'I've had so many mentors'
Actor-filmmaker Kamal Hassan feels that he has had not one, but several mentors in the film industry — each of whom has inspired him over the years.
"Even though I consider K Balachander as my first mentor, over the years, I've had so many other mentors — such as Balu Mahendra, P Bharathiraja, Ramesh Sippy and Dasari Narayana Rao, who have always inspired me with their work," he confesses.
"I screened the first copy of my film (Vishwaroopam) to my mentors recently. Unfortunately, Dasari sir and Balu Mahendra sir couldn't attend it due to other commitments. But the overwhelming feedback I've received from KB sir and Bharathiraja was very satisfying," he adds.
Vishwaroopam, a Tamil-Hindi bilingual action-thriller, is written, directed and produced by Kamal and he himself is playing the lead. It also stars Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah, Rahul Bose and Shekhar Kapur in important roles.
Strong opinions on stardom
Versatile actor Paresh Rawal feels that film stars have lost their charm, owing to extensive marketing and promotions. "The stars have lost their magic in Bollywood. If I call myself a star, then there's no need to go door to door and ask the audience to come and watch me in theatres. Does Rajnikanth do that? Does any Southern star do that? Only we do that," Paresh says.
"We have blown this marketing thing out of proportion — as though if we don't do this, then we are going to die. What is the need to go to Nagpur and wave your hands? People come because they like you. This is a very childish way of looking at marketing," he adds.
Paresh has observed the film industry very closely in his two-decade-long career and says that now, the stars in Bollywood want to play characters and don't want to sacrifice anything for the sake of stardom. "Every film will need a star. Even if there is no star, you want to make somebody a star.
Now, fortunately, all the stars like Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor have started playing characters," points out the 62-year-old, adding, "They don't want to sacrifice the character for the sake of stardom and this is a very positive sign."
'I'm open to experimenting'
Actress Chitrangada Singh has come a long way since her debut — she's worked with some of the biggest names in the industry and featured in films that have done very well at the box office.
But through it all, the actress has remained very grounded. She knows that opportunities in Bollywood don't come by that easy and says she is thankful to film-maker Sudhir Mishra for giving her the chance to taste life as an actor.
She was first cast in Mishra's 2003 film, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, and is often labelled as his muse. "Sudhir gave me a life as an actor. I owe him so much. Sudhir is a qualified man. He is a psychologist and he has a degree in that.
So, he understands different people and the way he directs his actors is outstanding," Chitrangada says candidly.She will be seen in Mishra's next film, Inkaar, as well and says that she has experimented with three different looks in the movie. "I am quite open to experimenting with different looks.
In this film, I have explored three different looks. This film is a story spanning seven years, so I have to look like a college kid initially, who works as an intern; then, a corporate look and then, wear a much more mature look," she explains. Inkaar is based on the theme of sexual harassment at the workplace and falls under the category of an A certificate movie. However, Chitrangada says she is open to such movies as long as there is strong content. "I think the censor board is doing a great job.
I am open to doing an adult-rated film as long as it has a strong content and (it is ) not just to titillate the audience," the 36-year-old says. Inkaar also features Arjun Rampal. It is slated to release on January 18.
Making good progress
Director Ali Abbas Zafar has finished shooting the first schedule of his next film, Gunday, which features Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra in
key roles.
"We finished the first schedule in Mumbai and it was very fascinating. We shot the first schedule in Chandivali Studio with Priyanka, Ranveer and Arjun. We had created an entire set there and it came up pretty well," Ali says. The director, who last helmed Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, says the second schedule will start sometime in January 2013.
"It will be on the outskirts of Mumbai. There is going to be a lot of action in the second schedule," he adds. Set in the 1970s, the movie deals with the black-marketing mafia men Bikram (played by Ranveer) and Bala (essayed by Arjun) in Kolkata. Ranveer recently injured himself slightly while shooting for a song sequence for the movie.
He suffered a small gash on his cheek and it required a few stitches, says his spokesperson. However, he is perfectly fine now.