THE DAME AND THE DASHING

Indian actor Ali Fazal looked dapper as he stepped out in a tuxedo for the world premiere of his film Victoria and Abdul at the ongoing Venice International Film Festival with legendary actress Judi Dench.

Lucknow lad Ali plays Abdul Karim in the Stephen Frears directorial, in which Dench is seen as Queen Victoria.

The film is based on a book by Shrabani Basu. It revolves around the relationship shared by Queen Victoria and Abdul, who was a munshi in her government. It also shows his journey on how he became one of the most powerful figures in the court.

Ali is currently on a worldwide promotion tour for the movie. According to a review by The Hollywood Reporter, “It helps that Fazal, with his heartthrob looks and expressive eyes, projects such sincerity.”

The film releases in Australia on 14 September.

Trust Farhan Akhtar to come up with deep and meaningful insights about the state of the film industry in India.

The multi-faceted talent feels that the Indian audience has evolved from fantasy films to stories which are about real issues and are inspired from their surroundings.

“I believe that patterns in the film industry - in terms of the stories that are presented and what the audience likes to see - follow a cyclic format,” he said recently. “A few years ago, it was the age of NRIs, and love stories were very popular. Everyone was eager to witness the presentation of romance, and the world of fantasies was blooming. Perhaps the audience is now bored of fantasies to some extent and they want to learn about themselves now, share their issues with each other.”

Content driven cinema is ruling the roost today, and so a lot of stories rooted in the Indian ethos are seeing the light of the day. But where they are originating from is also interesting.

“I think that at this moment, the film industry has started feeling that there is a scarcity of ideas. So people will come in from (different) places. There was a time when a lot of people entered the industry from Delhi - actors, directors and writers - so a lot of films over the stretch of two to three years were based in Delhi, some three or four years ago. Perhaps people are now bored with stories from Delhi, and they are looking to other places. This is what is following... writers are coming in from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan. Their stories which are influenced by what they have seen, and their social environments.”

(He was probably thinking about his upcoming film, Lucknow Central, while making that analysis.)

Of course, Farhan welcomes such disruption.

“We are very fortunate to be able to interact with these people, with their fresh ideas. We get to collaborate with them and help them bring their ideas on screen and also they help us to re-invent ourselves as artists.”

Good on you, Farhan.

BIG B, HEMA ARE ALL FOR KASHMIR

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and veteran actress-politician Hema Malini have featured in Vaadi-e-Kashmir, a short film aimed at spreading the message of oneness.

“As an Indian, this film is my attempt to reach out to Kashmir and touch the hearts of our brothers and sisters in the valley,” Hema, who has also curated the film, said in a statement.

Vaadi-e-Kashmir, which captures the valley’s beauty and people, is directed by filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar and has music and lyrics by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Gulzar.

Amitabh gives a key message at the start of the movie, which showcases Kashmir’s mountains, greenery and shikaras

The vision behind the six-minute film, the film’s makers say, is to make our brothers and sisters in Kashmir feel that the rest of the country stands with them and also open many more doors to bring us closer to one another.

The short film also calls viewers to log on to www.dilsekashmir.com, a platform for the people across the nation to send a message of love to the people of Kashmir.

Harshvardhan Kapoor For Abhinav Bindra Biopic

Harshvardhan Kapoor says he is “stoked” to be chosen to play shooter and Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra on the silver screen.

Bindra won the country’s first individual gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Harshvardhan, 26, son of veteran actor Anil Kapoor, made his debut in Bollywood with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya. He is currently filming for Vikramaditya Motwane’s upcoming film Bhavesh Joshi, expected to release later this year.

RANDEEP HOODA HELPS

CLEAN UP MUMBAI BEACH

Actor Randeep Hooda was seen with members of NGO Afraz cleaning up Mumbai’s Juhu beach a day after Ganeshotsav immersions.

In a series of photographs, the Highway actor is seen sporting a saffron coloured turban paired with a black T-shirt and blue jeans while cleaning up the beach.

Caption Contest

According to a source close to the actor, Randeep, who lives in Versova area, has been quite active with Afraz.

“This seva is his learning from Sikhism that he has been following closely since a year. He feels that seva is something all religions need to adopt,” said the source.

This is not the first time a Bollywood celeb has campaigned for the beach clean-up. Last month, actress Dia Mirza along with her producer-husband Sahil Sangha was seen cleaning the beach. Sonakshi Sinha has also done her bit for cleanliness on the beach.

Deol Brothers Keep Coming Back

Vasectomy. Now that’s a new subject on which to base a Hindi film. Oh well, why not? We’ve had toilets, sanitary pads, constipation, sperm donation… and before you can say Bollywood is crap, please note all of these topics turned their films into hits. (OK, so we’re still waiting for the one on sanitary napkins, but going by recent experience, that one will be a hit too).

So this new one, called Poster Boys will star the Deol brothers Sunny and Bobby, and will be directed by debutant director Shreyas Talpade.

If that name sounds familiar to you, you must be a Marathi speaker. The film, slated for release on 8 Sept, is based on a 2014 Marathi film called Poshter Boyz

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NO FILM INDUSTRY, BUT SIKKIM PRODUCES FIRST FEATURE FILM

It is being touted as the first ever Sikkimese language feature film. Pahuna: The Little Visitors, produced by none other than Priyanka Chopra, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this month.

Director Paakhi A. Tyrewala says since the film deals with negative impact of political violence on the mind of children, she hopes for a peaceful world where there will be no need to make such a film.

It’s a children’s film with a realistic subject and tells the story of an unexplored land and in a language less spoken. All of these elements made it tougher to get financial support, but Paakhi loved the journey of making her first film.

Thanking her team, including the cinematographer, story translator, music director and sound engineer, Paakhi said, “Priyanka told me that if I can manage to make a good film, she will take me to an international platform. Everything is happening. Hats off to my producers and the wonderful team that I have worked with. This film is as much theirs as mine.”

Here’s hoping Priyanka’s Midas touch will turn out to be good for Paakhi.

What Tweety Bird Told Us This Week

Match the following tweets to the celebs that made them.

Shabana Azmi, Parineeti Chopra, Sonam Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Amitabh Bachchan

Truly amazed at the calibre of contestants on KBC this season .. such innocence yet such brilliance .. and what stories !!

HONOURED!! Australia India

Say Hello to the Veeres of this crazy adventure called #VeereDiWedding!

D fight is not between Hindus and Muslims but of ideology. Liberals of ALL religions on same side against bigots of ALL religions on d other

A big thank you to all 1200 citizens of #Mumbai who showed up and helped clean our beach! #SayNoToPlastic #SwachhBharat #FreeTheBeach

What’s the chitchat between JUDI DENCH and ALI FAZAL here?

Send in your responses to win@indianlink.com.au and WIN A TICKET to a new Hindi film

Last Issue Caption Contest Winning Entry

What’s AISHWARYA saying to daughter AARADHYA here?

Now remember, Mama has told you many times, never let go of my hand in public

PARIJAT CHEKAVAN KANGAROO POINT, BRISBANE

Parijat wins a ticket to Victoria and Abdul