Ever since the first episode of Season 2 of 24 was aired this weekend Anil Kapoor’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing.
“It’s amazing how much enthusiasm Season 2 of 24 has generated! We wanted to do the second season only when all of us were sure we had the time and energy to do it uninterrupted. Even before Season 2 had begun airing we had already completed shooting of 18 episodes, with 6 more to go.”
Anil was determined to go about this the right way. “We did everything in style. We Indianized the original a bit. But only enough so that fans of the original do not feel betrayed.Luckily the feedback is tremendous.The thing is we never treated 24 like a television serial.We shot it like a feature film and even held a premiere show of the first episode where I invited all my colleagues from the film industry.”
The premiere episode of 24 had to go through the full censor process. “Since we were screening it like a feature film we had to get it censored. This is the first time that a television product is being treated like a feature film.I must say Pahlaji (censor chief Nihalani)was very sweet about it, considering the censor board had never censored a television serial. ”
Anil says he never discriminated against 24 . “For me there’s no difference between shooting for a feature film and 24. I’ve again set aside all my film assignments until I complete all the shooting for Season 2. This is the only way to work on television. You can’t treat the medium as a space filler.”
This time 24 is darker and more brooding in mood.
Anil thinks it’s just being true to the spirit of the original. “This is not a light-hearted soap or stitcom. 24 is a political thriller. My character is shown to be in a relationship with a woman(Surveen Chawla).”
Their kiss in 24 between Anil and
The timing for 24 has been changed from 10 pm in Season 1 to 9 pm in Season 2. Anil says it’s for the better. “During the last season those who watched it on Sunday nights said it was too late as they had to leave home earlyon Monday.9 pm is super-primetime and just perfect for our show.”
Anil is hopeful that Season 2 of 24 would have an even larger impact than the first time. “See, this time we’ve made some alterations. Characters who were not there in the original have been added. New plot twists are now introduced. In this way we not only get viewers who are diehard fans of the original, but also new viewers.”
Until the shooting of 24 is over Anil won’t start work on any feature film. “Isn’ it obvious that I won’t get time to do anything while I shoot 24? Though I did a lot of films earlier I never let my work overlap. In that sense I am not doing anything different.”

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Jamuna Had A Love-Hate Relationship With Bollywood

Veteran Telugu actress Jamuna who passed away on Friday, shared an uneasy relationship with the Hindi film industry.She did eleven Hindi films including the iconic Milan in 1967 where Jamuna agreed to play the second lead, or the supporting role if you will, to Nutan.
Jamuna as Gauri was the Other Woman who craved for the hero Sunil Dutt’s attention whereas he had eyes and devotion only for Nutan. In later years Aruna Irani played a similar role in Caravan.
In Milan Jamuna was not keen to do a supporting role. Producer L V Prasad tempted her with three chartbusting songs. Besides, Jamuna had played the same role in Mooga Manasulu, the Telugu original of Milan. But it was the songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal which convinced Jamuna to take up the second lead in Milan.
While Nutan had no solo songs in Milan, she did have the chartbuster duet Sawan ka mahina . Jamuna on the other hand, had two splendid Lata Mangeshkar solos: Tohey saawariya naahin khabariya and the magnificent Ghazal Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin.Not only these, Jamuna also had a hit duet with Mukesh based on her character Gauri: Bol Gauri bol tera kaun piya.
But then, fate intervened. After the film released one of Jamuna’s solos, the poignant and memorable Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin was snipped out of the film.
Here is what happened: the Ghazal , one of Lataji’s all-time greats, was very much a part of Milan when it released on 17 March 1967. But then it was seen to hamper the flow of the film and edited out. The beautiful song occurred right after intermission. Producer Prasad, a shrewd filmmaker, got to know that audiences prolonged their loo breaks as there was a song after the break. Hence the sacrifice of a seriously sonorous melody.
Jamuna hardly did Hindi films after Milan. Her last Bollywood appearance was in Raj Kumar Kohli’s Raj Tilak where she was lost in a multistarrer as the royal queen.
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Karan Johar Moves Alia Song From Switzerland To Kashmir

The romantic duet in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani which was to be shot in Switzerland and which was delayed due to the film’s leading lady Alia Bhatt’s motherhood, is now being relocated to Kashmir.
Purely out of the love for new mom Alia.
Says a source in the know, “Karan loves Alia like his own daughter. He would do anything for her. He postponed the release of Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani as the love duet could not be shot before Alia’s maternity leave. Karan had decided to shoot the song in Switzerland after Alia’s maternity love. But now he has relocated the song to Kashmir as Alia doesn’t want to leave her baby girl behind for long stretches.”
And as Karan Johar argued, snow is snow. How does it matter whether it is Switzerland or Kashmir?
This song would be Karan Johar’s tribute to his idol Yash Chopra. Alia would be dressed in chiffon sarees while Ranveer, for a change, would be seen in formals.
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Bobby Deol’s Switchover To Villainous Roles

After Prakash Jha’s webseries Ashram where Bobby played a sleazy godman, and Love Hostel where he was a ruthless assassin, he is playing the villain to Ranbir Kapoor in Sandeep Vanga’s Animal.
Bobby says it is not conscious career decision to play negative characters but a conscious decision to play interesting characters. “ I don’t look at characters as positive or negative.When I watch films there is always one character that stays with you. I want to play that character.”
Prakash Jha’s Ashram proved a gamechanger for Bobby. He admits finding challenging roles is tough. “I am trying. I am doing Sandeep Vanga’s Animal with Ranbir Kapoor , Parineeti Chopra. Then I am doing the family film Apne 2 which I am very excited about.”
In an earlier interview with this writer Bobby spoke about his long absence from screen before Prakash Jha’s Ashram. “My fans would ask why I wasn’t being seen on the screen.And I couldn’t tell them it was because I wasn’t getting good roles. But my fans stood by me. They gave me the strength to keep looking for the right roles. Thankfully I found the roles I liked. My new films have given me some new fans. I am thankful I am still here. Yeah , I am in a good space right now.”
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Undekhi A Dark Compelling Thriller Set In The Heartland

Undekhi the forthcoming webseries from Applause Entertainment and Sony LIV which starts streaming from July 10, looks like the kind of thriller that won’t let us rest easy until we see the last episode. It is mounted with a stress on growing pressure.
One promo shows a rotund cop investigating a gruesome murder in a dense tribal area.The other promo shows a politician gunning down a dancer on stage in front of the public and the press.
Wild West comes to the North. Undekhi is a thriller set in Manali, Himachal created for Applause by Siddharth Sengupta. It’s a gripping story that sees Harsh Chhaya making an impressive comeback as a drunk Papaji in a super-rich amoral Punjabi family. And Surya Sharma (Prince from Hostages) really shines as Rinku , the main bad guy and Papaji’s nephew. It’s got a terrific cast of other characters, many of whom we all recognize as names .
The talented Harsh Chhaya makes a debut of sorts on the digital medium with Undekhi.
Says Harsh, “I have never played anything so wild and mad. I am looking forward to Undekhi, hope it works for the audience too.This is a debut in a sense that this is the first one I shot for the OTT platform.But the other two I shot for after this was streamed before this one Out Of Love and Rangbaaz, Phir Se.
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