WANTED: FAsHION sTYLIsT FOR BOLLYWOOD

We love you Vidya Balan, but did you make us cringe at Cannes!

Surely you, the most cerebral of Bollywood’s women, should have known better.

The demure chunni over the head, when you’re supposed to be holding your head high? An outlandish lehnga that makes you look positively medieval? What were you thinking?

And Big B - who advised you on that ridiculous street-band-wallah outfit, when all your contemporaries were dressed in smart jackets? And those white shoes with navy trims, were they left-overs from the sets of The Great Gatsby?

Sonam Kapoor, you made our eyes pop out with that absurd nose thing, and we had to look closely at your outfit to make sense of what it was: sari with a jacket that trails on the carpet? Other than that, your look can best be described as a make-up malfunction: it was as if the photographer caught you mid-way through your make-up for a traditional dance recital.

Overall, you looked quite the nautanki at Cannes this year, Bollywood. Literally. It was like you were dressed for a fancy dress party. National dress and all that is understandable, but this is preposterous.

This might be a bit harsh, but if you’re craving broader recognition at the international stage, Bollywood, it’s going to take longer for them to warm to you if you insist on appearing so insular.

“Why would I want to do my mother’s film remake,” asks Soha in perturbation. “That would be like suicide for me because I am inviting people to compare me to her. Rarely people will make favourable comment. The idea is to do something new and fresh. If it’s a contemporary adaptation then it’s okay”.

Soha says that she isn’t in filmdom for either fame or money, but she wants to do good work. She doesn’t have too many hits to her credit, but then, she is not ‘commercially focused’.

“My motivation is not how much my film will make. My motivation is, will I enjoy working in it? I am not interested in making a lot of money. I am fortunate to have financial security and that’s [money] never been a motivation factor for me,” she explains.

Soha has tried her hand at acting too, starring in films like Rang de Basanti and Khoya Khoya Chand, but hasn’t had the runaway success like big brother Saif. However, this doesn’t seem to bother her either. “I am not even interested in being famous. I think being famous has a lot of stress. It’s very stressful being an actress. Actually, being an actor is very complicated. You have to be almost superhuman to deal with everything. It comes with a lot of baggage,” she says candidly.

But the one thing that is evidently special to Soha is her mother, whom she describes as a ‘good homemaker’.

“I take a lot of tips from my mum on how to be a good homemaker,” says Soha, who has been dating actor Kunal Khemu for a while now.

“She was a very good wife and a good mother and she does give me advice. One of the things that she said was - a man must never hurt a woman’s emotion and a woman must never hurt a man’s ego; and if you respect the man’s ego and the man respects the woman’s emotion, then you will be okay,” she states. Mum always knows best, Soha!

Fortunately for this young lady, people have now stopped comparing Soha to Sharmila. “Sometimes when I dress in a particular way, people say I look like my mom. Even if you are comparing favourably or unfavourably with my mother, I am not competing with her, I am competing with my fears,” concludes Soha on a somewhat confusing note.

But there’s no doubt that Sharmila’s daughter with her striking personality and independence, is a chip off the old block! ranbir in real-time

While Ranbir carries on the Kapoor tradition of acting in Bollywood, he’s not completely averse to a stint behind the camera.

“I would like spend the next 15 to 20 years of my life on film sets,” said the 30-year-old actor. “I hope I keep on getting opportunities to work with good directors. That is my plan, but whenever we make plans, God laughs at us”.

“I want to make movies too. That’s something I would love to do - direct a movie,” added Ranbir at a promotional event recently for his forthcoming film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, which is directed by Ayan Mukerji and also features Deepika Padukone.

On the subject of the actress, Ranbir admits that Deepika is the only one in the industry who intimidates him. “I always expected from Deepika to reach very high levels, but I had no idea that she will become such a fine actress so soon. She is the first actress in front of whom I am a bit intimidated,” said Ranbir, who will appear on screen with her after a gap of five years, since Bachna Ae Haseeno in 2008. And that’s a surprising statement coming from Ranbir who has wowed the audience with a variety of roles in hit movies like Wake Up Sid, Raajneeti, Rockstar and Barfi!

Talking about Deepika’s growth in the industry, Ranbir said, “I felt like she was not doing what I expected her to do. That constant surprise was a good feeling. I know her so well. I know her advantages as well as disadvantages. She has turned her disadvantages into advantages. So, I am very happy for her.” Well, he would know the actress a bit better than most, as they were a real life ex-couple a few years ago.

Most celebrities are hounded by rumours and Ranbir accepts it as part of an actor’s life. “I can understand there is a demand for this. People want to know all about their favourite actors and actresses,” he claimed. “But when it comes to you, you feel bad. But you have to focus on your work. Because when on a Friday your film releases, everyone forgets everything. It is part and parcel of the journey. You have to take it with a pinch of salt”.

And while he is in friendly competition with his contemporaries, he admits to keeping a finger on the pulse of the industry. “We are curious... but we are all