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BNA INDIA - March / April 2015

DISCOVER WITH BNA INDIA THE UNIQUE COMBINATION OF CINEMA, ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE FROM INDIA AND GERMANY!

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<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

1


2 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


EDITORIAL<br />

DISCOVER WITH <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> THE UNIQUE<br />

COMBINATION OF CINEMA, ENTERTAINMENT<br />

AND CULTURE FROM <strong>INDIA</strong> & GERMANY!<br />

Dear Readers!<br />

With '<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong>',a sub-edition of the famous German language<br />

magazine '<strong>BNA</strong> GERMANY®', we want to build a<br />

bridge between the Indian culture and the German culture<br />

in combination with the best of Indian cinema and entertainment.<br />

This time our cover story is about Kajol. We had the opportunity<br />

to interview the beautiful actress who plans her big<br />

screen comeback with Rohit Shetty's "Dilwale". We also spoke with director<br />

Anup Singh (Qissa) and for our 'Film Special' section in which we report about<br />

"Ek Paheli Leela" we interviewed director Bobby Khan and actress Sunny Leone.<br />

Another highlight of this edition is the announcement of the winners of this<br />

year's AIFAs (Annual Indian Film Awards), with all details of the results and the<br />

complete winner list. Addidionally we introduce this year's Miss India Italy<br />

competition, which will be held on 18th <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong> in Milan. In our 2nd lesson in<br />

German language, which we will teach you in English and Hindi, you will learn<br />

the first sentences you can use for a small chat and some more basic grammar<br />

along with 15 reason why you should learn German.<br />

Of course you will also find the latest entertainment news, Hindi film previews,<br />

film reviews by the Indian film critic Bobby Sing, the photo shooting by our chief<br />

photographer Shiraz Henry as well as an article about German traditions for the<br />

Easter feast inclusive two traditional Easter cooking recipes. In our serial about<br />

German cities we take you to Frankfurt.<br />

Your feedback to this edition as well as your wishes and comments for the next<br />

editions are welcomed. Please just send us a mail to info@bna-germany.com<br />

Enjoy this edition!<br />

Warm regards from Munich.<br />

Yours<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

3


4 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


INDEX<br />

MARCH / APRIL <strong>2015</strong><br />

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<br />

8 Latest News from the Film Industry<br />

FILM PREVIEWS<br />

14 Tigers<br />

15 Main Aur Charles<br />

16 Margartita, With A Straw<br />

17 Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!<br />

18 Ek Paheli Leela<br />

19 Piku<br />

FILM BUSINESS:<br />

Interview with Anup Singh<br />

Page 28<br />

SPECIAL FEATURE<br />

20 Miss India Italy <strong>2015</strong><br />

FILM REVIEWS<br />

22 Baby<br />

24 Dolly Ki Doli<br />

26 Roy<br />

72 Qissa<br />

74 Badlapur<br />

76 NH10<br />

FILM BUSINESS<br />

28 Interview with director Anup Singh<br />

LEARN GERMAN<br />

36 Lesson 2<br />

COVER STORY<br />

42 Kajol - With an exclusive interview<br />

COVER STORY:<br />

Kajol<br />

Page 42<br />

AIFA AWARDS<br />

52 All winners of this year’s<br />

AIFA Awards<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

5


6 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


INDEX<br />

MARCH / APRIL <strong>2015</strong><br />

IMPRESSUM<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong><br />

English language edition<br />

A product of <strong>BNA</strong> GERMANY® und<br />

M.G.M. SAI PRODUCTION Ltd.<br />

603, Morya Landmark II<br />

Off Link Road, Andheri West<br />

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0091-22-26736996<br />

FILM SPECIAL:<br />

Ek Paheli Leela<br />

Page 62<br />

PHOTOSHOOT BY<br />

SHIRAZ HENRY<br />

58 Sejal Mandavia<br />

FILM SPECIAL<br />

62 „Ek Paheli Leela“ with exclisive<br />

Interviews with director Bobby Khan<br />

and lead actress Sunny Leone<br />

GERMAN CITIES<br />

78 Frankfurt<br />

Publishing House<br />

Editor in Chief<br />

Head in India<br />

Graphic Design<br />

Editors<br />

Photographers<br />

Photo Sources<br />

Cover Photo<br />

Distributor<br />

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Press Contact<br />

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Online Edition<br />

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Info@bna-germany.com<br />

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Ravi Birthwal, Diana N.<br />

Weidner, Jyothi Venkatesh, Tania<br />

Vom Lehn, Sylvia Cholschreiber<br />

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Karnataka Tourism, <strong>BNA</strong> GER-<br />

MANY®, Wikipedia, Anup Singh,<br />

Prasad Naik,Bobby Khan, Daniel<br />

Weber, Eros Entertainment , UTV<br />

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Alexandra Ccahuana Tito<br />

Alexandra Ccahuana Tito<br />

info@bna-germany.com<br />

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Kannan Dhawan<br />

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act@bna-germany.com<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> is a bi-monthly publication by <strong>BNA</strong> GER-<br />

MANY®, Muenchner Straße 34, 85757 Karlsfeld b. Munich.<br />

Any kind of replication or copy of the content is<br />

illegal and will be punished.<br />

Advertising price list No.2 from 01.08.2011 is valid. E-<br />

Mail:info@bna-germany.com; Internet: www.bnagermany.com<br />

GERMAN TRADITIONS<br />

82 Easter Feast<br />

GERMAN COOKING<br />

84 Traditional German Easter recipes<br />

www.bna-germany.com<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

7


ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<br />

Bollywood’s produ<br />

on film pr<br />

The overall dull scenarion at the<br />

box-office has finally taken its toll<br />

on Bollywood. Last week, the top<br />

brass of B-town got together in its<br />

first-ever united stance and took a<br />

serious call on the manner in which<br />

they want to promote films in <strong>2015</strong>.<br />

Some serious decisions were taken<br />

in this regard.<br />

The meeting was held at Karan Johar’s<br />

office in Bandra and leading producers<br />

like Mukesh Bhatt, Sajid Nadiadwala,<br />

Ekta Kapoor, Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan<br />

Akhtar, Phantom Films, Ashish Patil<br />

(Yashraj Films), Siddharth Roy Kapur<br />

(UTV/Disney), Vijay Singh (Fox Star),<br />

Ajit Andhare (Viacom 18), Sunil Lulla<br />

(Eros) and a few others were present.<br />

Bhushan Kumar of T-Series has also<br />

expressed his solidarity, even though<br />

he was personally not present.<br />

The agenda of the meeting was to be<br />

united over the money being spent on<br />

a film’s marketing and promotion. A<br />

producer reveals, “When a film is up<br />

for release, we end up spending more<br />

than what is required. Every few<br />

months, some new avenues open up<br />

that only adds up to the expenses. But<br />

does indulging in so many different<br />

activities to promote your film really<br />

translate into business? No, it doesn’t.”<br />

The idea behind the meeting was to<br />

draw some rules regarding<br />

expenses, which every<br />

producer then would<br />

have to abide by. “In the<br />

South, they have a set<br />

limit on the kind of money<br />

you can spend on publicity<br />

and marketing. And<br />

every producer follows<br />

that. Be it a film starring<br />

Rajinikanth or a new actor,<br />

you cannot exceed<br />

that limit. This ruling has<br />

helped the entire industry,”<br />

reveals our source.<br />

Besides this, the stars<br />

weren’t spared either.<br />

For a long time, producers<br />

have been bearing<br />

the burden of costs that<br />

have no relevance to the<br />

film – for example, the<br />

cost of a star’s personal<br />

physical trainer and a<br />

star’s manager. Wherever<br />

the star is shooting in<br />

the world, his/her trainer<br />

and manager being there<br />

is almost a requisite. This<br />

is an added cost to every<br />

producer. At the meeting,<br />

it was unanimously decided<br />

that stars would now<br />

Farhan Akthar &<br />

Certain firm decisio<br />

unison and a few<br />

follow<br />

* The promotion of a<br />

ceed beyond<br />

* No producer wou<br />

take paid media (clo<br />

per fi<br />

* No more promotion<br />

papers (the two<br />

* No outdoor<br />

* No bus backs (a<br />

buse<br />

* Costs of trainers<br />

would be borne by<br />

selve<br />

8 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<br />

cers to save costs<br />

omotions<br />

Karan Johar<br />

ns were taken in<br />

of them are as<br />

s:<br />

film would not ex-<br />

6 weeks.<br />

ld be allowed to<br />

se to 20-60 lakh<br />

lm)<br />

al jackets in news-<br />

-pager flaps)<br />

hoardings<br />

ds behind BEST<br />

s)<br />

and managers<br />

the stars themslt.<br />

have to pay for these<br />

costs themselves.<br />

In the next meeting, scheduled<br />

to take place in two<br />

months, a limit would be<br />

set on advertising on television<br />

as well. Also, a limit<br />

on the rates of other staff<br />

of film stars (make-up man,<br />

hair dresser and spot<br />

boys) would be put in place.<br />

“We have to understand<br />

that only a certain amount<br />

of promotion is required<br />

for every film,” says another<br />

filmmaker. “By spending<br />

on double of that, we<br />

are not guaranteeing extra<br />

revenue. It is just money<br />

going down the drain. And<br />

over a period of time,<br />

these expenses have started<br />

bleeding the film industry.<br />

This kind of unity is<br />

very important, especially<br />

for smaller filmmakers.”<br />

There was a very interesting<br />

observation made at<br />

the meeting by a producer.<br />

He gave the film business<br />

in New Delhi as an example.<br />

Over the years, the<br />

business in Mumbai city<br />

and Delhi is almost the<br />

same (maybe Mumbai leads by a very<br />

small margin in some cases). But the<br />

point to be noted is that this is despite<br />

the fact that Delhi has no outdoor promotions,<br />

no hoardings, no posters, no<br />

paid media and no newspaper jackets.<br />

So is Bollywood being foolish by indulging<br />

in these expenses in Mumbai?<br />

Incidentally, the three recent films that<br />

have fared better than the others at the<br />

box-office (Badlapur, Dum Laga Ke<br />

Haisha and NH 10) had very limited<br />

budgets on publicity and marketing.<br />

“But that didn’t stop the audience from<br />

coming in,” says a producer.<br />

Bollywood is rather upbeat with the<br />

decision that the senior producers<br />

have taken. And to spread the message<br />

that they mean business this time,<br />

there is also a punishment and a fine in<br />

place for anyone who doesn’t adhere<br />

to the rules – he/she would be charged<br />

Rs 50 lakh.<br />

Producers demand: No more waste of money<br />

in promotion of films<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

9


ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<br />

"Haider" to be screened at<br />

London Asian Film Festival<br />

Vishal Bhardwaj's critically acclaimed 2014<br />

film "Haider", which was an adaptation of<br />

Shakespeare's "Hamlet", will be screened<br />

at the London Asian Film Festival (LAFF).<br />

The film will be presented by "Tongues on<br />

Fire", a non-profit organisation that focuses<br />

on showcasing the best of Asian cinema to<br />

the world. Starring Shahid Kapoor, Tabu<br />

and Shraddha Kapoor, "Haider" will be<br />

shown at the Harrow Arts Centre on <strong>March</strong><br />

20 <strong>2015</strong>. The film festival will also include<br />

a tribute to the industry's first superstar<br />

Rajesh Khanna and a choreography master-class<br />

by Farah Khan, who recently directed<br />

Shahrukh Khan in Happy New Year.<br />

The London Asian Film Festival is currently<br />

in its 17th year.<br />

Rohit Shetty announces<br />

his next with<br />

Shahrukh Khan & Kajol<br />

Shahrukh Khan's next with Rohit Shetty<br />

has been subjected to immense conjectures<br />

and rumours since the longest time.<br />

From the film's plot to the cast, the director<br />

had managed to keep everything under the<br />

Rohit Shetty, Kajol & Shahrukh Khan<br />

wraps, while media reports suggested a<br />

probable list of actors who could be roped<br />

in for the film. Now, Rohit has finally announced<br />

the film officially.<br />

In an interview to a leading daily, Rohit<br />

Shetty confirmed that his next with<br />

Shahrukh Khan is titled 'Dilwale' and will<br />

have Shahrukh Khan romancing Kajol<br />

along with Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon<br />

playing supporting leads. The director also<br />

revealed that joining the four will be veteran<br />

actors Kabir Bedi and Vinod Khanna.<br />

The director has also clearly confirmed that<br />

his film has an original script and is not a<br />

remake of "Hum" or "Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi".<br />

The film will bring back the evergreen<br />

jodi of SRK & Kajol back on screen and will<br />

go on floors in <strong>March</strong> end. The team will<br />

start shooting for the film in Mumbai and<br />

will be joined by SRK and Kajol in June.<br />

Dilwale is scheduled to release on December<br />

25, <strong>2015</strong>.<br />

10 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<br />

Ajay Devgn's and Tabu's<br />

'Drishyam' to release on<br />

July 31, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Ajay Devgn will finally have a release in<br />

<strong>2015</strong>. After Shivaay got indefinitely postponed<br />

due to adverse weather conditions,<br />

Ajay decided to move back to shooting for<br />

his films before starting his directorial venture.<br />

The actor, who has signed Nishikant<br />

Kamat's Drishyam remake will have a release<br />

in July this year.<br />

Drishyam, which is a remake of the South<br />

film of the same name starring Mohanlal<br />

has already gone on floors as the actor<br />

started shooting in Goa for the film on<br />

Katrina Kaif<br />

Tabu & Ajay Devgn<br />

Friday. The film will also star Tabu in a<br />

pivotal role. Talks are also on and Sunil<br />

Shetty might be roped in for the film as well.<br />

But the film will be releasing on July 31 this<br />

year. After Shahrukh Khan's "Fan" vacated<br />

its place, it was Karan Johar's "Brothers"<br />

starring Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra<br />

that occupied the Independence Day<br />

spot. Taking place of "Brothers" initial release<br />

date is Ajay's "Drishyam".<br />

IIFA will return to Malaysia<br />

after 13 years<br />

The <strong>2015</strong> edition of the International Indian<br />

Film Academy Awards (IIFA) is set to enthral<br />

Bollywood fans in Malaysia as the<br />

annual prize-giving ceremony will be held<br />

in the city of Kuala Lumpur in June. This is<br />

the second time IIFA will be travelling to<br />

Malaysia. The Bollywood awards ceremony<br />

was last held in the country in 2002.<br />

"We are going to Malaysia in the first week<br />

of June. We had a great time in Malaysia in<br />

2002. We are coming back after 13 years.<br />

It is a great destination, a lot of our movies<br />

are being shot there off late so it will enhance<br />

the business locally. It is going to be<br />

fun," said Andre Timmins, spokesperson<br />

IIFA. Timmins revealed that the other contending<br />

cities to host this year's ceremony<br />

were Bangkok, Thailand and Madrid. "We<br />

were in talks with Bangkok and Madrid. We<br />

are going to continue our dialogue with<br />

Spain for hosting future editions", he said.<br />

This year's event will span over three days<br />

and will include film and music workshops,<br />

fashion shows, fans meet-and-greet, technical<br />

awards and media briefings of forthcoming<br />

movies. This will be the 16th edition<br />

of the awards ceremony which was instituted<br />

in 2000.<br />

Vidya Balan’s next is a biopic<br />

on Suchitra Sen<br />

Late actress Suchitra Sen had captivated<br />

the audiences with her beauty and elegance<br />

and now reprising her real life role<br />

on-screen will be Vidya Balan. The actress<br />

is currently busy wrapping up Emraan<br />

Hashmi starrer Humari Adhuri Kahani, post<br />

this, the actress will start preparing for the<br />

biopic. Interestingly, Vidya was offered four<br />

scripts off which she picked up this one.<br />

This biopic will require Vidya to learn the<br />

Indian classical dance form of Kathak and<br />

a special teacher from Lucknow has been<br />

called upon for it. Vidya wants to make sure<br />

that everything works out perfect for the<br />

biopic and hence has been giving full attention<br />

to details.<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

11


NEWS & GOSSIP<br />

After having played Silk Smitha in "The<br />

Dirty Picture" we are sure Vidya will pull off<br />

an amazing role in this biopic too!<br />

A team of 20 artists will work on the figure,<br />

which will cost £150,000 to produce.”<br />

There is perhaps only one place in the<br />

world where stars like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,<br />

Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan and<br />

Amitabh Bachchan can come together under<br />

one roof. The prestigious Madame<br />

Tussaud's wax museum in London brings<br />

the best of Bollywood together and freezes<br />

the stars in all their glory.<br />

Vidya Balan<br />

Katrina Kaif's wax statue to<br />

be unveiled at Madame Tussaud's<br />

Katrina Kaif is all set to join Bollywood<br />

biggies at Madame Tussaud's, London.<br />

The actress will unveil the carefully sculpted<br />

wax statue later this month. Katrina is<br />

reportedly trying to zero in on what she<br />

would wear for the unveiling ceremony.<br />

The official Madame Tussaud's Twitter handle<br />

had earlier tweeted, “Katrina has collaborated<br />

closely with our sculptors and artists<br />

to decide a dancing pose and outfit for the<br />

figure, having given a sitting in Mumbai<br />

where all the measurements required to<br />

create an accurate likeness were gathered.<br />

Katrina Kaif<br />

For more daily news please vitit us<br />

on Facebook:<br />

http://www.facebook.com/bna.germany<br />

12 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

13


FILM PREVIEW<br />

TIGERS<br />

The film is based on a<br />

real life story, about<br />

Ayan, a salesman<br />

(Emraan Hashmi)<br />

working the pharmaceutical<br />

industry in Pakistan,<br />

discovers its<br />

truths, while selling baby<br />

formula products,<br />

and tries to fight<br />

against the system.<br />

This David-and-Goliath<br />

story is told partially<br />

through the eyes of a<br />

film crew making a<br />

documentary on Ayan's<br />

astonishing findings.<br />

of a system where<br />

narrow interests prevail,<br />

and an honest man<br />

doing the right thing is<br />

castigated and threatened,<br />

and finally sees<br />

his life endangered.<br />

Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Khalid Abdalla, Geetanjali Thapa,<br />

Supriya Pathak<br />

Director: Danis Tanovic<br />

Producers: Prashira Chaudhary, Anurag Kashyap et.al.<br />

Music: Pritam<br />

Genre: Drama<br />

Release Date: 6th <strong>March</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

14 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM PREVIEW<br />

MAIN AUR CHARLES<br />

„Main Aur<br />

Charles“ is an upcoming<br />

Indian<br />

Crime thriller<br />

film directed by<br />

Prawaal Raman.<br />

The film is a biopic<br />

of an infamous<br />

conman<br />

Charles Sobhraj<br />

and stars Randeep<br />

Hooda,<br />

Adil Hussain and<br />

Richa Chadda in<br />

pivotal roles. The<br />

film tells the story<br />

of the 'Bikini<br />

Killer' of the 70s<br />

and also captures<br />

the famous Tihar<br />

jail break of 1986.<br />

Cast: Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadda, Adil Hussain<br />

Director: Prawaal Raman<br />

Producers: Raju Chadha, Amit Kapoor, Vikram Khakhar<br />

Music: Aditya Trivedi<br />

Genre: Thriller<br />

Release Date: 13th <strong>March</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

15


FILM PREVIEW<br />

MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW<br />

Cast: Kalki Koechlin, Revathi, Sayani Gupta<br />

Director: Shonali Bose<br />

Producers: Shonali Bose, Nilesh Maniyar<br />

Music: Mickey McCleary<br />

Genre: Drama<br />

Release Date: 13th <strong>March</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

Laila (Kalki Koechelin)<br />

is a wheelchair<br />

user with cerebral palsy.<br />

She is a student at<br />

Delhi University and<br />

an aspiring writer who<br />

writes lyrics and creates<br />

electronic sounds<br />

for an indie band at<br />

the university. She<br />

gets admitted to New<br />

York University and<br />

moves with her mother<br />

(Revathy). Living<br />

in Manhattan, she<br />

falls in love with fiery<br />

young activist Khanum<br />

(Sayani Gupta).<br />

Thus she embarks on a<br />

journey of sexual discovery<br />

which hinders<br />

the relationships between<br />

her family and<br />

friends.<br />

16 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM PREVIEW<br />

DETECTIVE BYOMKESH BAKSHY!<br />

The film is based on<br />

the fictional detective<br />

Byomkesh Bakshi created<br />

by the Bengali<br />

writer Sharadindu<br />

Bandyopadhyay. During<br />

World War II, the<br />

nature of crime<br />

changed in Kolkata.<br />

There were air raids<br />

and there were Japanese<br />

spies as well.<br />

And that point, Kolkata<br />

was a port city, so<br />

there were naturally<br />

more crimes. In this<br />

scenario a young detective,<br />

Byomkesh<br />

Bakshy, came to<br />

solve a mystery — his<br />

first case.<br />

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Swastika Mukherjee,<br />

Anand Tiwari<br />

Director: Dibakar Banerjee<br />

Producers: Aditya Chopra, Dibakar Banerjee<br />

Music: Sneha Khanwalkar<br />

Genre: Crime Thriller<br />

Release Date: 3rd <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

17


FILM PREVIEW<br />

EK PAHELI LEELA<br />

Bobby Khan, brother of<br />

Ahmed Khan will be making<br />

his directorial debut<br />

with this film. Sunny Leone<br />

will be seen in triple<br />

roles. The movie's plot<br />

seems to revolve around<br />

reincarnation, a love story<br />

of Leela (Sunny Leone)<br />

and Shravan (Rajneesh<br />

Duggal), which is left incomplete<br />

as one of them<br />

is murdered. The story<br />

comes to an end after 300<br />

long years, when Leela<br />

has become Meera and<br />

Shravan is reborn as Karan<br />

(Jay Bhanushali).<br />

Please also read our interviews<br />

with Bobby<br />

Khan and Sunny Leone<br />

in this edition.<br />

Cast: Sunny Leone, Jay Bhanushali, Mohit Alawat,<br />

Rajneesh Duggal<br />

Director: Bobby Khan<br />

Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Ahmed Khan, Shaira Khan<br />

Music: Meet Bros Anjjan, Amaal Mallik, Dr. Zeus<br />

Genre: Musical-Thriller<br />

Release Date: 10th <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

18 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM PREVIEW<br />

PIKU<br />

Not much is<br />

known yet about<br />

"Piku", but Deepika<br />

Padukone<br />

learned Bengali<br />

as her character<br />

is from Bengal.<br />

Irrfan Khan will<br />

play the romantic<br />

lead opposite<br />

of Deepika Padukone<br />

while Amitabh<br />

Bachchan<br />

will essay the role<br />

of a Bangali<br />

bhadrolok. In the<br />

first promo trailers<br />

one could<br />

see him in a character<br />

of an old<br />

Bengali man<br />

with long hair<br />

and a big belly.<br />

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan<br />

Khan, Moushumi Chatterjee, Jishu Sengupta<br />

Director: Shoojit Sircar<br />

Producer Ronnie Lahiri<br />

Genre: Comedy-Drama<br />

Release Date: 30th <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

19


SPECIAL FEATURE<br />

MISS <strong>INDIA</strong><br />

On 18th Aptil <strong>2015</strong> the 5th edition of the annual Miss In<br />

thousands of in Italy living girls with Indian origin appli<br />

final for the Miss Ind<br />

Those 15 young and talented<br />

girls of Indian origins, coming<br />

from all parts of Italy, will compete<br />

for the Miss India Italy’s<br />

crown on 18th of <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong> in<br />

Milan, Congress Centre. They<br />

will wear traditional Indian<br />

high fashion dresses as well as<br />

Italian high fashion dresses and<br />

will try to impress the jury not<br />

only with their look and beauty<br />

but also with their intelligence.<br />

The winner of Miss India Italy<br />

will represent Italy at the nternational<br />

Miss India Worldwide<br />

contest that will be held for the<br />

next edition in Mumbai, India<br />

in the famour five-star hotel<br />

"The Lalit", where 50 national<br />

winners of different countries<br />

from all over the world will<br />

take part. For that grand final<br />

in Mumbai a lot of prominent<br />

people from the Indian film<br />

industry are expected.<br />

Miss India Italy is not only<br />

limited to a fashion show and<br />

competition, but its goal is to<br />

promote India through the<br />

culture, art, customs and history<br />

by organizing a show of<br />

dancing, singing and traditional<br />

Indian music, thus<br />

helping to promote awareness<br />

of Indian culture. A<br />

show that will bring together<br />

all the different Indian communities<br />

present on Italian<br />

territory and even many Italians,<br />

who are fascinated by<br />

Gran Final of Miss India Worldwide 2014<br />

20 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


SPECIAL FEATURE<br />

ITALY <strong>2015</strong><br />

dia Italy contest is going to take place in Milan. Several<br />

ed for this contest. Out of those girls only 15 reached the<br />

ia Italy competition.<br />

this colorful, magical and<br />

mysterious country.<br />

As Miss India Italy works<br />

under the patronage of Miss<br />

India Worldwide, who is a<br />

Worldwide Organization<br />

based in New York, more<br />

than 50 countries from all<br />

over the world are part of this<br />

organization. This means that<br />

all other countries and organizations<br />

are connected and<br />

linked with Miss India Italy,<br />

giving to them enormous visibility<br />

nationally and worldwide.<br />

Miss India Italy is<br />

presented and organized by<br />

the Indian Association of<br />

Northern Italy. The project<br />

leaders of the event are Nand<br />

Kumar, founding member of<br />

Indian Association, and Maria<br />

Rindone, who is also the<br />

national director of Miss India<br />

Italy.<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> GERMANY® as the<br />

exklusive German media partner<br />

will be presented at the<br />

Miss India Italy pageant and<br />

report about the event. The<br />

best moments and pictures of<br />

this year's Miss India Italy<br />

will be published in our next<br />

edition.<br />

For more information about Miss<br />

India Italy check these links:<br />

www.missindiaitaly.com<br />

www.facebook.com/missindiaitaly<br />

www.worldwidepageants.com<br />

Miss India Italy 2012:<br />

Ankita Arora<br />

Miss India Italy 2013:<br />

Aishwarya Maheshwari<br />

Miss India Italy 2014:<br />

Revan Satinder<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

21


Cast: Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Rana Daggubati, Anupam Kher,<br />

Kay Kay Menon, Danny Denzongpa<br />

Director: Neeraj Pandey<br />

Genre: Thriller<br />

Run Time: 159 Minutes<br />

Release Date: 23rd January <strong>2015</strong><br />

Rating:<br />

22 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM REVIEW<br />

BABY<br />

A well shot, inspired<br />

espionage thriller<br />

If one delivers a path breaking, trendsetter classic<br />

as his very first film then it surely raises the<br />

bar substantially that is quite tough to manage<br />

in the subsequent projects. Thankfully Neeraj<br />

Pandey is a director constantly trying to deliver<br />

quality products post his A WEDNESDAY<br />

unanimously acclaimed by both the critics and<br />

the masses together. And though he might not<br />

have excelled himself in his next films as seen<br />

in both SPECIAL 26 and BABY,<br />

the fact remains that he does<br />

come up with all off-beat themes<br />

on a constant basis and tries to<br />

present them in an unconventional<br />

way too that more or less<br />

works with a larger part of the<br />

audience.<br />

However in case of BABY, it was<br />

not a completely satisfying experience<br />

due to pretty lousy first<br />

half and big flaws in the execution<br />

that was too convenient to be<br />

considered as a realistic take on<br />

the serious issue of terrorism. Yet<br />

what largely saves the film are<br />

some particular sequences having<br />

that thrilling pull and its last hour<br />

where the director finally finds<br />

his brilliant form to end it all on a spirited note.<br />

Beginning with a typical filmy action hero<br />

sequence with a racy background score (where<br />

the loud beep of the transmitter/phone is<br />

strangely not being heard by the goons), it<br />

loudly declares itself as a more action oriented<br />

film till Kay Kay Menon comes in to impress<br />

right away followed by another engaging scene<br />

featuring Rasheed Naaz from Pakistan. Offering<br />

just the usual, uninteresting stuff in its first<br />

hour (with another completely filmy jail escape<br />

happening in the middle of the road in broad<br />

daylight), the first major entertaining sequence<br />

of a clash comes in post 50 minutes leaving<br />

you stunned that how can the ATS team leave<br />

a self confessed, proven agent of terrorism just<br />

like that without making an arrest, after getting<br />

the desired information from him about another<br />

key suspect.<br />

The visible flaws continue in the next sequence<br />

right before the interval too when<br />

again a terrorist (caught while making a possible<br />

bomb lying open on the table)<br />

is not arrested as per the<br />

strict procedure and is allowed<br />

sufficient time to trigger a blast<br />

killing many. Whereas in reality,<br />

the moment such a wanted man<br />

is caught, the first step taken is to<br />

see his clear hands, get hold of<br />

them quickly, so that he cannot<br />

press any button or take anything<br />

in his mouth leading to any further<br />

disaster. Hence till interval,<br />

BABY remains a well shot but<br />

average escapist kind of thriller<br />

that fails to make any major impact<br />

on the audience and offers<br />

nothing path breaking or fresh as<br />

compared to even Neeraj’s last<br />

venture SPECIAL 26.<br />

But fortunately, the tables get turned in the<br />

second half when all new faces enter the scene<br />

led by Anupam Kher, Tapsee Punnu, Sushant<br />

and Rana Dagubatti infusing new life into the<br />

BABY making it alive again. Here at first we<br />

have another long chase sequence involving<br />

Tapsee and Sushant with Tapsee simply excelling<br />

in her well-directed action scene performed<br />

superbly. And from here onwards ...<br />

Continue reading here (click)<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

23


FILM REVIEW<br />

DOLLY KI DOLY<br />

Weirdly fails to exploit its novel con-plot<br />

showing the viewers 'Baba Ji Ka Thullu'<br />

in the end.<br />

Clearing the confusion over its inspired status<br />

first, yes the early half of the film (or the initial<br />

20 minutes) are exactly similar to the Punjabi<br />

film RONDE SAARE VYAH PICHHON aka<br />

RSVP released in 2013. But since both the<br />

writers deny seeing each other’s films and<br />

claim to have taken the idea from few real life<br />

instances featured in the daily newspapers,<br />

hence we are forced to consider this as possibly<br />

a rarest of rare exception of<br />

two unrelated minds writing and<br />

visualising exactly similar sequences<br />

in their individual films<br />

released at a gap of more than<br />

one year.<br />

Next keeping in mind its fairly<br />

novel plot of a ‘Looteri Dulhan’<br />

and a whole con-family involved<br />

it the cunning business, DOLLY<br />

KI DOLI does have an interesting<br />

premise to offer. But after<br />

making a fine, enjoyable beginning,<br />

what the writer and director<br />

do with the film post intermission<br />

(different from RSVP) is<br />

really sad and awful, completely<br />

ruining its winning potential altogether.<br />

For instance it straight<br />

away begins with an abrupt<br />

scene introducing the lead pair chatting casually<br />

followed by an item song by the producer<br />

(Malaika) herself and then displays several<br />

big loopholes in the con games being played<br />

by the ‘Looteri family’ with two young boys.<br />

Still few enjoyable performances, funny local<br />

lingo and double meaning dialogues thankfully<br />

steal the limelight and one doesn’t really<br />

care about the flaws in its initial 45-50 minutes<br />

to be honest.<br />

However post intermission, the 100 minute<br />

film goes entirely off-track and starts moving in<br />

various weird directions involving betrayals,<br />

silly love angles, revenge and more. The writers<br />

come with such weird and forced ideas like<br />

the family fleeing fearing a police raid, but<br />

forgetting to take along their old age (fake)<br />

Dadi…….and then remembering about her<br />

while sitting in the train. Moreover here we<br />

have a young energetic inspector<br />

who is unable to find the con-girl<br />

but the other victim boy can find<br />

her so easily, reaching her new<br />

home too without any problem as<br />

such. Plus, I really couldn’t understand<br />

what help did the film get<br />

from a lackluster cameo of Saif<br />

Ali Khan doing nothing.<br />

In other words, in its second hour<br />

DOLLY KI DOLI simply fails to<br />

encash on its fresh con-plot leading<br />

towards an illogical climax<br />

and only three people give you<br />

something to enjoy in its short<br />

duration namely, Rajkummar<br />

Rao (with his excellent Haryanvi<br />

accent), Varun Sharma<br />

(reminding you of his ‘Choocha’<br />

act in FUKREY) and Archna<br />

Puran Singh (as a loud Punjabi mother looking<br />

for a better girl for her boy). Strangely Sonam<br />

Kapoor is simply there in the lead role just to<br />

smile or look good and both Pulkit Samrat and<br />

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub are not able to<br />

deliver the expected due to their badly written<br />

roles. ...<br />

Continue reading here (click)<br />

24 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Pulkit Samrat, Rajkumar Rao, Varun Sharma<br />

Director: Abhishek Dogra<br />

Genre: Romantic Comedy<br />

Run Time: 100 Minutens<br />

Release Date: 23rd January <strong>2015</strong><br />

Rating:<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

25


Cast: Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez<br />

Director: Vikramjit Singh<br />

Genre: Romantic Thriller<br />

Run time: 147 Minutes<br />

Release Date: 13th February <strong>2015</strong><br />

Rating:<br />

26 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


ROY<br />

For what kind of target audience you<br />

actually made this dear film-maker?<br />

FILM REVIEW<br />

Certain films make you feel so annoyed and<br />

restless sitting in the theatre watching an allstar<br />

casting that you just wish to catch someone<br />

from the team and ask him that whether this<br />

was really made on a so called script of say 100<br />

pages? And whether the team really knew what<br />

they were making and for what kind of target<br />

audience precisely?<br />

Giving that exact experience to the viewer,<br />

ROY literally tests your patience<br />

in its 150 minutes of lengthy duration<br />

and is arguably one of those<br />

movies that repeatedly shakes<br />

your confidence in Hindi Cinema<br />

and its talented film-makers in<br />

comparative terms. Supposedly<br />

inspired from the romantic link<br />

between western directors Quentin<br />

Tarantino and Sofia Coppola<br />

as admitted by its debutant director<br />

Vikramjit Singh in his interviews,<br />

ROY straight away pays a<br />

tribute to the genius director in its<br />

very first sequence with a mention<br />

of a two part film. And then begins<br />

at such a lazy pace that you<br />

are amazed to see the confidence<br />

(or over-confidence) of its makers<br />

as if they are making a deep psychological<br />

thriller with many hidden multi layers<br />

with some great poetic depths………….,<br />

whereas in reality it doesn’t even have the<br />

layers of a simple sandwich.<br />

The viewers keep waiting for it to come up with<br />

something engaging after bearing the extremely<br />

slow initial 10-15 minutes. But the film is<br />

simply not interested in leaving its boring, amateurish<br />

or ‘Pakaao’ mode and then keeps moving<br />

on a silly self-obsessed path with all<br />

worthless content which in turn makes the actors<br />

also look like fools acting in those meaningless<br />

scenes so professionally. In fact the<br />

way they all talk looks like we are listening to<br />

a few professors of psychology having a seminar<br />

kind of thing on life and its basic issues<br />

without caring about whether their words are<br />

even reaching out to the audience or not. Making<br />

a constant effort to connect or find its<br />

storyline, I honestly couldn’t do that after an<br />

hour despite few catchy tracks<br />

and thus failed to get any of its<br />

story progression, cameos or<br />

double role as projected.<br />

In short it was Friday the 13th<br />

and the date clearly had its impact<br />

on our Hindi cinema since<br />

ROY turned out to be one of the<br />

worst films of the year <strong>2015</strong><br />

without a doubt. However luckily<br />

I still managed to have a good<br />

time in the single screen theatre<br />

post intermission when I joined<br />

a group of college friends who<br />

were regularly delivering many<br />

entertaining comments over the<br />

film’s various sequences, making<br />

the best use of the dark. And<br />

here are some of those funny<br />

remarks they came up extempore<br />

that actually helped me remaining awake<br />

watching the torture called ROY. Post almost<br />

90 minutes into the film, Arjun expressed<br />

"Main Jab Yahan Aaya Tha To Kahani Nahin<br />

Thi".....A voice from the audience replied,<br />

"Hamare Paas Abhi Bhi Nahin Hai!"As the<br />

song "Yaara Re" began......the college group<br />

started singing along...<br />

Continue reading here (click)<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

27


Director Anup Singh<br />

28 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM BUSINESS<br />

DIRECTOR<br />

ANUP<br />

SINGH<br />

Director Anup Singh achieved with “Qissa” one thing what is<br />

the dream of every filmmaker: he created a very strong film<br />

about identity and belonging and convinces with a very good<br />

performance of the cast with Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra and<br />

Tillotama Shome and conquered the hearts of millions of<br />

people who already watched the film. Since summer 2014<br />

“Qissa” runs very successfully at all prominent international<br />

film festivals and won already several film awards. Now,<br />

finally, the film is also released in India.<br />

Anup Singh was born on 14th<br />

<strong>March</strong> 1961 in Tanzania into a<br />

Punjabi family. After his scholar<br />

education he went to Mumbai and<br />

graduated in literature & philosophy<br />

from the Bombay University<br />

and in 1986 in direction from the<br />

Film & Television Institute of India<br />

8FTII) in Pune. Today Anup Singh<br />

and his family live in Switzerland.<br />

His first film, “Ekti Nadir Naam”<br />

(2002), was in 30 festivals worldwide<br />

and won several awards.<br />

“Qissa” is the director's second film.<br />

In Germany the films was already<br />

released on 10th July 2014 during<br />

the Munich Film Festival. We've<br />

got the opportunity to interview Anup<br />

Singh about the making of<br />

“Qissa” and could get a deeper<br />

insight into all the struggles an<br />

independent filmmaker has to go<br />

through:<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

29


FILM BUSINESS<br />

30 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM BUSINESS<br />

Why did it take so long to get an<br />

official cinema release in India?<br />

Anup Singh: To release “Qissa” in the<br />

country where the film’s very light and<br />

voice rise from is an exultant moment<br />

for me. It’s not an easy film and it needs<br />

to find its audience, but NFDC has tremendous<br />

faith in the film and are looking<br />

at innovative ways to bring the film<br />

to its audience. That is why they’ve<br />

chosen to release the film simultaneously<br />

on VoD, DVD and<br />

theatrically. They<br />

want all kinds of audiences<br />

to see the film.<br />

And as for the delay<br />

in the release of the<br />

film, well, it was<br />

bound to take time.<br />

First of all, it’s a film<br />

in the Punjabi language<br />

seeking a national<br />

release.<br />

Secondly, it’s not the<br />

usual song-anddance<br />

film. It took<br />

time to find cinemas<br />

that were adventurous<br />

enough to take<br />

the film. But, finally,<br />

we seem to have<br />

found very brave<br />

and sincere partners in Mumbai, Kolkata,<br />

Delhi, Chandigarh and Chennai.<br />

When and how did you make “Qissa”<br />

– what inspired you to do a film on<br />

such a topic and with what intention<br />

and message you made this film?<br />

Anup Singh: I have a memory of my<br />

grandfather from my childhood: he was<br />

a tall, powerful old Sikh, with a wild<br />

beard. I remember him weeping. I remember<br />

him telling me tales of the partition<br />

and weeping. As a child, I was<br />

It took time to<br />

find cinemas that<br />

were adventurous<br />

enough to take<br />

the film. But,<br />

finally, we seem<br />

to have found<br />

very brave and<br />

sincere partners.<br />

horrified to see such a formidable man<br />

break down so utterly. He was a man of<br />

immense journeys. From his devastated<br />

village in Rawalpindi he had traveled to<br />

Africa, made his life there and then settled<br />

in Mumbai, India, and watched his<br />

eight children grow. Late in his life, he<br />

immigrated to the UK, where he died.<br />

Throughout his life, my grandfather carried<br />

a bitter resentment about his loss of<br />

home. It tore him apart and often he<br />

could not help but<br />

turn on his own family<br />

with a kind of despairing<br />

violence. Somehow,<br />

any which way,<br />

he needed to avenge<br />

his loss. When you<br />

view “Qissa”, you’ll<br />

immediately see that<br />

this is the inspiration<br />

for the character of<br />

Umber, played by Irrfan<br />

Khan.<br />

But “Qissa” also affirms<br />

my experience<br />

of my own journeys.<br />

My parents and I<br />

were forced to leave<br />

Africa in my adolescence<br />

and, later in life,<br />

forced to leave India.<br />

These were devastating journeys of<br />

homelessness. But, with all the pain, I<br />

also always carry with me another memory<br />

-- the memory of those enchanted<br />

nights on the vast ocean between Africa<br />

and India when a screen was raised on<br />

the deck of the ship and a film flickered<br />

between the infinite sky above and the<br />

boundless sea below. And I knew at that<br />

moment that as long as I could invoke<br />

this experience of cinema, where it<br />

pulsed as a part of the larger cosmos, I<br />

would never be homeless.<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

31


FILM BUSINESS<br />

“Qissa”, in many ways, is this eternal<br />

conflict between the two kinds of voyages<br />

I just spoke about: one, a voyage of<br />

despair and a lust for vengeance and<br />

the other of affirmation and redemption.<br />

If there is indeed a message that the<br />

film carries, then, perhaps, what it’s<br />

suggesting is that you can choose the<br />

kind of journey you want your life to be:<br />

a journey of bitterness or affirmation.<br />

What can you tell us about the struggle<br />

in making this film? And how<br />

long did it take from the idea to the<br />

realization of “Qissa”?<br />

Anup Singh: I knocked at many, many<br />

doors in India for five years. NFDC was<br />

the only production house that stood<br />

with me from almost the beginning. But<br />

we needed more money. Many Indian<br />

producers were interested in the script,<br />

but wanted to do the film in Hindi. And,<br />

of course, we could never come to an<br />

agreement on casting. Finally, a fated<br />

meeting with the German producers of<br />

Heimatfilm, Bettina Brokemper and Johannes<br />

Rexin, initiated “Qissa”’s adventures<br />

into the world of<br />

co-production. Very quickly, then,<br />

Thierry Lenouvel of Cine-Sud,<br />

France, joined us and then Bero<br />

Beyer of Augustus Films, Netherlands.<br />

With Nina Lath Gupta of<br />

NFDC, that makes 4 co-producers.<br />

It took 12 years to finally bring<br />

“Qissa” to the screens.<br />

Why did you decide to cast Irrfan<br />

Khan for this?<br />

Anup Singh: While writing the script<br />

I had the great actor, Balraj Sahni in<br />

mind, but, of course, he was dead<br />

more than thirty years. To me, it<br />

was clear that if there was any<br />

other actor after him who did<br />

not belittle our humanity by manipulating<br />

us with ready-made emotions, it was<br />

Irrfan Khan.<br />

Irrfan, it seems to me, comes to each of<br />

his role as a refugee comes into a new<br />

country. In a new space, they have to<br />

find themselves anew, reconstruct themselves<br />

from the beginning. That’s the joy<br />

of working with Irrfan: he’s one of the<br />

few actors who understand that improvising<br />

on ourselves is our only identity.<br />

That’s the reason he never seems to<br />

repeat himself. Since he’s always seeking<br />

the unprepared and alive response<br />

to the world around him, his performance<br />

is never a manipulation.<br />

What also distinguishes Irrfan from most<br />

other actors is that he does not build his<br />

performance by simply mimicking familiar<br />

mannerisms<br />

of<br />

the<br />

co<br />

mm<br />

During the shooting of „Qissa“<br />

32 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM BUSINESS<br />

unity his character might belong to. In<br />

almost every performance of his, he<br />

comes as a stranger, a resourceful<br />

traveler to the language, the culture,<br />

the milieu. It is this risk that he takes<br />

that allows him a true encounter with<br />

the world of the character, because<br />

nothing is predetermined.<br />

Initially, Irrfan didn’t want to do the film.<br />

He was uncomfortable with the violence<br />

within the character of Umber.<br />

What finally convinced him was when I<br />

told him that Umber engages with the<br />

world with the tender rhythms of a musician<br />

like, let’s say, Nusrat<br />

Ali Fateh Khan.<br />

You see him performing<br />

and he<br />

seems frenzied,<br />

but you really<br />

listen to<br />

him and<br />

you<br />

he<br />

ar<br />

: Anup Singh gives the direction.<br />

one of the most tender-spirited music in<br />

this world. That’s the spirit we followed<br />

through the film.<br />

Your first feature film was “Ekti Nadir<br />

Naam” (The Name of a River), a Bengali<br />

movie, which ran also very successfully<br />

at many International Film<br />

Festivals and won several awards.<br />

Did you expect such a positive resonance<br />

for your first film?<br />

Anup Singh: No, not at all. I was taken<br />

completely by surprise. Pleasant surprise,<br />

of course! You know, my first film<br />

is extremely demanding. It’s a playful<br />

narrative, meandering and does not follow<br />

any dramatic logic at all! It is also an<br />

homage to the life and cinema of the<br />

grand Indian filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak.<br />

So, in many ways, to appreciate my film,<br />

you would have to be familiar with<br />

Ghatak’s films and Ghatak, unfortunately,<br />

is not as well-known as he should be.<br />

All this makes the film quite strange and<br />

demanding. However, despite all that,<br />

audiences still found that they could<br />

appreciate the film for its river-like flow,<br />

its visual and sound play, which celebrated<br />

some of the mythic, legendary stories<br />

and images of the Indian tradition. And,<br />

finally, they could empathize with the<br />

protagonists of the film, two refugees, a<br />

man and a woman, seeking a home in<br />

modern India and realizing that their<br />

real home is the journey itself.<br />

What can you tell us about your<br />

next project?<br />

Anup Singh: My new project is<br />

called “Mantra – Song of Scorpions”.<br />

But it is not in Punjabi.<br />

This film is set in the deep<br />

desert of Rajasthan and will be<br />

in Rajasthani Hindi. We start<br />

shooting this October. This film<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

33


FILM BUSINESS<br />

is about a woman singer and healer in a<br />

traditional community in the desert of<br />

Rajasthan and her mystic and musical<br />

journey to gain control over her own<br />

destiny. The Iranian actress Golshifteh<br />

Farahani has been casted for this role.<br />

Are there other film projects you are<br />

working on right now or plan for the<br />

near future?<br />

Anup Singh: It took me 12 years to<br />

make “Qissa”, so you can imagine that<br />

in that period, while waiting for “Qissa”<br />

to happen, I had a lot of time to write?!<br />

And that’s what I did. I wrote and wrote.<br />

Now, I have a pile of scripts ready.<br />

You are a Punjabi, but born in Tanzania.<br />

How and why?<br />

Anup Singh: As I mentioned earlier, my<br />

grandfather was made a refugee by the<br />

1945 partition of India and he decided to<br />

start his new life in Tanzania, where he<br />

had an uncle. My father was three years<br />

old when he came to Tanzania with his<br />

father and grew up there. Many years<br />

later I was born in Dar-Es-Salaam.<br />

How and from where do you get the<br />

ideas for your films?<br />

Anup Singh: I believe my films emerge<br />

from a simple question that I ask myself<br />

again and again: What is it that would<br />

allow us to affirm and celebrate our existence<br />

on this earth and co-exist with<br />

each other with dignity?<br />

Where do you see the difference between<br />

an Indian audience and the<br />

Western audience of Indian Independent<br />

films and especially of your films?<br />

Anup Singh: In recent times I would say<br />

there is not much of a difference. Earlier<br />

one could say, that because the Western<br />

audience generally watched a greater<br />

variety of cinema, they were more<br />

appreciative of independent voices. But<br />

nowadays there is a growing Indian<br />

audience that seeks to watch a diversity<br />

of films from all over the world. An<br />

increasing number of the Indian audience<br />

are now asking for alternative<br />

voices and in fact trying to support independent<br />

voices with passion, debate<br />

and - most important of all - they are<br />

going to the cinema for independent<br />

films!<br />

Why should people watch “Qissa”?<br />

Anup Singh: I believe “Qissa” unfolds<br />

those secret and fragile aspects of our<br />

life that we are unable to share with<br />

others in our daily living. I believe an<br />

audience that remains vulnerable to its<br />

inner spirit and is fearless about celebrating<br />

life in all its complexity will find<br />

“Qissa” an experience that they will carry<br />

with them for the rest of their life.<br />

What kind of film - which topic and<br />

which cast - would be a big dream<br />

project for you as a director?<br />

Anup Singh: My big dream is to make<br />

a film on Bulleh-Shah, the grand and<br />

celebrative saint-poet of the Punjab. I’m<br />

afraid I have no idea of the cast at the<br />

moment.<br />

What do you wish as a director – how<br />

should the Indian Independent Cinema<br />

develop?<br />

Anup Singh: It should develop without<br />

any limits of the imagination.<br />

Could you imagine directing a mainstream<br />

cinema film, a blockbuster<br />

film? If so, what kind of film and with<br />

which Bollywood actors/actresses?<br />

Anup Singh: I can’t imagine directing a<br />

mainstream blockbuster.<br />

34 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM BUSINESS<br />

Lead actor in „Qissa“: Irrfan Khan<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

35


LEARN GERMAN - LESSON 2<br />

Reasons why you should learn<br />

Germans<br />

are world<br />

leaders<br />

in engineering.<br />

22 Nobel Prizes in Physics,<br />

30 in Chemistry, and 25 in<br />

Medicine have gone to scientists<br />

from the three major<br />

German-speaking countries,<br />

while many laureates from<br />

other countries received their<br />

training in German universities.<br />

Eleven Nobel Prizes in<br />

Literature have been awarded<br />

to German-language writers,<br />

and seven Germans and<br />

Austrians have received the<br />

Peace Prize<br />

German is among the<br />

ten most commonly<br />

spoken languages in<br />

the world. It is also a<br />

lingua franca of Central<br />

and Eastern Europe.<br />

And as for “all Germans<br />

speak English<br />

anyway”? That’s pure<br />

myth.<br />

18% of the world’s<br />

books are published<br />

in German,<br />

and relatively few<br />

of these ever appear<br />

in English<br />

translation.<br />

Many of the Western<br />

world’s most important<br />

works of philosophy, literature,<br />

music, art history,<br />

theology, psychology,<br />

chemistry, physics, engineering<br />

and medicine are<br />

written in German and<br />

continue to be produced<br />

in German.<br />

Direct investment<br />

by Germany<br />

in the<br />

United States<br />

is over ten billion<br />

dollars.<br />

German is the second<br />

most commonly<br />

used scientific<br />

language in the<br />

world.<br />

68% of all<br />

Japanese<br />

students<br />

study German.<br />

What<br />

do they know<br />

that you<br />

don’t?<br />

German and English are similar.<br />

Many words in German<br />

sound and/or look the same<br />

as equivalent English words,<br />

because the two languages<br />

share the same<br />

“grandparent.” For example,<br />

look at these words: Haus =<br />

house, Buch = book, Finger<br />

= finger, Hand = hand,Name<br />

= name, Mutter = mother,<br />

schwimmen = to swim, singen<br />

= to sing, kommen = to<br />

come, blau = blue, alt = old,<br />

windig = windy.<br />

The<br />

has<br />

mos<br />

the 2<br />

Lang<br />

bind<br />

new<br />

tiona<br />

Tykw<br />

man<br />

suc<br />

an<br />

sha<br />

G<br />

h<br />

m<br />

co<br />

se<br />

G<br />

36 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


LEARN GERMAN - LESSON 2<br />

German language<br />

German-speaking world<br />

produced some of the<br />

t revered filmmakers of<br />

0th century – from Fritz<br />

to Rainer Werner Fasser,<br />

Wim Wenders and a<br />

generation of transnal<br />

directors such as Tom<br />

er and Fatih Akin. Gerand<br />

Austrian filmmakers<br />

h as Lang, Billy Wilder<br />

d Ernst Lubitsch also<br />

ped the history of Hollywood.<br />

ermany is<br />

ome to nuerous<br />

international<br />

rporations.<br />

ermany is<br />

the world’s<br />

cond-largest<br />

exporter.<br />

German has the<br />

largest number<br />

of native speakers<br />

in the European<br />

Union (far<br />

more than English,<br />

Spanish, or<br />

French).<br />

German is the language of<br />

Goethe, Marx, Nietzsche,<br />

and Kafka, of Mann, Brecht,<br />

and Grass. Mozart, Bach,<br />

Beethoven, and Schubert,<br />

Brahms, Schumann, Wagner,<br />

Mahler, and Schoenberg<br />

spoke and wrote German, as<br />

did Freud, Weber, Einstein,<br />

and Heisenberg, Kant, Hegel,<br />

and Heidegger.<br />

The German economy<br />

ranks number<br />

one in Europe and<br />

number four worldwide.<br />

Its economy is<br />

comparable to that<br />

of all the world’s<br />

Spanish-speaking<br />

countries combined.<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

37


LEARN GERMAN - LESSON 2<br />

In order to make our Indo-German intercultural connection stronger,<br />

we will give you a new lesson in German language and grammar<br />

in every edition of <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong>. As the only magazine we offer you<br />

the German lessons in English and Hindi. Today we go on with<br />

lesson 2 and you will learn the first simple sentences in German.<br />

But at first we will repeat the German alphabet and the basic rules of pronunciation: As<br />

you learnt last time, there are 26 Latin characters in German alphabet plus 4 special<br />

letters. These special letters are ä, ö, ü and ß (these dots are called Umlaute).<br />

So please repeat the German alphabet by reading and speaking out loudly:<br />

The alphabet:<br />

Aa - ah - as in “kal”<br />

Bb - beh - as in “bet”<br />

Cc - Tseh - as in “Cesar”<br />

Dd - deh - as in “din”<br />

Ee - eh - as in “mera”<br />

Ff - eff - as in “fantasy”<br />

Gg - geh - as in “guru”<br />

Hh - ha - as in “halka”<br />

Ii - ih - as in “pani”<br />

Jj - yot - as in “yahan”<br />

Kk - kah - as in “kaun”<br />

Ll - ell - as in “lekin”<br />

Mm - emm - as in “mein”<br />

Nn - enn - as in “nahin”<br />

Oo - oh - as in “cchota”<br />

Pp - peh - as in “pagal”<br />

Qq - kuh - as in “cool”<br />

Rr - err - as in “roshni”<br />

Ss - ess - as in “suraj”<br />

Tt - teh - as in “tamil”<br />

Uu - uh - as in “aloo”<br />

Vv - fao - as in “fantasy”<br />

Ww - weh - as in “wahan”<br />

Xx - iks - as in “next”<br />

Yy - oep-tzi-lon - as in “lyrics”<br />

Zz - tsett - as in “sabzi”<br />

Special letters:<br />

Ää - as in “hai”<br />

Öö - as in the Englisch word “turn”<br />

Üü - as in “lyrics”<br />

ß - as in “sabzi”<br />

Also you will find a lot of diphthongs and digraphs<br />

in German language, which are read and pronounced<br />

as one sound:<br />

ei - as in the English word “I”<br />

au - as in the English word “cow”<br />

eu - as in the English word “boy”<br />

äu - as in the English word “boy”<br />

aa - as in “kal”<br />

ah - as in “kal”<br />

äh - as in “hai” (long sound)<br />

ch - followed by “a”, “o” or “u” a hard sound as in<br />

“Khan”, followed by “e” or “I” a soft sound<br />

sch - as in “chaar”<br />

ph - as in the English word “fantasy”<br />

ie - as in “bhi”<br />

ee - as in “mera”<br />

eh - as in “mera”<br />

th - as in “theek”<br />

ck - as in “kal”<br />

sp - pronounced as “schp”<br />

st - pronounced as “scht”<br />

tsch - as in “shukriya”<br />

38 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


LEARN GERMAN - LESSON 2<br />

Grammar:<br />

Definite vs. indefinite articles:<br />

definite:<br />

der (m), die (f), das (n), die (plural)<br />

der Junge (m) - the boy - larka<br />

die Tochter (f) - the daughter - beti<br />

das Haus (n) - the house - makan<br />

die Zimmer (plural) - the rooms - kamre<br />

indefinite:<br />

ein (m or n), eine (f)<br />

ein Junge (m) - a boy - larka<br />

ein Haus (n) - a house - makan<br />

eine Tochter (f) - a daughter - beti<br />

Notice: there is no indefinite article for plural forms!<br />

Adjectives:<br />

In German adjectives agree with the nouns they qualify<br />

and are inflective, means they change their endings<br />

according to the genus and numerus of the noun<br />

to -er (masculinum), -e (femininum), -es (neutrum)<br />

and -e (plural) when an indefinite article is used and<br />

to -e (all geni in singular) or -en (plural) with a definite<br />

article:<br />

der kleine Junge (m) - the small boy - chota larka<br />

die kleine Tochter (f) - the small daughter - choti beti<br />

das kleine Haus (n) - the small house - chota makan<br />

die kleinen Häuser (plural) - the small houses - chote<br />

makan<br />

ein kleiner Junge (m) - a small boy - chota larka<br />

eine kleine Tochter (f) - a small daughter - choti beti<br />

ein kleines Haus (n) - a small house - chota makan<br />

kleine Häuser (plural) - small houses - chote makan<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

39


LEARN GERMAN - LESSON 2<br />

You can start and try to read out loudly the following small dialog in German:<br />

Sanjay calls Karin in the afternoon and they have a short chat on phone:<br />

Deutsch:<br />

Sanjay: Hallo, Karin, wie geht es dir?<br />

Karin: Danke, mir geht es sehr gut.<br />

Sanjay: Wie war dein Tag?<br />

Karin: Mein Tag war sehr schön.<br />

Sanjay: Sehr schön? Aber es ist heute sehr kalt?!<br />

Karin: Ja, aber die Sonne scheint.<br />

Sanjay: Was machst du gerade?<br />

Karin: Nichts, ich bin zu Hause und schaue Fernsehen. Was machst Du gerade?<br />

Sanjay: Ich bin im Büro, aber ich werde um 18 Uhr ins Kino gehen.<br />

Karin: Toll.<br />

English:<br />

Sanjay: Hello Karin, how are you?<br />

Karin: Thanks I’m very good.<br />

Sanjay: How was your day?<br />

Karin: I had a very nice day.<br />

Sanjay: A very nice day? But today it’s cold outside?!<br />

Karin: Yes, but the sun is shining.<br />

Sanjay: What are you doing?<br />

Karin: Nothing, I’m home and watching TV. What are you doing?<br />

Sanjay: I’m in the office, but at 6pm I will go to the cinema.<br />

Karin: Great.<br />

Hindi:<br />

Sanjay: Namaste Karin, tum kaise/theek ho?<br />

Karin: Shukriya, mein bahut theek hoon/ achchi hoon.<br />

Sanjay: Kaisa tha tumhara din?<br />

Karin: Mera din bahut achcha tha.<br />

Sanjay: Bahut achcha tha? Aaj bahut thand hai?!<br />

Karin: Ji haan, lekin suraj chamak raha hai.<br />

Sanjay: Tum kya kar rahi ho?<br />

Karin: Kuch nahin, mein ghar par hoon aur TV dekh rahi hoon. Kya tum kar rahe ho?<br />

Sanjay: Mein office main hoon, lekin 6pm par cinema jaaongi.<br />

Karin: Kya bhaat hai.<br />

40 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


LEARN GERMAN - LESSON 2<br />

Vokabulary:<br />

(der) Tag (m) - the day - din<br />

(die) Sonne (f) - the sun - suraj<br />

(das) Haus (n) - home - ghar<br />

(das) Büro (n) - the office<br />

(das) Kino (n) - the cinema<br />

zu Hause - at home - ghar par<br />

im Büro - in the office - office main<br />

Ins Kino - to the cinema - par cinema<br />

sehr - very - bahut<br />

heute - today- aaj<br />

kalt- cold - thand<br />

aber- but - lekin<br />

scheinen - to shine - chamak<br />

anschauen - to watch – dekha<br />

gehen - to go - ljaana<br />

machen - to do - karen<br />

Interrogative Words:<br />

Wer? - who - kaun<br />

Was? - what - kya<br />

Welcher? (m) - what kind of - kaisa<br />

Welche? (f) - what kind of - kaisi<br />

Welches? (n) - what kind of - kaisa<br />

Welche? (plural) - what kind of - kaise<br />

Wieviel? (uncountable) - how much - kitna/kitni/kitne<br />

Wieviele? (countable) - how many - kitna/kitni/kitne<br />

Colours:<br />

weiß - white - safed<br />

schwarz - black - kaala<br />

rot - red - laal<br />

rosa - pink - gulaabi<br />

orange - orange - naarangee<br />

braun - brown - bhura<br />

grün - green - haraa<br />

blau - blue - neela<br />

grau - grey - grey<br />

gelb - yellow - peelaa<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

41


42 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


COVER STORY<br />

For more than 20 years Kajol works in<br />

the Indian film industry and she is one<br />

of only few actresses in Bollywood, which<br />

did not only reached the top but could<br />

remain there for such a long time. Soon<br />

she starts shooting for Rohit Shetty’s<br />

„Dilwale“ side by side with Shahrukh<br />

Khan. In Europe was recently voted as<br />

the All-Time-Favoutite Actress and won<br />

the AIFA Award. Her fans are eagerly<br />

waiting for her next film. Meanwhile<br />

she spoke with us about her film<br />

comeback, her life as a mother<br />

and her beauty secrets:<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

43


COVER STORY<br />

44 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


COVER STORY<br />

In the past there were a lot of speculations<br />

about your comeback. So what<br />

can you tell us about your comeback:<br />

which film will it be, with which cast<br />

and when will the film be released?<br />

Kajol: To be honest, I have come back<br />

about five times already (Laughs out<br />

loud) So, I don't think the next can be<br />

considered a comeback as such. It's<br />

more like taking a gap<br />

and you get back to work.<br />

So it's work and it's more<br />

like a lunch break which<br />

you go for and then you<br />

come back from it to<br />

work. It’s too premature<br />

to talk about it. I really<br />

would love to, but we<br />

haven’t made that many<br />

decisions. I hope next<br />

year in all probabilities.<br />

My film will release in<br />

2016. The film, we are<br />

doing right now, under<br />

our production banner, will roll out in<br />

July or August. So we start shooting that<br />

time.<br />

Your fans would love to see you once<br />

again with Shahrukh Khan in a movie.<br />

Is there any chance that this dream of<br />

your fans will come true? It is said,<br />

that in Rohit Shetty's next both of you<br />

will be together. Is that true and if so,<br />

what can you tell us about the project?<br />

Kajol: It's always been fantastic working<br />

with Shahrukh. There's a certain<br />

comfort level with him and I cannot<br />

work with people who I'm not comfortable<br />

with. And yes, we are going to work<br />

It's always<br />

been fantastic<br />

working with<br />

Shahrukh.<br />

There's a<br />

certain comfort<br />

level with him.<br />

together soon. Rohit Shetty is a friend of<br />

family and I have definitely spoken to<br />

him. So, we will see when the shooting<br />

starts. But you will get to know about it<br />

soon.<br />

You and Shahrukh Khan have starred<br />

together in six blockbuster hits<br />

(Baazigar, Karan Arjun, Dilwale Dulhania<br />

Le Jayenge, Kuch<br />

Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi<br />

Lushi Kabhi Gham, My<br />

Name Is Khan) and are<br />

known as the dream couple<br />

of Bollywood. Was<br />

your husband Ajay<br />

Devgn never jealous of<br />

such statements and of<br />

Shahrukh Khan?<br />

Kajol: Ajay was never<br />

jealous of Shahrukh<br />

(laughs). Both of us always<br />

knew it was purely<br />

work. Beside the point I<br />

must say that I don't like his chemistry<br />

with any other actress. (laughs)<br />

“Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” runs in<br />

the Mumbai cinema now for more<br />

than 1000 weeks, the screening was<br />

about to be stopped, but due to the<br />

huge pressure of the fans the film now<br />

runs again in cinema. How do you feel<br />

about that huge success of this film<br />

and what does it mean to you?<br />

Kajol: We cannot take credit for it becoming<br />

the longest-running Indian film.<br />

It’s something to do with all those people<br />

who go to Maratha Mandir every<br />

day; those who’ve made it a habit, al-<br />

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COVER STORY<br />

most like a religion, to go there daily<br />

and spend that much time watching a<br />

film we made so long back. We wanted<br />

to make a movie that would make money.<br />

We were not even interested in making<br />

a good film. I feel the film has<br />

become bigger than us. But while all of<br />

us — Adi, Shahrukh, Karan (Johar),<br />

Manish (Malhotra) and I — have grown<br />

in our respective ways, “DDLJ” was the<br />

starting point. Plus 1010 weeks is record<br />

making and record breaking. It's a phenomenon<br />

that will probably never be<br />

repeated. Good enough for me.<br />

In an earlier interview you stated that<br />

you are not in a hurry for a big screen<br />

comeback but busy with lots of other<br />

things. So can you tell us on which<br />

projects you worked in the last 5<br />

years (since your son was born)?<br />

Kajol: I have been associated with<br />

“Help A Child Reach 5”, which aims to<br />

eradicate preventable deaths like diarrhea<br />

by teaching lifesaving hand washing<br />

habits. I am spreading this<br />

awareness and taking it nationally. I am<br />

pushing this campaign to other countries<br />

this year. We hope to bring the change.<br />

My only reason why I am not doing<br />

films are my children. My children need<br />

my attention and it's my duty to give<br />

them my time. I have not given birth to<br />

them to just dump them and go off to<br />

work. I am not that kind of a person. I<br />

have my kids and I want to see them<br />

growing up and turn out the way I always<br />

wanted them to be. Even kids expect<br />

that kind of time from you, and my<br />

husband is always working. He does<br />

four films in a year, so at least I have to<br />

be with them. Of late I have not been<br />

shooting; so I have been busy spending<br />

time with my kids. I am a very strict<br />

mother and as a mother it's my responsibility<br />

to guide my kids and tell them to<br />

go how far and no further. There should<br />

be rules and guidelines for the kids and<br />

they should know their limits. I know<br />

my fans are waiting to see me on the<br />

screen, but I like my space and I like to<br />

do one film in a year or so and not more<br />

than that. I was always choosy, but now<br />

I have become more chooser and picker<br />

when it comes to scripts.<br />

You entered the film industry as an<br />

actress in a very young age of 18.<br />

Now you are 40 and still count as one<br />

of the top actresses of Bollywood.<br />

Just now you've won the AIFA<br />

Award (Annual Indian Film Award<br />

by <strong>BNA</strong> GERMANY®) as the All<br />

Time Favourite Actress. What do you<br />

think is the secret of your success?<br />

Kajol: Your career is part of your life,<br />

your family is part of your life, and your<br />

whole life — your personality — is<br />

made of every part put together. It's up<br />

to you to strike the right balance.<br />

Is there anything in your life that you<br />

always wanted to do, but haven't<br />

done yet? If so - what is it?<br />

Kajol: I want to bag-pack one day take<br />

my kids and go for a world tour. I want<br />

them to see all the places I love and<br />

would like them to have an experience<br />

what I had when I first went there. I<br />

went to Egypt for work and I visited a<br />

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48 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


COVER STORY<br />

few places when I was free. Egypt is a<br />

stunning country and it really enchanted<br />

me. The sunrise and the sunset there,<br />

and the multi-hued sand dunes are outstanding.<br />

You feel like you are in heaven.<br />

It’s simply arresting. I have been<br />

there only once and am dying to go<br />

again with my kids. I really want them<br />

to experience the<br />

beauty of Egypt but<br />

we haven’t managed<br />

to do so. I am sure I<br />

will take them there<br />

sometime.<br />

You are still looking<br />

as beautiful as 10-15<br />

years back. What is<br />

the secret of your<br />

beauty and what do<br />

you do to stay in<br />

shape, fit and beautiful?<br />

Kajol: I think it takes<br />

time. It takes effort<br />

and it’s difficult to<br />

manage it and start a<br />

new habit in a full,<br />

busy life. It’s very<br />

very difficult to start<br />

and focus on anything that’s good for<br />

you (laughs). Stuff that’s bad for you,<br />

like ice cream! It’s such a bad habit.<br />

But it’s easy to develop, like you can<br />

even buy a refrigerator and keep that in<br />

the car to keep that extra habit going!<br />

But, you won’t buy a low fat version<br />

because you will have to travel 20 minutes<br />

out of your way to buy it. So, bad<br />

habits come easily, but good habits<br />

I want to bag-pack<br />

one day take my<br />

kids and go for a<br />

world tour. I want<br />

them to see all the<br />

places I love and<br />

would like them<br />

to have an<br />

experience what I<br />

had when I first<br />

went there.<br />

have to be built over a period of time. I<br />

work out a lot, I spend a lot of time in the<br />

gym. There’s no easy way to do it. I<br />

wouldn't say that I am naturally like this<br />

and that I have the genes for it, I do have<br />

the genes for it! (laughs). I work out<br />

really hard and am very good at my diet,<br />

and that has worked for me.<br />

If you were not an<br />

actress what would<br />

have been your<br />

dream job?<br />

Kajol: I never wanted<br />

to be an actress. The<br />

hard work associated<br />

with being an actress<br />

stressed me about taking<br />

up this profession<br />

but soon I started enjoying<br />

it and I did well,<br />

I think (laughs). Don't<br />

even remember having<br />

a dream job as before I<br />

could even think about<br />

it, I started working.<br />

Your daughter has<br />

her 12th birthday<br />

soon. Which are the<br />

values you try to teach her and how<br />

much is she influenced by her parent's<br />

job: will she also become an actress or<br />

model?<br />

Kajol: I think all the values I tried to<br />

pass on to my kids, I got from my mom.<br />

I didn’t realize how important they were<br />

or what she was drilling into my head<br />

until I had kids of my own. Then I heard<br />

my mother’s voice coming out of my<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

49


COVER STORY<br />

mouth and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I<br />

sound exactly like my mother!’ I was<br />

actually petrified of my mom when I was<br />

a kid. I was a brat with everyone else, but<br />

with my mom I was this perfect angel. I<br />

never put one foot wrong with my mother,<br />

because I knew for a fact that she<br />

wouldn’t take any of my shit. She’d just<br />

hand it back to me on a silver platter.<br />

I’d be totally okay if my kids joined<br />

Bollywood. I would be totally okay with<br />

them doing anything, actually. Whatever<br />

they want to be, I’ll never push them and<br />

tell them that they must join films or<br />

must not join films. I think that’s their<br />

choice to make and all I can give them is<br />

a stable childhood to grow up and make<br />

that decision unbiasedly from.<br />

What is the difference in your motherson<br />

(Yug) relationship and your mother-daughter<br />

(Nysa) relationship?<br />

Kajol: Parenting is easier with my second<br />

child. There's less anxiety, less question<br />

marks. There's a lot more<br />

knowledge behind it, so it's a lot easier in<br />

many ways. You know if it's a cough or<br />

a cold, it would get better and you know<br />

which medicines to give. You know that<br />

everything is not a life threatening situation.<br />

So that has become easier but my<br />

parenting style, per say, is the same.<br />

There's a firm line that I draw as a parent<br />

and I think it's more necessary for my<br />

kids to know that this is the boundary<br />

line and they can't go out from here.<br />

That's where their roots and that's where<br />

they get the strength to grow up strong<br />

and tall. I feel as a parent, it's your responsibility<br />

to give a providing member<br />

back to the society. It's a scary thought<br />

that you have a child that you don't want<br />

to raise, somebody who's going to become<br />

a mass murderer or a psychopath<br />

(Laughs). That is something that is our<br />

responsibility to bring up kids who will<br />

be happy and will go positively in every<br />

aspect of society.<br />

You have been in Germany, last time<br />

at the Berlinale. What is your impression<br />

about Germany and your German<br />

fans and is there any chance for<br />

them to welcome you again in Germany,<br />

or maybe even in Austria?<br />

Kajol: I love Berlin as it’s a city rich in<br />

culture. I love everything about that<br />

place, especially the weather. I am a big<br />

spoilt when it comes to shopping and I<br />

was amazed to see the flea market there<br />

at Tiergarten and I can't even tell you<br />

how much I shopped (giggles). And I<br />

hope to visit Germany soon, maybe for<br />

a film shoot, promotions or a holiday<br />

with my family. Also, I am surprised to<br />

see the reach of Indian Cinema and it<br />

was a proud moment for me when “My<br />

Name Is Khan” was accepted so well<br />

overseas. Kajol, the actress, was created<br />

for the fans and by the fans. Without all<br />

the love over the years, I would just be<br />

a character. I’d like to say thank you,<br />

and keep going — keep making me<br />

bigger and better (laughs).<br />

50 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

51


THE WINNERS<br />

52 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


Shahid Kapoor, Rani Mukerji,<br />

"PK" and "Happy New Year"<br />

win AIFA Awards<br />

Since 1st of <strong>March</strong> <strong>2015</strong> the list of winners<br />

of this year's AIFA Awards is out:<br />

Bollywood Star Shahid Kapoor wins as<br />

the best actor for his outstanding performance<br />

in "Haider" and the director of<br />

this film, Vishal Bhardwaj, gets the AI-<br />

FA Award as the best director. The<br />

"Best Actress" Award goes to Rani Mukerji<br />

for her outstanding performance<br />

in the film "Mardaani". The Bollywood<br />

blockbuster "Happy New Year", directed<br />

by Farah Khan wins several<br />

awards as well:<br />

In the category "Best Music Composer"<br />

the musican duo Vishal-Shekhar wins the<br />

AIFA for their music for "Happy New<br />

Year", as well as Farah Khan gets the<br />

awards as "Best Choreographer" for<br />

"Happy New Year". Star designer Manish<br />

Malhotra is awarded as "Best Costume<br />

Designer" for his costumes in "Happy New<br />

Year". "PK", the blockbuster film of director<br />

Rajkumar Hirani, wins the AIFA<br />

Award as the best film while actress Anushka<br />

Sharma get the award as "Best Actress<br />

In A Supporting Role" for her<br />

performance in "PK". Sukhwinder Singh<br />

and Sunidhi Chauhan get AIFA Awards<br />

as "Best Male Singer" and "Best Female<br />

Singer". The "All Time Favourites"<br />

awards go to Shahrukh Khan and Kajol.<br />

Veteran actor Prem Chopra gets the<br />

"Lifetime Achievement Award" for his<br />

contribution for the Indian cinema internationally.<br />

The AIFA Awards (Annual Indian Film<br />

Awards) are annual awards. The nominations<br />

are done by a film jury. Fans and<br />

film lovers of the Indian cinema could<br />

vote online for their favourites between<br />

January and February <strong>2015</strong>.<br />

All detailed results you will find at the<br />

following pages. The list, with all nominations<br />

and winners of this year's AIFA<br />

Awards you will also find on our official<br />

Facebook page:<br />

www.facebook.com/aifa.bna.germany<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

53


1. BEST ACTOR<br />

1. Shahid Kapoor - Haider - 33,8%<br />

2. Aamir Khan - PK - 27,3%<br />

3. Randeep Hooda - Highway - 16,9%<br />

4. Ranveer Singh - Gunday - 11,7%<br />

5. Emraan Hashmi - Ungli - 5,2%<br />

6. Arjun Kapoor - 2 States - 5,1%<br />

2. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR<br />

1. Riteish Deshmukh - Ek Villain - 41,9%<br />

2. Irrfan Khan - Gunday - 27,0%<br />

3. Vipin Sharma - Kick - 13,5%<br />

4. Sanjay Dutt - Ungli - 10,8%<br />

5. Govinda - Holiday - 4,1%<br />

6. Arjan Bajwa - Bobby Jasoos - 2,7%<br />

3. BEST ACTRESS<br />

1. Rani Mukerji - Mardaani - 30,4%<br />

2. Alia Bhatt - Highway - 25,3%<br />

3. Priyanka Chopra - Mary Kom - 17,7%<br />

4. Deepika Padukone - Finding Fanny - 15,2%<br />

5. Madhuri Dixit - Gulaab Gang - 8,9%<br />

6. Parineeti Chopra - Daawat-E-Ishq - 2,5%<br />

4. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS<br />

1. Anushka Sharma - PK - 56,4%<br />

2. Dimple Kapadia - Finding Fanny - 12,8%<br />

3. Jacqueline Fernandez - Kick - 11,5%<br />

4. Tabu - Jai Ho - 9,0%<br />

5. Huma Qureshi - Dedh Ishqiya - 7,7%<br />

6. Kangana Ranaut - Ungli - 2,6%<br />

5. MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER - MALE<br />

1. Vivaan Shah - Happy New Year - 35,5%<br />

2. Tiger Shroff - Heropanti - 31,9%<br />

3. Sushant Singh Rajput - PK - 13.9%<br />

4. Ram Kapoor - Shaadi Ke Side Effects - 8,4%<br />

5. Siddharth Shukla - Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania - 8,2%<br />

6. Karan Wahi - Daawat-E-Ishq - 2,1%<br />

54 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


6. MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER - FEMALE<br />

1. Shraddha Kapoor - El Villain - 41,3%<br />

2. Ileana D'Cruz - Happy Ending - 40,0%<br />

3. Tamannaah Bhatia - Entertainment - 6,7%<br />

4. Kirti Sanon - Heropanti - 5,3%<br />

5. Ayesha Khanna - Dishkiyoon - 4,0%<br />

6. Esha Gupta - Humshakals - 2,7%<br />

7. BEST FILM<br />

1. PK - 31,2% 2. Mardaani - 20,8%<br />

3. Highway - 16,9% 4. Finding Fanny - 9,1%<br />

5. Mary Kom - 7,8% 6. Gulaab Gang - 6,5%<br />

7. 2 States - 2,8% 8. Dedh Ishqiya - 2,3%<br />

9. Rang Rasiya - 1,4% 10. Ungli - 1,2%<br />

8. BEST DIRECTOR<br />

1. Vishal Bhardwaj - Haider - 33,3%<br />

2. Rajkumar Hirani - 32,0%<br />

3. Imtiaz Ali - Highway - 22,7%<br />

4. Rohit Shetty - Singham Returns - 9,4%<br />

5. Ketan Mehta - Rang Rasiya - 1,4%<br />

6. Vikram Bhatt - Creature 3D - 1,2%<br />

9. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY<br />

1. Highway - 34,2%<br />

2. Bang Bang - 23,4%<br />

3. Kick - 15,1%<br />

4. Finding Fanny - 12,3%<br />

5. Singham Returns - 8,2%<br />

6. 2 States - 6,8%<br />

10. BEST SINGER - MALE<br />

1. Sukhwinder Singh - Happy New Year - Satakli - 46,7%<br />

2. Sonu Nigam - Daawat-E-Ishq - Mannat - 21,3%<br />

3. Yo Yo Honey Singh - Kick - Yaar Naa Miley - 12,0%<br />

4. Himesh Reshammiya - Jai Ho - Photocopy - 10,7%<br />

5. Mika Singh - Kick - Jumme Ki Raat - 5,3%<br />

6. Mohit Chauhan - Mary Kom - Teri Baari - 4,0%<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

55


11. BEST SINGER FEMALE<br />

1. Sunidhi Chauhan - Happy New Year - Dance Like a Chammiya - 34,2%<br />

2. Shreya Ghoshal - Kick - Hangover - 30,3%<br />

3. Shweta Pandit - Highway - Heera - 17,1%<br />

4. Harshdeep Kaur - Bang Bang - Uff - 13,2%<br />

5. Anushka Manchanda - Dedh Ishqiya - Norn OK Please - 3,9%<br />

6. Tulsi Kumar - Singham Returns - Kuch To Hua Hai - 1,3%<br />

12. BEST SOUNDTRACK & MUSIC COMPOSER<br />

1. Vishal-Shekhar - Happy New Year - 43,2%<br />

2. A.R. Rahman - Highway - 32,4%<br />

3. Meet Bros Anjjan - Kick - 14,9%<br />

4. Sajid-Wajid - Daawat-E-Ishq - 5,4%<br />

5. Shashi Suman - Mary Kom - 2,7%<br />

6. Salim-Sulaiman - Mardaani - 1,4%<br />

13. BEST COSTUMES & DESIGN<br />

1. Happy New Year - 43,1%<br />

2. PK - 39,5%<br />

3. Rang Rasiya - 6,6%<br />

4. Gulaab Gang - 4,0%<br />

5. Mary Kom - 3,8%<br />

6. Creature 3D - 3,0%<br />

14. BEST CHOREOGRAPHY<br />

1. Farah Khan - Happy New Year - 47,4%<br />

2. Bosco-Caesar - Bang Bang - 29,5%<br />

3. Ahmed Khan - Kick - 9,0%<br />

4. Remo D'Souza - Dedh Ishqiya - 7,7%<br />

5. Ganesh Acharya - Humshakals - 5,1%<br />

6. Saroj Khan - Gulaab Gang - 1,3%<br />

15. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD<br />

Prem Chopra<br />

56 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


16. ALL TIME FAVOURITE - MALE<br />

1. Shahrukh Khan - 24,9%<br />

2. Aamir Khan - 10,8%<br />

3. Hrithik Roshan - 8,8%<br />

4. Salman Khan - 8,4%<br />

5. Arjun Rampal - 8,0%<br />

6. Akshay Kumar - 5,1%<br />

7. Abhishek Bachchan - 4,4%<br />

8. Farhan Akthar - 4,2%<br />

9. Saif Ali Khan - 4,0%<br />

10. Ranveer Singh - 3,1%<br />

11. Ranbir Kapoor - 3,0%<br />

12. Amitabh Bachchan - 2,9%<br />

13. Irrfan Khan - 2,6%<br />

14. Ajay Devgn - 2,4%<br />

15. Naseeruddin Shah - 2,2%<br />

16. John Abraham - 1,6%<br />

17. Nawassuddin Siddiqi - 1,4%<br />

18. Boman Irani - 1,2%<br />

19. Govinda - 0,6%<br />

20. Ritesh Deshmukh - 0,4%<br />

17. ALL TIME FAVOURITE - FEMALE<br />

1. Kajol - 20,5%<br />

2. Rani Mukerji - 15,3%<br />

3. Deepika Padukone - 11,4%<br />

4. Katrina Kaif - 8,6%<br />

5. Vidya Balan - 7,4%<br />

6. Priyanka Chopra - 6,4%<br />

7. Madhuri Dixit - 6,0%<br />

8. Anushka Sharma - 3,9%<br />

9. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - 3,5%<br />

10. Preity Zinta - 2,7%<br />

11. Kareena Kapoor Khan - 2,5%<br />

12. Jacqueline Fernandez - 2,3%<br />

13. Sonakshi Sinha - 1,8%<br />

14. Juhi Chawla - 1,6%<br />

15. Bipasha Basu - 1,5%<br />

16. Kalki Koechlin - 1,4%<br />

17. Parineeti Chopra - 1,2%<br />

18. Alia Bhatt - 1,0%<br />

19. Jaya Bachchan - 0,6%<br />

20. Dimple Kapadia - 0,4%<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

57


Sejal was born on 15 December 1990 in Gujarat . After finishing her school<br />

education she moved to Mumbai where she studies and also works as a<br />

model. She already stood in front of the camera for several fashion labels.<br />

With a daily workout at the gym Sejal stays fit. And she is a huge Salman<br />

Khan fan. For our photo shooting our Photographer Shiraz Henry and her<br />

went to the beautiful Goa.<br />

SEJAL MANDAVIA<br />

PHOTOSHOOT BY SHIRAZ HENRY<br />

58 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


PHOTOSHOOT BY SHIRAZ HENRY<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

59


PHOTOSHOOT BY SHIRAZ HENRY<br />

60 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


PHOTOSHOOT BY SHIRAZ HENRY<br />

SEJAL MANDAVIA<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

61


62 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM SPECIAL<br />

leela<br />

ek paheli<br />

The film „Ek Paheli Leela“ is Bobby Khan’s<br />

directional debut and he comes up with a fantastic<br />

cast with Sunny Leone, Rajneesh Duggal and Jay<br />

Bhanushali. The film’s story is about<br />

re-incarnation and it is a musical drama.<br />

For our readers we spoke with the director Bobby<br />

Khan and the lead actress Sunny Leone to learn<br />

more about „Ek Paheli Leela“ which will be releaded<br />

on 10th <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>. Go and watch this film!<br />

Cast: Sunny Leone, Jay Bhanushali, Rajneesh<br />

Duggal, Rahul Dev, Mohit Ahlawat<br />

Director: Bobby Khan<br />

Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar,<br />

Ahmed Khan, Shaira Khan<br />

Dialogue: Bunty Rathore<br />

Screenplay: Jojo Khan<br />

Story: Bobby Khan<br />

Songs: Meet Bros Anjjan, Amaal Mallik, Dr.<br />

Zeus, Tony Kakkar, Uzair Jaswal<br />

Cinematography: Bashalal Syed<br />

Editor: Nitin FCP<br />

Production company: Paper Doll Entertaiment<br />

Distributor: T-Series<br />

Release Date: 10th <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

63


FILM SPECIAL<br />

Director<br />

Bobby<br />

Khan<br />

64 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM SPECIAL<br />

Bobby Khan is the director of “Ek Paheli Leela”. The film marks his<br />

directional debut and Bobby Khan did not compromise on anything<br />

to make sure that his debut will be a huge success: with Sunny Leone,<br />

Jay Bhanushali and Rajneesh Duggal as lead actors, great songs by<br />

Meet Bros Anjjan, Dr. Zeus and other musicians, his brother Ahmen<br />

Khan as one of the producers, T-Series as distributor, fantastic<br />

shooting locations and a great setting he put all needed ingredients in<br />

“Ek Paheli Leela” to make it a hit. We spoke with Bobby Khan and<br />

asked him about the struggle in making such a big film possible:<br />

“Ek Paheli Leela” is your first film as<br />

a director. Since when did you plan<br />

do to that film and how long did it<br />

take from the idea to the first shooting<br />

day?<br />

Bobby Khan: I have been living with<br />

the script of “Leela” for past 12 years.<br />

As all say: destiny comes at the right<br />

time. So it started two years ago, in<br />

<strong>April</strong> 2013, and my film got rolling soon<br />

as my vision was very clear and I knew<br />

what I wanted.<br />

What makes “Ek Paheli Leela” so special<br />

for you and why should people<br />

watch the film?<br />

Bobby Khan: As it is my first film, I<br />

have put all my effort into it to make it<br />

beautiful and sensible. According to me<br />

this is the first time a re-incarnation<br />

movie will be very different from all the<br />

previous ones.<br />

You worked with a very professional<br />

cast and crew, be it the music composers,<br />

the singers, the choreographers<br />

and of course the cast. How easy was<br />

it to convince them of “Ek Paheli Leela”?<br />

Bobby Khan: I had a superb film story<br />

within me for this film. So when I narrated<br />

it to my brothers, producer Ahmed<br />

Khan and Bhushan Kumar, who is the<br />

head honcho of T-series, they loved it<br />

from the very word and were ready to<br />

start it asap. “Leela” has something<br />

special which will connect everyone<br />

musically with loads of drama and thrill<br />

and will surprise everyone with the climax.<br />

What made you decide to cast Sunny<br />

Leone for the lead and is it right that<br />

actually Deepika Padukone was your<br />

first choice?<br />

Bobby Khan: Oh! Wow! Deepika<br />

(laughs. That would be a dream come<br />

true for me. Who does not want to direct<br />

Deepika. She is awesome in every<br />

aspect and a filmmaker's dream.<br />

Though I would love to work with Deepika<br />

but for “Leela” I did not have anyone<br />

else in mind except Sunny, Sunny<br />

and only Sunny.<br />

Sunny, Daniel and me met over a coffee<br />

way back in <strong>April</strong> 2013 and hit off well.<br />

We became good friends. I bounced<br />

couple of my stories with her and she<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

65


FILM SPECIAL<br />

loved all of them. I planned to make all<br />

my films with her only, but she is a very<br />

busy actress today. “Leela” is a very<br />

difficult film in terms of making and<br />

mounting the film. All the characters,<br />

especially that of Leela, are extremely<br />

tough. Seeing Sunny's enthusiasm during<br />

my narration and the way she understands<br />

and grasps every word I narrated,<br />

made me choose Sunny. Then it was<br />

only Sunny all the way to be my Leela.<br />

And here we are ready with the film and<br />

she is rocking in my film.<br />

From where and what did you get the<br />

idea of the story of “Ek Paheli Leela”?<br />

Bobby Khan: I have always been fascinated<br />

by films made on re-incarnation.<br />

I have seen almost all the films made in<br />

Bollywood from the black & white cinemas<br />

till date and all have been very<br />

successful at the box office. I am told<br />

that I am very gentle at heart and my<br />

forte is to make romantic films. But<br />

then I made “Leela” which is a drama<br />

and thriller. Most directors plan something<br />

and they end up making something<br />

else.<br />

Since “Ek Paheli Leela” is your first<br />

film, it must have been tough to get<br />

the needed budget. You shot at different<br />

locations, the costumes cost a lot<br />

as well as the shooting of the songs.<br />

There are songs with more than 500<br />

extras. Also you spend a lot in promoting<br />

the film.<br />

Bobby Khan: True. “Leela” is a hugely<br />

mounted expensive films. Be it the sets,<br />

real locations in Rajasthan, crowd, dancers,<br />

costumes etc. A lot of money has<br />

been pumped into the film. My producers<br />

didn't take me as a debutant director<br />

and gave all that I wanted in making my<br />

film. But I would say “Leela” is a very<br />

smartly produced film and all the credit<br />

goes to my producer and brother<br />

Ahmed Khan. Coming to promotion<br />

who is better that T-series?! I am relaxed<br />

as for music they are the best in<br />

the industry.<br />

After “Ek Paheli Leela” what are<br />

your next film projects?<br />

Bobby Khan: Well, I am living, breathing,<br />

eating, sleeping and working only<br />

“Leela” at the moment till the release on<br />

<strong>April</strong> 10th <strong>2015</strong>. I have received as<br />

many as five offers to start a new film<br />

but I have still not zeroed on any till<br />

now. I will do so after my “Leela” releases.<br />

Where do you plan to release you film<br />

- only in India or also internationally?<br />

Are there plans to screen “Ek Paheli<br />

Leela” also at international film festivals?<br />

Bobby Khan: “Leela” is having a very<br />

big release as compared to a Sunny<br />

Leone film. As for an international release,<br />

I am looking for a good release<br />

worldwide. I am looking forward to<br />

getting my film “Leela” to the Cannes<br />

Film Festival this year and many more<br />

film festivals. I believe the international<br />

market will love the film.<br />

66 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM SPECIAL<br />

Director Bobby Khan with his lead actress Sunny Leone<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

67


FILM SPECIAL<br />

Lead Actress<br />

Sunny<br />

Leone<br />

68 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM SPECIAL<br />

Karenjit Kaur Vohra - that's the birth name of Sunny<br />

Leone - was born and grew up in Canada into a Punjabi<br />

family. The 33 years old actress entered Bollywood in 2012<br />

as the lead actress in “Jism 2”. After that she appeared in<br />

films like “Shootout At Wadala”, “Jackpot”, “Ragini MMS<br />

2” and “Hate Story 2”. She worked with Bollywood stars<br />

like Randeep Hooda, John Abraham, Kangana Ranaut,<br />

Anil Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Sachiin Joshi and Jay<br />

Bhanushali. On 10th <strong>April</strong> her new film “Ek Paheli Leela”<br />

will have its release. In this film, directed by Bobby Khan,<br />

she will be seen in a triple role. We interviewed Sunny<br />

Leone and ask her about her role in “Ek Paheli Leela”, her<br />

experiences in Bollywood and her plans for the future:<br />

What can you tell us about the story<br />

and your role in “Ek Paheli Leela”?<br />

Sunny Leone: I play a model from London<br />

who gets conned into flying to India<br />

for a photo shoot. I meet a prince who I<br />

fall in love with and marry. My character<br />

has been reincarnated in the present and<br />

my co-star Jay Bhanushali brings out the<br />

truth of my past life.<br />

How was it to work with Bobby Khan<br />

who gives his directorial debut with<br />

that film and what do you value the<br />

most in him?<br />

Sunny Leone: It was wonderful. This is<br />

a story he has put a lot of time and effort<br />

into and didn't compromise on anything.<br />

What's your wish for “Ek Paheli Leela”?<br />

Do you think it can be a blockbuster<br />

and maybe even give you a<br />

nomination and award as the best actress?<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

Sunny Leone: My wish is that people<br />

like it and the producers make the money<br />

back that they put into the film. I<br />

believe it has the potential to be big but<br />

I am bias because it's my film. I don't<br />

know about awards but if my fans are<br />

happy with my acting then that is my<br />

biggest reward.<br />

How did you prepare for your role as<br />

the royal princess in “Ek Paheli Leela”?<br />

Sunny Leone: There was prep time for<br />

“Leela”. Just creating Leela on the first<br />

day took six hours of trial and error. The<br />

dialog was not easy and we would spend<br />

time learning them. In some way I relate<br />

to my characters. Leela is a strong and<br />

bold woman who doesn't care for the rest<br />

of the world. She only cares for her love<br />

and what's right.<br />

69


FILM SPECIAL<br />

Sunny Leone as Leela in „Ek Paheli Leela“<br />

70 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM SPECIAL<br />

You entered the Indian film industry<br />

with 30 years. Where do you see the<br />

Pros and Cons for yourself as an actress<br />

to have entered Bollywood so<br />

late?<br />

Sunny Leone: I am young in the Bollywood<br />

world that's all that matters to me.<br />

However long it last is up to my fans.<br />

When did you come to India the first<br />

time and what was your first impression?<br />

Sunny Leone: I was very little visiting<br />

relatives. The first time it was all about<br />

smells and new tastes and candy. I didn't<br />

realize the magnitude of where I was or<br />

what it symbolized.<br />

Do you think it helped you in Bollywood<br />

that you had already a big name<br />

as an adult film star or do you think<br />

that fact put more stones on your way<br />

in Bollywood as it might have in other<br />

(western) countries?<br />

Sunny Leone: Yes and no. Yes because<br />

I had a name already, I believe it has led<br />

me today and No because I have baggage<br />

I can't ever erase.<br />

What is your dream, what would you<br />

like to achieve in your career as an<br />

actress in Bollywood?<br />

Sunny Leone: I just want people to see<br />

I work hard and that I become a decent<br />

actress.<br />

You worked in American films and<br />

now in Indian films - where do you see<br />

the differences?<br />

Sunny Leone: There are too many to<br />

count.<br />

You are born to a Punjabi family in<br />

Canada. How much could you follow<br />

the Punjabi religion and culture when<br />

you grew up and lived in Canada and<br />

later in the USA?<br />

Sunny Leone: I grew up in a typical<br />

Punjabi home and went to temple every<br />

sat and Sunday's and sang Gurbani every<br />

weekend.<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

You are married with Daniel Weber,<br />

who supports you a lot in your career<br />

and also has his own successful career.<br />

Is there time to think about family life<br />

or even plans to have children?<br />

Sunny Leone: Yes in the future for sure.<br />

When that is, I have no idea. At this<br />

moment it's all about building our careers.<br />

How do you like to spend your free<br />

time, if you have a day or a week off<br />

from films and photo shootings, promotion<br />

tours etc.?<br />

Sunny Leone: Well I don't have much<br />

of that. But I would fly back to Los<br />

Angeles for three to seven days and be<br />

with my family and dogs.<br />

You worked in a German Bakery<br />

when you were a teenager. What do<br />

you know about Germany and what<br />

do you like about Germany?<br />

Sunny Leone: I love Germany. I have<br />

been to a few different places and spent<br />

a few years going to Oktoberfest in Munich.<br />

I loved every minute of it. I had<br />

some really amazing times there learning<br />

about the culture and the food and<br />

the country side. My favourite food I<br />

love to eat there is Kaese Spaetzle.<br />

71


Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tillotame Shome, Tisca Chopra<br />

Director: Anup Singh<br />

Genre: Historical Drama<br />

Run Time: 110 Minutes<br />

Release Date: 20th February <strong>2015</strong><br />

Rating:<br />

72 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM REVIEW<br />

QISSA<br />

A complex tale of an obsessed father and his<br />

sickening proud to have a son ruining many lives.<br />

Post winning several awards and unanimous<br />

praises in the festival circuit, thankfully QISSA<br />

reached the theatres here in India after a long<br />

wait with a novel strategy, wherein the film<br />

was simultaneously released in cinemas (only a<br />

few selected screens), on VOD (Video on Demand<br />

at net) and in home video market (DVD)<br />

too on the same date.<br />

Looking at this collective release on all the<br />

three platforms, many might not<br />

approve the move thinking about<br />

its box office prospects in the first<br />

week itself as per the ongoing<br />

trend. But considering the strategy<br />

with a realistic viewpoint, it<br />

was indeed a very intelligent step<br />

taken by the makers since the film<br />

honestly is not the one that could<br />

have achieved any instant box<br />

office success due to its limited<br />

appeal to the masses who are<br />

more interested in a much simplified<br />

subject and entertaining narrative<br />

when it comes to a Punjabi<br />

film in particular.<br />

But keeping that for the later part<br />

of the review, I would first like to<br />

reveal its basic thought which actually<br />

showcases the ugly Indian psyche of a<br />

family being obsessed with only sons instead of<br />

daughters for many obvious reasons. Set in the<br />

post-independence era the subject still remains<br />

relevant in India and more specifically for regions<br />

like Punjab, where Girl foeticide is one of<br />

the key problems even in this much educated<br />

and more aware society of the 21st century.<br />

A bold plot for Punjabi as well as Indian Cinema<br />

(released with English subtitles), QISSA<br />

certainly gives you the feeling of watching<br />

something brutally honest that has never been<br />

tried before here with such impactful intensity.<br />

Yes, it does remind you of the masterpiece<br />

from Pakistan titled BOL as far as the obsession<br />

for a son is concerned, but then finds its<br />

own individual path different from the one<br />

witnessed in that ‘not to be missed gem’ to<br />

clear the visible doubts.<br />

Directed and co-written by Anup Singh, it’s a<br />

disturbing tale of an eccentric father Umber<br />

Singh who after having a fourth girl in the<br />

family doesn’t want to kill her<br />

but forces her to grow up, dress<br />

and behave like a boy only, ignoring<br />

all her bodily changes<br />

happening with the time in a<br />

much weird manner. The film<br />

begins with the bloody event of<br />

our Partition when the family<br />

has to shift to the Indian part<br />

after losing everything they had.<br />

And then focuses on the relationships<br />

alone going through many<br />

unexpected twists and turns leading<br />

to a serious shock coming<br />

just before the intermission as a<br />

director’s master-stoke. The second<br />

half brings in a strictly unexpected<br />

supernatural turn for the<br />

viewers making the film a bit<br />

slow and sad too, taking away the hold it<br />

displayed in its initial hour especially for the<br />

common man sitting in the theater not able to<br />

grasp the multi-layered projection ending on<br />

a more thoughtful note.<br />

In other words, despite being a visual cinematic<br />

experience, a first of its kind - bold subject<br />

in Indian films having a well-conceived<br />

(unusual) storyline and all brilliant performances,<br />

QISSA arguably remains...<br />

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<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

73


Director Sriram Raghavan has certainly got a<br />

solid fan following among the lovers of crime<br />

thrillers since his brilliant crime-noire films<br />

EK HASEENA THI (2004) and JOHNY<br />

GADDAR (2007). His fascination with novels<br />

of James Hadley Chase (and more),<br />

Hitchcock classics, old Hindi thrillers, director<br />

Vijay Anand or Ram Gopal Varma is<br />

already known to many. But the reputation<br />

did take a beating with his<br />

AGENT VINOD in 2012<br />

through which he visibly tried to<br />

play the commercial cards more,<br />

probably on the instructions on<br />

some well-known established<br />

names. Anyway the good news<br />

is that the director is back to his<br />

original genre/form with BAD-<br />

LAPUR that though might not<br />

surpass the brilliance seen in his<br />

first two films, but still becomes<br />

a must watch ‘out of the box’<br />

revenge thriller mainly due to its<br />

crafty execution and intense performances.<br />

To give you the most important<br />

instruction of watching BAD-<br />

LAPUR which in fact is mentioned<br />

in its tag line too, the film needs to be<br />

seen from its very first scene itself like a<br />

mandatory clause. Putting it more directly for<br />

the ones who reach the theatre late, you might<br />

not be able to feel the pain felt by its characters<br />

or relate with the revenge taken by its<br />

main protagonist more intensely, if you<br />

haven’t seen BADLAPUR right from the<br />

beginning, witnessing its very first action<br />

sequence (in the first 5 minutes only) giving<br />

you a severe emotional shock like never before.<br />

So please take a serious note of it to feel<br />

FILM REVIEW<br />

BADLAPUR<br />

Though its second half & climax is bound to meet mixed responses,<br />

still do watch it for the director's crafty execution<br />

& all intense performances as a must.<br />

the movie in its entirety for sure. Clearing<br />

another speculation about the project, it isn’t<br />

that bloody dealing with the gore as expected<br />

and has its own lighter moments too entertaining<br />

the viewer through some black humour.<br />

Emphasizing on an emotional backdrop, it<br />

does have few brutally painful action and sex<br />

sequences bringing you on to the edge of your<br />

seat and thus remains a strictly ADULT movie<br />

too, putting it straight.<br />

Revolving around an all routine<br />

revenge storyline, BADLAPUR<br />

actually deviates from the usual<br />

stuff because of its finely tuned,<br />

unpredictable script progression<br />

and a highly engaging execution,<br />

focusing just on its subject right<br />

from its first frame to the last. All<br />

the compromises seen in Sriram’s<br />

AGENT VINOD are thankfully<br />

not there and the film simply<br />

wins you over in its first half due<br />

to all noteworthy performances<br />

led by Nawazuddin & Varun, a<br />

well written wicked humour and<br />

the suspense factor kept intact<br />

introducing a couple of new characters<br />

just around the interval.<br />

The excellence continues post intermission<br />

with another talented lady Radhika Apte leading<br />

it from the front and she is truly superb in<br />

her few strong sequences to say the least. The<br />

unexpectedly bold and shocking insertions<br />

keep coming at regular intervals till the film<br />

starts losing its grip somehow towards the end<br />

going into a longer length than required. And<br />

then a (sudden) meaningful climax redefining...<br />

Continue reading here (click)<br />

74 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


Cast: Varun Dhawan, Nawazzuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi, Yami<br />

Gautam, Vinay Pathak<br />

Director: Sriram Raghavan<br />

Genre: Action-Thriller<br />

Run Time: 135 Minutes<br />

Release Date: 20th February <strong>2015</strong><br />

Rating:<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

75


Cast: Anushka Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Darshan Kumar<br />

Director: Navdeep Singh<br />

Genre: Thriller<br />

Run Time: 115 Minutens<br />

Release Date: 13th <strong>March</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

Rating:<br />

76 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


FILM REVIEW<br />

NH10<br />

Has both impressive as well as<br />

forcibly added content to make it<br />

more appealing and realistic.<br />

Revealing the bitter reality, a film like NH10<br />

can be reviewed by two set of distinctive mindsets.<br />

One by the people who have actually lived<br />

in those areas personally, have been to those<br />

deserted scary roads without the sight of any<br />

single person for miles, feeling the horror and<br />

nature’s beauty together. And the others who<br />

have never been to the region but are simply<br />

judging the film as a project depicting a harsh<br />

realistic truth in a somewhat filmy<br />

manner.<br />

But keeping the discussion for the<br />

later part of the review, as a film,<br />

no doubt this is another impressive<br />

venture from the director Navdeep<br />

Singh, who once again<br />

comes up with a script that beautifully<br />

incorporates the inspirations<br />

taken from a western flick as seen<br />

in his MANORAMA 6 FEET UN-<br />

DER (2007) borrowing much of<br />

its inputs from the cult-classic<br />

CHINATOWN (1974). Returning<br />

to the screen after a long gap of 8<br />

years, this time Navdeep and his<br />

writers choose another English<br />

film titled EDEN LAKE (2008),<br />

add to it the current in-news theme<br />

of “Honour Killings” and then end it all like a<br />

typical Hindi film reminding you of the fiery<br />

heroines from the 80s taking their revenge in<br />

PRATIGHAAT, PHOOL BANEY AN-<br />

GAAREY or KHOON BHARI MAANG.<br />

NH10 opens nicely with a much focused vision<br />

that keeps you guessing about what’s going to<br />

happen next in its first half. The unpredictable<br />

excitement continues till the roadside scuffle<br />

happens with a sudden twist that also seems to<br />

be a bit foolish and deliberate one too keeping<br />

in mind the particular district. The noteworthy<br />

lonely locales, brilliant camerawork, natural<br />

lighting, minimal-well composed background<br />

score and all superlative performances buildup<br />

the momentum in a superb manner and you<br />

feel like coming on to the edge of your seats<br />

repeatedly before the intermission.<br />

However a short song inserted just before the<br />

interval looks like out of place and then the<br />

film as usual goes back to the same predictable<br />

as well as monotonous plot of<br />

revenge in its second half<br />

(reminding you of the recent<br />

BADLAPUR too). Yes, the brutal<br />

execution of its finale terrorizes<br />

the viewer well<br />

representing the woman-power<br />

strongly in all the bold sequences.<br />

Yet the lack of novel twists<br />

and turns in the second hour<br />

hamper its overall impact severely<br />

and one doesn’t feel like<br />

watching anything out of the<br />

box in real terms as it ends.<br />

Having said that, the director’s<br />

(expected) sharp, intelligent insertions<br />

are right there in NH10<br />

throughout its 2 hours of duration,<br />

but the engrossing pull or<br />

punch goes missing in the latter half of the<br />

film unfortunately. For instance, just watch<br />

out the scenes where the husband brings a<br />

cigarette pack for his wife on their fun-trip,<br />

Anushka rubbing a derogatory word written on<br />

the door of a Dhaba toilet, the group of hooligans<br />

talking in Haryanvi hinting towards a<br />

rape, Anushka lighting up the cigarette just<br />

before going for the killings, the kid asking...<br />

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<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

77


GERMAN CITIES<br />

Frankfurt am Main, home of the great Goethe,<br />

is the smallest but most compact metropolis<br />

in the world; it has people from all<br />

over the world travelling in for business, the<br />

advantage of miraculous tranquility within<br />

a rush hour and the perks of offering its<br />

citizens an extravagant lifestyle. The city is<br />

the largest city in the German state of Hesse<br />

and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a<br />

population of 701,350 within its administrative<br />

boundaries. The wider urban area called<br />

Frankfurt Rhein-Main has a population of<br />

2,221,910.<br />

If you think of Frankfurt, the first three<br />

things that pop up in your mind are Goethe,<br />

Stock Exchange and Book Fair. So if you<br />

ever think of taking a piece of the city back<br />

after you leave, a symbol with the image of<br />

those three will definitely be archetypal.<br />

Frankfurt is the largest financial centre in<br />

continental Europe and ranks among the<br />

world's leading financial centres. It is home<br />

to the European Central Bank, Deutsche<br />

Bundesbank, Frankfurt Stock Exchange<br />

and several large commercial banks. Listed<br />

as the financial capital of Europe, Frankfurt<br />

features years of tradition in trading and the<br />

aftermath of this dynamic economy, it is<br />

now an international center for business<br />

and trade.<br />

Architecturally, Main River divides the city<br />

into two different fronts; the concrete modern<br />

skyscrapers that resemble a futuristic<br />

mindset are the reason why Frankfurt am<br />

Main is known as “Mainhattan”, a portmanteau<br />

of the local Main River and Manhattan.<br />

Alte Oper<br />

Goethe House<br />

78 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


GERMAN CITIES<br />

Most of the skyscrapers and high-rise office<br />

buildings in Frankfurt are located in the<br />

financial district (Bankenviertel) near the<br />

city centre, around the trade fair premises<br />

(Europaviertel) and at Mainzer Landstraße<br />

between Opernplatz and Platz der Republik,<br />

which connects the two areas. Frankfurt is<br />

one of only a few cities in the European<br />

Union that have such a skyline, opposed to<br />

the carefully preserved remissness of the<br />

ancient buildings and houses that now serve<br />

as museums exhibiting rare collections of<br />

art, symbolizing the worth of tradition and<br />

values.<br />

Trade fairs have a very long tradition in<br />

Frankfurt as they were first mentioned in<br />

the 12th century. Today, Frankfurt Trade<br />

Fair (Messe Frankfurt) has the third-largest<br />

exhibition site in the world with a total of<br />

578,000 square metres (6,221,540 square<br />

feet). Hosted in Frankfurt are the Frankfurt<br />

Motor Show (Internationale Automobil-<br />

Ausstellung – IAA), the world's largest auto<br />

show, the Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurter<br />

Buchmesse), the world's largest book fair,<br />

the Ambiente Frankfurt, the world's largest<br />

consumer goods fair, the Achema, the<br />

world's largest plant engineering fair, and<br />

many more like Paperworld, Christmasworld,<br />

Beautyworld, Tendence Lifestyle or<br />

Light+Building.<br />

The Zeil is Frankfurt's central shopping<br />

street and one of the most crowded in Germany.<br />

The street is a pedestrian-only area<br />

and is bordered by two large public squares,<br />

Hauptwache in the west and Konstablerwa-<br />

Stock Exchange<br />

Römer - The City Hall<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

79


GERMAN CITIES<br />

che in the east. It is the second most expensive<br />

street for shops to rent in Germany<br />

after the Kaufingerstraße in Munich. 85<br />

percent of the shops there are retail store<br />

chains like H&M, Saturn, Esprit, Zara or<br />

NewYorker. In 2009 a new shopping mall<br />

named MyZeil opened on the Zeil with<br />

nearly 100 stores and new chains like Hollister.<br />

Goethestraße is Frankfurt's most expensive<br />

shopping street with prestigious shops like<br />

Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Tiffany, Giorgio<br />

Armani, Versace, Cartier, Burberry,<br />

Vertu and Bulgari. It is located between the<br />

financial district and the city centre and<br />

runs from Goetheplatz to Opernplatz. With<br />

a large forest, many parks, the Main riverbanks<br />

and the two botanical gardens, Frankfurt<br />

is considered a “green city”: More than<br />

50 percent of the area within the city limits<br />

are protected green areas. And with more<br />

than 30 museums, some of them considered<br />

internationally prestigious, Frankfurt also<br />

has one of the largest variety of museums in<br />

Europe. 20 museums are part of the Museumssufer<br />

(Museum Riverbank), which<br />

means that their location is on the front row<br />

of both sides of the Main riverbank or within<br />

spitting distance. Here, at the southern<br />

riverbank, you will find also the German<br />

Film Museum. Other places to be visit are<br />

the Goethe House, located in the Altstadt,<br />

the Frankfurt Opera as a leading opera company<br />

in Germany and one of the most impor-<br />

80 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


GERMAN CITIES<br />

tant opera houses in Europe, Alte Oper,<br />

which was once an opera house and is now<br />

a major concert hall and he Palmengarten,<br />

located in the Westend district, which contains<br />

numerous tropical and subtropical<br />

plants, hence the name “Palm Garden”. It is<br />

the largest botanical garden in Germany<br />

with 22 ha ground area.<br />

Due to its central location within Germany<br />

and Europe, Frankfurt is a major air, rail<br />

and highway transport hub. Frankfurt Airport<br />

is one of the world's busiest international<br />

airports by passenger traffic and the<br />

main hub for Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa,<br />

the largest airline in Europe. The fact<br />

that the third largest and busiest airport in<br />

the world happens to be in Frankfurt has<br />

helped recognizing expats as part of the<br />

Frankfurters daily routine, accepting and<br />

welcoming them in their city to do business.<br />

Not only business, but also the fact that<br />

Frankfurt is ranked among the most livable<br />

metropolises has made people from all<br />

around the world come together and bring<br />

a piece of their culture in this urban diversion.<br />

Now, it seem like one of the three<br />

people you meet in the city is from a different<br />

part of the world; they have their own<br />

restaurants, speak their own language and<br />

neatly preserve the perks of their culture<br />

because in Frankfurt you can do this. When<br />

will you come and visit Frankfurt?<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

81


GERMAN TRADITIONS<br />

Easter (besides Christmas) is the<br />

most important holiday in Germany.<br />

On this day all Christians celebrate<br />

the resurrection of Christ from<br />

the grave. This is the greatest and<br />

most joyful event of the year for the<br />

believers, when the tragedy of Jesus'<br />

crucifixion on Good Friday<br />

was healed by the message of the<br />

angel at the empty tomb "He is not<br />

here. He is risen!"<br />

The Easter season starts in earnest on Thursday<br />

with Maundy Thursday (this year on 2nd<br />

<strong>April</strong>) marking the last meal Jesus had with his<br />

disciples. Easter traditions follow the religious<br />

calendar with Friday a day of mourning (the<br />

crucifixion of Christ) before celebrating on<br />

Monday to mark his resurrection.<br />

The time of celebration is very special and<br />

determined by the Church on the Sunday,<br />

following the Vernal Equinox. Thus Easter is<br />

always the first Sunday, after the first full<br />

Moon. Thus, honoring of Christ coincides with<br />

awakening of the nature to the new life after<br />

the wintry sleep. In German households there<br />

Traditions how to<br />

Eat something green: “Gründonnerstag” - Maundy<br />

his disciples before he was crucified. The word “grü<br />

colour green but from the old Germ<br />

crying. But some people still e<br />

Eat your fish and be quiet: On Good Friday, “Karfr<br />

sung and no music should be played as this is the day<br />

German “kara” meaning lamentation. It is a day of<br />

Make a fire: On the night before Easter Sunday, thou<br />

ditionally the wood of old Christmas trees is used. It m<br />

also drives away the<br />

Eat a lamb: The lamb is also a symbol of spring and<br />

also bake a cake in t<br />

Paint some eggs: Painting Easter eggs is a tradition<br />

strong in Germany. Painting the eggs was seen as a fo<br />

the end of the East<br />

82 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


GERMAN TRADITIONS<br />

celebrate Easter:<br />

Thursday in English - is the last time Jesus ate with<br />

n” in Germany does not in this case come from the<br />

an word “grönan” which means<br />

at just green food on this day.<br />

eitag” in German, no church bells ring, no songs are<br />

Jesus was crucified. The word “kar” comes from old<br />

fasting where the only meal eaten should be fish.<br />

sands of Germans gather around huge bonfires. Traarks<br />

the end of winter and the coming of spring. It<br />

evil winter spirits.<br />

fertility and is traditionally eaten at Easter. Germans<br />

he form of a lamb.<br />

now done in many countries but it is particularly<br />

rm of blessing them before they were eaten to mark<br />

er fasting period.<br />

is Spring cleaning and decorations are brought<br />

into the home, budding twigs, crocuses and<br />

daffodils, willow and birch, the first shoots of<br />

grasses, or wheat sprouts. Easter trees, small<br />

trees or branches, decorated with eggs, have<br />

long been a part of German Easter celebration.<br />

An inseparable part of the holiday is the gorgeous<br />

Easter meal taken after a long period of<br />

severe fasting.<br />

A few weeks before Easter Sunday (this year<br />

on 5th Aptil) in Germany, you can also see in<br />

many towns an Easter Market, called Ostermarkt<br />

in German, where they sell decorated<br />

Easter eggs, chocolate eggs and bunnies,<br />

spring ornaments and more Easter crafts. Germans<br />

love to decorate their house and garden<br />

with Easter decoration. Many of these Easter<br />

decorations come directly from the pagan<br />

Frühlingfest's (spring fête) symbols of fertility<br />

such as the egg (Ei) and the rabbits (Hasen)<br />

that became the Ostereier (Easter eggs) and<br />

the Osterhasen (Easter bunnies). Of course<br />

little Easter chocolate eggs are also left by the<br />

big Easter Bunny (Osterhase) around bushes<br />

and trees for kids to find on Easter Sunday.<br />

On the next pages we will present you two<br />

traditional Easter dishes: Eggs in Green Sauce<br />

and Lamb.<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

83


GERMAN COOKING<br />

EGGS WITH GREEN SAUCE<br />

Ingredients:<br />

(for 4 persons)<br />

5 hard-boiled eggs<br />

1/2 cup rapeseed oil<br />

5 oz plain yogurt<br />

5 oz sour cream<br />

2 tablespoons finely chopped herbs<br />

(e.g. watercress, chives, sorrel, parsley,<br />

chervil etc)<br />

1 garlic clove<br />

juice of half a lemon<br />

1 tablespoon German prepared mustard<br />

salt and pepper to taste<br />

1 pinch sugar<br />

1 pickled German gherkin<br />

1 onion<br />

Directions:<br />

Peel the hard-boiled eggs, cut<br />

in half, remove the yolk and<br />

mash it with the oil. Add the<br />

yogurt and sour cream.<br />

Finely chop the fresh herbs.<br />

Peel and crush the garlic clove<br />

and mix together with the herbs,<br />

lemon juice, mustard, salt, pepper<br />

and sugar. Now chop the<br />

egg yolk and gherkin. Peel and<br />

grate the onion and mix the<br />

remaining ingredients together.<br />

Serve with hard-boiled eggs<br />

and decorate with some green<br />

salad.<br />

84 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>


GERMAN COOKING<br />

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS<br />

Ingredients:<br />

(for 4 persons)<br />

2 large white onions, chopped<br />

4 lamb shanks<br />

2 cups dry red wine<br />

1 cup balsamic vinegar<br />

1/3 cup olive oil<br />

4 cloves garlic, pressed<br />

2 lemons, quartered<br />

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes<br />

1 bunch fresh basil, chopped<br />

1 tablespoon kosher salt<br />

1 tablespoon cracked black pepper<br />

4 big potatoes<br />

400 gr green asparagus<br />

Directions:<br />

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175<br />

degrees C). Place the onions in a layer in the<br />

bottom of a Dutch oven or medium roasting<br />

pan with a lid. Arrange the lamb shanks on<br />

top of the onions. Pour the wine, balsamic<br />

vinegar and olive oil over the lamb. Place a<br />

clove of pressed garlic next to each shank,<br />

and a quarter of a lemon on each side. Pour<br />

the tomatoes over everything, then season<br />

with salt, pepper and basil. Cover and place<br />

in the preheated oven. Cook for 3 hours.<br />

Use juices from the pan to make a nice<br />

flavorful gravy. 30 min before the lamb is<br />

done, peel and cut the potatos and cook<br />

them in salty water. The same you do with<br />

the asparagus. When all is ready-cooked,<br />

serve the lamp shanks, potatus, asparagus<br />

and the juice (red wine-tomato-basil sauce)<br />

on a plate.<br />

<strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />

85


86 <strong>BNA</strong> <strong>INDIA</strong> <strong>March</strong> / <strong>April</strong> <strong>2015</strong>

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