https://twitter.com/kiaraastan/status/1302873777999503361

Abhay Deol calls fairness cream ads “demeaning and racist”, roasts fellow Bollywood actors for endorsing them

Abhay Deol takes a dig at Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan, Shahid Kapoor and other Bollywood actors for their fairness cream ads, and mocked their promises of a fair skin.

A couple of weeks back, several Africans in India were assaulted (because of their colour of course). With Abhay’s tirade, there’s going to be further debate on racism in India.

The actor was condemning all the ad campaigns that portray white skin as superior.

“These campaigns are selling you the idea that whiter skin is better than darker skin. No one at the top of their game in any field is going to tell you that it is demeaning, false, and racist,” says Deol

Also Read:Celebs who turned down lucrative endorsements.

Checkout the various ads (and he celebrity) Abhay spoke of.

Shah Rukh’s ad…Abhay Deol translates the tagline and writes: “(Translated) – ‘Being a man why are you are still using a women’s FAIRNESS cream!?’ He’s clearly trying to make you a man, becoming whiter is just a side effect.”

John Abraham’s ad, where he is holding a skin colour shade card in his hand. Deol writes: “WE ARE NOT A RACIST COUNTRY! I will prove it to you. In the pic below, John holds a card with shades from white to dark. Hey! You can see the promise of darker skin too if you read the card from left to right! He’s not telling you to go from right to left! Duh! Even if the writing on the tube reads ‘Intensive FAIRNESS moisturiser’. It just means its ‘FAIR’ to all who use it.”

Sonam Kapoor’s ad…”This one’s kinda hard to defend as it does say on the side of the packaging-
“Indian women agree, skin looks visibly fairer: 88%”.
But L’Oreal is an international brand, do they show the same racism around the world that they are clearly showing here in India?”

Abhay got an overwhelming support for his views, with many others joining in.

“Respect Mr Abhay Deol. Deepika Padukone, you are doing a great job by spreading awareness on depression and how to tackle it, but this ad is a big thumbs down,” wrote one woman, with a fairness cream ad featuring Padukone.

While other stars kept quiet and did not respond, Abhay’s co-star in Aisha and Raanjhanaa, Sonam Kapoor started defending her decision for doing the fairness cream ad. Sonam Kapoor tried to troll Abhay Deol but Abhay proved too smart for Sonam.

Sonam even got mad at Abhay Deol. But later, she deleted those tweets on realizing that people were on Abhay’s side.

Although Sonam Kapoor deleted all her tweets, you can see the screenshots to see what she wrote.

“If we were racist, why would we have all the entire south…Tamil, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra…why do we live with them? We have black people around us,” BJP MP Tarun Vijay.

The post Bollywood is still obsessed with fair skin appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

• Birth Date: September 3, 1952
• Star Sign: Virgo

Shakti Kapoor started his career in Bollywood as a villain. However, over time, he won hearts with his comic roles. Shakti Kapoor also participated in the Indian reality show Bigg Boss in 2011.

Shakti Kapoor is married to Shivangi Kolhapure (sister of actress Padmini Kolhapure) and is father to actors Shraddha Kapoor and Siddhanth Kapoor.

In an interview, Shakti Kapoor says they he and Shivangi had to elope to get married. Because his onscreen reputation was not good (he played a villain) Shivangi’s family were vehemently opposed to their marriage. “Her parents locked her in the house, but one day she ran away. She was 18 when we got married (in 1982),” he said.

https://youtu.be/oAvph7QiRlg

How Shakti Kapoor Got a Big Role in Qurbani

Hordes of people come to Mumbai every day with big dreams in their eyes and then struggle for years to get that break which will catapult them towards stardom. Some get it soon, whereas some spend their entire life struggling.

Those who get the break, also have some amount of luck working for them.

Bollywood villain/comedian ‘Shakti Kapoor’ also landed his first major film role in an unexpected manner, and that too from the late maverick & stylish filmmaker ‘Feroz Khan’.

Here’s how the story goes…

Shakti Kapoor, who was then a struggling actor and had done small roles in a few films, had recently bought himself a second-hand car. As he was driving towards a studio, at one of the junctions, a car came and crashed onto his car.

And that car belonged to Feroz Khan.

Both of them got out of their respective cars and what followed was a very heated argument, and almost came close to blows. After a while, things cooled down a bit and they went their separate ways!

A few days later, through word of mouth, Shakti Kapoor came to know that Feroz Khan was looking for a young man with whom he was involved in a car crash a few days back. Shakti Kapoor thought Feroz Khan was still upset with that incident, and being a newcomer in the industry, he decided to meet Feroz Khan to offer his explanation/apologies.

However, there was something pleasant for him in store!

It seems Feroz Khan was quite impressed with the way Shakti Kapoor displayed his anger during their verbal tiff, and felt that Shakti was the perfect man to do the role of the main villain in his upcoming movie Qurbani.

And that’s how Shakti Kapoor landed his first big role in a big film, something that he was eagerly looking for, to provide him a good launch pad.

From then, there was no looking back for Shakti Kapoor. Feroz Khan cast Shakti Kapoor yet again in a villain’s role in his next movie Janbaaz (1986), which was Khan’s next film after Qurbaani.

Did that car crash save Shakti Kapoor a few years of struggle? Perhaps!

The post Real car crash was the reason Shakti Kapoor got a big role in Qurbani appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

Priyanka Chopra Learning to Play the Piano

Actor Nick Jonas is using the lockdown period to teach wife Priyanka Chopra Jonas how to play piano.

“I’ve never played, but I’ve always wanted to learn an instrument, so I make him give me a half-hour or 45-minute lesson every day,” says Priyanka about her in-house piano teacher.

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@britishvogue @nickjonas

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) on Jul 2, 2020 at 2:06pm PDT

Soha takes Piano Classes to Learn to Play Piano

Soha Ali Khan has started taking piano classes to learn to play piano. No wonder her mom is more than pleased.

As a child, Soha used to learn to play the instrument, but didn’t like it much. But she has resumed her piano classes and Sharmila is more than happy.

Actress Sharmila Tagore and daughter Soha Ali Khan share a strong bonding and these days the younger one is making her mommy happy by learning to play the Piano.

“Many, many years down the line, I remembered that my mom had this dream and this vision of her growing old and me playing the piano for her and the house being full of music. So, I thought it’s better late than never. I have started learning how to play the piano,” Soha, 33, told reporters.

Soha also revealed how she used to bunk her music classes when she was young.

“When I was very young, her (my mom’s) dream was that I should learn how to play the piano. I was very naughty. I did enroll at the Delhi School of Music where I went for some classes…I would bunk those classes and go and play tennis, which I enjoyed more,” said the 33-year-old.

“We had a piano that we had rented. It was in the corridor and at some point my mother must have returned it because I wasn’t practising. I don’t think I noticed for about three months that it had gone,” added the actress who is busy shooting for Deepa Mehta’s “Winds of Change”.

Sharmila was also present at the event and said that she was surprised when she found out that Soha is learning to play the instrument.

“I always wanted her to play the piano because I feel that it is such a lovely thing to know, music. The sound of piano always appealed to me, it is one of my favourite instruments. It was a kind of surprise (that Soha is learning the Piano again). She is very conscious and she is very hardworking. I don’t know whether she is a natural or not, I don’t want her to be a concert pianist really but would be happy if Soha learns to play the piano” said the 65-year-old veteran.

Music Teachers

Lot of Travel Time
If you are an adult living in Navi Mumbai, it could be difficult for you to travel to a piano teacher who’s located in Bandra/Santacruz. You can bet the good piano teachers are not going to travel to your place to give you private lessons. Those who travel to the students place will charge extra for the conveyance, and they do have their preference of locations. You can expect to pay around 2000 to 3000 rupees per month for the good teachers!

The classes are usually one-to-one, and each class is for about 45 minutes. The fees are usually payable at the start of the month.

There’s no fixed cancellation policy as such. A student can cancel a lesson, provided they tell at-least a day in advance. Some teachers compensate for the missed class by taking an extra class (not every teacher may do so).

Children Have More Options
For children, the situation is comparatively better, as most schools nowadays offer music classes and many more extra-curricular activities.

Most schools have a music room, few musical instruments, and also have music teachers on the payroll. You can expect your child to get an overview of music, as the school may not have sufficient instruments for every student.

During vacations, the schools may conduct workshops on keyboards and other musical instruments (usually there are charged extra).

Difficult to Find a Good Teacher
You may still be able to find a music teacher locally, but they may not be strong on the music theory aspect (especially harmonization & sight-reading).

Most piano teachers with diploma or certifications from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music or the Trinity College live in Town or around Juhu. If you are interested in learning music notations and want to appear for exams, they should be able to guide you well.

Harmonium Is Not a Bad Choice Either
At least to begin with, if you don’t want to spend a lot or don’t have a piano yet, you can always learn from music teachers trained in Hindustani/Carnatic music who teach harmonium, and you can easily find them in Mumbai.

You can learn the basics (basic notes, scales and how to play simple songs) for a few months or a year, and then try to find a piano teacher. Their fees are also much lower than those who teach western music.

Group Lessons Can Also Be Good
If you just want to learn to play the piano or the keyboards (and not just focus on western classical), then even group lessons would work fine for you. There are several teaching institutions who offer group lessons in music. Just make sure they have enough instruments and the class size is not huge. Hands-on learning and personal attention is also important, the music teacher should be able to attend to training needs of every student in the class.

Visit Furtados
Furtados is one of the oldest musical instrument shops in Mumbai, located in Fort, near Metro cinema (now Adlabs). If you’re looking for a good piano teacher (to help you with your grade exams) or if you want to get your keyboard instruments repaired, or even buy a new one, that is a good place to ask.

You can always search online to find the contact details of more teachers. Many online services, such as ‘justdial’, have the names and contact details of music teachers listed as per the locality.

Until few years back, most good piano teachers would reside in South Mumbai, Bandra & Santacruz, but now you do come across teachers in Andheri, Mulund, Thane and even in Navi Mumbai.

The post These Bollywood celebrities are learning to play the piano appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Shah Rukh Khan

At one time, singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya sang several hit songs for Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan – Chaand Taare, Badhi mushkil hai, Tumhe Jo Maine Dekha, Chalte Chalte, Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaaun, Tauba Tumhare Ye Ishaare, and Zara Sa Jhoom Lu Main among others.

The last film in which Abhijeet sang for SRK was Om Shanti Om (2009).

Abhijeet mentioned on a few occasions that he stopped singing for Shahrukh because of an incident, after which his downfall started.

“It was a very small reason I stopped singing for Shah Rukh Khan. In Main Hoon Na, they showed everyone from a spot boy to everyone else, but the singers. My family saw the film and felt betrayed. The same thing happened with Om Shanti Om. And here I am… Shah Rukh Khan’s voice! I conveyed my disappointment to Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan” said Abhijeet Bhattacharya in an interview.

Abhijeet Bhattacharya felt he could have just said a simple sorry, and he would have started singing again. When Shah Rukh could make up with Farah Khan, whose husband tweeted rubbish about Khan, then there should have been no problem with a simple man like him, questions Abhijeet.

However, that did not happen.

“I made superstars with my voice. Till the time I sang for Shah Rukh Khan, he was a rock star. When I stopped singing for him – and I stopped singing for him – he came down to Lungi Dance.” says Abhijeet.

Abhijeet on Banning Pakistani Singers

Desh mein kuch hi log hain jinhone kadam uthaya. Modi ji ne Article 370 khatam kia, Bapu ne desh ke liye itna kuch kiya aur ek Abhijeet hai jisne industry mein rehke kulhaadi pe paon mara. Log aaj bhi uski roti sekte hai. Jab Pakistani aate hai toh unke khilaf unka naam aaye newspaper mein, islie kuch log todh phodh karte hain. Ek garib ka taxi todh dete hai lekin Pakistani ka camera nai todhte.

Read: Pakistani Singers who made their mark in Bollywood

Main ye aaj se nahi bol raha. Ye 90s ki baat hai. Main tabse bol raha hoon.

I don’t have a problem with Pakistani. In fact, we should learn patriotism from them. India mein khaate hain aur Pakistan jaake apne desh ka naam alaapte hain. Main unko kyun bura bolun jo apne desh ke lie acha bolte hai. Maine aajtak kisi Pakistani singer ka naam nai liya. Main unka naam lunga jinhone yaha breeding ground bana rakha hai.

Salman Khan ne ek apne singer ka gaana replace kark ek Pakistani singer se gawa diya. Woh unke aage Twitter pe haath jodh raha hai. Sonu Nigam ke khilaaf fatwa jaari hua, sirf main khada hua uske liye.

Unke good books mein rehne ke liye Arijit Singh ka gaana Pakistani se gawa dia. Himmat hai toh mujse gana gavaao aur dub karke dikhao.

Read: Salman Khan replaces Arijit singh with Pakistani singer

“I read somewhere one of the gentlemen, one of our colleagues working with us,… He started writing some really strange things to my colleagues, Bhatt Saab and Karan… He used to work with us. We love him…singer…He writes some really strange stuff, and then…’Mai sach bolta hun’. No, no. ‘Saying it like it is is’, being rude… You’re mistaken. And it’s sad. Then I find people retaliating,” said Shah Rukh after Abhijeet had lambasted filmmakers Karan Johar and Mahesh Bhatt for their criticism against the blanket ban on Pakistani artistes in India.

Bollywood mein sirf ek main hi deshbhakt hoon. Name one person in Bollywood who has spoken against Pakistan. All of them will raise voice against terrorism, but not Pakistan.

Abhijeet talks about Swachchta, nationalism, singing journey

Safai ek mentality hai. Hum log jahan rehte hai, hum wahan ki nahi sochte. Hum sirf apne chaar diwari ki baat karte hai. Baahar kude kachre se andar aayenge, usse koi fark nai padhta. Hamare desh mein sabse badi safai toh abhi kuch der pehle hui hai – Article 370. Isse badi aur kya safai ho sakti hai?

I am a proud taxpayer. 10 saal Mumbai mein bhookha raha aur fir us kaabil bana ki tax pay kar saku. Tax department mein safai ki zarurat hai. Sabko tax dena chahiye. Soch badalni chahie. Taxpayer ko priority deni chahie.

Zindagi mein jaise jaise ek gaana aaya, ek naya modh aya. RD Burman ne mujhe break diya, fir career mein break laga gaya. Baaghi se mujhe asli break mili.

Us time gangsters aur exortion kitna faila hua tha. Ek gangster jo jail mein hai abhi, unka call aata tha ki agar paise nai de sakte toh ye gana suna do. Dubai mein party mein chal rahi hai, speaker pe sab gaana sun lenge.

Woh ek expression hai. Aap jise gussa kehte hai, main use dard kehta hoon. Rona tab aata hai jab apne deshwasi, apne desh ko chhodhke dusre desh ke gunn gaate hai.

Learn nationalism from Pakistan. Mujhe kya pata nationalism kya hota hai. School mein nikal jaata tha jhanda khareedne aur bharat mata ki jai karta tha. Kya iska matlab nationalism hai?

Ban on Bollywood films affects footfalls in cinema halls in Pakistan

I organise one of the biggest Durga Puja pandals in India. Mere lie Durga Puja ek dharm nahi hain, mere liye vo ek festival hai.

I want people not to leave their parents alone when they are old; I want children to be with their parents. I think only Modi jo can bring this rule.

I was Yashraj’s favourite singer. But ever since, I have raised my voice against Pakistan, I have been sidelined. Main aaj reality shows mein islie nahin hoon kyunki maine is mudde pe baat uthai hai.

Source: indiatoday.in

Music Career: How did it take off

Interested in music from a young age
I was only interested in music and from a young age, I would play several instruments. From Class X, I started singing for Chatterjee Orchestra and supported myself. By the time I was in college, I was even contributing at home. From the beginning, I have always done everything with a lot of planning and I had one dream that I would give my parents the life a star’s parents have.

Initial days in Mumbai
I knew a sound person, Baitulla Siddiqui, who lived in Kanpur but worked in Mumbai and so I wrote a letter to him telling him that I was coming to Mumbai and landed here. He used to stay in Dharavi; despite the love they gave me, I could not handle the living conditions there and decided to go back to Kanpur.

Later, when my sister got married in Mumbai, I moved in with her for a month, during which I would visit studios of music directors.

Obviously, nothing happened and I took up a small job I got as a store keeper for `365 per month.

I would bunk office everyday in the afternoon to go visit RD Burman’s office and lost my job in the bargain.

Stayed with Ravindra Jain
I knew Ravindra Jain sahab through a neighbour in Kanpur and he was the only music director whose house I used to visit. When I lost my job, I went to him and told him that and he kept me as a helper.

Since he could not see, I was of help to him for his odd jobs like taking him out for a walk at 5 in the morning and lived with him in his house. At that time he was single. I lived with him for a year-and-a-half but it was clear to me that I would not get a break as a singer as Dada did not have confidence in me. But I had learnt a lot by just sitting in his music sessions and by just being in his company.

While I was there, I would often go and meet Pancham da, who along with Jagjit ji, gave me my first break.

RD Burman gave a break despite Kishore Kumar’s era
That time it was impossible for RD burman to approve a new singer. I had visited Pancham da for six months and everyday he would say, ‘Come tomorrow.’ I had decided to go back to Kanpur, finish my studies, take up a job, get married, make my wife sit on the Vespa behind me and take my mother for tirath. Living in Mumbai, I started dreaming of Kanpur.

I went and met Pancham da for one last time telling him that I was going back and that he should just listen to my recording once for my satisfaction before I left. Somehow he agreed. It was a really bad recording, but a johri can judge. Pacham da asked me to stay back for a few more days but did not say anything more.

I had, by now, moved into a Wadala colony, a 25-minute-walk from the station. It was a government chawl and I had no phone, so I had given the number of Major Natkar, who lived in Mahim and was known to help strugglers by taking down messages for them. I would call him everyday to find out if there were any messages for me, but there were none. Fifteen days later, I had high fever that lasted three days, when I did not call Major Natkar.

But Pancham da was trying to reach me. So when I called Major Natkar after three days, he started abusing me as I had not called on the three most important days of my life. My heart sank and for the first time, I took a taxi with whatever money I had and landed at Pancham da’s house. Pancham da had a cook Manu da, who was also his right-hand man and was known to shut the door on the face of strangers, who would often land up there to meet Pancham da.

But this time, when I rang the bell, Manu da welcomed me and said in Bangla, ‘Where are you, yaar?’ I recorded my first song with Pancham da and sang for Dev sahab’s son for Anand Aur Anand, while Kishore da sang for Dev sahab. It was my first duet with Kishore da. I still remember Kishore da telling me ‘Tum bahut sur mein gaate ho.’

misunderstanding with RD Burman
I became very close to Pancham da, but that made people around him jealous and they concocted a story about me to him. They told him that I had sold one of his tunes to his competitor, which, of course, was far from being true.

Later, Pancham da came to know it was not true as, obviously, no competitor had made that song, but it was too late as Pancham da had already distanced himself from me by then. The film did not work and my career finished before it started. My father went into depression and died shortly due to it. He could never see my success. My mother moved in with me after he died and lived with me, till she died. I am still most attached to my mom and even now, when I look back in life, my worst years were the four years I struggled without her in Mumbai.

So did Abhijeet da ever meet RD Burman again after tasting success?
I am the only singer who was discovered by Pancham da. He may have sent me away from him when he was at his peak, but two years before he died, he had no work and his house that was always full of so many people with music, stopped getting its visitors. I was at the peak of my career and would go to Pancham da during this time, as I knew he had no one around him.

He would be sitting in the balcony of his first floor Santacruz flat all alone and would be irritated seeing me. I could see that he did not want anyone to come. This was the time he was doing his last album 1942 A Love Story. There would be just Pancham da, his mother in the inside room lying in a coma and, of course, good old Manu da. Seeing him like that I decided that while I was at my peak, I would secure myself financially and started investing all my money into property that I continue doing till this day.

The post Singer Abhijeet was sidelined because he raised his voice against SRK, and against Pakistan? appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

I was hoping that I would not have to update this list ever again, but unfortunately, I had to include Sushant Singh Rajput’s name on this list.

Sushant Singh Rajput

The year 2020 is turning out to be a really bad year for Bollywood, not only in terms of business but also the number of celebrities who have died so far.

The most shocking has been of Sushant Singh Rajput who committed suicide at a very young age of 34.

As per the police, Sushant was under medication for depression and they are trying to ascertain the reasons behind his depression.

But it seems Sushant was under a lot of stress as most of the big banner films that he had signed, got canceled, and there were rumours that he had been replaced by star sons.

Read: Favouritism and Nepotism in Bollywood

Jiah Khan

Actress Jiah Khan, who was found hanging in her residence last week, joined many such tragic stories of the film world.

Now who would have imagined that after making a successful debut in Ram Gopal Varma’s Nishabd opposite none other than Mr. Bachchan, who would take such a step? Almost everybody assumed that everything was going well for this sultry, spunky and talented, twenty-five-year-old, till her suicide proved it wrong.

Pratyusha Banerjee Committed Suicide Just Days After Her Abortion

After Pratyusha Banerjee’s shocking suicide, several theories were making the rounds as to why Pratyusha may have committed suicide.

• Actress was unable to cope up with the trouble in her relationship with boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh. There are rumours that Raj Singh got engaged to someone else leaving the actress heartbroken.
• The actress was out of work for the past few months, and may have exhausted all her savings resulting in a financial crisis. Her career was not going great and this may have driven her to take this drastic step.
• Those who were close to the TV celebrity and know her well (including Actor Ajaz Khan), claim that it was a murder and not suicide, as she was a strong person
• Some time back, few men, posing as cops had misbehaved with Pratyusha; some say those men could be behind her death (although this one seemed very unlikely back then)

However, going by the police investigations and reports from the doctors, it seems Pratyusha had been pregnant and had an abortion not long before her death. The suicide could be because of guilt from the abortion.

According to reports, Pratyusha underwent abortion in the first week of March, using oral pills (after consulting a doctor). Though Rahul was aware of Pratyusha’s pregnancy, he did not accompany her to the doctor at the time of abortion.

TV celebrity Pratyusha Banerjee committed suicide by hanging herself at her Goregoan apartment. A lot of questions were raised, with the police taking boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh as the prime suspect.

Pratyusha Banerjee first tasted success with her role as Anandi in the TV serial Balika Vadhu, making her a prominent face on TV. She was also a participant in the reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ (hosted by Salman Khan).

No doubt, this incident has shocked the TV fraternity.

Salman Khan always felt that Pratyusha was too young to be on Bigg Boss, when he first saw her. Perhaps that’s the reason Pratyusha was unable to handle the pressure and insecurities.

Do You Need to Have a Plan B in Life?

Do you need to have a Plan B in life? Unlike celebrities who committed suicide (Jiah Khan, Pratyusha Banerjee), there are several aspirants who have survived the odds and not fallen prey to the dark side of Bollywood.

You Also Need to Be Lucky
Several newcomers enter Bollywood with dreams to make it big, but not everyone can be a star.

There’s no doubt that hard work is necessary but Film insiders believe that you need to have luck to get a foothold in the industry, and hard work does the rest.

Sometimes, you just need to be lucky to get a good role or break in the film. Luck can strike anytime. Some newbies get films while sitting at a beauty parlor, while some superstars end up losing everything.

It’s that initial opening which can be the make or break reason to self-destruct.

Low Patch in Career
Common to all suicide cases in the glamour industry are the factors of depression and failed relationships, and the inability to deal with these situations.

Be it model Viveka Babajee, model and VJ Nafisa Joseph, or television actor Kuljeet Randhawa, they all suffered depression due to failure in their career as well as their personal lives.

These same factors have been attributed to Khan, who’s alleged to have been depressed as her career failed to make a headway in Bollywood, and a stormy love-life that drove her to self-destruction.

As per most psychologists, most TV stars and upcoming stars in films suffer from depression due to rejection. Some who were successful in the beginning of their careers are unable to deal with the lows when it comes to a standstill. The problem escalates when they don’t have other avenues to bank on. While many turn to alcoholism and drugs, a few tend to take extreme steps like Jiah.

Need to Be Mentally strong
There is certainly no denying that showbiz is not everyone’s cup of tea. But for every victim that falls by the wayside, there are several others — be it actors, technicians, musicians or directors who survive the odds.

‘Cruel, cold-blooded’ and ‘tough’ are among the commonly used adjectives employed by various commentators to describe Bollywood, each time a similar incident takes place, be it the death of a model, or the murder of a television company’s executive by an aspiring actress’s fiancee or any other such event.

So is it really true that the film industry is indeed the ‘big bad world’ that it is made out to be?

Maybe it is, and then again maybe not!

After all, for every victim that falls by the wayside, there are several others — actors, technicians, musicians or directors who survive the odds.

However, there is certainly no denying that showbiz requires you to have, in addition to the relevant talent/skills, a fair degree of street smartness, the ability to adapt (not compromise) and of-course oodles of good luck.

Need for Plan B
Unfortunately several aspirants chasing stardom, refuse to look at avenues beyond the arc-lights. Several youngsters who have seen a small measure of success or even the mere promise of it are willing to resort to drastic measures (casting couch etc) instead of getting their hands muddied with some serious work (read sharpening their skill sets).

Fortunately there are a few exceptions too — youngsters with sensible heads on their well toned shoulders, who have cruised through the treacherous waters of fame rather well.

Former model Sushma Reddy (former model) has happily turned producer, Rachel Reuben has donned the director’s hat. Another example is that of south star Chandni alias Sharon Joseph. Joseph won the Miss Photogenic title in Miss India Worldwide competition held in New York, and was immediately snapped up by south biggie Upendra for his Kannada/Telugu film ‘A’, which went on to become a resounding success. She was then studying marketing, but attained stardom overnight with several movie offers to choose from. With a gentle nudge from her parents, she continued with her education. She went on to complete a PhD in marketing while acting in a few regional language films. She’s presently the Programme Director of MBA Media and Entertainment Department at Whistling Woods, happily juggling few films, along with an academic career.

Though there are many who firmly believe that you don’t need a Plan B in life, as it makes you give up your dreams easily. The fact is that you constantly need to evaluate your options, especially when things are not working. You don’t have to give up, but you should always look for different ways to reach the destination, especially when few of the doors seem to have shut.

The post Film and TV celebrities who committed suicide appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Play Holi

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra in the Holi mood.

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A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) on Mar 10, 2020 at 12:25am PDT

Earlier, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra celebrated Holi at Isha Ambani’s Holi party, attented by Isha Ambani’s closest friends. The morning after, both Nick and Priyanka shared several colourful photos from the party on social media.

Young Shahrukh & Gauri Khan’s Holi Dance: Flashback Video

Here’s an old video from the 90s where Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan are seen dancing at a Holi party, and they are dancing as if no one’s watching (that’s the way to dance anyways).

In recent years, SRK has cut down on playing holi, because he’s worried about the effects of the colours (he hates the cleaning afterwards) and also thinks that its not very safe…the throwing of balloons (now that he has got kids).

But when he was young, he used to play Holi a lot, which is clearly visible form the video, which is rumoured to have been shot at director Subhash Ghai’s Holi bash in 1995.

Raj Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan Playing Holi

 

Bollywood legends – Raj Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan playing Holi together. There’s not many pictures of them together in one frame.

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A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) on Mar 10, 2020 at 12:04am PDT

The post Bollywood stars celebrating Holi 2020 (pics) appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

Popular Bollywood choreographer Ganesh Acharya is back in the news again for sexual harassment. An assistant choreographer has filed a complaint at the Maharashtra Women’s Commission and at a local police station alleging that Ganesh Acharya demanded a commission on her income and forced her to watch pornographic videos. She claims that his behaviour worsened after he became the general secretary of the Indian Film & Television Choreographers Association, as her membership was unfairly revoked. Acharya is yet to comment on the matter.

Actress Tanushree Dutta has asked the film fraternity to boycott Ganesh Acharya, says this report.

“It’s time Bollywood and the other Indian film industries boycott choreographer Ganesh Acharya completely. Hiding behind the male superstars who work with this despicable man, he has been abusing his power and position to harass, bully and take advantage of vulnerable young newcomers to the industry,” said Tanushree.

#Metoo: Top 10 famous Indians accused of sexual harassment

While Nana Patekar and Ganesh Acharya may have been in the limelight, lets take a look at the other celebrities who have been accused of harassment, as the #MeToo campaign spreads across India. The list includes actors, directors, singers, authors and even journalists.

Nana Patekar

Former actress Tanushree Dutta accused Nana on the sets of the film “Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss” in 2008. Tanushree also lashed out at choreographer Ganesh Acharya for playing to Nana’s tunes on the sets of Horn OK Pleassss and for pressurising her to perform an intimate step.

Subhash Ghai

An anonymous woman posted on social media that the Khalnayak director had drugged her and raped her. In a separate incident, actress Kate Sharma claimed that the veteran director grabbed her and tried to kiss her.

Alok Nath

Veteran TV writer, producer and director Vinta Nanda, in a Facebook post accused the ‘sanskari’ actor of raping her multiple times, almost a couple of decades back, after Alok was sacked from their TV show ‘Tara’ for allegedly misbehaving with its lead actress.

Anu Malik

Besides singers Sona Mohapatra and Shweta Pandit who have accused Malik of sexual harassment, two budding singers have also levelled similar allegations against the Bollywood film composer.

Vikas Bahl

Director of “Queen” (starring Kangana Ranaut) has been accused of sexually harassing a female employee of Phantom Films.

Sajid Khan

Actress Saloni Chopra accused Sajid Khan (brother of Farah Khan) of sexually harassing her when she was working for him as an assistant.

Vivek Agnihotri

Tanushree Dutta also accused filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri of misbehaving with her on the sets of Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets (2005). She praised Irrfan Khan and Suniel Shetty, her co-stars, for taking a stand and standing up for her.

Kailash Kher

Singer Sona Mohapatra (married to composer Ram Sampath) has accused Kher of making sexual advances towards her, when the two met to discuss a forthcoming concert. Another singer Varsha Singh Dhanoa has accused the folk singer pf misconduct.

Rajat Kapoor

Journalist Sandhya accused Rajat Kapoor of inappropriate behaviour against three women in separate incidents.

MJ Akbar

The Minister of State for External Affairs and Rajya Sabha MP has been accused of sexual harassment by several female colleagues. Akbar plans to take legal action against the women who accused him.

Chetan Bhagat

Writer Ira Trivedi accused the the celeb author (Five point someone, 2 states) of making several untoward advances at her after the two met at the Jaipur Literature Festival nearly a decade ago. Bhagat says the accusations were false.

Vinod Dua

Documentary Filmmaker Nishtha Jain accused the veteran journalist of stalking and sexually harassing her in June 1989.

#MeToo being blown out of proportion says senior actors

Veteran actor and MP Shatrughan Sinha says the MeToo movement, while being is noble, is being blown out of proportion.

Here are some of his comments, excerpts from an interview.

“What happened to innocent until proven guilty? I am all for the MeToo movement but I think this MeToo campaign is being blown out of all proportion. Anyone can name and shame anyone. Reputations and jobs are being lost through a trial by media. To all the women who are aggrieved, I say, please go to court and make sure the wrongdoers are punished”.

“They (top stars and directors have vowed not to work with sexual offenders) have no problem working with Sanjay Dutt who has been convicted. But they want to blacklist people whose guilt is yet to be proven. Just to look like heroes of the MeToo movement.”

“I don’t want to name anyone. But I will say this. ‘Sau choohe khaa kar billi haj ko chali’. Those seeking to perch themselves on a high moral ground, should look into their conscience. The problem of sexual exploitation, doesn’t end with some names being put out in the social media. This is just the beginning. The problem runs much deeper.

Regarding tainted leader M.J. Akbar, he says “M.J. Akbar revolutionised journalism in India. I believe he has employed 97 lawyers to defend him against charges (of sexual harassment). He should have employed three more lawyers… It would have been a century… Seriously, how can he afford such a massive legal fleet? I can’t afford it if I ever need it.”

Earlier Bollywood’s veteran bad boy Shakti Kapoor had appealed to the Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi to curb the #MeToo wave in India and treat it as unlawful, so that wrong accusations can be prevented.

The post Choreographer Ganesh Acharya accused of forcing woman to watch adult videos appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

Deepika was in Delhi to promote her upcoming film Chhapaak.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap said: “It (Deepika’s visit to JNU) sends out a very strong message of not just being in solidarity but of feeling their pain without fear. A lot of people in the film industry don’t do it because it might go against their business but Deepika has managed to negate that fear and give courage to many others who were probably waiting for someone else to take the lead.” Dismissing those who claimed Padukone’s JNU visit was a publicity stunt, Kashyap said: “It’s an even bigger statement when she does it on the eve of her film’s release. Anybody in the business will tell you it is hara-kiri, especially when you are also the producer of the film. She has a lot more at stake.”

Are actors obliged to make a political comment?

Kangana Ranaut recently criticised Bollywood (Ranbir kapoor in particular) for not speaking up on political issues.

She was referring to an old interview of Ranbir where he refused to comment on politics. The ‘Sanju’ star had said that politics made no difference to his life as he lived in a luxurious life and has complete access to basic needs like water, and electricity.

Kangana however felt that it was an “irresponsible” statement to make.

“There are few actors in our industry like Ranbir Kapoor where he has been seen talking in an interview that ‘We have regular supply of water and electricity at my home so, why should I comment about politics?’ But I feel because of this country’s people you are living in your luxurious home and you are travelling in your Mercedes so, how can you talk like that? This is irresponsible behaviour and I am not that kind of person. I also don’t understand why people think so much of their career that they don’t have anything to do with their own country?” Kangana Ranaut.

While that is a fair point, we think people in India should also be receptive towards differences of opinion. Most of the time, its observed anyone who speaks differently from what is the popular belief, gets panned in public. I guess that is why many chose not to give their opinion in public.

After the Pulwama attack, Kangana Ranaut had said that anyone who speaks about peace should be slapped, and made to sit on a donkey. That was a couple of days after Navjot Singh Siddhu had said that “for a handful people, you cannot blame an entire nation.”

I guess that is why there’s a reluctance on the part of actors to share their political views.

Here’s what John Abraham had to say when he was asked if actors are obliged to make a political comment.

“Yes, if they are politically aware. Kangana is very politically aware and she has got a voice. I think you must take a stand if you are politically aware.” The actor said one should refrain from commenting on politics if they know nothing about the country. “But you shouldn’t be stupidly talented. You can’t be an idiot, who knows nothing about which country lies where. If you don’t know what’s happening from Bihar to Syria, then you should shut up and smile and show your mug that you have done so much work on. Don’t talk,” said John during the promotion of his film RAW (Romeo Akbar Walter).

Writer slams Bollywood for not standing up for anyone, anything

Indian writer Nayantara Sahgal (writes in English and is a member of the Nehru–Gandhi family) is unhappy with Bollywood’s silence over suppression of free speech, and feels that the industry does not stand up for anyone, anything. Sahgal says that the Hindi film industry has on numerous occasions failed to defend its own legends fearing a political backlash.

Nayantara Sahgal, who was not allowed to inaugurate the 92nd Marathi Sahitya Samme in Yavatmal following threats from MNS workers, cited the example of Naseeruddin Shah who was called a traitor for saying that the death of a cow had more value today than that of a police officer in India. She said even during the #Me Too allegations, the top Bollywood celebs maintained complete silence on the matter.

Mumbai is known for its film industry and we take pride in it. But why did the film industry not speak for a great actor like Naseeruddin Shah? We are living in dangerous times, and if we remain silent, the regime will come upon us-Nayantara Sahgal

Author Nayantara Sahgal had returned her Sahitya Akademi award following the killing of Mohammed Ikhlaq by a mob in UP’s Dadri in 2015, and as per this report, she was praised by a United Nations(UN) monitor for cultural rights for doing so.

“Art has to ask questions to the society. Art is not only about being pretty; it’s also about disturbance. Disturbance has to be there in art; its job is to be a voice of resistance,” Carnatic music legend TM Krishna, whose concert in Delhi was cancelled due to Right Wing protests.

When Bollywood Took a Stand Against the Government / Political class

Bollywood celebrities have always been targeted for not expressive their political views. I guess that was the reason there was a phase when Bollywood celebrities decided to express themselves; they opined or took a stand against the government/judiciary/political class.

But even that back-fired as the Bollywood superstars, especially the Khans, faced backlash (from all quarters) for their comments on broader issues, plaguing the country. After being at the receiving end for their comments, Bollywood did play it safe by keeping quiet during the JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) controversy.

In recent times, most Bollywood actors have started giving an opinion on almost everything, including burning issues, (Yakub Memon, Church vandalism, Intolerance…and thanks to Twitter for making it so easy)

JNU students had organised an event on on the day after Afzal Guru’s third death anniversary (Afzal Guru who was hanged in 2013 for attack on Indian Parliament) and its alleged that students shouted ‘anti-India’ slogans at the function, which snowballed into a huge controversy in India.

However, it seems, the real reason that most celebrities didn’t speak on the JNU issue is because it could impact their business. It hurts Bollywood more when a movie flops or when they are unable to release a movie because of protests. After all, crores of rupees are at stake.

• No doubt Dilwale was an average affair, but SRK’s comments on intolerance, made collections even more difficult in India
• Aamir Khan’s comments on intolerance cost him endorsements deals.

But this time, no comments have been made by Bollywood celebs on the JNU incident. It seems, Bollywood has become more cautious and is more concerned about business.

Anupam Kher Tweets ‘India Undergoing Pest Control’, Is Compared With Hitler

At a time, when it seemed Bollywood had distanced itself from the JNU controversy (because of their earlier experiences), Anupam Kher got into a war of words with well-known journalist Rajdeep Sardesai on Twitter (the social media platform is turning out to be a platform for such battles).

There’s no doubt that Bollywood actor Anupam Kher is a self-professed supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of late, has been commenting a lot on issues, not related to the entertainment industry.

His latest tweet says that the country is going through “a pest control”, because of which insects like “cockroaches are crawling out”.

Here’s what Anupam Kher said.

Anupam Kher’s tweet didn’t go well with many (some were amused, some furious), including well-known journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, and many of them replied to his tweets.

However, Anupam Kher is a known supporter of BJP and speaks in favor of their actions/policies. So here we take a look at other instances.

When Bollywood Celebs Took a Stand Against the Political Class, Had to Face Backlash…
Here we take a look at the various instances when Bollywood celebs faced the heat for taking a stand or giving their opinion against the government/political class/judiciary.

Aamir Khan on ‘Intolerance’

Next it was the turn of actor Aamir Khan to get engulfed in the “rising intolerance” debate in India. Speaking at the Ramnath Goenka Awards function, Aamir khan casually said that his wife Kiran Rao asked if they should move out of the country, as she feared for the safety of their children in a climate of insecurity.

And all hell broke loose for Aamir Khan after that. Aamir earned the ire of many, including politicians as well as fellow Bollywood colleagues.

Also Read: Aamir Khan’s contract with ‘Incredible India’ ends
Also Read: Aamir Khan, only superstar without any brand endorsements

Shahrukh Khan on ‘Intolerance’

Ever since the BJP government took over, lot of people in India have been voicing concerns about the rising intolerance in India. Shahrukh Khan also joined those select few and commented on the growing intolerance in India. Least did he expect that his comments will snowball into such a big controversy, with several political leaders and religious organisations condemning his statement.

Despite Shah Rukh’s clarifications about what he meant, his film Dilwale was banned across many cities in India. The intolerance row only got uglier when Shah Rukh Khan’s car was pelted with stones in Ahmedabad during the shoot of his upcoming film ‘Raees’.

Salman Khan on Yakub Memon Hanging

When convict Yakub Memon was handed over the death sentence for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, there were some who were of the opinion that Yakub Memon should not have been given the death sentence as he surrendered on his own accord.

With a number of people engaged in this debate on the execution, even our Dabangg star joined in and tweeted several posts against the death penalty…basically saying why Yakub Memon is paying for the crimes of his brother, Tiger Memon.

1. Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam reportedly warned the actor of legal action if he didn’t take his comments back as it amounted to contempt of court.
2. BJP politician threatened to send a letter to the governor requesting for cancellation of Salman’s bail in the car hit-and-run case

The only politician who supported Salman Khan…can you guess? It was Shatrughan Sinha, father of Sonakshi Sinha, whom Salman had launched in Dabangg.

Under pressure from friends and dad Salim Khan, Salman later retracted his tweets.

But just a couple of days back, there was an article in the leading newspapers, where a late RAW official (who was instrumental in getting Yakub Memon to India) wanted leniency for Yakub Memon, considering there was an arrangement and Yakub Memon had surrendered to the Indian security officials.

Neha Dhupia on Mumbai’s Flood Fury

Life in Mumbai comes to a stand still even with moderate rains nowadays. No doubt, Mumbaikars are frustrated, but when Neha Dhupia tweeted about the agony of the people on the streets (basically slammed the government for failing to provide relief to Mumbaikars), she was targeted by a political party.

Neha had posted: “One rain n the city comes to a standstill. Good governance is not about selfies n makin us do yoga, it’s making sure ur citizens r safe.”

Obviously, she was hinting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Selfie With Daughter and Yoga Day campaigns! And she had to face the wrath of Mr Prime Minister’s followers.

Later Neha defended her tweet by saying, “The intention of my tweet was not to demean or personally attack anyone. It was the mere frustration of a helpless citizen of Mumbai. I have wholeheartedly and consistently supported the government’s movements like Yoga Day and Swachh Bharat and will do so in future as well. I hope we can focus on the issues that matter and that my appeal to improve our civic amenities is taken in the right way,” said Neha Dhupia.

Shobhaa De Against Diktat to Screen Marathi Films During Peak Business Hours in Multiplexes

Many had expressed their displeasure when the state government asked multiplexes in Maharashtra to screen Marathi films during the peak business hours.

Author & Page-3 celebrity ‘Shobhaa De’ had expressed her displeasure and tweeted “No more pop corn at multiplexes in Mumbai? Dahi misal and vada pav only. To go better with the Marathi movies at prime time.”

A political backlash followed and the Shiv Sena had even filed a notice of breach of Privilege (where Miss De would have to explain her views before the Maharashtra assembly, with possibility of a jail term) against Shobhaa De for her tweet.

Fortunately, everything calmed down in the end.

Shruti Seth on Narendra Modi’s Selfie With Daughter Campaign

Some time back, actress-anchor Shruti Seth (she was the anchor on the popular show ‘comedy circus’) expressed her views on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Selfie With Daughter campaign on Twitter.

She stated, “A selfie is not a device to bring about change, Mr PM. Try reform.”

And the result? As expected! A social media backlash that eventually forced her to delete her tweet eventually.

In an open letter addressed to Modi, she stated, “Selfies don’t bring about change, reform does. So please try and be bigger than a photograph. Come on!”

When Rishi Kapoor Called ‘Beef Ban’ Nonsense

Rishi Kapoor was brought back to Twitter by Abhishek Bachchan, but never did he realize that soon he would find himself in a soup for his tweet. Soon after the Beef-ban was enforced in Maharashtra, Rishi kapoor had called the move as ‘Nonsense’ on twitter. Rishi, who’s known to speak his mind, had said that food and religion must not be equated.

Post the ban, 5-star hotels were found serving see venison, kangaroo and lamb meat for buffet. “This is the effect of banning beef. They start killing other animals for meat.’ Never in my life have I seen venison, which is deer meat. The deer was dear to Bhagwan Shri Ram, we were told, ” said Rishi Kapoor.

However, in a country where majority of the population worships cow/bulls, backlash from Hindu organisations was expected.

Jaya Bachchan Kicked Language Row

In 2008, after the MNS political party launched a campaign asking shopkeepers to convert all shop names/signs in Marathi, Jaya Bachchan insisted on speaking Hindi at the music launch of her son Abhishek Bachchan’s film Drona, in Mumbai. She had then stated, “Hum UP ke log hai, isliye Hindi mein baat karenge. Maharashtra ke log maaf kariye. (We belong to Uttar Pradesh and will, therefore, speak in Hindi. People of Maharashtra, please forgive me).”

Obviously, she had to face the wrath of MNS, especially Raj Thackeray, who had said “Guddi buddhi zhali pan akal aali nahi.” (Guddi…one of Jaya’s famous film characters…has grown old but has not attained wisdom with age). The veteran actress had to apologize later for hurting the sentiments of Marathi speaking people.

Raj Thackeray, chief of Political party ‘Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’ (MNS) had always criticized Amitabh Bachchan for showing more loyalty to his home state, Uttar Pradesh, than Maharashtra, where he had earned all the fame.

When Aamir Khan Refused to Budge

Concerned that the Narmada dam project displaced several villagers without adequate compensation, in 2006, Aamir Khan had extended support to the farmers who got displaced due to the Narmada dam project in Gujarat. Ammir demanded proper rehabilitation and compensation for them, and soon a controversy erupted on this matter.

The ‘Lagaan’ star refused to budge from his stand. The state government, showing its displeasure against Aamir Khan, had imposed a ban on his 2006 film ‘Fanaa’.

The post Deepika Padukone visits JNU to express solidarity appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

She has given several impressive performances over the last few years and is now one of the leading ladies in Bollywood. In 2019, Deepika also featured in the Top 10 of Forbes India 100 Celebs List.

Date of Birth: January 5, 1986
Star Sign: Capricorn
Deepika is a Mangalorean and they speak Konkani at home.

Deepika is daughter of famous Indian badminton player Prakash Padukone; she was born in Copenhagen, Denmark where her father was training for Badminton. The family later moved to Bangalore when she was just eleven-months-old. However, Deepika was never fascinated by Badminton, and instead focused on her studies, and later pursued modelling.

While in college, Deepika pursued a career in modelling and featured in Liril and Limca ads. She even made an appearance in the music video for Himesh Reshammiya’s Naam Hai Tera song, before making her acting debut.

After the huge success of ‘Padmaavat’, Deepika  is is not so keen to do big-banner movies with top heroines playing the conventional leading lady.

Now, the script has to offer her as much to do as the male protagonist, to get her interested.  This is also one of the reasons, Deepika has decided to turn a producer.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Meghna Gulzar (@meghnagulzar) on Jan 5, 2020 at 12:28am PST

Secondly, she wants her remuneration to be on par with the leading male heroes. I guess, at this stage of her career, she deserves both; and it makes sense to wait for a script that will offer her both – good role as well as money.

Read: Deepika Padukone was paid more than Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor for Padmaavat

Deepika will soon be seen in Meghna Gulzar’s ‘Chhapaak’. She will also be seen in Kabir Khan’s sports drama ’83’ alongside husband Ranveer Singh.

Deepika Padukone made her debut as a fashion designer with Van Heusen Woman’s ‘Limited Edition’ collection, this campaign was shot in Milan, Italy

Deepika Padukone to play mafia queen Sapna Didi, who almost killed Dawood Ibrahim

Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan who worked together in ‘Piku’ will be seen together in Vishal Bhardwaj’s next film. Deepika will play feared female don, Rahima Khan aka Sapna Didi, who’s known for almost killing Dawood Ibrahim.

The female don had executed the plan of killing Dawood Ibrahim to seek revenge of her husband’s death. Vishal, who is penning the script of the film, is taking inspiration from Hussain Zaidi’s book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’.

“My debut in Hollywood doesn’t make Priyanka Chopra and me professional rivals,” says Deepika

Deepika Padukone’s debut Hollywood film ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ did decent business at the box office. More importantly it marked Deepika’s debut in Hollywood, and she is now eyeing bigger Hollywood films.

However, the young actress is now being compared with Priyanka Chopra, with several entertainment magazines saying the two are now professional rivals, because they are the only ones (females) from India to work in Hollywood.

However, Deepika begs to differ.

“Priyanka Chopra and I are not professional rivals. I have known her for many years and she is like a friend to me. We are not professional rivals, we never were. So, why should we be now, after I have made my Hollywood debut (with XXX: Return of Xander Cage), says Deepika.

 

Priyanka & Deepika both are both gorgeous in their outfit #priyankachopra #deepikapadukone #deepikapictures #deepveer #deepveerforever #ranveer #ranveersingh#ranveerdeepikafanclub#shahrukhkhan#shahrukhkhandeepikapadukone

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The Initial Struggle

Like most other superstars in Bollywood (whose first film did well, and then they really had to struggle before they became superstars), even Deepika seems to be following a similar path.

Films like ‘Break Ke Baad’ (Imran Khan), ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’ (Farhan Akhtar), ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’ (Abhishek Bachchan) and ‘Lafangey Parindey’ (Neil Nitin Mukesh), in which Deepika starred, did little to establish her as an actor.

However, experienced filmmakers were still interested to work with the actress, and knew that it was just a matter of time before she would deliver big hits. ‘Aarakshan’ and ‘Desi Boyz’ were better, but still not enough.

Things changed with ‘Cocktail’, where she played a heady mix i-don’t-care attitude and ultra-modern avatar of Veronica. The movie showcased Deepika in various shades, which allowed her to show her true talent. And probably it was the first time that people in the industry started acknowledging her ‘acting’ skills.

The films that followed only increased her stature with every release.

The multi-starrer ‘Race 2’ was a bit hit, and despite having several actors, Deepika sizzled. ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Dewaani’ (with ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor) turned out to be a blockbuster, where she played the girl next-door.
‘Chennai Express’ with SRK smashed all records, and she was appreciated for her looks, the thick accent, and her spirited performance…

And with ‘Ram Leela’, Bajirao Mastani, and Padmavat, Deepika confirmed her status as the new superstar in Bollywood.

Though our superstars are hounded by fans wherever they go, it rarely happens that one is approached by more foreigners (than Indians) for autographs. When Deepika last toured USA and Europe with her parents and sister for vacation, there were many foreigners who wanted to click photographs with her. People from Germany, Japan and other countries, in addition to several NRIs, wanted to pose with her.

She is one of the few actors in Bollywood who has plenty of brand endorsements in addition to movies on her plate. And she is also one of the more professional stars, who is ready to shoot for 14-15 hours a day (without complaining) to wrap up her assignments.

Dips goes braless for Vogue India cover shoot
Deepika Padukone graced the cover of Vogue India’s June issue in a black and white checkered bikini bottoms and a men’s white dress shirt unbuttoned – revealing that she is not wearing a bra. Read more here…

The post Bollywood celebs wish Deepika Padukone with adorable birthday messages appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

Read: Bollywood films shot in Afghanistan

However, a few films in recent years have offended Afghans.

The first was the 2018 film Padmaavat, in which Ranveer Singh playing Alauddin Khilji, a Turko-Afghan ruler who invaded and ruled Delhi in the 12th Century. Though the film was liked in India, the portrayal of Khaliji as a cruel and vicious ruler offended many Afghans (Padmavat had its fair share of controversies in India as well).

Then came Kesari, a 2019 period film where 21 Sikh soldiers from the British Indian Army took on 10,000 Afghans. Again, Afghans didn’t like for stereotyping and vilifying Afghans as barbaric invaders.

And now Panipat, a film based on the 1761 battle between the Marathas and an Afghan army, led by Abdali, has anagered several Afghans.

To Indians, Abdali was an invader who killed thousands of Maratha warriors in the historic battle of Panipat (located near Delhi), but to Afghans, Abdali is their founding father and a hero; they refer to him as Ahmad Shah Baba (father).

So when Sanjay Dutt tweeted about his character, the uproar to the tweet was immediate (from Afghans who happen to be Bollywood fans).

“Ahmad Shah Abdali holds great regard in the hearts and minds of Afghan people. When the film was being made we requested to watch it without exposing the plot. Despite our constant efforts, we didn’t get any response from the filmmakers,” said Naseem Sharifi, Afghanistan’s consul general in Mumbai.

As the criticism about misrepresenting the Afghans started to grow, Film director Ashutosh Gowariker (of Panipat) clarified.

“This film is not about a Hindu-Muslim battle. It’s about stopping an invader. It’s about protecting your borders, your land, that’s the patriotic theme of the film. In the wake of that we have to show that Abdali did invade but we have kept the dignity of the character.”

Top Afghan diplomats however are worried about the possible fallout from films like Panipat.

“Historically Indian cinema has been instrumental in strengthening Indo-Afghan ties. I very much hope that the film ‘Panipat’ has kept that fact in mind while dealing with this important episode of our shared history,” Dr Shaida Abdali, the former Afghan ambassador to India, tweeted.

More and more young Afghans are noticing the change in the protrayal of Afghans on Bollywood films and are talking about on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Earlier, they used to be happy and feel proud at even the slightest mention of Afghans in Hindi movies, but now they watch it with scrutiny. Given Afghans’ long relationship with Bollywood they are hoping for a better representation.

The post Recent Bollywood films, including Panipat, offend Afghans (big fans of Bollywood) appeared first on Bollywood Presents.