It's not such an easy journey to make for a woman in Bollywood, says Prernaa Arora, who has established her name as a producer with two back-to-back hits RUSTOM and TOILET: EK PREM KATHA to her credit. As her third project PAD MAN is about to be unveiled, she looks at the future not as a female producer but as direct competition for the other Bollywood producers.

Prernaa's father Virendra Arora was a producer to reckon with. But she had to start from scratch. There were no successful female producers before her. Except maybe Shabnam Kapoor.

"Yes, I've heard of her. This is a very tough job for a woman. There are no female producers per se, unless you count the actresses like Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Shrma who have turned producer after attaining success as actors," Prernaa said.

Prernaa had no such transitional plans. "It was straight to production for me. Luckily, I started with a superstar as disciplined and generous as Akshay Kumar sir in 'Rustom'. It can't get any better than him."

On the journey ahead, she said: "No one is going to be extra-kind to you just because you are a woman producer. It's all for himself or herself in the entertainment industry. And I'm proud to say I am making my way through my chosen profession without having to play the feminine card."

She has no patience with gender discrimination.

"One hears so much these days about women in the entertainment business being exploited. Of course, there are Harvey Weinsteins in Bollywood too. One of my ambitions is to make our film industry a safe place for women to work in," she said.

A part of her dream scheme to eradicate gender discrimination is to do films that address themselves to the issue of discrimination.

"PAD MAN is about menstrual hygiene, a topic that a large population of our women shy away from addressing. We hope to open up a debate, eliminate the inhibitions that obstruct a healthy conversation on the subject of sanitary napkins.

"Thanks to the presence of Akshay sir in PAD MAN and R.Balki sir as our director, so many known faces have come forward to promote our cause. This is the kind of cinema I want to do."

On the anvil are projects with Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan, Shahid Kapoor.

"And why are you forgetting Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Deepika Padukone, the female superstars of Bollywood ? They are both playing the lead for my productions in solidly-written films that do justice to their presence. I'll never produce a film where the woman is weak, whiny or wimpy, because that's not the way I am in real life."

Hollywood actor Chadwick Boseman, who essays the protagonist in BLACK PANTHER, believes that seeing strong women, who are working with him, posing questions and not just plainly accepting things as they come can only be a positive thing.

BLACK PANTHER is among the first films by the house of Marvel Studios which predominantly has a black cast and also shows a number of strong women of substance who work as the protagonist T'Challa's (Boseman) allies.

Asked how comfortable he was working with so many female actresses during the shooting of the Ryan Coogler directorial?

Boseman told media here: "For me, it was a comfortable place having so many women allies in the film as I am constantly surrounded by a lot of women … There are strong women I grew up with. With a strong mother who has strong sisters.

"They have always covered me throughout my life with prayers, lessons, encouragement. They have always in their own way shown that they are independent. So I have grown up with that my entire life," he added.

Boseman said that the camaraderie he shares with the women working with him is beautiful for him to be able to show the world.

"My team that would work with me everyday…to me it's a comfortable place and it is beautiful for me to be able to show that to the world. I was told a long time ago by a very wise man. He said 'a lot of times your key to success would be if you surround yourself with strong women'.

"So to be able to display that when I saw the script and I saw the character. I saw that wisdom that I was told a long time back. To see the strong women with me, to see them ask questions, challenge the directors, me .. that can only be a positive thing," added the 41-year-old actor.

Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, BLACK PANTHER also features Michael B Jordon, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Forest Whittaker and Martin Freeman among others. The film is scheduled to release in India on February 16.

[By Kishori Sud]

Hollywood actor Chadwick Boseman, who essays the protagonist in BLACK PANTHER, believes that seeing strong women, who are working with him, posing questions and not just plainly accepting things as they come can only be a positive thing.

BLACK PANTHER is among the first films by the house of Marvel Studios which predominantly has a black cast and also shows a number of strong women of substance who work as the protagonist T'Challa's (Boseman) allies.

Asked how comfortable he was working with so many female actresses during the shooting of the Ryan Coogler directorial?

Boseman told media here: "For me, it was a comfortable place having so many women allies in the film as I am constantly surrounded by a lot of women … There are strong women I grew up with. With a strong mother who has strong sisters.

"They have always covered me throughout my life with prayers, lessons, encouragement. They have always in their own way shown that they are independent. So I have grown up with that my entire life," he added.

Boseman said that the camaraderie he shares with the women working with him is beautiful for him to be able to show the world.

"My team that would work with me everyday…to me it's a comfortable place and it is beautiful for me to be able to show that to the world. I was told a long time ago by a very wise man. He said 'a lot of times your key to success would be if you surround yourself with strong women'.

"So to be able to display that when I saw the script and I saw the character. I saw that wisdom that I was told a long time back. To see the strong women with me, to see them ask questions, challenge the directors, me .. that can only be a positive thing," added the 41-year-old actor.

Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, BLACK PANTHER also features Michael B Jordon, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Forest Whittaker and Martin Freeman among others. The film is scheduled to release in India on February 16.

[By Kishori Sud]

The makers of MANIKARNIKA, a biopic on the valiant Rani Laxmibai, on Tuesday said the movie neither distorts historical facts nor does it portray anything objectionable.

The comment comes after Brahmin outfit Sarva Brahman Mahasabha demanded the makers to share complete details of the film's story to rule out any tampering with facts.

Kamal Jain, the film's producer, said in a statement: "As responsible filmmakers, we have taken utmost care while portraying Rani Laxmibai's character and have consulted historians and scholars. Rani Laxmibai was a freedom fighter and one of the most respected leaders our country has seen. She is a symbol of valour and the film's story depicts the same."

MANIKARNIKA features the fearless Kangana Ranaut in the lead role.

"The film doesn't portray anything objectionable about Rani Laxmibai and nor has the film distorted the history in anyway. The film showcases Rani Laxmibai in a most respectful manner and is an inspirational story which every kid and every member of a family would love to see.

"We as country would be proud to showcase the bravery, courage and heroism of Rani Laxmibai to the world."

The makers have said they are open to sharing the script with authorised persons who have any doubts about the movie, which is a tribute to Rani Laxmibai.

Suresh Mishra, President, Sarva Brahman Mahasabha, wrote a letter to the makers, saying the film's shooting will "not be allowed in Rajasthan till the complete information on the historical ground of the story is made available".

The organisation has also accused the film producer for "tampering with historical facts", which Mishra said, will "not be tolerated and a massive protest will be staged in case their request is not paid heed too".

The news about MANIKARNIKA soon after PADMAAVAT emerged out successful following a long-stretched battle with Rajput outfit Shri Rajput Karni Sena over alleged distortion of facts — a contention that the movie's producers had been denying since its shooting began.

PADMAAVAT was not allowed to be shot in Rajasthan after its director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was assaulted in Jaipur. The film also did not release in the state.

The makers of MANIKARNIKA, a biopic on the valiant Rani Laxmibai, on Tuesday said the movie neither distorts historical facts nor does it portray anything objectionable.

The comment comes after Brahmin outfit Sarva Brahman Mahasabha demanded the makers to share complete details of the film's story to rule out any tampering with facts.

Kamal Jain, the film's producer, said in a statement: "As responsible filmmakers, we have taken utmost care while portraying Rani Laxmibai's character and have consulted historians and scholars. Rani Laxmibai was a freedom fighter and one of the most respected leaders our country has seen. She is a symbol of valour and the film's story depicts the same."

MANIKARNIKA features the fearless Kangana Ranaut in the lead role.

"The film doesn't portray anything objectionable about Rani Laxmibai and nor has the film distorted the history in anyway. The film showcases Rani Laxmibai in a most respectful manner and is an inspirational story which every kid and every member of a family would love to see.

"We as country would be proud to showcase the bravery, courage and heroism of Rani Laxmibai to the world."

The makers have said they are open to sharing the script with authorised persons who have any doubts about the movie, which is a tribute to Rani Laxmibai.

Suresh Mishra, President, Sarva Brahman Mahasabha, wrote a letter to the makers, saying the film's shooting will "not be allowed in Rajasthan till the complete information on the historical ground of the story is made available".

The organisation has also accused the film producer for "tampering with historical facts", which Mishra said, will "not be tolerated and a massive protest will be staged in case their request is not paid heed too".

The news about MANIKARNIKA soon after PADMAAVAT emerged out successful following a long-stretched battle with Rajput outfit Shri Rajput Karni Sena over alleged distortion of facts — a contention that the movie's producers had been denying since its shooting began.

PADMAAVAT was not allowed to be shot in Rajasthan after its director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was assaulted in Jaipur. The film also did not release in the state.

There have been umpteen movies on partition, on Indian independence and there also have been several movies depicting the lives & ideologies of the great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. And if that was not enough we had Munnabhai’s version of ‘Gandhigiri’, a lighter take on Mahatma’s philosophies…But they mostly highlighted one-sided aspect. Now, here comes an altogether different take on the gruesome partition, violence & hatred after Independence, a blind fight in the name of religion, caste and racism and most importantly two different contrasting outlooks on Gandhiji’s philosophy of love, peace, tolerance and non-violence. Well, we are talking about upcoming film HAMNE GANDHI KO MAAR DIYA, which deals the same topic in a very disparate manner.

While the second poster was unveiled few days back on the occasion of 70th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, now the makers have unveiled the first trailer of the film. The trailer shows two completely opposite ideologies, of two strangers who meet in a train journey in the panorama of 28th January 1948, two days prior to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Amidst the environment of terror, communal riots and fear, on one side there is Kailash (Jatin Goswami), who had lost his everything in the "Action-day" in Calcutta and has a strong belief that Gandhi ji was responsible for the partition of our country. On the other side, Divakar (Subrat Dutta) has his own set of arguments and beliefs in Gandhi ji's philosophy of non-violence, tolerance, and embracing all the religions. But the twist in the tale comes when, events happening during the two days journey have different impacts on these two individuals and reactions to the events by both Kailash and Divakar, forces them to think who is right and who is wrong.

And amidst all this what is interesting is when these two characters reach their respective destination, they get to know that Gandhi ji was assassinated. Gandhi ji’s assassination and events happened after that becomes reflection of the two different ideologies.

Besides a striking concept, HAMNE GANDHI KO MAAR DIYA is laden with some thought-provoking dialogues, viewpoints and realistic situations. Indeed, its gripping and once again triggers our nationalism and the fight that our freedom fighters fought for a free India.

Talking about the inspiration & idea behind this film, writer-director Naeem A Siddiqui says, “While I was celebrating Gandhi ji’s birthday as non- violence day on 2nd October with my friends and family in Lucknow, the same night I saw on television that United Nations too is celebrating Gandhi Ji’s birthday as World Non Violence Day. I got so much touched, inspired and encouraged that I decided that we should do something really big and meaningful for society on 2nd October 2018 which also happens to be Gandhi Ji’s 150th birth anniversary. With this inspiration, I planned and decided to make a film on Gandhi Ji’s philosophy and we made this film by the name HAMNE GANDHI KO MAAR DIYA. The whole objective around this film is to spread a message of non-violence across the world.”

He adds, “Today’s world is exactly replica of the conditions and environment of hate and violence which prevailed in 30th Oct 1948, and led to assassination of the greatest Leader of mankind, Mahatma Gandhi. It was similar conditions during those days what the world is facing today – fear and violence in the name of religion, caste and racism. Through this film I tried to spread a message of importance of Gandhi Ji’s philosophy of Love, peace and tolerance in the world and I want that on 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, every one of us should take an oath that we will not let Gandhi ji’s philosophy die because this is the only philosophy which can fight hate and violence.”

The film stars Jatin Goswami, Subrat Dutta, Samiksha Bhatnagar and Pratima Kannan.

Actor Ranveer Singh, who will soon be seen in Rohit Shetty's upcoming film SIMMBA, says a masala entertainer is something he was longing to do.

"After GULLY BOY I have Rohit Shetty. It's a full on masala entertainer, which is something I have been wanting to do for such a long time. It's got all the ingredients — action, comedy, drama, romance, Songs. All the good stuff that goes into a Rohit Shetty film," Ranveer told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

Ranveer is very excited about SIMMBA, where he will be seen playing policeman Sangram Bhalerao.

"I feel like I have been honest with my work and I have actually earned the distinction of being Rohit Shetty leading man. I am very excited about that. The kind of films I grew up too and the kind of film that reaches out to a broad spectrum of audience, I am very lucky to have that film coming up," he added.

Presented by Karan Johar, the Reliance Entertainment film has been locked for release on December 28 next year.

This will be the first time Ranveer, Karan and Shetty will be working together.

Actor Ranveer Singh, who will soon be seen in Rohit Shetty's upcoming film SIMMBA, says a masala entertainer is something he was longing to do.

"After GULLY BOY I have Rohit Shetty. It's a full on masala entertainer, which is something I have been wanting to do for such a long time. It's got all the ingredients — action, comedy, drama, romance, Songs. All the good stuff that goes into a Rohit Shetty film," Ranveer told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

Ranveer is very excited about SIMMBA, where he will be seen playing policeman Sangram Bhalerao.

"I feel like I have been honest with my work and I have actually earned the distinction of being Rohit Shetty leading man. I am very excited about that. The kind of films I grew up too and the kind of film that reaches out to a broad spectrum of audience, I am very lucky to have that film coming up," he added.

Presented by Karan Johar, the Reliance Entertainment film has been locked for release on December 28 next year.

This will be the first time Ranveer, Karan and Shetty will be working together.