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Shabana Azmi: “It is a time when we needed to give till it hurts”
Looking back on 2021 the great Shabana Azmi’s main takeaway from the year was that acceptance is not the same as submission. “To carry on undaunted might sound very brave in most circumstances but the Pandemic made us re-evaluate our behaviour. One had to be cautious without being paranoid. Because irresponsible behaviour could jeopardise the safety of others.”
Shabana learnt the virtues of giving until it hurts during these times of crisis. “I think this pandemic has awakened us to the fact that we are all connected and it is incumbent on the privileged to extend a helping hand to those less fortunate.It is a time when we needed to give till it hurts.”
The brilliant actress last see in the Moghul drama The Empire,kept working through most of 2021 all over the world.
How tough was it to work through the pandemic and in masks? “I worked on Shekhar Kapur’s What Has Love Got To Do With It with Emma Thompson and Lily James in London early 2021 at the height of the pandemic and on Steven Spielberg’s web series Halo and Nikkhil Advani’s Empire. We were tested every single day on Shekhar and Spielberg’s sets and could not move out of our bubble. It felt weird in the beginning but in hindsight that’s what kept me going .”
Shabana found the second wave of the pandemic tougher than the first. “The second wave was very traumatic because everyday we heard about people losing friends and family.Fortunately we could move to Sukoon our home in Khandala and spend quality time with the family. A lot of people dealt with their feeling of being caged in by devouring by and getting addicted to the OTT platforms . People realized that’s what kept them from collapsing in despair.”
Shabana enjoyed doing Nikkil Advani’s Empire. “I enjoyed playing Esan Daulat and am grateful that my work was appreciated. I will always be thankful to Nikkhil Advani for accommodating my dates.”
With movie theatres in a state of ceaseless uncertainty does Shabana see the OTT as a way out? “Yes, for sure for now .But one keeps hoping that the Covid variant will become benign and we develop herd immunity.Consuming the way we watch content has altered greatly. When I visit my nativetown Mijwan I see that it’s the mobile phone which has become the preferred choice of visual entertainment. The big budget extravaganza is what people will go to the theatre to watch.”
So does Shabana believe that the OTT platform is here to stay? “The OTT platform has opened up opportunity for authentic faces .Chocolate faces are disappearing. It’s not just me a lot of senior female actors are getting substantial work and that is a welcome situation. The advent of the casting director has cast the net wider so stock actors for stock characters is no longer the norm . Earlier you could predict with your eyes closed that Shivraj, Jeevan , Sapru, Lalita Pawar etc would be cast in a particular role. Today you have fresh faces from the hinterlands who are replacing them . I hope the trend continues .
2022 looks uncertain and challenging to Shabana . “One can plan nothing . My shooting schedules have gone for a toss, we’ve been holding back on renovations for our home in Mumbai. I was looking forward to a long-deserved holiday with my girls gang that’s been kept on hold. The Mijwan Fashion Show has been postponed but I’ve learned to go with the flow instead of cribbing endlessly. Live in the here-and-now has become my motto.”
Which were the films and shows that Shabana enjoyed in 2021 and what are her projects for 2022?? “The Crown , Downtown Abbey were my favourites in 2021.I have three major releases Halo, What’s Love Got To Do With It and Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani.I have some projects in various stages of development. It’s a time I can’t complain about.”
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Aamir Khan’s Sister Plays Shah Rukh’s Mother In Pathaan

Ever since Pathaan released on Wednesday, audiences have been curious to know who is the woman who plays Shah Rukh Khan’s adoptive mother in Afghanistan. The stately lady with royal looks is none other than the late producer Tahir Hussain’s daughter and Aamir Khan’s elder sister Nikhat Khan.
Nikhat has been closely associated with the film industry and has helped her father in the production of his films like Dulha Bikta Hai and Tum Mere Ho.
Nikhat has acted earlier in the Akshay Kumar starrer Mission Mangal , Ajay Devgan’s Tanhaji and in Sandh Ki Aankh(as a Maharani).
For Pathaan, it was Shah Rukh Khan who suggested Nikhat Khan should play his foster-mother in Afghanistan who names him ‘Pathaan’. It proved to be an inspired piece of casting, as audience have loved Nikhat Khan’s cameo.
It is heartwarming that all three Khan superstars are associated with Pathaan in one way or the other.
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Anurag Kashyap’s New Film Is About Love Jihad

Love Jihad, whatever that means, is the theme of Anurag Kashyap’s new film Almost Pyaar With D J Mohabbat.
Debutant Karan Mehta plays a Muslim boy in an intense relationship with Alaya F who plays a Hindu girl.Kashyap has spared the audience none of the ugliness that such a relationship generates among social-media bouncers, the self-styled guardian of morality .
In the hardhitting powerful and pertinent film a bigot is heard commenting snidely, “These people first talk about Mohabbat. Then they talk about Mohammed.”
Happily and surprisingly, the Central Board Of Film Certification gave the film a ‘UA’ certificate with no cuts: a rare non-‘A’ film of Kashyap.
So far Kashyap and his team have kept the Love Jihad part of the plot out of all media interaction.
But the cat is now out of the bag.
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Samantha Ruth Prabhu to Star Alongside Varun Dhawan in Prime Video’s Indian Original Series , Samantha Speaks

Samantha Ruth Prabhu will be starring alongside Varun Dhawan in the Indian installment of the Citadel universe, the global-event series from Prime Video and the Russo Brothers’ AGBO. The untitled Citadel series based out of India is being helmed by renowned creator duo Raj & DK (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK), who are the showrunners and directors.
The local installment is written by Sita R. Menon, along with Raj & DK. The streaming service also confirmed that the production is currently underway in Mumbai. After this, the unit will head to North India and then onwards to international locales like Serbia and South Africa.
Richard Madden (Bodyguard) and Priyanka Chopra Jonas will star in the first-to-launch series within the Citadel universe, which comes from the Russo Brothers’ AGBO along with David Weil (Hunters) and is set to premiere in 2023. Alongside Madden and Chopra Jonas, the first-to-launch Citadel series will also feature Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games saga). Additional local-language Citadel productions are also in the works, including an Italian Original series starring Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing).
Speaking on her participation in The Citadel franchise for the first time,Samantha says, “When Prime Video and Raj & DK approached me with this project, I decided to take it up in a heartbeat! After working with this team on The Family Man, it is homecoming for me.The Citadel universe, the interconnected storylines between the productions across the globe, and most importantly, the script of the Indian installment really excited me.”
Samantha says she is looking forward to working with Varun Dhawan . “I am thrilled to be a part of this brilliant universe conceptualised by the Russo Brothers. I am also looking forward to be working with Varun for the first time, on this project. He is someone who is full of life and cheer when you’re around him.”
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Bollywood’s Achche Din Have Come

All you doomsday prophets, the booms-day profits are here. Pathaan has opened the floodgates again for Bollywood’s bumper bonanza at the boxoffice.And now there is only the achche din ahead for Hindi cinema.
In the next two months there are three sureshot blockbusters coming up, beginning with Shehzada. An astute devilishly impish adaptation of Allu Arjun’s 2020 Telugu blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.The super-popular Kartik Aaryan gives his own spin to the character. This performance will take Kartik to the next level of stardom. Kartik’s version of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is radically different from its Telugu version. Shehzada takes the core idea of the Telugu original and turns it into a something completely different. Kartik’s co-star in Shehzada is Kriti Sanon with whom he earlier shared superhit space in Lukka Chuppi.
Then there is Luv Ranjan’s ravishing rom-com Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. The director’s male viewpoint on the chaos of love relationships crests to a comic high in his latest. Ranjan for the first time, collaborates with Ranbir Kapoor for the first time collaborates with Shraddha Kapoor who badly needs a hit.This film should do the trick. The winsome lead pair tries to do one another in a game of Luv This is Luv Ranjan’s Hum…Aapke Hain Con. Ranjan has in the past used the romcom space to entertain his audience to the hilt, he says this time the stakes are different. It is not something we’ve seen before.
Finally it is Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. Karan Johar’s first directorial in six years(not counting the one segment each in Ghost Stories and Lust Stories). This time he has assembled a dream star-cast of Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Ranveer Singh and the boxoffice darling(s) Alia Bhatt. But trust me, this one is not about assembling stars into a complacent plot. The writing in this zany Romeo & Juliet is so crisp and engrossing, the experience is likely to be the visual version of a multi-flavour icrecream cone. Colour, choler and karma collide in this tragic-comic love story . Let the box office dhamaka begin from the house of Dharma.
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