Shyam Benegal's new docudrama takes on the Constitution
"Telling the story of the birth of a nation is never easy. Especially if that nation is as big and diverse as India," says Shyam Benegal, director of Samvidhaan, a miniseries on the creation of the Indian Constitution.
The 10-episode show, which premiered on Rajya Sabha TV on March 2 and airs every Sunday, stars various film, TV and theatre veterans, such as Sachin Khedekar, Dalip Tahil, Divya Dutta and Ila Arun. They play personalities like Dr BR Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Purnima Banerji and Hansa Mehta, who helped frame the symbolic document. The show is narrated by actor Swara Bhaskar.
On December 9, 1946, a Constituent Assembly comprising people from all over the country and various political leanings congregated in Parliament to draft the Constitution for a free India, which came into effect on January 26, 1950. "I slept through my civics classes in school. I didn’t know anything about the educated debate that went into the creation of the Constitution," says Bhaskar.
While she has found commercial success in films like Raanjhanaa and Tanu weds Manu, Bhaskar says being an on-screen anchor was tougher than acting. "I talked from 9am to 5pm without a teleprompter... I memorized about 2,000 lines -- all in pure Hindi and Urdu!" Her scenes were shot in Parliament, the first time this has ever been done, while the rest of the film was shot in Mumbai's Film City.
Costumes were heavily researched to give the film an authentic feel. "Looking for specific accessories was painstaking yet exciting and gradually, I saw all my characters come alive," says costume designer and Benegal's daughter Pia Benegal, adding that outfits varied from kurtas and sherwanis to waistcoats, double breasted suits, dhotis, South Indian long coats and saris, not to mention varieties of headgear.
Given the upcoming elections, the show certainly seems relevant now, but will people watch it? "Political debates are normally boring, but this is organically dramatic," enthuses Bhaskar. "The show made me feel like a proud Indian."
Times of India
"Telling the story of the birth of a nation is never easy. Especially if that nation is as big and diverse as India," says Shyam Benegal, director of Samvidhaan, a miniseries on the creation of the Indian Constitution.
The 10-episode show, which premiered on Rajya Sabha TV on March 2 and airs every Sunday, stars various film, TV and theatre veterans, such as Sachin Khedekar, Dalip Tahil, Divya Dutta and Ila Arun. They play personalities like Dr BR Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Purnima Banerji and Hansa Mehta, who helped frame the symbolic document. The show is narrated by actor Swara Bhaskar.
On December 9, 1946, a Constituent Assembly comprising people from all over the country and various political leanings congregated in Parliament to draft the Constitution for a free India, which came into effect on January 26, 1950. "I slept through my civics classes in school. I didn’t know anything about the educated debate that went into the creation of the Constitution," says Bhaskar.
While she has found commercial success in films like Raanjhanaa and Tanu weds Manu, Bhaskar says being an on-screen anchor was tougher than acting. "I talked from 9am to 5pm without a teleprompter... I memorized about 2,000 lines -- all in pure Hindi and Urdu!" Her scenes were shot in Parliament, the first time this has ever been done, while the rest of the film was shot in Mumbai's Film City.
Costumes were heavily researched to give the film an authentic feel. "Looking for specific accessories was painstaking yet exciting and gradually, I saw all my characters come alive," says costume designer and Benegal's daughter Pia Benegal, adding that outfits varied from kurtas and sherwanis to waistcoats, double breasted suits, dhotis, South Indian long coats and saris, not to mention varieties of headgear.
Given the upcoming elections, the show certainly seems relevant now, but will people watch it? "Political debates are normally boring, but this is organically dramatic," enthuses Bhaskar. "The show made me feel like a proud Indian."
Moubani's fancy dress attire steals the show!
The premiere of Pathghat was held at a city theatre recently. The director, Partha Ganguly, was seen greeting the guests along with actors Debdut Ghosh, Moubani Sorcar, Faiz Khan and Riya Ganguly.
CT also spotted directors Sanjay Nag and Raja Sen and actors Sreela Majumder and Papiya Adhikari. Though actress Rituparna Sengupta came long after the film started, the shutterbugs didn't miss her. We overheard some people talking about how Moubani looked straight out
CT also spotted directors Sanjay Nag and Raja Sen and actors Sreela Majumder and Papiya Adhikari. Though actress Rituparna Sengupta came long after the film started, the shutterbugs didn't miss her. We overheard some people talking about how Moubani looked straight out
Bengal celebrates Holi
Kolkata, March 17 With generous sprinkling of eco-friendly colours, glasses of chilled thandai and splashes in pools as popular Bollywood songs played on, the eastern metropolis Monday celebrated the festival of Holi.
Hundreds of people gathered in pockets of the city to celebrate the festival that unified the Bengali, Marwari, Bihari and Gujarati communities.
The highlight of the day was use of skin-friendly herbal colour (abir or gulaal) and nature-friendly organic powder.
Both old and young basked in the summer air wrapped in a haze of neon, green, red and blues.
At the Nicco Park grounds in the eastern fringes of the city, revellers splashed each other with water-guns while a section enjoyed with their families at the giant pool specially created for the occasion.
Children were encouraged to play with dry colour powder as the evergreen song "Rang Barse" from the Amitabh Bachchan movie "Silsila" resonated in the background.
In various restaurants, green drinks and smoothies of vivid colours that had fruit and vegetables as core ingredients were offered.
Poetry festivals (hasya kavi sammelan) were organised in various areas.
Groups of women daubed in colours walked through localities singing Holi songs and egging-on others to join in.
Water balloons were pelted at one another even as police maintained strict vigil
Sonam Kapoor: I don't like to look into the mirror; I don't
think I'm beautiful
Daily Bhaskar has it's share of star shower every now and then. On the
day Dhoom
3 hit the theatres, we had Abhishek Bachchan at our Mumbai office for an
exclusive conversation with our Bollywood team across centres (Mumbai, Noida,
Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad). Close to the release of Dedh Ishqiya, Madhuri
Dixit, along with Huma Qureshi, came to our office for a quick exclusive chat.
Even Sonakshi Sinha, Yami Gautam graced our office with their presence recently.
And now, as Bewakoofiyaan is out on theatres, its lead stars Sonam Kapoor &
Ayushmann Khurrana came to meet the Daily Bhaskar team for a freewheeling
chat.
And we must say, the two are a laugh riot -- they are witty, chatty and a lot
of fun. Not only were they comfortable during the conversation, their genuine
answers made the conversation full of lighthearted humour.
Ayan Takes a Dig at Katrina
Director Ayan Mukerji has always shared a better equation with Ranbir's ex-girlfriend Deepika than his current alleged girlfriend Katrina Kaif. On Koffee With Karan, when he was asked what rumour had he heard lately, he responded that he had heard Katrina was in Dhoom 3. This seems to be a dig at her blink-and-you miss it appearance in the film.
Bollywood: Actresses who launched their own production companies
By Arpana, New Delhi, March 17 : Shilpa Shetty, who is on the crest of a wave now, has jumped on the production bandwagon. The fate of the actress-fitness expert-businesswoman's maiden production venture "Dhishkiyaoon" will be decided March 28, but it is time to scan the success and failure ratio of her and other actresses who turned producers.
Here is the list of actresses who took a risk as producers:
Shilpa Shetty: For "Dishkiyaoon", Shilpa and producer Sunil Lulla have risked their money on Harman Baweja, who is yet to give a hit, and newcomer Ayesha Khanna. Sunny Deol, whose stakes are not on the rise right now, also stars in the actioner. They may be backing the wrong horse, but Shilpa seems to be confident and recently described the film as an "interesting masala entertainer on underworld". She has even tried to up the glamour quotient by featuring in an item number for the film.
Pooja Bhatt: An actor to reckon with, Pooja, who proved her mettle with films like "Daddy", "Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin" and "Zakhm", comes from a family of producers and directors and so the next natural step for her was to produce and direct. She started producing with "Tamanna" (1997) in which she was part of the cast. Pooja, who produces under her banner Fisheye Network, has so far made about 10 films and out of them "Dushman", "Zakhm", "Jism", and "Jism 2" set the cash registers ringing.
Ameesha Patel: She became an overnight sensation post the release of "Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai" and later repeated it with the success of "Gadar - Ek Prem Katha". She has also been part of box office successes like "Humraaz" and "Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd", but later her career waned. Now she has turned producer and is trying to revive her sagging career with "Desi Magic", which is being directed by Mehul Atha. She will be seen with Zayed Khan and Sahil Shroff in it.
Dia Mirza: Model-turned-actress Dia has a few solo films to talk about, but she had her share of successes in hits like "Heyy Babyy", "Shootout At Lokhandwala", "Parineeta" and "Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd." After the roles started drying up, she along with actor Zayed Khan launched her production house Born Free. Their first film was romantic comedy "Love, Breakups, Zindagi" (2011) and they played the lead role in it, but it tanked. Now Dia is trying to reboot with "Bobby Jasoos", a spy-thriller centred on a female detective played by Vidya Balan. She is hoping "Bobby Jasoos" is loved by viewers.
Preity Zinta: Preity's modelling and acting career has been pretty successful and thanks to hits like "Soldier" and "Kal Ho Naa Ho", she was a most sought after actress. When she tried her hand in business by becoming the co-owner of Kings XI IPL team along with ex-boyfriend Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman and Karan Paul, she did it with aplomb. But she burnt her fingers when she turned producer with "Ishkq In Paris" (2013), which saw a debacle at the box office despite her being in the female lead along with Rhehan Malliek.
Lara Dutta: A former beauty queen and star of hits like "No Entry" and "Partner", Lara floated her production house Bheegi Basanti with husband and tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi and they came up trumps at the box office with their maiden production venture "Chalo Dilli" (2011), which also received critical acclaim.
Manisha Koirala: The "Saudagar" and "Bombay" fame Nepali beauty turned producer with "Paisa Vasool" (2004), but it wasn't a fruitful effort.
Hrishitaa Bhatt: She may have debuted opposite Shah Rukh Khan in "Asoka", but Hrishitaa couldn't climb higher on the success ladder as an actress. When she turned producer with "Shakal Pe Mat Jaa" (2011), a comedy directed by Shubh Mukherjee, she met the same fate.
Sushimita Sen: The former Miss Universe announced in 2007 that she will delve into production with English film "Jhansi Ki Rani", but it was later shelved. If reports are to be believed she may revive it as she has completed the writing part.
Juhi Chawla: Another beauty queen-turned actress tried her hand at production by teaming up with her co-star Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Aziz Mirza and launched Dreamz Unlimited. They made "Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani" (2000), a social satire that had Shah Rukh-Juhi in the lead roles, while Mirza helmed it. But the dream team's first venture bombed. Juhi, who co-owns Kolkata Knight Riders IPL team with SRK and her husband Jai Mehta, said in an interview that Dreamz Unlimited was a very ambitious project that never happened and that everything does not happen according to a plan and you learn your lessons the hard way.
Shilpa Shetty: For "Dishkiyaoon", Shilpa and producer Sunil Lulla have risked their money on Harman Baweja, who is yet to give a hit, and newcomer Ayesha Khanna. Sunny Deol, whose stakes are not on the rise right now, also stars in the actioner. They may be backing the wrong horse, but Shilpa seems to be confident and recently described the film as an "interesting masala entertainer on underworld". She has even tried to up the glamour quotient by featuring in an item number for the film.
Pooja Bhatt: An actor to reckon with, Pooja, who proved her mettle with films like "Daddy", "Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin" and "Zakhm", comes from a family of producers and directors and so the next natural step for her was to produce and direct. She started producing with "Tamanna" (1997) in which she was part of the cast. Pooja, who produces under her banner Fisheye Network, has so far made about 10 films and out of them "Dushman", "Zakhm", "Jism", and "Jism 2" set the cash registers ringing.
Ameesha Patel: She became an overnight sensation post the release of "Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai" and later repeated it with the success of "Gadar - Ek Prem Katha". She has also been part of box office successes like "Humraaz" and "Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd", but later her career waned. Now she has turned producer and is trying to revive her sagging career with "Desi Magic", which is being directed by Mehul Atha. She will be seen with Zayed Khan and Sahil Shroff in it.
Dia Mirza: Model-turned-actress Dia has a few solo films to talk about, but she had her share of successes in hits like "Heyy Babyy", "Shootout At Lokhandwala", "Parineeta" and "Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd." After the roles started drying up, she along with actor Zayed Khan launched her production house Born Free. Their first film was romantic comedy "Love, Breakups, Zindagi" (2011) and they played the lead role in it, but it tanked. Now Dia is trying to reboot with "Bobby Jasoos", a spy-thriller centred on a female detective played by Vidya Balan. She is hoping "Bobby Jasoos" is loved by viewers.
Preity Zinta: Preity's modelling and acting career has been pretty successful and thanks to hits like "Soldier" and "Kal Ho Naa Ho", she was a most sought after actress. When she tried her hand in business by becoming the co-owner of Kings XI IPL team along with ex-boyfriend Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman and Karan Paul, she did it with aplomb. But she burnt her fingers when she turned producer with "Ishkq In Paris" (2013), which saw a debacle at the box office despite her being in the female lead along with Rhehan Malliek.
Lara Dutta: A former beauty queen and star of hits like "No Entry" and "Partner", Lara floated her production house Bheegi Basanti with husband and tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi and they came up trumps at the box office with their maiden production venture "Chalo Dilli" (2011), which also received critical acclaim.
Manisha Koirala: The "Saudagar" and "Bombay" fame Nepali beauty turned producer with "Paisa Vasool" (2004), but it wasn't a fruitful effort.
Hrishitaa Bhatt: She may have debuted opposite Shah Rukh Khan in "Asoka", but Hrishitaa couldn't climb higher on the success ladder as an actress. When she turned producer with "Shakal Pe Mat Jaa" (2011), a comedy directed by Shubh Mukherjee, she met the same fate.
Sushimita Sen: The former Miss Universe announced in 2007 that she will delve into production with English film "Jhansi Ki Rani", but it was later shelved. If reports are to be believed she may revive it as she has completed the writing part.
Juhi Chawla: Another beauty queen-turned actress tried her hand at production by teaming up with her co-star Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Aziz Mirza and launched Dreamz Unlimited. They made "Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani" (2000), a social satire that had Shah Rukh-Juhi in the lead roles, while Mirza helmed it. But the dream team's first venture bombed. Juhi, who co-owns Kolkata Knight Riders IPL team with SRK and her husband Jai Mehta, said in an interview that Dreamz Unlimited was a very ambitious project that never happened and that everything does not happen according to a plan and you learn your lessons the hard way.
No comments:
Post a Comment