Can Celina Act?
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Is Celina risking her glamour image by doing a realistic film like AOHR?
AOHR is a realistic, hit-and-run thriller. It starts on a Saturday afternoon when Sonam Chopra, a young, ambitious nursing assistant working in an old age retreat in Madh Island (on the the outskirts of Mumbai) receives a call. Sonam has landed her dream job in London with the International Red Cross. All she has to do is bring along the recommendation letter and pick up the visa on Monday morning.
The hitch: The warden of the old age retreat wants Sonam to work on Sunday. If she does, the recommendation letter is hers.
On Saturday night Sonam’s boyfriend Sid, a drug pusher, organizes a party for her. By the time the party ends it is late night. Sonam is high on drugs and alcohol.
As she drives her Maruti Esteem on the lonely stretch of road to her PG accommodation, an inebriated Sonam’s car crashes into Prakash Shrivastav, who was walking lost in his own thoughts
What happens between the two thereafter is what Accident On Hill Road is all about.
I have always wondered why the leading ladies (since this article is about a female actor I am not discussing the heroes) of Bollywood never experiment with their roles or looks in films? Do you think they would lose their glamour image if say a Rani Mukherji does a film with an Anurag Kashyap or Kareena does a Neeraj Pandey film? You can play it safe can’t you by doing at least one film in two years with an indie director provided the script excites you?
I guess the culprit is the actor’s so-called Image.
In my earlier blog I had mentioned how an actor’s Image plays a large part in doing a film. The Image an actor has of himself or herself quite often resembles the Image that we have of them.
So what is the Image of Celina? Most of us think of her as this: Sexy. Glamorous. Can pull off comedy roles (No Entry, Golmaal Returns). Many of us also imagine her to be a cold woman—primarily because of her lenses (why are light eyed men and women on screen always portrayed as negative or grey characters?)
The first time I met Celina was when I went to narrate her AOHR. As I chatted with her I realized this. She was not a bimbette. Or a hoity-toity former Miss India. Instead, she was an articulate, intelligent girl, who was firmly grounded. There was a sincere warmth about her that contradicts the eye lenses theory. Call me biased or parochial, but when she said she had schooled in Kendriya Vidyalaya I felt at home.
But I wasn’t sure she fit the serious role. She hadn’t ever played the role of a protagonist who is there virtually from the first shot of the film to the last. Sonam is an intense, mercurial and demanding character. Could Celina carry off the role of an innocent victim? Could she convince you as a psychotic killer? Those were my doubts.
Now flip the scene through Celina’s view point.
Here is a chap who wants to make an intense, realistic thriller. He hasn’t ever directed a film before. Can he pull it off? He is offering me a role which I have never done before. Should I experiment my image with a newbie director?
Celina hasn’t told me the above, but I am certain she would have thought similarly.
The narration took an hour at the end of which I gulped down my black coffee and looked at Celina. I was resigned to hearing a No.
“I love it,” Celina gushed.
I thought she was acting.
I just have a suggestion, she added.
Phil Collins’ ringtone I can see it coming now, mama played in my mind.
“Can Sonam be more vicious and dark?,” Celina asked.
I put the empty coffee mug to my lips and gulped. A couple of days ago I had narrated the same story to another Bollywood actress who I thought wanted to make her “comeback”. She refused saying did not want to play a ”grey” character.
“Err, hmmm, I actually wanted Sonam to be more vicious,” I muttered. “Wonderful. Lets do it,” Celina said.
I haven’t been used to Bollywood actors taking such fast decisions. Scared shit, I decided to up the stakes for her.
“This role is a complete break away from the Image you have or the kind of films you have done. So you will have to look different too,” I said.
“Oh yes,” she replied
“Can we do something to you hair?” I quipped, taking out the Brahmastra, my ultimate weapon.
“Shall I cut it short?” She asked enthusiastically.
Damn. I knew she was serious.
On the first day of the shoot I was on tenterhooks. I am sure she was too. The scene to be shot was an intense one between Celina and Abhimanyu. She had to play a vulnerable victim one moment and somebody who flies off into a rage the next. I was confident Abhimanyu would pull off his scene, largely because of his theatre background. But Celina?
When the camera rolled, Celina shocked all of us. She delivered a superb performance. None of us had seen ever her like this. I suspect she surprised herself also.
At the end of Day One of shoot, I realized one thing. Whether Accident On Hill Road is a hit or flop, people who see it would surely say that it is a memorable performance from Celina Jaitly
The ball is on my court now. I have to deliver too.
Gulp.
Ends/
Tags: abhimanyu singh, Accident On Hill Road, Anurag Kashyap, Bollywood, Celina Jaitly, Farooque Shaikh, Kareena Kapoor, Mahesh Nair, Rani Mukherji
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
The Hitch(es):1. You don’t need a reco to land a job with International Red Cross in London, (choosing NHS would do better) neither for your Visa i/v.
2. How come a nurse be high/addicted on dope and still get a job in Medical institutes?
This “realistic, hit-and-run thriller” , I am afraid is again going to be another pretentious piece. And Please believe me that I would be the last person who would wish such a fate for another movie.
On a note of marketing, It is not needed to prove ‘how different’ your movie is. Why it can not sell on the merit that it is a thriller riding on Ms. Jetley’s sensousness and a supposedly taut screenplay. What’s the heck of being honest? Why everyone has to scream that what Anurag kashyap did with Kalki Kochein’s character in Dev D, I am doing almost the same.
Please ponder with prudence. Best of luck.
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Hi, about the hitches you mentioned:
1. A friends wife who places nurses in UK told me that you do need get a recco to get a job there, and that does count with the visa officials… but maybe you know better.
2. huh, where did i mention that Sonam is a drug addict? Had mentioned that she was partying and got high on booze and drug…
I am sorry i havent understood your marketing point. Could you please elaborate? tks.
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Hi Mahesh,
The recco might be needed while applying but not after getting a call.
And if the character is supposed to do some chores on Sunday how could she get wasted on Saturday.
But those are acceptable– the word ‘realistic’ thrown here and there is not.
If you are delivering a product why won’t you keep a faith on the core value of the product and try to market it with those qualities? That is the ‘Marketing’ aspect I am talking about.
Don’t you think it is perfectly alright to sell the movie dependind on Ms. Jetley’s oomph factor(if not then why the proverbial sex/caress scene is there in the promo ?) and a solid storyline from ‘Stuck’. Why should you,a filmmaker with clear vision as I believe, should again shout ‘Hatke’ movie at the drop of the hat?
I really feel that someday some comedy camp(maybe the Bheja Fry team) will come up with a hindi movie named, “Nothing HATKE about it”.
So,I would sincerley request you to market the movie here at PFC on its USP and not by making us believe that Ms. Jetley pulled an Audrey Tatou here. All the best.
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Can I call you by some other name please ..it is slightly discomforting talking to a discount store!
I would like you too see the movie and then tell me if the realism in the film sucks and whether you have been entertained. Of course both of us agree that this is a feature film and not a documentary.
All I have said is Celina is doing something here which she hasnt done before. I havent anywhere claimed that this is a h
“Hatke” film. But just between us, it is not similar to de dana dan.
This blog was about Celina. My previous one was about the my team.. I am also going to write about other actors, as well as making “budgets films”. But oh boy, now you have set me thinking about Accident On Hill Road’s USP. Thank you.
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What’s in a name Mahesh? A rose is a rose is a hallmark card. Still if you like puzzles, here is one piece that has my name mentioned somewhere.
http://passionforcinema.com/whatever-happened-to-thunder-thighs/
If you are being sarcastic regarding ‘USP’ let me tell you one thing. I really don’t wanna die before seeing that day when movies like ‘Manorama’ or ‘Gulaal’ start reigning over YRF or Johar camps. And that’s why a wrong marketing approach for ‘budget’/so called multiplex movies pains me a lot.
Obviously, I will try to catch your movie if it gets an US release or if not then from official DVD (not from the Indian stores a dollar a day hall print). But within the small means of your budget for advertising, won’t it be better to go for something more innovative than showing a promo giving snippets and blogging here and there?
Just a thought.
All the best for Dec 18 and please let us know a little more about the whole journey.
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“I really don’t wanna die before seeing that day when movies like ‘Manorama’ or ‘Gulaal’ start reigning over YRF or Johar camps”
Aieesa din to Hollywood mein bhi nahi aaya hai.
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Hey Mahesh…the trailer does show her acting credentials! Hope you have done justice to hers and abhimanyu’s talent. Heres wishing you and AOHR all the best!
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thanks, cherish
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Why?? Why?? WHy?????
why make another copy Mahesh??? And u didn’t even change the premise, the profession of the characters, nothing! from ‘Stuck’?
anyone having a doubt could check the following link please
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758786/
sorry man.. didn’t mean to be an ass, just craving for some original story thats all
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the writer in his earlier blog has already cleared that this not a original movie and he has madeit sure that the producers officially put the name of the original in the credits..:)
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Oops! sorry didn’t read that earlier
from that blog now it seems it was more out compulsion than choice since nothing else seemed to work out, and this was the first real offer!
Hope u get to make ‘breaking news’ and those other original scripts after this Mahesh. best wishes
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thanks, golu for the clarification. :-)
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Best Of luck for ur film Mahesh
. The promos seem promising. Hope the film gets a proper theatrical release. As for Celina, i guess moast of the actresess have potential…only they need roles to give them that scope to perform. Definetely she’s not a bimbette. It was proved when she took part in the gay rights movement. Although i’d a impression of her being one after her frist few films.
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Agree with Ankur. Thoroughly disappointing! If you are not original, admit it…put a disclosure right at the top..chances are that you will come out as an honest guy and people might actually like you and your film. Sorry mate!
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Mahesh, I apologize. Didn’t read your earlier blog. To make it up, I will buy a ticket to your movie. Hope it will have a U.S release.
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Thanks Siva.. I hope the viewing will be paisa vasool for you!
And Ankur, I have that dreaded feeling that Breaking NEws will have :large chunks of it in Rann!
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Fact: CJ is NOT a bimbo. For proof, check out her interview following the insufferable Ramdev’s comments on her pro-gay statements.
http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/interviews/2009/celina-jaitley-interview-210709.html
BUT
That does not mean she is a good actor. She was terrible in Khel – her first film – and she was equally bad in Golmaal, which was the last film I saw featuring her. Moreover, the repartee quoted by Mahesh – about the length of her hair – is precisely the kind of thing that female actors in Bollywood are known to confuse with acting. He just reinforced the stereotype there.
Not to say CJ cannot improve. Time’s on her side.
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Yes, Bhaisahab, thats what I said too–that Celina is smart. As for her acting skills, I hope your views will change after Accident On Hill Road.
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but why to take risk with bad actor than getting new face or getting good actor
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good luck with the movie.
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thank you, bipin.
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Hmmm does every female psychotic character have to look like Kangana Ranaut!
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RGV says there are no bad or good actors. He/she performs as much as the director wants him/her to. I disagree to the point that a bad actor will either take too much time or shots or might not get whats needed at all.
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Regarding female actors doing indie films too, I have noticed that they go full hog with the successful directors (only) for quite some years. Then they start to experiment. Now adays lookss like Rani has taken a leaf from the male actors and doing very less films but with only successful directors/camps.Preity is the one who has tried many hats. Konkana, Nandita, Tabu, etc have been only experimenting!
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According to Anurag Kashyap, John Abraham is the one who signs two commercial flicks and one “meaningful” cinema. To each his own!
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Earlier I thot the movie is a whodunit. Now it doesnt look dat way!
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I agree, VJ. As for the film its not a whodunit at all. Its about whatsnext?
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Mahesh
I know you are juggling a lot of things here.Its only natural for a first time director.
I hope and Pray that AOHR reflects the heart and soul , you have put into this venture.
Will wait to see a “new and improved” CJ.
ALl the best
Abhjit
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thank you, abhijit, for your prayers. Desperately need it!:-)
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Mahesh- interesting description behind the selection of Celina for the movie.I definitely hope that I’m able to be surprised with her performance in the movie.So when is the movie releasing finally?All the very best to you & the movie once again.
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thanks, sethu. Movie releases on Dec 18.
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Hello mahesh sir…as the article named can celina act..its really a good question becoz we know celina by her glamorous image not by her acting talent..so it will be intersting to watch how celina darling performed in accident on hill road..i am totally agreed by rgv that there are no good actor or bad actor but it is depends on director..
so lets see..
best of luck sir..
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thank you, dushyant
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No yaar…Not with AVATAR………..All the best to you Mahesh and looking forward to more interesting projects from you…God Bless
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Tks, Ajay. Apun ka takkar James Cameron se! Ahem! I am going to watch first day first show of Avataar!
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All the best Mahesh ji..!
waiting to see the experimental subj and CJ
prayers,
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The trailer has come out well. But could you remove that “Based on a true story” thing?
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All the best buddy am sure you will do a great job and am sure Celina will put herself into the ‘actors’ category once the film is released.
:):)
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Mahesh sir,is it possible to meet you regarding a script based on suspense-horror..i know that now a days you will be quite busy regarding promotions of your film..but after 1 month…2 month..i mean jab aap free ho..
thnks..
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Good luck for the movie, Mahesh.
Quick question – who is releasing the film?
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