Entertainment
B-Town: Pankaj Udhas was greater than just 'Chitthi Aayi…'
Mumbai, March 3 (IANS) It is sad how ill-informed our media is! The coverage of the passing away of legendary ghazal singer, Pankaj Udhas, demonstrates this lack of information and research.
The credit for Pankaj’s fame is attributed mainly to one film song, ‘Chitthi aayee hai…’ from ‘Naam’. The film was released in 1986 by which time Pankaj had become a hugely popular ghazal singer, second only to the veteran Jagjit Singh. But then, Jagjit Singh had a head start.
By 1986, Pankaj had quite a few silver, gold and platinum discs to his credit. These discs were awarded by the music companies on an album achieving a certain milestone in sales. Ghazals were initially a choice of certain discerning music lovers.
But Pankaj had a varied repertoire and his numbers such as ‘Ghungroo toot gaye’, ‘Sharab cheez hi aisi hai’, ‘Chandi jaisa rang’ and ‘Niklo na benaqab’ carried a definite appeal for the masses. That explained his all-round popularity and those platinum, gold and silver discs he earned.
For the true-blue ghazals and the ones with mass appeal, which Pankaj had included in his repertoire, he needed to cultivate a market. The film music scene was too formidable in those days for a parallel taste in music to grow.
Music India Limited probably sensed the need for music other than those from films. They signed promising singing talents such as Talat Aziz, Anup Jalota, Bhupinder and Mitali, Penaz Masani, Rajendra and Neena Mehta, and Pankaj Udhas.
The music company did something unique to promote its artistes. A two-night sit-down ghazal festival, Khazana, was organized at the Taj Mumbai. And the invitees were the elite of Mumbai.
The Khazana Fest was such a hit that the music company decided to follow it up on a more ambitious scale the following year, taking it to more metros. Starting in Mumbai, the Khazana went to Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
As I write this and think back, the applause of the audience still rings in my ears. In fact, in Kolkata, the audience consisting of men and women and families, demanded that Khazana continue till dawn by the time it would be safe to be on the road.
A new breed of ghazal singers had arrived. The best part was that, for the tour was announced well in advance, the singers were welcomed with front-page pictures and coverage in newspapers and magazines before they arrived.
All these singers created their own following but Pankaj went on to become the star, thanks to his sober nature, pleasant attitude, and the choice of numbers and velvety voice with which he rendered his numbers.
Soon, he was performing in programmes all over India and abroad.
Pankaj and his two brothers, Manhar and Nirmal, made for a unique singer-brother trio. The Udhas brothers come from the Charan community of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat; music and poetry was in their blood.
The community was honoured in the courts of the rulers in the region as they were known to conjure up songs of valour in times of war or victory or praise of a brave heart in an instant. Not surprising that all three brothers, Manhar, Nirmal and Pankaj were gifted singers and musicians.
As what usually happens after the death of such a celebrity, I am sure most of Pankaj’s fans are now surfing the Net and YouTube and playing his numbers. That is the best tribute we can pay to him.
It’s All About Admission Rates
The reduced admission rate — a flat Rs 99 — introduced by major multiplex managements on February 23 did prove one thing and that is, the audience is not shy of coming to a cinema. And that affords them a chance to decide for themselves if a film is good or not. They do not have to count on paid or biased social media influencers to decide.
The people who take in a film on Day One are the people who ensure a film has a better chance for a sustained run. The opinions of the people who watch a film and then comment are more trusted than others.
Their comments on social media as well as in person to friends and family are constant. In my previous column, I had suggested that if the cinema chains rationalised admission rates, it certainly would be like old times when people, those who are called compulsive first-day-first-show movie buffs, could afford to do so.
Give people a chance to come to the cinema and they will decide what film they like. Nobody says people like all films released on a weekend. I am proved right when I compare the two films released this past Friday, ‘Article 370’ and ‘Crakk’.
Even if the opening days are made affordable, people will come to watch a film and they will be the real ambassadors for films, for people no longer believe in either social media or media reviews, and the four and five stars that they bestow on films.
And then, on social media, there are always two sides, those who do the filmmaker or star’s bidding for a consideration and those who are genuine movie buffs who share true reviews.
An example is the recent Gujarati release, ‘Kasoombo’. A trade analyst who usually posts about Hindi films has claimed that this Gujarati film has collected Rs 2.36 crore in the first week and Rs 3.9 crore in its first 10 days, which he describes as “WOW!!”.
But this claim contradicts the figures carried on his official website, where the collections add up to about Rs 80 lakh-plus! And some netizens have noticed and pointed out the contradiction between the two. What drives such social media posts? Anybody’s guess!
The first-day-first-show audience is not the kind to be taken for granted. Film lovers have their instincts about a film so they flock to see one film but ignore another! A film they are not convinced about is not seen on OTT either. So, even in the old days, some films with big stars drew the crowds and other films starring the same stars found no takers.
This happened in the Rajesh Khanna era and with Amitabh Bachchan. He had ‘Zameer’ between two hits, ‘Deewaar’ and ‘Chupke Chupke’, and ‘Faraar’ between ‘Sholay’ and ‘Kabhi Kabhie’.
Take the example of Rajesh Khanna’s peak period, when he was doing hit films such as ‘Daag’, ‘Namak Haraam’, ‘Aap Ki Kasam’, and ‘Prem Nagar’. He came up with a flop in ‘Ajnabee’ and an arty film, ‘Aavishkar’ — it was not the kind of film his audience wanted to see him in. This happens with all actors, none barred.
A filmmaker often hoped that even if the audience did not turn up in the first show of the first day, people would come eventually. Towards this end, it was a practice for the producer to buy tickets and distribute them for free. The idea was to make the cinema house-full and get those who attended the show to talk about the film.
People believed in word of mouth, so, a number of films that would open on a weak note, gradually picked up and went on to become big hits. This usually happened with the social films produced by Rajshri Pictures or Prasad Productions, and often with many Hindi films from the South.
With the terms the cinemas offered in those days, it was possible to give a film enough leeway to buy that time. The cinemas charged a rent in those days. Now, as a result of the box office sharing system, the cinemas don’t like to continue a film for nothing if it is not collecting enough.
But with reasonable admission rates, a good film may just sustain another film that may not be liked as much by the audience. Ttalking about the two films of the last week, ‘Article 370’ and ‘Crakk’, the Cinema Lovers Day on February 23, which was also the opening day of the films, helped. Both films managed a decent opening day figure, counting in crores, which otherwise would have been in lakhs.
‘Article 370’ opened with Rs 6 crore, thanks to the Rs 90 admission rate and ‘Crakk’ collected Rs 4 crore. ‘Article 370’ was appreciated, so it went on to make Rs 9 crore the next day and Rs 10 crore on Sunday.
This was possible because of the positive reports from the audience on Day One. ‘Crakk’, on the other hand, could not sustain and fell to Rs 2 crore after an opening of Rs 4 crore. None of the two films would have collected even these figures at the normal admission rates.
This is what public reports do to films. These are a kind of exit poll. Unlike the social media reviews, nobody pays people to say good things about a film. They pay to watch a film and express their views honestly.
It is strange that the theatre managements know what cinema lovers want –seven days a week of admission rates that is easy on their pocket — yet they just don’t wish to rationalise their prices.
–IANS
vinod/srb
Entertainment
‘Understanding law of anti-gravity’, actress Deepti Sadhwani drops pics of aerial yoga
Mumbai, July 6 (IANS) The ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ (TMKOC) fame actress Deepti Sadhwani on Saturday gave fitness goals to her fans, by dropping pictures of doing aerial yoga.
Deepti, who has 4.2 million followers on Instagram shared some pictures of herself performing aerial yoga. The snaps show Deepti wearing a yellow crop top and matching shorts.
The post is captioned as: “Just hanging out to understand the law of anti Gravity #aerialyoga practice. #deeptisadhwani #flexibility #motivation.”
A fan commented on the post saying, “wohhhhh”. While many users dropped fire and heart emojis in the comment section.
Deepti made her debut at the Cannes red carpet this year and attended the screening of the movie ‘Oh Canada’ in the 77th edition of the prestigious film festival.
She had won the title of ‘Miss North India’, and had participated in ‘Femina Miss India’ where she was a regional finalist.
Sadhwani also hosted a reality show named ‘Hasya Samrat’, which aired on Zee Marathi.
She has also appeared in movies like ‘Nazar Hati Durghatana Ghati’ and ‘Rock Band Party’, in which essayed the lead role.
The diva has also featured in music videos like ‘Harayana Roadway’, ‘Toot Jaayein’, ‘Lalla Lalla Lori’, ‘Butterfly Waale’, and ‘Tu Aag Ka Gola Chori’.
–IANS
sp/dan
Mumbai, July 6 (IANS) Bollywood’s ‘Khiladi’ Akshay Kumar on Saturday shared a fun dancing video with Ranveer Singh on his 39th birthday, expressing his hope that the actor’s infectious energy will always keep him going places.
Taking to Instagram, Akshay shared a Reel video in which he and his ‘Singham Again’ co-star can be seen dancing to Karan Aujla and Ikky’s song ‘Softly’.
Ranveer is wearing a black sleeveless T-shirt and matching joggers, complemented by a black cap and sneakers.
The birthday boy holds his boombox on his shoulder while grooving with Akshay on the street at night.
Akshay, on the other hand, is dressed in a black half-sleeve T-shirt and lavender pajamas.
The duo candidly dances to the tunes of ‘Softly’.
The post is captioned: “Happy birthday Ranveer Singh, you powerhouse of a man! Hope your infectious energy always keeps you going places. Enjoy your day. Love and prayers.”
Actress Rakul Preet also took to Instagram Stories to pen a birthday note for Ranveer.
She wrote: “Cheers to the man who brings boundless energy and unparalleled passion to everything he does. Happy birthday Ranveer Singh.”
Filmmaker Aditya Dhar shared a monochrome selfie with Ranveer and posted: “Happy birthday to the man whose energy can light up an entire city! You’re a supernova of an actor. Keep dazzling the world with your awesomeness!! Love you, my brother!!”
On the work front, Ranveer made his Bollywood debut in 2010 with the romantic comedy ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’, alongside Anushka Sharma. The film was directed by Maneesh Sharma in his directorial debut and produced by Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films.
He has since featured in movies like ‘Ladies vs Ricky Bahl’, ‘Lootera’, ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Gully Boy’, and the most recent film ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’.
Ranveer’s next project is ‘Singham Again’, which also stars his wife, actress Deepika Padukone.
The multi-starrer film features Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tiger Shroff, Arjun Kapoor, and Jackie Shroff in lead roles.
It is directed by Rohit Shetty, who co-produced it under Rohit Shetty Picturez with Reliance Entertainment, Jio Studios, and Devgn Films.
The movie is set to be released this Diwali.
–IANS
sp/prw
Los Angeles, July 6 (IANS) Hollywood star Eddie Murphy has said that he does not wish to have a funeral and would like to go “quietly”.
Murphy shared a video, where he revealed that he doesn’t want a funeral after joking that people should play the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ theme music at the event to make people “smile.”
He re-enacted his own acapella version of the jingle, saying that it should be played as he is being buried, reports people.com.
“That’s just a joke, ’cause I’m never having a funeral,” he clarified in the video.
Murphy further explained his preference: “I mean, I’m gonna die like everyone else. But (my loved ones) know…no funeral. Just let me go quietly.”
The actor was promoting his latest film, ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’, the fourth instalment in the action-comedy franchise, which was released on July 3.
In the film, Murphy returns as Axel Foley, a cop who returns to Beverly Hills after his daughter’s life is threatened, marking a return to the role after a decade since the third film.
Murphy quipped that he’s been asked how he feels about playing “the Black James Bond” and tells whoever asks him: “I don’t have to be some Black James Bond. I have Axel Foley, and he has theme music and everything.”
After the success of ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ and its sequel, the Oscar-nominated star featured in the 1998 classic ‘Coming to America’. The sequel, ‘Coming 2 America’, was released in 2021.
In 1996, he was seen essaying the role of Professor Sherman Klump in ‘The Nutty Professor’.
Murphy was then seen in the ‘Dr. Dolittle’ franchise, playing the titular character, who can talk to animals. Most recently, Murphy voiced Shrek’s sidekick Donkey in four ‘Shrek’ films.
–IANS
dc/prw
Entertainment
Aakkash Ahuja shares his plans of settling down: 'My current focus is on doing good work'
Mumbai, July 6 (IANS) Aakkash Ahuja, the lead actor of ‘Badall Pe Paon Hai’, has shared insights about the recent wedding sequence in the show and discussed his future plans regarding settling down.
The grand wedding celebration in ‘Badall Pe Paon Hai’ has not only added a new dimension to the storyline, but has also drawn significant attention from the audience.
The lead actors — Aakkash and Amandeep Sidhu, have left fans in awe with their stunning wedding attire, creating a perfect on-screen couple that fans are eagerly shipping. Weddings hold a special place in the hearts of Indian families, making the sequence highly relatable and emotionally resonant for viewers.
Reflecting on the wedding sequence, Aakkash said: “We have been putting in a lot of effort and giving our best. I can also relate because Indian families believe in a lot of traditions, which is why they can relate more. On set, shooting wedding sequences is hectic, but I must say it’s a lot of fun.”
Speaking about his own plans for marriage, the actor added: “In real life, I haven’t thought of settling down at the moment. My current focus is on doing good work, and that’s about it. When I do decide to get married in real life, everyone will get to know.”
Produced by Sargun Mehta and Ravi Dubey under their banner Dreamiyata Entertainment Private Limited, the show features Amandeep in the lead role as Bani.
The ensemble cast includes Bhaweeka Chaudhary as Lavanya, Shefali Rana as Poonam Khanna, Raman Dhagga as Satish Arora, Swati Tarar as Charan, Aasim Khan as Cherry, Sooraj Thappar as Bishan, Mansi Sharma as Shilpa, Lokesh Batta as Gaurav, Gurnoor Sodhi as Minti, and Aman Sutdhar as Balwant, among others.
‘Badall Pe Paon Hai’ airs on Sony SAB.
On the work front, Aakkash made his Bollywood debut in the 2019 romantic film ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’, starring Karan Deol and Sahher Bambba in the lead roles.
He has also featured in shows like ‘Thapki Pyar Ki 2’, ‘Qubool Hai’, and ‘Dil Buffering’.
–IANS
sp/prw
Mumbai, July 6 (IANS) Actress Hina Khan, amid her battle with stage three breast cancer, said that she embraces her scars because they are the first sign of progress.
Hina took to Instagram and shared a series of photos dressed in an electric pink racerback paired with black bottoms.
In the selfies, she smiles and poses with a victory sign.
“What do you see in this Picture? The Scars on my body or the Hope in my Eyes? The scars are mine, I embrace them with love because they’re the first sign of the Progress I deserve,” she wrote.
The actress said that she is manifesting her healing.
“The Hope in my Eyes is the reflection of my Soul, I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am manifesting my healing. And I am praying for yours too. #SacredNotScared #DaddysStrongGirl.”
On July 4, Hina chose to let go of her ‘beautiful hair before it starts falling off’.
The actress, who is undergoing chemotherapy to treat her stage three breast cancer, shared a reel while she was getting a haircut.
Hina, who disclosed her diagnosis on June 28, wrote: “You can hear my mother’s wailing voice in Kashmiri (blessing me) in the background as she prepared herself to witness something she never dared to imagine. Not all of us have the same tools at our disposal to manage heartbreaking emotions.”
“To all the beautiful people out there, especially women who are fighting the same battle, I know it’s hard, I know for most of us, our hair is the crown we never take off. But what if you’re facing a battle so tough that you have to lose your hair – your pride, your crown?”
“And I choose to win. I have decided to give myself every chance possible to win this battle. I choose to let go of my beautiful hair before it starts falling off. I didn’t want to endure this mental breakdown for weeks.”
She added: “I have decided to use my own hair to make a nice Wig for this phase.”
–IANS
dc/prw
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