Gossip with Shreya Narayan
Shreya Narayan, who plays the leading lady opposite Sukhwinder Singh in Kuchh Kariye tells Jyothi Venkatesh that Ash isn't her inspiration but actresses who have sustained themselves in the field of acting beyond their ages and beauty like Merryl Streep, who at the age of 63 is still playing the lead in Hollywood blockbusters.
Is Kuchh Kariye your first film as an actress? What is your role in it?
Kuchh Kariye is not my debut film as an actress. I had made my debut with Ek Dastak in the lead with Vasundhara Das and Narendra Jha three years ago but felt that I was yet another actress in the film and hence decided to take a break and now am re-emerging with Kuchh Kariye. I play the role of Alpana, who wants to explore her talent as a singer though she is living as a live in partner in a small town like Dehra Dun with the well known singer Rishi, played by Sukhwinder, who is making his debut with the film as a leading man. Rishi is already a well known singer. Alpana and Rishi decide to migrate to Mumbai to explore their potential.
To what extent do you relate to your character in the film, in real life? Till a few years ago, Alpana in the film was actually me, unsure and trying to explore myself in the field of education. I could easily identify with the milieu in which the film has been set and the insecurities which Alpana undergoes and hence I could relate to Alpana. I confess that though I did my education as per my parents' desire, I became a rebel and told my parents that I wanted to be an actress. I am glad that I was lucky to have got an opportunity to pursue what I wanted to.
Considering the fact you hail from Bihar, were you allowed to do what you wanted?
My grand mother was the grand niece of India's first ever President Dr Rajendra Prasad. Women in our family did what they wanted to do and were never told what they should do.
What do you think is important for a girl to become an actress- beauty or talent? Though I do not think that beauty is a criterion to be an actress, I know that till you get many opportunities here, even talent isn't considered important. You learn through awareness from life. I learnt that acting isn't elusive and you can learn it, even if it isn't in your blood. I learnt acting from Neeraj Kabhi. Kareena or for that matter Karisma Kapoor are not great actresses just because of their talent but because they belong to the Kapoor family.
How is Sukhwinder, who is a good singer, as an actor?
Sukhi observed all of us on the sets almost for a week and after a week, he picked up nuances of acting and even turned the table on us by proving to be even better than all of us. Sukhi is not required as an actor to show off his body in the film because the character that he plays does not require him to do so. In any case, I think that the lean era is now in as far as men are concerned. What is your take on love and lust? When you are in love, you should build some thing together and work on the same goal. There should be an ideological meeting point when two people are in love. I feel that love without respect is nothing. It is like a meal which you enjoy just once. Lust is just transitory. It is something which just fades away sooner than you think it will.
Are you okay as far as a live in relationship is concerned?
A place becomes small not because of hemisphere but according to your thinking. A live in relationship is quite possible in Dehra Dun or even Mussoorie but not in Bareilly or for that matter Muzaffarpur. I do not believe that you have to be married to live with some one you love. What one does spontaneously is more important than following the diktats of the traditions and rituals.
To what extent, are you ready to flaunt your skin on the screen?
For me body is just another vehicle of an actor. If I play a prostitute, I'd be ready to titillate a part of the character. If I play a diva or a swimmer, I'd be game to appear in a two piece bikini too, because I like to be true to my character. Though as an actor, I do not have inhibitions, as Shreya Narayan, I have inhibitions in real life, because the character I play in a film could be bold but I am not as bold as Mallika Sherawat is. Mallika has a different sensibility than most of the other actresses.
Does it mean that you are not scared of the syndrome of the casting couch?
To tell you the truth, in the first few years after I came from Delhi, I would not even go to meet people because I was scared of the casting couch. The more confident I became of myself, the more did I lose my fears, because I came to know myself. I worked a lot on my mind and insecurities. Fame is the test that you have to pass. Till you become famous, you will continue to be humiliated. After you become famous, you will be judged. Hence it is difficult for me to be in comfort zone as an actor, because people will always test you to know what kind of a person you are and what kind of milieu do you come from. They think you are easily available, if you are an actress. It helps me that I have a mind of my own and am assertive. I do not get frazzled in front of people because I cannot be made to feel lesser. I have been a loner but never lonely.
Which are the films that you have up your sleeves now?
I am acting in Maqsad directed by Sudanshu Jha, as an ACP, with Parveen Dabas and Yashpal Sharma as my co-actors. I am also acting in Tanu Weds Manu opposite Jimmy Shergill, beside a small role in Prakash Jha's Rajneeti. I may also be doing a mini series in Hindi for BBC. It will be an adaptation of a cult show in BBC, UK. I believe in the sensitivity that acting is bigger than big names and therefore I believe that it will make me stay longer. Ash isn't my inspiration but actresses who have sustained themselves in the field of acting beyond their ages and beauty like Meryl Strep who at the age of 63 is still playing the lead in Hollywood blockbuster.
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Bollywood Movie Review " Paathshala "
There are few films, a star does for friendship and some with the lure of working under a big banner, irrespective of their content. An extremely choosy actor Shahid Kapoor after giving big hits like Vivaah, Jab We Met and Kaminey has been giving duds like Dil Bole Hadippa (Yash Raj Films), Chance Pe Dance (UTV) and an equally bad follow up with Paathshaala. Shahid’s friendship with producer of the film, ace choreographer Ahmed Khan is well known. But still we wish, he should have not blindly trusted his buddy when it came to a film! Shahid plays Rahul Prakash Udyawar the new English teacher joining Saraswati Vidya Mandir, a school established in 1941. Since the school doesn’t have a music teacher, he ends up being one as well. He gets help in this from the school's nutritionist-cum-admin girl, Anjali Mathur (Ayesha Takia). School principal Aditya Sahay (Nana Patekar). Anjali ends up falling for Rahul during this process. Sahay who has nurtured the school for 32 years, cannot see it going down financially. So, he gives in to the management's demands of generating more revenue by commercialising the operations of the school.
This is met with intense opposition from the teachers, but they eventually have to comply to save their respective jobs. The school management even decides t hired PR experts to change its image.
Thus began, film and ad shoots happen on campus wherein students are used as extras. And before they know it, all kids have to now keep aside studies for 10 days and prepare for a reality show audition.
The rest of the film is about how the reality show thing tortures the students and how Rahul stands against it.
Director Milind Ukey who gave us the very lovable animated film Hanuman has got a good topical subject on hand but falters big time in the script written by producer Ahmed Khan himself.
While it identifies the problems perfectly, a proper solution is not offered in the end. Also what happens to the school finally is also not made clear.
Bad dialogues are made only worse by loud acting by most of the cast. Certain emotional scenes leave you either bored or end up making you laugh. Hanif Sheikh’s music barring the Lucky Ali number Aye Khuda is nothing much to praise about.
In an attempt to showcase how education goes for a toss in private schools as the managements aims to earn the extra buck the makers also don’t lose out a chance to make a satire out of the media, shifting focus from his original aim.
The pathetic climax is unintentionally hilarious with no conclusion to what happened to the villains of commercialization and all suddenly become well!
Shahid Kapoor and Nana Patekar are the only saving graces of the film with their well nuanced performances. The rest including Ayesha Takia don’t really make a difference. The child stars are just about okay.
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TBS AND Conan O’Brien Mixed up
It’s official – Conan O’Brien is moving to TBS:
“In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theater, and now I’m headed to basic cable,” O’Brien said in the statement. “My plan is working perfectly.”
He also Tweeted Monday: “The good news: I will be doing a show on TBS starting in November! The bad news: I’ll be playing Rudy on the all new Cosby Show.”
In an increasingly multi-platform-al (a word) media environment, being on basic cable isn’t quite the kids’ table it used to be, and the lack of network pressure on TBS and its basic-cableness in general might allow Conan and his writers unprecedented freedom on the show, an assuredly positive thing. With a concentrated web presence and a little more rope from a station that’ll be thrilled to have him in any capacity, Conan may thrive like never before, especially riding his current wave of intensely positive buzz and fan support.
.On the downside, basic cable is still basic cable, so Conan automatically loses casual viewers and casual ratings points, and will never officially be going up against Leno and Letterman, for whatever that’s worth status-wise. Plus, the fact that his show’s absurdity was occurring on network tv in front of some portion of bewildered random tv-spectators was part of the allure; absurd shows on basic cable — the home of Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, FX, etc — are commonplace, which certainly alters the show’s identity (though for sure, the “NBC doesn’t care about us or give us any budget” dynamic should transition seamlessly into “Now I’m on basic cable”).
Still, after the initial surprise at this news (especially in the wake of Fox rumors earlier today), there’s no reason to judge the situation until we see some episodes. Obviously, if fans show Conan’s TBS show one tenth of the support he received during the NBC Tonight Show fiasco, he’ll be fine. Or in other words, he’ll be fine.
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Tiger Woods and his Father in and Add
The unexpected co-stars of a new Nike commercial: Tiger Woods and his deceased dad Earl. In the new Nike spot, a silent Tiger gazes at the camera while the voice of his late father does the talking. Eerily, the recording seems to scold the golfer -- from beyond the grave. "I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are. Did you learn anything?" Earl asks, as the camera moves closer to Tiger. Watch the commercial Nike revealed before the Masters here:
The 30-second spot began airing Wednesday on ESPN and the Golf Channel. Nike is among the only companies to continue their relationship with Woods in the wake of his sex scandal. Tag Heuer, Accenture, Gillette, AT&T and Gatorade have cut ties with the golfer.
"We support Tiger and his family. As he returns to competitive golf, the ad addresses his time away from the game using the powerful words of his father," Nike officials said in a statement obtained by the NY Daily News.
Nike officials said the ad will only run until 4PM Wednesday.
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Engagement of Michael Lohan and Kate Major
Why would Kate align herself with someone who can’t pay his child support and is still stalking his ex-girlfriend? From Radar Online:
“Yes, we’re engaged,” a thrilled Kate told RadarOnline.com. “Michael and I have been talking about it over the last two weeks but we didn’t want to say anything about it because he wanted to ask my father’s permission.
“So we flew to Florida and my father gave us his blessing. I’m very traditional and my father and I are very close and I’ve always felt that whoever I married, he’d have to get my dad’s permission.”
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