Entertainment
Rajkummar Rao's controlled acting uplifts motivational story – IANS Rating: ***
Mumbai, May 10 (IANS) Cinema is one medium that often educates us about life. All that we see around us, observe, endure, and experience is translated onto celluloid in the form of stories — fictional or biographical — though the narrative is built primarily from the filmmaker’s point of view.
This week’s Hindi release, ‘Srikanth’, is a biographical film on the life of Srikanth Bolla, a visually impaired industrialist and founder of Bollant Industries. Directed by Tushar Hiranandani, it stars Rajkummar Rao in the eponymous role with Jyotika, Alaya F and Sharad Kelkar playing the key supporting characters.
For Srikanth Bolla and his poor parents, life is challenging, more so in the Seetharamapuram village in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. His father (Srinivas Beesetty) has a dream and names him after his favourite cricketer, Krishnamachari Srikkanth. His joy knows no bounds at the time of his son’s (Arnav Abdagire) birth, but it is shortlived when he comes to know that his child has a visual impairment.
Soon, he realises that his son is more than special with great learning skills, an achievement that makes Srikanth stand out in his class. When children in the neighbourhood make fun of Srikanth calling him names because of his disability, the boy keeps quiet and takes it all lying down. Not that Sri can’t fight the bullies.
Sri’s supreme self-confidence turns into swagger when he is sent to a school for the visually challenged in Hyderabad. He meets his teacher Devki (Jyotika), who almost instantly takes him under her wing and goes on to stand beside him like a rock throughout his life. Devki takes to him and encourages him to face any formidable challenge that comes his way.
The young student confronts many hurdles along the journey of his education. The first one appears when his school denies him admission in the science stream. Jyotika hires a lawyer who argues in court that for someone who cannot see, Srikanth has great potential to analyse Newton’s law of gravity — a fact the boy proves in court.
Dropping his walking stick to the floor, he demonstrates that he may not be able to see the stick fall but can hear its velocity. That puts an end to the defence lawyer’s argument that Newton had seen the apple fall and thus had discovered the law of gravity.
Later he gets admission into MIT in the US, but is not allowed to board the plane because he was travelling alone. So he launches into a presentation with a display of his knowledge of the entire airplane, down to its exits and washrooms.
He makes a mark at MIT’s Sloan School of Management where he stands out as one of the brightest students of his class. He comes back to India in 2012 to create job opportunities for other visually impaired young people like him. He starts a groundbreaking enterprise that provides employment to unskilled and differently-abled individuals to create eco-friendly products.
The film chronicles the struggles of Srikanth right from his childhood and tells us a true story that is inspiring for sure. It is an extraordinary narrative of perseverance and achievement, from Srikanth’s 98 per cent in school to his getting selected as the first visually impaired international student at MIT after being denied entry into the IITs.
Rajkummar Rao as Srikanth is unbelievably convincing. His gestures, body language and speech perfectly match the character’s requirements and there isn’t a single exaggerated action that would make us look at him as an actor portraying a role.
The only aspect that makes his performance a tad forced is not for any fault of his technique, but for the director’s obsession to force it down on us as a contrived mechanism. By allowing the camera to capture every twitch of his eyebrow and facial expression, the focus is more on how good an actor Rao is, which he is. We wish it were done organically rather than being thrust down upon us. As a result, one pays more attention to Rao, the actor, and not the character.
Jyotika as his teacher is good too. Sharad Kelkar as an industrialist friend who is more than a do-gooder has an impressive presence. He is also a fine actor who is seen as giving his unconditional support to Srikanth.
There are a couple of songs played in the background and thank God for that.
One of the 80s hits, ‘Papa Kehte Hain’, by Anand Milind from the Aamir Khan film ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, is used as a recurring theme throughout, and though it doesn’t really encapsulate the lead player’s life mission, it does sound good as a melody evoking nostalgia for viewers. Pratham Mehta’s camerawork is competently handled.
Tushar Hiranandani, whose earlier works as director were ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ and ‘Scam 2023’ on OTT platforms, seems to have got carried away more with his actor than with the motivational and uplifting story of Srikanth.
Film: Srikanth
Duration: 134 minutes
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Jyothika, Alaya F and Sharad Kelkar
Camera: Pratham Mehtaa
Music: Tanishq Bagchi, Anand Milind
Duration: 134 minutes
IANS Rating: ***
–IANS
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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
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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
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Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) Senior actress Neetu Kapoor on Thursday took a trip down the memory lane, as she shared a childhood picture of her daughter and fashion designer Riddhima Kapoor Sahni.
Neetu took to her Instagram Stories, where she has 2.1 million followers, and re-shared a post by her daughter Riddhima.
In the throwback photo shared by Riddhima on her Instagram Stories, we can see young Neetu holding her little baby girl. She captioned it as: “Oldie but goldie”.
Neetu wrote in the caption: “My ridz at 9 months”, followed by a heart emoji.
On the personal front, Neetu was married to late Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor. The duo had tied the knot in January 1980. They have two children–daughter Riddhima, and son and actor Ranbir Kapoor.
Ranbir is married to actress Alia Bhatt, and the couple have a daughter named Raha.
Neetu made her debut in the 1966 swashbuckler film ‘Suraj’. The Ruritanian romance film directed by T Prakash Rao, starred Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayanthimala, with Ajit, Mumtaz, Johnny Walker, Lalita Pawar, Gajanan Jagirdar, David Abraham Cheulkar, Agha, Mukri, Mallika and Niranjan Sharma in the pivotal roles.
She played a dual role in the romantic comedy ‘Do Kaliyaan’.
Neetu’s transition to mature roles came with the vigilante film ‘Rickshawala’. She got her breakthrough with Nasir Hussain’s masala film ‘Yaadon Ki Baaraat’, where she appeared as a dancer.
She rose to fame with roles in the crime drama film ‘Deewaar’, the thriller film ‘Khel Khel Mein’, the musical film ‘Kabhi Kabhie’, the masala film ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, and the fantasy film ‘Dharam Veer’.
The 68-year-old actress has been a part of movies like — ‘Doosra Aadmi’, ‘Kasme Vaade’, ‘The Great Gambler’, ‘Jaani Dushman’, ‘Choron Ki Baaraat’, ‘Ganga Meri Maa’, ‘Love Aaj Kal’.
She last appeared in family comedy drama ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’, directed by Raj Mehta and produced by Dharma Productions and Viacom18 Studios. The film starred Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani, Manish Paul, and Prajakta Koli.
Neetu next has ‘Letters to Mr Khanna’ in the kitty.
–IANS
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