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Interview : Zayed Khan dabbles in scripting too

Actor Zayed Khan eagerly awaits the release of his new film 'Rocky - The Rebel' and says he has contributed to its script as well.

A fact not known to many of his fans is that he has a skilled writer in him too. 'I studied direction and acting at the London Film School. I wrote scripts and screenplays for three pounds and have over 250 scripts to my credit. I love scripting and I'd definitely like to nurture it,' he told in an interview.

He adds: 'I started writing when I was struck with a slip disc last year. I have also contributed to the scripting of 'Rocky' though I don't want any credit for it.'

While his cheerful demeanour and sociability are surely a turn on, the actor known for his brash roles on-screen says the 'real Zayed Khan' is a strong-willed person and 'nothing can stop me from achieving what I want'.

Zayed says romantic action films are his forte and he wants to do larger than life films that he himself would go and watch. 'I don't want to do films that preach too much. I hate being slotted in a particular image.'

The actor then reveals that he played a small role as a child artist in his father's television Magnum opus 'Tipu Sultan'.

Asked about his dream movies and roles, he says he would love to do a remake of 'Deewar' and quickly adds - 'playing Mr. Bachchan ofcourse!

And if someone asked me to remake any of my dad's films, it'd be 'Abdullah' undoubtedly but sadly I wont have Raj Kapoor saab with me.'

Zayed admits that the Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Main Hoon Na', directed by choreographer Farah Khan, proved to be the 'turning point' in his career.

'Fortunately I got a chance to work with a powerhouse of talent like Shah Rukh. The film has definitely propelled my growth. Farah is very clear in her mind about what she wants. She actually navigated me through the scenes. If you give her one idea, she'll come up with a better one.

'And Shahrukh is family. He is a superstar and his passion for acting only motivates others.'

Excited about his upcoming film 'Rocky...', Zayed says the film is very close to his heart and adds that it is in no way related to the Sanjay Dutt movie by the same name.

'It's about the difference of ideologies between two generations. Its also about revenge and has a subtle patriotic feel to it. I play a guy who does not hesitate to call a spade a spade. This lands him in trouble and he has to pay a huge price for it.'

Zayed has come a long way since his debut in 2003 with 'Chura Liya Hai Tumne' and after having acted with a few top names in the industry, he now has quite a few films in his kitty.

'My other films include 'Cash', which is twice as exciting as 'Dus'. Then there is an untitled film with Anurag Basu, one with Feroz Nadiadwala to be directed by Ahmed Khan and another with Vashu Bhagnani. I am presently shooting for Vikram Bhatt's 'Speed'.

And when asked about life after marriage to childhood sweetheart Mallika, he says: 'I've become a passive man after marriage (he!he!). One loses that sense of freedom post marriage. You cant really chill out with friends, leave the house without informing etc. On a serious note, my wife Mallika is a stringent critic and is an ardent fan of Shahrukh Khan. She did like me in 'Main Hoon Na', 'Shabd' and 'Dus'.

Interview : Salman is sweet: Shilpa Shetty

When it comes to Salman Khan, svelte actress Shilpa Shetty just can't stop gushing about her "best buddy" who is "sweet, chivalrous and polite".

"Salman has been through a lot. I'd never dream of giving up my friendship with him just because he's been in trouble," says the actress who has worked with him in "Auzaar", "Garv: Pride and Honour" and "Phir Milenge".

"Salman is truly my best buddy. He knows me from the time I was 17. He has seen me grow up. I was this thin, gawky teenager petrified by his image. He treated me like a child, still does, in fact," Shilpa told us.

"I first met Salman during a world tour when his image as an enfant terrible was at an all-time high. I was initially scared of him, but he was such a gentleman.

"I remember 14 years ago, when I was this Alice in Blunderland, mom and I had travelled without a male companion to the US. Salman was so sweet and helpful. Anyone who knows him would know how sweet, chivalrous and polite he is to ladies," she said.

"As for his wild image, if he's pushed around he'll push back. That doesn't make him any different from any of us. I remember when our family was in a spot of trouble, he stood by us like a pillar of strength. Not just Salman, but his entire family - Salim uncle, Salma aunty and Helen Aunty - is very close to me.

"I've been linked to Salman. But all the time that I've known him he has constantly had a girlfriend. People have barked up the wrong tree. These rumours haven't affected our friendship," Shilpa said.

Their latest release together is "Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar".

"I'm glad it (the film) finally saw the light of day. I've done four films with Salman, including (the late Mukul Anand's) 'Dus', which never went beyond the first schedule. But 'Shaadi Karke...' is the one closest to my heart.

"Unlike my other films with him, this one was an out-out-out romantic film. It's the first film I signed after 'Dhadkan'. As you know, 'Dhadkan' was a turning point in my career. To be signed with Salman at that point of my career meant I had arrived," she said.

"Besides being a dear friend, he is a huge star. To be paired opposite him was a huge high for me. And I can't deny the role in 'Shaadi Karke...' was very challenging for me. After I signed a film with Salman, I also got Sunny Deol as my hero in 'Indian'. So, in a way 'Shaadi Karke...' put me in the big league," she added.

In splits over Salman's pranks, she said: "I remember we were shooting an emotional scene and Salman wouldn't stop laughing in front of me. The more I pleaded with him to keep a straight face, the more he made me laugh. It's so weird, but Salman is truly effortless. He's very underplayed and extremely underrated."

"Salman had worked with both (producer) Bubby Kent and (director) K.S. Adhiyaman before. I was the odd one out. But I had a ball. I think the director is a fabulous technician. I don't get to play the conventional heroine in 'Shaadi Karke...'

"It's on the theme of marital discord, a topic quite in discussion. In fact, marriage is an issue that can never get dated. Salman and I play a couple who are a dream together before marriage and a nightmare after marriage," she said.

Was she apprehensive about the film's fate?

"No! Why should I be? I've survived in the industry for 14 years, watched so many girls come and go without being manipulative. It's cool. I've no regrets. Sure, 'Shaadi Karke...' went through its share of problems. Salman has had a big 'Shaadi' hit earlier ('Mujhse Shaadi Karogi'). Too bad this one didn't work," she said.

Shilpa has just started work on Anurag Basu's "Metro", which also stars Konkona Sen Sharma and Kangana Ranaut.

"I've been shooting with Kay Kay Menon and Shiney Ahuja and both are fabulous actors. Then there are two fabulous actresses Konkona and Kangana. The names can get quite confusing on the sets.

"I think we'll have fun shooting. Considering I haven't been seen for a whole year, it'll be good for my career to be seen in three biggies one after another," she said.

"Metro" is being released on Jan 26.

"It is the kind of film I can relate to. It's a film that's not just realistic but also commercial. Anurag gets such work out of new actors.

"How does he do it? Anurag is also a good actor. He explains a role so well. He is so calm and so full of beans. I know I'll be seen in a different light in 'Metro'," Shilpa opined.

Interview : Versatile singer Sonu's take on nationalism

He has a natural bent for news, which follows him like some persistent shadow. Just a week ago, his decision to quit (at his peak as a playback singer) made headlines. But there is some heart-warming news as well. Sonu Nigam, after making his individualistic mark as a playback singer, music show host, actor, talent hunt judge, performer and finally a composer, now creates history by coming out with a song that will be the first-ever Indian track not to be sold to a music company. The patriotic song brimming with nationalistic fervour, 'Yeh rashtra prem ki bhavana, bas maatra ek hai kaamna...' has been composed by Deepak Pandit and sung and written by Sonu Nigam, marking also this multi-faceted artiste's truly remarkable debut as a lyricist. It is also probably Sonu's first crusade for the upliftment of popular Hindi music as well as national sentiment, both of which seem to have reached its nadir in the last few years.

Excerpts:

What is the motivation behind 'Yeh rashtra prem ki bhavana...' and how did it happen? Was the song already written by you?

Deepak Pandit, who is the son of Shambhuji of the famous Shankar-Shambhu team and I are working on my next album, which I would term as a little more than just semi-classical. One day he mooted the idea to me and played out his composition. It was extremely inspiring, because a sense of nationalism is the need of the times and this was not the standard kind of deshbhakti song. Deepak told me that the lyrics had not been written. And then something unusual happened - that night I got inspired and started writing to the composition. When I called him up and narrated my lyrics he was thrilled. It was as if the whole thing was pre-ordained. We began to work on the song with the intention of coming out with it on Independence Day. While we were working on the track the Mumbai bomb blasts happened on July 11. This gave our song an added relevance. Someone suggested that we hurry up with the track and release it, but Deepak and I found that too gimmicky and in reprehensible taste. Our original intention was to release it on August 15 and that's what we are following. However Radio Mirchi has started airing the song. When they heard it, they actually gave me a standing ovation!

Why are you not selling this song to any music company?

Firstly, I have not made this song with the intention of doing business and earning from it. I have funded everything from the recording to the video, which is shamelessly different from anything you have seen, and is conceived by me and directed by Vikram Razdan. The idea is to present something very good and socially relevant to the people. A music company would have made unreasonable demands on both the audio-visual fronts, and we wanted no compromise at all in any aspect. The song will also be available on the Internet, on mobile phones and after a certain date with other radio channels. It will also be aired on several TV channels. Frankly, I am completely amazed at the response we have got for this song. It just proves that that the people are hungry and starved of good products. They crave for them, and we are not giving it to them. Since the song began airing on Radio Mirchi I have got some 15,000 SMS raving about it. This song will destroy myths that today's GenerationX is not receptive to substantial lyrics and music.

What is the message that you wish to give them?

I have been reading a lot of late, and according to the great spiritual healers the post-1980s generation will be the harbingers of Satyug. This is a cool, chilled-out and open generation that is not stuck-up. Within them however there are two kinds - the Crystalline, who are the emotional lot who will bring in this change through persuasion, and the Indigos, who will achieve it with rebellion. I see a lot of hope in this generation and have a lot of trust in them. We are entering the 60th year of Independence. There is so much more to be done.

Your recent announcement about retiring from singing - does it also have a base in the kind of caliber of songs you are singing?

Definitely. With sporadic exceptions, job satisfaction has been completely missing. I have, for example, recorded some 300 film songs in the last two years alone, but the really popular ones are a dozen or less! So I asked myself, "What am I doing? Why am I singing what I don't need to?" Those remaining songs have just added to my bank-balance and my numerical record. I am not after that now. How many of my recent songs have had any gaayaki (art) needed? Just the handful that I have sung in Fanaa, Krrish, Kabvhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Lage Raho Munnabhai. Last year it was Parineeta, Paheli and a few others. Among my forthcoming films too there are very few, like Jaan-E-Mann and some others.

But why not remain choosy rather than quitting?

That's exactly what I am doing - cutting off the chaff that accounts for 90% of my songs. I want to come down from a 100 songs to 10. I want to sit in with classical maestros and explore areas of music that I have never tapped. If possible I would love to teach others whatever I can from what I pick up from them.

You have recently become a radio host. How has the experience been, especially that of interviewing Lata Mangeshkar live?

When they approached me, instinct made me accept the assignment. As for Lata-ji, she liked my show and told me so. So one day I casually asked her whether she would like to be on the show, and she casually replied, "Theek hai, main aati hoon!" It was as simple as that. We saw to it that she got regal treatment, but she was game to carry on even after three-and-a-half hours! We discussed everything from her riyaaz in childhood to her terror of cockroaches!

Interview : S-E-L scores again with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

'Dil Chahta Hai' unleashed before us a new set of music directors who are hard to avoid with the kind of music that they create. Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, or Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy had been around for a while and with DCH they gave the message loud and clear that they are the harbingers of new sound of music. Ehsaan was a blues-rock guitar player, Shankar a classically trained singer and Loy a keyboard player who loved jazz came together for a new creative form of music. After raging the nation last year with 'Bunty Aur Babli', this year they tune Karan Johar mega movie, 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'.

Excerpts:

You've delivered a hit with 'Kal Ho Na Ho' for Karan Johar and now its 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'. On what standard do you compose music for him?

Ehsaan: When we compose for Karan's film it's his vision that we take care of. He is not the kind who would respond to music what Farhan Akhtar prefers. That is fine with us as we intend to deliver something different for different filmmakers.

Shankar: That's true. All directors' work on their preferences based on what music they prefer to listen and like. While working on the music we also have to see that it co-ordinates with the script.

Loy: Karan's music has to be melodic. Farhan is more experimental.

After delivering It's the time to disco (Kal Ho Naa Ho) was there any pressure to deliver the same kinds hit as you compose Where's the party tonight (Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna)?

Ehsaan: I won't say that both are same kinds of songs. Where's the party tonight and It's the time to disco belong to the same genre and are club songs and dance numbers. But in composition they are totally different. While composing the numbers there were no pressure on us. Karan likes his English hooks and responds to that and that's the reason we composed You are my Sonia (Kal Ho Naa Ho).

But they are sound alike. Are you being repetitive?

Ehsaan: I don't think so that we're being repetitive, as we're not repeating the same melody.

Shankar: There is no reason why you should be repetitive when you've enough knowledge to compose your own sound of music. You can always come up with new sounds to use and re-invent yourself. The music has never been the same in any of our compositions from Dil Chahta Hai to Bunty Aur Babli.

Loy: All three of us compose and that's the reason there is freshness in our music and all the album stand out. We have experience, experiment a lot and can hold a gig on our own.

What made you use Pakistani singer for Mitwa when there is ample Bollywood talent around?

Shankar: Some of the Paksitani singers are very good. Also they have a certain flavour, a certain spice owing to their culture and the region and that infuses life to the songs. The Urdu expression also adds flavour in your songs sometimes.

Your heavy Western influences reflect in the Indian tracks you make.

Ehsaan: Music has reached a different level altogether and there is no barrier like the Western or Indian influences. Rather I would say that our music has eclectic influences. It's the arrangement behind the song that gives it the feel.

Tell us about Shah Rukh Khan singing in Farhan Akhtar's Don remake.

Loy: There are quite a few surprises. We don't want to give anything away.

Ustad Bismillah Khan is no more
By MIO Team
Aug 21, 2006, 09:08

Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan passed away early Monday morning after a cardiac arrest. He was 91 and was admitted to the ICU of Heritage Hospital in Varanasi last week with age-related health problems. Although he was put on the life support system, doctors could not revive him. He is survived by his five sons and three daughters.

He the third classical musician after Pt Ravi Shankar and M S Subbulakshmi to be awarded the Bharath Ratna, the highest civilian honour in the country. During his long and fruitful career as an artiste, Khan enthralled audiences at performances across the globe. He was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the Tansen award as well as the Padma Vibhushan.

He was born on March 21, 1916 into a family of court musicians and spent his childhood and his life in Varanasi, where his uncle the late Ali Bux 'Vilayatu' was the official shehnai player in the famous Visvanath temple. At an early age, he familiarised himself with various forms of music of UP, including thumri, kajri and sawani. He later studied khayal and mastered a large number of ragas.

The Government today declared a one-day national mourning in view of the death of Bismillah Khan. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has condoled the death of Ustad Bismillah Khan and called him the greatest exponent of shehnai. President A P J Abdul Kalam has also condoled the death of the shehnai maestro.

From the team of MIO our deep condolences for the departed soul of the great maestro.

Yukta returns to marquee with salsa number
By IANS
Aug 19, 2006, 07:41

Former beauty queen Yukta Mookhey, who all but disappeared after "Pyaasa", will be seen grooving in a salsa number in "Katputtli" that released Friday.

Yukta plays a naval officer's wife in the psychological thriller, which has been produced by Sahara Motion Pictures with Mink-Punnu Brar Productions.

Punnu had appointed a tutor for Yukta so she could master the salsa and had also instructed her to lose weight to look slimmer, said sources.

Besides, she had to go through rigorous dance rehearsals to learn the steps and bring elegance to the moves.

Apart from Yukta, "Katputtli" has Milind Soman, Mink, Sameer Dharmadhikari, Seema Biswas, Sudhanshu Pandey, Mukul Dev and Vikaas Kalantri.

Vidya Malvade is truly lucky!
By MIO Team
Aug 21, 2006, 09:08

Model Vidya Malvade of 'Inteha' and 'Mashooka' fame didn't taste much luck with her former films. But with her forthcoming release her career is surely going for a toss. She gets really lucky and the reason is that she is paired opposite none other than King Khan of Bollywood a.k.a Shah Rukh Khan under the Yash Raj Films banner. Shah Rukh whose choice of actress circles around the big and famous names of Bollywood, surprises us working with low profile Vidya Malvade for his next film 'Chak De'. Shimit Amin is directing the film. Her role is being said to be loosely inspired from 'Bend It Like Beckham' as she also hails from Sikh background, has strict parents and is a rebellion. Only football has been replaced by hockey and the premise of the annual hockey tournament and Shah Rukh plays the coach of the girls' hockey team.

Vidya has already worked with Shah Rukh before in a Santro advertisement.

Zayed, Vikram are buddy-buddy
By IANS
Aug 21, 2006, 09:08

Mumbai, Aug 21 (IANS) Actor Zayed Khan and director Vikram Bhatt, who are working together for the first time in a film produced by Harry Baweja, have formed a mutual admiration society.

Zayed cannot stop raving about Bhatt, reports Bollywood Trade.

'Vikram is a great director and has a fine grip on romantic thrillers. Moreover, he is a great editor as well. I was supposed to work with him in 'Aetbaar' but unfortunately things didn't materialise. I am very comfortable with him. He has the ability to make something out of nothing,' he said.

Zayed plays a happy-go-lucky guy in Baweja's latest film.

'He (the hero) is a jovial, innocent chap who gets caught in a conspiracy. It's about a phone call he receives and how it impacts his life. Tanushree Dutta plays my girlfriend in the film,' he added.

Bhatt said: 'This is my first film with Zayed. I think he's doing a great job and it is a pleasure to work with him. He is very energetic and enthusiastic.'

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