SHILPA SHETTY tells Pratim D. Gupta about being the new face of India in the West, going full-on Bollywood at the IIFA weekend and the secret behind her body beautiful
Metro premiered in London and Sydney. Now Apne will be screened at the IIFA weekend in Yorkshire. Despite the all-star cast, it’s all very much about you...
Well, it’s not going to be a premiere this time. It will be a preview of Apne. I am quite looking forward to it and I am also looking forward to IIFA as a whole. I will be performing there, I will be tossing the coin for the exhibition cricket match and I will also be celebrating my birthday (June 8) there.
And you will be performing for the first time after Celebrity Big Brother…
Yes. I had performed just once at IIFA. That was four years ago in South Africa. This time it’s going to be in the UK and that’s why it is so much more exciting for me because so many things have happened for me in the UK (laughs). This will be for all those people who have wanted to see me dancing. So this is my ode to them. I will be dancing to all the hits this year. I want to show them the true Bollywood razzmatazz.
Isn’t it strange that your huge fan following in the UK have never really seen you doing what you do?
(Laughs) They haven’t seen me doing what I actually do and what is my forte. Metro released there and that’s a very different kind of a film, not the usual Indian films I have done here.
There is talk of you having had no bearing on the box-office collections of Metro…
The response has been phenomenal for Metro. And I just got informed today (Sunday) that Metro is a certified hit. So I am very, very happy (laughs).
How does it feel to represent the entire film industry across the globe?
All these promotions and premieres have been put on my head. I am quite grateful to the audiences for recognising Indian cinema. There is a certain kind of intrigue attached to Indian cinema… And I am lucky that I have been able to make a mark for myself. I am very proud that I belong to this milieu.
Is it a burden taking ‘Incredible India’ everywhere?
No, I take it as a huge compliment. But it was never meant to be so. It just happened. The sequence of events… I am quite happy. I am very proud that the Indian film industry is churning out some great movies. And it needs to be projected in the West.
You signed Metro and Apne before Big Brother. Would you sign such ensemble
films now?
I do films for different reasons. I did Apne because it had a great script and it was being directed by Anil Sharma. He had made Gadar and I have a lot of respect for him. It’s also a casting coup, you know, Dharamji, Sunny and Bobby together in the same film. I am someone who loves cinema. If I was only bothered about doing single-heroine films, then I wouldn’t be part of a Metro or a film like Dus. I have always been part of films which have allowed me to play characters that are different.
But Apne is all about the men…
It’s a complete commercial venture and a big-budget movie. I play this traditional Indian girl who is an ideal homemaker. She is modern and is married to the family, more than being married to the man. My role may not be that long but my character is very strong, of a modern Indian woman.
But can you possibly now do a film not revolving around you?
In the past couple of years, I have become selective. That is why I haven’t been signing films too much. And my hands are really full right now (laughs). I have my musical. I have a couple of other things in the UK. I have a couple of British films that have been offered to me.
So is it bye, bye Bollywood?
No. I will be doing one Hindi film next year. And I will do one of the British films being offered to me. But I haven’t finalised which one in either of the cases.
And will you be dividing time between India and the UK?
Definitely. I will have to do that because I have so much work at both places.
Have you bought property in the UK?
Not yet.
Finally, you still have the most amazing body in Bollywood. What is the big secret?
Thank you (laughs). You won’t believe me but I am genetically blessed. I don’t really have to work so hard on my body. But I believe in promoting healthy eating and healthy living. And I am a big one for cardios. At least two days a week, doing cardios is very important. But with my erratic schedule now, I have not been able to do that also.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Music Review: Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Put your dancing shoes on 5/5
Pratim D. Gupta
Udti udti aankhiyon ke
Lag gaye paench lag gaye ve
Geet laga ke
Jhoom jhoom jhoom
Exit Kajra re, enter Jhoom. Hail the new national anthem from Bollywood, picturised on Daddy Cool. Dressed up by Aki Narula in a rainbow-coloured hand-stitched jacket with enough jewellery to raise Bappida’s BP, Amitabh Bachchan is the coolest dude in London as he strums a double guitar and sings the new tune of love — Jhoom barabar jhoom.
With the Bunty Aur Babli team of Shaad Ali, Shankar Ehsaan Loy (SEL) and Gulzar coming together, all ears are on the soundtrack of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (Yash Raj Music). And boy, does it rock! The title track has three versions. Besides the very-Punjabi Jhoom, picturised on AB Sr and sung by Shankar Mahadevan (in a near-baritone), there is the good ol’ Hindi group song Jhoom barabar jhoom (KK, Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Shankar Mahadevan) and the disco version called JBJ (Zubeen, Shankar Mahadevan, Sunidhi Chauhan). All have the same hookline but there is a lot of playing around with words, tempo, instruments and, most importantly, voices.
SEL scores in the choice of singers. If Alisha made a qawwali sound so cool with Kajra re in Bunty Aur Babli, hear what Zubeen and Sukhvinder do to the title tracks of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Alisha returns, but to give a very Geeta Dutt feel to the Neeraj Shridhar (Bombay Vikings) track Ticket to Hollywood, picturised on Abhishek Bachchan and Lara Dutta. Gulzar is obviously enjoying himself writing lines like Tu rani France ki/Main bansuri bans ki...!
Kiss of love is special because music-maker Vishal Dadlani, also frontman of Pentagram, sings for SEL. And he brings an irresistible irreverence to the song with Vasundhara Das for company. The song, picturised on Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta, has James Bond theme interludes making it real fun. For those not into noise, Bol na halke halke by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Mahalaxmi Iyer is delicate. The only song picturised on Abhishek and Preity is one for those moonlit nights with your beloved. Dhaagein tod laao chandni se noor ke/Ghunghat hi banalo roshni se noor ke... vintage Gulzar.
Put on your dancing shoes and just jhoom...
Pratim D. Gupta
Udti udti aankhiyon ke
Lag gaye paench lag gaye ve
Geet laga ke
Jhoom jhoom jhoom
Exit Kajra re, enter Jhoom. Hail the new national anthem from Bollywood, picturised on Daddy Cool. Dressed up by Aki Narula in a rainbow-coloured hand-stitched jacket with enough jewellery to raise Bappida’s BP, Amitabh Bachchan is the coolest dude in London as he strums a double guitar and sings the new tune of love — Jhoom barabar jhoom.
With the Bunty Aur Babli team of Shaad Ali, Shankar Ehsaan Loy (SEL) and Gulzar coming together, all ears are on the soundtrack of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (Yash Raj Music). And boy, does it rock! The title track has three versions. Besides the very-Punjabi Jhoom, picturised on AB Sr and sung by Shankar Mahadevan (in a near-baritone), there is the good ol’ Hindi group song Jhoom barabar jhoom (KK, Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Shankar Mahadevan) and the disco version called JBJ (Zubeen, Shankar Mahadevan, Sunidhi Chauhan). All have the same hookline but there is a lot of playing around with words, tempo, instruments and, most importantly, voices.
SEL scores in the choice of singers. If Alisha made a qawwali sound so cool with Kajra re in Bunty Aur Babli, hear what Zubeen and Sukhvinder do to the title tracks of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Alisha returns, but to give a very Geeta Dutt feel to the Neeraj Shridhar (Bombay Vikings) track Ticket to Hollywood, picturised on Abhishek Bachchan and Lara Dutta. Gulzar is obviously enjoying himself writing lines like Tu rani France ki/Main bansuri bans ki...!
Kiss of love is special because music-maker Vishal Dadlani, also frontman of Pentagram, sings for SEL. And he brings an irresistible irreverence to the song with Vasundhara Das for company. The song, picturised on Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta, has James Bond theme interludes making it real fun. For those not into noise, Bol na halke halke by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Mahalaxmi Iyer is delicate. The only song picturised on Abhishek and Preity is one for those moonlit nights with your beloved. Dhaagein tod laao chandni se noor ke/Ghunghat hi banalo roshni se noor ke... vintage Gulzar.
Put on your dancing shoes and just jhoom...
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Music Review: Aap Ka Surroor
Cap that! 3/5
Pratim D. Gupta
There are three Himesh Reshammiyas. One, who was just a music director giving us hits like Tere Naam and Humraaz. Two, who started singing to his compositions and achieved cult status with Aksar, Aashiq Banaya Apne and Aap Ka Surroor. Three, who wants to become a big singing movie hero.Now, Himesh One and Himesh Two are coming together to bail out Himesh Three.
That makes the soundtrack (T-Series) of Aap Ka Surroor: The Moviee — so as not to confuse with the Indipop album and yet milk its success — one of the most eagerly-awaited albums of the year. Has the capped crusader kept aside the best tunes for himself? Will Aap Ka Surroor: The Moviee’s music be as popular as Aap Ka Surroor, the private album?Well, before we get going about Himesh’s latest nose job, let us lend our ear to this one. The album is a double-CD offer, the first one having eight songs, all sung by Himesh (of course), and the second one, designed for the dance floors, with the remix versions of the same by constant collaborator Akbar Sami.The theme of Aap Ka Surroor has to be Assalaam Vaalekum, the fast-paced opening track that is designed as a concert song for HR (yes, that’s his name in The Moviee!) the superstar. Sung with electric energy by Himesh, this one’s as massy as it gets. Up next, Tera mera milna (Himesh, Shreya Ghoshal) has a soothing sound and Sameer’s lyrics rise above his usual mundane musings. Jhooth nahi bolna (Himesh, Shreya) is a celebration song and has a nice beat going.That brings us to the song of the album, Tanhaiyaan (Himesh, Sunidhi Chauhan), which like Himesh’s last effort Namastey London, is strong on melody and mirrors heartburn, big time. Ya ali (Himesh, Sunidhi) is definitely not as good as its earlier namesake. The next two Himesh solos Tere bina and Kya jeena hit the sad soulful notes again, but have little recall value.Finally comes Mehbooba mehbooba (Himesh, Asha), marked as “a tribute to Panchamda”. And yes, it is the same Sholay song with HR taking over from RD. Remember Himesh was first asked to do Mehbooba mehbooba for Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay? Well, honestly, he does a good job of it with Asha being Asha. Only the Aye saala in the background leaves you asking, ‘what is the because, HR?’.Overall, Himesh the composer and Himesh the singer deliver. Will Himesh the actor score a hat-trick? Cap that!
Pratim D. Gupta
There are three Himesh Reshammiyas. One, who was just a music director giving us hits like Tere Naam and Humraaz. Two, who started singing to his compositions and achieved cult status with Aksar, Aashiq Banaya Apne and Aap Ka Surroor. Three, who wants to become a big singing movie hero.Now, Himesh One and Himesh Two are coming together to bail out Himesh Three.
That makes the soundtrack (T-Series) of Aap Ka Surroor: The Moviee — so as not to confuse with the Indipop album and yet milk its success — one of the most eagerly-awaited albums of the year. Has the capped crusader kept aside the best tunes for himself? Will Aap Ka Surroor: The Moviee’s music be as popular as Aap Ka Surroor, the private album?Well, before we get going about Himesh’s latest nose job, let us lend our ear to this one. The album is a double-CD offer, the first one having eight songs, all sung by Himesh (of course), and the second one, designed for the dance floors, with the remix versions of the same by constant collaborator Akbar Sami.The theme of Aap Ka Surroor has to be Assalaam Vaalekum, the fast-paced opening track that is designed as a concert song for HR (yes, that’s his name in The Moviee!) the superstar. Sung with electric energy by Himesh, this one’s as massy as it gets. Up next, Tera mera milna (Himesh, Shreya Ghoshal) has a soothing sound and Sameer’s lyrics rise above his usual mundane musings. Jhooth nahi bolna (Himesh, Shreya) is a celebration song and has a nice beat going.That brings us to the song of the album, Tanhaiyaan (Himesh, Sunidhi Chauhan), which like Himesh’s last effort Namastey London, is strong on melody and mirrors heartburn, big time. Ya ali (Himesh, Sunidhi) is definitely not as good as its earlier namesake. The next two Himesh solos Tere bina and Kya jeena hit the sad soulful notes again, but have little recall value.Finally comes Mehbooba mehbooba (Himesh, Asha), marked as “a tribute to Panchamda”. And yes, it is the same Sholay song with HR taking over from RD. Remember Himesh was first asked to do Mehbooba mehbooba for Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay? Well, honestly, he does a good job of it with Asha being Asha. Only the Aye saala in the background leaves you asking, ‘what is the because, HR?’.Overall, Himesh the composer and Himesh the singer deliver. Will Himesh the actor score a hat-trick? Cap that!
Movie Review: Life in a... Metro
The city never sleeps 4.5/5
Pratim D. Gupta
There’s a scene in Metro, where office colleagues Monty (Irrfan) and Shruti (Konkona) go to the rooftop and scream at the Mumbai skyline. For 20 seconds they just keep screaming. Theirs is the only light strand in the episodic scheme of things in the film, but this is the most symbolic sequence. In those few frames, two wounded souls vent their pent-up anger against the city. The city that gives a lot but takes away so much more.
But then again, Anurag Basu’s Metro is so much more than the man vs city slugfest. It’s also about human follies like chauvinism, jealousy, envy, deceit, vengeance, ambition, and, yes, love, all set against the backdrop of aamchi Mumbai.
These are different stories but all held together by a web of relationships. Shilpa and Kay Kay are married for almost a decade but love doesn’t live here anymore and today even their silences seem to cry out for a fight.
Shilpa’s sister is Konkona, a disgruntled virgin at 30 who falls in love with a homosexual. Worse is her shaadi.com suitor Irrfan, who is 38, claims to be 35, hasn’t touched a woman but stares at cleavages.
Konkona’s roommate is Kangana, who has been sleeping with her boss Kay Kay for two years now. Kay Kay uses his subordinate Sharman Joshi’s flat for their evening trysts. Sharman, of course, loves colleague Kangana when he is not chasing money. Shilpa’s dance teacher Nafisa has met her long-lost lover Dharmendra, who is the Pacific Salmon, returning from abroad to die where he was born.
And this is when Shilpa falls for Shiney, the bus-stop guy who does bare-bodied theatre. In one of the most poignant scenes of the film, they enter the house of his friend (director Anurag Basu in a blurred cameo). He wants to make her coffee but her guilt-ridden mind forces her to run away. She returns after a few moments, the pallu drops and the lips almost meet, but...
There are many more scenes in Metro that deserve special mention. Like the one in which Shilpa and Kay Kay sit across the dining table. She is crying. He thinks his game is up. He confesses and asks for her forgiveness. She confesses and asks for his forgiveness for spending time with another man. She forgives him. He asks, “Bachchi to meri hai naa?”
Without the least bit of exaggeration, Metro is one of the best films to come out of Bollywood in a long time and believe me, I have seen them all (almost). From Murder to Gangster to Metro, Anurag Basu has matured into a master storyteller who can punctuate content with style. And he is also the master of passion in confined spaces. The love-making ledge of Murder returns and so do the corridors of Gangster. But it is his use of the three singing men in black aka Band Metro that is the masterstroke.
Singing atop watertanks and platforms, Pritam, James and Suhail do what Farrelly Brothers did with the singing band in the last scene of There’s Something About Mary. And if their visual presence is stimulating, their audio track is soothing. In dino, Alvida, Kar salaam, O meri jaan... the songs accentuate every mood of the metro and the movie.
Everyone in the Metro cast plays his/her part, but not all individual performances match up to the whole. The best thing about Shilpa Big Brother Shetty continues to be her waistline. Shiney is good in patches, average in others. Kay Kay and Konkona are their usual flawless selves, getting the pitch spot on. Kangana’s new look works but her diction continues to disappoint. Sharman is a revelation, doing a serious role with elan. But it is Irrfan, with the least screen time among the main seven, who is an absolute delight.Watching him chase his dream on horseback in the climax is something else.
Like Irrfan, Metro chases a dream in a metro where everyone is chasing one. And it gets close, very close.
Pratim D. Gupta
There’s a scene in Metro, where office colleagues Monty (Irrfan) and Shruti (Konkona) go to the rooftop and scream at the Mumbai skyline. For 20 seconds they just keep screaming. Theirs is the only light strand in the episodic scheme of things in the film, but this is the most symbolic sequence. In those few frames, two wounded souls vent their pent-up anger against the city. The city that gives a lot but takes away so much more.
But then again, Anurag Basu’s Metro is so much more than the man vs city slugfest. It’s also about human follies like chauvinism, jealousy, envy, deceit, vengeance, ambition, and, yes, love, all set against the backdrop of aamchi Mumbai.
These are different stories but all held together by a web of relationships. Shilpa and Kay Kay are married for almost a decade but love doesn’t live here anymore and today even their silences seem to cry out for a fight.
Shilpa’s sister is Konkona, a disgruntled virgin at 30 who falls in love with a homosexual. Worse is her shaadi.com suitor Irrfan, who is 38, claims to be 35, hasn’t touched a woman but stares at cleavages.
Konkona’s roommate is Kangana, who has been sleeping with her boss Kay Kay for two years now. Kay Kay uses his subordinate Sharman Joshi’s flat for their evening trysts. Sharman, of course, loves colleague Kangana when he is not chasing money. Shilpa’s dance teacher Nafisa has met her long-lost lover Dharmendra, who is the Pacific Salmon, returning from abroad to die where he was born.
And this is when Shilpa falls for Shiney, the bus-stop guy who does bare-bodied theatre. In one of the most poignant scenes of the film, they enter the house of his friend (director Anurag Basu in a blurred cameo). He wants to make her coffee but her guilt-ridden mind forces her to run away. She returns after a few moments, the pallu drops and the lips almost meet, but...
There are many more scenes in Metro that deserve special mention. Like the one in which Shilpa and Kay Kay sit across the dining table. She is crying. He thinks his game is up. He confesses and asks for her forgiveness. She confesses and asks for his forgiveness for spending time with another man. She forgives him. He asks, “Bachchi to meri hai naa?”
Without the least bit of exaggeration, Metro is one of the best films to come out of Bollywood in a long time and believe me, I have seen them all (almost). From Murder to Gangster to Metro, Anurag Basu has matured into a master storyteller who can punctuate content with style. And he is also the master of passion in confined spaces. The love-making ledge of Murder returns and so do the corridors of Gangster. But it is his use of the three singing men in black aka Band Metro that is the masterstroke.
Singing atop watertanks and platforms, Pritam, James and Suhail do what Farrelly Brothers did with the singing band in the last scene of There’s Something About Mary. And if their visual presence is stimulating, their audio track is soothing. In dino, Alvida, Kar salaam, O meri jaan... the songs accentuate every mood of the metro and the movie.
Everyone in the Metro cast plays his/her part, but not all individual performances match up to the whole. The best thing about Shilpa Big Brother Shetty continues to be her waistline. Shiney is good in patches, average in others. Kay Kay and Konkona are their usual flawless selves, getting the pitch spot on. Kangana’s new look works but her diction continues to disappoint. Sharman is a revelation, doing a serious role with elan. But it is Irrfan, with the least screen time among the main seven, who is an absolute delight.Watching him chase his dream on horseback in the climax is something else.
Like Irrfan, Metro chases a dream in a metro where everyone is chasing one. And it gets close, very close.
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