Dhoni bared his soul in 'Roar of the Lion': Kabir Khan

Agencies
March 12, 2019

Mumbai, Mar 12: Kabir Khan has documented the fairy-tale comeback of the Chennai Super Kings last IPL season, following a two-year suspension for spot-fixing, in the upcoming, "Roar of the Lion" and the director says the series will see a "very personal" side of cricketer MS Dhoni.

CSK, the Chennai franchise of the IPL, had served a two-year ban for its management's role in the 2013 spot-fixing scandal.

The Hotstar Special docu-series, directed and executive produced by Kabir, chronicles how the Dhoni-led team made a comeback, winning Indian Premier League 2018.

In an interview with PTI, the director says the series is a human exploration, one beyond the obvious, to show what the phase did to the people involved.

"We know all about the broad strokes, the legal side and the uproar. We don't know what was happening to the individuals beyond those headlines. This is a story behind the headlines. Were these headlines affecting Dhoni? Of course they were, but he never spoke about it, until now," Kabir said.

The critically-acclaimed filmmaker said the series aims to bring out the emotional journey, which the mainstream narrative missed out.

"The controversy was hurting other players but we never heard their perspective. That's what the USP of the show is. It's a story we all know how it played out, but we don't know the details and layers of the emotional journey of the protagonist."

The episodic series was shot on a tight schedule of three months and involved a series of intense, honest and long discussions with Dhoni.

"Our interviews with him on tape lasted sometimes seven to eight hours. He trusted me and had the confidence that I'll be sensitive in the way things are going to be portrayed. He was ready to bare his soul.

"You've never seen Dhoni speak like this. He has always been silent about these matters. You'll see Dhoni in a very personal, emotional way on this series."

The "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" director said the team was conscious regarding the timing of the release, as they needed to bring out the series before the start of the next IPL season.

"Roar of the Lion" becomes the second cricket-related project for Kabir, who is gearing up to shoot his next feature, "83", which chronicles Indian cricket team's iconic first World Cup win.

The director, however, said it is "pure coincidence" that the two projects have cricket as the backdrop.

"Even if I wasn't working on '83', I would've done 'Roar of the Lion' because it was a fascinating and heartwarming story of the triumph of the human spirit. It has a classic sport story graph.

"The most successful IPL franchise has a match fixing allegations against them and the icon of the country: Dhoni. They get banned, they cope with that, come back after the allegations are cleared, build a team which is ridiculed and go on to win again. How could I not have done this?"

"Roar of the Lion" starts streaming on Hotstar from March 20.

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News Network
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: Actor Bhumi Pednekar on Monday pledged to feed over 550 impoverished families as a mark of tribute to late Bollywood actor and her 'Sonchiriya' co-star Sushant Singh Rajput.

Pednekar made the announcement through an Instagram post where she shared a picture of the departed actor and penned down a note along with it.

"I pledge to feed 550 impoverished families through the Ek Saath Foundation in the memory of my dear friend. Let us show compassion and love towards everyone that is in need, now more than ever," Pednekar wrote.

The two actors shared screen space in the Abhishek Chaubey directorial which continues to be a critically acclaimed film.

Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai's Bandra residence earlier this month. The detailed post-mortem report has also confirmed that he died by "asphyxia due to hanging."

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 16: Barbara Broccoli, who has since long been the producer of the James Bond franchise, recently clarified in an interview that the 007 character won't be played by a woman in the forthcoming rendition.

Broccoli, accompanied by her half brother and fellow producer Michael G. Wilson, told Variety: "He can be of any color, but he is male."

She went on to say: "I believe we should be creating new characters for women -- strong female characters. I'm not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that."

According to Fox News, the current Bond hero, Daniel Craig, announced last November that he would cease to play the legendary character once he is done with the upcoming 'No Time To Die' movie that is scheduled for release in coming April.

Commenting on Daniel parting ways with the franchise, Broccoli said: "I'm in total denial. I've accepted what Daniel has said, but I'm still in denial. It's too traumatic for me."

Fox News reported last July that the British Actress Lashana Lynch could possibly star in the 2020 Bond flick, but such speculations were dispelled once the trailer for the movie was brought out last December.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Mumbai, Apr 30: Rishi Kapoor, the romantic star of many a Bollywood film who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018, died in a Mumbai hospital on Thursday, his brother Randhir Kapoor said. He was 67.

Rishi, a third generation actor of the famous Kapoor dynasty, is survived by his wife Neetu Kapoor, actor son Ranbir and daughter Ridhima.

"He is no more. He has passed away," Randhir said.

Rishi was taken to the H N Reliance hospital by his family on Wednesday.

His death comes a day after after his "D-Day" co-star Irrfan Khan passed away, also of cancer. Three months ago, the disease claimed his sister Ritu Nanda.

"Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45am IST in hospital today after a two-year battle with leukemia. The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last.

He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him, the family said in a statement.

Rishi returned to India last September after undergoing treatment for his cancer in the US for almost a year.

In February, he was hospitalised twice.

He was first admitted to a hospital in Delhi where he was attending a family function. At the time, he had said he was suffering from an "infection".

After his return to Mumbai, he was again admitted to a hospital with viral fever. He was discharged soon after.

Rishi made his first screen appearance as a child artiste in his father Raj Kapoor's film Shri 420 , where he appeared in the song Pyaar hua ekraar hua . This was followed by "Mera Naam Joker". But it was in 1973, with the blockbuster Bobby , again directed by his father, that he made his debut as a romantic hero. He continued to be a favourite romantic hero for almost three decades.

His notable films as a romantic hero are "Laila Majnu", "Rafoo Chakkar", "Karz", "Chandni", "Heena" and "Saagar".

He was, however, more proud of his second innings as an actor, which he found more satisfying. His notable films as a character artiste are "Do Dooni Chaar" with wife Neetu, "Agnipath" and "Kapoor & Sons".

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