December Issue

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
CHITRANGAD SINGH
had almost got
named JODHA BAI
Chitrangda Singh, who is currently shooting with Sanjay Dutt for Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Saheb
Biwi Aur Gangster 3, has said she was almost named Jodhabai. The actor was born in Jodhpur
and is happy to shoot in the city. She plays a Rajasthani girl in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3.
The actor has been utilising her time between the shoots to revisit her childhood. “My
mom told me about the army hospital where I was born and even remembers the room
number. I saw the place and it felt special. Then, I also got to know that I had almost
been named Jodhabai. According to my mother, the lady who was looking after me
at the time had taken to calling me Jodhabai. Thank God mom didn’t go by her suggestion,”
the actor said in a press statement. On her upcoming film, the Hazaaron
Khwaishein Aisi star said, “We are staying in a 300-year-old fort and there’s so
much history here. It’s a different world altogether. I play a Rajasthani girl in the
film and that shows in my outfits and the way I speak. The look is not urban so
we had to work on the costumes carefully. I also had to take some dance lessons
as part of my prep to get the traditional moves right."
Chitrangada started shooting for Saheb Biwi aur Gangster 3 in Bikaner this
September. Talking about reuniting with Tigmanshu, Chitrangda also said,
“Tigmanshu and I were supposed to work together way back in 1997, when he
was making his first film, Haasil. Somehow, that didn’t work out. If it had, it
would have probably been my first film instead of Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi.
Today, neither of us recalls why the collaboration didn’t work out then.
Tigamanshu is extremely edgy and I like his style of filmmaking.”
ENTERTAINMENT
December 2017
17
I become rude in public :
Jennifer Lawrence
Los Angeles, Actress
Jennifer Lawrence says she
becomes “incredibly rude”
in public. Lawrence is
widely regarded as one of
Hollywood’s most down-toearth
stars. However, she
says her attitude towards
people changes as soon as
she enters a public space,
reports variety.com. “Once
I enter a public place, I
become incredibly rude, I
turn into a huge a**,”
Lawrence said. “That’s kind
of like my only way of
defending myself (from fan
attention),” she added. The
27-year-old actress said she
has no qualms about declining
to pose for selfies with
her fans. “That’s like my
only defence. One of my
best friends is Amy
Schumer. I take my dog to
the park all the time,
Central Park. As soon as I
meet her in the park, we’re
f****d,” she said.
AKSHAY KUMAR FIGHTS FOR MENSTURAL
HYGIENE IN & AS PADMAN
In cinemas worldwide on 26th January 2018, through
Sony Pictures Entertainment, India
‘Dad and I
never spoke
about box
office battle
A superhero is a heroic stock
character, who is dedicated to
protecting their public and
fighting evil and oppression at
all costs, often single handily.
However, contrary to popular
folklore, not all superheroes
wear capes and can sometimes
blend in with the conventional
public. Here’s introducing the
inspiring story of one of TIME
Magazine’s 100 Most
Influential
entrants
Arunachalam Muruganantham,
a rural welder from India turned
incredible innovator and inventor,
who certainly wasn’t wearing
a cape when he was moved
to provide women with access
to high-quality and affordable
sanitary pads 20 years ago. His
story has been fictionalised for
its silver screen debut with
PadMan, the world’s first feature
film on menstrual hygiene
releasing in cinemas around the
world on 26th January Co-produced
by Mrs Funnybones
Movies, Hope Productions,
KriArj Entertainment, and Sony
Pictures Entertainment, India,
PadMan is written and directed
by ad-man turned film-man R
Balki (Paa). It is billed as the
most progressive family entertainer
yet, starring international
megastar Akshay Kumar
(Toilet: Ek Prem Katha) who
assumes the titular role of
Arunachalam Muruganantham
to once again showcase his
commitment to social entertainers.
He is joined by critically
acclaimed actresses Sonam
Kapoor (Neerja)and Radhika
Apte (Kabali).
The story of Arunachalam
Muruganantham was first fictionalised
in the Founder of Mrs
Funnybones Movies, Twinkle
Having witnessed two of his biggest films clash at
the box office with actor Aamir Khan’s movies —
Ghayal with Dil in 1990 and Gadar with Lagaan in 2001
— actor Sunny Deol is not new to the concept of box
office battles. This year, his film Poster Boys released
on the same day (September 8) as Arjun Rampal’s
Daddy. However, Sunny, son of veteran actor
Dharmendra, prefers to count himself among the old
school actors, who never worried about box office
clashes or got involved in the number game after their
films released. He says, “I don’t think that clashes made
any difference back then, and neither did they have any
significance even when my dad was active in films. It’s
just hype created for people to talk about.”
Amid several films racing to make it to the coveted
100 crore club nowadays, Sunny says that it has never
been his game plan. “We, my dad and I, have done it several
years ago. The difference is that we never spoke
about it at that time, and so we were respected. Those
days, nobody fought. But now, actors and filmmakers
talk about it, and they are all fighting for it,” the actor
says. Talking about how big the number game has
become these days, Sunny says people no longer go to
theatres to enjoy a film. “They go in large numbers to
watch a film and if they don’t like it, it doesn’t matter to
them. It’s no longer restricted to the desire to see something
because it might make you feel nice,” he adds.
Sunny maintains that all these years, all he has focused
on as an actor is to do great cinema. “That’s how I want
to be known. I’ve never bothered about where and how it
happens. I didn’t even know when [my] films were a hit
or how big they had become. I never sat down and
planned my way ahead. So, it’s best to go on and keep
moving ahead if you want to enjoy it,” signs off Sunny.
Khanna’s award-winning book
of short-stories, The Legend of
Lakshmi Prasad. A renowned
vocal women empowerment
champion,interior design entrepreneur,
best-selling author,
newspaper columnist and producer,
Twinkle Khanna then felt
compelled to project
Arunachalam Muruganantham’s
story to a wider audience by coproducing
PadMan under her
banner Mrs Funnybones Movies.
PadMan traces Arunachalam
Muruganantham’s international
journey from an outcast exiled
from society for his endeavours
to delve into such a taboo subject,
to becoming a super-hero
of India’s modern history, as he
followed his dream to bring a
revolution to menstrual hygiene
in India.
Akin to the tagline of the
film Superhero Hai Yeh Pagla
(He’s a Crazy Superhero),
PadMan is nothing short of an
impulsive, flamboyant and
driven entrepreneur extraordinaire,
who refused to give up in
the wake of scrutiny and
ridicule, using his resilience and
initiative to invent India’s low
cost sanitary napkin making
machine. An extreme enigma in
his home town, Arunachalam
Muruganantham’s super-heroic
efforts led to a business that
today employs hundreds of
women across India.
Issues relating to menstrual
hygiene are a global phenomenon.
Whether this is a result of
the stigma and taboo resulting
in the marginalisation and disempowerment
of women in
societies, the economic and
social impact of “period poverty”,
to the consequences on
women’s health, there is a need
to educate both men and
women on the impact and to
ensuring all women have menstrual
dignity. Committed to the
cause of women empowerment,
Arunachalam Muruganantham
faced the risk of isolation and
marginalisation as he challenged
the stigma and stereotypes
associated with menstrual
hygiene head-on in order to
improve the lives of thousands
of women. As is the case with
many superheroes, it’s the element
of social segregation that
makes Arunachalam
Muruganantham’s story so special.
He is challenged by the
extreme backlash of a bigoted
society stuck in its ways, to liberate
and empower women
across the country – just like a
superhero.
Whilst his exterior may
resemble that of a regular man,
Arunachalam Muruganantham
is the paradigm to the theory
that not all heroes wear capes!
PadMan is a tribute to every
ordinary and simple man and
woman, who dare to dream and
impact the lives of millions of
others. Padman releases in cinemas
worldwide on the 26th
January to inspire all the capeless
heroes amongst us, through
Sony Pictures Entertainment,
India.