I don't believe in looking over my shoulder: Katrina

Agencies
June 14, 2019

Mumbai, Jun 14: Katrina Kaif was bombarded with questions about replacing Priyanka Chopra in "Bharat" but now that the film is a box office success, the actor says it is a great validation for her work.

Katrina said she has always believed in doing her own thing rather than constantly looking over her shoulders to check what her contemporaries were working on.

"So, taking that into consideration, yes, it's a great validation and feedback. But I've always tried to maintain a philosophy in my life, which is, I'm not really looking over my shoulder to see what another person is doing," Katrina said in a group interview.

"I just have to be able to answer the question to myself every day on set: 'have you done everything that you could've done to prepare you for what happens today?' If the answer is yes, I feel content," Katrina added.

The actor's casting in the film was overshadowed by the controversy over the sudden exit of Priyanka.

With "Bharat" and "Zero", Katrina has been receiving a lot of love from fans as well as the critics and the actor is mildly surprised by the praise.

"Our memory is short-lived, especially in the film industry because there's so much constantly happening. Right from the start of my career, I have tried to strike a balance. 'Namastey London' was my third film which had a female-driven part, the girl was strong and feisty.

"Then I did 'New York'. I've always tried to experiment with the best of what is offered to me. I try to take up what I perceive would be a challenge that suits me, that has the right synergy. I took the same approach with 'Zero' and 'Bharat.'"

The actor said barring a slow period, her performance in her earlier films were also praised by the critics.

"I started to think about why do people have this perception that positive reviews have only started to come now. I've come to a reasonable understanding, that while I got good reviews for my films, there were a few films in the middle, about three years ago, that didn't do well.

"We remember just that phase because it's more recent. That's what it's like in the film industry, you really have to continuously deliver."

The actor said she treats success and slump as something that is not permanent.

"When you have a low phase—which will come for everyone—when you have the misses, that stick for a while. Then when something starts working, that sticks for a while too! You have the best of both worlds.

"When you're in that phase, you've to have tough skin, have to introspect, see what can be bettered, what's going amiss. When you're having a great phase you have to think what I've done here without getting too attached to the result. Praise makes you feel good, criticism pinches."

Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, "Bharat" featured Salman Khan in the titular role and released last week.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Mumbai, Jan 9: A day after Deepika Padukone visited the JNU campus to express solidarity with students who had been attacked, her film "Chhapaak" made another splash on Wednesday over the name of its antagonist.

While Deepika was the focus of many a discussion on social media and beyond for showing up at a public meeting in the university, the film, based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, was also making news for quite another reason.

In what could well be a storm in a 'Twitter cup', "Nadeem Khan" and "Rajesh" began trending on the microblogging site after a magazine article claimed the name of the antagonist had been changed. By 4 pm, 'Nadeem Khan' clocked close to 60,000 tweets and 'Rajesh' close behind with 50,000.

In 2005, Laxmi was disfigured for life when a man called Nadeem Khan and three others allegedly hurled acid at her in Delhi's upscale Khan Market.

In the film based on her life, the narrative remains the same but the names have been changed. So, Laxmi is 'Malti' Agarwal and Nadeem becomes 'Babboo' aka 'Bashir Khan'.

On Wednesday, Swarajya magazine wrote an article headlined, "The Ways Of Bollywood: In Deepika Padukone-Starer Chhapaak, Acid Attacker Naeem Khan Becomes ‘Rajesh'." "As part of a backlash against Padukone's JNU 'meet and greet', social media users researched the names of the characters involved in the movie Chhapaak and conspicuously found the name of main perpetrator Naeem Khan absent," the article alleged.

But in the Meghna Gulzar directed film, there is no mention of any Nadeem or Naeem Khan. Moreover, Rajesh is the name of Malti's boyfriend.

Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo jumped into the controversy, saying it was another example of "absolute hypocrisy".

"...When you say all characters are fictitious and don't have any resemblance with living beings and all of that, this is absolute hypocrisy. When you change the name which also changes the religion, it has been done very deliberately," Supriyo told a TV channel when asked to comment on the controversy.

South Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Biduri also called for a boycott of the movie.

With Deepika grabbing attention by going to JNU, many appreciated her 'silent solidarity' but others criticised her for "supporting the Leftists" and said it was a promotional stunt ahead of the release.

"#BoycottChhapaak" was trending on Twitter as was "#ISupportDeepika".

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News Network
January 8,2020

New Delhi, Jan 8: Actor Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday applauded director Meghna Gulzar and actor Deepika Padukone for making 'Chhapaak', a film based on acid-attack victims.

Kangana's sister Rangoli Chandel who herself is an acid-attack survivor took to Twitter to share a video of the actor where she is seen extending thanks to Gulzar and Padukone for making a film on the important issue.

"I saw the trailer of the film 'Chhapaak' recently, and after watching it I was reminded of the incident of acid attack on my sister Rangoli. Today, I and my family thank Meghna Gulzar and Deepika (Padukone) that they made a film on this issue. This will give courage to those people who gave up on their life after struggling with it," said Ranaut in the video.

"This film has placed a tight slap on the face of those monsters who succeeded in their act but not in their will. With this film, all those faces will glow that have been spoiled and their courage was broken by these monsters and the beauty of their spirit," the 'Panga' actor said.

Congratulating the team of the film, Kangana added, "I wish that with this New Year the sale of acid gets prohibited so that this country becomes free of acid-attacks. In the end many many congratulations to the team 'Chhapaak'."

The movie is based on the real-life acid attack survivor of Laxmi, who at the age of 15, was attacked allegedly by a spurned lover in 2005. Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she took up the job of helping acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such attacks.

'Chhapaak' is being helmed by Meghna Gulzar and is being co-produced by Deepika and Fox Star Studios. The movie is set to hit theatres on January 10, 2020.

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News Network
May 24,2020

Los Angeles, May 24: Hollywood star Salma Hayek says her daughter Valentina Pinault is a talented 12 year old who wants to be a director and star as a lead in a film one day.

The Oscar-nominated actor shares Valentina with husband, French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault.

Hayek said she has confidence in her daughter's abilities and believes she has a long way to go.

"She has so many talents. She draws, she wants to shoot movies - both as a director and as the lead - and she writes great pieces. Sometimes when I read her work, I have an urge to produce these stories.

"But she tells me that she will do it by herself when she's older. I don't know what's coming next for her but it seems that she has a lot of ways to go," the actor told HELLO! magazine.

Hayek, 53, added she is concerned about Valentina who has always lived a sheltered life.

"Valentina has always done what she wanted, I've never made her do anything and this means she hasn't yet learned how to oppose pressure, how to overcome obstacles.

"I know by experience that only the overcoming of some difficulties can lead you in the right direction," she said.

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