indian film industry Archives - Lokmarg

Prem Chopra Reveals Why He Refused To Work In English Films

By LokMarg 28th February 2024

Acing negative roles with panache is cult classics such as ‘Do Raaste’, ‘Prem Nagar’, ‘Upkar’, and ‘Bobby’, screen legend Prem Chopra found fame in the Indian film industry and established himself as the undisputed king when it came to playing the villain.

Not only did he carve a niche for himself in the Indian film industry but also courted fame overseas with some iconic negative roles.

Following in the footsteps of actors and his juniors in the industry–Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher and Anil Kapoor, Prem Chopra made his Hollywood debut in 2012 with the film ‘Heartland’.

However, in an exclusive interview with ANI, Chopra revealed that he had resolved never to do movies in English.

While opening up on his debut Hollywood film ‘Heart Land’ while refusing to mouth English dialogues, Chopra said, “I had an offer…somebody came to me and said they were making an English film, a Hollywood production with American actors in it. He told me that it was a tribute to ‘Godfather’ (cult crime trilogy directed by iconic American auteur Francis Ford Coppola). I jumped on it thinking I was playing the ‘Godfather’. However, when I arrived at the set, I was told that it wasn’t the ‘Godfather’, and ‘Godfather’ was merely a character in the film. I did some American films, including ‘Heartland’, which was released all over America. I played a Sardar in the film.”

Sharing the story around his refusal to do films where was he was required to deliver dialogues in English, Chopra said, “The film (‘Heartland’) was Punjabi-English. Mostly it was English. However, I refused to deliver dialogues in English. There is a good story around it. My son-in-law is in America. He sent an English girl over to me to seek my approval for their marriage on his behalf. I kept looking at that girl, thinking to myself if it was, at all, possible to let my son marry someone to who represented a community of people who are unlike some of my best friends. We all used to be in the army. I said (he could never let his son marry into a community of) people, who treated Indians like animals, were responsible for the death of one of my best friends and did not even give him a respectable funeral. I said I had made up my mind not to speak this language at all. However, I told the girl: ‘considering the surroundings you grew up in and finding you to be a very simple person, I deem you fit for the marriage.’ This is the back story.”

Helmed by Fred Holmes, ‘Heartland’, apart from Prem Chopra, also featured Stephan M Singh, Amelia Jackson-Gray and Divya Dutta.

Chopra has worked in more than 400 films during his career and is fondly remembered for some of his iconic negative roles.

His unforgettable one-liner “Prem naam hai mera… Prem Chopra” (Prem is my name…Prem Chopra) from the Rishi Kapoor starrer ‘Bobby’ got him overnight stardom as a villain.

In a six-decade-old career in the industry, Prem Chopra acted in several films such as ‘Upkaar’, ‘Purab Aur Pashchim’, ‘Do Raaste’, and ‘Phool Bane Angaarey’, among others.

He was recently seen in the action-thriller ‘Animal’, which also starred Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Rashmika Mandanna in lead roles. (ANI)

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Gwalior Boy, Kartik Turns 32

By LokMarg 22nd November 2022

Bollywood’s new favourite star Kartik Aaryan, who ringed into his 32nd birthday on Tuesday, has gradually carved a separate niche for himself in the film industry but it has not a path laid with flowers for him.

There is a famous dialogue from Shah Rukh Khan’s film ‘Om Shanti Om’ which goes, “Kehte hain agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho, to puri kayanat usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lagg jaati hai.”
This dialogue holds true for Kartik because no one could have imagined that a boy from Gwalior, who came to the city of dreams, Mumbai, to pursue his engineering degree while secretly harbouring ambitions for a film career, will one day become one of the most sought after Bollywood stars.

Though he had started with his engineering degree, Kartik used to skip classes and travel for hours to attend movie auditions with the dream of one day becoming an actor.

It was in 2011, while still in his third year of college, Kartik made his acting debut with Luv Ranjan’s buddy film ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’, and his character’s four-minute monologue, which was one of the lengthiest single shots done for a Hindi film to that point, became a hit with clips of that scene going viral on the internet.

Following that, his second release was ‘Akaash Vani’, which dealt with the sensitive topic of marital rape but did not do commercially well.

He also did ‘Kaanchi: The Unbreakable’ and that too had a similar fate; however, it was ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2’ that once again made the actor re-emerge and with a couple of duds after that Kartik finally got his big break with ‘Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety’ which gave him nationwide fame and it has been no looking back from there.

He continued to climb the ladder of success with films like ‘Luka Chuppi’, ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ and ‘Dhamaka’ among others.

Being an outsider, it is no secret that Kartik made it big in the industry without any Godfather and his last release ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ has only further boosted his path to superstardom.

Apart from his screen presence, Kartik might be one the most real celebrities one might ever come across. While promoting his film, or heading out in the city, he makes it a point to engage with his fans.

Also, it’s no secret the effect that Kartik’s killer looks have on his fan base, with him being one of the most eligible bachelors in the nation and girls swooning over wherever he goes.

A couple of months ago, a video of Kartik went viral in which he was seen consoling and hugging a young female fan as she broke down after meeting her favourite actor.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Chpsw1pqwRO/

Kartik has steadily emerged as Bollywood’s lone wolf, whose dashing personality and killer smile has made millions of people lose their hearts to him.

He is not only a brilliant actor but evidently also enjoys a huge social media fan following. With future projects like ‘Freddy’, ‘Shehzada’ and ‘Satyaprem ki Katha’ among others in his kitty, he will keep conquering new peaks of stardom. (ANI)

One Should Not Get Into Acting Just For Money: Pankaj

By LokMarg 22nd November 2022

One of the finest actors working in the Hindi film industry today is Pankaj Tripathi. From featuring in a blink-and-miss role in ‘Run’ (2004) to headlining mainstream projects like ‘Mirzapur’, ‘Ludo’, ‘Kaagaz’ and ‘Criminal Justice, the 47-year-old, who hails from a village in Bihar, has definitely come a long way.

In a tete-a-tete with ANI during the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Pankaj got candid about his journey so far and how he reached the pinnacle of his career with no godfather in the industry.
“I come from a very simple family. I belong to a village where we even struggled to get the basic facility of electricity but we were happy. I was living far from the world of acting and now my entire life is all about acting. My love for cinema developed organically. I used to watch plays in my hometown .. that’s when I actually developed a major interest in theatre and then I moved to Delhi and joined the National School Of Drama (NSD). After a few years, I went to the city of dreams Mumbai and since then I have been learning the craft of cinema and trying my best to showcase my skills via my acting on screen. This journey is beyond any dream I saw,” Pankaj said.

He feels it’s his roots that actually helped him carve a niche in the film industry.

“One should never forget his/her roots. If you forget your roots then it becomes difficult to survive. Be it a person or a story or a plant, everything in this world is rooted. Whatever I am today is all because of my roots,” Pankaj emphasised.

As today many young aspiring actors look up to Pankaj as their role model, he shared a golden piece of advice for all.

“One should never get into this profession only for money and fame. First understand why you want to come here ( in the film industry).. understand your love, and your needs. Kaam dil se karoge paisa zarur miljaega life me (Money will eventually come to you at one point),” he added, recalling his first paycheck.

“I still remember my first paycheck was of Rs 1700 for a brief TV stint,” he shared.

Over fifteen years into his film industry career, with a repertoire full of path-breaking roles, Pankaj, undoubtedly, set a benchmark in Hindi cinema. (ANI)

Baahubali Writer V Vijayendra At IFFI: I Don’t Write Stories, I Steal Them

By LokMarg 22nd November 2022

Renowned film-maker and screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad, who is known for his projects like Baahubali, RRR, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and Magadheera, was among the personalities from the Indian film industry who received honours during the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

In addition, he held a workshop on the margins of the event titled “The Master’s Writing Process.” In the workshop, he spoke with aspiring filmmakers and offered tips on how he writes for movies.
Talking about how he started his journey, he said, “I did everything possible to earn a living including agriculture before becoming a writer. The writing came much later in life.”

Talking about keeping the audience in mind while writing, the writer said, “I always try to create a hunger within the audience for my story and characters and that drives me to create something unique and appealing”.

While talking about his screenwriting style, Shri Prasad said, he always thinks of a twist at the interval and organizes the story accordingly. “You have to create something out of nothing. You have to present a lie, which looks like the truth. A person who can tell a good lie can be a good storyteller”, he added.

“I don’t write stories, I steal them. Stories are there around you, be it epics like Mahabharat, Ramayan, or real-life incidents, there are stories everywhere. You need to represent it in your unique style,” said V Vijayendra Prasad during his workshop session.

Responding to the query of a budding story writer, the ace storyteller said, one has to open up his or her mind and absorb everything. “You need to be your own harshest critic, then only your best will come out and you can take your work to unscalable heights”, he asserted.

Sharing his experience of writing for the blockbusters like Baahubali and RRR, Shri Prasad said, “I don’t write, I dictate stories. I have everything in my mind; the flow of the story, the characters, the twists”. He said, one good writer should cater to the needs of the Director, Producer, Primary Protagonist, and Audience.

Vijayendra Prasad is currently working on the story for the sequel to the global blockbuster ‘RRR’.

Several Bollywood celebrities, including Ajay Devgn, Kartik Aaryan, Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal, and Suniel Shetty, attended the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) opening ceremony held on Sunday in Goa. The opening ceremony’s theme, “Evolution of Indian Cinema in the Last 100 Years,” reflected the spirit of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations. (ANI)