RANBIR’S ‘SANJU’ ACT IS SHORT OF BREATH

Everything seems to be a joke in the eagerly awaited trailer of Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju, based on the life of troubled actor Sanjay Dutt. A cruel joke told in the form of a psychedelic fable replete with visuals of Sanju baba aka Ranbir Kapoor, high on drugs, so high that he can’t tell the difference between a laugh and a cry, or a mangalsutra and a toilet seat.

In a sequence meant to be deafeningly shrill in its hysterical repudiation of a traumatic marriage, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja shrieks for her missing mangalsutra, and her high-as-a-kite husband drapes her neck with a toilet seat.

Toilets occur twice in the longish trailer. Next we see Sanju in a dingy prison cell panicking as the inbuilt toilet vomits yellow liquid excreta in nauseating bubbles.

Realism during the times of surrealism.

The atmosphere is light, uffy, woozy and jokey even in the scenes of horri c torture where Ranbir’s Sanju cracks up after a resounding slap from a policeman interrogating him for his alleged terror activity. It is again an unintentionally funny moment because the real Sanjay Dutt must have cracked up so many times under duress without looking like he has just been caught eating an extra gulab jamun for dessert.

Sanjay’s saga is a chronicle of self-abuse and voluntary destruction. Neither of these aspects is highlighted or even mentioned in the trailer. Barring the small glimpse of Manisha Koirala as Sanjay’s legendary mother Nargis, every actor seems to be in this for the fun of it. Vicky Kaushal, so majestically restrained in Raazi, is specially annoying as Sanju’s sidekick smirking about “say-ex”.

And Paresh Rawal as Sunil Dutt behaves as if his son is an angel targeted by all the devils in the world. This is so wrong. I remember how troubled Sunil was by his son’s antics. Speaking to me, he had called his son a “bigda beta (a brat)” spoilt by his mother. The trailer makes it seems the father blames the world for his son’s troubles.

Everything in the trailer seems to be done for effect. Anushka Sharma (with a specially-cropped haircut to look the part) asks Sanjay how many women he has slept with besides his girlfriends. (Which journalist asks such questions in Mumbai?)

“Does that include prostitutes? 308... no make that 350 just to be on the safe side,” Ranbir’s Sanju deadpans.

The overweening cuteness of an incorrigible hedonist is unbearable to digest.

The only moment that actually had me laughing was when director Mahesh Manjrekar calls Sanjay Dutt, saying the shot is ready. Sanju pretends to be stuck in the traf c.

“But I’ve called you on the landline,” protests Manjrekar with a laugh. That’s it. Everyone - from mum Nargis to friend Manjrekar - laughed off Sanju baba’s wrongdoings.

Judging by the trailer, it seems we’re supposed to do the same. Subhash K. Jha

And in his typically brusque manner, added, “Wikipedia has got the year of death wrong.”

You tell them, Rishi.

Prithviraj began his acting career in the theatres of Lyallpur and Peshawar in the 1920s.

He later featured in lms like Cinema Girl, Sher-e-Arab, Prince Vijaykumar, Alam Ara, Vidyapati and Mughal-e-Azam

RAM GOPAL VARMA: VIOLENT OFFICER

Ram Gopal Varma’s actioner Of cer is yet to get the censor nod although the lm is just days away from release. Reason? The violent content.

Apparently, there are scenes of graphic violence in the lm which have the Central Board Of Film Certi cation (CBFC) ummoxed. Though Varma is more than willing to take an ‘Adult’ certi cate, the CBFC is yet in two minds about letting some of the violence go scot-free.

Varma doesn’t deny the violent content in Of cer

“It is a lm about the violent society we live in and one man’s struggle to bring a semblance of sanity in the lives of common citizens. The violence in Of cer is raw and real,” he said.

“You can’t show the reaction until you spotlight the action. The violence here is not gratuitous. It will make the audience uncomfortable, as any form of violence is supposed to,” he added.

SALMAN KHAN: THROWING FAVOURS AROUND

Salman Khan is well known for giving a break to star kids and aspiring actors or singers. But this time round he seems to have gone the extra mile.

Looking high and low for a female lead for his home production, he may have picked Warina Hussain (“Mujhe ladki mil gayi”, remember?) but there were others he liked in the short list.

One of these was Yogita Bihani. The magnanimous guy that Salman is, he recommended her for Ekta Kapoor’s upcoming show Dil Hi Toh Hai

The young actor is over the moon. “I may have missed out on Loveratri, but thanks to Salman Khan I’ve got a perfect launch,” she said recently. “I can say that it’s not less than a movie. It has a great story.”

The show is yet to premiere on Sony Entertainment Television but it’s already the talk of the town.

SHE’S INCREDIBLE

So Kajol joins The Incredibles family. Actress Kajol has lent her voice to the character of Helen Parr, Elastigirl, for the Hindi version of Disney.Pixar’s Incredibles 2

“Incredibles 2 brings to us a heartwarming tale of a family that is like us,” Kajol said in a statement recently. “But yet they are different. There were so many moments in the story that I could relate with and I knew I had to join the fun.”

The sequel picks up right after the 2004 original, with Craig T. Nelson returning as the voice of Bob Parr, Holly Hunter as Elastigirl and Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone. Brad Bird, who voices fashion designer Edna Mode, is back to direct the project.

The sequel again deals with the Parr family attempting balance having a normal life with their superhero powers.

“I am really excited to be a part of the family of Supers and contribute to this fun feature in my own special way,” added Kajol.

With Kajol as Helen aka Elastigirl, Incredibles 2 will de nitely appeal to newer audiences and families at large.

The lm is slated to release in India on 22 June in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

MOHAMMED RAFI, NOBLEMAN

It’s an unforgettable number, Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye.

Late singer Mohammed Ra ’s track in late actor Guru Dutt’s acclaimed lm Pyaasa is being recreated for the Kunal Kapoor-starrer Noblemen

The lm is centred around bullying in schools and is directed by Vandana Kataria. It is the story of a 15-year-old boy, struggling with his adolescent years, terrorised by a gang of bullies in a posh boarding school, setting forth a chain of events that lead to loss of life and innocence.

“It’s an iconic song and seemed to t our lm and the present times very aptly,” Kataria said. “It’s darker in its theme, has fast instrumentation, the lyrics have been changed to suit the lm.”

She added, “Guru Dutt’s classic song has a timeless quality to it. It is emblematic of the sheer worthlessness of times we inhabit - one that resonates with the situation the protagonists face in the lm.”

We’ll just have to wait and see if this classic gives a new youth-based lm a relevant twist.

AKSHAY KUMAR, FEMINIST

Would you agree with us when we call Akshay Kumar, an action star turned feminist?

Bollywood’s own ‘Pad Man’ Akshay Kumar made the headlines yet again when he claimed recently that it is just as important to educate men as women about menstrual hygiene. He was speaking at a forum on Menstrual Hygiene Awareness day.

Speaking about an issue that he has become so well-known for, he said, “The very idea that men can talk about having a set of sanitary napkins along with Rakhi is revolutionary. I got to know that 70 percent of rural women suffer from infection as they use cloth and recycle it. They would wash it but would not hang it out in sun to dry because it’s a matter of shame. So they would dry under the mattresses of the cot. This would lead to inevitable diseases. Even in the 21st century, Indian women didn’t have a patch of sunlight for themselves. That hit me so hard.”

He also explained the thought that provoked him to make the lm Pad Man “I read somewhere, ‘Never mess with someone who bleeds ve days a month but does not die - that’s the power of a woman’,” he said.

Sounds like something his beautiful –and witty – wife Twinkle would say!

He concluded that commercial lms, more than documentary lms, will have an impact on changing society in a positive way.

ME, RELEVANT? HOPE NOT!

Mumbai’s lm industry is not exactly known for its realism. And its biggest star, Amitabh Bachchan, is no apologist for this; in fact, he has always celebrated this fact. In a recent interview he reiterated that he has no intention to stay relevant, and doesn’t pick his projects with that mindset.

“I have no intention of being relevant, and I certainly do not work towards it,” Amitabh said. “If there is something that fascinates me I give it a shot. At times it works, most of the time it does not.”

His latest punt, 102 Not Out, certainly seems to have worked.

SUNNY LEONE: STUNT WOMAN

Actress Sunny Leone says that she did her own horse riding and other stunts for the rst look shoot for her upcoming lm Veeramadevi.

A period drama, the lm will mark the debut of the Indo-Canadian actress in the Tamil lm industry.

The lm’s makers are reportedly planning to release the lm in four other languages - Telugu, Kannada,

Malayalam, and Hindi.

Sunny, whose real name is Karenjit Kaur Vohra, was last seen on the big screen in 2017 in the lm Tera Intezaar with Arbaaz Khan.

WORTH WAITING FOR? YOU DECIDE!

Upcoming Salman Khan-starrer Race 3 will be one for the petrol-heads, if reports are to be believe. It has car chase sequences that were shot on the Formula One circuit.

The makers of the lm, helmed by Remo D’souza, have picked cars like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati for the action entertainer.

Boasting of high octane sequences, the forthcoming lm offers scenes of cars being blown up into pieces.

“There will be more than 15 ‘supercars’ that will be a treat for all car lovers,” a spokesperson for the lm said recently.

Looks like Race 3 is said to take the Race franchise to an all-time high with action a notch higher and suspense that will leave the audience on the edge of their seats.

Starring an ensemble cast of Salman, Jacqueline Fernandez, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Saqib Saleem and Daisy Shah, the lm has been produced by Salman Khan Films and Ramesh Taurani under the banner of Tips Films. It will hit the screens on Eid this year.

On Twitter This Week

Match the stars to the tweets below Shabana Azmi, Priyanka Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja

My sunshine turns 5 years today but he thinks he is 9! Please don’t tell him otherwise if u meet him.

Aliaa Meghna Congratulations on the success of Raazi. Woman centric woman directed lm to win both critical acclaim and do phenomenally at the box of ce ... you pave the way for many such in future

I’m in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh today for a eld visit UNICEF, visiting one of the largest refugee camps in the world

More than anything, I’m incredibly proud to be sharing June 1st with the release of my brother’s lm. As he rightly said, it’s going to be a day of celebration in our family.

What’s the chit-chat here between SONAM KAPOOR & KAREENA KAPOOR

Send your response to: media@indianlink.com.au TO WIN A MOVIE TICKET!!

What’s the chit-chat here between VARUN DHAWAN and ANUSHKA SHARMA

Varun: “Anushka ek dhaasu performance ho jaaye, meri last teen releases pit chuki hain!”

Anushka: “Chill yaar, meri bhi. I care more about scores than reviews now.”

By Nikita Thakkar

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