IN PASSING
What’s in a name?
BY SUCHITRA BEHAL
Will dropping an ‘a’ from his name prove auspicious? “I don’t know and will wait and see,” remarked actor Ajay Devgn adding that the name change was something “my mother has wanted for a long time, so finally I gave in.”
Of course his name change coincides with the release of his first directorial comedy “All the Best” but that isn’t giving Devgn too many sleepless nights. The versatile actor, who has been seen in a plethora of roles and is equally at home behind the arc lights as much as he is in front of them, said his new film “was not similar to ‘Golmal’. The only thing is both are comedies.” He maintains that his decision to cast Bipasha Basu in the lead, and not wife Kajol, is something that people who see the film will appreciate. On his future plans? “I never have any. I do films that interest me and I think I’m lucky to get so many different roles and characters. I think I’m equally fortunate that the audiences accept me in any role as long as I justify it.”
Batting for children
When Priyanka Chopra campaigned for “Save the Children”, eyebrows were raised. But Chopra said that when she heard the statistics she was shocked. “People don’t think about child mortality,” she said, adding “any child born on this earth has the right to develop and grow. Any suggestion of religious factors and the community we live in is not reason enough to condone mortality.” She is equally clear that sex education in schools is essential. “They find out anyway so it’s better that they get the right information from the correct sources,” she said.
She is equally passionate about educating the girl child and admits that she regrets not completing college before working. “I always feel one must complete one’s education, have something to fall back on. Only then must one earn. That is something I regret even though today I am financially independent.”
Luck factor
It’s a tag that’s stayed with him. But being dubbed the “serial kisser” has not deterred actor Emraan Hashmi. Instead he reasons that most of his directors and producers think it will be “lucky for the film. It was cool in the first few films, but it gets repetitive after a while.”
Hashmi maintains that it is a ‘miracle’ that he is still around. “I don’t have any sex appeal and, with my face, the fact that I am still wanted in the film industry is amazing.” He added that he did not consider himself good looking and neither did he have ambitions and hopes of being a great actor. “So I work my way around this, I can say I’m saleable.” Hashmi said that getting mobbed came with the job. “I really don’t know what they find sexy about me, I’m an average looking guy, you need to ask the girls why they run after me,” he grins.
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