What: Premiere of My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves
Where: PVR, Juhu, Mumbai
When: January 9, 2008
Celebrities Present at the Event: Amrita Rao, Nikhil Dwivedi, Arjun Rampal, Anil Kapoor, Sohail Khan, Bhoomika Chawla with husband Bharat Thakur, Pritam, Hiten and Gauri Tejwani, Urvashi Dholakia, Kunal Kapoor, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Anupama Verma, E. Niwas, Lillette Dubey and others

Of the four films he has done, Kunal Kapoor says he has never had so much fun. After all, at last count he’s been to 32 wrap-up parties. Referring to his newest hit Aaja Nachle he says, “We’ve celebrated any and every thing we could think of. Aditya Chopra calls us a love-sick unit because everyone seems to be in love with one another.”

Kapoor plays Imran, a small town tough yet handsome goon in Aaja Nachle. He wants nothing to do with being in a musical nor does he appreciate the affection he receives from sniffling tomboy Anokhi (Konkana Sen) who longs for him to reciprocate his undying love for her as well.

The match up of Kapoor and Sen once again after Laga Chunari Mein Daag is both comical and endearing, as the story within the story blossoms. The relationship they share in Aaja Nachle is very different from the one they shared in Laga Chunari Mein Daag; a different equation all together, but it works.

How does Kapoor feel working side by side with his favorite actress of all time - Madhuri Dixit? The star-stuck (only for Madhuri) Kapoor replies, “Madhuri … Ah,” he sighs. “I’ve worked with a lot of actresses but Madhuri is extra-special. I told her, I’ve seen Hum Aapke Hain Koun as many times as M.F. Husain saab.”

Aaja Nachle has just been a great big party for Kapoor. “It’s great fun being in an ensemble cast. Ranbir Shorey and Vinay Pathak had us in splits.”

The diva of dance returns and she brings us back in time where it seems as if she had never left in the first place. Exquisite as always in her dancing, she flashes the non-fading thousand-watt smile from the moment she comes on the screen. So with that in their favor, how does Yash Raj Films fair with Aaja Nachle?

Aaja Nachle is a film which covers several areas of life - the human spirit and its ability to survive, standing up against all odds and fighting for what you believe in - seeing it through to the end, the capability to forgive, and love (without it, it wouldn’t be a Yash Raj film). It is also a film which encompasses transformations on every level, from Anil Mehta who went from a cinematographer and writer to a director, to the characters, as well as the Ajanta Theater whose demise is the matter in question.

We follow Dia’s (Madhuri Dixit) journey from a free-spirited girl in India to America and back again. She transforms from the small town girl to a New York divorced mother in a short time after her elopement with Steve (Felix D’Alviella) the National Geographic photographer who professes his undying love for her and promises to be with her forever. Now, she must go back home after ten years and “face the music”, both literally and figuratively. Dia must channel that free-spirited, feisty attitude into one of responsibility and take on the challenge her beloved guru Makarand (Darshan Zariwala) left her before he died.

In taking on this challenge, that of saving her beloved Ajanta Theater, where she once danced, she must also transform the cast of her show from ordinary townspeople into stars of the musical she must perform to save the theater from the wrecking ball. Ajanta too sees a transformation from the ruins Dia is left to work with to a revitalized cultural arts center.

The metamorphosis of the tough but gorgeous-looking goon Imran (Kunal Kapoor) and the sniffling tomboy Anokhi (Konkana Sen) into starry-eyed lovers is both comical and endearing, as they slowly become the timeless lovers Majnu and Laila. Both Kunal and Konkana take on both parts of their respective characters beautifully and leave you cheering for more in this story within the story.

Akshaye Khanna makes his presence known as MP Raja Saab with his fight against Dia to take the shambles of Ajanta and turn them into a shopping mall. His roughness too melts away as Dia stands for what she believes in right to the end and succeeds. His subsequent trip to New York in the end leaves the door open for romance in the future … maybe.

Irrfan Khan and Divya Dutta play husband and wife, a.k.a. selfish contractor and Dia’s childhood friend Najma respectively. Although Najma goes against Dia originally because of her husband, she seeks Dia’s forgiveness and asks her to teach her to dance and live once again. After seeing her in the musical, her husband is transformed into a decent human being as well. Their performances although small are noteworthy.

Kudos to the rest of the cast comprised of Ranvir Shorey (the heartbroken tea stand owner Mohan Sharma), Dalai (Dia’s daughter Radha, who was so adorable and funny), Raghubir Yadav (the loveable Doctor), Vinay Pathak (the not so boring after all Mr. Chojar), Sushmita Mukherjee (the hopeful Mrs. Chojar), Nowaz (Dhan Kuber the outspoken vagabond), Jugal Hansraj (Sanjeev Mehta, the struggling insurance salesman), Akhilendra Mishra (easily bribed ex-MLA Chaudhary Om Singh) and Yashpal Sharma (S.H.O. Singh the caring and teasing friend of Mohan).

Praise goes to the crew who made it possible for YRF and the actors to carry out their performances in this amazing piece of work, from the writing, the choreography, the cinematography, clothing design to the photography, etc.

All those in the music department should be proud, as the music of Aaja Nachle makes you want to get up to sing and dance in the aisles of the theater.

Some critics have said there is a lack of content and a fairytale atmosphere, leaving Aaja Nachle with something to be desired. To that I say, we often talk of the escapism and fantasy elements in films, how they take us away from our mundane, stressful lives to enjoy them. So from that angle, haven’t we come to expect them to be “over-the-top” to fulfill that need of a distressing factor?

In the course of 2.5 hours, if a filmmaker can take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and still allow you to come out of the theater with a positive and subtle message that you can use in everyday life, while at the same time you enjoy the film, hasn’t he achieved his/her goal? In my humble opinion, Yash Raj Films has certainly accomplished that brilliantly with Aaja Nachle!

Ratings : 5 Stars out of 5

What: 14th Lions Gold Awards 2007
Where: Bhaidas Hall, Vile Parle, Mumbai
When: December 01, 2007
Celebrities Present: Arjun Rampal, Deepika Padukone, Aditya Narayan, Sagarika Ghatge, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Sweta & Alex, Kunal Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Madhur Bhandarkar, Sanjeev Kapoor with wife Alyona, Iqbal Khan and others

Lions of SOL Mumbai felicitated achievers in various categories in entertainment at a glittering function last night held at Bhaidas Hall. Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor were among those who bagged the ‘14th Lions Gold Awards 2007′ with great honour and pride. Deepika in a red and gold outfit looked ravishing.
T-Series bagged the ‘14th Lions Gold Awards 2007′ as ‘India’s Best Music Company’. Divya Khosla Kumar, wife of Bhushan Kumar, received the award on behalf of T-Series.

Madhuri Dixit caused hysteria as she unleashed her magic on dance reality show Nach Baliye 3. She was accompanied by her co-stars from ‘Aaja Nachle’ Kunal Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma.

Does that make Kunal Kapoor a “Cereal” Kisser? Not quite, but a discussion with Konkona Sen about which brand of cornflakes was better seemed to be the best way to prepare for his first onscreen kiss with her in Lagaa Chunari Mein Daag.

Kapoor is looking forward to the release of Aaja Nachle with high expectations. His character in the film is a very aggressive one, as he gets angry at “the drop of a hat”.

At least in real life that’s not how he reacts. As a matter of fact, once upon a time, he used to turn beet red when a girl complimented him on his looks. “After four years in the industry, I have finally got used to it. Earlier I used to blush and turn away. Now I just smile.”

Just smile? But what about the stories that linked him to several actresses including Dia Mirza? “Dia is a very sweet girl. In fact, I read somewhere she had said in a lighter vain that she does not mind being linked with me. And why should anybody? I am good looking, sexy, talented, emotional, intelligent and a very modest person,” Kunal smiles. Humility becomes him, nah?