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‘In the name of Raj & Simran’ - ‪'Dilwale‬' Movie Review By ‪'G9‬ ‪Divya Solgama‬'


‘In the name of Raj & Simran’ -
Right from the black & white era, our Hindi cinema has witnessed many iconic romantic pairs like Raj Kapoor-Nargis, Amitabh Bachchan-Rekha, Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore, Dharmendra-Hema Malini, Anil Kapoor-Madhuri Dixit and many more including Shahrukh Khan-Kajol. This iconic Jodi of Shahrukh-Kajol incepted with the film ‘Baazigar’, where Shahrukh Khan was the last moment replacement. The movie was a huge hit and after that the actor duo did many hit films like ‘Karan Arjun’, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’, ‘My Name Is Khan’ and the cult classic ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’. The latter one made this Jodi immortal with its character of Raj and Simran. With the announcement of their latest film ‘Dilwale’, the expectations and curiosity level has reached to its peak as the Jodi of Shahrukh-Kajol returns back to the big screen after half a decade.
‘Dilwale’ is a story of two brothers Raj (Shahrukh Khan) and Veer (Varun Dhawan), who runs a hi-tech garage in Goa. Veer meets Ishita (Kriti Sanon) and falls in love with her. Together, they want to get married due to which Raj meets Ishita’s elder sister Meera (Kajol). Meera rejects the marriage proposal of Veer and Ishita as she shares a bitter past with Raj. What’s the past and what happens next is what the entire film is all about.
The story is a mixture of few old Hindi films like ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’ and ‘Hum’. Everything out here is predictable and stale. The movie starts with a typical set of Rohit Shetty type of films which needs a good level of colour correction and looks like a product of ‘SAB TV’. The sudden and abrupt flashback scenes followed by fast edits, disconnects you with the film at several moments. The screenplay is stretched to its fullest, due to which there are minimal happenings in the film. On the positive note, Varun Dhawan-Kirti Sanon and Varun Sharma’s tracks are entertaining. Romantic scenes between Shahrukh and Kajol are nice, but the five minute date scene is directly copied from the American TV series ‘How I Met Your Mother’. Kajol’s twist is engaging followed by few hilarious scenes featuring Mukesh Tiwari telling the story of Shahrukh-Kajol to Varun Dhawan, Jhonny Lever teasing Kajol and Boman Irani’s inquiry in the climax. Varun Sharma’s monologue over expensive girlfriend is superb. These comical scenes in the second half keeps the movie going despite of a weak and predictable screenplay.
Music by Pritam is enjoyable with songs like ‘Gerua’, ‘Manma Emotion’, ‘Janam Janam’ and ‘Tukur Tukur’. ‘Daayre’ is well placed in the film.
Director Rohit Shetty is known for making fantastic comical films and ‘Dilwale’ is his take on romantic drama. He highly succeeds in the comical scenes but, fails in the romantic and dramatic potions. The magic was weak and nowhere in comparison to the previous work of Shahrukh-Kajol Jodi. The conviction factor, followed by engaging factor is a bit less as per the standards of a Rohit Shetty type of film.
Shahrukh Khan is good in action scenes followed by the dramatic scene with Varun Dhawan. He looks bit odd in his younger avatar probably due to extra make up or C.G.I work. Kajol looks beautiful and is fine in her part. Together, this Jodi still has its charm and magic. The moment they look at each other, you remember all those magical moments from their earlier films. Though, it’s not that same anymore. Varun Dhawan is fun and peppy. He excels in the comical scenes with good support from Varun Sharma, Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra and Mukesh Tiwari. Kriti Sanon is fine in her role. Boman Irani lends good support. Vinod Khanna and Kabir Bedi are wasted.
So on overall basis ‘Dilwale’ is not a great watch in comparison to the past work of Shahrukh Khan-Kajol, nor does it have the high entertainment value of a Rohit Shetty film. Despite of a predictable and bland script, the movie still has few enjoyable scenes followed by hit music and star value attached to it. As for all the Shahrukh-Kajol fans well you can watch this film in the name of Raj & Simran (Shahrukh also gives a mild tribute to DDLJ in the film), as probably this movie might be the last film (also the weakest) featuring them in a romantic pair. or shall we see them again after a few years?
Rating - 2.5/5

‘They don’t make these kind of movies anymore’ - ‪'Bajirao Mastani'‬ Movie Review By ‪'G9‬ ‪Divya Solgama‬'

‘They don’t make these kind of movies anymore’ -


There was a time when our Hindi film directors used to make films with full passion and madness. They used to put their heart and soul in their films without compromising at any given point. Most of these movies used to be magnum opus films like ‘Mughal-E-Azam’, ‘Guide’, ‘Mera Naam Joker’, ‘Ganga Jamuna’, ‘Khuda Gawah’, ‘Lagaan’, ‘Devdas’ and more. Few of these films took years and years in its making and some of them extracted the single last penny of its filmmaker. Every such film has its unique tale to narrate related to its making and the mad obsession of the filmmaker. Sadly, in today’s time such mad obsession is seen only in few directors out of which Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one such mad genius who loves to present his films in total grand style made with full energy, hard work and high level of passion. For more than one and a half decade, this maverick filmmaker has been planning to make a film based on the epic love saga of the Maratha warrior Bajirao and the love of his life Mastani. Very few know that Sanjay had originally planned this film with Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee. Sadly, things did not work out until the success of his last film ‘Ram Leela’, after which his lead pair (Ranveer Singh & Deepika Padukone) agreed to be a part of this dream project of Mr. Bhansali. In the times where films are made as fast as possible, the team of ‘Bajirao Mastani’ took almost a year to make it with full involvement of its lead actors. Looking at the promo the movie promises to be a magnum opus film made on a high scale packed with powerful performances by its main protagonists. 
‘Bajirao Mastani’ is a story of the Maratha Peshwa – Bajirao (Ranveer Singh), who won plenty of battles for his king Chhattrapati Shahu Maharaj (Mahesh Manjrekar). After fighting one such battle, he is approached by Mastani (Deepika Padukone) to save her father’s kingdom. Bajirao helps Mastani and in return loses his heart to her. He returns back to his provinces and his wife Kashibai (Priyanka Chopra). Mastani follows him to Poona where she is rejected by Bajirao’s mother (Tanvi Azmi). Mastani does not give up her love nor does Bajirao and what happens next is what the entire film is all about.
The story is inspired from the book ‘Rau’ by N.S.Inamdar which portrayed the historical life and happenings of the warrior and his lady love. Though, the writers have taken many cinematic liberties in order to make the movie appealing and engaging. The first half is flawless and has many fantastic moments attached to it. Right from the first scene featuring the selection of Ranveer Singh followed by breath taking credit titles, Ranveer’s first meet with Deepika, the whole battle of Bundelkhand, Ranveer meeting Deepika in her chamber, Ranveer firing Aditya Pancholi, Ranveer accepting Deepika’s love, Ranveer – Raza Murad war meet, Priyanka Chopra’s meet with Deepika followed by her closure with Ranveer Singh and many more, the movie keeps you glued to your seat. The second half though tends to be more of an Ekta Kapoor style of drama, featuring the house politics and stuff related to it. Tanvi Azmi tries hard to give a performance like what Illa Arun did in ‘Jodha Akbar’, but fails at some point. The screenplay tends to be repetitive in the second half, followed by weak and non-connective climax. Barring these minor glitches ‘Bajirao Mastani’ excels in every aspect of film-making. The dialogues are power punched followed by breathtaking visuals. There are many such moments where you will clap for the lead actors due to their flawless performances. 
Music by Sanjay Leela Bhansali is good and goes well with the mood and flow of the film. ‘Mohe Rang Do Laal’, ‘Pinga’, ‘Deewani Mastani’ and ‘Malhari’ are a cinematic treat for the film lovers. These songs adds as an additional screenplay and ends as one of the key elements of this film. The diehard passion and efforts of director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is highly visible in the movie as he presents a grand film to us, in a grand style and with a grand content. He succeeds in capturing the sizzling chemistry of Ranveer and Deepika followed by high octane dramatic scenes featuring Ranveer, Priyanka and Tanvi Azmi. Every single frame of the film portrays the love of this director for his cinema. Though, there are a few times where he overdoes it to make this movie look epic. Nevertheless, it’s a proud moment for people like us to witness the mad obsession of this ace director on the silver screen. 
Ranveer Singh as Bajirao is fantastic. His accent, body mannerism, grace on his face, energetic performance takes the movie to another level. Deepika Padukone looks stunningly beautiful and enhances her acting skills. Together, they set the screen on fire with their blazing chemistry.  Priyanka Chopra is outstanding in her small role, wished she had more screen length as her scenes in the second half are among the main highlights of the film. Tanvi Azmi does a great job, but her character seemed like replica of Illa Arun from ‘Jodha Akbar’. Milind Gunaji and Vaibbhav Tatwadi lend good support. Mahesh Manjrekar, Aaditya Pancholi, Yatin Karyekar, Benjamin Gilani and Raza Murad are wasted. Narration by Irrfan is welcomed.
On an overall basis, ‘Bajirao Mastani’ is a fine piece of classic cinema, which gets mildly diluted, due to its less appealing climax. Nevertheless, the movie is a cinematic experience as there are plenty of good reasons for you to not miss this great film as they don’t make these kind of movies anymore.

‘I never took Gauri on a date…’ – 'Shahrukh Khan' in conversation with ‘G9 Divya Solgama’

‘I never took Gauri on a date…’ – 'Shahrukh Khan' in conversation with ‘G9 Divya Solgama’

‘Shahrukh Khan’ is also known as the ‘Badshah’ or ‘King Khan’ of romantic films due to his blockbuster hits and larger than life image. Our Bollywood Guide ‘G9 DivyaSolgama’ had the pleasure of speaking with him where he spoke about his upcoming film ‘Dilwale’, his romantic image and superstardom
Shahrukh, you are known as the King Khan, one of the biggest superstar of our country and a huge brand in itself. So, after achieving so much love, fame and prosperity, what’s that one thing which you desire to achieve.
Shahrukh Khan – See, for so many years to work constantly and keep on listening to all good and bad things, you tend to get immune to the fact that I am King Khan or whatever. The truth is that after reaching at this height, there is no opinion of your own, it’s the system in which we keep working. Sometimes the system works for you and sometimes it’s the other way round. When you are young you have the desires of achieving many things, winning awards, doing this role, buy stuff and many more. But after working for around twenty five years, doing the same thing for more than twelve hours, wearing the same make-up, somewhere I don’t know what the next achievement will be or what will happen to me. You just keep doing your work internally as you start feeling that this is what you were meant to do. It’s like having everything in life, but still I cannot use that every bit of it.
It’s like the book ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’, in my case I am the monk who has a Ferrari and doesn’t drive it too much. So at this stage of my life I get happiness by doing the small things like getting excited for my next movie, going to shooting, being with my family and such stuffs. It’s a very different headspace, it’s very difficult to describe my headspace. I can even say that I love this superstardom and now I should be known as a great actor, I would like to be known as a fantastic father, but these are mere answers. If you genuinely ask me, I just like being in front of the camera. By nature I am reclusive and I don’t like to interact with anyone. When I am in public places, I try to act, but personally I am shy and reclusive. I don’t get time to socialize nor make friends as most of the time I am just working. Where is the time to make a friend or socialize. We don’t meet anyone, thus you are actually alone at a certain point of time, but at the same time, not lonely. My mother used to call me anti-social. Once an actress asked me ‘you eat alone? It’s such a sad thing’, I replied back saying I don’t feel anything wrong as I am like that. I am ok being alone. Everything I have got is welcomed and I thank the almighty for it, but besides working I have no other desire at this moment.
Shahrukh, how tough is it for an actor to produce a film. Don’t you feel by doing this, it adds up as an additional pressure to your work?
Shahrukh Khan – If you ask Kajol or Varun or people who have worked with me, on the sets I am as enthusiastic as I was on the day one. As a matter of fact, even more as now I have more knowledge. Earlier the enthusiasm was there, but without knowledge. Earlier,if I was doing a jumping scene I used to keep doing it again and again without the camera even being on, but now I will keep my energy and enthusiasm for the shot and make it look good.  So now my enthusiasm is more creative and productive. Speaking about my production house, I never became a producer because this is my sustainance, I became a producer to make better films. You cannot make a better commercial film unless you spend more money. So whenever I make a film or ‘Red Chillies’ does, I am very clear as to what to do. I have never taken a rupee from my production house as my profit because we haven’t made any profit in the last twelve years. The idea of being a producer was never to become a partner in someone else’s money. That’s why we work on a film hands on.With ‘Dilwale’, we have become distributors and in future we will start a studio of our own.
I don’t take a partnership in a film, I don’t take any territory, I don’t take parts of profit and I don’t have huge price. You can ask any producer how they signed me for their films, as I have never asked for money because as an actor I can’t be bought. For everything else there is a price, you can call me for an ad, you can call me for a function, you can make me dance at an award function, you can tell me to host a show and I’ll do it as I’ll charge for it. I am very clear, I am not going to make money out of my films. People don’t understand this, I am supposed to be the second richest actor in the world, but in fact I am the second richest actor who has not earned a rupee from acting. I also don’t have a pressure of earning 100 crores in three days, who had heard about 100 crores few years back. ‘Main Hoon Na’ was a biggest grosses in its time and had earned five and half crores in whole week but now this amount comes from the few shows itself. I have made enough flops and survived to know that if a film does not work its fine as there is always another time. My first produced film ‘PhirBhiDilHain Hindustani’ was a huge flop, then we made a bigger film ‘Asoka’ which was a much bigger flop but eventually you survive these periods. So we made films and survived it and will survive again.  As a producer I am quite relaxed as I don’t take tension of earning hundred crores in a weekend for my film, If I want to take tension than I’ll take for earning thousand crores in a weekend. I’ll take tension also as per my status and my stardom.
Shahrukh, Javed Akhtar once said that every actor, whether its Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan, when they attain their superstardom, they stop experimenting as an actor. So as a superstar kindly let us know your opinion about this statement.
Shahrukh Khan – I think one reason is that every superstar actor suddenly have a superstar director working with them and thus they make superstar types of big films. So, in my case I had Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra and few others who kept making similar style of big budgeted films as eventually everyone wants to make a big film. Even a director like AnuragKashyap who used to make niche films, wanted to make a big film and thus he made ‘Bombay Velvet’. Everybody wants to make a big film. So I think the superstars don’t have any choice of doing any experimental films. In Hollywood there is no demarcation between niche and popular films. If Robert Downey Jr is doing ‘Iron Man’, he can still go and do a niche film, and no one will say that it did not earn money like ‘Iron Man’. If it’s a good film they will award it and add it as his best films. I think in our country, there is still time to reach at this level. I think superstar gets used to big businesses. I don’t know about Amit ji or Rajesh Khanna, but from my point of view I don’t know the difference. When I started my career, I got time to do experimental films like ‘Oh Darling Yehhain India’, ‘Idiot’ and ‘KabhiHaanKabhiNaa’. Recently I did ‘Chak De India’ for which I made the director wait for one year as I had other commitments and no dates to spare. Shimit waited for me as he wanted to work with me and understood my point of view. If any other director would have been there they would have not waited as the professionalism and stakes don’t allow you to wait for so long. I have lost few very good films as I did not have dates to spare for six months and the directors were not ready to wait. So I think this is the way you lose out on the good experimental films, I am sure every actor wants to do different kind of films, but then you cannot do too many different types of films when you are a superstar as you have to keep that balance. It also hurts when you are a superstar and if you don’t have a biggest hit film of the year. I am being honest, I would like to give the biggest hit of the year. When the whole worldsupposedly loves me then why should I not have the biggest blockbuster? But, that does not mean I have to sell my soul for that, I can have an offbeat film also. So that mix, one has to maintain and try as a superstar.
Shahrukh, you are known as the king of romance, so kindly share with us about your first romantic date with Gauri and also share some tips for all your male fans on how to woo a female.
Shahrukh Khan– I never took Gauri on a date, in those times there was no date culture. We used to go to some parties and dance with each other, those were the only romantic moments we used to have with each other. As far as being a king of romance, I keep asking everyone that how many of you have held the dupatta of your beloved and sung a song in the mid of icy mountains. No one does these stuffs, one likes love stories as they are larger than life. Everyone has a personal love story, but still is incomplete. So by watching such films and scenes they enjoy the completeness. Regarding the tips, well I would say that if anyone is in love they don’t have to do anything extra to create that love. They can sit together and eat noodles, talk to each other, don’t talk to each other, watch a film, read a book, don’t watch a film and such stuffs. It should be that the comfort of not having to try and impress your loved ones every moment. Of course, care for them, speak to them and listen to them. My experience in such cases is that girls just want you to hear them out, they don’t seek any solution, they just want to share and that’s what the main thing of love is. The boys try to solve the problem, they don’t want the problem solved and they just want you to talk about it. I am an employee to the wishes of girls, whatever a girl like I try to do that. That’s the most romantic and beautiful thing for a man to do and that’s not being a henpecked it’s romantic.
Shahrukh, 2016 looks like an exciting year for all your fans as you have back to back two films releasing ‘Fan’ & ‘Raees’. Recently we came to know that Pakistani actress Mahira Khan has been signed opposite you for the movie ‘Raees’. So kindly share with us the reason for roping a newcomer like her in such a big film.
Shahrukh Khan – The whole setup and most of the characters, including mine and my wife in the film are Muslims. Now that ‘Raees’ is a bit of a realistic film, we have to cast the characters as per its requirement only. We had a similar situation in a commercial film like ‘Om Shanti Om’, where I was playing a fan of a superstar. Now if we took an established heroine like, let’s say Kareena Kapoor with whom I had done a few films. So it would have looked, but awkward that how can I be a diehard fan of a heroine with whom I have worked earlier, thus we decided to sign a new girl – DeepikaPadukone. We presented her as a superstar and that worked in the favour of the film. Similarly, in ‘Raees’, where the characters are a bit heavy and realistic, if we took any established actress it would look like having a hero-heroine and not the real characters. In fact, we also planned to take some established actress who has never worked with me, we spoke to Huma Qureshi also for this role. But then we realized that this character required a different style of dialect and mannerisms so in that case we decided to go for a Pakistani actress. Our producers Ritesh and Farhan Akhtar had seen some of Mahira’s work and felt that she is perfect for this character. We even have a dance sequence and believe me we don’t look like a hero-heroine, but look like a husband and wife fitting that characters.
Shahrukh, many of modern critics feel that our film industry is highly dominated by the star system due to which the cost of a film increases tremendously making it a risky proposition at the box office. So do you agree to the fact that due to this star system most of the films which are being made end up as a compromised product?
Shahrukh Khan – Let me tell you that fact that if we won’t have this star system in our country, our film industry will fade out in a few years.  Germany, Poland, Russia and many such countries used to make the best films in the world sadly, these countries stopped making films as they did not have any stars. Whatever stars (actor, director, producers) they had migrated to Hollywood. You need stars in every field of entertainment, even in IPL if we don’t have any star players no one would watch them. You can choose favorites and go to see them. This year few of Hollywood films earned around hundred crores as today’s generation loved foreign films. If this continues, before you know it, in the near future they will dominate our film industry. In England, there was a time when they used to make many films, but now only fifteen to twenty films are made and more than one fifty Hollywood films are released. The same situation is seen in Germany, Poland, France and many such countries. All these countries screen Hollywood films only and there are very few films of their own. So if this continues, there will be such a day where you will interview a Hollywood star instead of me and they are so big that they might not even come to our country for their film’s promotion. So actually, it’s important for every country to have a star system. I also think that the star system featuring me and my contemporaries will fade out in a few years as we have been superstars for a long time (laughs). Recently, Salman Khan told me that god has been so kind to us that even at the age of fifty, we are enjoying more stardom than what we used to have at the age of the late twenties. So it’s not how old we are but at the end of the day star system is essential for our country and our cinema.
Lastly, Shahrukh many of your fans have a complaint and a desire to see you doing more films in a year. So what’s your reason for doing less films in comparison to what you used to do earlier?
Shahrukh Khan – I think the offers that are made to me are limited. People always assume that if we do a film with Shahrukh it has to be a big commercially successful. Even Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra feel the same. Aditya is making ‘Befikre’ where he feels that if he takes me in it the pressure will increase as people will compare it with ‘DilwaleDulhaniya Le Jayenge’. So Aditya told me that let me make this film then I’ll make a film with you, which will justify our coming together. Many times I want to make a film with some realistic director and when I approach them they say I have made many niche films now I want to make a commercial film with you in your style. So in such case I have to wait for right film and the right director. Sometimes the director also has to wait, for example, Manish waited for eight years to make me do ‘Fan’. ‘Raaes’ also took time in its making, but it’s a fantastic offbeat film. It’s commercial, but not one of those which will be biggest opener or record breaking box office figures riding on it. It will get high critical acclaim and will work slowly over the box office. So at this stage, my choices are limited as I want to do a commercial rider film like ‘Dilwale’ and another should be different. Will Smith once told me that I do two types of films, one I do for myself and another with a bigger star than me that is VFX, so you should also work like that. So I do get limited but that’s not excuse for not to do what you want to. I have reached a stage where if a film does not work it does not matter me, but still being a producer I feel that such small films should at least do business as per its niche audiences and due to all these reasons I keep doing less films.

‘I am planning to take a long holiday’ – ‘Deepika Padukone’ in conversation with ‘G9 Divya Solgama’

‘I am planning to take a long holiday’ – ‘Deepika Padukone’ in conversation with ‘G9 Divya Solgama’

‘DeepikaPadukone’ started the year 2015 with her charming performance in ‘Piku’ followed by her mesmerizing appearance in ‘Tamasha’ and is ready to strike the hat trick of good films with her latest release ‘BajiraoMastani’. Our Bollywood Guide ‘G9 DivyaSolgama’ had the pleasure of speaking with her where she spoke about her film ‘BajiraoMastani’,Ranveer Singh and superstar ‘Salman Khan’.
Deepika, ‘BajiraoMastani’ is a period action drama which has lots of action, drama and dance associated with it. So as per you what was more difficult,action scenes or the dramatic portions.
DeepikaPadukone – The physically demanding scenes were very tough, especially the songs. In fact, actually the songs are what I found the most difficult followed by the horse riding and sword fighting. The scenes and all were fine but somehow the songs were something where the real difficulty was. Somehow with Sanjay LeelaBhansali, I find the songs the most difficult. The minute there is a song coming up I get very stressed I don’t know why, maybe it’s because of what he expects from me or how he visualizes the songs, I don’t know what it is. I remember ‘DewaniMastani’ was the last song that I had to shoot after that I still had the climax of the film left. I finished the song and I was like yes, I’m done, this is done. I was taking out all my vengeance and somebody came and told me that you’re not done, you still have the climax to shoot. I replied back by saying that the climax is easy that’s ok I’m done with song and that was the most difficult part of working in a film like ‘BajiraoMastani’. Even in ‘Ram Leela’, I found the songs very difficult, but this time around I was mentally better prepared because I knew what I’d been through. I took a lot of precaution this time because during ‘Nagada’ song chunks of my skin had come off. I had done the whole song with tape on my feet, they had to clean it up in the post. Even the earring that’s AnjuModi had given me were so heavy that my earlobe would bleed on.But for ‘BajiraoMastani’, I was cautious and the jewelry that they gave me had the same kind of effect but they were made with a diff material so they were made lighter and wore proper shoes before performing as we’ve had an experience so we knew what to correct. Still that wasn’t enough. My precautions worked when we shot ‘Pinga’, but I remember when I shot the kathak dance I wanted to give up, I didn’t want to shoot anymore, I was so exhausted that I didn’t want to do it. So for me these grand dances were the toughest part of the film.
Your character in the film ‘BajiraoMastani’ is a historical character. So how was it portraying this real life character and at any point during the shoot of the film, did you relate to this character of ‘Mastani’.
DeepikaPadukone – As an actor it becomes a little restrictive in terms of what all you can do with the character that is not fictional. You have reference points; you have certain parameters and certain boundaries within which one has to perform. In that sense, it becomes restrictive as compared to a character that is completely fictional that is born out of a writers mind and it’s given to an actor to perform then the possibilities are endless. Both are challenging and exciting in its own way. But now because I’m playing a character which is not fictional. I can say that it is little more restrictive. There is that much and you have to work within that. Regarding the reliability with the character, there is a lot of Mastani that is very relatable. Inspiring because of what all she went through and what all she stood for. But I feel that other than the period itself I found her character extremely relatable because of the kind of woman she was. How brave she was, how strong she was, how determined she was at the same time how fragile and vulnerable she was. I find that qualities of her are there in each one of us that is why I find that Mastani is going to be relatable yet inspiring at the same time for many females.
Deepika, this year you had back to back three performance oriented films – ‘Piku’, ‘Tamasha’ and ‘BajiraoMastani’. So how tough was it for you to keep juggling between these films and the complicated characters you performed.
DeepikaPadukone – Very tough, in fact for me a lot of my preparation was the mental preparation and within that the mental preparation was to tell myself that I’m going to be juggling between three very different films, three very different filmmakers and most importantly three very different characters. To constantly keep jumping from one to another was obviously not the most ideal situation for me, I wish I could do one film at a time and focus on that. But at the same time that would lead to drop out or not do some of the other films which I would not have allowed ever. Of course when I look back now I feel very proud of the work that I’ve done but it was also mentally very exhausting. Thus I am planning to take a long holiday. And I think I deserve that.
Deepika, kindly share something with us about the working experience with your co-actor Ranveer Singh from ‘BajiraoMastani’.
DeepikaPadukone – While working for this movie Ranveer was totally serious as he is someone who love to be the character of that film. So this time there were no jokes nor any pranks. When he used to walk on to set he wanted to be called as Bajirao. He did not like to be called by his name. That’s how much he gets into character if any of the assistant directors referred to him by said Ranveer your shot is ready, he won’t respond. On this particular film and ‘Ram Leela’, they were not too much joking and fooling around. Maybe in ‘Ram Leela’ there were still some lighter scenes in the initial part of the films over here there was no scope for that. He has this high energy within him and I am aware of his personality. Difference is I don’t try to keep up with him I’m very comfortable with where I am and with who I am. I respect and understand his energy level and why he is that he is he. This is how we have a comfortable working experience with each other.
Deepika, since long time cine lovers have been wanting to see you work with the superstar Salman Khan. Many times you also expressed your desire to work with him and so has Salman in couple of his interviews. So is there anything in pipeline, have you been approached for ‘Sultan’ or any other film with him.
DeepikaPadukone – I haven’t signed any film. I don’t think it’s fair for actors to talk about the film that they have been approached for. The only thing that you should as an actor talk about is a film that you are definitely doing. Because eventually that is the only thing that matters. Films are remembered for people who do them eventually. ‘Sultan’ will belong to the people who do that film. It’s not my film because I’m not a part of that film. Regarding working with Salman Khan, I want to, after that episode (Big Boss), many felt people felt that we were trying to do some kind of screen test or checking out our chemistry. It wasn’t to test whether we had chemistry or not. Salman can create chemistry with anyone. A lot of directors messaged me we saw the episode you have to do a film with Salman. Of course I want to do a film with him. It has to be the right film and at the right time.
Lastly, throw some light over your association with Hollywood star Vin Diesel and his blockbuster film ‘XXX’.
DeepikaPadukone – I don’t know what you are talking about (laughs). How do you’ll know, when I only don’t know? To set the record straight, as we speak, I’ve signed no film as of 2016. I’ve not signed any film. “BajiraoMastani’ is my last release in hand. Though, I am open to the idea (Hollywood) creatively; it’s the same way I did a film like ‘Finding Fanny’, I tried to do something different. So of course I’d like to explore working in a different set up and a different environment. As of now I haven’t signed anything.

‘I had great working relationship with Aamir, Akshay, Saif and even Salman’ - Kajol in conversation with G9 Divya Solgama.


‘I had great working relationship with Aamir, Akshay, Saif and even Salman’ - Kajol in conversation with G9 Divya Solgama.


‘Kajol’ has been charming her fans right from the nineties era till date, due to her various films like ‘DilwaleDulhaniya Le Jayenge’, ‘Fanaah’, ‘PyaarKiyaTohDarna Kya’, ‘KabhiKhushiKabhiGham’, ‘KuchKuchHotaHain’, ‘Bazigar’ and many more. Our Bollywood Guide ‘G9 DivyaSolgama’ had the pleasure of speaking with her where she spoke about her upcoming film ‘Dilwale’, her husband ‘Ajay Devgn’ & her favourite co-star ‘Shahrukh Khan’.
Kajol, since last two decades you and Shahrukh Khan have a huge history of blockbuster hit films.So whenever you sign a new film opposite him, is there an additional pressure on you?
Kajol – Fortunately for me, I am at that financial stage that I don’t have to work if I don’t want to. Therefore, it is easier for me to have that choice and to wait for the right film. Also, I truly believe this that when I choose a film I have to absolutely believe that this film is the right thing for me to do. All the time taken away from my kids and family is justified. So, that in itself is a huge pressure for me and besides that there is no additional pressure on me. Regarding the huge history of blockbuster hit films, I don’t know what to say as we started working with each other at an earlier stage of our life maybe, due to it the ‘jodi’ still looks good. But, I think it also has got to do with the fact, that, in comparison to other ‘jodi’s’, we have done very less films. Also, the fact that we never do any film without reasons, we will work only when we share a same opinion and feel that this is the right script for us. We have always said yes for a film without any pressure or influence of anyone. I did not do ‘Dilwale’ as it’s a Shahrukh film or produced by his banner Red Chillies, I signed it as I found the role appealing and liked the script. There has to be some good role for me to do in the film I sign opposite Shahrukh. We never let our personal relationships influence our work and maybe that’s the reason for doing good films together.
Kajol, you are working with Shahrukh Khan after half a decade. So as an actor did you find any changes in him or is he the same Shahrukh with whom you have been working around since the nineties era.
Kajol – Frankly speaking on the sets I don’t find any difference in Shahrukh, which I find is amazing because I have become lazy. Honestly, since my childhood I was lazy while Shahrukh has the ability to do every film with same ‘josh’ and the same passion. In every shot he wants to be the best in whatever his role is. Often he would say to Rohit Shetty, that I’ll give this shot in this way, I’ll give this shot in that way. I would say to him ‘Shahrukh, calm down its 12 o’clock in night, please don’t show so much enthusiasm, ‘thodasakumkarle’. But on serious note I find that amazing, I find that passion, amazing. I find that interest amazing, that for every shot and every character, whether it was ‘My Name Is Khan’ or ‘K3G’, whether it was Rahul or Raj, he has the same eagerness and the zeal to get everything right for that film or his character.
Kajol, your association with Shahrukh started with ‘Baazigar’ but very few people know that he was not the original choice in the film and was the last moment replacement. So kindly let us know about your first meet with Shahrukh on the shoot of ‘Baazigar’, from where this magical journey began.
Kajol – I clearly remember it was the first day of the new year where we were shooting a random scene featuring Shahrukh and DalipTahil. I came on the set at the right time as I sleep and wake up very early. I was around nineteen years old and at that time I was very talkative and loud, my voice was very high pitch and when I used to talk it used to be very loud. At that time I was very good friends with Shahrukh’s makeup man, Ravi Dada. We both used to sit and blabber about everyone at the sets. That day also we were blabbering and bitching about everyone and at that time I looked at the new hero of the film and asked Ravi Dada (in Marathi) ‘isn’t your hero bit weird, he hardly speaks, what’s is problem, etc’. Ravi Dada also reciprocated by saying (in Marathi) ‘he is like that only’. Now on the other side Shahrukh this Delhi boy had absolutely no idea what we were talking as at that time he did not understand a single word of Marathi. Later I came to know that he had such a bad hangover about my and Ravi Dada’s loud chat. I was just talking on and on and then finally, director Abbas-Mustan came and introduced each other. At that time Shahrukh gave me those dirty angry type of looks and we started discussing the scene. After few hours, Shahrukh came out from his comfort zone and started talking. After that he kept on talking continuously leaving me behind and that’s when the ice was broken. Slowly, we became good friends due to this over talkative nature of ours. We kept doing more films due to which our friendship grew and we felt comfortable in each other’s company. A trust was formed and we just continued to be good friends which continued from film to film to film.
Kajol, VarunDhawan told us that he had great fun working with you. So share us some anecdote related to Varun on the sets of ‘Dilwale’.
Kajol – I, Varun and Kriti were supposed to do an emotional scene where Varun was supposed to cry and say long dialogues. Now for some strange reasons, whenever Varun started getting emotional, I used to start laughing without any reasons due to which he also used to start laughing. I was supposed to give him a cue and after giving the cue I used to roll on the floor laughing. Once I and Varun started laughing, everyone on the set’s started laughing too including films director Rohit Shetty. We were shooting since morning till midnight, so maybe after midnight everyone becomes mad. It’s something to do with the midnight masti (laughs).
Lastly, Kajolspeaking about the ‘jodi’, besides Shahrukh you also worked in many films with your husband Ajay Devgn. Why is that despite of few good films, the ‘jodi’ failed to create the magic on the silver screen also how do you rate him as an actor.
Kajol – As far as Ajay and me are concerned we have all different kind of subjects. Most of them were serious subjects and then there were some frivolous films like ‘Hulchul’ & ‘Gundaraj’, but then there were few good films like ‘Pyar To Hona Hi Tha’, ‘Ishq’, ‘Dil Kya Kare’ & ‘U Me Aur Hum’. Then there were films like ‘RajuChacha’ or ‘ToonpurKa Superhero’, so in short we have done all different and fantastic films. Being a husband and wife, it’s just that when we come together the kind of films we do together has to be very suited to us as a couple and that we have not come across as yet. As far as any other co-star is concerned I had great time working with each and every one of them. Be it Aamir, Akshay, Saif or even Salman, I had great working relationship with them. Whenever I meet them we meet with so much warmth and now that it’s been so many years, I also know their family members very well now. I never have any issues over working with anybody. So besides Shahrukh I also had good working relationship with many other actors including Ajay. I am a big fan of Ajay and his work in films like ‘Drishyam’, ‘Company’, ‘Legend Of Bhagat Singh’, ‘Zakham’, ‘Hum Dil De ChukeSanam’, ‘U Me Aur Hum’ and many more bouquet of films where I just loved him. Honestly, I like him on screen and feel he is such a fine actor that even those characters which are larger than life, he carries off with an ease and looks totally convincing

'Angry Indian Goddesses' - Movie Review By 'G9 Divya Solgama'


'Angry Indian Goddesses'

Movie Review By 'G9 Divya Solgama'

'Displays The Various Emotions Of Womanhood...'

Expectations

In a male dominating society our Hindi films have also been highly obsessed over narrating the tales of male friendship. We had many iconic films celebrating male friendships and when it came to the same, featuring females, there were very few films to name. Though, one did see minor references in few old films like ‘Swarg Narak’ or ‘Shriman Shrimati’ followed by films like ‘Aisha’, ‘Dor’, ‘Cocktail’, ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’, etc. The friendship bond in these films was minimal, due to which the expectation level reaches at sky level after watching the first promo of ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’, which claims to be one of its first kind of film which celebrates female friendships. Thus, let’s find out whether ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ will manage to make its right mark and be at par with films like ‘Dil Chahta Hain’ or might end up as one more half-baked product with good concept attached to it.

Story

‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ is a story of Frieda Da Silva (Sarah-Jane Dias) who invites her friends Pamela (Pavleen Gujral), Madhurita (Anushka Manchanda) and Suranjana (Sandhya Mridul) to her home place in Goa. Frieda is getting married and thus wanted her best friends along with her cousin Joanna (Amrit Maghera) and maid Laxmi (Rajshri Deshpande) to be part of her happiness. The girls bond with each other and celebrates Frieda’s happiness until one dark night when hell sets loose. What happens next is what the entire film is all about.

Screenplay & Technicalities:

The story is one liner and works only due to the moments attached with the film. The movie starts with good fun and slows down in the middle portions of the film but as the second half arrives the move sets on its right course. Every character have their own style, problem and habits, making them interesting and enjoyable. There are many engaging moments like the outburst in the start of the film followed by girls cheering Sarah over her dress, discussions related to mannerisms of guys, responsibilities of a girl, humiliation faced by females, Sarah sharing her secret, whole of Adil Hussain track and its aftereffects, etc. All these scenes and enjoyable minute moments keeps you glued with the film. Sadly, the badcensorship, weak screenplay in the middle part of the film and couple of side tracks dilute the intensity of the film. The finale part lacked the hard-hitting factor. The cinematography is apt as per the requirement of the film.

Direction:

Director Pan Nalin narrates a tale about few female friends and weaves a story around their happenings. He finally gives us a much required film, celebrating the female friendship and also addresses many unspoken topics. It’s due to his sensibilities the movie despite of its flaws, ends up to be a good watch.

Performances

Sarah-Jane Dias is superb in the film and looks smashing. Pavleen Gujral entertains you with her simplicity. Sandhya Mridul gives yet another good performance. Adil Hussain in small part is impressive. Amrit Maghera and Rajshri Deshpande lends good support. Anushka Manchanda was not up to the mark. Tannishtha Chatterjee was wasted. Arjun Mathur’s blink and miss appearance was nice.

So bol meri 'Filmi Khopdi' iss film mein kitna hain Dum???

So despite of bad censorship, half-baked screenplay and couple of minor glitches, on an overall basis, ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ is a decent watch for all those who believe in equality as it displays the various emotions of womanhood. 
Rating - 3.5/5

'Kajarya' - Movie Review By 'G9 Divya Solgama'

'Kajarya'

Movie Review By 'G9 Divya Solgama'

'Disturbingly Realistic,,,' 

Expectations

Right from its inception, our Hindi cinema was highly obsessed with films on social issues as per that time and era. In its initial phase such issues used to be only basic topic for an entertaining film but then came the realistic filmmakers, who ventured into many unexplored territories and did justice to the core content of the film. Though, most of these films were made with minimal budget and failed to even see a proper cinematic release. Viewers saw them either at some film festivals or on Doordarshan’s late night screening. Even in today’s time of multiplex and realistic era, there are many small independent films being made every year dealing with some socially relevant topics. ‘Kajarya’ is one such film which talks about the female child sacrifice practices happening in the rural parts of our country. We did witness something similar in films like ‘Sangharsh’ and few more, but ‘Kajarya’ seems to be more realistic and have been touring many prestigious film festivals. Thus, let’s find our whether ‘Kajarya’ will manage to join the elite list of all those small but hard hitting realistic types of films or might be one among those films which caters only to the film festival audiences. 

Story

‘Kajarya’ is a story of a young journalist Meera Sharma (Ridhima Sud), who tries to investigate a crime story in a rural village set near the national capital, Delhi.  Meera comes to know about a mysterious women Kajarya (Meenu Hooda), who kills newborn female children and sacrifices them to the Goddess Kali. Meera gets her facts right and files a breaking story in her newspaper, due to which Kajarya gets arrested. Meera interviews Kajarya to find out more about these malpractices and what happens next is what the entire film is all about.

Screenplay & Technicalities:

The story is hard-hitting and shocking at times. The movie starts with some disturbing images of Meenu Hooda in form of Goddess Kali. There are some good scenes like Meenu Hooda telling her story to Ridhima Sud, Ridhima meeting Sumeet Vyas’s parents and finding out their urban views related to female foeticide killings, Meenu abusing Ridhima followed by her hard hitting confession and few more which keeps you engaged in the film. The second half has plenty of weak moments and mostly drags around with minimal happenings. The side track of Ridhima fails to gel with the flow of the film. Technically, the movie has been shot in bit shoddy manner due to which the viewing experience gets diluted. 

Music & Direction:

Background music by Richard Horowitz goes with the mood of the film.
Director Madhureeta Anand comes up with a daringly bold subject which shakes you up with its realistic content. It’s only the low technicalities and weak screenplay in the second half of the film that dilutes the intensity of the film. Nevertheless, it’s a well-made film within its low budget and limitations.

Performances

Meenu Hooda is very good in her part and does full justice to it. Ridhima Sud looks good and does a decent job. Kuldeep Ruhil, Shashi Bhushan and Manoj Bakshi lend good support. Sumeet Vyas is wasted.

So bol meri 'Filmi Khopdi' iss film mein kitna hain Dum???

Dum??? Well the movie has good amount of dum in terms of its hard-hitting content and decent performances. The entertaining cinema lovers will shy away from this movie and lack of noticeable faces in the film might fail to give proper due to the film. As for all those who love good and simple cinema, this low budget independent film will be a disturbingly realistic experience.
Rating - 2.5/5

'Hate Story 3' - Movie Review By 'G9 Divya Solgama' - (*ing - Sharman Joshi, Zareen Khan, Karan Singh Grover, Daisy Shah)

'Hate Story 3'

Movie Review By 'G9 Divya Solgama'

'Over Seasoned...' 


Expectations

Bengali actress Paoli Dam along with director Vivek Agnihotri and presenter Vikram Bhatt launched a quickie film ‘Hate Story’ with lots of skin show and foul language attached to it. The movie was an instant hit due to obvious reasons and also a good vengeance based screenplay. The success opened up the lost audience for such type of films, which initiated in the 70’s and 80’s era and slowly moved its base into the C-grade category. Two years later, came its sequel which was presented by the music monarch ‘T-Series’ and had a fantastic soundtrack, due to which ‘Hate Story 2’ also opened up successfully. Sadly, the screenplay lacked the intensity and ‘Hate Story 2’ was more of product driven like most of our sequels are. This year the franchise widens its base by giving us the third film in its series ‘Hate Story 3’, with better actors and a wider release. So, let’s find out whether ‘Hate Story 3’, will manage to hit the bull’s eye just like its predecessor or might be yet another product based film made only to cash in over its past glory.

Story

‘Hate Story 3’ is a story of rich industrialist Aditya Deewan (Sharman Joshi) and his wife Siya Deewan (Zarine Khan). Aditya is invited by another industrialist Saurav Singhania (Karan Singh Grover) for lunch, where Saurav offers him a deal of spending one night with Siya. Aditya threatens Saurav and rejects the offer, after which Saurav starts sabotaging Aditya’s career. What happens next is what the entire film is all about.

Screenplay & Technicalities:

The story is one liner and has shades of films like ‘Indecent Proposal’ and few more. Looks like the makers forgot that ‘Indecent Proposal’ was already copied and two bad film were made on the same plot line – ‘Karobar’ (Anil Kapoor-Juhi Chawla-Rishi Kapoor) & Sauda (Vikas Bhalla-Neelam-Sumeet Saigal). Right from the deal to the revenge story and its revelation, everything in ‘Hate Story 3’ looks fake and unconvincing.  The scenes are over dramatized with no logic or proper detailing attached to it. It’s only that the screenplay has few cat and mouse fight type of scenes which keeps you slightly engaged in this senseless film. The twists in the film reminds you of Ekta Kapoor type of serials. The makers have taken many cinematic liberties which hampers the film in big way. The movie is stretched to its fullest, making it dragging and boring at many places. The cinematography is bad and many C.G.I based scenes look tacky. 

Music & Direction:

Music has been an integral part of T-Series produced films and out here too the songs are popular. ‘Tumhe Apna Banane Ka’ (inspired from ‘Sadak’ & ‘Lal Paree’) is the best of the lot.
Director, Vishal Pandya got a good opportunity to direct ‘Hate Story 2’, where he could have shown us a hard-hitting revenge drama type of films, something similar to ‘Badlapur’. Sadly, he just kept his focus on the skin show and similarly in ‘Hate Story 3’, despite of getting one more change and a better cast, he again to create something good.

Performances

It’s shocking to see a good actor like Sharman Joshi in such type of film and he is the only saving grace in this film. Zarine Khan tries hard to look like a seductress beauty and despite of her skin show, she lacks the sensuousness. Karan Singh Grover is fine in his part. Daisy Shah lends decent support, but hams in the performance based scenes. Priyanshu Chatterjee was wasted.

So bol meri 'Filmi Khopdi' iss film mein kitna hain Dum???

So on an overall basis, ‘Hate Story 3’ despite of its big franchise name and titillating posters end up like an over seasoned product, which looks appealing but has nothing more than a bad taste attached to it.
 
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