Filmmakers Sanjay Gupta and Rakesh Roshan reminisce working with actor-writer Ranjit Chowdhry
MID-DAY (April 17, 2020)

Actor-director-writer Ranjit Chowdhry, 65, passed away in Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital on Thursday morning. Survived by his wife and 16-year-old son, Chowdhry was in Mumbai for a dental treatment since December. He was expected to fly back on April 8. "He ruptured an ulcer in the intestine on April 14 and was taken to the hospital. They operated on him but he died yesterday at four in the morning," informs socialite Dolly Thakore.

Director Sanjay Gupta, who last worked with him in Kaante (2002), told mid-day, "As an actor, I was extremely fond of him. He flew down from New York to Los Angeles to work with us in Kaante. We needed an actor who could translate scenes effortlessly. I remember discussing Khatta Meetha (1978) with him. That is one of my favourite movies of his and I loved his performance. He is a thoroughly professional actor with a great command over comic timing. Only an actor like him could shine in a brief role in an ensemble film like Kaante. I always remember him as this jovial man, full of energy and life."

Rahul Khanna, his co-star from Bollywood/Hollywood helmed by Deepa Mehta, tweeted, "Despite his diminutive frame, he was a towering icon of Indian diaspora cinema and a master of his craft. By far, one of the most endearingly quirky and acerbically witty people I've had the pleasure of knowing!" Rakesh Roshan who worked with Chowdhry in Khoobsurat (1980) told mid-day, "I remember Ranjit as a loveable young boy who was adored by all. He was a natural actor. I was immensely sad to hear about him."

Chowdhry's half-sister Raell Padamsee wrote on Instagram, on Wednesday, "For all those who knew Ranjit, the funeral will be held tomorrow and a gathering to celebrate his life n share his stories May 5."

His Best Works
Khatta Meetha (1978)
Baton Baton Mein (1979)
Khubsoorat (1980)
Kaalia (1981)
Bandit Queen (1994)
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
Bollywood/Hollywood (2002)
Kaante (2002)
American Blend (2006)
Prison Break (2006)
Breakaway (2011)

He was joined by friends Pooja Bedi, Sherrin Varghese and other supporters and equal rights activists at this peaceful protest
Ismat Tahseen (BOMBAY TIMES; June 16, 2019)

A large number of people from various fields, including actors and several men’s rights activists, gathered at the Azad Maidan, Mumbai, yesterday for a peaceful dharna to voice their support for the #MenToo movement. The purpose of this dharna was to create awareness about the misuse of law, in cases where men are falsely accused of rape and other such charges by women. Recently, TV actor Karan Oberoi was accused of rape and extortion by a tantrik-and-healer. He was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on June 7, about a month after his arrest.

Talking to Bombay Times, Karan said, “After being wrongly accused, I realised that I’m not the only one. There are so many men out there who are falsely accused. After being in prison for all those days, I can say that no one should go through such an ordeal ever. When I was in jail, the ones who suffered the most were my mother and sister. So, when you are fighting for men’s rights, you are also addressing the whole family that has been affected. I’m here today to support #MenToo, because I believe that justice shouldn’t be determined on the basis of one’s gender. Every man is vulnerable if the law is misused. We are fighting for gender-neutral laws here. When I was in jail, there were so many people fighting for me outside. However, there are many voiceless people, who do not have a support system, the means or money to help them. How can you just let them suffer for no fault of theirs? So, this fight is not just mine, and it doesn’t end with me getting out of jail.”

Pooja Bedi, who has been at the forefront of this movement and is one of Karan’s best friends and strongest supporters, said, “Movements like this are initiated because there is a need for it. There is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. What this movement needs at this point is support, visibility, and among many agendas, the most important one is to put a stop to fake cases. This is possible by modifying laws and strictly punishing those who file fake cases.”

The event, organised by a foundation, saw several known names lend their voices to the #MenToo movement, like equal rights activist Barkha Trehan, activist Amit Deshpande, theatre personality Dolly Thakore, Karan’s sister Gurbani, his friend Sherrin Varghese (member of Karan’s music band, A Band Of Boys; pictured right) and Maneck Contractor, among others. Said Sherrin, “I support my bandmate Karan Oberoi; it’s not about men or women, male or female, it’s about equality for all genders.”

Added Barkha Trehan, “I’m here to show support to all my innocent brothers who have been falsely implicated in fake cases. Their lives are ruined.”

Activist Amit Deshpande explained that the aftermath of such false cases could lead men to take drastic steps in their life. “These false cases affect men so badly that it even leads them to suicide. We have a suicide helpline for men and the maximum calls are from those who are falsely accused,” he said.

Actor Avantika Akerkar’s life has been a series of happy coincidences, from her association with The Vagina Monologues to playing Indira Gandhi in the forthcoming Bal Thackeray biopic
Anuka Roy (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 2, 2018)

Actor Avantika Akerkar believes in serendipity. That’s how her life has been so far — full of serendipitous twists and turns. She moved back to Mumbai in 2000 after living in the US for two decades (post college) to work here during the dotcom ‘boom’. But she lost her job when that bubble burst. While in the US, Akerkar was determined never to wait tables. But once unemployed, she became a bartender at her brother Rahul Akerkar’s restaurant, Indigo (which has now shut down). “I was only helping out. And I got to meet the most amazing people and hear the most incredible stories,” says Akerkar with a laugh, as we point out the contradiction.

The actor, who is going to play Indira Gandhi in the forthcoming Bal Thackeray biopic, says acting, too, happened by chance. In 2001, she had got in touch with family-friend Dolly Thakore and expressed her desire to act. “She called me a few days later to say that her son, Quasar, was directing a play called Lunch Girls and if I would be interested?”

Akerkar agreed right away, but on the opening night, had a bad case of nerves. The first thought that crossed her mind was “what the hell am I doing here?” Akerkar adds, “It’s been a journey since then.”

Akerkar has also, notably, been a part of the Indian adaptation of The Vagina Monologues (alongside Thakore and others), again quite by chance. Coincidentally, the play premiered at Prithvi Theatre, where we met Akerkar for this interview. Sitting cross-legged on a wrought iron chair in the green room, Akerkar says about the opening night of Monologues: “We were told to keep our bags packed and our passports handy because we weren’t sure what would happen at Prithvi after the staging [of the controversial production]. We were warned we might have to go into hiding for a few days.” Thankfully, nothing happened – except that the play ran to packed houses for years after.”

Currently, Akerkar is playing Naseeruddin Shah’s wife in Motley’s latest production, The Truth. About the Thackeray biopic, she says: “I got a call informing me that Sanjay Raut [politician and producer of the film] would like to speak to me. I had a meeting with the team, and was briefed about my role in the film,” she says. “The meeting went really well, but I just asked one thing: I hope you have the Thackeray family’s permission,” Akerkar says, with her signature vivacious laugh.

MUMBAI MIRROR (August 26, 2014)


August 29, 1923 - August 24, 2014

'Of course I know you. You are Mr Jinnah!' is how I'm often greeted around the world. From London to New York to Berlin to Brussels to Brazil and even to Honolulu. Gandhi has had such a global impact — not only as a movie, but also as a human experience - that people still remember me for my portrayal of the founder of Pakistan, even years and years after the film was released.

It was a fascinating experience playing Mohammed Ali Jinnah in an international film being directed by one of my boyhood heroes, Richard Attenborough. My thoughts go back many years to a cocktail party in Bombay, given for Sir Richard. There were quite a few theatre people around and the legendary director and I spent about five minutes or so together. At first glance, Attenborough struck me as a stocky, affable banker, but I soon appreciated his intellectual vitality. We discussed Death of a Salesman, which was the play I was performing in at the time.

The next morning my telephone rang.

'Is that Mr Alyque Padamsee?'

'Yes', I replied.

'Richard Attenborough here.'

'Good morning, Mr Attenborough.'

'Mr Padamsee, I was wondering whether you would care to be my Jinnah in the film Gandhi. Which as you know I'm directing.'

'Really? You want me? I mean, you want me to come for a screen test, right?'

'No, no. I want you to play Jinnah.'

'Without any screen test? I've never been in the movies.'

'I know you are a theatre actor and I have great faith in stage experience. I cut my teeth in the theatre myself. I've cast Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. And he's a theatre actor, not a film actor. I've cast Roshan Seth as Nehru. He, too, is from the stage. I'm about to cast Rohini Hattangady as Kasturba Gandhi and Saeed Jaffrey as Sardar Patel, and they've both been on the boards, so why not you?'

So I said, 'Why yes! I'll be honoured. I hope there'll be some money in it. He replied, 'Well, not much. This is an art film.' Now Richard Attenborough is a smart man. The film went on to make $200 million, and he paid us as if it were an art film. But still, no regrets. It was an honour.

Then he said to me, 'Is it possible for you to go to London next week? I'l1 send you the ticket, of course. I want you measured out for Mr Jinnah's clothes, because they've got to be very special.' I replied, 'Yes, marvellous. I'd love a trip to London.' And before I knew it, I was playing a role in what later turned out to be one of the greatest epic films ever made.

For my first shoot, I travelled to Delhi and stayed at the Ashoka Hotel. The night I arrived, a one-page schedule called the 'call-sheet' was slipped under my door. The call-sheet for 'Mr Jinnah' read:

5.30 a.m. Wake-up call.

6.00 a.m. Breakfast served in the room.

6.30 a.m. Make-up in the cafeteria downstairs.

7.00 a.m. Report in the lobby for the car to take you to location.

Sure enough, I got my wake-up call at 5.30 am. and breakfast was served at 6.00 am. At 6.30, I was in the make-up room, where I met Saeed Jaffrey, whom I hadn't seen for at least a year. Saeed is a jovial raconteur who can keep you spellbound for hours. Since we used to be in the theatre together, we chatted away about old times. Suddenly I looked at my watch and said, 'I'd better rush for my car.' I raced to the lobby and went to the Car Scheduler, an Englishman. (I couldn't believe that Attenborough had brought a guy all the way from England just to schedule cars. I soon learnt why.)

I walked up to him. 'Mr Johnson, is my car ready?'

'You are Mr Jinnah, sir?'

'Yes.'

'What time was your car called for?'

'7 o'clock.'

'Sir, the car has gone.'

'What do you mean, it's gone?'

'Well sir, it's getting on to two minutes past seven and the car has gone. It's taken the other actors who were also assigned that car to the location.'

'Oh my God! What do I do?'

'Sir, what you do is be on time. Every time.'

'I'm sorry. But I'm only two minutes late.'

'Sir, two minutes is a lot of money.'

'Anyway, how do I get out of this jam?'

'Sir, I believe Mr Saeed Jaffrey is due to leave at 7.15 a.m. Maybe we can try and squeeze you in with him and the others.'

Saeed was there at 7.14. When we got into the car, I asked, 'Saeed what is this crazy business? I mean two minutes past seven is hardly late.' And he replied, 'Aap nahin jaante. Woh paagal hai, timing ke liye. Indian time nahin chalega. Elastic time jo hota hai India mein, bilkul nahin chalega. You've got to be absolutely punctual.'

When we reached the location, I went up to Attenborough.

'Good morning, Richard.' He looked at me and said, 'Aleck, you are very late.'

'I'm sorry, Richard, I missed the car by two minutes.'

'Aleck, let me explain one thing since this is your first day of shooting. This film is costing us 1,000 pounds a minute. So two minutes is 2,000 pounds down the drain.'

Considering the fact that I was getting less than 2,000 for my role in the entire movie, I had spent it all before I had given my first take! 'I'm sorry, Richard. It won't happen again.'

'I sincerely hope not,' he replied and we got down to shooting.
-------------------------
My first thought when I heard the news was 'I was so lucky to have worked with him'. Gandhi released in 1982 but Sir Richard and I kept in touch. Every Christmas I received a handwritten card from him and his wife Sheila and as I am not tech-savvy, I too responded over snail mail. The news of his passing has shaken me.
- Bhanu Athaiya

The great thing about Richard was his accessibility. Even when he was wheeled to the nursing home after falling sick, he continued to write me emails, updating about his health. I last met him for tea in London in 2006 and he was keeping quite well. We fondly reminisced about the Gandhi days and he remembered every character and how they were cast. There was a close battle between Rohini Hattangadi and Smita Patil for Kasturba's character, but I never wanted Smita. I made him meet Rohini at a Mumbai hotel and the minute she walked in, he grabbed my arm and said:"That's my Kasturba. She just needs to lose 11 kilos!" The same happened with Alyque. When Richard came home for dinner one evening much before Gandhi began and saw Alyque, he told me that he had found his Jinnah.
- Dolly Thakore

MILESTONES

♦ Attenborough started off by playing underdogs in films like Brighton Rock, Seance on a Wet Afternoon and 10 Rillington Place.

♦ In 1969 he directed his first film, Oh What a Lovely War.

♦ Attenborough's fifth film as a director, Gandhi, scooped eight Oscars, including that of the best director.

♦ In 1987 he produced Cry Freedom, a film about South African civil rights activist Steve Biko.

♦ His eighth film as a director was a biopic of Charlie Chaplin.

♦ In 1993 he played the eccentric developer John Hammond in Jurassic Park and a year later starred in a remake of Miracle on 34th Street. 

Aditi Sharma (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 6, 2014)

Every day of my life turns into a memory, but this picture is special. It came to mind because Richard Attenborough has been unwell for a while and I’ve been thinking about the work we did together for Gandhi. This particular picture was taken in November 1979, after the mahurat of the film, which is why we are wearing garlands. There’s chief sound director Simon Kaye, co-producer Rani Dube, Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, Saeed Jafferi, Richard and I, standing by his side. The photograph is from so long ago, I can barely recognise myself in it.

Rani had brought Richard to my house. In those days, the house was barely furnished, so we sat on the mattress and spoke about Richard’s plans. I had a collage of Alyque’s (Padamsee) pictures from his plays. Richard saw them, asked me if I’d like to be the casting director for his film and that was it. Once work began, Quasar (her son) and I moved to Delhi to stay with the crew from September to February.

Most of the people I met then, have remained friends. Rohini is a very affectionate friend. Much after the film released, every time she performed in town, her husband, (the late theatre director) Jaidev and she would come over for dinner. I had seen Rohini in a play and I rang up Richard to tell him about her. He was to fly back to London from Delhi but he cancelled his ticket and re-routed the trip through Mumbai to meet Rohini. I booked a room at the Centaur for the meeting. Richard flew in from Delhi and Rohini made it after her performance. Richard walked in, he clutched my hand and said, “This is it, doll.” Rohini had to lose weight to play the part. I would go with her to the dietician because I knew she’d never do it on her own. Those were different times with their own considerations. Why else would a casting director accompany an actress for her weightloss programme. I learnt so much while casting for Gandhi. No other film I’ve worked on has given me the experience and freedom that I had on this one. You don’t get that kind of attention to detail these days. I remember Ben Kingsley would spend 4-5 hours on his make-up every day. When we’d shoot, all the villagers would touch his feet because they thought he really was Gandhi. Ben worked very hard for his part. He trained for two months, learned to sit cross-legged, sweep the floor, and even eat like Gandhi. He had to be particularly aware of not eating meat or drinking beer even though he was an actor playing the part of Gandhi. A few years after Gandhi released, some ‘junior actors’ came to Mumbai and started working in films. Om Puri, for instance, had only a two-minute role in the film but in those few minutes he displayed the unforgettable signs of a great actor. So many actors who played bit parts in the film went on to have glorious acting careers.

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 18, 2014)

Not so long ago, the plight of the 101-year-old actress and Padma Vibhushan winner Zohra Sehgal came to light. The veteran actress, who currently stays with her daughter Kiran Sehgal in South Delhi's Mandakini Enclave, has become immobile and for quite some time she has been pleading the Government to allot her a ground-floor house. Reportedly, Urban Development Ministry has declined the request but the family has not yet given up.  

Talking to Mirror, Zohra’s daughter Kiran said that few days ago they were planning to approach Arvind Kejriwal but have now written to Najeeb Jung, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, instead. “We did think of talking to Kejriwal, but we haven’t been able to reach him yet.”  

Zohra’s health is also on the downhill. Veteran theatre actress Dolly Thakore, who always makes it a point to meet her friend whenever she is in Delhi, couldn’t meet Zohra this time. Says Thakore, “There has never been a Delhi trip when Zohra and I had not met. I think her spirit is waning. This time, when I landed in Delhi and messaged Kiran, she called back to say that Zohra doesn't want to meet anybody ”

According to sources, Zohra has become extremely cynical of late. “Who wouldn’t? Repeated pleas to government have fallen into deaf ears. She asks me every day if the officials have responded and whether anything can be done. I cannot take her anywhere. She needs to be wheeled around. Imagine the difficulty she faces while climbing the stairs. She had a knee replacement done. Why bestow honours and not come forward when somebody actually needs you?” says Kiran adding: “But you know what? Recently I was appalled to hear that our government wants to help artistes who are below 60 years. Tell me, isn’t it more likely that a person past that age would need help instead?”