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I Will Get
A New Identity After BRIJWA -
GUNJAN PANT
Where
there are starlets who want fame and name from films at any
cost there are also
 those
who want to sign films heartily. Gunjan Pant from
Uttaranchal has no thought for any of these. Brought up in
Nainital she went to Bhopal when past her teens to study.
What had to be happened, happened! The artiste in her wanted
to do something. Her ability to dance was one more sign that
she had it in her to be an actress. These days, Gunjan is a
Bhojpurifilm heroine. Excerpts of her interview;
Gunjan is
discussed widely. When this happened, what it feels?
Feels good. This
happened because of our producer Jitesh Dube. He thought of
me in the right image. I was instantly signed for a
challenging role in BRIJWA. The film will usher in a
new revolution in Bhojpuri cinema, I feel. BRIJWA
will familiarize me among cine goers.
W hat
would you reveal of your role in BRIJWA ?
There are three
friends Raghu, Veer and Yadav. f am in the role of sister of
Raghu. BR JIWA is a 'error in our rural. Women fear
for their chastity. My brother's friends Raghu and Veer
arrive on a black day Brujwa's attention is brought to our
house. AN at once he murders our grandfather, wounds mother
and mercilessly rapes me. Then the facts unfold.
What do you
think of producer, director of BRIJWA ?
I revealed you my
opinion of Jitesh Dube. Had he not assigned me this role I
would not be in so much publicity. Manjul Thakur who directs
BRIJWA is a disciplined man. My rape scene was hard
to do. f mean after murder of grandfather, attack on mother
and then rape! It was a challenge to act all of it in one
scene. From the way Manjul revealed the scene and insisted I
can do it became easy.
What you
are up to these days?
After this I am
to shoot for Jagdish Sharma directed MAR DEB GOLIKEHU NA
BOLI. My costars are Ravi Ki shan
and Deepak Dube. It is an entertainer.
Is it fact
that a film like BRIJWA is still not produced in Bhojpuri?
This is a fact.
No Bhojpuri film like BRIJWA is released till date.
On behalf of our team I want to thank producer Jitesh Dube
that he has produced a film like BRIJWA.
Producer
Jitesh Dube has signed you to act in his Shree Krishna
Creations next film MAR DEB GOLI KEHU NA BOLI. Do you not
feel Shree Krishna Creations is No. 1 producer?
This banner
produces films quickly. They are thoroughly publicized
before their release. This is a ritual all producers should
go for.
What do you
do apart from this?
These days I am
shooting for producer Laxman R. Pandey's Chunmun Pandit
directed film KISNA KAILAS KAMAAL. In it Vinay Anand
happens to be my male costar. This apart I signed Ajit
Shrivastav directed NATHUNIYA PE GOLI MARE that stars
Pankaj Keshari and Sudeep Pandey. I also celebrated success
of Abhay Sinha film PARIVAR. L am in wait for release of
BRIJWA.
I have high hopes from ROKKK - Shaad
Randhava
Shaad Randhava ma
appear a new name, but for those who have seen Wo
 Lamhe
and Awaapan this is a known name becuase Shaad
Randhava had attracted viewers attention in these films. Son
of world famous wrestler Randhava and nephew of Dara Singh
have now earned a name for himself. Acting is in his bloods
due to his father and uncle. Famous actress Mumtaz is his
Mausi, mother's sister. At present Shaad is the
playing the lead role in
Rokkk and has Udita Goswami and Tanushree Dutta as
glamourous actresses in the film. Rokkk is being
presented by Ikkon Films and produced by the trio of Krishna
Chaudhary-Sumit Sehgal-Vipin Jain. Director of the film is
Rajesh Ransinghe. Recently we met Shaad on the sets of the
film where we had a long chat. Presented below are the
excerpts from that chat:
Do you wanted to
do act in the films since your childhood?
Yes, this is true.
I had a family of film personalities and was doing stage
shows since I was in class four of Arya Vidya Mandir,
Mumbai. Then I did the same during my college days in M.M.K.
College where I did my B.Com. I was known for performing all
kinds of roles and viewers used to appreciate my acting and
dialogues. It was then that I decided to join films as an
actor.
How did you get
the entry?
Due to my Uncle
Dara Singh and Mausi Mumtaz I had no difficulty in getting
entry into the films. But you get the chance only once and
thereafter you get everything based on your own performance.
Your have to fight for every inch of territory here. I got a
role in Wo Lamhe in 2006. This was a Bhatt camp film which
was directed by Mohit Suri. The story was based on the life
of Parveen Bobby. I got a chance to work with Shainy Ahuja
and Kangana Ranavat in this film. I was awarded the Best
New-comer for the film by Stardust. Being awarded in my very
first film encouraged me. Thereafter did many important
roles in Awarapan and Dhum Dhadaka etc.
How were you
selected in ROKKK?
Producer Krishna
Chaudhary was looking for a young actor and Imran Hashmi and
secretary of Udita Goswami introduced my name. I was called
and got selected after I met krishna Chaudhary and Rajesh
Ransinghe at the office of Ikkon Films.
What was the
special which made you accept the offer?
Krishna Chaudhary
had once made a Sunny Deol starrer movie Right Yaa Wrong
presented by Subhash Ghai. He has also made Jacky Shroff
starrer Bhoot Uncle. So he is a producer who has a history
of successfully completing and releasing films in time.
Right or wrong is due for release this month. Then I had a
chance to work with Udita Goswami, Tanushree Dutta, and
Sachin Khedekar. Third is my role in the film and its story
and finally is the fact that director Raajesh Ransinghe is
known as master of horror films.
Now please tell
something about your role and the film Rokk?
I am doing the
character of Ranbir who is a CBI officer. Udita Goswami and
Tanushree Dutta are sisters in the film. This is a horror
movie. Some unnatural happenings start in the house of Tanu.
Her sister Udita thinks that some one is doing all this
mischief and so I am entrusted to look for the culprit.
Udita is a courageous girl and joins me in this mission. We
then develop intimacy. I am getting good support from the
producer Krishna Chaudhary and director Rajesh Ransinghe, so
I have high hopes from
this film Rokkk
Do you believe
in ghosts and this type of incidents?
No, I don’t believe
in such stories, but after doing the film I have started
feeling that there are some invisible powers too. Some times
when rituals are performed for exhorting it seems that some
unnatural power is trying to create obstacle for the film.
Just see now, the shooting has stopped due to rains and it
is raining in only half a kilometer radius around the
shooting area. Is not it surprising?
Whar kinds of
films are you going to do in future?
I would like to do
this type of character as I have in Rokkk. Then I
would like to insure that the character matches my
personality. I am going to act in Bunty Walia's Gangs of
London and a special project of Vishesh Films after Rokkk.
There is
something new to do in ROKKK : Sachin Khedekar
Sachin Khedekar, who played the
role of Home Minister Shivshanakar in the recen tly
released film Shadow, is popular on small as well as silver
screen for the last 25 years. Rang Rasiya, Jaan Ki Baaji,
Jor Laga ke Haiyya, Ek - Power of One are some such films
which shows the busyness of Sachin.
Sachin started his career with
Imtihaan serial and then graduated on to silver screen with
Astitva where he made his mark doing a negative role in his
very first film. Though he is equally busy in theatre as
well as films, Sachin loves doing theatres. Acting has
become his second nature as he has been acting since his
childhood in Marathi and Hindi theatres and hardly any
retakes are needed while he shoots for his films.
Born at VilleParle in Mumbai Sachin
joined the theatre group of famous actor-director VInay Apte.
This evergreen actor is now busy shooting for ROKKK being
produced under the banner of Ikon Films by Krishna Chaudhary,
Sumit Sahgal, and,Vipin Jain. The flm ROKKK is being shot at
Future Studio of Mumbai. I had a small chat with him on the
sets where he was shooting with much talked about actress
Tanushri Dutta. Presented here are the excerpts from that
interview:
Le t
us start with your role in the film ROKK.
I am doing the role of Ravi
Malhotra, a simple straight forward youth. Anushka(Tanushri)
is my wife and Nishi(Preeti Sharma) is my sister. Udita
Goswami is playing the role of my sister-in-law (saali) and
Shaad Randhawa is playing her boyfriend.
And something about today's
shoots?
It is my marriage anniversary
celebrated in a Bungalow I am presenting to my wife on this
anniversary. Party is due tonight and the preparation is
going on.
What is special in this film?
I can't give you the details. You
will have to ask Rajesh Ransinghe. As this is a horror and
suspense thriller nothing should be divulged ahead of the
release. But coming to my role, my wife feels that something
strange are happening with her since she came here. We have
got many rituals performed by exorcists before we are
shifting here. My wife is scared and so am I. It appears
that some magical power wants to disturb us. So we are
moving around in the house scared inside.
Have you ever felt such
incidents in your real life?
No, I don’ believe in these
superstitions. But even today we had a strange experience
here on the sets. Everything was arranged, Rangoli and all,
for today's shooting annd director and producer left
yesterday after everything was properly locked. But when we
arrived today everything was dispersed. What to say about
this? Some say that it is due to the scene shot yesterday to
exorcize the ghost. Only God knows more.
Director Rajesh Ransinghe
belongs to small screen. Were you in tune with him from
there?
We are known to each other for
years but have-not got chance to work together. This film
has given that chance to work together. It is also first
opportunity to work with Krishna Chaudhary, Sumeet Sehgal,
and Vipin Jain of Ikkon Films. Sumeet Sehgal is an
established artist so he knows the job; Krishna Chaudhary is
also a known personality. He has made Bhoot Uncle and Right
yaaa Wrong earlier.
What is your attitude towards
acting?
I don’t think acting is by birth or
by training. Acting improves with practice. Much you work,
much you learn. I am a Marathi and I learnt Hindi by hard
way and am still learning. I read Hindi newspapers loudly so
that I can deliver my dialogues effectively.
You are on both the screens,
small as well as silver. Which one is more important?
I started with small screen and
earned my recognition from there. Now I am working more for
the silver screen. The difference I felt is that one looks
smaller on TV while big on cinema screen. People forget you
once the serial becomes old in memory while they remember
cinema personalities longer.
How do you bring variations in
your roles?
I always want to do roles with a
difference. When they become similar I move to theatre where
a new Sachin grows with a new energy. For example my
upcoming film is Ek Thi Raani, which is based on the life of
Vijaya Raje Scindhia and I am doing the role of Sardar Angre.
Another film Ravan by Maniratnam has me in a govt. Officer
role.
I am competing with myself –
Meghna Malik
Meghna Malik who is prevalently known as the ardent and rude
Ammaji of Naa Aana Iss Des Laado is quite happy with the
success of her show. On being asked to express her views on
being part of a show which is based on a social issue, she
says “I am extremely
 blessed
that I am part of a social drive. I am happy that I am able
to spread across a message through my character and that it
is been accepted by people out there.”
How
does she feel about her character’s rigidness? She states “Ammaji
has gone through a lot and that’s the reason why she has
turned being so rude and rigid. All this will be revealed in
the serial later.”
When
asked about the fact that these issues are actually present
in the society, she cuts in to say “I am extremely
aware that in today’s age also educated butchers are
prevalent in the society, who wants a male child. I pity
such people and I just hope we all will be able to help them
in improving their thinking”
And
lastly when asked about her character being compared with
that of Dadisa (played by Surekha Sikri), she enunciates “I
consider that my competition is with my self. I can’t be
compared with any other character as everybody has their own
skills. And if I am able to do justice to the script then I
am successful.”
Yeah, we hope that you
succeed in bringing about a revolutionary change in the
mindset of people.
Billo Rani was a challanging
role : Nirahua
Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua, Silver Jubilee Super Star of
Bhojpuri Cinema, is a dedicated actor of Bhojpuri and wants
to establish Bhojpuri Cinema at par with global cinema. He
doe s
not believe in numbers of his films but wants to do only
quality films. These virtues make him a respected name
amongst the Bhojpuri Stars.
Recently his home production film Prem Ke Rog Bhayeel
was released in Bihar and proved to be a super duper hit
film. As per Bihar Distributor Film is giving Record
Breaking collection about 60 Lacs in First Week in Bihar
. Now the film is going to be released in Mumbai and rest of
India soon. Almost the whole Bhojpuri Film Industry was
present at the premier show of the film Prem Ke Rog Bhayeel
held at Mumbai recently and every one praised the film.
Specially the role of Billo Rani played by Nirahua. They
said only Nirahua was capable of this feat and will be
remembered long for this role.
Presented below are the excerpts of an interview of Nirahua
done at the occasion of the premier show:
Your home prpduction film ‘Prem Ke Rog Bhayeel ‘ is doing a
roaring business in Bihar. How do you feel about it?
I
gave the film my best honestly, and when you give something
the best of yours, you are bound to succeed. That is why
almost all of my films are hit at the box-offices. I was
confidant of Prem Ke Rog Bhayeel being a success.
Naturally, I felt good when I was told that it has done
wonders in Bihar where it was released simultaneously in 32
cinema halls and is giving more than hundred percent result!
Our director Farooq Siddiqui has discharged his duties with
responsibility.
Don’t you feel that the role of Billo Rani is influenced by
‘Chachi 420 ‘or ‘Aunty No.1 ‘, because all these films
showed the hero romancing with his love in the guise of a
girl?
No,
I don’t totally agree with you. You can say that the film
somewhat repeats those films but it is totally different
from those films in many aspects. The film gives a healthy
and good entertainment. Honestly speaking the role of Billo
Rani was a challenge for me and I accepted the challenge to
the best of my capability. And the results are in front of
you!
What message does the film convey?
If
you want do resolve something with force you are bound to
fail. But if you try it with love and compassion you are
certain of succeeding. My girlfriend in the film is the
daughter of a powerlord. He is against our marriage and
deploys all kinds of force against me, But finally I win him
over with my love as a girl.
What was that special something which made you agree to do
the film?
At
the outset I was influenced when Farooq Siddiquir narrated
the story to me. I felt it to be a total story mirroring
life. I have done these before but this time it was a
different story and the cinegoers will find a new Nirahua
and will come to see the film again and again.
Did you encounter some problems doing this role?
No.
Nothing. My co-artists Pakhi Hegde, Awadhesh Mishra, and
Manoj Tiger helped me a lot and they reviewed my every shot.
I would also like to thank Farooq Ahmad Siddiqui who got the
best out of me and a very good film was produced.
Are you now in the position to choose your roles?
Yes,
of course! I am only doing selected films now and want that
Bhojpuri films get international recognition. I started my
own film production house keeping this aim of making good
films in Bhojpuri. Prem Ke Rog Bhayeel is the example
of that devotion. Nest film of my production house is
Nirahua Tangewala which will be the biggest Bhojpuri
Film till date. In reality I want to change the taste of
Bhojpuri Cinegoers so that they choose to see only class
films in Bhojpuri. Now I want to produce Bhojpuri Films for
the international market.
What is more going on these days?
My
films are regularly making waves. Pratigya has done
Silver Jubilee, Deewana has completed 50 days in Bihar, so
has Chalani Ke Chalal Dulha in Bihar and UP starring my
youger brother Pravesh Lal in the lead role. I have just
completed the shootings of Parivaar and many are in the
pipeline. I am all booked for the next two years.
“ I want to do every type
of roles”- Prabhat Bhattacharya
Prabhat Bhattacharya is a hit
and popular artist. Especially, his roles in Balaji’s
serials are still remembered. Ajay Agrawal in ‘Kahani Ghar –
Ghar ki’,Ajay in ‘Kasturi’, Dev in ‘Kabhi Aye Na Judaai’,
Rahul in ‘ Kumkum’
and ‘Koi Apna Sa’, Inrajeet in ‘Doli Saja Ke’ are engraved
on viewers’ mind. His negative role of a ruffian Ajit in
Balaji’s serial for Zee TV’s ‘Pavitra Rishta’ has earned him
even more fans. He is also doing tittle role in film based
on football “Kaanu- the Footballer”. He is a socially aware
person. And that is what got him to support and canvass for
an independent candidate Madhu Koda in Jharkhand in 2009 Lok
Shabha election. His candidate won with a margin of more
than one lakh votes.
Excerpts :
What is your role in ‘Pavitra
Rishta’?
It is a negative character of
a Maharastrian ruffian boy. Role is very powerful and I am
enjoying it.
Why negative role, when your
image is so contrary?
I am an actor. I love acting.
When you do similar roles for long, the acting spirit in you
takes a nosedive. So, in order to let your actor in you
alive and kicking, it is very important to do different
roles, to look into the roles what is beyond your image. For
me, only one thing is important and that is role. If role is
powerful, nothing matters whether it is negative or
positive. In Pavitra Rishta I found role very powerful and
what I had not done earlier.
You are also doing a film
‘Kaanu- the Footballer’. What is this film all about?
As name suggests, you can
easily figure out what is the all about. I have been a
football fan since my childhood. So, this film fulfills my
childhood desire of being a footballer. I am training very
hard to look like a real football player in the film.
Everything is in the process; it will be premature to give
out details of this film at this moment.
You canvassed for an
independent Candidate Madhu Koda in election 2009. Love for
Politics or the Politician?
Both. As an aware citizen
of the country you have to be part of its politics. Either
as a voter, or as a politician or as a supporter. You should
not get rid of this responsibility. Madhu Koda is very good
friend of mine. Apart from that, I value him as a politician
also. We transformed a truck into stage and named Madhu Koda
Express. We did shows on it all over the city. We conveyed
the message across to the masses that Madhu is a young and
dynamic leader who really wants to do something for the
people. I think people understood us and gave their mandates
in our favour. During this period we even founded there a
football club “Football club of Kolhaan’ where one can learn
football.
You are mostly seen in
Balaji’s serials. Any special reason for that?
I have got everything what I,
as an actor and as a person, wanted from Balaji Prductions.
They gave me opportunities to show my talent. They gave love
and respect. What else an actor needs? Having worked in
Balaji’s so many serials, it has become second home.
What is your future plan?
To prove my self as a
versatile actor. An actor who is loved, appreciated and
remembered for his work.
The middle age songs were
really horrible – Neha Marda
Gorge ous
actress Neha Marda from Sphere Origins’s Balika Vadhu speaks
on music.
Q. Which songs are
you enjoying most these days?
A. Very soothing songs
because right now I am in Goa so the Thai and the Chicago
music really soothes ones ears.
Q. Which film songs
from the recent releases have appealed most to you?
A. I think Soniyo from raaz
and songs from Delhi 6.
Q. What do you like
most – original or remix?
A. Originals.
Q. Which are your
five all time favorite songs?
A. Pal pal dil ke paas, You
say the most when you say nothing at all, Aaoge jab tum,
Maula from Chak De and Soniyo from Raaz.
Q. Which is your
favourite romantic song?
A. Soniyo from Raaz and You
say the most when you say nothing at all are the most
romantic songs for me.
Q.: Which opinion is
most close to your heart – Today’s songs are better than
oldies, Today’s songs are as good as oldies had been or
Today’s songs are worse than oldies.
A. It is very subjective
right now. The middle age songs were really horrible songs I
believe but now we have Aatif Aslam and Kailash Kher, people
who have given some amazingly good songs. The whole tone has
made a lot of difference, the kind of music has changed; the
lyrics have improved a lot too.
Q. How do you look at
the concept – Old is Gold?
A. I respect this concept,
but with the context with somebody who is experienced
enough, somebody like grandparents, I believe they are old
and gold.
Kiran Chopra's
painting story and exhibition
‘Current world crisis forced
me to choose B&W’
She specializes in abstract
and figurative paintings and has made her mark in being the
s olo
female artist in our country who paints only in black.
Though born and brought up in Gwalior, this Mumbai-based
artist has carved a niche in her paintings. She also owns a
studio at Malad, where she currently resides. Today, Kiran
Chopra, disturbed by the on-going world crisis like
terrorism, recession and global warming, has put up a unique
show in the name of God for peace and harmony. And that’s
not all… she is also a Hindi poetess and does illustrations
for many leading magazines and newspapers. In a candid
interview, Kiran Chopra reveals her creative talent.
What is your background
like...
I was born and brought up in
Gwalior. The seeds of my creative talent were sown by my
parents. They strongly believed in women empowerment who
knew a woman had much greater role to play beyond the four
walls by creating an identity of their own. From the very
beginning my mother had deep interest in art and culture. I
was highly inspired by my mother’s value and interest, so I
chose fine arts as my subject and did bachelors in masters
degree. I started full-fledged career 14 years back. During
that period I met senior landscape masters like S A M Kazi
and Baburao Sadvekar. They were overwhelmed by my work and
guided me to follow the right path.
In your paintings, why have
you chosen mythological love sagas?
At present, the world is
going through difficult problems like terrorism, inflation,
unemployment, etc. In short, I can see unhappiness,
depression, hatred amongst people. I am trying to release
people's tension and depression by conveying the message of
love. I have specially chosen mythological love sagas
because the expression of love between the mythological
characters and according to me they were so pure and
materialistic. There was sacrifice and tolerance which lacks
in today’s world. God's name is so magnetic that I want to
create that magnetism in my paintings as well by conveying
love sagas of Indian mythological characters.
How do you carve your
paintings?
I can work in all mediums but
generally I work with oil on canvas and paper. I don’t draw
figures but simply work on free hand, after thinking over
the subject and visualising it. I then colour my figures and
give them dimensions by scratching them.
When did you conceive and
execute this idea?
The mythological concept
immediately striked me during the bad phase our world was
going through. I thought I will execute this idea in my very
next show.
Tell us more about your work?
‘Love’ through our
mythological characters is my main message that I want to
convey. I am conveying love sagas of our Gods because their
form of love is diminishing between the people in the world.
The sacrificial love between Sita and Lord Rama, the
magnetic love between Radha and Lord Krishna, the true love
between Shakuntala and Dushant, Damyanti and Nal… These love
sagas are so beautiful that anybody can’t be untouched by
knowing them. I have tried my best to depict these sagas on
my canvas that will touch the hearts of my art spectators
and lovers.
You seem to have evolved more
and more as a painter with the current works. Tell us about
the growth.
Yes definitely, according to
me an artist should evolve with better and better work in
every show. I also believe an artist should maintain their
identity and not keep changing their work drastically in
each show.
Hence, I always try to keep
my own technique in every show and experiment the technique
in various styles every time. I had 28 solo shows and
participated in various reputed other shows. Initially I
worked on landscape, figurative and abstract too. Then I
worked on monochrome of different colours.
Then I chose black as my
colour and invented a unique distinctive technique which
gave me identity in the world of arts. Black and white
paintings with numerous faces at the background fetched me
many awards and appreciation from art lovers.
Now I am evolving show by
show experimenting with different colours but kept my own
technique every time. My last show ‘Tribute to Masters’ had
lots of colours without black on canvas. This time I have
blended colours with black, the colour which depicts my
identity.
Are the colour juxtaposed to
your Black and White?
Well my black and white was
very unique and well-placed with my identity in the world of
art. But as part of evolution, I experiment my technique
with colours as well so that I can give variety to my art
spectators and lovers.
How did you get distinctive
identity in Black & White for the first time?
In the initial five years of
my journey I used different colours and different mediums in
my work which was highly appreciated by renowned artists.
But I was not satisfied and decided to do something unique
to make my own name in the world of arts. For my big
exhibition in the Nehru Art Gallery I decided to play with
monochromatic colour scheme. I got overwhelming response
especially on black monochrome paintings and for the first
time it was “all sold out”. With this my fantasy to make an
identity in the world of arts turned to out to be reality. I
made distinct identity by painting in black colour with a
unique theme every time. Like I used wooden and stone effect
in my art of black and gave new dimension to the black and
white colour.
Satish Gujral told me that my
Black & White work was incredibly superb and according to
him the individual style which I had achieved in seven years
is something which most artists manage to accomplish after
20 years of hard work.
How do you feel as an artist?
Art is like worship to me. I
love to paint and spend most of my time in my studio. I am
very satisfied with my work and feel my life full and
meaningful as an artist. Sometimes, while painting I feel I
have become part of my characters in my canvas. My art
spectators and lovers appreciate my work, what else an
artist would wish?
What subject you generally
depict in your paintings?
I specialise in abstract,
landscape and figurative paintings and for the last eight
years I have opted for the mystery, magic and magnificence
of black & white and sometimes in colour. My figurative
paintings are most of the time women-oriented. I depict
women’s role and her importance in our life.
You are also a poet, are we
seeing mythological love poems as well?
Poems are inseparable part of
my paintings. I write poems often as it is yet another
creative medium where I can express myself. I might
incorporate poems with my paintings in this show as well.
How do you see today’s art in
comparison to the past?
Earlier art was not
considered as a commercial market. But now with the growing
economy and increasing art awareness, many individuals and
corporate are venturing in this field professionally. Also
with the world shrinking by the day, Indian art scene is
going global.
Kiran Chopra’s exhibition
Black & White will be on from June 1, 2009 at Kala Ghoda,
between 10 am and 6 pm.
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