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Fit, able and willing
Bhumika Chawla in New Delhi. Photo: R.V. Moorthy.
HIS SENSE of humour is intact, so is his encouraging attitude, he hasn't lost any of his rudeness either. He would motivate a fumbling anchor to repeat her performance, "Arre, arre koi baat nahin, it happens to me all the time, carry on... ", and he would compare his two films Tere Naam and Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa as "In Tere Naam I run after Bhumika and in the other film, she runs after me!" He bluntly refuses to talk to an anchor when she asks him questions based on an article generated from "irresponsible journalism" and money swindling. "Agar aap mujh se aise sawal karoge to main aapse baat nahin karoonga," and he turns his back, literally!
Salman Khan was in New Delhi to promote DNJAK, fully clad, exhibiting no muscles, half torn T-shirt or jeans. He preferred sporting sunglasses.
Shifting Gears
Salman Khan. Photos: R.V. Moorthy.
After Chori Chori Chupke Chupke and now Tere Naam, Phir Milenge and Dil Ne... , the flavour of his recent films has changed. These are sensitive and issue-based films, with Salman in almost a new avatar. Is he shifting gears?
"Not consciously," he insists. Understanding of a good script in me was always there because of my genes. But recently the audience has become more script-conscious than the actors. Now they are rejecting run-of-the-mill kind of scripts and thus making us shift gears too! I accepted Phir Milenge because I wanted to spread awareness about HIV and the emotional conflicts of the infected person. And Chori Chori had a sensitive subject but Dil Ne... has a much nicer feel because it has a closer unit and there is nothing gorgeous about the film," he says. Salman plays a married man, Rishabh, in the film who deals with an emotional conflict pertaining to two ladies Bhumika and Preity Zinta in his life. "Girls would like to have such a sensitive husband," he gushes. "Today boys try to become a Bruce Lee or Amitabh Bachchan after watching their action films. So some sensitive, issue-based films must be made from time to time," he suggests. This timehe actually shifts gears. He speaks about piracy, common man's money, vulgarity in remix albums and heroines exposing for instant stardom!
"You will not go to multiplexes to watch a film like Phir Milenge which gives out a message. If it comes on TV, you will see it. But what do you do to watch a vast canvas film at multiplexes where ticket costs you Rs.150. Children will also insist to have a pack of popcorn which will cost you a further Rs.75. Itna paisa kahan se kamaoge? Thodi koshish aur karo, aur mehnat karo." What he aims to say is that everything comes to him who works hard. "I also lose my sleep and precious time that I can spend with the family," he asserts.
And he insists that he does not watch "those vulgar remix albums" with his family. "Why do women expose? Glamour does not mean sex or exposing. Look at Madhubala, Hema Malini, they looked glamorous without exposing. It is just a lame excuse for instant stardom. They will come and fade away," he adds.
Why does he expose? "Because I look fit! And I am not a woman!"
* * *
A cute one
SHE LOOKS as fresh as a flower, as innocent as a child, and as coy as a teenager newly fallen in love. Because of her seemingly vulnerable persona, she can extract chivalry out of the most unlikely candidates. And though she does not come across as very intelligent, she has learnt the Bollywood way of giving manipulative answers. But she is polite, cultured and reserved. Her reputation is of one shying away from media glare, even during the release of her films, according to her media PR. Bhumika Chawla exudes no high energy either, unlike most Punjabi girls. A name to reckon with in Telugu and Tamil films, more because of hits like Khushi, Okkadu, Simhaadani, Yirsamma and Badri, she is just three films old in Bollywood. Her first, Tere Naam, was critically acclaimed and also liked by the masses, while Run went for a quick run. This past Friday saw the release of Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa, which, informs Bhumika, hoping it will be well received by sensitive audiences, is about a girl suffering from a heart ailment yet "learns to live life cheerfully despite getting weaker each passing day."
Challenging debut
Asserts Bhumika, "I choose scripts that establish me as a performer rather than a glam doll. Though when I decided to do Tere Naam, I was very apprehensive, for it was a challenging debut as I did not have to look hot and sexy and even beautiful, as is the trend here. But the results taught me that what matters in the end is your performance. So this film is very close to my heart."
She did not do Run for an image change but to try a different character, she avers. Dil Ne got the nod since it had the same production house and co-star as Tere Naam she admits.
For Bhumika films happened "subconsciously." A regular in elocution and theatre in her school days in Delhi, she happened to visit a friend in Mumbai a few years ago and learnt of a suburban beauty contest. "My friend insisted I participate. I did and won the contest. I wanted to go back home with the title but my friends again insisted I try modelling. I had no idea how to send a portfolio to advertising agencies. I did that too, thinking that if I gain nothing, I lose nothing out of an attempt."
To her surprise she landed an ad, and then followed Ponds, Fair and Lovely and so on.
This daughter of an Army officer did face some initial hostility from her brother and sister when she took to films. "But they have come round now," she chuckles.
No one knows if she makes it a hit with an innocent face like our own Bhagyashree of Maine Pyar Kiya fame, but she is sure of one thing. "I will never stop doing South Indian films because they gave me my first platform, recognition and respect."
The Mumbai film world, she thinks is "after all a hero-oriented industry still. It is just about `how lucky you can get' for a heroine. These also lack in good scripts, if we compare them to regional Indian and old English films."
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