Rani Mukerji seeks solace in writing

January 5th, 2009

Of late Rani Mukerji hasn’t been a happy lady. She was the Rani of Bollywood till not very long ago, but things have changed now.

But just like how Salman Khan has a thing for painting, Rani has discovered her hidden talent and is looking at contentment.

The actress made a very big mistake by limiting herself with the Yashraj banner. Even her liason with Adi is not helping her in away way.

In doing so, she obstructed her own growth.

Age too is catching up on her and unlike Ash her age reflects on her face.

The heroes with whom she was used to being paired with frequently have moved on to younger girls. Shah Rukh Khan prefers Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma, Salman has Katrina and Aamir has girls like Asin and Jiah. Abhishek would rather work with wifey Ash and girls she tells him to act with than Rani.

So practically Rani has no one to work with. So she’s taking up writing to give her career a lease of life.

Now the actress is basically left with no choice. She has expressed her desire to turn a writer- script writer and is planning to come out with her own script.

It’s all desperation to hang on.

She even started giving suggestions and writing tips to debutant director Anurag Singh, for the film that has Shahid Kapur opposite her.

At this rate, Rani may have a script all written and ready soon! So get ready for a B-Town script, Rani style!

Shahid Kapoor: Young, footloose and fancy free

January 5th, 2009

Shahid Kapoor is 27 but is happy that he still gets young boy roles. So much so that he wishes to play the lover boy till the age of 40.

Well, must say some people are blessed with the ‘young’ gene and Shahid is one of them!

But then he’s happy about the fact that he’s got good work experience too.

He’s reportedly said, “In comparison to people who’ve started two Fridays back, I am more experienced. But I hope to play ‘boy’ roles until I am 40. Other actors are doing it. So why not me? I’m very happy being young. I started at 23. I couldn’t have asked for more. I’m quite happy playing the college student.”

He’s added, “As an actor I’m looking for good actors…boy or man is secondary. I don’t have any agendas.”

Well, must say, we’ve much to look forward from this actor, till many, many more years to come.

Nausheen Ali Sardar on her upcoming movie

January 5th, 2009

Nausheen Ali Sardar’s long awaited film career is finally set to take off with the release of 42 kilometers on 23 of January. “This off beat flick deals with the life of 5 runners (Bikram Saluja, Mandira Bedi, Purab Kohli, Nauheed Cyrusi and Prashant Chainani) who all come to Mumbai to participate in the marathon. The story revolves around their journey and what motivates them to take part. I play Bikram’s doctor love interest, It’s a nice romantic role.”

She gave full credit to the debutant director Nisha Chainani for attempting to make a film on a concept which nobody has tried before! “Nisha actually met a number of runners to know their story before embarking on the shooting process”.

Apart from this film, Nausheen whose father recently passed away also has a big film on the card. “I will soon give you more info on the same she gushes.” She goes on, “Working with established banners is much more comfortable as you don’t have to rush. On the other hand, if you are associated with a producer, who has financial difficulties, you will end up doing 10 scenes a days.”

She does not bother too much about the fact that some of her other films have yet to see light of the day, “I am not alone even the producer’s and director’s have suffered, right? It takes time to get established in the industry; didn’t Big B have to wait for years before he got his moment of glory?”

For the moment Nausheen who gained success as Kkusum does not want to do any more work on television. “I always wanted to do movies. Infact, I had even signed a film when I was 16 but that did not happen. May be I was destined to first get success as a TV star than a film personality. It was this dream of mine which prevented me from doing lot of television apart from ‘Kkusum as I wanted to retain my freshness. Certain people had offered me a project to sabotage Kkusm fate but luckily I said no. I left that Balaji show at right time for it become a bit ugly after that,” shares the charming lady.

How different is acting in TV and film? “Film is a big canvas; hence many TV actors don’t know what to do with their hands and legs on the big screen. TV is only acting by face. I would recommend all tellywood actors who want to make it big in films is to first hone their skills with theater. Most big screen names like Nassereddin Shah, Anupam Kher, are all stage veterans, right? I was greatly helped by my theater stint.”

Nausheen sadly feels TV has stagnated with Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi. “The high point could be Kyon Ki , Kahani, Kksum and the above show. The recent successes of Ballika Badhu and Fear Factor show that TV is only for those people who make a difference and not for those who dole out projects in numbers,” speaks Nausheen.

About future films project Nausheen says that she is not comfortable with hot roles, “I feel that I fit the bill of the girl next door. It’s also a matter of image. Like when you think of Preity Zinta you will think her as cute and not sexy while Shilpa Shetty is the opposite. I will not do bold roles unless a director who comes forward has the vision to transform my image on screen.”

Top-10 Bollywood scenes in 2008

January 5th, 2009

In the year gone by, there were some truly remarkable scenes that made an impression. While some of them have hardly been seen by many due to the film flopping at the box office, quite a few of them belong to the kind that have managed to impress a large segment of audience. Joginder Tuteja goes down the memory lane and brings alive 10 such sequences!

10. Adah climbing up a pillar (1920)
This scene could have just gone totally wrong had it been executed carelessly. With a potential of turning more hilarious than scary, this sequence had Adah crawling up and down a pillar, that too on her back, as she portrayed the role of a woman possessed. Also mouthing words like ‘tic toc’, which symbolized the count of a clock, Adah was indeed scary in her lizard walk. Vikram Bhatt kept a tight leash over the proceedings and aided with some flawless special effects and background score, he managed to pull it off. No wonder, this is one of the most remembered scenes from the horror flick that brought back Vikram Bhatt into the reckoning.

9. Asin’s killing (Ghajini)
The entire sequence of events beginning from Asin entering her house (already occupied by villain and his henchmen) till her eventual death had shades of that particular scene from Pratibandh, where Juhi Chawla talks to Chiranjeevi over phone and ultimately gets killed. Still, the built up of tension was extraordinary in ‘Ghajini’ where one rotted for Asin to come out alive even though it was made clear in the first 10 minutes of the film itself that she would be killed in this sequence. It wasn’t any fancy camera angles or playing around with the lights that made the scene memorable; it was sheer shot taking, direction and some able performances that involved the audience, something which was so much required for this scene to succeed.

8. Amitabh Bachchan ridiculing project proposal brought by Aishwarya Rai (Sarkar Raj)
This scene had vintage Ram Gopal Varma at work as he played around with tight facial close-ups and zoom-ins and zoom-outs to various characters sitting in a room. The moment Aishwarya Rai arrives at Amitabh Bachchan’s residence cum office with her project proposal, you know that sparks are going to fly in their first ever scene together. While Abhishek Bachchan is relegated to be a silent spectator, as it is the demand of the situation with Amitabh Bachchan taking the charge, Aishwarya Rai displays emotions that range from being ridiculed to helplessness to anger and then the ultimate surrender. Amitabh Bachchan delivers his dialogues in the manner that only he can and eats up everyone around him. A scene that completely belonged to ’sasur’ and his ‘bahu’, it was one of the best in ‘Sarkar Raj’.

7. Pankaj Kapur laughing at villains on being threatened (Halla Bol)
It’s a pity that not many people would have seen this scene since not just was ‘Halla Bol’ a resounding box office failure, it hasn’t even done do well on the DVD circuits. Still, if at all you haven’t watched this under rated Raj Kumar Santoshi film till date, watch it at least once just for this particular scene where Pankaj Kapur is threatened. As a dacoit turned social worker and reformer, he is shown to be surrounded by villains and their henchmen who are not too kind to him with their words. Standing at a poolside, he coolly listens to them before simply walking away after giving them a verbal cuddle, akin to the kind that one gives to a baby. A clap worthy sequence which brought a different facet of Pankaj Kapur’s personality, it has to be seen to be believed.

6. Akshay’s entry as ‘Ravan’ (Tashan)
‘Tashan’ may be a truly forgettable film but what can never be forgotten is Akshay Kumar’s entry as ‘Ravana’ atop a scooter. Not just that, he went on to enact the character on a stage in a ‘Ramleela’ being held in a small town. The only difference here was that he was just not in character and played it just as Akshay Kumar was do! No wonder, the scene turned out to be a riot and raised the expectations of a much better outing in the rest of the film. Though it’s a different matter that the remainder of the film didn’t come half as close to the ‘Ravana’ sequence, the fact remains that this has been one of the best entries ever of Akshay Kumar in a Bollywood flick.

5. ‘Beedi Jalaile’ dance sequence (Dostana)
This was the only sequence in the film that had all the principal characters in ‘Dostana’ coming together - Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham, Boman Irani, Kirron Kher, Sushmita Mukherjee and the ‘firang’ from the legal department! A sequence that had to be handled extra carefully lest it became cariacturish in it’s presentation, it was key to the proceedings of ‘Dostana’ as it had to say a lot in those 5-7 minutes. While the song ‘Beedi Jalaile’ played and Abhishek, John, Boman and the rest gyrated to the beats, the entry of Kirron Kher brought the house down. Director Tarun Mansukhani would have indeed struggled to get everyone’s expressions and body movements just right for this sequence that didn’t have many shot breakdowns but in the end succeeded quite well.

4. Priety’s reaction on letter being read (Heroes)
Just like the ‘Halla Bol’ sequence featuring Pankaj Kapur, not many would have seen this priceless portion of ‘Heroes’ where Preity Zinta came up with the BEST moments of the film. As a war widow, she was quite impressive in her episode from ‘Heroes’. However, it was hard not to let tears flow by in these few minutes where Sohail Khan and Vatsal Seth read out the last letter written to her by her husband Salman Khan. Preity demonstrated amazing restrain in her performance and with background music and some tight direction by Sameer Karnik doing the trick, this scene turned out to be the most memorable of the lot. For a change, one noticed Preity’s performance more than her dimples. Now that’s what one calls as the success of a scene.

3. Climax concert (Rock On)
The moment lights went on for the grand finale of ‘Rock On’, one could sense that there was something bigger and better in the offering, courtesy director Abhishek Kapoor. While Farhan Akhtar started the proceedings with Purab Kohli and Luke Kenny in tow, there was something missing. And the missing clue here was John Abraham who made a terrific entry into the dying moments of the award winning performance. His entry into the scene, pun intended, just turned around the tables for ‘Rock On’ that moved on full steam with ‘Sindbad The Sailor’. The setting suddenly appeared to gain far more grandeur than it’s original format and one just longed for a dance floor. A grand finale indeed.

2. ‘Dancing Jodi’ climax sequence (RNBDJ)
Sheer writing is what makes this scene one of the BEST ever that one has seen in Bollywood for a long-long time. Just when the film’s narrative had started to seem a little sluggish and predictable, Aditya Chopra spun his magic and brought to fore a scene that brought a remarkable turnaround in the flow of events. A complex scene considering Shah Rukh Khan had to dance like ‘Raj’ and emote like ‘Suri’, the ‘Dancing Jodi’ made one look at the screen in awe. For Anushka Sharma too, it was one of the most crucial scenes in ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ as she had to dance well as a winner even as realization struck to her about two men in her life being one indeed! Flashback portions were interspersed extremely well into the sequence, hence making the entire ‘Dancing Jodi’ competition a euphoric experience.

1. Stupid Common Man (A Wednesday)
Aah, now this one really leads the bunch. Naseeruddin Shah’s outburst in the climax of ‘A Wednesday’ ensured that not one person from the audience even remembered the popcorn in hand, let aside talking or thinking about anything else. The cell phones went silent as Naseeruddin Shah came up with a monologue that gave the true picture of the country today. It risked becoming one boring preachy speech but Neeraj Pandey’s handing of the sequence along with some tight editing by Shree Narayan Singh ensured that Naseeruddin Shah truly lived each and every moment of the scene. His reference to being a ’stupid common man’ still resonates till date as he gets ready for his next big speech in all the award functions that should begin soon. This was truly THE scene of the year.

What does Bollywood have in store for2009?

January 5th, 2009

With Ghajini proving to be the biggest blockbuster of the decade grossing over 1000 millions, 2009 seems to be bright as far as the prospects of films at the box office is concerned. The Khans - Salman Khan, who had a hat trick of flops recently with Hello, God Tussi Great Ho, Yuvvraaj etc, Aamir Khan, who is basking in the glory of Ghajini and Shah Rukh Khan, who had a rocking hit in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi are all set for an encore in 2009.

Aamir Khan is all set to appear in 2009 in his wife Kiran Rao’s maiden venture as a director Dhobi Ghat. Though Prateik Babbar plays the title role of the dhobi in her film, the loving husband that Aamir is, is playing the character of a painter who lives and works from a tiny studio apartment in the noisy and congested Bhendi Bazar. The film is Mumbai-centric and revolves around the les of four different characters with Mohammad Ali Road, Marine Drive and the famous dhobi ghat of Malahalakshi as its backdrops. Aamir Khan will be seen romancing Kareena Kapoor for the first time in 2009 with Rajkumar Hirani’s Three Idiots, in which Sharman Joshi and R. Madhavan are his co-stars.

Besides Three Idiots, Sharman Joshi will also be seen opposite newbie Uvika Chaudhary in Toh Baat Pakki, in which Tabu plays Uvika’s caring elder sister. Toh Baat Pakki will mark the debut of the popular Marathi film director Kedar Shinde and will be a romantic comedy produced by Tips. Toh Baat Pakki is expected to be a sensible entertainer on the lines of Hrishikesh Mukherji’s brand of cinema. After her debut in Om Shanti Om followed by her second release Summer 2007, Uvika Chaudhary has now got a jumpstart in Bollywood in a big way with Toh Baat Pakki which is a soft romantic comedy. The pace with which she is bagging big films, Uvika is surely an actress to look forward to.

After Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in 2008, the Shah Rukh frenzy will take over again as he plays himself – a super star in Priyadarshan’s Billoo Barber, produced by him. The film is the remake of the Malayalam hit Katha Parayumbol, which is turn proved to be a flop when it was remake in Tamil with Rajanikant, as Kuselan in 2008. The film features critically acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan in the lead, with Lara Dutta. While Billoo Barber is slated for release on February 14, Shah Rukh Khan will hopefully end the year with Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan in which he is playing an autistic person and teams up with Kajol.

Salman Khan is hoping for a hit with his Vipul Shah directed London Dreams in which his co-stars are Ajay Devgan and Asin. The bachelor boy of Bollywood has huge money ( read over Rs 150 crores) riding on him with films like Wanted Dead Or Alive and his own home productions like Mr & Mrs Khanna and Veer under his belt, besides Wanted Dead or Alive which by the way is the remake of the Tamil hit Pokkiri

Akshay Kumar who proved that he is indeed the king at the box office with Singh Is Kinng breaking the box office records in 2009 is all set to kick-start the New Year with his Chandni Chowk to China, slated for release on January 16. It wil be followed bus his other releases in the New Year like Priyadarshan’s De Dhana Dhan, Blue, Kambakt Ishq and Eight By Ten. The actor has approximately around Rs 250 crores riding on him. Priyadarshan will follow up Billoo Barber and De Dhabna Dhan this year with one more film- Bum Bum Bole which has Atul Agnihotri and Rituparna Sengupta in the lead with the child prodigy fo Taare Zameen Par Darsheel Safary in the main leads. It is supposedly the remake of Majeed Majeedi’s Iranian masterpiece film The Children of Heaven.

Hrithik Roshan is all set to set to take dirty dancing to yet another level with his papa Rakesh Roshan’s International foray with Kites directed by Anurag Basu. The film is said to have a whopping budget of Rs 120 crores.

Abhishek Bachchan will bounce back hopefully in 2009 after Guru with Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus tentatively titled Ravan with his wife Aishwarya Rai, Vikram and Ravi Kishen in the lead. Abhishek who had a lousy year in 2008 with Drona proving to be the worst debacle of his career has two films this year. They are Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra’s Dilli 6, R. Balki’s Pa in which he has been cast with his real life pa Amitabh Bachchan and Rajeev Menon’s Dhun, in which Aishwarya Rai will be seen once again opposite him besides Ravan.

Papa Amitabh Bachchan also is not lagging behind. After a bad year in terms of his health, he is all set to bounce back with a line up of films like Ramgopal Varma’s Rann, Shoojit Sircar’s Johny Mastana where his co-star in Jimmy Sheirgill and R. Balki’s Pa in which his son Abhishek Bachchan is his co-star.

John Abraham who tasted success after a long time with Dostana proving to be a blockbuster at the box office, in the company of Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra will appear in 2009 in Aditya Chopra’s Kabir Khan directed New York, with Neil Nitin Mukesh and Katrina Kaif as his co-stars, which insiders insist is similar to Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan since both deal with the subject of international terrorism. Neil, who had impressed one and all with his debut with Johny Gaddar last year, will also be seen in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail this year

Sanjay Dutt has films like the comedy caper Chatur Singh 2 C, the off-beat Rahul Dholakia directed Lamha, in which the sultry Bipasha Basu is his leading lady and Blue in which his co-stars are Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta, while Ajay Devgan is no more keen on experimenting as a director after U, Me Aur Hum and is contented as an actor with the live animation film Toonpur Ka Sultan and London Dreams.

Emraan Hashmi who delivered hit film Jannat will be back on the scene in Bollywood with screen-scorcher Kangana Ranaut in Raaz - The Mystery Continues, in January. Some interesting small-budget films will also be unveiled around the same time. These include Horn Ok Pleass with Nana Patekar in the lead, the Konkana Sen Sharma-starrer The President is Coming, the Kumaar Sahil-Sneha Ullal starrer Kaashh… Mere Hote and NRI filmmaker Varun Khanna’s foray in India with the Hindi film Bad Luck Govind withy which the popular VJ Gaurav Kapur makes his debut in a title role.

The year will also see the release of Nandita Das’s maiden venture as a director- Firaaq and Hurman. S. Baweja’s second attempt at wooing the audience after Love Story 2050 with Ajitpal Mangat’s Victory, a film with cricket as the backdrop. After the phenomenal success of his maiden venture as a leading man-Rock On, filmmaker-cum-actor Farhan Akhtar will wear the grease paint again for his sister Zoya’s directorial debut Luck by Chance, which is also slated for release in January. Hrithik Roshan will also be seen playing himself- a super star in Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance, like Shah Rukh Khan does in his film Billoo Barber.

Slumdog Millionaire, which has become the toast of the festival circuit overseas, is also all set to see the light of the day in India too.

Akshaye Khanna, who had a flop in Priyadarshan’s Mere Baap Pehle Aap hops to resurrect his career with Anil Kapoor’s Short Kut The Con is On a remake of the Malayalam hit Udayananu Tharam in which Amrita Rao is his leading lady. Suneil Shetty will be seen in his own production Mumbai Chaka Chak and Tum Milo To Sahi while after a long time Aftab Shivdasani will make you laugh with his comedy caper Aloo Chat with which the TV star Aamna Shareef is making her Bollywood debut this year. The film incidentally has been produced by TV actor Anuj Saxena.

Nikhil who was written off with My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves last year is making a come back with Khalbali Fun Unlimited which is an out and out comedy while Abhay Deol whose Oye Lucky Lucky Oye did not fare quiet well at the box office since it was released a day after Mumbai was struck by terror has a face saver in the comedy Dev D made by Anurag Kashyap.

Mithun Chakraborty’s son Mimoh who was written off last year when Jimmy, his maiden venture as an actor flopped like nobody’s business, is all set to try his luck once again with Murderers which incidentally has also been directed by the same director Raj.N. Sippy. Govinda will be seen in films like Run Bhola Run, Life Partner and My Cousin Vinny, whereas Shahid Kapur who has been lying low both personally as well as professionally will be seen romancing Ayesha Takia in Ahmed Khan’s Paathshaala directed by Milind Ukey, an erstwhile assistant to Sanjay Leeela Bhansali.

There are other releases too in 2009 like Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya: Colors of Passion starring Randeep Hooda and Nandana Sen, Raftaar 24X 7, Dhoondthe Reh Jaaoge,Jugaad, Mere Khwaabonmein Jo Aaye, Fox, Straight and last but not the least Karma Aur Holi starring Randeep Hooda and Sushmita Sen with Deepal Shaw.

Let us wait and watch what Bollywood has actually in store in 2009.

Sneha Ullal on her upcoming movie Kaash Mere Hote

January 5th, 2009

Sneha Ullal, whose next release Kaash Mere Hote is round the corner, tells Jyothi Venkatesh in a khullam khulla baatcheet.

Sneha Ullal, better known as the look-alike of the pretty Aishwarya Rai is back with a bang after a long period of hibernation after Aryan with the film Kaash Mere Hote. When I met her for this interview in the suburbs, Sneha categorically stated that it was a conscious decision on her part to let acting take a back seat after Aryan because she felt that she was too young and wanted to be mature enough to take her plunge in films. “I did not even know how to talk to the media.”

Sneha hastens to add that the reason that she decided to take up the offer to act in Kaash Mere Hote is that she desperately needed to act in a Hindi film to show that she is interested in working and is back in films. In fact Sneha has absolutely no qualms to confess that the film is a vehicle to launch Kumar Saahil and Sana and music director Shrawan who has produced the film wanted her to be a part of the project because he felt that she would be able to lend the film a better face value.

“I am confident that my role in Kaash Mere Hote will take me to greater heights as an actress. I play the role of Radhika in Kaas Mere Hote. I play the role of Saahil’s girl friend who is bothered by Sana who keeps on trying to seduce Kumar Saahil. The character that I play in the film is like me-easy going and simple and straight forward and hence I did not need to prepare at all for the role of Radhika,” Sneha quips.

Sneha confesses that though personally she does not feel bad when she is compared to Aishwarya professionally she does not like the comparison. “Though I like it personally because she is beautiful, it is unfair to me professionally. I feel that had I made my bow without Salman Khan in a film, other than Lucky, I would not have been compared to her. The comparison did not help me as an actor though I should admit that it gave me a lot of recognition”.

Sneha asserts that she worships work and does not regret at all having appeared in Aryan opposite Sohail Khan after having made her debut with Lucky opposite Salman Khan, though she concedes that she does not think that she should have got launched with Lucky because she was very young at that time. To add to my woes, a lot of directors have an issue with my voice not at all reeling that my voice in Lucky was projected that way to make me sound like a kid to suit my role in Lucky.”

Besides Kaash Aap, Sneha has also films like Click, Dard E Disco and Green Park up her sleeves besides her films in the South. “Sangeet Sivan called me up and offered to cast me in Click opposite Shreyas Talpade. It is a very interesting role that I play in Click. I play Shreyas’s friend who is raped by his friends. I kill myself and come back as a ghost to take revenge on the rapists”

In Ashok Tyagi’s Dard E Disco, Sneha has been cast opposite Akshay Kapoor. “I play the character of a bubbly young ad glamorous girl. The film has offered me an opportunity to tell every one in Bollywood that I am no longer a kid that I was in films like Lucy and Aryan”

Sneha is quite excited about her role in Green Park too. “I love my role in Green Park because I love talking in English and it is a film in English with Anupam Kher playing the role of my father. I play a very modern young girl belonging to a very Westernized family settled in USA, who falls in love with an American. The film was meant to start in 2009. We have shot just the climax of the film in Goa and I am looking forward to shoot the rest of the film in the USA next year”.

Sneha is practical when it comes to exposing herself. I am ready to expose as long as I look sexy and not vulgar. In my second film, I showed nothing but my mid-riff but yet I was shown at my glamorous best in the film. I am game as far as wearing swimming costume is concerned but n bikini for me, please.”

Sneha has drawn a line as far as kissing is concerned. “Though I am now single and ready to mingle, I am not a prude but I am not game at all for kissing lip to lip in films, because I feel that you should save some thing for the bedroom. I am an animal lover and hence promote vegetarianism and hence want my man also to be a vegetarian. I do not care about his physique but he should be presentable and quite understanding and not be a male chauvinist.”

A matter of read for Ayesha Dharker

January 5th, 2009

Ayesha Dharker is so much of a perfectionist that she actually works on a role even before she gets it. That is what worked for her in the case of Outsourced. When she was narrated the role by the producer and director, they called the actor back for a reading with Josh Hamilton. So convinced was Ayesha about the role of Asha that she essays in the film that she went out to actually dress up like Asha for the reading. Says Ayesha, “when I went back, I dressed like the character I play in the film in every detail, down to the shoes and watch I was wearing. I got so involved in putting this character together that it only occurred to me at the last minute that my idea might be totally different from theirs.”

It was this involvement of ahers that actually got Ayesha the role of Asha in the film that went on to win a lot of awards across the globe in various festivals.

Ayesha feels she is lucky to have a costar like Josh in the film. “It was lovely working with Josh,” enthuses Ayesha. “I loved how natural and relaxed his style is, and really enjoyed his sense of humour.” Now as the film is being released in India, Ayesha is all geared for her next set of flicks that will follow. Ayesha is looking forward to playing a naxalite in \Red Alert, a girl from Bihar who wants to be an airhostess in Bombay in Mumbai Chaka Chak, a socialite who will do anything to be an actress in British film, Mad, Sad and Bad. Besides being the good girl, who gets mixed up with a guy with a troubled past in the British soap Coronation Street. Interestingly, says Ayesha, “Coronation Street is a soap opera has run for forty-eight years, and is watched by 17 million people a week, so it is interesting when I get on a train or go to the supermarket. People are very friendly but they treat me like the character in the soap. So now I have got used to getting relationship advice from taxi drivers, supermarket check out girls, traffic wardens, priests and grannies.” Touche.