Ranveer, Deepika’s to release in theatres first
DAYS AFTER CO-PRODUCERS Reliance Entertainment denied that the much-hyped 83 would go straight to an OTT platform before theatrical release, there is official confirmation of the fact in the film trade now. Calling it “official news”, trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared that the film will release in theatres when the time is “appropriate”.
“#Xclusiv: #83Thefilm will release in theatres first, as and when the time is appropriate... WON’T release on #OTT platform first... #Clarification #Officialnews #83Thefilm stars #Ranveersingh as #Kapildev,” tweeted Adarsh.
In an earlier report, Reliance Entertainment had dismissed all rumours of a direct OTT release for the film, claiming they would “evaluate” if the situation did not become normal even after six months.
“There is no truth to these reports. 83 has been made for the big-screen experience. Right now, there’s no intention or interest on the part of the directors or us as producers, to take these films to the small screen. If the situation deteriorates rapidly or there is no visibility of normalcy even after six months, we will evaluate then. But right now, we are all quite positive and I foresee that between the next four to six months, cinema halls will start operating. So that’s the hope and mindset which we currently have,” Shibashish Sarkar, Reliance Entertainment Group CEO, had said, speaking to the website.
83 narrates the story of India’s first-ever cricket World Cup victory in 1983. Ranveer Singh stars as former skipper Kapil Dev while Deepika Padukone plays his wife Romi. he audience today is unforgiving when it comes to looks. Many of them will not accept anything less than an hour-glass figure from their leading Bollywood actors, especially when it comes to their favourite female celebrities. But Maanvi Gagroo is among a breed of actors in the industry who have dared to defy the norms and are not afraid to speak their mind.
The Ujda Chaman star, who played a plus-sized woman in the film, does not mind picking up roles that don’t conform to a certain body type. “For me, it’s all about the role, not the appearance of the character. We need to start looking beyond the physicality,” says Gagroo, who plays a key role in Four More Shots Please! and overcomes body image issues in the latest season of the web series.
The main focus in Season 2 is on Gagroo, who continues with her role as Siddhi Patel. She is one of the girls in this story about friendship that revolves around a gang of four girls who are seeking to discover themselves. The others are Anjana (Kirti Kulhari), Damini (Sayani Gupta) and Umang (Bani J). Gagroo opens up to City Times about body-shaming issues, Season 2 of the series, and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Instagram post about the show.
What’s new in Season 2 of
The new season delves deeper into the lives of the four girls – into their friendship and the dynamics in the group. The girls hang out more together while also going about their individual journeys.
Due to some events in the first season, the relationship between Siddhi and her father gets strained. In fact, it’s her mother who comes to her rescue, and Season 2 takes off from there. Siddhi also goes through a journey of self-discovery and overcomes her insecurities over her image.
During Season 1, we had done some workshops together and got to know each other better. We realised that friendship was key to the story, we couldn’t come across as fake. We used to hang out a lot together and chat and text each other. By the time we started Season 2, we were already comfortable with each other and we really didn’t have to act in front of the camera.
Is it true Kareena Kapoor Khan and her gang had good things to say about the show?
Yes she did. We were thrilled to know that Kareena spoke about our show in her Instagram post. So many people responded after her post. I am a huge fan of Kareena, and her friends, so it was nice to get a call from them and being told that they (Kareena and her gang) were excited about the show.
This is not the first time you’ve played a plus-size character... because I feel, if somebody wants to stereotype you, they will do it irrespective of anything. For me, it’s all about playing different characters, like my plus-size Apsara in Ujda Chaman. She is different from Siddhi. She is extremely sorted and knows what she wants from life. Her relationship with her body is extremely healthy and she has no problems with her size as opposed to Siddhi who has insecurities despite being far more privileged than Apsara. Unfortunately, people only see these characters as plus size and nothing beyond that. It’s like saying, ‘Oh you are playing (this type of ) a girl aren’t you scared you might get stereotyped?’ I beg to differ because there are different kinds of girls – different kinds of fat girls or dark (skinned) girls for that matter. We need to start looking beyond physicality.
How do you deal with body-shaming trolls?
Surprisingly, I don’t get trolled for my body. I say surprisingly, because earlier when I would post or tweet a photo, I would worry about attracting trolls because it’s the easiest thing to do, to comment on someone’s looks. I was expecting that to happen. Fortunately, it didn’t happen often. Maybe, one in 30- 40 comments would be something about body shaming. I generally don’t engage or respond to such comments. It doesn’t bother me.
Do you find any difference between web series and feature films?
As an actor, the approach is the same. Yes, there are differences, in terms of the storyline. In a series, you have more scope to develop a story and get deeper into the character whereas, in a film, you have to do the same thing in about 2 to 3 hours. The digital space has created volumes of work not only for actors, but also for writers, filmmakers and technicians.