Refreshing chemistry on screen
There's been a lot of talk about Zanjeer, the remake of the hit film, which is being directed by Apoorva Lakhia. While Ram Charan Teja had been selected as the male lead in the film, it was soon announced that he would be paired opposite none other than Priyanka Chopra. In fact, the actress recently joined the cast and crew of the film in Hyderabad, to shoot a certain portion of it. And seeing the manner in which she interacts with her co-star in front of the camera, the director of the movie is more than pleased.
In fact, Apoorva Lakhia seems to have struck gold with his casting — the on-screen chemistry between Priyanka Chopra and Ram Charan Teja in the Zanjeer remake is surprisingly refreshing, says the film-maker optimistically. "The chemistry of Priyanka and Ram Charan Teja is looking 2,000 times better than what I had expected. They both are looking surprisingly refreshing on-screen," confesses Apoorva. While Priyanka has been paired with many of the top actors in tinsel town — including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Ranbir Kapoor — this is the first time she's acting opposite Ram Charan Teja, and Apoorva feels the audience will react well to this pairing. He adds, "It was superb shooting in Hyderabad. We finished the second schedule at a stretch. The film has shaped up very well — that's all I can say as a director."
Produced by Reliance Entertainment, Amit Mehra and Flying Turtle Films, Zanjeer will release on April 12.
Recounting a great singer's life
Amitabh Bachchan recently released the book 'Mohammed Rafi, My Abba - A Memoir'. Rupa Srikumar and A K Srikumar translated the book from Hindi into English. Yasmin Rafi, the daughter-in-law of Mohammed Rafi, has penned down the original book in Hindi — it revolves around his life and musical journey.
The Hindi edition was simultaneously released on the same day. Yasmin, a Britain-based writer, shared some of her best memories as a fan and family member of the Rafi clan. In the biography, she recollects the singer's early days and sheds some light about his personality, his private life and his deep fondness for cars.
She also writes about the differences that Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar briefly had over royalty issues. Big B said that Rafi saab's contribution to the film industry and the great music will remain forever.
"I have the utmost respect for Rafi, because he lived and performed through a time when he was not supported by the modern technology that we have today," he said.
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Another side of Sherlyn
Sherlyn Chopra definitely knows how to keep herself in the news — whether it's by posing on the cover of 'Playboy' or bagging a role in Rupesh Paul's international motion picture Kamasutra 3D, she has done everything she could to build up brand Sherlyn. And now, the actress has joined hands with an NGO to make a difference — she donned a Sabta costume and spent some time with underprivileged children. In fact, Sherlyn even sang 'Jingle Bells' for the kids.
"In the days to come, I plan to work alongside this NGO to provide better food, shelter, clothing and education to the kids they take care of," Sherlyn informs.
Showing his support
Bollywood actor Jimmy Shergill skipped the Delhi premiere of his film Rajdhani Express, claiming that it didn't look nice of him to attend such an event in the wake of the recent gang-rape.
The 42-year-old actor says that after ranting so much about the issue on social networking sites, this step is in solidarity with the Delhi gang-rape victim.
"Being born and brought up in northern India and after speaking so much about the brutal rape case on the social media, I should not attend the premiere here. It doesn't look nice. We could not postpone it because a lot of effort has gone into it," he says. "My family and I were supposed to go out of the country during New Year but we didn't do that. I have been supporting the fight against the rape case and will do every possible thing to get speedy justice," Jimmy adds.
Rajdhani Express, a socio-political drama, is directed by Ashok Kohli and also marks the debut of tennis star Leander Paes, who plays the role of a common man.
'Soha is very dedicated'
Tinsel town actors and actresses seem to be waking up to the need to put in hard work to prepare for their roles — whether it means getting into the perfect shape, which is what Deepika Padukone did for 'Cocktail' or learning a new tongue, which Imran Khan had to perfect for Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola. The latest to join the bandwagon, it seems, is Soha Ali Khan. Soha is currently working on her new movie, Joe B Karvalo, and apparently, the actress has had to spend a lot of time nailing the nitty-gritty of the role.
Her character is that of a police inspector — something which obviously doesn't come easily to Soha. Because of this, she is now making the time to learn martial arts, at a club in Andheri. She has hired Chitah Yajness Shetty — a martial-arts teacher — to train her.
Yajness Shetty says, "Soha is very dedicated and hardworking. She is learning very fast. Every girl should learn the art of self defence, so that they can defend themselves — since the police force appears to be having a problem reaching everywhere. It should be made mandatory in all schools and colleges."
A smart idea on the sets
Who says Bollywood stars are all brawn and no brains? Vidyut Jamwal, who grabbed eyeballs with his powerful performance in 'Force', recently came up with quite a quirky idea on the sets of his next film. He is all set to enthrall audiences in an upcoming action flick titled 'Commando - The War Within'. The action-packed sequences of the film have been shot in locales across the northern parts of India. For one of the scenes, which was shot in Punjab, it so happened that Vidyut had to hold the arm of the villain and flip him over — but due to the excessive heat, he found it difficult to get a good grip. Each time the shot was taken, his hand would slip due to the intense heat and despite his hard work and practice, he couldn't deliver the required shot. That's when Vidyut came up with a bright idea — he asked one of the production guys to get him some talcum powder, which was later put on the villain's arm — after which the shot was canned. The scene was pulled off perfectly, without any requirement of a retake.
The action sequences in the film have been directed by Hollywood's ace action choreographer, Franz Spilhaus, who has also worked on films like 'Dredd', 'Safe House', 'District 9' and 'Chronicle'.