Aamir & Deepika in conversation with Karan Johar at the HT Summit
thanks to An Jo..
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35 Responses to “Aamir & Deepika in conversation with Karan Johar at the HT Summit”
Man its nauseating to see how self-absorbed these people are. Aamir has said the same things a million times in different interviews and on different platforms. Karan Johar and Deepika are in awe of Aamir because their own life is nothing more than mere consumerism. Audience is part of the rat race, the so-called cream of the society bound by capitalist mind-block. Aamir trying to be real has reached a juncture where he is misfit in both cinema and real world. Aamir has one advantage that he is constantly evolving and can think for himself. About Johar and Deepika, they are so immersed in artifice that there is no more a reality for them. Stuck in a cocoon they rarely get an opportunity that other professionals do to get real. Society by large is no perfect specimen but the tendency and inclination of celebrities to continuously talk about themselves and how they have cracked this and that is narcissism of the highest order.
(Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s own attributes. The term originated from the Greek mythology, where the young Narcissus fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water.
)
The problem is more with the question than Aamir’s answer itself..Yes aamir is repetitive but then so are these questions that typically a buffoon like Johar(read: Masand, Anupama chopra et al) keep on asking..Same nonsense all the time
P.S. Karan and Deepika made it into another episode of Koffee with Karan.
There are things that Aamir does that i really appreciate and learn from but this facet of his personality where he loves himself at times overshadows everything else. I don’t know if there is any research on it or not but I do suspect cinema has become a mental disorder both for the makers and consumers.
Agreed on all the comments made above. Also I think I find Aamir’s acting sub-par lately but what really intrigues me and what I love about him is his vision and his mind. I think he should consider writing and directing future films. I think he is falling into the trap of what he himself admitted earlier in this interview session..of making movies and thinking about the box office first. Also, KJo is still the worst.
I dont think Aamir is falling into any trap. The man has done 1 movie in the last 14 years for box office only and that was D3. Everything else was not a box office guarantee by any means. His script sense is still well beyond anyone else in the business. He is arguably the greatest actor of his generation. Yes his interviews are sometimes boring and often repetitive but that’s about the only flaw you can find.
I watched the program on tv and found it pretty interesting, nevet boring.Yes, the questions were nothing new, so Aamir’s answers were not new either, but I find Aamir an honest voice; and I’d rather listen to an honest sincere person than a fake. It’s easy to get all snobbish about such a conversation. It’s more important to understand what is being said.
Some of the points that came up inspite of being old stuff– they bear repeating. For example, there is very little grace in life as we know it, but grace is needed in life and cinema.
And I am glad that Karan gave a good solid answer to that smug questioner in the audience, asking if the three Bolywoodians would ever make a film for charity. As Karan retorted, speaking for all three, they do
their charity quietly, but filmmaking is their profession. And as Aamir said on another occasion, films need to be commercially viable, with money percolating down right up to the lowest spotboy– or the industry won’t survive. You cannot do a film for charity. Filmmaking involves a fair amount of money plus a team that combines creativity with cost-controlled, effective direction and production.
Deepika was ok with whatever she spoke, but the topic about films reshaping India, it needed a more in- depth discussion. And Deepika could have worn something more suitable– certainly not a pink off-shoulder dress (more suitable for a party than a podium).As for Aamir and his seemingly favourite t shirts– somebody should gift him a jacket.
Money percolating right down to the spotboy is fine. The big question is – how much money percolates down to the spoboys.
It is nothing compared to the propotions kept by the makers and the exorbitant price the actors/actresses demand, especially the actors. So pretending otherwise, that the concern is the spotboy, and all that this percolation covers, is hypocrisy.
@Oldgold–Trust you to find hypocricy when Aamir is part of discussion. I see ordinary economics as the point. If the producer has deep pockets, like say Yashraj , spotboys should be getting a fair amount, whatever the salary of the stars. And when the producer is an independent filmmaker, the spotboy makes less, I suppose.In any case spotboys, hairdressers and the like would be getting paid as per minimum industry rate. In Chennai my dubbing artiste friend talks of monetary exploitation by producers. So, what’s fair, who is fair or a hypocrite, nobody knows. But any business has to be commercially viable.
How about non-film busineses where peons and lower-end workers get paid a small fraction of what big bosses and middle-level managers make? It happenes in all industries and especially in a developing country like India. I have heard of Commerce graduates being paid piddly sums by small company employers, as little as rs 5000 or even less.You also have commerce graduates being employed by Google corp in Hyderabad, sent to the US every few months.
This was a discussion on film production and people involved. It didn’t mean I think elsewhere it’s all fair and wonderful.
Of course any industry generating wealth, should not overpay one and underpay another, and pocket the rest.
>”In any case spotboys, hairdressers and the like would be getting paid as per minimum industry rate.”
Exactly as I said in my comment above. Who settles these industry rates? Don’t these stars settle their own rates?
I’m not advocating ‘equality’ in the sense that a spot boy get as much as a star. But there should be some ‘sharam’.
LS- Completely agree on your comments about dress-code.
This is something that irks me about Bollywood events- the women are always dressed like they’re going to the oscars and the men are always dressed like they’re just lounging about at home, regardless of occasion-appropriateness. The actresses need to tone down the overdone makeup and outfits and the actors need to smarten up a bit.
For instance, on talk shows and at daytime panel discussions like this you will most often see a Bollywood actress bizarrely dressed in a floor-length gown with dramatic lipstick and eye makeup whereas even the top Hollywood starlet would only dress this way for a red-carpet appearance. OTOH, the way actors show up to formal events in t-shirts and jeans is just inappropriate IMO.
Watched bits —
aamir is undoubtedly earnest –‘conscientious’ is the operative word for him. He needs to be less sermonising/patronising to avoid putting off people though..Unlike ‘aamirfans’ I don’t blame aamir for doing dhoom3–the guy has to survive as well–(though d3 should have don’t much more of he is as big a star as believed & the ‘trending’ theory is correct!)
It’s easy to run down kjo–but he’s a commercial producer–it’s a difficult job & your money’s at stake big time. Kjo is brilliant and ‘fluid’ as a moderator. Liked how he dealt with the ‘charity’ q & also his ‘personal or professional’ quip -touché
Comin 2 deepika –well, I didn’t listen anything.. She needs to improve her ideation & coherence but she seems to have ‘eased up’ and is more ‘playful’
I was just concentrating on deepikas ‘dimples’ though lol
Why should the audience sitting in front of them care how bollywood operates? Did the audience care about bollywood functioning in Raj Kapoor era? Petty gossip has always been a part and parcel of this engagement of flim world with press and fans at large. Personal lives of film personalities have forever been discussed in public sphere rightly or wrongly. From Bachchan to Aamir these self-obsessed filmstars have always tried to make an issue of national importance the injustice done to them through petty gossip. When will they grow up and understand that it does not make any sense for audience at large to be bothered about their petty complains. The workings of film industry and how it should improve can be a technical discussion among peers and trade but when did it become a topic of national importance to be discussed at summits?
Mostly what they churn out is substandard product but listen to them talk and you feel they have conquered the world. They refuse to grow above film-parties and the small world they have created for themselves where they have given themselves task to lecture the world around.
Aamir bitching about producers bribing the media and buying editorials to project the fiim or Deepika making a big deal of her approach towards film selection following Aamir’s footstep is a real dull exercise. Aamir has taught a lot of flim stars on how to make a big deal of their approach towards their work and their mythical morals. Shahrukh and Salman amongst his peers are atleast not delusional about their narcissism.
I am not sure if i am able to clarify my point. Entertainment business is not some rocket science or some social movement for betterment of society that needs to be expressed in some intellectual way. Neither it has as such a long lasting impact on society for better or worse. It would be better for Aamir and co to grow up and stop taking themselves so seriously. They are not the movers and shakers of society and they should not make themselves to be. They should be modest and content in having their piece of cake and a large piece at that. Sooner or latter people will be able to see through this contradiction in Aamir’s lifestyle and work and it wouldn’t be the same anymore and those sermons wouldn’t have the same impact.
if there is good in aamir he should let his work ethic and work speak for itself rather than trying to garner appreciation for his code of work. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs though huge achievers spend less time in praising themselves and indulging in trying to verbalize their work ethic. Achievements are part hardwork, part luck, part circumstances and part taking credit for others work. In hindsights what all the autobiographies depict is an imperfect and biased approach towards cracking a formula for success which can be replicated on mass scale. But almost all the achievers have taken their own path to success and copy cats rarely find any success so it is hard to imagine what all the fuss is about trying to glorify or decode once achievements in the past.
u r forgetting the main point here that Aamir is in show-business and he needs to attend such events – as that is part of his “work” – so even to speak at such events is his work – 🙂
Johar sounds like he is tired of praising Shahrukh to the nth degree and is now concentrating on Aamir and Salman. For Aamir and Salman a johar defecting from Shahrukh’s camp is such a huge catch. Johar’s way of praise and submission is something totally new for Aamir and Salman and hence they have a newfound respect for him. Submission is a way of life for Karan and he will always be happy to be in a side role than to be a central figure.
Disregard that all and still you would find Johar’s lavish praise for everyone and anyone as fake as it can be. A guy who finds acceptance in being everyone’s bitch.
These personal remarks aside human frailties are at display everywhere but what makes johar a special case is him being an epitome of charade.
Those questions those answers the whole setup is an embarrassment. There is no point to it all. You can feel that Karan sitting there will bring the worst out of people. Somehow the koffee with karan mode was switched on in all the participants and audience. The vanity mode is switched on to the ultimate proportion as soon as a karan johar steps in. A male or female actor trying to make sense of how important his/her work is. To invent a larger meaning to a depiction of a fictional character is what gives fuel to their existence. Money as a goal is too embarrassing to admit for these sensitive creatures apart from the likes of Shahrukh.
Explaining all their shit to a non-film obsessed audience they terribly looked out of sorts. Aamir somehow manages to put an intellectual bent on it but with Karan being even that looked difficult. Deepika looked terribly confused trying to match up with something profound to say ala aamir. Aamir has somehow managed to confuse them all. Everyone is running around trying something profound to do or trying to latch on to a character which has some profound meaning. Entertainment is no longer fun or just money. Trying to attach a deeper meaning to it has reduced them to a worse charade.
It’s been over 7 years but she is STILL lying about her debut. She debuted in the Kannada language movie AISHWARYA in 2006 and she has hidden it or NEVER spoken about it: whenever someone mentions that her debut was with OSO, she NEVER corrects them. It was only her debut in Hi-fi. She was pathetic in the Kannada movie.
What else can one expect from such a hypocrite? This is the reason why I don’t even take seriously this woman’s ‘cries’ of victimisation; she is a victim in print but one who doesn’t mind thrusting her pelvis onto our faces as MOHINI eh? Even when she IS in a position of saying NO to such categorization of female characters..
Come on An Jo, give Deepika some rope. This is the fate of all newcomer females, especially in South films– the beefy hero thrusting his face into a young girl’s waist, pawing away…it’s a standard scene with cheap films starring nubile newbies. Sad really. At least Hindi films don’t treat new girls this way. But Tamil-Kannada- Telugu films exploit young girls. These girls sign up thinking they will get exposure of the right stort. Instead…Everybody has to start somewhere– and this was Deepika’s start, though she may not talk about it. I guess she is ashamed of it. When she came in OSO, the press spoke about her being a model, plus Prakash P’s daughter;nothing about this Kannada film.
A few other actors too have been shy about mentionong their early filmi debut- mistakes.
__ and this was Deepika’s start, though she may not talk about it. I guess she is ashamed of it.__
LS; you have got it all wrong, completely wrong. I guess you live in Bangalore?? Then you should be knowing about Upendra.
I abhor UPENDRA, but he is a BIG, big star in the Kannada film industry; enjoys the status of a Rajnikanth in Karnataka. Her ‘debut’ film was with Upendra!! And you are telling me she is ashamed?? There is nothing to be ashamed! It was a bad film, not a c-grade soft-porn!!
She has done this consistently over the past 7 years, trying to
hide/sideline the fact that she debuted in a film industry traditionally considered the ‘south’. And she has been doing this in order to appear ‘up-market’ by trying to shove in the myth that she ‘splashed’ onto everyone’s wet or dry dreams via Hi-fi starring none other than one of the superstars..
I don’t care if she says she debuted with that film and for some reason she now sees it as a mistake in hindsight..I am ok with that. But to pretend as though she jumped RIGHT at the stars by starring with SRK in OSO is BS of a very high order.
She joined the league of Saif Ali Khan who had the tenacity to take money for HUMSHAKALS and then didn’t have the bollocks to face the heat when the movie was panned. His conscience suddenly AROSE after the movie released and flopped, as though his conscience suffers from some erectile dysfunction which was flaccid during the shooting of HUMSHAKALS and when he got paid but rose in full glory AFTER Sajid Khan was attacked by the press for HUMSHAKALS…
Give me an Amitabh Bachchan any day who stands by even the WORST of his films….
“Give me an Amitabh Bachchan any day who stands by even the WORST of his films….” oh dear! every time he fools around before the releases of his BAD films off-late – praises them to the sky and we know what they are…….
I am from Chennai and I know something about Tamil films(more due to omnipresent media than watching current cinema); know a bit about Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam cinema. Know all about Hindi cinema and a bit of Bengali cinema( influence of East ‘n’ North India upringing and youth); and fair enough about English lang and world cinema( the latter thanks to two Chennai film fests).
On Deepika, — she has chosen to be discreet about her debut film. I am guessing she took it on hoping for a good deal. As a newcomer and possible outsider she may not have been aware of what exactly she was getting into.I have a Chennai Tamil film industry friend who informs that this is often the case with newbies– they sign on with some vague idea. But Saif Ali Khan certainly knew what he was doing. He should have been man enough to own that Humshakal was a mistake. He took money for it, can’t disown it.But even Naseer has talked about doing films for money.
And of course Amitabh has never disowned his disasters.
on the flip-side LS – girls signing south movies know exactly what they are getting into but they do it because the money is good and films get made really fast – so in a year if they do 4-5 films – they pocket cool 2-3 cr – why wud they complain tell me?
Idea: Deepika was a mere teenager when she did that film! Even if she thought she knew what she was getting into back then, she must have later matured and felt bad about it. Also, Farah was totally in control of how she presented her protege during OSO, and obviously Deepika wouldn’t have had much power to make any PR decisions there.
IMO the true hypocrisy is criticising very young girls who are obviously immature and don’t have any say in the creative process rather than the powerful producers/ directors/ heroes who choose to showcase them in this seedy manner. Like I said earlier during the ToI controversy, it’s the paying public’s demand for sleaze that makes it sell so it is supremely hypocritical of the paying public to then turn around and reprimand actresses for giving them what they so desperately want to see.
Critiquing Deepika’s current choices now that she is an established and experienced star (ex: the HNY item song) are much more understandable. But again, if you enjoyed watching that song, you don’t have a leg to stand upon.
ami – i didnt bother to watch that song – and one cant blame DP as it was her first film – but she is a superstar today – miles ahead of anyone else – no doubts abt it
you guys talk too much about stars beyond their films.. It’s laughable.. How does it matter if Deepika considers what as her debut..or whether Saif takes money and then bashes Humshakals..In the end to a viewer it only matters whether they act good/bad in their films and whether the film itself is good or bad.
So if Amitabh stands by his disasters – it doesn’t make his bad movie watchable..
Even if Amitabh disowned Mai azad hoon . It’ll still remain a fantastic performance!!
@” you guys talk too much about stars beyond their films..”
Is there one decent mainstream movie released this year to discuss the merits of the film or talk something else.
I think Gox has made few good comments earlier in this thread on the current state of affairs and they hold water.
“Personal lives of film personalities have forever been discussed in public sphere rightly or wrongly. ”
“Mostly what they churn out is substandard product but listen to them talk and you feel they have conquered the world. They refuse to grow above film-parties and the small world they have created for themselves where they have given themselves task to lecture the world around.”
Films are subjective and hence will not question your choices here but believe me even though I missed Queen in theatres; I recently watched Queen on cable TV and for a good 1.5 hours could not understand why the movies garnered such rave reviews except for the last 1/2 hour which was the saving grace. Probably my expectations for this one were too high after the great trending on box office. If you had listed Kahani and Lunch Box to the list , I would agree to an extent….
Watched Kill Dill and Happy Ending in theatre as the promo were suggesting something different with a new mix of star cast but both were very boring and dull except the parts where Govinda came and lit up the screen with his effortless act. Had heard so much about Akki’s character in Shaukeen and that too was a klpd and thankfully I watched this on dvd so was not miffed and watched it in fast forward mode.
May be my expectations for movies are too high or it’s just that due to internet, blogs, tweets and 24/7 TV channels including the news one which carry filmy news I now know too much of the back stories to actually sit back and enjoy them.
That’s just cynical me, so please don’t take me seriously here and enjoy the bollywood of your choices.
There’s an episode of Friends where Rachel is dating a gynecologist and the problem with that dude is that because of his profession, he’s not much excited by the idea of sexuality of women since he’s most of time right “there” at his clinic.
I guess you are spending too much time at the back stories. : )
Since An Jo brought up Saif in a comment above, allow me to digress from the main topic ( the HT summit video about which i have had my say and so has the wise Gox with many comments with which i may not agree fully…but let that be). Let’s say that this is just a general thread about Hindi movie people.
Well here is a Saif interview ( he has been speaking a lot lately) where the man is being partially truthful. Agreed that his hasty first marriage may have been a mistake and not fair to many people. But why can’t he admit to being 44?
‘Today, he seems to have found greater stability and solidity in life. “You feel different at 40 ” ‘
Saif was born on Aug 16, 1970. That’s 44.
Ok, that’s a small matter. Here he is speaking ambiguously about Humshakal —
Learning curve
After two successes in the form of Race 2 and Cocktail, Saif’s last two films haven’t done nearly as well as he would have liked. Talking about the factors that drove him towards taking up Bullett Raja and Humshakals and why he thinks they didn’t work, he says, “I had just had two hits and wanted to try something different. I thought Bullett Raja would be a nice rustic role and a comedy with Sajid Khan would be something that the whole of India enjoys. But these things go wrong. Humshakals also had regressive elements and anything regressive will be abused in today’s India. I think our country is at this moment in expansion mode in terms of our government as well as our attitudes. People will not blame you for trying something new, but they will blame you for trying something regressive. This obviously didn’t strike me at the time of signing on, probably because I was having a good time and was in an oh-it’s-all-fine mode. Then I got a jhatka later.”
OK Saif, Sajid Khan’s films are totally regressive, and Humshakal was possibly the worst of the lot. ‘Humshakals also had regressive elements’ — duh? Of course, the WHOLE film. And ‘ anything regressive will be abused in today’s India. ‘
Nawabzaade- — anything regressive has ALWAYS been abused in India as far as I remember. Even in 1995 I could not stand the regressive character of Amrish Puri in DDLJ. And as for regressive Tamil cinema of the seventies, eighties and nineties, don’t ask.
And yes Saif, people will in India will definitely blame you for doing regressive stuff. Anybody doing regressive cinema gets the stick.
problem with saif is that he has managed to create an image of a funny kind of hero who is more sarcastic at everything in life – so audiences have not accepted him whole-heartedly………..
SATYAMSHOT 
November 21, 2014 at 5:02 PM
Man its nauseating to see how self-absorbed these people are. Aamir has said the same things a million times in different interviews and on different platforms. Karan Johar and Deepika are in awe of Aamir because their own life is nothing more than mere consumerism. Audience is part of the rat race, the so-called cream of the society bound by capitalist mind-block. Aamir trying to be real has reached a juncture where he is misfit in both cinema and real world. Aamir has one advantage that he is constantly evolving and can think for himself. About Johar and Deepika, they are so immersed in artifice that there is no more a reality for them. Stuck in a cocoon they rarely get an opportunity that other professionals do to get real. Society by large is no perfect specimen but the tendency and inclination of celebrities to continuously talk about themselves and how they have cracked this and that is narcissism of the highest order.
(Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s own attributes. The term originated from the Greek mythology, where the young Narcissus fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water.
)
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November 21, 2014 at 5:14 PM
The problem is more with the question than Aamir’s answer itself..Yes aamir is repetitive but then so are these questions that typically a buffoon like Johar(read: Masand, Anupama chopra et al) keep on asking..Same nonsense all the time
P.S. Karan and Deepika made it into another episode of Koffee with Karan.
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November 21, 2014 at 5:06 PM
There are things that Aamir does that i really appreciate and learn from but this facet of his personality where he loves himself at times overshadows everything else. I don’t know if there is any research on it or not but I do suspect cinema has become a mental disorder both for the makers and consumers.
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November 21, 2014 at 6:53 PM
Agreed on all the comments made above. Also I think I find Aamir’s acting sub-par lately but what really intrigues me and what I love about him is his vision and his mind. I think he should consider writing and directing future films. I think he is falling into the trap of what he himself admitted earlier in this interview session..of making movies and thinking about the box office first. Also, KJo is still the worst.
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November 21, 2014 at 7:23 PM
I dont think Aamir is falling into any trap. The man has done 1 movie in the last 14 years for box office only and that was D3. Everything else was not a box office guarantee by any means. His script sense is still well beyond anyone else in the business. He is arguably the greatest actor of his generation. Yes his interviews are sometimes boring and often repetitive but that’s about the only flaw you can find.
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November 22, 2014 at 4:21 AM
I watched the program on tv and found it pretty interesting, nevet boring.Yes, the questions were nothing new, so Aamir’s answers were not new either, but I find Aamir an honest voice; and I’d rather listen to an honest sincere person than a fake. It’s easy to get all snobbish about such a conversation. It’s more important to understand what is being said.
Some of the points that came up inspite of being old stuff– they bear repeating. For example, there is very little grace in life as we know it, but grace is needed in life and cinema.
And I am glad that Karan gave a good solid answer to that smug questioner in the audience, asking if the three Bolywoodians would ever make a film for charity. As Karan retorted, speaking for all three, they do
their charity quietly, but filmmaking is their profession. And as Aamir said on another occasion, films need to be commercially viable, with money percolating down right up to the lowest spotboy– or the industry won’t survive. You cannot do a film for charity. Filmmaking involves a fair amount of money plus a team that combines creativity with cost-controlled, effective direction and production.
Deepika was ok with whatever she spoke, but the topic about films reshaping India, it needed a more in- depth discussion. And Deepika could have worn something more suitable– certainly not a pink off-shoulder dress (more suitable for a party than a podium).As for Aamir and his seemingly favourite t shirts– somebody should gift him a jacket.
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November 22, 2014 at 7:34 AM
Money percolating right down to the spotboy is fine. The big question is – how much money percolates down to the spoboys.
It is nothing compared to the propotions kept by the makers and the exorbitant price the actors/actresses demand, especially the actors. So pretending otherwise, that the concern is the spotboy, and all that this percolation covers, is hypocrisy.
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November 22, 2014 at 8:51 AM
@Oldgold–Trust you to find hypocricy when Aamir is part of discussion. I see ordinary economics as the point. If the producer has deep pockets, like say Yashraj , spotboys should be getting a fair amount, whatever the salary of the stars. And when the producer is an independent filmmaker, the spotboy makes less, I suppose.In any case spotboys, hairdressers and the like would be getting paid as per minimum industry rate. In Chennai my dubbing artiste friend talks of monetary exploitation by producers. So, what’s fair, who is fair or a hypocrite, nobody knows. But any business has to be commercially viable.
How about non-film busineses where peons and lower-end workers get paid a small fraction of what big bosses and middle-level managers make? It happenes in all industries and especially in a developing country like India. I have heard of Commerce graduates being paid piddly sums by small company employers, as little as rs 5000 or even less.You also have commerce graduates being employed by Google corp in Hyderabad, sent to the US every few months.
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November 22, 2014 at 10:44 AM
This was a discussion on film production and people involved. It didn’t mean I think elsewhere it’s all fair and wonderful.
Of course any industry generating wealth, should not overpay one and underpay another, and pocket the rest.
>”In any case spotboys, hairdressers and the like would be getting paid as per minimum industry rate.”
Exactly as I said in my comment above. Who settles these industry rates? Don’t these stars settle their own rates?
I’m not advocating ‘equality’ in the sense that a spot boy get as much as a star. But there should be some ‘sharam’.
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November 22, 2014 at 8:38 PM
LS- Completely agree on your comments about dress-code.
This is something that irks me about Bollywood events- the women are always dressed like they’re going to the oscars and the men are always dressed like they’re just lounging about at home, regardless of occasion-appropriateness. The actresses need to tone down the overdone makeup and outfits and the actors need to smarten up a bit.
For instance, on talk shows and at daytime panel discussions like this you will most often see a Bollywood actress bizarrely dressed in a floor-length gown with dramatic lipstick and eye makeup whereas even the top Hollywood starlet would only dress this way for a red-carpet appearance. OTOH, the way actors show up to formal events in t-shirts and jeans is just inappropriate IMO.
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November 22, 2014 at 10:10 AM
Watched bits —
aamir is undoubtedly earnest –‘conscientious’ is the operative word for him. He needs to be less sermonising/patronising to avoid putting off people though..Unlike ‘aamirfans’ I don’t blame aamir for doing dhoom3–the guy has to survive as well–(though d3 should have don’t much more of he is as big a star as believed & the ‘trending’ theory is correct!)
It’s easy to run down kjo–but he’s a commercial producer–it’s a difficult job & your money’s at stake big time. Kjo is brilliant and ‘fluid’ as a moderator. Liked how he dealt with the ‘charity’ q & also his ‘personal or professional’ quip -touché
Comin 2 deepika –well, I didn’t listen anything.. She needs to improve her ideation & coherence but she seems to have ‘eased up’ and is more ‘playful’
I was just concentrating on deepikas ‘dimples’ though lol
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November 22, 2014 at 2:36 PM
Why should the audience sitting in front of them care how bollywood operates? Did the audience care about bollywood functioning in Raj Kapoor era? Petty gossip has always been a part and parcel of this engagement of flim world with press and fans at large. Personal lives of film personalities have forever been discussed in public sphere rightly or wrongly. From Bachchan to Aamir these self-obsessed filmstars have always tried to make an issue of national importance the injustice done to them through petty gossip. When will they grow up and understand that it does not make any sense for audience at large to be bothered about their petty complains. The workings of film industry and how it should improve can be a technical discussion among peers and trade but when did it become a topic of national importance to be discussed at summits?
Mostly what they churn out is substandard product but listen to them talk and you feel they have conquered the world. They refuse to grow above film-parties and the small world they have created for themselves where they have given themselves task to lecture the world around.
Aamir bitching about producers bribing the media and buying editorials to project the fiim or Deepika making a big deal of her approach towards film selection following Aamir’s footstep is a real dull exercise. Aamir has taught a lot of flim stars on how to make a big deal of their approach towards their work and their mythical morals. Shahrukh and Salman amongst his peers are atleast not delusional about their narcissism.
I am not sure if i am able to clarify my point. Entertainment business is not some rocket science or some social movement for betterment of society that needs to be expressed in some intellectual way. Neither it has as such a long lasting impact on society for better or worse. It would be better for Aamir and co to grow up and stop taking themselves so seriously. They are not the movers and shakers of society and they should not make themselves to be. They should be modest and content in having their piece of cake and a large piece at that. Sooner or latter people will be able to see through this contradiction in Aamir’s lifestyle and work and it wouldn’t be the same anymore and those sermons wouldn’t have the same impact.
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November 22, 2014 at 2:45 PM
if there is good in aamir he should let his work ethic and work speak for itself rather than trying to garner appreciation for his code of work. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs though huge achievers spend less time in praising themselves and indulging in trying to verbalize their work ethic. Achievements are part hardwork, part luck, part circumstances and part taking credit for others work. In hindsights what all the autobiographies depict is an imperfect and biased approach towards cracking a formula for success which can be replicated on mass scale. But almost all the achievers have taken their own path to success and copy cats rarely find any success so it is hard to imagine what all the fuss is about trying to glorify or decode once achievements in the past.
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November 23, 2014 at 2:10 AM
u r forgetting the main point here that Aamir is in show-business and he needs to attend such events – as that is part of his “work” – so even to speak at such events is his work – 🙂
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November 22, 2014 at 2:57 PM
Johar sounds like he is tired of praising Shahrukh to the nth degree and is now concentrating on Aamir and Salman. For Aamir and Salman a johar defecting from Shahrukh’s camp is such a huge catch. Johar’s way of praise and submission is something totally new for Aamir and Salman and hence they have a newfound respect for him. Submission is a way of life for Karan and he will always be happy to be in a side role than to be a central figure.
Disregard that all and still you would find Johar’s lavish praise for everyone and anyone as fake as it can be. A guy who finds acceptance in being everyone’s bitch.
These personal remarks aside human frailties are at display everywhere but what makes johar a special case is him being an epitome of charade.
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November 22, 2014 at 3:16 PM
Those questions those answers the whole setup is an embarrassment. There is no point to it all. You can feel that Karan sitting there will bring the worst out of people. Somehow the koffee with karan mode was switched on in all the participants and audience. The vanity mode is switched on to the ultimate proportion as soon as a karan johar steps in. A male or female actor trying to make sense of how important his/her work is. To invent a larger meaning to a depiction of a fictional character is what gives fuel to their existence. Money as a goal is too embarrassing to admit for these sensitive creatures apart from the likes of Shahrukh.
Explaining all their shit to a non-film obsessed audience they terribly looked out of sorts. Aamir somehow manages to put an intellectual bent on it but with Karan being even that looked difficult. Deepika looked terribly confused trying to match up with something profound to say ala aamir. Aamir has somehow managed to confuse them all. Everyone is running around trying something profound to do or trying to latch on to a character which has some profound meaning. Entertainment is no longer fun or just money. Trying to attach a deeper meaning to it has reduced them to a worse charade.
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November 22, 2014 at 11:33 PM
Interesting points made by Gox.
(P.S. not trying to be Johar)
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November 23, 2014 at 4:11 PM
What a lousy hypocrite this Deepika is!!!
It’s been over 7 years but she is STILL lying about her debut. She debuted in the Kannada language movie AISHWARYA in 2006 and she has hidden it or NEVER spoken about it: whenever someone mentions that her debut was with OSO, she NEVER corrects them. It was only her debut in Hi-fi. She was pathetic in the Kannada movie.
What else can one expect from such a hypocrite? This is the reason why I don’t even take seriously this woman’s ‘cries’ of victimisation; she is a victim in print but one who doesn’t mind thrusting her pelvis onto our faces as MOHINI eh? Even when she IS in a position of saying NO to such categorization of female characters..
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November 23, 2014 at 11:43 PM
was this the debut film of that Car too?
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November 24, 2014 at 2:09 AM
__was this the debut film of that Car too?__
Oh it doesn’t have a loud and lying mouth like Deepika’s; so am not really sure what the CAR said about its debut…
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November 24, 2014 at 12:05 AM
Come on An Jo, give Deepika some rope. This is the fate of all newcomer females, especially in South films– the beefy hero thrusting his face into a young girl’s waist, pawing away…it’s a standard scene with cheap films starring nubile newbies. Sad really. At least Hindi films don’t treat new girls this way. But Tamil-Kannada- Telugu films exploit young girls. These girls sign up thinking they will get exposure of the right stort. Instead…Everybody has to start somewhere– and this was Deepika’s start, though she may not talk about it. I guess she is ashamed of it. When she came in OSO, the press spoke about her being a model, plus Prakash P’s daughter;nothing about this Kannada film.
A few other actors too have been shy about mentionong their early filmi debut- mistakes.
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November 24, 2014 at 2:24 AM
__ and this was Deepika’s start, though she may not talk about it. I guess she is ashamed of it.__
LS; you have got it all wrong, completely wrong. I guess you live in Bangalore?? Then you should be knowing about Upendra.
I abhor UPENDRA, but he is a BIG, big star in the Kannada film industry; enjoys the status of a Rajnikanth in Karnataka. Her ‘debut’ film was with Upendra!! And you are telling me she is ashamed?? There is nothing to be ashamed! It was a bad film, not a c-grade soft-porn!!
She has done this consistently over the past 7 years, trying to
hide/sideline the fact that she debuted in a film industry traditionally considered the ‘south’. And she has been doing this in order to appear ‘up-market’ by trying to shove in the myth that she ‘splashed’ onto everyone’s wet or dry dreams via Hi-fi starring none other than one of the superstars..
I don’t care if she says she debuted with that film and for some reason she now sees it as a mistake in hindsight..I am ok with that. But to pretend as though she jumped RIGHT at the stars by starring with SRK in OSO is BS of a very high order.
She joined the league of Saif Ali Khan who had the tenacity to take money for HUMSHAKALS and then didn’t have the bollocks to face the heat when the movie was panned. His conscience suddenly AROSE after the movie released and flopped, as though his conscience suffers from some erectile dysfunction which was flaccid during the shooting of HUMSHAKALS and when he got paid but rose in full glory AFTER Sajid Khan was attacked by the press for HUMSHAKALS…
Give me an Amitabh Bachchan any day who stands by even the WORST of his films….
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November 24, 2014 at 2:58 AM
“Give me an Amitabh Bachchan any day who stands by even the WORST of his films….” oh dear! every time he fools around before the releases of his BAD films off-late – praises them to the sky and we know what they are…….
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November 24, 2014 at 3:14 AM
I am from Chennai and I know something about Tamil films(more due to omnipresent media than watching current cinema); know a bit about Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam cinema. Know all about Hindi cinema and a bit of Bengali cinema( influence of East ‘n’ North India upringing and youth); and fair enough about English lang and world cinema( the latter thanks to two Chennai film fests).
On Deepika, — she has chosen to be discreet about her debut film. I am guessing she took it on hoping for a good deal. As a newcomer and possible outsider she may not have been aware of what exactly she was getting into.I have a Chennai Tamil film industry friend who informs that this is often the case with newbies– they sign on with some vague idea. But Saif Ali Khan certainly knew what he was doing. He should have been man enough to own that Humshakal was a mistake. He took money for it, can’t disown it.But even Naseer has talked about doing films for money.
And of course Amitabh has never disowned his disasters.
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November 24, 2014 at 2:56 AM
on the flip-side LS – girls signing south movies know exactly what they are getting into but they do it because the money is good and films get made really fast – so in a year if they do 4-5 films – they pocket cool 2-3 cr – why wud they complain tell me?
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November 24, 2014 at 3:17 AM
Ha ha! Sab ko sab kuch maloom hai; most know what they are doing. But even after knowing some of it, they occasionally get shocks.
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November 24, 2014 at 5:41 AM
Idea: Deepika was a mere teenager when she did that film! Even if she thought she knew what she was getting into back then, she must have later matured and felt bad about it. Also, Farah was totally in control of how she presented her protege during OSO, and obviously Deepika wouldn’t have had much power to make any PR decisions there.
IMO the true hypocrisy is criticising very young girls who are obviously immature and don’t have any say in the creative process rather than the powerful producers/ directors/ heroes who choose to showcase them in this seedy manner. Like I said earlier during the ToI controversy, it’s the paying public’s demand for sleaze that makes it sell so it is supremely hypocritical of the paying public to then turn around and reprimand actresses for giving them what they so desperately want to see.
Critiquing Deepika’s current choices now that she is an established and experienced star (ex: the HNY item song) are much more understandable. But again, if you enjoyed watching that song, you don’t have a leg to stand upon.
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November 24, 2014 at 7:20 AM
ami – i didnt bother to watch that song – and one cant blame DP as it was her first film – but she is a superstar today – miles ahead of anyone else – no doubts abt it
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November 24, 2014 at 8:46 AM
you guys talk too much about stars beyond their films.. It’s laughable.. How does it matter if Deepika considers what as her debut..or whether Saif takes money and then bashes Humshakals..In the end to a viewer it only matters whether they act good/bad in their films and whether the film itself is good or bad.
So if Amitabh stands by his disasters – it doesn’t make his bad movie watchable..
Even if Amitabh disowned Mai azad hoon . It’ll still remain a fantastic performance!!
too much noise about nothing!!
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November 24, 2014 at 10:32 AM
@” you guys talk too much about stars beyond their films..”
Is there one decent mainstream movie released this year to discuss the merits of the film or talk something else.
I think Gox has made few good comments earlier in this thread on the current state of affairs and they hold water.
“Personal lives of film personalities have forever been discussed in public sphere rightly or wrongly. ”
“Mostly what they churn out is substandard product but listen to them talk and you feel they have conquered the world. They refuse to grow above film-parties and the small world they have created for themselves where they have given themselves task to lecture the world around.”
Nicely stated.
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November 24, 2014 at 12:18 PM
“Is there one decent mainstream movie released this year to discuss the merits of the film or talk something else.”
– so basically if you don’t have anything..you’ll talk like Kjo.
Here are some decent(and more than that) mainstream films in 2014 in my opinion
Dedh Ishqiya
Queen
Filmistaan
Holiday
Mardaani
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November 24, 2014 at 12:46 PM
Films are subjective and hence will not question your choices here but believe me even though I missed Queen in theatres; I recently watched Queen on cable TV and for a good 1.5 hours could not understand why the movies garnered such rave reviews except for the last 1/2 hour which was the saving grace. Probably my expectations for this one were too high after the great trending on box office. If you had listed Kahani and Lunch Box to the list , I would agree to an extent….
Watched Kill Dill and Happy Ending in theatre as the promo were suggesting something different with a new mix of star cast but both were very boring and dull except the parts where Govinda came and lit up the screen with his effortless act. Had heard so much about Akki’s character in Shaukeen and that too was a klpd and thankfully I watched this on dvd so was not miffed and watched it in fast forward mode.
May be my expectations for movies are too high or it’s just that due to internet, blogs, tweets and 24/7 TV channels including the news one which carry filmy news I now know too much of the back stories to actually sit back and enjoy them.
That’s just cynical me, so please don’t take me seriously here and enjoy the bollywood of your choices.
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November 24, 2014 at 2:00 PM
There’s an episode of Friends where Rachel is dating a gynecologist and the problem with that dude is that because of his profession, he’s not much excited by the idea of sexuality of women since he’s most of time right “there” at his clinic.
I guess you are spending too much time at the back stories. : )
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November 25, 2014 at 1:54 AM
Since An Jo brought up Saif in a comment above, allow me to digress from the main topic ( the HT summit video about which i have had my say and so has the wise Gox with many comments with which i may not agree fully…but let that be). Let’s say that this is just a general thread about Hindi movie people.
Well here is a Saif interview ( he has been speaking a lot lately) where the man is being partially truthful. Agreed that his hasty first marriage may have been a mistake and not fair to many people. But why can’t he admit to being 44?
‘Today, he seems to have found greater stability and solidity in life. “You feel different at 40 ” ‘
Saif was born on Aug 16, 1970. That’s 44.
Ok, that’s a small matter. Here he is speaking ambiguously about Humshakal —
Learning curve
After two successes in the form of Race 2 and Cocktail, Saif’s last two films haven’t done nearly as well as he would have liked. Talking about the factors that drove him towards taking up Bullett Raja and Humshakals and why he thinks they didn’t work, he says, “I had just had two hits and wanted to try something different. I thought Bullett Raja would be a nice rustic role and a comedy with Sajid Khan would be something that the whole of India enjoys. But these things go wrong. Humshakals also had regressive elements and anything regressive will be abused in today’s India. I think our country is at this moment in expansion mode in terms of our government as well as our attitudes. People will not blame you for trying something new, but they will blame you for trying something regressive. This obviously didn’t strike me at the time of signing on, probably because I was having a good time and was in an oh-it’s-all-fine mode. Then I got a jhatka later.”
OK Saif, Sajid Khan’s films are totally regressive, and Humshakal was possibly the worst of the lot. ‘Humshakals also had regressive elements’ — duh? Of course, the WHOLE film. And ‘ anything regressive will be abused in today’s India. ‘
Nawabzaade- — anything regressive has ALWAYS been abused in India as far as I remember. Even in 1995 I could not stand the regressive character of Amrish Puri in DDLJ. And as for regressive Tamil cinema of the seventies, eighties and nineties, don’t ask.
And yes Saif, people will in India will definitely blame you for doing regressive stuff. Anybody doing regressive cinema gets the stick.
Read the rest here:
http://www.asianage.com/bollywood/you-feel-more-grounded-40-106
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November 25, 2014 at 2:08 AM
problem with saif is that he has managed to create an image of a funny kind of hero who is more sarcastic at everything in life – so audiences have not accepted him whole-heartedly………..
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