In the worlds of Imtiaz Ali and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra – whether it’s the Delhi of Rockstar and Tamasha , or the one shown in Rang De Basanti and Delhi-6 – the city is not just a shooting location. These films are a window into Delhi, and for those who belong to it, it is a mirror. At the closing session of the first International Film Festival of Delhi, the two filmmakers came together in conversation, unfolding the layers that run through each other’s cinema – the shared love for Delhi, the imprint of the city on them and their films. They spoke of the lanes of Delhi like a livedin map – “take this left, that right” – and the audience was definitely not surprised.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra doesn’t see Delhi as a contender in the race of film capitals, but as something that exists in its own distinct space.

“I wouldn’t say let’s make Delhi the film capital. For that, Bombay, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi, and Kolkata are already there, making films in their respective languages. Delhi can, however, 100% become an alternate expression for cinema.”

It’s not because there’s an “India Gate or Red Fort, not because we have Mehrauli or Qutub Minar,” but the contradictions that sit side by side, noted the filmmaker.

“There is something in the air here which is very serious and, at the same time, very fleeting – something that is extremely socially awakening, and yet, completely societally dead and insensitive to the other person. It all exists in the same place. I meet the bureaucracy in Delhi, and I understand why this complex country called India works – they make it work. Then I meet so many people in Delhi, and I realize, arey satyanash! That’s why we are still struggling, why we move two steps forward and three steps back,” he added.

Delhi, according to him has the capacity to tell stories as “it is a melting pot of people not just from across India, but from all over the world. It is a power capital. And this power is greater than the power of money. The human power here is incredibly strong. These are the stories we can tell.”

Imtiaz Ali sees the same city through the idea of layers, histories folding into one another, “The great thing about Delhi, and I see (this) in your (Rakeysh’s) cinema, is that within one lens, within one geography, there is the presence of many, many layers that have come into this city over the years and centuries.”

The mood shifts as Imtiaz reveals the Delhi-6 director’s quirky love for the city. “Aapke baare mein ilzaam hai ki kabhi-kabhi Rakeysh ji bina kisi ko bataye Dilli chale jaate hain. Kabhi-kabhi aise hi Dilli ghoom kar – kahin nahi jaakar bhi – wapis airport se aa jaate hain,” asked Imtiaz, and Rakeysh quiped, “Aadha sach hai.”

He then revealed the whole truth, “Kai baar main raat ki flight lekar ghoom kar subah wapas Mumbai aa jaata hoon.” Why? Because “there are so many things that you only get at night in Delhi – jaise Moolchand ke paranthe,” shares Rakeysh, adding, “We used to go to the old Jaipur highway and watch international flights taking off – that sight you can only see at 3 or 4 in the morning. Take a walk in Lodhi Garden after 2 am – it becomes another place entirely. There is nobody there, and you feel like you’ve gone back in time. I love it. Din mein bhi kai baar aata hoon (laughed).”

The conversation drifts to music, and to the songs that stay long after the films end. Rakeysh said, “Rehna Tu Hai Jaisa Tu – Rahman sahab ne chatayi ki tarah kuch aisa buna hai. There was no song situation for Rehna Tu or Luka Chuppi in RDB, and no song situation for Masakali in Delhi-6. It’s just A R Rahman who brings that. And in his light we all glow.” For Imtiaz, it’s Phir Se Udd Chala. “Iski lyrics bhi badi mushkil hain.”

Turning the spotlight towards Imtiaz, Rakeysh asked, “Main bahut arson se aap se puchhna chahta hoon. Rockstar dekhi – bahut maza aata hai. Main hall chhor ke jata hoon aur mujhe neend nahi aati. There is something you shake inside us – aisa kuch jo aapko jhanjhorta hai, that keeps you awake. I think that element is you. Is it you in all your characters?”

Imtiaz answered, “Rockstar ek aisa experience hai – jismein ek line hai: jo bhi main kehna chahoon, barbaad kare alfaz mere. So, it was like that during the shoot too. When we were making the film, it was dictating itself – something that was there in the air. Jaise aap kehte hain – hawa mein kuch baat hoti hai. Out of that, something emerged. Dilli mein hi ho raha tha yeh sab. Aap kehte hain na, kuch jhanjhor deta hai – main pehla victim hoon uska. I feel that woh film bilkul imperfect hai, lekin usmein thodi bahut sachhi baatein aa gayi hain.”

As Rang De Basanti completes 20 years today, the film’s music, composed by A R Rahman, continues to resonate across generations. From Luka Chuppi, voiced by the late Lata Mangeshkar, to Masti Ki Paathshala, the soundtrack remains as popular as ever.

Reflecting on the milestone, filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who directed the film, says, “I believe the film has turned 20 years younger instead of 20 years older.”

Recounting memories from the making of the film, the 62-year-old says, “Just when we were to shoot the film I had a severe case of jaundice and was hospitalized but we started rehearsals since I had everyone’s dates locked. So I believe blessings come in disguise,” he says.

Mehra adds that much of the film’s music was conceptualized early on: “We had the film recorded like a radio program before we started shooting. I took that recording to A R Rahman in Chennai. He sat on his piano and started making the track based on the recording. The process with A R is, we talk a lot about the film, the characters and the reason I’m making a film. We enjoy meals together, go from drives and music just happens”

Sharing trivia about Luka Chuppi, Mehra reveals it was never part of the original plan: “The film was complete and we were doing the background music. When A R saw the scene he just stopped and composed that song.”

Playing down the recent controversy around Rahman’s remarks about his reduced workload, Mehra focused instead on the timelessness of the composer’s music, saying, “I love his music, good work is timeless. When you listen to songs by composer-duo Shankar-Jaikishan, singer Mohd Rafi and lyrisict Gulzar, you savour it. We are blessed that AR has given us such beautiful music.”

Every year, the Republic Day parade begins at Rashtrapati Bhawan and proceeds towards India Gate. India Gate isn’t just an iconic location for Delhi but also for cinema. Back in 2006, on Republic Day, Rang De Basanti hit the screens and gave Indian cinema one of its most unforgettable protest scenes. A scene that still gives goosebumps to audiences – no shouting slogans, no waving banners, no chaos – just a crowd holding candles in silence.

The scene became a cultural phenomenon both onscreen and off-screen, inspiring many real-life protests at the site.

Since 2006, India Gate’s relevance as a protest site has been depicted in several films, including No One Killed Jessica, Raanjhanaa, as well as in the web series Delhi Crime. Ahead of Republic Day, we speak to directors to understand what keeps India Gate’s cinematic relevance alive.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra grew up in Delhi and attended Bal Bharati School. Talking about the protest scene in Rang De Basanti at India Gate, he says, “The entire area of India Gate and Rajpath has always been in my consciousness. It had a different meaning. I remember, in the 9th standard, I was part of the Republic Day parade. We were always mesmerized by the jawans who would stand there like a statue, without moving. Each brick has the names of martyrs from British India. I’ve always been drawn to India Gate because of the importance it holds for us. To me, India Gate also represents the Amar Jawan Jyoti.”

Talking about Rang De Basanti, which took inspiration from the real-life incidents where Air Force pilots lost their lives, he says, “In reality, when those pilots sacrificed their lives, nobody protested. I think it’s the duty of civil society to raise their voice. Everybody can’t just sit on the fence and point fingers this doesn’t work, and that doesn’t work. It is our responsibility to raise a voice, and it is very important. In Rang De Basanti, when we lose the Air Force pilot played by R Madhavan, his mother and his friends wanted justice, so they held a silent protest at India Gate. I was drawn to India Gate because of the importance it holds.”

Raj Kumar Gupta, the director of No One Killed Jessica, who also studied in Delhi, says that India Gate is the iconic place that defines Delhi. He showed India Gate as a protest site in No One Killed Jessica because it was the actual location of protests in the real case.

He explains, “Of course, Jantar Mantar was the place for protests in Delhi and still is. But India Gate very organically became a protest site after Rang De Basanti. Films only work as a catalyst; it was the people who made it the spot. While there are many iconic places in Delhi, India Gate is the first that comes to our minds. Over the years, India Gate has become a place of collective rebellion. It evokes strong emotions.”

He adds, “Democracy is about people’s voice, and one must speak against injustice. Over the years, with films using the imagery of a protest in the backdrop of India Gate, it has now become a symbol of the people’s voice. Besides, the monument has its own value.”

Divya Dutta, who celebrated her birthday recently, also completed three decades in the industry this year. In conversation with us, the actress looks back on her choices, both profession and personal, and how she is in a comfortable space in both aspects of her life.

Starting her career in an industry known for its defined boxes — commercial cinema vs parallel cinema, the quintessential heroine vs character actors — Divya Dutta often found herself walking a path less travelled.

“People would wonder, what category do I fit into? Is she a commercial or parallel cinema actress? A heroine or a character actor?” Dutta recalls.

“But despite the industry’s initial confusion, I was determined to create my own path. 30 years later, I still get roles written for me,” she adds with a sense of gratitude. “When someone comes and says, ‘This is for you, you can do this,’ it’s the most gratifying feeling. It’s not common to be in a profession where you are exactly where you want to be, doing what you love,” she says.

From playing a romantic lead to a negative character, Divya has done it all. “I was often told I couldn’t do certain roles. I was told I was too soft for negative characters. But when someone tells me I can’t do something, it becomes a challenge for me,” she says with a laugh. “There were lots of ‘no’s’ along the way,” she admits.

“People thought I was crazy for turning down the offers I got, but I followed my gut. Nobody can say I’m just a romantic heroine or a softy or a lady don. I’ve worked hard to ensure that my body of work is as diverse as possible. There was this production house that offered me a role and halfway through the narration I said no, I don’t want to do this. They asked me kya hua so I told them that I don’t think I will enjoy playing this character. They were also very sporting and accepted my decision. Now, I just say no if I don’t like a role. I don’t like any ambiguities, pretence mujhe karna nahi aata. Bahut kar li diplomacy, jab nayi-nayi aayi thi tab karti thi, but now I just like to be straighforward. Ab pyaar so bolna nahi aata hai, ab toh bas ‘chup kar, mujhe nahi karna hai’ kehti hoon. And I think I deserve it now and trust me, I have worked in better projects with the same people.” (laughs)

With several releases lined up on the big screen and OTT, Divya feels the two can never compete. “I think OTT and theatrical releases need a good marriage, like a film released in theatres should be on OTT after 6 months. Also we need OTT for small films. A film like Laapataa Ladies had a backing of Aamir Khan Productions, 12th Fail had Vidhu Vinod Chopra backing it, so they could be marketed, publicised and released in theatres. But ab agar ek chhoti film hai, kam budget wali, woh kahan hi jayegi. So for such projects OTT is a boon. But theatrical releases will never go. In recent times we have had so many re-releases, toh woh charm to badi screen ka rahega hi,” she says, adding, “What I really feel is that we need good writers. Film chahe chhoti ho ya badi, agar story gripping nahi hai toh audience nahi dekhegi, chahe OTT pe ho, ya theatres mein. The audience these days is very clever and discerning, so we now need big names in acting only for the initial push, uske baad toh story is what counts. Content nahi, toh audience nahi.”

Single and being very happy about it, Divya says she is very happy being by her ownself. “I would love a companion but I don’t miss out on it. I think that’s because I am very content in my space now, with all your experiences that you come with. I don’t want any kind of toxicity in my life now. When a good partner comes into my life, I think I will know. Until then I don’t want any timepasses,” says the actress who celebrated her birthday earlier this week.

“I do have a lot of male attention, but sometimes you are in that phase where you are very happy with the work that you’re doing and I think I am in that space. Also, at this stage in my life, for me what is of utmost importance is peace of mind. So when you’re peaceful in your heart and mind, then only you can give your best in any situation you are in, personal and professional. Baki I think woh completeness hum jo doosron mein dhoondte hain, I don’t think I’m in that place where I want completeness with someone. But companion most definitely. I would love to travel with someone, would love to go on these romantic outings as I am a diehard romantic. But with a very right person. I’m not wanting marriage in my life, surely. I mean I shouldn’t say no ever, but I think I will be happier with a companion. Until then, I am my best companion right now and I wouldn’t like it any other way. Maje aa rahe hain!”

Dutta fondly recalled a lesson she learned from filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra while working on the film Delhi-6. “I was playing Jalebi, a foul mouthed woman and I just couldn’t speak the dialogues because there were all these seniors in front of me. Waheeda ji, Rishi ji, Om Puri sahab and I was very hesitant in speaking like that in front of them. So after several retakes, Rakeysh finally came to me and told me, ‘Set Divya aside. She is too sweet. Think of the person Jalebi is and let her character take over.’ That advice has stayed with me.”

— Inputs by Ankita Bharti

In 2004, Kunal Kapoor debuted with Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities, after which he went on to do a prominent and probably one of his most memorable roles in Rang De Basanti. It’s been two decades since the actor started his journey as an actor. Talking about falling in love with cinema, he shares, “At the core, I believe I am a storyteller, and for me, this is the best place to be.”

Elaborating on his decision to pursue a career in show business, Kunal says, “I discovered movies by chance after doing many things in my life. I became an assistant director (assisted director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on Aks), and once I was on a set, I felt this was the most magical place.”

“It was the most exciting place to be – whether as an actor or a storyteller. But it’s also a place with its own set of challenges. There have been ups and downs, there have been very exciting times, and then, there have been frustrating times. But when you’re in a place you love, you take everything in your stride and move on,” says Kunal.

In his 20-year-long career, Kunal has never really spoken about the ups and downs he has faced. He says, “Sometimes you don’t get the kind of work you’re looking for. You’ve to wait for it, and that can be a bit frustrating. It’s like being part of a football match; everyone’s playing the match, and you’re sitting on the bench waiting for your chance to get in.”

He further adds, “For the longest time, I was offered the role of either a poet or a terrorist. Those were the two kinds of roles that constantly came to me. As an individual, you know there’s so much more you can do and explore.”

Kunal hints at the lack of lucrative acting gigs as the reason for concentrating on writing and production. The actor, who was seen in the web show The Empire, explains, “At one point, I realised I wasn’t getting the kind of work I wanted. Instead of waiting, I decided to create the work that I wanted to be a part of. It pushed me in the direction of writing. Today, I am working on six scripts with different writers and also acting in four projects. I feel I have probably entered the best phase of my career now.”

Over the years, the syntax of movies and storytelling has changed, which Kunal believes is the best thing to have happened. “When I started out, there were certain kinds of movies that would be made, and the hero was expected to be of a certain kind. You had to fit into a mould, which I didn’t. There were certain expectations about the kind of films that you had to do. And I didn’t enjoy those films. Fortunately, what’s happened is that the mould has changed now, and different kinds of characters are being written, and different stories are being made. That’s the kind of space I enjoy,” he says.

Kunal believes that the quintessential Hindi movie hero has also evolved along with our movies. “Today, the audience accepts all kinds of heroes. You have characters like Shahid Kapoor in Kabir Singh and Ranbir Kapoor in Animal. These characters wouldn’t have worked maybe 10-12 years ago because people expected heroes to be a certain way. The more we stretch that mould, the better it is for everybody,” he signs off.

There has been much anticipation around Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Karna, and for good reason. The mythological drama, which will offer a retelling of the Mahabharata from Karna’s point of view, is among the most ambitious projects in recent times. Suriya is tipped to lead the magnum opus, with Nayanthara said to portray Draupadi.

While director Mehra and novelist Anand Neelakantan locked the script, the team did extensive pre-production, including look tests over the past few months. But now, one hears that the makers have decided to put the project on pause, given the current box-office lull and market instability.

A source reveals, “Karna is a passion project for producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. The makers realised that the making cost was going north of Rs. 500 crore; it could go higher with the VFX involved. Given how important the movie is to them, they don’t wish to cut corners. So, for now, they have put it on hold. Instead, they have taken a call to greenlight five small-size films and explore Karna at a later stage when the industry’s economic health improves.”

However, another insider closely involved with the project says that it is merely delayed. The source tells us, “It is slightly delayed because the locations and the leads have yet to be locked. Nevertheless, it will roll by the year-end.”

Delhi-6 won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration at the 57th National Film Awards in 2010. However, it was also a film for which Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra received death threats. Reflecting on the moment he learnt about the award, he wrote in his book, “Suddenly, the dark humour came back full circle: how could I receive death threats for making a film about national integration?” As the film completes 15 years, let’s take a closer look at it.

During the research of the film, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and scriptwriter Kamlesh Pandey were walking in the lanes of Old Delhi and encountered a street fight.

Pandey, who stayed as a guest at Mehra’s Old Delhi house for a month, told us, “While roaming in the bylanes of Old Delhi, we spotted a 14 or 15-year-old boy getting cornered by other boys. They were about to hit him, when he said, ‘Haath na lagaiyo, Delhi-6 ka launda hoon main’. I loved that attitude! That’s when we changed the film’s title from Monkey Man to Delhi-6. Delhi-6 isn’t just a pin code of the Walled City; it is an identity.”

Most of the characters in the film are based on real people. Pandey said, “Do bhai jinhone deewaar toh khadi kar li beech mein, lekin taana sunaate hain deewar ke paas se (referring to characters played by Om Puri and Pavan Raj Malhotra). Woh dono saath mein drink nahi karte thay lekin dono do glass rakhte thay. I met these two brothers in Old Delhi. We have included everything that Old Delhi residents do.”

The film didn’t perform well at the box office in India. But six months after Delhi-6 released, Mehra and his team spent three days shooting a new beginning and modifying the ending.

In the new version, they retained what was in the original script so the audience would know from the beginning that Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan’s character) would die. The new version went to the Venice International Film Festival, where it got a late night slot in the main theatre.

- Two climaxes were shot for the film: one in which Abhishek’s character Roshan dies as mob lynches him and another in which he survives.

- The pigeon, Masakali, wasn’t in the script initially. “(A R) Rahman kept humming Masakali, and made me hear the track in the middle of the night. After which, I added the pigeon Masakali to the script,” says Mehra

- The film premiered at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York

- Samir Chanda received the National Award for best production design for his re-creation of Old Delhi

- Scriptwriter Kamlesh Pandey met many girls in Old Delhi who would leave home in salwar-kameez and change clothes after leaving the area, Sonam’s character, Bittu, took inspiration from that

—With excerpts from A Stranger In The Mirror

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Karna is among the most enigmatic characters of the Mahabharata, with every reader interpreting his moral stance and actions in their own way. It isn’t surprising then that filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra found a compelling story in the tragic hero’s journey. Over the past few months, there has been much chatter about the director’s ambitious project, Karna—as much for its grand scale as for the fact that it will mark Suriya’s Hindi cinema debut. Now, mythological fiction novelist Anand Neelakantan, who is serving as a writer on the project along with Mehra, reveals that the period drama is ready to roll early next year.

Neelakantan’s previous books Ajaya: Roll Of The Dice and Ajaya: Rise Of Kali told us the story of the Kauravas from Duryodhana’s point of view, while Asura: Tale of the Vanquished examined the Ramayana from Ravana’s perspective. He says that Karna will be made in the same vein.

“We are talking about [the events] as they happened in the epic Mahabharata, from Karna’s point of view. In Telugu and Tamil cinema, classics have been made on this character, with Sivaji Ganesan and NTR playing the leads. But this will be the first time in Hindi cinema that a movie is being made on Karna. I cannot reveal much as the makers are yet to announce it officially. The big-budget movie will be made in five languages, including Hindi, Tamil and Telugu,” shares the author, whose latest novel is Mahi: The Elephant Who Flew Over The Blue Mountains.

Earlier, Shahid Kapoor was to play Karna, the Sun God and princess Kunti’s child, who became Duryodhana’s close friend and fought against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war. However, things did not work out and Tamil star Suriya came on board the mythological drama that will trace the King of Anga’s glory, betrayal, conflict and his lost love.

“The movie is expected to start from next year,” adds Neelakantan, who recently wrote the ZEE5 series, Taj: Divided by Blood. We hear Nayanthara—who recently made a splash in Bollywood with Jawan—has been approached to play the female lead.    

Producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani are said to be making the pan-India film in two parts. Suriya is expected to kick off the shoot of the first instalment after he wraps up director Sudha Kongara’s yet-untitled next.

Nestled in the bustling Carter Road of Bandra, Mumbai, actor Prateik Babbar’s sea-facing abode is a gift to him by his mother, actress Smita Patil. Prateik grew in the very house with his maternal grandparents. “It was very different then,” the actor states, revealing that he redesigned the place all by himself. “Not many know but I like to design interiors. I love visual aesthetics,” he mentions.

As Prateik sits down, basking in the gentle lull of the Arabian sea’s whispers, he peels back the layers of his life. He ventures into his formative years, tainted by the shadows of addiction, to his tumultuous journey through matrimony and the newfound love. Excerpts of the interview as followed:

“I was a very happy kid but a big brat. I could never see a straight face in a picture. My nani would always say, ‘Vakda tond nako karu’. But it was also hard growing up, trying to understand where my parents are? But I had a lot of fun with my grandmother. She spoiled me. I remember she would wake up every morning by calling me Chew – it means sparrow. I was her sparrow,”

Prateik reminisces. The actor was quite close to his grandmother. Her demise was the “most difficult time” in his life. “I knew everything will change once she was done. And it did for the better. It was an overnight decision for me to not be slave to drugs and alcohol,” he states.

Prateik has been vocal about his tryst with substance abuse. “Addiction is a disease. I almost lost myself,” he says. At the age of 18, Prateik was "tricked" by his family to a rehabilitation center. "I was obnoxious, nobody could talk to me. I was always intoxicated. So, they had to trick me to get into rehab. And rehab was difficult. I remember waking up in a rehab in a bed, in a straitjacket. I was just screaming, crying. I was 18 and it scared me. It was dark, I was suicidal. I wanted to be with my grandmother. ‘I just want to be with you maa,’ is all I would cry. It was painful,” Prateik shares.

The second time drugs re-entered Prateik’s life was when he was 25, fresh off the debacle of his film

Ekk Deewana Tha and nursing a heartbreak with actress Amy Jackson. “Back then I was straight out of a heartbreak. That was a widely reported relationship so it was terrible. There was an avalanche of emotions. I was feeling life was unfair to me. Even today, I do think that life has been extremely unfair to me. It took away the most precious emotion a child can have,” he recalls.

During his second row with alcohol and drugs Prateik recalls on losing out on several projects: “I felt like the industry was being unfair to me. When I slipped back to self-destruction the films were getting shelved as I was too drugged up to say my dialogues or show up on set. Then I had a slump in my career. Everything was just so fast, I didn’t understand. It was overwhelming for me. Everything, the politics, the vices, and then I crashed, everything came crumbling down.”

However, for Prateik the most disappointing loss was two years before him slipping into drugs. “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,” he names, adding, “I was locked to play the role of Milkha. I remember Ranveer Singh walked out of the audition room, and I walked in. They just stopped the audition as they found what they were looking for. I started readings with Prasoon Joshi. I was shooting in Udaipur for Aarakshan

and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, came to see me. When it came to locking the commercials, my then manager told me they would handle it. I was 23-year-old, I didn’t know what to talk about money. But my agency ghosted them. Three weeks later I found out Farhan Akhtar was doing it. I am still disappointed."

Prateik married Sanya Sagar in 2019, however, soon the two decided to split. Prateik has never opened up about what went wrong in that marriage. He, however, shares, “We were in love. That’s why we married. I want to give that relationship all the respect that it deserved. We were two different people. We didn’t have time to figure each other out. And I think it is extremely important to figure each other out before you jump into a marriage or something concrete. It (The marriage) was rushed. There was some family pressure. I was 32, and I wanted to have kids by 35.” Prateik and Sanya’s divorce came through on January 31 earlier this year.

Calling the divorce “complicated”, Prateik adds, “It was heartbreaking. I was an absolute mess for a really long time. I got married for all the wrong reasons. We thought we would figure out love and compatibility on our way. (But) It doesn’t work like that. You need to figure out everything before. Emotional frustrations led to bad choices and decisions. I felt betrayed in my marriage. But (in retrospect) if that marriage had not failed, I wouldn’t have met the woman in my life today.”

The woman in Prateik’s life is actress Priya Banerjee. The two have been seeing each other since 2020, however, they only made the relationship official earlier this year on Valentine’s Day. “I am so blessed and fortunate to have Priya. I have made so many mistakes, but I must have done something right for such a wonderful woman to come in my life. I was separated, going through divorce and Priya had broken off her engagement. It was then, when I slipped into her DMs in 2020. When we kissed first, it was game over. I knew it (she is the one). I was hesitant initially due to my divorce and how complicated it was. But she is my home. I am more obsessed with her,” he signs off.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s upcoming film, Karna, has been in the news ever since there was chatter about the filmmaker roping in Tamil actor Suriya in the titular role — marking his Hindi film debut. Now, we have learnt that Nayanthara, too, has been approached for the film.

A source tells us, “There were major discussions going on regarding the female star in the film. Earlier, Disha Patani (actor) was being considered, but that is surely not happening anymore.”

According to the insider, Mehra is hoping to get an ensemble cast of actors from across industries on board for the “big-scale project”.

“Rakeysh will also try to get Priyanka (Chopra Jonas, actor), but only if Nayanthara gives a nod. The aim is to make something stellar like Atlee’s Jawan, which includes stars from both the industries. So, it is going to be a star-studded cast. The film will be shot on a massive scale with a huge budget.”

Karna will be based on the character from Mahabharata — the son of Surya, the sun god, and princess Kunti. The shooting will start early next year. “The mythological period drama will go on floors in January 2024. It will be a multilingual, pan-India film, split into two parts,” the insider shares.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra had once said that the first-ever film he wanted to make was Devdas. However, in 2001, he made his directorial debut with Amitabh Bachchan and Raveena Tandon-starrer Aks. Now, many years down the line, Mehra still wishes to make Devdas some day.

He tells us, “It is a great subject. The story has always touched me deeply whenever I have read it. I don’t know whether I want to modernize it or if I want to set it in that period in Bengal. Ek baar woh bulb jalega toh shuru ho jayegi kahani. At this point, I can say that my take on the story is very different.”

Currently, the buzz about Mehra working on Karna is being talked about. As per reports, it is going to be a mythological film based on Karna from the epic saga Mahabharat.

Ask Mehra, how he plans to go about the film given that executing movies in this genre is quite challenging, and he says, “When I work on anything, I just shut myself out from everything around. Otherwise, be it the music, how the scenes are shot or the wardrobe is designed, it can influence you and it creeps into your work. Also, I don’t want it to get into what will work and what won’t. Woh sab smart logon ki baatein hai and I am not that smart. I want to do something that I love, tell a story that I believe in and have great fun doing that. I know it is going to be hard work… creating a universe and all that would be fun.”

While the project keeps him busy, he shares that there are two other scripts that he is simultaneously working on and doesn’t know which film, out of the three, he will go ahead with. He says, “One is a comedy, but has a life lesson. It won’t be an easy film to make because comedy is the hardest genre. It is not a slapstick film. The other is a caper (a subgenre of crime film). I haven’t done a caper yet, and I just love that genre.”

It has been a decade since the release of the iconic sports biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and to commemorate this remarkable milestone, the team behind the film has decided to bring it back to the silver screen. The Farhan Akhtar-starrer, which gained immense love and acclaim upon its initial release, will be re-released on August 6, across 30 cities, allowing audiences to relive the inspiring journey of the legendary track and field athlete, Milkha Singh. This version will be available for the aurally challenged in Indian Sign Language (ISL).

Its director, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, tells us, “As a homage to (late) Milkha sir, we are holding a special screening too. His daughter is joining us, and his son, Jeev (professional golfer), who is playing a tournament in London, will try to join us in Mumbai.”

The movie’s impact on audiences has been profound, transcending borders and inspiring countless individuals. Mehra reminisced about the film’s journey, stating, “The movie means different things to different people and has inspired many, not just sportsmen. The movie doesn’t belong to me; it belongs to the people.”

- One of the interesting trivia surrounding the making of the movie is the exhaustive search for the young Milkha Singh. We auditioned nearly 2,800 children before discovering the perfect fit in a Punjab eatery.

- The movie has a scene where the Indian athlete contingent crosses the border. I was shooting at Ferozepur; we were with the BSF, and I was keen to see the bus enter Pakistan. I asked our officers to request the Pak officer if I could step into their country just to shoot this scene. And he actually allowed us! We walked inside without our passport or visa for 50 metres.

- In a scene Milkha, reunites with his sister, played by actor Divya Dutta, while she is washing utensils with ash. The moment I said cut, Divya started washing her hands with cold water. The art department forgot to separate the hot coal from the ashes, but Divya didn’t flinch even once.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s celebrated biographical sports drama Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (BMB) completed 10 years yesterday. Farhan Akhtar, who ably carried the huge responsibility of essaying the Flying Sikh on his sculpted shoulders, looks back at the film, its legacy and his own casting that was judged by many and other finer details in this interaction with BT. Read on...

My opinion on this will be biased because I truly loved the film. I genuinely believe without a doubt that it’s a well-made film with a powerful story. I am just very fortunate to be in it. I would have loved it as much if it was someone else’s. I agree with what Aamir has said that films that can stand the test of time, are the ones that mean something. They change the way you think or perceive and approach life. When you leave the theatre thinking something inside you has inherently changed, that emotion will always stay with you. I feel BMB is one such film.

It speaks about the triumph of the human will, of achieving things in the face of the most incredible odds and biggest adversities. It’s a tremendous human story of rising from nothing to great heights, which makes it so inspirational. What sets the film apart is how grounded and rooted the story is. It is a human story told in a simple, organic way by Rakeysh and Prasoon Joshi (writer). It didn’t manipulate you. From Milkha ji running for milk… to all the real-life moments of his life placed in the right order, touched people’s hearts. The film put the spotlight back on athletics and the role of fitness in one’s life. BMB has a legacy of its own.

We were talking about a person’s life story from the time that he was a little boy, all the way to his 20s. It required the viewer to feel what Milkha ji sees in the end, that cathartic moment when he goes to Pakistan and faces his past. That needed an understanding of the hell that he went through and his arduous life journey, so I never had any issues with the length of the film. There are many people who were moved by the film, and they too will disagree with this point of view. I feel these things are also subjective. Two people sitting next to each other in a theatre can have completely different opinions.

Any form of adversity can lead to two things - you either crumble under pressure or you rise, face it and challenge it in the best possible way. I have always been someone who likes to challenge the status quo. It’s difficult for me to fall prey to a popular opinion or an opinion that someone has of me that I don’t agree with. It gave me a great impetus to perform better, to prove anybody who may have had a doubt about me in their head, wrong. It was one of the many driving forces through the making of that film. I feel that when it comes to casting, films have a destiny. I have directed and written films. When I start writing them, I have certain actors in mind, and it pans out differently. You end up working with someone else. When you look back, you realise that no one could have done it better than the one who made the cut. Films have a destiny. They eventually attract the cast that is right for them and vice versa. It’s what Rumi says, ‘What you seek is seeking you’.

It’s the entire process. Right from meeting Rakeysh in the edit studio where he first told me about the film until the final day of the shoot, I remember everything vividly. The most striking memory is of me meeting Milkha ji and his family for the first time and hearing his story from him. The lasting impression, the one that has stayed with me is seeing other sportsmen around Milkha Singh and the respect he commanded. They looked up to him for motivation and he took time regardless of what he was doing to speak with each and every athlete that he met. He asked them about their training and goals. For me that was fulfilling to see and learn from. Not many people know that Milkha ji came to our set just once. We were shooting one of the races in Delhi and I remember asking him why he won’t come again. He said it was a life he had lived a long time ago and seeing it happen again would bring back too many memories, so he’d just wait and watch the film instead.

He spoke about his life in detail but otherwise he was a man of few words. He told me, “The only thing I expect from you is for you to work hard.” As an athlete he worked harder than anyone else. He is remembered for that. In that vein, as an actor my attempt was for people to recognize that hard work. My fuel for discipline came from him asking me, ‘I hope you are working hard (smiles).”

Whenever you need to undergo any sort of transformation in a shorter span of time, it’s essential to have a good team around you. I had the best people around me. It was less about what the body is going to look like and more about how I am going to feel as an athlete. To get into the mindset of an athlete was the larger challenge. When you train that hard, the body eventually follows. Your muscles don’t have a choice. The body will start looking good. It’s about getting the discipline of an athlete right. No matter where your friends are heading, who is celebrating what anniversary, you need to sleep, eat and work out on time. That for me was the bigger challenge.

Especially when you are portraying someone flesh and blood, bringing someone’s real story to screen, there is always doubt. It keeps you on your toes. The minute you take things for granted, ‘oh I can do this with my eyes closed’ mindset, is when you begin to make mistakes. Going back to your earlier question, of someone asking me ‘Why you’ for this film, it’s a reason to perform better. It’s walking a really fine line between being confident in the performance but at the same time having an element of doubt. Someone as incredibly gifted as Mike Tyson, has said that every time he walked into a ring, he would portray that he was the most confident boxer who cannot be beaten but, on the inside, he was anxious. Instead of suppressing, you need to channelize that worry as your fuel.

The role (of Subhas Chandra Bose in Shyam Benegal’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero) changed me as an actor and as a person as well. It was academically enriching. Until that role became my second nature, we didn’t start shooting for it. In fact, the character stayed with me even after the film was made and released in theatres. As a part of the prep that went for around six months, I read as many books as used for reference to the script. In fact, I lived the character for almost three years. It, by far, remains my best work. As we complete 75 years of Independence, I feel the younger generation must go back to read about our leaders, or at least watch films to be aware. — Sachin Khedekar, actor Subhas Chandra Bose

When you do a film on a freedom fighter, it leaves a huge impact on you. Going back to that history makes you realise how important it is for an individual to do something more for the nation. You live the character for 60-70 days of shoot and that influences the kind of vision you have for your country. I am lucky to have played Bhagat Singh (in Shaheed-e-Azam). My mother, a history professor, used to share books on our fight for independence. Right from my school days, I would read and watch such films. For everyone who is associated with a patriotic film — be it the technician or the audience — it changes everything. For me, Independence Day is not just about hoisting flags, but touching the lives of fellow Indians. There should be a special period where students learn about their country, their duties as a citizen and humanity. These things will prompt the newer generation to think more about the nation. — Sonu Sood, actor

For Rang De Basanti, apart from understanding the ideologies that the freedom fighters believed in, I didn’t do much research for my role (of Rajguru). But just hearing their stories inspired all of us. The kind of sacrifices our men made for our country… everyone has the right to freedom and these brave men fought for that. For me, patriotism means respect and love for the land you live on. It also means to respect and love the others who live on the land. I hope a day comes when the whole world becomes one nation — Sharman Joshi, actor

I always wanted to make a film about the armed revolution and the young guns of India who stood up against the British Raj because it made me wonder why these 20-something boys picked up the gun and walked to the gallows for the country with a smile. Patriotism means different things to different people. I wouldn’t call Rang De Basanti a patriotic film; it was about a generation waking up. You want to make the country perfect? Dirty your hands with running the country.

We all criticize the machinery like fence dwellers. When I found myself in the director’s chair, I felt I had a chance. — Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, director

When I made Bharathi, I wrote the screenplay with the intention of bringing Subramania Bharathiyar’s multifaceted nature on screen. Bharathi’s inability to work under a feudal king, joining forces with other extremist leaders in the freedom struggle, composing songs about nationalism and independence, resisting the British rule through newspapers and cartoons, his emphasis on women’s emancipation... I wanted the film to talk about it all. When you make a biopic on someone like Bharathi, it doesn’t stop with being a documentation of a life of a personality, but also becomes a film that reminds us of patriotism and our duty to the nation. — Gnana Rajasekaran, director

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— With inputs from V Lakshmi, Onkar Kulkarni, Preeti Atulkar, Rachana Dubey, Ruman Ganguly, M Suganth and Sunayana Suresh

In her almost three-decade-long career, Divya Dutta has come a long way since being that girl from a small town trying to realise her dreams with no backing and zero experience. The actress, who has never shied away from experimenting with genres and roles, is set to play the antagonist in the upcoming film Dhaakad, which hits the screens on May 20. In a conversation with BT, Divya talks about how she is excited that plenty of roles are being written for her today and that she has emerged as a star-actor. Excerpts:

It is an evil role. There are two antagonists in the film — Rohini, the mafia queen played by me, and the other is Rudraveer, essayed by Arjun Rampal. Razy (director Razneesh 'Razy' Ghai) said he wanted me to do that role, and no one else. I just loved the graph of the character and the way he has worked on the look. Besides, the film is a spy action thriller spearheaded by an actress (Kangana Ranaut), and Arjun and me coming together as antagonists made it an interesting combination. I hadn’t done something as mad as this before. Sometimes, such mean streaks would come out of me during the shoot, which was not in the script that I’d wonder where it came from (laughs!). Kangana is a fabulous actor, and I’ve enjoyed every moment that I have shared with her on the screen. I haven’t seen the film yet, but karte waqt, it felt like we were working on a bombshell of a movie. I had a blast shooting for the film. My years of hard work have borne fruits, and I am now getting roles that are written for me.

Not at all. In fact, the journey has been beautiful. The role that heroines are doing now, I had started doing those with Veer-Zaara (2004), and I have been doing them for the past 15 years. I didn’t know what was going to happen after that. But the times are good now; amazing roles are being written for women.

It’s a recent phenomenon with OTT; it changed a lot of things. For a long time, we had been star-driven about many aspects and following a formulaic approach, which changed in the past five years. Now, the audience is expecting diverse content. In that given space, female characters have got a lot of layers. Pehle woh good girl ya bad girl hoti thi, now we can see a lot of grey characters. Personally, I can’t thank my mother enough for guiding me so well, especially when I didn’t have any backing. She said, “No one is going to make a film for you, so you have to prove that you are a good actor. Go out there, give that X-factor, make them notice you and write roles for you.” It’s so amazing that she has been proven right. It’s been an enriching journey to carve my own path. You do fall a few times, but it’s great when you can look back and smile when your hard work pays off.

How many superstars do we have today? Stardom is not consistent, and it keeps changing with the box-office numbers. Besides, no one is chasing superstardom anymore, except in films. OTT is such a democratic medium that a superstar, a good actor and a newcomer are in the same space and frame. A twitch of a finger decides what you want to watch. What feels nice is to be called a star-actor. I always wanted to be called that. Yeh bahut kam hota hai, aur auraton mein toh bahut hi kam hota hai.

Yes, it happened with Veer-Zaara. I remember being extremely apprehensive about appearing in the friend zone in a Yash Chopra film. I wanted to be in those chiffon sarees dancing to beautiful songs, but Adi (Aditya Chopra) said that when you look back, you’ll be happy that you did Veer-Zaara. I trusted his conviction. When I got out of the film’s premiere, I was mobbed. So, in an unconventional way, I was actually re-launched by Yash Chopra.

But the fear of getting typecast started hounding me as I was inundated with similar offers — a vivacious Punjabi woman. After sitting at home for a year, I got Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi-6 (2009), in which I played Jalebi, a non-Punjaban. I realised that there are two kinds of directors — one who sets examples by having a different vision and the other who follows them. So, I chose to work with directors who could visualise me differently. I love it when directors say, ‘Tu hi karegi!’ Their faith excites me like a child and pushes me to do much more.

When we get on a call with Mrunal Thakur to discuss her Best Actor (Female): Film nomination at the mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards, she reveals that she happened to meet Vidya Balan the day the nominations were announced. “My family was overjoyed when they realised that I am in the same category as my favourite actress,” says Thakur, whose performance in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Toofaan has made her a contender for the trophy.

A quick glance at the Best Actor (Female) list, and it is easy to notice the shift in Bollywood. Women characters no longer service the leading men of movies. While Toofaan tells the story of Farhan Akhtar’s character, Thakur’s Ananya is a catalyst to the narrative. “Farhan and Rakeysh sir are so comfortable in their skin that they don’t need to diminish the shine of the women, to make their hero shine. I am grateful to Nikkhil Advani who showed some footage of Batla House [2019] to Rakeysh sir, which helped me get an audition. It’s a big deal to learn under Rakeysh sir at such a nascent stage in my career.”

The opportunity to work with Mehra aside, Thakur was drawn to the film as it consciously subverted several industry tropes, and highlighted a woman’s agency over her life decisions. “There is a scene at Bandra Fort, in which Ananya kisses Ajju [Akhtar’s character]. We’ve seen women being [wooed] by men in movies. This is a small change, where she takes the first step and doesn’t wait for the man to [woo] her. Filmmakers need to write more of such characters where small steps towards owning agency are established.”

The actor asserts that depicting independent women on screen effects changes, big and small, in ways we can hardly imagine. She cites an example where a woman thanked her for sporting short hair in Toofaan. “She said, ‘When I saw you, I asked my mother-in-law and husband that if an actress can have short hair, why can’t I? I finally got their permission to cut my hair short.’ After that conversation, I wondered why a young woman thinks she needs permission to decide on the length of her hair. Normalising women with agency on screen has a permeating impact. I have been spoiled by Farhan and Rakeysh, who gave me so much courage and confidence to play this part.”

Did you know

This was the first time Paresh Rawal and Farhan Akhtar worked together in a film. The boxers in Toofaan were all real-life boxers

Cast your vote for the Hitlist OTT Awards

Mrunal Thakur has been nominated in the Best Actor (Female): Film category for Toofaan. The other nominees are:

- Kiara Advani (Shershaah)

- Konkona Sen Sharma (Geeli Pucchi, Ajeeb Daastaans)

- Sanya Malhotra (Pagglait)

- Taapsee Pannu (Rashmi Rocket)

- Vidya Balan (Sherni)

Log on to www.radiocity.in/hitlistawards to cast your vote.

You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c as on the website) to 57575.

Voting lines close on March 18.

Lata Mangeshkar, who was a big fan of cricket, helped the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gather money to reward the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team. The concert was a hit, and BCCI paid Rs. 1 lakh to each player from the concert money. As an honorary gesture, the BCCI always had two tickets reserved for her for every international match played in India. 

Not many know that actor Shraddha Kapoor’s late maternal grandfather, singer Pandit Pandharinath Kolhapure, was Mangeshkar’s cousin. She was referred to as aaji by Kapoor. Mangeshkar also adored former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who referred to her as aai. “I can never forget the day he called me aai for the first time,” she had said.

At the age of five, she started acting in her father Deenanath Mangeshkar’s (actor-singer) Marathi musical plays. She also had a small role in the first Hindi film by Master Vinayak, Bari Ma (1945). As a producer, she worked on the Marathi film Vadai (1953) and Hindi films Jhaanjhar (1953), Kanchan (1955) and Lekin (1990).

On the 10th anniversary of Rang De Basanti (2006), director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra revealed that Mangeshkar stood for eight hours to record the song Luka Chuppi: “She stood at the mic, we were in the room. We kept some flowers, a bottle of water and a chair for her. (But) for eight hours, she sang the song and stood there.”

The Queen of Melody loved music so much that on her first day of school, she started giving music lessons to other kids. As per reports, when the teacher asked her to stop, she got offended and left, never to return. However, she got honorary doctorates from six universities, including New York University, according to a report by One India.

Mangeshkar stayed unmarried and maintained a dignified silence on any reports of linkups. In a 2013 interview with Hindustan Times, she said, “There are some things only for the heart to know. Let me keep it that way.”