About Gaurav!!!

I dont know if it is posted before:




Big break: Gaurav Chopra
Telly actor Gaurav Chopra has returned to South Africa. Earlier, he had spent four months in Durban playing the lead in the stage musical, Bombay Crush.

He has now landed a role in the Warner Bros film, Blood Diamond, directed by Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai, Courage Under Fire), which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou.

Chopra was tight-lipped about the project till he flew down for the shoot. Speaking from Durban, he says, "I left Mumbai on March 28 and have already started shooting for it. The film is currently being shot at various locales in South Africa and Mozambique."

Set against the backdrop of the 1990s civil war in Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond is the story of Danny Archer (DiCaprio), a South African mercenary, and Solomon Vandy (Hounsou), a fisherfolk.

Chopra plays journo

He admits that the role is small, but he had no qualms taking it up for the sheer magnitude of the production and the experience of working in a Hollywood project.

"I play an Indian journalist called Sanjay and there are scenes with the lead cast including Leonardo (DiCaprio) and Jennifer (Connelly). There are three scribes in the film and I play the most prominent of them," he claims.



Cool guy: Leonardo DiCaprio
On Leo and Jen

Chopra maintains that Leonardo is extremely chilled out and cool. "Leonardo thought that I was from Brazil. I played on for a while, till I told him I was from India and he thought I was still putting an act!

While Jennifer seemed to be extremely interested in astrology and numerology, so I had lots to talk to her about."

Bombay Crush helped

The offer for Blood Diamond came his way through the film's casting director, Moonyeen Lee.

"She is based in South Africa and had seen me in Bombay Crush. She had found my looks to be extremely unconventional and had asked me if I would be able to spend time in Africa to take on new assignments. When I returned to Mumbai in February, she remembered and I received a call in March for Blood Diamond," adds Chopra.

Awesome experience

He says that the experience of shooting for Blood Diamond is proving to be mind-boggling. "Each actor, however big or small, is given a bound script. Each has to learn all his lines and be on the sets for a rehearsal.

The technology and the efficiency is nothing compared to what we do in India. And the best part is the vanity van; each actor has his own.

"From a home theatre to an oven, it's exactly like a home; I could live in it forever," says Chopra who returns to Mumbai by mid-April. "This could lead me on to something more here, but this does not mean I am shifting base to Africa."

Chopra is also slated to feature in the MTV-produced spoof of Dhoom in which he will essay John Abraham's role.

Indian TV actor Gaurav Chopra has bagged a role in a Hollywood film, The Blood Diamond. Chopra will share space with Leonardo DiCaprio, a report here said.

Gaurav, who is currently in South Africa shooting for the crime thriller, plays a small role in the film but he is excited about the project because most of his scenes are with leads actors DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, the Daily News reported.

Gaurav said director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai, I Am Sam and Traffic) was "happy to have him" but felt the former was perhaps a little too good-looking for the part. Hence the character, which was of a French journalist, had to be rewritten for an Indian.

"It is a huge production and with everything planned right down to the minute detail, changing one thing has a domino effect. So I do appreciate the fact that they had rewritten the characterisation for me.

"The actual work that happens on set is at such a high-end professional level. While everyone there is very experienced, it is a question of how suitable you are for the role," he added.

Gaurav, who started his career as a model, acted in serials like Saara Aakash and Dil Kya Chahta Hai.

The Blood Diamond is a crime-thriller and revolves around a farmer, a smuggler and a syndicate of businessmen who match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond. &nbs p; &nbs p; &nbs p; &nbs p; &nbs p; &nbs p;


Gaurav Chopra
Gaurav has become popular in South Africa since he played the lead role in the Durban-based theatre and film director Junaid Ahmed's West End-styled Bollywood-themed musical Bombay Crush.

Bombay Crush has opened doors for me and I am going to use the exposure in the right way. Basically, I am saying I will be around for lots of other things, from television roles to event shows".

he was in safrica last year! ya i read it sum where!