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One man, many talents
Creative pursuits is what Piyush Mishra has spent his life following; starting from painting, sculpting, writing, singing, acting to directing, he has done it all.
"It's by God's grace that it all came easy to me," says Piyush, in Chandigarh on Friday for The Chandigarh Literature Festival. Name, fame and money landed at his door, but this is not what he struggled for. "Mine was a struggle too, but it was against the self," says Piyush. Gifted with a creative streak, Piyush continued with one thing after another and enjoyed it all. "The problem comes when one gets smug; one needs to go on." Piyush wrote the best during his struggle period, "A few years back no one paid you for creative work; it feels great when my old songs are lapped up, labelled vintage and used." Theatre Piyush is tired off, but very proud of his work. He moved to acting in cinema just to test himself and fared very well. "I also enjoyed that show-off phase. I am good at my craft and successful, but soon that wore off." The glamour industry has a pull and that makes many vie for it. "If you have it in you, you will get work but the challenge is if you can make it till that day." Cinema has seen a change and Piyush credits two people for it. "It all started with Ram Gopal Verma's Satya; then came Shool and Maqbool. This was a phase of transformation." Another person that Piyush agrees and disagrees with most is Anurag Kashyap. "Every country needs a man like Anurag, two would be too many." Film promotions, Cannes becoming so common for Indian cinema; clichés and alternative cinema coexisting, Bollywood is in for a long haul. Piyush shares his take, "Film promotions started by big production houses have become a norm, there is this special budget allocated to them. Indian films reaching Cannes has fetched us much attention worldwide; while cliché would always stay, I am glad now we have scope for braver cinema." Currently banking on his acting prowess, Piyush is happy working in Revolver Rani, Tere Bin Laden 2 and his Hollywood debut The Playback Singer in which he plays the lead with an all American cast. But he's not taking it easy. "I practice my acting not on sets, but back at home." He's not the one to cling to work or success anymore, but believes in giving his best, "This too shall pass say Buddhist teachings. Neither would the success last nor would tought times," says
Piyush.
Wide role
Piyush Mishra has earned name as an actor, composer, screenplay-writer and singer. He's been noted as an actor in films Gulaal, Tere Bin Laden, Rockstar and Gangs of Wasseypur. He’s given voice to songs Aarambh hai prachand (Gulaal), Aabroo (Gangs of Wasseypur), Bas Chal Kapat (Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns) and also appeared on Coke Studio India as also The Dewarists. He has written for films Yahaan, Ghajini, Chittagong and
Agneepath.
mona@tribunemail.com
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A total disaster
Jasmine Singh Now, the shayar in you might be able to understand this — ek had key baad gham bhi taqleef nahi deta! All you need to do here is replace the over-rated word 'gham' with a Punjabi movie.
One after the other, when you are made to go through a film that makes you restless, fidgety, depressed, cry, howl, laugh in self-pity…how do you react to it? Exactly, you stop feeling anything! Dil Sadda Lutteya Gaya (DSLG), the Punjabi film that was released this week, should be renamed as Dil Sadda Tutteya Paya! Starring the superdude Ashmit Patel, Pooja Tandon, Jividha Astha, Mangi Mahal, BN Sharma, Sudesh Lehri, Rana Jung Bahadur and Rana Ranbir, DSLG requires you to put your mind in the cold storage. Directed by Hardeep Baddowal, this Punjabi flick unleashes torture from the first scene.
As for the story, it is better kept unsaid. After one hour of dedicated torture, the movie finally takes some form. With form, we mean that an average audience begins to understand something. Ditto for the dialogues; pathetic is a just a word, but imagine its affect. Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches! DSLG launches Asmit Patel in Punjabi films. About the actor, please allow us to use the cliché — the lesser the better. Okay, he has some muscles to watch out for, but it stops there. Another actor Mangi Mahal, who has apparently sung many songs in the movie, looks like an outsider. He is introduced as a fierce guy and without offering any information, changed on screen into a soft, 'you-can-depend-on-me' friend. Mangi bhaji, weight does matter! The two actresses Pooja Tandon and Jividha Astha have danced and try to set style statements. Please read, try to set…whether they have acted or not…who is bothered. The rest of entourage — BN Sharma, Sudesh Lehri, Rana Jung Bahadur and Rana Ranbir —make sure they shower their repetitive, long and utterly punches on you. Rana Ranbir, a fine actor whose character is formed out of famous singer Satinder Sartaj, is a disappointment. The movie is painfully slow; it can lead to a nervous breakdown. The music of the film reminds you that film has music. Yes, the only and only good thing about the film is Navraj Hans's special appearance in the song. jasmine@tribunemail.com
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Social calling
Bharti Airtel, a telecommunications company with operations in twenty countries across Asia and Africa, has announced the opening of the "Airtel Endurance Ride" a fund raising mission of Aditya Mehta, renowned amputee cyclist and a double silver medalist at the Asian Para-cycling.
The 3,800km ride will cover eight states and 36 Indian cities. It will raise funds for the 'Aditya Mehta Foundation' for amputees to provide artificial limbs, fund their education and also help provide sports equipment and prosthesis, especially designed for the physically challenged who have aspirations in sports. Aditya Mehta, 31, a native of Hyderabad, will cover the 'K to K' zone (Kashmir to Kanyakumari) spanning 3,800 km in 36 days on a road bike. Amongst all routes, the Srinagar to Patni Top is expected to be the most challenging one as it involves cycling at altitudes of over 5000 meters above sea level. Aditya lost his right leg eight years ago in a road accident and has taken up cycling less than 19 months ago in a bid to live his dreams while inspiring others in the process."India is a great and vast nation.” —
TNS
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A golden chapter
Life happens without style; fiction gives it a makeover, gives it that dress, sky-high stilettos and makes it walk through the door...making heads turn!
Jerry Pinto is a master in that. He culls his stories from Mahim, Mumbai. "I can walk all of it in twenty minutes but I can keep writing about it for the next twenty years," says Jerry, author of Em, Big Hoom, Helen: The Life and Times of an H Bomb, books for children and more. In Chandigarh on Friday for the Chandigarh Literature Festival, Jerry is as entertaining and insightful as his books. "I love this city, especially the Rock Garden. I feel it should get due status as enjoyed by the Taj Mahal, Gateway of India or Lal Kila. It's a creation by the leftover of human society and beautiful, not some monarch's dream cemented in stones." Making art out of the ordinary is what artists do. He talks of the writing process, "We have two lovely words in our tradition - sakshi and katha sarita sagar. If you think you are going to write what you have thought, it's not that easy. Once the story flows you are sakshi (witness) to it having its own life. You are like a rower in the ocean." Indian writers in English would always be a minority, he believes. "But today we are much better placed than twenty years ago. There used be just one publisher, then came in Penguin India and a bunch of others." Jerry is happy with the options available today but dreads the day voice recognition software becomes viable, "there would be explosion of books, and bad books." There are loads of books for children but what Jerry likes them to have is not just 'moral' books. "Children love to have fun. That's what their book needs to be," says Jerry, who grew up reading loads and loads of books. And for parents who lift their brow on 'where are the children who read books' Jerry has a word of advice, "Go home, tell your kids that you have had a rough day at work and curl up with a book to relax. Your kid will follow too when facing a harsh time. If you give him a book and ask to read for next one hour and you yourself switch on TV, he will not inculcate the reading habit." Jerry enjoys writing; it being a lonely process. Being alone with a paper and a pen; being a master of his creations is what he enjoys. That leaves film scripts out of bound for that's a big team effort. He did try hands at TV serials, but wasn't happy with the process, "They write one day and shoot the next, that's why some of the TV soaps are so bad." Currently he is translating a Marathi autobiography Baluta by Daya Pawar. "Every page in this book is startling," reveals Jerry. About the future of Indian writing in English, he doesn't predict but knows he's there to write, "By the end of the day it's just words, and words that matter." mona@tribunemail.com
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More the merrier!
Make-up artist Rabia and her husband Gobind have as many as six canines to boast of… Manpriya Singh One was good enough but not sufficient enough. Nor was the count two and even three quite a bag-full. For make-up artist Rabia and her husband Gobind, nothing less than six would do! She laughs, "In fact, one of them is going to have puppies any day. I wish I could keep all of them but I think I'll end up keeping one." Like we said, it's like walking to a house full of puppies. "There were all there before I came because my husband is a big dog lover and it's only DJango we got after I came," she starts with the eight-month-old English Mastiff. Moving onto the other ones, there's the four-year-old male Momo and two-year-old female Mocha; the white and brown English bulldogs. Then there's the over two-year-old Lady and also Lara, both black French bulldogs. Just when we're wondering if anybody got left out, she gushes, "There is five-year-old Muscles, yet another French bulldog." Love me, love my dog
That's not where the long queue of four-legged acquisitions ends. She adds, "Before this, my husband had two Neopolitan Mastiffs called Hooch and Mutlee." It's a true family of not just dog owners but pet lovers and all the efforts are worth the ends. She shares, "It is sheer happiness that you get while being around them. They are a great companion and since all of us are working people, the welcome back home is a great feeling." That's not where it all ends. "It feels great to have them around. They are so entertaining and energising. You don't ever have to have a meal alone." Yours faithfully
For the many of those who've imagined taking their pets to the workplace, there is a lot of inspiration. "In fact, my mother-in-law had a French bulldog called Missy, who was loved and truly pampered. Missy even accompanied her to the salon everyday," she recalls.
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Rahman’s street magic!
Music maestro AR Rahman has added another feather to his cap. The well-known music composer has got a street named after him in Markham, Ontario, Canada! The board bearing the street's name reads 'Allah-Rakha Rahman Street'. Rahman is not the first film personality who has been honoured is such a manner. Last year, Switzerland's Jungfrau Railways named one of their mountain trains after the legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra.
Royal date
Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations, recently met Queen Rania of Jordan at the Annual Global Leadership Dinner in New York. Chopra was there to present an award. She also tweeted her vote of thanks: 'So proud to represent @Girlup at the UN global leaders Gala.. Met so many Inspiring people who being about so much change.. Thank u..'
Star struck
Actress Shabana Azmi and lyricist Javed Akhtar recently met veteran Hollywood actor Robert De Niro, who was recently in India for a Tehelka enclave where he was to share opinions with intellectuals from across the country.
Bad impact
Celina Jaitley, who has actively supported LGBT Free and Equal Campaign of the United Nations, has slammed reality show Bigg Boss for letting contestants openly talk against homosexuality. Jaitley feels their homophobia onscreen could have a bad impact on the viewers.
Off the screen
Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor says she doesn't watch Hindi films, but she watches her husband Saif Ali Khan's films as The Illumati Films office is in the same building that the couple lives in. However, Saif doesn't like to watch Kareena's films. At home, they avoid watching Bollywood films.
Up in smoke
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's upcoming film Ugly was scheduled to release on October 11, but suddenly the date was pushed to next year. Buzz is that he was unwilling to carry the 'Cigarette smoking is injurious to health' disclaimer in the smoking scenes featured in the film. Rumour has it that he might even file a petition to challenge the guideline that makes it mandatory to insert the warning in any scene which shows an actor lighting up.
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Deepika has no complaints!
Actress Deepika Padukone, who had three hit films — Race 2, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express, is happy with the way 2013 turned out for her. She talks about her career, Ram
Leela, co-star Ranveer Singh and more. No complaints
There was a point of time when I was doing Yeh Jawaani Hai
Deewani, Chennai Express and shooting Ram-Leela all at the same time. But looking at the result of the first two films, I can't complain. It was worth it. Ram
Leela
I think my biggest learning in this film was to 'not prepare' because that's Sanjay Leela Bhansali's way of filmmaking. It is easier if you go as a blank slate and allow him to mould you. I don't over prepare for scenes anyway. I always feel like a large part of it should be spontaneous. But you have to prepare a little. After two-three days, I realised that preparation won't work with
him Ranveer Singh
Everyday is a new day when you are working with him and I think
that nervousness has made me understand my craft a lot more. He has a lot of energy. He has done a lot of research for the film and he's an extremely helpful co-star. It's been wonderful working with him and I think he is one of the finest actors of
our generation. Body double
Who is spreading these rumours? You want to see the sores on my feet? How badly the skin has come off? I've worked very hard for Nagada dhol song, don't take away
the credit. Priyanka Chopra
I was in Dubai for the New Year while they were shooting the song, so I didn't know what they were going to do with it. I had heard the track and Sir had told me about it. The first time I saw the song was when it released and I think she has done such a flawless job. I saw it and I was floored.
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Baahubali going great guns
SS Rajamouli's upcoming period drama Baahubali has generated people's interest already. The hype surrounding the film is not without a reason and the stellar cast comprising Prabhas, Rana Daggubati and Anushka Shetty has ensured that the film continues to make news.
The cast and crew of the film got a first taste of people's curiosity when they landed in Kurnool in early July to shoot. As soon as the news spread around that Rajamouli and his team had come to Kurnool, a small town in AP, thousands of people thronged to the shooting spot. The entire team was caught off-guard and controlling the crowd became a mammoth task. As many as 30, 000 people turned up on location. It was a snowballing effect and the crowds kept soaring as time passed. Initially, Rajamouli had planned to shoot a few crucial scenes in Kurnool, however, incessant rainfall and boisterous crowds deterred him from continuing the shoot. Before calling off the shoot, he decided to make the best opportunity of the pandemonium. After Prabhas and Rana pacified the crowd, Rajamouli took centrestage and requested everyone to scream ‘Jai Baahubali' in sync. Interestingly, the entire incident was captured by the sound department so that it can be used in the film's final cut to create the right ambient sound in some crucial scenes. The film stars Prabhas, Rana, Anushka in lead roles whereas Ramya Krishna, Nassar, Sathyaraj, Kicha Sudeep, Adivi Sesh and Subbaraju will be playing supporting roles. The film's shooting is currently going on in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, and the next schedule is going to take place in Kerala.
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Work is worship
Avika Gor will soon be seen in a Telegu film as the lead actress. She is thrilled about bagging the film and claims to have offers from other regional cinemas as well. She says, she won’t quit and will avail all the opportunities that come her way.
Good going
After earning high ratings, Star Plus show Mahabharat, which was going to be a six month fare will now get an extension. Producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary has apparently got an extension of three months. Perhaps, now he can slow down the pace of the show and the story.
Replacement theory
Channel [V] is being revamped. From November 25, four new shows will go on air. First one is Sadda Haq-My Life My Choice, which is about a girl who wants to be a mechanical engineer. Model Harshita Gaur will play the lead. The other show, Paanch- Don’t Get Mad, Get Even, is about Roshni who takes revenge from her seniors. The third show is It’s Complicated. It is a sitcom about young couples and their relationship problems. Lastly, a reality show from Balaji will be about youth and their problems called Confessions of an Indian Teenager. To make way for the new shows, Suvreen Guggal and Crazy Stupid Ishq will end.
Mutual admiration club
There has been buzz about Drashti Dhami and her sister–in-law Suhasi Goradia Dhami not getting along well, but Suhasi negates the rumours. She says that both of them are quite close and take out time to chat and bond when possible. And Suhasi is proud that Drashti has made a name for herself.
Matter of concern
In Nach Baliye, Rithvik faces some grave charges as Asha, his dancing partner and love interest has filed a complaint against him. In her complaint to the jury, she claims that she finds it extremely difficult to match up with the energy that Rithvik puts in his performance. Judges, who were a bit shocked initially, later laughed about this issue. Terence gave the actress a useful tip to help her. “He gave me a glass of milk and asked me to have it twice a day,” laughed the talented actress.
Road to success
Ketaki Kadam, who plays the adorable Humeriah in Zee TV's Qubool Hai, is enjoying the success and fame the show and her role has got. She talks to us about her popularity and journey as an actor. Tell us about your journey. I am from a family of academicians. My mother asked me to join modelling classes. Later I joined an acting school. Acting is my hobby. After Life Ok’s Meri Ma, I bagged Qubool Hai. Who do you credit the shows’ success to? It’s team work. We all work equally hard including the producer and director. We all are thrilled about the show doing well. I feel very happy when people like my character of Humeriah. I am thankful to the makers of the show for giving me this opportunity. How is Vikrant Messey to work with? He’s very sweet. He’s a good friend. I am very comfortable working with him. I am friendly with Surbhi Jyoti and Karan Singh Grover too, whom I call him Karan bhaiya. He is sweet and genuine. What are your hobbies? I love dancing, hanging out with friends and shopping. What is the best compliment you have got for the role? The fact that people recognise me is the biggest compliment.
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Astro turf ARIES: It is important that you use your time in a worthwhile manner. Pointless arguments and debates would only waste your time, therefore, do not engage in them. The future looks bright and hopeful. TAURUS: There would be some long overdue tasks that would be completed successfully. Socially, you would be quite occupied and would meet new people. So much of hectic activity could make you impatient. GEMINI: Many of you may not feel energetic and upbeat today. At work, women would have to take up extra responsibilities. Financially, avoid speculation and invest only in safe plans. CANCER: This may be a demanding day for many of you, since family and friends may not be very open and welcoming towards a new relationship. Let others also express their feelings. LEO: Decision making and strategizing should be done today. You would be quite active and motivated to take on pending tasks and also catch up with friends and loved ones. You would accomplish a lot at work. VIRGO: As far as relationships go, you may have to help someone to get out of a dire situation. In order to prosper, certain financial decisions may have to be reworked and revised. LIBRA: Putting tasks at your home and workplace in order would help you achieve a lot in much lesser time. There may be social gatherings and celebrations to attend. SCORPIO: Family matters would be fairly uneventful and some of you may have to help a younger sibling or relative. Keep an eye on your spending and ensure that you stick to the budget. SAGITTARIUS: Being a part of an exhibition, conference and meeting would be vital for your growth and success. It is essential that you give up postponing things and deal with them immediately. CAPRICORN: Today, many of you would spend time in exploring and broadening your spiritualistic and philosophical dimensions. This activity would enable you to plan for the future and also make the most of the present. AQUARIUS: Efforts of the past would bear fruit and bring rewards. Finances would BE gained from speculation and investments. There may be changes in several aspects of your life. PISCES: Today, you would be focusing on pending tasks and official procedures. You would be mentally and physically agile and energetic. In relationships and financial dealings, trust your instincts to achieve the result you want. |
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The year ahead
If your birthday is November 9...
Your ruling planet, Mars makes you smart, intelligent, stylish, enthusiastic and reliable. You need to take precautions to restore your health if suffering from stomach problems. You should keep your budget in mind as you may end up spending more than you should. You may go ahead making many important decisions regarding your career and may go overseas. You will gain popularity because of your charismatic nature and friendly behavior. Positive colours: Golden, red, brown, cream, white, orange and purple Select days: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Favourable numbers: 3,6,9 Gems recommended: Yellow sapphire, pearl, ruby and red coral. Charity on birthday: Donate utensils, oil, tea at a religious place.
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The director completely forgets who is who — for instance the lead actor, Ashmit Patel, who plays Angad is an MBA student adopted by BN Sharma and Sudesh Lehri. After introducing these people to the audience in the first scene, the director completely forgets about them and pans his camera on to Rana Jung Bahadur who plays a professor and Rana Ranbir who plays the small Satinder Sartaj (the famous singer). You want to look for the director and remind him that he has forgotten all about Ashmit, and the rest of the lot.
You share the birthday with Payal Rohatgi (November9, 1980 Hyderabad) who was a finalist in the Femina Miss India contest in 2000. This encouraged Payal to enter the entertainment industry and so she moved to Mumbai. She started her career by modelling and then got into acting. Her number 9 and 2 are very strong to take her to new heights in 2014.