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Heavenly bodies, shining in Star Plus serials, are twinkling in the city like never before. As apni kudi Ashima Bhalla and two other rising stars descend here for broadening the horizons of their serials, Saurabh Malik catches up with the luminaries The entire world’s a stage for her. And the many parts she plays in her real life are reflected naturally in the versatility of her reel-life characters. Ask her, and the young doe-eyed gal from the city, Ashima Bhalla, says she tries to be as natural as possible in front of the arc-lights. And that’s the secret of her dazzling success. “Acting is all about reacting to situations before the camera in an unconditioned manner. Just as I unpretentiously deliver dialogues and act in my day-to-day life, I react in front of the camera. For me, exaggeration in expression is a taboo,” she says. “You see, it all has to appear effortless and spontaneous. For, the hand of the artist should never be visible in the work of art.” Little wonder, Ashima believes acting has to be natural, and comes naturally to a person. “No one can teach you the art of acting. It’s all within you. If you go to acting or a modeling school, you will only learn how to burn holes in your pockets without becoming a hot sensation in the tinsel world,” she says. That’s right, fellows! Ashima strongly believes so many local-level modeling and acting schools, including some of the ones in city, are bogus. “I know what I am saying… I have been brought up here,” she asserts. “If at all you plan to join a school, go only for the renowned ones.” Guys, just in case you still haven’t placed her, Ashima has made it big on the small screen with her ‘ever-loving’ and ‘charming’ role of budding crooner Sudha in the primetime Star Plus show Meri Awaz Ko Mil Gayi Roshni. In fact, the S.D. College passout replaced KBC host Shah Rukh Khan on the prime slot with her serial. After making successful exits and entrances in both South Indian blockbusters and Bollywood flicks, along with music videos and television serials, Ashima says she simply enjoys acting—big or small screen really does not matter. “The only difference is that you get recognition even in small towns by acting in serials,” she says. “In fact, you become a household name by displaying your flair on the small screen. On the other hand, you have to be a real star in Bollywood to be recognized.” Flashing her charming smile before brushing aside the silky tresses that gently fall on her fragile shoulders, she says: “Television, you see, is a powerful medium and helps you to remain in people’s memory. It gives you an opportunity to improve and improvise at a very short notice. In movies you have to wait till the release for judging your own performance, and sometimes it is too late. In case of a flop flick, you are Miss Nobody.” Well said! We are proud of you. Keep shining!
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Oh-so-hot
Shah Rukh Khan’s lover boy role in DDLJ impresses him. And that’s the kind of character Karan Patel, aka Robbie Sabharwal, likes to slip into after moving out of the small screen. But until then, the young heartthrob of tele fans is happy playing the part Ekta of Balaji Telefilms has chosen for him. “The role is fantastic and I love playing it,” he asserts with a smile. Right guys, he has all the reasons to be happy about it. The role has brought him fame, and female fan-following. In fact, everything he does is so likeable. They even like his wearing pink, love his smile and think he is “oh-so-hot”. But how did he land up with the dream role? “Well, Ekta Kapoor is a friend of mine. When she called me up and narrated the serial’s story, I liked it and accepted the role. I went for an audition, took the screen test and here I am before you.” Curling up in the chair, he adds: “I have been working hard and that’s what is required for you to succeed. Ever since I started acting in the serial, I have never looked back.” Good, but what about his future plans? Any movies in hand? “You see, I am comfortable doing tele-serials. For, I believe television industry is now as big as Bollywood. So I am not really anxious about shifting. I am still waiting for my dream role and will move out only when I get it”. All the best, Karan!
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Outgoing, confident and talented. From homework to working on-set for long hours, these kids in glam world do it all
Is
it hard to be a child? Well almost! Specially when you are four-year-old and have to convince the grown ups that it is classical that you want to dance rather than learning western that your parents have chosen for you. And above all, to prove yourself right. Or, for a ten-year-old to go against the trend to assert that kathak is her destiny! But we have our strong-willed brigade who knows what they want and how to go about it. Like for instance Namrata Singh. She was four, when her parents put her in a western dance workshop. She revolted, saying she wanted to dance only to the classical songs of Muhammad Rafi. Her introduction to the world of classical performing art was through her father U.P. Singh who is fond of old songs and dance. So she was taken to Guru Balakrishna Marar to initiate her into Bharatnatyam. Namrata learnt the nuances of the art form from him. She performed for Delhi Doordarshan the next year. But she was still not satisfied. So her parents took her to Pt Yogesh Sharma, son and disciple of late Pt. Kanhaiya Lal Sharma, the man who made Kathak famous in the north. Namrata is nine-year-old now, quite a happy soul—for she likes the invigorating footwork of kathak and flexibility of the body that Bharatnatyam offers. Do you want to be a professional dancer? “No, I want to become an oncologist,” as we do a mental summersault at her answer, her mother explains when she was about five, she saw her grandfather dying from cancer. So she wants to become a cancer specialist.
“Dance is my hobby,” she joins the conversation. “And I want to propagate classical dance forms all over the world,” she adds confidently. For she is buoyed by the response she evoked from the audience in Shimla recently when she performed for a national dance competition organised by All-India Artistes’ Association. There she was the winner in the sub-junior category and also received an award of
honour. The next one we meet is Wamyqa Gabbi who plays a supporting role in a Shahid-Kareena starrer. This 13-year-old student of St. Xavier’s School, Sector 47 found her true calling in kathak when she was 10 years old. “Everyone knows folk and western dances. I wanted to do something different. So I started learning kathak from Pracheen Kala Kendra. She got hooked to the abhinaya part of kathak and took it on to the stage, first with Anita Sabdish’s play Ek Ladki Jinko Rona Nahi Aundi and later in Vijay Tandon’s serial Soudan Dilande. But her big break came when she became one of the five top contestants for Nacho, Jhoom, Gao, with Aamir Khan this year. The film offer came from Dhillon Creations where she was honing her dancing skills.
“It was great working with Shahid. Kareena was a little reserved and now I am waiting for a call from Mumbai to complete the rest of the shooting,” she says. And yes, she does want to pursue her acting career and wants to enroll in a good training institute once she completes her schooling. While Namrata and Wamyqa chose their destiny, destiny chose Sehajjot Singh, the child actor of 36-China Town. A portfolio sent by his parents, and Abbas Mastan had fallen hard for the chubby face. “He was not even two years of age when the offer came. There was no audition for they had already selected him for the part, but he danced to his heart’s content when they first took him to the sets and put on some music,” says his proud father Sandeep Singh.
Yes, it was difficult initially to make him act but after staying three months with the unit the young star has became a veteran, so much so that he delivered dialogues and did his own dubbing. This budding artist who is honing his skill by joining dance workshops during the summer break (he is a nursery student at Vivek High), has already clinched a music video Khawaab in which he is playing the role of the hero’s daughter. And guess what, this chirpy star is getting media savvy too. “Ask me which school I go to,” says Sehajjot, handling the interview with dignity ‘and for the rest talk to mama…’ Of course kids will be kids! parbina@tribunemail.com
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Naqaab Thriller minus the thrills AVOIDABLE Rajiv Kaplish
Directors
Abbas-Mustan of Naqaab- the disguised intentions really have nefarious designs. Not only the filmmakers, but also the lead actors have diabolic plans. The directors intend to break new ground in imitation. So, they cobble together a few Hollywood flicks and come out with ‘the most shocking thriller of the year’. What’s so shocking about the storyline which has a young Dubai-based girl Sophie (Urvashi Sharma) engaged to a handsome multimillionaire Karan (Bobby Deol), the girl meeting debonair struggling actor Vicky (Akshaye Khanna) and their affair causing a rift between Sophie and Karan? Bobby Deol’s intention is to shock the viewers with his overacting. He largely succeeds in his mission. Akshaye Khanna doesn’t seem to have been paid well for his role. Therefore, his only secret desire is to look as wooden as possible. Like Bobby, he doesn’t disappoint you either. Debutant Urvashi reveals everything except talent. It’s a pity that she begins her career with a thriller that has no thrills. Showing at: Piccadily, Kiran SPELLBOUND: Harry’s magic works once again
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has a nasty encounter with two spectral Dementors and has vanquished them. But the Ministry of Magic charges him with illegally using magic outside the school premises. However, the venerable Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) saves him. But Harry’s troubles are not over yet. He begins his fifth term at the school amidst an atmosphere of mistrust and hostility. The wizarding community accuses him of lying about his encounter with evil Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and some of his schoolmates also don’t trust him. Suspicious of his activities, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher Doloros Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) to keep watch over Dumbledore and his students. But finding that her defensive magic is not adequate to defend them against the dark forces, Harry, along with Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) teams up with a band of students to form Dumbledore’s Army to fight Voldemort and his henchmen. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter comes of age in the David Yates-directed sequel. He even kisses Cho Chang (Katie Leung). Imelda Staunton as the vicious Doloros Umbridge is a storehouse of talent and aptly represents the inhuman, bureaucratic side of the wizarding world. With the director laying the entire focus on the character of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are reduced to being the former’s understudies. Such is the hype surrounding the Potter movies that story or no story, every sequel has raked in money at the box office. This one may be no exception. Showing at: Batra
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Write to Renee I am a 28-year-old guy working as a software engineer. My problem is that I am not happy with my life. I do not have job satisfaction. I have a girlfriend who wants to marry me, but since I am still confused about my work I do not feel it would be very correct to marry her. I have bought myself a flat and live on my own away from the family but even this does not inspire me anymore. I just feel as though life is passing by and I am having no fun at all. How can I feel better about life? Rohit Kamra,
Panipat There is only one person who can bring back the excitement in your life and that is you yourself. This is too young an age to have a listless attitude. After all what’s wrong with your life? It’s just the way you are looking at it. You seem to have delved into a rather depressive state just by your wrong perceptions. All levels of satisfaction come to us when we act from within. It is ultimately all about our inner selves. Once you’ve arrived here your job will seem the greatest and your girlfriend will seem the best. I am 32 years of age and going through a divorce after 12 years of marriage. Ours was an arranged marriage. I come from an orthodox family and was married off soon after college. I have two wonderful kids. My husband was emotionally abusive and it completely shattered me as a person. Now I have met somebody who I feel is a great friend. He is a few years younger to me and somehow ever since I met him I have started feeling that life is worth living. Slowly over the last few months I regained some confidence. Now my husband is back, looking for forgiveness and does not want the divorce. I am tempted to go back, but this is the third time he has done this. I am guilty and confused. Mona Shrivastava
Chandigarh You have to decide on how you want to deal with the situation. Have the courage to weigh the positive and negative aspects and take the right decision. It is good that you have regained your confidence back; it will help you think more clearly. If your husband has been playing the losers’ game, time and again he is really not a worthwhile man. Give your situation a serious thought; take a firm, decision and then stick by it.
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Campus comes to life
Fellows, it’s the complete resurgence of campus life. With the classes yet to commence and admissions to most courses almost over, it’s time for the students to enjoy some cool lessons in pleasure and to bring the campus alive with their lively laughter. If you still haven’t witnessed the action, sneak peak into MCM DAV College or any other institute. You’ll see freshness, still not staled by academic heat and other pressures, on the blooming visages of youngsters. But guys, this time it’s all very different from what you have lived before. Life on the campus is youthful, animated and exhilarating like never before. And, it is showing in the apparels, and the bindas attitude the youngsters wear. The fear of seniors, or ragging, is the last thing on their ever-shifting minds, as they are slamming shut the chapter of monotonous uniforms and timetables. Go around and you’ll find happiness brewing among the freshers over coffee cups around the GCG-11 canteen, or friendship cooking around the tandoor at the Students’ Centre on the varsity campus! And nobody seems to care about the seniors. No wonder, oiled hair and plaids, ubiquitous during the initial college and varsity days every year, are passé. All efforts aimed at perking up the wardrobe with formals have also been abandoned. The youngsters logged on to the latest have relegated even the good old salwar-kameez to the recycle bin of memories. For them, it’s time to flaunt the oh-so-hot funky high-street look in spaghetti tops teamed with Capris. Or else, to display sheer opulence and haughty attitude that comes with wearing glam halter-necks and ghagra skirts. Fresh out of college and seeking admission to post-graduate course in English, Natasha Verma has paired mini skirt with long boots. “They look stylish, and are comfortable,” says the young Humanities graduate. Well, quality matters! The rugged-looking skirt with a nice leather logo on the front is actually branded, and needless to say, expensive. The accessories too suggest her taste. Fast Track watches that help her keep pace with the fashion, chic eye-gear that protects her peepers from UV-rays, flat Jaipuri mojaris and star-studded mobile pouches — all make her look like a ramp model, rather than a varsity gal. Avers ex-Capt Rajneesh Talwar, running a card and gift shop on the campus, “The students this time are very different from their predecessors. They are more confident and have a stronger sense of individuality. They just do not believe in moving out with the crowd, and make a statement about their sturdy personalities through their attitudes without uttering even a single word”. A whole new world, indeed!
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Wide Angle Do
not scoff it off as yet another exhibition on Leh-Ladakh. We know— you all are too familiar with Khandung La Pass or Pengong Tso Lake or Deepak Taal. Thanks to numerous adventurous souls who like to explore the rough mountain terrain and capture it all in their Nikons. It may or may not have too great an artistic value, but according to V.S. Kundu, president of SAAHAS (Spiritual, Artistic And Humanitarian Adventure Society), it is an exhibition to relive the memory of a 16-day expedition that started on June 12 for six nature lovers. An expedition that took them from Chandigarh to Manali, Rohtang, Leh, Khardung La to Srinagar. The journey was a nostalgic one—full of fun moments and a few horrors as the team under the leadership of Kundu biked on thin ice for days on three Royal Enfields. The nostalgia spills over in the venue (Government Museum and Art Gallery) where all the six members (Manpreet Grover, Sumeet Sheokand, Amit Sheokand, Varnika Kundu and Satvika Kundu comprise the rest of the team) do their best to draw the viewers to their kind of spirit by exhibiting all the fun and the disaster shots, including some broken parts of their bikes and an x-ray of Varnika’s hand which was sprained during the journey. These are, of course apart from the beautiful 166 photographs of landscapes and landmarks, well-composed and well-captured in nature’s original best. “I preferred to capture the landscapes as they were, not tampering it with artistic techniques,” says Kundu who is the major contributor of this photographic exhibition (The other shutter-bug is Amit Sheokand). “So there are a number of pictures, which I, as a judge would have dumped, have become part of this exhibition,” says Kundu, who is also the president of Friends of Photography, Pointing at the frame of Lord Buddha’s 57 feet tall statue in Thicksey Monastry, which is the face of Ladakh, he says, “This is an okay pictorial representation of the statue and there are so many other frames I clicked just because the scene was picture perfect and all I had to do was capture it in the right composition.” There are others like that of sand dunes or those lofty mountains that look like paintings with the sharpness of the topography blending harmoniously with a pronounced foreground and duller background. So here is your chance to see the green mountains, blue lakes and feathery clouds, once again. And be part of the team who had survived on Maggi and Diet Coke, endeared sun tan and frost bites and sang to Decibel’s Naagin … On till July 17
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Socialite Paris Hilton was spotted returning home without her shoes at 5 in the morning after a night of excessive partying. The former jailbird had been to a party at the Sunset Tower Hotel and looked weary after a night of festivity However, the hotel heiress’ representative said that Hilton was exhausted after visiting San Francisco for presenting her new jeans line to Macy’s. The socialite was seen at hotspot Les Deux on a girls’ night out on June 6, with a group including her sister Nicky and Erin Foster (daughter of music producer David Foster).The ‘Simple Life’ star also broke into a seductive dance, singing every song that played and her own single, ‘Stars Are Blind’. Stalker-trouble for Britney
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Seems
like Deepa Mehta’s ‘Water’ has inspired telle-ville as well. A social issue like widow remarriage, after setting the silver screen on fire, has now been captured by Sahara One’s Solhah Singaar. The serial captures the saga of Meerra— a window, who’d fought against social prejudice to get her own widowed mother Alaknanda remarried. For Meerra, life has come a full circle where she is herself widowed. Now, her mother Alaknanda wants to bring back the same happiness in her life by marrying her to her ex-lover Abhimanyu, while Ammaji wants her to marry her brother-in-law Shakti. Meerra’s ex husband Sumer’s stepmother Triveni and stepbrother Shakti, who’d been against Sumer’s decision to transfer the property in Shagun’s name, start troubling her. Now, Meerra’s remarriage is not an easy
possibility. —TNS
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Flower Follies Sreedhara Bhasin We— the Sukhna lake regulars— enjoy the pond of water lilies at the end of the jogging trail. It makes our city beautiful. However, I felt uneasy to see some enthusiastic bravehearts wading into the water and plucking out a few luscious blooms this morning. One can argue that one or two plucked lilies will not be missed in a lake full of them. But, do we really want to start the ‘un-Chandigarh’ trend of plucking flowers? In most metros, people have forgone the culture of flowering plants. The only way to sustain flowers in your plants or tress is to make them bloom close to the sky. In some cities, even plastic flowers on the balcony or at the entrance are not spared. I have caught a good number of flower pickers myself, and when asked to stop, have received an earful, since plucking other peoples’ flowers, apparently, is every Indian’s birthright. However, Chandigarh surprised me enormously. The first few times I walked in the Rose Garden or Leisure valley, I was awestruck by the fact that there were virtually no flower thieves. The flowers reposed peacefully where they belonged, rather than in warm pockets or in dirty plastic bags. Now, there is a shift in the winds and I am not sure I like it. I witnessed two morning walkers grabbing a handful of my neighbour’s Belis — a new phenomenon. I thought of shouting out but my childhood trauma held me back. I was afraid I would be duly chastised for interrupting indirect services to God. On a recent visit to a local lady’s house, I commented on a plate full of flowers she had in her drawing room. The big heap of white and pink flowers on a golden plate was an object d’ beauty. My appreciative comments made her plunge into a long story of how her maid was very good, when it came to finding and acquiring (she did not mention the word ‘plucking’) the best flowers from the neighbourhood. She proudly finished her narration with a final nod and the proclamation, “Can you believe — not one of these flowers is from my garden?” Then, I saw the young romantics at the chowk — they looked like long-distance travellers, young faces streaked with dust and perspiration, huddling close to each other against the raging traffic and trying to cross to the other side. The boy’s eyes fell on the cosmos growing on the edge of the chowk – he arched over and plucked a pretty pink one and held it out to the girl with flourish. Her tired face broke into a lovely smile, as she delicately sniffed at the petals and then plunged it into her thick braided hair. Then they broke off in a run to the other side, holding hands. Well, who am I to judge the place for flowers?
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On the dance floor Afternoon
party fever is once again going up in the city. And catching the swinging infection are college and varsity students out to chill in sultry weather. Guys, just in case you are wondering why the teenyboppers are practically gluing themselves to the dance floor in afternoons when it is so sticky outside, ask Jeet Brar. The choreographer-turned-event manager will tell you all about it. “After over three months of break, college and varsity life is getting back in full swing. Now getting out of the house is easy, especially for gals. That’s, perhaps, the reason why they are not wasting anytime in rejoicing the occasion of life by partying in the hours of daylight,” says Brar. If you still haven’t seen the crowd cutting footloose to the thumping beats of reverberating music during these “hot” parties, just drive down in the afternoon to one of the burning-with-excitement youth joints. You will find youngsters dancing their way to delight as in-house and guest disc jockeys spin the tracks, delightfully and dexterously. Among the partying crowd is Sector 45 resident Madhur Sharma. A regular frequenter to the afternoon parties, he says, “As music sets the pace for afternoon, you see party animals burning up the dance floor in all wildness. As good old retro and classic rock gives way to fast hip-hop numbers, the fever takes you in its high-temp grip. Jiving there on the dance floor, you actually feel the heat.” He adds,” As synthetic smoke rising from the dance floor changes colours in sync with the psychedelic lights dazzling overhead, you feel if there is heaven on earth, it is here.” Guys, whatever is your party style, you will not be disappointed. You can be sure of it. Well, you may find it simply incredible if you are not tuned in with the latest, but this weekend alone at least five special afternoon parties, besides the regular ones, are scheduled to be organised in clubs, discotheques and other joints. So guys, what are you waiting for. Put on your dancing shoes and jive your blues away before the academic load begins to burden you all over again. Happy dancing!
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Perils of not being Potter-struck Chetna Keer Banerjee “ I’d like to order a copy of….”The countenance of the girl at the bookstore puckered into a knowing smile. A grin born of self-assurance at having a finger on the readers’ pulse. “You’d like to book the new Harry Potter.” It was more a statement than a poser. “Err…no.’ The stuttered response I delivered bordered on the apologetic. Such was the impact produced by the northward darting of the salesgirl’s eyebrow. Must be batty if she isn’t potty about Potter, her penetrating gaze seemed to indicate. It’s another matter that JKR’s loss was other fiction’s gain, as I reeled off the names of authors who’re seasoned surely, though not the toast of the season. But when booklovers the world over are waiting with baited breath for the grand finale of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, to not share the Potter mania is to be like the Wizard of Odd. It makes you seem like an alien in the literary and not-so-literary circuits. First, you become an outcaste, figuratively. For, you just don’t figure in the Potter trivia, the astronomical number of bookings that are sending the cash registers ringing and record books singing. You simply don’t count in the making of great publishing fortunes and literary history. That makes you a virtual non-entity as well as a non-virtual in the eyes of the countless book portals and stores being driven by marketing hype. Forget the book malls, if you haven’t littered the blogosphere with free-for-all critiques on the great expectations from the title, your pretensions to being a book buff are suspect. If yours is not a voice figuring in the raging debates on the possible plot and sub-plots of the much-awaited tome, you’ve simply plotted your own downfall in the estimation of ‘muggle’ loyalists. And you don’t sport cyber identities like HPfan4ever, potterchick, iluvharry or magicalmuggle? Gosh, you’ve missed the chance of a lifetime in being party to character-inspired cult christenings. Consider yourself a peripheral element pottering in the backwaters of ‘literosphere’. You’re no better than a UFO (unidentified fringe observer) orbiting Planet Potter, screwing up its nose at all those landing on it. As for literary activism, you’re dead wood. Not being among the millions posting their signatures for the ‘save Harry’ campaign means your role in the possible resurrection of the protagonist is zilch. If you weren’t around to participate in the famous resuscitation of Doyle’s fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, after he was consigned to death in the final adventure, life gave you another chance. That of putting aside pressing daily concerns to participate in the million-dollar existential issue of the year: Will Harry survive the final battle with Lord Voldemort? If you still didn’t go charging at your mouse to register as a miniscule statistic in the mind-boggling numbers voting to bring the hero back from the rumoured grave, you’ve missed a golden opportunity. Such grave disservice to the cause of influencing the facts of fiction! But then, some folks don’t mind getting in the bad books of the Potter-struck population, do they? chetnabanerjee@tribunemail.com
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Health tip of the day
The progression of osteoarthritis can be slowed and in some cases be halted. Activities such as deep squatting, kneeling and stair climbing should be
avoided.— Dr Ravinder Chadha |
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The city is having an extended season of sequel mania. With franchises of Hollywood blockbusters like Spiderman, Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean having struck gold already, it’s now the boy wizard who comes calling in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Pop star Britney Spears recently received a shock when she got a call from Children’s Services about calls they received claiming she was an unfit mother. But now it has turned out that the person who called Children Services is actually a stalker of Britney, and has apparently become irritated with the troubled singer over the past few weeks.