Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; June 3, 2016)


What keeps bringing you back to Roadies and Splitsvilla?
I was 20 when I did the first show of Roadies. I started my journey with it, I have grown up with it. The show's an integral part of me — all the adventure, travel, meeting people who want to prove themselves, realising their potential... I like that journey and I myself get to do crazy things. I started Splitsvilla with Raghu and Rajeev producing it and then we handed over to other people. Last year, I came back co-hosting the show with Sunny (Leone) and it did well.

Doesn't a feeling of deja vu set in?
Definitely, because you see the same kind of thing happening between two-three people that has happened before. If I was a CEO of a bank sanctioning things, getting a deal done everyday, then it would be monotonous. Here even though I am doing the same thing, I am dealing with different people in different settings and in different countries like Brazil, Australia, Africa, Bhutan etc. That's the reason Roadies is on for 13 years and Splitsvilla for nine years. Every season we give it to a different creative team, which brings in their own personality. We keep changing ideologies and theories and keep it exciting.

Between Roadies and Splitsvilla, which would you choose?
Roadies. But this year Splitsvilla is unique with the theme where women rule. Ours is not a developed country and things are not the same for men and women. Our show being targetted at youth will impact them. I am seeing a lot of contestants who are respectful and chivalrous, the kind women would want as their ideal men. Indirectly, millions of kids watching them will realise this is the way to be with women. Though it's an entertainment show, subconsciously it will be engraved on their minds. In Roadies when I chose my team, out of five people, three were girls - I wanted to show that you don't need boys to win. And this is the need of the hour in our country. Through the show we want to tell the world that women should be treated as princesses.

Who rules your world?
My wife (Priyanka) rules my world!

Since you have been dealing with the youth in your shows, have you seen any changes in the generation over the years?
Yes, now the youth is more passionate about what they want. They are not happy with 'hogaya toh sahi, nahi hua toh sahi' attitude. They want to win respect among core groups, family and friends. They have seen how good their lives can be if they achieve something — they can get to host shows, foray into films, etc. So they are over ambitious and over possessive, but it is not bad when compared to the youth that is being lazy.

While you are a big name in reality shows, why you have stayed away from fiction after Pukar?
I would love to that kind of fiction which has a definite ending. Pukar was only for 24 episodes with a start and end. Also, I have done a few films with Vipul Shah who had directed the series. Even the serial was shot like a film and people like Raj Babbar and Adah Sharma were associated with it. I am not interested in the other kind of fiction shows where the story stretches — even if you watch it after 10 days, you'll find it hasn't moved. I would rather do a web series, which is edgy and fast-paced.

Are you doing a web series?
I am working on it. I have one called Squad Rann which is about adventure and sports. It's aimed at making the youth active. Even my brother Harmeet Singha is doing a series Aisha.

What happened to the film Mango in which you have worked with your brother?
Only Abbas Tyrewala will be able to tell you about it, but yes it was an amazing experience working with my brother. He is five years younger to me and would always be with me. Working with him was like a natural experience though he doesn't play my brother in the film.

Though you were part of several movies, none of them clicked in a big way. Is that the reason you have veered more towards TV?
My first movie, London Dreams released in 2009 and I was lucky enough to share screen space with Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn. I have been getting offers, but a few scripts have intrigued me enough to be a part of the movie. Of course, television is my first love and I will keep going back to it. I am what I am because of Roadies. I have done shows like Squad Rann and Rann VJ Run and I think television certainly reaches a wider audience as compared to movies.

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; February 26, 2015)

Almost a fortnight after the Sharib Hashmi-starrer 'Badmashiyaan' was embroiled in a copyright violation case, the makers are said to have opted for an out-of-court settlement to facilitate the film’s release — albeit delayed by a week.

The Delhi High court had restrained the distribution and exhibition of the film’s trailer after Multi Screen Media (MSM) and Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt Ltd claimed it to be a copy of the Korean film, Couples, on which their yet-to-be-released film Mango is based.

Yesterday, VRG Motion Pictures, which has produced Badmashiyaan, and MSM mutually decided to settle the issue out of court. "The terms and conditions of the contract are being worked out. The lawyers will decide on the amount today so that the film can release by next week," says a source.

Badmashiyaan’s star cast — Sharib, Sidhant Gupta, Suzanna Mukherjee and Karan Mehra — have been seen promoting the film in spite of the legal trouble.

The film's producer Vijay Gutte confirms having decided on an out-of-the-court settlement. "Before the terms and conditions are chalked out, we cannot divulge anything," he says.

MID-DAY (February 11, 2015)

The Delhi High Court has put brakes on the promotions of Badmashiyaan following allegations of copyright infringement. It has restrained the distribution and exhibition of the film’s trailer after Multi Screen Media (MSM) and Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt Ltd claimed it to be a copy of the Korean film, Couples, on which their yet-to-be-released film Mango is based.

The production house claims that the court granted them relief on the basis that they have exclusive rights to the Hindi remake of Couples (2011). Interestingly, the Korean film in question is itself a remake of the 2005 Japanese film, A Stranger of Mine. While Mango went on the floors in 2013, Badmashiyaan was filmed last year.

Pleading ignorance about the court order, Vijay Gutte, producer of Badmaashiyaan, says: “We have not received any notice or court order from anyone. We have been promoting our film since a month.”

Advocate Rizwan Siddiquee, who represents VRG Motion Pictures that has produced Badmaashiyaan, states no notice was served or any claim made for any alleged copyright infringement. He adds that the restraining order has neither been served to the makers nor were they aware of any such proceedings. “They are now keen to see the grounds on which the court order seems to have been granted for alleged copyright violation without hearing my client or even viewing the film. While my client is duly seeking service of the order copy, we have already started preparing to challenge the said order,” he says.

Rannvijay Singha talks about his debut fiction show and his films
Namrata Thakkar (DNA; November 20, 2014)


You were supposed to join the Indian army but destiny had other plans for you. In Pukaar you play an army officer. Has life come full circle for you?
It has…it’s like homecoming for me. My father is still serving in the Indian Army. He is a Lieutenant General and he is serving in Syria. My chacha is a Major General and my younger chacha is Colonel. So it seems like all their desires and wishes have been granted and I am getting to live an army officer’s life, at least, briefly. The fact is that I do know all the nitty gritty that goes into being an army officer and that has helped me in playing this character.

Do you think your family will be most critical about you show?
My family is critical about everything I do. At the same time, none of them is from the industry so they kind of respect all the hard work that I have put in but in this case they might come up with, ‘you know this is not possible’ or ‘aise thodi na hota hai.’ They may say you should have done this or you should have used that language. You know army officers usually speak a lot in English. But the thing is as soon as I start doing that with my character, I will be alienating a lot of people who don’t understand that. So, sometimes when you’re doing a show which is made for entertainment, you need to make sure that people understand what you’re doing or saying. I don’t know if army officers talk like my character Rajveer Shergill does in the show but then that’s only because we want the audience to understand what we are trying to convey. Also, we are not using a lot of lingo which is used in the army as only army personnel will understand that.

Pukaar is an hard-core action show. Did you undergo any training for the same?
The thing is I have always been very active all my life with martial arts and stuff like that. Last year, I did a show called Rann VJ Run where I practiced Parkour and all my Roadies experiences and the life that I led before that thanks to my Dad, has been used here. Also, Vipul sir (Vipul Amrutlal Shah) knows me since London Dreams and Action Repalyy days. He knows my ability to do different things and we have used most of my capabilities in a good way during action sequences. Of course, I did lot of cable practices, martial arts flexibility and also spent some time with Vicky Arora who is a martial art fight choreographer. Few days before the shoot, we would choreograph the fight scenes so that on the day of the shoot it’s less time consuming and easy.

Was it easy for you to play the role of Rajveer Shergill?
Having knowledge about something doesn’t mean it will be easy when you do it. I know how to hit a sixer but in reality to do that it’s tough. You have to put all your knowledge into practice. There are dialogues which are intense. I have a lot of intense scenes with Raj Babbar who is playing my father and even action sequences are tough. Nevertheless, when you do tough things, you feel better, you get a better self satisfaction and you’re happier. But yes it’s tough. It’s actually a very gruelling schedule. If you equate the kind of work we are doing, we are actually shooting 12 films. Twenty four hours of a movie are being shown in one hour episode each. If you put that together then it’s 12 full-fledged two hour movies we are shooting in a span of eight to nine months. That means we are shooting every day back-to-back. It’s very intense but we all are consumed by it so it’s good.

Are the makers planning to take things forward and come up with season 2?
That purely depends on Vipul sir and the channel. But yes they are already hinting at season 2 because we are not going to extend the series like other serials. How we are different from the other daily soaps is that our show will have a definite end. The kind of equipment used on the show, the people involved in the show and the scale at which the series has been shot is all larger-than-life. A lot of movies you see won’t have such production quality and action sequences. If we do it in these 24 episodes, we will achieve what we want and then we can go forward and make another season. But we won’t drag it like a daily soap.

Did you watch action shows to prepare for your role?
There is no picking up cues when you’re already working with a guy who has made films like Commando, Holiday and Force. So in the action genre Vipul sir is a success. What I watch generally are shows like Homeland, Breaking Bad, Modern Family and Prison Break. I like series which are like mini movies because they have great production scale, amazing performance and plot.

Lastly, will you be focusing only on television henceforth or would you be working in films as well?
This is my debut in television fiction. I have never acted on small screen and I was never going to because what you see on Indian television an actor would do it only because it’s a steady source of income and popularity. As actors they were not satisfied. I did Pukaar because firstly we were making it like a huge film. Even the performances are very natural like in a film. Not over the top or dramatic. That’s why I did it. As for films, 3 A.M. released recently and I am doing another film which is releasing on January 16. It’s called Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene with Zayed Khan. As soon as Pukaar finishes, few films are lined up for which I will shoot in March and April. Also, I have done a film with Abbas Tyrewala called Mango which has Swara Bhaskar, Monali Thakur and Chandan Roy Sanyal toh wo bhi release hogi. Movies are happening side by side. There are a few Punjabi films as well but I have asked them to shoot it with someone else or wait a little bit.

Seema Sinha (BOMBAY TIMES; May 17, 2014)