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The Rise & Rise Of Riz Ahmed
He was Rizwan Ahmed when I first got to know him .The film where Riz/Rizwan first caught my attention was Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist in 2013 where he played Changez Khan with a terrifying intensity.
I immediately asked Mira to help me with an interview. Riz was attentive, polite and courteous. He spoke about his roots in India and his favourite Indian actors. “It was lovely to reconnect with the sub-continent and explore Delhi, which is a city I have never visited before. I got to know a little more about my own family tree and engage with Urdu through poetry and politics rather than the usual family setting. It was a real gift. My favourite actors are Irrfan Khan, Aamir Khan, Nana Patekar, and Tabu. I love Anurag Kashyap’s films as well as Dibakar Banerjee’s films like LSD.”
Back then, Rizwan was just getting global recognition and he was taking it all in calmly. “I have actually been very lucky. I feel like I have played very diverse roles – different kinds of characters. Some of them have been culturally specific and others haven’t. Those that have, I am lucky to say I am proud of. They are stories that needed to be told and were well received. I do think though that we are no longer actors in the East or West. It’s a global film industry. What would you say The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a Western film, or Eastern? The cast is global, so is the team behind the camera, and so is our director with her proudly hybrid identity. So I don’t think I’m limited by working in the West necessarily.”
When I had asked Riz(wan) what his aspirations were as an actor he had replied, “To make films that continue to bridge the European, Indian, and US film industries, and make the best of the talent across them all.”
He is doing exactly that 8 years later with highly acclaimed film like Darius Marder’s The Sound Of Metal and Basam Tariq’s Moghul Mowgli . In both Riz played musicians struck by a exceptional disability. The two films have fetched him immense global recognition and The Sound Of Metal even got him an Oscar nomination for Best actor.
In his new project Encounter to stream on Prime video from December 10, Riz Ahmed plays Malik Khan a father of 2, trying to protect his children from an alien invasion.
The actor of Pakistani origin with roots in India has come a long way from his days of Trishna, British director Michael winterbottom’s weird Rajashtan-located adaptation of a Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles where Freida Pinto, another Asian actor who sadly couldn’t sustain her initial global success after Slumdog Millionaire, played the title role . Riz Ahmed was her malicious lover.
When I criticized the film Riz defended it saying, “When you do something different it will ruffle some feathers. You won’t please everyone.”
Today Riz has more fans worldwide than any Asian actor barring Jackie Chan. With due respects to Priyanka Chopra, Riz Ahmed is the Asian subcontinent’s best import since Omar Sharif.
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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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Pathaan Collects 55 crore nett in India On Day 1

YRF’s Pathaan has apparently wiped out all previous records as it collected 55 crore nett in India and recorded the biggest ever Day 1 for a Hindi film. The total collections of Pathaan on Day One is 57 crore nett (Hindi – 55 crore and dubbed versions 2 crore).
It is the widest Hindi release of all time in India and also the highest grossing 1st Day for a Hindi film.It is also the highest grosser on the first first for a non-holiday release. Pathhan is also the highest opener for Shah Rukh Khan.
Akshaye Widhani, CEO of Yash Raj Films, says, “It is a historic day for Indian cinema and we are humbled to see the love and appreciation that is flowing for Pathaan globally. For Pathaan to shatter records in this fashion on a non holiday, just proves that the theatrical business is here to stay, provided we make films that entice people to come to the cinemas to witness a never seen before experience that entertains them thoroughly.“
He adds, “We, at YRF, are thrilled with the start that the film has got across India and we are hopeful that Pathaan brings joy to cine-goers globally in the days to come! Pathaan is the fourth film of our YRF Spy Universe and we are thrilled that we have been able to elevate the cinematic experience of audiences with each film from this franchise. We humbly share this moment with all the stake-holders of the film who have given their blood, sweat and tears to give people a movie-going experience like never before.”
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