Posts Tagged ‘dedication’
Khiladi of the Games!
Posted on: December 15, 2009
SHARIN WADER BUTANI Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; December 15, 2009)
Akshay Kumar’s packing his bags. The Khiladi leaves tonight for Toronto where he will be the only actor among 14 international celebrities to run with the XXI Winter Olympics torch on Thursday. Akshay, who received the torch from Canadian Prime Minister Steve Harper in Mumbai last month, is the Indian ambassador at the Games which are slated to start on February 12, 2010. Over 80 nations participate in the Winter Olympics and the competition is held in eight sports including ice hockey, figure skating and Alpine skiing. India, which sent a four-member team to the last Games that were held in Turin, Italy, in 2006, came back with no medals for our efforts in the luge, crosscountry skiing and Alpine skiing. Clearly, the country’s pride now is Akshay at Toronto! The actor, when asked why he was chosen for this great sporting honour on an international platform like the Olympics, replied, “I definitely didn’t get nominated because of my cricket skills… I may be a celebrity, but with great power comes even greater responsibility. I have put a lot of effort over the years supporting and being brand ambassador for the ‘Special Olympics’ in India. I would go to any lengths to promote sport in my country, my efforts have been appreciated worldwide, and I am touched that India shares my enthusiasm. To be honoured to carry the Olympic torch is so prestigious in every country, you can’t ask for this honour, you can only be recognised for your true love and dedication to children, to sport, to bettering your country’s involvement in the world. You can’t imagine how grateful I am. And how nervous as well!”
Vidhu Vinod Chopra-3 idiots saves lives (ER… that’s the producer in him hard selling his film)
Posted on: December 5, 2009
• You don’t have too many friends? Why?
I value friendship. For me friendship is not a loose word. If I call myself a friend, I am ready to give my life and if need be the friend should do the same.That Bambaiya friendship where people call you a friend on your face and as soon as you turn around they call you a bi*** or a swine is not friendship. I told Karan Johar, ‘I want friends like you; I want to throw a party.’ He said, ‘I can make you social,’ he tried and then he gave up.
He told me nicely, ‘You are happy where you are.’ I have only four friends now, I started with two. Rakesh Maria, Rajesh Parekh (and Firoza Parekh) and slowly I acquired the third friend, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, but now, I am not sure, I am perhaps acquiring a fourth, which is Aamir. So my house is full now. I mean if I have four friends in this city, I am the luckiest. I now get invited to social dos. We get wedding invitations, we get party invitations. We are invited to places we have never been invited to before.
• What do you expect the audience will take away from 3 Idiots?
I could be wrong, but I personally believe that 3 Idiots is a step ahead of Lage Raho Munna Bhai. The other day there was a story in the paper of a kid who had jumped off the 19th floor when her mother was in another room and I told my wife that if this kid had seen 3 Idiots, she wouldn’t have jumped. I genuinely feel that if I had released this film a month ago, I could have saved that one life. I think 3 Idiots will save lives.
• Between Aamir Khan, you and Raju Hirani, if there is a clash of opinion, who wins?
We are very clear about this. Raju is head of creatives. At the moment, Aamir is head of marketing. There is no clash. But as head of the family I believe I have a veto and if I really want to use it, I can. I think the three of us are really the perfect 3 Idiots. I had heard horror stories about Aamir and he had heard the same about me but Aamir is the most unbelievable guy I have met in my life unless I am a fool, and he is performing all the time. I have only nice things to say about Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan but Aamir is something else. His level of commitment, his level of dedication, his level of affection, his level of seeking excellence is exceptional.
• Have you forgiven Shah Rukh Khan for trying to woo away Raju Hirani?
Oh totally. I called him yesterday to invite him for my premiere and we chatted for half an hour. Life is too short for all this s**t! Khalil Gibran has said, ‘I use hate as a weapon to defend myself.’ To me hate and love are both very strong emotions. I love my wife and if I have the same degree of negative feeling for anybody, then I am giving that person the same importance as I am giving to the woman I love the most in my life. How ridiculous is that?
• You famously said your films reflect the mood you are in. Given the comedies your production house is bringing out like the Munnabhai series, do we conclude you are in a good mood?
Yes, I am in a very happy mood. I sing songs all the time. I think life is really kind to me and I am just very grateful. My little daughter writes poetry which I don’t understand and my son plays cricket with Sachin Tendulkar’s son. God has given me a movie like 3 Idiots, friends and two families, one in cinema and the other at home. I came to this city to make one Hindi movie. If I had died after making one feature film after coming from the village that I came from, I would have died happily.
• Are there any actors you can’t conceive of working with for any reason?
The list is long but to tell you honestly it isn’t about individual actors. It is about attitude. I will not work with actors who have the wrong attitude at this given moment. On the other hand if there is an attitude change, I would willingly work with them.
• What is delaying Munna Bhai Chale Amrika?
If after Lage Raho Munna Bhai we had churned out a Munna Bhai film a year, it would have made Rs 200-250 crores and even if they had been s**t, people would go and see them. But we didn’t and won’t till we are happy with the script. Now we are happy with what we have written and so hopefully we will do it next year.
• Is it tougher to write an original screenplay or adapt a book?
To tell you the truth, I haven’t read Five Point Someone on which 3 Idiots is based. The only person in the team who read it was Raju. But I believe our film is very different. Having said that, the starting point was Raju reading the book.
• If you were given the choice to remake a film with the intention of improving it, which film would that be?
Ram Aur Shyam with Aamir Khan. I love that film and now that I am an admirer of Aamir, I would love to make that film with him. I don’t think he can do it better than Dilip Kumar, who was absolutely superb, but it would be a challenge for Aamir and me.
As the Bachchans are preparing to release their first home production after a gap of four years (Viruddh in 2005 was the last AB Corporation Ltd release), they plan to host a grand event in the next two weeks where Big B’s look in Paa will be unveiled by the producer of the film, Abhishek Bachchan, who plays Amitabh’s father in Paa. Abhishek seems to have swept the director, Balki, off his feet. Revealing the plans for the event, Balki says, “We will have a life-size hoarding of Amitji as Auro, the 12-year-old character he plays in Paa which Abhishek will formally reveal.” Even though the look has already leaked out, Balki is unfazed, “What has been revealed so far is nothing. I challenge anyone to recognize Amitji as Paa if they already don’t know who he is.” The unveiling ceremony will take place after Diwali, the details of which are being taken care of by Abhishek. Indeed, Paa has seen the coming of age of Abhishek as a producer. Balki tells us, “If Paa disclosed an unexplored side of Amitji on screen; it has also revealed Abhishek’s skills as a behind-the-scene administrator.
Everything from the locations to the costumes and food were supervised by Abhishek. It seems that Abhishek is ready to shoulder the responsibility as a co-owner of AB Corp Ltd, which is well equipped to bounce back with Paa. “As far as I am concerned, Abhishek was our producer in Paa,” Balki concludes. The scion of the Bachchan family has been keeping accounts making sure the film stays within budget. |
Fenil and Bollywood 