After Cannes, it will be the BAFTAs. Preity Zinta will be off to the UK on Wednesday to attend the prestigious British Oscars starting this Friday. She will be accompanied by a big Bollywood brigade as Indian cinema is celebrated throughout the three days of the BAFTA weekend.
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| Cannes to Baftas: Preity Zinta |
?She is very excited to be there and may attend another film festival in the UK,? Preity?s business manager told Metro. The other big names who have confirmed their presence include Yash Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Karan Johar. Karan and Preity had earlier gone to Cannes for a bout of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna promotion.
Preity will give a special interview following a screening of Dil Chahta Hai on Sunday which will also see the screening of Rang De Basanti before Aamir fields the questions. With Shah Rukh and Karan also around, it may not be surprising to find another round of promotional activity for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.
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| Ramp Rulers: The bahus in Baa, Bahoo Aur Baby |
Come Friday and you can catch a beauty pageant on TV; only this time those walking the ramp won?t be having the svelte bodies your eyes are so used to. STAR Plus?s popular weekend sitcom Baa Bahoo Aur Baby will be hosting the Lohana Lady Mrs Mumbai Contest from Friday to Sunday at 9.30 pm.
This Friday?s episode will have all the three popular bahus of the show ? Meenakshi, Pravina and Leela ? walking the ramp to compete against Charubala for the much-coveted title of Mrs Mumbai. Even Baa actively gets involved in grooming her three bahus and challenges her own daughter for the contest.
Along with Baa, Gattu, Baby and Dimple get together to help the bahu battalion beat Charubala. Watch all the action as it happens on STAR Plus this weekend.
He has always been fond of Calcutta, and Krishnakali no doubt is giving Amol Palekar the chance to be in the city for longer than ever before. For the Paheli man it?s been a full fortnight of scouring the town and shooting for the Hindi serial commissioned by Doordarshan.
Starting with Lahabari on Amherst Street, Palekar has camped at various spots including a house on Jhowtala Road, Lansdowne Market, Bharat Laxmi Studio and in Kalna.
?I get a kick out of discovering places in Bengal that many aren?t even aware of. To recreate a distinct old-world charm, we have used vintage cars, live sound and shot in unexplored places like Kalna,? said the actor-turned-director who has worked with the likes of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee and Tapan Sinha.
The Bengal connection remains as strong in Krishnakali as in his films. ?Krishnakali was written by Shivani who was based in Santiniketan for a while and therefore the literature has strong strains of Bengali culture and ethos. A major part of the story is based in Calcutta, so I came here to capture the essence of the city in the 1960s and give the serial an authentic texture,? explained Palekar, having completed the first schedule.
?I love and respect any work of literature and try to retain as much as possible but one has to remember that all stories are subjective. When portrayed on screen, it needs an objective treatment that can be interpreted by all. Beyond that I don?t deviate.?
The Krishnakali cast and crew are all from Bengal, a fact Palekar is very proud of. Debajyoti Misra is scoring the background music and the star line-up includes Mamata Shankar, Roopa Ganguly, Anjana Basu, Rimjhim Mitra, Kamalika and Chaiti Ghosal (in a cameo). ?It was refreshing to work with both veteran and budding talents of the Bengali film fraternity. Anjana, who plays the title role, aptly suits the description of Krishnakali. I can be a hard taskmaster but I don?t intimidate anyone and cherish the fact that everyone has something extra to give that helps me do justice to the subject.?
Apart from steering the team, Palekar has also been involved with the serial?s art direction along with Indranil Ghosh. ?I?m very involved and also a little demanding, especially with my art directors. They may have to bend and stretch a little more but they adore me for it since the end result is always very fresh and enchanting,? says Palekar, a student of J.J School of Art, who is particularly fond of the abstract paintings of V.S. Gaitonde.
