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Raakhee Gulzar the legendary actress who ruled Hindi and Bengali cinema for more than 25 years with memorable performances in a slew of films in both the languages was last seen in Rituparno Ghosh’s whodunit Shubho Mahurat in 2003.
And now she is back on the screen with a Bengali film Gautam Haldar’s Nirbaan. It was screened on November 9 as part of the Kolkata International Film festival. Says the forthright actress, “The film has been ready for some time now. I’ve no idea why its release is delayed. But it’s a very relevant subject. We’ve made it in Bengali and Hindi.”
It was a triumphant homecoming for veteran actress Raakhee Gulzar when she touched down on Kolkata on November 8 as a special guest at the Kolkata International Film festival.
Shockingly, Raakheeji whose breathtaking beauty inspired Sahir Ludhianvi to write the lines Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal aata hai ke jaise tujhko banaya gaya hai mere liye, reveals that she has never been invited by Festival before. “This is the 25th year of existence for the Kolkata Film Festival. Not once did they invite me before this. This is the first invitation I’ve got and that too because Mamtaji (Bengal’s chief minister Mama Bannerjee) wanted me to be honoured. I said yes because of her.”
The honorary function went swimmingly with Bengal’s chief minister ensuring her presence throughout. Says Raakheeji appreciatively, “She was giving instructions about the Bengal cyclone on the phone while attending the function to honour me. She is a wonderful person, much misunderstood and vilified for being a powerful woman.”
Shah Rukh Khan was also present at the function to honour Raakheeji. Says the veteran actress fondly, “Shah Rukh is very fond of both me and Mamtaji. Ever since I played his mother in Baazigar and Karan Arjun he has been very close to me. And he hasn’t changed one bit over the years. He held my hand and greeted me with the same warmth.”
Raakheedi invited Shah Rukh to accompany her on stage. “On stage I made him recite two lines from Rabindranath Tagore’s O Amar Desher which talks about bowing one’s head to one’s motherland. Shah Rukh recited the lines like a Bengali.”
So her fans have something to look forward to?
She laughs her throaty laughter. “Fans? I don’t think anyone even remembers me today. Time has moved on. The young audience today is not familiar with my work…or maybe they know Kabhi Kabhie, Paroma and a few others.”
Any unfulfilled wishes? “Yes, I always wanted to work with Tapan Sinha. According to me he is the best filmmaker Bengal has ever produced. So progressive, so ahead of his times. It was my misfortune that I never got a chance to work with him.”
Working with Rituparno Ghosh was also a pleasure. “He was very very good with women characters. In fact I recommended Ritu to Aishwarya Rai when she was considering Chokher Bali. It is sad that he died so young. He was the most powerful emerging voice of Bengali cinema.”
The nightingale of India is well on the way to recovery. She did give us all a scare, though, when a chest infection landed her in the hospital on Monday. Just days before her hospitalization, I had spoken to her. As always I could sense she was not well from the moment she said her first word on the phone, ‘Hello’.
“Didi, what’s wrong?” my voice rose to a shrill near-hysterical pitch. “Calm down. I am fine,” she whispered in a rasping tone. “This is why I don’t tell you when I am unwell. You get so worked up that I end up regretting telling you about it. It’s a routine chest infection. Nothing major. I’ve fever. I feel a little weak but nothing to worry about,” she had reassured me.
But somehow, I wasn’t pacified. I knew this time her ailment was more serious than her cold-and-cough and the upset stomach. But, I didn’t press the point. I quickly reminded her that the last time we had spoken was on her birthday when my city was submerged in flood waters. In spite of the calamitous weather, I had to take her blessings on her birthday. How could I not? I feel every time I miss out on taking her blessings, I lose a precious chance to touch divinity.
So I reminded her that on her birthday this year, I insisted on wishing her and kept calling her until she came on the phone. “I had to take your call on my birthday because if I did not, you would keep trying until I did. You never give up,”she teased me.
We both laughed at that. Her laughter was frail though. I felt uneasy about her health. And I was right. This is the first time she was hospitalized in the last twenty years. I froze when I got to know of her condition. But even more alarming was he conjecture and exaggerations in the media.
“Lata Mangeshkar Critical,” … “Lata Mangeshkar On Ventilator…” Really?
Where does all this (mis)information come from? And why are alarmist headlines so popular? Why is is it more exciting to say ‘Critical’ rather than ‘Stable & Recovering?’
Lataji and I had spoken about alarmist headlines when Mr Bachchan was hospitalized recently. She wondered, “Why are people so eager to hear alarming news reports on Bachchan Saab? The nation wants him to be well and healthy always.”
As for reports filtering out of hospital sources giving away health bulletins, a source quoted in a leading news agency’s report claims Lataji was brought to the hospital in a 'critical condition”.
If this is not a violation and breach of an individual’s right to ail privately, then what is? Lataji was neither ‘critical’ when she was admitted into hospital nor was she ever in a high-risk area of health scare.
She was admitted as precautionary measure to ensure her condition remained stable. And it was alarm and dread that were projected in the press.A panic state of pseudo-concern concealing a disturbing glee gotten from celebrity distress.
As Lataji recovers, I remember telling her recently that I wished to come to Mumbai to meet her again. “Aaiye. Zaroor aaiye, Aapko kaun rok sakta hai,” she replied with that sense of mischief in her voice that belongs not to someone 90, but 9.
Keep laughing, Lataji. And don’t scare us again.
Also Read: “I never thought of myself as special”, claims Lata Mangeshkar on turning 90
The suffocating smog that has shrouded Delhi for the past two weeks is taking its toll on Bollywood’s keenness to shoot films in the Capital. One hears from reliable sources that the shooting of the Karan Johar production Dostana 2 which was to feature Kartik Aaryan and Janhvi Kapoor has been called off due to the unfriendly climatic condition.
A source clued in to the unfortunate setback reveals, “The cast and crew couldn’t breathe. Visibility was so low that the camera couldn’t capture the shots properly. It was a no-win situation. The team decided to disperse until the weather improves.”
Interestingly a while ago, Priyanka Chopra, who starred in the original Dostana film in 2008, was shooting in Delhi with Rajkummar Rao for The White Tiger. She posted a message about the hostile climate of Delhi and got trolled for it.
But the suffocating air in Delhi has begun to impact Bollywood’s Delhi plans. A number of filmmakers are either waiting for the smog to clear or seriously thinking of re-locating their films to another city.
Also Read: Kartik Aaryan takes Karan Johar’s ‘ashirwaad’ as he heads to Chandigarh for Dostana 2
Telugu superstar Prabhas suffered a bit of a box office blow with the multi-lingual action thriller Saaho. The actor has now moved on to his next. Titled Jaan, it would be an out-and-out romantic film with Pooja Hegde as his significant other.
Sources in the know reveal Jaan, to be directed by Radha Krishna Kumar, would feature minimal action. “Prabhas feels his fans have had their fill of action in Saaho, at least for a while. Jaan will be a romantic film with a large number of songs to be composed by Amit Trivedi.”
More significantly there will be no Hindi version of Jaan. According to sources, Prabhas is done with trying to woo the Hindi belt for now. “He will focus on his primary market for the next couple of films. The Hindi market can wait. Prabhas won’t lose his core audience for a pie in the sky,” says the source.
The Hindi version of Saaho lost a huge amount of money, thereby providing a lesson to all actors from the non-Hindi language making a crossover into the mainstream.
Baahubali was an isolated instance.
Also Read: Prabhas gets a sweet birthday wish from Baahubali co-star Rana Daggubati
Ayushmann Khurrana’s eighth consecutive hit Bala was hit by a roadblock on Saturday when, anticipating unrest after the Ayodhya decision, theatres in some cities in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, specially Bhopal, decided to down shutters. The one-day hit has, however, not put this winner of a film on the back foot. Collections everywhere soared by 60 percent over the weekend.
Bihar’s prominent distributor Kishan Damani comments, “The collections of Bala are better and has opened stronger than Ayushmann Khurrana’s previous release Dream Girl with better reviews all across. Yes, collections were hit in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh where theatres were closed to government orders.”
Another prominent exhibitor-distributor from Mumbai who wishes to go unnamed says Bala was initially affected by the release of a similar film a week earlier. “After Ujda Chaman last week audiences felt it was too much to see another film about premature balding. But they went nevertheless only because of Ayushmann Khurrana who has become synonymous with quality products.”
Also Read: “We are sending out a powerful social message with Bala,” says Ayushmann Khurrana who has registered his biggest opening with this film
Takht, Karan Johar’s proposed take on the Mughal dynasty, has incensed none other than Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli Chandel who has publicly accused Johar of making Moghul invaders look sexy.
Calling Karan “dumb” Rangoli writes, "And now not surprisingly our dear Karan Johar is making a film on this cruel bloodline, he will depict Aurangzeb cruelty through his abs and sexual relationships…These dumb filmmakers need to be stopped from sexual depiction of historic characters, before they start their crying drama and claim that democracy is dead and bring international shame to the nation, I request authorities to ask them to submit their scripts.”
While one cannot endorse Ms Rangoli’s entreaty to “submit” scripts to “authorities” (last checked we still functioned as a democracy) there is some truth in her allegation of glamorizing and sexualizing the invader.
A major filmmaker who wishes to remain unnamed says the culture of glamorizing plunderers began before Takht. “Karan Johar came in later. We first had Sanjay Leela Bhansali portraying Aalluddin Khilji as a ferocious macho man in Padmaavat, wild and raunchy, a sexy anti-hero. Karan, as we all know, aspires to be another Sanjay Leela Bhansali. If Bhansali made Allauddin sexy, Johar will make Aurangzeb sexier, especially since Vicky Kaushal is portraying the Moghul invader.”
Also Read: Taapsee Pannu takes a jibe at Kangana Ranaut and Rangoli Chandel?
Takht, Karan Johar’s proposed take on the Mughal dynasty, has incensed none other than Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli Chandel who has publicly accused Johar of making Moghul invaders look sexy.
Calling Karan “dumb” Rangoli writes, "And now not surprisingly our dear Karan Johar is making a film on this cruel bloodline, he will depict Aurangzeb cruelty through his abs and sexual relationships…These dumb filmmakers need to be stopped from sexual depiction of historic characters, before they start their crying drama and claim that democracy is dead and bring international shame to the nation, I request authorities to ask them to submit their scripts.”
While one cannot endorse Ms Rangoli’s entreaty to “submit” scripts to “authorities” (last checked we still functioned as a democracy) there is some truth in her allegation of glamorizing and sexualizing the invader.
A major filmmaker who wishes to remain unnamed says the culture of glamorizing plunderers began before Takht. “Karan Johar came in later. We first had Sanjay Leela Bhansali portraying Aalluddin Khilji as a ferocious macho man in Padmaavat, wild and raunchy, a sexy anti-hero. Karan, as we all know, aspires to be another Sanjay Leela Bhansali. If Bhansali made Allauddin sexy, Johar will make Aurangzeb sexier, especially since Vicky Kaushal is portraying the Moghul invader.”
Also Read: Taapsee Pannu takes a jibe at Kangana Ranaut and Rangoli Chandel?
One of the USPs of the Dabangg franchise is the song Tere mast mast do nain and its follow-up ‘Tere Naina Bade Dagabaaz’ in the sequel, both sung by Pakistan’s much-respected Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. But now with relations between India and Pakistan deteriorating rapidly and seeping down to cultural exchanges as well, the Dabangg producers Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan and the song’s composers Sajid-Wajid have no choice but to replace the original Pakistani voice.
Speaking exclusively to this writer Wajid (one-half of the composers Sajid-Wajid) reveals, “Yes we replaced Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice with Javed Ali.” Javed who has sung some big chartbusters in recent times like ‘Kajra Re’ (Bunty Aur Babli), ‘Nagada’ (Jab We Met) and ‘Galat Baat Hai’ (Main Tera Hero) was seen as a natural replacement for the formidable original. Says composer Wajid, “This decision was unanimous. When it comes to the country, nothing else matters. We would be willing to sacrifice even our lives to protect our country. How does sacrificing a singer matter? And we don’t even see it a sacrifice.”
Wajid wants to make it clear that this move to remove Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is not to be taken personally. “We have the highest regard for him. He is an enormously talented singer. Many of his fans regard his song in Dabangg and Dabangg 2 to be the best he has sung in India. And we’re proud of those songs. Lekin ab kya Karen? Halaat hi kuch aise gaye ho donon mulk ke beech. We respect individual talent from every part of the world. Bollywood welcomes talent from all over the world. In fact we are often hospitable at the cost of our own talent. But now things have changed. We have to shut all doors and windows between the two countries. We can’t exempt cultural exchanges from the ban on Pakistan.”
Wajid says Javed Ali has done full justice to the song in Dabangg 3. “Javed is a great voice. We don’t need talent from anywhere else. We have the some of the greatest talent here.”
Also Read: REVEALED: Salman Khan drops Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice from Dabangg 3’s ‘Naina’ song
The trailer of the new Kartik Aaryan comedy Pati Patni Aur Woh has evoked a mixed response. But the one dialogue that has the social media uniformly up in arms has Kartik Aaryan whining and complaining about the volume of sex in his married life.
Kartik says, "Biwi se sex maang lein, toh hum bhikaari. Biwi ko sex mana kar dein, toh hum atyachaari aur kisi tarah jugaad laga ke uss se sex haasil kar lein na toh balaatkaari bhi hum hain." (If we ask the wife for sex, we are beggars.If we say no to the wife for sex we are tormentors and if somehow we manage to get sex from her we are rapists).
The shockingly insensitive remarks have not gone down well with the public. A section of Twitter users see this as an endorsement of marital rape. This writer tried getting in touch with Kartik and the film’s director who remained unavailable for comment.
However a source from the production team feels the dialogue will have to go. “Since Kartik Aaryan’s monologue in Pyaar Ka Punchnaama was a hit they thought of doing another one this time and got carried away. The offensive monologue will be edited out of the film.”
Also Read: Ananya Panday's dreamy pink outfit at the Pati, Patni Aur Woh trailer launch is a hit
The trailer of the new Kartik Aaryan comedy Pati Patni Aur Woh has evoked a mixed response. But the one dialogue that has the social media uniformly up in arms has Kartik Aaryan whining and complaining about the volume of sex in his married life.
Kartik says, "Biwi se sex maang lein, toh hum bhikaari. Biwi ko sex mana kar dein, toh hum atyachaari aur kisi tarah jugaad laga ke uss se sex haasil kar lein na toh balaatkaari bhi hum hain." (If we ask the wife for sex, we are beggars.If we say no to the wife for sex we are tormentors and if somehow we manage to get sex from her we are rapists).
The shockingly insensitive remarks have not gone down well with the public. A section of Twitter users see this as an endorsement of marital rape. This writer tried getting in touch with Kartik and the film’s director who remained unavailable for comment.
However a source from the production team feels the dialogue will have to go. “Since Kartik Aaryan’s monologue in Pyaar Ka Punchnaama was a hit they thought of doing another one this time and got carried away. The offensive monologue will be edited out of the film.”
Also Read: Ananya Panday's dreamy pink outfit at the Pati, Patni Aur Woh trailer launch is a hit
Raakhee Gulzar the legendary actress who ruled Hindi and Bengali cinema for more than 25 years with memorable performances in a slew of films in both the languages was last seen in Rituparno Ghosh’s whodunit Shubho Mahurat in 2003.
And now she is back on the screen with a Bengali film Gautam Haldar’s Nirbaan. It was screened on November 9 as part of the Kolkata International Film festival. Says the forthright actress, “The film has been ready for some time now. I’ve no idea why its release is delayed. But it’s a very relevant subject. We’ve made it in Bengali and Hindi.”
It was a triumphant homecoming for veteran actress Raakhee Gulzar when she touched down on Kolkata on November 8 as a special guest at the Kolkata International Film festival.
Shockingly, Raakheeji whose breathtaking beauty inspired Sahir Ludhianvi to write the lines Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal aata hai ke jaise tujhko banaya gaya hai mere liye, reveals that she has never been invited by Festival before. “This is the 25th year of existence for the Kolkata Film Festival. Not once did they invite me before this. This is the first invitation I’ve got and that too because Mamtaji (Bengal’s chief minister Mama Bannerjee) wanted me to be honoured. I said yes because of her.”
The honorary function went swimmingly with Bengal’s chief minister ensuring her presence throughout. Says Raakheeji appreciatively, “She was giving instructions about the Bengal cyclone on the phone while attending the function to honour me. She is a wonderful person, much misunderstood and vilified for being a powerful woman.”
Shah Rukh Khan was also present at the function to honour Raakheeji. Says the veteran actress fondly, “Shah Rukh is very fond of both me and Mamtaji. Ever since I played his mother in Baazigar and Karan Arjun he has been very close to me. And he hasn’t changed one bit over the years. He held my hand and greeted me with the same warmth.”
Raakheedi invited Shah Rukh to accompany her on stage. “On stage I made him recite two lines from Rabindranath Tagore’s O Amar Desher which talks about bowing one’s head to one’s motherland. Shah Rukh recited the lines like a Bengali.”
So her fans have something to look forward to?
She laughs her throaty laughter. “Fans? I don’t think anyone even remembers me today. Time has moved on. The young audience today is not familiar with my work…or maybe they know Kabhi Kabhie, Paroma and a few others.”
Any unfulfilled wishes? “Yes, I always wanted to work with Tapan Sinha. According to me he is the best filmmaker Bengal has ever produced. So progressive, so ahead of his times. It was my misfortune that I never got a chance to work with him.”
Working with Rituparno Ghosh was also a pleasure. “He was very very good with women characters. In fact I recommended Ritu to Aishwarya Rai when she was considering Chokher Bali. It is sad that he died so young. He was the most powerful emerging voice of Bengali cinema.”
The nightingale of India is well on the way to recovery. She did give us all a scare, though, when a chest infection landed her in the hospital on Monday. Just days before her hospitalization, I had spoken to her. As always I could sense she was not well from the moment she said her first word on the phone, ‘Hello’.
“Didi, what’s wrong?” my voice rose to a shrill near-hysterical pitch. “Calm down. I am fine,” she whispered in a rasping tone. “This is why I don’t tell you when I am unwell. You get so worked up that I end up regretting telling you about it. It’s a routine chest infection. Nothing major. I’ve fever. I feel a little weak but nothing to worry about,” she had reassured me.
But somehow, I wasn’t pacified. I knew this time her ailment was more serious than her cold-and-cough and the upset stomach. But, I didn’t press the point. I quickly reminded her that the last time we had spoken was on her birthday when my city was submerged in flood waters. In spite of the calamitous weather, I had to take her blessings on her birthday. How could I not? I feel every time I miss out on taking her blessings, I lose a precious chance to touch divinity.
So I reminded her that on her birthday this year, I insisted on wishing her and kept calling her until she came on the phone. “I had to take your call on my birthday because if I did not, you would keep trying until I did. You never give up,”she teased me.
We both laughed at that. Her laughter was frail though. I felt uneasy about her health. And I was right. This is the first time she was hospitalized in the last twenty years. I froze when I got to know of her condition. But even more alarming was he conjecture and exaggerations in the media.
“Lata Mangeshkar Critical,” … “Lata Mangeshkar On Ventilator…” Really?
Where does all this (mis)information come from? And why are alarmist headlines so popular? Why is is it more exciting to say ‘Critical’ rather than ‘Stable & Recovering?’
Lataji and I had spoken about alarmist headlines when Mr Bachchan was hospitalized recently. She wondered, “Why are people so eager to hear alarming news reports on Bachchan Saab? The nation wants him to be well and healthy always.”
As for reports filtering out of hospital sources giving away health bulletins, a source quoted in a leading news agency’s report claims Lataji was brought to the hospital in a 'critical condition”.
If this is not a violation and breach of an individual’s right to ail privately, then what is? Lataji was neither ‘critical’ when she was admitted into hospital nor was she ever in a high-risk area of health scare.
She was admitted as precautionary measure to ensure her condition remained stable. And it was alarm and dread that were projected in the press.A panic state of pseudo-concern concealing a disturbing glee gotten from celebrity distress.
As Lataji recovers, I remember telling her recently that I wished to come to Mumbai to meet her again. “Aaiye. Zaroor aaiye, Aapko kaun rok sakta hai,” she replied with that sense of mischief in her voice that belongs not to someone 90, but 9.
Keep laughing, Lataji. And don’t scare us again.
Also Read: “I never thought of myself as special”, claims Lata Mangeshkar on turning 90
The suffocating smog that has shrouded Delhi for the past two weeks is taking its toll on Bollywood’s keenness to shoot films in the Capital. One hears from reliable sources that the shooting of the Karan Johar production Dostana 2 which was to feature Kartik Aaryan and Janhvi Kapoor has been called off due to the unfriendly climatic condition.
A source clued in to the unfortunate setback reveals, “The cast and crew couldn’t breathe. Visibility was so low that the camera couldn’t capture the shots properly. It was a no-win situation. The team decided to disperse until the weather improves.”
Interestingly a while ago, Priyanka Chopra, who starred in the original Dostana film in 2008, was shooting in Delhi with Rajkummar Rao for The White Tiger. She posted a message about the hostile climate of Delhi and got trolled for it.
But the suffocating air in Delhi has begun to impact Bollywood’s Delhi plans. A number of filmmakers are either waiting for the smog to clear or seriously thinking of re-locating their films to another city.
Also Read: Kartik Aaryan takes Karan Johar’s ‘ashirwaad’ as he heads to Chandigarh for Dostana 2
Telugu superstar Prabhas suffered a bit of a box office blow with the multi-lingual action thriller Saaho. The actor has now moved on to his next. Titled Jaan, it would be an out-and-out romantic film with Pooja Hegde as his significant other.
Sources in the know reveal Jaan, to be directed by Radha Krishna Kumar, would feature minimal action. “Prabhas feels his fans have had their fill of action in Saaho, at least for a while. Jaan will be a romantic film with a large number of songs to be composed by Amit Trivedi.”
More significantly there will be no Hindi version of Jaan. According to sources, Prabhas is done with trying to woo the Hindi belt for now. “He will focus on his primary market for the next couple of films. The Hindi market can wait. Prabhas won’t lose his core audience for a pie in the sky,” says the source.
The Hindi version of Saaho lost a huge amount of money, thereby providing a lesson to all actors from the non-Hindi language making a crossover into the mainstream.
Baahubali was an isolated instance.
Also Read: Prabhas gets a sweet birthday wish from Baahubali co-star Rana Daggubati
Ayushmann Khurrana’s eighth consecutive hit Bala was hit by a roadblock on Saturday when, anticipating unrest after the Ayodhya decision, theatres in some cities in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, specially Bhopal, decided to down shutters. The one-day hit has, however, not put this winner of a film on the back foot. Collections everywhere soared by 60 percent over the weekend.
Bihar’s prominent distributor Kishan Damani comments, “The collections of Bala are better and has opened stronger than Ayushmann Khurrana’s previous release Dream Girl with better reviews all across. Yes, collections were hit in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh where theatres were closed to government orders.”
Another prominent exhibitor-distributor from Mumbai who wishes to go unnamed says Bala was initially affected by the release of a similar film a week earlier. “After Ujda Chaman last week audiences felt it was too much to see another film about premature balding. But they went nevertheless only because of Ayushmann Khurrana who has become synonymous with quality products.”
Also Read: “We are sending out a powerful social message with Bala,” says Ayushmann Khurrana who has registered his biggest opening with this film
Takht, Karan Johar’s proposed take on the Mughal dynasty, has incensed none other than Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli Chandel who has publicly accused Johar of making Moghul invaders look sexy.
Calling Karan “dumb” Rangoli writes, "And now not surprisingly our dear Karan Johar is making a film on this cruel bloodline, he will depict Aurangzeb cruelty through his abs and sexual relationships…These dumb filmmakers need to be stopped from sexual depiction of historic characters, before they start their crying drama and claim that democracy is dead and bring international shame to the nation, I request authorities to ask them to submit their scripts.”
While one cannot endorse Ms Rangoli’s entreaty to “submit” scripts to “authorities” (last checked we still functioned as a democracy) there is some truth in her allegation of glamorizing and sexualizing the invader.
A major filmmaker who wishes to remain unnamed says the culture of glamorizing plunderers began before Takht. “Karan Johar came in later. We first had Sanjay Leela Bhansali portraying Aalluddin Khilji as a ferocious macho man in Padmaavat, wild and raunchy, a sexy anti-hero. Karan, as we all know, aspires to be another Sanjay Leela Bhansali. If Bhansali made Allauddin sexy, Johar will make Aurangzeb sexier, especially since Vicky Kaushal is portraying the Moghul invader.”
Also Read: Taapsee Pannu takes a jibe at Kangana Ranaut and Rangoli Chandel?
Takht, Karan Johar’s proposed take on the Mughal dynasty, has incensed none other than Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli Chandel who has publicly accused Johar of making Moghul invaders look sexy.
Calling Karan “dumb” Rangoli writes, "And now not surprisingly our dear Karan Johar is making a film on this cruel bloodline, he will depict Aurangzeb cruelty through his abs and sexual relationships…These dumb filmmakers need to be stopped from sexual depiction of historic characters, before they start their crying drama and claim that democracy is dead and bring international shame to the nation, I request authorities to ask them to submit their scripts.”
While one cannot endorse Ms Rangoli’s entreaty to “submit” scripts to “authorities” (last checked we still functioned as a democracy) there is some truth in her allegation of glamorizing and sexualizing the invader.
A major filmmaker who wishes to remain unnamed says the culture of glamorizing plunderers began before Takht. “Karan Johar came in later. We first had Sanjay Leela Bhansali portraying Aalluddin Khilji as a ferocious macho man in Padmaavat, wild and raunchy, a sexy anti-hero. Karan, as we all know, aspires to be another Sanjay Leela Bhansali. If Bhansali made Allauddin sexy, Johar will make Aurangzeb sexier, especially since Vicky Kaushal is portraying the Moghul invader.”
Also Read: Taapsee Pannu takes a jibe at Kangana Ranaut and Rangoli Chandel?
One of the USPs of the Dabangg franchise is the song Tere mast mast do nain and its follow-up ‘Tere Naina Bade Dagabaaz’ in the sequel, both sung by Pakistan’s much-respected Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. But now with relations between India and Pakistan deteriorating rapidly and seeping down to cultural exchanges as well, the Dabangg producers Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan and the song’s composers Sajid-Wajid have no choice but to replace the original Pakistani voice.
Speaking exclusively to this writer Wajid (one-half of the composers Sajid-Wajid) reveals, “Yes we replaced Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice with Javed Ali.” Javed who has sung some big chartbusters in recent times like ‘Kajra Re’ (Bunty Aur Babli), ‘Nagada’ (Jab We Met) and ‘Galat Baat Hai’ (Main Tera Hero) was seen as a natural replacement for the formidable original. Says composer Wajid, “This decision was unanimous. When it comes to the country, nothing else matters. We would be willing to sacrifice even our lives to protect our country. How does sacrificing a singer matter? And we don’t even see it a sacrifice.”
Wajid wants to make it clear that this move to remove Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is not to be taken personally. “We have the highest regard for him. He is an enormously talented singer. Many of his fans regard his song in Dabangg and Dabangg 2 to be the best he has sung in India. And we’re proud of those songs. Lekin ab kya Karen? Halaat hi kuch aise gaye ho donon mulk ke beech. We respect individual talent from every part of the world. Bollywood welcomes talent from all over the world. In fact we are often hospitable at the cost of our own talent. But now things have changed. We have to shut all doors and windows between the two countries. We can’t exempt cultural exchanges from the ban on Pakistan.”
Wajid says Javed Ali has done full justice to the song in Dabangg 3. “Javed is a great voice. We don’t need talent from anywhere else. We have the some of the greatest talent here.”
Also Read: REVEALED: Salman Khan drops Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice from Dabangg 3’s ‘Naina’ song
The trailer of the new Kartik Aaryan comedy Pati Patni Aur Woh has evoked a mixed response. But the one dialogue that has the social media uniformly up in arms has Kartik Aaryan whining and complaining about the volume of sex in his married life.
Kartik says, "Biwi se sex maang lein, toh hum bhikaari. Biwi ko sex mana kar dein, toh hum atyachaari aur kisi tarah jugaad laga ke uss se sex haasil kar lein na toh balaatkaari bhi hum hain." (If we ask the wife for sex, we are beggars.If we say no to the wife for sex we are tormentors and if somehow we manage to get sex from her we are rapists).
The shockingly insensitive remarks have not gone down well with the public. A section of Twitter users see this as an endorsement of marital rape. This writer tried getting in touch with Kartik and the film’s director who remained unavailable for comment.
However a source from the production team feels the dialogue will have to go. “Since Kartik Aaryan’s monologue in Pyaar Ka Punchnaama was a hit they thought of doing another one this time and got carried away. The offensive monologue will be edited out of the film.”
Also Read: Ananya Panday's dreamy pink outfit at the Pati, Patni Aur Woh trailer launch is a hit
The trailer of the new Kartik Aaryan comedy Pati Patni Aur Woh has evoked a mixed response. But the one dialogue that has the social media uniformly up in arms has Kartik Aaryan whining and complaining about the volume of sex in his married life.
Kartik says, "Biwi se sex maang lein, toh hum bhikaari. Biwi ko sex mana kar dein, toh hum atyachaari aur kisi tarah jugaad laga ke uss se sex haasil kar lein na toh balaatkaari bhi hum hain." (If we ask the wife for sex, we are beggars.If we say no to the wife for sex we are tormentors and if somehow we manage to get sex from her we are rapists).
The shockingly insensitive remarks have not gone down well with the public. A section of Twitter users see this as an endorsement of marital rape. This writer tried getting in touch with Kartik and the film’s director who remained unavailable for comment.
However a source from the production team feels the dialogue will have to go. “Since Kartik Aaryan’s monologue in Pyaar Ka Punchnaama was a hit they thought of doing another one this time and got carried away. The offensive monologue will be edited out of the film.”
Also Read: Ananya Panday's dreamy pink outfit at the Pati, Patni Aur Woh trailer launch is a hit