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Journalism of Courage
What happens when the camera is not on the actors? We bring you the candid moments,moods and banter behind the scenes
Kalki Koechlin nudged Anurag Kashyap and confessed to Juhi Chawla that hes a total fanboy. Juhi blushed and said,Of course. I dont believe all this. An insistent Anurag said,Aap kisi se bhi poonch lo.
Screen Jury member and Oscar-winning costume designer,Bhanu Athaiya was the first one to arrive at the Star Lounge. It was vintage Bollywood at its credible best. She set the tone for the rest of the evening as the show proceeded by the clock. In the absence of Screen Jury Chairperson Shekhar Kapur who is away in Los Angeles cutting a movie deal,Ms. Athaiya was given the responsibility of passing over the Screen Ballot to announce the Jurys choices. In the Star Lounge,Shaitan newbie Kirti Kulhari,in a lovely orange-cream embroidered salwar-kameez keenly watched the proceedings on the television set. The moment symbolised the status quo of Bollywood todaywhere the classic co-exists with the edgy new.
Filmmaker Onir and Brick Lane star Tannishtha Chatterjee were all ears to the instructions doled out to them by the hardworking Cineyug girls. There was a flutter of excitement when Jimmy Sheirgill walked in attired in an arresting black jacket. He quietly found a corner,happy to watch the live feed being broadcast on the television screen. Actress Sonal Sehgal did a double take when she spotted Jimmy. She smiled and introduced herself and quite innocently remarked,You know its funny. In the last few days Ive met up with two directors who want to cast us together. So when I saw you,I was a bit taken aback. I didnt expect to bump into you like this, she said. We are sure the directors will now take the matter in their hands. Sonal was called out to go on stage and present an award while Jimmy went back to watching the show.
Sachin Khedekar arrived at the Star Lounge with a big smile. I missed the awards last year so I had to make it this time,no matter what, he told us. When Jimmy saw Sachin,he got up to greet the senior actor. The two of them shared notes on some of the nominations and winners of the evening. The word surprising was bandied about quite often in the conversation. As any publication well-versed in the award business,would tell you,surprising is a magic word. Its always heartening to know that industry colleagues cannot second-guess the results.
Jury member Kunal Kohli sauntered in munching away on a packet of chips. When we chided him for being tardy by a few minutes,he quipped,I reached before time. I was outside chatting with a few friends. You were setting up so I took my time,but then suddenly everything started on time. Yes sir,we did. Even as we glowed at his back-handed compliment,we were not letting him get away so easily. We took away his packet of chips as penalty. By the way,just so you all know,the shooting of Kunals forthcoming Shahid Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra film is wrapped up. The film,which is slated for a June release,still awaits a title. Contrary to reports,it is not called Teri Meri Kahani or Mukhtasar. Mukhtasar is a song in the movie. Its not a title, Kunal clarified.
Talking of songs,how can we not mention Bhushan Kumar? The head honcho of T-Series whose latest brainchild,the Zero Hour Mashup,is making waves on music channels,defied Mumbai traffic and was just in time to present an award. Pooja Bhatt,who looked stunning in black leather pants and white jacket,walked in with her partner in crime the very suave Dino Morea. She looked at Bhushan and exclaimed in her trademark style,Ive been thinking of contacting you and there you are. This is too good, she said. We couldnt help but notice the beautiful silver fish locket that Pooja had around her neck. Talk of perfect symbolism: Poojas company is called Fish-Eye. Her forthcoming film,Jism 2,whose teaser poster was recently revealed is already climbing the excitement meter because of adult star Sunny Leone.
Interestingly,Poojas 2003 Bipasha Basu starrer Jism was the first attempt of a mainstream actress being unapologetic about her sexuality. This years Best Film winner,The Dirty Picture takes the thought forward. When writer Rajat Aroraa won the Screen award,he thanked his lead actress,for making the film really Dirty. Actress Padmini Kolhapure and Pooja shared a laugh at his comment. Mahie Gill,Prateik and Amy Jackson also found this bit funny. When Rajat walked in with his trophy,everybody congratulated him. His eyes though went instantly to the television set where Shahid Kapoor and Chitrangda Singh were performing a gag on the sequel of The Dirty Picture. We asked Aroraa if he was impressed and he said,Its funny. Really funny.
How can we talk about The Dirty Picture and not mention the lady who crooned the Ooh la la ditty? Shreya Ghoshal proved her versatility once again with this infectious charttopper. When she walked in with the booty in hand to give her winners byte,Pooja gave her a warm shout out. How many have you got? she teased Shreya. More jadoo and more nasha to you, said Pooja,hinting at the classic Shreya song from Jism.
More winners sauntered into the lounge. Choreographer Bosco walked in minus Ceasar who was away in Hong Kong. Writer-director Amole Guptes son,Partho,who won an award for his delightful turn in Stanley Ka Dabba,was missing his father,who was unwell at home.
Anurag Kashyap and Kalki Koechlin exchanged pleasantries with Juhi Chawla. Kalki nudged her husband knowingly and confessed to Juhi that hes a total fanboy. Juhi blushed and said,Of course. I dont believe all this. Anurag was insistent. Aap kisise bhi poonch lo, he said. Juhi looked at us,and well,we had to tell her the truth that Anurag had even tweeted his fondness for her. Juhi blushed some more but chose to be self-effacing. However,when she saw her old friend Karim Morani,all her emotions came to the fore. She gave him a bear hug and enthused that she was really glad to see him.
Kalki and Anurag wondered who would win the Best Supporting Actress. When Aditi Rao Hydaris name was announced,they both nodded in approval. Aditi,meanwhile,took her time to go up to the stage and receive the award. Everybody chided her for her tardiness. When she entered the Lounge,Anurag remarked that she still looked nervous and Kalki wanted to know why. Aditi finally got a chance to give an explanation: She was on stage with co star Ali Zafar to present the first look of their film,London,Paris,New York. Her category was announced just after their gig. She ran to collect the award. Ive been running I havent had the time to catch my breath so thats why Im looking nervous, she said.
When Neil Nitin Mukesh saw Priyanka Chopra perform on Darling,he jived a bit. After all,7 Khoon Maaf was his movie too. Beautiful ladies Deepika Padukone,Asin,Shazahn Padamsee,Sonali Bendre Behl and Amisha Patel added their star quotient to the proceedings. Karan Johar traversed all the way from South Bombay and a family friends wedding to attend the show: a gentleman never takes his promise lightly. Karan can teach his industry colleagues a lesson or two about honouring commitments.
Theres something about our filmmakers. All of them are so special. It was heartening to see Ramesh Sippy,Yash Chopra,Subhash Ghai and Vidhu Vinod Chopra greet each other with such warmth. Sippy specially tuned into the television set to see Shah Rukh Khans and Katrina Kaifs performance. This of course is B-towns latest jodi courtesy Yash Chopra. When Vinod saw Ekta Kapoor,he went up to congratulate her. Im so proud of the work that you are doing, he told her. Ekta was equally gracious and addressed Vinod as Sir. When Vinod told her that hes yet to watch the film,she promptly said,Whenever you want to do so,please let me know. Ill arrange a trial for you.
Neetu Kapoor watched with pride as Ranbir Kapoor was mobbed after winning the Best Actor trophy. Just as he was entering the media room to get clicked with his trophy,a young girl appeared. I love you,I really love you, she told a bemused Ranbir,who hugged the girl and agreed to take a picture with her.
Just as Ranbir Kapoor was entering the media room to get clicked with his Best Actor trophy,a young girl appeared. I love you,I really love you, she told the bemused star,who hugged the girl and agreed to take a picture with her
Vidhu Vinod Chopra,who came to the awards with the Star Wars actor,Joel Edgertonwho he hosted in Mumbaiwas proudly introducing him to everyone. The joy of sharing the excitement of his film industry was unmistakable in Vinods eyes
Vinod,who came to the awards with the Star Wars actor,Joel Edgertonwho he hosted in Mumbaiwas proudly introducing him to everyone. The joy of sharing the excitement of his film industry was unmistakable in Vinods eyes. Its a heady feeling. Its something only those who truly love the movies will know.
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