ITV

Tag: Evelyn Sharma

  • HeyHey! is helping brands across the entertainment industry enter web3 and navigate new waters: founder & CEO Caleb Franklin

    HeyHey! is helping brands across the entertainment industry enter web3 and navigate new waters: founder & CEO Caleb Franklin

    Mumbai: HeyHey! is a leading-edge online platform that facilitates new forms of experiential engagement between fans and global celebrities, creators, and influencers by utilising new-age tech like web3, blockchain, and NFTs to create digital products that are ahead of the curve. The platform also acts as a gateway through which fans can discover and directly interact with their favourite stars, while empowering celebrities to develop memorable bespoke experiences for their fanverse through personalised video messages and shoutouts.

    Having launched in key international markets like the US and Japan, HeyHey!’s foray into India brings with it an appreciation of the celeb-fan relationship nuances that may differ from one market to another.

    HeyHey! uses its innovative tech to partner with brands, celebrities, and entertainment entities to deliver unmatched experiences with the help of cutting-edge web2 and web3 solutions to fanverses. HeyHey! helps connect fans with over 2,500 artists on its robust roster, ranging from famous Indian names such as Govinda, Amish Tripathi, Sharman Joshi, Evelyn Sharma, Elnaaz Norouzi, Kaneez Surka, Sarfaraz Khan, and K. Gowtham. Apart from films, they also have leading television stars like Rupali Ganguly, Divyanka Tripathi, Rashmi Desai, etc., alongside regional stars like Angel Thomas, Monal Gajjar, Deeksha Joshi, Ojas Rawal, and more, and leading Hollywood stars such as Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Mariah Carey, and Tom Hardy.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with HeyHey! founder and CEO Caleb Franklin. He currently operates out of HeyHey!’s Mumbai office, building an exclusive platform for fan-celebrity engagement with some of India’s biggest talent being present on the platform. In addition to its India operations, HeyHey! is present in Japan and attracts some of the best regional and international talents in sports, media, literature, and art.

    He is also Matter Entertainment founder and CEO. Matter produces premium television and film series for top OTT platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, etc. Matter is a premium literary management company representing some of the leading global artists from India in the realms of writing, direction, books, and production.

    Before founding HeyHey!, Franklin spent a decade working for the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). In his time at CAA, Franklin represented the company’s clients across the global landscape of media, entertainment, technology, and sports. Caleb spearheaded many of the agency’s international initiatives and was part of the founding team of CAA’s presence in India and the Middle East.

    Franklin graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Social Studies from Harvard University with a minor in South Asian Studies. In his personal time, Franklin is a board member of the Ron Brown Scholar Program and serves on the founding committee of Soho House Mumbai. He currently lives in Mumbai with his wife Anisha and their dog Morty.

    Edited excerpts:

    On the idea of HeyHey!

    Caleb: HeyHey!’s mission is to help fans connect with their favourite celebrities, brands, and creators and provide premium experiences at scale. We started as a platform which helped customers get personalised video messages for their loved ones from our roster of more than 2,500+ celebrities. HeyHey! was a growing and touching success, with requests for every occasion ranging from birthday wishes to marriage proposals, haircuts, and even breaking up with someone! We wanted to bridge the gap between a fan and their favourite creator and also help creators build a community.

    On NFTs and the metaverse, allowing celebrities and brands to build better fan engagement

    Caleb: Until now, we’ve seen the focus in the NFT and metaversal spaces revolve around the collectible and novelty aspects. NFTs and the metaverse are still in their nascencey, but we’ve seen that a lot of our partners are interested in this space and are curious to explore it more. As we see more adoption from fans who want to have a more personal touch from their favourite celebrities and creators starting to realise the potential of dedicated fanverses, we will witness a great shift in how both personal and corporate brands start to develop better trust and cultivate a more organic approach to showcasing their products and services with interactive opportunities and experiential engagement.

    On leveraging these opportunities

    Caleb: Staying true to our mission of providing premium experiences to fans at scale, we realised the power of web3. Our aim is to build fanverses, communities, and a platform where fans and celebrities get to build a deeper connection. The concept behind HeyHey! NFTs is to allow fans to have pathways into their favourite celebrity’s community with exclusive perks that are only available upon ownership of that artist’s NFT.

    Apart from making the NFT community in general bigger, we’re trying to provide community building provisions to our NFT creators as well as NFT enthusiasts. HeyHey!’s idea, however, includes having global artists and a global fanbase. We want to create a fanverse where the confines of geographical barriers are broken and both artists and fans worldwide can come under one umbrella.

    On the celebrities that HeyHey! is working with currently

    Caleb: We help connect fans with over 2,500+ Indian and global artists from our network, ranging from famous Indian names such as Govinda, Amish Tripathi, Sharman Joshi, Evelyn Sharma, Elnaaz Norouzi, Kaneez Surka, Sarfaraz Khan, K. Gowtham, Rupali Ganguly, Divyanka Tripathi, Rashmi Desai, etc., to regional stars like Angel Thomas, Monal Gajjar, Deeksha Joshi, Ojas Rawal, to Hollywood stars like Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Mariah Carey, and Tom Hardy.

    On creating awareness among celebrity fans to use its service

    Caleb: Our previous collaborations have worked as a great case study for us to pitch to other celebrities and potential NFT creators. Being able to show them both what the market is like and what we have done with other artists only gives them a better understanding of what the space is like and they can further decide upon things.

    Creators are now understanding the several use cases web3 offers that are not available in existing web2 solutions. Fans are also understanding the importance of dedicated fanverses and communities built around creators they follow/brands they use and feel like a part of their journey.

    On the experiences that fans can get with celebrities using NFTs that otherwise would not be possible

    Caleb: To give a simple example, we’ve gamified Sunny Leone’s ‘I Dream Of Sunny’ NFTs, which gives its owners many benefits that go above and beyond monetary, ranging from coffee dates, set visits, joining her on Instagram live, attending a private yacht party with her, to even going skydiving with her! All these benefits depend on the category of the NFTs the enthusiasts have purchased.

    One of the NFT owners, who lives in another country, was a winner in one of the weeks, and he got to go on an Instagram live with her. To the ones who didn’t know how he did it, he was flooded with queries about how he got an opportunity like that. Sunny too received many DMs asking her how they would also get an opportunity to go live with her. That’s the power of having ownership of her NFT.

    We don’t think that the same would be possible otherwise, because when you think of it, she has millions of followers and she would not go through her list to select a person who she would want to go live with. Also, there would be no purpose. It is because of the NFT that a particular owner owned that enabled him to go live with her. These NFTs allow Sunny to get to know her fans up close and personally, and vice versa.

    On the impact that NFTs and the metaverse will have on the M&E industry

    Caleb: NFTs and the metaverse are already here, having an immense impact on how the media and entertainment businesses approach new avenues. We see it as various stakeholders in the industry are looking to get in on the action, whether to use it as a tool for showcasing an already-existing product or giving users a preview of what they can expect.

    That’s not all. We can see a lot of entertainment businesses incorporating NFTs and metaverse in a way that it’s an extension of what they already offer, essentially helping to offer a more holistic and complete experience.

    In the very near future, we are going to see a lot more NFT projects from big and small creators alike, bringing great ideas to the forefront using the crowdfunding method. This comes through the power of community and the feeling of being part of something you genuinely believe has great potential to be something remarkable, and we believe this is just the tip of the iceberg in how the industry can be part of this movement.

    On the opportunity that HeyHey! sees in India

    Caleb: India as a market has always been selective in what appeals to the masses and if it’s new or revolutionary enough to warrant learning something entirely new. Web3 is the same and in the last two years, we’ve already seen so many ambitious projects from different industries utilising web3. It’s only a matter of time before the infrastructure is adopted all over, and when that happens, our consumers are going to enjoy some exceptional experiences by being part of like-minded communities.

    We want to approach this section of the market and help provide the tools to make such a reality accessible and usable. We are confident that India is ready to be more immersed in web3 and the metaverse.

    On the collaboration with Viacom18 Studios

    Caleb: Viacom18 Studios has been a behemoth in the industry for many years. As a market leader, HeyHey! helped them understand the importance of community building and how web3 was a way of building this long-lasting community. With a full proof concept and plan in place, Viacom18 Studio’s Shabaash Mithu was the perfect opportunity for them to step into the web3 space. With a solid understanding of how we would have liked this to be, and with HeyHey! as their technological partner, we made it a point to show them the path and process.

    On the other projects that HeyHey! is working on in India

    Caleb: We have some exciting projects in our pipeline. A lot of our partners are curious to understand the potential of web3 and NFTs. HeyHey! is helping brands across the entertainment industry enter web3 and navigate new waters. As showcased with our partnership with The Olive Group, we’re also gearing up to put into production some projects for top-tier brands who want to re-imagine their own existence in the upcoming (virtual) reality.

    We’re working with some hard-working teams who want to ensure that they offer their consumers the best possible version of their products they can, whether the consumer is at their store or at home staring at their phone screen.

    On some of the misconceptions that exist when it comes to NFTs

    Caleb: Due to the high NFT prices we’ve seen in the media, there has been a common misconception that NFTs are only art, a way to “get rich quick” or a scam. This has led to people buying NFTs as an investment with the hope or expectation that they’ll increase in price. We have seen a trend of multiple industries, including art, gaming, ticketing, and entertainment, venturing into the web3 space to understand more about it and explore the multiple use cases it can offer.

    HeyHey! NFTs will provide every buyer with utilities, including offline exclusive experiences and the opportunity to join a community of like-minded individuals. Our agenda is to help brands and creators create a community around themselves and also for fans to feel deeply connected.

    On web3

    Caleb: We see web3 as a means for creators and brands to build communities around themselves or their IPs and for fans to feel more connected and build a deeper relationship with these creators and brands. HeyHey! wants to empower these creators and brands to help build these fanverses and communities.

  • FOX Life is back with an all new season of ‘Life Mein Ek Baar’

    FOX Life is back with an all new season of ‘Life Mein Ek Baar’

    MUMBAI: After the first two successful seasons of ‘Life Mein Ek Baar’, FOX Life, India’s leading travel and lifestyle channel, is back with an all new power packed season of unique experiences. This season will showcase 4 friends explore their friendship- Evelyn Sharma, Rochelle Rao, Pia Trivedi and Mahek Chahal as they take on an exciting and emotional journey in Thailand. Life Men Ek Baar premieres on FOX Life on 26 November 2014 and will air every Wednesday and Thursday at 10 pm.

    The show will capture the exciting journey of four friends- the romantic Evelyn Sharma, the spirited Rochelle Rao, the impulsive Pia Trivedi and the mysterious Mehak Chahal, as they discover the adventurous side of life. The girls do it all and that too with much élan! Whether they are giving free hugs to passers-by or experiencing life inches away from deadly snakes – every day is a surprise for the girls. From an emotional tour of Wat Pho temple to an adrenaline pumping cliff and sky diving; from flying in a Gyrocopter to getting an Elephant Massage; from kite surfing and ocean walking to club hopping and trying their hands at Muay Thai- the combat sport of Thailand. Every episode holds a promise of something fresh and exhilarating.

    Talking about the new season, Swati Mohan, Vice President – Content & Programming, FOX International Channels said, “True to the philosophy of the channel, Life Mein Ek Baar is a show where viewers get a chance to see, feel and taste just how amazing life could be if you learn to live it to the fullest and truly – Go Places. Two successful seasons later, the show returns for a 3rd with the same adrenalin rush, real emotions & superior production quality that it has come to be known for. A brand new cast takes the plunge to exotic Thailand and are seen pushing each other out of their comfort zones, tackling their fears head on and taking a big bite out of life”

    Talking about her small screen debut, Evelyn Sharma said, “Life Mein Ek Baar is all about adventure and friendship. It helped me live my biggest dream that too with three amazing girls. I would have never thought I’d get to experience all the things in my bucket list at once!  What appealed me about this show was the positivity along with travelling, adventure and the adrenaline thrill.”

    Echoing the excitement, Pia Trivedi said, “Life Mein Ek Baar gave me the perfect opportunity to get away from my hectic schedules and live my life in an exciting way. The show helped me to embrace each moment in life and live it to the fullest.”

    Talking about her experience, Rochelle Rao said, “Being a part of the show was the ultimate Life Mein Ek Baar moment for me. It was great fun to be out there with your friends and doing a bunch of crazy activities. I always wanted to do bungee jumping and I finally did it and enjoyed it thoroughly.”

    Talking about being on the show, Mahek Chahal said, “I have always loved trying different things and experiences in life and Life Mein Ek Baar just sounded that. I really enjoyed Kite surfing despite a few challenges and Jet packing was also a lot of fun.”

    Watch the high profile girl’s gang live life to the fullest in Life Mein Ek Baar starting 26thNovember 2014 every Wednesday & Thursday at 10 pm only on FOX Life.

    Annexure:  Episodic synopsis

    Episode 1: All the girls meet and share their wish lists of what they want to do in Thailand. Pia has already planned a surprise for the girls- cliff diving. Evelyn and Mehak refuse to do the activity and get upset. So, Rochelle makes a plan for the night to cheers up the girls and she takes them to a famous sundowner party where they raise the toast for the start of their journey.

    Episode 2: Mehak and Rochelle enjoy the day scuba diving whereas Pia and Evelyn rent bikes and explore the Phi Phi Island.

    Episode 3: Pia plans a gyrocopter ride for her and Evelyn, who is scared of height, at the Phuket Airpark. Mehak surprises Rochelle with a paddle surfing experience. Rochelle is extremely grateful to Mahek for surprising her with this amazing experience.

    Episode 4: Girls meet up with John gray, an environmentalist and start on a boat journey to explore the caves. After the cave exploration, John surprises the girls with the camping plan at the no-man’s beach, where they all enjoy and bond over a bonfire.

    Episode 5: Mehak has planned the day for all girls with an exciting visit to the Khao Lak National Park. Rochelle shares her secret fear of white water rafting and all girls decide to try that out and help Rochelle get over her fear. Unfortunately Evelyn hurt her foot while rafting. Girls decide to have some fun and also do zip lining.

    Episode 6: Mehak and Rochelle chill at the Kata beach try their hand at surfing. They enjoy it thoroughly with various successful and unsuccessful attempts. Whereas, Pia and Evelyn explores a unique place called Muslim village, which is made on stilts. They spend their day Fishing, playing football with the locals and also shake a leg with the elderly females of the village.

    Episode 7: Rochelle conquers her fear of heights by doing bungee jumping all alone. On her accomplishment, Pia surprises her with a trip to Tiger kingdom, where they play with the tigers and spread the message of Save Tigers. Evelyn and Mehak enjoy a drive around the city and explore a unique upside down house, where everything from decor to furniture a placed upside down.
     
    Episode 8: Rochelle, Mehak and Evelyn decide to spread love by giving free hugs with the public as previously done by Barbara & Yana in season 2. Pia being the adventurous freak, takes on Para motoring all alone and enjoys her air ride.
     
    Episode 9: Mehak surprises Pia with a kite surfing training session. With many funny falls, they enjoy it to the fullest. As this was their last day in Phuket, Rochelle plans a yacht ride with wine for the girls. They experience the crazy nightlife of the city by taking a tour to the naughtiest street of Phuket – Patong road. Unfortunately Evelyn misses out the fun as she was unwell and was resting.
     
    Episode 10: Evelyn surprises Rochelle and Mehak with a private plane ride with wine and cheese. Evelyn and Pia then enjoy an early morning breakfast at a boathouse restaurant where they meet Chef Ryan and decide to take some cooking tips from him. While taking their cooking classes, they decide to serve some free food to people at beach area and enjoyed the feeling of feeding someone.

  • ‘Main Tera Hero’: David & Dhavan

    ‘Main Tera Hero’: David & Dhavan

    MUMBAI: When watching a David Dhavan film, remember he is a Manmohan Desai fan and believes in making films to entertain. Ergo, don’t look for logic or argue about the last scene and the next being not connected. As long as the film gives you ‘time pass’ his agenda has been met. A father directing his son is a rare privilege enjoyed by very few filmmakers. Here, David directs his son, Varun Dhavan.

    Varun is a good-for-nothing boy studying in Coonoor and, obviously, finds it hard to get through his class. Many of his fellow students go to Bengaluru to study and come back with better results. Varun also decides to do that. Once in a Bengaluru college, the inevitable happens. He spots Ileana D’Cruz and, for him, it is love at first sight. Since this is a remake of the Telugu film, Kandireega, what follows is bizarre! It happens only in South Indian films and that is, Ileana is being watched over by a bunch of goons delegated by Arunoday Singh, a local cop who is in love with her and overtly possessive about her so no one dare look at her, let alone come anywhere near her or love her. Arunoday is always accompanied by a fellow cop and his sidekick, Rajpal Yadav.

    Well, Varun has already fallen for her and is not scared of Arunoday which he proves at first opportunity by thrashing his goons. Next he should be thrashing Arunoday and that would be the end of the story. But that would also mean the end of the film less than hour into it. For the sake of affording the film its full 2-hours-plus run, Arunoday challenges Varun to win over Ileana in the next three days or else face his wrath.

    Varun wins over Ileana even before he starts and Arunoday should not be a hurdle anymore.  And he is not, but there is a bigger challenge for Varun now. His lady love, Ileana is kidnapped and the man behind it is the father of a girl who fell for Varun when he was on his way to Bengaluru. It so happened that he fought some rowdy boys on the way and a girl, Nargis Fakhri, who captured his actions on her handycam had fallen for him. She happens to be the daughter of the biggest don operating between Asia and Africa, Anupam Kher. Ileana has been kidnapped by the don’s man so that Varun follows her and Kher can then make him marry his daughter, Nargis!

    Producers: Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor.

    Director: David Dhavan.

    Cast: Varun Dhawa,Ileana D’Cruz, Nargis Fakhri, Arunoday Singh, Anupam Kher, Evelyn Sharma, Raju Kher.

    Anupam is supposed to be sinister, pulling out a gun at the drop of a hat. But for the sake of entertainment, he is more of a caricature, with Saurabh Shukla as his sidekick. As if that were not enough, Arunoday, along with his sidekick, Rajpal, has also followed Varun to Anupam’s den. Varun has ten days to marry Nargis. Meanwhile, he has to pretend to be in love with Nargis while trying to get her out of his hair so he can romance with his true love, Ileana. The only help he has is from lord Ganesh and Jesus Christ, their statues talking back to him. Finally, Nargis finds her true love in Arunoday with some help and prodding from Varun.

    While the first half is fun and dance and battles of one-upmanship with Arunoday, the film gathers more pace in second half as more characters are added in the form of Anupam, Saurabh and Nargis. Being a Telugu remake, some aspects may seem farfetched: like the character of Arunoday, a mere inspector who terrorises a girl and her parents as he plans to marry her, that too in a metro like Bengaluru.

    David Dhavan directs his son and has rightly chosen to make a light entertainer which usually don’t backfire and fit the slot of a typical David film. As usual, he also does not get carried away with length and restricts the film to 128 minutes. The film has peppy music and provides scope for Varun to showcase his dancing prowess. However, the background score is full of pieces from RD Burman and Bappi Lahiri repertoire. Cinematography is good. Varun has an easy job of playing a carefree young man with the role requiring no drama. But why is he imitating Govinda and Anil Kapoor? Ileana is okay while Nargis has little to do. Anupam and Saurabh are in their element providing much of the fun. Shakti Kapoor in guest role lends his presence.

    On the whole, Main Tera Hero is a fair entertainer with a reasonably good opening response. While the T20 may affect its collections on Friday and Sunday (if India qualifies for the finals), in many parts it will have the advantage of Ram Navami and election day holidays.

    Jal: Dry run…

    Kutch, the deserted district of north-west Gujarat, seems to have become the flavour of the season for both commercial as well as offbeat films. Jal is the latest film based in Kutch, dealing with its water problems. The film is about a clairvoyant who can pinpoint a spot where a well can be dug to find water. Now that Narmada waters have reached far-flung corners of Kutch including the borders manned by the army, the subject may seem a bit out of sync but mattered a lot not very long ago.

    Producers: Puneet Singh, Girish Malik, Sumit Kapoor, Yogesh Mittal.

    Director: Girish Malik.

    Cast: Purab H Kohli, Kirti Kulhari, Saidha Jules, Mukul Dev, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Yashpal

    Sharma, Ravi Gossain, Vicky Ahuja.

    Purab Kohli is Bakka who is gifted with this instinct of spotting water underground with the help of his two brass sticks. He is right 60 per cent of the time by his own admission and his village counts on him in the absence of an alternative. When he isolates a spot, they just dig! This is his livelihood. On a personal front, Bakka loves the daughter of the mukhiya of the neighbouring village, Kirti Kulhari, with which his village has a running feud because that village has abundant water while his village has no source of water. Bakka is also loved by his best friend’s sister in his own village, Tannishtha Chatterjee.

    Things change for Bakka and his villagers when a researcher, Saidha Jules, arrives. She sets up her base on the waterfront where thousands of flamingos arrive each year. Soon she notices that the young ones of these flamingos die because of excess salt content in the water. The salt dries up in their wings rendering them flightless. She realises that sweet water needs to be added to this flow of water. Drilling machines are brought in and spots isolated where water could be found. This also provides labour to villagers who are engaged to take the dug sand away. However, despite the drill and the computer, the team fails to find water.

    Bakka’s skills are called upon to identify spots with water. All the three spots he earmarks give water. Bakka becomes a small celebrity and also gets employment from the government. Now the neighbouring village mukhiya is ready to give his daughter to Bakka in marriage. All is going well when his own villagers expect Bakka to borrow the drilling machine from Saidha and her colleague Gary Richardson. But, before he could raise the subject with Saidha she has left having finished her job. Gary also feels he has no use for Bakka now and ignores him. It is while Gary and his team are away that Bakka lures their middleman, Yashpal Sharma, with gold collected from the villagers. But, tragedy strikes, the machine breaks down and all hell breaks loose.

    The happy days are over for Bakka. His efforts to manually dig for water fail. The gold is stolen and he is blamed and thrown out of the village along with his heavily pregnant wife. When, finally, good news comes in the form of an article on his skills and a cheque as a reward, Bakka is nowhere around to collect it.

    While the first half is light with a lot of bonhomie and humour among the villagers, the second half, especially towards the end, becomes heavy with some forced tragedy. Direction is generally good. Background score as well as the choice of folk songs is effective. The highlight of the film is cinematography by Sunita Radia who captures vast vistas of the desert beautifully while also excelling otherwise. Purab is impressive with another good performance coming from Tannishtha. The rest, cast as village folk are natural.

    Jal will find a lot of appreciation from critics as well as on the festival circuit but not find many takers in cinema halls.

  • ‘Dedh Ishqiya’: Not half as fun as Ishqiya

    ‘Dedh Ishqiya’: Not half as fun as Ishqiya

    MUMBAI: Here is another sequel, Dedh Ishqiya, following the 2010 film Ishqiya. The producers and the director remain the same and so do the protagonists, Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi. They continue to be petty thieves always on the run from a local don, Salman Shahid, and while dodging him; their greed leads them into another complication. The idea is interesting since the story involves a lot of plots, betrayals and backstabbing. The end could have been a shocker but seems to have been compromised in favour of pleasing the Indian moviegoer’s senses as well as to deliver the promise of one more sequel.

     

    Shah and Arshad have just stolen a costly necklace from a jeweller’s shop. Their ways of carrying out such heists being crude, they are caught in the act and the police are on their back. Shah uses the opportunity to ditch Arshad since the necklace is with him. A livid Arshad is desperately looking for him and while in action in a whorehouse, he learns the whereabouts of his partner-in-crime. He learns that Shah is headed for Mahmudabad to participate in a mushaira organised by the widow Begum of the province. The Begum, Madhuri Dixit, declares that her husband, the Nawab, was a poet and that is why, before he died he made her promise that she will marry again but to a poet. Hence, she has organised the mushaira so that she could anoint the winner as her husband and the Nawab of the province. Shah’s idea is to gatecrash into the contest, win it and become the Nawab and settle for life.

     

    Shah is at the venue, introduces himself as Nawab of another province and gives looks to Madhuri which make his intentions clear. As the mushaira opens, there are many contestants but Shah impresses. Also impressive is Vijay Raaz, a Nawab from across the river. He will be the villain of the piece for Shah since he has coveted Madhuri forever. Vijay is no poet by any stretch of imagination. What he has done is to kidnap and imprison a reputed poet named Italvi, Manoj Pahwa, who is forced to pen shairis which Vijay goes and mouths at the competition.

     

    It is day two of the contest and Vijay has excelled in his rendition. Shah chooses to opt for a song instead which will also help him express his feelings for Madhuri; by now, he is in love with her! There is a huge round of applause as he finishes the song, the gathering is unanimous in their appreciation but Shah’s joy vanishes as he spots Arshad eyeing him angrily from the crowd. Being inseparable as they are, both join forces again with a common goal, to clean up the Begum’s treasury. What follows is a three-way war of wits between the duo, Madhuri and her aide and confidante, Huma Qureshi and Vijay Raaz and his goons which is fun in parts.

     

    What a viewer misses in Dedh Ishqiya is a character like Vidya Balan in the earlier film. While the Shah- Arshad duo is street smart, Madhuri as the Begum with Adab is not a fitting counter. The other drawback is the villain played by Vijay Raaz, he just does not make the league and overacts; as it is mentioned in one of the scenes, he does not have the DNA for the character he plays. The dialogue is chaste Urdu, so much so that the film comes with English sub-titles! What was the need? The film could easily have had simple Urdu dialogue. It is not as if the characters—Shah and Arshad—are real nawabs.

     

    Abhishek Chaube’s direction is capable. Musically, while some songs may have pleasant tunes; the lyrics are not easy to catch. Cinematography is patchy. The ambience is convincing. Arshad is in his element in a tapori role once again. Shah is good as usual. Madhuri and Huma are okay. Manoj Pahwa, in a brief role, is good.

     

    Dedh Ishqiya has not had a good opening. The package has failed to create attraction for the compulsive early moviegoer which does not augur well for the coming days.

     

    Producers: Raman Maru, Vishal Bhardwaj.

    Director: Abhishek Chaube.

    Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi, Naseeruddin Shah, Huma Qureshi, Vijay Raaz, Manoj Pahwa.

     

    ‘Yaariyan’: Music Saves the Day

     

    Yaariyan launches a few new artistes but mainly the film launches Divya Khosla Kumar, wife of T-Series head honcho, Bhushan Kumar, who makes her debut, writes the story, shares the credit for screenplay and, most of all, wields the megaphone. Even as the company has made numerous joint ventures or outsourced projects, with this film it introduces an in-house filmmaker.

     

    In keeping with the company’s profile, the film is planned as a musical, which caters to contemporary tastes and youth and hence is a film about college students. It provides all the scope to sing, dance, swing and romance. Finally, the ambience is provided by the picturesque locations of Shimla and South Africa. Thereafter, the story is a bit too far-fetched, twisting and turning as and when needed.

     

    This college is in Sikkim (that is where the story is based notwithstanding the location) where there are all kinds of students except Sikkimmis. The students, as in most such films, come to college as if to a park or a disco; they do everything but study. For most of the first half, the film has no purpose except some supposedly youthful pranks. There is a mandatory bitch, a witch, a plain Jane, a gay character and what have you to complete the clichéd character muster. Not all are relevant. All this makes first half of the film quite testing for the viewer.

     

    It is time something happened to push the film forward. So the story is finally inserted: This College with multiple facilities was set up by the local royal eons back. The royals have sold off many properties on the campus to an Australian prospect hunter. This deal includes the ladies hostel on the premises which is the biggest loss for the boys in the college! The only way these blocks on the property can be salvaged is by winning a bunch of competitions between the local students and their Australian counterparts. So the college guys and girls go on a trip to Australia which, like many such films from Dirty Dozen to Magnificent Seven, include specialists—a rock climber, a chess player, a racer, a rocker modelled on the Archies. As is the reputation pinned on all Indians by films, they get drunk all night, are not in senses the next day for a contest and lose. Also, given what we know of cricket, Australians are always known to play unfair and in the process, they not only cheat but also kill one of hero’s best friends.

     

    The team comes back with ashen faces but all is not lost. There is still a return match to be played on Indian soil. Back home, the hero, Himansh Kohli, chasing all kinds of girls, finally finds his true love in the plain Jane, Rakul Preet Singh, as the oiled-hair girl turns into the Thoroughly Modern Millie. The Indian flag flies high as the rivals are made to see practical Indian values.

     

    While the new actors are okay to passable, direction needs a lot of honing. The hero of the film is its music which has translated into good opening shows for the film which, with its reasonable price tag, should sail through to safety.

     

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar.

    Director: Divya Khosla Kumar.

    Cast: Himansh Kohli, Dev Sharma, Serah Singh, Rakul Preet Singh, Nicole Faria, Evelyn Sharma, Shreyas Pardi, Gulshan Grover, Deepti Naval, Smita Jaykar, Honey Singh, Arvind Balli.

  • Nevanta calendar 2014 to empower women

    Nevanta calendar 2014 to empower women

    MUMBAI: To start 2014 on a good and optimistic note, Nevanta Media has launched its 2014 limited edition calendar.

    The calendar brings together actors from Bollywood and TV, leading and emerging designers, along with dynamic women entrepreneurs to raise money for charity.

    Nevanta co-founder and CEO Gurpreet Sidhu said, “We always see the glamorous side of the fashion industry, but the Nevanta celebrity charity calendar brings out the human side. Everyone who worked on the calendar stepped forward to support Nevanta’s cause of empowering women. We also added a twist by bringing in successful and fashionable women entrepreneurs to the mix. And we at Nevanta are proud that we could make all this happen and encourage people to contribute to a good cause.”

    Apart from stars like Evelyn Sharma, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Sanjjanna, and Parul Yadav other celebrities featuring in the calendar are Shibani Kashyap, Pooja Ruparel, Smita Gondkar, Sampada Vaze and women entrepreneurs like Nevales co-founder Sunija Rishi, Chumbak co-founder Shubhra Chadda and Rudraksh’s owner Rasika Wakalkar.

    Known fashion designers like AD Singh, Namrata G, Nivedita Saboo, Ramesh Dembla and Nimirta Lalwani among others have extended their support to the calendar by dressing up the calendar girls.

    The proceeds from the sale of the table top calendar will go to the Samarthanam Trust of the Disabled, to train and rehabilitate visually impaired girls and women.

  • Evelyn Sharma to match dance steps with Arshad Warsi

    Evelyn Sharma to match dance steps with Arshad Warsi

    MUMBAI: Evelyn Sharma seems to have all the luck by her side. From starting out as a fashionista and graduating to Bollywood success with super hits like Nautanki Saala! and then Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (YJHD), she’s now turning a new leaf in her career.

     

    Evelyn has been signed by director Neeraj Pathak for Bhaiyyaji Superhit starring Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta and Arshad Warsi.

     

    Pitted as the leading lady opposite Arshad, she plays a cute, sexy but traditional Indian girl. But what the actress is most excited about is matching dance steps with him. Apart from being a powerhouse performer, Arshad is well-known for being a great dancer. And Evelyn feels this gives her a chance to hone her dancing skills too. Nowadays, the girl is often spotted at a dance rehearsal hall in Andheri, Mumbai. We wonder if that has something to do with the challenge of dancing with Arshad.

     

    Meanwhile, having bagged a role with various shades, comedy, songs, dance and all, Evelyn is glad to work with director Neeraj Pathak. “He spotted me in YJHD and invited me to his office for a meeting. He compliments me for my talent and thinks I am a quick learner. I feel honoured with the praise,” said the actress.