I have always found women superior: Anil Kapoor

Actor and filmmaker Anil Kapoor is happy to see that women are finally getting their due in male-dominated Bollywood. And one girl in particular is making him proud – his younger daughter Rhea who has just wrapped up her first production, Aisha.

“I have always believed that women and men have different qualities and I have found women to be superior to men. If you see, my children have grown up so well, that’s because of their mother and not because of me,” said Kapoor.

Kapoor tied the knot in 1984.  He has a son called Harsh and two daughters – Sonam and Rhea.  “The way girls are coming up; taking charge, holding situations, calling the shots … at the age of 23, Rhea has made the whole film. I am very happy, not only for Sonam and Rhea, but for all girls,” he said.

Sonam Kapoor made her debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya in 2007 and also worked with the filmmaker on Black. She was next seen in Delhi-6 with Abhishek Bachchan and stars in the recently released I Hate Luv Storys.

Rhea, who worked as an assistant on the 2009 Ranbir Kapoor film Wake Up Sid, decided to remain behind the camera as a producer.

A supermodel prepares for Bollywood

Just what does it take a supermodel who is only part Indian, has lived in Australia and the US to get her act right in Bollywood? For Lisa Haydon, who stars in Aisha, the answer is “learning to speak Hindi minus an accent!”

“Well I had to work a lot on my diction. I had to speak dialogues in Hindi, something I wasn’t comfortable with. So when I grabbed the role in Aisha, I started taking Hindi classes,” Haydon says.

“I am still continuing with my Hindi classes because I am still learning to speak it fluently minus an accent,” she said.

Apart from these classes, the model-turned-actor is also watching Bollywood movies to increase her knowledge of Indian cinema and, of course, to improve her fluency in the language.

“I grew up watching films like Taal, but these days I have been watching Hindi movies religiously to brush up my cinema knowledge and learn it as well,” she said.

Collaborative cinema

Bollywood has spent the past few years capitalising on Pakistani talent. Whether its singers or actors, Pakistani artists have found success in India. Jawad Ahmad’s Virsa, which released this year, was a collaborative project. Up next for cross-border productions is Humayun Saeed’s joint venture Daag, with Bollywood veteran Mahesh Bhatt.

What sets their film apart is that unlike all previous India-Pakistan collaborations for which shooting took place abroad even when the story was set in Pakistan, Daag will be shot in the streets of Lahore and Karachi.

Initially titled Balla, the film Daag is being produced by Shahzad Naseeb and Samina, Saeed’s wife. The shooting of the film is set to kick-start soon and the script has been finalised. Written by Shagufta Rafique, the writer of Woh Lamhe and Jashnn, the film tells the story of a rape victim. It focuses on how she survives being rejected by society and the changed behaviour of friends and family.

The film will also mark Rafique’s debut as a film director.

“Humayun Saeed is a very famous Pakistani actor. He approached me to write a script. While I was working on the script, I realised that no one else would be able to express it (on screen) than me, because no one would be able to bring out the soul of this film better than I can. So I told Humayun that I want to direct it and he was kind enough to agree,” Rafique told IANS. She used to work in a bar and was discovered in Mumbai by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.

When asked why she chose Pakistan as a backdrop for her directorial debut, Rafique said it was not planned.

Bollywood gets ready for the FIFA World Cup

NEW DEHLI: Shah Rukh Khan has some great vacation plans for his children – he is taking Aryan and Suhana to South Africa for the FIFA World Cup starting Friday.

“Taking kids for the matches (World Cup) in South Africa,” Shah Rukh posted on Twitter. “Soccer is beautiful … will play today if it rains. Rain and soccer more of a turn on than singing in the rain.”

Shah Rukh says he is nostalgic about the FIFA World Cup as he used to watch it with his mother.