Ram Gopal Varma on The Attacks of 26/11 to release on 1st March 2013.

Ram Gopal Varma has made his most ambitious film till date – The Attacks of 26/11 produced by Alumbra Entertainment and Eros International. The filmmaker is gung ho about the way his most emotional movie till date has shaped up even though he agrees that this film is not something to be happy about.

Why did you launch the music of your film at Leopold Cafe where the attack first took place?

We all know the significance of that happened at that place. It was a tragic event and one of the most momentous events which happened in post independent India. One of the main reasons that I made this film was because I happened to meet the owner of the cafe Farzad Jehani and when he told me what happened it gave the idea on how to make this film. Everyone pretty much know what happened that night, but to see it from the prospective of a one particular person is different. The event would be perceived by different people with different prospective. The point is no matter how much somebody tries to intimidate or terrorize you, but people need to come back to their normal lives.

To that extent I think it is very correct to do the first look here at Leopold where it started. Not just to remember just the memory of pain, but also as a certain symbol of spirit. I would like to thank Farzad because he had to close this place down for three days for me to recreate the event which happened here.

The music of the film is rather gripping... tell us something about it.

I strongly believed as a human being that the attacks of 26/11 that had happened in 2008 was not really against a community. I think it’s a attack on human beings committed by certain human elements. So I thought the most rightful idea would be in combining maula maula and deva deva. Rooshin composed the song and Sukhwinder has sung it really well. Then Sukhwinder has sing another song called Raghupati Raghav Rajaram. What sukhwinder did for me is significant because it’s a sound of peace and most closest to a person like Mr Mohandas Gandhi. When I heard that song, it just stuck in my mind as a sound of peace. The fact that subject of 26/11 is so violent I just felt that this sound was the most correct counter point to the violence of the film.

Tell us the inside story. What was your source of information for The Attacks of 26/11 produced by Alumbra Entertainment and Eros International?

First of all I would like to tell you all that the intention of the film is to tell something that people do not know about. But I would rightly say that they may know what happened but do not know how that happened. How is the detailing in the emotional context? For example I am telling you a story of one certain person who was in this place. So I am not telling you the story of Leopold Cafe. The story is about one person and what he or she would experience and it is his emotion that we have filmed. So I have not tried to suggest any conspiracy theory or telling something which is not on a public record. It is a real event which is recorded. All the sources of information are from the highest authorized person as for this is concerned. What you will see for example you know the hijacked boat, but you don’t know what happened in the boat. That’s the point.

Do you have any real footage in the film? The trailers seem to suggest so.

Whatever you see in the trailors and promos is all created footage. There is no real footage from actual existence. My intention was to capture the truth, so we did a lot of research and spoken to people and police officers involved in it. It was recreated to the nearest extent possible.

Did your visit to the Taj help in getting a better idea for the filming The Attacks of 26/11 produced by Alumbra Entertainment and Eros International?

I have answered this a thousand times. I went there after 3 days since the attacks happened and when the operation is over. Whereas this film has nothing to do with what happened after the attacks. It has only to do with the night of the attacks from 9 pm to 1 am that night.

Is there any imaginary scene in the film?

No, there is no imagination. My research was on all the people wherever the incident happened.

Is Nana Patekar’s role based on any real life character?

Yes, it is based on Mr Rakesh Maria because he was at that time the Joint Commissioner of Police.

A lot of people are making films on real life subjects. What do you feel about that?

Films are the medium at the end of the day for any person who wishes to communicate something imaginary or real or he has to say something. I think different people have different motives behind making movies. I can’t generalize or answer for all of them.

In the movie industry there is not only one person, there are lots of people. I can’t speak on behalf of all of them. I can speak about myself.

What kind of controversy will the film generate?

It’s absolutely a non controversial film because nobody has a dispute about what happened and there is nothing like that there is the trial is still going on and there is an investigation taking place at the moment about what happened on the night of 26/11. There is no ambiguity about who was behind the attacks as well. Everyone knows what happened.

Why did you choose the character of Rakesh Maria to tell the story?

For me significance of Rakesh Maria happened to be the head of police so he becomes the face of the police in the said context. So playing through the emotion of a person is different from the playing the character. Nana Patekar represents the spirit of the police force and the character of Rakesh Maria and that is what I have thrown visually at the audiences.

WHY ONLY KAMAL? I TOO DESERVE JUSTICE, SAYS DAM999 DIRECTOR SOHAN ROY!

‘I too deserve Justice” says Sohan Roy, the director of DAM999, at Jaipur International Film Festival. He was commenting about the lifting of the possible ban exerted on ‘Vishwaroopa’ by Tamil Nadu government.

“I am happy for Kamal that he may see a possible light for his movie “Vishwaroopa” in Tamil Nadu, in fact he should see it through. But why only am I sidelined .Why my movie DAM999 which is struggling for the last 2 years to get released is still being ignored by the same government?

Tamil Nadu government had banned the release of DAM999 in Tamil Nadu in fear of causing political unrest in the state. The entire controversy was deeply rooted in the political tug of war between the State of Tamilnadu and Kerala over the Mullapperiyar dam.

‘Vishwaroopa’ was banned because of the protest raised by the Muslim community against certain provocative religious contents in the film. DAM999 has raised a social issue into the mainstream which is only concerned about the safety threats associated with age old dams. The viewer community who had watched the Malayalam and English version of DAM 999 are of the opinion that there is no such scene which could have caused issues between the states .The director is upset with the fact that the Govt was reluctant to even watch the movie screening in spite of many requests by the producers of the movie who are from Kerala.

‘I have got great respect for Kamal Hassan. He is a great actor and filmmaker. I too pray for him. But don’t you think I am also a human and I too deserve justice. I have lost crores of money by not getting a release. At least let me get some justice.”

Released on 25^th November 2011, DAM999, a tribute to the 1975 Banqiao Dam disaster in China which claimed 250,000 innocent lives, was banned in the state of Tamil Nadu on unruly grounds.

The movie gained 5 Oscar selections in 3 categories (Original Score, Original Songs and Best Picture), won 2 Global Music Awards (GMA) and was well appreciated at various film festivals across the world including the ongoing Jaipur film festival where it was screened to a packed audience. The latest international recognition came when Sohan Roy was awarded “Star Award for achievement in film industry of Asia” at the International Film Festival Antigua Barbuda. DAM999 made history as the first ever Indian Movie to be selected for screening at Golden Rooster film festival popularly known as the ‘Chinese Oscars’. Out of 25 films from 18 countries competing for Golden Rooster Awards this year, DAM999 was honored to represent India at the film festival.

Being a Khan -Outlook Turning Points 2013 [Published By The New York Times]

Outlook Turning Points 2013 [Published By The New York Times]
I am an actor. Time does not frame my days with as much conviction as images do. Images rule my life. Moments and memories imprint themselves on my being in the form of the snapshots that I weave into my expression. The essence of my art is the ability to create images that resonate with the emotional imagery of those watching them.
I am a Khan. The name itself conjures multiple images in my mind too: a strapping man riding a horse, his reckless hair flowing from beneath a turban tied firm around his head. His ruggedly handsome face marked by weathered lines and a distinctly large nose.
A stereotyped extremist; no dance, no drink, no cigarette tipping off his lips, no monogamy, no blasphemy; a fair, silent face beguiling a violent fury smoldering within. A streak that could even make him blow himself up in the name of his God. Then there is the image of me being shoved into a back room of a vast American airport named after an American president (another parallel image: of the president being assassinated by a man named lee, not a Muslim thankfully, nor Chinese as some might imagine! I urgently shove the image of the room out of my head).
Some stripping, frisking and many questions later, I am given an explanation (of sorts): “Your name pops up on our system, we are sorry”. “So am I,” I think to myself, “Now can I have my underwear back please?” Then, there is the image I most see, the one of me in my own country: being acclaimed as a megastar, adored and glorified, my fans mobbing me with love and apparent adulation.
I am a Khan.
I could say I fit into each of these images: I could be a strapping six feet something – ok something minus, about three inches at least, though I don’t know much about horse-riding. A horse once galloped off with me flapping helplessly on it and I have had a “no horse-riding” clause embedded in my contracts ever since.
I am extremely muscular between my ears, I am often told by my kids, and I used to be fair too, but now I have a perpetual tan or as I like to call it ‘olive hue’ – though deep In the recesses of my armpits I can still find the remains of a fairer day. I am handsome under the right kind of light and I really do have a “distinctly large” nose. It announces my arrival in fact, peeking through the doorway just before I make my megastar entrance. But my nose notwithstanding, my name means nothing to me unless I contextualize it.
Stereotyping and contextualizing is the way of the world we live in: a world in which definition has become central to security. We take comfort in defining phenomena, objects and people – with a limited amount of knowledge and along known parameters. The predictability that naturally arises from these definitions makes us feel secure within our own limitations.
We create little image boxes of our own. One such box has begun to draw its lid tighter and tighter at present. It is the box that contains an image of my religion in millions of minds.
I encounter this tightening of definition every time moderation is required to be publicly expressed by the Muslim community in my country. Whenever there is an act of violence in the name of Islam, I am called upon to air my views on it and dispel the notion that by virtue of being a Muslim, I condone such senseless brutality. I am one of the voices chosen to represent my community in order to prevent other communities from reacting to all of us as if we were somehow colluding with or responsible for the crimes committed in the name of a religion that we experience entirely differently from the perpetrators of these crimes.
I sometimes become the inadvertent object of political leaders who choose to make me a symbol of all that they think is wrong and unpatriotic about Muslims in india. There have been occasions when I have been accused of bearing allegiance to our neighboring nation rather than my own country – this even though I am an Indian whose father fought for the freedom of India. Rallies have been held where leaders have exhorted me to leave my home and return to what they refer to as my “original homeland”. Of course, I politely decline each time, citing such pressing reasons as sanitation words at my house preventing me from taking the good shower that’s needed before undertaking such an extensive journey. I don’t know how long this excuse will hold though.
I gave my son and daughter names that could pass for generic (pan-Indian and pan-religious) ones: Aryan and Suhana. The Khan has been bequeathed by me so they can’t really escape it. I pronounce it from my epiglottis when asked by Muslims and throw the Aryan as evidence of their race when non-Muslims enquire.
I imagine this will prevent my offspring from receiving unwarranted eviction orders and random fatwas in the future. It will also keep my two children completely confused. Sometimes, they ask me what religion they belong to and, like a good Hindi movie hero, I roll my eyes up to the sky and declare philosophically, “You are an Indian first and your religion is humanity”, or sing them an old Hindi film ditty, “Tu Hindu banega na Musalmaan banega – insaan ki aulaad hai insaan banega” set to Gangnam Style.
None of this informs them with any clarity, it just confounds them some more and makes them deeply wary of their father.
In the land of the freed, where I have been invited on several occasions to be honored, I have bumped into ideas that put me in a particular context. I have had my fair share of airport delays for instance.
I became so sick of being mistaken for some crazed terrorist who coincidentally carries the same last name as mine that I made a film, subtly titled My name is Khan (and I am not a terrorist) to prove a point. Ironically, I was interrogated at the airport for hours about my last name when I was going to present the film in America for the first time. I wonder, at times, whether the same treatment is given to everyone whose last name just happens to be McVeigh (as in Timothy)??
I don’t intend to hurt any sentiments, but truth be told, the aggressor and taker of life follows his or her own mind. It has to nothing to do with a name, a place or his/her religion. It is a mind that has its discipline, its own distinction of right from wrong and its own set of ideologies. In fact, one might say, it has its own “religion”. This religions has nothing to do with the ones that have existed for centuries and been taught in mosques or churches. The call of the azaan or the words of the pope have no bearing on this person’s soul. His soul is driven by the devil. I, for one, refuse to be contextualized by the ignorance of his ilk.
I am a Khan.
I am neither six-feet-tall nor handsome (I am modest though) nor am I a Muslim who looks down on other religions. I have been taught my religion by my six-foot-tall, handsome Pathan ‘Papa’ from Peshawar, where his proud family and mine still resides. He was a member of the no-violent Pathan movement called Khudai Khidamatgaar and a follower of both Gandhiji and Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, who was also known as the Frontier Gandhi.
My first learning of Islam from him was to respect women and children and to uphold the dignity of every human being. I learnt that the property and decency of others, their points of view, their beliefs, their philosophies and their religions were due as much respect as my own and ought to be accepted with an open mind. I learnt to believe in the power and benevolence of Allah, and to be gentle and kind to my fellow human beings, to give of myself to those less privileged than me and to live a life full of happiness, joy, laughter and fun without impinging on anybody else’s freedom to live in the same way.
So I am a Khan, but no stereotyped image is factored into my idea of who I am. Instead, the living of my life has enabled me to be deeply touched by the love of millions of Indians. I have felt this love for the last 20 years regardless of the fact that my community is a minority within the population of India. I have been showered with love across national and cultural boundaries, from Suriname to Japan and Saudi Arabia to Germany, places where they don’t even understand my language. They appreciate what I do for them as an entertainer – that’s all. My life has led me to understand and imbibe that love is a pure exchange, untempered by definition and unfettered by the narrowness of limiting ideas. If each one of us allowed ourselves the freedom to accept and return love in its purity, we would need no image boxes to hold up the walls of our security.
I believe that I have been blessed with the opportunity to experience the magnitude of such a love, but I also know that its scale is irrelevant. In our own small ways, simply as human beings, we can appreciate each other for how touch our lives and not how our different religions or last names define us.
Beneath the guise of my superstardom, I am an ordinary man. My Islamic stock does not conflict with that of my Hindu wife’s. The only disagreements I have with Gauri concern the color of the walls in our living room and not about the locations of the walls demarcating temples from mosques in India.
We are bringing up a daughter who pirouettes in a leotard and choreographs her own ballets. She sings western songs that confound my sensibilities and aspires to be an actress. She also insists on covering her head when in a Muslim nation that practices this really beautiful and much misunderstood tenet of Islam.
Our son’s linear features proclaim his Pathan pedigree although he carries his own, rather gentle mutations of the warrior gene. He spends all day either pushing people asie at rugby, kicking some butt at Tae Kwon Do or eliminating unknown faces behind anonymous online gaming handles around the world with The Call of Duty video game. And yet, he firmly admonishes me for getting into a minor scuffle at the cricket stadium in Mumbai last year because some bigot make unsavory remarks about me being a Khan.
The four of us make up a motley representation of the extraordinary acceptance and validation that love can foster when exchanged within the exquisiteness of things that are otherwise defined ordinary.
For I believe, our religion is an extremely personal choice, not a public proclamation of who we are. It’s as person as the spectacles of my father who passed away some 20 years ago. Spectacles that I hold onto as my most prized and personal possession of his memories, teachings and of being a proud Pathan. I have never compared those with my friends, who have similar possessions of their parents or grandparents. I have never said my father’s spectacles are better than your mother’s saree. So why should we have this comparison in the matter of religion, which is as personal and prized a belief as the memories of your elders. Why should not the love we share be the last word in defining us instead of the last name? It doesn’t take a superstar to be able to give love, it just takes a heart and as far as I know, there isn’t a force on this earth that can deprive anyone of theirs.
I am a Khan, and that’s what it has meant being one, despite the stereotype images that surround me. To be a Khan has been to be loved and love back – that the promise that virgins wait for me somewhere on the other side.
- Shah Rukh Khan

 

KHAKI MAKES SANJAY DUTT FEEL PATRIOTIC

This promises to be an action-packed year for you, with Vinod Bachchan’s Zila Ghaziabad coming up on February 22.
Yes, I have three releases coming up in quick succession with lots of stunts in store for the viewers. It feels good to get back to action after so many years. In between, the genre had taken a backseat to romance, comedy and family dramas, but now it’s back in a big way.
All three films have a lot of hand-to-hand combats, the kind you saw back in the’70s and the ’80s in Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) and Dharamji’s (Dharmendra) time. But while it’s hard-core and earthy, it’s a little more stylised. We use a lot of harnesses and wireworks during the shoots, and a lot of touches are added during post-production too. All this makes for exciting viewing.There’s been a lot of speculation about whether Zilla Gaziabad is just another make-believe movie or a bio-pic inspired by the’90s gang war between two groups of Gurjars and a controversial police officer, Inspector Pritam Singh. So tell us, is it fact or fiction?
Definitely fiction, but every reel life story is drawn partly from real life and so is this one. But it’s not a bio-pic for sure.
Did you research Pritam Singh, the character you play, meet his family or talk to his colleagues in the course of your research?
I’ve never believed in researching a role. I don’t do any homework, I just do my work!
It’s said that in his time Pritam Singh would pull up young boys with long hair and snip off their locks with the reprimand, “Tu launda hai, laundiya nahin (You are a boy, not a girl).” Interestingly, the role model for these youths back then was bad boy Billu, your character in Khalnayak (’93).
(Laughs) Yeah, I’ve heard that story too, but I don’t know if it’s true.
And if it were true?
Well, Pritam Singh was doing his job, I’m doing mine. Cops haven’t often been projected in a positive light in Hindi cinema. Earlier, they were always the last to arrive on the scene, after the hero had bashed up the baddies so they could click on the handcuffs and haul them off to jail. Later, they were shown hand-in-glove with corrupt politicians, industrialists and even terrorists.
Will Zila Ghaziabad redeem the Bollywood’s police force?
I think films like Singham (2011) have already done that. Our cops are the best people to eradicate the society of its unsocial and anti-social elements. They need our support and that of the government to do their jobs better. To make the world a safer place they need more facilities, and we need a bigger force. We need dare-devil officers like Bajirao Singham, Pritam Singh and my character in Policegiri.
We’ve heard of Dadagiri and Herogiri, but never Policegiri. What does it mean?
Policegiri implies that no one is above the law and that’s the message the film conveys as well.
There is a very thin line between the law and what can be deemed technically lawful, but perhaps the only option sometimes to root out what Bollywood would describe as “evil”.
Yes, that’s true!
How do you ensure that you don’t over-step that lakshman rekha (boundry) and leave yourself open to enquiry and controversy, as happened with encounter specialist Daya Nayak and even Inspector Pritam Singh?
You can try, but it’s not always possible for these officers to stay within the law. They have been given the power to take the law into their own hands in their mission to put society that is coming apart at the seams, back together. Unless their motives are suspect, we should let them do their jobs because they are only doing it for us. They should be appreciated and not persecuted or prosecuted.
During Department, Mr Bachchan (Amitabh) had admitted that if approached he’d definitely like to be the ‘face’ for the Mumbai police. Wouldn’t you want to do something too to elevate the image of the force?
I’ve always had the highest respect for the uniform. Wearing it makes me feel very dedicated and committed to doing my job. It makes me feel patriotic and very protective towards society. I know that most of our cops feel the same way too. Wearing khaki changes you.
Yes, I think we should all get together and do something for the police of our country. As far as elevating their image is concerned, we can do it through our movies.

नीतू सिंह की पंजाबी फिल्म साडी लव स्टोरी

जल्दी ही नीतू सिंह की पंजाबी फिल्म 'साडी लव स्टोरी’ रिलीज़ होने वाली है. हम हिंदी फिल्मों की लोकप्रिय अभिनेत्री नीतू सिंह के बारे में बात नही कर रहे, हम तो बात कर रहे हैं पंजाबी हीरोइन नीतू सिंह की जिनकी इस फिल्म से पहले भी"यार मेरा रब वर्गा'' और ''दिल तैनू करदा है प्यार" दो फ़िल्में आ चुकी हैं और अब उनकी तीसरी फिल्म इरोज़ इंटरनेशनल एंड जिमी शेरगिल प्रोडक्शन में 'साडी लव स्टोरी’ रिलीज़ हो रही है इस फिल्म को निर्देशित किया है धीरज रतन ने. उनके साथ इस फिल्म में दिलजीत दोसांझ, अमरिंदर गिल और सुरवीन चावला हैं.

नीतू सिंह ने अपनी शुरुआत की मॉडलिंग से, उन्होंने मिस पी टी सी पंजाबी का अवार्ड भी जीता औए इसके साथ ही उन्हें मौका मिला लोकप्रिय पंजाबी पॉप गायक हरभजन के म्यूजिक वीडियो में काम करने का. फिल्म 'साडी लव स्टोरी ' के बारे में नीतू कहती हैं कि, "निर्देशक धीरज रतन की इस फिल्म में मेरा किरदार बहुत ही अहम है मेरे सहारे ही फिल्म की कहानी आगे बढती है. एक लड़की के रोमांस और सपनो के इर्द गिर्द ही घूमती है फिल्म की कहानी." नीतू से पूछने पर कि सुरवीन भी आपके साथ इस फिल्म में हैं तो आप लोगों के बीच कहीं कोई ईगो प्रॉब्लम नही आयी? उन्होंने बताया," ईगो कैसी, नही किसी भी तरह कोई ईगो नही थी बल्कि हम तो खूब मज़ा करते थे." दर्शकों को पसंद आएगी यह फिल्म पूछने पर उन्होंने कहा कि," हाँ युवाओं को ध्यान में रख कर ही बनाई है निर्देशक धीरज ने. प्यार-रोमांस तो है ही फिल्म में इसके साथ--साथ गीत--संगीत भी अच्छा है, इसके अलावा हास्य भी बहुत है यानि वो सब है जो आज के दर्शक देखना चाहते हैं."

दिलजीत व अमरिंदर के बारे में बताइए उनके साथ काम करना कैसा रहा? दोनों बहुत ही अच्छे हैं सेट पर मस्ती भी करते हैं और अपना काम भी मेहनत से करते हैं यह दोनों तो दर्शकों में बहुत लोकप्रिय हैं. नीतू से पूछने पर कि आपने मॉडलिंग भी की है और पंजाबी फ़िल्में भी कर रही हैं तो क्या हिंदी फिल्मों में काम करने के बारे में नही सोचा? उन्होंने कहा, "हिंदी फ़िल्में भी करूंगी जरुर, हर कोई चाहता है हिंदी फ़िल्में करना और मैं भी चाहती हूँ."

रोमांस, मस्ती, नाच-गाना सब कुछ है साडी लव स्टोरी में - सुरवीन चावला

रोमांस, मस्ती,  नाच-गाना सब कुछ है साडी लव स्टोरी में - सुरवीन चावला

टी वी धारावाहिक "कहीं तो होगा" से अपने अभिनय कैरियर की शुरुआत करने वाली छोटे परदे की  लोकप्रिय अभिनेत्री सुरवीन चावला इन दिनों चर्चा में हैं क्योंकि जल्दी ही उनकी पंजाबी फिल्म "साडी लव स्टोरी" रिलीज़ होने वाली है इस फिल्म में सुरवीन मुख्य भूमिका में हैं. इरोज़ इंटरनेशनल और जिमी शेरगिल प्रोडक्शनस के बैनर में बनी इस फिल्म का निर्देशन किया है धीरज रतन ने. सुरवीन ने अपनी पहली पंजाबी फिल्म 'धरती' में जिमी शेरगिल के साथ काम किया था और अब उनके ही प्रोडक्शन हाउस में बनी इस फिल्म में अभिनय भी कर रही हैं.पिछले दिनों सुरवीन से मुलाकात हुई प्रस्तुत हैं कुछ अंश -----

सुरवीन अपनी फिल्म के बारे में बताइए?                                                                                                                                                     यह फिल्म एक ऐसी लड़की की कहानी है जो की हमेशा प्यार में ही खोयी रहती है जिसके चारो और बस रोमांस ही रोमांस छाया हुआ है और जब सच में उसके जीवन में रोमांस आता है तब क्या होता है?  मेरे साथ इसमें दिलजीत, अमरिंदर गिल और नीतू सिंह हैं. निर्देशक धीरज रतन ने इसे बहुत ही ख़ूबसूरती से  फिल्माया है इस रोमांटिक फिल्म को.

'साडी लव स्टोरी' के एक निर्माता जिमी भी हैं जिनके साथ आपने ‘धरती' में काम किया था बताइए कैसा रहा उनके साथ काम करना?                     

जिमी बहुत ही अच्छे हैं 'धरती' में मैंने उनके साथ काम किया था यादगार अनुभव रहे.'साडी लव स्टोरी' के अलावा "तौर मित्रा दी" के निर्माता भी जिमी थे मैंने उनकी इस फिल्म में भी काम किया था.  

दर्शक क्यों देखें आपकी इस फिल्म को ?                                                                                                                                             इस फिल्म में रोमांस ही रोमांस है, मस्ती है, मज़ा है, नाच-गाना, सब कुछ है "साडी लव स्टोरी" में, कुछ देर अपनी जिन्दगी के गम भुलाने हो तो यह फिल्म जरुर देखें.

आपने पहले टी वी धारावाहिकों में काम किया और अब पंजाबी फ़िल्में कर रही हैं दर्शक आपको हिंदी फिल्मों में कब देखेगें ?                                       

जी हाँ मैंने टी वी पर कहीं तो होगा, कसौटी जिन्दगी के, काज़ल, एक खिलाडी एक हसीना (डांस शो) कॉमेडी सर्कस का सुपर स्टार आदि में काम किया. फिर पंजाबी फिल्म "धरती",परमेश पानवाला(कन्नड़), राजू महाराजू (तेलगु), हम तुम और शबाना (हिंदी) में काम किया है.तमिल भाषा की मॊन्द्रु पेर मॊन्द्रु, पुथिया थिरुप्पंगल और हिंदी फिल्मों में अगली और हेट स्टोरी- 2 मेरी आने वाली फ़िल्में हैं.

आपने पंजाबी के साथ--साथ दक्षिण की फिल्मों में भी काम किया है आपको दक्षिण भाषा बोलने में कोई परेशानी नही हुई ?                                

पंजाबी बोलने में इसलिए परेशानी नही हुई क्योंकि मैं खुद पंजाबी हूँ और जहाँ तक बात है कन्नड़ और तमिल बोलने में शुरू में परेशानी होती थी लेकिन अब नही होती.

 

खलनायक नही नायक हूँ मैं -सुमीत शर्मा

छोटे परदे पर अनेकों बार खलनायक की भूमिका अभिनीत कर चुके मथुरा के रहने वाले सुमीत शर्मा की पहली हिंदी फीचर फिल्म '2 नाइट्स इन सोल वैली’ 28 दिसम्बर को रिलीज़ हो रही है. पिंटा एंड दहल प्रोडक्शन के बैनर में बनी इस फिल्म को निर्देशित किया है हरीश शर्मा ने.पिछले दिनों सुमीत की इसी फिल्म का संगीत रिलीज़ हुआ तभी उनसे मिलने का मौका मिला, पेश हैं बातचीत के मुख्य अंश -----

इस फिल्म की कहानी क्या है? कुछ अनुभव भी बताये शूटिंग के समय ?                                                                                                                          

कहानी है 5 दोस्तों की, जो की अपनी छुट्टियाँ मनाने जाते हैं पिथोरागढ़, इसी सफर में उनके साथ कुछ अजीबो - गरीब घटनाएँ घटती हैं समझ नही आता कि क्या हो रहा है ? इसी दौरान एक दोस्त भी हमसे जुदा हो जाता है जैसे- तैसे हम सब अपनी जान बचा कर वहां से भागते हैं. यह एक सुपर नैचुरल फिल्म है जिसे निर्देशित किया है हरीश शर्मा ने, जिन्होने पी आर की दुनिया में अपना मुकाम बनाया है यह उनकी पहली फिल्म है. मज़ा आया सभी के साथ काम करने में, एक अलग ही तरह का अनुभव हुआ काम करने में, सभी कलाकार पहली ही बार मिले थे लेकिन सब दोस्त बन गए आज भी हम सब आपस में मिलते हैं. चंडीगढ़ के पास मोरनी हिल्स में फिल्म की शूटिंग हुई है तो दर्शकों को हम डरायेगें भी लेकिन साथ में उन्हें खूबसूरत वादियाँ भी दिखायेगें.

पहली फिल्म है और वो भी हॉरर तो क्या कोई खास वजह रही इसकी? वजह यही है कि बहुत ही अच्छी कहानी है फिल्म की , जब आप देखेगे तो आप मेरी बात पर यकीन करेगें फिल्माया भी बहुत ही अच्छे से है, कोई भी फूहड़ सीन नही है न ही कुछ ऐसा है जिसे देख कर दर्शकों को बोरियत हो.

आपकी क्या भूमिका है ? मैंने हैरी की भूमिका की है मेरे इर्द गिर्द ही फिल्म की कहानी घूमती है.

इस तरह की फिल्मों में संगीत की एक अहम भूमिका होती है संगीत के बारे में बताइए? संगीत भी फिल्म की कहानी की मांग के मुताबिक है वर्षा नारायण ने संगीत दिया है व गीतों को भी उन्होंने ही गाया है इसके अलावा ब्रिटेन की रहने वाली मिली मूनस्टोन ने भी एक गाना गाया है इसके साथ ही मिली ने भी फिल्म में अहम भूमिका अभिनीत की है.

आपने छोटे परदे पर विलेन की भूमिका अभिनीत की जबकि इस फिल्म में आप हीरो बने हैं तो क्या फर्क लगा आपको ?

एक अभिनेता की नज़र से देखूं तो कुछ भी फर्क नही अभिनय तो दोनों ही जगह किया मैंने नायक बना या खलनायक लेकिन दर्शकों की नज़र से देखें तो बहुत फर्क है नायक बन कर उनका प्यार मिलेगा जबकि खलनायक तो गाली ही खाता है हमेशा. मैंने हेलो डॉली, सरकार, साथ फेरे, भाभी आदि धारावाहिकों में खलनायक बन कर दर्शकों का मनोरंजन किया और अब अपनी फिल्म "2 नाइट्स इन सोल वैली" से उनका मनोरंजन करूंगा.

मैं भी हॉरर फिल्मों को देखने की शौक़ीन हूँ - आक्षी खारी

एक मॉडल के रूप में अपने कैरियर की शुरुआत करने वाली दिल्ली की आक्षी खारी की पहली फीचर फिल्म "2 नाइट्स इन सोल वैली" 28दिसम्बर को सिनेमाघरों में रिलीज़ हो रही है पिंटा एंड दहल प्रोडक्शन ( चंडीगढ़ ) के बैनर में निर्मित इस फिल्म के निर्देशक हैं हरीश शर्मा. यूं तो आक्षी ने अनेकों प्रिंट एड व रैंप पर वॉक की है लेकिन उन्हें उनकी पहली फिल्म कैसे मिली और क्या भूमिका है उनकी इसमें. इस बारे में उनसे विस्तृत बातचीत हुई प्रस्तुत हैं कुछ मुख्य अंश ----

कैसे मिली आपको यह फिल्म ? मुझे पता चला कि इस फिल्म के लिए ऑडिशन हो रहे हैं मैंने भी ऑडिशन दिया और मेरा चुनाव हो गया और आपको एक बात बताऊँ मेरा चुनाव शूटिंग पर जाने से बस 2 दिन पहले ही हुआ.

"2 नाइट्स इन सोल वैली” किस तरह की फिल्म है?

यह एक हॉरर फिल्म है लेकिन बहुत ही साफ़ सुथरी फिल्म है यानि न ही डरावने चेहरे और न ही भुतहा हवेली है इसमें , लेकिन इसके बावजूद शुरू से आखिर तक बांधे रखेगी दर्शकों यह फिल्म. हरीश शर्मा ने निर्देशित किया है इसे, कहानी भी उन्होंने ही लिखी है. मैं भी हॉरर फिल्मों को देखने की शौक़ीन हूँ अब तक देखी सभी फिल्मों से अलग है यह फिल्म.

फिल्म की शूटिंग कहाँ - कहाँ हुई है ? आपके अलावा अन्य कलाकार कौन है फिल्म में ? चंडीगढ़ के पंचकूला , मोरनी हिल्स और पिथोरागढ़ में शूटिंग हुई है फिल्म की. मेरे अलावा 'ऑफिस ऑफिस ' फेम हेमन्त पांडे , सुमीत शर्मा , मीनाक्षी आर्य , सुमित और गौरव शाह हैं.

आप तो मॉडलिंग करती है तो अभिनय करने में किसी तरह की कोई मुश्किल नही आयी ? नही बिल्कुल भी नही जैसे जैसे हरीश सर कहते गए मैं करती गयी और फिल्म शुरू होने से पहले हम लोगों ने वर्कशॉप भी की थी.

हेमन्त पांडे के साथ काम करना कैसा रहा ? बहुत ही अच्छा, पांडे जी सीनियर अभिनेता हैं इसके बावजूद सेट पर उन्होंने यह कभी महसूस नही होने दिया . हमेशा समझाते रहते थे कुछ गलत हो भी जाता तो नाराज़ नही होते थे.

निर्देशक हरीश शर्मा के बारे में बताइए , कैसा रहा उनके निर्देशन में काम करना ? बहुत ही कूल है हरीश सर अच्छा रहा साथ काम करना.

इस फिल्म दो हीरोइने और भी हैं तो किसी भी तरह की कोई ईगो प्रॉब्लम नही आयी ? नही बल्कि हम तो बहुत मस्ती करते थे ईगो जैसा कुछ भी नही था.