Hrithik looking ahead with confidence
Sitesh Debnath

FOR Hrithik Roshan, life is a long drive. "It depends on how much speed I can put into my journey that will make it easier to get over the bumps," he proclaims while reflecting on his latest starrer ‘Yaadein’ — the first setback he has suffered in a year —after a blazing debut with ‘Kaho Na Pyar Hai.’

But then, he draws comfort from the fact that overseas, ‘Yaadein’ has proved a huge success and was ranked No 7 on the UK Top Ten and No 3 on Hollywood Top 10 within a week of its release. The film also broke all previous overseas records of Indian films while grossing $ 646,800 in its first weekend.

"You know, I’ve stopped looking at my career in terms of success and failure," he rationalises. "I see it as a game. I play games with myself. So I will continue to play and have fun. And when you do that, you win some and some you lose. You don’t get hassled at all."

Hrithik’s first game was of course, ‘Kaho Na...’ which pitch-forked him from a non-entity to a national phenomenon. The next was ‘Fiza,’ followed by ‘Mission: Kashmir’ — neither of which carried forward his heartthrob image and instead, showcased his acting abilities.

"It wasn’t a deliberate career move, but certainly a very wise one," he reflects. "For ‘Fiza’ was about Karisma Kapoor’s character and I was just playing a role in it. ‘Mission Kashmir’ was similarly, never my film. But I felt fortunate enough to be accepted as an actor through both these films."

Subhash Ghai’s ‘Yaadein’ happened within three days of the release of ‘Kaho Na...’ "It was a Monday," Hrithik remembers. "I signed the film as I felt there was more scope for spontaneity and being completely natural. That’s how Ghai wanted it. He didn’t want us to be rehearsed. Everything was done on the sets!"

But was it necessary to also show off his muscles and dancing abilities?

"Dancing is an expression of joy and happiness," he counters. "But yes, I don’t understand if somebody wants to make me dance for the sake of dancing. There are filmmakers who make offers on the promise that there’ll be a lot of dancing. They think that will excite me. On the contrary it puts me off.

As for his physique, Hrithik laments that those rippling muscles of ‘Kaho Na...’ have since disappeared. This is because long hours on the sets have kept him away from the gym and his body has gone "out of shape". At times, he has tried to make up with post-midnight workouts, but that was not enough.

He remembers how he had to cancel a scene recently when he was to appear in a sleeveless vest for the shot. "We couldn’t shoot the scene because there were no muscles to show. The scene just didn’t work. That was when I realised what had happened. I wasn’t being honest with my career."

So the "new Hrithik" refuses to work beyond seven in the evening, even if it means antagonising his producers. In any case, he doesn’t work on Sunday and does only one shift a day. "I have been too nice for too long to my directors and producers," he explains. "It’s time I took care of myself first."

Come October and Hrithik will be shooting for his father, Rakesh Roshan’s film. "It is not your run-of-the-mill Hindi commercial film. But I still have to find a way to talk about it without saying too much. So I cannot say anything beyond this now." (MF)

At home with all hues of cinema
Asha Singh

TABU never ceases to surprise. Since her debut in ‘Prem’, she has seen it and done it all — from off-beat, low-budget films (‘Astitva’) to run-of-the-mill, mainstream potboilers (‘Biwi No 1’), winning the national award (‘Maachis’) and co-starring with some of the biggest names from all over India.

If ever Bollywood produced a star whose appeal cuts across regional and language barriers and who so confidently straddles both kinds of cinema, parallel and mainstream, it has to be Tabu. Neither elder sister Farha nor her illustrious aunt, Shabana Azami could juggle these combinations so successfully.

So it does not come as a surprise when Tabu says that her only ambition left in films now is to work with Hollywood guru Steven Spielberg. "But I know Spielberg does not think of me when he decides the casting of actresses in his films", she quips.

Born Tabassum Fatima Hashmi, hers is a typical case of a slow starter. Fresh from her schooling in Hyderabad, she migrated to Mumbai with stars in her eyes in the early eighties. It took her five years to land her first role in ‘Prem’ and another five, before Dev Anand signed her for ‘Hum Naujawan’.

But it was not till ‘Vijaypath’ that she could eventually find a foothold for herself in the industry. An immensely popular dance number, ‘Ruk Ruk Ruk’ made people sit up and take notice, catapulting her to the heights of stardom. And then, there was a lull once again.

Tabu resurfaced with a series of off-beat, low-budget films and at times, remakes of South Indian films like ‘Virasat’ and ‘Sazaya Maut Kala Pani’. These were no box-office hits, but helped establish her as a star-actress of substance. From that point there has been no looking back.

Over time, Tabu consolidated her position by working in mindless commercial capers like ‘Pehla Pehla Pyar, ‘Sajan Chale Sasural’, ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Dilruba’, ‘Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar’ ... and the occasional serious, meaningful cinema up ‘Hu Tu Tu’, ‘Kondanandai Kondanandai’, ‘Takshak’ and ‘Astitva’.

"The commercial potboilers provide me the bread and butter", she explains. "The off-beat films are food for my soul. In maintaining this balance, I have been able to create a distinct niche for myself. I can now confidently say that I am in a different league from other actresses".

Fighting shy of labels, Tabu says she detests being called an art film actress. "I am an actress, period. It is not necessary that I should work in only meaningful films like ‘Astitva’. You can work in a commercial film and yet, leave an impact. Every film I do is important and close to my heart".

At present, she is shooting with Gurdas Mann for Manoj Punj’s ‘Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai’, in which she plays Shalu, a dreamer "who perennially chases her dreams". Tabu insists it is neither a Punjabi film, nor a music video to promote Mann’s songs and definitely not a remake of ‘Life is Beautiful’.

"I should say that I was a bit apprehensive about the film", the actress discloses. "I decided to see the Punjabi film, ‘Shaheed-e-Mohabbat’ (which was to inspire the make of ‘Gadar’ by the same director, Manoj Punj). Iliked his sensitivity and then decided to do ‘Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai’.

The other film that keeps her busy is a comedy, ‘Aamadani Aathana Kharcha Rupaiyya’. "It is being produced by Padmalaya, the banner that gave me my Telugu break 11 years ago", she narrates. "So when they asked me to do this film with Govinda, I did not think twice. I think I owe it to them".

Other starrers to look out for are Meghna Gulzar’s ‘Filhaal’ and Madhur Bhandarkar’s ‘Chandni Bar’.

Following parents’ footsteps
Rakhee Gupta

FOLLOWING the success of ‘Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai’, Tusshar Kapoor is in the news again. This time it is for his second film, ‘Kya Dil Ne Kaha’ in which he shares the lead with Hema Malini’s daughter, Eesha Deol. And therein hangs a tale.

Many years ago, Tusshar’s father, Jeetendra shared the lead with Hema in a major hit called ‘Justice Choudhary’. The industry buzz is on whether the star kids would be able to recreate the magic of the parents almost a quarter century later.

Actually, Tusshar’s debut-making film was also meant to repeat the success of such musical thrillers of the 1960s as ‘Farz’ and ‘Aulad’. Jeetendra was paired with Babita in these hits. And Babita happens to be the mother of Tusshar’s heroine in ‘Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai’ — Kareena Kapoor. Abhishek Bachchan has already been paired with Kareena in J.P. Dutta’s ‘Refugee’. It wasn’t so much of a runaway success, but surely it brought back memories of Abhishek’s mother, Jaya Bachchan and Kareena’s father, Randhir Kapoor in that fun flick of 1972, ‘Jawani Diwani’.

Then there are Dharmendra and Tanuja, who tasted success with ‘Baharein Phir Bhi Aayegi’ in 1966. History was repeated three decades later when Dharmendra’s son, Bobby Deol and Tanuja’s daughter, Kajol were cast together in ‘Gupt’. The film was a bigger hit than any movie starring their parents.

And then, who can overlook Rakesh Roshan beginning his acting career with ‘Paraya Dhan’ in 1971, opposite Hema Malini? Now is the turn of his son, Hrithik and her daughter, Eesha to come together in the yet-to-be-released ‘Na Tum Jano Na Hum’.