Radhika Apte on new projects, debutant co-star Rohan Mehra and reuniting with Sriram Raghavan, Anurag Kashyap
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 4, 2018)

Radhika Apte who is known to be experimental in her choices and gives her nod to very few films, spending a lot of time in London with husband Benedict Taylor, surprisingly has her filmi platter full this year. Pad Man, with Akshay Kumar and Sonam Kapoor, is coming up this Republic Day weekend, followed by Baazaar featuring Saif Ali Khan, Chitrangda Singh and debutant Rohan Mehra. She has just completed Anurag Kashyap’s short film for the Love and Lust anthology and is looking forward to films with Dev Patel and Sriram Raghavan next. Over to the busy-bee actress…

Does working in big-budget films like Pad Man and Bazaar with A-listers like Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan take you one step up, professionally?
Pad Man for me was a start-to-finish schedule. We stayed in Maheshwar for a month and wrapped it up with Akshay working eight hours a day which was amazing. It was all quick. With Baazaar we filmed all over Mumbai, every day we were on the move, and the film took time to complete. With big films you reach more people, that is the only difference.

Akshay recently shared a video quizzing you on his films and joking about the fact that you didn’t remember much.
We stayed in this small resort which grew its own plants and didn’t have room service so the crew ended up eating together. Akshay’s table was the most fun as everyone was cracking jokes. Even on set he would surprise me or throw me off with his innovative ideas. He is really funny and this video was just an example of his sense of humour.

The film also features Sonam Kapoor. Was there one-upmanship? Can two actresses really get along?
I don’t believe in that cliché, just like I don’t agree that women are bad drivers.

Did the film require any special prep given that you play a woman from Madhya Pradesh?
Since it is set in a small village, I had to drape the sari right and tie my hair in a certain way. I worked on the accent with Swanand Kirkire (lyricist, playback singer) who is from Indore and is the film’s co-writer.

Pad Man is inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a Tamil Nadu-based social activist who revolutionised menstrual hygiene in rural India by creating a machine for low-cost sanitary napkins. Any apprehensions touching on a stigmatised subject?
Tell me one woman who doesn’t have periods. It’s the most fundamental reality of the world. Today if we shy away from discussing menstrual hygiene tomorrow we will shy away from giving birth.

You have co-written Anurag Kashyap’s portion Love And Lust. Is more writing on the cards?
It’s kind of Anurag to say that I have co-written the film. It was a collaborative effort and a lot of the scenes were improvised. The film is a product of my discussions with him. Usually actors work with a written script but Anurag wanted to experiment so we tried things differently.

Anurag has spoken about another film you will collaborate on and for which you will be prepping for eight months.
There is a film I plan to do with Anurag next year. I hope it happens because we have been talking about it for so long. I’m not sure about the prep yet but I will do whatever it takes because the script is wonderful.

You have worked with two newcomers, Rohan Mehra in Baazaar and Akash Thosar in Love and Lust. Did you offer them any advice?
Rohan knows the industry since he was born. I’m sure he knows more about it than me. He’s a sincere and sweet boy and I really enjoyed working with him. He’s given so much time and effort to the film, his dedication is commendable. I haven’t seen Sairat yet, I must be the only one who hasn’t seen Akash’s film in Maharashtra, and I met him directly on set. Anurag has captured some stuff that is very Akash. He’s a young boy and a bit shy at times. Anurag has moulded the character according to his personality. I will catch Sairat soon.

Having worked with Sriram Raghavan in Badlapur, how’s it teaming up again with him for the upcoming Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer?
Working with Sriram is a pleasure, he’s always so excited. He told me about this character and if I’d do it. I didn’t have any hesitation at all. The character is very different from Badlapur.

Buzz is, there’s a film with Dev Patel on the cards.
Yes, I’m doing a film with Dev which I will announce soon.

What is the status on your horror film with Phantom which was shot in a graveyard?
I’ve completed it, hopefully it will release by March.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 11, 2017)

Mirror (October 11) had earlier reported that Radhika Apte who worked in Anurag Kashyap’s 2013 film on eve teasing, That Day After Everyday, will be reuniting with the filmmaker. The actress features in his short, in an anthology — similar in format to Bombay Talkies (2013), tentatively titled and themed Love And Lust.

We have now learnt that Akash Thosar, who became a household name after playing the lead in Nagraj Manjule’s 2016 Marathi romantic drama Sairat, will make his Hindi debut with this Ronnie Screwvala and Ashi Dua production. After the success of Sairat, Akash had gone on to feature in Mahesh Manjrekar’s FU: Friendship Unlimited.

“Radhika and Akash play friends in the film. Earlier this week, they shot over a span of four days across Mumbai, including at the St. Andrew’s school and a popular eatery in Bandra. Anurag has wrapped up his short,” informs a source close to the development. When contacted, the 45-year-old director confirmed the news.

Interestingly, Radhika has not only acted but has also written the script. She plays a character who deals with several complexities in a relationship. “None of the stories are in continuation or a sequel and all of them will revolve around the different equations of love and lust. I can’t say which short I love the most since they’re all my babies but it is great to enjoy the film in totality like I Love New York or Paris Je’taime,” Ashi had earlier told Mirror (June 8).

Zoya Akhtar and Dibakar Banerjee have also finished their approximately 30-minute shorts. Zoya’s film features Bhumi Pednekar, Neil Bhoopalam and Rasika Dugal as a domestic help, while Dibakar’s film has Manisha Koirala in a never seen-before avatar.

Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 2, 2016)

Last year, Aamir Khan and his filmmaker-wife Kiran Rao partnered with the state government for its flagship scheme, Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, aimed at making villages drought-free in five years through water conservation programmes. The star announced Satyamev Jayate Water Cup, a competition among villages to conserve water.

Ahead of the second edition of the Cup in 30 talukas of the state, Aamir and Kiran have decided to raise awareness with a music video with some help from the Sairat team. The lead actors of the Marathi blockbuster — Akash Thosar and Rinku Rajguru — will be part of the video directed by Nagraj Manjule while the music will be composed by Ajay-Atul. What’s more, Kiran has lent her voice to the campaign song penned by Guru Thakur.

Confirming the development, Aamir’s spokesperson says, “This is the first time she will be singing and that too, in Marathi. It features Aamir and Sairat lead pair among many other celebrities. It is a beautifully shot video by Nagraj, who has understood the essence and importance of the initiative.”

The names of the participating talukas will be announced at a conference tomorrow at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ Sahyadri State Guest House, adds the spokesperson. Along with the CM, Aamir and Kiran will be present at the event.

Last year, as many as 116 villages took part in the competition, which created an annual water storage capacity of 1,368 crore litres in three talukas of the state. The actor received tremendous success with the test project. “The first edition of the Water Cup was a pilot project and with its success, we now want to extend the watershed management programme to 30 more talukas in Maharashtra to make villages water-sufficient,” Aamir had said during the Water Cup awards function last October.

The competition will take place from April 8 to May 22. Top three villages across the state will get a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh, Rs 30 lakh and Rs 20 lakh respectively. In addition, the top village from each taluka will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh.

Akash Thosar is being mobbed by fans, even as he shoots for Mahesh Manjrekar’s next
Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 16, 2016)

His debut film Sairat catapulted Akash Thosar to instant fame. And that sudden popularity is affecting the shoot of his second film, Mahesh Manjrekar’s FU. The film, being shot in various parts of Maharashtra, has a heavy security bandobast to keep Thosar from getting mobbed.

“The film’s team has tried to keep the actor’s presence in FU a secret, to no avails. Everywhere they go, hundreds gather to get a glimpse of Thosar and incessantly mob him for selfies. Shooting with him has become a problem,” says a source from the unit.

Manjrekar calls FU a film about the young. “The title says it all. The abbreviation is self-explanatory. For the Censor Board, however, it stands for Fun Unlimited. We don’t want trouble,” he says.

Producers of the film are feeling super-generous as film crosses Rs 60-cr mark
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 20, 2016)

It is appraisal season, after all. And why should film stars be any different? The leading lady and man of the biggest blockbuster in Marathi cinematic history, Sairat, have been awarded a bonus of Rs 5 crore each by its benevolent (and delighted) producers.

The film itself is being seen as a landmark in Marathi film history. Cinemas to meet with the demand have opened 12 am and 3 am slots in rural Maharashtra, a phenomenon never heard of in the hinterland. But so astounding has been the word-of-mouth for the blockbuster that the film has garnered Rs 60 crore at the box-office.

The actors, who had been signed on for a meagre Rs 4 lakh, will now be given Rs 5 crore each, as announced by producer Nittin Keni, CEO-Founder of EsselVision Productions, and co-producer Nikhil Sane, who pulled off the modern classic on a shoestring budget of Rs 4 crore. "Yes, we are planning this as a small gesture of goodwill for the cast and it is not only the actors who will be receiving certain amounts of money, but also the extended cast and crew. We are finalising the paperwork, but at the same time are hoping that we do not have to close our accounting books soon, since the shows are still going houseful. Last week, there were three shows of Captain America: Civil War, three of Azhar and eight of Sairat in Mumbai suburbs," Keni laughs.

The career-defining roles have come to both Akash Thosar, 22, and Rinku Rajguru, 15, with the sort of serendipity that rustic fairytales are made of: eight months ago, filmmaker Nagraj Manjule spotted Akash Thosar, a local pehelwan, at the Jeur railway station as the youngster prepared to board a train to his hometown, Solapur. Manjule had written a story about a young boy falling in love with a girl, set against the backdrop of caste discrimination. He instinctively felt that if this beefed-up lad lost his bulk, he'd be great for the part. Akash, who lives in Pune's Aundh area with his parents and four younger siblings - two sisters and two brothers - was headed to the Jeur Kushti Akhada for a state-level championship. His father is a retired accountant and his mother a housewife. Akash supported his large family with the money he won at kushti matches, each victory bringing in Rs 1,000. Life was hard.

"I went up to him and said that I wanted to cast him as the hero of my next film. He thought I was joking, so I told him that I was the director of Fandry (the 2014 National Award winner for First Film of a Director). We exchanged numbers, I told him that I'd be back in three weeks and that he'd be perfect for the role if he wasn't so muscular. He showed up at the station three weeks later, eight kilos lighter," recalls Manjule, who had already finalised Rinku Rajguru, a local from Akluj village in Solapur, who loved to dance, for the female lead.

Rinku's journey to tinsel town is equally fascinating: she hails from one of the more well-to-do farmer families of Akluj in Solapur district. Rinku was prepping up for her ninth standard exams at the Jijamata Kanya Prashala and confesses that she did even not know "audition" meant. "Nagraj dada told me 'Tu acting karsheel?' I said yes, dancing a bit and spouting a few lines. He gave me the role. I had only 15 days to study for my final exams and I still scored 81 per cent," she says proudly.

The process to stardom was rigorous to say the least: for two months, the cast was holed up at Manjule's Pune home, reading the script and prepping for the role. Six months later, Sairat released on February 17 with English subtitles in 400 theatres. At the end of the second week, the total number of shows went up from 8500 to 14,000. "The Sairat craze has taken all of us by surprise. Who would've thought a Marathi-speaking Romeo and Juliet would eventually hit a 60-crore mark, a first in Marathi cinema. It's gone out of hand with midnight and 3 am shows being introduced at a hall in Satara," informs producer Nitin Keni.

Keni though also insists that the fantastic story and the score by composer duo Ajay-Atul is behind the film's dream run in theatres. "The rough cut was complete and we decided to gamble another Rs 60-70 lakh by sending Ajay-Atul to the US to record live music with 100 instrumentalists and musicians performing at the Sony Theatre in Los Angeles. Guess that paid off too," the producer explains, pointing out that the makers will not be selling the remake rights of the film, even if the largest production house in the country offers them a deal. "We are rolling with the Telugu remake of the film first, followed by a Gujarati version, and, of course, Hindi. The idea is to not make a sequel, but replicate this success in different regions," adds Keni.

Keni hosted a grand success bash at a Juhu five-star on Saturday night, which began at 11pm, when the teenagers who turned superstars overnight walked in. "If one year ago, someone had told me that I would be a superstar, I would have laughed," says Akash, who confesses that he is more used to being called Prashant, his Sairat character's name by now. "Mere parents and friends khush hai and sab mere saath selfie chahte hai, main isi main khush hoon. Aamir Khan and Irrfan Khan ne bhi meri taarif ki. Jin logon ko screen pe dekhkar main taaliyan bajata tha, voh mujhe aaj screen par dekh rahe hai," he says. Ask him on his signing amount of Rs 4 lakh and what he plans to do with his five crores, he says, "Nahi, starting main toh koi contract nahi tha..." and the phone is taken away by the film's publicist, who says that contracts cannot be discussed with the media at this moment.

Rinku, on the other hand, reveals via her publicist that she does not want to discuss her contract or the money she is going to receive. "I have not gone home since the film started and have been living in Pune and Mumbai. I want to continue studying and go home," confides the 15-year-old, who bagged a Special Mention at the 63rd National Awards for her performance as Archana 'Archie' Patil. But she is instantly happy when asked about what she'll remember about Sairat for the rest of her life. "When we were shooting, "Zing Zinghat" played for three days, and all we did was dance. That is what I want to do for the rest of my life," Rinku beams.