The song remains incomplete
Actress Katrina Kaif, who was looking forward to romancing her Jab Tak Hai Jaan co-star Shah Rukh Khan in a song sequence to be shot in Switzerland for their upcoming film, is disheartened after Yash Chopra's demise — she feels she would be bereft of the iconic
moments lent by the director to his leading ladies.
A portion from the unfinished song was to be shot in Switzerland, a country whose scenic
beauty has been the captured in many of Chopra's films.
He was to travel to Switzerland this month but had to hospitalised for dengue fever on October 13 and passed away on October 21.
Katrina was to wear a white chiffon sari, designed by Manish Malhotra, for the song.
"It is sad that we did not get to shoot it (the song). We had zeroed in one a sari out of the 12 that were designed. I remember him (Yash Chopra) saying that it will
be a party when we shoot in Switzerland," Katrina laments.
"We had planned the sequence for the song — as in, how it will be shot in cold water and all of that. It is unfortunate that I won't be able to do it," she adds.
Shah Rukh Khan, who has worked with Chopra in several films like Darr, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Veer Zaara and others, confirms that the portion of the song that is yet to be shot has been shelved, since nothing can compare with Chopra's work.
"Just a minute-and-a-half-long portion of the song was to be shot in Switzerland — which we all wanted to have. For doing that portion of the song, we don't have the heart. We will make it impure if we had to shoot it. We have enough material for the song," he says.
'I don't believe in any genre'
After debuting with Aiyyaa — which did not do so well at the box office — Sachin Kundalkar is busy writing his second film and says it will go on the floors in January next year. "I am writing two scripts and both of them are almost ready. Now, I have to choose between the two scripts and put it on the floor," he says, adding, "I have almost decided the star cast and I shall make an announcement by December. And if things will fall in place, the film will go on the floors in early 2013."
Aiyyaa was a fairly unusual story of a Marathi girl, played by Rani Mukerji, who gets attracted to a guy because he smells a particular way. However, the concept didn't go down too well with audiences. Asked which genre he is experimenting with this time round, Sachin says, "I don't believe in any genre. For me, a film is a film. I can't say what (genre) my next film will be. But in a month's time, I will reveal it."
It wasn't just the box office that Aiyyaa failed to make an impact on — the film didn't go too well with critics either. Sachin admits that he is taking the negative reviews in a positive fashion. "The film has garnered a mixed response. As a film-maker, you should have the heart to take all criticism as well. Some have given me extremely good reviews, while others have given extremely negative ones. I know it is tough when people don't like your film but as a film-maker, I take these things as a challenge. I take it positively," he explains.
'Nothing is forced in this play'
Actress Nandita Das is all set to make her debut as a stage director with the play 'Between the Lines' that explores the intricacies of gender inequality.
"What is intriguing is that the educated and affluent class assumes that 'we are all sorted'. In our class, it's more subtle and deceptive — finely woven into the fabric of our
relationships (sic)," Nandita says.
So, she says, it has been interesting to explore the idea of relationships between couples that are supposed to be equals. Her work with the less-privileged has made her even more sensitive to the issue, says Nandita, who has also co-authored the play, besides acting in one of the two central roles.
Interestingly, she has also acted the role of another women in the play, drawing from her experience in street theatre with Safdar Hashmi.
'Between the Lines' is a contemporary play set in urban India.
The plot revolves around Maya and Shekhar, a lawyer couple married for 10 years.
Shekhar is a high-profile criminal lawyer, while Maya drafts routine contracts for a law firm. They end up arguing on opposite sides of a criminal trial, resulting in the blurring of their personal and professional lives.
English has been chosen as the language of the play. Asked about it, Nandita
says she was only being true to the characters and the milieu.
"Nothing is forced in the play. English has become the language of the class that this play is set in."
Shekhar Kapoor feels that Indian film-makers tend to misjudge the audience and this eventually leads to compromising on the content of the films.
"The film-makers don't have faith in the audience — there is a mistrust between both sides. There is a coalition of people saying 'how much money the film will make' and 'let's introduce an item number, otherwise people will not go and watch the film'.
But it's not like that, and this thinking has a huge impact," Kapoor says.
The film-maker, who is known for making films like Masoom, 'Mr India' and
'Bandit Queen', feels that the Indian film industry is not growing — rather, it's contracting.
"We say that it (films) is the medium of masses but it is actually now a medium of the elite, due to multiplexes. I think we are dismantling the audience that we have," says the 66-year-old.
The film-maker also believes that Indian cinema is behind Hollywood, only because of the lack of technology.
"We keep comparing our films to Hollywood movies.
It is not that we don't make great films or don't tell great stories. We lack in technology and in production design, which is not considered important here," says Kapoor
"We need to merge with the world to compete with them, rather than isolate ourselves. We have to improve our infrastructure," he adds.
Is she back in the show?
Mean and manipulative Tapasya, who made Ichcha's life hell in the
television show Uttaran, is ready to make a comeback in the popular show that has just completed 1,000 episodes.
The show, which went on air in December 2008 on Colors — has taken two generation leaps. It started as a story of two girls — slum kid Ichcha and Tapasya, who is born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
It traced the ups and downs their friendship goes through while they grow up together. The storyline took a 10-year leap forward to 2009 and actors Tina Dutta and Rashmi Desai were introduced as Ichcha and Tapasya respectively.
After the next generation leap — of 18 years, this time — Tapasya went missing from the show but now, the latest promos are hinting at her comeback.
According to sources, Rashmi is likely to play Tapasya.