Archiv » Jahr 2006

In good company
Ajay Devgan, who has been getting a variety of roles lately, says he will play Veeru in Ramu’s Sholay ‘differently’. By Subhash K. Jha

It’s confirmed. Ajay Devgan is stepping into the role of Veeru in Sholay. Originally done by Dharmendra, the part in Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay was offered to Abhishek Bachchan and then Saif Ali Khan. Both had to decline the offer for various reasons. Now an old Varma favourite is doing it. Ajay who’s done Company and Bhoot with Varma is now stepping into the coveted role. How would the known introvert play the extrovert Veeru?

Says Ajay, “I think Ramu has changed the milieu and my character to suit today’s times. It works for me. My Veeru wouldn’t be quite the same as it was earlier.” Before Sholay, Ajay plays Vishal Bhardwaj’s Othello. “Yes, the film starts this month. We’re shooting it at a stretch. I simply love the way Vishal has Indianised Shakespeare. He has placed it in a small town of UP. I think it’s exceptional.”

It will also be Ajay’s first film with Kareena Kapoor. “We were supposed to do Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat together.” But before that it’s Ajay Devgan’s two totally antithetical films and characters in Prakash Jha’s Apaharan and John Mathew Matthan’s Shikhar. Says Ajay, “Prakash and I have worked in several films together. But it doesn’t mean I’ve to be in all the films he makes. I wasn’t there in his last picture on Jayaprakash Narayan. It all depends on suitability. We get along. We understand each other. There’s no doubt about Prakash’s abilities as a director.”

After GangaaJal, Ajay was seen again entering into Bihar’s politics with Prakash Jha in Apaharan. The actor says he was shocked when he read about the rampant kidnappings in Bihar. “I only knew what I had read in the papers and seen in the news. I had done GangaaJal with the director, so I was familiar with his home turf. When Prakash Jha narrated the script to me I was shocked. The kidnappers treat their work just like you and I treat ours. Everything is done so professionally. They almost have an official language and protocol for kidnappings?.poora chai-pani tak ka hisaab banaate hain ?”

Whether it’s GangaaJal, Kaal or Main Aisa Hi Hoon, Ajay has been pushing the actor’s envelope regularly. “I learn so much from a director like Prakash. Such filmmakers help me to grow and understand myself and the purpose of cinema. ?Apaharan wasn’t a naach-gaana film. But a hardcore entertainer. The kidnappings were just a backdrop. Basically, it was an emotional father-son story. My character goes from ideological inheritance to thorough corruption and final redemption?I agree I’ve been getting some terrific roles. I guess I’m lucky. I just hear scripts, and go ahead and do what I believe in. I don’t regret making mistakes. I learn from my mistakes. I never see any role as a risk. Apaharan was like any commercial film minus the songs?Even the item song started as a song and merged into a scene.”

Shikhar will find audiences with another Devgan. “Looks-wise and conceptwise Shikhar takes me into another territory. It’s about two characters who believe in differing ideologies. Again, it’s a real subject but a hardcore entertainer. My character doesn’t believe in conventional definitions of right and wrong. I worked with John Mathew Matthan for the first time. He knew exactly what he wanted, and how to get it. See, you go into every film with the same conviction. How it finally turns out is not up to the actor.”

Apaharan and Shikhar will be followed by Rajkumar Santoshi’s Saamna and carry forward Ajay’s reputation for doing hardhitting film. “These are what you call socially conscious films. All three are very different from one another. Then I’ve hardcore entertainers like Ramu’s Sholay. I don’t look at a film as purposeful or purposeless. I’ve just completed an out-and-out comedy called Gol Maal with Rohit Shetty. I also have another comedy which I’ll be doing with Abbas-Mustan with Sunjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu. I’m very comfortable with comedy?I’ve done comedy with my wife [Kajol] in the cellphone ad as well. It’s worked well. This is my second ad with my wife. But it doesn’t mean we’ll be working in all our ads together. I’ve just done a solo ad for a soda.”

Ajay’s versatility in roles is unique. “Everyone is talented. But they all want to play safe. My colleagues are doing what they like doing. I’m doing what I like. Main Aisa Hi Hoon failed. But I stand by it.”
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060106/as...ory_5547501.asp

http://www.sawf.org/newedit/edit05292006/entertainment.asp

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Monday, May 29, 2006
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Othello Gets Bollywood Makeover



William Shakespeare's mesmerising tale of all-consuming love and jealousy, "Othello", has been given a Bollywood makeover and is to hit screens across the world in July.

The project was the idea of top Indian director Vishal Bhardwaj, who three years ago packed in cinemas with his Hindi version of "Macbeth" named Maqbool.

"Macbeth was a big success not just in India but in international festivals, so I thought it would be a good idea to do another Shakespeare," Bhardwaj told AFP during an interview in Cannes.

"Othello is a universal tale, dealing with the basic human traits of revenge and jealousy and I thought it would translate well into a film."

Bhardwaj spent some two months writing the Hindi script for his film which he has called "Omkara" after the main character, and which by Bollywood standards has a big budget of some five million US dollars.

In this version of Shakespeare's classic, the Moor of Venice is portrayed as a gangland leader operating in the Indian badlands of Uttar Pradesh.

"Once upon a time in the east, in a world ruled by outlaws, a world that lived by the trigger, there was a single clan that was held together by loyalty," reads the synopsis of "Omkara".

"I think it is much more interesting to see the villains than the saints," said Bhardwaj, explaining why he made the character Omkara, played by Bollywood heart-throb Ajay Devgan, a gang leader.

This is a very modern take on the tale, with the supposed betrayal by the Desdemona character, Dolly, played by stunning actress Kareena Kapoor, overheard via a mobile phone.

And the famous handkerchief, delivered up to Omkara by the scheming Iago or in the Bollywood version, Langda Tyagi played by Saif Ali Khan, has been replaced by a waistband.

Devgan told AFP during a trip to France to promote the film at the Cannes Film Festival, something he rarely does, that he had leapt at the role even though it marked a departure for him from previous parts.

"When the role is good, and the character is one which has so many shades, it's always challenging. It's always challenging when you have a great director, and you are so excited about a script."

Devgan, a veteran of more than 65 films, acknowledged his fame had come at a cost. "But I don't regret it. Everything comes with its own pros and cons. You have to pay a price for everything, that's fair enough."

In Bollywood tradition music and dancing is a key part of "Omkara", helping to tell the story, something which gave Vivek Oberoi, who plays Cassio or Kesu, a tasking time as he had to learn to sing and play the guitar.

Oberoi, the son of the famous actor Suresh Oberoi, who has soared to Bollywood heights since making his debut some four years ago, said he had practised hard and there were a "few too many cracked bathroom tiles" as proof.

"Kesu is a many layered character. On the one hand he idolises Omkara, but he also has a brotherly feeling towards Iago.

"He's a young, educated guy from the university, who is into the student political arena. He's well-spoken, articulate, very well-spoken at times. And then you see the violent side to him, which is the diametric opposite, where he leaps into a fight and rips people apart."

Overseas distribution rights have already been snapped up by Eros, the world's leading distributor of Bollywood films, with over 1,000 titles.

And producer Kumar Mangat said sales of the film had already ensured it had covered its cost, huge by Indian standards, given that the budget for "Maqbool" came in at one million dollars, which it greatly recouped.

"Omkara" will also be the first Bollywood movie to be made available on broadband, following a deal between Eros and Intel, and a new investment in Singapore video-on-demand leader Anytime Ltd.

Eros, which last week announced it was to float on the London Stock Exchange, predicts total annual sales of some 44 million dollars this year, following a turnover during nine months of 2005 of some 32.2 million dollars.

And their success was evident at a glittering party held on the Cannes beach late Saturday, when party-goers including British-Indian "Bend it Like Beckham" director Gurinder Chanda got a sneak preview of the film.

Meanwhile Bhardwaj revealed that although he is taking a break from Shakespeare for a while, he would quite like to do a Hindi "Hamlet" next.

Bombay Round Table # 2 Blind Man’s Car Rally towards the cause of Educating the millions of children in India

Mumbai, February 7,2007: The Mumbai chapter of Round Table India in a Press briefing today announced the ‘Blind Mans Car Rally’ - a unique endeavor to raise funds for its projects under the aegis of the national theme ‘Freedom Through Education’. The Blind man’s car rally is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on February 11th, 2007.

The Blind Mans Car Rally; being held in partnership with ~ational Association for the Blind (NAB) is aimed at creating awareness about illiteracy in addition to highlighting the initiatives of Round Table India to eradicate illiteracy and the challenges faced by the Visually Impaired.

This exceptional event with blind navigators is a Time - Speed- Distance (TDS) Rally where visually impaired navigators will partner the Participants on a 70 km journey in Mumbai commencing from the NAB building on Worli Sea Face. The Navigators will guide the participants through a series of check points. This will help highlight skills & abilities of the Visually Impaired as well. The rally is expected to draw over 100 participants from different walks of life.

Announcing the Blind Man’s Car Rally, Brand Ambassador and Leading Bollywood Srar Ajay Devgan said, “I am really delighted to be a part of this Noble initiative of Round Table India. The participation of each one of us counts as it is a movement for educating the millions of underprivileged children who will form the India of tomorrow.”

Ajay said Kajol is also part of this project and whenever he is not available, she would join in.

Devgan said this project gave good encouragement to the blind as well as publicity. Devgan said he was very happy part of this moement rather than attending some fashion show or style awards.

http://www.radiosargam.com/films/archives/2040/event...

Das war dieses Event, wo er dieses Blümchen hemd anhatte....

Ajay Hasn’t Watched Kajol’s ‘Fanaa’
Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz [Monday, July 03, 2006]


Kajol keeps on chiding him as he still hasn't seen her power show in ‘Fanaa’. But Action Man Ajay Devgan has a lot on his plate right now. With ‘Golmaal’ on 14th July and ‘Omkaara’ on 28th July, this month may well belong to the master of understatement. And both the films are as different as chalk and cheese. Whereas ‘Golmaal’ is a fun caper of four wastrels, Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘Omkaara’ (He plays the title role) is more intense and has rustic humor thrown in as well.

Ajay Devgan is an unlikely candidate for being a National Award winner, considering his father was a well known Fight Master. Having done a series of action films in the beginning of his career, Devgan Junior surprised everyone by his stellar performance in Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Zakhm’ (He won his first Best Actor in National Awards). He repeated the feat with Raj Kumar Santoshi’s ‘The Legend of Bhagat Singh’. In ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ he surprised everyone by taking all the applause in spite of coming after the first half.

Today he may not be as big a star as the Khans, Bachchans or Roshans, but still an Ajay Devgan film is an event in itself. With daughter Nysa providing a lot of comic relief in real life, he has learnt to let himself go and stays away from doing too many films at the same time. There is a possibility that he may star with wife Kajol in a home production in the coming days, but as of now, Devgan is ready to shoot the gun at the bullish Box Office. This Othello’s life is far from tragic by any chance.

http://www.hitengauri.com/showthread.php?t=2204

“Our Message is Clear,” says Ajay Devgan
Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz [Monday, July 10, 2006]

Ajay Devgan is a serious man. His brooding intensity is hard to miss. And it’s with the same intensity that he has decided to lend his evocative voice to a three minute short film directed by Faruque Kabir, tentatively titled ‘The Awakening’. His co-star in this film is six year old child artiste Ajaan Ali Khan. The short film shows a child (Ajaan), who has lost his parents in 26/7 deluge last year. He is picking up garbage from the streets and putting it in his basket.

At the end of the film, Ajay is shown interacting with the boy. And this boy narrates what he had gone through. Ajay says: “Our Message is to show that if a six year old can learn from the 26/7 rains last year, why can’t we elders be equally responsible? And it’s not just for the people of Mumbai, but for people all over India. Our message is clear: It could happen to not just Mumbai, but any city in India.” The film shot at a budget of Rs 15 lakhs has been produced by Kumar Mangat, Ajay’s producer of ‘Omkaara’.

It seems to be the Aamir Khan effect that Bollywood personalities are Rising to the equation and saying and doing things out-of-the-box. More power to Ajay Devgan!

http://www.hitengauri.com/showthread.php?t=2204

Ajay Devgan's Bhojpuri film well received
IndiaGlitz [Saturday, March 11, 2006]



Actor Ajay Devgan has done several films so far but the opening of the film Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke, which also marks his debut in a Bhojpuri film albeit in a small role, is something he will never forget.

Of course the reasons are good. The film opened in Mumbai at Navrang Cinema, Andheri. It unexpectedly got a very huge opening here. The crowd that turned up for the film was so huge that the police had to come into action to control the crowd. The crowd had assembled in huge numbers to watch the first show of Ajay Devgan's first Bhojpuri film Dharti kahe Pukar Ke.

The film was released all over India with more than 13 prints in Mumbai alone. The 12 pm show witnessed such huge crowd that went simply uncontrollable after which the police had to lathi charge them to bring the situation under control. The co producer of the film Manoj Tiwari is quite happy with the unexpected response the film has got. A similar action was seen at Ajanta Theatre in Borivali. So it is good news for Bhojpuri cinema that its films have begun getting acceptance in a mega metro like Mumbai. Word is that Devgan did the film at no cost as a favor to its producer.

http://www.hitengauri.com/showthread.php?t=2204

Ajay Devgan helps a friend with DKPK
IndiaGlitz [Wednesday, February 15, 2006]


A friend in need is a friend need. And people like Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Suneil Shetty and Ajay Devgan are known to be 'yaaron ya yaar' when it comes to giving a helping hand to the ones who deserve it.

A recent example of this gesture is Ajay Devgan's upcoming film 'Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke' that has been made in bhojpuri language and has him in a dynamic appearance as a cop. The lead hero of the film is bhojpuri superstar Manoj Tiwari while the producer is popular cinematographer Nirmal Jani.

Ajay and Nirmal have worked together in past for number of flicks that include Ajay's home production 'Raju Chacha' in addition to other films like 'Blackmail', 'Chori Chori', 'Zakhm', 'Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha' and 'Haqeeqat'. Hence when Nirmal approached him for a role in his production debut, he couldn't say no.

http://www.hitengauri.com/showthread.php?t=2204

`I have never seen Ajay so emotional`
DEC 18 - Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt is overwhelmed by the reaction Ajay Devgan and the crew of Omkara (director Vishal Bhardwaj, producer Kumar Mangat and screenplay writer Robin Bhatt) got from the people of Pakistan (particularly Karachi, where the Kara Film Festival is being held). We spoke to Bhatt and Devgan from Karachi yesterday.

Says Bhatt, �I�ve gone with many stars to the festival before, but I have never seen a response like this. For me, it was a moment of fulfillment to see the Pakistani people respond to a mainstream Indian star in such a huge way.�

Emotional moment

Adds Bhatt, �I wish I could give the people of India a glimpse of what we saw and experienced there. From the moment they stepped into the PIA craft to the time they stepped out, they were showered with rose petals. Thanks to the kind of reception Ajay got, it was tough to escort him out of the airport. Ajay himself seemed stunned by the magnitude of the reception. I don�t think he�s gotten this kind of reception anywhere in the world.

At the screening of Omkara on Saturday night, there were more beautiful young women than men present. We had to have a second show as the first one was houseful and the demand was too much. I was impressed by the dignity the Omkara unit showed in handling the media after the screening.�

However, Bhatt experienced a special moment when he saw the normally taciturn Devgan grappling for words. �I have known Ajay for years, but I have never seen him so moved or so emotionally articulate. He is not an expressive person. But Ajay was so moved by the warmth and hospitality showered on him by the Pakistani people that after the show he told them, �If you don�t stop giving me this kind of welcome I will go mad�. That was his first line when he addressed the audience.�

Snowed under

When we quiz Devgan about his emotional reaction, he mumbles, �I don�t remember what I said, but yes, I was very moved by the response I got from the people. They were clapping and cheering and I got very emotional. I said I would go mad. Karachi is a lot like India. I expected the reaction to be good, but this was much more than what I had dreamt of. I am overwhelmed by their love. It was a good feeling.�

Were rose petals showered on them while they were on their way out from the airport to the Pearl Continental Hotel? �Yes,� says Ajay, sounding embarrassed.

According to Mahesh Bhatt there were lots of young, beautiful women at the screening of Omkara. �I don�t know about that,� Ajay says, adding, �All I know is that the people loved Omkara and it was obvious by the way they reacted and asked questions at the press meet.� (Mid-Day)


http://www.despardes.com/in/ent/2006/200...evgan-bigb.html

February 25, 2006

Other States - Rajasthan

Ajay Devgan shows keen interest in Film City project at Jaipur
Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan has shown interest in the Film City project proposed by the Jaipur Development Authority here. He is likely to submit a proposal in this regard to the JDA and discuss it with the Rajasthan Chief Minister and the Urban Development Minister soon.

Devgan, who dropped in at the JDA headquarters opposite the Moti Doongri hills along with film distributor Raj Bansal to meet the JDA Commissioner' Jagdish Chandra, said after what all he had heard from his distributor friends he was interested in investing in the project.

Devgan showed keen interest in the Film City, proposed to be built over an area of 1,200 bighas at Roopa Ki Nangal near Sumel village on the Agra-Jaipur Highway, situated in the lap of the Aravallis. The Film City project has already attracted an NRI investor from Singapore who has made a proposal to invest Rs.1,000 crores on it. Mr. Jagdish Chandra also briefed Devgan about the proposals received from other promoters for the project. A final decision on the project is to be taken by a Business Development Committee headed by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

JDA sources said the Reliance Group had already made a proposal for a huge investment in the Rajasthan capital.

Quelle: http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/25/stories/2006022513030500.htm

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Interessant wäre es, zu wissen, ob aus dem Projekt etwas geworden ist...