Showing posts with label Sarah Allen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah Allen. Show all posts
I'm friends with Sara Allen's boyfriend too-Randeep Hooda
8:00 AM
Deepa Mehta and her Beeba Means Good star Randeep Hooda on the gangster drama which united them.
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 14, 2015)
Deepa, what made you cast Randeep Hooda in your upcoming film, Beeba Boys?
DEEPA: I was looking for someone to play Jeet, a gangster, and my mother who lives in Delhi, suggested Randeep's name. On her insistence, I watched Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai in which he played a cop and I was mesmerised by his eyes which conveyed pain, anger, pathos and compassion in equal measures. Later, I watched Highway and Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster and was riveted by this minimal, method actor who looks gorgeous on screen. Now, to set the record straight, the film is titled Beeba Means Good and not Beeba Boys.
Wasn't it Inland earlier?
DEEPA: That was the working title.
RANDEEP: And a little too controversial. Beeba munde has a nice ring to it.
DEEPA: (Laughs) Sarah Allen's character in the film tells Randeep's character, Jeet, "I know what you sweet boys do." And he retorts, "Beeba means good, not sweet."
Isn't Jeet modeled on Bindy Johal, an organised crime leader who operated in British Columbia, Canada, and was executed in a nightclub in Vancouver?
DEEPA: Some six-seven gangsters operated in Vancouver in the late'80s and '90s, Bindy being the most prominent one. The film is partly based on true events about what happened to them and partly from my mind.
RANDEEP: There are many wannabe Bindys still around, plaguing the community there.
Bindy's quote, 'I'm still around' is a statement that can be attributed to Randeep too...
DEEPA: It's true of all good actors, whether it's Natalie Portman, Brad Pitt or George Clooney.
RANDEEP: (Laughs) Yeah, I'm not someone who can be swept under the carpet.
What was your impression of Deepa?
RANDEEP: I knew her from 1947 Earth. What sets her apart from other North American directors is her no-nonsense approach. I felt that she'd be able to draw out something extraordinary from me.
And did she?
DEEPA: I was sick the day he saw the film. And the next day I was depressed when he told me, "You've made a commercial film."
RANDEEP: (Laughs) It does have plenty of masala, the characters are larger-than-life
DEEPA: It has blondes, guns....
RANDEEP: Violence, the 'yeh dosti hum nahin todenge' kind of bonding, Deewar's father and the Maa who watches her boys take charge, while still being boys.
DEEPA: It talks about racism, discrimination, the frustration of being marginalised in a white country but at the end, it's a family story. All gangsters are family men.
RANDEEP: It has all the elements of a great drama with Deepa Mehta's sensibilities. The film's main market may be North America but I think it'll connect with all Indians. It's inspirational and aspirational.
Canada is a dream many Indians chase, was it yours too?
RANDEEP: I went to Australia. North America was a bit beyond me.
DEEPA: Little did he know he'd end up there.
Deepa, would you agree Randeep is one of Bollywood's bad boys?
DEEPA: Bad boy? No way! He is responsive to honesty and responsible. He was always prepared with his lines, had lots of questions, some good suggestions and got along with everyone on sets, including his spot boy who is white and a film school graduate.
RANDEEP: (Laughs) It was one of my little pleasures to call out for Evan and say, "Oh, it's nothing!"
You fall in love with all your heroines; did that happen this time too?
DEEPA: There's amazing chemistry between Randeep and Sara Allen, especially in the sensual scenes. They are good friends.
RANDEEP: I'm friends with her boyfriend too.
DEEPA: Yes, he really likes Michael.
What's your next project?
DEEPA: There's something Randeep and I have been talking about. I can't talk about it right now, too many sharks around.
What makes the film memorable?
DEEPA: A four-minute scene with Kulbhushan Kharbanda who plays Jeet's dad doing most of the talking, with Randeep listening. Actors rarely listen, they are always thinking of their cues, and it shows on their faces. But Randeep listens.
RANDEEP: (Laughs) I'm trying to remember my cue and since my line is in direct response to what the other person is saying, I listen, carefully.
What surprised me was Salman accepting me as co-actor & friend-Randeep Hooda
7:50 AM
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 11, 2014)
Its way past Cinderella hour
in India, but across the globe in Canada, the day is just peaking and
Randeep Hooda is busy filming Deepa Mehta's Beeba Boys, earlier titled
Inland. And he's thrilled to be working with a foreign crew in a
different country with an Oscar nominated director. “Deepa's a rock
star, she keeps me on my toes. If any laziness has crept in over time,
you gotta banish it,“ he laughs, long-distance from Toronto.
Randeep is hoping this film will cut across borders and appeal to the Indian diaspora.“It's about the journey of a man, a Jatt Sikh called Jeet Johar. It's a hero's role, larger than life, yet grounded, with heart and soul,“ he says.
Any other actor would have been cut up about missing the celebrations, as his latest release Kick makes box office history back home, but Randeep reasons that the distance helps him view the film's success objectively. “I knew that given bhai's (Salman Khan) phenomenal pull and Sajid bhai (producer-director Nadiadwala) making the film with no expenses spared, it would be a blockbuster. What surprised me was Sajid bhai coming to me with such a cool role when he could have chosen any big name and bhai accepting me as a co-actor and a friend," he admits candidly.
Earlier in the year, he'd watched Alia Bhatt hijack Highway. Kick comes as a bonus to balance out the disappointment. “I'm not used to being a part of the Rs 100 crore club and I'm over the moon. But there's no doubt that it is because of bhai that so many people are watching the film and along with him, liking me too,“ he says, adding his biggest takeaway as an actor is that the audience has accepted him in roles as diverse as Bombay Talkies, Highway and Kick. “Now I hope that some of these people come to see my smaller films, Rang Rasiya and Main Aur Charles."
Rang Rasiya will be releasing with SRK's Happy New Year this Diwali but will have a limited release. Yet, Randeep, who'll be back in the first week of September, is excited about the film. “So many people's hard work has gone into it and I'm keen that people see the film. It's the story of an artist, Raja Ravi Varma, who took art out of the palaces and into common people's homes. The pictures we've been praying to for the last 100 years were painted by him, even Dadasaheb Phalke, the Father of Indian cinema, used his art in his films," he says.
But Rang Rasiya has been more in the news for its love making and nude scenes rather than it's art. “When you see it, you'll understand there's more to it than,“ Randeep retorts.
Main Aur Charles, another biopic, has Randeep as Charles Sobhraj, the conman and serial killer who manipulated the system. “Our film is about his great escape from India's high security prison, Tihar," he informs.
It's time for another shot. Before Randeep breaks the connection, you remind him of his earlier statement to Mirror, (June 26), “My girl changes with every film." What's the equation with Canadian co-star Sarah Allen? No rumours yet. He guffaws, “We're keeping it under wraps but the still they've put up says more than a 1000 words," he jokes, then adds seriously, “She a sweet, talented actress and I'm very fond of her."
Randeep is hoping this film will cut across borders and appeal to the Indian diaspora.“It's about the journey of a man, a Jatt Sikh called Jeet Johar. It's a hero's role, larger than life, yet grounded, with heart and soul,“ he says.
Any other actor would have been cut up about missing the celebrations, as his latest release Kick makes box office history back home, but Randeep reasons that the distance helps him view the film's success objectively. “I knew that given bhai's (Salman Khan) phenomenal pull and Sajid bhai (producer-director Nadiadwala) making the film with no expenses spared, it would be a blockbuster. What surprised me was Sajid bhai coming to me with such a cool role when he could have chosen any big name and bhai accepting me as a co-actor and a friend," he admits candidly.
Earlier in the year, he'd watched Alia Bhatt hijack Highway. Kick comes as a bonus to balance out the disappointment. “I'm not used to being a part of the Rs 100 crore club and I'm over the moon. But there's no doubt that it is because of bhai that so many people are watching the film and along with him, liking me too,“ he says, adding his biggest takeaway as an actor is that the audience has accepted him in roles as diverse as Bombay Talkies, Highway and Kick. “Now I hope that some of these people come to see my smaller films, Rang Rasiya and Main Aur Charles."
Rang Rasiya will be releasing with SRK's Happy New Year this Diwali but will have a limited release. Yet, Randeep, who'll be back in the first week of September, is excited about the film. “So many people's hard work has gone into it and I'm keen that people see the film. It's the story of an artist, Raja Ravi Varma, who took art out of the palaces and into common people's homes. The pictures we've been praying to for the last 100 years were painted by him, even Dadasaheb Phalke, the Father of Indian cinema, used his art in his films," he says.
But Rang Rasiya has been more in the news for its love making and nude scenes rather than it's art. “When you see it, you'll understand there's more to it than,“ Randeep retorts.
Main Aur Charles, another biopic, has Randeep as Charles Sobhraj, the conman and serial killer who manipulated the system. “Our film is about his great escape from India's high security prison, Tihar," he informs.
It's time for another shot. Before Randeep breaks the connection, you remind him of his earlier statement to Mirror, (June 26), “My girl changes with every film." What's the equation with Canadian co-star Sarah Allen? No rumours yet. He guffaws, “We're keeping it under wraps but the still they've put up says more than a 1000 words," he jokes, then adds seriously, “She a sweet, talented actress and I'm very fond of her."
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