After Karishma, now Shama quits Baal Veer


After Karishma, now Shama quits Baal Veer

    Actress Karishma Tanna, who played Rani Pari in Baal Veer, left the kids-based show two months back. Apparently, the actress got busy with movies and couldn’t devote the required time to the show. Now, following suit is actress Shama Sikander, who plays antagonist Bhayankar Pari. Buzz has it that the actress is quitting for better opportunities. Says a source, “Shama has informed the production house of her decision and the makers have already started looking for a replacement, who’ll be introduced as a new antagonist in the show.” While Shama refused to comment, producer Vipul D Shah refuted the news, saying, “We are just opening a new track, thereby introducing a new antagonist named Bawandar Pari. Shama is not quitting the show. She is very much a part of it like Karishma. We will call her whenever the story demands it.” Wonder, if it’s a case of communication gap between the production house and the actresses.

Karishma Tanna


Shama Sikander

CONFUSION OVER WHO’S PLAYING MAHARANA PRATAP’S FATHER

CONFUSION OVER WHO’S PLAYING MAHARANA PRATAP’S FATHER

    Even as Sony Entertainment Television is gearing up for the launch of the historical drama, Bharat Ka Veer Putra — Maharana Pratap (it is likely to go on air by the end of May), there has been confusion over who will play the Maharana's father, Uday Singh.
    While channel sources say that actor Amar Upadhyay has been finalised for the role and that he is making a comeback with this epic drama, the actor said he was unaware of this. Bombay Times spoke to producer Abhimanyu Singh, who clarifies, “Amar is not part of the show; we are still in the process of finalising the cast.”
    It seems confusion had stemmed from the fact that Amar was approached to play the part about three years ago. He had even shot for the pilot, but it was for a different channel then. “Yes, I had shot the pilot, but I think it wasn’t approved. I have no clue about anything after that,” said Amar.

Amar Upadhyay

Real life heroes to be honoured

Real life heroes to be honoured



    Real-life valiant heroes will be honoured tonight at the CID Veerta Awards 2012. Popular names from the television industry — like Aamna Sharif, Rupali Ganguly, Anoop Soni, Ravi Dubey, Sargun Mehta, Bharti Singh, Karan Tacker and Sanaya Irani — will be present at the event. Veteran actress Asha Parekh will also grace the occasion. The show, hosted by Karan Wahi and Aishwarya Sakhuja, will see a host of TV actors performing. It will begin with ACP Pradyuman and the CID team reciting a poem to establish the theme of the evening — Sach Saahas Satark – Be
Brave and Alert. This will be followed by an act that’ll pay tribute to the legends of India’s first war of independence and will showcase the acts of bravery by Tatya Tope (enacted by Ashish Sharma) and Mangal Pandey (enacted by Iqbal Khan). In another act, actress Soumya Seth will highlight the heinous gangrape that took place in the capital last year. The three youngsters of
Parvarrish — Kuchh Khatti Kuchh
Meethi, Sparsh Khanchandani, Rakshit Wahi and Tapasvi Mehta, will have the audience in splits as they dress up like CID officers ACP Pradyuman, inspector Daya and inspector Abhijeet, respectively. Stand-up comedian Bharati Singh will also perform a hilarious dance act with the CID team.
    CID Veerta Awards 2012 airs today at 5 pm on Sony Entertainment Television.

A still from the event

MILKHA MEETS MILKHA AT BAISAKHI CELEBRATION

MILKHA MEETS MILKHA AT BAISAKHI CELEBRATION



    It’s festive season and the cosmopolitan ethos of Mumbai has ensured no one is left out. At this recent Baisakhi celebration organised by Charan Singh Sapra, we spotted a host of Bollywood faces that included Dharmendra, Neha Dhupia, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Raj Babbar. The highlight of the evening was seeing the Flying Sikh Milkha Singh and the reel Milkha Singh — Farhan Akhtar — on stage together, where the former was honoured for his achievements. Singh shared some of his experiences on the track. Also present at the event were many entertainers. Singers Rabbi Shergill and Jazzy B treated the crowd to some catchy tunes. Also entertaining the audience was popular Punjabi singer Satinder Satti. Comedian Sudesh Lahri later enthralled everyone to some of his signature humour. Also spotted at the event were Olympic medal winneer Gagan Narang and politician Narayan Rane, who seemed to be enjoying the celebrations.

Milkha Singh and Farhan Akhtar


Narayan Rane and Charan Singh Sapra


Rabbi Shergill


Raj Babbar Dharmendra


Neha Dhupia


Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra; Gagan Narang


Jazzy B and Sudesh Lahri


Mukesh Rishi


Eknath Gaikwad


Satinder Satti

Fukras visit college canteen

Fukras visit college canteen

    The Jai Hind College canteen on Friday evening was treated to some special fare. The team of Fukrey launched the official trailer there, in keeping with the youthful appeal of their film. The event saw the cast Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh, Varun Sharma, Ali Fazal and Richa Chadda discuss their experience on working on this quirky project. Also present were producers Ritesh Sadhwani and Farhan Akhtar, as well as director Mrighdeep Singh Lamba.
While students cheered on, as they got to see the trailer first, Farhan said that he chose a college canteen for the launch as the film deals with four ‘fukras’ or jobless students, who end up spending most of their time in the college canteen. He also reminisced about his own days during college and how he ‘wasted’ them being a fukra like his protagonists.
Fukrey, produced by Excel Entertainment, releases on June 14.

Pulkit Samrat


Farhan Akhtar, Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Ritesh Sidhwani


Richa Chadda


Manjot Singh


Ali Fazal


Varun Sharma

Kavita - Jan palbhar mhanteel hay hay, mee jata rahil kary kay- Marathi Poem

Kavita - Jan palbhar mhanteel hay hay, mee jata rahil kary kay- Marathi Poem

Nana Patekar Marathi Kavita and speech

Nana Patekar Marathi Kavita and speech

Shah Rukh and Bhansali talk shop

Shah Rukh and Bhansali talk shop



    Even as the world continues to speculate about the actor who will play Bajirao in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani, there’s buzz that indicates SLB was in an advanced stage of talks with Ajay Devgn (his Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam hero) for Bajirao. And Katrina Kaif was reportedly on stand-by for the role of Mastani.
    However, one hears from a very reliable source that Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay, who have blown hot and cold with one another several times since Devdas, but who are currently on a special wicket, are very close these days. In fact, on several occasions, both SRK and SLB have taken favours from one another as far as sharing their common heroine Deepika Padukone’s (Chennai Express and Ram Leela) dates go. One speculation that is currently rife is whether SRK will be SLB’s Bajirao. Who knows, till the final casting actually happens, such talk will abound.
    One also hears the filmmaker and the actor have been discussing the Mary Kom film closely. Guess it is their common interest in good cinema that is binding them.

Shah Rukh Khan


Sanjay Leela Bhansali

MY WIFE IS MY FIRST AND LAST GIRLFRIEND - Ayushmann Khurrana

MY WIFE IS MY FIRST AND LAST GIRLFRIEND

    Ayushmann Khurrana, 28, may not be the conventional good-looking star, but he has come a long way from being the skinny, short boy with braces from Chandigarh. His role in Vicky Donor made him a youth icon for both, his acting and singing. He is more content than ambitious and is beginning to adjust to his new 24x7 schedule. Post the release of his latest film Nautanki Saala, he speaks to Bombay Times about the predictions of his astrologer father, his girlfriend-turned wife Tahira and why he believes his looks will improve with age. Excerpts: 

Let’s talk about your childhood? I was born and brought up in Chandigarh. My dad is a well-known astrologer there and my mom had done an MA in Hindi, so I had an inclination towards Hindi. I studied in an all-boys school, St John’s Boys School, where I did English theatre. We were in a Catholic school and can you imagine we were Sikhs and Punjabis singing carols in school! My dad, P Khurana is an astrologer. He changed the spelling of my name when I was in class VI. That’s where the double ‘n’ and ‘r’ in my name come from. I again went to an all-boys college at Punjab University, where I studied English Literature and Journalism. In my first year of college, I found a theatre group with my seniors and started doing Hindi theatre. Right from the age of five, I have wanted to become an actor even though I was extremely shy initially. My dad always pushed me to be on stage. I am a laidback person and have always been more content than ambitious. I was planning to take a sabbatical after my journalism course to learn how to fight and dance and build my body, so that I could come to Mumbai to become an actor. I was not in a hurry to do anything. But my dad told me, ‘You have to go right now otherwise you will be unemployed for two years.’ My bags were packed and I was thrown out of my place. Normally, people run away from home to become an actor. For me, it was the other way round where my tickets were bought and I was asked to go. While I have
never believed in astrology, I have always believed in my dad and I came to Mumbai. 

How did you get into films? I came to Mumbai and started giving auditions. I had no place to stay so I stayed with my friend from Chandigarh in his hostel at KEM hospital as he was studying MBBS. In my final year at college I had won the MTV Roadies Season 2 and was popular amongst the college crowd. I was auditioned for TV serials, but got selected by a radio station in Delhi as an RJ. The next thing I knew I was in MICA training to become an RJ and was the first RJ to be put up on a hoarding in Delhi. I was content as I bought a car and a house. But again, my dad called and said, ‘Beta you cannot do this, go to
Mumbai to become an actor.’ I said okay and left everything to again come back to Mumbai. They were auditioning for VJs this time. I got selected and became a VJ for four years. That’s when Shoojit Sircar noticed me. He was looking for a Punjabi person with a youth connect and I did Vicky Donor. 

Did you expect so much appreciation for Vicky Donor? Actually, I don’t expect anything from life also. Life gives me surprises. Even with my dad while I don’t believe in astrology, I believe in him. His predictions for me have been bang on as far as predicting timing for my opportunities are concerned and him telling me what to do when.
 
 
How did you meet your wife Tahira Kashyap? We were family friends and I met her at 16. She is my first and last girlfriend and I told her the first day we met that I would marry her. We have been married four years now and have a one-year-old son. While she normally travels with me, she is doing her Ph.D, so she goes to Chandigarh to take her exams. We were together in tuitions and she was the prettiest girl there, whereas I used to come on my small Kinetic Honda with braces on. She used to come in a car and was the most popular girl, while I was just another guy. It’s surreal as I am getting all the attention suddenly now. The only thing that stresses her a lot is that we don’t have enough time for each other. When I was on TV, I would work only 10 days a month and was really laid-back. Working 24 x 7 doesn’t come naturally to me. My wife keeps me grounded always. If my dad gives me ambition and my mom, patience, my wife makes me stable. She is the first one to tell me you can never be an actor as I never looked like one. In fact, she was the first one I confessed to that I want to be an actor. She had laughed. I used to get so nervous in front of her. Even now, if I am performing on stage, she is not there with me as I get conscious. But if I am in the audience receiving an award, she is with me. 

How is Shoojit Sircar to work with? Ever since my servant committed suicide, my wife and I are staying at Shoojit’s home. My servant was with me
from Chandigarh and we were attached a lot to him. It was depressing returning back to our house, so we moved in with Shoojit for some time. I am lucky to be associated with him as he is so earthy and real. He is shy and is happy sitting at home watching his actors win awards as against being present at award functions. He is really satisfied and his attitude is superb. He extracts the best out of you. Being a VJ it was difficult for me, as I had to unlearn a lot of stuff. When you are a VJ you are talking to the camera, whereas as an actor you have to ignore the camera. He sent me to his guru NK Sharma to unlearn. He trained me within a month. Even when he is happy with your work he slaps you while telling you that you have done good work. Even now, I quietly send him my scripts to read to take his guidance. NK Sharma is an institution. 

Did you learn acting formally? My dadi was an uneducated Punjabi but I learnt my acting from her. I grew up seeing her mimmick Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar and would copy her. At five, I would also mimmick these stars and win prizes at school. She was a true artist and had she been alive today, she would have been proud of me. 

You have always been lucky. Have you ever faced rejections in your life? While I am lucky, I have seen many rejections also. In school, I was skinny and short with braces. I was also short as a kid and used to pray everyday to become just 5 feet 9 inches and I am exactly that today. I was the shortest in the class, even shorter than the girls, so would never get lead roles even though I used to act better. As a kid, I used to feel bad as kids are judgemental. My dad has been a major influence in my life. He would always get me out of my rejected feeling. Looking at him, I live a healthy lifestyle and don’t smoke or drink and have
seen a sea change in my personality over time. I was rejected from the Chandigarh rounds of Indian Idol and Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj, but I’m happy that today I have become an actor, even though I am not from the industry.

You are not good-looking in the conventional way. Does that bother you? No, because for me it’s all relative and I know I was far worse when I was a kid. I am objective when it comes to my looks and I can assure you I will become better with age.


Ayushmann Khurrana