As told to Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 17, 2020)

My first shot was for Aakhri Mughal. Both Abhishek Bachchan and I were to make our debuts in the film and I remember how scared I was to have Amitabh Bachchan on the set, watching us give our first take. I kept asking Abhishek to make him leave and he would say exasperatedly, “He is my father, how can I ask him to go!”

I wasn’t sure if I could act when J P Dutta and Jaya Bachchan approached me with the film. I couldn’t say “no” to them. But I’ve to admit, I was really happy when Aakhri Mughal was shelved! Yes, I know I’m a bit of a weirdo, I always have been one.

By the time Ajnabee came along, I was bored with modelling. Vijay Galani wondered if I would meet director duo Abbas and Mustan Burmawalla for a role in their film. I agreed, but was afraid they wouldn’t converse in English. On meeting them, I realised they were scared that a model wouldn’t speak Hindi. But we immediately liked each other. I didn’t watch a lot of films back then, but the suspense-thriller seemed like a very international film to me. And they were shooting in Switzerland, so I signed on thinking that at least I’d get to travel. I went with that intention; not to act.

Luckily, everyone on the set was very fond of me. Abbas bhai, Mustan bhai, Bobby (Deol) and his wife Tanya, Akshay (Kumar) all were very protective of me and got me an entourage of my own. My hairstylist had worked with Manisha Koirala earlier and was quite scandalized by my behaviour. She’d tell me that as an actor I should drink alcohol only in cups so that no one found out and not wear backless dresses. I remember the look on her face when I applied coconut oil on my body and sunbathed as opposed to actresses who slathered themselves with sunscreen and insisted on moving around under an umbrella. In fact, she was aghast when I told everyone that I had a boyfriend.

My first scene in the film was the one when neighbours Priya (Kareena Kapoor) and Sonia (my character) meet for the first time while jogging and strike up a conversation. It went off really well and my directors told me I was a natural actor. And I thought to myself, “Wow, so this is acting…I can do it!” Despite it being a negative role in a film way ahead of its time, it still fetched me a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

Aditya Chopra plans a global celebration for studio's golden jubilee with film festivals lined up in US, UK, Russia and Switzerland
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 31, 2020)

The countdown to the golden jubilee celebration of Yash Raj Films has begun. While head honcho Aditya Chopra is expected to announce the slate of movies for the coming year on Yash Chopra's birth anniversary on September 27, he plans to take the global audience down memory lane with the studio's past blockbusters. It is heard that the suits at the production house are charting out a plan to conduct YRF Film Festivals across the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, and several other countries.

"The festival will showcase iconic movies made under the banner, including Aditya's directorial debut Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge [1995], and Yash ji's swan song Jab Tak Hai Jaan [2012]. Since Yash ji gave the industry some priceless songs, radio concerts are being planned where the original artistes will revisit these gems," reveals a source.

The on-ground teams are working out the logistics, given the current restrictions, and a final call will be taken soon. Chopra is apparently keen to have a large-scale promotion next year too when the films announced under the YRF 50 project will be ready for release.

Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 7, 2020)

Bollywood hasn’t been at work since March-end, when the nationwide Coronavirus lockdown was enforced. But slowly, things are changing. While actor Akshay Kumar is set to start shooting for Bellbottom in the UK, others are likely to follow suit from September onward with safety norms in place, one such being working with smaller units.

Director Anees Bazmee says it’s “not going to be easy.” “Pruning the crew size and working with a small-ish team is going to be a huge challenge. How do you do it? Where do you start? Nowadays, even actors come with a big entourage,” he says, while recalling how for the shoot of Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998), a unit of just 40-45 people — including actors, their teams and the crew — had travelled to Switzerland.

“Woh zamaana hi kuch aur tha,” Bazmee says, adding, “We all managed to work beautifully with a smaller team. But things are different now. At any given point, there are so many people on the set. Also, with newer technology and ambitious storytelling style, there’s no option but to have more people on the set.” He explains, “For instance, earlier, if we would have three people — including the DoP — with the camera, we now have three to four cameras and five to six people with each one of them.”

However, Bazmee admits that ensuring a smaller unit is “going to affect a lot of people badly.” “If you have to retain just 65 out of 200 technicians, imagine how many of them would have no work. Since the real economic impact of the lockdown will be felt even more in the coming months, things will become extremely difficult. But, you have to adhere to the guidelines,” says the filmmaker, who will restart work on his next, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, later this year.

The singer-actor shares that she and Switzerland-based restaurateur Maik Richter got married in an intimate ceremony in Mumbai in 2017 and have been waiting for the right time for a public announcement and celebration
Amrita Prasad (BOMBAY TIMES; June 11, 2020)

Just a day after Monali Thakur teased her fans with a new music video on social media, the Sawaar Loon singer told us that she had tied the knot with her Switzerland-based boyfriend Maik Richter in 2017. Interestingly, Maik also features in the music video. Monali says, “I haven’t made it official on social media yet, but people had already guessed it. A couple of times when my ring was mistakenly visible in my Instagram photos, a lot of people commented asking if it was my wedding ring. That said, Maik and I have successfully been able to hide our marriage for three years!”

The singer, who is currently in Switzerland, living with Maik and his family, says the reason why the couple didn’t make it public was that they didn’t have a conventional wedding and had been looking for an appropriate occasion to get married publicly. “The news of my marriage will come as a shock to many as none of my industry friends were aware or invited. We kept delaying the ceremony and announcement and three years just passed by,” says Monali, adding, “Mujhe pata hai bahot gali padne wali hai logon se, but I think when we have our wedding ceremony and invite people for the celebrations, they won’t be upset anymore.” Although the couple doesn't have a date in mind for the public ceremony yet, Monali says they will definitely think about it once things are better.

Maik, who is a sports enthusiast and restaurateur, fell in love with Monali almost instantly. “I met him during my trip to Switzerland and we clicked instantly,” says Monali. She also adds that she and Maik share a common love. “He loves food and, being a Bong, I love food, too,” she laughs. Ask her what Maik loves about her and she replies, “He loves the fact that I am an independent person.”

Monali left for Switzerland to be with her boyfriend, Maik Richter, before the nationwide lockdown was announced
Ismat Tahseen (BOMBAY TIMES; April 10, 2020)

On March 13, a few weeks before the nationwide Coronavirus lockdown was announced, singer Monali Thakur left for Switzerland to be with her Swiss-German boyfriend, Maik Richter. The two had first met when Monali was on a vacation with her gal pals in 2016.

Talking to BT from Lauterbrunnen, the Moh Moh Ke Dhaage singer says, “I figured that there would be a lockdown with the way things were going. I wanted to first take care of my family in India, so I stocked up on provisions, medicines, etc for them and then left for Switzerland.”

Elaborating on how she is spending time against the beautiful backdrop of the Swiss Alps, Monali shares, “We are not homebound like how it is in India. Though we do not have any restaurants, pubs or public areas open except for groceries, banks, hospitals, postal services etc, we can step out. So, I’m biking all day, and I love cycling through the mountains by myself. It is so amazing, being amidst nature. When I’m not outdoors, I record songs in the home studio here. I’m also cooking for my better half.”

About the dishes she is cooking up for her boyfriend, Monali says, “I’m having fun experimenting in the kitchen. I cook a lot of Indian dishes, like dal, which my extended family loves. Maik is also fond of Indian spices, but the ones that are available here have a firang touch. So, we are missing our Indian spices.” She adds, “Maik’s family has a big farmhouse here. Since it’s in the mountain region, it’s peaceful.”

So, are there plans for a wedding this summer? “You never know, it could be next summer. I’ll definitely share more on that whenever it happens,” she signs off.

Juhi Chawla recounts how Coronavirus pandemic cut short her trip to Austria, prompting hurried return to Mumbai with husband and son; informs daughter is in Uganda with her grandparents
Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 3, 2020)

Around this time of the year, Juhi Chawla is usually in Kolkata, cheering her Boys in Purple (team Knight Riders) from the stands while anxiously watching the scoreboard. But this IPL cricket season, the actress and franchise co-owner is locked down in her Mumbai home. “Unless the situation improves and travel restrictions around the world are lifted, we can’t expect matches to start,” she reasons.

Juhi’s Austrian family holiday with husband Jay Mehta and children Jahnavi and Arjun turned into an event straight out of a film as the Coronavirus scare spread across Europe. “Austria partially closed off its borders soon after we left. Ditto Switzerland. So, we returned to our London home where my in-laws joined us,” she recounts.

By then, India had started restricting incoming international flights and a lockdown-like situation seemed imminent. “So, we decided to fly back. Apna ghar, apna ghar hota hai aur apna desh, apna desh hota hai,” Juhi says emphatically, asserting that she didn’t want to be anywhere else but home during these trying times. “We approached the High Commission of India and they helped us reach Mumbai safely. All the racing and the dodging made it seem like we were shooting for a thriller.”

Upon her return to the city, the actress faced yet another challenge. “Some of our staff comes from outside and it quickly became apparent that they wouldn’t be able to continue reporting to work. So, we re-organised everything and shut off some of the rooms for better management of the rest. Thankfully, I have people in the kitchen, otherwise it would have been a disaster. We are functioning with skeletal staff and one in-house driver,” the actress informs.

Juhi’s businessman-husband is with her, along with son Arjun, while daughter Jahnavi is in Uganda with her grandparents. “She studies in the US and they have to attend online classes. Being in India would mean staying up all night for lectures. At least the time difference is not so huge there,” she explains.

Arjun, who will appear for his standard 10 exams this year, is continuing with his studies, too, in case the school suddenly decides to hold them. “He’s also watering the plants, now that the gardener can’t come in. There’s also a lot of fiddling around with gadgets,” she says, going on to enquire if the person on the other end of the line is using earphones or speaking directly into the handset. Sounding disappointed when told it’s the latter, Juhi says she’s trying to stay away from mobile phones as much as possible.

Meanwhile, with the family priests unable to come in, Jay and Juhi have started conducting the morning pooja themselves, beginning the day with prayers. “It’s calming; perhaps this is God’s way of bringing us closer together,” muses the actress, who has also started doing riyaaz again. “I was a dedicated student to begin with, but as life got busier, I gave up music. My teacher prodded me to start again and I have started taking online classes.”

She’s tuning out negative news so it doesn’t add to her anxiety, and is reveling in the positives instead. “It’s not so hot in Mumbai anymore. Normally, by this time, you couldn’t do without the air-conditioner. The skies are so clear that I can see the lights all the way to Cuffe Parade from my Malabar Hill apartment,” she exults, adding that she is having methi seeds, soaked overnight, every morning to pamper her tresses. Is it working? “If I come out of this lockdown with thick, lustrous hair, you’d know,” she chuckles.

Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 22, 2020)

After a trip to Florence, Italy, last month, Juhi Chawla and her family flew to Austria, earlier this month, as her daughter, wanted to spend her spring break skiing. Right before they decided, Chawla asked her family if they should be travelling as many cases of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) were reported around the world. “But everyone insisted, so we landed in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 12,” she shares.

“After reaching Austria and skiing for a day, we learnt that Austria will be shutting the resorts by March 16 as they found a few people infected in the country. Meanwhile, some of Jay’s (Jay Mehta, Juhi’s husband) other friends joined us, so we decided to stay for two days and then leave. But the next day, while we were on the mountain, we heard that the resort would close that very day and if we don’t leave, we would be stuck there. So, we packed and left for Zurich as we couldn’t get any flights to London (UK),” says the actor.

They stayed the night in Zurich, flew to London the next day and hoped to stay there for a while. But a day later, they heard that India would be closing its borders too, so they had to either leave the UK in two days or stay there till March 31, when the situation would be reviewed.

Chawla says, “Once again, we were panicking as I am the only Indian national and the rest of my family has OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) cards. I have never seen this kind of scenario, where whichever country we left was shutting its borders. The last seven-eight days of my life have been crazy. We were just running from one place to the next. In the UK, we applied for visas to be fast tracked and the officials were kind and helpful. There were other family members and friends, too, who needed to get back to India. On the flight, we filled a form giving out details of the places we had travelled to in the past month. At the Mumbai airport, officials checked every form and as we had been to Europe, stamped us - Home Quarantine!”

They were later whisked off to a doctor, who explained to a group of similarly stamped people, how to conduct themselves at home over the next fortnight. Chawla is thankful they managed to return to India on time as things are serious back home.

Praising the government’s efforts to tackle this outbreak, she says, “What was clear was that our government is trying hard to help everyone and protect us as far as possible. Huge respect for all the officials on duty.”