Hitting the right note

Asha Bhosle’s forte: film, vocals and food!:

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

Padmini Kolhapure on Bhosle

“When the director came to me with this offer I had this strange feeling that it would be Ashaji who plays my mother. My hunch was proven right when he informed me that Ashaji had signed to play the role. I grew up in front of Lataji and Ashaji. So, facing the camera with Ashaji is a dream-come-true. When we met up about Maaee, Ashaji teased me: ‘You’ve to give me tips on acting for this film.’ I turned around and told Ashaji: ‘Fine I’ll give you tips in acting, if you teach me how to sing’.”

She has ruled the roost with her vocal talents for more than six decades. Versatility is her strength. With 12, 000 songs to her name and over a 1,000 film songs in her repertoire it is no wonder that Asha Bhosle is considered one of India’s most sought after vocalists.

Challenges, she says, are a part of her life. From her struggle to evade from the shadows of her elder sister, the legendary Lata Mangeshkar, to carving a niche for herself as a playback vocalist, Asha Bhosle had taken life’s trials by the horns.

These characteristics took her to heights from bringing out evergreen renditions like Dum maro dum in Hare Rama, Hare Krishna, Mehbooba mehbooba in Sholay, Mera kuch saaman in Ijaazat, Piya tu ab to aaja in Caravan, Chura liya hai tum ne in Yaadon Ki Baraat and many more to being named as the ‘Most Recorded Artiste’ in the world by the World Records Academy in 2009.

Never one to shy away from trying her hand at something new the 77-year-old songstress turned a new leaf in her career as she turned actress for Mahesh Kodiyal’s Maaee.

The story revolves around an Alzheimer’s patient. She is abandoned by her son. Two of her daughters wash their hands off her. Finally it is her eldest daughter, Madhu, a girl with her heart in the right place, who has to take care of her amid work pressure and family opposition. Madhu is faced with a choice: to fight through it all and emerge a winner or to leave her mother neglected. Padmini Kolhapure essays Madhu‘s role in Maaee. The film was shot entirely in Mumbai.

Asked why she made her maiden movie with a debutant director rather than playing it safe with a established film-maker Bhosle said that it all comes down to the fact that she found the script fascinating.

“I connected very strongly with the story the moment it was narrated to me. The tale focuses on a mother and a human being even though it was so far removed from my own life and experience. I knew then and there that there was no way I could let the opportunity of portraying this character pass me by,” she said.

Acting is not particularly new to her because it runs in her family. She notes that singing too involves acting.

One-off project

“Singing incorporates acting. We need to put expressions into a song when we sing. Otherwise the song will fall flat. There are many songs which include dialogues. This helped me to act in front of the camera,” she explained.

Bhosle’s sister Lata sang the title track of the movie. Her granddaughter Zanai too made her singing debut in Maaee. The film hit the screen in April and was well received among moviegoers. However Bhosle states that Maaee is her first and last film because she is not interested in pursuing an acting career.

“I just wanted to try something new. The film is only a one-off project. I am happy being a vocalist. My focus is more on world concerts,” she added.

Language is not a barrier for the nightingale for she had sung in 18 languages including Hindi, Assamese, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, English, Russian, Czech, Nepali, Malay and Malayalam. She made a guest appearance in Bhathiya and Santhush’s single Dedunna Sedi and a Hindi-language version of their song Pethu Pem Pathum.

“I like to sing in many languages because India comprises of many languages. Language changes between each city. I do not find a vast difference between Sinhala and our languages. Our tunes are melodious and the language is not difficult to pronounce. Malayalam and Tamil are much more difficult to digest. Sinhala is like Hindi to me. It makes me feel good,” she said.

Lead actresses

From romantic film songs to cabaret, bhajans, ghazals, folk songs, qawwalis and Rabindra Sangeet - the singing sensation has sung them all. She was mostly given the opportunity to sing vocals for supporting actresses, especially the villainesses in Bollywood films at the early stages of her career.

“Singing for heroines is very easy. They are mostly love songs and it is not very demanding to sing them but cabaret is very difficult. These tunes vary from high and low pitches since the actresses dance to the track. Qawwalis too are difficult. Though they were not songs meant for the lead actresses, they got due recognition because they were challenging to sing. One must take up challenges in life,” the singing diva opined.

She believes that her voice best suits the actresses Madhubala, Zeenat Aman, Asha Parekh, Urmila Matondkar, Helen and Aishwarya Rai.

“I listen to their voices as they speak and when I sing, I try to match their voice. That way the voice is perfect,” she spelled out the key to her success.

Classical music

She claims that she would have been a culinary expert if her singing career had not taken off. She has launched a chain of restaurants in India, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Doha and Cairo.

“I will launch one in Sri Lanka too. My food is very different. People love it,” she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Her next stop is in San Francisco where she will be singing fusion Indian classical music for the first time. She is currently working on her autobiography between pauses because she needs time to reflect more on life.

Gamani:

lessons from the past :

Uvindu ILLPERUMA

Though peace has dawned in our country, the memories of three decades of terrorism are unforgettable. There are past experiences that would haunt our memory forever.

Lessons need to be learnt to avoid repeating the same mistakes. This is the basic message in Gamani, Rear Admiral Dr Sarath Weerasekara’s maiden movie which will begin screening in theatres island wide soon.

Gamani depicts the essence of the terrors of the LTTE. The film is woven around a real story which occurred in a village called Gonagala, located in the Ampara District. It is spearheaded by a personality who was the Director General of Civil Security Forces which played a key role in concluding the conflict.

The Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Mass Media and Communication Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, the cast of the movie and crew of Gamani and many other key figures in the industry were present for the press show of the film.

Addressing the gathering at the event Dr Weerasekara said, “No possibility was shown towards developing a literature based on the conflict after the incident. Instead most artistes directed movies which projected soldiers having intimate encounters with Tamil women or soldiers’ wives betraying their spouses with other men in the village.

Though these productions gained international recognition, they degraded the morale of the soldiers. I wrote many newspaper articles on the harm caused by such actions. They told me not to meddle with their affairs but to concentrate on the naval activities. Gamani was born as a product of their reaction to their charges. It highlights the role played by some heroic individuals of the era.”

Directed by a personality who has first hand experience in the battlefield Gamani captures the hope, terror, joy, sorrow, relief and devastation of the common man. It also targets the solder and his contribution to ensuring the people’s safety as well as his personal traits.

Bimal Jayakody and Dilhani Ashokamala take on the lead roles. Sanath Gunatileke, W Jayasiri, Geetha Kanthi Jayakody, Mahendra Perera, Damitha Abeyratne, Veena Jayakody and others comprise the rest of the cast.

The film features some angampora fight scenes and comedy sequences. It caters to the young and old and is a film to watch out for. With an abundance of talent and the cream of the nation’s artistes among the cast, Gamani will surely carve a niche among its audience.

Potter hits gold

Warner Brothers have announced that the final installment of the Harry Potter franchise has become the highest-grossing movie of 2011.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has earned $801.5m internationally in less than a month. It is now the third highest-grossing movie of all time, behind Avatar and Titanic.

The seventh part of the Potter franchise involves Harry, Ron and Hermione’s search for Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will unspool at Liberty cinema from August 19.

Trilogy prospects for Planet of the Apes

With Rise of the Planet of the Apes doing well in the box office receipts this weekend, the studio and the film’s producers are talking not just one sequel to the film, but two.

The nice part is that those who made the first film have always been ready for more.“We’re definitely teed up,” producer Rick Jaffa said.

“We feel very confident that there will be one, but at this point, it’s still wait-and-see.”

Probably for not much longer. Through Aug. 10, Rise of the Planet of the Apes has made $73 million at the domestic box office - not bad for a film made for less than $100 million - and has only been out for six days.

It will not become a mega-blockbuster like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 or Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, but it is certainly looking to be both a profitable and buzz-worthy film.

The movie is screening at Liberty Lite cinema.

Fernandez: the sequel queen

It seems that Jacqueline fernandez has become every director’s hot favourite for sequels. The actress has been signing most of the films which are sequels to big hit films. After Murder 2 the actress will be seen in Housefull 2. Not only that the actress has also signed yet another film with Bhatts.

It is believed that the actress will be seen in the Jism sequel opposite Dino Morea. Jacqueline showed her super sexy, bold avatar in Murder 2. Thus when Bips said no to the Jism sequel, Bhatts immediately thought of their new muse Jacqueline to fit into her shoes.

Fernandez also has her eyes set on Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor as her next co-stars.

“I would like to act with Aamir Khan or Ranbir Kapoor,” she said.

Meanwhile the grapevine has it that Sajid Khan was miffed at Jacqueline’s decision on doing an item number for Desi Boyz starring Akshay Kumar and John Abraham.

Reports an insider to a daily, “Director Rohit Dhawan and producer Krishika Lulla were keen that Jackie do an item song for DB. However, she refused the song saying Sajid (Khan) wouldn`t like it.

Apparently, the director has a say in whatever Jackie does, personally and professionally. The `official` reason is that if Jackie acts with John in Desi Boyz (it releases before Housefull 2), the pairing would lose its freshness for Sajid`s film.

Times of India