Entertainment
Why ex-NSD director Anuradha Kapur says actors are not abandoning theatre for films
New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) “People have to earn a living, even actors. And what is wrong if National School of Drama (NSD) pass-outs go to Mumbai looking for work? In a country that has very few theatre repertories, what choice do they have?” she asked.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Award-winning director Anuradha Kapur, who taught at NSD, Delhi for over three decades and was its Director for six years (2007–2013) stresses that this “exodus” started in the 70s when Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri went to Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune after finishing drama school. “In a way, it is not showing disrespect to either theatre or cinema. A trained actor can easily adapt to different mediums over time,” asserted this Phd holder in Theatre from Leeds University, England.
Even while most digital platforms have started following an algorithm where crime thrillers rule, Kapur sees a silver lining in terms of stories and their treatment. “Directors are willing to experiment and many are giving enough space to trained actors to showcase their potential. And this is very exciting for theatre school pass-outs. No wonder you see many of them doing phenomenal in different series being streamed,” she told IANS.
The theatre director completely disagreed with those who feel that drama school pass-outs are abandoning theatre for films and OTTs. “Several of them are working in both mediums, and not just the established ones but fresh pass-outs too. It is a tradition that started in England, where actors trained in theatre would not completely abandon the stage.”
A major thrust area during her term as the Director was to ensure that students from across the country, even those whose mother language was not Hindi, should enroll. “I am content that when I was heading it, several students from the northeast including Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland joined the School. What was important for me was the fact that across languages and cultures, students were getting together and acquainting each other about their respective cultures, and also learning from one another,” smiled Kapur who has taught at several institutions in India and abroad, and was a Fellow at the Freie Universitat, Berlin in 2016–2017.
Kapur also executed the Extension Programme, the brainchild of former NSD Director (late) B. V. Karanth. “He always wanted the School to go to the student who cannot reach NSD. I focussed on the northeast, which also led to the starting of the second chapter of the NSD.”
While the NSD at Bangalore had taken shape during former Director Kirti Jain’s tenure, it was Kapur who started it along with those at Tripura and Sikkim, not to mention the Theatre in Education (TIE) initiative.
Adding that there is an urgent need to have more theatre repertories in the country, attached with drama schools like NSD in Delhi and Sikkim, she observed: “Even a year or two of work at the repertory helps the students a lot.”
Asserting that governments need to come forward to set up repertories in different parts of the country, this former NSD Director opined: “We have an extremely rich tradition of diverse theatre forms — while there has been commercial theatre in several languages — Assamese (Assam Mobile Theatre), Maharashtra, Jatra in Bengal, or, let us say, what’s called Company and Commercial Theatre in Malayalam. It is important that they carry on, and for that financial help is indispensable.”
Adding that the opportunity of doing theatre which may not necessarily be a commercial success has been supported by the state in various countries, she elaborated that Germany is a great example. “One witnesses some of the greatest work in theatre there, owing to state support. But sadly, in India, we have been noticing that successive governments have been increasingly pulling back on grants for arts and culture,” she lamented.
In fact, Kapur has worked extensively in collaboration with visual and video artists and filmmakers including Arpita Singh, Bhupen Khakhar, Madhusree Dutta, Nalini Malani, Nilima Sheikh and Vivan Sundaram. She is one of the founding members of ‘Vivadi’, a working group of painters, musicians, writers and theatre practitioners.
Even as there is much talk about corporate sponsorship through CSR for theatre, it seldom reaches people doing serious work. “There are exceptions, of course, but majorly corporate houses also want “their money’s worth.” However, they need to realise that their brand value is bound to go up if they associate with serious work,” said the director who is presently a visiting Professor at the School of Culture and Creative Expressions, Ambedkar University Delhi.
Currently meeting several writing deadlines, there are many projects she has in mind including one on the role of the prompter in theatre. Also, a Trustee of the Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation, she wants to make the Ivy Lodge in Kasauli a place alive for performance, not just for finished ones, but to have it work as a residency.
“I want it to be a space for doing a kind of pedagogy programme where young people come and spend two-three weeks. It could be theatre or some liberal arts initiatives. The aim is to make it a future-looking space,” she concluded.
–IANS
sukant/kvd
Allu Arjun is poised to dominate the box office with his highly anticipated film, Pushpa 2: The Rule, set to release on December 6, 2024. The excitement surrounding this film is phenomenal, already making headlines with an impressive pre-release collection of RS 1,085 crores! This achievement is particularly notable, given that it reached this milestone well before the movie even debuts in theaters.
Fans are eagerly looking forward to Allu Arjun’s return as Pushparaj, the character that earned him a National Award for Best Actor in the first installment, Pushpa: The Rise. The buzz surrounding Pushpa 2 is unparalleled, and the film is expected to break even more records upon its release. The pre-release collection includes a record-setting deal for theatrical rights, sold for ₹640 crores, making it one of the most lucrative film deals in Indian cinema.
Additionally, Pushpa 2 has secured a significant digital distribution agreement with Netflix, which acquired the rights for ₹275 crores, highlighting the high demand for the film. The overall pre-release earnings have been impressive across various regions, with ₹220 crores collected in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, ₹200 crores in the North, ₹50 crores in Tamil Nadu, ₹30 crores in Karnataka, ₹20 crores in Kerala, and ₹40 crores from overseas markets. The music rights were sold for ₹65 crores, while the satellite rights fetched ₹85 crores, contributing a total of ₹425 crores from non-theatrical rights.
Directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, Pushpa 2: The Rule features a talented cast, including Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil alongside Allu Arjun. The film’s music will be released by T Series, further adding to the anticipation.
With Allu Arjun’s National Award win and the remarkable pre-release collections, it’s clear that Pushpa 2 is set to be a blockbuster. As the release date approaches, fans are excited to see how this film will perform at the box office. If the pre-release collections are any indication, Pushpa 2 is bound to shatter records and become a massive success!
Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) Actress Anu Aggarwal, who rose to fame with “Aashiqui”, and “King Uncle”, recalled the time when filmmakers would come to her with money for signing a film and would not have a script ready.
In a conversation with Lehren shared on Instagram, the actress could be seen talking about it.
“I was shocked to see that people who don’t have their scripts are not ready when they would come to sign me up for a film. They would have the money ready and I would say I don’t want to sign with the money. I would like to hear the script.”
“They would say the script will be made so you can sign,” she added.
“This was the way and because I am an actor I would like to see what my role, story is. Everything is important. Nobody would have a script… 98 per cent of people would not have the script,” she said.
Anu Aggarwal gained immense popularity in the 1990s after featuring in the musical romantic drama “Aashiqui” directed by Mahesh Bhatt.
She starred alongside Rahul Roy and Deepak Tijori.
The film was known for its music, by composer duo Nadeem–Shravan establishing their careers.
The soundtrack album has been rated fourth by Planet Bollywood on their “100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks”.
It was the best-selling Bollywood album at the time of its release.
The film was remade in Kannada as “Roja” in 2002.
A sequel to the film, “Aashiqui 2”, with a completely new theme, directed by Mohit Suri, with Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, was released in 2013.
–IANS
dc/khz
Entertainment
Ram Charan's daughter Klin achieves this milestone on grandfather Chiranjeevi's birthday
Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) On the 69th birthday of actor and politician Chiranjeevi, his son Ram Charan has shared a peek into their family vacation to Paris, France, which is also the first trip of his daughter Klin Kaara with her grandparents.
Ram took to his Instagram account, where he has 23.9 million followers, and shared a family picture from Paris.
The snap shows his parents– father Chiranjeevi, mother Surekha, his wife Upasana Kamineni, and their furry friend–pet dog. We can see Chiranjeevi holding his granddaughter Klin adorably in his arms.
Ram looked dapper in a black shirt, matching trousers and an olive green jacket.
They are posing against the backdrop of Eiffel Tower.
The post is captioned as: “Klin Kaara’s first trip with her grandparents!!! Memorable”.
In another post, Ram dropped a photograph with his father, wearing matching South Indian ethnic outfits.
He wrote in caption: “Happpiest birthday, Appa!!”
Meanwhile, on the occasion of Chiranjeevi’s birthday, UV Creations and director Vashistaa Mallidi have unveiled the highly anticipated first look poster for ‘Vishwambhara’, a fantasy adventure film.
Sharing the poster on social media, the makers wrote: “When darkness and evil take over the world, a Magnanimous Star shall shine bright to fight, Happy birthday, MEGASTAR @KChiruTweets, Let the world witness your aura with #Vishwambhara, Get ready for a MEGA MASS BEYOND UNIVERSE, In cinemas from January 10th, 2025.”
The movie promises to be a cinematic spectacle, featuring Chiranjeevi in a lead role. The film also stars Trisha Krishnan, Ashika Ranganath and Kunal Kapoor.
The film will be released on January 10, 2025.
Chiranjeevi was last seen in Telugu action drama ‘Bhola Shankar’ directed by Meher Ramesh. It also featured Tamannaah Bhatia, Keerthy Suresh and Sushanth.
Meanwhile, Ram Charan last appeared in action drama ‘Acharya’, directed by Koratala Siva. The film starred Chiranjeevi, alongside Pooja Hegde, Sonu Sood and Jisshu Sengupta.
He next has ‘Game Changer’, and ‘RC16’ in the pipeline.
–IANS
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Entertainment
Rani Mukerji: Shivani Shivaji Roy shows how a woman can lead from front in a male-dominated field
Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) Actress Rani Mukerji has talked about why she loves her character Shivani Shivaji Roy from “Mardaani,” which has completed 10 years in Hindi cinema on Thursday.
She said: “Shivani Shivaji Roy is my most favourite on-screen character. She is a defiant, fierce force of nature who will stand up for what is right no matter what. She is someone who subverts gender norms in cinema and shows how a woman can also lead from the front in a male-dominated field.”
As the film celebrates its 10th anniversary, Rani is grateful for all the love and acclaim that she has received.
She said: “I’m truly proud of my ‘Mardaani’ franchise. It is a franchise that keeps on giving. The love, adulation, and the respect that I have received from Mardaani is truly humbling.”
On Thursday morning, the makers of the film teased fans about the next chapter of the franchise.
Production Yash Raj Films banner took to YouTube, where they dropped a teaser of sorts, which begins from the first installment, which first released in 2014.
The production company captioned it: “10 years of #Mardaani and the next chapter awaits… Celebrating the feisty, daredevil cop #ShivaniShivajiRoy and the spirit of #Mardaani today. Thank you for a decade of love and appreciation for our beloved franchise. We are inspired… again… thanks to you. #RaniMukerji #10YearsOfMardaani.”
Rani is too excited to reprise the role and don the cop uniform once again.
She said: “I’m looking forward to bringing back Shivani Shivaji Roy on the big screen soon. It’s been a while since I have donned the cop uniform and paid tribute to the women police force of our country.”
“Each (woman cop) one of them relentlessly works hard to keep our families safe and I have always loved to salute these fearless women. Shivani will be back and I hope you will give as much love to her as you have always showered for 10 years now!” added the actress.
–IANS
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Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) Bollywood actress and fashionista Sonam Kapoor brought out her A-game in fashion, where she flaunted “minimal, bold and effortlessly on point” look.
The actress took to Instagram, where she shared a string of pictures. In the pictures, she is seen wearing a powder pink shirt, paired with a blazer and long skirt. She completed her look with sunglasses.
“Celebrating @perniaq season 2 podcast drop with that sleek @phoebephilo energy—minimal, bold, and effortlessly on point. Shoutout to the squad for keeping the vibe,” she wrote and also mentioned that she is styled by her sister Rhea Kapoor.
Recently, Sonam shared several glimpses from her son Vayu’s vintage car themed cake as he turned two on August 20.
Sonam took to Instagram, where she shared a reel of the two-tier toddler friendly, refined sugar free chocolate cake. It featured a vintage ice blue car atop of the cake with the number 2 written on it.
The actress had also penned a heart-felt note for her son Vayu.
“My baby turns two today!!! Happy 2nd Birthday to our sweet, precious Vayu! W Being your mom is the greatest gift I could ever receive. You’ve filled our lives with so much joy, laughter, and wonder,” Sonam said.
The actress shared that with her son, everyday is an adventure filled with “your boundless curiosity, your infectious laughter, and your sweet, loving nature.”
“You’ve brought so much light and happiness into our world, making every moment more beautiful and every relationship stronger. You’ve deepened the love between your dadaa and me in ways we never imagined, and you’ve brought pure, unfiltered joy to everyone who loves you-your nani and nana, dadi and baba, kaaa masa, Masi and chachu,” she said.
“Your sweet spirit and playful energy make our family complete, and we are so blessed to have you in our lives.”
She tagged Vayu as her sunshine, music, little genius, and their endless “source of happiness”.
“We love you more than words can say, and we can’t wait to see all the amazing things you will continue to bring into our lives,” Sonam said.
–IANS
dc/
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