Back to front!
In the age of six-pack, Ranbir Kapoor is a glorious exception. Interestingly, from his first film, filmmakers are focussing on his derriere. But with Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet things are going to change for him. “Yes, you will see my chest,” confirms Ranbir from the sidelines of IPL auction where he was arrived as the Pepsi Intern on a bicycle.
Ranbir is playing a street boxer in Bombay Velvet. “I am more interested in playing an underdog than a hero in the conventional sense of the term. I might do something larger than life later in my career but right now I am interested in playing a character that people can relate to.” Is Bombay Velvet going to change that as well? “Not quite. As it is set Bombay of ‘50s and ‘60s, the budget is big but the character is quite relatable.” From the time he joined the soft drink brand as the brand ambassador, he was promoted as a football guy. “I am more into football but who can skip cricket in India. And my new role will help me understand the game better. My father is a great fan of the game. He used to send bouquet with a note to players after a sterling performance,” says Ranbir.
Dream out of the dabba!
After Stanlay Ka Dabba, Amole Gupte is ready with his second directorial venture Hawaa Hawaai. Celebrating the idea of chasing a dream with a passion like no other, the film features one of the most promising young stars, Saqib Saleem and child actor Partho Gupte in lead roles. It follows their journey as they set out to live their dream through exciting twists and turns against the backdrop of sports!
Gupte says, “Hawaa Hawaai celebrates the triumph of the human spirit against all odds and salutes those dreamers who carry the will to turn their dreams into a reality. It’s a clean, family entertainer which will find resonance with the dreamer inside us. I am glad I have got a chance to work with two path-breaking performers with a great ensemble cast.” The film is scheduled to release on May 9.
Super effort
In a first of its kind partnership, Spider-Man will be the first superhero ambassador for Earth Hour, the global movement organised by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), with a message to inspire individuals to use their power to become superheroes for the planet.
This year, Earth Hour and the hero of the highly anticipated motion picture The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – along with the film’s stars, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and director Marc Webb – are throwing their support behind Earth Hour Blue, which aims to harness the power of the crowd to raise funds for on-the-ground environmental projects from across the world. “I’m proud Spider-Man is the first ambassador for Earth Hour because he shows we can all be super heroes when we realize the power we all have,” says Andrew Garfield, who plays Spider-Man in the upcoming film. The crowd funding section of the new platform will allow participants to help deliver energy efficient stoves to families in Madagascar, help communities in the Philippines build fiberglass boats to withstand climate impacts like Typhoon Haiyan and raise funds to expand and conserve the iconic Table Mountain National Park in South Africa, with many more projects to come.
“Earth Hour gives you the power to inspire anyone, even if you’re just one person, and Earth Hour is much more than an hour. There are great projects from the crowd, for the planet, happening all over the world,” says Emma Stone.
Happily Never After
Love is in the air and Star Plus is once again experimenting with short story format to bring out the diverse shades of love and passion coupled with thrill on the small screen. Dubbed as a romantic thriller, Ishq Kills promises to bring to the viewers stories inspired by true incidents of forbidden love and relationships. These are unusual love stories that dared to go beyond the traditional norms of society. Director Vikram Bhatt, known to have mastered the romantic thriller genre, will be seen interpreting these unexplored relationships and its end for the viewers. Talking about the show, Vikram Bhatt, says, “Love can be perceived from various angels. Through this show we don’t intend to define right or wrong but leave the viewers with a thought and a decision to make for themselves. Some of the stories will prove extremely shocking but the reality is that they exist.”
Produced by Rowdy Rascals, the series, starting this Saturday, is backed by a talent pool that boasts of some of the exciting names from the Hindi film industry like screenplay and dialogue writer Shagufta Rafique and directors like Vishal Mahadkar, Rajat Mukherjee, Jijy Philip, Sachin Khot, Siddharth Anand, Shashant Shah. Moreover, popular faces from television like Priyal Gor, Sachin Khurana, Shruti Bapna will be seen donning various characters in the episodic series.
