padta hain”. But something was definitely happening in Salman’s personal life.

And since Salman was so cagey about his personal life, the media caught hold of Samantha and asked her about her link-up with the superstar, after all there was no smoke without a fire.

Samantha in an interview with a website rather defensively said, “I think people talk a lot. I think people can say a lot about nothing.

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Samantha insisted that Salman’s hit film Sultan is her ‘favourite movie from Bollywood at the moment.

I met Salman and he’s a very nice guy, that’s all there is to say about that. So I don’t know where people get that idea from. I mean I met him, I met Hrithik, nobody says anything about me and Hrithik. So I don’t know where this news comes from but obviously, it gets spun out of proportion.”

Perhaps to push the attention away it all, Samantha posted a picture of her with Hrithik and captioned it: “Fun to meet this actor who also comes from a movie family, loves action and Hawaii … superstar @hrithikroshan.” Hmm… but on the other end, Samantha insisted that Salman’s hit film Sultan is her ‘favourite movie from Bollywood at the moment.

So for the moment, we don’t really know what exactly is happening but something is definitely abuzz in our ‘till now Brahmachari’ Sultan’s personal life? Will Salman Khan reveal the details in full soon? Watch this space for more.

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STAR LIS T

Fabulous

Five!

Presenting five of the most desirable Bollywood heroes whom we are DYING to watch in 2022!

2022 has begun, and so is our excitement to watch the leading men of the industry capture our screens with their power-packed performances, to-die-for looks and irresistible charm! From impressing the fans with their craft, to making them skip a beat with their persona - these heroes tick all boxes of a quintessential dream man!

Let’s look at the five most desirable men of the Hindi Film Industry to watch out for in 2022.

Vicky Kaushal Vicky Kaushal has the power to raise the ‘Josh’ among the audience with his mere presence.

Tall, dark, and handsome - the actor is the perfect definition of a dreamy man! With his Army Avatar in Uri - The Surgical Strike, the hero became the nation’s crush. After essaying Sardar Uddham, he is ready to mint love with his next Sam Bahadur due 2022.

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Varun Dhawan The mass entertainer hero Varun Dhawan boasts a massive female fan following owing to his deadly combination of sharp looks, witty humour, and killer dancing moves. The actor is undisputedly one of the hottest men on the block. While he made a splash with Coolie No. 1, the coming year will watch him in Bhediya and Jug Jugg Jeeyo.

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Aditya Roy Kapur There is not an ounce of doubt that Aditya Roy Kapur is one of the most loved heroes in today’ time. With his sculpted body and infectious smile, the actor is guilty of making female fans go weak on their knees. The star’s flair for music is a brownie point! 2022 will see the handsome star headlining OM, Thadam remake, and Hindi adaptation of The Night Manager.

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Ranbir Kapoor One can’t talk about desirable men and not have Ranbir Kapoor on the list. From his innocent smile to the boy-next-door vibe, the star has been ruling the hearts since his debut. 2022 holds a bigger surprise for his fans as he will make a comeback after three years with Brahmāstra and Shamshera.

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Ranveer Singh It is Ranveer Singh’s flamboyance that makes him all shades beguiling! The actor holds command over the audience with his quirky looks, infectious energy and unparalleled screen presence. Over the years, the actor has earned himself a massive fan base across the nation. This year will see him in Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Cirkus.

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STARDUS T EX CL U SI V E

Why is

‘

’

the film such a huge flop?

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This Kabir Khan directed, Ranveer Singh starrer film had everything, yet it has flopped colossally badly. Sumita Chakraborty analyses why?

Critics, even the hard-nosed ones who quibble about one and one-and-a--half stars, gave it a five-on-five star rating, die-hard fans have been raving about it, researchers claim no Bollywood film has been as well researched as this one… yet this film is supposedly one of Bollywood’s biggest flops in the history of Indian cinema.

Yes, we are talking about the Kabir Singh directed, Ranvir Singh starrer ‘83’, which has earned Ranveer a lot of critical acclaim, yet it is supposedly a box office failure. Why? There are several reasons for it. Of course, the pandemic can be called the main villain for the film’s doom – the third wave being the reason for its flop to a large extent. Due to strict action taken to prevent the virus from spreading, the Maharashtra government restricted the theatres to fifty percent of its capacity which cut off a chunk of the earning, so the earnings at theatres weren’t all that great - supposedly, ‘83’ just earned 98 crores in theatres.

But having said that, South film ‘Pushpa’ and ‘Spiderman No Way Home’ have done phenomenally well and are still running to full houses till date. Not to forget, ‘Sooryavanshi; too did very well in theatres when it was released during Diwali. So what went wrong with ‘83’?

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Not Promoted Well A few critics claim that the film has not been promoted well before its release.

Yes, they had a huge release in Dubai where Deepika Padukone and Ranvir and many cricketers including Kapil Dev witnessed a phenomenal light installation of the film on iconic monuments. This was definitely fabulous but other than that, things on the promotional side were rather subdued. Perhaps this hit the film hard. In fact, a distributer in Gujarat claim that theatres in the rural belt were empty simply because the viewers from those regions were not even aware that the film had been released.

Budget Woes?

The film was made on a huge budget which crossed supposedly 250 crores.

Don’t forget two of the most expensive actors – Ranveer and Deepika Padukone 46

were in it – agreed Deepika was one of the producers but the media was abuzz that she was paid more than Ranveer for this film. And to top it the returns have been rather poor – almost 185 crores covering India and abroad, which also include 60 crores being bought by an OTT platform. Rather poor in terms of what the film should have really reaped, right?

Blame It On Covid?

Director Kabir Khan in an interview said that there was indeed a ‘sense of disappointment’, as his film had become a ‘huge victim’ of the third wave. He said that the day the film released, two states announced night curfews. By day two, six states had cancelled the night shows and by the fourth day, Delhi had shut down the theatres. He acknowledged the adverse effect it had on the film,

and understood the paranoia of the audience as the cases were increasing.

Kabir said, “There’s a sense of disappointment that our timing was all wrong.”

Producer Ajay Rai whose ‘Tabbar’ did stupendously well, in an interview, too takes up cudgels for the film.

He avers. “Whatever its box office performance—and let’s not forget ‘83’ was released when the third wave of the pandemic was around the corner— the film is as brilliant as ‘Lagaan’, the other cricket masterpiece. A film’s quality cannot be judged against its box office performance. Even today we talk about Guru Dutt’s ‘Kagaz Ke Phool’ and Raj Kapoor’s ‘Mera Naam Joker’ which were declared flops when released.”

Docu-Drama?

Agreed, however though a lot of diehard cricket fans loved the film yet many millennia’s who perhaps were not even born during India’s phenomenal win, could not even connect to the film.

Many felt it was more of a docu drama and the cricket in it went on and on.

Critics, even the hard-nosed ones who quibble about one and one-and-a--half stars, gave it a five-on-five star rating yet this film is supposedly one of Bollywood’s biggest flops in the history of Indian cinema.

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There was indeed a ‘sense of disappointment’, as the film had become a ‘huge victim’ of the third wave.”

– Kabir Khan

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“There are several reasons attributed to a movie’s failure but this time ‘83’s debacle is because of its docudrama genre and timing its release so close to Spiderman and more so ‘Pushpa’.

– Suneel Darshan Producer Suneel Darshan in an interview claims, “There are several reasons attributed to a movie’s failure but this time ‘83’s debacle is because of its docu-drama genre and timing its release so close to Spiderman and more so ‘Pushpa’ which have collectively snatched away Rs 100 crore of boxoffice takings in their second week.”

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It Was Pushpa?

Film critic Narendra Gupta who gave it 5 on 5 insisted that after Diwali, the audience was waiting for a big film to come along.

But Bunty Aur Babli, Tadap and Antim let them down badly. “Pushpa came before 83, it came at the right time when people were looking forward to a great entertainer. Normally dubbed films from the south don’t do so well out here. But Pushpa was promoted well, the trailer was very good and the film fetched excellent reviews. Still, because dubbed films don’t normally do well, Pushpa had a weak opening of only Rs 2.5 crore. It picked up gradually and then held on despite strong competition from Spider-Man. Pushpa was a full-on, three-hour entertainment package. People even started comparing it to Bahubali. There were a lot of factors that worked in its favour to make it register worldwide collections of Rs 350 crore.”

Trade guru Taran Adarsh too claimed when interviewed, “There’s no denying the fact that ‘83’ is an extremely well-made film, but, unfortunately, the praise, the accolades, the critical acclaim and the strong word of mouth hasn’t translated or converted into footfalls.

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‘Pushpa’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, released one week before, continued to pose stiff opposition to ‘83’ in mass belt and metros, respectively.

The moviegoers felt these two films were better alternatives than ‘83’.”

- Taran Adarsh

Will it go down the annals of History like ‘Swades’ and other cult films that perhaps fared badly at the box-office but are still remembered?

We don’t think so!

The film has worked at select metros, that too at premium multiplexes.

Outside metros and especially at smaller centres/mass belt, the film has not found acceptance. The expected numbers are missing. One of the reasons could be that people found it to be a docudrama. It appealed more to the big city audience, the mass belt just did not take to it - especially the youth and those who relish masala fares.”

He added, “’83’ has it all - it was very well made with strong emotions as its USP. The release period was most appropriate too. Christmas and New Year celebrations are one of the most lucrative periods as far as the movie business is concerned. Unfortunately, ‘83’ did not take off the way it should have. ‘Pushpa’ and ‘Spider-Man: No

Way Home’, released one week before, continued to pose stiff opposition to ‘83’ in mass belt and metros, respectively.

The moviegoers felt these two films were better alternatives than ‘83’.”

Sad but true! Indeed ‘83’ which to be fair to it, is a well-made film that has been researched extremely well.

Unfortunately, perhaps the timings didn’t work in favour for the makers.

Will it go down the annals of History like ‘Swades’ and other cult films that perhaps fared badly at the boxoffice but are still remembered?

We don’t think so! Though a very good movie, it’s more like an autobiography and a docu-drama than an entertaining film so it’s appeal is restricted to mostly die-hard cricket fans and people over the age of 40.

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MELODY ALE RT

‘Sakht Jaan is a powerful rock song and I had to maintain the energy throughout the whole song. It’s an inspirational anthem.” – Amit Mishra 52

His

recent release Sakth Jaan for the film 83 is a blockbuster hit.

He’s one of Bollywood’s most talented and loved singers – popular with music directors and the audience. Meet the super talented Amit Mishra who talks to Sumita Chakraborty about Sakht Jaan, his musical journey and more.

Amit, you are a singer par excellence and you have sung so many fab songs, the latest being Sakht Jaan from 83, how did that happen?

I got a call from Pritam (Chakraborty) Da’s team for the voice test. I recorded the mukhda first and then after a week, I recorded the antara …and I recorded the full song in 3-4 sessions.

Dada gave me a brief about the song that it’s a powerful rock song. I had to maintain the energy throughout the whole song and the pronunciation of each word needed to be correct.

It’s an inspirational anthem. With his guidance, I did just that. I would like to thank the whole team. I would also like to congratulate Pritam Da and his team for this project. People have been appreciating the song and liking it as well.

You have worked with some of the biggest musical maestros in the industry, is there anybody else you really want to work with and why?

I’ve got the chance to work with the maestros of the industry. I’m lucky and blessed enough to work along with the greatest of all time musicians including Mr. Pritam Da and Sajid-Wajid Sir, Mr Rochak Kohli,

Mr Tanishk Baagchi, DJ Chetas and so many more. I would really like to work with the greatest Mr Vishal & Shekhar, and Salim-Sulaiman Sahab. I hope my dream comes true and I’ll get the best songs to record for everyone including Himesh Reshammiya sahab.

There’s an endless list of maestros in the music industry and I hope I get a chance to record for all of them very soon.

How did you come to Mumbai and kick-start your career here?

I came to Mumbai for the first time in 2011 for Idea Rocks India on Colors Channel, it was a band competition and I was amongst the top four along with my band-mates.

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Later after getting back to Lucknow, I asked my parents to allow me to go to Mumbai and learn music and do studio sessions and get into Bollywood. They allowed me to get back to Mumbai in 2011 and soon I got the chance to record and interact in the studios and there I met brilliant musicians and technicians and of course the Bollywood fraternity. I was a learner that time and I’m still learning - trying to upgrade myself every day. I’m looking forward to the future for many more good experiences and to level up with every song I sing. The kick-start was Pritam Da’s ‘Mann Ma Emotion’, before that song I got a chance to work with brilliant people from this Bollywood including Mr Chirantan Bhatt, Suneel Darshan, Mr Prashant, Mr Rashid Khan, Palak Muchhal and 54

I’m blessed enough to sing for Pritam Da who gave a kickstart to my career with Mann Ma Emotion, Sau Tarah Ke, Galti Se Mistake, Bulleya, Allah Duhai Hai, Sajan Radio and now Sakht Jaan.

I’m really happy and looking forward to working even more in a better, smarter and harder way You have sung in so many languages, a little bit about this?

It’s a really good when you record a different language. I come from a background where I mostly communicate in Hindi and English. I got the opportunity to record in so many songs in different languages and learn different languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali as well.

It’s been a great experience to work along with the language supervisors and composers - and I really appreciate that they considered me good enough to record for their projects and I’m really happy that they tried my voice for their songs. I wish to level up even more in future. …Any memorable anecdote in your musical journey that you would like to share with us?

There have been a lot of fun moments during studio sessions and live concerts as well. I wasn’t aware that I’m supposed to sing Bulleya. It was a super fun moment for me when I went to the cinema hall to watch Rockstar and I was looking at the screen and my friends were looking at me, and

then I confirmed that it’s my voice! So they were very happy. There are a lot of different experiences working with Nakash Aziz, Sid Sriram, Shalmali Kholgade, Antara Mitra, Jonita Gandhi and Nikita Gandhi. It’s been great working with all of them.

What about the digital platform – are you also straddling the OTT along with films?

In the beginning itself, my first project for the OTT platform was Rajma Chawal for Rishi Kapoor Sahab and it was an honour for me to record four tracks for the same project for Mr Hitesh Sonik - and Mr Irshad Kamil penned it. It was an honor for me. I’ve already given my playback for the OTT platforms.

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I’m looking forward for my upcoming OTT project as well for Amazon - I got a chance to work with Mr Sachin-Jigar Sir - the song’s name is Naya Safar. I’m pretty open to record for OTT platforms as well. One of my recent OTT releases was Velle starring Mr Abhay Deol. It was an honor to sing for him as well that was JAM8 project. It was Subhadip Mishra songs. I really appreciate that they trusted in my voice and allowed me to record some amazing new age music tracks. I’m lucky to work with more such platforms.

Do you think you have got your due in the industry?

This is a very interesting question I would 56

say! I’m still working hard on that and I’m trying to keep that consistency in my work and studio sessions. Working hard and smart enough to get my exact due, I’m constantly trying to give my best so that people give me songs and allow me to give my best to the best songs.

And I absolutely give more than 100% to every song.

The pandemic caused havoc in everybody’s life, how did you cope with the lockdown and everything else?

It was a tough situation for everyone.

I handled it well because of the moral support of my parents. I learned and realized so many things during lockdown.

To be kind and humble is the key and trust the utmost happiness. I have done all this involving myself into music, production. I just wish that the lord is

kind to everyone and people get healthy and fit in this journey. I’m trying to cope up with the situation. May Mata Rani bless everyone with good health.

What are your upcoming projects?

There’s one upcoming song ‘Naya Safar’ for Amazon Prime where I got a chance to record for Mr Sachin Jigar. Another upcoming project called Jamroom by Jam8 is in the pipeline. I’m looking forward to this project as I’m collaborating with Jonita Gandhi and Rapper Akshay Dhawan. There are some more projects from Voila Digi. There’ll be singles and non-filmy songs and some Bollywood projects as well and also projects where I get a chance to perform live soon.

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Stardust on the go Disha Patani looks smokin’ hot

Tiger Shroff poses for the camera

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Are actors outside their shooting world as glamorous as they look on the silver screen? Can female actors in Tinsel Town be good friends?

Who are the new lovebirds in B-town? Team Stardust brings you a bird eye’s view into the private lives of Tinsel Town eye candies.

When Anil Kapoor met Hrithik Roshan

Shradha Kapoor taking a power nap

Water babe - Kiara Advani

Katrina Kaif smiles happily at the camera

Is that a mermaid? Is that Janhvi Kapoor

Kriti Sanon looking gorgeous in orange

Sidharth Malhotra strikes a pose

Parineeti Chopra enjoying herself in New York

All’s good in Arjun Kapoor and Malaika’s paradise

Siddhant Chaturvedi goes biking

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StarrySashay ‘Tis the New Year… and nothing looks as alluring as a woman in an exquisite evening gown. Sensuous, sexy and sensational, gowns give the party season a magical vibe, and so do our Bollywood beauties in them. Whether it’s a fitting gown, an Elizabethan inspired ballooned one or a stunning thigh slit gown... on the fashion scale, the trend factor goes super high. And guess what, these gorgeous female actors in gowns ace the style game every single time.

That’s right... you just can’t go wrong in a gown. It always raises the temp sky high.

So what are you waiting for…? Get your rating grades and mark the female actors and their evening gowns - who flaunted it best? Who looked the hottest?

Deepika Padukone

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Sara Ali Khan

Alia Bhatt

Katrina Kaif

Kareena Kapoor Khan

Priyanka Chopra

Kiara Advani

Kriti Sanon

Sonam Kapoor

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Madhuri Dixit

Parineeti Chopra

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MUS IC ROOM

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“ACTORS ARE SINGING TOO, AND SINGERS ARE ACTING TOO. I DON’T THINK THAT CREATIVE FORMS OF EXPRESSION NEED TO BE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.”

– JONITA GANDHI

Known for her super hits songs including The Breakup Song, Chellamma, Dil Ka Telephone and OMG Ponnu amongst many, Jonita Gandhi needs no introduction. Here, she talks to Sumita Chakraborty about her music journey from Canada to Mumbai, being exposed to a potpourri of music and much more.

Jonita Gandhi who paved her journey from self-shot YouTube videos in her hometown in Canada to international recognition has proven her mettle with her effortless delivery across languages and genres. In fact, Jonita was also seen on the famous Times Square Billboard along with Badshah, Yuvan Shankar Raja, and Uchana Amit for their multi-lingual collaboration ‘Top Tucker’ .

Recently again she was displayed on New York Square Billboard for her recent Punjabi single NaNa with Mickey Singh. The song has crossed 12M+ views on YouTube and currently, the duo has also released their single ‘4AM’ which is the chartbuster trending on all the online streaming sites. Jonita recently shot her new single ‘Chal Koi Na’ in Hawaii which is winning everyone’s heart and trending on all the Streaming platforms. Here in an exclusive interview, Jonita talks about music, Bollywood and more.

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Jonita, I believe you are from Canada but you have sung in so many Indian languages including Hindi, so you have been exposed to a potpourri of wonderful music… How much has your musical journey been impacted by this?

It’s definitely been a blessing! I love experimenting with songs in new languages and genres and having the opportunity to do that regularly has helped me explore nuances that I can carry forward through my music. In a way, I think being exposed to a potpourri of music has helped me develop a unique sound for myself. In the process, I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many amazing musicians from around the world, and I’ve been able to connect with music lovers across cultures.

“I love experimenting with songs in new languages and genres and having the opportunity to do that regularly has helped me explore nuances that I can carry forward through my music.”

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“Around that time they had been working on the title track of Chennai Express. He had already seen me on YouTube and asked if I wanted to try the song so my ‘fight or flight’ instincts kicked in and I gave it a shot.”

You worked with some of the biggest talents -AR Rahman, Vishal Shekhar to so many others, could you tell us about that?

I have no idea where to begin, haha. Like I said before, it’s been a blessing. Growing up in Canada, I would admire them from afar - I’d watch them on reality shows and wonder what it would be like to work with them. To now collaborate with them is nothing short of a dream come true.

Working with each music director is a unique experience and they all have their own style and ways of working. I’ve learned so much from all of them, not just about music and the process, but about myself and my abilities as well. Whether it’s on stage, in the studio or in a social setting, the experience is always memorable.

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“From back-to-back touring and almost missing flights, to recordings and shows where I’ve been ill but still performed, to crazy on-site accidents, to extremely hearttouching fan interactions… it has been and it continues to be a colourful ride.”

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“I don’t think I get as excited about having particular actresses be the face of my voice anymore. As an artist, I get more excited about the music and whether I can add something special to the song / film.”

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How did you come to Mumbai and kick-start your career here?

Before I moved to India, I was putting out covers on YouTube. It was a great way for me to get a bit of exposure and validation, which I think I really needed back then. Once I graduated from the university and realized that people were loving my covers online, that’s when I gathered the courage to visit Mumbai and see where it takes me. When I first came to Mumbai, I knew nothing about the industry - I just decided to give professional singing a shot and see what would happen. I had a friend who worked as a sound engineer at Vishal-Shekhar’s studio at the time (shout-out to Abhishek Ghatak), and thanks to him, I chanced a meeting with Vishal Dadlani! I guess the rest is history - he heard me sing and recorded me for a film song that they were working on. When I met him, I found out that people in the industry had heard my covers long before they even knew I was in India.

“I’m straddling Bollywood film songs, OTT songs, YouTube covers, regional projects, independent collaborations, brand songs, pop singles and more.”

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“It’s cool to experiment.

After all, there is an audience for everything.”

Chennai Express got you a lot of accolades, how did you get that break?

As I mentioned, my friend Abhishek Ghatak was working as a sound engineer at Vishal-Shekhar’s studio. I went to visit him at work and we bumped into Vishal Dadlani, who had been passing through by chance. Around that time they had been working on the title track of Chennai Express. He had already seen me on YouTube and asked if I wanted to try the song so my ‘fight or flight’ instincts kicked in and I gave it a shot.

Little did I know, that would become my debut song in Bollywood. …Any memorable anecdote in your musical journey that you would like to share with us?

Every day is a new adventure. From back-to-back touring and almost missing flights, to recordings and shows where I’ve been ill but still performed, to crazy on-site accidents, to extremely hearttouching fan interactions… it has been and it continues to be a colourful ride.

What about the digital platform – are you also straddling the OTT along with films?

I’m straddling Bollywood film songs, OTT songs, YouTube covers, regional projects, independent collaborations, brand songs, pop singles and more.

“I think I have a long way to go and a lot more to grow. I’m looking forward to leaving behind a legacy with my music.”

“The pandemic has been extremely tough on a lot of people, including those of us in the entertainment industry.”

I love keeping a variety of different kinds of projects on the roster at any given time. It helps to keep things exciting and also gives me the opportunity to explore different facets of my craft!

You were the voice for Deepika Padukone and so many leading ladies, do you have any bucket list to sing for any particular actors in Bollywood?

I don’t think I get as excited about having particular actresses be the face of my voice anymore. As a fan of films, I definitely have some favourites when it comes to actors. But as an artist, I get more excited about the music and whether I can add something special to the song / film.

Actors have started singing too, what do you think of this?

Yes and I don’t think this is new. Actors are singing too, and singers are acting too. I don’t think that creative forms of expression need to be mutually exclusive. It’s cool to experiment. After all, there is an audience for everything.

Do you think you have got your due in the industry?

I think I have a long way to go and a lot more to grow. I’m looking forward to leaving behind a legacy with my music. Let’s come back to this question when I’m retired. haha.

The pandemic caused havoc in everybody’s life, how did you cope with the lockdown and everything else?

The pandemic has been extremely tough on a lot of people, including those of us in the entertainment industry. With performances and events coming to a halt, I think many of us found ourselves experiencing anxiety from all the uncertainty. I’m so grateful that I was able to be at home with my family in Canada through large parts of the pandemic.

And I used the time to reprioritize self care as well as clarify my priorities. In fact, I would almost say that the time off was a blessing in disguise for me personally.

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m o r f t s a l B t s a p e th

The Priyanka Kareena Hostilities Flare Up Again!

Catfights are legendary in Bollywood. But the Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor battles are remembered even today.

Though they supposedly kissed ‘n’ made up on KJo’s plush couch on Koffee With Karan – we think these two mercurial female superstars are quiet on the war front simply because they have been separated by two continents. Priyanka is busy chasing Hollywood dreams while Kareena is chasing her two moppets Taimur and Jeh. Let’s flip through the pages of Stardust of the past to read more about the PeeCee- Kareena’s pow wows.

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There’s a popular belief (not without good reason) in Bollywood – two actresses can never be friends.

Especially when they’re in the same league, things become all the more difficult. The professional hostilities more than often start affecting personal equations. And for today’s blithe and care-a-damn girls, it doesn’t make much of a difference when the clash becomes public either. Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are renowned for their rather volatile camaraderie. At times, they’ve refused to acknowledge each other’s presence in public. And there have been instances when they’ve expressed a warm friendship, purely for the cameras’ sake. At the Max Stardust Awards recently, everyone was not surprised when the two actresses sat next to each other without even exchanging a polite hello. However when the shutterbugs closed in, they started talking to each other like longlost BFFs, proving that they are better actresses off screen. Within their own coterie, of course, they don’t make any bones about their rancor.

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Over the past few months, the game of one-upmanship has gathered a new momentum. And everyone’s now wondering whether it’s because of the sudden entry of Bebo’s ex-fl ame chocolate-boy Shaahid Kapoor into Priyanka’s life that’s renewed the friction between the two actresses.

Kareena and Priyanka have always had a very uncertain relationship.

Initially, it seemed the girls shared warm vibes and even went out on double dates together with their respective boyfriends (Shaahid and Harman Baweja) at that time. They always had good things to say about each other in print too. Things took an unexpected turn when Kareena, on Karan Johar’s popular talk show maintained that the equation had changed and they were merely acquaintances now. Even Priyanka was taken aback when she heard that.

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Adding insult to the injury, Bebo took pot-shots at PC’s acting skills in an interview to a leading daily. But Priyanka was not one to take an injury lying down and proved she was made of tougher stuff when she hit back with a vengeance in a magazine interview when she took a dig at Kareena’s ‘Jab We Met’ success story by stating that the well deserved kudos came after a wait of eight long years. And everything rapidly went downhill from this point. These happenings merely made everyone

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conclude that they were never really friends to begin with. The two stars have always been pitted against each other because they’ve been the closest contemporaries for the top crown. The first time the claws were out in the open was during the making of the AbbasMustan directed film ‘Aitraaz’, starring Akshay Kumar. Even though Kareena was the bigger star then, Priyanka walked away with all the awards and accolades thanks to her negative and glamorously etched out role in the movie.

The war begun when Priyanka maintained she was the main protagonist of the film while Kareena stated that she was the leading lady.

The girls also shared an icy cold relationship even when they acted in ‘Don’ together. Kareena only did a special appearance in the movie, but was more talked about than Priyanka, who was the lead. Even though they just had a couple of scenes with each other, the unit was abuzz with tales about hostilities between the two on the sets. There were times when even Shah Rukh Khan would crack jokes about it. Over the last year, this clash has become more intense as they race towards the finishing line – the prize

being the much-coveted numero uno position in Bollywood. Priyanka and Harman were in a steady relationship when Kareena was approached to do Harman’s mega-debut ‘Love Story 2050’. Kareena knowing well that Harman was Piggy Chops’ boyfriend, put down her terms, perhaps in a bid to dissuade the producers. She quoted an enormous figure and was even more surprised when Harry Baweja agreed to it. However despite that, when Bebo developed cold feet soon after and walked out of the film, people attributed that to Priyanka’s presence in Harman’s life. Eventually, Priyanka stepped into her nemesis’ shoes to salvage the situation.

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One even hears that when boyfriend Saif Ali Khan was working on his home production with Imtiaz Ali, one of the director’s choices for the leading role was Priyanka. But later, Deepika Padukone was pencilled in for the same role. Insiders insist that the size76

zero sensation had a part to play in that but the Kapoor girl hasn’t ever spoken about it. The last few months have been particularly stressful for both the heroines. And incidentally, it’s all happening thanks to the entry of Shaahid Kapoor in Priyanka’s life.

A close friend of Kareena discloses, “It’s not that she is jealous of Shaahid and Priyanka. Kareena is well over Shaahid and she just wants the best for him.

It’s bothering her because she believes Priyanka is just not the right girl for him.”

Kareena has never had an issue with

any of the other girls Shaahid was linked with – Sania Mirza and Vidya Balan. “In fact, when they bumped into each other once, Kareena had teased Shaahid about the many women in his life,” reveals our informer. But she’s certainly peeved with the Priyanka episode.

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“Bebo is hopelessly in love with Saif.

But she also feels very protective of Shaahid... She just feels Priyanka isn’t the right one for him and the sooner he realises it, the better it is for him” The first time this came to the fore was when Shaahid hosted a party to celebrate his birthday at a popular suburban five-star hotel. It’s a small world, and via Shaahid and Kareena’s common friends, she heard about how the Chopra lass was taking charge of the entire party and officiating as the hostess. Kareena was shocked when she heard that the former Miss World was calling the guests herself and was taking care of the minutest details, as if she wanted to make sure nothing went wrong for her man on his special day. “What upsets Kareena is the fact that Priyanka is not acknowledging her relationship with Shaahid.

Shaahid doesn’t mind going public but Priyanka doesn’t want to. By doing this, Kareena feels Priyanka is demeaning Shaahid. She doesn’t want Shaahid to go through what happened with Harman,” says our source.

Kareena decided to hit back by having her own party on the same night. It was a last minute call and some of the guests were obviously common.

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So they all had to eventually shuttle between the two venues. The belligerence blew through the roof and came into full public eye finally a week later at Ali Morani’s party. Kareena came with Saif and the two were (as usual) glued to one another. Then when Priyanka made an entry with Shaahid (probably their first official public appearance together) – they had everyone talking in hushed whispers on whether they had finally decided to go public with their relationship.

Naturally, the highlight of the night was when the two couples came face to face in front of everyone – and they just looked through each other and walked away, without even exchanging pleasantries. It was the talk of the evening – how Priyanka and Kareena gave each other the royal snub. Like a designer friend of Kareena puts it, “Bebo is hopelessly in love with Saif. But she also feels very protective of Shaahid. They have been in touch and she wants good things to happen to him.

She just feels Priyanka isn’t the right one

for him and the sooner he realises it, the better it is for him.” This just goes to prove that even though Bebo is not a part of Shasha’s life, she’s still concerned for his welfare and obviously wants just the best things for him in life. What started out as a modified catfight between two actresses is slowly reaching the proportions of a fullblown battle. It seems, at this point, the only person who can do anything to even remotely salvage the situation is Shaahid Kapoor, by standing up and reclaiming his life. Shasha, are you listening?

FAST FORWARD Not many eons ago. Kareena Kapoor was madly in love with Shahid Kapoor. However, Shahid had this very sexy neighbor who for some unseen reason to the Kapoor girls, he seem to enjoy spending time with.

This got the fiery Kareena rather suspicious. So she toured around his building to find out more. And guess what, the sultry Priyanka Chopra turned out to be the sexy neighbor who at opportune times would be seen donning Shahid’s tees. Kareena anyway broke up with Sasha and so Shahid decided the best remedy would be to get a little of PeeCee oops peace by staying indoors and getting all the TLC from Priyanka.

Kareena, however, still had Shahid’s best interest in mind despite the fact that she had moved on to be with the sophisticated nawaab Saif Ali Khan. And she felt that PeeCee was not right for Shahid and she would break his heart into smithereens.

Hence the battle of the ‘ex’es started and it was further fuelled by Shahid Kapoor’s dalliance with Priyanka.

Thus began one of the biggest catfights in Bollywood which went on for many years. Of course, now supposedly both the leading ladies have settled down in holy matrimony and are at peace with each other. But at that point, it sure felt like a war field with everybody in between rushing for cover.

- Sumita Chakraborty

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