Showing posts with label Shivani Raghuvanshi interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shivani Raghuvanshi interview. Show all posts
I will sell tickets in black, for people to come and see Salman Khan's wedding-Arjun Mathur
3:13 PM
Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; August 10, 2023)
Four years after Made In Heaven dropped on Amazon Prime Video, creators Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti are back with its second season. The show that touches upon socially relevant issues against the backdrop of Indian weddings, drops online today. Sobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur who play wedding planners and their on-screen teammates – Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi – talk about their reunion and what’s in store for the audience this time around.
‘It’s quite an extravagant show’
Speaking about why it took four long years to return, Sobhita shares, “It’s quite an extravagant show. It’s set against the wedding backdrop, which requires a large setup and grand set designs. There is no joy in compromising and putting something out just because kaam khatam karna hai. It’s made with love and sometimes it takes time.”
Arjun adds, “We faced two lockdowns during our shoots. The shooting was planned for eight months, but took around 18 months. We shot in extraordinary circumstances, completely out of our control, but finally, we are glad that we are here.”
‘The new cast members and characters bring in a lot of freshness’
Apart from the main cast, the season will also feature Mrunal Thakur, Radhika Apte, Dia Mirza Rekhi, Pulkit Samrat and Sanjay Kapoor, among others, as guests.
Says an excited Shivani, “It feels nice and fresh, because otherwise wohi chehre aapko dikhte rehte hai. The new cast members and characters will bring in freshness.”
Arjun adds, “We embrace these new characters and include them into our family. We become the hosts. After seeing season one, most actors were ready to jump in and take on the opportunity.”
Shashank shares, “From the newer lot, I enjoyed working with Radhika, Imaad Shah, Sarah Jane Dias, Mrunal… you learn something from every person that you work with.”
It’s been a breakthrough show for me: Arjun
Arjun’s performance won him a nomination at the International Emmy Awards 2020 in the Best Actor category. He shares, “This has been a breakthrough show for me. After watching the trailer of the second season, I had to pinch myself. It is a matter of great privilege because as actors, we aspire to headline shows and shoulder the responsibility of big projects!”
Shivani adds, “I have grown up watching Zoya’s work. I have been a part of couple of projects, but after this show, people have started calling me Jazz (her character in the show).”
On-screen wedding planners Sobhita and Arjun take a rapid Bollywood quiz
What’s the best Bollywood wedding you have ever seen?
Sobhita: None, because I am never invited to one!
Arjun: I am a big fan of Virushka’s (Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma) wedding. I have followed it on social media.
What’s your all-time favourite wedding ritual?
Sobhita: In our Telugu culture, there is a ritual where a bride, after the Gauri puja, is put in a basket and all the uncles carry her to the mandap. It really looks cute; the bride in the basket looks like a doll.
Arjun: I just want to eat and go home. Just eating good food at a wedding makes me happy.
What’s your favourite location for a destination wedding?
Sobhita: I just love the traditional part of a wedding. I want to do the puja and spend the money on vacationing. Mujhe destination wedding nahi karna hai… kitna paisa waste hota hai!
Arjun: I love beach weddings.
As wedding planners, if the two of you are assigned to design Salman Khan’s wedding, how would you go about it?
Sobhita: Oh, very exciting! There will be so much hype around this wedding. It will be fun heading the marketing division of this shaadi.
Arjun: I think I will sell tickets in black, for people to come and see this wedding (laughs).
A perfect song for the sangeet night would be?
Sobhita: Any massy Tamil hit number
Arjun: Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna
A funny line on your wedding invitation card would read?
Sobhita: Showing up is not necessary!
Arjun: Empty stomachs are not compulsory!
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Reprising his role in Made in Heaven 2, Emmy-nominated actor Arjun on how the finest directors came together to service the script
Hiren Kotwani (MID-DAY; August 10, 2023)
“Thank God we are here,” smiles Arjun Mathur, as the second season of Made in Heaven drops online today, over four years since its opening season. Something tells us the sentiment is echoed by the audience, who lapped up the first edition that revolved around big, fat Indian weddings and two wedding planners—essayed by Mathur and Sobhita Dhulipala—at the centre of it all. The delay between the two instalments was due to the pandemic.
“Every time someone tested positive, we had to stop. And if you lose one actor’s dates, it throws the schedule astray because the show has an ensemble cast,” explains Mathur.
The actor’s performance as Karan Mehra had earned him an International Emmy nomination in 2020. Was it easy to reprise the character after such a long gap? “In your mind, you can be a bit anxious, wondering whether you will find it again. But once you get on the set, one shot is all it takes. When they call for ‘cut’, you know you’ve got it. The character is so beautifully developed on paper [that] it becomes easy.”
Mathur adds that creator-director duo Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti have made his character’s journey darker this time around. “It’s more personal, hence more intense. Zoya, Reema and I know that I relate to Karan Mehra quite a bit.”
The beauty of the Amazon Prime Video series—also starring Kalki Koechlin and Jim Sarbh—is that it beautifully includes different voices as five directors examine the ills of society against the backdrop of dreamy weddings. This time around, Neeraj Ghaywan of Masaan (2015) fame joins Akhtar, Kagti, Alankrita Shrivastava and Nitya Mehra to share the directorial duties. Mathur admits that collaborating with such fine directors is a dream come true for the artiste in him.
“If an actor gets to work with even one of them, it’s a blessing. Here, we’ve got six of them [including Prashant Nair in the last season]! Things can be difficult when multiple people disagree, but here, the script is the master. Zoya, Reema and Alankrita have written the show, so they’re all on the same page. We had days when we would be shooting different parts with [different] directors, but it was easy because they were all in sync.”
There are many similarities between Jazz and me-Shivani Raghuvanshi
8:15 AM
Shivani Raghuvanshi on how she identified with her character in Made In Heaven, which has fetched her Best Supporting Actor nomination in the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 4, 2020)
There's a certain innocence to Shivani Raghuvanshi, much like her on-screen character Jazz from Made In Heaven. She agrees that her ability to relate to Jazz's journey made it easier to essay the part of the newbie in the wedding planning company who is guileless and naive, yet fiercely ambitious."There are many similarities between Jazz and me. She is a West Delhi girl who wants to fit in with the South Delhi crowd. But she holds on to her value system. There's an idealism to her, and yet, she makes her share of mistakes and grows up in the course of the show," analyses Raghuvanshi, noting that her role is developed as a sharp contrast to the show's protagonist, Sobhita Dhulipala. "Jazz wants to make it big, but she can't pretend like Tara [Dhulipala's character]."
Looking back at her audition for the Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti series, the actor jokes how she thought she was aptly dressed for the part of a girl who hails from a low-income household. "The casting guys told me her dressing is blingy because she comes from a certain section of the society. I thought it's a Zoya Akhtar show. How poor can her poor be anyway!" she laughs. "For the audition, I wore something that I had bought for a cousin's wedding, but had not ended up using it. But the casting guys found it too tasteful for Jazz."
The youngster remembers walking out of the audition mighty pleased with herself — after all, she had performed two crucial scenes from the narrative to perfection. However, she did not get a call-back until a month later. "I thought that I had probably not bagged the part. Suddenly out of nowhere, the casting people called and asked me to meet Zoya. It's a huge deal for someone like me to be cast in a Zoya Akhtar show. Anurag Kashyap casts newbies, but the [popular] perception is that Zoya and Karan Johar will never do so. I am a huge fan of Zoya and wanted to live up to her expectations."
With her easy charm and ability to slip into her character so seamlessly, Raghuvanshi became an instant favourite when Made In Heaven dropped online. Tell her how her performance was widely appreciated, and she laughs, "I am extremely critical of myself. I always think I can do better, and that's what season two is for — to improve Jazz."
More About Made In Heaven
- The shoot for the second season of Made In Heaven kickstarts in April.
- Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi, who worked together in Kanu Behl's critically acclaimed film, Titli (2014) reunited for the Amazon Prime show.
- Cast Your Vote For The Hitlist Web Awards
- Shivani Raghuvanshi has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor (Female) category for Amazon Prime's Made In Heaven.
The other nominees are:
- Rasika Dugal (Delhi Crime; Netflix)
- Priyamani (The Family Man; Amazon Prime)
- Amruta Subhash (Sacred Games S02; Netflix)
- Nidhi Singh (MOM; ALTBalaji)
- Navni Parihar (Little Things S03; Netflix)
- Made In Heaven enjoys seven nominations, including Best Series, Best Creator, Best Actor (Male), Best Actor (Female), Best Supporting Actor (Male), Best Supporting Actor (Female) and Best Writing.
- There are 14 categories that the public can vote in. Log on to www.hitlistwebawards.com to cast your vote.
- You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c/d as on the website) to 57575.
- Voting lines close on March 8.
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