Days after Kajol's Devi drops online, indie filmmaker Dwivedi claims short film strikingly similar to his 2018 offering, Four
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; March 7, 2020)

Only days after it dropped online, Kajol's short film Devi appears to have courted controversy. Independent filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi has claimed that the Priyanka Banerjee-directed offering — which is produced by Niranjan Iyengar and Ryan Stephen — bears uncanny resemblance to his 2018 short film, Four.

"After Devi released, we got a lot of messages about how it is strikingly similar to our film, Four. Initially, I had not seen Devi, but having watched it, the similarities cannot be denied," says Dwivedi, who served as the creative director of the 2018 creation.

Directed and edited by Asian Academy of Film and Television student Abhishek Rai, Four highlights some of India's most gruesome rape cases by depicting the after-life of rape victims Nirbhaya, Bhanwari Devi and Asifa Bano where they are seen confined to a room, presumably waiting for justice even after their death. A similar premise has been employed in Devi that revolves around nine women.

"We want an explanation from the makers. How did they come up with the same idea? How did the story have similar characters and even, the same ending?"

Though disillusioned by the turn of events, Dwivedi has no plans of seeking legal recourse. "We don't want to go the legal way because we can't afford it financially. Also, they are big players [in the market]."

mid-day reached out to Iyengar and the production house Electric Apple. Both remained unavailable for comment.

Kajol with producer Niranjan Iyengar

As her first short film Devi drops online today, Kajol on the joy of working with an all-women cast
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; March 2, 2020)

Kajol has often mentioned that Shah Rukh Khan and husband Ajay Devgn are her dream co-stars. But looks like her Devi co-stars may pip them to the distinction. The short film that drops online today has her sharing screen space with eight women actors, including Neha Dhupia and Shruti Haasan.

"When the script came my way, I thought it would be so much fun working with [eight] different women," says Kajol, adding that the movie — directed by Priyanka Banerjee and made for Large Short Films — drives home a powerful message about gender equality. "I loved the statement that the film is making. Also, it's such a joy to closely collaborate with so many women. Nobody discussed PMS at all on set," she grins.

In her 28-year career in Bollywood, Kajol has consistently made a case for women empowerment — be it by challenging the unrealistic standards of beauty that the industry holds the female actors to, or by busting the myth that heroines have a short shelf life. Ask her who she considers her inspiration, and she rattles off, "My mother [Tanuja]; whatever I am today is because of her teachings. My mother-in-law [Veena Devgan] has also played a crucial role, she has supported me in so many ways. And I consider my daughter [Nysa] my third 'devi' because of the magnitude of work that I do for her," she laughs.

The daughter of famous actors is living like a nobody in England, making her career as singer. Shruti Haasan on chasing the big dream, outside of Bollywood
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; January 26, 2020)

To watch Shruti Haasan's vidoes on IGTV, where she sings English "alternative pop", feels strange. We know her as legendary performer Kamal Haasan and actor Sarika's daughter. We have seen her as heroine in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. And, though she has always been a singer, even winning best female playback in 2014 for the Telugu song, Junction Lo in Aagadu, her musical career is now playing out in a different universe.

For the last one year, Haasan, 33, has performed across London with her all-women band, comprising a cello and piano player, including at five-star club The Ned, and The Half Moon in Putney. "I was around London Bridge during the blasts. They had shut everything. I had to walk 40 minutes to take a train, in my performance clothes, carrying my gear. The only thought in my head was, 'I love singing'," she says. "Nothing has come easy. You will say, 'What! You are Kamal Haasan's daughter'. But it's true. I do everything, run my life out of a London apartment. When you get home from a long day at rehearsal, the food isn't ready. No one to open the car door, cook me food, touch up my make-up. It's not like it was in India."

Haasan's music is inspired by the artistes she grew up listening to—strong female musicians of the 1990s, all OG feminists. Think Tori Amos and Alanis Morissette. When you listen to her, you are struck by her big voice, and haunting, other-worldly vibe. She writes her own lyrics, mostly about life and feelings, and composes the music. The move to London, she says, has helped her disassociate with all that she is known for in India. She recalls how her first gig had a 50 per cent Indian audience. "They thought I would sing in Telugu or Tamil. At the end of it, they said, 'We like you, but WTF!'. But there were those who returned for the next gig. The Ned is a tough performance venue. The stage is right in the middle and it's an acoustical disaster. But we did it, we made it happen. You learn to work around stuff. I am finally performing in front of people who don't know me."

She hasn't given up on the movies, but they are few and far between. Tamil film Laabam opposite Vijay Sethupathi and the Telugu production Krack featuring Ravi Teja are up next. She is also part of Devi's cast, a short film starring Kajol, Neha Dhupia and Neena Gupta, about nine oppressed women who come under one roof to discuss their lives. "I get a lot of sh**, because I am a feminist who also likes to wear a push-up bra and wax my underarms," she laughs, "For me, feminism is about being a woman who is able to portray herself in a way she wants to be seen to herself. Devi says that if women can band together the way men do, we would be stronger."

As she gears up to return to return to London to record her first album, she is clear that music will come first. "I now ask myself, do I need to do this movie or can I say no." Haasan promises that later this year, Indian audiences will hear more of her music, along with live performances. But for now, she must be the wandering musician.

Kajol headlines her first short film that highlights women issues; shares screen space with Shruti Haasan
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; January 16, 2020)

It’s a year of many firsts for Kajol — the actor, who is set to make her digital debut with Tribhanga later this year, has also shot for her first short film. Titled Devi, the drama for Large Short Films revolves around nine oppressed women from different strata of society, and has her sharing screen space with Shruti Haasan and Neha Dhupia. If the story celebrates woman power on screen, the scene wasn’t too different off-screen either — barring producers Niranjan Iyengar and Ryan Stephen, and art director Sriram Iyengar, it was an all-woman crew at work.

Kajol, who is known to be choosy about scripts, says the film is relevant in today’s times when discussion around the need for gender equality has gained credence. “I couldn’t have chosen a better subject for my first short film. My character, Jyoti, is vastly different from me, but uncannily, we share a lot of similarities. In today’s times when gender discrimination, abuse and violence is being spoken about vociferously, films like Devi are far more relevant,” says the actor.

Stating that director Priyanka Banerjee drives home a “poignant” message with her debut vehicle, Haasan adds, “We talk about sisterhood and how women need to stand with each other. Devi highlights that aspect with a powerful message.”

Shekhar Kapur tells BT what a marvel Stan Lee was, and how knowing him has enriched his life
As told to Purba Dutt (BOMBAY TIMES; November 16, 2018)

I met Stan Lee several times, and that was because I had a comic books company and used to, and still, write comics. The original company was formed between Deepak Chopra, Richard Branson, Sharad Devarajan and myself. Every time I met Stan, we used to discuss stories and share ideas on superheroes. He was very keen to do things in China and India. He was convinced that ultimate mythology exists in these two countries, and Stan used to draw a lot on mythology to create his superheroes.

I showed him my film Mr. India, and after watching it, he said to me, ‘You’ve got it right, Shekhar! You created a superhero out of an ordinary man’. He used to always say that a superhero is formed out of an ordinary person, and when the superpowers are taken away from him, one must remember that he’s an ordinary person. I have my short take on this. Whenever writers approach me with stories on superheroes, my one question to them always is — what’s his kryptonite? What is it that makes him weak? What is it that can break him down? You cannot have a superhero without his kryptonite. That kryptonite is what can take away his power, and keep him ordinary. So, a superhero has to be someone who even when devastated by his kryptonite fights beyond his vulnerabilities. Stan and I used to have long discussions on this.

He wanted to create superheroes from other cultures. Stan was really, really, really ahead of his times. And he never stopped. Every time we met, we’d bounce ideas of each other, and he was forever asking, ‘What do you think of this idea? What do you say about a superhero like this? How about doing this?’ He was unstoppable. I once told him that the world was fast changing, and we needed to have superheroines like Wonder Woman, and he readily agreed. ‘Yes, Shekhar, yes, yes, we need superheroines.’ He said when he had started writing his comic books, his audience was mainly in America, but now every culture needed to have its own superheroes. I am now even more inspired to make a superhero movie. Superheroine, really. The only superhero movie coming out of India that has stood the test of time is Mr. India. It’s about time I made the next. The last time I met Stan was four years ago, and he told me about the stories he was working on. I believe he sold a few of those stories to China. We had talked of the possibility of creating an Indian superhero, and there’s already a lot of work that has been done on this. So, work on that continues, though right now I am totally taken in with the idea of launching India’s first superheroine, Devi, based on the character in my comic book with Graphic India.

I’d say that I am very inspired by Stan to make a superheroine film in India.