Showing posts with label Belgaum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belgaum. Show all posts
Even when Ayesha and I were dating, she walked out of my plays if she didn't like them-Kumud Mishra
8:14 AM
What an actor born in school theatre, raised on the Bhopal stage and trained at NSD can teach us about our approach to work
Gitanjali Chandrasekharan (MID-DAY; January 31, 2021)
"Pathare Sir, mein zindagi bhar theatre karoonga." Kumud Mishra recalls his parting words to one of the two teachers at the Military Academy in Belgaum, where he studied from Class VII to Class XII. It was at the academy, says Mishra now 53, that he was first introduced to theatre. A shy kid—he says he is still at discomfort in large gatherings—he found his place on stage. School productions headed by Pathare Sir and Janardhan Sir had him play a pandit once and a queen another time—it was an all boys' school. It was much later, that he discovered how good the quality of productions staged at school were.
Mishra, who brings a subtle excellence to all his roles, manages to both, blend into the canvas of the story with his roles and standout as an individual performer, making watching him a pleasure. Having spotted him again in Saif Ali Khan-headlined Amazon Prime web series Tandav as Gopal Das Munshi, a seasoned politician, one wonders what drives the excellence of Mishra's craft.
The first hint comes early into the interview when Mishra says he prefers to respond to the questions in Hindi. Later, as we wonder if we'll need to bring out our dictionary to transcribe this interview, he says, his grasp over the language isn't good. Mishra doesn't seem to strike a false note of modesty. Just that of someone who studies his craft so well—after bidding adieu to Pathare Sir, he headed to Bhopal where he did theatre under the likes of Alakh Nandan and Satyavrat Raut and later studied at the National School of Drama in Delhi—that he still feels he isn't good enough. He thinks, he has a far way to go even where acting is concerned.
Describing how conversations around acting go at home with wife Ayesha Raza, he laughs, "Ghar pe Vibhishan baitha hai." Raza, he says, is critical and vocal about his work. Even when they were dating, she walked out of his plays if she didn't like them. "She never feared that I'd be hurt. We were not even married then, it was quite risky," says Mishra.
Raza, he says, has even shut down one of his plays. A dream to take stage while speaking English, Mishra says, he was practicing the lines at home. After a few days, irritated by how the sound fell on her ears, she asked him why was he pursuing a play in English. "When a French actor can do a play in English, a German actor can do one, and an English actor can do a play in Hindi, why can't I do a play in English?" To which Raza responded, "You are spending all your energy in concentrating on the language. When will you perform?" He tried rehearsing for a few days and gave up. But, the dream isn't over yet. One day, he says, he will perform in English. On her own performances, Mishra says, Raza is so critical, she announces a ban on seeing a play or a role if embarrassed by it.
First introduced to Mishra on stage in the Manav Kaul directed Shakkar Ke Paanch Daane, where Mishra—who has trained in the Chau form of martial art/dance—plays Rajkumar, a villager telling the story of his life through the five people who stood out in his life, we wondered at the fluidity of Mishra's body. He jumps up on boxes and runs across the stage with an energy that belies assumptions. He credits the audience for half the success of a stage actor. "They bring their own imagination and creativity. If you say I am taking a round of the stage and reaching Hastinapur, when you complete the round, the audience will believe it. On the screen, you have to show the mountains for an audience to see mountains." On Shakkar, he says, the other part of the success is to be attributed to Kaul's text. "He has given me some good work, but Shakkar is the best. Is mein jo saralta hai… paani ki tarah behta hua text hai. If I perform Shakkar at 80 as well, the audience will negate the age. They will be able to see the child in the performer."
The first time he had performed Shakkar, he said, it had come with curiosity. To understand the subtext. Then, a time came, when he performed the text mechanically, knowing where the laughs would break the silence in the theatre and where the audience would cry. "But one day, the audience didn't do that. I realised I was performing mechanically and taking it for granted. The audience wants to share your experience and give you a hint of theirs."
When he shared this with Kaul, the playwright-director-actor said, "You are trying to relive the emotions of the original production. Instead, perform how you feel about the text today."
There's much to say about Mishra. How he chooses his film roles for example. He doesn't shy away from the pragmatism of it. Where he picks the script first, then the role, money is also an issue. We ask if he has ever negotiated for another role. "Just once," he admits. And even then, he says, he told the director to consider him only if the other person whom they had picked rejected the part. "And then too, I felt bad."
While he had a love for movies, it was never meant to be his medium. At school, they'd be shown Naseeruddin Shah's films. After watching Paar, he thought, "Baap re baap, aisa bhi hota hai" and wanted to be an actor. And yet, never in the movies—he came to Mumbai for a theatre audition with all intentions of return to Delhi, but, life had other plans.
After completing school, while the forgers headed for the National Defence Academy (NDA) or to the Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination or the Officers' Training Academy, Mishra sat on a train back home and made a promise he isn't still quite sure why. "But, chipak gaya hai."
This phase is surely more satisfying that making a 100 crore blockbuster movie-Sonu Sood
8:18 AM
Actor Sonu Sood teamed up with childhood friend Neeti Goel to play real-life hero for migrants
Phorum Dalal (MID-DAY; December 27, 2020)
Sonu Sood, 47, Actor
Neeti Goel, 44, Owner Of Madras Diaries, Keiba And Ostaad Restaurants
In April, restaurateur Neeti Goel was driving through Wadala with friend and actor Sonu Sood when they saw a group of around 500 migrants under the Eastern Express Highway. They decided to stop the car and talk to them. Some of them, they learnt, had not eaten in the last 18 hours, but were determined to walk home to their villages in Karnataka because work and supplies had run out in Mumbai. "We convinced them to stay put and offered to give them food until we figured out a way to organise transport for them," says Goel, who co-founded Khaana Chaiye, an initiative to distribute meals to the jobless and displaced migrants in the city during the lockdown.
"Sonu made a few calls to sort out permissions and I got in touch with an agency who was ready to give us 10 buses to take this group to Belgaum, provided we signed an indemnity bond to protect them from police curfews," says Goel.
When the first lot of buses took off on May 6 carrying 500 migrants, Sood became the face of the Coronavirus pandemic rescue in India, with migrants reaching out to him for support there on. "I never really saw it as being a real-life hero, as people have very kindly called me. We were doing what we thought was right. That it would turn into a movement, we hadn't anticipated. I believe it is the wishes of the families waiting for their loved ones to come home that did the trick. We have become part of so many families, in a way," Sood thinks.
Glad to take up a cause with a childhood friend, Sood says their rapport makes working easier. Goel and Sood's friendship goes way back to when they were kids. "We are family friends. Sonu is from Moga, while my family lived in Chandigarh. Every summer, we would visit each other. We grew up climbing trees and spending a lot of time in the outdoors. Then, I went on to become a restaurateur and Sonu became an actor. This pandemic effort revived our friendship, I would say," says Goel.
After the first successful Ghar Bhejo campaign, the pair officially adopted all Shramik trains originating from Mumbai to provide food and water to migrants going home. As time went by, they even organised iftari during Ramzan, fed cats stranded on Filmistan Studio grounds and even provided drinking water and footwear to Don Bosco shelter in Borivali. All the projects were run under Goel's 35-year-old family trust. "When I was providing meals from the kitchens of my restaurants, friends and family pooled in resources and soon, we had corporates ready to offer their CSR corpus. The happiest journey is always the one home, and we are glad we were able to send the migrants back. We are now helping with medical and educational efforts," says Goel. Currently, they are working on digging gully pockets in Raigad, an area that sees water shortage from February to July.
Since the lockdown, their efforts have provided 60 lakh meals, serviced four lakh passengers and relief camps have been set up in Thane, Vashi, Dahisar and Nasik highway.
Beguiling his star status, Sood says matter-of-factly that some of the requests he received were outrageous. "A couple wanted me to convince their parents to let them marry while another request was to help someone source liquor," he laughs, "That they believe that I can make it all happen is faith they are showing in us. One family named a child after me. I wish my mother was here to see this for real but her blessings are working."
"God made me a restaurateur to prepare me to serve in 2020. I understand the value of food; it is not only about serving the privileged in happy times," Goel says, to which Sood adds, "Yes. This phase is surely more satisfying that making a 100-crore blockbuster movie."
Sairat actress Rinku Rajguru scores 82% in HSC
7:48 AM
Preeti Atulkar (BOMBAY TIMES; May 30, 2019)
Rinku Rajguru, who became an overnight sensation with her debut film Sairat, has scored 82 per cent in Maharashtra State HSC examination. Needless to say, the National Award-winning actress, who had scored 66 per cent class 10, is on cloud nine.
Speaking to us an elated Rinku says, “I was confident that I will score above 75 per cent. When I learnt that I have scored 82 per cent I was quite surprised.” Ask her how she has managed to juggle the studies and work and she says, “I finished shooting for Kaagar last February so I had ample time to study. And post Diwali, I focused only on revision. I’m glad that I fared well in the board exams.”
Rinku, who initially wanted to be a doctor, now wishes to continue her career in the showbiz. “Now I’m an Arts student, and I will sit with my parents to discuss what subjects to choose and which college to join. I must add that I have always given importance to studies and I will finish my graduation,” she says.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Rinku is currently shooting for a Marathi film Makeup directed by Ganesh Pandit. She adds, “The shoot of the film is in its last leg. Unlike my previous films, in my next outing, I’m playing a modern urban girl who speaks her mind. Also, I will soon announce my fourth film, which is based on acid attacks.” Quiz her if she is playing an acid attack survivor and she replies, “I won’t be able to speak much on that at this juncture but I shall reveal the details very soon.”
She is also set to make her Bollywood debut with Nagraj Manjule’s Jhund that stars Amitabh Bachchan in the lead.
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Rinku has really made us proud, says dad
Vinita Chaturvedi (BOMBAY TIMES; May 30, 2019)
Sairat girl Rinku Rajguru has scored very good marks in the 12th Maharashra state board examination, getting an aggregate of 533 out of 650. The results were declared on Tuesday and Rinku had appeared for these as an external candidate. In a telephonic interview, her dad Mahadev Bapu Rajguru, a primary school teacher at Akluj, shared, “Rinku has really made us proud by scoring 82 per cent as an arts student. She managed to balance her studies and film assignments as she had promised us. I wish she was here with us; but she is busy shooting for her next film Makeup in Belgaum today. However, celebrations are going on at home. Her mother has bought kilos of pedas, but we are missing her.”
Discussing his daughter’s plans ahead, Rinku's dad said, “If a college management agrees to a flexible arrangement of attendance for her, she will enrol as a regular student, else she will continue her BA as an external student. But all that can be decided later; right now we want to celebrate our daughter’s academic success. I’m glad that my son Siddharth who is 13, will look at his sister for inspiration.”
Shilpa Shetty donates Dus Ka Dum earnings to NGO, hopes to rebuild orphanage with sum
5:14 AM
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; July 26, 2018)
One of the celebrity guests on Salman Khan’s Dus Ka Dum 3 over the weekend, Shilpa Shetty Kundra won Rs 10 lakh after beating rival contestant Farah Khan in the final round. Taking her philanthropic work ahead, the actor has donated her earnings to the Shilpa Shetty Foundation, her not-for-profit organisation that provides shelter and education to orphans.
Having kick started the initiative eight years ago, Shetty has taken several children’s homes under her wing, underwriting the cost of running them. She says the recent winnings will help her rebuild an orphanage in Belgaum — something that been on her wish list for a while. “The orphanage in Belgaum houses 60 children who are HIV survivors. For the past eight years, Raj [Kundra, husband] and I have been taking care of their accommodation, food and other needs. With this money, I want to rebuild the place. The renovation could easily cost Rs 40-50 lakh, but it’s a start,” she says.
The Belgaum children’s shelter, Shetty admits, holds a special place in her heart — it was when she read about the orphanage by chance that her journey to philanthropy kicked off. “I read about this young guy who was single-handedly running the place. He had taken in children who were ostracized because they had HIV. They weren’t even allowed to go to school because of the stigma attached to the illness. When I read that he was providing shelter and education to these kids, I approached him and started funding the orphanage.”
From hosting charity celebrity T20 cricket matches to performing at fundraisers, Shetty has been actively finding resources to ensure smooth functioning of her NGO. Disappointed at the way young girls are treated in India, she intends to champion the cause of their education. Glad to put her might behind the project, she says, “There are many families who want to educate their girls but can’t due to financial constraints. I would be happy to sponsor their studies. Salman has been doing such great work through his Being Human Foundation. I too plan to take my charity forward in a big way. A fundraiser gala is also in the pipeline.”
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