Actor-comedian Krushna Abhishek is basking in the success of his latest film Welcome To The Jungle. While he has been part of several comedy films and television shows over the past two decades, Krushna says the challenge is not just delivering a hit but sustaining oneself in the industry.

“Even now, when I go on a shoot, I get butterflies in my stomach. Giving a hit is not the game; sustainability is the real game! Sustain karne ke liye aapko roz mehnat karni padegi,” he shares.

During the shoot of Welcome To The Jungle, Krushna says co-star Akshay Kumar played an unexpected role in helping him quit smoking. “I stopped smoking after seeing Akshay sir. Unhone mujhe pehle bhi Entertainment (2014) ke time pe kaha tha ki I should quit. Unke saath reh kar aapki aadatein bhi acchi ho jati hain,” the 43-year-old says.

However, Krushna is quick to point out that Akshay isn’t all about discipline. Calling him a complete “mastikhor”, he says, “Akshay sir se bada mastikhor koi nahin hai! He is like a kid, playing with us, giggling with us. He fills you with energy.”

Besides Krushna and Akshay, Welcome To The Jungle features an ensemble cast including Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Tusshar Kapoor, Aftab Shivdasani and Farida Jalal, among others. Krushna is full of praise for director Ahmed Khan for seamlessly managing such a large cast and their schedules.

“You think, ‘How will such big artistes adjust their dates with mine?’ But Ahmed made it happen. He is one of the finest people in our film industry. Usne kisi ko stress nahin diya,” he ends.

Shalmali Kholgade may have built a discography of hits — Balam Pichkari (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani; 2013), Lat Lag Gayee (Race 2; 2013) and Kheench Te Nach (Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui; 2021), but the singer reveals that she does not really get choice of taking up songs in films. “As far as Bollywood is concerned, singers don’t choose the songs,” she says.

Elaborating, she adds, “We can turn down a song if we are not comfortable with the lyrics, but we can’t equate it to actors choosing to take up a role. When you get the call to sing a song for a film, you have to understand what the film and music is saying to you.”

Kholgade also adds that, more often than not, singers nowadays don’t even know who they are singing playback for. “For Beqaaboo (Gehraiyaan), I knew nothing about who is going to be in the song. I didn’t know that it would be picturized on actor Deepika Padukone. I just knew that I needed to have fun and sound sexy. For this song, I didn’t have to ask where it is going to be placed or who is going to be a part of it,” she reveals.

However, the singer says that for some tracks, it helps to know who the song would be picturised on. “For a more deeper song, you need to ask what is the context, who is going to be there, etc. For me, songs like Pareshaan (Ishaqzaade; 2012) or Tera Naam Doon (Entertainment; 2014), I had to be told why I had to sing a certain way, but a song like Lat Lag Gayee or Balam Pichkari, it is pretty much about me having fun,” she ends.

Box Office India Trade Network

An entire section of MG Road, Bangalore, came to a standstill with a large number of people crowding together just to be able to get a glimpse of Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar during his visit to the Bangalore Times office. The actor spoke about the challenges of working with an animal, of what entertainment means to him and on the importance of retaining the magic in the world of films. Excerpts: 

What's your idea of entertainment?
When we were kids, my father, mother, sister and I would make it a point to watch one movie every week, on Saturdays. It was so essential for us to be entertained through movie media that it was the only way we could be happy . Believe it or not, we would skip breakfast to save money to be able to afford a movie at Roopam Cinemas, Mumbai, a samosa at Gurukrupa, a mango ice candy, and if we saved enough, some popcorn too. Even today, I make it a point to watch as many films as possible. I just enjoy watching the magic unfurl on the big screen. I don't analyse or critique them.

What do you mean by magic on screen?
Recently, I was at a magic show and I knew what went into three of the tricks, and that really spoilt it for me. Similarly, I think it's nice to retain the magic of a film without telling the viewer everything that went into the making. When fans watch a film, they want to see the hero doing larger-than-life things on screen. But if they find out the truth they will no longer feel the same enthusiasm while watching the film. I feel even the making of a film, that we often show at the end of the film these days, should only show some candid moments from the set and not reveal tricks of the trade. Why show the audience things like a hero suspended from cables while doing a high-octane action sequence when they can believe that he actually jumped off without technical support. That would ruin the movie watching experience.

There's a film cliché that says never work with children and animals. Is that true?
I wonder why the cliché exists because honestly, the most beautiful of films are those about kids and animals. On the contrary, I think Hollywood makes about four to five films with children and animals every year. But I wonder why these genres have been neglected in Indian cinema. It has been almost 18 years since we have had a film that features animals. That said, I will not deny the fact that it requires a lot of patience to work with children and animals. You can never predict how a child will behave while shooting. Even while shooting with the dog for Entertainment, there were times when Junior (aka Entertainment) would suddenly walk away and be by himself.

How important is it to be well-versed with the various skills required to be an actor these days?
Today, it's very important. Previously, we had dedicated actors for certain genres, like Mehmood and I S Johar for comedy. However, today, every actor should know comedy, driving, stunts, horse-riding, swimming, rock-climbing and other such skills. The more skilled an actor is, the more likely it is for him to be chosen over others. Even today, I make it a point to learn new skills wherever I go.

Is there any genre you particular like working with?
I do attempt different genres as and when I can. Though, I would particularly enjoy playing the villain. A villain is one guy who has the most fun on screen. He is the one who is seen having a lavish lifestyle, has the most beautiful girls around him, and living life king-size. He only has to get beaten up by the hero in the last five minutes, whereas the hero has to slog it out right through - often struggling to save either his mother or sister from the villain.

Which genre is physically more challenging - action or comedy?
Undoubtedly, comedy. If you ask any big actor from across the world, you'll get the same answer. To do the comic role is extremely challenging because it's very difficult to make people laugh. The jokes always need to be rightly timed and well said in order to have the right impact.

You're a dog lover yourself. Was it, therefore, easier to work with Junior?
Yes, in a way. I think dogs are able to sense a dog lover and warm up to them easily and they immediately realise that they have a place in your heart. Interestingly, Junior had got so attached to me that while we were shooting during our last shot, I feel he somehow sensed it was the end of our shoot together. It might be coincidence, but when we were wrapping up with a photo-shoot, Junior suddenly started licking my face. Since, there was a video camera to capture the making of the film we were able to add this moment in the film.

Would you do a non-commercial film?
If I get a good script, I will. I have tried my hand at it. I've done a couple, but they weren't well received.
Probably, people didn't understand it at that time, but Bollywood is changing. Now is the time for good cinema considering there are so many new ideas, directors and writers. There are interesting scripts, but people still want commercial elements along with an unusual story . They still want that one item number in the film.

You visit Bangalore often. How do you feel about the city?
My first film Saugandh was shot here and I've also worked with Dr Vishnuvardhan in the Kannada film Vishnu Vijaya. Many of my hit films have been shot here. So, Bangalore is dear to my heart. The weather is beautiful, but the traffic only seems to be increasing. I don't understand how people walk here anymore.

Have you had a Bangalore girlfriend?
Must have.





The lead cast of Farhad-Sajid's Entertainment found an interesting way of promoting their film. They walked the ramp in India's first ever fashion show with dogs. While Akshay has always been a dog lover and owns three dogs, Tamannaah turned one during the shooting of this film and now owns a hybrid between a Poodle and Bedlington Terrier, whom she has named Pebbles. Akshay chose to walk with not just one, but two dogs at the same time and looked his macho best.

Talking about dogs, Akshay said, “Love your dogs and they will entertain you for the rest of your lives. If you have a child at home, I would encourage you to buy a dog or better still, adopt one. Even science has proven that when a child grows up with a dog, he learns how to give unconditional love."

Sajid, 46, and Farhad, 40, are real brothers, who got their break in the film industry due to Salman Khan and have become directors, thanks to Akshay Kumar. They are proud Aga Khani Ismailis, who have written dialogues for all the hit films of Rohit Shetty and are now debuting with Akshay's Entertainment.
Over an hour-long conversation, we spoke to the inseparable jodi. (Note: It was impossible to say which of the two said what, as they complete each other's sentence and thus, we have reported it as one voice). Excerpts.

How did you get your break in the film industry?
We are Bandra boys, who had a filmi keeda right from childhood. Our father, who died seven years back, was a wholesale trader and we were reasonably comfortable financially. Watching a film was always a big family outing every Friday. Our father was suffering from pneumonia and had a severe lung infection and so, we moved out to Bangalore as the weather was nice there. We lived there for 12 years and ran a multi-cuisine restaurant in Koramangala there, named after the famous English film The Party. Our dad had retired by then and Farhad went to college there. The restaurant was doing very well, but every now and then Farhad, from the age of 18, would come home writing songs for different family members and they would praise him. One day, the whole family was sitting when dad said we should go to Mumbai and try. He said to Farhad, 'You have so much talent, who can stop you?' So, we both decided to come to Mumbai. This was 1999. We packed our bags and were leaving, when, in full filmi style, we turned and saw our whole family (my wife, one year-old daughter and our parents) standing, packed to go with us. We said, 'Kya, kyun?' But they were clear that they were coming with us, even though we were all well-settled in Bangalore that time, but they didn't care. We were under extra pressure now. We rented out a place on top of Lucky restaurant in Bandra and the whole family shifted there. We stayed there during our struggling period for eight months. Every day, we would come rejected and dejected in the evening, but our these people - our family - were always there, waiting for us with our favourite food, each time we came back home. Maybe if we were just the two of us, we would have broken down as a lot of people give you hopes in the film line, but no one gives you a break and you land up doubting yourself. By now, Farhad had written about 800 songs, he would bounce them off me and we would go and present the song along with the tune, which we did not realise offended music directors. We would play the beats on a plastic tub that we would carry with us and everyone would be looking at us thinking, 'Kaun madari aa gaye hai?' This would happen daily till on March 6, 2000, we entered Kamalistan studio. We were stopped by the watchman, but bribed our way in and saw Salman Khan's driver Ashok, who is still with him. We told him we wanted to present to bhai and he said, 'Laakhon aate hai bhai ko milne.' But Salman saw us and pointed towards our direction, signalling him to let us come in. We looked back wondering whether he was calling us or someone else. We said, 'Hum dono bhai hain. Kuch songs sunane hain aapko.' He said, 'Dikhte toh nahi ho.' And we said, 'Yes, we look different, but we have confirmed with our parents separately .' He said, 'Superb superb. I give you 5 minutes. If I get up in between and go, don't feel insulted, just think that I didn't like it.' His shot was on, but in between that, we could not believe that we had Salman hearing us. We took out our tub and started singing. We started singing tapori songs one after the other. He cancelled his shot and heard 18 songs. He got up and said, 'In chaar gaanon mein, S mardo. Yeh mere gaane hain' and called us to meet him along with David Dhawan at Andheri Sports Complex. We could not believe it. We ran back home and were too excited to tell our family. We went to Andheri Sports Complex, where Salman bhai was shooting. On one side of the stadium, the shoot was on so he pulled up chairs on the side in the dark and we sat down to present. I was holding the book for Farhad to refer to, but it was so dark that he could hardly see anything. Can you imagine we suddenly see Salman bhai holding a lighter for the next 10 minutes till Farhad presented? We can never forget that touching gesture. Our song was selected and David Dhawan took us to meet the music director. Just before entering Anu Malik's place, he asked us, 'Registered hain na sab gaane?' And our song was selected. Salman bhai was to initially do that film, but even though he chose to finally not do the film, he ensured that our song remained.

How did direction happen?
We developed a great relationship with Anu Malik, who later called us to write a song for Munna Bhai and we wrote our first hit song M Bole To. Ram Gopal Varma called us and told us that, 'If you can write M Bole To, then you can write stories also,' and we started writing for him. We then started working with Rohit Shetty on dialogues and worked with him on all his hit films. We also wrote Ready for Salman and Housefull 2 for Akshay. Once while Akshay was shooting, he called us to his van, closed the door and turned mischievously towards us, sat next to us and said, 'You write so well, narrate so well, why don't you direct?' Entertainment happened only because of him.

Talk about Akshay Kumar?
As an actor, we have always been crazy about him, but while doing this film, we also saw him as a great human being. He called us on the last day of shooting in Bangkok and said, 'We spent 50 days shooting together in this city. Next two days are holidays and the whole crew is in Bangkok. Let them freak out.' He gave me 20 lakhs and said, 'Please share it with all 60 people and don't tell them who gave it.' And he went back to India. We, of course, not only gave each one the money, but also told them how Akshay had given it for them. While flying back, we were all on the plane and everyone was so excited, telling us how they had shopped for their families. One of them just said, 'I didn't shop. I just took massages.' And we knew in our hearts that all those duas Akshay got, would work for the film.

Talk about Salman Khan?
He likes straight, honest people. When you lagao maska, he avoids you. He not only gave us our break but three months after that, he was concerned and called us to ask, 'You get your payment in time, no? Mumbai mein ghar var barabar ho gaya na?'

Talk about your father?
We lost him in 2006, just after we signed our first Rohit Shetty film Sunday. When we wrote M Bole To, we got paid only Rs 5,000. But he would say, 'It's fine, this is your first step. You will earn in the future.' And would always encourage us. With Sunday, we got Rs 6 lakhs and he was so happy that he told our mother, 'You used to say no that I have spoilt my sons, given one a restaurant and the other, a bike, to have fun in college, now kya bol rahi hai tu?' That's the confidence he had in us. He was very religious and we always believed that whatever he said, would happen. We used to feel that if we made a mistake, our father's prayers would correct it. He would go every morning from 4am to 5am for meditation. We have taken him to the jamatkhana on days when he had 104 temperature. He used to sleep in the day, as, to meditate, you have to be fresh. While he was sleeping during the day, we would be in the same house, but would talk softly, so that we don't disturb him, as he would tell us, 'See, I got to pray for you only, so let me sleep, otherwise tum logon ka hi lafda ho jayega.' Till he was alive, we felt secure that dad was there praying for us. He was in hospital as his pneumonia had converted into a complex tuberculosis, but the doctors had said that he would become okay. Six hours before he died, he called all the family members and met everybody. Today we realise that he was obviously prepared. I had gone home to rest and Farhad was sitting in the hospital.

Can you imagine that he died sharp at 4am? We used to not go before, but from the day he died, Farhad goes everyday at 4am to meditate at the same place our father used to go. He was more a friend to us. Till I was 18, we three used to bathe together. My mom used to shout at us, but we would tell her, 'Don't worry, we are all comfortable. There is water between us.' We got our sense of humour from our dad only. He was such a big Dilip Kumar fan that he missed Ram Aur Shyam when it came first time, but on its Silver Jubilee, he took us all to see back-to-back four shows. He used to chew peanut and would make it soft and then give it us to eat. We can never forget him. It's rare to find a relationship like the one you both share.

Sajid: It's because of dad only. All three of us shared a very close bond. We have no friends and we were each other's friends. We played a lot of sports, including WWF in our rooms, and shared common interests. Whenever we fight on a scene, our mom will come into the room and we say, 'Mom, you have a hangover from serials. We will never fight.' If I tell Farhad something that makes him hurt, automatically I feel hurt. He is very honest and straightforward and I can tell you that if something happens to me or my wife, he will be a great father to my daughter. I wish though he would praise others a little more generously.

Farhad: Losing my father was the biggest loss, but Sajid has fulfilled that in every way. He is always there for me and I share everything with him. His support is the most important thing in my life. I love the fact that he lightens up every environment and is very positive. But he is too bhola and just cannot be manipulative which, at times, is bad. God has been so kind to us and we know that our father must be close to him telling him so many good jokes that he is showering blessings on us.

A Golden Retriever named Junior plays the lead along with Akshay Kumar and Tamannaah in Ramesh S Taurani's Entertainment. And it is her love for animals that has prompted Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, Founder and Chairperson of People For Animals (PFA), to host a grand premiere of a film for the first time. The event, which will be held on August 7 at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi, will have the cast and directors Farhad-Sajid in attendance.

On her part, Maneka Gandhi says, “It gives me joy to see that the dog is depicted in such an endearing manner in the movie and so much care is taken of him. The makers have abided by all the laws of the Animal Welfare Board during the making. I hope this sets an example in Bollywood."

Akshay says that Mrs Gandhi's faith in the film means a lot to him, adding, “The movie highlights the amount of love and entertainment a pet can provide us with." Asked about his love for dogs, Akki, who has two German Shepherds, says, “Knowing that my pet is at home, taking care of my son Aarav, I feel secure. Every man needs a wife, family, children and a job but you learn the most if you have a pet."

Jay Shewakramani is the movie's creative producer, while Dhaval Jayantilal Gada, Kushal Kantilal Gada and Reshmaa Kadakia are co-producers.

Entertainment, produced by Tips Industries Ltd and Jayantilal Gada's (PEN), releases August 8.

The appetite of Indian audiences for unique music is increasing rapidly. These evolving tastes are creating a space for every genre possible. Singer-lyricist Priya Panchal, who has recently lent her voice to the nursery-rhyme-turned-song Johnny Johnny from Akshay Kumar-starrer Entertainment, feels that this new dynamic is allowing people like her to expand their horizon and not be scared of experimenting with sounds. Starting at the age of six, Priya completed 2,500 stage shows with composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji before she decided to turn singer and lend her voice to songs like Gale Laga Le (F.A.L.T.U) and Saibo (Shor In The City). She started her career with the musical duo Sachin-Jigar and today, she is married to Jigar, in love with writing lyrics and attracted to the thought of experimenting with her voice. Excerpts from an interview:

You have both sung and written for Entertainment.
I like to stretch myself as an artiste, be it for my writing or singing. I really enjoyed singing Johnny Johnny for Entertainment and also writing Tera Naam Doon. Sachin-Jigar love to experiment with my voice and I really like that they explored this other side of my voice. Khoon Choos Le from Go Goa Gone is another one I really enjoyed.

How did you make the transition from stage shows to playback singing?
I started singing at the age of six and then for the next 15-16 years, I toured all over the world with Kalyanji-Anandji. I wanted to pursue music, but not the life of stage shows. I was in college and used to write for myself, when my friends told me that I am good at writing and should explore more avenues in that field. I met Sachin-Jigar on Facebook. They were looking for a fresh writer for F.A.L.T.U and that's where it all started. I wrote something for them and I also used to sing the scratches for them. A couple of times, some producers/directors heard my voice, and said, 'Let's try her.' That's how I started singing.

You started working with Sachin-Jigar and got married to Jigar. Was it love at first sight?
Not at all, actually! We've been working for 3-4 years, but I used to hate him and his long hair. Actually, I used to hate their lifestyle. It's more like an arranged marriage for us. Jigar's parents were looking for a girl for him. Likewise, my parents were looking for a match for me, so Sachin played cupid and suggested to our parents that they should get us married since we are from the same field and understand this well. We actually fell in love after our engagement.

What projects are keeping you busy now?
I am writing for Happy Ending and ABCD 2 along with Mayur Puri. I have sung a romantic track in Hero too.

What do you enjoy more ­ writing or singing?
I have been singing all my life. It's a part of me. Writing is more like a hobby. I never imagined that I'd be a Bollywood lyricist. Even when I get to write a melody today, I don't know if I would be able to do justice to it, so in that sense, I am partial to singing.

What do you have to say about the new genres of music making in-roads into Bollywood?
The music scene is growing and lots of new artistes are getting a chance, thanks to the access we have to social media. Audiences have developed their own taste. People from Dharavi to Chandigarh are listening to English rock and dubstep. The new generation is evolving with new music and it's a healthy step. But, that by no way means that melodies are going to die. A very simple melody like Tum Hi Ho (Aashiqui 2) got all the awards last year. That's the best case in point.