23
May 27, 2016
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
– NEWYORK
I
ndian-American comedian
Aziz Ansari opined that its
strange that the films which
are based on author Nicholas
Spark’s books, have white people
only.
Ansari shared his views at The
New York Times’ TimesTalks here
on Friday stating that diversity
in films is not getting better,
reports people.com.
“When people ask me, ‘Do
you think the diversity stuff is
getting better?’ I’m like, ‘No.’
There’s a poster right outside our
writer’s room, it’s one of those
Nicholas Sparks books where it’s
just two white people just star-
ing at each other,” he said.
Ansari, who shares close bond
with actress Jennifer
Lawrence, added: “There has
been 20 of those movies - not
once is it a black woman star-
ing into a guy’s eyes.You
know, everyone has romance
in their lives. It’s strange that
every time it’s two white peo-
ple falling in love.”
Talking about diversity on
television, the “Master of
None” creator shared that the
medium too suffers the same
problem.
“I looked at some lineup of
new shows and it’s like,
‘MacGyver’, ‘Training Day’
with a white guy - what are
we doing?,” he said.
– IANS
–MUMBAI
V
eteran actor
Naseeruddin Shah,
who is known for his
work in parallel cinema,
feels Bollywood films nowa-
days have no content most
of the time.
The Padma Bhushan
awardee, who has films like
“Mandi”, “Dedh Ishqiya” and
“AWednesday” to his credit,
was here in the national
capital to perform Bhisham
Sahni’s Hindi stories on
stage.
The actor believes that
Bollywood industry rips off a
lot fromHollywood.
“Bollywood has no con-
tent most of the time...We
just rip off Hollywood.We
steal from here, we steal
from there and we are pat-
ting ourselves that the whole
world is watching our
movies,” Naseeruddin told
IANS.
“The whole world is
watching our movies
because they are also eating
Indian food! It is the spices,
the variety that is getting
them. Indian food has sub-
stance that is why it will
remain popular and Hindi
cinema doesn’t which is why
this bubble will burst very
soon!”
Naseeruddin Shah will
next be seen in “Waiting”,
which has been directed by
Anu Menon.
“Waiting” is about the
relationship between two
people from different walks
of life, who befriend each
other in a hospital, while
nursing their respective
comatose spouses. The story
of the film delves into the
themes of coping with grief
and discovering hope.
Produced by Priti Gupta
and Manish Mundra under
the banner of Ishka Films
and Drishyam Films,
“Waiting” is set to release on
Friday.
– IANS
Bollywood Has No
Content Most Of The Time:
Naseeruddin Shah
–MUMBAI
A
ctor Irrfan Khan says that
films such as the Marathi
blockbuster “Sairat” will give
the Indian film industry the
courage to compete with
Hollywood.
“There is a need for our films to
address universal audiences and
this film is a new language. This
film is an identity of the new cine-
ma that will evolve and what the
young generation will bring forth.
These kind of films will give us the
courage to compete with
Hollywood films,” he said on the
sidelines of a screening of “Sairat”
he organized.
Irrfan is one of the few Indian
actors to do well in Hollywood, hav-
ing worked in popular films such as
“Slumdog Millionaire”, and “Jurassic
World” among others.
“Sairat” has become the highest
grossing Marathi film of all time,
having collected Rs.65 crores at the
box office and is still going strong
with 525 screens showcasing it in its
fourth week.
About his reason for hosting the
screening, Irrfan said: “I felt that our
young generation watches a lot of
Hollywood cinema and often
doesn’t watch our films. So I
thought of organising this screening
for all the kids’ friends and close
ones to give the young generation a
taste of it to let them know what is
happening in our cinema.”
Asked if films like “Sairat” can
even beat Hindi films, he said: “The
more cinema gets diverse, it is bet-
ter for the audience and for the
growth of the industry. Our audi-
ences are demanding a lot and our
industry is unable to cope up with
it. That is why Hollywood’s films are
earning so much money.”
Lead actors of the film, Rinku
Rajguru and Akash Thosar, have
become overnight superstars, hav-
ing been awarded Rs.5 crore each
by the producers after the stellar
success. About the actors, Irrfan
said: “The way the director uses
them in the story is fantastic and
they have done a fantastic job.”
About director Nagraj Manjule,
whose first film“Fandry” was also
immensely appreciated, Irrfan said:
“For a new director, who makes his
first film and it turns out good,
making the second film is equally
difficult because whatever treasures
he had gets exposed. Making the
second film so successful is the
most difficult thing for any success-
ful director and that Nagraj has
done, and I salute him.”
Irrfan will next be seen in the
film“Madaari”.
– IANS
–MUMBAI
A
fter his 2002 film
“Everybody Says I’m
Fine!”, actor Rahul Bose
has returned to direction with
“Poorna”, a biopic about
Malavath Poorna -- a tribal girl
fromTelangana.
Poorna created
history on May 25,
2014, by becoming
the youngest girl in
the world to scale
Mount Everest.
Rahul, who was
last seen in “Dil
Dhadakne Do”, will
also act in the film.
“I bought the
rights from Poorna’s
father and Dr R.S. Praveen
Kumar but knew how easy it
would be for someone to
change the names and come
up with a ‘me too’ film. But now
that Poorna has been shot and
will be ready to be screened for
a studio in six weeks, I can talk
about it,” Rahul said in a state-
ment.
Rahul is yet to show the film
to Poorna and her father. And
he plans to take the film to her
village, where they shot for 11
days.
Aditi Inamdar, a girl hailing
fromTelangana,
was chosen to play
the role of female
lead after Rahul
auditioned 109
girls.
Rahul will be
essaying the role
of her father.
The actor
added that “it has
no ‘jhalak’ of
Bollywood, yet makes you cry.
That’s because Poorna is one of
the most remarkable people
I’ve met - Focussed, disci-
plined, thoughtful yet fun-lov-
ing...Her story needs to be told
to world.”
– IANS
Rahul Bose Returns To
Direction With ‘Poorna’
– that’s all you need to know
Aziz Ansari Feels Diversity In Films Not Getting Better
Films Like ‘Sairat’ Gives Us Courage To
Compete With Hollywood: Irrfan
