KO L K ATA , T U E S DAY, F E B R U A RY 2 1 , 2 0 1 2 , 6 PA G E S w w w. h i n d u s t a n t i m e s . c o m

stoppress

Part of a 16-heroine film? P6

FILM FRATERNITY STRIKE DEFERRED UNTIL UNIONBUDGET IS TABLEDAccording to a press statement, the all-India strike onFebruary 23, proposed by the Film Federation of India toprotest the Central government’s proposal to impose a10.3% service tax, has been deferred until the Unionbudget is tabled in Parliament on March 16. A delegation,comprising representatives of different film industrytrade bodies, met Union Finance Minister PranabMukherjee and Union Information & BroadcastingMinister Ambika Soni on Sunday to discuss the tax-related problems facing the film sector in India, particularly the impending imposition of the service tax.

HTC

Though the online world has been abuzz with rumours of a splitbetween actor Akshay Kumar and wife Twinkle Khanna, friends ofthe couple have vehemently denied the news. “It’s all nonsense. OnValentine’s Day, he (Akshay) spent the day pampering Twinkle.Akshay and Twinkle are quite transparent with each other. He is adedicated husband. Everything is fine,” a source close to the couplewas quoted as saying. HTC

ALL IS WELLBETWEENAKSHAY-TWINKLE

Dibyojyoti Baksi! dibyojyoti.baksi@hindustantimes.com

After bold roles infilms such asIshqiya (2010) andher recent hit, TheDirty Picture

(2011), you can’t accuse VidyaBalan of staying within hercomfort zone. Now, theactress will show off herquirky side opposite EmraanHashmi in the upcomingcomedy, Ghanchakkar.

Confirming the news,Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO,UTV Motion Pictures, says,“Ghanchakkar is our thirdfilm in a row with writer-director Raj Kumar Gupta.The lead roles were virtuallywritten for Emraan andVidya, so we have managedto get our dream cast."

Vidya has already workedwith Raj Kumar in No OneKilled Jessica (2011), whereshe played slain modelJessica Lall’s sister Sabrina,a performance that fetched

her critical acclaim and sev-eral awards.

Ask what drove her to takeup a comedy after a string ofbrave performances, and shesays, “Comedy is one thingthat I have wanted to do for along time. As an actor, all youwant to do is reach out to theaudience with diverse, yetentertaining, roles. Also, thestory, director and co-actorsplay a critical role for mewhen I am selecting a film,”says Vidya.

Ghanchakkar is the storyof ex-conman Sanju(Emraan), who has a tastefor the finer things in life,and his ambitious wife(Vidya). Problems arisewhen they are trapped bytwo thugs, and their sillinessleads to chaos. Vidya, who iscurrently busy promotingher upcoming film Kahaani,directed by Sujoy Ghosh, willstart shooting forGhanchakkar in August thisyear. The film is expected torelease by mid-2013.

VIDYA TURNSCOMEDIENNE

Vidya Balan admits sherefused to be part of direc-tor Sanjay Gupta’sShootout At Wadalabecause there was littlescope in it for her to act.

“In Shootout At Wadala,there was nothing muchfor me to do. They wanted

to start it in November. Icouldn’t do it at that time,as I had just finished TheDirty Picture and was busypromoting it,” says Vidya.

Though Sanjay wrotethe character keepingVidya in mind, he has nowroped in Kangana Ranaut

to play the female leadopposite John Abraham.“Iam sure it will be a goodfilm, and whoever does itwill do justice to the role.With no disrespect to any-one, this was not some-thing that I wanted to do,”says Vidya.

‘Shootout At Wadala was not something I wanted to do’

The Dirty Picture star reunites withEmraan Hashmi inGhanchakkar,to be produced bybeau SiddarthRoy Kapur

Suruchi Gupta! suruchi.gupta@hindustantimes.com

Locals at Borotalpada, asmall Santhal villagenine hours by trainfrom Kolkata, are set

for an intimate encounterwith a ‘crazy, strange stagedirector’! This is how Jean-Frederic Chevalliar ofTrimukhi Platform intro-duced Mexican stage direc-tor Hector Bourges to the vil-lagers who, passionate aboutnight-long art and theatrefestivals, were drawn to par-ticipate in Bourges’ experi-mental production, I Saw theWorld Resting Within Myself,as its cast. The productionwill be staged as part of thefifth edition of the Night ofTheatre festival atBorotalpada. HT City caughtup with Bourges soon afterhe landed in Kolkata, on hisfirst visit to the country, soonafter which he left for the vil-lage. Excerpts:

What made you say yes to a the-atre project in a remote villagewhere your cast does not under-stand your language and viceversa, among other challenges? Many years ago, I was fasci-nated by the literature andcertain ways of thinkingabout post-colonialism inIndia. I have studied politicalscience and the works ofpolitical theorist ParthaChatterjee are my texts.More specifically, the idea ofNight of Theatre, comingfrom my old friend

(Chevalliar), allows the possi-bility to realise my idea oftheatre as an experiment inconviviality. The exercise oftranslation is also a centralpart of my work in theatre.

What does your collective TeatroOjo work on?Teatro Ojo means ‘eye the-atre’. It’s a group of interdis-ciplinary practises, witharchitects, writers, photogra-phers, musicians, and the-atre persons. For the last fiveyears, we have worked withparadigmatic buildings in thecity of Mexico — paradig-matic in the political sense —of historical importance tounderstand modernity inMexico; buildings that havebeen abandoned. We are

working with people wholive, worked or rememberthe buildings or the symbolsof these buildings. Our worksare experiments of socialimagination, more than the-atre. This Culture Centre inBorotalpada (being con-structed by Trimukhi) is alsoan experiment of social imag-ination (which I will use tobuild the production).

Do you see construction at Boro-talpada in contrast to the crum-bling down or abandonment ofarchitectural works in Mexico? This in itself is an experi-ment in conviviality. This is anew centre, good for thecommunity, where I will workwith their promises, expecta-tion, dreams about this newspace, walls, ceilings, win-dows, new distribution ofknowledge...

What’s I Saw the World... about? I Saw the World is a line in apoem by Octavio Paz, theMexican writer who was theambassador to India, a NobelPrize winner, and for me avery great poet. It is a gam-ble for me, because I don’tknow the space in the village.I want to work with theaction of construction, wherelocal construction is used. Iwill work with the sensualmemory of materials. One isthe memory of hands thatmould the walls and thehouse. The memory of everyobject is the expression ofdesires. How will I do it?That is a mystery to me now.

A crazy director’s cutA DIFFERENT ACTTrimukhi Platform is organisingthe fifth edition of the Night ofTheatre festival in Borotalpadain association with ModernAcademy of ContinuingEducation. This is the first edi-tion of the festival in India, thefirst four having been held inMexico. The festival will be heldat a Cultural Centre thatTrimukhi Platform is building inthe village, with voluntary workfrom villagers. “We are trying todiscover new ways of doingtheatre, as the village has anight-long theatre festival cul-ture. We are trying to bringpeople from the periphery tothe centre,” says Chevalliar.

Ratnalekha Mazumdar! ratnalekha.mazumdar@hindustantimes.com

Actress Aditi Rao Hydarihas no godfather or any“real connection in

Bollywood”. But she doesnot consider that a “nega-tive thing”. That makes herlearn the hard way, sheexplains. It keeps hergrounded and helps her“maintain dignity”.

After playing supportingroles in a slew of films suchas Delhi 6, Yeh Saali Zindagi,and Rockstar, Aditi will playthe lead opposite Ali Zafarin Anu Menon’s LondonParis New York. But she doesnot give her earlier projectsany less importance. “I haveworked with brilliant direc-tors in all my earlier films.All those were supportingroles, but were very impor-tant in the films that I did,”says the trainedBharatnatyam dancer.

London Paris New Yorktraverses the journey of twocharacters around the threecities. Therefore, Aditi hasthree different and distinctlooks in the film, slated torelease on March 2.

Aditi’s character, duringher stay in London, is nottoo interested in fashion.“She is an innocent girl withtraditional values, who hascome to London to study,”she says. While in Paris, shesports a “cool and casual”

look. “By that time, she haslived abroad for quite sometime. She is exploring life,and so she is a little vulnera-ble,” she says. So she wearsred lipstick and a short hair-do. In New York, her femi-nine side comes out, and sheis seen with long hair. “Shewears specs during her NewYork chapter. In the begin-ning, the boy tells the girlthat she would look good inspecs,” she adds.

Produced by Goldie Behland Shrishti Arya, LondonParis New York is reportedlya fun film with generousdoses of romance anddrama. It has been made,says Aditi, for both youngand old. “It is a coming-of-age love story. It is a tale ofthree phases, and theirimpact on the lives of theprotagonists.”

Interestingly, besides act-ing, Aditi has also sung twosongs for the film. Zafar,who has also composed themusic for the film, caughther singing off guard duringthe shooting. “He told methat I was a natural singer.So, when he wanted me togive it a shot, I agreed,” shesmiles. Is there a singingcareer in the pipeline? Shelaughs, “Yes, why not? I amopen to all offers.”

Though she has signed afilm after London Paris NewYork, Aditi prefers to remaintight-lipped until its release.

In the lead now

Prashant Singh! prashant.singh@hindustantimes.com

Sonakshi Sinha hasjoined the likes of EvaLongoria, Rihanna and

Charlie Sheen. The actresshas become the first Bolly-wood star on Hollywood’snewest social media website,WhoSay.

The site allows users toaccess and update Twitter,Facebook, YouTube, andTumblr accounts all at once.Interestingly, Sonakshi joined

the group on Republic Day.“For me, it was a very pleasant surprise receivingthe invite. I felt honouredsince they are targeting influ-encers and well-establishedcelebrities. I feel lucky thatI’m among the few youngactors who they saw poten-tial in,” says Sonakshi.

Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter is known to beInternet-savvy and is quiteactive on Twitter. “I love thatthere is one platform to inter-act with my fans and

my social media accounts areintegrated into one,” says theactress, who is currentlyshooting for VikramadityaMotwane’s Lootera.

WhoSay currently hasnearly 1,000 members on itslist, including personalitiessuch as Kristin Cavallari,Jordin Sparks, LindsayLohan, Sofia Vergara, NikkiReed, Paris Hilton, Bravo’sAndy Cohen and SnoopDogg. Celebrities can join byinvitation only or request tobecome a member.

Sonakshi is also excitedbecause it is an ‘invite-only’website, and all the posts will be verified. So unlikeother social networking sites, her pictures, videos, and messages will be authentic.

I feel lucky and honoured that I’m among the few

young actors who they sawpotential in

Sonakshi Sinha

‘It was a very pleasant surprise’Sonakshi Sinha becomes first Bollywood star on Hollywood’s newest social media hub, WhoSay, joins the likes of Rihanna and Paris Hilton

EvaLongoria

Aditi Rao Hydari

Rihanna

Prashant Singh! prashant.singh@hindustantimes.com

Last week, the shoesthat legendary ath-lete Milkha Singh

wore at the RomeOlympics (1960) fetchedthe second highest bid —R24 lakh — at an auctionthat put 33 pieces ofsporting history under thehammer for Rahul Bose’sNGO, The Foundation.

But not many know thatit was Bhaag Milkha Bhaagmakers, Viacom 18 andRakeysh OmprakashMehra, who had bid suc-cessfully for the shoes.Mehra’s biopic, BhaagMilkha Bhaag, is due to goon the floors in the lastweek of February.

And to mark the occa-sion, Milkha was keen togive his shoes as amemento to the film;s leadactor Farhan Akhtar. “Itwas an idea that Rakeyshand Viacom 18 hit uponafter long discussion.

Though they bought theshoes for the huge sum ofR24 lakh after a lot of bid-ing and drama, everyonewas happy to finally laytheir hands on the pair.Milkhaji was also very sentimental about it,” saysan insider from the unit.

Now, the athlete plansto gift his on-screen coun-terpart the memento onFebruary 21 in Chandigarhas a good luck token.

When contacted, Mehraconfirms the events, say-ing, “We really wanted theshoes at any cost. At theend of the day, this is theonly wish that Milkha had,and we wanted to makesure we fulfilled it withoutfail.” While working on thefilm, Mehra and co-writerPrasoon Joshi have con-stantly been in touch with

Milkha. In fact, Farhanhas met the athlete quite afew times over the lastcouple of months.

The film also starsSonam Kapoor as thefemale lead. And althoughMehra is keen to shoot thefilm in Pakistan, whereMilkha was born andbrought up, plans are yetto be confirmed.

FINAL BIDMilkha Singh’sshoes

R24 lakh

Auctioned shoesreturned to Milkha! GOING TOPLESS

DIDN’T FAZE ANISTON Actress Jennifer Aniston, 43, says she hadno problems going topless for her latestfilm, Wanderlust. She says that by the timeshe got to do her naked scenes she hadseen so much nudity on the sets of the filmthat she didn’t give it a second thought.

PARIS WINS BIGBUCKSActress and hotelheiress Paris Hilton ison cloud nine. Hilton,who was in Las Vegason Friday to celebrateher 31st birthday, won$30,000 (R14.8 lakh)on a game of blackjackat Wynn casino. “Justwon 30k playing black-jack at Wynn Las Vegas!YES! Birthday girl’s luck!I love gambling! (sic)”posted Hilton on Twitter.

The Dirty Picture star reunites withEmraan Hashmi inGhanchakkar,to be produced bybeau SiddarthRoy Kapur

PRATEEK CHOUDHURY