Both will appear similar to the inexperienced eye: Richa on ‘Shakeela’ being compared to ‘Dirty Picture’

Agencies
November 1, 2018

Bengaluru, Nov 1: Richa Chadda despises the term “female-oriented” films but the actor says the phrase will continue to be relatively novel till such movies become a norm.

The 31-year-old actor says she started hearing the term when Sridevi’s English Vinglish released in 2012 but adds actors like Nutan to Rani Mukerji have been the face of their films from a long time.

“I never buy this ‘women-oriented’ term. I don’t like it. I have been hearing this term since 2012 that ‘English Vinglish’ is coming. I always turn around and say ‘You never call the other things male-oriented’. But I guess it’ll be a thing, till it becomes a norm.

“Be it Nutan, Nargis Sridevi or Rani (Mukerji), these women have done films which they have carried on their shoulders completely. There was an entire alternate cinema movement with Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Deepti Naval, Mita Vashisht and Neena Gupta… These are great actresses and they have done some excellent work,” Chadha told PTI in an interview here.

The actor is currently in the city shooting for her next, Shakeela, the eponymous biopic on the popular Malayalam adult star.

Directed by Indrajit Lankesh, the film narrates the rags-to-riches-to-rags story of Shakeela Khan, who ruled the South Indian cinema of the ’90s. She has acted in several adult films in languages spanning Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

Year 2018 saw films like Padmaavat and Raazi, fronted by women, emerge as some of the biggest money-spinners and Chadha says the audience has always been ready for a female star who would drive the crowd towards the theatres.

“I think it’s the producers, distributors and exhibitors who have not been ready. It is an issue.

“Men control the business and they say the film is female-oriented and it won’t work till its ti*s and as*. But you don’t know, a good story connects somewhere,” she adds.

“Shakeela” is already being compared to Vidya Balan’s critically-acclaimed hit Dirty Picture.

Inspired by southern star Silk Smitha’s life, the 2011 film explored the journey of a woman who dreams to be a star, goes on to become a sex symbol and following repeated failures, commits suicide.

Many claim that Shakeela, the film appears to have been cut from the same cloth but Chadha disagrees.

“Comparisons will happen but we can’t do anything about it. I can’t escape that. I thought about it but now I’m not going to fight it. Shakeela became a star when Silk Smitha killed herself. Within two years of Silk’s death, Shakeela was a superstar.

“She was a ready replacement of somebody who had just passed away. It’s the same period, the aesthetics, the visuals and technically too things are same. The two films will appear similar to the inexperienced eye. But the two are very different. It’s in a different zone. At least they will compare me to Vidya Balan and the film to a blockbuster like ‘Dirty Picture’.”

The actor says Shakeela, who has been an integral part of the biopic from the outset, is a living example of feminism in practice.

“She knows her career and personal life have suffered because of the courageous decisions she has taken to stand up against oppression of any kind. She knows she’s paying the price for it.

“I could imagine any person in her place as being bitter, angry, suicidal or dependent. Going to school and learning feminism is one thing and living feminism is another. She has done the latter.”

Shakeela will also have a cameo in the movie. The film also stars Pankaj Tripathi and the makers are eyeing a release date post March 2019.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 20,2020

New Delhi, Jun 20: Taking cues from her own experience, actor Deepika Padukone on Saturday emphasised that people suffering from depression cannot 'snap out' of the mental health condition.

Continuing with her daily practice of posting mental health messages for people struggling with depression and other issues, Padukone posted the recent message on social media.

"Repeat after me: You cannot 'snap out' of depression," Padukone wrote on Twitter.

Padukone had started with the series of mental health quotes after the sudden demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who committed suicide by hanging himself at his Bandra residence in Mumbai.

The 'Tamasha' actor started voicing her opinion on the importance of mental health through her foundation 'The Live Love Laugh Foundation' (TLLLF) in June 2015. Through the platform, the actor keeps launching nationwide awareness as well as destigmatisation campaigns.

Meanwhile, scores of comments followed on her latest post on mental health, where netizens too shared their take on mental health.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 5,2020

Nalgonda,  Jul 5: Bollywood filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has been booked in connection with his upcoming film 'Murder' which is based on Pranay Kumar's murder in Nalgonda district.

Ram Gopal Varma was booked following Nalgonda court's directive on a petition filed by father of a man who was killed in an alleged honour killing incident in Miryalaguda in 2018.

"We have booked filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma following a court order for his upcoming movie 'Murder', which is based on sensational caste-based Pranay Kumar's murder that occurred in Miryalguda, Nalgonda District in September 2018, " Police said.

On June 21, the filmmaker has released the poster of 'Murder', based on a true story.
Police said, "Pranay's father Balaswamy has filed a petition in Nalgonda Court stating that the film will affect the on-going trial of Pranay's murder case and the film should be stalled."

"We've registered a case under relevant section of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act and taken up investigation."

"The court has ordered Nalgonda police to register a case against the film director Ram Gopal Varma and the producer," added the police.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 11,2020

New Delhi, Jan 11: The Delhi High Court on Saturday restrained from releasing Deepika Padukone-starrer 'Chhapaak' movie without due credits to the lawyer who represented the acid attack survivor, Lakshmi Agarwal, in her legal battle.

The restraint will be effective from January 15 in multiplexes and live streaming and for others from January 17.

The court directed filmmaker Meghna Gulzar to give due credit to lawyer Aparna Bhat who fought the criminal case for the acid survivor on whose life the movie is based.

It passed the order on a petition filed by Fox Studio challenging a trial court order which had directed the filmmakers to give credit to Bhat.

Delhi's Patiala House Court had earlier this week passed an order granting an ex-parte interim mandatory injunction directed that the filmmaker has to carry a line "Aparna Bhat continues to fight cases of sexual and physical violence against women" during the screening of the film.

Fox Studios then requested the Delhi High Court to set aside the trial court order.

The petitioner submitted that if the order passed in a suit filed just one day before the release of the film, is not vacated, varied or modified, then the petitioner will suffer grave injustice and irreparable harm and injury.

The movie, which hit the cinemas yesterday, is based on Laxmi's life. In 2005, at the age of 15, she was allegedly attacked by a spurned lover.

Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she started helping other acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such gruesome attacks.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.