OM PURI: AN ACTOR FOR ALL SEASONS

His craggy, pockmarked but distinctive face may have kept him from becoming a leading man in films , but Om Puri used the remarkable range of expressions he could convey, from impotent rage to blazing menace to comic exasperation, al ong with his trademark baritone, to play some immortal roles on the big and small screen in India and abroad.

The true tribute to any actor is in remembering some of their performances and for Om Puri , who succumbed to a sudden heart attack this month, there is no shortage of roles , big or small, heroic, comic or villainous, in masala or art films t o recall his skill.

Will we remember him for his depiction of the victimised tribal of Aakrosh (1980), conveying his anguished helplessness by facial expressions till the very last shocking scene when he finally opens his mouth in a loud prot est, the hapless policeman in Ardh Satya (1982), the enthusiastic poetry-lover in In Custody/ Muhafiz (1993) or sinister terrorist Sanatan in Maachis (1996)

Or will we prefer to remember him in another light, as suspicious secretary Banwari Lal in Chachi 420 ( 1998), the jovial and kind but dutiful Inspector Khan in Pyar To Hona Hi Tha (1997) or determined Inspector Udham Singh in Gupt (1997) Then there is also his portrayal of British- Pakistani George Khan, who is loving but can be authoritarian and abusive towards his mixed family in East Is East ( 1999)

And let us not forget two cameos where he well marked his presence - Nahari, the unrepentant rioter in Richard Attenborough 's Gandhi ( 1982), and as Gen Zia ul- Haq in Charlie Wilson 's War (2007 ), which shows how the Americans began their slide into the Afghan quagmire.

Vika s Datta

DEV PATEL: SEXIEST MAN ALIVE?

Popular American talk show host Ellen DeGeneres th i nks Indian-origin British actor Dev Patel should be named the sexiest man alive.

Dev appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show recently to promote his film Lion, and DeGeneres encouraged him to start a campaign for " Sexiest Man Alive"

" Because you look so good , and people are saying you look buff and everything, I had this made for you," DeGeneres told Dev before presenting the 26-year-old actor with a fake magazine cover of him as People s annua l hot man honouree.

" You can hand this out, it'll help your career"

Patel responded, " I'll give it to my mom , she' ll put it at the entrance to her house. "

" This is very awkward," he went on, leading DeGeneres t o quip, " You don' t understand Hollywood. "

Awww , simple, lovable Dev!

Meanwhile, El len is making many new Indian friends. Recall how well she got on with Priyanka Chopra not so long ago? She had PeeCee downing vodka shots one after the other (in an obvious send up of apni Priyanka 's vodka confessions at a red carpet just prior) And if news is to be believed, Ellen has signed Deepika Padukone to appear on her show, in the lead up to the release of xXx: Return of Xander Cage Vodka for Priyanka, People magazine cover for Dev wonder what Ellen has in store for Dippy? Need any help there, Ellen? How about good looking boys names Ranbir, Ranveer, Ranvir maybe ? Just a suggestion!

Dev, PeeCee, Dippy, we can ' t wait to see you in your new films.

And on more TV talk shows!

IT'S A TOILET BREAK FOR BHUM I PEDNEKAR

Her first film Oum Laga Ke Haisha contained the message that over-sized women are not at a disadvantage as long as there is love.

Bhumi Pednekar 's second film too has a societal message. It's about... toilets? No, it's a love story. Heck, no, it's a love story set in a toilet No, no, no, it's a story where toilets fall in love.

Excuse our confusion. But the filmmakers are not telling us much about the film other than the fact that it's called Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. Now you understand our foggy minds

The 27-year-old act or said the film isn't preachy.

" It is a beautiful love story that t aps into aspects of our society as well," she noted.

While it is quite apparent from the title that the film is about personal hygi ene, the producers are keeping the storyline close to their chests to retain interest in t he movie t hat is set to release in June. Akshay Kumar stars al ongside Bhumi.

Bhumi is more than happy about Bollywood making message-based fi l ms and says cinema is the easiest way to communicate with the peopl e.

" I feel that today 's people, aud iences and filmmakers , we all have become very aware of the problems and the situations that we have around us," she remarked. " Earlier, we were in a position to ignore them but I think we have now reached a point where we cannot ignore certain things and I think that 's f antastic. Cinema is the largest and the easiest way to communicate with the masses and if you can put it to good use, then why not."

She went on, " What attracts me is real stories about rea l Indian girls. "

You go, girl!

Bhumi , who before entering the world of films was a casting director considers herself to be lucky for bagging rea l istic roles.

" I think I have been really lucky that I have been getting roles where I can p lay t he girl- next-door or a girl... My roles are not simi lar at all," she said.

Oum Laga Ke Ha isha came in 2015 and Bhumi 's next film is all set to release in June 2017.

Will the time gap help her buil d a new image?

" The time I took off was planned because I had to come back to being Bhumi (my natural self) and it took me this much time. I had ga i ned an insane amount of weight for the fi lm and I had to drop it off," she explained.

NO PLASTICS FOR JUH i CHAWLA

Bhumi is not the only B-Town personality who cares about social messages. Juhi Chawla has her own pet project too. The actor, entrepreneur and social activist is seeking to create awareness about the detrimenta l effects of plastic.

" Using plastic has an alarming effect,'' she said at a Rotary Club event recently. " The Supreme Court says unless we examine a ban on plast ic, the next generation will be threatened with more serious threats than the atom bomb. Plastic can't d ecompose. We see plastics in streets, beaches, rivers and everywhere. Every piece that is made with plastic stays for the next one thousand years. Every piece of plastic has toxic substances."

Very deep. And there was more.

" My brother- in-law mentioned to me that there are islands of plastics in the ocean. He also told me their size, and that' s when it shocked me the most. In the North Pacific Ocean, islands of f loating plastic are almost the size of Africa, " she added.

" We are damaging the environment to such a big degree and many of us don 't even know about it. Plastic is poisoning the water. Every day we are creating cancers for ourselves by consuming food in plastic. We must think about what kind of development is this? "

She also advised people to carry cloth or jute bag for shopping, to not use plastic cutlery at parties, or plastic bottles, which are damaging for tropical countries.

Ahem , what about the other kind of plastic that is deliberately put into our bodies ?

Aussie Holiday For Bips

Bipasha Basu was in Australia recently and on extended honeymoon with her bridegroom Karan Singh Grover. Sydney and the Gold Coast featured on their itinerary, with the loved up duo bringing in the New Year in Sydney, an arms' length away from the world-famous fireworks on the harbour. The bubbly actor tweeted pies of herself and her miyan at the Opera House forecourt, at Pitt St Mall, in Myer in the city, on a boat in Sydney Harbour, fish and chips at Watson ' s Bay, in Leura in the Blue Mountains, beach-bumming, at various restaurants all accompanied by the hashtag aussiemonkeys.

On ya, Bipasha!

WORTH WA ITING FOR? YOU DECIDE!

Ohhhhh, here' s another unfortunately named film: Haramkhor, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Shweta Tripathi.

Shweta (of Masaan fame) has been gushing all over the place about her talented colleague.

" At first , I was worried sharing screen with an actor like Nawazuddin Siddiqui because he is a remarkable actor and an outstanding person," she said recently. "( But) he didn' t make me feel like a newcomer. Nawazuddin brings himself down to match the l evel. I felt as though I was working with an actor who has same experience like me. That's why I respect him so much. I

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

KATIE STE VEN S o r MALAIKA A RORA

K HAN in ZEYNA P ERDOGAN?

+ Share your views with us on our Facebook page / lndianLinkAustra/ia don' t know anybody who does that. He gives space to another co-star."

Er, okay.

Shot in a small village in Gujarat, the film explores the romance between a 14-year-old school student and her teacher.

The main characters of the film are the teacher, the student, a boy who has a crush on the girl and his friend who helps him and the teacher's wife.

Meanwhi le, Salman Khan is headed to Morocco with former squeeze Katrina Kaif, for director Ali Abbas Zaffar's Tiger Zinda Hai, a sequel to 2012 blockbuster Ek Tha Tiger.

Zaffar is current ly busy scouting locations in Morocco.

Produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films, the fi l m is gearing up for a Christmas release this year.

What Tweety Bird Told Us This Week

Match the stars to the following tweets Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Karan Johar Salman Khan Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar

Sometimes too many options aren' t a good thing #GoldenGlobes #Girl Problems suggestions?

The Sunday well wishers always an occasion to consider that l ife is worth what it gave me

Jaan se #Zaalima tak Hope you all like it!

Joining hands on a project where@ akshaykumar is the hero and will be co produced by @karanjohar and #SKF

Here it is #GoPagal with our first song, my favourite song from #JollyLLB2!!

Cried my heart out in #LION and absolutely loved #DevPatel sad and cathartic but so magical in many moments

Thrilled to announce that #XxX:TheReturnofXanderCage will release in India first! before anywhere else in the world! #14thJanuary #Vin Diesel

What's th e chitc hat betw een LION STARS DEV PATEL a nd SONNY PAWAR

Send in yo ur response s t o win@indianlink.com.au a nd w in a s u r prise pri ze

Wh at's th e chi t chat betw een

AKSHAY KUMAR and SAJID NADIADWALA during their grand entry to the set of Ya a ron Ki Baraat

Everyb ody get re ady for Hous eful/ 4!

SIMONE SINGH, Werribee, VIC wins a ticket to OK JANU