Bollywood MAX

By now it is an established fact that Kajol goes out of her way for friends. To no one’s surprise, she defied doctor’s orders on Friday and braved it to a suburban theatre to watch We Are Family because she had promised her friends producer Karan Johar and director Siddharth that she would.

Says the emotional director, “That’s Kajol for you. A true friend. She’s going to be a mother and she’s a month away from delivery. She wouldn’t have done this under normal circumstances.”

Doctors have advised Kajol to avoid all strenuous activity. And apparently, husband Ajay Devgn has been going out of his way to ensure Kajol moves out of the home as little possible.

But Kajol being Kajol, she went where her heart took her.

Says Siddharth, “I was on tenterhooks until Kajol saw the film. I knew she would be brutally honest in her opinion. When she said she loved the film and that we had got on screen what we had set out to make I was relieved.”

Preity Zinta, who’s on a trip to the US, met up with tennis star Serena Williams. And the B’wood star was thrilled by the encounter.

Preity posted a picture with Serena on her Twitter page and wrote: “At Dinner with Serena Williams! She is absolutely wonderful and full of life. Love her style.”

“Meeting Serena was definitely inspiring! Must confess I am a huge fan! It takes a lot to be No.1,” Preity said.

After working with Ranbir Kapoor in two films, director Siddharth Anand feels the young actor has the potential to follow in the footsteps of megastar Amitabh Bachchan as the “complete Hindi film hero”.

“The day Ranbir does an action film and does it well, he has the potential to fill the void that Bachchan created,” said Anand who teamed up with Ranbir for the second time for his new romantic comedy ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ releasing Sep 24.

The two had earlier worked together in ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ (2008).

“Ranbir is the perfect guy to play Anthony (a character played by Big B in ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’), he can play coolie, he can play the characters Bachchan played in his prime. There is no one else but him,” Anand said.

“He has got everything it takes to be the complete Hindi film hero that Bachchan was.”

Anand, who debuted with ‘Salaam Namaste’ (2005), says he has tried to push the boundaries with his first film and completely smashed it with ‘Anjaana Anjaani’.

“I have torn the boundaries here. When you see the film, it’s something unlike you have seen at any point of time. It’s a love story but its situations are very unique,” said the young director.

“I made Ranbir do strange things. During the shooting of the song ‘Khuda jaane’ in ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ I made him stand on the tip of a cliff and spread his arms and he was really scared as he has a vertigo problem.

“In ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ there is a sequence where they are stranded in the middle of an ocean. It was the Pacific Ocean and he had to dive into the freezing waters. He did it even though he has aquaphobia,” said the director.

Talking about the film that co-stars Priyanka Chopra, he said: ” ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ is the story of two strangers who meet in strange circumstances and then part as strangers. So it’s a very unique concept for a Hindi film, but it’s deep-rooted as a Hindi commercial film. It has songs, stories, beautiful locations and fabulous performances.”

Siddharth says more than the actresses, he bonds well with actors.

“I am a hero’s director. I bond with my heroes more than I bond with my heroines. Once we become friends, I like to work with them repeatedly if they are okay with it. I have been fortunate enough to work with two superstars,” said Anand.

And what made him pair Ranbir with Priyanka?

“I wanted to have a fresh pair. I wanted a brilliant actress because the film is only about the chemistry between two people. It’s about their sparks, the banter between them.

“Ranbir is a brilliant actor; so I needed someone who would be able to match that. Priyanka just fitted in unbelievably,” said Anand.

The director insists that he is very particular about the songs in his films.

“I’m surprised people liked the song ‘Hairat’. I was very clear that I wanted music for a love story that you cannot imagine. It doesn’t belong to a love story. I didn’t want mainstream music,” said Anand.

Asked if he was planning to explore only unique love stories, he said: “Not really. I am a storyteller. If I am in a mood to make you laugh, I will tell you a joke. If I want to scare you, I will tell you a horror story. So it depends on what comes to me at that point of time.”

Aamir Khan is so fond of films of the 1950s-60s that he wishes he was an actor in that era.

“To me the 1950s-60s were the golden period of Indian cinema. During that time the creative talents be it director, actor, lyricists, composers, writers and in every department used to be excellent,” Aamir told reporters at PVR Phoenix Mill in Mumbai, where he came to attended the screening of ‘Teesri Manzil’ at the Purani Jeans Film Festival organized by Radio Mirchi.

“I think that people during that time were more passionate about filmmaking,” he said.

“All old films I see, I feel that I should have worked in them. ‘Teesri Manzil’, ‘Guide’ and the list is unending. They are so fantastically made. I wish I was born during that period,” he added

“In every period of time different kind of talent has come in Indian cinema. So it’s quite difficult to compare one period of cinema with the other,” Aamir continued.

“I don’t think that now there is any dearth of talent. It often happens that we like older things, as there is a nostalgia value. But I think that talent at that time was really special. But today’s talent, like me, is privileged and proud to belong to this lineage of talented people,” said Aamir.