From Bobby to Manisha Koirala, Sushmita to Sanjay Kapoor, it’s second innings for a host of nineties stars
Sonam Joshi (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 6, 2020)

Whatever happened to Chandrachur Singh? That was pretty much the question on the minds of those who remembered his performance in the Gulzar-directed Maachis in 1996. The role got him a Filmfare award, and plenty of critical acclaim but not too much else. Cut to 2020, the 54-year-old, who had been quietly raising his son as a single parent in Dehradun, returned to the public eye with family crime drama Aarya, which also brought back Jayant Kripalani and Sushmita Sen after a hiatus.

“My priorities were clear — I needed to be a parent. Also, I wasn’t getting the kind of offers I was hoping to get but the role Ram Madhvani offered resonated with me because Tej (who he plays) loves music and is a family man like me,” says Singh.

In the last few years, many actors who began their careers on the big screen in the 1990s and then faded away are now returning to the small screen in newer avatars through streaming platforms. There’s Sanjay Kapoor playing a father in Coronavirus lockdown thriller The Gone Game, Karisma Kapoor as a mother in Mentalhood, Bobby Deol as a godman in Aashram and police officer in Class Of '83 and Manisha Koirala as a Irani cafe owner in Maska, among others.

Casting director Abhimanyu Ray, who worked on Aarya and Class of '83 after himself taking a decade-long break from the movie industry, says Bollywood has often been judgmental towards actors perceived to be carrying baggage. “Filmmakers are afraid of taking chances and often actors are cast by what they’ve been seen in,” he says. “The downside is you get tired of seeing the same face portray the same characters again and again.” Talking about the positive response to Aarya, he adds, “These people have existed; it isn’t as if they were pulled out of a Pandora’s box, but the question is why have such good actors been forgotten?”

Ray also attributes this to mainstream actors’ aversion to web series until recently. “Many would think it would be a step down for them,” he says. “So one had to dig deeper and find actors who are talented but haven’t been around for a while.”

Actors are also willing to play their age now, and open to sharing the screen with other actors rather than hankering for the central role, says Karishma Kohli, who directed Karisma Kapoor along with an ensemble cast of Dino Morea, Shruti Seth and Sandhya Mridul in Mentalhood. “I was in awe of Lolo and stood with my jaw open on the first day of the shoot,” she recalls. Mentalhood’s casting director Aadore Mukherjee, who recently cast Bhagyashree and Sharon Prabhakar in a film and series respectively, credits “better content and good scriptwriters for bringing back actors to our screens”.

For viewers, seeing these familiar faces in a new avatar often invokes curiosity and nostalgia. Casting director Seher Latif, who picked Koirala for Maska, says the web offers freedom from box office pressure, thus opening up opportunities. About Koirala, he says, “We felt it would be a nice meaty role we’ve never seen her in before, and she also relished the challenge of working on the Parsi diction.”

Actor Sanjay Kapoor, who essayed the role of a father to a grown-up son in the series The Gone Game, says web series allow for more character development by virtue of their length. “The digital medium has given a platform to many actors who couldn’t make a mark in films, including me — I’m getting this kind of recognition after 25 years.”

Kapoor, who had shifted from acting to production due to lack of good roles, already has two other web shows on the cards. “The opportunities have definitely increased and I can do a greater variety of roles than a decade ago. Every character gets their due because of the longer format,” he says.

The fact that actors like Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta can play leads in their 40s, something unheard of in mainstream films, also indicates a lesser degree of ageism and gender bias on OTT platforms. “When I narrated the script of Hundred to Lara, she said she’d never thought she’d be getting such a meaty role at this age,” says showrunner, creator and co-director Ruchi Narain. She points out that it is also difficult to tell the stories of strong older women in films “where everything other than a story of a young hero is considered fringe”.

Madhvani, who had worked with Sen on a commercial, says he approached her because she embodied the qualities of Aarya: “A woman who is confident, strong-willed, graceful, poised, someone who loves her family and children and would do anything to keep them safe”. He feels that for the audience to be invested in the characters and the relationships, the correct casting is of prime importance. “Tej’s character needed to be someone who was charming, innocent and lovable; Chandrachur had all these qualities along with a certain purity.”

Veteran actor Jayant Kripalani, 70, who plays Sen’s father, says it was the opportunity to play an underworld drug don that drew him to the role. “Web series are definitely a lot more adventurous and take risks with stories,” says Kripalani, who has been working on Bengali OTT shows in the last couple of years. “They fall somewhere between theatre and TV, giving an actor scope to do things they couldn’t do in front of a camera but could in front of a live audience.”

However, Ray adds that it is important that filmmakers keep thinking in imaginative ways. “It shouldn’t be the case that the actors who are now getting popular are used again and again,” he says. 

Talking about the emotional turmoil of a cop in Hundred, Lara Dutta on why she picked the web show for her comeback
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; May 3, 2020)

Last seen in Welcome To New York (2018), Lara Dutta Bhupathi is back on the scene with the web series, Hundred, which marks her digital debut. "It just fell into place. I wasn't actively looking for anything. I thought it would be interesting to be part of the web culture."

The offer landed in her lap rather suddenly. "Though I have known Ruchi [director Narain] for years, we never spoke about working together. I always wanted to be directed by a woman. I like her work, so, I thought I'd give it a shot when she made the offer."

At odds with the roles she has played in Bollywood till date, her character in Hundred was age-appropriate. Dutta's Soumya Shukla is a cop, a part she has never played before. "The experience was educational. I needed to get the body language and nuances on point. I even met a couple of women DCPs to get a better insight."

Digging deep into her character, Dutta says she hasn't explored a role that is as layered as this one. "[She is] ambitious, unapologetic and frustrated, and also faces issues in her marital life. There were so many aspects to her persona that intrigued me."

What also drew her to the show was co-star Rinku Rajguru, best remembered for Sairaat (2016). "We are generations apart. I thought we would make for an interesting combo. We come from different worlds."

Shooting for the Hotstar web series in different locations of Mumbai was an eye-opener. "Despite living in Mumbai for 25 years, I didn't realise how much more there is to the city. I got to see the gritty underbelly as we shot in real locations."

Despite hubby, tennis champ Mahesh Bhupathi, being her sounding board, she refers to daughter Saira as her biggest critic. "She is excited to see me on screen, but also keeps critiquing."

A week after the release of Kiara Advani-starrer Guilty, newbie Gurfateh Pirzada on making his debut with the role of rape accused
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 14, 2020)

In an industry that is quick to stereotype actors, picking a role with shades of grey for a debut offering wouldn't be considered an ideal choice. But, discussing last week's Netflix release, Guilty, newbie Gurfateh Pirzada says he couldn't have asked for a better launchpad.

"Performances are key in films like this one. People are talking about it. Also, I am interested in scripts that encourage a positive shift in mindsets. It was an ideal start to my career because young people will learn from this," says Pirzada.

Slipping into the role of a college hottie in a film headlined by Kiara Advani, he plays the part of VJ, who thrives on people's attention. "He likes being liked. I needed the audience to fall in love with him. He is a nice guy, but a single night makes evident everything that is wrong with him. Ruchi [Narain, director] didn't want him to feel guilty [about his acts]. I had to showcase him as one who is oblivious to the fact that he has crossed the line. [When] a girl throws herself at him, VJ fails to understand at which point [the intimacy] stops being consensual. [In our society] there isn't enough education on consent. We hope the film [makes evident that] consent is not [based on] perceptions."

In a previous interview, and referring to her last release, Kabir Singh, Advani had apparently suggested that the makers wondered whether giving the protagonist Kabir a happy ending would invite controversy — which it eventually did — owing to his abusive nature. In contrast to that offering, Pirzada's VJ is seen "accepting his punishment". Asserting that actors must "mirror what's happening in society", he says artistes must encourage offerings that bring such conversations to dinner tables.

"The discourse around the #MeToo movement will shift, one film at a time. I hope our movie created the fire needed for this discussion."

Upala KBR (MID-DAY; June 28, 2019)

Kiara Advani has little time to bask in the box-office success of Kabir Singh. The actor has dived headlong into the shoot of Netflix's original, Guilty, in Delhi. The web film, produced by Karan Johar's Dharmatic and marking her second digital outing after Lust Stories (2018), sees her as a rebel musician who stands by her boyfriend when he is accused of rape. Turns out, Advani was keen to explore a headstrong character after having played the submissive girlfriend in her recent outing.

A trade source reveals, "Karan was one of the first people to recognise Kiara's talent and of late, has become invested in her career. When the final script of Guilty was ready, Karan Johar thought that the lead character — who is rebellious and has a don't-give-a-damn attitude — would be a change of pace for her. Kiara too understood that the Ruchi Narain-directed film will give her the opportunity to drive the narrative as the script unfolds from the woman's perspective.

The material gives her enough scope as an artiste — while she starts out as an opinionated girl who believes in her boyfriend's innocence, doubts arise as she delves deeper into the incident. So excited was she to slip into the part that she offered to colour her hair ash-blonde instead of sporting a wig, to achieve the grunge look."

Netflix remained unavailable for comment.

Top of the line talent and a robust #MeToo programme at the fest which runs from October 25 to November 1
MUMBAI MIRROR (October 25, 2018)

With Jio MAMI 20th Mumbai Film Festival with Star celebrating a milestone, it’s hardly a surprise that this year the festival will rise beyond anything it has done before. From the vast selection of films that will screen to the talent that will attend, Mumbai will play host to India’s most exciting and leading film festival. While the festival celebrates films from India and across the world, MAMI Mumbai Film Festival is not just about the films but the discussions and conversations that surround it. So, while you are planning your week’s itinerary, here’s our top 5 reasons to make the festival a part of your week!

Smriti Kiran, Creative Director, said, “It is a very difficult time. We move into a celebration of cinema with a broken heart but with a resolve to keep the conversation going. The lineup this year is the best we have managed both in terms of talent and films. We are hoping that this 20-year milestone is the starting point to a new chapter both for MAMI and for the industry.”

Incredible line-up of films…
The ‘World Cinema’ category will screen 64 films from 43 countries in 37 languages and include 14 female directors, ranging from Chile, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Canada and Poland to some closer to home from the subcontinent such as Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Singapore, in languages like Azeri, Icelandic, Hebrew and Guizhou Dialect to Sinhala, Swahili, Tagalog and Wayunikee. While the category is known to feature some true masters of cinema like Lee Chang-dong, Paweł Pawlikowski, Jafar Panahi, Jean-Luc Godard, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Jia Zhangke, Alfonso Cuarón, Hong Sang-soo and Hirokazu Kore-eda, the festival will also celebrate favourites like BlacKkKlansman (Cannes Film Festival), Sorry to Bother You (Sundance Film Festival), Rafiki (the first Kenyan film to be selected at Cannes Film Festival), Berlinale winner Mug by Małgorzata Szumowska and Sundance winner The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Desiree Akhavan.

Local heroes: Indian filmmakers
The selection this year is a cauldron filled with India’s delicious cultural diversity. It spans multiple states and languages including Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and Gaddi. This special edition of the festival marks the return of a host of creators from the Jio MAMI with Star family. Aadish Keluskar (his film Kaul won the Young Critics Choice Award in 2015) returns to the competition section with his latest Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil and Rima Das returns with her third feature Bulbul Can Sing — a coming of age tale and her third consecutive feature at the festival after Man With The Binoculars (2016) and Village Rockstars (2017).

#MeToo Programme at the Festival….
The #Metoo movement has taken the country by storm and is fast gaining momentum. Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star stands in solidarity with the movement and with the complainants. The festival not only supports the movement but would like it to continue to evolve into a more nuanced discussion that brings clarity and solutions.

The #MeToo programme at the festival is curated by filmmaker Ruchi Narain. There are 3 conversations and one workshop planned as part of the programme. The speakers include Aamir Khan, Parvathy, Kabir Khan, Anjali Menon, Shonali Bose, Renuka Shahane. The workshop on Sexual Harrassment at the workshop will be conducted by Anusha Khan and Asiya Shervani. The discussions will be moderated by Ruchi Narain and journalist Deepanjana Pal.

Masters and masterclasses…
While the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) will screen over 200 films in the coming week, one of the biggest highlights of the festival this year are the Masterclasses by some of the world’s most renowned and accomplished personalities in film. Filmmakers Darren Aronofsky, Sean Baker and Lucrecia Martel will talk about their work and interact with the legions of fans they have in the country.

Experience India gold and world premieres…
The prestigious India Gold section is the exclusive competition category for the latest Indian films from across the country. Jio MAMI with Star will premiere 8 top of the line Indian Films in competition this year. This includes three world premieres with Ridham Janve’s The Gold-Laden Sheep and The Sacred Mountain, Aadish Keluskar’s Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil and Vinit Chandrasekharan’s Buddha. Watched by a Jury of esteemed film personalities from around the world, the India Gold Selection is a platform that has premiered breakout films like Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court, Gurvinder Singh’s Chauthi Koot, Raam Reddy’s Thithi, Rima Das’ Village Rockstars, Shlok Sharma’s Haraamkhor and Avinash Arun’s Killa.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 15, 2018)

After Producers Guild of India and the Screenwriters Association, who have set up anti-harassment committees in the wake of #MeToo in Bollywood, 11 women filmmakers have joined hands to lend support of the movement.

Alankrita Shrivastava, Gauri Shinde, Kiran Rao, Konkona Sen Sharma, Meghna Gulzar, Nandita Das, Nitya Mehra, Reema Kagti, Ruchi Narain, Shonali Bose and Zoya Akhtar, released a joint statement on Sunday. “We are here to spread awareness and to help create a safe and equal atmosphere for all in the workplace. We have also taken a stand to not work with proven offenders. We urge all our peers in the industry to do the same,” the statement read.

Lipstick Under My Burkha director Alankrita feels that #MeToo has come to India as a cry against a system that has failed women. “It is about social change against toxic masculinity and normalised misogyny. I think we all felt the need to let the women in the industry know that they are not alone and ended up reaching out to each other to make it happen. It is a shout-out to our peers to come together to create a more equitable film industry. The Women in Cinema Collective is already doing some fantastic work in the Malayalam film industry. I hope that we can work towards forming a solid network of female filmmakers who can be a voice of change,” she said.

Dear Zindagi director Gauri Shinde is positive that more women filmmakers from across the country will join in and make it a substantial movement, while Ruchi Narain who has written Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and directed Kal: Yesterday and Tomorrow, told Mirror, “Too many men have abused their power to prey on, assault and intimidate women for too long. We want to add our support to the voices of these women and others who are yet to come forward, so they feel empowered and safe in their lives and jobs to stand up for themselves. The balance in the business needs to change and move towards equal opportunity.”

While a thousand films are made annually in India, barely 30 are children’s flicks and only a handful of them get a decent release. And no, we’re not ‘kidding’
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; November 14, 2017)

Celebrated poet and writer Gulzar, while addressing a festival called Jashn-e-Bachpan had said, “It’s not that writers don’t love kids. To identify with children, you have to put yourself in their place and get involved with them. This doesn’t happen as often as it does with adults. And it is because of this lack of identification that so few films are being made or fewer pieces of lyrics written for kids.” Evidently, his words ring true. And as you read this, the 20th Children’s Film Festival of India — that started in Telangana on November 8, concludes today and not many are even aware of it.

Gulzar leads the pack of torchbearers of children’s content across literature and films in India. While mainstream Bollywood has a countable number of movies that cater to children, Hollywood studios have continued to flood the Indian market with their animated and feature content aimed for the knee-high audiences, year on year. Odds are possibly stacked against desi filmmakers, which coaxes them to think more mainstream and adult entertainment.

For example: In the 1960s, Satyajit Ray toyed with the idea of making Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. The fantasy adventure took several years in the making and on release, it worked commercially and also won the Best Picture Award at the National Film Awards in 1970. It took over three decades for Shwaas, another child-focussed film, albeit in Marathi, to win this coveted award. Moreover, it was also India’s official entry for the Oscars. Incidentally, the first film to ever win the National Award was Shyamchi Aai (1953), which revolved around a poor child and his mother. While it’s often debated whether a film made for kids only centres around them or appeals only to them, what is indisputable is that children’s cinema in India is not only underfunded, but is also under-evolved and under-consumed.

Institutions like the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) have been struggling to create and present content catering to children despite subsidies from the government to champion the cause. Rajan Khosa’s Gattu was among the last films that came out of CFSI. Shilpa Ranade’s Goopy Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya, an animated take on Satyajit Ray’s Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, made rounds of the international festivals, but failed to get a theatrical release in the domestic market. Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak, which won the National Award for Best Children’s Film and Grand Prix for Best Feature and Special Mention of Children’s Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival 2015, met with a similar fate; the only difference is that it didn’t get a wide enough release.

Not surprising then, that Indian filmmakers claim that lack of funds, poor distribution and exhibition machinery, and the general apathy of parents towards children’s content are together responsible for the despicable condition of the genre that continues to remain out of bounds for them. Hollywood, of course, continues to milk it, quantitatively and qualitatively, with its far superior content. About a dozen movies are released in India annually: The Jungle Book, Finding Dory, Boss Baby, the superhero franchises and many more.

The home-grown market for children’s films is at an alarming low. According to certain trade researchers, it contributes not more than 0.2 per cent of the total box office collections every year. Amole Gupte, director of Stanley Ka Dabba and Hawaa Hawaai, says, “Most people don’t know when Sniff!!! released.”

Amole Gupte adds, “Sniff!!! was treated like a lawaris bachcha; a child buried before it could even breathe. The studio I partnered with had no faith in the film, although it backed some good adult films like Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and Newton. They didn’t bother marketing Sniff!!! or even letting it run in cinemas for more than a week, although we had floods in Mumbai that week and a curfew in the North, which means the footfall was low at cinemas anyway. When I showed it to children at pre-booked shows, they applauded it. I’m aware a lot of critics didn’t like it, but Sniff!!! was designed for kids and they liked it. Sometimes, adults have to keep their adult perspective aside. As a filmmaking industry, I have realised that we don’t respect children. We’ve failed them. You ‘kid’ them into watching what you, as adults, want to consume. As an adult, you get the scale of visuals you paid for and the child gets to see some fantasy. The fact that we use phrases like, ‘Don’t kid me or kid it down, yaar’ in our daily lingo shows how dumb we think kids really are when that’s not the case. If mainstream comedies are what we expose our kids to, how do we even expect them to engage in something that’s remotely meant only for them? They won’t know how to appreciate that. The only other bracket of films they can possibly enjoy is the fare that comes from Hollywood; though not every animated film or a film with kids is for them.”

Here’s a typical chicken-and-egg situation where the filmmaker blames the market forces and they push the blame back on the filmmaker. Amidst this tussle, children have found avenues to entertain themselves: TV shows, cartoon channels with dubbed versions of decade-old Chinese, Japanese and European shows and the web-streaming spaces apart from various films that are made in Hollywood.

Back on the home turf, apart from Sniff!!!, Ruchi Narain’s Hanuman Da Damdaar was the only other film that catered to little ones this year. When asked about the odds piled before a filmmaker backing children’s content, Ruchi points out that animation of international quality is expensive and the budgets in India for animation films are not even a small percentage of the Hollywood counterparts.

She elaborates, “Hollywood films can afford high budgets because they have a worldwide box office. Take The Jungle Book for instance. A Hindi animation film can’t be made at even five percent of that cost. While trying to get Hanuman Da Damdaar out, I realised that we were literally like trying to carve a market. It’s not a ready space waiting to consume children’s content. A lot of the mainstream films in India are made in a way that children can also accompany their parents to cinemas. As filmmakers, you are competing with the biggest Hindi blockbusters apart from Hollywood films for your kids’ viewing. Actually, there is no competition from Hollywood because they are the only ones who generate some differentiated content for kids. We make one-off films. Studios don’t largely encourage our films. Bodies like the CFSI are also given such tiny budgets that the outcome doesn’t match the content the kids are already consuming. At cinemas, children’s films are given morning shows, which are not only sold at lower ticket rates but are also difficult to fill because kids don’t come unaccompanied to a cinema hall. And on weekdays, most parents are away at work. So, monetarily, a kids’ film doesn’t make much money. In my case, the cinemas revised our shows to the evening slots, which was a relief.”

Even as filmmakers, few possess the ability to reach out to children as equals, without sermonising or giving them life lessons. A memorable children’s film, like Chillar Party has the ability to transcend age barriers and reach out to adults and children alike. Few would know that the film nearly didn’t take off for the lack of a director. Most filmmakers who were offered to direct, rejected the project citing the lack of a star face or a ‘compelling’ story. Eventually, Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl, who wrote the movie, decided to direct it together. “It’s an unfortunate scenario. Producers’ interest in backing any film is backed by box-office returns and we have many examples of monetarily successful kids’ films. That is the reason we see fewer kids’ films although there is a huge potential,” concedes Nitesh, adding, “I will credit Vikas for getting Chillar Party off the ground. We need more people with that conviction to push a film with 10 children and a stray dog. Unfortunate situation is that budgets are not decided by the script alone, it’s also about the star. With that in mind, what budget do you think a kids’ film will get? A kids’ film can have a star like Hrithik Roshan doing Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish which were happily consumed by them. As a parent, I don’t show every Hollywood animation film to my seven-year-olds and I am sure many feel that heat, too. We tap holiday weekends two years in advance but leave the summer vacations without releasing anything for kids.”

Writer Salim Khan, who wrote Mr India, one of most well-recalled children’s films ever, with his then-partner Javed Akhtar, agrees with Nitesh’s point of view. He firmly believes that a film with kids alone will find it difficult to secure any financial backing. “We have to acknowledge that a film sells on a star. Children’s films often lack stars and that’s why often they don’t even take off. A kiddie film with a star has more chances of working at the box office. Look at Haathi Mere Saathi, or for that matter, even Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The films had stories for children and were about children; but they had the backing of a star which got them a huge push. If people want to make films for kids, get a star to back it because remember, a child doesn’t watch a film alone. That is the intention we had when we wrote Mr India. Its sequel too should apply the same formula,” he says.

While filmmakers are still not rushing to make a film for kids, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has digressed from his usual lavish story-telling ways to make a simple drama, Mere Pyaar Prime Minister with kids from a slum in Mumbai. He believes, “You can’t direct children. They will direct you. They teach you so much about your craft. I had a wonderful time making my film with these little boys. It’s a story that has something for the child and for the parent. I’ve attempted to blend their interests in.”

Even though the current scenario of kids’ films seems bleak, future holds some hope. Vishal Bhardwaj, known to back children’s content, is constantly working on stories that can please a tot. Ruchi is also planning her next animation film for kids. And Amole, despite his last experience with Sniff, is raring to make an even better children’s film that before. He sums it up saying, “The only thing left out of a child’s plate is his or her share of entertainment. Even cartoons like Oggy And the Cockroaches are Bollywood comic caricatures of stars which don't satisfy kids. It’s such a shame! We don’t know how to respect our children. What you sow is what you will get. How can you expect kids’ cinema to work wonders here when it lacks basic encouragement from the parents in the audience? You want a desi Harry Potter without investing in it. I have been fighting a losing battle. In an insecure industry, children’s cinema comes below regional cinema in the pecking order. I am not Alice in Wonderland. I know making my next kids’ film will not be easy but my conviction in that cinema is full, not token. I don’t ‘kid’ the audience.”

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; May 16, 2017)

Urmila Matondkar will come out of her self-imposed hibernation on Thursday to launch the new version of the Lakdi Ki Kaathi track from her 1983 film, Masoom. The iconic children’s track is being reprised in Ruchi Narain’s animation flick, Hanuman Da Damdaar, which has Salman Khan, Kunal Kemmu, Raveena Tandon and Chunky Pandey doing voice-overs.

Written by Gulzar with music by RD Burman, the original was sung by a bunch of kids. The rehashed version has been composed by Abhishek Arora and crooned by a few child singers.

Ruchi, who scripted Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2005) and directed Kal – Yesterday And Tomorrow (2005), says she was initially apprehensive about approaching Urmila to unveil the song. “To my surprise, she agreed. Both the film and song are special to her.”

Ruchi recalls how Urmila had offered help to her, a complete stranger, when she once faced ticket issues at the Mumbai airport. “She came to my rescue as a co-passenger even though she did not know who I was.”

Urmila has been away from the scene since long and secretly tied the knot with Kashmiri model- turned-businessman Mohsin Akhtar Mir in March 2016.

BOMBAY TIMES (April 11, 2017)

Salman Khan, the Hanuman bhakt of Kabir Khan's cross-border drama, now lends his voice for the lord in an animated feature film
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 6, 2016)

Before Kabir Khan's blockbuster Bajrangi Bhaijaan and its "Selfie le le" chartbuster became household names, Ruchi Narain had approached Salman Khan through his sister Alvira to lend his voice to the 'adult' Hanuman in her animated feature, Hanuman Da Damdaar. The actor who adores children liked the idea propagating mythology in an entertaining way for mass consumption. He was also intrigued by the "da" in the title and responded with an enthusiastic "sure". And towards the year end, he turned up at the studio to dub the lines in his inimitable, damdaar style.

"He's the kind of actor who once he gets the ball, runs with it and always scores. His improvisations had us in splits. He'd look at us and ask, 'Zyada ho gaya kya?' And we'd assure him he was just great. Sometimes, in between shots, he'd croon, 'Main hoon Hanuman tera'," Ruchi reminisces with a smile, pointing out that only after he'd finished his day-long dubbing did they get down to animating his character so it would reflect his 'performance'.

Many are surprised when they learn that the writer of Hazaaron Khwaishain Aisi, Sudhir Mishra's love triangle set against the backdrop of the Emergency, is now directing an animated film for children. She points out that it's because she feels Indian kids are deprived of good animated content despite our rich mythology and its trippy characters.

In December 2007, Anurag Kashyap had directed an animated film, Return of Hanuman, for his daughter, Aaliyah, and her pals after she complained that his films were all about cops and men being beaten up. It had Hanuman take birth on Earth after seeing a village boy being bullied. Despite a 'schoolboy hero' Maruti, the film touched on serious issues like global warming. "Anurag took Hanuman into the fiction space, my story is more a mix of mythology and fiction," says Ruchi who has been working on her fantasy adventure for three years now. "Everyone knows about the Ramayan, but legend has it that there was something called the Hanumad Ramayan which is lost to us. This is what I imagine Hanuman's story to be like."

The film releases towards the year end with Bajrangi's blessings.