Entertainment

I Am the Heroine of ‘Krrish 3’, Says Priyanka Chopra

Actress Priyanka Chopra insists she is the heroine of ‘Krrish 3’, which also stars Kangana Ranaut.

Kangana had initially turned down the film as she was concerned about sharing screen space with Priyanka. Earlier, Jacqueline Fernandez, Chitrangada Singh, had similar concerns and they rejected the film.

“A lot of girls rejected that role. It is really stupid to do it as it is an amazing role.

I am the heroine of the film, I am playing wife of Hrithik and that is how it is,” Priyanka said in an interview.

Priyanka feels Kangana’s role is also quite interesting and if she had the opportunity, she would have even taken it up.

“Her character is credible, it is an amazing role and if I had the opportunity I would have done it.

I had told Rakesh sir I am ready to play that part, as everybody was saying no to doing it,” Priyanka said.

“I am happy Kangana has done the role, she has done an amazing job. She is looking fabulous and it is a new thing for Hindi cinema,” she said.

This is not the first time that Priyanka is sharing screen space with another actress.

“In my first two films I came right after interval and before climax. I have learnt that the film does not run because of the length of your role but because it is a good film.

I have done many two-heroine films. For me it doesn’t matter, I have always thought of how good I can be in this role, what impact I am leaving in my role,” Priyanka said.

“In this film I am the heroine of the film. Her character is also very interesting. In one film there can be various characters… if the film works then it works for me, Hrithik, Vivek and Kangana.

If it doesn’t work and I am the most important person in the film, then what is the point as eventually the film did not work,” she said.

There were reports that all was not well between the two actresses and they were not going to share same platform to promote the film.

However, Priyanka rubbished it saying that when people see them together promoting the film, then they would get to know of such reports not being true.

Priyanka will be playing a dual role in the film, but she insists it’s not a double role.

“I am not doing a double role but a dual role. I am playing Krrish’s wife Priya Mehra as in the last film we left as being lovers.

I go from being a good wife to being evil in the film.

It is the duality of good and evil that I play which is very interesting,” she said.

“When he (Rakesh Roshan) narrated me the script he was super excited about this thing.

I had not decided or thought about this,” she said.

Priyanka does not have any specific look in the film like her co-actress Kangana.

“There is Vivek’s character that is bad and his army of mutants, they are called ‘maanvar’ which are a mix of human and animal.

There is a chameleon girl played by Kangana, then there is scorpion, cheetah girl, rhino, frog man in it.

They are in the army of ‘Kaal’ (played by Vivek Oberoi) and they are evil.

I am normal, I am not part of the mutant space,” she explains.

 

Krishna Shah, Director of ‘Shalimar,’ Dies at 75

SAN LEANDRO, Calif., United States

Indian American filmmaker Krishna Shah, whose work spanned Bollywood and Hollywood and even the Broadway stage, passed away Oct. 13 in Mumbai at the age of 75.

He had been ailing since suffering a stroke last year, reports Variety.

Shah’s best-known releases were “Shalimar,” which he wrote and directed, starring Rex Harrison, Silvia Miles, and John Saxon; “Cinema Cinema,” a documentary about Bollywood that screened at the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes which he co-wrote and directed; “Hard Rock Zombies,” released by Cannon; and “American Drive-In,” which he also co-wrote, directed and produced.

In the last few years, Shah had been more involved with films about India, announcing an ambitious biopic of Indira Gandhi in 2009 that did not see production. Shah’s series of story-telling seminars for aspiring filmmakers proved quite popular in Mumbai; while he also helped fledgling diaspora filmmakers such as Harish Saluja and Nagesh Kukunoor by presenting the films at festivals and in the marketplace in India.

Born in India and a graduate of Yale and UCLA, Shah has been called the first Asian-American writer/director/producer to win critical acclaim both in Hollywood and on Broadway.

He co-authored and directed a South African stage play called “Sponono” on Broadway, and adapted and directed an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s “The King of the Dark Chamber” which ran for a year and received two OBIE Awards.

Other off-Broadway productions included “Kalidasa’s Shakuntala”; Athol Fugard’s “Bloodknot”; and Milton Hood Ward’s “Kindly Monies” staged at the New Arts Theatre in London.

His screenplays included “Island In Harlem” for MGM; “April Morning” for Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., and the psychiatric thriller “Rivals” which he also produced and directed. “River Niger,” starring Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones and Lou Gosset Jr., earned awards at festivals and a Golden Globe nomination as well.

His animated feature film “The Prince of Light” was longlisted for the 2002 Academy Awards in its feature animation category.

He was known in American television as well, having written and/or directed several hit shows such as “The Man From UNCLE,” “Love American Style,” “The Flying Nun” and “The Six Million Dollar Man”; and was an entertainment entrepreneur who served as president and CEO of Double Helix Films, the Carnegie Film Group and MRI Inc., a production and distribution company.

 

Chicago South Asian Film Festival Delights Filmgoers

The fourth annual Chicago South Asian Film Festival inspired and entertained hundreds of filmgoers Sept. 20-22, drawing celebrities such as Parvesh Cheena, Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Sanjay Tripathy, Trupti Bhoir, Geeta Malik and Meera Menon (“Farah Goes Bang”).

Screened at the fest were such critically lauded films as Mira Nair’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” and Hansal Mehta’s “Shahid,” as well as the U.S. premiere of “Oass,” Tiwari’s searing depiction of sex trafficking which also recently took a top prize for Best Film and two other awards at the Ladakh International Film Festival.

One filmmaker praised the festival for its excellent choice of movies. “Cheers for resisting the temptation to water down the festival with too many films; quality definitely trumps quantity,” said Brayden Yoder, who directed the suspenseful short “Breakdown” in collaboration with the Film & Television Institute of India.

The yearly festival offers fans a chance to meet top independent South Asian filmmakers, attend panel discussions, connect with other fans and experience musical performances and tributes to major artists.

Shah Rukh, Lata Mangeshkar Offer Help To Kapil Sharma Post Fire

 

MUMBAI, India

Popular comedian Kapil Sharma is overwhelmed with the help being offered to him from legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar and superstar Shah Rukh Khan after the set of his television show was damaged in a fire.

A massive fire had broken out recently on the sets of hit show “Comedy Nights with Kapil” in Goregaon Film City.

There were no casualties in the mishap.

The show, aired on Colors channel, is hosted by Sharma and often sees Bollywood celebrities like Khan, Rohit Shetty, Deepika Padukone, Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra, Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, Anil Kapoor and others using the platform to promote their upcoming films.

“I got a call from Lata-ji and she asked if I needed any kind of help, whether monetary or anything else.
She asked what she could do for me. Getting a call from her was a big thing,” Sharma said.

“Also, Shah Rukh Khan, Rohit Shetty and lots of people from the industry called me and said, ‘We are with you; tell us in how many days the set has to be put up.’ The industry is like a family,” he added

Sharma said the exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined as the investigation is still on.

“We will come to know the exact loss. The figures will only be known after police verification,” said the standup comedian.

Rubbishing rumors of a conspiracy behind the fire, Sharma said he felt disappointed as he was unable to shoot with singer Sonu Nigam due to the mishap.

“We were even planning to shoot with Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan for the promotion of their forthcoming films. But unfortunately, due to the tragedy, we are trying to work things out,” he said.

However, Sharma is quite happy that people love his show and he hopes that it continues.

Two episodes that are supposed to be aired the coming weekend have already been shot. Upcoming episodes will be shot on the sets of reality TV show “Bigg Boss.”

“It’s not an easy job to reconstruct a huge set in such a short time.

The channel is also trying to get the best floor to reconstruct a new set. We have a huge setup and we don’t want to compromise with it,” he said.

In related news, Sharma, who was recently questioned by the Service Tax Department for alleged non-payment of tax amounting to nearly Rs. 60 lakh, said that he is not “a tax evader.”

“I am very upset with reports saying that I am a tax evader.

The Service Tax Department imposed tax on artists in July last year, and I have already paid Rs.35 lakh towards the tax.

I have to pay the remaining Rs. 30 lakh, which is due in October,” he said.

Sharma said that he was surprised as to why such a hue and cry was made over this non-payment, as it pertained only to service tax and not income tax.

“I will pay the remaining amount,” he added.

Last week, Service Tax Department authorities said that Sharma had not remitted the tax amounts that he collected from the organizers of his programs.