Bollywood Adda

From its very opening scene of a truck dumping dozens of corpses at a graveyard site for mass burial, Nandita Das makes it clear that her directorial debut, Firaaq is not going to be an easy watch. A fictionalised account of true stories set one month after the horrific communal riots of Gujarat in 2002, Firaaq focuses on a handful of ordinary characters whose lives are changed irreparably by the riots.

There's an affluent mixed-religion couple (played by Tisca Chopra and Sanjay Suri) who prepares to shift to Delhi because the Muslim husband is afraid of what might happen next. An auto-rickshaw driver whose house is burned down, and his wife (played by Shahana Goswami) who suspects her Hindu friend's husband did it. An optimistic elderly Muslim musician (played by Naseeruddin Shah) who ultimately resigns himself to the fact that no music can hope to calm this rage. A passive, abused wife of a bigoted Hindu (played by Deepti Naval) who is haunted by guilt for not opening her door to save a woman running from the mob. And a little Muslim boy in search of his father, unaware that he's been orphaned in the carnage.

These stories interconnect occasionally in a manner that makes it clear that victims, perpetrators and silent observes are all connected somehow. Director Nandita Das steers away from political overtones, choosing instead to tell a dramatic story about everyday people and the repercussions of violence. Interestingly, you don't actually see any incidents of violence in Firaaq, but its aftermath can be felt throughout the film, in the fear, anguish, loss and anger felt by those left in its wake.

Firaaq is an important film because Das never shies away from showing the ugly side of her characters. I'm reminded of a disturbing scene in the film in which Paresh Rawal's character gleefully asks his younger brother if he enjoyed a gangrape he'd participated in. Barely moments later, his brother turns to watch a TV news report in which a Muslim woman is seen complaining that they were robbed of their dignity during the riots, to which he spitefully comments that they had little dignity to begin with.

It's scenes like these that deliver the full impact of this powerful film, and Das assembles an ensemble of some of the finest actors who bring her characters to life.

If there's a problem with Firaaq, it's the fact that despite her best intentions, Das fails to bridge the gap between the audience and her characters. It's unquestionably sad what happens to these people, you know their lives have changed forever, yet there's a certain unexplained distance that never lets you "feel" the pain yourself.

Remember, the most compelling films are the ones that transport you to the centre of the drama, and make you a participant in the action. Firaaq is a noble film, an admirable debut, but you don't feel the pain.

There is also the issue of the affected English dialogues in the Sanjay Suri-Tisca Chopra track, and the somewhat meandering nature of the Naseeruddin Shah track.

Overlook these faults, however, and make it a point to watch Firaaq. It's an unsettling film, one that throws up difficult questions and demands urgent responses. I'm going with three out of five for Nandita Das' Firaaq; perfect it isn't, but it's much better than anything else you're likely to have watched recently.

source:ibnlive.com

Taking a jibe at suggestions on the similarities between Katrina Kaif's role in upcoming film 'Rajneeti' and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, director Prakash Jha says saree is worn by many politicians and it is unfair to draw a parallel.

"Except 'Behenji' Mayawati, so many women politicians, such as Jayalalitha, Mamta Bannejee wear sarees. So how can you say that the character is based on Sonia Gandhi? These are only speculations," says the director, who is also contesting Lok Sabha elections from Bettiah constituency in Bihar.

It was reported that actress Katrina Kaif's role in the film is based on the Congress president and her look in the film has a lot of resemblance to UPA Chairperson.

"There was nothing common between Katrina's character and Mrs Gandhi," says Jha.

The film, extensively shot in Madhya Pradesh, has a starcast which includes Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai, Katrina Kaif and Naseeruddin Shah.

Anticipating a major win in the polls this time, the maverick director, known for his critically acclaimed films like 'Mrityudand', 'Gangajaal' and 'Damul', says, "If I win, it will give a legitimate position to work for the welfare of the common people in the field of infrastructure development, industry and education."

While not commenting much on the storyline of the film which is under production, Jha says, "'Rajneeti' is about democratic set-up in the country. The first schedule of the film has been completed and second schedule is likely to begin soon."

Starting a new trend in the film industry, the National Award winning director had hired 5,000 local theatre artists of Madhya Pradesh to act in the film.

"I always try to make the scenes in the film look real. Many local artistes acted in 'Gangajaal'. In this film, we have selected people from Jabalpur, Satna, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior and other cities of Madhya Pradesh. And then we put them under a workshop of 7-8 months," he says.

On whether he has any intentions to portray a character based on MP Sadhu Yadav, the estranged brother-in-law of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in any of his upcoming films, he says, "No. I have no animosity against him. He felt bad and he has a right to do so."

Yadav revolted against Prasad, for being denied a ticket from the Bettiah Parilamentary constituency.

source:screenindia.com

source:ibnlive.com

Shilpa Shetty has her fingers crossed hoping to see her cancer-stricken Brit friend Jade Goody, after she jetted to her place to say goodbye one final time.

The two had patched things up after terminally ill Jade was accused of racist bullying against the Indian actress while on Brit reality show ‘Celebrity Big Brother’.

Shilpa had been unable to attend the 27-year-old’s fairytale wedding with jailbird hubby Jack Tweed owing to her previous professional commitments.

But the Bollywood star had promised to later visit the mum-of-two, who was said to have just few hours to live after cervical cancer spread to her entire body.

After jetting in to Jade’s Essex home, Shilpa was unable to meet the dying star when spokesman Max Clifford said that Jade was too sick to see any visitors.

But the Celebrity Big Brother winner said that she was not letting go any strand of hope to see her cancer-battling brave friend.

“I really feel terrible about what has happened to her. All I can do is pray. I’m not giving up hope of seeing her one last time,” the ‘Daily Star’ quoted her as saying.

“When I left for London on Sunday, I thought I’d be able to meet her but her condition has deteriorated. She’s heavily drugged and hardly awake.

“I feel bad because maybe I could’ve met her if I was here two days earlier. I always felt we were connected in a strange way – she was a catalyst and the architect of my fame in Britain,” she added.

source:indianexpress.com

Hollywood's most talked about couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt seems to be going through a rough time as media reports suggest that the actress allegedly slapped Pitt after catching him on the bed rubbing the back of their female employee.

Pitt is said to have been comforting her after she was taken ill. However the sight was enough to throw Angelina into a jealous rage and she allegedly slapped her partner across the face and immediately fired the nanny, the ‘Daily mail’ said quoting the ‘Star’ magazine.

A source is quoted as saying, "She got right in Brad's face, screaming at the top of her lungs, and told the nanny to get out of her house and never come back. The argument woke up the sleeping twins, who began to cry."

"As Brad tried to console both the twins and the nanny, Angie just snapped - and slapped! - hitting him right across the face," the source added.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button star was reportedly left 'stunned' by the act and stormed out of the couple's home and went for a four hour motorbike ride to calm down.

It's alleged the argument took plays in the days after they appeared together at the Academy Awards.

However, the pair's representative have so far not responded to the reports.

source:indianexpress.com