Posts Tagged ‘SONAL SEHGAL’
By Taran Adarsh, December 4, 2009 – 08:41 IST
When Himesh Reshammiya stars in a film, it’s got to be a musical. Musical it is, but RADIO also attempts to explore the man-woman relationship in a metropolis.
RADIO rests on a thin storyline. Superficially, it’s about a couple that goes separate ways, then man meets another woman, later ex-wife develops a soft corner, much later man is torn between the two women. Haven’t we witnessed similar themes in the past? Oh yes, aplenty!
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Only thing, director Ishan Trivedi places the story in a radio station and that gives the film a different texture. Also, the film is divided in various chapters – some interesting, some mundane, some yawn-inducing and boring.
The USP of RADIO is, without doubt, Himesh’s musical score. The film has some melodious tracks, but how one wishes the super music was complimented by an equally superior script.
Vivan [Himesh Reshammiya] is a successful RJ with a popular radio channel. His wife Pooja [Sonal Sehgal] seeks divorce and the reason cited is lack of compatibility between the two.
Enter Shanaya [Shenaz Treasurywala], who is like a ray of sunshine in Vivan’s insipid life. He discusses Shanaya with Pooja, but being a woman, she can see his love for Shanaya. In the end, however, Vivan realises that he may have a soft spot for Pooja, but he wants to spend his life with Shanaya.
RADIO rests on a fragile plot, with the writing holding your interest at places, but blowing away the hard work in its immediate chapter. That’s how erratic RADIO is.
Confusion kya hain? The ex-wife can’t decide if she wants her man back or not. It was she who wanted a divorce, not the man, but she can’t let go off her man for some inexplicable reason. Even the other woman, all of a sudden, wants the man she loves so dearly to go back to his ex-wife. That just doesn’t work!
Besides, the narrative is laced with too many songs. Whether or not the situation warrants them, you have one track ready to unspool every 10 odd minutes.
On the brighter side, RADIO has some tender moments too. Note the sequence towards the end, when Himesh pours his heart out to Shenaz. It’s a beautiful sequence and the writer in particular needs to be complimented for taking a mature look at relationships.
Directorially, Ishan Trivedi cannot do much given the fact that he’s handicapped by a sketchy screenplay, which, ironically, is also penned by him. Resultantly, the film grips in bits and spurts. Himesh’s music is top notch. ‘Mann Ka Radio’ is already a craze and its picturisation needs to be lauded. The other tracks – ‘Teri Meri Dosti’, ‘Zindagi Jaise Ek Radio’ and ‘Rafa Dafa’ – are lilting compositions as well. Attar Singh Saini’s cinematography is perfect.
Himesh has grown as an actor and that reflects in certain difficult moments of the film. Shenaz is natural. In fact, she gets it right this time. Sonal acts well, but her character is not well defined. Paresh Rawal’s track looks forced. Zakir Hussain is strictly okay. Rajesh Khattar is good.
On the whole, RADIO just doesn’t work… It’s complicated!
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!
Sallu-Himesh are friends again!
Posted on: September 3, 2009
| Salman Khan and Himesh Reshammiya were good buddies once, but in Bollywood ego usually plays the villain. But like friendships, enmities in the fickle world of films don’t last long either. Yesterday morning, they kissed and patched up on the sets of Dus Ka Dum at RK Studios, Chembur, indicating a thawing-out for the first time since their problems peaked in 2006. Salman and Himesh hugged four times on the sets and they met like long lost friends. Shenaz Treasuryvala and Sonal Sehgal, Himesh’s co-stars in the forthcoming film Radio, accompanied him.
The age-old saying ‘time is a healer’ seems to have worked in the Salman-Himesh relationship, which had gone sour. Salman, who is very clear about his choices, had no issues when the channel invited Himesh to participate in the show. A source from the channel said, “Salman is consulted before sending out any invitation. Only when he showed no apprehensions about inviting Himesh, was he invited.”
Seeing Salman’s warm reception, Himesh was overwhelmed. Another source who was present at the shoot said, “Salman and Himesh were very comfortable with each other. Unlike the past, Salman did not take any digs at Himesh. The shoot wrapped up much sooner than expected.” Anita Basu, who was present at the shoot with her husband (producer of the show, Siddharth Basu), confirmed that there were surprisingly warm vibes between the two. She said, “Salman and Himesh definitely shared very good chemistry and the show went off very well.” It may be recalled that Salman had suddenly stopped playing godfather to Himesh and no longer insisted on featuring him in all his films, and Himesh no longer referred to Salman as God, in gratitude for his help. The friction began at a Nagpur show, where Salman and Himesh had an ego clash. After that, they stopped talking to each other completely. But in true Salman style, the star often took digs at Himesh, making fun of the trademark nasal quality of Himesh’s singing. Anyway, all’s well that ends well. A smiling Salman left RK Studios and Himesh too has been very happy since then. |
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Fenil and Bollywood 