Fenil and Bollywood

Posts Tagged ‘failure

CANDID CHAT: Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor says she is guilty of just that…

MEENA IYER Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; January 4, 2010)

It has been a year of fluctuating fortunes for Bollywood’s most powerful actress — Kareena Kapoor. The janta and her sceptics will never let her forget that she had three duds in 2009 with Kambakkht Ishq, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna and Kurbaan. But just when they were nailing her coffin, she bounced right back with the biggest hit of them all.

Like a cat that has swallowed the cream, Kareena smacked her luscious lips and said, “There I was licking my wounds when God above answered my prayers. Honestly, I’m delirious. To think that I started 2009 with a whimper and ended it with a bang. Someone up there heard me.’’

Just before she set off on a tour of England with Saif Ali Khan, the incorrigible Bebo said, “2010 has a lot of promise. I sincerely wish the Midas touch continues. I’ll start the year with my idol, Shah Rukh Khan, with whom I’m travelling to Miami for RA 1. Then I’m going to be traipsing the globe with Saif in Agent Vinod. And, if Aamir keeps up his promise to me, the two of us will end up in a romantic film by the end of the year.’’ Jumping like a child, she asked, “Listen, is it wrong to love more than one Khan at a time? I’m guilty of just that. Shah Rukh and Gauri are my close friends. I love Saifu. And as for Aamir, well, what can I say? He’s the new Khan on my block.’’

Gamely she takes the blame for her duds. She knows the critics dipped their pens in poison when she did KI and MAMK. “My funda is simple,’’ said Bebo. “Actors should be like scientists, always willing to experiment. I experimented and I failed. That doesn’t take away from my acting abilities. If I don’t experiment, the same guys will write — she’s a plastic doll on screen. One does take chances with one’s roles and if the films fail, I’m more heartbroken than anyone else. Don’t forget films are all I live for. I give my films everything I have. So failure does affect me. But to write me off each time I have a flop is unfair.’’

Maybe, but that’s the way things in Bollywood work. One Friday you’re a handmaiden, the next Friday you’re the Queen. And, if you’re lucky, you can get an extended lease at the box-office. Like Bebo just managed. meena.iyer@timesgroup.com

The Pyaar Impossible promos will focus on Priyanka Chopra’s campus bomb avatar rather than Uday Chopra’s nerdy act, after the box-office failure of Rocket Singh…

By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 18, 2009)


The failure of Rocket Singh – Salesman of the Year is making producers YRF rethink the strategy of their next release, Pyaar Impossible. With Ranbir Kapoor’s nerd act in Rocket Singh… not going down well with the audience, there is a huge question mark regarding the success of Pyaar Impossible.

The film has Yash Raj scion Uday Chopra playing the consummate geek who adores the campus beauty, Priyanka Chopra from far.

With the release just a few weeks away (January 8), there’s an air of panic at the production house. One of their regular actors says, “Pyaar Impossible was designed as a vehicle for Uday. However, with nerdy heroes not doing well, everyone feels that the timid act needs to be toned down, but now it’s too late.”

Yash Raj, who had earlier thought of weaving the promos around Uday’s nerd act, has decided that it is safer to play up Priyanka’s sexy avatar instead. They are now deflecting the marketing attention from his nerd act to focus on Priyanka’s campus bomb act. Even then there’s a problem because What’s Your Raashee? proved Priyanka can’t carry a film on her shoulders.”

Pyaar Impossible

Incidentally, last year, Yash Raj’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, where Shah Rukh Khan played a nerd was a huge box-office success. Aditya Chopra was so inspired by the film’s success that the brief he gave at Yash Raj for 2009 was to go full-throttle with the saga of the underdog.

A source adds, “Pyaar Impossible is a litmus test for YRF. It was designed as a comeback vehicle for Uday. But then Rani Mukerji’s nerdy act in men’s clothes in Dil Bole Hadippa bombed. However, it was the box-office outcome of Rocket Singh where Ranbir plays the nerd with relish that has stunned YRF the most.”

When questioned about the non-viability of the underdog, Pyaar Impossible director Jugal Hansraj says that he is sure that the failure of nerdy heroes in 2009 will not adversely affect his film. “We have approached the character of the nerd in Pyaar Impossible realistically. Uday’s character has been depicted as a brilliant student at University who is socially challenged and has no friends. He plays a nerd in a subtle manner even though this is a light-hearted romantic film.”

BOOKWORMS: Professor Arindam Chaudhuri and Shah Rukh Khan
SRK was in Delhi to release Arindam’s book on self-discovery, and he had everyone in splits with his witty one-liners

JYOTHI PRABHAKAR Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; December 10, 2009)

The crowd was waiting for a motivational speech from Shah Rukh Khan, something on the lines of ‘My success mantra’ or ‘Discover the talent in you.’ After all, that was what Professor Arindam Chaudhuri had just spoken about for 20 odd minutes – and quite an impassioned talk it was too… About the people who’d influenced his life and motivated him – those like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, and Amitabh Bachchan. “My book, Discover The Diamond In You, is an attempt to share with everyone the powerful principles of success that I’ve grown to passionately believe in,” he said, “This book is for everybody who wants to increase his or her productivity in life and work, everybody who wants to be better.”
But trust Shah Rukh to do the unconventional. He took to the stage and said, “I was inspired by Rocky too. I wanted to be a porn star! (You see, Sylvester Stallone was one early on in his career). The witty-as-ever SRK went on, “I’m going to work very hard, positively, and with clarity, to be a porn star.” He did later speak about hard work and honesty and things that motivate people to succeed, but SRK, who’d come from Mumbai to release Discover The Diamond In You, a motivating, self-discovery book by Arindam, asked everyone to read it, and said, “Main bhi padhoonga. Next time you hear about me, I’ll be the world’s biggest porn star.”
But Shah Rukh has not been quite so witty in the foreword to the book, where he’s said, “I believe success is a wonderful experience, but not always one from which we acquire wisdom or knowledge… which is why success, whether deserving or not, can be enjoyed, but not passed on.” He goes on to say, in the foreword that “Success is never final, just like failure is never fatal!” And this, coming from someone like as successful a man as him, must be rich advice!
THIS IS ME: Sonal Sehgal

Sonal Sehgal would rather go with what her heart says

DEEPALI DHINGRA (BOMBAY TIMES; December 1, 2009)



When the going gets tough, the tough get going. And that’s exactly what Sonal Sehgal had to do, after waiting eons for her film Aashayein to release. The Nagesh Kukunoor film where she stars opposite John Abraham got delayed so much, that Sonal decided she could not wait any longer and signed her next film Radio. “It was six months after the music launch of Aashayein and I thought to myself that if I keep sitting at home, I’ll probably forget how to act!” she laughs. Of course, that doesn’t mean she isn’t disappointed about her first film being delayed so much. “It’s my first film, so it’s naturally very close to my heart. Plus it’s a beautiful story. When I asked Nagesh last when it would release, he said ‘soon’, so I’m waiting for that to happen soon,” she smiles. On the other hand, she’s a firm believer in destiny and believes that whatever has happened, has happened for the best. Says Sonal, “Since Aashayein got delayed, people don’t have any pre-conceived notions about me yet, and that’s why I was able to sign such diverse films as Radio and Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai.” Talk about Radio where she’s paired opposite Himesh Reshammiya and we can’t help but ask if she was advised against taking up the role by anyone. “If the director has such faith in Himesh, then who am I to judge?” she dodges the question diplomatically, and then laughs, “Anyway, I rarely listen to people’s advice. I want my success as well as failure to be credited to me alone,” she adds. But the actress is kicked about her role in the film. “It’s a contemporary look at relationships,” she says, adding that anyone who’s been in a relationship would identify with the film. “I play a girl who gets divorced from her husband but the habit of the relationship is hard to let go for her,” she explains her role. With so much work in her kitty, Sonal is glad that all the hard work and patience is finally paying off. “We make plans for our lives but God always has bigger, better plans for us,” she says with a smile.

Touchwood, we say!

The actor is getting appreciated for his role in Kurbaan

By TNN (BOMBAY TIMES; November 30, 2009)


A few days back, Vivek Oberoi was woken up at 6 in the morning with an SMS. It was a text message from his Kurbaan co-star Saif Ali Khan, praising Vivek Oberoi him for his work in the film.

“I’ve craved for this kind of appreciation,” admits Vivek candidly, “I wanted people to see me for my work and not have a coloured perspective because of whatever’s transpired in the past.”

The actor’s gone through his share of trouble, both personally and professionally. “One thing I’ve learnt is that it’s easier to deal with failure than to deal with success. If you don’t know what to do with success, then you lose the plot. Success had gone to my head. I was surrounded by people who kept pushing me in the wrong direction and I kept going there, and when it finally hit me, I was like, how did this happen?

Vivek Oberoi

Those four-five years were just a blur, then to understand and recover from that took time,” he says, wisened from the experience.

But yes, there were times when he was completely down in the dumps too. “There was a time when I felt that everything I did was going to backfire. It was difficult to keep my sense of reason or humour at a time like that. One day, I was really upset and my mom asked me what’s wrong. I said I just feel completely lost — there was so much professional and personal upheaval. Then she pulled out a copy of one of my first interviews during Company and said ‘start here’. I read that and realised this is what I was,” he recounts.

The journey to recover started with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara and life seems to have taken a turn for the better since then. His performance in Kurbaan has been appreciated and the actor’s looking forward to Prince — It’s Showtime, where he plays a slick, stylish thief and his mentor Ram Gopal Varma’s Rakta Charitra.

Vivek realises he has been given a second lease in his career. “I think in my seven years, something I have realised pretty late is the value of opportunity. What stands between me and a lot of talented actors is a platform that Mr Varma gave me, and the second time around, I got it with Kurbaan. Then I’ve got Kumar Taurani backing me with a big film and it’s a dream to be working with my mentor Ramu again,” he says.

The smile on his face says it all when he adds, “I’ve realised the whole idea of carrying grudges, negativity, anger, hatred and enmity just bogs you down. I’m at peace now. When I started out, it was more of a high, right now, I’m humbled.” So Vivek’s finally grown up? He’s quick to answer, “I’ve a better understanding of who I am now.” That’s more than what most would say.

By Subhash K. Jha, September 18, 2009 – 12:01 IST

Sanjay Dutt In Munnabhai MBBS, Sanjay Dutt had thumbed his nose at academic qualifications by fudging his way through a doctorate. Now in Faltu, he questions our educational system in a less satirical far more serious tone.

When Vashu Bhagnani wanted to re-launch his son, he needed an A-lister as a box-office support.

Every leading man declined politely. Only Bollywood dildaar, Sanju Baba, came forward to work with Jackky Bhagnani in a film that starts in September to be directed by choreographer Remo. It will star Sanjay Dutt and Vashu’s son Jackky who made his debut this year with Kal Kissne Dekha.

Jackky’s second film is not an escapist entertainer. Says Vashu, “It’s a film about the lacuna in present-day education. When I heard Remo’s story, I was bowled over. It’s about the failure of today’s educational system to guide our youngsters into suitable careers. It’s about how there’s too much stress in and on academics and too little on actually tapping every child’s potential. Remo has earlier made an award-winning Bengali film (Lal Paharer Katha with Mithun Chakbraborty).”

Vashu’s son’s post-debut film going by the improbable title of Faltu sounds like a departure from convention.

“It is,” concedes Vashu. “But nothing conventional works any more. I want to bring new talent into the industry. And the title is an acronym. I can’t reveal the full form. It will give away the plot.”

BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM