It’s a momentous occasion when all the stars of Bollywood get together to celebrate their victories. The Star Screen Awards 2019 held recently in Mumbai was a star-studded event which saw some of the biggest namesof Bollywood make a grand appearance. In attendance were Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam, Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Jeetendra, Rekha andmany others.

The evergreen Rekha was also a guest of honour at the prestigious awards function where she divulged an interesting thing. A source from the shoot revealed that Rekha ji stepped on to the stage for presenting one of the awards and on meeting Ranveer Singh said, _“It was a wonderful moment at the Star Screen Awards watching Rekhaji and Ranveer interact with each other.She was all praises for Ranveer and even said that she has learned a lot from him. Rekhaji even said that she is alive to watch his work and Ranveer truly inspires her.”

That sure seems like one of the biggest compliments Ranveer Singh received on the stage of Star Screen Awards 2019! We can’t wait to watch the magic unfold as the heartthrobs of the country come together to present a dazzling night of entertainment for television audiences all over!

Don’t miss the biggest new year party, Star Screen Awards on 31st Dec at 8pm only on Star Plus!

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Iconic actors Rekha and Madhuri were seen sobbing and congratulating Rani for portraying the character of Naina Mathur – a teacher suffering from Tourette Syndrome – so sensitively. Jeetendra, Boney Kapoor, Sushmita Sen everyone had broken down and celebrated Rani’s comeback film. Looks like Hichki will touch your heartstrings when it releases next Friday!

The post Tears and celebrations at Hichki special screening! first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Cinespeaks sat down with the gorgeous Illeana to know more about it and much more, let’s see what she had to say:

Q. What made you say ‘Yes’ to doing this role?

Illeana D’Cruz: I like doing films which give me significance in the film. The role in ‘RAID’ is important but not Meaty. It’s an interesting character. I initially thought playing an 80s wife would be more of the ‘sanskari’ one who would just be a homemaker and I had no big hopes from it but then when I read every detail about the role, I felt she was quite spunky for the way she speaks to her husband and it’s amazing. They talk like equals and I really liked that.

Q. Tell us something about the film.

Illeana D’Cruz: The story is great. The role I’m playing is different too and in general, it’s a story that needs to be told because I think whenever you hear about a RAID, you only hear about the person who has been Raided. You don’t hear the back story or the point of view of the raid inspector. There are those straight forward inspectors. It’s unbelievable that the actual inspector has actually gone through so much. There’s no filmy drama that we’ve tried to put in. It’s all actually happened. That man is an absolute hero and the tagline has we’ve come up with is very apt. Heroes surely don’t always come in uniforms! I would love to shake his and his wife’s hands in respect. In 80s, those officers wouldn’t inform about such things to their families and even their wives. Your husband is leaving you and you don’t know if he’s going to come back. That feeling is scary.

Q. What kind of research did you do for your character?

Illeana D’Cruz: Normally, I don’t like doing a lot of research because the spontaneity is lost. I like playing such roles with the way I understand them. You try to follow what people have written about it. So I didn’t do much research.

Q. What was your look reference for this character?

Illeana D’Cruz: The stylist of the film wanted me to look like Rekha ji in the 80s. It’s a simple look with a quintessential Bollywood look with open hair, salwar suit and low key night suits.

Q. Any difficulties shooting for the film?

Illeana D’Cruz: The first schedule in Lucknow was extremely hot, that was the only difficulty.

Q. Was there any concern before signing up the film?

Illeana D’Cruz: I’ve had a good shift. A lot of Ajay Devgn fans were upset with me for turning against him in ‘Baadshaho’ so maybe this is a way to make up for it. The deglam look wasn’t a concern but the length of the role was concerning. That all changed when I heard the whole story. Being a part of a film that has great content is what matters now.

Q. Having worked with Ajay Devgn on two films, what have you learnt from him?

Illeana D’Cruz: He’s an easy going actor. He keeps saying he’s a very lazy actor but I don’t think that at all at least I think you cannot make out if he’s being lazy about it. He comes tot he set, does his lines smoothly and I just wonder how does it do it so well. I think it has a lot to do with experience as well. We’ve become friends from the first time we met. We respect each other.

Q. How do you create this unique chemistry with Ajay Devgn which has been garnering a lot of appreciation?

Illeana D’Cruz: I love ‘Saanu Ek Pal’, it’s one of my favorites. The filming part of these songs is really funny because Ajay and I are like buddies and doing these romantic scenes were comical to us. I used to burst out laughing saying do we really need to do this. It was fun shooting too though with essence of romance in the 80s. In general too romancing onscreen is very tricky. We were shooting ‘Nit Khair’ in front of so many people and huge crowds so it was funny romancing in front of them all. There was this one shot where I trip and he catches me, I didn’t know how to trip convincingly but overall we managed to do justice.

Q. After entering Bollywood, have you said a goodbye to films down South?

Illeana D’Cruz: After doing Barfi, the offers from South slowed down. I remember going to Hyderabad for an event and there I asked my colleagues as to what was going on and why wasn’t I being offered any film. I was told they thought now I wouldn’t want to do any Tollywood films. After that communication I got a lot of offers again but I haven’t liked anything that I was getting. I was looking forward to doing a film recently with an old co-star down South but I just didn’t like the story. I’ve had a big stand there and I think I just can’t do any film. The film should have to be good.

Q. Tollywood is known for its other side which casts women only for the face and there are no prominent roles for them, what do you have to say about that?

Illeana D’Cruz: This is a problem with every industry. Even in Hollywood, Jumanji was questioned by a director for having its female star cast wear mini shorts in a film based out in a jungle where the men were fully clothed. Objectification happens all over, it has to be your individual choice to decide if you want to be a part of it or not. I have done roles where I have been objectified, no doubt. My waistline used to be zoomed at and I never understood it. I was a gawky teenager back then and didn’t felt attractive. I could be referred to as the sidekick of a popular girl. So for me to be objectified was very odd.

Q. You may not be in the big league already. What do you think must be the difference?

Illeana D’Cruz: I don’t know how people look at me. I definitely know that I’m a different actor. I’ve been told this by most people I’ve worked with. Even Arjun (Kapoor) told an interviewer that I’m very committed on set but the minute I’m off set I’m off the grid and with my family at home and in my own world. Lot of actresses prefer to be in the Bollywood circle but I have my family all over the world so I keep traveling. I balance that out. Family will always be priority any maybe for other girls it’s their career.

Q. What is fashion and fitness to you?

Illeana D’Cruz: I do a lot of online shopping and wear a lot of layers when I have to hide the fat when I don’t eat well. I’m a big foodie and I love to cook and feed people. Sometime I look at the pictures of things I make and crave for them all over again. I’m not fit right now but I’ve decided to take it easy on myself. I was very conscious couple of years ago. I was very fit but I still use to feel giggly and poke my fat on my stomach or arms. Then I thought it’s fine I’m only a human and am letting myself be.

Q. What kind of roles would you like to do?

Illeana D’Cruz: I would now like to do a really glamorous role but I don’t think I’m too fit for it. I want to do a very heroine centric film. I have to blame it on Raj (Kumar Gupta – director) though because he used to tell me why don’t I do such films considering I’m such a good actor so it used to give me a boost. I have three such heroine centric offers and I am looking keenly at one.

Q. Which classic film’s remake would you like to star in?

Illeana D’Cruz: I would love to do the remake of Sridevi’s ‘Chaalbaaz’. I was in shock when I found out about her demise. My first reaction was that I was a really stupid joke. I couldn’t believe she could be no more. I was upset about the way it was splashed in the media. It was so insensitive. Last time I was at a funeral was of Priyanka’s (Chopra) father, I started crying because I couldn’t imagine what she must have been feeling. And I can’t imagine what Sridevi ji’s family must be going through. For us she was a huge star, but for them she was a mother and a wife. They just have to read about her everywhere they go and deal with it. They should be left in privacy out of respect. The show goes on but the family will remain affected.

Q. How has it been working with all the directors that you have?

Illeana D’Cruz: The most amount of growth I felt was with Anurag (Basu). When I was doing ‘Barfi’ I thought the experience of South would help but apart from technicality I had to go there with a clean slate. He would ask me to tone down my performances. We went to an extend where he would just leave me in a scene without proper direction and ask me to react as naturally as possible. I’m sure initially people on set would have felt I was doing nothing on the set but it was so subtle and it was a different experience. David ji’s (Dhawan) film was not over the top but Anees Bazme’s Mubarakan’s was definitely a different experience. I was hyper active mad person and that was physically exhausting. Working with Milan (Luthra) on the character was mentally draining because she’s such a calculating person and it was trippy. You can ask Ajay he’ll tell you how I was crying on the last day because I didn’t want to leave the character. It was a great experience. I have been lucky.

Q. What drives you to be on a movie set every single time?

Illeana D’Cruz: The fact that I get play so many roles I enjoyable. People say there are a lot of cons of this industry but there a pros too and I try to look at only those as much as possible. I like the thrill of not knowing and finding out what I’m going to do next on set.

Q. Given the acting performances from mainstreams actresses that we see today, do you think you have a lot of competition? Who is your favourite actress?

Illeana D’Cruz: I like the fact that there are other actresses better than me because if there was no one to compare yourself with then there is no limit to what you desire to achieve. Inspiration is a big deal. It’s not competition but inspiration. My all time favorite actress is Kajol. Majority of the Hindi films I’ve watched are of hers. Infact I only watch her scenes in a film. She’s super cool.

Q. What kind of films do you like watching?

Illeana D’Cruz: I like animated films. They’re so chilled out.

Q. Have you regretted rejecting a film?

Illeana D’Cruz: I don’t regret refusing a film. There was this film that I wanted to do but I was replaced and the film ranked and I thanked my stars. But the film was good.

Q. What kind of genres would you like to do next?

Illeana D’Cruz: I would love to do horror comedy. Bhool Bhulaiya kind of a film. I like watch films like Mubarakan. I don’t mind a dark film as well.

The post INTERVIEW: “The stylist wanted me to look like Rekha from the 80s”, says ‘RAID’ Actress Illeana D’Cruz first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Cinespeaks chatted with this insightful soul and here’s what we found out:

Q. Miss Noida to being Miss Diva Earth & traveling internationally for the Miss Earth pageant, how has your beauty contest journey been?

Alankrita Sahai: It has been exhilarating and fun. I won that contest as a kid and it boosted my confidence even more, being a Miss India has helped me in many ways from making me more independent, confident, professional and happy. It has made me realize that whatever is meant to be shall always find a way. After winning, the Indian title I was going abroad within 15 days post being crowned, I was nervous as girls come prepared for months, I went there and I was thrilled to meet so many women and call them my friends today. Being the first Indian to win 7 titles and the sponsored crown was the best feeling ever. Can’t complain!

Q. You’ve been a part of TV commercials and a music video. And now it’s time for you to Chill with Netflix. Has acting always been an ambition? How did Love Per Square Foot happen?

Alankrita Sahai: Yes, TVCs and music videos have given me the platform to perform and look good at the same time, but now that Netflix is here to engage the audience across 190 countries with our film. I am super excited and can’t wait for the world to see what its all about. I am hoping they love it. It happened suddenly when Honey Trehan called me and about 80 actresses where we were tested till I was selected. It’s not an easy role to pull off. And when I got the call, that was it for me, there was no looking back as to work with Anand and Ronnie was a dream come true. It’s not about the lead or second lead it’s what you do with what you get.

Q. Tell us something about your role.

Alankrita Sahai: My characters name is Rashi Khurana. She is the boss and the conflict in the film. She is funny and sassy. She is drama! I hope the audiences loves all of us and remember me.

Q. How was it sharing screen space with actors like Vicky Kaushal and Angira Dhar?

Alankrita Sahai: It was new and refreshing to work with them. The pressure was insane to pull it off as I had to keep up with Vicky (Kaushal) and perform as an overall part of the film having Ratna (Pathak Shah) and Supriya (Pathak) ji there flawlessly killing it, I had to make sure I gave my character a new meaning and life. Angira (Dhar) and I had fun behind the scenes.

Q. Working on an ad, a music video and a Netflix movie, how different or similar have each of your experiences been?

Alankrita Sahai: Acting has always been a part of me but it wasn’t something I wanted to do initially as I said the universe brought me to what my destiny had in store for me or wanted out of me and Mumbai guided me. I have been lucky so far !

The platforms are different yet similar, its all about the audience your reach, the craft and the effort is the same, the technicalities are the same the post advertising and marketing varies. I do it for my love for it and the by product is that I am of the people, by the people and for the people. If I can win hearts and applauds the rest shall follow.

Q. How was it being directed by Anand Tiwari & working in a Ronnie Screwvala production?

Alankrita Sahai: It was the best. Anand is a gem that the industry has discovered. It was fabulous working with him and for him. The script blew me away, it’s something we all will connect with. Ronnie sir’s production is always a pleasure to work with, to be given this opportunity is a great platform as an artist and to introduced by such noteworthy people I am Glad!

Q. What is ideal of romance and a percent Valentine’s date?

Alankrita Sahai: Where you are comfortable being yourself with another homo sapien, where you connect at levels which ain’t superficial and where love trust effort and respect are always a part of the relationship that you seek. Perfect date would be when maybe the one I love does something extraordinary and out of the blue as we all live in a generation where we usually do things and hang out and date our partners. Something more simple yet what I don’t forget, is what would be perfect. I am old school I have way to many expectations at times (laughs).

Q. Which actors and directors are you looking forward to work with?

Alankrita Sahai: Looking forward to work with Imtiaz Ali, Anand L. Rai, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Karan Johar. Among actors it would be Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh and Rekha ji.

The post INTERVIEW: Debutant actress Alankrita Sahai for her debut Netflix film ‘Love Per Square Foot’ first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Last night, Bollywood’s biggest awards night, 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018 was held with all the glitz and glamour. King King Shah Rukh Khan played host for the evening along with director and producer friend Karan Johar. Stars like Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Parineeti Chopra and others performed while Sonam Kapoor, R Madhavan, Arjun Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Saqib Saleem, Preity Zinta, Rekha, Jaya Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Sunny Leone among others walked the red carpet. The top honours by which we mean, Irrfan Khan won the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) for Hindi Medium and Vidya Balan won her sixth Filmfare award for the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) for Tumhari Sulu. A Death In The Gunj and Trapped shared the maximum wins for a film with three awards each.

Here’s the complete list of the winners of the FilmFare Awards 2018:

Best Film (Popular)

Hindi Medium

Critics’ Award for Best Film

Amit Masurkar (Newton)

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) (Popular)

Irrfan Khan – Hindi Medium

Critics’ Award for Best Actor (Male)

Rajkummar Rao – Trapped

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) (Popular)

Vidya Balan – Tumhari Sulu

Critics’ Award for Best Actor (Female)

Zaira Wasim – Secret Superstar

Best Director (Popular)

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari – Bareilly Ki Barfi

Best Debut Director

Konkona Sen Sharma – A Death in the Gunj

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)

Meher Vij – Secret Superstar

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)

Rajkummar Rao – Bareilly Ki Barfi

Best Music Album

Jagga Jasoos – Pritam

Best Lyrics

Amitabh Bhattacharya – Ullu ka patha (Jagga Jasoos)

Best Playback Singer (Female)

Meghna Mishra – Nachdi Phira (Secret Superstar)

Best Playback Singer (Male)

Arijit Singh – Roke na ruke naina (Badrinath Ki Dulhania)

Lifetime Achievement Award

Mala Sinha

Bappi Lahiri

Writing Awards

Best Original Story

Amit V Masurkar – Newton

Best Dialogue

Hitesh Kewalya – Shubh Mangal Saavdhan

Best Screenplay

Shubhashish Bhutiani – Mukti Bhawan

Technical Awards

Best Action

Tom Struthers – Tiger Zinda Hai

Best Background Score

Pritam – Jagga Jasoos

Best Production Design

Parul Sondh – Daddy

Best Costume

Rohit Chaturvedi – A Death In The Gunj

Best Sound Design

Anish John – Trapped

Best Editing

Nitin Baid – Trapped

Best Choreography

Vijay Ganguly and Ruel Dausan Varindani (Galti se mistake – Jagga Jasoos)

Best Cinematography

Sirsha Ray – A Death In The Gunj

Short Film Awards

Best Short Film (fiction)

Juice – Neeraj Ghaywan

Best Actor (Male) in a Short Film

Jackie Shroff – Khujli

Best Actor (Female) in a Short Film

Shefali Shah – Juice

Best Short Film Non-fiction

Invisible Wings – Hari M Mohanan

People’s Choice Award for Best Short Film

Anahut – Umesh Bagade

The post Winners of the 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018 first appeared on Cine Speaks.

It brings you immense joy to get appreciation from someone you have admired all your life, Divya Khosla Kumar experienced a similar feeling last night when she hosted a special screening of her short film Bulbul for the evergreen Bollywood diva Rekha Ji.
She mentioned meeting her at a recent event and was appreciated for her previous work hence this time she specially wanted to show it to Rekha ji in person.
The two looked lovely last night and had a great time during the screening hosted at Light Box and Rekha Ji really appreciated Divya’s work as an actor.

The short film Bulbul is doing well amongst the audiences and have garnered more than 1.2 million views since its release.

The post Rekhaji with Divya Khosla Kumar at the Bulbul screening first appeared on Cine Speaks.

The film, which was directed by Sunil Dutt, also starred him as well as Kabir Bedi. The storyline revolved around a daughter-in-law, who was not treated well by her in-laws.

It has been years since they worked together and both Sheeba and Rekha could be seen reconnecting. As it was her first film, it held a lot of significance for Sheeba and so did her bond with Rekha, which could be seen in the way they met each other.

The whole house was decorated with roses and Mogras and there was live singing. Singers such as Adnan Sami and Sonu Nigam performed at the party. Rakesh, as well as his brother Rajesh Roshan, and everyone was singing and could be seen having a gala time.

The party had an impressive guest list with names such as Jeetendra, Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra and Kunal Kapoor in attendance. In fact, cricketer Harbhajan Singh was also present. While they enjoyed a classy dinner, the guests caught up with each other and took fun selfies.

The post Sheeba parties with first co-star, veteran actor Rekha! first appeared on Cine Speaks.