Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; December 23, 2019)

He might be a father to young children — a boy and twin girls — in real life, but Ashish Chowdhry has no qualms about playing daddy to grown-up actors like Shivin Narang and Rajat Verma in the TV show, Beyhadh 2.

Ask him about it and he says, “I was only doing comedy roles in films. I do enjoy comedy, but for how long will I play the guy who falls from the chair and makes people laugh? I am inspired by Kevin Spacey’s roles in international TV shows and felt that it was time to cross over and do something totally different. If Sanjeev Kumar, who was as old as Amitabh Bachchan, can play a senior character in Sholay (1975), then actors today should not run away from playing older characters, just because they don’t want to age on screen. I could not be a part of Total Dhamaal because I was doing Dev on TV. I can’t forever be part of multi-starrer comedies, sometimes you need to do roles that have maturity and depth.”

When it comes to television, Ashish says that he is not after ratings. “I am looking for a good role and want to play it well. I am not running after ratings. Television is a tougher medium and if your character becomes memorable on the small screen, you achieve more popularity than in a film.”

On the personal front, while most celebs regularly post pictures of their children on social media, Ashish rarely does so. He explains, “I don’t believe in making my kids endorse stuff online, nor do I feel the need to register every moment I spend with them on social media. I don’t like to use my kids to increase my number of followers. Having said that, to each his own, I can’t stop anyone from doing what they want to.”

Kareena Kapoor Khan has no qualms about doing masala potboilers, but she tries to do ‘something different’ with each film
Juhi Chakraborty (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 17, 2019)

Not just with her fashion choices, Kareena Kapoor Khan has also been quite a trendsetter when it comes to her film career. It began right from her first film when despite being a star kid, she chose a non-glamorous debut with cross border romantic film, Refugee (2000), something which was considered to be an unconventional choice. Nineteen years on, she continues to push the boundary with each of her films, and life choices, too.

“I think it’s just always been a conscious decision to at least try to do something different. When I had my son Taimur (born on December 20, 2016), not many people expected that I would take up a film with four girls,” she says referring to Veere Di Wedding (2018), which also starred Sonam K Ahuja, Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania.

The 39-year-old admits that many questioned her decision to do a female ensemble cast film that marked her return to films after becoming a mother.

“Everyone was like ‘You just had a baby, so why don’t you come back to the screen with a heroine-oriented film where the story would be all about you’. That is the norm here but I don’t think like that. I have a slightly unconventional thinking and that has always been a part of my journey. From Dev, Chameli, Yuva (all 2004) to Omkara (2006), I have always tried to do something different and that gamble has actually paid off well,” shares the actor, who is busy promoting her upcoming release, Good Newwz.

In all these years, Kareena has been a part of several commercial potboilers, and given memorable characters, from Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...(2001) to Geet in Jab We Met (2007).

So, is there anything that is left to be desired at this stage of her career?

“There is so much more to explore now with lines blurring and great scripts coming to life more than ever before. I am not going to say that especially for women because I have never believed that. I always thought women have had the opportunity to choose. There is a lot left to explore. These are the exciting times. I have done it all — meaningful films or big banner entertainers. Big commercial movies are a part of my DNA and that’s never going to change, I will always be part of those, but I am trying to do something different with each film,” Kareena muses.

The actor has a slew of films lined up next including Angrezi Medium, Laal Singh Chaddha and Takht. But other than films, there is one thing that she wants to try her hands at. “I would love to do theatre but I am really scared. In films, we are used to delayed gratification. But I feel performing on stage is an instant thing and I am very scared of that,” she concludes.

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 4, 2018)

Last year, I woke up on January 6 to the news that Om Puri had succumbed to a heart attack while brewing his morning cup of tea. Twelve months later, I still remember his booming laugh, anecdotes that peppered his conversations and being taken to task when another paper had apparently misquoted him. When I pointed out that it wasn’t my doing, he had retorted that he didn’t know the journalist in question but since they were from the same publishing house, I should take the blame or pass the message along. I chose the former and he called back after he’d calmed down to tell me he appreciated that I quietly faced the tongue-lashing. The incident made me feel closer to him.

As his first death anniversary nears, I connect with Govind Nihalani who had collaborated with him on half a dozen films. The filmmaker reveals that soon after Puri’s demise, he’d been flooded with calls from journalists wanting to know his assessment of the actor. Govind was initially bemused by the question, but it set him thinking and he realised in retrospect that what had set his friend apart from other actors was that while he had always been meticulous in his prep, the effort that went into giving a character his body language, accent, getup and sometimes a fictional biography was not visible on screen.

“Om was an excellent wristwatch whose beautifully designed dial displays the time to the last second and we accept it without thinking of the pendulum, springs and many tiny components within that contribute to the soft tick tock that goes unheard until it stops and with it the watch,” explains Govind. He points out that Om internalised his characters so subtly and his performances were so spontaneous that one took his genius for granted till reminded.

He goes on to share that this empathetic, compassionate man had a hard time controlling his emotions in the early years. Govind remembers a scene from Aakrosh where Naseeruddin Shah, a lawyer, is trying to convince Om’s character, Bhiku Lahanya, to tell his story so he can fight his case in court. But the daily labourer, in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, remains obdurately silent. His eyes dart around the room and his face mirrors myriad emotions, but his voice remains unheard till the last scene when to avert another rape, and the fate of his wife, he chops off the head of his young sister, then screams at the skies. The agonized cry of a wounded makes Aakrosh unforgettable and forges an instant connect with Om Puri.

“He was quick to grasp my cues and only faltered in that he couldn’t keep his emotions from spilling over. Frequently his eyes would well up and the tears would flow unchecked, forcing me to call for a retake, interrupting a word-perfect, rehearsed Naseer,” Govind says.

Twenty-four years later, when the director-actor duo worked again in Dev, he saw that Om had not only evolved as an actor, but had greater control over his emotions and craft. Govind talks about a scene where Om and Amitabh Bachchan, two senior cops, are chatting over a drink. In the course of the conversation, Om’s character, special commissioner Tejinder Khosla, recalls how joint police commissioner Bachchan’s son and his best friend had been gunned down by terrorists. “The painful memory makes him emotional to the point where Tejinder bursts out. But this time I didn’t have to tell him not to cross the line, like a good classical singer, he’d learnt to play with notes while staying within the daayra of a raag. It was a pleasure watching Amitji and him play out the scene underlining the maxim that less is more and the hallmark of any great actor,” Govind smiles.