>Kangana knows she is ignored for being too down market

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“It’s scary what has happened, ” says Madhavan, referring to the explosion of expectation that the Tanu Weds Manu trailers have garnered. He isn’t flattering himself, the curiosity for this film is high. It’s true the publicity has struck a chord but why should that be frightening?

Then it dawns on Koel, Maddy and Kangana have never had to shoulder the responsibility of a much hyped film. They’ve been good in other people’s hits. This film, if it works, will be their own hit. The stakes are high. They are still not considered true blue insiders by the film industry.

Kangana may have a national award but she still gets ignored by the self-appointed core group for being too ‘down market’. When she told me this off camera it broke my heart.

Koel says she liked her from the first time we met because she was never shy of being different. By remaining true to herself she was braver than most aspiring actresses who are happy to be cast in a clone like mould.

She saw no shame in wanting to learn whether it was English or the etiquette of urban society. Deep in her heart she was and is a philosopher.

She always thinks out of the box. “Love is too huge a thing for me to talk about just like that: Why are we obsessed with marriage as girls? Can’t we live happily ever after as we are?”

But no one can escape the insecurities the industry inspires, not even this pretty philosopher. The result is amply evident on her lips and her body though her mind remains beautifully unaltered.

Maddy may not have a similar problem but he too ends up playing sidey parts in Hindi films when he’s such a huge star down south.

But the more I meet him the more I think that he’s not really interested in being a star; he gets off on the acting and also on Jennifer whilst sitting on the couch. You’ll have to watch the show to get that one. Another reason to make a date with your tele is the easy flow of jibes between Tanu and Manu.

Like their characters they too are poles apart. Perhaps, this is why they really dig the other’s company but there certainly isn’t a romantic thing going on there.

They like to tease each other and they are friends enough for constant jibing. Their chemistry is genuine and based on mutual respect.

Madhavan gushed at how wonderful it was to work with an actress that came prepared and knew more about the character than even the writer. Kangana praised Maddy’s intellect and patience but wanted to know what he does for two hours in his vanity van when she can be ready in 20 minutes.

>The Fighter is something more than Boxing: David O Russell

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Known as much for his violent on-set confrontation with a certain George Clooney as his critically acclaimed, darkly comic ventures like Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees, director David O Russell is anything but boring. He tells YOLANDE D’MELLO he has no words to describe how he feels that The Fighter has received seven Oscar nominations, and why Mark Wahlberg had a boxing ring in his backyard for the shooting of the film

How did you feel about making a film that would inevitably be compared to Raging Bull and Rocky? 
I knew that my film would be compared to these iconic films but once you see it, you’ll realise that it’s not really a Raging Bull or a Rocky. Boxing is just a backdrop; it’s a story about a family, their adversities and their triumph.

It is a real story based on Micky Ward’s (an Irish boxer born in 1965) life and his determination to overcome difficulties and emerge a winner.

What spin did you want to give Micky Ward’s story? 
My only aim was to make it as original as possible, since it’s a film based in real life. Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale had to undergo rigorous training under Micky and Dicky Ward for almost one-and-a-half years to look and fight like real boxers.

Earlier, we were supposed to shoot the film in Toronto, but we ultimately shot at Lowell, Massachusetts, where the original story took place.

What kind of research and training went into it? 
Micky was our Bible. We had to sit with him for days to understand every aspect of his life. Mark and Christian had to train to look and act like the legends of boxing. Micky and Dicky Ward moved in with Mark. They set up a boxing ring in his backyard, where they would practice regularly.

How did you cast Mark Wahlberg? 
I knew Mark was always interested in doing a boxing film and he knew Micky Ward very well and had seen his life unfold very closely. So there couldn’t have been a better actor to play the title character.

Any interesting anecdotes while shooting?
In the film, Amy (Adams) plays a loudmouth sexy bartender, who abuses a lot. After a point, she ran out of all the bad words she knew! I would tease her, telling her that she needed to do better and was very poor at this.

Apparently, you used cameras from that era to give the scenes a certain look? 
Actually, Mark had some connections with the HBO guys, who shoot pay per view boxing matches and had shot few of Micky’s matches as well. So they knew exactly how to go about it.

What was the experience of shooting the fight scenes like? What was the toughest scene to shoot? 
Mark trained himself for one-and-a-half years to fight like a professional boxer, so he was obviously more than willing to do his own stunts. Shooting for the fight scenes was great, but also tough, since you have to cover each and every move from all possible angles to give the feel of a real fight.

There is a scene where Mark takes on real life fighter, Alfonso Sanchez, who was number 2 middle weight in the world, while we were shooting for the film.

How was it working with Micky Ward? 
Obviously there is certain kind of pressure associated while telling a real life story. Micky was always with us while shooting and corrected us whenever required without ever trying to interfere.

What do seven Oscar nominations mean to you?
No words can describe the feeling. All I can say is that it feels like a dream.

>Commitment Kar Di: Salmans Ready ahead of time?

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Salman Khan’s commitment ensures film will be complete ahead of schedule 

We’ve scooped some pics for you from the sets of Salman Khan’s upcoming film, Ready, a film being shot in Thailand in record time.

The second schedule of the film is currently underway in Bangkok, a week ahead of time. Obviously, producer Bhushan Kumar is thrilled with the progress.

Says a source from the unit of Ready, “Salmanbhai is very charged about the film and is taking a keen interest in every aspect.

Though he parties in his hotel along with his friends at night, in the day, he only focuses on the film and ensures it’s briskly moving ahead.”

Changed pattern

Khan wants his next after Dabangg to hit screens soon. Ready began shooting in December last year and is due for a June 3 release. That’s just six months. By comparison, Dabangg took 11 months to complete.

The source adds, “Earlier, Bhai would take almost two years to complete a film but now he’s changed his pattern. In fact, we signed up for a 40-day schedule in Bankgok, Pattaya, Kraabi Islands and the Kanchipura jungles where the action sequences are being shot currently.”

Says Bhushan, “I’m very happy with the way Ready is progressing. We were to finish and return to India on March 22, but now I think we will return by March 15.

All credit goes to Salmanbhai, director Anees Bazmee, co-producer Rajat Rawail and my uncleKishan (Kumar) who is present on the sets every day.” 

>Joker first look:Akki-Sonakshi song shoot in Chandigarh

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Farah Khan flies to Chandigarh to shoot a lavish song for Joker in open fields

Farah Khan has flown into Chandigarh to choreograph a lavish number for hubby Shirish Kunder’s Joker. The track rendered by Daler Mehndi will be shot from today.

The movie’s lead stars Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha along with Shreyas Talpade and Minissha Lamba besides the supporting cast consisting of Darshan Jariwalla will feature in the song.

Explains Farah, “We are shooting in the open fields about two hours drive from Chandigarh. Sets have also been erected for the shoot.

It is an extremely peppy number but it is not a typically Punjabi track. It is one of the a highlight of the movie as the entire cast is part of it.”

The film’s music is by G V Prakash who is A R Rahman’s nephew. “He is barely 23 but extremely talented, ” she says.

The stars are being styled by Rick Roy for the shoot. “As it involves a huge number of people, the rehearsals for it have been on since the last few days.”

Apart from handling a vast number of people in the song, Farah is also travelling with her triplets (Anya, Diva and Czar) and their maids for the location shoot!

Handling huge numbers are hardly a deterrent for her on the sets or off the sets!

>Naughty@40 Govinda takes unpunctuality to a new level

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Govinda turned up late for film promotions as his make-up man was unwell! 

The notoriously tardy Govinda has taken his unpunctuality to another level. The actor walked in hours late for the unveiling of the promos of his film Naughty@40.

When asked about the delay, he blamed his make-up man!

Chi Chi was to arrive at 7 pm on Friday at a venue in Juhu close to his home. However till almost 9 pm there was no word from the star.

When the makers of the film tried to contact him, he remained unavailable. His cell phone was also switched off.

Says a source, “Everyone was on tenterhooks as several guests had been invited and no one knew his whereabouts.

Producer Anuj Sharma, director Jagmohan Mundra and his co-star Yuvika Chaudhry were all patiently waiting for him.”

No one knew his whereabouts till Govinda entered the venue and said that he was late because his make-up man had fallen sick.

As actors can’t step out of their homes without their greasepaint, you couldn’t expect Chi Chi to.

But Sharma maintains, “There must have been a genuine reason why Govinda was late for the unveiling of the promos.

He told us his make-up man was unwell. Otherwise for the shoots, he has been co-operative and on time.”

>Bhansali to change the course of his life with a computer

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Sanjay Leela Bhansali turned 48 on Thursday with a not-so-quiet lunch with his close friends, associates and assistants, he also decided to change the course of his life.

At 48, SLB turns into a netizen. He is determined to master the commands on the computer at any cost.

Oops!

His birthday resolution is to write his new script on the computer. And never mind if the first ten pages of his proposed next film were lost when the comp-challenged filmmaker punched the ‘delete’ button by mistake.

For an artiste who sends out no more than two SMSes a week, and that too under duress, getting on the computer would seem like a Herculean task.

Tech unsavvy

SLB is now struggling manfully with the intricacies of the internet, all thanks to his two little nieces who had begun to look at him like a dinosaur for being so ignorant of computer technology. Laughs Sanjay, “I barely know how to turn on my CD player.

I had never touched the computer before. My sister’s kids had seriously begun to make fun of me. They said, ‘Maama, get onto the net because that technology is on the way to becoming obsolete.”

Thanks to his accountant Chetan whom SLB took into confidence, he is very slowly learning to put on the computer and access the internet. “My next script will materialise on the net, no matter what it takes, ” promises SLB.

And he promises to double his output of SMSes from two a week to four by the end of this year, “About time I moved on with the world.”

>Deepa plays with fire again, angers Islamic radicals

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After Water gained the ire of Hindu radicals, the director’s new film — an adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children — was shot secretly in Colombo last week

Fire director Deepa Mehta quietly began shooting in Colombo last week for her much-anticipated adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, which will star Shabana Azmi, Seema Biswas, Soha Ali Khan and American Indian actor Satya Bhabha in the protagonist’s role of Saleem Sinai.

The working title of the film is Winds of Change. She will later arrive in India for a portion of the shoot in undisclosed areas. For now, Colombo will masquerade as India. This is not the first time Mehta has used Colombo to depict India.

In 2005, she shot in Colombo after being denied permission to shoot in Varanasi for her critically acclaimed Oscar- nominated film, Water. Mehta relocated the aborted project to Colombo and shot the film under a secret working-title, Moon River.

Her current shooting spell for Midnight’s Children in Colombo could also face trouble. While radical Hindu political groups had disrupted the shooting of Water in Varanasi, this time, protests are expected from Islamic fundamentalists, who haven’t taken kindly to Salman Rushdie’s writings.

In 1989, Iran issued a fatwa against Rushdie for his fourth novel, Satanic Verses. The book also met with widespread protests and Muslim communities in several nations including the West held public rallies, burning copies of the book.

Which explains why the actors and crewmembers of Midnight’s Children were sworn to secrecy by contract about the location of filming. One crewmember accidentally revealed, “We are shooting in Colombo. But no one is supposed to know about it.” 

>Please, Lend me your twins, Farah

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Aarya Babbar chased Farah khan relentlessly to let him borrow the role of the siamese twins from Tees Maar Khan for his stage debut

While Farah Khan paid a handsome amount to acquire the rights to MGM’s After The Fox, Farah herself, it seems, is at the receiving end of copyright compensation from one of the actors in Tees Maar Khan.

Usually it is Farah’s triplets that the world wants to cuddle, but for actor Aarya Babbar, he wants the copyright to use Farah’s on-screen twins from her movie Tees Maar Khan for his upcoming theatre play.

Aarya who is currently dabbling in cinema, comic-book writing and theatre has borrowed the idea for his play Gorky Aur Tinku Ke Kaarname from Farah’s film Tees Maar Khan where there is a pair of Siamese twins played by real-life twins Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman.

In ardent need to make his stage debut where his parents and sister Juhi Babbar have their roots, Aarya desperately sought Farah’s permission to use her twin characters in his debut play.

And Aarya wouldn’t hear a no. He chased Farah relentlessly with his ‘Twin-Do Andolan’.

Aarya will play Siamese twins in Gorky Tinku Ke Kaarname with his childhood friend actor Divesh Wankhede. Admits Aarya, “I was definitely inspired by Tees Maar Khan to play the Siamese twins in my play.

In fact 

I asked for Farah’s permission to use her characters in the film for my play.”

Aarya can’t thank Farah enough for the role of the cop and for permission to let him use her characters in his play.

“For some reason Farah took me under her wings, looked after me, pampered me to no end, ” he said. Aarya’s role in Tees Maar Khan has got him considerable notice.

He is now looking forward to the release of Prashant Chaddha’s Mujaahir where he plays a terrorist.

Aarya has also authored a comic book called Puspak Vimaan where he claims the copyright for the original aircraft belongs to Hindu mythology and not the Wright Brothers.

“I’m now flying high. Things have taken time to happen to me. But it’s all good now, thanks to films like Jail and Tees Maar Khan, ” says the young actor.

>Its R for Rekha for little superstitious Rajni Sir

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After the success of Robot, the legend has developed a fixation for the letter R; signs Rekha for Rana

It seems Rajnikanth has become a little superstitious.

The legendary actor, who has developed a fixation for the letter ‘R’, flew down to Mumbai early this month to convince Rekha, whose name starts with the ‘lucky letter’, to star in his next film Rana.

This zeal for the letter developed after the astounding success of his film Robot.

Says a source, “Rajni considers Rekha and the letter ‘R’ lucky for him. Robot is his biggest hit to date. And he was keen that the title of his new film starts with the letter ‘R’.

Coincidently, his director in Rana is named Ravi (K Ravi Kumar). Rajnikanth wanted his co-star too to be someone with ‘R’.”

When he heard that Rekha had some reservations about her role in the film, which has Deepika Padukone as the leading lady, Rajnikant decided to fly down to Mumbai, to meet the actress personally.

Says the source, “Rajni assured Rekha that her role would not overlap with Deeepika’s.

Rajni has a triple role in Rana. Two of them are full-fledged parts while the third is a cameo. While Deepika is paired with the ‘young’ Rajni, Rekha will co-star opposite the father Rajnikanth in a different time zone.”

Rekha finally agreed to do the role after a lot of persuasion. The shooting of the film will start in Chennai from April.

The film will also be made in Tamil and Telugu. “Rekha insists on speaking her own lines and is also mastering Telugu. The actress who herself is a big Rajnikanth fan, is very excited about her role, ” said the source.

Rekha with Rajni
In the past, the duo has starred in Bhrashtachar, Phool Bane Angaaray and Bulandi.

>Oscars: The Kings Speech rules, A.R. Rahman loses

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In the biggest night in Hollywood, the iconic Kodak Theatre witnessed a tough battle between the much talked about films of the year, and it was ‘The King’s Speech’ which clinched the ‘Best picture’ awards at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.

Director Tom Hooper won the ‘Best Director’ award while actor Colin Firth grabbed the ‘Best Actor’ award for ‘The kings Speech’.

The ‘Best Actress’ awards went to Natalie Portman for her performance in the film ‘Black Swan’.

‘The Best Supporting Actor’ and The Best Supporting Actress’ awards were bagged by Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for their performance in same film, ‘The Fighter’.

David Seidler won the ‘Best original Screenplay’ category for the film ‘The King’s Speech’.

The ‘Best Animation’ film award went to the much appreciated film of the year ‘Toy Story 3’.

The ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ award was clinched by Aaron Sorkin for the film ‘The Social Networking’.

‘Alice in Wonderland’ grabbed the ‘Best Art Direction’ and the ‘Best Costumes’ award in the glitzy and glamorous night of the US film industry.

Defeating ‘The Social Networking’ and ‘The Kings Speech’ and a number of other movies, the ‘Best Cinematography’, ‘ Best Sound Mixing’ award, ‘Best Sound Editing’ and the ‘Best Visual Effect’ awards were grabbed by Christopher Nolan directed film ‘Inception’.

The ‘Best Documentary’ feature award went to the ‘Inside Job’ while ‘Best Documentary short’ award was grabbed by ‘Strangers No More’.

‘The Lost Thing’ won the ‘Best Animated Short Film’ award and the ‘Best Live Action Short Film’ category was won by the film ‘God of Love’.

The ‘Best Make Up’ award was won by ‘The Wolfman’, while The ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ was grabbed by ‘In a Better World’ of Denmark.

However, it was a disappointment for all AR Rahman fans as he failed to grab the Oscar awards in both the ‘Original Score’ and ‘Original Song’ category at the 83rd Academy Awards.

He was nominated for his compositions for Danny Boyle’s film ‘127 Hours’.

The ‘Original Score’ award went to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the film ‘The Social Network’ while the ‘Original Song’ award was clinched by Randy Newman for the song ‘We Belong Together’ in the film ‘Toy Story 3’.

The much talked about B-town couple were there at the Oscars to witness the grand finale as Amitabh Bachchan tweeted: “Up early to catch Oscars.. Just saw Abhishek and Aishwarya being interviewed on red carpet.. And AR and Ashutosh.”