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PARENTS’ ROMANCE
The actor gets excited every time she watches her parents Kamal Haasan and Sarika’s chemistry in their film, Raaj Tilak
ctor Akshara Haasan’s (right) parents, veteran actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika started dating around the time when they starred in their first film together — Raaj Tilak (1984). And Akshara can’t have enough of the film. “It was a high point for me to see how my parents fell in love. I get super happy seeing that they have captured it (the real life romance) on-screen. It fills my heart with happiness,” says Akshara, who made her Bollywood debut with Shamitabh (2015).
The 25-year-old adds that her parents — who ended their 17-year-long marriage in 2004 — think she’s doing well and heading in the right direction. “They are critical about my work. They tell me things on my face so that I can do better. They ask me why I did a scene or act in a particular way and not the other way. Sometimes I agree with them, sometimes I don’t.”
Akshara worked as an assistant director before she became an actor, and says that she got work on merit, and back then, did not reveal her last name to anyone. “If people come to know I am Kamal Haasan’s daughter, the treatment is very different, they just put you on a pedestal and it becomes difficult for me to give my 100%. I’m okay getting yelled on sets, at least I will learn that way... Even the achievements I get in the future will be on my merit and that is a far better feeling,” she says.
Actor Arjun Bijlani (right) loves visiting Delhi, and says “there’s something about the energy of the city that tempts me to come here again and again.”
Bijlani, who hails from Mumbai and recently visited the Capital, says: “Coming to Delhi always excites me. This city has an aura of its own and has progressed and changed over the years... It has been special for me as an actor.”
A fitness enthusiast who follows his exercise routine religiously, Bijlani admits that Delhi’s food makes him cheat on his diet. “Be it eating Delhi ki chaat or old Delhi’s chole bhature; the foodie in me has a ball when I’m in Delhi. When I am here, I just can’t avoid cheating. Besides eating, I like shopping here as well, and I often visit Connaught Place. The pace of life in Delhi is very different from that in Mumbai,” says the 34-year-old.
Bijlani, who has been part of television shows such as Left Right Left and Mile Jab Hum Tum, adds that the love he gets from his fans in Delhi is unparalleled. “Apart from my work, it is also the love of the fans that pulls me here... Delhi has a huge television-viewing audience, and the love I get from fans here is something I have not witnessed anywhere else,” he says.
Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra’s (left) cousin, actor Meera Chopra (right) will soon make her international debut through a yet-untitled Canadian fantasy series. She says that Priyanka — who enjoys international acclaim, thanks to her hit American show, Quantico — has been a huge inspiration for her. “Priyanka has always been instrumental in my career. She always supports me. I look up to her and get inspired. I’m not following her ... I cannot! But she is a huge inspiration,” says Meera, who made her Bollywood debut with 1920 London last year.
Giving details about her role in the international project, the actor adds: “I’ll play an astrologer. My role significantly helps in shaping up the life of the lead pair. The co-stars and the director are still being decided upon.”
How did she bag the role? “Starting from November to January, I auditioned multiple times where I had to send video clips. I got the confirmation only a few days back,” said Meera, who will start shooting for the series by July-end.
Ask her if her focus is on making a career in Hollywood, and Meera says: “No, my focus is on Bollywood. It will always come first. I’m just happy to take things as they come.”