I am not at all ashamed of being a Porn star: Sunny Leone

I am not at all ashamed of being a Porn star: Sunny Leone

(Here are notes from our interview with Sunny Leone)
AB: A lot has been happened to your career in Bollywood since we last spoke. How do you feel about the changes in your life and career?
Sunny Leone: This has been the most amazing transition that I could hope for. Being accepted and liked in another country is not something that happensall the time.

AB: How accepting has Bollywood been of you? Do you feel completely at home here?
Sunny Leone: Bollywood has been very accepting. I know there are people out there that don't like me but there are more people liking me so it doesn't bother me. I am very lucky that when I entered Bollywood I was coming with a fan-following already. And the Big Boss Season 5 show helped everyone else get to know me as a person. Moving to India from Hollywood was one of the easiest moves I have ever made. Effortless really.

AB: You performed an item song in Shootout At Wadala. How difficult was it for you to master all those filmy manoeuvres?
Sunny Leone: It was a challenge but I fortunately was working with one of the easiest choreographer Ahmed Khan and his team Karishma, Khalid and Bob. They made me feel so comfortable that is was able to relax and just dance. I was the child growing up that wanted to play football, hockey, basketball and so on, so this is a challenge for me to learn a whole new art. But something that I can promise anyone one I work with is that I am a fast learner and I work very very hard to get it right within the scope of my ability.

AB: You next project is Ekta Kapoor's Ragini MMS 2? How comfortable are you in the horror genre?
Sunny Leone: Honestly I loved working on this film. There is a lot of performance in this movie and a huge range of emotions and of course horror. I don't mind the idea of not looking pretty in every shot. To me this is my way of getting out of who I am and becoming someone completely different for the day. I'll be able to talk in more detail once the movie comes out.

AB: How much of the Indian film industry have you so far come to terms with?
Sunny Leone: I am not sure I fully understand this question. But I grew up in a typical Punjabi home and watched Hindi movies during my childhood. I understand Hindi and Punjabi and the Indian film industry is like every entertainment industry across the world. It all functions the same just in a different language. I have moved my whole world here and love this industry of Bollywood.

AB: Do you feel it's hard for an outsider like you to crack the Bollywood code?
Sunny Leone: I can't speak for someone else's experiences in life but for me because of my background and the fact that I have been in entertainment for 13years did give me the basic understandings of how things work. But also again I work very very hard and around the clock trying my hardest to learn everything that bollywood is. I'm not even sure if I have fully cracked the "code" but I have begun the process hopefully. It all depends on how my second, third and forth movie do. In all reality I have only made one movie that has been released to the world. It all depends on how the world accepts me in those movies to come.

AB: Have you left your days as an adult star behind? How do you look back on that experience?
Sunny Leone: Right now my whole focus is in Bollywood and nothing else. I believe I have been given the opportunity of a lifetime and I plan to keep my focus and energy here till the fans want me. If it wasn't for my past I would not be who I am. I am not ashamed of it because it has brought me here to India. If I came here as regular me with no entertainment experience then I would not be as popular as I am today with the public.

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Review of Raanjhanaa A Distinctive Take On Love!

Review of Raanjhanaa (A Distinctive Take On Love!)
By: Dipashri Bardhan

PROEM: It was an intensely hued picture which showed a young boy standing with a fascinated glance in his eyes & a pretty girl portraying the semblance of cheerfulness amidst the vibrant colors of pink, green, yellow & red; thereby recreating the festival of Holi in a rectangular first look poster of the latest production from Eros International & Colour Yellow Pictures Ltd, in the cinematic name of 'Raanjhanaa' !!

Colors always attract the cone cells of our eyes.Also I felt curious about the movie after knowing that it belongs to romantic genre.'Love' is probably the only word in a Dictionary which neither can be explained in a sentence nor has any perfect synonyms.Today while watching this love story, I could virtually visualize that thought of Rose Franken: "Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly.." !!
Let me illustrate this journey of 'Raanjhanaa' in the following paragraphs !!

MOVIE: Shot in the blissful backdrop of Benaras & urbanity of Delhi, 'Raanjhanaa' narrates a tale of love through Kundan (Dhanush), Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) & Akram/Jasjeet (Abhay Deol)..Kundan (a Tamil Brahmin boy) & Zoya (a muslim girl) were brought up in Benaras, where Kundan expressed his love for Zoya during his teenage days..After growing up, Zoya took admission in Jawaharlal Nehru University where she fell in love with an university student cum socialist Akram..What happens next ? Is the amorousness of Zoya destined to Kundan or Akram ? How much pain can be endured for the sake of love ?

Let those questions be answered after watching the movie, in silver screen !!

'LIKE's:
1) Cinematography by N. Nataraja Subramanian and Vishal Sinha is astounding + Editing by Hemal Kothari & Choreography by Bosco-Caesar are impressive + Story/Screenplay by Himanshu Sharma is a bit different than an usual romantic drama + Dialogues are extremely witty at many sequences + Acting by the leading & supporting casts are marvelous + Set design by Tariq Umar Khan is befitting + Direction by Anand L. Rai is appreciable !!

2) MUSIC: A big applause to A.R.Rahman for such an wonderful soundtrack (well supported by Irshad Kamil’s catchy lyrics) & appropriate background score..For example,

a) When Kundan showed his anger on Zoya for the first time, there the synthesizer chords fluctuated in a bizarre way to create the effect of displeasure & it was done repeatedly with different chords to break the harmony, so that audience could better relate to the scene.

b) In a gloomy conversation between Kundan & Zoya, where Kundan suddenly felt the ray of hope, he turned up his head towards Zoya..In that split second, Rahman used the rhythm of 'Tabla' in a tricky way to express Kundan's expectation which struck the heart of viewers too !!

3) A SPECIAL MENTION TO :

a) That scene where Zoya was about to leave Benaras by train with teary eyes & Kundan ran to meet her, multiple water patches were shown in the rail station, as if rain just happened, thereby subconsciously magnified the mood of separation since rains are often attributed to a heavy heart..

b) MakeUp Artists for giving Sonam the minimal touch up, which amplified the innocence of a face rather than glamour..Beauty can either flashes the eyes of a beholder like a mid-day sun or soothes the same like a morning dewdrop..Since the latter better suits the character of Zoya, so the lipstick/blusher/eye-shadow even eyeliners were absolutely unnecessary here apart from the marriage scene, where a loud make up was needed & make up experts also did the right job there by painting the line of eye-liner a bit above the corner of eyes + stark red lipstick..

'DISLIKE's: Very few are there, for example;
1) In the song 'Tum Tak', the lip movements of Dhanush were not synchronous with the voice of the playback singer..Looked like, the song was coming from a mike & the actor was just singing on his own..

2) First half was too romantic & at times, the efforts of Kundan to please Zoya looked silly..In Second half, the focus were more on politics, thereby concentration of romance got diluted by leadership activities..

3) Both Dhanush & Sonam looked misfit in the role of school going teenagers + Opening sequence was dull + Too much slapping on Kundan's face by Zoya ultimately invited humor rather than sympathy..That profound scene where Akram's mother was about to touch Kundan's cheek for greeting, I heard some boys laughing crazily behind my seat & saying, "Stop..Stop..No more slapping" !!

MESSAGE: There is a lyrics from the musical 'Cinderella' which says: "Do I love you because you're beautiful, Or, are you beautiful because I love you ?" !! One can easily relate this line to those love struck eyes of Kundan which glitter more than the pole star even in the shadow of Zoya..Of late, Zoya fell in love with Akram, because she considered 'Kundan part' as a childlike crush + Akram fitted the bill as per educational & social qualification..From here, the dilemma of selecting a lover/partner arrives, accompanied by a dialogue where Kundan's friend Murari (M. Z. Ayyub) told him that girls are more likely to marry Doctors/Engineers rather than ordinary boys of the same locality, since the question of love comes secondary to their mind..Obviously material satisfaction plays a vital role in such decisions..But, if an abstract force (love) plays a guest appearance in the same scenario & makes one cherish that pleasure somewhat like this: "To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world", then should not one rise above the narrow parameters set by the society/religions ?

Once Tom Robbins said: “We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.." !! Life does not give us multiple chances..In this densely populated sphere of Earth, there is always a scarcity of those persons who can sacrifice his/her deepest desires to bring sunshine in the face of their loved ones..Don't let go that kind heart, if by chance you find him/her..

With the mellifluous touch of Shehnai, 'Raanjhanaa' sublimely delivered this tacit message in a pictorial way, making the film worth a watch !!

LAST WORDS: Along with showing the sparkling colors of a Holy city (Benaras), 'Raanjhanaa' tastefully painted a pale color too & thats the color of grey which often stays dormant in human minds and taints the negative aspects of an otherwise blameless person..Don't miss this film, if you believe in those lines of Loretta Young: "Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you..."

Absolutely Recommended !!

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John's upcoming production with Priyanka has a quirky title - Banana

John's upcoming production with Priyanka has a quirky title - Banana

Actor-producer John Abraham's upcoming production has a quirky title - "Banana"! He says it is "a slice-of-life film", which traces the journey from adolescence to teenage, and he admits the project is special to him.

"'Banana' is a film about adolescence to teenage. It's about a young boy and how he deals with the new adventures in his life. It's a slice-of-life kind of a film and it is a very real film," John told reporters at the launch of music album "Pitol Soku" by rock band JOI here Thursday.

He believes the movie will appeal to all viewers from all age groups.

"I am sure the target audience of this film is from the youngsters to all the old people out there because everyone will reminisce what they've gone through. It's a very special film," added the 40-year-old.

The movie has an "absolutely new cast", revealed John. It is directed by Sajid Ali.

"Sajid has got some amazing people for 'Banana.' I am sure they will be amazing," said John

"Banana" will hit the floors in October. Besides this, John's other productions in the pipeline are "Hamara Bajaj" and "Madras Cafe". He forayed into film production with "Vicky Donor", which turned out to be hugely successful and critically acclaimed.

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Salman Khan will apparently be performing in Chicago along with Katrina Kaif

Salman Khan will apparently be performing in Chicago along with Katrina Kaif, Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha at a 100 years of Indian cinema concert.

The show will be choreographed by Prabhu Deva. The event will be held from August 30 to September 1 which will also have a music concert with B-Town singers. Sallu last performed in the US at a concert seven years ago.

The news of Salman and Katrina performing live in Chicago comes in the wake of last week's reports that stated the two could perhaps do an item number together for an upcoming Saawan Kumar film.

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Neetu dons a burqa while travelling in an auto

Neetu dons a burqa while travelling in an auto

Wearing a burqa to avoid being noticed is something several Bollywood actresses resort too at public places. Mallika Sherawat wears it at the airport to avoid any unwanted eyes at. Vidya Balan draped herself in one to gauge audience reations in theatres to The Dirty Picture. The latest addition is Neetu Chandra. Turns out the the actress' car has gone for repairs forcing her to frequently take rickshaws. Neetu used the flowing garment to conceal her identity while travelling in public. Phew!

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Aditi Rao Hydari has got a list of people with whom she wants to work

She has done five Hindi films so far and showed her versatility. Now, Aditi Rao Hydari has got a list of people with whom she wants to work - Sushant Singh Rajput, Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor feature on her wish list.

`I actually have a list of people that I want to work with and I am working towards it,` Aditi told.

`I would like to work with Sushant Singh Rajput, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor... It's a long list because there are so many beautiful actors playing such interesting roles and that makes this place more interesting for girls like me to come and work here,` she added.

The 26-year-old made her Bollywood debut with a small role in `Delhi 6`, but with `Yeh Saali Zindagi` and `London, Paris, New York` she graduated to big roles.

She also featured in Ranbir-starrer hit musical 'Rockstar' and her career seems to be moving in the right direction. Her next is 'Boss' with Akshay Kumar.

Talking about her choice of roles, she said: 'I want to work in an epic love story, a piece of literature that is made into a film as well as a dance film."

What about item songs?

'The fact they are called item numbers is a problem. Once you call it an item number, it immediately means something demeaning. It's a way of dance,' she added.

Citing example of Madhuri Dixit, she said when she dances, "it's not an item number. She is just dancing... if a dancer dances, it looks like an exciting dance number, but if someone who doesn't know how to dance is asked to do it, it's going to be an item number'.

'I think a dance track is a wonderful track. We Indians have dance and music in our blood and that is what makes our films what they are, they are fun and there is nothing wrong with them... I would love to dance in a film,' she added.

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