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Allu Arjun’s Ecstatic Response To Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, The Last Big Indian Hit Before Pandemic, Now To Release In Hindi
Right before the pandemic broke out in March 2020, Telugu superstar Allu Arjun had a massive success in Telugu called Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. Released on Makar Sankranti 2020 it was one of Indian cinema’s last big successes before the first lockdown.
As far as star vehicles go Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is a masterclass of cine-seduction, with Allu Arvind presiding over the oldfashioned but engaging plot without overwhelming the proceedings. There were episodes in the hero’s exhibitionism–almost like one super-enticing item song after another– when Arjun unleashed a kind of tantalizing crowdpleasing tamasha that takes his inherently persuasive screen presence to dazzling heights of virtuosity.
Playing the do-gooder with a heart of gold who can without any warning, turn into a fire-spewing dragon, Allu Arjun has many occasions in the film to show the audience who the real boss is.
But the Allu Arjun ‘item’ that had the audiences roaring in approval , and the one that would be almost impossible to pull off by any actor except Allu Arjun , is the sequence in a boardroom corporate conference where Allu’s character Bantu makes his point to the gawking executives(one of whom even joins the Superstar in his swag spree) by singing old popular Telugu film songs. By the time Allu Arjun comes to “Abbanee Teeyani” from Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari he makes it clear to us that he’s a Chiranjeevi fan.He is also not above leering at his girlfriend Pooja Hegde’s legs as though they were food on his table.Ms Hedge doesn’t mind the gawking, so are we?
Luckily for Allu Arjun, the screenplay provides him with ample opportunity to play the traditional do-gooder with an aplomb that’s entirely his own. No Telugu actor in recent times has been seen doing the crowdwooing thing so effectively. The weatherworn plot about long-lost children being exchanged at birth could have been killingly hackneyed. Arjun and the supporting cast specially Jayaram and Tabu (as a long-married couple with complex issues that warrant a separate film of their own) and Sachin Khedkar(as Tabu’s privileged father with a mischievous glint in his eye) ensure new life is breathed into a weatherworn tale.
The film has outstanding dialogues ,which salute oldfashioned sentiments , and that includes movies and actors of yore, without bending backwards to be cutely reverent. At one point when Khedkar employs Allu Arjun to work for his company someone wonders in what capacity Arjun is being hired.“Until we figure that out he can ogle at girls on the internet,” the old man winks.
One of the many songs and dances(I didn’t mind the frequent song breaks, as the choreography is constantly fresh) makes a reference, to the loved one being “silent like the audience at a multiplex.”Niiiiiice.
No doubt the film will be a roaring hit,for Allu Arjun in a dubbed Hindi version when it opens on January 26.
I had spoken to Allu Arjun just after the release of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and was on Cloud 9(Covid back in January 2020 seemed a minor threat). “I’m overwhelmed. It’s also very humbling to be given this kind of response,” says Arjun whose career since 2003 is cluttered with blockbusters.The two things that I keep hearing repeatedly about Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is that it’s a one-man show, and that it has repeat value. As far as being a one-man show goes, I can’t take the credit for my performance. Full credit must go to my director Trivkram Srinivas.”
Trivikram and Allu Arjun have worked together before. “Yes, we teamed up in Julai and S/0 Sathyamurthy before. So there is a huge comfort level. We needed to do something different within the commercial format.The story(of babies getting switched at birth) has been done repeatedly for generations. The freshness had to come in the treatment, not in the plot.”
Arjun said he tried to do something different in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo with his performance even while adhering to the needs of a commercial audience. “You see, when we mass entertainers do a formula film we tend to go over-the-top to seem larger-than-life. This time in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo I decided to keep my performance on an authentic level even as I did all the things that commercial cinema demands of me.”
About the boardroom jig Arjun had laughed, “You liked it?It was an afterthought.We thought the boardroom sequence needed something extra. So why not a medley of old songs for me to dance to?We had a very experienced veteran choreographer to guide my steps. When we were doing it we never thought of how much it would be liked. When I am doing a film I don’t think about how successful it would become. I don’t put that kind of pressure on myself. I’m not thinking now about what to do in my next film to be one-up on Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. But I can tell you I’m putting everything that I can into my next.”
But here is the one thing that Arjun would never abandon. “I am never going to step off the commercial platform. It is where my dreams were realized and as far I am concerned it is the commercial cinema that gives me all the success and fans.”
Speaking of fans does it get too much to handle them? “Not at all . I love their attention. I am what I am because of the fans. They’ve made me into the person that I am today.”
Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo has the incandescent Tabu playing Arvind’s mother. How did they manage the feat?Says Arjun, “It took no great persuasion. One phone call from the director….five minutes into the narration and she was on board. She knew my director’s work and We needed someone with great dignity and grace, someone who doesn’t talk much, but can freeze you with one glance. Who but Tabu?”
Arjun also told me he has no plans of heading to Bollywood. “Don’t get me wrong. Bollywood is a lovely place. I love the work that’s being done there. A film like 3 Idiots is truly inspiring to me. There have been offers from Hindi cinema. But for me to take a break from my busy career in Telugu cinema it has to be something worth the effort. Maybe some day soon.”
Would Allu Arjun like it if his son and daughter showed an interest in acting? “I’d welcome it. Right now they’re too young. But when they’re old enough to choose their own path and if they tell me they want to be actors, I’d extend all support to them. I come from a family devoted to cinema. My grandfather gave his life to the movies. And my father is completely devoted to producing films. For me cinema is life.”
Interestingly Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is being remade into into Hindi as Shahzaada with Kartik Aaryan take over Allu Arjun’s swag. It’s being directed by David Dhawan’s son Rohit Dhawan.
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Shabana Azmi Breaks Her Wrist, Flies To Budapest For Spielberg

Shabana Azmi’s commitment to getting it right, no matter what it takes, is by now beyond legendary. She is known to go to extreme lengths for her characters, the quick-reference what-Shabana-can-do-for-a-role film being Shyam Benegal’s Mandi where she had put on 30 kgs to look like a ‘Madame’ and convey her message in a brothel.
Now , Shabana flies to Budapest on the night of 8 February in spite of having broken her wrist.
“What to do, I have to.I’ve to shoot another schedule of my second season of Halo(the series produced by Steven Spielberg) . There is no way I can postpone it. I am very upset with myself. It was such an unnecessary accident. I was in Jindal . I took a jump and landed with a fractured wrist, ” says Shabana angrily.
This is not the first fracture that Shabana has suffered in recent times. Before the wrist that’s broken now, she had broken the other wrist. And prior to that she had broken her shoulder.
“I’m supposed to be shooting till the 28th of February. And it’s all very tough physically rigorous scenes. I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I am really annoyed with myself for being careless.” Shabana sighed before signing off.
Knowing her the way I do,I can only say, nothing is impossible for Shabana Azmi.
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Shobita Dhulipala On Her Close Aquatic Connection To Her Character In The Night Manager

Sobhita Dhulipala has constantly tried to make an impression with her intriguing performances and roles. In The Night Manager she slips into the mysterious role of Kaveri.
Talking about her character, Sobhita Dhulipala says , “There’s a certain intrigue to Kaveri. On better days, you feel like you get a sense of who she is, but you could never be too sure of what she is.”
Being a water person Sobhita enjoyed her character’s aqueous antecedents, “There is a very visible parallel that’s drawn between Kaveri and water throughout the show.They both can be so gentle, so nourishing, but also very tumultuous and deep. Kaveri seems like that. She has this tenderness as well as a current within her.”
Sobhita comes from an aquatic family and feels a deep affinity to water. “I have in the past been compared with water’s energy and I thought it was a tremendous compliment. So, to be able to give form to that feeling, that connection I feel with it..it’s great. My father is a sailor. And I spent many of my younger years at sea, also the home I grow up in was by the shore. I also love the name Kaveri and I always thought when I have my own child, I’d name him/her by a river! So, I think there’s, resonance, all of it really comes together for me.”
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The Romantics Adi Chopra’s Show All The Way

Netflix’s The Romantics profiling the legend Yash Chopra in four episodes , happened only because Netflix gave complete creative control to Yash Chopra’s son Aditya Chopra, the scion of the Yash Raj family.
A source very close to the project reveals, “If it wasn’t for Adi’s nod, the project wouldn’t have happened. He not only greenlighted the project, he also personally supervised every aspect of the project. Smriti Mundhra is on board as the director of The Romantics. But it is Adi who decided what goes, and what not.”
Apparently the thirty-five interviewees speaking on Yash Chopra in The Romantics were all personally approved by Adi Chopra who also agreed to do his first video interview ever for the docu-pic on his distinguished dad.
Adi Chopra’s one and only print interview was with film critic/editor Khalid Mohamed.
The Romantics starts streaming on Netflix on Valentine’s Day February 14.
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I’m very excited to be doing my OTT debut: Shahid Kapoor

As Shahid Kapoor Gets Ready To Make His Digital Debut, He Takes Time Off For A Q & A With Subhash K Jha
Farzi is your first foray into the OTT space. How would you describe the experience? Is it any different from doing the films for the big screen?
I’m very excited to be doing my OTT debut, as everybody calls it. I think I did it because I love the directors Raj and DK and their work, and I actually really really liked the idea and the concept behind Farzi, the world of counterfeiting . I felt Sunny was a character that was as challenging as some of my most challenging characters as I’ve done yet. So I immediately wanted to do it.
And was it any different shooting for an OTT series?
Of course, it’s different because you’re watching the character over five to six hours as opposed to maybe two to two and a half hours. So it’s a deeper, wider opportunity to bring a character to life, that’s it.
Farzi gave you the opportunity to work with the great Vijay Sethupathi and also the creators Raj and DK. So what was that experience like?
With Raj and DK, I’ve loved Family Man very much and we’ve met over time and always wanted to collaborate. So I was really looking forward to it. In fact, I asked them if they have a show because they were calling me for a movie because they didn’t really expect… they didn’t think after Kabir Singh, I’d like to do something like that , or whatever. But I actually asked them for it and probed for it, and then they actually told me about this concept which we had discussed as a movie earlier.
So why was the feature film converted into a digital series?
It was just too elaborate to turn into a movie, to fit into a movie. It was only extremely sensible of them to turn it into a show because it deserves that much screen time.
What was it like working with Vijay Sethupathi?
With Vijay sir, it’s been a pleasure. And I want to see how people receive the show. He’s a fantastic actor who has always rediscovered himself and given people completely different experiences when he has come on the big screen. So it’s a privilege to have him on the show. And I had a blast working with him.
Shahid, it’s been twenty years since you started as a leading man. How do you look back on your career so far?
I feel very fortunate to still be here. And I feel grateful that people find my work relevant. I feel there’s a lot more that I would like to do. And I think I am as charged as I was at the age of 21, giving my first shot, as I am today. And I think that’s the best part of the entire journey, that I still am as excited and as curious to get on that film floor and give my next shot. I think that’s what drives any artist.
Tell me about your forthcoming projects?
I’ve got Farzi coming out on 10 Feb. And then there’s a movie with Ali Abbas Zafar, which is an action thriller, a slick action fun film, which will come out in the middle of this year. And then there’s a high-concept quirky love story that I’m doing with Maddock Films, which is directed by a new director. His name is Amit Joshi. It has me and Kriti Sanon in it, and Dharam ji and Dimple ma’am and various other very talented people.
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