Four years after her debut with Mirzya, Saiyami Kher bounces back with Anurag Kashyap's Choked on Netflix
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; June 7, 2020)

She waited for four years to bag her second Hindi film after Mirzya (2016). But now, Saiyami Kher sits back, assured that Anurag Kashyap's Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai—that dropped on Friday—has put her back in the thick of things.

"I have never got things easily. But, I have always believed in charting my own journey," says Kher. A chance meeting with Kashyap at the 2017 MAMI Film Festival set the ball rolling on the Netflix film. "He asked me if I want to act in his film. He asked me if I was sure about playing an older character, warning me that I had to look tired all the time. He told me to think about it and seek others' opinion before arriving at a decision, but I said yes immediately."

Just when she thought the cloud of Mirzya was behind her and things were falling into place, the waiting game began. "Anurag sir got busy with Sacred Games, Lust Stories, Ghost Stories and Manmarziyaan," recounts the actor, who veered towards regional cinema and digital shows in the meanwhile. It was only last year that Kashyap cast South actor Roshan Mathew, and the film went on floors.

The delay aside, Kher is thankful to Kashyap for backing her when no one did. She was signed on for a project ahead of Mirzya's release, but when the film failed, she was unceremoniously dropped. She was also zeroed in on for a Mani Ratnam film, which unfortunately did not take off. "When your launchpad does not do well, things get difficult, but Anurag sir kept his word."

Kher comes from an illustrious film family—Tanve Azmi is her paternal aunt. But the actor is clear about building a career independent of her association with the Azmis and Akhtars. "I want to experience success on my merit. Atya [Tanvi] is always there for me, as are Shabana maasi and Javed uncle. If I need, I can always turn to them."

Saiyami Kher on perfecting her kicks and punches for the role of an undercover agent in Special Ops
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 11, 2020)

While her training as a runner certainly came handy, Saiyami Kher admits that in order to kick and punch for her role of an undercover agent in Special Ops, she had to undergo intense training in Mixed Martial Arts. Neeraj Pandey's upcoming espionage thriller has heavy action sequences, making it the kind of project that Kher "always wanted to do". "I had to get the action, including the punches and fist fights, on point. There was a special action team employed for it, so, working with them was quite an experience," she says of the show, which was shot in Turkey, among other locales.

Pandey, with films like A Wednesday (2008), Special 26 (2013) and Baby (2015), was on Kher's bucket list of directors to work with. "This was my chance to work with someone known for his action films." The desire to associate with someone versed with the genre is only fitting, given that Kher has taken a while to find her bearings in Bollywood, after the debacle of her debut film, Mirzya (2016).

"It was a big launch-pad, and despite the hype, didn't make money at the box office. The going gets tough when your film does not work. The roles that come your way are either less exciting, or leave you with little to do in the film. It takes time to get back." Special Ops, she hopes, opens more doors for her.

On her plate are two other web offerings, Breathe 2, starring Abhishek Bachchan, and Anurag Kashyap's Choked. "I remember reading an interview of Akshay Kumar, in which he was quoted saying, 'Kaam se kaam milta hai'. That stayed with me," says Kher, who is also shooting for the Telugu film, Wild Dog, starring Nagarjuna. "That is also an action flick, so there will be more chances to showcase stunts."

Kher counts actor Tanve Azmi as her aunt, but doesn't consider herself a star-kid who has been afforded privileges. "I don't bag offers because of [my association with film folk]. I like to do stuff by myself. They will know [of my films] only when the announcement is made. I want to experience success and failure on my own accord. At the same time, they are always there when I need them."

Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Tanvi and Baba Azmi with family and friends ‘celebrate’ Shaukat Kaifi’s life

Akash Bhatnagar (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 27, 2019)

On Friday, at 5 pm, Shaukat Kaifi passed away at the age of 91. Four days later, family and friends met to celebrate her life rather than mourn her loss. Hosted by the Azmi family, including her children Shabana and Baba Azmi, daughter-in-law Tanve and son-in-law Javed Akhtar, the gathering drew many from the film fraternity, from actors like Aamir Khan, Anil Kapoor, Kajol, Tabu and sister Farah Naaz to filmmakers Ashutosh Gowarikar and David Dhawan. Zarina Wahab, Neena Gupta, Poonam Dhillon, Tisca Chopra, Divya Dutta and Aditi Rao Hydari were also spotted at Jalaram Hall in Juhu which was decorated with white flowers. A slideshow chronicled Shaukat Kaifi’s life, with pictures from her early days, theatre and films, as also her achievements and moments with the family.

The evening started with a classical music programme as the late actress had loved classical music, specially the violin, and had been obsessed with saris. Shabana recalled how at Ankur’s premiere, she was sitting beside her mother in the front row, and midway through the film, Shaukat Kaifi started praising her performance at the top of her voice. “A month later, at another film’s premiere, she did not like my performance and yelled at me with the same tone and loud voice, saying she would have got me married if she’d known I’ll perform so bad, not caring who was listening,” she recounted.

The family agreed that Shaukat Kaifi had advocated empowerment of women in her small ways when it wasn’t fashionable. So much so, that when Baba and Tanve married, he jokingly told her not to spend too much time in the company of his mother and sister, as he didn’t want them to convert her to their way of thinking, Tanvi shared with a laugh.

Shabana then recalled that when Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen praised her book, Kaifi and I, her mother bought 16 saris to celebrate. When Shabana reprimanded her, saying she had never purchased so many saris together, her mother shot back, “That’s because you were never appreciated by Amartya Sen.” She was very particular about dressing up, and even when she was in hospital, she wanted visitors to come dressed well. A video also had her singing from the hospital bed.

Javed Akhtar concluded by narrating how she had once forgotten his name, even though he was her only son-in-law, while introducing him to her sis-in-law. As the hall reverberated with music and laughs, one knew that somewhere far away, Shaukat Kaifi was smiling approvingly.

Anubhav Sinha and Bhushan Kumar’s next, which will open on Women’s Day 2020, deals with a certain aspect of the man-woman relationship
Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 27, 2019)

While promoting Mulk, Anubhav Sinha had bounced an idea off his leading lady, Taapsee Pannu. The idea today is their second film together, Thappad. It releases on March 8 next year, Women’s Day.

“We are halfway through the shoot and looking to wrap up by mid-October. The film is set in Delhi and we have shot extensively in Lucknow,” informs Anubhav, who is not only directing the film but is also jointly producing it with Bhushan Kumar.

The filmmaker goes on to inform that the idea, which tackles an aspect of the man-woman relationship, had been on his mind for a while but he wasn’t sure if it would make for a film. “It was while discussing it with Taapsee that I was convinced that the story had enough meat to be pursued further,” he explains.

At the beginning of the month, Taapsee had shared a picture with Anubhav from the sets with the caption, “It’s gonna be difficult... very difficult...” The actress explains that she has wanted to address the issue since a long time. “It wasn’t a script when I heard it first, but I was instantly interested. Anubhav sir feels as strongly about the subject as I do,” she avers.

Her interest encouraged Anubhav to develop it into a script with Mrunmayee Lagoo, fleshing out eight characters whose lives run parallel and converge at a particular point. “It cuts through a very important and wide cross-section of the society, dealing with different social strata. I can’t claim to have tackled all the issues women have to deal with, but we have covered several of them. At the end of the day, it is a film that deals with the dynamics of a man-woman relationship,” he elaborates.

Taapsee adds that the women in the film are not just from diverse backgrounds but also from different age groups: “It’s a woman’s perspective on relationships, what they want, with a common thread linking them.” While she takes one of the tracks forward, the other lead actresses include Dia Mirza, Ratna Pathak Shah, Tanve Azmi, Geetika Vidya, Maya Sarao, Naila Grewal and Gracy Goswami. “There’s also Kumud Mishra and several others. On the first day, we had as many as 15 actors on the set,” smiles the maker.

Given its hard-hitting title, it cannot only be feminist commentary. A source close to the development reveals that while its about violence in relationships, it’s not gruesome violence but touches on aspects that are taken for granted in a man-woman relationship but shouldn’t be. Confirming this, Anubhav says, “It’s a tragedy that we label women. We conveniently put them on a pedestal, then, use them. My film is not pro-feminists, it is about women. Period.”

The filmmaker didn’t have to look far for inspiration. “It’s inspired by the stories of my mother, sister, cousins and friends. This is happening all around us, but more often than not, we are so used to it, we don’t notice it. But this film will change your perspective and bring a difference in your life,” Anubhav promises.

Given that he is giving a voice to women, how does he view the #MeToo movement which exploded in our country last year after Tanushree Dutta’s allegations about Nana Patekar? “I think #MeToo almost became a movement but didn’t reach its logical conclusion. I don’t think it helped the women who should have benefitted from it,” he concludes.

As told to Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 16, 2019)

I have been passionate about sports since I was a child. Starting out with extracurricular activities in school, I moved to badminton and started participating in tournaments across the country. I was 12 when I took part in a district-level tournament in the under-13, under-16 and under-19 categories. I won the competition across all age groups and got a cash prize of Rs 3,500 with which I gifted my mother a landline.

I continued playing badminton, but whenever the coach took a break, the boys would teach me to play cricket. That’s how I fell in love with that sport too, picked up the game real fast and was soon playing it professionally.

Then, I went to college at St. Xaviers, Mumbai, where the theatre culture is active. That’s how I caught the eye of Atul Kasbekar, ace photographer who has now turned producer. He suggested I give modelling a shot. I must have been 18 then and followed up on his advice. Modelling was a lot of fun as I got to travel to new places and be photographed, which was great.

My first TV commercial (left) was with actor Nakuul Mehta for a scooter brand. The first print ad was for a clothing line. I continued modelling through my college years as a result of which badminton and cricket took a backseat because my college was strict about attendance and I could only pursue one thing at a time.

In fact, Kiran More’s (former cricketer) daughter, was an assistant director on my debut Hindi film, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya. One day, Kiran sir had dropped by on the set and we took a break to play cricket with him. He was so impressed by my skills, that he asked me to give him three months after the shoot, telling me that given the way I play, I still had a chance to get into the women’s cricket team. That opportunity had come my way a couple of times even before that. But something else always took precedence.

While dabbling in theatre and modelling, I had decided to give acting a shot, following in the footsteps of my grandmother, Usha Kiran, and aunt Tanve Azmi. Mirzya happened after six crazy months of auditioning. Out of several aspirants, only two of us were selected and sent to Delhi for training, followed by another round of audition after which they finally zeroed in on me to play Suchitra opposite Harsh (Varrdhan Kapoor). I even went on to do a Marathi action film, Mauli, co-starring Riteish Deshmukh in a double role. Acting is a lot of fun.

Interestingly, as a child, I have worked at my parents’ restaurants (Adwait and Uttara Mhatre Kher) in Nashik. After their stint at a prominent five star hotel in Mumbai, they shifted to Nashik and started three restaurants. During vacations, my sister, Saunskriti, who was 13 then and I, two years younger, would manage one of the restaurants, Bombay Talkies, themed around Hindi films. I would take care of the kitchen, ordering around full-grown men to fill out orders from customers, while my sister would take orders and manage the guests. It was an enriching experience interacting with strangers and dealing with problems a 11-year-old girl is usually unaware of. I remember once a Jain customer was mistakenly served a chicken sizzler by the waiter. Thankfully, my sister saved the situation. On another occasion, an unruly group of college kids were fooling around in the hotel and broke a big glass door. That was the one time when we had to call our mother to handle things.

We had those restaurants for seven years and worked there for around four years during holidays. I enjoy cooking myself and was obsessed with how roomali rotis were made at the restaurant. I even learnt to bake brownies and pizzas and dish out yummy frankies.

Even today we have a boutique farm stay in Nashik where my plan is to organise workshops, establish a theatre residency and conduct music classes. I will love doing all this whenever time permits.

BOMBAY TIMES (May 10, 2017)

Dogged by a ghost in her B-wood debut, Kriti Kharbanda’s now shrugging off guests
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 3, 2016)

After making her Bollywood debut in Vikram Bhatt’s Raaz Reboot, Kriti Kharbanda is currently shooting her second Hindi feature, Abhishek Pathak’s Atithii Iin London in well, London. The 28-year-old actress plays Kartik Aaryan’s live-in girlfriend. The couple’s life turns topsy-turvy when unwanted guests from India, Paresh Rawal and Tanvi Azmi, suddenly turn up and are in no hurry to leave.

“I got three films offers after Raaz Reboot, this one was exciting as I haven’t done much comedy earlier,” says Kriti who has replaced Lisa Haydon. The newlywed Lisa dropped out at the last minute but bring this up and Kriti claims she had no idea she was stepping into someone else’s shoes till she read about it in the papers. “Even if I’d known, it wouldn’t have bothered me, it’s a really good role and that’s all what matters.”

They have been shooting all over London and Birmingham and on her day off, Kriti and Tanvi went off together to explore the Queen’s City. “We went to the Oxford Street which is a shoppers delight and binged on delicious crêpes and waffles,” says the self-confessed foodie who admits to having piled on a few pounds since landing in Londres. “I relished the Gujarati spread on Diwali day. This was the first time I was away from home during the festival and celebrated with the team here. We even saw people burst some crackers.”

She will be shooting for another week before heading back to the Bay and will miss Paresh who will return back soon. “He never retires to his van after his shot but hangs around on set. Since learning that I’m a Punjabi he speaks to me in the language. That’s really cute.”

Any regrets that Raaz Reboot didn’t live up to expectations? “None,” she quips. “I got a good feedback, the film worked for me.” Now, if the Queen heard that answer she would definitely induct KK into Her Majesty’s diplomatic service, what say?

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; September 13, 2016)

Saiyami Kher steps into Bollywood with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya opposite Anil Kapoor’s son, Harshvardhan. Her co-star is a star kid and the love saga is being touted as his launchpad. Hazel-eyed Saiyami remains unfazed by the attention Harshvardhan is getting.

“What matters to me is that I am realising my dream. I could not have asked for a better debut. The last two years have been magical for me,” she says.

Saiyami, too, has acting lineage. She is the granddaughter of late yesteryear actress Usha Kiran, who acted in Hindi and Marathi films. Her grandmom is best remembered for films like Daag (1952) with Dilip Kumar and Patita (1953) , which starred Dev Anand. Usha Kiran was also the Sheriff of Mumbai in the late 1990s. Saiyami’s parents, Adwait Kher and Uttara Mhatre (a beauty pageant winner) were well-known models in the eighties. Her aunt is actress Tanvi Azmi, sister-in-law to Shabana Azmi. So there is the Kher-Azmi connect and she has grown up listening to a lot of industry talk. “I have heard so many stories about the bungalow where my grandparents, dad and aunt lived at Pali Hill, Bandra. Today, there is a highrise there, but the memories linger.” Her grandfather, Dr Manohar Kher, was a well known crossword aficionado. He was known to crack the toughest crossword in minutes. Her aunt Tanvi, in her younger days too would give solving crosswords a shot. “I have heard stories about their crossword solving abilities.”

With acting in her genes, was it given that Saiyami would be an actress? “Not exactly,” says the newbie. “My father decided to relocate to Nashik to begin life anew — away from tinseltown. He thought that was best for us. He wanted to cut himself away from the starry trappings. But years down the line, I am back in Mumbai and part of the industry. My father walked away from the industry and now I am bringing it back to him. I am back to where I belong.” Saiyami was a calender girl and did a bit of modelling before the acting bug struck. She has done a South film. There is also a Mani Ratnam movie in her kitty already.

Mehra found his Sahiban in Saiyami after an intensive search. “I was not chosen for my lineage. I had to go through several audition rounds. It was tough and rigorous. I had to undergo workshops for months and learn horse riding. I had to prove that I could be Sahiban until the last round, I had no clue whether I would fit the bill. I gave it my best shot. The day I was told I had been selected, it was magical. Getting something you always wanted, it is difficult to describe the feeling.”

Mehra had harboured the desire to recount the love saga of Mirza and Sahiban for decades. Though he would keep taking on other projects, the love story stayed with him. He kept coming back to it till he got down to making it with new faces. About working with Juhu star kid Harshvardhan, she says, “He is a cool guy and since both of us were starting off together, there was lots in common.”

The budding actress has played cricket in school and worships Sachin Tendulkar. It has been a long wait for her to see Mirzya finally hit the marque next month. “Whatever happens, happens for the best,” she says.


(From left) Harshvardhan Kapoor, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Saiyami Kher, who plays Sahiban in the film

After sweeping the recently announced 63rd National Awards, the Bollywood brigade recount the run-up to their winning glory
Roshmila Bhattacharya, Sanyukta Iyer & Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 29, 2016)

KANGANA RANAUT
Best Actress, Tanu Weds Manu Returns

This is my third National Award and each one of them has come as a surprise with me hearing about it on TV or someone calling with the news. I got around 10 calls when I bagged the Best Supporting Actress for Fashion. I was still new to the industry then, and not too many people were happy for me. The number of calls increased when I was voted Best Actress for Queen, but this time I'm really overwhelmed by the reactions, around 500 texts in an hour. There is so much of goodwill, so much of love for the underdog, from the industry and stalwarts like Mr Bachchan (Amitabh) and Sanjay sir (Sanjay Leela Bhansali). Even young girls have been writing to say that they had their fingers crossed for me after the recent controversy and hoped I'd bounce back. A lot of people stood by me, supported me through the crisis and they are all happy for me now.

Most of the popular awards have become all about dance performances, speeches and TRPs. Thank God the National Awards haven't changed. You are expected to say nothing, just accept your award from the President of India and go home. My grandfather was a minister so for my parents they are a big deal. My father, who is never excited about awards, is thrilled with this national honour and my mother started to cry. Personally, I never thought, not even in my wildest dreams, that I would bag the National Award for a massy film like Tanu Weds Manu Returns.

Fashion and Queen had straight graphs. But in this case, I was playing both, the protagonist and the antagonist. The face-off between Datto and Tanu when the former tells her she has no reason to feel superior and brings about Tanu's transformation, was the only scene where these two characters come face-to-face and I didn't want them to seem like mirror images. I worked backwards from that point in the screenplay and gave Tanu and Datto distinctive character traits. Tanu is expressive, speaking with her hands and eyes, with a quiver in her voice. Datto is expressionless but has a certain swing in her stride, a different body language. This helped me differentiate the two and my biggest compliment was when the father of a friend wondered why everyone was making such a big deal of Kangana's performance when the new girl was so much better. It was gratifying to know he didn't even realise that I was playing Datto. I enjoyed the challenge of having created two different characters and having both the strings in my hands to pull.


HIMANSHU SHARMA
Best Screenplay Writer (Original) and Best Screenplay - Dialogues for Tanu Weds Manu Returns

I come from a family of government employees and this award is a big deal for them. My dad is the happiest. I am not a trained writer, so there's no process I follow. Kangana (Ranaut) played her double role really well. My job was to write the lines, she delivered them brilliantly on screen.


AMITABH BACHCHAN
(Best Actor, Piku)

Even Jaya (wife Jaya Bachchan) who is normally reticent about offering her opinion on a film, loved Piku and pointed out that it didn't feel like a film, it was more like watching a family who'd entered your home.

Shoojit (director Shoojit Sircar) and I had planned that Bhashkor (Banerjee) would die with a smile but later this seemed somewhat contrived. So, he just passes away peacefully in his sleep, evoking empathetic smiles from the viewer, many of whom would wish their dear ones to go away just as painlessly.

At the time of going to press Amitabh Bachchan had not issued any statement. Here, we reproduce excerpts from an earlier interview to Mirror (June 6).


VISHAL BHARDWAJ
Best Screenplay, Talvar

Writing the screenplay for Talvar was really difficult since we were constantly jumping timelines. The perspectives of the characters were also changing and reflected in the storytelling. It was important to show the murder from three points of views because we didn't want to take sides. I had Akira Kurusawa's Rashomon, one of my favourite films, as the template. I knew it wouldn't be easy but I realised just how difficult it was when I got deeper into it and realised just how complicated this case was. What made it tougher was that I wasn't collaborating with another writer on this really important film but since Meghna (Gulzar) is family, I had set myself up as a guinea pig. It was a challenge, but eventually it all came together and the National Award is a validation of that.

For me the National Awards are the only awards that matter because the competition from regional cinema is intense. This is my seventh award but I don't feel any pressure. I don't film for the masses but for myself. I have to like my film first.


SANJAY KURIEN
Best Audiography, Location Sound Recordist, Talvar

This is my first National Award after 10 years, my family is elated. Talvar is a special film and I had a great time.


PRITI SHAHANI
Co-producer, Talvar

It's been a satisfying end to a twoyear long journey of Talvar. It was possible because of the collaboration with Vishal Bhardwaj, the writer and co-producer. The two National Awards are testament that a film based on true facts resonated strongly with the jury. It speaks about the power of cinema when a film finds appreciation from both the audience and the jury.


SHOBHU YARLAGADDA, PRASAD DEVINENI
Best Feature Film, Best VFX, Baahubali: The Beginning

This is a huge achievement. Baahubali is the first Telugu film to win the Best Feature National Award which makes it all the more special. It's an acknowledgement of the team's hard work and commitment over the last few years.

We are also delighted to have won the National Award for Best VFX.


SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI
(Best Director, Bajirao Mastani)

This award is extremely special because it is a pat on the back for my work as a director rather than as a producer. I have bagged three National Awards before this for Devdas, Black and Mary Kom, but that doesn't make the excitement of having your work acknowledged by the entire nation any less spectacular. If there was anyone more ecstatic than me, it was my mother. I was going to her with the news when someone else called her and suddenly I heard a big thud from the mandir room. I ran thinking she had fallen to find her on a high because this was the big moment she had been waiting for.

Bajirao Mastani for me was a dream I obdurately chased for 12 years even after being told by everyone that it would be impossible to relive it on celluloid. I proved that it was possible and after that I didn't expect or want anything else. The critical acclaim, box-office rewards, the love of millions and now these National Awards... Everything is a bonus and makes me feel extremely blessed!

The film has bagged five awards in all and the news came to us in instalments and was greeted with a loud cheer, claps and shouts of "One more, one more..." I wish my actors, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra had made it to the honours list too but at the same time I'm really happy for Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) and Kangana (Ranaut). Anyway these five awards belong to the entire team who complemented each other so well.

After this you can expect an announcement on the next film soon. How long can I be jobless? For the last three months I have been trying to put it together. After the glory of the previous film it's back to challenges, insecurities and hard work again. But that's what filmmaking is all about.


REMO D'SOUZA
(Best Choreography, Deewani Mastani from Bajirao Mastani)

It's a big day. I'm celebrating with my wife (Lizelle), kids and team. I choreographed for Bajrangi Bhaijaan, ABCD 2 and Bajirao Mastani last year and was expecting to win for at least one of them. This is one of the rare, totally Indian songs I have done and I am glad Sanjay (Leela Bhansali) sir liked my work.


TANVI AZMI
(Best Supporting Actress, Bajirao Mastani)

There are directors who can hear their characters speak and Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one of them. For him it's not just about looking the part but sounding it too. I remember on the first day of the shoot, when I suggested shaving off my head, Sanjay wasn't keen and told me we could do it with prosthetics. When I insisted, he said, "Do it but don't ask me again or I won't let you do it." I informed my husband (Baba Azmi) of my decision from the sets, he was very encouraging and when I reached home was waiting for me with a bouquet.


SRIRAM IYENGAR, SALONI DHATRAK, SUJEET SAWANT
(Best Production Design, Bajirao Mastani)

The journey started 13 years ago, when I was assisting Nitin Desai and he was offered Bajirao Mastani. We worked on it for a few months after which it was temporarily shelved. I didn't have much work when I started out on my own so I spent a lot of time researching on the script. I used all the work as my CV and started asking around for work. When the film was started again, Bhansali sir wanted the sets to look larger than life for which we read up on the Maratha architecture extensively. Saloni who has worked on Jodha Akbar took care of the Mughal architecture. We worked for 21 months to create 23 grand sets.

BISHWADEEP CHATTERJEE
(Best Audiography, Sound Designer, Bajirao Mastani)

Since Bajirao Mastani was a period drama, we had to travel back in time. I found a temple where the Brahmins chanted the Rig Veda and incorporated similar tunes into the soundtrack. In the last scene where you see Bajirao hallucinating is my favourite. I incorporated the chants of Tibetian monks to make it seem surreal. Sanjay (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) loved this effect. I'm happy the effort has been acknowledged.


JUSTIN JOSE
(Best Audiography, Re-recordist of the Final Mixed Track, Bajirao Mastani)

It's always difficult working on an epic extravaganza because the sound has to be treated differently. For me the biggest challenge was to highlight the emotional scenes because you had to keep the pitch in mind. You had to make sure a lady like Kashibai doesn't speak too loudly to her husband, Bajirao.


KABIR KHAN
Director, Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Best Popular film providing wholesome entertainment)

I received a "Big big mubaraka" message from Salman Khan. He doesn't care for awards so that makes it special! Award ceremonies nowadays resembles a TV show so the National Award comes as a reinforcement for good cinema. I'm happy that a mainstream film like Bajrangi Bhaijaan which made a lot of money at the box-office too, was recognised. This is my second win after Kabul Express! It'll be screened at the Panama International Film Festival next.


KALKI KOECHLIN
(Special Jury Award, Margarita With A Straw)

This is the award of the country and I cannot believe I've just won one! I've never worked so long on prepping up for a film. It's been a great learning curve for me as an actress because daily practice for so long made the process so organic that I wasn't thinking about the physicality of my character when I faced the camera. That liberated me enough to be able to work on other aspects of Laila and she got me a National Award today!


NEERAJ GHAYWAN
(Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director, Masaan)

Like our earlier wins at Cannes and Filmfare, the National Award was unexpected and delightful. I can't remember the last time a director won all three in a year! My Twitter account has crashed and my phone won't stop ringing. The plan now is to move on to my next film. I had a heartfelt conversation with my parents and explained to them that I'd be receiving it from the President, Pranab Mukherjee. They replied with "Congratulations and thank you."


SURESH ERIYAT
(Best Animated Film, Fisherwoman & Tuk Tuk)

My phone was ringing since morning. I thought people were congratulating me for our recent win at the Tokyo Film Festival. It was only later that I realised I had won the National Award. Winning this award has its own high, but our focus has been on introducing Indian content on global platforms. The film has been accepted across the world, now this national recognition has left the team speechless. It is a colossal boost!


JUHI CHATURVEDI
(Best Original Screenplay, Best Dialogues, Piku)

Piku was a special film and we didn't want to use Bhashkor Banerjee's (Amitabh Bachchan) constipation as a gag as it is a real medical problem. One has to write a subject like this with dignity so I got into the mind of the character. That's how we pulled it off.


SHARAT KATARIYA
(Best Feature Film in Hindi, Dum Laga Ke Haisha)

My phone was switched off all morning. My wife received a call from a journalist telling her about the win. I didn't believe it until I heard it officially. The film released around this time last year and the news is just sinking in. This film will always be special for its madness, music and aspirational theme.


VARUN GROVER
(Best Lyrics for "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" from Dum Laga Ke Haisha)

I was aware that I'd been nominated since I was asked to translate my songs for Masaan and Dum Laga Ke Haisha into different languages. But the win came as a lovely surprise.

Anu Malik played a beautiful tune and Sharat, while sharing the script, told me he wanted "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" to be special rather than a run-of-the-mill love song. With Naveen Kumar on the flute, it turned out beautifully.

The biggest award was Anurag Kashyap's congratulatory text. He'd trusted me with 14 songs for Gangs of Wasseypur when I was nobody.

Subhash K Jha (DNA; June 21, 2015)

“I want to share an incident with you about Abba. The last time he ever got out of bed was 14 January, 2002 (his birthday). I had gone down to Mijima (our village in Azamgarh) to meet him. From early morning, I had been sitting waiting for him to finish meeting all the villagers. Finally, my father hauled himself out of bed and asked my mother for some money. No one had the guts to ask this very old and frail man where he was going off to with his Man Friday. Forty-five minutes later he came back, all drained out. He looks at me and says, ‘Mere gaon wale tumhara subah se bheja chaat rahen hai na? Main apne chidiya ke liye khaas taur se woh samose lekar aaya hoon jo ussey bahut pasand hai.’

Losing Abba
When Abba passed away I realised nothing prepares you for the loss of a parent…NOTHING! I was completely devastated. But now years later I feel his spirit envelopes me like the air I breathe. I remember him with celebration. I do not remember him with sorrow….

Javed and Abba
“I was attracted to Javed (Akhtar) because he was exactly like my father. In getting to know Javed I got to know my father. Like Abba, Javed is a feminist. My father had this complete dependence on domestic matters on my mother. Even I’ve to buy all the clothes and shoes for Javed. Likewise the tailor who stitched my father’s kurta-pyjamas never saw his face. Neither Abba nor Javed have seen the kitchen in the house. Nor can they fix anything around the house. But both can do anything if they set their heart on it. Javed fights to win. I fight to play the game…..My brother Baba is an extreme introvert. He shared an extremely deep relationship with my father. Baba’s wife Tanve, who’s the most talkative person in the world, would run out of the room when Abba and Baba were together. They just shared silences. Abba was everything to me. Ours was an open house during Abba. It continues to be so. My reference point and the choices in life will always come from him, his poetry, work, life and courage.”

My fav Kaifi Azmi lyrics
Hmmmmm… Koi kaise yeh bataaye ke woh tanha kyon hai/woh jo apna tha woh aur kisika kyon hai/yehi duniya hai to phir aisi yeh duniya kyon hai/yehi hota hai to aakhir yehi hota kyon hai?…The simplicity of these lines kills me. Imagine, a spouse-deserted woman (in the film Arth) being faced with these lines!….That sense of commitment which artistes of my father’s generation had, has been missing. But slowly it’s coming back in my film fraternity. I like it when film people come out to involve themselves with social issues. I find it very strange when people say, how could Aamir Khan have taken up an issue without knowing the nitty-gritty of it? Arrey when Gandhiji was thrown off the train in South Africa, he responded emotionally. When I went on a hunger strike twenty years ago on behalf of slum-dwellers, I didn’t know the issues as well as I do today. I come from a background where my parents believe art is an instrument of social change.

Abba’s mirror image
If you ask me who among contemporary lyricists has inherited my father’s legacy I’d say my husband Javed Akhtar. Abba himself used to say this. They both have this amazing vocabulary which if they wanted, they could flaunt generously. Still they both keep their poetry simple. There was never a word in Urdu that my father couldn’t give me the meaning of. I told Amitabh (Bachchan) this. And he said, ‘My father could do this in both English and Hindi.’ Can you imagine!

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 29, 2015)