The decision to turn director for her music video was instinctive. Having featured in several hit singles, Nora Fatehi felt it was time to bring her own vision alive, leading to the creation of Dirty Little Secret. “It requires a lot of pre-planning,” says Fatehi, who was on double duty as the director and lead star of the track with Zack Knight.

“It was physically exhausting, especially the last day of the shoot. We shot for around 20 hours. [I had to make sure] that the dancers were in sync; the lighting would take time, but it all came alive during the editing.”

Few in the industry can match her dancing skills. Fatehi believes that her command over the art form, coupled with the experience of fronting several popular songs, made the transition to direction easier. “When you are an artiste, you just know when it’s the right shot or when the set-up is correct. Similarly, as a director, you just know when [all the aspects] are fitting together [seamlessly]. As a creative person, so much is going on in my mind. I want [those ideas] to come alive. It’s tough to be behind the camera and in front of it, but it gives a sense of satisfaction when you see the end result.”

One look at Dirty little secret, and it is easy to see how she is influenced by international music videos. Fatehi says, “I idolise Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Beyoncé. They are global icons who did it all — whether they are singing or writing their own songs. The idea of being versatile inspired me.”

It was in 1992 when composer duo Salim and Sulaiman Merchant started working on their first album, titled Ragga Raaga. Looking back at the past three decades, Salim tells us, “I feel like we have just begun. Over the years, we have seen many changes, from doing advertising jingles to background scores, film songs and then being on television, doing concerts and starting our own music label.”

Sulaiman feels thankful to the industry for letting them evolve: “We started pretty early on in our lives and we never thought we’ll get to where we are. But there’s so much more to do ahead, so much more music to make and so much more to conquer.”

The duo has seen success with films like Chak De! India (2007) and Band Baaja Baaraat (2010), among others. But there have also been creative differences throughout their journey. “There are so many times when we aren’t on the same page, creatively. We’ve difference of opinion and ideas, and at that stage, music always wins,” says Salim.

Sulaiman takes these creative conflicts to his stride, as he shares, “Salim and I are two sides of the same coin. Sometimes he is going in one direction and I in another, but creatively, it’s all beautiful and that’s the magic of Salim-Sulaiman.”

Apart from their contribution to Bollywood, the Merchant brothers have collaborated with global artistes like Lady Gaga, Fink and Enrique Iglesias. “It’s always a matter of pride to have the opportunity to represent your country. We scored a track, We Like Being Small for a TV show, which was nominated for the Emmys and we were the first Indian musicians to be nominated for it,” recalls Salim.

Sulaiman chimes in, “There are lots of artistes who have contributed to the international music scene and we are proud to be a small part of it.”

In June 2018, moviegoers and netizens went in a tizzy after they saw the theatrical trailer of the upcoming Hollywood film, A Star Is Born. The trailer after all had a very uncanny resemblance to that of the 2013 blockbuster Aashiqui 2. It often happens that it’s the Bollywood films which give a déjà vu of Western or sometimes Korean films. For years, filmmakers made a killing by lifting scenes or sometimes the entire plot from a foreign film and then neatly Indianizing it. But then awareness grew as audiences in India started watching films from all over the world and they could instantly guess if an upcoming film is a rip off. The advent of social media gave the users a platform to expose these wrongdoings. Also, legally, the filmmakers could no longer copy foreign movies as most of the Hollywood studios set up their offices in India.

As a result, the accusations of A Star Is Born being copied from Aashiqui 2 were quite significant. It was one of those rare episodes when the Westerners have supposedly copied a Hindi film, that too without obtaining rights! As a result, Twitterati was abuzz with this bit of information. After all, the similarities between the two were far too much. Aashiqui 2, starring Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, was a story of a famous singer whose career is fading away due to his excessive dependence on alcohol. This is when he comes across a small time singer and turns her into a rising star. His alcoholism however refuses to leave him and he has no choice but to end his life by jumping into the sea, especially when he realizes that she might put her career at jeopardy because of him. A Star Is Born meanwhile is not only directed by Bradley Cooper but also features him as the lead actor, co-writer and co-producer. Just like Aashiqui 2, this flick is also about a hard-drinking country musician who discovers and falls in love with a young singer (essayed by Lady Gaga). Quite a few scenes from the trailer seem extremely similar to Aashiqui 2 and no wonder that it became a hot topic on social media.

So what’s the truth? Is A Star Is Born indeed a plagiarized version of Aashiqui 2? Then why don’t Aashiqui 2 producers (Vishesh Films and T-Series) take action against this giant Hollywood film that recently premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival? Well here’s some truth. It’s not A Star Is Born that has copied from Aashiqui 2 but unfortunately, it’s the latter that probably is a rip off, yet again! How, you may ask? After all, didn’t Aashiqui 2 come five years before A Star Is Born? The truth is that Bradley Cooper’s film is an official remake of a film of the same name made in 1937. It was later remade in 1954 and 1976 as well. Warner Bros Pictures made the 1954 and 1976 versions and they had plans to make another version of this classic story since 2011, two years before Aashiqui 2 released. It was only in 2015 that Bradley Cooper was finalized to direct the flick which releases worldwide on October 5, 2018.

L T R: The 1937, 1954 and 1976 versions

Just gazing through the synopsis of the older versions of A Star Is Born will tell you that Aashiqui 2 lifted most of those film’s scenes. In Aashiqui 2, the male protagonist jumps off a bridge that’s above the sea. Even the Hollywood films in question had a similar finale. In Aashiqui 2, the female protagonist in the very last scene signs her name as ‘Aarohi Rahul Jaykar’ in a fan's handbook as a tribute to her love and her unfulfilled desire to marry him. In A Star Is Born’s 1937 and 1976 versions, the female lead identifies herself as ‘Mrs. Norman Maine’!



It is unclear why netizens and social media users didn’t raise a hue and cry about these similarities. Just seven months before Aashiqui 2’s release, Barfi had hit theatres and despite enjoying critical acclaim, it bore the brunt of its scenes being lifted from several films. It’s indeed luck that Aashiqui 2 makers didn’t face such kind of negativity. Also, they were saved from legal troubles by Warner Bros team. The film became a huge success and established Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor as commercial lead actors. It’s music became a nationwide craze and still has tremendous recall value. It remains to be seen whether Aashiqui 2 would suffer backlash now, five years hence, as A Star Is Born’s release nears!

SHABANA AZMI: Sen-sational fan
I have no desire to swap places with anyone but I've admired many people. I have an abiding respect for Amartya Sen and consider myself fortunate to be a part of a select group of people called the Kolkata Group with whom he interacts for two days every year on different issues. To be around the Nobel laureate is a learning experience in the same way I imagine it must have been for people who interacted with Jawaharlal Nehru. He has a razor-sharp intellect and an easy charm. I am his fan.

SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT: Master class with Irrfan Khan
I'm in complete awe of Irrfan Khan for his craft. I would want to get into his mind to understand how he does what he does on screen. I've met him a couple of times and was shocked when he admired my work in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy. I haven't had the time to converse with him. To understand human emotions and express them in nuanced ways, one needs a master class with him.

KAREENA KAPOOR : It's all about sole mates
I think stepping into the shoes of anyone who's wearing a Louboutin would be a great idea. On a more serious note, I'm comfortable in my own shoes. I respect everybody's work, but wouldn't want to be someone else.


ABHAY DEOL: In Daniel Day-Lewis's shoes
There are two celebs for me - Philip Seymour Hoffman and Daniel Day-Lewis. On second thoughts, I wouldn't want to step into Hoffman's shoes as he was hooked on heroin and it eventually took his life. Lewis's shoes would be pretty cool to wear given his distinctive style of method acting.


ALI ZAFAR: Romancing Dilip Kumar
I have always admired Dilip Kumar for the romance in his eyes, his body language and the way he delivered his dialogues. If someday I could be in his place, I'd recreate some of those roles that he portrayed on screen. He's my all-time favourite actor.

SONAKSHI SINHA: Gaga over Gaga
I want to be in Lady Gaga's shoes. Apart from being an immensely talented singer, she has designed an entire persona which has made her the phenomenon she is today. She creates everything, whether it's her music, lyrics and choreography for her songs, the outfits she wears, the stage decor and even the lights.
She's an all rounder in the true sense of the word and I am in awe of her.


KANGANA RANAUT: Stalking Gulzar's mind!
It has to be Gulzar saab, he's amazing! I'd stalk his mind, brush up on my Urdu so I can express myself as beautifully as he does.The reason he fascinates me is because coming from Pakistan to India, post-Partition, he has seen all that I have only read about. A journey through his mind would be fascinating...

Before Meherbaan, his latest hit in Bang Bang happened, Ash King tells us that no one knew about him, not even after singing I Love You (Bodyguard), Dil Gira Dafatan (Delhi 6), Te Amo (Dum Maaro Dum) or Aunty Ji (Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu). The half-Bengali half-Gujarati (his father, music composer Shankar Ganguly, is Bengali) belongs to London but shifted base to Mumbai a year back. Excerpts from a chat:

Explain the soundscape of Meherbaan.
After recording the songs above, I went back to England. I got an unexpected message from Vishal Dadlani (of composer duo Vishal-Shekhar) on a social networking site, asking if I could record a song for him. I recorded it, but I thought I had failed, and left. The next day, he called me saying he wanted to record it again. He explained that Meherbaan was about two lovers in the Mediterranean region, and that Hrithik (Roshan) and Katrina (Kaif) would be in the film. When I sang it, I sang it in a very personal way, like I am singing a song to a person and not to an audience. I did, and then the film got postponed. I worried that they might replace my voice, but they didn't! It's great that they chose me to sing Meherbaan. Even Hrithik Roshan recently mentioned it on social media.

Do you plan to make India home or go back to London?
I don't miss London now. I am much more relaxed in Mumbai. I just went to Gujarat recently and it reminded me of my Gujarati culture. Singing Pankhida Re Udi Jao at a dandiya in Rajkot was great fun. People here have this glamorous image of Indians living in London, but it is a bigger struggle there. I never thought my music would bring me money. I worked as a waiter in a burger restaurant, as a salesman in a computer store, even at the airport. After my father died, we faced tough times. But my mother, whose forefathers belong to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's family, has been a pillar of strength for me.

Is it true that Arijit Singh played an important role in your career?
When I met Arijit in London through a mutual friend, he wasn't a star singer yet. I knew he'd be big some day. When I came back (to Kolkata) in 2010, Arijit invited me to Mumbai and recommended me to Pritam for I Love You and Te Amo. He has been a great motivating force.

Is it true that you weren't serious about a career in singing?
Yes. I haven't learnt music although my grandfather composed music with Rabindranath Tagore at Santiniketan and my father was a singer and music composer. I grew up playing dhol and dholak, but never thought singing would be my career. Even after I Love You got noticed, I didn't have proper guidance on how to go about my career in playback.

You were born Ashutosh Ganguly. Why did you add King to your name?
My name couldn't fit in one line on the CD cover! Having a nickname like King works, sometimes.

You were also featured on Lady Gaga's remix of Just Dance.
I was in Germany at that time, and Lady Gaga was just getting popular. Just for fun, a friend and I mixed her first hit song Just Dance. Our remix reached her manager, and the next thing we know, she put it on her CD. I didn't ask for any money for it, because my manager at that time had already duped me of a lot of money. Just the fact that Lady Gaga put my remix on her album was good for me. I want to make a living from my live shows only. Music composers pay us money, but sometimes I feel that we are existing only because they give us such beautiful songs to sing. They are enhancing our career, so why should they pay us for that?

Future plans?
My ultimate plan is to have a body of work that will represent me. Before Meherbaan, I used to be in despair when people asked me: 'What next?' But I've realised that promotion of your work is important.