^*Udta Punjab~Shahid-Alia-Bebo-Diljit~Updates Thread*^ - Page 50

Originally posted by: touch_of_pink

Diljit Dosanjh @diljitdosanjh

Amazing Energy Shahid Veerehttps://youtu.be/XhypXqLR9co #CittaVe @balajimotionpic @FuhSePhantom @shahidkapoor @aliaa08 #KareenaKapoor

Shahid Kapoor @shahidkapoor

Shahid Kapoor Retweeted Diljit Dosanjh

You are up next veere. tussi break vek kar dena everything. #UdtaDiljit

Don't make assumptions about Udta Punjab based on trailer says Alia Bhatt

Alia will be seen in a deglam avatar playing a migrant Bihari labourer, who is passionate about hockey.

Ever since the first look of Alia Bhatt as a Bihari migrant from Udta Punjab' was released, there have been varied opinions about her character. However, the actress says people should wait for the film before forming assumptions on the basis of its trailer.

The film was in the news lately when actress Neetu Chandra, who hails from Bihar, penned an open letter to the film's director Abhishek Chaubey and Alia, condemning the way they portrayed people of the state in the movie.

"Anybody who makes assumptions on what we see on the trailer, it is better for us to keep quiet and not say anything because whatever people are assuming, especially the person in question over here, is assuming from the trailer, which could also possibly not true," Alia told reporters at the Ikk Kudi' song launch.

Alia Bhatt attends the launch of Ikk Kudi'.

The 23-year-old Kapoor & Sons' star said people always make assumptions merely on the basis of a trailer, which is nothing but a glimpse of what the film is going to be.

"We always make assumptions before we really see the final project. The trailer is just a hint, film has the real content. So if people have a problem after seeing the film, then it is correct to justify. Before that, we have to just wait," Alia said.

Alia Bhatt looked lovely in a floral blue dress at the 'Udta Punjab' song launch.

Udta Punjab' has been made after the team put in four years of research. The film is based around the drug-related problems prevalent in Punjab.

Alia Bhatt also says playing the role of a hockey player was physically quite challenging, as she had to push herself to look convincing on screen. The actress will be seen in a deglam avatar playing a migrant Bihari labourer, who is passionate about hockey.

"It was hectic and physically very demanding kind of a film. I had to push myself despite the injuries I had. I trained for hockey before starting the film. One would need to have a lot of years of practice to pull that off convincingly," Alia told reporters here at the launch of Ikk Kudi'.

Alia Bhatt poses for photos with a hockey stick.

Alia said that as an actor she was just "pretending" to know how to play hockey, with the help of a coach and the students who got her to achieve the perfect body language. She said, "I was just pretending to know how to play hockey. I got a lot of help from the director, the coach and the students over there to get the body language correct."

"I did try and worked hard, as I wanted to be comfortable with the hockey stick, and bring out a certain ease which comes from the body language of hockey players. There is a little strength and force and I wanted to bring that in my character," Alia said.

The film stars Shahid Kapoor essaying the character of a high-on-drugs, long-haired rockstar Tommy Singh. Kareena Kapoor Khan plays a doctor who is determined to fight the illegal transportation of drugs, while Diljit Dosanjh, who also lent his voice to the song 'Ikk Kudi', will be seen portraying a police officer.

The film is scheduled to release on June 17.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/bollywood/110516/alia-bhatt-says-people-shouldn-t-make-assumptions-about-udta-punjab-based-on-trailer.html

Filmmaker Abhishek Chaubey, Vikas Bahl, Alia Bhatt, music composer Amit Trivedi and CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures Aman Gill during the song launch of Ikk Kudi from upcoming film Udta Punjab in Mumbai on May 11, 2016.(IANS)

Shahid Kapoor's role not inspired by Honey Singh: Abhishek Chaubey

Abhishek Chaubey, 39, doesn't get teary-eyed easily. In fact, deep into our conversation, he will recollect how he laughed at his maternal grandmother's funeral.

But, while researching his upcoming release on drug abuse, he came face to face with heroin addict as young as 17. "It was hard just watching them," he admits.

He and Udta Punjab's writer Sudip Sharma were at a police station in a small village in Punjab. The lock-ups were packed with addicts, all aged 17 to 24. "It was a make-shift rehab centre. They were brought into the room we were waiting in one by one. It wasn't as if they told us a sad story; they were too dazed to speak. But it was heart wrenching." Sharma walked out with him, saying, "If a movie deserves to be made on a subject, it is this."

The drug film' set to release on June 17 is one he has wanted to make for long. The young man from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, who after assisting Vishal Bhardwaj on Omkara, went on to direct the acclaimed Ishqiya, then Dedh Ishqiya in 2014. It has taken two years to get Udta Punjab ready.

Alia Bhatt in a still from the movie

He made Amritsar his base, roaming the Majha area of Punjab, skirting the border Pakistan, including the towns of Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Pathankot and Sialkot, together with scores of villages. It was in one of these villages that Chaubey and Sharma met the most interesting characters. "In a small village, some kilometres away from Amritsar, we met a farmer. For no apparent reason, he had decided to take on the establishment. The locals see the establishment as one that promotes the drug trade in Punjab."

(Right) Chaubey chatting with Shahid Kapoor on set

In Tarn Taran, they met a doctor of psychiatry, who travelled every day from Amritsar to see addicts hooked to drugs. "We went to a hospital where he practiced, and 90 per cent of patients were there to see this doctor." When they asked him why he chose to drive a couple of hours every day to get from Amritsar to Tarn Taran, he said what the farmer had: "Someone has to."

This doctor became the inspiration for Kareena Kapoor's character. "We also met families. The movie, then, is about everyone who who is affected. If you look at the northeastern states and Punjab, you know why the problem is grave there " people are grappling with the after effects of insurgency," he says.

This is made worse by Punjab being a key spot on the world drug highway. "Research revealed that heroin is now manufactured in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is pilfered through the border, using innovative containers like PVC pipes. The situation in Pakistan Punjab is worse."

The Pathankot airbase attack turned the spotlight on the nexus between terrorists and drug smugglers in Pakistan. A recent survey by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) at AIIMS found that opioids valued at Rs 7,500 crore are consumed annually in Punjab. Heroin alone accounts for Rs 6,500 crore of this amount.

For Alia Bhatt's character, the inspiration came from daily wage farm labour that arrives in Punjab from UP, Bihar and Uttrakhand to serve moneyed landlords, says Chaubey. "Later, she gets involved with drugs. They all do!"

But the protagonist, played by Shahid Kapoor, is a musician called Tommy Singh. "And no, he is not inspired by Honey Singh!" Chaubey clarifies.

He, in fact, was Chaubey's version of a DJ from a Delhi nightclub. "So, here is a guy who is from Punjab who goes to Birmingham and becomes a part of the underground Asian dub movement. And, as we always think, DJs at a Delhi nightclub will either be around drugs or be surrounded by it. That's who he is."

Thanks to Shahid's character, the music of the movie (composed by Amit Trivedi) is funky with a Bhangra dance influence.

What Chaubey wishes the audience takes away from his latest project is that Punjab's drug problem is a national issue India is compelled to discuss. "The movie hasn't even released and people are talking about it," he says.

The trailer, although dramatic, also carries a hint of humour. Chaubey says it's a reflection of the film " discussing a social evil, but in a light vein. "I don't believe in making movies that are one-toned. Life isn't like that. I laughed at my nani's funeral because nana cracked a joke. Life has so many shades, and that's how my movies are too."

Shahid Kapoor talks about his next release Udta Punjab

Raghuvendra SinghTue, May 31, 2016


Shahid Kapoor is excited about his next release Udta Punjab and believes it's his career's best performance. Talking about the film he said, "It's about four characters and their struggle with themselves and their journey in life. These four people could exist anywhere in the world not just Punjab. For Haider, Kashmir was the backdrop. Similarly, for Udta Punjab, Punjab is the backdrop. But the emotions that these four characters go through are universal as they indulge in substance abuse." He clarifies further, "I'm using the word substance' and not drugs' because there's a difference. What's a drug and what is not a drug is up for discussion. But when you say substance abuse it talks about being dependent on an external consumable product." Point noted Shahid.