Stardust india TruePDF january 2019

So it was no wonder a huge shock when its digital magazine The Cut very pompously denounced and maligned Bollywood’s biggest global success, Priyanka ChoPra as a “scamster” who had co

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Varun Dhawan is on the warpath, he is not on speaking terms with Ranbir Kapoor Strict instructions have been given to all and sundry, including Karan Johar that he will not attend any event if Ranbir Kapoor is present Now Alia Bhatt is the common factor between the two She is Ranbir Kapoor’s love interest and a great pal and co-star of Varun Will she be caught in the crossfire or is she the cause?

OOOOO

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Speaking of Kedarnath,

the movie’s leading lady Sara Ali Khan might already have another role

in her hands – opposite

Tiger Shroff in Baaghi 3

Considering Sara was earlier tapped to debut

opposite Tiger in Student

of the Year 2, this is Sara

coming full circle Now all we want to hear is what Disha Patani, in all her feisty glory, has to say about that!

OOOOO

Now here’s a killer! Deepika Padukone – actress,

model, newly-wed – was apparently not Imtiaz Ali’s

first choice for Tamasha No, that honour goes to

Anushka Sharma, who rejected the part because she

felt that this wasn’t the best film for her to make her

debut with Imtiaz It’s fun to imagine what could’ve

been, but Tamasha was at least a time for all the

‘Deepbir’ (couldn’t think of much better) super fans

to see their fave Jodi on screen indulge in smokin’

hot romance, jhoota sahi!

OOOOO

Unfortunately, when one conflict dies, another one arises And this involved Ranbir Kapoor who didn’t actually make it to the reception Deepika wasn’t exactly fazed and she nonchalantly stated in an interview, “That’s him I’m not surprised at all.” She then went on to call her current relationship with him ‘beautiful’ But we’re not exactly sure where the two stand and her being married now just makes things a whole lot more complicated!

OOOOO

Speaking of Bollywood being frosty, Vishal waj recently opened up in an interview on a film

Bhard-he considers to be a big failure, Rangoon While Bhard-he

attributed that he was trying to do something too ambitious with the project, it’s probably because ‘the actors that were in the film (Shahid Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Kangana Ranaut) were completely at logger-heads with each other.’ He may not have given us much knowledge on what exactly went down, but all

we can say is winter is here

OOOOO

And speaking of churning, what’s not ‘rallying’ is the Saina Nehwal biopic And that apparently has director Amole Gupte a bit irked because Shraddha Kapoor’s dates are ‘a bit of a mess’ considering she’s

working on this and for Chichhore opposite Sushant

Gupte isn’t happy with the ‘second hand treatment’ his film is receiving, according to a little ‘birdie’ But

we think Shraddha, with a little bit of juggling, can

‘smash’ it

OOOOO

Our cover boy last month, Ali Fazal, seems to be ing up to his ‘sexiest man’ title by being one super lovey-dovey boyfriend to Richa Chadha The actor whisked her away for her birthday – to the Maldives! Apparently it all came as a surprise to Richa and we’re sure it must’ve fetched him major brownie points And this came mere days after he confirmed his relationship with her and admitted to her being pretty ‘special’ Did we hear some one say , “another wedding?”

liv-OOOOO

One of 2017’s biggest sleeper hits was Hindi

Me-dium, the Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar flick that is

now generating a sequel buzz Although everyone

expects to see Irrfan back for it, fans were left

shook-eth when reports emerged that Shah Rukh Khan and

Kajol would feature as the lead duo Apparently,

Ir-rfan’s ill health made it tough for him to star and it’d

be interesting to see how Raj and Simran translate

this content-driven film

OOOOO

Good news! Rohit Shetty announced that the next in the

Golmaal franchise, Golmaal 5, is con-

firmed! The director himself mentioned that the cameos of

the Golmaal boys

in Simmba song Aankh marey was a

hint about the next movie An ordinary moviegoer would think, “Hasn’t this franchise run its course?” Well, folks, as long as the people are buyin’,

Rohit will keep on churnin’!

OOOOO

Imran Khan, the actor who disappeared into the thin

air, is all set to make a comeback as a director with

his mamu Aamir Khan producing his film

Appar-ently, bhanja Khan and mamu Khan are planning on

an expensive big budget project together Aakhir,

ac-tor nahi toh direcac-tor hi sahi! As long as ‘big budget’

doesn’t translate into Thugs of Hindostan, let’s see

what he’s got in store for us with this comeback!

OOOOO

Madhur darkar, the director famous for ‘expos-ing’ the industry in his films, is work-ing on a film about Taimur! You read

Bhan-it right! Seems like

the entire taudi family has a

Pa-habit of getting into show biz at a pretty young age This li’l Khan seems to be bigger than all the other Khans

OOOOO

Naseeruddin Shah got the mills running and the fire

ablaze after he tweeted that Virat Kohli is not only

the world’s best batsman but also the worst behaved

player Ouch and then some! He also mentioned, in

that same vein, that he had no intention of ing the country This was a response to when Kohli asked one of his fans to ‘leave the country’ Oh dear, Anushka must be irked now!

leav-OOOOO

The wedding bells do not plan to stop ringing with

the year coming to an end Buzz is the Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto is set to take her rela-

tionship with Cory Tran to the next level in 2019 Don’t cue the groans, though, since a big fat wed-ding (which we are still nursing hangovers for) is not on her cards, they’re planning to keep it simple, intimate and small

OOOOO

Tapsee Pannu slammed a ‘fan’ who commented “I

love your body parts” with a rather interesting reply,

making womankind beam with pride She responded,

“Wow! I like them too BTW which is your favorite?

Mine is Cerebrum.” In fact, ‘cerebrum’ became one

of the most searched words on the internet after her

response Good going, girl!

OOOOO

Sonu Nigam has won our hearts, made us fall in love and dance to the tunes of his songs countless

times The Kal Ho Na Ho singer, however, doesn’t

fray from controversy, especially this time when he said that he would have got more work in India if

he were a Pakistani and that Indian singers these days have to pay music companies to do shows Sonu, stop lighting the fire yet again

OOOOO

Talking about whether the #Metoo movement will bring about a change in content in the Hindi film industry, Karan Johar apologized for having item songs in movies, especially where women are objectified and said he won’t be doing that any-more, not in Dharma at least Katrina Kaif chimed

in, however, saying that she never felt objectified

with Chikni chameli Embrace your woman, Kat!

OOOOO

Ayushmann opened up on how he wasn’t born

‘Ayushmann’ but, in fact, Nishant Somehow,

‘Nis-hant bhava’ doesn’t have the same ring to it But

what really left us reeling was the revelation that Karan was named Rahul and kept that name for 12 days! Even his birth certificate says ‘Rahul Kumar

From one cat to another, Meeeoow till next month!

CAT’S CROWN

This month goes to

It wasn’t that long ago when Deepika said she wouldn’t invite Katrina Kaif

to her reception that too on National

TV But it seems like they’ve decided

to let bygones

be bygones and Katrina was very much a part of their reception

Kat gushed, “And I ate half the chocolate and might not be invited to any of their functions again but we had a really wonderful time.”

Looks like Kat has made her peace with Dippy and let the hostility subside.

Johar’ It was a dream (literally) that made his

mother change it to Karan Anyone for “Welcome

to Rum & Coke with Rahul”?

OOOOO

Ayushmann Khurrana has already made

a name for himself with his movies taking more ‘touchy-feely’ subjects, but who knew it’d translate off-screen as well! His wife, Tahira Kashyap, revealed

on Koffee with Karan that years ago

when they were dating, the young lovers wanted an evening to them-selves (so to speak) at Tahira’s place But in the middle of it all, Tahira’s dad dropped by and caught them in the act The two hurriedly tidied themselves up and laid out their books, pretending to study Interesting!

OOOOO

JANUARY 2019 stardust 15

Priyanka Chopra

Gives New York

Magazine A Black Eye

New York Magazine

is probably the most respected weekly in the world, read not only by New Yorkers but circulated all over America – in fact, it even reaches world leaders So

it was no wonder a huge shock when its digital magazine The Cut very pompously denounced and maligned Bollywood’s biggest global success, Priyanka

ChoPra as a

“scamster” who had conned Nick Jonas into marrying her - that too just before her wedding

This, of course, caused

a huge uproar all across the globe resulting in The Cut deleting the article

But still, wasn’t it too late to make amends?

How did this maligning article make the grade in the first place? Sumita Chakraborty reports.

16stardust JANUARY 2019

something that not many people know, or choose to accept about the global sensation that is Priyanka: She is a modern day scam artist, in my opinion That’s right: Nicholas Jonas married into

a fraudulent relationship against his will on December the 1stand I will tell you why I think so

Adding, “But who is Priyanka

Chopra, former star of Quantico

and pride of India? Even before she crossed over from Bollywood superstardom into the Hollywood arena, she was on the edge of making history Just a few years ago (around 2015) Priyanka

Chopra had her big break in America, starring in an ABC drama series, now-cancelled

Quantico It may seem somewhat

minor, but this success made Priyanka the first major Indian crossover star in America.”Mariah further goes on to spew, “This series lead role led

to endorsement deals, major film roles, and important Hollywood invitations, like the Met Ball Hollywood had seen nothing like her And neither had Nick Jonas.”Whew! Such venom… No wonder, this naturally caused an uproar not only in India but also

Well-respected, point on and

quite balanced… New York

Magazine has a huge reputation

But what made everybody

gasp in shock recently was

when its web page called The

Cut made a savage attack on

Priyanka Chopra, by calling

her a “scamster” The writer

Mariah Smith, in fact, denounced,

“Priyanka Chopra is a superstar

She is stunning, talented and

recently took on the Jonas

surname It seems that she has

it all - well if “it all” includes

marrying someone related

to Kevin Jonas But there is

JANUARY 2019 stardust 17

with Priyanka Chopra’s many

fans throughout the world who

attacked Mariah Smith for her

uncalled for, mean and malicious

words

Not happy with attacking

Priyanka Chopra so viciously,

Mariah Smith smugly goes on to

say, “If you are unfamiliar, Nick

Jonas is the youngest member

of the now-defunct Jonas

Brothers Formed in 2005, the

Jonas brothers gained extreme

popularity during their frequent

appearances on the Disney

Channel and their relationships

with other teeny-bop-pop royalty,

like Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez

and Demi Lovato In 2013, Nick Jonas and his brothers, Kevin

& Joe, decided to no longer be connected professionally Three years later in 2016, Nick admitted that he was the one to broach the topic of splitting up He said the change left the entire family “shaken,” but that they all eventually found their way

Kevin by building a home with his wife who rarely speaks above

a whisper, Danielle Jonas, and their two daughters, and Joe by fronting his new band, DNCE Between then and now, Nick has tried his hand at acting, even starring in television shows (who

can forget Scream Queens?) He’s

also continued to use that buttery voice of his to get songs like

“Jealous” stuck in your head.”Mariah Smith vents her armchair so-called analysis further, “But how did Priyanka and Nick come together? Well: as Nick Jonas explains in the duo’s recent Vogue profile, he reached out to one

of Priyanka’s Quantico co-stars

Graham Rogers, with the text

Priyanka is a modern day scam artist, in my opinion.”

— Mariah Smith

18stardust JANUARY 2019

message that read, ”Priyanka

Is Wow.” That was around

September 2016, when Nick was

24 - not exactly the time you’d

imagine a bachelor like Nick Jonas

to think about settling down But

it was around the time you’d think

someone like Priyanka, then 34,

would Following this text, Nick

Jonas DM’d Priyanka on Twitter,

and their exchange launched

the very beginning of Priyanka’s

plan to make this Nick Jonas

opportunity her forever bitch

Next was a direct message from

Jonas to Chopra’s Twitter, “I am

hearing from a few mutual friends

that we should meet.” I ask for the

date “September 8, 2016,” Jonas says “We checked this morning.”

He goes on: “She responded day

of with a message that said, ‘My team can read this, Why don’t you just text me”

“Aside from the offensive Hollywoodness of Priyanka telling another celebrity that her team reads her direct messages, what she was really doing here was quite possibly dropping a hint to Nick that she was going

to break his heart Or, at the very least: she was indicating that he’d been added to the short list of Hollywood men that she and her team would

test out for a possible romance This same month, Priyanka was rumoured to be getting hot and heavy with Tom Hiddleston

at an Emmys after-party Tom was a prime item then, as this was shortly after he’d been washed, rinsed, and repeated

in the news cycle following his embarrassing relationship with Taylor Swift

“September 2016 is quite possibly the month when dating became a job for Priyanka She told an Indian publication “I have ended up getting into relationships with the people I meet and I usually meet people

JANUARY 2019 stardust 19

on movie sets romantically

my relationships have always

been with people who I meet at

work,” and adding, “Who says

I don’t have a partner? I might

not be with him because I am

travelling All my life I have never

commented on the fact whether I

am in a relationship of not.”

“Which bring us back to

Priyanka’s team In early 2017,

she told people that in addition

to having a hand in her

social-media correspondence, her team

also does all of her “necessary

shopping” Which includes

anything pertaining to her

career, since she is too busy

spoiling herself with leather weights, titanium headphones and splurging on yachts, homes

or the other luxuries in life As she put it, she’s “always been a little indulgent I work very hard

to spoil myself: I am not someone who is stingy at all when it comes

to money I like the high life and I work for it.”

“This may not seem important, but I assure you it is Priyanka’s

indulgences and what she views

as necessities speak volumes to her personality and what she’ll

do, or think she needs to do for her career In a 2017 tour of her Manhattan home, she told the cameras that she has a home theatre because she’s an actress and needs one “This I need Because I’m an actress I need a private theatre in my home I just need it, cause it’s my job I should have a private theatre!” She also has a private theatre in her home in India, but just like the one in New York, she told the interviewer, it’s never been used.”

What Nick & Pri have is Beautiful Love

Thank u, Next.”

— Joe Jonas

20stardust JANUARY 2019

Mariah continues her lengthy

caustic spiel further, “While

Priyanka shops around for the

finer things in life, her team

seems to be shopping around for

the finer men During the 2017

Vanity Fair, her manager was

standing next to Priyanka when

Nick Jonas got on one knee and

asked the actress, “Where have

you been all my life?” This young

man had enough interest in

Priyanka to DM her and publicly

proclaim his lust So as far as

Priyanka’s team must have seen

it: He’d landed the role.”

Unstoppable, Mariah further

maligns, “…Priyanka and Nick

are finding ways for their

“love” make them money - circumventing the methods used by the celebrities of yore, who stuck to selling their wedding or baby photos

to magazines Priyanka’s commitment to monetizing this life milestone should have been

a huge red flag for Nick, but poor thing seems to be blinded

by love.”

Quite a pity that a journalist and a writer should forget that even celebrities like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had sold their wedding photos to magazines and newspapers

who in turn syndicated to others thereby benefitting not only themselves but the entire news media Incidentally, it is also rumoured that Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas planned to donate the 18 crores that they received to various charities

However, this does not seem

to faze Mariah Smith a whit bit who brazenly takes another malevolent swipe, “Nick doesn’t suffer from the same affliction as his wife (being and thriving on being Extra As All Fuck) For Priyanka, going overboard with all things in

JANUARY 2019 stardust 21

her life is more important than

oxygen Take this incident, for

example: Back in April, before

Priyanka reunited with Nick,

she was photographed with

a new bracelet - and some

fans thought that her evil eye

bracelet was a mangalsutra, a

necklace that is tied around a

bride’s neck by her groom in a

Hindu wedding and worn until

the groom’s death Priyanka,

then single, put rumors that

she was secretly married to a

mystery man to bed, tweeting,

”Hahahaha! Heights of

speculations! This is an evil eye

guys! Calm down! I’ll tell you

when I get married and it won’t

be a secret! Lol.”

But there was no stopping Mariah’s motor-mouth and acerbic words She viciously emphasises,

“Nicholas Jonas married into a fraudulent relationship against his will this past Saturday,” adding,

“All Nick wanted was a possible fling with Hollywood’s latest It Woman, but instead he wound up

staring straight at a life sentence with a global scam artist.”

And ends her malicious piece rather flippantly, “Nick, if you’re reading this, find that horse and gallop away as fast as you can!” Such a venomous and vitriolic spiel indeed… One that had the world up in arms in outrage at the mean words spewed Who

is Mariah Smith and why does she have such a hatred towards Priyanka Chopra? Is she a jealous lover or was this article planted

by a scorned ex? The world demanded to know Well, it seems the lady is nothing of that sort She calls herself a Black activist

The article on @ priyankachopra was sexist, racist and disgusting.”

— Sonam Kapoor Ahuja

22stardust JANUARY 2019

and her Twitter description

wonders why people aren’t as

nice as her in the world Well,

Ms Smith, we’ll tell you why…

because there are journalists like

you who spew out venom in the

name of information and has no

qualms of maligning or tarnishing

a celebrity’s image just to grab

eyeballs

Thankfully, New York Magazine,

slapped by immense public

outrage, immediately deleted

this article from their website So

serious was the backlash that the

writer Mariah Smith, obviously

under pressure, too apologized:

“I want to sincerely apologize to

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, and to the readers I offended and hurt with my words I do not condone racism, xenophobia or sexism I take full responsibility for what I wrote, and I was wrong I am truly sorry.”

Hmm… quite an apology though rather late in day as the harm was already done Ms Smith’s vicious piece had gravely offended everyone more so the Jonas family who saw red and were ready to send a legal notice

Nick’s brother Joe and his fiancée Sophie Turner slammed this damning article publicly

Sophie tweeted, “This is wildly

inappropriate and totally disgusting Very disappointed that The Cut would give anyone a platform to spew such bullshit.” While Joe angrily said,

“This is disgusting @TheCut should be ashamed to have someone write such evil words What Nick & Pri have is Beautiful Love Thank u, Next.”

Actress Sonam Kapoor Ahuja stood up for colleague Priyanka

by sending a stinker She said,

“For a publication that “shows women what they are made of”

@TheCut has a lot to answer for The article on @priyankachopra was sexist, racist and disgusting

JANUARY 2019 stardust 23

Also it’s written by a woman

which is so sad It reeks of envy

and bitterness @mRiah shame

on you!”

Though New York Magazine’s

The Cut first amended to remove

some of the more gratuitous

de-scriptions of Chopra, thanks to the

global outcry, they then deleted

it altogether They also publicly

apologised, “Last night, the Cut

published a post about Nick Jonas

and Priyanka Chopra’s relationship

that shouldn’t have gone up,” read

a note posted in its place

“We’ve received dozens of

mes-sages from readers expressing

their anger We want you to know

that we hear you and we’re sorry

The whole piece missed the mark

“There is no good explanation for this other than human error and poor judgment This was a mistake, and we apologise to our readers and to Priyanka and Nick.”

Damning, vitriolic and truly uncalled for… This article tarnishes the image of good

This was a mistake, and we apologise to our readers and to Priyanka and Nick.”

All in all, it was indeed an example of poor judgement on the part of New York Magazine’s The Cut to even consider uploading this venomous piece by a woman writer who just wanted to make herself famous at the cost of tarnishing the image of a big celebrity like Priyanka Chopra

While SuShant Singh Rajput has already created a mark in cinema, regarding his latest film Kedarnath, he says Sara Ali Khan definitely kept him on his toes in conversation with Pooja Kesavan

“ One Of The Factors That Ronnie

Screwvala And Abhishek Kapoor Like About Each Other Is… Me! ”

— SuShAnT SIngh RAjpuT

There is a great history between you and Abhishek Kapoor He said that you have

changed and evolved since Kai Po Che, how

much has Abhishek changed since that film?

As an actor it’s very comfortable working with a person like Abhishek He always gives the nudge

to work but never tells me what to do And that creates more room for improvisation as an actor

I’m so thankful to him for that The intensity of working with him has only increased

The common factor about Ronnie Screwvala and Abhishek Kapoor has been you What do you want to comment on that?

That’s very much true, one of the factors that they like about each other has been me I hope they realize it’ll be great if this pattern continues

(laughs)

We follow you on social media, and you are

a man of science, you always talk a lot about science This film is about faith What do you have to say about that?

I would like to add a nuance to it, not in every context they both go in dramatically opposite ways

They are different ways of investigation of the truth One of which I’m very precise with, which is science Another thing that could come very handy

is faith I follow both in different manner

As an actor it’s very comfortable working with

a person like Abhishek.

to this world of cinema?

I am so glad I have been asked this!

I really don’t know how I have done

in the film I have tried my best to justify the character and story But

I wouldn’t have been able to do any

of that without Sushant by my side

There were days when I felt lost and scared because I was facing the camera for the first time, but he was always hands on ready to teach me and help me in the journey He also

taught me Hindi Jo bhi tooti-taati Hindi bolti hu, inhone hi sikhaayi hai

And of course, acting too!

This is your debut in 2018 and there is one more debut that happened this year, of Janhvi Kapoor And every year one debutant is awarded the ‘Debut

of the Year’ award Will there be a face off in the boxing ring between the two of you?

Not at all! All of us are here to do our job and we are no one to decide She

has done a great job I saw Dhadak

and thought she was fantastic, everybody has loved her work

When you want any kind of suggestions in your acting career, who do you go to in your family?

I stay with my mom, so I do ask her if at all anything But when you have a co-actor like Sushant and Abhishek directing you, asking family members needn’t matter So it was pretty easy for me in that way on the set

What was your mother’s reaction seeing the movie?

It is very difficult for mothers

to be unbiased I’m her baby and does not even look much different from her So, it’s difficult for her to be unbiased and wishes me the best

You come from a renowned family who has made their mark in the Hindi film industry The legacy is now upon you, do you feel the pressure to make it up to that standard?

Of course there is pressure

But irony is a lot of people think it is easy for me, and say I have already got two films But there is always two sides There is pressure on one hand and I also gain a lot of benefit as two amazing people like Abhishek and Rohit has approached me without seeing

my work and I will always be grateful to that

This is your first media

appearance and with

Kedarnath right behind you,

are you excited or nervous?

What do you feel?

Even before Kedarnath,

everyone has always been

extremely warm to me and I

am moved by the welcome I

had received They have only

showed me love and compassion

throughout, and now with

Kedarnath I really hope it was

all worth it and you all keep

pouring in more love

Your father Saif Ali Khan told

us two years back that you

were still studying and are not

looking to act in films anytime

soon, how did Saif and Amrita

react to your decision of

taking up Kedarnath?

I was finishing off my studies

two to three years back My

father was adamant about the

fact that I had to finish off my

studies before entering movies,

and then I could dedicate

my entire time to films if I

wished to But he was with

me throughout, supporting

my decision into entering

Bollywood But after reading

the script of Kedarnath, I was so

She’s effervescent, calls a spade a spade and

is quite muh phat like her mum Amrita Singh

Meet Sara ali Khan , the newest ‘It’ girl of

B’Town, in conversation with Pooja Kesavan !

“Of Course, There Is Pressure

Belonging To A Renowned Family.”

— SARA AlI KhAn

Ahad Sanwari about his experience with Simmba, the

Kangana-Manikarnika tiff and being a quiet man in a loud world.

I was really hurt when the whole

ManIkarnIka

epIsode happened.

Let’s talk about your latest,

Simmba We hear and see that

there’s a little bit of a bromance

that’s developing between you

and Ranveer Singh Could you

tell us a little bit more about

that?

Working with Ranveer was a

special experience We had lots

in common We used to work out

together in Hyderabad, we’d talk

about fitness He’s a very positive

guy When you work on a film

with Rohit Shetty as a director,

things become very easy We

used to rehearse our scenes well

and spent 4-5 months together

in Hyderabad That made a lot of

difference in the chemistry we all

shared Even with Rohit, when we

weren’t shooting, he’d still hang

around the sets and chat The

whole chemistry for us was very

important to portray on screen

and I think when people will see

Simmba, they’ll experience that

32stardust JANUARY 2019

What was it like working

with newcomer Sara Ali Khan

considering what she did with

Kedarnath?

Sara is a great girl and a very

fast learner I remember when I

first met her a couple years ago

with Saif, who I used to work

out with At that time she was a

little girl who was trying to use

the treadmill Then I meet her

again one day on the sets as a

co-star That was very special

and I’m really happy with the

way she has moulded her career

and programmed her life She’s a

very hardworking girl and I want

to wish her all the best I’m sure

Simmba will be another feather in

her cap

You’re usually pretty quiet and

contemplative, but in your reel

life, your characters can be pretty

loud and boisterous Why do

you think there’s such a drastic

difference in your dominant

on-screen persona and your

off-screen one?

Off-screen I am a little quiet and

on-screen I have to play those loud

and explosive roles But that’s the

magic of cinema When the camera

gets switched on, suddenly you

get into your character and portray

the best During these 20 years in

the industry, doing movies in 11-12

languages, I’ve learnt a lot Now

I feel that all the magic comes

automatically as soon as the

camera is turned on me and you

get transformed and your entire

world is now different That’s what

an actor’s life is It’s something

I’ve learned all these years and

has helped me survive, since I’ve

been shooting for multiple films at

the same time Switching on and

off isn’t difficult for me anymore

And you’ve mentioned before

that you’re not the kind of guy

who goes out a lot and parties

Considering the entertainment culture of our industry and the stars in it, do you think that could

be a negative thing?

I remember when I first came to the industry, people used to say that it’s very important to party and socialise Actually staying in the limelight to meet these people and make the moves to plan your career It was difficult for me since I’m not the kind of guy who likes to

go for these parties I don’t drink,

I don’t smoke, I can’t party, I go

to bed very early and I’m an early riser It was very tough for me to

actually get into that party groove

I knew that hard work would actually help me reach my goals faster That was the plan I kept in

my mind and that was the reason

I could reach the goals I wanted

to But I’m not a party person and I just believe in hard work

You walked out of Kangana’s Rani Lakhsmi biopic

Manikarnika What was the reason behind that?

Walking out of Manikarnika was

very, very tough I’d already given 40-45 days of my life to a script

off-screen I am a little quiet and on-screen

I have to play those loud and explosive roles.”

I really loved I thoroughly enjoyed spending

those sleepless nights on the sets But when

I had to walk out, it wasn’t easy for me But

one thing was clear for me that I came on

board to work with a director who I really

admire I’ve worked down South and I know

how brilliant Krish is And when he was not on

board and wasn’t allowed to shoot the movie

and the actor wanted to shoot as the director,

I couldn’t accept that I think that’s when I

knew that this wasn’t the film or role I wanted

to do So I just stepped aside and let them do

their thing, and I wish them the best

Do you think your latest Manikarnika

development will affect your relationship with

Kangana, considering you’ve mentioned in the

past that the two of you are extremely close?

Kangana is a very dear friend I knew her

even before she entered the industry We’ve

worked down South and done films together

I know her family so well That’s what made

it so disturbing, that the move came from a

friend (Kangana) Yes, I was really hurt when

the whole Manikarnika episode happened I

think that would be very disturbing for any

individual, especially an emotional person like

me Sometimes you don’t have the words to

express what you feel when a friend comes in

the picture and all these things happen

You’ve been in hit after hit after hit films, but

we’ve rarely ever seen you shine in a leading

role Is this something that doesn’t work out

your way or are you happy playing strong

supporting characters?

I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a lot of

hits Sometimes there have been leading roles

that I did that were critically appreciated

but didn’t bring those box office numbers

Maybe that wasn’t destined to happen I’m

still giving my best shot When I came to the

industry, I didn’t know a single soul in the city

and I had a lot of goals to achieve and make

my parents proud I followed that path and

knew that one day it would happen I was

lucky enough to work with the best directors

And some of my supporting roles were

accepted well and got lots of acclaim But yes,

doing the leading role is very special for me

Somewhere, someone must be writing a role

that could change the dynamics of my career,

but we have miles to go

I go to the gym like I brush

my teeth.”

34stardust JANUARY 2019

Paltan was a film so close to your

heart Did it deter you in any way

when the film didn’t do as well as

expected?

Paltan was really special for me

and we all worked very hard on

that film, it wasn’t easy shooting in

Ladakh in those conditions I wish

the film had done well But I’m sure

people who’ve seen the movie loved

it and now that it’s on a digital

platform, more people are watching

it and loving it I’ve got messages

about it from lots of people As an

actor, we have to be convinced

when we come on-board and give

our hundred percent And the rest is

left to the people Working with JP

Dutta sahab was a dream come true

and I wish the film would’ve done

the way we expected But that’s

not in our hands and we’ll keep

on trying to give our best Maybe

another war film with the same

director will change a lot of things

for all of us

And there were rumours that you

and Arjun Rampal apparently

didn’t get along What’s your take

on that? What’s your relationship

with him like now?

Working with Arjun was very good,

I share a great rapport with him

We got along very well, we used to

work out together, travel together

and even eat together He’s a great

guy and we still are in touch He’s

a very calm and chilled out guy and

we have a lot of things in common

like fitness, love for movies, love for

music And it was great working

with Arjun for Paltan, there’s no bad

blood

Has there ever been a film you’ve

regretted doing or that you feel

wasn’t the right choice for you at

the time?

Yeah, sometimes you land up on a

set and realise that it’s probably

not the film you wanted to do But

that rarely happens, I always follow

my instincts when I do a movie

Still, when you’re part of the film industry for 20 years and you’ve done 90-95 movies, there will be

a film that you’ll think that you should’ve avoided But it’s okay because I think that’s a learning experience for any actor

As an actor with some of the most and the biggest hits in the current Bollywood industry, what do you think are some of the challenges you face that maybe your peers don’t?

I feel like when you’re a part of

huge films like Dabangg or work

with directors like Ashutosh Gowariker and Rohit Shetty, the biggest challenges when you work with these directors in these production houses is that it makes

it very tough to choose what to

do next The exposure that you get and the production value that you experience make it difficult to decide what movie to do next But

I think, as an actor, that’s what matters The kind of roles you choose, the way you decide to move forward That determines how long you can stay and survive There’s

no formula to it, I wish there was one You just follow your instincts to give your best and leave the rest up

to God

One of the things that rocked the Bollywood world recently was the #MeToo movement, which shed a light on the casting couch problem that’s been going on for a long time You even spoke

of Tanushree Dutta at one point after she made her allegations about Nana Patekar What do you think of the movement’s progress

since then? Have you reached out to Tanushree at all since this happened?

I think the whole #MeToo movement was very important for our industry We always used to hear those stories of people trying

to exploit newcomers and people always said that this industry isn’t

a safe place to start your career I think with #MeToo, there will be

a lot of security with newcomers and people will feel safe People can approach new producers and directors with more confidence and those who abuse their power will be a lot more careful I think the movement has changed a lot

of things in the industry It’s not just our industry, the corporate world and other film industries are also experiencing it But I believe

a lot of changes for the good will come about

You’ve worked in films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, to name a few! Is it difficult having

to adapt to so many different languages and dialects when you’re constantly working?

I started my film with a Tamil movie Then I did Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, English, Chinese I never thought that I’ll

be working in all these languages when I came to Mumbai, it just happened I enjoy working with these directors on different languages and trying to learn them while interacting with the ADs All these experiences really kept me on my toes And I enjoyed acting in these different languages and they helped me grow as an actor Working in these different schools gave me experiences which I never planned on but ended

up happening Speaking in

Marathi for Simmba was a new

experience for me which I really enjoyed

People used to say that it’s very important to party and socialise.”

One thing I want to ask about

is you and your fitness You’re

probably the fittest actor in the biz

right now And no one could even

imagine that you’re 43 How do

you manage to stay healthy while

consistently filming or promoting?

I feel like fitness is a very important

thing in everyone’s career I started

working out during my college days

when everyone talked about

‘six-packs’ I remember having those

six-packs even before I thought

of becoming an actor But when I

came to Mumbai to do films, that’s

when I realised how important

fitness is I made sure that I worked

out regularly throughout the year

You have to promise yourself that

you have to take care of yourself It’s

about patience and it’s something

that comes automatically for me I

go to the gym like I brush my teeth

I don’t have a cheat day, I work out

almost seven days a week I only

missed it during my travel time

and I really miss working out In

fact, I also insist to my co-stars and

directors that they get into fitness

because that’s how they’ll survive

in this industry for longer It’s like

a religion for me and I thoroughly

enjoy it

What can we expect from you

post-Simmba?

Post-Simmba I have three releases

down South, one in Telugu and two

in Kannada I have Kurukshetra

where I’m playing the role of Arjun

There’s a film with the director Teja

that I’m doing with Kajal Aggarwal,

it’s a Telugu film called Sita which

will come in February or March

There are two films in Hindi that I’m

in talks for And there are a couple

of Netflix things I’m considering

I’ll probably take those calls later

and right now, I’m just looking

forward to Simmba and seeing how

people react to it and hope that the

amount of fun we had working on it

translates to the screen

that’s what made it so disturbing, that the move

came from a friend (Kangana).”

Sniff Sniff… Can We Smell

Something Brewing Between

aditya Roy kapooR

?

Supposedly, there’s love in the air and SonakShi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapoor

are seeing each other, that too pretty seriously… Sumita Chakraborty reports.

38stardust JANUARY 2019

in Bollywood?

Supposedly the rarefied atmosphere overhead Tinsel Town

seems to pierced by Cupid’s

love arrows And why do we

say that? ‘cos every nook and

cranny seems to have an overdose

of love, romance and marriage

That’s right… everybody who is

anybody in Bollywood seems to

be either falling in love or getting

married

Well, another one to supposedly

join the bandwagon is our Sona

This chirpy actress who had taken

a tizzy What was brewing with Sonakshi? The excitement further accelerated when Sona answered rather coquettishly ‘Uff oh”.The actress who was quiet throughout 2018 suddenly seemed

to be back in the thick of things And that’s because, according to our source, she’s been quietly dating the very handsome Aditya Roy Kapoor Aditya if you recall had taken a backseat after his relationship with Shraddha Kapoor broke up aeons ago And after that, Aditya seemed to enjoy his singleton-hood and there was no stray gossip linking him with any other person

Varun Dhawan, Bollywood’s best

‘breaking news’ machine, took to twitter to call

Sonakshi ‘bhabhi’.”

a backseat after her break-up with alleged boyfriend Bunty Sachdev, has thankfully bounced back again

in her personal life albeit rather secretly

However, our Badri Varun

Dhawan, Bollywood’s best

‘breaking news’ machine, took to

twitter to call Sonakshi ‘bhabhi’

leaving the pap’s completely in

It was on the sets of

KJo’s Kalank, that Sona and

he actually found themselves

on the same page.”

But then Sona and Aditya met some time this year and sparks flew furiously all around Supposedly, it was on

the sets of KJo’s Kalank

that they actually found themselves on the same page

Call us seers but if you recall, some years back

Stardust had put these two

gorgeous actors together

on the cover At that time too, their chemistry was visible to all But at that point of time, both were in

a relationship with other people so obviously, there was smoke but alas,

no fire

Cut to 2018: Supposedly, these two gorgeous people decided to mend their broken hearts by spending some quality time together And the more they met, the more they liked each other And now, according to our source, “It is apparent that Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya have become pretty serious about each other Perhaps now they plan to take it to the next level,”

By the way, Aditya and Varun are very

close, hence the bhabhi

comment for Sonakshi But as we go to press, Sonakshi and Aditya both refused to comment about their relationship status Watch this page for more…

JANUARY 2019 stardust 39

40stardust JANUARY 2019

Kriti Sanon

and SuShant Singh rajput

Stop preSS