Actor Sidharth Malhotra says he can never stop being a fanboy when it comes to Bollywood icons Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan because of the “brilliant” and “inspiring” portfolio of work they have done.
Sidharth, who made his acting debut in Bollywood with Student Of The Year, spoke about it on Saavn’s entertainment-based audio show Take 2 with Anupama and Rajeev .
Talking about how Shah Rukh inspired him to become an actor, Sidharth said: “Well, it starts from him being from Delhi. All Delhi boys want to be heroes and Shah Rukh Khan is a major reason for that. I used to find him really funny and I still do. I think Shah Rukh is extremely good with comedy in the sense that a hero can do.”
At one point, Sidharth also had a hair parting like SRK like a “pure commercial Hindi film fan”.
Back then, when he was in awe of Shah Rukh, Sidharth never thought he will become an actor himself someday.
“I didn’t know what it takes to go on the other side and be in that screen. But I think there was so much admiration and so much concentration when I used to watch his scenes... I think there is a big impression of Shah Rukh Khan and his cinema on me,” added Sidharth, who has featured in movies like Hasee Toh Phasee, Ek Villain and Kapoor & Sons.
Even before he made his acting debut, Sidharth had come face-to-face with Shah Rukh when he worked as an assistant director on the superstar’s film My Name Is Khan.
“First thing I said to Shah Rukh was on the sets of My Name is Khan... I was very scared, I was very nervous to even walk upto him and chat. I think the first thing I said was ‘Sir, aap biscuit khayenge?’. He was waiting for this shot and we were in Los Angeles and I was the AD with the walkie in my ear waiting for him to tell when to go for that shot.”
“We both were waiting and there was an awkward moment, no clue this big star is next to you. I said, ‘Sir aap biscuit khayenge?’ He looked at me, smiled and said ‘Nahi nahi’. He eventually realised I wanted to be an actor and started talking to me about different things.”
Sidharth recounted he was very nervous on first meeting Big B on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati during Student of the Year promotions.
“We met him backstage and he was very sweet to me. He shook my hand and patted me on the back. I am still a big Bachchan fan, even when I meet him now and have an immense amount of love for him. That fan boy in me for Shah Rukh or Bachchan will never die. They have done such brilliant work to inspire all of us,” he said. – IANS

Dan likes sad clown characters

Actor Dan Fogler says he likes sad clown characters.
“I always like to find funny in things. I like sad clown characters because you get to do everything. You get to make them laugh, make them cry, and Jacob Kowalski is a sad clown character. I really love it,” Dan said during a roundtable discussion while promoting the Warner Bros Pictures project which opened in India on November 16.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second in the planned five movies spin-off franchise from the Harry Potter films. The first part Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them came out in 2016.
In the series, Jacob is a ‘no-maj’ – a term used for the person without any magical abilities. He stumbles upon the magical world with Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), and decides to continue on the mysterious path despite of the twists and turns.
Talking about the film’s second instalment, he said: “Everyone’s relationship gets stretched in the movie. And that is what you want to happen. If everything is fine, it is not a good drama. You need the boat to get rocked.” – IANS

Sara shares Saif’s happiness mantra

Debutante Sara Ali Khan says her father and actor Saif Ali Khan doesn’t look for happiness from box office success.
Commenting on Saif’s journey at the box office since the past two years, Sara said: “He has never derived his happiness from how he is doing at the box office, ever. I think that being an actor is who he is, being a talented actor is who he is but his life is a little more full than just that.”
“You know, whether it’s his family or his holidays or his readings or him learning French or learning the guitar, random things, fun things, eclectic things – he’s been the kind of person that derives his happiness from a lot of various sources. So, just not doing well at the box office from two years never really brought him down in any way.”
Saif appreciated Sara’s understanding of the scenario by saying ‘that was really well put’.
Sara, who will be making her debut with Kedarnath, expressed her opinion in an episode of Koffee with Karan season 6. She joined the chat show, aired on Star World, with Saif, read a statement. – IANS

Rosamund Pike fought for 
her role in A Private War


Actress Rosamund Pike says she had to fight to get the role of Marie Colvin in A Private War.
Directed by Matthew Heineman, A Private War chronicles the life of Colvin and is based on Marie Brenner’s 2012 Vanity Fair article ‘Marie Colvin’s Private War’. Colvin died in 2012 while covering the siege of Homs in Syria.
When Pike first heard the script through Amma Asante, she instantly fell in love with the story. When she discovered that Heineman was attached to direct it, she pushed for a meeting.
“I knew that Matt was a very original story-teller from seeing his docs,” Pike said in a statement.
However, landing for this role wasn’t easy for Pike. “I had a lot of convincing to do,” she said.
The actress added: “I don’t look much like Marie. I’m younger than her, I’m not American. There’s a lot going against me. But I really wanted it. She entered my soul somehow when I first read that article. I don’t know why.
“I don’t have the desire to serve like she did. I don’t have the courage. But I do understand about having a vocation that takes you suddenly out of your own daily life and then drops you back in. The distortion, or the disjunction between the two, can be troubling.”
Heineman wasn’t much convinced with Pike. Hence, after their meeting Heineman and Pike wrote each other essays of who they thought Marie was and found them to be strikingly similar.
“I knew right away that I wanted her to be Marie. Rosamund has that tenacity that Marie had. She fought for that role and she nailed it. She spent so much time researching Marie, understanding Marie, climbing inside of her head, her body, learning how Marie moved, how she held her tension in her neck and shoulder, really down to every single detail,” the director said.
PVR Pictures is bringing the film in India. It will release on November 23. –  IANS

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