Written by Deccan Herald - RSS on 25 January 2010
"If I tell you the the truth, I have never tried to change my image. But as an actor I have always tried to portray different roles in my career," Vidya told reporters here.The Southern beauty, who faced brick bats for her sartorial sense in 'Hey Baby' and 'Kismat Connection' refuted that her modern avatar in these films was because she wanted to get over her traditional girl image."Every film of mine retains my old persona which the audience can clearly identify with," Vidya replied after being asked about her role as a seductress in Abhishek Chaubey directed 'Ishqiya', releasing January 29."Till date I have acted in around ten Hindi films and in every film I have tried to do something different because I don't want to restrict myself to one particular type," she added. The 32-year-old actress who was last seen in 'Paa' as a single mother to Amitabh Bachchan, plays the role of a small town girl Krishna in the upcoming film."To get a chance of working with such fine actors is a dream come true for me. It improves your acting skills and I feel that in this regard I have been very fortunate," Vidya said.She may be someone who lives in a dreamworld, but when asked about her dream man Vidya joked, "I don't see the face of my prince charming in my dreams, I just hear a voice. This voice belongs to someone, but I can't tell you who he is."On being asked about her friendship with actor Shahid Kapoor, Vidya said," Shahid is really committed to his acting and that is why it was good working with him."
Written by Deccan Herald - RSS on 25 January 2010
Bridges beat George Clooney ("Up in the Air"), Colin Firth ("A Single Man"), Morgan Freeman ("Invictus") and Jeremy Renner ("The Hurt Locker") while Bullock won among competitors like Helen Mirren ("The Last Station"), Carey Mulligan ("An Education"), Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire") and Meryl Streep ("Julie and Julia"), said the press statement released by the official website.Bullock, who plays a wealthy white mother who takes a down-trodden black high school football player into her home in "The Blind Side", was excited after winning the trophy. "Thank you for making me proud and just accepting me," she was quoted as saying after winning the award.Bridges was seen as a drunken country singer in "Crazy Heart". He got a standing ovation at the ceremony held here. Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino's war drama "Inglourious Basterds" won for best ensemble cast. The film was competing with "The Hurt Locker", "An Education", musical "Nine" and "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire". Christoph Waltz won his maiden SAG award for the best supporting actor in "Inglourious Basterds". While Mo'Nique bagged best supporting actress award for "Precious". SAG also honoured TV series "Mad Men" for best ensemble drama cast and the high school comedy "Glee" won the best ensemble comedy cast award. Julianna Margulies bagged best TV drama actress for "The Good Wife" and Michael C. Hall took home the trophy for "Dexter". Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin won the best comedy actress and actor for "30 Rock", respectively.In the outstanding performance in a television movie or mini-series, Kevin Bacon took home the trophy for "Taking Chance" and Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore won for "Grey Gardens".
Written by Deccan Herald - RSS on 25 January 2010
"It was Balu Mahendra who had groomed me and Akila Balu Mahendra had taken care of me like a mother - they are the reason behind such an honour. Without them I would have not achieved this feat," Bala, who has so far directed four films, told reporters. Though this is Bala's first National Award as a director, his film "Pithamagan" had fetched best actor National Award for its lead actor Vikram. Bala is, however, disappointed that Ilayaraja, Arya and Pooja, who had worked in "Naan Kadavul", haven't got any award. “I was quite confident that they would get the awards," he said. He also says that he is happy about winning the coveted award, but insists that he doesn't make films for awards.
Written by Deccan Herald - RSS on 25 January 2010
"I will be happy if the sarod gets a place in the world mainstream music. I want sarod to be as popular as the guitar and violin. It should find an international place," Khan told reporters. "I don't play sarod just to be popular. Unlike many others, my work is not a rat race where you struggle to stay at the number one spot. "It is a journey with grace and dignity, more like an elephant's leisurely walk. For me, my work is a complete surrender, devotion and dedication," the 64-year-old musician, who was taught by his father and guru Haafiz Ali Khan, said."With the Grammy nomination of my album, I have also been taken into the race. But, I have never been a part of any race. There hasn't been a big change in my life after I received the nomination. And, even if I get or don't get the Grammy, it won't make much difference to me," Khan said.'Ancient Sounds', the musician's duet album with Iraqi Oud virtuoso Rahim Alhaj, has been nominated for the Grammy in the 'Best Traditional World Music Album' category. The Grammy Awards will be announced on January 31 in Los Angeles.Khan, who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian honour in 2001 would, however, not attend the Grammy Awards and will be playing at a concert in Bangalore. "I am sure my co-musician Rahim will go there. Even if one of us goes, it will serve the purpose. I had planned my Bangalore concert some six months ago." Nevertheless, he thinks that getting the Grammy will be an honour for him and the country."An honour is an honour. And, when that honour comes from outside your country, it is a bigger honour as it becomes an honour for the entire country. It is good if my album wins the award," he said.Asked whether he had expected the nomination, he said it had been a pleasant surprise for him. Along with him, Oscar-winner music composer A R Rahman and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain are the other Indians who have been nominated for the Grammy
Written by Deccan Herald - RSS on 25 January 2010
"Hrithik Roshan is my superhero in Bollywood. He is a good dancer, has a very good body and is a great actor. I really want to work with him," Darsheel told reporters. After his critically acclaimed performance in the 2007 movie, the 13-year-old actor is returning to the big screen with Walt Disney India's superhero film 'Zokkomon'. Directed by Satyajit Bhatkal, the film is India's first live action film and will hit the screens on May 7.Darsheel is excited to be a part of the exclusive superhero club that also includes his idol Hrithik, famed for his superhero role in 'Krrish'. "It's cool to be a superhero and it feels really good to be in the category of superheroes. In real life, I need to complete my studies first but when I complete them, then why not be a superhero. I even had a good dream of saving someone," Darsheel joked.'Taare Zameen Par' turned the young actor into an instant superstar but Darsheel decided to take a sabbatical to concentrate on his education. "TZP was released in 2007 but I had to concentrate on my studies. 'Zokkomon' attracted me because it was always my dream to play to play a superhero.""Zokkomon is a sci-fi power guy. The movie has stunts, live action and I am teaching people a lesson in the film. Spiderman was one superhero I really liked while growing up and I was excited about all the stuff that he does but I never thought it would be so tough," he added. Darsheel, however still lives in the nostalgia of 'Taare Zameen Par' and his association with Aamir Khan."I still miss Aamir uncle and his jokes, those were really fun filled moments for me," Darsheel, who played a dyslexic child in the movie, said. He may be young but Darsheel does not want to confine himself with similar kind of roles and wants to try out his hands on different things."The role did not require me to learn anything, however I learnt a lot from Anupam uncle, my co-star who gave me a lot of tips. But, there were some emotional sequences in this film and there were so many in my last film which sometimes become quite boring," he said."If I do an emotional movie then I did not want emotional sequences in my other films. As an actor I would like to do different things," Darsheel added. Apart from 'Zokkomon' Darsheel will also be seen in National award-winning filmmaker Priyadarshan's upcoming film 'Bam Bam Bole' which stars Rituparna Sengupta and Atul Kulkarni as Darsheel's father and mother."I am a school going kid who is an excellent student. It's the story of the relationship between a brother and a sister," Darsheel said.
Written by Deccan Herald - RSS on 25 January 2010
The senior Bachchan, who proved himself as a superb host on game show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" almost a decade ago, kept the audience engrossed with his famous dialogues from films like "Zanjeer", "Agneepath", "Deewaar" and "Amar Akbar Anthony" et al, as well as performing the Auro dance from "Paa", while son Abhishek stood in awe of him.Just a few hours before the episode began Saturday at 9 p.m., Abhishek said that he was extremely nervous about his small screen debut, and he did look nervous on the show too."Want to run away and hide!!! Bingo in a few hours! Aaaarrrrrgggghhhh. This is worse than the release of a film. Anyway, let's see what destiny has in store today," the actor posted on his Twitter page.Though Abhishek made a roaring start with a short performance on songs like "Right here right now" and "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom", shook a leg with the studio audience, hugged an old man and danced with old ladies - he couldn't hold the attention for long enough. "National Bingo Night" is a 13-episode show, to be aired every Saturday. It will have celebrities as well as common people playing two fast-paced rounds of the popular game Bingo. Celebrities like Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi and Kirron Kher will be seen in the subsequent episodes of the show.Given the cold feet that most actors develop while sharing screen space with Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek's real test on the small screen will be when he plays the game with the common man.
