Actor has wrapped up Vikramaditya Motwane's untitled next, also featuring another National Award winner
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 16, 2016)


Mirror (October 21, 2015) was the first to report that Vikramaditya Motwane had quietly kickstarted a film with Rajkummar Rao as the protagonist and it was being shot in homes, offices and even on the streets of Mumbai, where it is based, without anyone in the know. A significant portion of the film was wrapped up in October during a 20-day schedule with just three-four days of work left which was completed last Saturday. The still untitled film, which is about life and relationships, is currently being edited.

According to a source close to the development Rajkummar plays a character called Shaurya who could be your guy-next-door. "It's the story of survival and finding oneself in the most adverse of circumstances. Raj has reinvented himself several times in the past for a role, be it Shahid or CityLights, but in this case he undergoes a physical transformation too in the course of the film. It's a believable world and a character whose struggles are easy to relate to," says the source.

While most of the other actors are not known faces, Rajkummar's lady love is Geetanjali Thapa, who bagged the National Award for Best Actress in 2014 for her performance in Liar's Dice. She played Kamala, a woman from the tribal community, with a precocious three-year-old daughter who goes in search of her missing husband, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Interestingly, Rajkummar won the National Award for Best Actor the same year for Shahid. "The film is Shaurya's journey through the Maximum City. There are very few characters and actors on this canvas," adds the source.

When Mirror reached out to the actor, he was tight-lipped on the project, only admitting that it was exciting working with the Lootera director and it was by far one of his most challenging roles. He was more forthcoming about having moved into a three-bedroom apartment in Andheri. "I've a number of friends living there and liked the complex. I'd been looking for a home in the city and I was sure this was where I'd like to come back to at the end of the day. I've moved in but renovations continue. It's a work in progress because I've been busy with shoots and promotions. But like one of my recent characters, I've found myself and a home in this city," he smiles.

Meanwhile, at around 8.30 pm on Saturday, Raj posted a selfie, saying, "Bye bye beard. You'll be missed. We shall meet up soon." When quizzed on the clean shave and the cryptic statement, he simply smiled enigmatically.

Liar’s Dice actress Geetanjali Thapa remains unfazed despite winning the National Award and being part of India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2015
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; September 28, 2014)

Four years ago, Geetanjali Thapa was slated to make her Bollywood debut in Amit Saxena’s Tina Ki Chaabi (see below) with Ranvir Shorey as her co-star. The film did not see the light of day while Geetanjali went on to do some modelling assignments (she appeared in a hair product commercial with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) and pursuing her celluloid dream. She landed parts in films that mostly did the festival rounds.



One of her projects, Liar’s Dice (see below), fetched her the National Award for Best Actress earlier this year. The film is now India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category. Though she is in the spotlight, Geetanjali remains unfazed and prefers to take things “as they come one at a time.” It’s been a long journey from her home in Gangtok in Sikkim to Mumbai and now hoping for an Oscar nomination for Liar’s Dice. “It has yet to sink in,” she says. “After the film’s director (Geetu Mohandas) informed me about the Oscar entry, the first call that I made was to my family in Gangtok. I was keen to tell my dad about it. It was finally something,” she says.


Audition rounds
When she bagged the National Award, Geetanjali did not go around tom-toming her achievement. She says, “I prefer my work to do the talking. I have yet to learn how things operate in Bollywood. I feel it is better to be low-profile and let people notice you through your films. For me, it was one audition at a time; one film led to another. ” The former model, who has now made Mumbai her home, stays with her sister Kadambari who is completing her postgraduation in sociology. “I celebrated with my sister at home as the rest of my family is in Gangtok. Geeth (the director) is in Kerala and Nawazuddin Siddiqui (her costar in Liar’s Dice) is in the US. I will have to wait for everyone to be in Mumbai.”

In the film, Geetanjali essays the character of a woman who goes in search of her missing husband along with her daughter. “The child actor Manya Gupta, who is based in Shimla, is brilliant. The film has been screened at festivals.”

Choice of films
Geetanjali, who will next be seen with Emraan Hashmi in Danis Tanovic’s Tigers, was also part of Kamal KM’s 2012 film ID that did the festival rounds. “I want to do all kinds of films — Bollywood, regional, indie and shorts,” says the actor who began by winning a beauty pageant in Guwahati in 2007. Sikkim’s best known export to Bollywood is veteran actor Danny Dengzongpa. The former beauty queen, however, feels this is just her beginning.

Acting is something she always wanted to do from her school days. She has no plan for the future. “I live for the moment. It is better to take things as they come. At the moment, I am reading scripts and will continue auditioning for roles,” signs off the actor.


At a beauty pageant in Guwahati in 2007


Her 2012 film 'ID' bagged honours in the festival circuit

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; September 24, 2014)

Last year, the choice of Gyan Correa’s The Good Road over Ritesh Batra’s more popular film, The Lunchbox, had created a furore. Looks like the history is repeating itself again. Yesterday, the Film Federation of India (FFI) announced Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer, Liar’s Dice as the official Indian entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category.

Aaindya Dasgupta, deputy secretary of FFI, said, “A 12- member jury watched around 30 films from multiple languages.” Sources say that close contenders included Hansal Mehta’s Shahid, Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry, Omung Kumar’s Mary Kom and Ritiesh Deshmukh’s Yellow.

The selection of Liar’s Dice as the official entry has not gone down too well with some filmmakers, who expected their film to make the cut.

Contender speak
Soon after the announcement, filmmaker Hansal Mehta launched an online tirade against the FFI and its selection process. “Apparently, Liar’s Dice was released last week in Kerala and Pune. About time this whole Oscar entry business is taken away from FFI, and a more transparent process is followed by a more qualified body. Disillusioned with the FFI but consoled that at least a good film has been chosen to represent India at the Oscars. All the best. The bitterness is not about the selection. It could have been any film. The selection is on the basis of a mere technicality. It makes you question the process and the individuals involved. Why is there a ‘secret jury’? Why are the jury names never revealed?” he tweeted.

When contacted, he said, “ I want to trust the process and the body initiating the process for selecting India’s official entry to the Oscars. Unfortunately, recent history makes me doubtful. Shahid had a good chance, so did Fandry. And if Liar’s Dice had a legitimate, wide release, then I congratulate their team and wish them success since it is a wonderful film made by some terrific people.”

Omung Kumar who directed Mary Kom, which has just crossed the Rs 50 crore mark, says, “I haven’t seen Liar’s Dice. But Mary Kom had that universal appeal. It is an inspiring, true story that would have worked very well in the west.”

Pradeep Sarkar, director of Mardaani, too had said earlier that his film should be chosen because it deals with a world subject.


Out of the 30 films in competition, there were around 8 Marathi films in the fray, including Fandry (see pic below) and Yellow (above). Some industry insiders say that that Fandry deserved this recognition. But Nagraj Manjule, the film’s director, didn’t appear to be very upset. He said, “I think the selection committee comprises learned people and I am sure they have chosen a film that will represent India well.”

However, Nilesh Navlakha, the producer of the film, was more outspoken. His Facebook post read, “ The question remains as to how the film, which was not commercially released, was selected as an Oscar entry. I heard that it was released in just 2-3 centres in Kerala and somewhere else. Was it staged? A more transparent selection process is required because this film will represent India and not any film body. Anyway, we have a history of sending films which have not been recognised at the national level. No complaints, but need to check the credibility of organisation sending films for Oscars.”


Money matters
Actor-producer Ritiesh Deshmukh’s Yellow too was in the race. The actor wished the makers of Liar’s Dice all the luck. He simply said, “I hope it does well.” He added that, "The state should take the responsibility of funding the selected film. With the government’s involvement, the film can be showcased well,” he said.
But an industry insider emphasised that the makers will need monetary support to generate publicity for the film. “Only films with studio backing can organise many screenings. Liars Dice is an indie film, so we hope it gets support from all quarters.”

On cloud nine
This year, Geetanjali Thapa bagged the National Award for Best Actress for her role in Liar’s Dice and yesterday’s announcement that her film has been chosen as India’s entry to the Oscars has only added to her happiness. “Geetu Mohandas ( the film’s director) informed me about it. The first call that I made was to my family in Gangtok, Sikkim. I was keen to tell my dad about it,” says the actress who plans to celebrate the news along with her sister.

In the film, Geetanjali, who consciously chooses to keep a low profile, plays a woman who, along with her daughter, goes in search of her missing husband.

Geetu Mohandas, director of Liar’s Dice, said, “I am excited and overwhelmed. It was a struggle to find finances for the film initially. I had approached many production houses in Mumbai but it didn’t work out. Jar Pictures stepped in and supported me in this vision. I want to thank the film’s cast and crew and as far as the selection process is concerned, all I can say is that other filmmakers, whose films were also in the fray, are undoubtedly distinguished names. I don’t want to comment on any controversy as there is a lot of energy and strength in silence.”

— Shaheen Parkar and Asira Tarannum

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 24, 2014)

In a relatively calmer turn of events - as opposed to last year when the clash between The Lunchbox and The Good Road turned into a bitter battle - Geetu Mohandas' directorial, Liar's Dice, was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category among 30 other titles. "I got a call from the ministry and was too stunned to react. I called up everybody I could think of to break the news to them, but as luck would have it, nobody answered," Geetu laughed, admitting that her 'small film' which won two National Awards this year, almost didn't get made.

The film features Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead and is the story of a tribal woman's quest to find her missing husband who leaves their village for a job in Delhi. Given the non-commercial subject, it wasn't surprising that Geetu had a hard time finding producers. "Nobody was willing to touch it as it wasn't 'mainstream' enough," she recalls.

A screening at the Sundance Film Festival followed by another at the Rotterdam film festival ensured that Geetu, who has also co-produced the film, won the Hubert Bals Fund of 10,000 euros. At any point did she think of "commercialising" the subject to attract funds? "No, either you make the film you believe in or make a film that you think the audience believes in. I can't do a song-and-dance film like most Bollywood directors, I don't have that talent," she says without any hint of sarcasm. However, she is not of the opinion that her film's selection is going to smoothen the process of getting finance for her upcoming ventures. "I cannot live with that belief. There is definetly more visibility and excitement, but a filmmaker's life is an eternal struggle. I am hoping for the best. Who knows, we might just get a trophy back home!"

Although we applaud the optimism, there's a lot of lobbying that goes on in Los Angeles to get a film in the Top five. The last Indian film to make the cut was Aamir Khan's Lagaan in 2001. Is there a strategy in place? "I don't know about all this since it's a first time for me. I have done my job as a filmmaker, the rest now depends on the marketing team," she signs off.

'I HOPE IT OPENS MORE DOORS'

Fresh from the Toronto premiere of Danis Tanovic's Tigers, co-starring Emraan Hashmi, Geetanjal Thapa is elated by the news. Keeping her finger's crossed, she says, "It's not like I only want to do indie films, I am open to to commercial cinema and have been in and out of auditions." What was her first reaction? "I called up my parents who broke into tears....I hope this honour opens more doors for me as well as the makers."

National Award-winning actress Geetanjali Thapa will be seen opposite Hashmi in Oscar-wining director Danis Tanovic's upcoming film
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 6, 2014)

Geetanjali Thapa, who won a National Award for her performance in last year's festival hit, Liar's Dice, was battling an anxiety attack when she was told by producer Guneet Monga that Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic was in town, looking for a leading lady for his upcoming film Tigers.

"I quickly watched all his movies to get a sense of how he functions," says the actress, who leaves this evening for the Toronto Film Festival where Tigers is having its world premiere on Sunday.

The actress reveals her costar, Emraan Hashmi, who took time out to be present for the auditions, helped her with her lines. "I was very nervous but he made it easy for me," she recalls.

The film is about an activist (played by Emraan) who blows the lid on a multinational company selling infant baby food. Geetanjali essays the role of his supportive wife.

"The first few days, I was really tense to be acting with Emraan and Supriya Pathak, but even if I blew my lines, they wouldn't make me feel like a newcomer. I thought being a star Emraan would throw tantrums but both, Danis and he were chilled out on the sets," she asserts.

She plays a Pakistani woman in the film. Coming from Sikkim, did her physical appearance create a hitch? "As long as I said my lines convincingly, they were okay," smiles Geetanjali, admitting that she has faced bias when auditioning for Bollywood films. "They say I don't look Indian enough. It's baffling but I don't fuss over it. If it's a good role, it will come to me," she is confident.

Many believed that an actress of North Eastern origin should have been cast in the role of Mary Kom which has now been essayed by Priyanka Chopra. Geetanjali retorts, "I wouldn't want to be cast just because I'm a North Eastern. Eventually, it's a big film and it makes sense to cast a top actress. There's nothing wrong in ensuring that your film is commercially viable."

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; August 27, 2014)

The upcoming Priyanka Chopra-starrer Mary Kom, based on the boxing champ, has put the spotlight on the North- East and its presence in Bollywood. Several local actors have been roped in to play supporting roles in the film. There may not be too many Hindi films releasing in many states in the region, or as many actors, musicians, filmmakers from the region that have made — or are trying to make — an impact on the big screen.

Finding a foothold
Adil Hussain, who is from Goalpara in Assam, essayed the role of Sridevi’s husband in English Vinglish (2012).

Patralekhaa (top), who was seen in Hansal Mehta’s Citylights earlier this year with beau Rajkummar Rao as her co- star, is from Shillong in Meghalaya.


Geetanjali Thapa won the National Film Award for Best Actress ( 2013) for her performance in Liar’s Dice. She is from Sikkim and began her glamour innings after winning a beauty pageant in Guwahati, Assam.

Veteran actor Danny Dengzongpa is also from Sikkim.


B-Town singers Zubeen Garg is from Jorhat, Assam, while Papon (above) is from Guwahati in Assam.


Model Monikangana Dutta, who hails from Guwahati, starred in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Guzaarish (2010) playing the character of Hrithik Roshan’s ex-flame.

Meanwhile, Reema Debnath from Agartala in Tripura featured in the Salman Khan-starrer Bodyguard.

The outsiders
Shah Rukh Khan- starrer Chak De India! (2007), for one, showcased Mary Ralte (Kimi Laldawla) from Mizoram and Molly Zimik (Masochon Zimik) from Manipur — in the film, both are treated as ‘foreigners’ in the Indian women’s hockey team. Being looked upon as outsiders is something that they are used to. When told that they are from the North- East, it is as if they belong to another territory.

For some artistes like Patralekhaa, it is a sense of déjà vu. Says the actress, “I am always asked such questions and I do not want to say anything more on that front. I am from Shillong in Meghalaya and my parents still live there.”

While Monikangana who disappeared from Bollywood after Guzaarish says, “People always ask me where my folks stay. I always tell them I am from Guwahati and my family is based there.” Incidentally, Monikangana has gone back to studies while there is a project in the pipeline.


Playing the part
Adil Hussan began his career with theatre and stand- up comedy, and eventually landed in Bollywood with roles in films such as Ishqiya (2010) and Agent Vinod (2012). He was also seen in Life of Pi ( 2012) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012). The actor feels that these are roles that suit his salt-and-pepper look, as he “ detests dyeing his hair.”

The Seven Sister states (read: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura), are often referred to as ‘Paradise Unexplored’. If the talent in Bollywood is anything to go by, this holds true as B-town doesn’t seem to have tapped the North-East’s full potential.

Known filmmakers from the region include Jahnu Barua, whose 2006 film Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara had Anupam Kher and Urmila Matondkar; Utpal Borpujari; and singers like the late Bhupen Hazarika.
Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi shot her Naseeruddin Shah-Shabana Azmi starrer Ek Pal (1986) in Shillong in Meghalaya and Jorhat in Assam. Her Raveena Tandon-starrer Daman was shot in Guwahati in Assam. She says, “Where a filmmaker wants to shoot is a personal choice. But to be honest, Bollywood rarely makes films with a realistic backdrop. If the reason is inadequate infrastructure, that is the case across the country.
You realise this as soon as you move out of Mumbai. A lot of Assamese films are made and shot in the region.”

Filmmaker Rakesh Roshan shot the Madhuri Dixit-Shah Rukh Khan starrer, Koyla ( 1997), in Arunachal Pradesh. He filmed a song against the backdrop of Shungetser Lake in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang, that is known for its stunning visuals. Mani Ratnam’s 1998 film Dil Se had ULFA’s Assam liberation struggle form its backdrop.

Now with the release of Mary Kom, the North-East will hopefully have a bigger presence in Bollywood.