Our source reveals, "Whenever they get spare time they go to coffee shops (Mocha) in the town or shopping malls like Shoppers Stop. They mostly go on weekends or when they have an off from shooting. Kunal even comes on Dilli 6 sets. He had come to meet to her when she was shooting in New Delhi and twice Kunal even went to her place. On Sundays if they are free they together go to Marine Drive."
Giving more details, the source says, "Recently the whole team of Dilli 6 was shooting at Madh Island. Kunal had come to meet her and was on the sets for almost 2 hours. After that they both went shopping near Link Road."
Sonam had a heartbreak when Ranbir dumped her and moved on to Deepika Padukone. To get over it, she spent a couple of months with friends in Bangkok. Kunal, on the other hand, had a breakup with Dia Mirza.
Meanwhile, Sonam is handling her own work as her secretary has left her. Sonam will next be seen in Dilli 6 and Kunal in Bachna Ae Hasino in a special appearance.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Sonam Kapoor dating Kunal Kapoor?
Kismat Konnection - Music Review
It takes not more than 30 seconds to warm up to 'Aai Paapi (Tu Hai Meri Soniye) ' which sets the groove on from the very first note. With Shabbir Ahmed's mix of English and Hindi lyrics seemingly getting a glee on the face of Neeraj Sridhar, 'Aai Paapi' is the title song with the words 'Kismat Konnection' making an intermittent appearance. Though there is another male voice being quite prominent in the song throughout, it has surprisingly not been credited.
Coming back to this dance number which is quite a riot when it reappears in the 'remix version', 'Aai Paapi' has a word 'chartbuster' written all over it. Add to that the overall club feel of the song which should heat up the dance floors in weeks to come coupled with Shahid's energetic moves and you know that the song is a definite crowd puller.
Said to be Shahid's personal favorite song from the album, 'Bakhuda Tumhi Ho' brings together Atif Aslam and Aslam once again after 'Pehli Nazar Mein' [Race] . Written by Sayeed Quadri, the number has Alka Yagnik pairing as Aslam's co-singer even though she comes only mid-way into the song. The number is special since it merges styles of both Pritam and Atif Aslam and doesn't result in any of the two loosing their identity or taking over the show completely.
A beautiful melody that carries an Indian feel throughout and boasts of some eye catchy picturisation, courtesy the foreign outdoor locales it has been shot at, 'Bakuhda' is easily the second potentially successful number in a row after a rocking opening number.
The moment one sees the team of Shaan, Hard Kaur and Akruti Kakkar coming together for a song that goes like 'Move Your Body Now', you know what to expect. Well, what else but yet another urban rocking number which would set your feet tapping after very first listening! The song pretty much succeeds in doing so, especially due to coming together of varied styles brought to fore by the diverse set of singers that Pritam ropes in.
With fast paced beats keeping the tempo high for this yet another dance number which fuses Western and Punjabi style well, 'Move Your Body Now' has in it to give competition to the opening number as well and should certainly turn out to be yet another chartbuster addition to the album.
Later in the album, Adeel replaces Shaan for the second version of the song while ensuring that he too keeps the momentum on for the album. A song like this certainly deserves a 'remix version' and expectedly makes an appearance to make it three times the fun! It would be a surprise if this number doesn't turn out to be a big hit in weeks to come!
It's time to move into serene surroundings with the advent of 'Is This Love (Kahin Na Laage) ' which is written by Sayeed Quadri. While Shreya Ghoshal immediately gets on to the job, she is soon accompanied by Mohit Chouhan who sung a beautiful 'Tum Se Hi' for Pritam last year in Jab We Met.
Bhangra beats mark the opening of 'Soniye Ve (Dhak Dhak Dhak) ' which soon comes so close to Pritam's own 'Chori Chori' from Garam Masala that one starts wondering whether the entire song would follow the same course. However, that's not really the case as this Shabbir Ahmed written song gets into a different rhythm after an alarmingly similar start. But does that make 'Soniye Ve' any better? Not exactly!
Even though this Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan song comes with trademark Pritam arrangements, the tune doesn't have much zing in it to be termed as one of THE tracks from the album. Yet again, the song arrives in a 'remix version' and while it does have a potential to warrant a promotional music video, one would rather go back to the numbers that one heard earlier in the album.
There are sure fire hits like 'Aai Paapi' and 'Move Your Body Now' in the album but beyond that it would require quite some push from the film itself to reflect in the album's sales. Though 'Bakhuda' and 'Is This Love' good, they would work mainly once the film becomes successful. Overall, Kismat Konnection promises to score well at the music stands but whether it matches up to the sales of a Race or a Jannat would have to be observed closely.
Sanjay Dutt: Basking in the Bahamas?
Actor Sanjay Dutt is looking trimmer these days. After having shed all that weight - thanks two personal trainers and a nutritionist, the actor is also living a high adrenaline lifestyle. About what he is upto? The actor has enough and more film offers coming his way. Currently in the Bahamas, the fit-and-trim Dutt, we hear, is having a 'whale' of a time. Blue is a hard core action film and is being made on a huge budget. It also stars Ajay Devgan, Zayed Khan and Lara Dutta. However, it's Zayed and Sanjay who are having some good time in the Bahamas. Shooting for Blue in the island, Dutt and Khan are required to indulge in some intense, adventurous deep sea diving activities. And the two heroes are loving it.
"There's so much adventure in this film. And Sanju Baba having lost all that weight and is even more charged to do some stunts. He's having a lot of fun," says a unit member. Well, on his return, we're surely going to ask him of the wonderful fish he fished around whilst on the beautiful island. Watch this space for more.
Amitabh Bachchan Exclusive Interview
Talking to Amitabh Bachchan can be a learning experience. Despite a star-status that needs no substantiation, the man has the humility to make your conversation with him extremely comfortable, not giving it a formal interview tag while concurrently not steering it towards a frivolous chat either. He listens to you with complete consideration and is absolutely articulate in his answers, as well. Gaurav Malani gets into an exclusive conversation with the Big B about the aftermath of Sarkar Raj, his aggressive attitude in blogs and what keeps his energy levels eternally high.
Starting off with Sarkar Raj, are you pleased with the response you got for the film?
Yea, we are very happy. We have got lot of positive responses from the fans and well-wishers. Also, the returns of the film, financially, are extremely good. So all in all it’s a very happy moment.
Apparently there were few diverse reactions to the film and many were of the opinion that the sequel pales in comparison with Sarkar. Ram Gopal Varma even severely lashed out at some critics. What was your reaction to the reviews?
Every individual has the right to express their opinion and we will accept and honour that. But it is the opinion of one person – whether we agree or disagree to it is our criteria and whether they like it or not is the critic’s criteria.
But on a personal level do you believe that Sarkar Raj was better than the prequel?
I don’t think that we set out to make a film to better it than something else. I would like to believe that we make films to better our own selves. But if you were to still ask me this question I would say yes, I was satisfied with my performance. I was happy with the way Ram Gopal Varma shaped the film. There will always be room for improvement. I hope that there is because as artists we want to improve with every film. There should be an opportunity to be able to do that. And I hope I keep getting that opportunity from Ram Gopal Varma.
Is there any one particular scene from Sarkar Raj that has had a lasting impression on your mind?
That’s a difficult question to answer. I would personally like to believe there are many moments in the film. (Takes a long pause to ponder and smiles). I liked the relationship between the father and the son. I liked the way the son was now more authoritative and more in control of what was going on. I liked his intensity. I liked the fact that even though he was responsible for the elimination of his own brother who was actually going to be involved in the murder of his father, he felt emotional towards it but at the same time he felt that it was a necessary deal too. I felt for Subhash Nagre’s character, for this old patriarch who had to see so much tragedy that was happening in his family. One cannot draw yourself away from the fact that there are many prominent high profile families all over the world, not just in India, who have faced with multiple deaths of relatives in their own family and how they face the trauma. So these were some interesting moments.
But if you were to ask me to pick one or two scenes, I would think that it would be the one where the father goes to the hospital after he comes to know his son is shot. Even though he has been told outside the hospital that his son is not going to survive, he still comes in there with a smile on his face and wants to convince his son that everything would be fine. That would be a tough moment for any father. That was a tough moment for me as an actor. I also like the portion where he spends his little quiet moment before his son’s photograph or the moment where he discloses the entire plot to Aishwraya as to what the politics were that resulted in all that happened in the family. I also liked the moment where he confronts Raosahab in the climax. Those were some memorable moments for me.
The Nagres worked strongly towards the development of Maharashtra. In real life a lot of insinuations were made against you regarding your loyalty towards the state. Was it a conscious decision to devise the screen characters likewise?
No, not at all. I don’t think we work with intentions to mix real life and screen life.
In your early days, you were given the tag of an angry young man. Over the years you have played a diverse range of characters but with the Sarkar series do you think you get to relive that initial image?
I do not work towards an image. Neither do I follow an image nor do I believe in it. These are wonderful little epithets that are made by the media for whatever reasons and their own convenience. I believe I am an artist and should be given as many diverse roles as possible and it should be my duty to play them to the best of my abilities. I hope that I never have to deliberately work in a film because it is going to enhance an image which is the concept of the media or anybody else.
The way in which Sarkar Raj ended, the story of the Nagre family seems to continue. Is a sequel on the rounds?
Sarkar Raj had a very strong and committed ending. Yes, there has been a loss of life, disturbance in the family. But the family must survive because life goes on. That’s the point at which it was culminated. Whether or not it’s going to see a sequel is going to be Ram Gopal Varma’s call.
On a personal level would you like the Sarkar series to continue to a third installment?
I don’t think so. But if Ram Gopal Varma thinks very strongly about it then yes, we will go ahead
How do you feel being offered the best of roles even at this age?
I don’t know if I am getting the best of roles. But it’s nice to be getting some roles.
Well we are quite sure that even today many characters are consciously written with you in mind
Well, I am very grateful to filmmakers for having faith in me. I hope I do justice to their roles. I hope I remain healthy to be able to work. I love my work. And I think for an artist, at least for me, I love the idea of getting up in the morning and going to work. I am happy that there are some people who think of me favourably.
Any particular film or character of yours that is very close to your heart?
Well that would be very difficult to answer. I will have to disclose something that is more intimate to me which I am not sure I would want to do. But yes I would like to believe that all the films I do have interesting characters and that they are different. At this age we have the advantage of getting diverse roles, roles that perhaps we would never have attempted to do even when we were younger. But it’s wonderful to see the evolution of the way Indian cinema has progressed. Our progress is reflected by the progress of the common man that goes to see our films. And I have to say that the audiences have brought in the change that we see today in Indian cinema. It is they who have dictated to us – this is what we like and this is what we don’t like. And when they do not like we don’t attempt to make it.
If today Sarkar Raj is being accepted, it is the genre which normally is not the usual escapist commercial cinema. It is dark, grim, intense, has no song and dance and is totally contrary to what general opinion about what commercial Hindi cinema is. But if you see the patronage it has, it speaks a lot about the audience in our country. They are willing to see such cinema and go ahead and patronize it.
You have become a lot more popular these days with your blogs.
This is a medium that I was unaware of and once I did come to know, I thought it was wonderful to be able to talk to your fans and people who want to communicate with you on a direct level rather than go through another medium. It was instant, immediate and it covered the entire universe. It’s wonderful to be able to express my opinions, thoughts, feelings and get reactions from fans, well-wishers or not-so-well-wishers. They are like a guideline for me. It’s sometimes believed that artists get cocooned and live within the confines of their own little world. They don’t know what’s going on outside. This medium actually opens this out for me and I get to see expressions and words and know more about people and what they think about us or our life or situations that happen in the country. It’s been a very revealing experience.
Has it been a very healthy experience?
Not all of it is very good and healthy. There is a lot of abuse and criticism which is welcome. Because, if I open the doors of my house, I must welcome everything. I read all of it, write all of it myself. I do not predetermine what I am going to write but when I sit to write, whatever comes to my mind at that moment, I put it into words. It’s a fantastic medium because there are many sides of the people who watch your films and tell what they think of it. And all this is immediate. And I am just so happy to have been made aware of this medium now. It has been a great eye-opener.
Will you continue with blogging or is it just a passing phase?
I hope I am able to continue with it. It’s a little tedious. It’s almost like a daily commitment that you make to yourself and your fans. I feel many of them wait to read my blog at the end of the day and therefore I would not want them to keep waiting. As soon as I finish this interview, I will go and start writing a blog. It’s almost like sitting across the table and talking to them.
Amitabh Bachchan has always been perceived as a modest person. Would you agree that the blog has got out the aggressive side of you?
This is a fallacy. You will have to explain what do you mean by modesty. Just because I keep quiet doesn’t necessarily mean that I am modest. Just because I talk, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I am aggressive. If there is a clarification or a point of view which I feel strongly about, all I am saying is that now I have a medium through which I may do so. It may be distressing to some that I do that but then this is a free country and I should be having an opportunity to do that. If blog is the medium that I can use, then I will. That is my right as an individual.
Ranbir Kapoor acting pricey?
It doesn’t matter how new you are in the industry, if you are a star kid and have potential, you can quote whatever price you want. If you think it’s not true then newcomer Ranbir Kapoor will prove you wrong. Though this sensational star son’s first film failed to make it big at the box office he has been flooded with offers. But being selective about films Ranbir signed only Yashraj, Tips and Prakash Jha’s next. According to an industry insider this star kid has quoted 7core for Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani where he will be seen opposite Katrina Kaif.
When asked producer Ramesh Taurani of Tips, he denied. “We signed this contract with him six months back so even if he has raised his fees it doesn’t matters to us. This film is already on the floor. We have done two days of shoot and gearing up for a long schedule from 1st July.” says Taurani.
Needless to say Bollywood believes in keeping things in secret. Hope all newcomers can be as lucky as Ranbir is!
