Swwapnil Joshi: Marathi content among finest in India, just needs wider audience

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Swwapnil Joshi: Marathi content among finest in India, just needs wider audience

Actor Swwapnil Joshi, who soon reprises his role as Kumar Mahajan in the Marathi web series “Samantar 2”, says the particular streaming platform on which a project gets released plays a huge role in the show’s success. He adds that the Marathi industry has lately been producing some of the finest content, in cinema as well as OTT, and just needs a wider audience.

“It is the platform that gives you (the audience) the first cue on how they feel about the show. If a platform is hesitant in backing a show, then as a viewer you are going to be hesitant in watching it. If the platform is aggressive in marketing it and you see they are putting all their power in pushing it ahead, you know they are confident about the show and you would consume it faster. The platform, right marketing, and mounting play key roles going forward,” the actor tells IANS.

Swwapnil, who has been part of various Marathi films and shows in the past, is of the opinion that the industry has churned out great content over the past couple of years.

“I think Marathi cinema has grown many folds in the last couple of years. Marathi cinema has really come of age. We have reached the Oscars, we have broken the Rs 100-crore barrier and continue to do that every passing day,” shares the actor.

Swwapnil is still remembered for his role as a child artiste when he appeared as Lord Krishna in Ramanand Sagar’s show “Krishna”. Growing up, he made a name for himself in Hindi and Marathi shows.

The actor feels that Marathi’s content should strengthen its reach.

“I think Marathi content, be it cinema or OTT needs to be accessible to people. At the cost of sounding immodest, as far as content is concerned, I really feel that we are making some of the finest content in India. Now the job is to reach a bigger and wider audience,” he says.

“Samantar 2”, which also stars Nitish Bharadwaj, is the second part of the hit Marathi series of the same name and will stream on MX Player. Swapnil plays Kumar Mahajan, a man who falls into unending series of events in order to satiate his curiosity about his future.

Is the actor curious about his future in personal life, too? “I am definitely curious about my future but I am not paranoid about it. If someone says that they can read my palm, I would be interested. But I will not get addicted to it,” says the actor, who will soon be seen in the Marathi horror film “Bali”.

Kashmiri actress Shaylee Krishen: Being a refugee in our own country, cinema was the only escape

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Kashmiri actress Shaylee Krishen: Being a refugee in our own country, cinema was the only escape

Born and brought up in a Kashmiri Pandit family, a major part of her childhood was spent moving from one refugee camp to another until they managed to find a space they could call home. For young actress Shaylee Krishen, there was no sense of permanence about where she lived, and the TV set and radio that offered films and songs were her only constant source of entertainment, escape and happiness.

Today, Shaylee belongs to that world of entertainment. She recently appeared in the OTT series “The Last Hour”, and has a couple of Malayalam films — “Bermuda” and “Malayalam” — lined up.

She gets nostalgic recalling her first introduction to the 70mm screen, as an audience when she was 13. “I went to Bengaluru to meet my brother and he took me to a cinema theatre, and we watched a Malayalam film! I am a Kashmiri, watching a film, in which the language is totally unknown. But I remember how engrossed I was because of that cinematic experience. It was a Santosh Sivan directorial,” Shaylee tells an interview.

As fate would have it, she has now worked with Sivan in the upcoming thriller “Jack N Jill”, as well as another film, “Moha”.

“I know it sounds surreal but what is real and what is unreal? In fact, the reality is very different for me because being born into a Kashmiri Pandit family, we all know how for the last 30 years, our community has been living as a refugee in our own land. There was no sense of permanence, as children, me and my siblings would always live in fear. But wherever we shifted, my only constant was listening to the radio and watching films on TV every Sunday. I would visualize the song and dance in front of the mirror and try and enact them after watching films. The rest of the reality that we all Kashmiri Pandits faced, everyone knows, was quite gloomy. Acting and storytelling were the escape I always wanted to hold onto,” Shaylee says.

She was always interested in performance-oriented characters — like her favorite Sridevi in “Sadma” and Manisha Koirala in “Khamoshi”.

While her portrayal of Pari Singh in “The Last Hour” was intense, was it possible because of OTT platforms?

“I think when it comes to budding actors, getting good performance-oriented roles is possible now because of good casting and vision of the director. We know how some legendary film directors used to work with non-actors and extract brilliant performances from them. A director has to have that strong vision and be good with his craft to bring out the best actor from them. That is how directors used to be star makers,” says Shaylee.

She sums up: “Santosh sir and (‘The Last Hour’ creator) Amit (Kumar) sir are people who discover a new side of an actor that nobody has seen before, and there comes the vision of a director for his actor. I think it has nothing to do with whether the medium is web series, films, or TV shows, but it has to do with the vision of a director.”

Shaylee’s latest work “The Last Hour” streams on Amazon Prime Video.

Chandan Roy Sanyal gets nostalgic as he completed 20 years in Mumbai

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Chandan Roy Sanyal gets nostalgic as he completed 20 years in Mumbai

Actor Chandan Roy Sanyal, whose latest act in the anthology series “Ray” is winning him applause, wrote an emotional message on Saturday to mark 20 years since the time he arrived in Mumbai to chase a Bollywood career.

The actor recalled the moment when he came to Mumbai from Delhi and started working as an extra.

“Today at 11:59 pm I finish 20 years of my fight in BOMBAY from an extra on a film set to RAY on @netflix! I came to Paschim Express/ sleeper class on 25 June 2001 with 7000 rupees saved from the home tuitions I gave in Delhi. I am still looking at my bigger dreams and still in the game, I may not be a superstar but still. F..K yeah! Be persistent and righteous, don’t let F.. anyone tell you what to do! Slow and steady #righteous,” he wrote.

In the anthology series “Ray”, Chandan is part of the film titled “Spotlight”, directed by Vasan Bala. The actor, who came into the Bollywood limelight with his role of Mikhail in “Kaminey”, has lately won fans playing Bhopa swami in the Prakash Jha series “Ashram”.

Malaika Arora to Arjun Kapoor: “Happy birthday my sunshine”

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Malaika Arora to Arjun Kapoor: “Happy birthday my sunshine”

Malaika Arora wished Arjun Kapoor his 36th birthday on Saturday with a mushy wish and a cozy picture of the couple.

“Happy birthday my sunshine,” posted Malaika on Instagram, along with a picture of the two.

In the picture post, Malaika is seen in Arjun’s arms smiling against the backdrop of a picturesque valley. The picture appears to be a throwback from a vacation.

The two stars are seen in activewear. While Malaika wears a blue T-shirt, white sweatshirt, and grey track pants, Arjun dons a grey T-shirt, black hoodie, black shorts, and a cap.

Celebrations for Arjun’s birthday started on Friday night at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace hotel. The actor had a star-studded birthday bash attended by some of his industry friends and family members.

From Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt to Ranveer Singh and Aditya Roy Kapur, many of Arjun’s industry friends attended the bash.

On the work front, Arjun Kapoor has the films “Ek Villain Returns” and “Bhoot Police” in the pipeline while Malaika currently judges the dance reality show “Super Dancer 4”.

Nani gets vaccinated, asks fans to make a choice

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Nani gets vaccinated, asks fans to make a choice

Telugu star Nani on Saturday uploaded a picture that shows him getting the Covid vaccine. He encouraged fans to take the jab with an interesting poser in the caption of his post.

“Our options, A) We vaccinate and stay safe. B) We stay safe by getting vaccinated. Choose one,” he wrote as the caption.

The actor, who dropped his 25th film as hero, “V”, on OTT last year, is awaiting the release of his new Telugu film “Tuck Jugadish”. He will also be seen in “Shyam Singha Roy” along with Sai Pallavi, Kirthi Shetty, and Madonna Sebastian.

Nani also recently gave the first clap for his next production “Meet Cute”.

Asees Kaur on working with AR Rahman: It was an instant yes from me

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Asees Kaur on working with AR Rahman: It was an instant yes from me

Singer Asees Kaur recalls collaborating with AR Rahman for the new track “Meri pukaar suno” saying although it’s always a dream come true working with the Oscar-winning composer, the entire team had to produce the song sitting in their respective homes owing to the pandemic.

“Meri pukaar suno”, composed by Rahman and with lyrics by Gulzar, features top voices as Armaan Malik, Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghosal, KS Chitra, Sadhana Sargam, and Shasha Tirupati along with Asees.

“Generally, he calls everyone to record the song in Chennai but looking at the pandemic situation, we recorded the song and shot for it in our respective homes and studios. I had instructions from him about exactly how he wanted my portion to sound. When you hear ‘Meri pukaar suno’ you won’t be able to say we all recorded the track sitting in different parts of the country! That’s the genius of AR Rahman,” says Asees.

Recalling, how she came on board for the track, touted as an anthem for hope and peace, the singer says: “AR Rahman had first heard my voice on reality show ‘Indian Pro Music League’ where he appeared as a guest. He praised my voice. A couple of weeks later, I got a call from his studio asking if I would like to be a part of the song. It was an instant yes! Who would say no to an opportunity to work with AR Rahman?”

Asees is known for her songs “Ve maahi” and “Bol na”. Her new track released on Friday.

Shefali Shah’s relaxed Saturday vibes

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Shefali Shah’s relaxed Saturday vibes

Actress Shefali Shah took to social media on Saturday morning and shared her weekend mood.

She is seen in a relaxed mood, posing on a leather couch in earthy summer attire. She is dressed in an off-shoulder beige co-ord dress with a long top and a dhoti skirt.

“#saturdayvibes,” the versatile actress wrote on Instagram.

The actress recently donned the hat of a debutant director during lockdown when she directed “Someday” inspired by her own life experience of her grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s. The film will be screened at the 18th Indian Film Festival in Stuttgart, Germany.

After her web series “Delhi Crime” won at the International Emmy Awards in the Best Drama Series category, her fans are waiting for season two of the show.

Shefali’s upcoming film is a dark comedy titled “Darlings” that co-stars Alia Bhatt. The film marks Alia’s debut as a producer, through her banner Eternal Sunshine.

Neena Gupta shares a memorable picture with Shekhar Kapur

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Neena Gupta shares a memorable picture with Shekhar Kapur

Actress Neena Gupta shared a slice from the past with fans on Saturday. The actress posted on Instagram an old black and white picture of her with filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

“Uff memories…with Shekhar Kapoor in khandaan series in 1985,” she wrote alongside the image.

“Khandaan” was one of the earliest popular soaps on Doordarshan. The weekly show featured a huge ensemble cast and was Gupta’s first TV series.

In the picture she posted on Saturday, Gupta is seen standing with Kapur. While the actress looks coy, the director is seen looking at her candidly in a folded arms gesture.

Gupta recently launched her autobiographical book “Sach Kahun Toh”. On the work front, the actress, who was seen in the OTT-released film “Sardar Ka Grandson”, will soon be seen in Kabir Khan’s cricket drama “83” and Rensil D’Silva’s thriller “Dial 100”.

Kay Kay Menon reveals his ‘escapist way’ of dealing with tough roles

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Kay Kay Menon reveals his ‘escapist way’ of dealing with tough roles

Kay Kay Menon is solid as ever essaying a complex role in the segment “Bahrupiya” of the anthology series “Ray”. The episode is based on late legend Satyajit Ray’s short story in Bangla titled “Bahurupi”, or the impressionist, and comes laden with an element of fantasy. The actor decodes how he faced the challenge of essaying a brutally realistic role that treads into the domain of make-belief.

“I have an easy way that can also be called the escapist way. I look at a story as a story. I removed the baggage. I look at it as (director) Srijit (Mukherji)’s interpretation of the story and that’s the newspaper headline for me,” Kay Kay tells IANS.

The story casts the actor as a timid make-up artist named Indrashish Saha, who inherits a strange book on prosthetic expertise when his grandmother passes away, along with a substantial amount of money. Reality and fantasy fuse in the storyline and Indrashish is sucked into a vortex of doom as he begins to imagine he is invincible and starts abusing his newfound ‘power’ to ‘become’ anybody he wishes.

The 54-year-old actor addresses the element of make-belief about the story saying: “Even in a newspaper, you often see headlines that are unimaginable, right? You believe it because it is in the newspaper. Similarly, for me, the story becomes factual at that point of time. I try to remove all other baggage attached to it.”

He says he knew he was immersing himself in the work of the legendary Satyajit Ray, but at the time of filming, he was focussed more on being directed by Srijit Mukherji.

“I kind of pin that out and concentrate on just performing for that story and playing that person so I keep my concentration there. I get saved by the little fear and paranoia of touching somebody’s work. I know that it has come from Ray Sahab and everybody knows how great he was but at that point, it’s Srijit directing and Kay Kay Menon acting and playing a person — that is it,” he says.

Asked how one takes Ray’s work to today’s viewers, many of whom are not aware of the auteur’s cinema, Kay Kay says Ray’s creativity always stays contemporary and can never be dated.

“That’s the beauty of Ray sahab. He is contemporary and will be contemporary throughout. So, all his topics, whatever he touched upon, will never be dated. The style might be different, the interpretation might be different but at a conceptual level, he has nailed it for generations to come,” Kay Kay says.

“One of my favorites is ‘Nayak’,” he says, referring to Ray’s 1966 classic starring Uttam, Kumar, and Sharmila Tagore, and adds, “because the film concerns the film industry, actors’ dilemmas and trauma including the acting style. For me, everything he has done till now will always remain contemporary,” Kay Kay concluded.

Anshuman Pushkar on what the series ‘Grahan’ taught him about love

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Anshuman Pushkar on what the series ‘Grahan’ taught him about love

Actor Anshuman Pushkar says working in the new web series “Grahan” taught him the two important elements of love were sincerity and depth of emotion.

“I am thrilled that I got a chance to play Rishi, a youngster who falls in love with Manu in the 1980s. My favorite part about this story is the depth of love it shows. It’s interesting to see how romance is a core element of the whole narrative and how it has been seamlessly choreographed in the show. One thing I learned from Rishi is how deep love can be and how serious and sincere one can be towards it,” said Anshuman.

“Grahan” is about a young IPS Officer Amrita Singh who is handed over a special investigation from the past, only to discover her father in the center of this case.

The show also features Pavan Malhotra, Zoya Hussain, Teekam Joshi, and Saidur Rahman. It streams on Disney+ Hotstar VIP.

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