Bollywood gets an art attack

Some of our actors are not just artistes but artists too. We look at some Bollywood stars who secretly nurse a passion for painting. Sridevi is making a comeback in Hindi films with Gauri Shinde’s directorial debut, English Vinglish. Between shots, the actor would often be spotted with crayons, sketch pens and paper. “Sridevi loves to draw and paint. I’ve seen some really huge paintings made by her lining the walls of her home. They’re really good, but that’s not surprising because Sridevi is a perfectionist who excels in everything she takes up,” says Gauri. “The artworks range from abstracts to portraits. There’s a really huge one of Michael Jackson, who’s her idol since she’s a dancer too.”Salman Khan Salman inherited his artistic abilities from his mother Salma and paints abstracts, religious imagery, couples and his dogs. In 2008, he gifted Ranbir Kapoor a painting of his grandfather Raj Kapoor on his game show, Dus Ka Dum, and presented Aamir one of him in his Ghajini (2008) avatar. He got an approving nod from the late MF Husain, also inspired Dabangg (2010) co-star Sonakshi Sinha to move beyond sketches and paint a woman.
Bhagyashree

For Salman’s Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) co-star, painting was a fun pastime that let her imagination take flight. She says, “I began when I was 13, with sketches of my favourite stars, Amitabh Bachchan, Marilyn Monroe, Bridget Bardot and Michael Jackson.”
Ali Zafar

The actor-singer has been painting since he was a child and has a degree in fine arts. At 18, he sold 20-minute charcoal portraits in a hotel lobby for R500 each to fund his music albums.“Some women wanted a painting like the one Leonardo DiCaprio makes for Kate Winslet in Titanic, including my wife, whom I later painted,” he says. “Once I got busy with music, I stopped painting. I picked up the brush after seven years in 2010 when my father asked me to be a part of a national exhibition in Lahore,” says Zafar. The exhibition featuring over 100 Pakistani artistes was hosted by the alumni association of the College of Art and Design for the rehabilitation of craftsmen affected by the devastating floods. More recently, Zafar painted London, Paris, New York (2012) co-star Aditi Rao Hydari during the film’s promotions.
Aamir Khan

Perfectionist Aamir took art lessons before playing Arun, the painter, in wife Kiran Rao’s directorial debut Dhobi Ghat (2010). Salman was his inspiration“Salman’s a fantastic painter and has presented me with four beautiful paintings that are up on our walls. I tried to copy one of them.. a face… and realised I’d a really bad artist but a good imitator,” he laughs. “I gifted the canvas to Salman and it has pride of place in his living room. I guess, he didn’t want to break my heart.” Interestingly, Salman’s paintings lined the walls of Prateik’s shack in the film.
Ashok Kumar

He was a prolific painter who dabbled in charcoal, water-colour and oil. “I like to paint nudes, in the nude, in the privacy of my bathroom,” the veteran actor once admitted. He’s made 300-odd paintings, many of which he gifted away but on his birth centenary last year the Ashok Kumar Foundation organised an exhibition of his art that had a self-potrait of him playing the violin.
Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone always got an
A grade in art when in school.
And during Love Aaj Kal (2009), in which she played a fresco
restoration artist, when she suddenly spotted canvasses and paint on the set, she made a couple of paintings. Source:http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Cricketer Chris Gayle eyes Bollywood

Big hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle, who is currently playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore at the on-going Indian Premiere League tournament, says he wants to hit a sixer in Bollywood.

That's not all, the Jamaican player is also confident that he will do well in the Indian film industry. Chris Gayle has yet to watch a Bollywood film but he's convinced he will be able to 'take Bollywood away from Salman Khan'.

The cricketer had previously discussed a film career with Shah Rukh Khan, and now it seems he is seriously looking for a break in Bollywood.

Bollywood 2011: Star Spotting

TWF correspondent Supriyo Hazra boards the Bollywood glam bus for a roller-coaster ride of 2011. The writer alphabetically checks out how each one fared in the past 12 months.

Aamir Khan: Aamir remained mostly silent this year with his single release of 2011 ‘Dhobi Ghat’ not impressing the critics and fans like the previous films. However, his produced movie, ‘Delhi Belly’, made enough ripples and controversies at the box office. In fact, the raw ‘galis’ coupled with a unique manner of presentation proved one fact quite clearly, that it can only be a production of Aamir’s intelligence and perfection. In the personal front, Aamir and his wife Kiran became proud parents of Azad Rao Khan. Their baby was born on Dec 1 through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to a surrogate mother at a private clinic in Mumbai.


Abhay Deol: When you think of Abhay and his movies then you can always be assured that he has something new to offer. The talented actor and a favourite of the crossover genre joined the party of Hrithik Roshan and Farhan Akhtar, as they took up a trip of a lifetime in the movie ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’. Abhay earned lots of applause from his fans and the film went on to become a major ‘hit’ of the year.

Abhishek Bachchan: 2011 will remain one of the most memorable years for junior Bachchan as he became daddy in November. His wife Aishwarya gave birth to a baby boy after much pre-delivery reportage. Despite, all these good news, his films continued to put up unsatisfactory performance at the theatres. From Game to Dum Maaro Dum, all tumbled down like nine pins.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: The gorgeous lady of B-town occupied the headlines for the entire year and that too for various reasons. If it was Madhur Bhandarkar’s dream project ‘Heroine’ that made her come to limelight in the earlier part of the year, followed by the bitter exchanges when it was known that she is pregnant. Her pregnancy reports hogged attention in the second half. Finally all speculations and drama came to an end on November as she gave birth to a baby girl in a private medical facility at Mumbai. Now it is time for mummy Ash to give quality attention to her baby and keep guessing her name till it becomes the right time for the Bachchan’s to declare it.

Ajay Devgan: With a uniquely designed moustache Ajay stole the show in his blockbuster film of the year-‘Singhaam’. After acting in various comedy and serious flicks in the past couple of years, Devgan was back in his real avatar, as he played a fighter cop in the Hindi remake of the popular Tamil film ‘Singam’. Ajay once again showed his comic brilliance in ‘Rascals’ that made moderate business.

Akshay Kumar: Akki made a good end to the year as his last release of the year, Desi Boyz’ made impressive business. Coupled with John Abhraham, this desi boy still has the potential to draw his followers to the theatres. However, his other release of the year, Patiala House, failed to capture attention.

Amitabh Bachchan: When you speak about Bachchans, the only issue that kept them busy for the entire year was the news of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s pregnancy. And like a caring father-in-law, Big B was ready to announce it to his fans for the first time through Twitter , as he tagged the news as ‘BREAKING NEWS’. Even when Ash was admitted in the hospital, he kept on updating her fans though Twitter. In the world of films also, Bachchan continued to charm his fans with his performances. If he was bold and powerful in Buddha Hoga Tera Baap then at the same time he anchored the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati season five with equal amount of passion as he used to do in the first edition of it.

Amrita Rao: 2011 remained silent for this beautiful actor of B-town as her film, ‘Love U Mr Kalakaar’ could not impress the audience and her list of flops continued as usual.

Anil Kapoor: Consistency is the right word to describe actor Anil Kapoor who remained busy with his Hollywood projects in 2011. He is seen sharing the screen space with Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise in the ‘Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol’.

Arjun Rampal: The handsome actor won lots of accolades for playing the scary villain called ‘Ra.One’ in the much awaited film of the year of the same name. His bald shaven head and cold looks made him the perfect goon for a science fiction.

Arshad Warsi: Warsi’s film ‘FALTU’ failed to woo his fans. Overall, 2011 remained a dull year for the actor.

Asin: Whether it is Aamir Khan or Salman Khan, Asin always pairs with the best in the business. In 2011, she joined Salman Khan in the laugh-riot named ‘Ready’. The film made roaring business at the box office. While most of the credit went to Salman for his brilliant performance, Asin played the perfect icing on the cake to make the movie taste saucy.

Ayesha Takia: Mrs. Takia kept herself busy tweeting her fans for the entire year except for appearing once on the silver screen opposite Rannvijay Singh in ‘Mod’. But sadly it did not find the proper ‘mod’ (street-corner) towards success.

Anushka Sharma: Anushka and Ranveer were busy maintaining their love hate relationship for the entire year. Meanwhile, their second film Ladies vs Ricky Bahl got impressive start at the market.

Bipasha Basu: Well, more than her bikini clad body, it was the news of her splitting with boyfriend John Abraham that turned the attention of media. The hot black beauty decided to give up her relationship and now we hope that she finds a new partner in 2012.

Bobby Deol: He had once rocked the box Office with thriller films like ‘Gupt’ and ‘Soldier’ promising Indian film-buffs the third Deol after daddy Dharmendra and brother Sunny. But at the end of the years he faded away at the Box Office and 2011 reflected the same trend.

Celina Jaitley: Celina ‘hot’ Jaitley entered a new phase in her life after bombarding series of unsuccessful movies on silver screen as she married Dubai-based Austrian hotelier Peter Hagg on July 23.

Chitrangada Singh: Chitrangada finally stepped into the paradigm of commercial masala Bolly flick in 2011, as she was seen in a completely different avatar in ‘Desi Boyz’.

Deepika Padukone: From dating business tycoon Siddhartha Mallya to dancing in an item number, Deepika was seen every where in 2011. The hot-bodied actor grabbed some eyeballs with her much hyped item number- Dum Maaro Dum. At the end of the year, she was seen pairing with Akki and John Abhraham in ‘Desi Boyz’.


Dia Mirza: Dia Mirza turned producer in 2011 with the film 'Love, Breakups, Zindagi'. However the film passed away silently out of the theatres.

Emraan Hashmi: Emraan has twin success with ‘Murder2’ and ‘The Dirty Picture’. If it was a thrilling ‘Murder 2’ and a gorgeous Jacquiline Fernanadez that kept Emraan occupying in the first half of the year, in the second phase it was bold Vidya Balan and ‘The Dirty Picture’ that kept the ‘kissing hero’ of B-town overloaded.

Esha Deol: Hema Malini’s eldest daughter literally vanished from limelight in 2009. When she made a public appearance at the end of the year, there were speculations that she has undergone a plastic surgery. In October her film Tell Me O Kkhuda, directed by her mother, sank without a trace.

Farhaan Akhtar: His comic timing and proper acting skills made Farhan the ‘quite a happening guy’ of Bollywood. Keeping his singing and direction out of the paradigm, Farhan zoomed into the attention of his fans by playing the character named ‘Imran’ in the movie ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’. At the end of the year, the director Farhan was back into business, this time with Shah Rukh Khan and ‘Don 2’.

Giselli Monteiro: Brazilian model Giselli was back again with Always Kabhi Kabhi. After wooing India as a Punjabi ‘koorie’, Giselle was seen playing a school kid in the film.

Govinda: Once the Hero No. 1, the actor had a very sluggish year with none of his movies released in 2011.

Himesh Reshammiya: The nasal voiced singing sensation was back again and this time as the lead actor of the film ‘Damadamm!’. However, as a music director, Reshamiya was back on track with the Salman starrer film- ‘Bodyguard’. The songs became a runaway hit in just few weeks and eventually helped the film to become one of the highest earning flick of the year.

Hrithik Roshan: The ‘super-hero’ of B-town impressed as ‘Arjun’ in the film ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’. The tale of three friends became the most talked about film of the year and Hrithik was highly appreciated by both his fans and critics.

Imran Khan: Imran knows how to perform and with his ‘Delhi Belly’ he showed his colleagues that what ‘boldness’ can really mean. From the lingo of the film to certain scenes, the new-age B-town film is quite a trail blazer. In the personal front, the sweet faced hero of ‘Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na’ tied knots with Avantika Malik.

Irrfan Khan: The thinking actor of B-town had a cold box office record in 2011 with none apart from the thriller ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ making any noise in the circuit.


Jacqueline Feranandes: The pretty-faced diva from Sri Lanka decided to leave her sweet image and try to dawn a ‘hot’ avatar as she was seen comfortable in playing intimate scenes with the ‘kissing king’ of B-town Emraan Hashmi in ‘Murder2’.

John Abraham: John had to spend some quality time in gym to get the perfect Greek-god structure in 2011. Although his long time girl friend Bipasha Basu cut their relationship, in the reel world he was back in tasting success with his last two releases- ‘Desi Boyz’’ and ‘Force’.

Kalki Koechlin: Kalki tied the knot with director Anurag Kashyap in 2011. Apart from starting a news journey in her real life, Kalki made positive mark in the box office with her off beat acting in films like ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ or ‘Shaitaan’.

Kangna Ranaut: The actor rode high in 2011 with her two films-‘Tanu Weds Manu’ and ‘Double Dhamaal’ making impressive business at the Box Office. In 2012, she will be seen in important projects like ‘Krrish 3’ and the sequel of Tanu Weds Manu.

Kareena Kapoor: Bebo’s personal as well as reel life was on song this year as it was reported that she might tie the knots with Saif Ali Khan in 2012. In the word of celluloid she continued her fight to stay in the number one position with both ‘Ra.One’ and ‘Bodyguard’ evoking healthy Box Office response.

Katrina Kaif: Katrina maintained her numero-uno position in 2011 with fans still going gaga over her beauty and fashion statement. Her pairing opposite Hrithik Roshan in ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ was considered by her fans to be one of the most ‘electrifying on-screen pairs’ of B-town. She was also named the most sexy’ woman in the world by fashion magazine ‘FHM’. However, her rockstar looks failed to bother other heroines much as ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’ turned out a flop. Despite all these facts, she continued to sweep her fans and hopefully with her upcoming item song for the film ‘Agneepath’, she will set a new benchmark of popularity in the tinsel town.

Konkona Sen Sharma: She continued to woo her fans with her brilliant acting as she played the character of an actress in the Bengali film ‘Iti Mrinalini’ directed by mother Aparna Sen. Kankona received lots of accolades for her brilliant performance.

Lara Dutta: The former ‘Miss Universe’ tied knot with ace Indian Tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi in 2011. She is also expecting.

Mallika Sherawat: Mallika knows how to impress her fans despite failing to woo them in her Nagin avatar in ‘Hisss’. Mallika was seen switching to item songs and sweetening herself as the ‘Jalebi Bai’ of B-town. The number quickly gripped Indian fans and the ‘Double Dhamaal’ also made good mark at the market. So, finally the ‘Hariyanvi girl’ tasted success in 2011.

Minissha Lamba: Beautiful Minissha continued her love with Bikini as she was seen donning the two-piece for the cover shoot of Man’s World Magazine.

Neha Dhupia: You cannot call Neha the ideal commercial actor of Bollywood. In 2011 she continued her small stint in the world of ‘off-beat’ Hindi cinema with films like ‘Pappu Can't Dance Saala’ and ‘Dear Friend Hitler’.

Neil Nitin Mukesh: Neil was seen only once in the entire year as Major Edwin Rodriques’ in the film “7 Khoon Maaf’.

Prateik Babbar: Prateik proved his genre in Bollywood in 2011 as he kept on displaying his powerful acting skills in films like ‘Dhobi Ghaat’, ‘Aarakshan’ and ‘My Friend Pinto’. The thoughtful boy who made his debut in ‘Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na’, is slowly turning into a matured man with every movie. 2011 witnessed arrival of Prateik with the release of four movies.

Priyanka Chopra: She turned into the bold and beautiful seductress in the movie ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ that gained good response from selective fans. She was back again with ‘Don 2’ at the end of the year.

Preity Zinta: She was out of silver screen for the entire year and her luck in the cricket field was equally bad as her IPL team, Kings XI Punjab, tumbled miserably in the popular league in 2011.

Raima Sen: The Bong beauty roared the Box Office of regional film industry with her last release ‘Baishey Srabon’. The multi-starrer thriller was highly appreciated by fans and critics and Tollywood once again proved to be a happy hunting ground for the actor.

Ranbir Kapoor: The chocolate hero of Bollywood took a turn and thrilled his fans as a heart-broken rockstar in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rockstar’. Ranbir was seen pairing with the new sensation of the glitzy world Nargis Fakhri in the film drawing mixed response.

Riteish Deshmukh: Riteish announced to his fans that he will marry sweet heart Genelia D Souza soon. He was also seen busy with Twitter and commenting on every possible event that graced the year.

Riya Sen: Riya finally locked the lips of her critics with a good performance in Rituparno Ghosh’s Bengali film ‘Noukadubi’.

Ranveer Singh: The well-built Ranveer was back in the limelight with the film Ladies vs Ricky Bahl and this time also he was seen pairing with Anushka Sharma. However, reports said that beside pairing in the reel life, the couple were also busy seeing each other in real life. However, their love-hate relationship is nothing new to his fans, so it is tough to find a perfect answer to their relationship status.

Saif Ali Khan: Saif perhaps went through the saddest year in his life as he lost his father Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi in 2011. The death of the legendary Indian cricketer made him formally assume the title of 10th Nawab of Pataudi. His next film will be a 2012 release- Agent Vinod. Love of his life Kareena Kapoor also stars in the film.

Salman Khan: Sallu again rocked the big screen with two blockbuster movies- ‘Ready’ and ‘Bodyguard’. However, the stylish Bollywood star passed through some tough phases in real life due to health reasons and even got engaged in legal troubles. The 46-year old actor, along with his bodyguard Shera and five other security personnel, has been booked for assaulting anti-corruption activist Omendra Bharat while promoting his latest film ‘Bodyguard’ in Kanpur on August 24.

Sanjay Dutt: Sanjay had a mixed year in the tinsel town as he tasted success with ‘Double Dhamaal’ and ‘Rascals’. At the same time he received shocking news as media reports said that Aamir Khan replaced him as the new ‘Munna’ in the popular Munnabhai series. Later, media reports said that he might be seen playing the ‘Munna’ in the upcoming sequel.

Shah Rukh Khan: SRK turned into a super-hero with Ra.One and was back as the bad goon in ‘Don 2’ at the end of the year. In the cricket field his side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) finally reached the semi-final stage of the Indian Premiere League under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir.

Shahid Kapoor: Shahid had an unexpected slide at the Box Office as his much publicized release of the year, ‘Mausam’, passed away without raining a drop of success.

Shilpa Shetty: Shilpa confirmed to her fans through a popular micro-blogging site that she is expecting her first child. The original ‘item girl’ of Bollywood had tied knots with London-based businessman Raj Kundra in 2009.

Soha Ali Khan: Soha lost her father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi in 2011. The year was also not very significant for her career.

Sonam Kapoor: The golden run of the cute actor continues as she was seen walking down the red carpets in Cannes festival and thus joining the list of Indian divas who participated in the premiere festival. Earlier, Aishwarya and Mallika Sherawat were also spotted in the annul event. Ash is quite a regular in Cannes by now.

Sushmita Sen: Sush remained busy with her ‘I Am She – Miss Universe India’ project this year and remained completely invisible from the big screen. Hopefully, the former Miss Universe will make a comeback on the silver screen in the coming year.

Tusshar Kapoor: Tusshar ended the year with a big bang as a part of the much publicized movie of the year- ‘The Dirty Picture’. Though it was Vidya Balan who grabbed the entire attention, Tusshar received appreciations from his fans and critics for his crucial contributions in the film. He also made good impression with his other major release of the year- ‘Shor in the City’. In short, he remained busy for the entire year as five of his films released in 2011.

Vidya Balan: Vidya can easily be named as the ‘queen’ of 2011 as she kept the media and her fans busy in following her moves. It was Vidya and Rani who remained the talk of the town for the first half of the year with their release ‘No One Killed Jessica’. Then in the end of the year, Vidya reigned the tinsel town with her much publicized movie ‘The Dirty Picture’. Based on the life of actor Silk Smitha, the film witnessed the transformation of Vidya to a new scale as she was seen smooching Emraan Hashmi and even making the hot moves to fit herself perfectly in the shoes of the Southern sensation. Basking in the glow of The Dirty Picture, when Vidya Balan was asked how it was like tasting the success and becoming a female "Khan", Vidya was quick to reply jokingly: “I feel the Khans should add ‘Balan’ to their names, rather than me adding a Khan.” (IBNS)