Posts Tagged ‘Dev Patel’
It’s a love story that’s been brewing for a while now, though both Dev Patel and his Slumdog Millionaire co-star Freida Pinto have carefully avoided either confirming or denying it in public. But after Dev’s mother confirmed that they are seeing each other, another little development seems to underline that the relationship may be headed towards more official territory.
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| Freida Pinto and Dev Patel |
In a hush-hush visit, Frieda came to visit her parents in Mumbai over Christmas — and guess who accompanied her?
“Freida and Dev were in Mumbai last week for a couple of days. Dev visited her home in Malad where Freida introduced him to her parents and family,” reveals a source. “Dev was down here with a couple of his friends from London and they also partied in Mumbai. Freida took them around and in fact, both of them were seen at Hawaiian Shack. But they wanted to keep this visit low profile and made sure that their itinerary was kept under wraps.”
When contacted, actor Mridul Singhvi (who also manages the Bandra nightspot), confirmed, “Yes, Dev and Freida were here with a couple of friends on Wednesday night. We dedicated the song ‘Paper Planes’ from Slumdog Millionaire to them. We all were very excited to see them but they were extremely hesitant about their pictures being clicked. They came in at about 11.30 in the night and were there till the time the club closed at around 1.30am. However they weren’t very social and stuck to a corner on the 3rd floor.”
ROSHNI K OLIVERA (BOMBAY TIMES; November 24, 2009)
It wasn’t just Anil Kapoor or the cute couple Dev Patel and Freida Pinto who catapulted to international fame with Slumdog Millionaire. It was also a pretty face that emerged from behind-the-scenes. That’s Loveleen Tandon, who co-directed the movie with Danny Boyle. But she has kept a low-profile for a while now. “Yes, I have literally been hibernating in Delhi,” smiled Loveleen, who was in Mumbai recently. “I have been busy with my film script. That’s a full time job.” The only time she took a break was when she was invited to meet the Queen and the Duke to the Buckingham Palace last month. And the Mumbai trip for Eve Ensler and Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal’s play I am an Emotional Creature, where she read the epilogue. “It’s a great co-incidence that Eve’s play is quite similar to my script, the story of a young girl, her desires, emotions and the pressures on her,” says Loveleen, who plans to start her movie next year. Getting good actors shouldn’t be difficult, she believes because “script is the queen.” As she puts it, “People are always on the lookout for a good script. Whether it’s actors or producers, nobody says no to a good script.” All credit for Slumdog’s apt casting goes to Loveleen, but she wasn’t just the casting director for the film, as some initially thought. “That wasn’t the only thing I was doing. Casting is a part of the bigger scene, part of the larger vision,” she says.
Matching Slumdog’s heights is not going to be easy and comparisons are bound to be there, but that isn’t putting any pressure on her. “I’m someone who thrives on pressure. I thrive on tension, crisis, less time and deadlines. It brings out the best in me,” counters the pretty filmmaker. One question Loveleen’s often asked is, if her film is going to be an international venture, and this baffles her. “You just make a film. Whether it becomes a hit in a city or a country, two countries or five is beyond you. Crossover, international, mainstream, commercial, art… are just tags.”
Refer to Mira Nair, who Loveleen assisted on Monsoon Wedding, and she points out, “She lives abroad. She comes from a different space. I live in India. This is my speciality. I can’t relate to the NRI experience. May be some day in the future, but at the moment, mine is the Indian experience. It’s unique; there’s a strong element of traditional and modern ethos… perfect material for movie making.”
What about criticism regarding Slumdog highlighting only poverty in India? “Films are stories, they are not documentaries meant to highlight any aspect of society. You can only tell a story and tell it well. If it’s a boy from the slums, you have to tell it from that perspective. You can’t glamourise or glorify it.”
Dev Patel-most bankable star?
Posted on: June 6, 2009
Is Dev Patel really the Most Bankable South Asian Star Worldwide? Or is it just a case of what’s ‘in’ now? PT finds out
MEDHA DUTTA Times News Network (PUNE TIMES; June 5, 2009)
DEV Patel, of Slumdog Millionaire fame, has topped a recent survey of the Most Bankable South Asian Stars Worldwide. While we may or may not endorse it, he has beaten the likes of Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and of course the current darling of the West — Freida Pinto — to bag the top spot. No mean achievement for a first-time film actor!
But, while many may rejoice at the fact, is Dev’s win really something to do with his special talent? Or, is his just a case of ‘flavour of the season’? Filmmaker Apoorva Lakhia thinks it is the latter. “These lists are generally compiled not on the basis of calibre, but rather it’s about what’s ‘in’ now. SM has been a huge success, and Dev and Freida have been all over the place. It’s all about clout and recall value. You cannot definitely compare one-film wonders like Freida and Dev to seasoned actors like Shabanaji and Om Puriji,” says the filmmaker.
Before SM happened, the 19-year-old actor was best known for his television series — Skins. But, it was all thanks to Danny Boyle that he and co-star Freida became overnight sensations. Says actor Chitrangada Singh, “Their popularity has to do with the impact of the film. The film was definitely bigger than the cast. Though both Dev and Freida are promising, it’s too early to put them on a pedestal. It remains to be seen what they do in their next film.”
And, what happened to Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, who did not even feature in the top ten? Says student Shalaka Wadekar, “I’m really surprised that Big B and SRK are not in the top ten! You cannot make a list of the Most Bankable South Asian Stars Worldwide without mentioning these two stalwarts. It just proves how senseless the survey is.” Filmmaker Goldie Behl seconds, “In my opinion SRK and, maybe, Rajnikanth should have topped the list.”
Come to think of it, does the fact that some of our stars have made it to the top ten list change anything? Does it increase their market value on the home soil? Filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar feels, “We give too much of importance to what the West thinks about us. Why can’t we believe that we are as good as them, if not better? It’s time we realised we have our own identity.” Mehul Karnik, an entrepreneur, agrees,
“Why bother about which star is bankable in the West? It’s the Indian market that filmmakers need to worry about.”
All said and done, it’s ultimately the box office that decides which star is bankable or not. So, till another SM happens, it’s Dev Patel singing Jai ho!
Text courtesy: ANI
Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel’s mum has confirmed her son’s off-screen love with Freida Pinto. Patel and Pinto have always denied dating each other but the pair was recently caught enjoying an intimate lunch date in Israel, where Pinto, 24, is filming on location. And Patel’s mum Anita says she is really pleased to see the two in love. “First it was the film and now everything else seems to have slotted into place,” the Mirror quoted Anita as saying. “Life can’t get any better for him. Freida is really beautiful and I am really happy for them. Yes, we knew he was flying to Israel to see her,” she added. The real life love story is said to have started on the set of Danny Boyle’s multi-Oscar-winning film. And they have become increasingly close since travelling the world together to promote the movie.
By Yahoo! India Movies
