Aainaism

I read this article on Mid-day and just wanted to post it here.

Shah Rukh Khan was the first choice for Madhavan’s role in the film, and Mehra left no stone unturned in persuading him to accept the offer. According to sources, “There were two reasons that King Khan said no to Mehra. Firstly, he did not want to play second fiddle to Aamir Khan.”The second reason why SRK gave a thumbs-down to RDB was, “He did not like the role. He found Madhavan’s role too small in length and thought it lacked depth, compared to Aamir’s character. To tell you the truth, he was shocked that someone was offering him a 15-minute role in a film.”

Hmm…Shahrukh Khan rejected Madhavan’s role? I don’t even know what to think of that. For a minute, I thought that he was right in doing so because it really was too short of a role and Shahrukh wouldn’t have played a side actor with Aamir. But, on the other hand, it would be a privilege for anyone to be associated with a movie like Rang De Basanti. And plus, Madhavan’s role was very powerful and there’s no such thing as a small role as long as the role is impactful, which it was. Maybe the problem was dates, who knows! But, I’d have loved to see Shahrukh and Aamir act together, I hope it happens soon.

Salman Khan is in trouble once again. He was sentenced a one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,000. He will appeal in higher courts of law, which means that he won’t go to jail because it will be a long, long time before the higher courts reach to a decision.

“We will appeal in the High Court and he will get bail,” said Vikas Kapoor, Salman Khan’s secretary.

So, what this means is that Salman won’t get punished for killing two chinkaras, and a deer species, which is considered a crime. Oh wait, he will, he has to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000, which he can dish out of the change compartments of his car(s).

People get punished for much pettier crimes in a much harsher and severe way. Then, why not Salman? Because he is a star? Pardon me, not just a star, but a superstar with a hue fan following. So what?

I just wish the court system was a little fairer. It’s not that I want Salman to suffer or am against him but if he’s wrong and has committed a crime, he should get punished for it.

Every time I think about who the superstar of today is or who is ruling Bollywood these days, a few names run through my mind. Abhishek Bachchan comes to mind first. Then, John Abraham with movies like Taxi No. 9211, the multi-starers Salaam-E-Ishq and Baabul in his pocket. After that, perhaps, Emraan Hashmi, who seems to be surviving amid the big-shots of Bollywood. But what bothered me was the absence of Hrithik Roshan in this list.

Despite proving himself in the past with hit films like Kaho Naa Pyar Hai and Koi Mil Gaya, his name doesn’t spark up as the obvious contender for the post of the ruling actor of today. I would say, and my mom would strongly agree, that Hrithik can easily be considered as an all-rounder of Bollywood. He knows how to act and this is clearly evident from his performances in Fiza, Koi Mil Gaya, Lakshya and some other films. He can dance exceptionally well and we know this because of his brilliant performance is songs like Ek Pal Ka Jeena, Main Aisa Kyun Hoon, Idhar Chala, It’s Magic. He can do a variety of roles, doing justice to each one of them. He can be Macho and soft, in the same film. He is hard-working and this shows from his excellent dance moves and a well worked-on body.

He is an actor of a lot of caliber. Then why isn’t he included in the brigade of the top stars of today? Well, one reason could be because he’s afraid to experiment. He has had a few flops in his acting career and after Lakshya he gave a statement that he will choose his future films very carefully and would do only selective movies. That’s a nice thing to do, but Hrithik is being a little too selective. Accepting failure would be a better thing to do that running away from it. Even though his films have flopped at the box-office, critics and reviewers have always applauded his performances. So, instead of hiding in a bill and being protected, he should come out and experiment more. We last saw him in 2004 and will next see him in 2006. A gap of two years is a big one, especially at a time when there are superb actors competing with one another.

If Hrithik would’ve continued to experiment with films that came his way after Lakshya (maybe not all of them, but some), he would most likely still be among the top actors today. But now, due the loss of his presence in the actual film industry, it’s difficult to see him as a leader of the industry, which I am sure a lot of people want to see. It almost seems like he’s lost somewhere.

I hope Hrithik’s fans and everyone who is fond of him, find him in 2006 and not only find him, but find him to be appealing and powerful. With his forthcoming performances in Krrish, Dhoom 2 and Jodha-Akbar, Hrithik should be able to restore his position as a superstar and the “next big thing.” But would that be possible with great actors like Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham in the film industry? Let’s wait and find out. Until then, good luck, Hrithik!

Starting out as a not-so-good game for the Indian Cricket Team, things got better and India finally took over the India-Pakistan ODI series in Multan by winning by 5 wickets. India won the toss and decided to field first. Indian bowlers, RP Singh and Pathan for the most part, sent the Pakistani Batsmen back to the pavilion at a mere score of 161 runs. Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket was a shock for the Indians as he was out at duck. But things were better from thereon and Rahul Dravid proved, yet again, that he is, in fact, Mr. dependable. He made 59 runs in 72 balls. Yuvraj Singh, who has been giving a good performance for the last two matches, made a total of 37 runs in 57 balls. Suresh Raina, a new batsman, also displayed his talent by making 35 runs in just 34 balls, 24 of which were from 4s. Remarkable!

Let’s see if India wins the final or not. Nonetheless, Indians are celebrating for their spectacular performance and an awesome win! Go team India!

I was reading an article on the HT style column of Hindustan Times on the latest link-up between the bluffmaster, Abhishek Bachchan and the traitor, Aishwarya Rai. After reading this article, something struck me. Well, it was mentioned at the end with a quote from “a leading actor” who chose to be anonymous (probably a good move). He said, “There seems to be a pattern in Aishwarya Rai’s relationships. She got involved with Salman Khan when he was at the peak of his career. She started seeing Viveik Oberoi when his career was on the upswing. And now that Abhishek is doing well, we hear that she’s seeing him.”

I find this to be a good observation and if you think about it, it’s very much true. Aishwarya has done her share of things to get publicity out of other actors’ fame. First it was Salman Khan who was doing well for himself and there we saw Ms. Rai right by him but after being on Salman’s side for two years and rubbing his much-needed popularity on her, in spring 2003 in a press conference, she declared that she would never work with him again for personal reasons. I retype, “personal reasons.” The Salman-Aish chapter was done and closed.

A new chapter opened with Vivek Oberoi who was high on his career with the success of Saathiya and Company. This “relationship” lasted for a few public appearences, social parties, interviews (in which Oberoi went on to say that he was in love with Rai and will marry her and Rai had little to say about Oberoi except that he was a great co-star, a professional, etc.). Vivek even went ahead and called a press conference infuriated about Salman Khan threatening him. Recently, media reported that “the couple” has decided to split. A close friend to the couple revealed, “The main reason for their spilt is Aishwarya’s continuous refusal to acknowledge their relationship publicly. Moreover, Ash’s mother never liked him. They didn’t like Vivek professed his love for Ash on several TV shows.” Now, what I didn’t understand was why Aishwarya couldn’t say anymore than “he’s a great co-star” and smile at the camera. But I understand now. Just incase things don’t work out in the future (which they weren’t going to because it was never a relationship from Aish’s side), she, or a close friend of her can very conveniently say that she never admitted to her love for Vivek and that the two were “just good friends.” How convenient!

So, the file with Rai and Oberoi is closed as well. Now, is Aishwarya eyeing Abhishek Bachchan, who is also *suprise* at the peak of his career with Bluffmaster and a few awesome projects in the future? I won’t be surprised if she is. At a time like this when she is in Hollywood doing projects out of India, she needs to be in news back home and being linked with Abhishek will do it.

Here’s another oberservation: Whenever Aishwarya has said to have dated actors, Salman or Vivek, their career graphs have dropped. I hope that doesn’t happen to Abhishek.

A source close to the Aishwarya and Vivek also said, “Viveik had told a friend some months ago that Ash’s continued refusal to acknowledge their relationship publicly hurt him deeply. This was one of the main reasons they split. In fact, the same issue had bothered Salman as well - Ash never publicly acknowledged his presence in her life too.” Again, if she truly loved someone (Salman or Vivek), why would she not say at least something about that person being a special person in her life or something of that sort. But no, she addresses them as “good friends” or decided to say nothing at all. I don’t think that’s cool.

Disclaimer: This article is based on my personal opinion only and does not, in any way, relate to any company or website associated with me.