Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, director of the Bollywood mega-hit "Devdas", is to stage an opera in Paris next year, the Theatre du Chatelet said on Wednesday.
From March 14 to 24 next year, Bhansali will present six performances of "Padmavati", a rarely-performed opera-ballet written in 1923 by French composer Albert Roussel and inspired by Indian legend.
Leading a mainly-French cast, Marie-Nicole Lemieux from the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec will play the title role of a woman who falls prey to a vile bargain, in a lyrical tale set in 13th-century India.
Bhansali's 2002 movie "Devdas" a tragic musical tale of two childhood sweethearts whose love is thwarted by their families was the most expensive Hindi film ever made, reaping international success and a host of awards.
The Theatre du Chatelet- Paris' second largest opera house- will also host an adaptation of David Cronenberg's science-fiction hit "The Fly" brought to the stage by the director in partnership with Spain's tenor Placido Domingo.
Rahul is one young man with dreams working as a call centre executive in a BPO in Mumbai. He silently loves his boss, Neha. A smart young woman who has made it up the ranks in a very short time. And hard work is not her only secret. Because her boss, Ranjeet loves her and is willing to shower her with gifts and opportunities… only if she is willing.
In his 30s, Ranjeet is married to Shikha with a 6 year old son. Shikha is very well educated and was a better student than Ranjeet. But they decided that she should stay back at home and take care of the house and the kid. So Ranjeet ventured out on his quest for money and success… and forgot his family somewhere on the way. And bitterness and boredom crept into their relationship. Soon he found solace and a fresh lease of life in Neha. An exciting, non-committal relationship based on sex.
Neglected by an indifferent husband and bogged down by family chores, Shikha is soon attracted to a maverick in Akash. A loser and a rebel without a cause, Akash is a struggling theatre artist whose wife divorces him… because she cannot stand his failures anymore. Akash and Shikha’s love blossoms and she almost crosses her limits that she has so fervently guarded all these years.
Amol is a 70 year old man who’s returned to India after 40 years. To spend last few years of his life with his first love, Vaijanti. This lady lives in an old age home and is Shikha’s aunty who gives moral strength to Shikha.
Shikha’s sister and Neha’s room-mate, Shruti works in at Radio Mirchi. A producer. In her 30’s and still a virgin, she’s desperate to get married. She is dreamy eyed about her RJ, Wishy K. Her boss hooks her up with Wishy K. While she also meets Debu through a matrimonial site, she hates him. But Debu, an ordinary man, is ready to marry her. However..her affair with Wishy K blossoms.
Rahul is extremely ambitiously and discovers the easiest way to success.. rather the key to success. The key to his uncle’s opulent apartment where he stays while his uncle is away. Most of the men in his office look for places to take their mistresses, girlfriends or prostitutes. He provides the perfect place to release their libido. His apartment. The cost? A recommendation for his out of turn promotion. Even Ranjeet gets the key and takes Neha to the apartment.
Amidst one of their escapades Neha asks Ranjeet about their future. A commitment? Ranjeet makes it clear that she should not even think of a commitment. He insults her and leaves. She tries to commit suicide. Rahul discovers her in his apartment and takes care of her. They share some loving moments… come closer but still she’s unsure about him.
Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay is almost complete, save for some patchwork scenes, and it seems that talk about the film will not subside until it finally hits the big screen.
The latest tongue-teaser from the film is the sensuous song, Chaa Raha (picturised on Ajay Devgan and Nisha Kothari), which was shot only recently. It has a bare-chested Devgan in the most intimate poses with Kothari, which is probably a first for the brooding actor!
Says Ramu, “It’s one of the most arresting songs of my career as the concept is so different. I have tried to capture different images with each image creating a different emotion. Each shot is different and has a certain intensity, the most intense being love. The way the characters in Sholay, including that of Veeru (Devgan) and Ghungroo (Kothari), have been designed has brought certain changes in the context of relationships. Veeru and Ghungroo’s love story is much stronger in my Sholay.”
Ramu says Ajay wasn’t uncomfortable when told about the bare-chested scenes. Though this is probably the first time Ajay is attempting such an intimate song sequence,
Ramu chuckles, “I explained the concept to him and he was absolutely cool. We have worked together in Company and Bhoot and Ajay trusts me as a director. I told him that I’d had enough of shooting barely-clad women. For a change, I wanted to shoot a barely-clad man!”
It was the big moment SRK fans were waiting for, as the undisputed Badshaah of Bollywood officially unveiled his wax model at Maddam Tussauds in London amongst much fanfare.
The sheer hysteria outside the Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum in London was palpable as hordes of SRK fans gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite star, some who had specially flown down for the grand occasion.
Apart from the unveiling of the statue, a book chronicling the life of SRK right from his childhood to his superstar days, ‘Still Reading Khan’ by Mushtaq Shaikh, was also introduced to the Tussaud’s library.
Tussaud’s has changed the characteristic Shah Rukh Khan pose for the statue with both hands up and open replacing it with one whose arms are folded.
Shah Rukh Khan is the third celebrity from Bollywood to have his replica in the museum. He joins Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai who made their wax presence in the Museum earlier.
