Mumbai, April 2 (IANS) Actor Emraan Hashmi, who will be seen portraying former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin in the biopic “Azhar”, says he almost became a “stalker” for the film to get a hang of the cricketer’s “gestures”.
“Eventually I almost became a stalker, I used to stare him to copy all his gesture. I think I made his life hell for three-four months,” Emraan said at the trailer launch of the film here.
The actor said that doing the film was a “tough journey”.
“When we started actual shooting in London and Hyderabad, I was nervous because of the cricket portion. As Azhar bhai is a well-known personality, all have seen his mannerism and nuances. So if something goes wrong to portray his character, there would have been a chance of a huge criticism. I had to keep that in mind and noted even very minute things from how he walks to the way he eats,” Emraan said.
Directed by Tony D’Souza, “Azhar”, which is jointly produced by Balaji Motion Pictures and MSM Motion Picture, also stars Prachi Desai, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi in pivotal roles and is slated for a worldwide release on May 13, 2016.
The film will narrate the highs and lows of Azharuddin’s life as the captain of the Indian cricket team for most of the 1990s and being tainted by a match-fixing scandal in 2000, and getting banned for life.
My father not my biggest critic: Meghna Gulzar
Mumbai, April 2 (IANS) Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar, whose last film “Talvar” won a National Award, says her father and veteran lyricist and poet Gulzar is not her biggest critic as he is “biased”.
“My father is not my biggest critic. I wish he was, but he is too biased. My mother is honest. Honesty always seems brutal, but it’s better in the long run,” Meghna told IANS.
Meghna revealed that the biggest compliment for “Talvar”, for which Vishal Bhardwaj was awarded the Best Screenplay Writer (adapted) award at the 63rd National Film Awards, came from her father.
“The biggest compliment for me was when my father went kind of silent for about 40 minutes after watching the film. He couldn’t speak because of the gravity of reality and the other thing was the audience after watching the film. They started discussing about the case… Nobody spoke about the film or technique which was a big achievement for the entire team,” Meghna said.
“Talvar” stars Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma and Tabu among others. The film unfolds three scenarios of the 2008 murder of 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar and her family’s domestic servant Hemraj on the silver screen.
Man accused of killing gay son in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, April 2 (IANS) A 69-year-old man shot dead his adult son in Los Angeles this week because his son was gay, media quoted prosecutors as saying on Saturday.
Shehada Khalil Issa, who had previously threatened to kill his son, Amir Issa, 29, because he was gay, has been charged with premeditated murder, CNN quoted Los Angeles County prosecutors as saying.
Police responded to a 911 call on Tuesday and arrived at the family home in the North Hills neighbourhood in Los Angeles, where they found the body of Amir Issa outside their home and his mother’s body inside the home. Prosecutors allege that Khalil Issa fired a shotgun that killed his son.
The LAPD was still investigating what happened to the victim’s mother, who was not identified.
Investigators told the Los Angeles Daily News that Issa had initially said he found his dead wife in the bathroom of their house and had shot his son in self-defence after being threatened with a knife.
Later, Issa made “incriminating statements” and was subsequently charged with murder. Issa is being held without bail and could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Over 100 fighters for a fight sequence in ‘Sardaar Gabbar Singh’
Chennai, April 2 (IANS) The makers of Pawan Kalyan-starrer Telugu actioner “Sardaar Gabbar Singh”, which is slated for release in theatres on April 8, have used over 100 fighters for a crucial action block around the interval time.
“Approximately 80 to 120 fighters are used for this special sequence. The fight plays a significant role in the film as it changes the entire mood of the film and sets a new tone. The movie, which runs on entertainment mode until the interval, enters into serious mode post-interval,” read a statement.
Tipped to be a treat for action lovers, the film promises to give audiences value for the buck.
“The film’s fight episodes are very well-conceived, smartly written and meticulously executed, thus making ‘Sardaar Gabbar Singh’ a good action film that action-lovers should look out for,” the statement added.
“And if these are not just enough, high-end camera equipment like Phantom Dolly, Hexacopter flying cameras and Gimbal cameras have been used to enhance the experience of action scenes,” the statement further added.
Directed by K.S Ravindra, “Sardaar Gabbar Singh” also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Sharad Kelkar and Kabir Duhan Singh.
‘Ki & Ka’ mints Rs.7.30 crore on opening day
Mumbai, April 2 (IANS) Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan starrer “Ki and Ka”, which released on Friday, has received a good response at the box office while minting over Rs.7 crore on its opening day in India.
“Ki & Ka” recorded the second highest opening day collection of the year with Rs.7.30 crore in the country and shows a solid upward trend over the weekend, read a statement.
The film registered a 40-50 percent occupancy on day-one, picking up majorly in the evening across main metro cities.
Directed by R.Balki, “Ki and Ka” sees Arjun playing the role of Kabir, a house husband while Kareena’s character Kia is a career-oriented woman.
The movie is about the relationship between the two and how the society sees it.
We are filmmakers, not merchants: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Mumbai, April 2 (IANS) Vidhu Vinod Chopra, producer of popular movies like “3 Idiots”, “PK” and “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”, says he will continue to make movies that he believes in as he is a filmmaker and not a “baniya” (merchant).
“I will go on to make films that I believe in. I believe there is no such relation between business and a film’s integrity. Like ‘PK’, which was the biggest hit, but I still feel ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’ is better. When you make a film, you should not think about the returns. After all, we are not ‘baniye’ (merchants), we are filmmakers,” Chopra said at an event here.
“We should make films that we believe in. If it gets a good run then its fine, otherwise it’s okay,” he said, while adding that he doesn’t make films “according to audience’s wish.”
“When the audience admires my film, it makes me immensely happy. Even if they do not like it, at least, there is a sense of satisfaction that I have made a good film but the audience did not understand my work. However, while making a film I do give my best,” he added.
Apart from making movies, the 63-year-old director-producer says he loves music and watching cricket matches. Currently, he is passionately following the World Twenty20 cricket tournament.