Interviews

Shimit Amin, whose first and so far only film "Ab Tak Chhappan" came a good three years ago, is flummoxed by rumours that his just released "Chak De India" had to be re-shot. Starring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role, the film has opened to rave reviews. Clearing the rumours, Amin told IANS: "Not a frame has been re-shot - any crew member can vouch for that. There was another rumour about the hard disc crashing. It didn't happen. Even if it did there was nothing to panic about. Any computer-savvy guy knows hard discs are backed up and can easily be replaced."

The non-resident Indian film market has spoilt the country's mainstream cinema, feels filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj who has just won a National Award for "The Blue Umbrella". "In their cinematic entertainment, the NRIs look for a country they left behind 50 years ago. 'The Blue Umbrella' is targeted at a white-skinned audience," Bharadwaj told IANS.

Dusky beauty Bipasha Basu says she never wanted to be an actress and her stint in Bollywood came by chance. Bipasha, whose acting in films like "Corporate", "Raaz" and "Omkara" has won her rave reviews, told IANS: "I never wanted to become an actress. I was happily doing my modelling but then I got bored of it. Acting came to me just by chance.

Sushmita Sen is amused by stories that she and Shah Rukh Khan, who is making a special appearance in her next film "Dulha Mil Gaya", are at war and insists that they share a warm and cordial working relationship.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose "Black" won three National Awards - best Hindi film, best costumes and best actor award for Amitabh Bachchan - feels Rani Mukerji too deserved the honour for essaying the role of a deaf, dumb and blind girl in the film. "I'd have liked Rani to win a National Award also. For the first time, I think an Indian actor has played a deaf and blind... and with such captivating conviction," Bhansali told IANS.

Vishal Bhardwaj, whose "Blue Umbrella" has just bagged the National Award for best children's film, feels the Indian film industry avoids making good kids' flicks and should learn a lesson or two from Hollywood. "It is sad that our film industry does not feel responsible about making films for children. We have hardly made any film that caters to kids though the children's film industry is huge and untapped," Bhardwaj told IANS in an interview.

Tisca Chopra, who is riding high after bagging the opportunity of working with the Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in his directorial debut "Taare Zameen Par", says the offer came as a surprise to her. "'Taare Zameen Par' was a gift for me from the universe. I never expected to work alongside Aamir Khan and the role just happened to come to me," Tisca told IANS.

Veteran film maestro Shyam Benegal, who will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his outstanding contribution in the field of Indian cinema, is elated and says it inspires him to make the kind of films he believes in. "I am very happy! It is the Indian film industry's highest honour and the most important award, which means state recognition," Benegal told IANS Wednesday on the sidelines of 'Vatarvaran', an environment and wildlife film festival by the Centre for Media Studies here.

Lights, camera and awards. For Bengali filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, winning a National Award has become a way of life. So when his "Kalpurush" was adjudged best film for 2005, it hardly came as a surprise to him or to discerning cine-goers here. Perhaps no filmmaker since the late maestro Satyajit Ray has won as many National Awards as Dasgupta, at times three years on a trot. But the filmmaker is unfazed and loves to live in his world of magic realism and unreal journeys into the world of lost innocence.

The very versatile Boman Irani is apparently saying no to more offers per week than one can keep track of because he feels it's time to slow down and spend time with his family. "I don't like saying no. It's very tough. But there're very special people whom I've said no to because I don't want to be away from home for months on end," Boman told IANS.