srK VoteD INDIA’s most popULAr fAther

India celebrated Father’s Day on June 16, and the day turned out extra-special for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. The doting dad of son Aryan and daughter Suhana, was voted India’s most popular father in a Father’s Day poll conducted by matrimonial site Shaadi. com. Surprisingly, the King Khan rocked up more votes than megastar Amitabh Bachchan, despite the latter’s famous son Abhishek and well-known daughter Shweta. The results of the poll, conducted among over 11,000 Indian women were announced a day before Father’s Day.

Shah Rukh received 34.83 percent votes while Amitabh was chosen by 31.58 percent of the women surveyed.

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took the third spot with 18.61 percent. The poll also posed other questions to the respondents. In the survey for the country’s most popular fatherdaughter relationship, Big B took the top spot along with his daughter Shweta. Veteran actor Jeetendra and his film producer daughter Ekta Kapoor got 35.06 percent votes, followed by father-daughter duo Anil Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor (22.42 percent).

Also, 44.85 percent Indian women voted for Shah Rukh and his son Aryan as India’s most popular father-son duo. So once again, SRK reigns supreme in his role as a father – but this time, he’s not acting! Congrats!

Fashion from the past years also reflects in Gunday, set in the Kolkata of 1971 to 1988. True to its time period, the film’s lead actress, Priyanka Chopra, dons a stunning retro look, with sensuous saris, sleeveless blouses and long tresses.

Similar is the case for Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobara, with the story backdropped against Mumbai of the late 1980s.

In her new film Bombay Velvet, actress Anushka Sharma will reportedly go retro as the movie chronicles the evolution of Mumbai over a period of two decades.

The trend is surely up and coming!

Ace designer Anju Modi, who has designed costumes for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama Ram Leela, costarring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, said it is the “romanticism of the retro look” which inspires filmmakers to dig into the past.

“They like to recreate the old world charm. While there is no dearth of stories that they can derive from the modern era, there is a certain glamour that constantly draws Bollywood filmmakers to the retro look,” said Modi.

Globally known designer Ritu Kumar said of the trend, “It is a measure of confidence in India’s history and identity that any industry goes looking back to recreate a bygone feel and touch.”

Designer and stylist Pernia Qureshi, who was behind Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor’s uber chic style in Aisha, believed “Indian films have now started taking fashion more seriously”. “People have realised how styling can play a key role in portraying exactly what is needed,” Qureshi said.

“To go deep into a character, the clothing, accessories and the overall look are vital. The retro look is about imitating the styles from the past without losing out on the modernity of the clothing and the looks so that it is relatable to the people of today’s day and age,” she added.

However, Modi said, designers and filmmakers must work closely to get the desired effect for such projects. “Creative freedom is a must, which is also why most filmmakers prefer fashion designers assisting with the costumes for their movies. A lot of research went into Deepika’s look for Ram Leela

“However, since Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a very creative man, it was interesting how he and I tried to create a different look by putting our minds together,” Modi said.

Filmmakers have also harkened to the bygone era in the recent past. Actress Aishwarya Rai played a 1970s girl in retro comedy Action Replayy, and her attire was in tune with the theme. Even Deepika Padukone spelt style galore in retro outfits in her Bollywood debut Om Shanti Om

In The Dirty Picture, Vidya Balan also sported colourful retro styles complete with the bandana, and Once Upon A time In Mumbaai saw actresses Kangna Ranaut and Prachi Desai in some evergreen styles.

Let’s hope the trend continues, after all, isn’t it true that old is gold?

New directors take on short films

Anurag Kashyap, who directed a short film for Bombay Talkies, has woven together five short stories in his new venture Shorts, due for release on July 12.

Five different directors (Neeraj Ghaywan, Shlok Sharma, Siddharth Gupta, Anirban Roy and Rohit Pandey) helmed five short stories for Shorts, which has already wowed movie connoisseurs in the global arena. Kashyap revealed, “They are very good short films, they have won awards internationally in the last two years”.

Richa Chadda, Huma Qureshi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Murari Kumar besides some new faces star in the five films’ cast.

Huma Qureshi says the film has already received so much acclaim that its box office performance is not being thought about.

“We haven’t made this film for the box office. These are new directors, fresh talent, and we are also new-age actors, so the idea was to create some new cinema, new thoughts, and new films,” the 26-year-old said at the first look launch of the film.

The five short films are titled Sujata, Epilogue, Audacity, Mehfuz and Shor Huma said that the idea behind Shorts is to showcase the work of “a new breed

who wore It better?

Deepika Padukone or Ashley Benson in Dolce & Gabbana?

Share your views with us on our Facebook page of actors and directors who have an interesting way of looking at things”.

Anil Kapoor throws bash for Raanjhanaa success

Proud father, actor Anil Kapoor is so impressed with his daughter Sonam Kapoor’s performance in Raanjhanaa that he threw a party for the movie’s team at his residence.

Anil has been receiving several calls congratulating him for Sonam’s performance in the film. Her character goes through a transformation in the second half of the movie, and she has been praised for carrying the complex role with ease.

“Anil loved Raanjhanaa himself. He was impressed by Sonam’s growth as an actor. He is indeed a proud daddy,” a source revealed.

The collections from the box office grossed Rs.31.5 crore worldwide on its opening weekend (Rs.26.5 crore domestic and Rs.5 crore overseas).

The film’s high points are its Varanasi flavour, mind-boggling music by A.R. Rahman, Dhanush’s convincing portrayal of a worshipping lover and the earthy side of Sonam Kapoor, who also shows her acting skills.

If Sonam gave her style diva tag a miss to play Zoya, she also made her character believable and the actress is getting praises from all quarters for her acting skills. Renowned novelist and columnist Shobhaa De tweeted: “Sonam can act, saala!”

Risk-taking Emraan revels in new role

Actor Emraan Hashmi who drew plaudits for his role in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, says that the risks he took in his career have paid off. “I always wanted to play versatile characters, it’s just that I got slotted. I was only taking up films that were offered to me,” Emraan said recently, at an event to promote his latest, soon to be released movie

Ghanchakkar

“But after seeing the turning point, which was Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, people started thinking beyond the image, and that I can do other films beyond the typical noir cinema of 2009. Then things really changed for me,” said Emraan.

After a spate of films like Murder and Gangster that earned him the title of Bollywood’s ‘serial kisser’, Emraan received critical acclaim for portraying a variety of characters in movies like Awarapan, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, The Dirty Picture, Shanghai and Ek Thi Dayaan

Now Emraan is foraying into comedy with Ghanchakkar. Calling it a ‘rebirth’ in his career post-2009, the actor admitted that breaking through stereotypes in films like The Dirty Picture and Ek Thi Daayan have brought him success.

“There was almost a rebirth of kind in my career after 2009 and I got to do the work I really wanted to do. In any decision, you have to be slightly cautious but you have to take risks. Because in my career, risks have already paid off,” he added.

Well, Emraan’s certainly taking a risk by venturing into the comedy genre, let’s hope its one that pays off for this adventurous actor!