THE TIMES OF INDIA (August 22, 2020)

Mumbai: In a WhatsApp chat with film director Mahesh Bhatt on June 8, actor Rhea Chakraborty said that she was leaving her boyfriend (late actor Sushant Singh Rajput).

In a statement on August 18, she had claimed that on June 8, it was Rajput who had insisted on her leaving as one of his sisters was coming to live with him.

A series of WhatsApp exchanges between Rhea and Bhatt on June 8 have gone viral on social media. Mahesh Bhatt was not available for comment.

In it, Rhea also hinted that her father might not have been happy about her relationship with Rajput. Alluding to the character Aisha she played in the film ‘Jalebi’, which was produced by Mahesh Bhatt, Rhea in her chat said, “Aisha moves on...sir...with a heavy heart and a sense of relief. Our last call was a wake up call.” Bhatt replied to her, “Don’t look back. Make it possible what is inevitable. My love to your father. He will be a happy man.” Rhea replied: “Have found some courage sir, and what you said about my dad that day on the phone pushed me to be strong to him!”

Reacting to the alleged chat exchange between Rhea and Bhatt on June 8, advocate Satish Maneshinde, who represents Rhea, on Friday said, “Whatever she has told the police is contained in the chat messages.’’ Maneshinde said she had mentioned about leaving Rajput’s house as she was asked to leave by him. “Her feelings when she left Sushant Singh are contained in the chats with Mahesh Bhatt who, for her, is like a father figure.’’ “She had left with a bag and all her belongings as he had asked her to leave. Earlier, on a number of occasions when they were together in the house, she was asked to leave the house when relatives or his family members came over. But on those occasions, she was not asked by Sushant to take all her belongings too. This time, her brother came to fetch her and her belongings,” he said.

Earlier on June 8, Rhea had arranged to have a therapy session and had asked Rajput if she could leave after it was done. “However, Sushant told her to leave immediately, before his sister arrived. Thus, Rhea reluctantly left and informed Sushant to let her or her brother know about anything he required or in case he needed to talk,’’ Maneshinde had said in a statement that was issued on August 18.

Jalebi is a film you should show to your enemies and I am sure after this ‘massive attack’, they’ll dare not take ‘panga’ with you. Firstly, the makers ruined such a nice title for a film. Jalebi is a savoury relished and loved by millions and those who’ll see the film will get a negative feeling whenever they’ll hear this term from now on. The film makes absolutely no sense and makes a mockery out of its original film, the Bengali flick Praktan. Going forward, all those granting remake rights should add a clause in the contract that if the remake turns out to be horrible, the ones remaking it should be punished. The makers get everything wrong – from direction to dialogues to emotions to performances and even music. What makes this film bearable are the courtship scenes in the first half, and Rhea Chakraborty. She gives her best shot and with this film, she at least gets a chance to prove that she can do much more than comic capers. Varun Mitra, who rocked the show in an unreleased film Kaash (directed by Mira Nair’s nephew Ishaan) is also flawed and the director is to blame. Digangana Suryavanshi is also decent. Needless to say, stay miles away and venture in cinemas at your own risk!
My rating – * out of 5!

SCARY FRIDAY AS 4 FILMS TO RELEASE TOMORROW!

It’s going to be a chaotic and frightening Friday as 4 medium-budget films will try their luck at the box office. None of the films look that exciting and can have poor openings. Thankfully, AndhaDhun, released last week, is doing exceptionally well at the box office and it’ll save the day to an extent. My analysis:

HELICOPTER EELA: It stars Kajol and National Award Bengali actor Riddhi Sen. It is based on the Gujarati play Beta Kaagdo, written by Anand Gandhi. Pradeep Sarkar directs this light-hearted flick while Ajay Devgn has produced it. The trailer is sweet and funny but doesn’t give viewers a high. It was to release in September but it was postponed in August when Pradeep Sarkar was hospitalized. The songs haven’t worked, including the remix of Ruk Ruk Ruk. The opening is expected to be in the Rs. 1-2 crore range and a positive word of mouth might help the film reach the Rs. 25 crore mark.

JALEBI: It is produced by Mahesh Bhatt and it’s the first film of Vishesh Films after more than a year. A remake of Bengali film Praktan, it stars Rhea Chakraborty, Varun Mitra and Digangana Suryavanshi. It also marks the directorial debut of Pushpdeep Bhardwaj. The film looks in big trouble as the trailer hasn’t worked at well. Bhatt’s films are known for its songs but in case of Jalebi, even the songs have failed to get notice. The opening is expected to be less than Rs. 1 crore and it seems all set to be a disaster.

TUMBBAD: This is a horror film and produced by Anand Gandhi, on whose play Helicopter Eela is based, incidentally. Anand Gandhi had earlier directed Ship Of Theseus which had Sohum Shah as actor and produdcer. Tummbad also has him as co-producer and also lead actor. The trailer is eye catching and it looks like a unconventional scarefest. The awareness however is negligible. But a good word of mouth can help the film get decent crowd in multiplexes of cities.

FRYDAY: It features Govinda, Varun Sharma and Digangana Suryavanshi in leading roles and is directed by Dolly Ki Doli director Abhishek Dogra. The film was to release in May initially but was postponed for certain reasons, one of them being that it was reshot a bit, as per inside news. The trailer is quite okay and doesn’t look that funny that would attract people to cinemas. This film, hence, would also have an opening of less than Rs. 1 crore.

WHICH FILM WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; October 10, 2018)

After proving her acting chops on the small screen, Digangana Suryavanshi, who was last seen in Bigg Boss, three years ago, is all set to make a foray into Bollywood. Making a double debut, she will been seen in the comedy FryDay, starring Govinda and Varun Sharma and the romantic drama Jalebi as well. In a chat with BT, the actress sounds all excited about the rare opportunity, as the audience will get to see her playing two different characters.

You are debuting in Bollywood with two films —FryDay and Jalebi— releasing on the same day. That’s unusual.
It’s crazy. It’s almost like taking two competitive exams at the same time and deciding which course to pursue. I can’t say whether it’s good or bad. I called up Abhishek Dogra, director of FryDay, when I learnt about it. He told me not to overthink and soak in the fact that I was making history. What’s nice is that the two films belong to different genres and I will be seen in diverse roles. So, it won’t result in overlapping with the audience, as every genre enjoys a different set of viewers. This is a big opportunity for me, because there will be more reactions to my performances since I am dabbling with two genres. For me, the bigger responsibility was to be sincere and responsible during the shoot, as everything else that follows the release of the film is beyond my control. I am excited about two of my films releasing on the same day.

How diverse are the two characters that you play, considering both films are from different genres…
They are like chalk and cheese. In FryDay, my character is that of a quirky and spontaneous girl. She is opinionated and leads life on her own terms. In Jalebi, my character has more depth. She is responsible and though she is aware that she has no control on life, she knows how to emerge stronger from a difficult situation.

You are paired opposite two actors from different generations — Govinda in FryDayand Varun Mitra in Jalebi. How was the experience of working with them?
It doesn’t make any difference whether I shoot with a senior actor or an artiste of my age. I stop dealing with the person after a point. I only think of the character. I haven’t attempted comedy before, so, I was excited about shooting with Govinda sir. I have been a huge fan of his comic timing, however, I couldn’t let the fact that he is a superstar ruffle me up. He is a spontaneous actor and that’s an approach I am comfortable with, too. He brings in his experience with comedy in to every scene, which helps bring out the best in his co-actors. I approached our scenes together without any hesitation. I am extremely comfortable with whoever I shoot with. Having said that, when you are shooting with a younger actor, you are in a different space. It takes time to get into the skin of the character, because you’re relatively new to the setup.

What’s the plan ahead for your career?
At 20, I am one of the youngest actors to make a transition from TV to films and now, I just want to focus on my career. I want to play diverse characters. For me, it’s not just about looking good on screen. I want to take up roles that require me to slip into characters that are completely different from how I am in real life. That’s the challenge I am looking forward to. I have signed two films, one of which is with Pahlaj Nihalani, in which I will be reuniting with Govinda sir. I am not at liberty to talk about the second film at this point.