Director Tanuja Chandra says, “Akshay was considered an action star when I cast him for Sangharsh, much to the surprise of people... He was a very keen listener and rehearsed tirelessly. It was fulfilling for me to watch him evolve through the making of the film and deliver a touching performance.”

“It was a wonderful experience to work with him in Chandni Chowk To China (2009). He’s one of the fittest actors and has the energy to be termed an action star. In the 90s when Akshay had come, no one in Bollywood looked like he did. That space of an action star was vacant; he totally owned it. Even today, I think he remains one of the top draws when it comes to action,” says filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, who has also produced Airlift (2016) and the upcoming Bellbottom.

“Of course Akshay is a big star, but more importantly, I can’t see anyone else playing Muruganantham. I looked at him and said nobody else can play it... It was an absolute dream working with Akshay. I can’t see anyone else doing a 13-page dialogue in one take. It was mind-blowing,” says Pad Man director R Balki.

Filmmaker Priyadarshan, with whom Akshay’s had an impeccable track record, says, “He’s available for anything, he’s always willing to learn. In the South, it’s Mohanlal and in the North, it’s Akshay - these are two people I’ve not made flops with. Maybe, it’s destiny.“

“Everyone talks of Akshay sir’s professionalism and punctuality, but what moved me the most was his humility in submitting to the role. He’s the only actor who I felt was open to bringing social issues to the forefront, but in an entertaining way,” says Toilet - Ek Prem Katha (2017) director Shree Narayan Singh

Filmmaker Vipul Shah says, “When I cast Akshay for Namastey London (2007), people said to me, ‘He’s never done a successful love story, why would you do this with him?’ I just had the faith in him. I went with my gut feeling, which was that here is an actor who is completely honest about his work, and whatever people talk about image and all, that is incorrect. I believed that Akshay was the best choice for the film and that worked. He delivered.”

Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; October 19, 2018)

Filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shah is back in the director’s chair after a gap of eight years, with the Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra-starrer Namaste England. He says that the film addresses the patriarchy that exists in our society and speaks about how every girl has the fundamental right to make her own choices. In a candid chat with BT, he also discussed how the process of filmmaking has evolved in the past decade. Excerpts...

Given its title,is Namaste England a companion film to Namastey London (2007)?
On one hand, Namastey London was a film that made a comment about the difference between India and the West, and on the other, it was also the story of a girl whose dreams were suppressed by her parents. They get her married to a boy she doesn’t like and rebels against that. Namaste England, too, is about a girl and her dreams. She wants to live a middle-class life, but wants to be able to make her own decisions. She wants freedom, which has been denied to her because of the social structure. When she faces challenges, she decides to go to London, thinking that will give her the freedom she craves for. The film talks about how every girl has the fundamental right to make decisions about her own life.

Both men and women are endorsers as well as victims of patriarchy. How do you think you can convey this complex idea within the framework of a commercial Hindi film?
The audience is extremely sensitive and they understand nuances. They might not be able to articulate it, but they feel the emotion. As a filmmaker, when you are portraying the problems girls face in our country, I can’t give a permanent solution. What I can do is show the problem and suggest a path which could be taken. Every girl’s problem is different, so, there can’t be one common solution. While women don’t have the right to work in some families, in others, they have to work because the family needs the additional income. Even in some modern families, women dancing at parties are frowned upon. They are told, ‘Hamare khandaan ki ek reputation hai’. But there are different rules for men and if they dance, the reputation of the family is not at stake. I have seen this happening in front of me. The man can wear whatever he wants, but the woman has to drape a sari and wear a particular kind of jewellery. This is a result of the patriarchal mind-set that exists in our society and it is about suppression of women. Even in an apparently modern and evolved society, girls don’t have the freedom they deserve.

The last film you directed was Action Replayy, which was eight years back. What made you take a sabbatical from direction for such a long time?
I have been working constantly for the past 25 years, without taking a break. When Action Replayy didn’t do well, I wanted to reinvent myself as a writer, director and producer. The digital age was upon us and filmmaking was also evolving with people shooting on their mobile phones. I realised that cinema was going through a paradigm shift and I had to adapt to the changes. The films that I was backing as a producer were taking up my time. It was an exciting journey for me to observe the manner in which storytelling and characterisation was evolving in cinema. I hope, all that I have observed and imbibed has been reflected in Namaste England. I hope that the eightyear break from direction has helped me mature as a director.

Your films, Aankhen(2002) and Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005) featured Amitabh Bachchan. But you haven’t teamed up with him since…
I have told him many times that I can’t see him doing roles, which aren’t incredible. I have been looking for material which will do justice to him, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do so. When I worked with him, I was a fanboy and even today, I am just a fan. Earlier, if I thought of an idea, I would send him a message even in the middle of the night. However, I don’t do that anymore, because I feel it’s wrong to disturb him. I can’t thank Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal enough for agreeing to do my first film as a director. I was a television director and in those days, the film industry didn’t have that kind of faith in people like us who were making a smooth transition to film direction. All these actors are responsible for my transition into cinema as a director and I will be indebted to them emotionally.

You have also donned the producer’s hat since 2008. How do you think filmmaking, from the point of view of a producer, has evolved over the last decade?
Change can sometimes be seen as disruption. When studios invested in films, people felt that as corporates what will they know about filmmaking? But today, can we imagine the industry without the studios? They put a lot of systems in place. There is no black money in the film industry, thanks to the studios. In fact, they have put a stop to cash dealings and all transactions are through cheques. Their risk appetite is amazing. There are also independent producers operating simultaneously along with the big studios. Producers like working as partners and their collaborations have helped the industry immensely.

BOMBAY TIMES (October 15, 2018)

Director Vipul Amrutlal Shah, whose Namastey London (2007) was much appreciated by the audience, is all set to take the franchise forward with the Arjun Kapoor-Parineeti Chopra-starrer, Namaste England.

The first installment, starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, was a romantic comedy set in Punjab and London. On the other hand, Namaste England is a refreshing tale that traces the journey of two individuals, Jasmeet (Parineeti) and Param (Arjun).

The trailer shows Arjun and Parineeti creating many memorable moments on celluloid, with their lovehate relationship. Interestingly, the recently released second trailer of the film shows the entry of a new character, making it a love triangle.

Akshay Kumar, who has worked on several projects with Vipul, is excited about the upcoming film. He says, “I wish Vipul, Arjun and Parineeti all the luck. I hope that this film receives as much love as Namastey London did. The trailer looks exciting and I am looking forward to watching the film.”

Namaste England, touted to be a quintessential fun film, has been shot across 100 locations in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Dhaka, Brussels, London and Paris, among other cities.

Namaste England, presented by Jayantilal Gada (pen) and Reliance Entertainment in association with BlockBuster Movie Entertainers, releases on October 19.

Meena Iyer (DNA; October 9, 2018)

The walls of filmmaker Vipul Shah’s office in Andheri recount a glorious tale. There are countless posters of movies, some produced by him and others backed as well as directed by him. The man behind mainstream entertainers, which include Aankhen (2002), Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005), Namaste London (2007), Singh Is Kinng (2008) and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014) was on top of things for over a decade and these framed pictures bear testimony to this fact. However, for reasons best known to him, he took an eight-year-long sabbatical from film direction. He is back now (looking a bit pale though because he is recovering from dengue) with his latest offering, the romantic-comedy titled Namaste England with Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra, which releases on October 19, Dussehra.

Confident that he will get the audience interested in his latest offering, Vipul, who is nattily dressed in an orange hoodie, settles in a comfortable-looking chair in his fashionably-done up office and begins to talk. Here’s handing over the mic to him then. Excerpts...

What’s playing on your mind currently?
The lead up to the film is the fact that now it’s all coming together. It’s obviously the most exciting and anxious phase. Now that I’m seeing the entire movie, I’m looking forward to see how the audience reacts to it.

Why the long gap in direction?
When I decided to take a break after Action Replayy (2010), I hadn’t planned it to be such a long one. I had just thought it would be for a year or two. I felt I would utilise the time to learn something that I should, considering the changes that cinema was undergoing. Simultaneously, my other productions were also happening. One day, yeh karte karte, I realised seven years had gone by. I thought I would stop production and get back to direction. Other productions like Force, Holiday and Commando were time-consuming. I didn’t want to do two things — producing and directing — at a time. I kept learning while all this was happening... I believe I have learnt something and hope Namaste England shows that.

Your storytelling has always resonated with an audience or so it seemed, going by your track record.
Subject-wise, even Namaste England, seems like a simple film. But the audience will be surprised. I was talking to my team about running a contest saying that if you guess the film’s interval point, we will send you to London. There’s a lot of content in the movie that is not a part of the trailer. There is a serious amount of twists and turns.

When I talk about learning, I’m referring to the process of evolving. In the last seven-eight years, the digital world has evolved a great deal and with so much content coming in, there are various experiments happening and the format of storytelling is changing the world over. So, I wanted to know if I could adapt myself to this new way of storytelling while keeping my own grain intact. I didn’t want to leave my strength, but at the same time, I also wanted to imbibe something new. People are making films and editing on their cell phones, which is fantastic. The characters have changed, all because of evolution through the digital world. I wanted to learn something new and try to incorporate that into my film. At the same time, I was making the movie for the Indian audience, so I had to balance both. That’s a constant process of reinvention ­— how you don’t lose yourself but also add something that is dramatic and closer to your roots. Six months ago, what was new is old today.

This film comes after several years since Namastey London.
It comes after a gap of 11 years. We had to have a script to take it forward. In Namastey London, there was a strong point about the girl being able to dream and following it to see where it takes her. When I was writing it with Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair, a lot of people told me that these kinds of stories don’t work in India. For me, that was a journey of the girl who was forced by her father to marry someone against her will. She fights for her dream and in the process, falls in love with the same guy.

I wanted a female-oriented script that had a strong male lead as well. In this film, Arjun’s character is such that every girl will feel her boyfriend/husband should be like him. He is affectionate, understanding and has a good sense of humour. But he is also someone who can kill for his or his family’s honour. Apart from that, he is able to understand the girl’s dream and fight with the whole world to see that it’s realised. So, it was important to find a story where the girl’s dream becomes a big thing.

There’s a distinction between a girl wanting to work and her wanting to have the freedom to decide what she wants to do with her life. Largely, we have overcome the working issue, but we haven’t come to terms with the issue of giving full freedom to her. We have given it to the boy, but the girl doesn’t have the full freedom to make decisions about her life. When I found a story with this idea at the centre, I thought I must make the sequel and the time is right.

You have stuck to the same writing team all these years.
Yes, all my films are written by Suresh and Ritesh. We get along well. We rarely meet, but the relationship we share is great. I’m happy with the synergy we have and I appreciate the kind of work they put in my scripts.

Did you in any way miss working with Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif?
Akshay and I have worked together so much. I miss him every single day of my shooting. I can’t imagine a day without him. We did six films together. It’s been a wonderful association. He’s such a fun guy, he puts an extra effort to make the set a happy place. He can call me Sundy, Sethji, sometimes he calls me by some random names. That’s how it has been from the beginning. I also miss working with Katrina. She is extremely professional and passionate, the whole drive and passion towards her work are commendable. When I met her for the first time, I was doing Waqt. I told her that ‘I would really like to work with you but your Hindi is an issue for a movie like Waqt.’ And I was truly impressed because the next time she met me, she was able to read Hindi. She had worked hard on it and learnt so much in that short span of time. She blew me over with her dedication.

In Namaste England, I enjoyed working with Arjun and Parineeti equally, if not more. Sometimes you had to tell Arjun to calm down and chill. He is fully charged 24/7. I haven’t seen a moment where he is dull or tired.

He is Ranveer Singh’s best friend, so we’re guessing he has the same energy levels!
Arjun is a cylinder of energy. When you are with him, you constantly feel that please, give me a breather because you are on a different high. He’s extremely disciplined. In that sense, he and Akshay have a lot of similarities. Arjun is never late, he likes to be involved and keeps the environment on the set easy. If someone makes a mistake, he will find a solution. If a shirt is not fitting well, he won’t throw a tantrum or make a fuss. He is like, ‘Fix it and let’s go’. Parineeti, as we know, is a supremely talented actor. One thing I believe is that even if people don’t like the film, they will love the lead actors’ chemistry. Arjun-Parineeti showed it in Ishaqzaade (2012) and I’m surprised they didn’t do another film together after that. They have the capability of becoming one of the most popular pairs.

Their chemistry is liked by Arjun’s grandma (Nirmala Kapoor) so much that she feels he should get married to her. Parineeti is wonderful and doesn’t realise how good she is at what she is doing. It was great fun working with both of them.

Will you wait to see how Namaste England fares at the box office to announce your next directorial?
I’m keen to watch it with the audience to find out whether I’ve been able to reinvent myself in terms of the time and effort that I’ve invested. I’ve got a few scripts ready for my next. But first, I want to see how I have fared as a director and then decide.

After the soulful ‘Main Jahaan Rahoon’, the Pakistani singer has crooned a new track for Vipul Shah’s upcoming film
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 6, 2018)

Namastey London’s iconic romantic number, “Main Jahaan Rahoon”, featuring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, continues to be one of the most memorable Bollywood chartbusters by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Now, the singer-composer has reunited with Javed Akhtar, who had penned the lyrics of the original, for a completely different soulful song for Namaste England, the next instalment in Vipul Shah’s franchise. Composed by Mannan Shaah, the track will be filmed on Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra and is presently being recorded in Dubai.

“It’s sheer pleasure to have recorded 'Tu Meri Main Tera' with Rahat sahab, I’ve always been a big fan of his voice,” exults Mannan, who worked with the Pakistani musician in another Vipul Shah production, Commando — A One Man Army. The duo had collaborated on “Saawan Bairi”, featuring Vidyut Jammwal. “The song was well-received. Our second association had to be a special one and what better than Namaste England,” says Mannan from Dubai.

He explains that “Main Jahan Rahoon” will always be iconic which is why the makers wanted to experiment with something different this time around. “We have tried a unique style which Rahat sahab has also explored for the first time. He was excited about singing something so new and fresh,” the composer adds.

The makers have also recorded a romantic song with another Pakistani artiste, singer Atif Aslam, which was shot on the film’s leads during its London schedule. “Atif was always my first choice for 'Tere Liye'. I adore his voice and he’s sung a quintessential romantic song. Javed sahab has written a wonderful song and it’s one of his personal favourites too,” Mannan points out.

Rahat, who has given playback for several Bollywood songs, including “Tab Bhi Tu” for Shoojit Sircar’s October released earlier this year, has had multiple run-ins with the authorities at different airports in India between 2011 and 2017. After tensions between India and Pakistan escalated post the Uri attacks of September 2016 in Kashmir, a decision to ban Pakistani artistes from performing in India was taken by various independent bodies of the Hindi film industry. Since then, Rahat has been working on his Bollywood commitments from the Middle East or in his home-country, sending the tracks across digitally.

While speaking to the media last year, after his concerts in Noida and Gurugram were cancelled, the acclaimed singer had shared that a country could impose a ban on an artiste but could never stop music from travelling and connecting Indians. He had shared, “Art should always unite, never become the reason to divide. Yes, you can impose a ban on an artiste and stop him from coming to your country, but you will never be able to suppress the voice of an artiste. If he or she is a true artiste who emotes from his heart, his voice will travel far and wide, no matter (what) the circumstances.”

Upala KBR (MID-DAY; September 5, 2017)

Nine years after Akshay Kumar’s Singh Is Kinng (2008) spun magic at the box office, producer Shailendra Singh is keen on making a sequel to the action comedy. He is in talks with Ranveer Singh to step into the shoes of Kumar. However, Singh has run into his first hurdle in the nascent stages of production itself — filmmaker Vipul A Shah, who has the copyright to Singh Is Kinng, has refused to part with the title.

What’s interesting is that while Shah is giving Singh a hard time over the film’s title, he was embroiled in a similar situation in July. The filmmaker had to rename his Namastey London sequel as Namastey Canada since Kumar, who co-owns the intellectual property rights of the film, refused to part with the titles, Namastey England and Namastey London 2.

Talking about his ordeal, Singh says, “I created the franchise — the concept of the movie and the title was owned by me. I gifted it to Akshay, who, in turn, gave it to Vipul Shah. They have even thanked me for the title in the credit roll. I have been begging Vipul to return it to me, but he hasn’t relented.”

Singh adds that whenever he broaches the subject with Shah, the filmmaker states that he needs the title as he intends to make a sequel. “Yesterday, I sent him a text saying, ‘It’s been more than nine years and it’s obvious that you are not making Singh Is Kinng 2. So why not give the title back gracefully? Be a gentleman!’”

Disappointed by Shah’s behaviour, the producer has now submitted another title for registration. “I don’t want to fight any longer. I have got a new title; it’s sexier than Singh Is Kinng,” he claims.

Singh adds that he has already bounced the idea off Ranveer. “My priority is to work with Ranveer Singh. He is a lethal combination of Salman Khan and Johnny Depp. The film will be a heist drama. As soon as the script is ready, we’ll give him a narration.”

We reached out to Shah, but he remained unavailable for comment.

Upala KBR (DNA; July 21, 2017)

The sequel to Akshay Kumar's 2007 hit, Namastey London, was meant to be called Namastey England. However, filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shah has had to change the title of the film starring Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra. The romcom will now be called Namastey Canada, and will be shot in the North American country instead of the UK.

A source says that the original plan was to have Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead, but it didn't work out. "The project took some time to get finalised and Akshay got busy with other projects, including Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, PadM Man, 2.0 and Gold. So, Vipul signed Parineeti and Arjun for the film. Both, Akshay and Vipul own the Intellectual Property (IP) rights to the Namastey series, and when the filmmaker approached him for the rights, the actor refused to part with the titles Namastey London 2 or Namastey England. He told Vipul that he may want to produce and act in Namastey England later. So, the filmmaker had no choice but to change the title to Namastey Canada," says the insider.

When contacted, Shah told mid-day, "Unfortunately, I can't talk about it right now. You will have to bear with me for a couple of days till a few things get sorted out. I will make an announcement soon."

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 10, 2017)

Ten years after the Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif’s inter-continental love story, Namastey London, set the box-office ringing, filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shah is prepping to roll with the second instalment, Namastey England, with Arjun Kapoor stepping into Akki’s shoes. And contrary to rumours about a fall out between Vipul and his former leading man, Mirror has learnt that before jumping into Reema Kagti’s sports-drama, Gold, Akki gave a nod to his replacement, excited that a “handsome, commercially successful munda” like Arjun will take the hit franchise forward.

A source told Mirror that Arjun, who has watched the original multiple times, loved the script and the cultural conflict it presented, reminiscent of the original but better. “Arjun was keen because the franchise provides a unique perspective on how Indians are looked at internationally and vice versa. But he wanted to make sure that Akshay had no problems about the franchise moving forward without him, before signing on the dotted line. Last month, Akshay and Vipul who have been close friends and have collaborated on a dozen films over the last two decades, mutually agreed to go ahead with Arjun. The film will roll early 2018 and like the original, will be shot in Punjab and the UK,” the source says.

Namastey London took off with Indian-born-London-based Manmohan Malhotra, played by Rishi Kapoor, wanting to marry off his daughter Jasmeet aka Jazz to a Punjabi from his hometown. Arjun Singh, played by Akki, the chosen groom, however discovers after the saat pheras that Jazz has a royal Brit in her life and doesn’t want a desi husband in the frame. The film reflected the cultural conflict NRI parents faced with their children and was widely applauded at home and abroad. “The second film too has been scripted in a manner to appeal to expats and has a Punjabi and Brit flavour,” informs the source, adding that like it was for Katrina, the role of the actress in Namastey England too is a career-defining one. “She’s an ambitious Punjabi, who’s fascinated by the glitz and glamour and wants to move to UK while Arjun’s character, a mischievous desi Romeo, is rooted in his land and culture like the original Arjun Singh. His character will be quite quirky this time around.”

Though it’s the love story of a young couple, it will feature another leading lady in a relatively smaller appearance. Meanwhile, Arjun, whose next film, Mubarakan, is up for release this month, will start filming Dibakar Banerjee’s romancethriller, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, which reunites him with his Ishaqzaade co-star Parineeti Chopra. Buzz is, Parineeti has been approached for Namastey England too. So we’ll just have to wait and watch if Vipul will bring the hit couple back together for a hat-trick.

Vir Das (37), Trisha Das (40)

A comedian and a documentary filmmaker-turned-author give a risible twist to the concept of sibling rivalry
Kunal Guha (MID-DAY; September 25, 2016)

Vir Das introduces his sister Trisha Das as the "older and more talented one" when we meet them at his Santacruz office. The comic, actor and singer-songwriter's praise for his sister refers to her recently-published book Mrs Draupadi Kuru: After the Pandavas, which is a "contemporary novel with a mythological twist". The sociology graduate from Sophia's College has also worked in more documentaries than she can remember and even won a National Award in 2005 for Fiddlers on the Thatch. "It was about a group of children in Kalimpong, hailing from impoverished families, who started a western classical orchestra. They were trained in music by a priest who founded a charitable school called Gandhi Ashram. He would offer the kids a free meal a day, which was enough to draw them to school. The kids performed so well that they got scholarships and even a chance to tour the world," says Trisha, who has also assisted Kabir Khan on several documentaries. "I made a film on the 2002 riots in Gujarat, went to Banda in Madhya Pradesh and shot in 51 degrees with Dalit women from the region and also visited the first village in India to become 100 per cent literate."

While Trisha was always determined to pursue a career in non-fiction cinema, Vir kept his options open. "I have three jobs — films, comedy and music. I can quietly work in all three without getting sucked in either. As a kid, I even wanted to be a naval aviator after I watched Top Gun," he says with his patented smirk.

The brother and sister spent their childhood shuttling between boarding school at The Lawrence School, Sanawar, and Lagos in Nigeria, where their parents lived. "We shared a room until I was 12 and I hated that. I got a separate room on my 13th birthday. It was the best thing to ever happen to me," she says, before Vir interrupts, "Nigeria wasn't a very safe place, so you lived in gated compounds with armed guards. We couldn't really go out much so we ended up spending a lot of time together." A routine Trisha remembers from her childhood is going cycling with Vir. "We played with dolls — he had his action man, I had my Barbie." "I beheaded her Barbie once," says Vir, before she adds with a chuckle, "And I gave his action man a bath." The siblings admit that they were both "terrible in academics" but their initiation into the arts and Indian culture happened early. "When you're living in an NRI colony, your parents try hard to imbibe Indian culture. So Trisha learnt the harmonium, I learnt the tabla," says Vir, before Trisha adds, "My mom also taught Indian culture to expat children."

Following school, Vir felt his active participation in debates justified his choice of picking political science. Following a year in Delhi's Sri Venkateswara College, he moved to the US for university. "I had gone on a heavy scholarship, so when I called the family to inform them that I had changed my major to theatre, I began with, 'You should sit down before I tell you what I have to say'," says Vir, who began by performing at open mics in Chicago. "My friends would constantly warn me, saying, 'You are not funny'," says Vir, who finds himself to be an "observational comic who trusts his own moral compass". "I don't make fun of people who are unwell or the elderly. If a joke is bad, the audience will teach you a lesson which no government or censor board can. That's the worst thing to happen to a comedian."

Vir's most self-assuring gig was also his thesis at drama school at Knox College in Illinois. "It was a show called Brown Men Can't Hump. Usually comedians did two minutes but I debuted with a 90-minutes-long stand-up comedy. When I returned to India, I performed the same show at Delhi's India Habitat Centre, which was frequented by the Capital's elite. Suddenly, there was this kid who was saying the 'F' word and talking about his balls," remember Vir. The show was a success as most hadn't seen anything like it. "I was his stage manager, graphic designer, and have even written some of his material when he was starting out," says Trisha, who admits that she can write, but not perform.

At a time when English stand-up was still emerging in India, Vir played safe in drafting his material. "In the first few years of your career, you write stuff that you think people will like. So you write lots of Bollywood and cricket jokes. You write about your Gujarati uncle and Punjabi chacha. Then, at some point, you start writing what you like. I am drawn to history, so I wrote History of India," he says of his career-defining moment. But breaking into films wasn't easy and Vir's first role was a bite-sized role in Katrina Kaif-starrer Namastey London. "I don't think my character had a name. I played 'prospective groom number 2' and that's how I was credited, much like 'henchman no 5'," says the actor who later starred in films like Badmaash Company, Delhi Belly and Go Goa Gone.

Vir and Trisha have also collaborated on a screenplay for a feature film that they wrote last year, braving several conflicts. "We fought like cats and dogs. I wanted to take the action forward faster and she wanted to delve into the characters," says Vir, before his sister interrupts him, "I was pregnant at that time and I hated everyone. I keep asking him to slow down...he was moving too fast." Vir is also working on his next — a feature on the Sikh riots of 1984, a Netflix comedy special, three other film projects and a music album by the end of the year. That's quite a plateful. "I am happiest when I'm writing. When I don't have anything to write, that is when I write my best," he signs off.

Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; May 26, 2016)

Looks like Akshay Kumar has no time for Vipul Shah’s Namastey England. Gossip mills are abuzz that the star has put the film on the backburner to work on a sequel to Subhash Kapoor’s Jolly LLB (2013). This is the third time in the last six months that he has chosen to commit himself to a newer project over Shah’s film co-starring Sonakshi Sinha.

On December 22 last year, hitlist had reported about the schedule of Namastey England being pushed by four months — from April to August — since Akki wanted to take up Rajinikanth-starrer Robot 2 first. In a follow- up report on March 31, we mentioned how the actor was keen to work on AR Murugadoss’ production, Ikka, after wrapping up Robot 2, delaying Shah’s film further. Now we hear, Akshay will be able to devote himself to the film only by the year-end.

A source says, “There have been repeated delays in starting the film due to Akshay’s unavailability. But the reason is that Shah is not really prepared in terms of finances to take his film on floors as slated. So, Akshay has preferred to keep himself busy with other projects.”

Another industry insider says Akshay has a packed diary this year. After Housefull 3 releases in June, he will take off for his annual family holiday which usually lasts a month. Once back, he will get down to the promotions of Rustom, which is set to hit theatres in August. “Right after that, he will dive into the shoot of Jolly LLB 2 in Lucknow. It is a month-long schedule. The actor wants to shoot the film in one go and it looks difficult for Namastey England to roll in August,” adds the insider.

Akshay remained unavailable for comment while Shah asserts that his film is on track. In a text message, he says, “I am not aware of any such thing (Akshay choosing another project over his). These rumours have been (going) around, but I don’t think they are true.”

Katrina Kaif takes a gander at her Bollywood career, her roles and her image
Upala KBR (DNA; October 29, 2015)


You’ve been acting for 12 years now. What has changed?
(Laughs). Have I? Okay, I will take your word for it. A lot of changes... I have become more experienced, knowledgeable, acquired the tools to accomplish what you wish to accomplish... Acting is something where you constantly keep learning, evolving and bettering yourself. Earlier, my interests and involvement were far more superficial. My hard work, focus, desire and ambitions were always there but the real passion for acting or creating a character, probably a bit more creative involvement... that definitely came much later. And rightly so, because I didn’t come in with formal training. You start understanding things, opening up more, get more conscious... It happened to me in many peaks, throughout my films, like I got good feedback for Namastey London. Maybe, I am more open to diverse characters or to trying different things now. Earlier, I was quite clear that I wanted to do only this kind of a film or role, I knew what I wanted and that was coming to me, which was good.

What hasn’t changed?
My hyperness... People see me as this cool and calm person, but I am hyper! My obsession for knowing what’s going for scenes, rehearsing, making things look aesthetically proper, for getting involved in every aspect of acting.... We all definitely strive for perfection. Especially in areas that I understand very well like dance, songs, costumes and glamour — I am very particular about that.

How do you react to criticism that you play it safe and don’t do author-backed roles?
True. The weakness or the fault lies with me and my choices. The roles I did were my choices. This is where my heart was. I did those roles because I wanted to be a part of all those films — Ek Tha Tiger, Jab Tak Hai Jaan or a Dhoom3. Yes, smaller, heroine-centric, offbeat films and characters were coming to me at that time but I didn’t feel like doing them. Maybe that was a lack of foresight on my part. Do I look at it more seriously now? Yes. But not out of a desperation to sign anything. I will do a film that I am passionate about. If I see a film with an author-backed role but it doesn’t excite me, then I am not going to do it. I am open to doing films of any size, budget or language but my heart has to be in it. If someone tomorrow comes to me with a role where I would have to shave my hair or cut it very short, or the character has a tragic life but still is interesting and fun, I would probably jump at it. Only because the story and role has elements of something I find beautiful. For example, like Fitoor.

You liked it?
I loved my character! It is very complex, conflicted and not easy to understand. In fact, nobody who has seen the English film has been able to understand it, which has also sometimes been one of the weaknesses of the film. But I think Gattu (director Abhishek Kapoor) took care of those weaknesses and just made it beautiful. It’s one of the best characters that I have ever played. Apart from having someone like Abhishek, who is a critically-acclaimed director, the moment I heard that it’s adapted from Great Expectations, I was in love with it! I was so happy shooting for the film! There are some films you feel glad about when are complete, but Fitoor is one film I would happily re-shoot for. Everything about the character, Gattu’s direction and the way he sees cinema was so exciting and fulfilling!

Do you feel good roles don’t come to you because of your pretty Barbie doll image?
I disagree. I feel I have done film with great roles. Yes, I have played the glamour girl in some films but they were fun to do. I have done good roles too like Namastey London, Raajneeti, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. I have had the time of my life while doing MBKD. Ali (Abbas Zafar) and I went mad improvising through the shoot! Jab Tak Hai Jaan and New York were such great roles! Dhoom:3 may not have been an emotional role but had lots of dancing. Let’s not forget that in India our culture has so many wonderful dance forms, dancing is extremely popular and the whole country watches dance shows. We love dancing, it’s in our culture so let’s not belittle that.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?
I wish I could see myself five years from now. Hopefully, with the person I love and still doing good work. I would love to continue working or else I will go mad! You don’t need to stop working after marriage anymore in Bollywood. At least till your child is born. I can’t sit at home doing nothing so work to me is more important to me than anybody can imagine. Look at so many successful actresses working after marriage... Kajol, Vidya, Kareena... You just need to be on the top of your game. That’s all.

The jodi may reunite for Namastey England. And no, it’s not a sequel
Upala KBR (DNA; August 10, 2015)


Says a source, “Sonakshi and Akshay had stopped signing films together after their pair began looking stale on screen. They decided to take a break from doing films together. Meanwhile, Sona did films with Shahid Kapoor, Ajay Devgn and Arjun Kapoor to break the monotony. It worked and now Vipul thinks they can be reunited on screen in his romance film set in England.”

Vipul says, “Namastey England is not a sequel to Namastey London. It’s a love story which has been written by the NL team, Ritesh Shah, Suresh Nair and me. Akshay is putting together the entire project.” The film is being produced by Kriaj Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and Essel Vision Production.

Kangana in the running?
An insider informs, “Along with Sonakshi, Kangana Ranaut has also been approached for Namaste England. But she has asked for a huge price — over Rs 6 crore. So, while the producers were keen on signing her as it’s a fresh pairing, they are not sure whether her fee is feasible. Kangana, who does only woman-centric films now, feels that if she has to do a film where she doesn’t play the central character, she needs to be paid accordingly.”

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; June 14, 2015)