ChatDD Blog

The contingent of Pakistani models in Indian films is growing. First there were Meera Khan and Sana Nawaz . Now there’s model Mehreen Syed, who will feature in Sanjay Chauhan’s (who had penned the dialogue for Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara) period film set in Rajasthan in the 1940s, followed by Shashi Ranjan’s romantic drama.

Dear mom She says, people have mistaken perceptions about Pakistan. Models and actresses there are as talented as those in India, it’s just that we don’t have the right platform. Besides Muscat, where she’s walked the ramp for designer Hassan Shehryar , Syed has also worked in Paris and Milan. She says, I m a Syed. Humare yahan agar ladki kaam karna chaahe toh maarne-kaatne ki naubat aa jaati hai. Not many Indian directors know how to present a girl in the right manner. Why can’t Indian directors make films with Pakistani girls, which are not just about kissing and wearing skimpy clothes? - Mehreen Syed But Syed found a confidante in her mother, who is a lawyer. “I was abandoned by my family. Only my mother stood by me”, she says. Now, she has a toe-hold in Bollywood.

Beyond the kiss It’s an industry of dreams, it’s fascinating, she says. In the same breath, she explains the downsides.

The contingent of Pakistani models in Indian films is growing. First there were Meera Khan and Sana Nawaz . Now there’s model Mehreen Syed, who will feature in Sanjay Chauhan’s (who had penned the dialogue for Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara) period film set in Rajasthan in the 1940s, followed by Shashi Ranjan’s romantic drama.

Dear mom
She says, people have mistaken perceptions about Pakistan.Models and actresses there are as talented as those in India, it’s just that we don’t have the right platform.

Besides Muscat, where she’s walked the ramp for designer Hassan Shehryar , Syed has also worked in Paris and Milan. She says, I m a Syed. Humare yahan agar ladki kaam karna chaahe toh maarne-kaatne ki naubat aa jaati hai. Not many Indian directors know how to present a girl in the right manner. Why can’t Indian directors make films with Pakistani girls, which are not just about kissing and wearing skimpy clothes? - Mehreen Syed

But Syed found a confidante in her mother, who is a lawyer. “I was abandoned by my family. Only my mother stood by me”, she says. Now, she has a toe-hold in Bollywood.

Beyond the kiss
It’s an industry of dreams, it’s fascinating, she says. In the same breath, she explains the downsides.

Not many Indian directors know how to present a girl in the right manner. I often get offers asking me to shed my clothes before the narration of the script, she says. Why can’t Indian directors make films with Pakistani girls, which are not just about kissing and wearing skimpy clothes? she asks.

Playing favourites
Syed says she’s been cautious about choosing both her films, I was supposed to work with Sanjay Chauhan in his film, Lahore , but I fell ill. Now I’m going to make up for that. This is an arty film, and I am really excited about it.

Details about Ranjan’s film are yet to be finalised. Ask her about Bollywood’s men and Syed says, I love Shah Rukh Khan as an actor.John Ibrahim is smart, but if there’s one actor I’d like to work with, it’s Aamir khan , she gushes.

Depicting the difficult situation in which Pakistanis - and the Muslims in general - found themselves in after 9/11, registering its outright success in Pakistan, Dubai and London, Pakistani film KHUDA KE LIYE is the first film from that country to invade into the Indian theatres from March 28.

The interesting thing about the film, produced and directed by Shoaib Mansoor, is how it connects the happenings in three continents. Unlike the usual Indian and Pakistani films based on romantic sagas, dances and songs, this film is based on some very serious issues, raising a lot of controversial questions engaging the Muslim minds these days. It helps the Muslim youth find a direction… the right direction, for which all are looking towards.

The film’s themes include the role of Muslim in Islam and the balance of Muslim values with moderate Western enlightenment.

KHUDA KE LIYE (In The Name of God) has Pakistani actors Shaan and Iman Ali in the male and female leads, while India’s Naseeruddin Shah appears in a prominent role of a Muslim cleric.

This low-budget film, covering a vast canvas, stresses on the fact that it is more important to be a true Muslim at heart.

(more…)

When Aishwarya Rai got married to Abhishek Bachchan, there were speculations that actor Salman Khan just might marry his long-time girlfriend Katrina Kaif soon - implying that he couldn’t get Aishwarya back anymore. Now that the actor has crossed 40, his family members are more than eager to watch him settle down.

Girlfriend Katrina Kaifs mom flew down from London recently and had a nice conversation with Salman Khans family. This had only increased the rumors of a marriage that was soon going to happen. (more…)

Britney Spears, 26, avoided throngs of paparazzi photographers by leaving Cedars Sinai Medical Centre through a tunnel.

The scandal-prone pop star, who left the hospital after doctors decided she was no longer a danger to herself, was accompanied by TV psychologist Dr Phil McGraw.

The talk-show therapist said that after spending an hour with Spears, he was concerned about her mental status and advised her to remain in hospital.

“My meeting with Britney and some family members this morning in her room at Cedars leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention,” Dr McGraw said in a statement yesterday.

“She was released moments before my arrival and was packing when I entered the room. We visited for about an hour before I walked with her to her car. I am very concerned for her.”

The psychologist is reportedly taping a special about Spears for his program, The Dr Phil Show, on Monday - to air in the US on Wednesday - and wanted the singer to appear on the episode.

Spears was wheeled out of her home and taken to hospital late on Thursday night after refusing to hand over her sons - Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1 - to the bodyguard of her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, as instructed by a court-ordered visitation agreement.

She was detained in hospital on a “5150 hold”, which allows Californian medical officials to hold a patient against their will for up to 72 hours.

Under the rule, a hospital can release a patient earlier if they determine they are no longer a danger to themselves or others.

Reports in the US have speculated Spears had been displaying signs of having bipolar disorder.

While Spears was being released from the hospital with her father, Jamie, the singer’s mother, Lynne, was on the other side of the US at a cemetery in the family’s home town of Kentwood, Louisiana.

She was laying flowers at the grave of her sister, who died last January of breast cancer.

A Cedars-Sinai spokesperson refused to comment on Spears’ admission, citing patient confidentiality rules.

On Friday, a Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner ordered the children be placed in the sole care of Federline and suspending the pop star’s visitation rights until “further order of the court”. A hearing, set for January 14, will determine how their bitter custody battle proceeds.

Dr McGraw has a history of supporting the Spears family.

In December, after the announcement that Spears’ 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn, was pregnant, Dr McGraw publicly supported the family, saying “an asset Britney and Jamie Lynn both have is a great and dedicated mother” - Lynne Spears.

Britney Spears’ hospital stay was the latest headline-grabbing incident in the popstar’s turbulent life.

One of the biggest pop successes in the 1990s thanks to her squeaky-clean teen image and chart-topping singles, Spears - a former Mickey Mouse Club member - spent much of last year in and out of alcohol and drug rehabilitation and battling legal problems.