House of Pandit flying high with Two New Releases back to back around Diwali

Rising high on the success of the very first production, a short film in Kannada (later, dubbed into Hindi) Jo Jo Laali is been getting appreciations from critics and audiences from all over. Very recently, it has been on the International Platform with being screened at the Prestigious 19th World Aids Conference in Washington and it is scheduled for another big event at the 7th Vishwa Kannada Sammelana of America Kannada Koota Association (AKKA) in Atlanta, Georgia on September 1, 2012.

Jo Jo Laali is been produced by Kalpana Pandit and directed by Sandeep Malani.

The same team is now ready with their first Hindi feature film, a musical thriller titled Janleva 555, which has obtained a clear U/A certificate with no cuts and is scheduled to release all over on October 19th, 2012. The film besides Kalpana Pandit brings back the veteran actor Anant Nag to Hindi films, after a long time. It stars a whole bunch of newbies Akash Hora, Abrar Zahoor, Ranjeet Jha, Shona Chabra, Anant Joshi, Mann Hora, Vaseem and Willy Manchanda. Cliff Janke, an American also makes his debute with this film.

Their third production, Pani Thuli, a Tamil film starring Kalpana Pandit and Ganesh Venkatraman is all set for release, this August 10th. To be simultaneously released in India and America, the film is directed by Natty Kumar and Dr. Jay. Its a co-production of Dreams on Frames. The Hindi version of the film, Tum Ho Yaara will release during Diwali season.

So, overall with films being released back to back, its a big cheers to the House of Pandit team!

Bihari actress Divyaa Dwivedi achieves a rare golden jubilee in films

If Bihar is the flavor of the season with ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ so is a Bihari actress, who has completed a rare golden jubilee in films. She is a mysterious yet mystical rustic actress, who came from nowhere and yet made her mark in the film capitals of India. She acted in 50 Indian language films (Hindi, Bhojpuri, Tamil, etc), many more plays and television shows but actress Divyaa Dwivedi feels that her best work is yet to come despite a golden jubilee in films! The Bihari actress feels that today the film industry doesn’t have a Meena Kumari or a Madhu Bala and she wants to pay homage to them by doing a role like the ones they attempted.  

  

Divyaa is sad that Indian filmmakers haven’t truly exploited her potential even though she has a lot to give. She says, “Now I want to work with the Top 20 Hindi filmmakers to get a wider audience for my talent. I have never tried to be part of any big Groups and have remained independent because I want to work with one and all. I’m flexible and I will give my 200% to any role that is given to me. I am looking for a wide range right from an impactful item number to a full fledged performance oriented role. I have a flair for glamour and comedies even though people feel my emotional drama talent hasn’t been fully utilized. I want to do work that makes me happy and fulfilled.”

Lamenting the desperation that other actresses are showing in terms of stirring up controversy, Divyaa avers, “I have never been publicity hungry and created controversies even when I could! I have always let my work-talent speak for me. I believe that I have been honest and truthful with this industry and want to stamp my mark in it forever. The opportunity can present itself through a big budget film or banner or through a niche talented filmmaker.”

Talking about Bhojpuri film industry, Divya feels that the Bhojpuri film industry has blossomed and has become bigger than even before. “However, filmmakers have to be more creative and original. They have to be experimental and try new themes to change the mindsets of the audiences, who are used to a particular style of story telling. Also, there is tremendous scope to saw the depth and variety of Bhojpuri culture and traditions. And enhance the technical aspects of the filmmaking! Bhojpuri audiences are still in their infancy curve and there is tremendous opportunity to take them through an evolutionary curve,” she adds.

Born as Rekha Kumari Dwivedi in Patna, Divyaa, the eldest of 3 sisters and a brother, was eyeing a medical career after finishing her 10 + 2 from JD’s Women’s College. However, on an impulse, the daughter of an army officer decided to express her creative side in terms of the 500 poems she had written under the encouragement of her school principal. She walked into All India Radio’s studio and met the Station Director. She was asked to participate in a show along with stalwart poets and she ended up reciting 3 of her best poems. She got a cheque of Rs. 150 at a time when she didn’t even have a bank account. And the rest, as they say, is history! She went on to host a radio show on children and their hair raising feats – ‘Nanhe Munne’. She also honed her skills in theatre with Neelakamal Kala Parishad acting in plays such as Gunghroo, Show Must Go On, Aashad Ka Ek Din, Maans Ka Bilap, Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke and Rajnigandha amongst others. The budding actress realized that she had a flair for learning pages and pages of dialogues by heart and expressing them effortlessly.

Divyaa moved on to Doordarshan and then did what truly marked her debut and foray into tinsel town. She played Rajeshwari, the lead role on a Doordarshan TV serial, where she metamorphosed from a 16 year old girl to a 70 year old girl. Then followed another award winning Lekh Tandon serial ‘Bikhri Aas Nikhri preet” (DD1) where she did the role of Chandrika – a dream role as it was initially offered to her idol Meena Kumariji. The story of this serial is of a young girl who has lot of aspirations in her life but what happens is something quite different. Divyaa earned a lot of popularity across Indian households but she wanted to do something more.

Divyaa came to Mumbai and pitching for feature films, ads and music video shoots. She also started learning dancing from dancing maestros such as Saroj Khan, Shakur Master and Vijay Oscar. She started doing music videos for Venus and T-Series.  She got her first feature film break in Tushar Kapoor’s film ‘Yeh Dil’ and Arbaaz Khan’s ‘Alibaba Aur Chhalis Chor’. She also did ‘Khanjhar’ with Sunil Shetty and Tabu; Kuch Kaha Aapne and Campus (Tamil). She moved into big league with a film ‘Jahaan Jayega Humein Paayega’ with Govinda and Krishna. She became a producer of a play at a very young age and presented ‘The Grieving Soul’ at IskCon theatre in Mumbai. Ahead of her times, she experimented with Internet TV playing Savita Bhabhi character in Jay Hind, India’s 1st internet based comedy show.

When asked about her change in name, Divyaa says, “There was already a Rekha in the film industry at that point of time. In the initial days of my career, film producers kept my name ‘Divy..’, which means divine. And it was good from the numerology point of view.”

“My father always took the name of Shah Rukh Khan and his achievements. He also wrote several inspirational letters to me telling me that no work is too small. He helped build my mental strength and also maintain my equilibrium with his friend, philosopher and guide stance. Many a times, people tell me that I am not cut out for this industry because of my innocent, frank and straight-forward behavior. I have been hurt many times in the past but my burning desire to leave my footprints in the sands of Indian film history keeps me going,” avers Divyaa. 

“Well, it’s true that I don’t have any Godfather but several good Samaritans and angels have come into my life at various points of time and helped me. I believe that my pure open hearted approach and crystal clear frank attitude has helped me appeal to the good aspects of different people in the industry,” adds Divyaa.   

Talking about Bhojpuri films, Divyaa says, “I have done more than 20 Bhojpuri films till date. It happened by chance. In many ways, I didn’t imagine I would do well in Bhojpuri films because I was slim and not very well endowed! I was happy doing Hindi films but was still getting several Bhojpuri offers because of my Patna origins. I didn’t accept any of them till I got an offer for a film ‘Ganga Jaisan Paawan’ to be directed by Govind Moonis (Nadiya Ke Paar fame) and produced by Sadhana Singh. I was cast opposite Ravi Kishen and then started a spate of offers with all superstars such as Ravi (Kishen), Manoj (Tiwari) and Dinesh (Yadav).”  

Divyaa has done "Saawariya I Love You" with Eon Films under Shambhu Pandey Productions and was cast opposite Deepka Dubey. Her sizzling number "San san sehre mor badanva.." got her more accolades in the movie from the audience inspite of Seema Singh having done an item number in it and Mandira Koiralaa doing a mujra..

Divyaa has submitted a pilot of a comedy show called ‘Saath Saaliyan’ to Doordarshan. She believes that DD doesn’t have many comedy shows and there is tremendous potential to have a good comedy on air.    

Films & TV World congratulates Pranab Mukherjee for winning the Presidential elections..

Bollywood's first superstar passes away... RIP Kaka...

Babu Moshai...

Zindagi aur maut uparwale ke haath mein hai jahanpanah.

Hum sab toh rang manch ki kathputliyan hai jinki dor uparwale ki ungliyon mein bandhi hui hain.

Kaun kab uthega koi nahin bata sakta....

These lines were made immortal by Superstar actor Rajesh Khanna in the immortal film “Anand” directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Going by the lines, actor Rajesh Khanna passed away at his home in Mumbai. His "Safar" came to a halt today at the age of 69. Mr Khanna who had been ill for some time was suffering from cancer (as was reported by some TV channels), same like his immortal character of Anand.  The cremation will be held tomorrow morning.

The top actor in Bollywood during the Seventies and early Eighties, Rajesh Khanna was considered to be Bollywood's first real superstar. He was the star of romantic films as well as comedies and dramas including Anand, Aradhana, Amar Prem, Bawarchi, Safar, Kati Patanag and so many others. He won three Filmfare awards in his long career. Recently Mr Khanna was seen in a fan advertisement directed by “Cheeni Kum” director Balki. 

‎...Rastaa rok rahi hain, thodi jaan hain baki

Jane toote dil mein, Kya armaan hain baki

Jaane bhi de ai dil... Sabko mera salam...

Woh main chala.. main chala..

Anand Mara nahi, Anand marte nahi!! Wo to sub ke dilo mi basa hai!!

Yea, Kaka!! You will rule in our hearts forever...

Stylist Sapna Bhavnani’s funky hairstyles for the young & yuppie on I Love Style

Experimenting with haircuts & hair colors requires a lot of courage. But for ace stylist and one of the pioneers of hair styles & colors, Sapna Bhavnani, experimenting with hair is something that comes naturally to her. This week on I Love Style, its Sapna Bhavnani and her scissor-happy magic fingers & hair color that adds character to your personality. Sapna, who runs the chic salon Mad O Wot, also has her line of designer clothing which she showcases on the show. With her tips on hair care, hair styling & much more, on I Love Style on BIG CBS LOVE, the Diva Destination, the viewers will get to be a part of a complete different fashion experience.

The popular stylist will also guide the viewers on types of shampoos & conditioners required for a particular type of hair; colors suitable for hair according to the skin tone…and funky & wacky hairstyles for the young and the carefree.

Sapna’s recent line of clothing So fake, emphasizes on classic cuts with strong structured shapes in basic colors that can be paired with anything. She will also be shedding light on the Indian fashion style and her own style mantra on the show.

Sapna’s wardrobe has maximum black in it as it helps camouflage the hair which gets stuck on the attire of the dresser. Call it a work hazard but she has managed to do well with black. Also, she doesn’t likes to experiment with colors too much. She loves Chinese dresses as they truly accentuate the figure and are very dressy.

Svelte and stylish Sapna Bhavnani has been working in the fashion and beauty industry for the last 14 years. Her heightened sense of style can be attributed to the exposure to the sensibilities of both the worlds.

Watch the stylist on I Love Style powered by Karmik only on BIG CBS Love