NIMRAT BEING CONSIDERED FOR AN EMMY NOMINATION
Actor Nimrat Kaur’s portrayal of Tasneem Qureishi, an ISI officer, in the American TV series Homeland, has put her in consideration for an Emmy nomination in the supporting actress in a drama series category. She tweeted: “An absolute honour to partake in this magnum journey. And a surreal dream to be among such stellar company .... and this possibility. Thank you for all the ‘love to hate’ love for Tasneem Qureishi!! All is owed to the makers and the audience”. When we reached out to Kaur, she messaged us, “It’s a consideration for a nomination... feels wonderful indeed! Fingers crossed for it to go through.” HTC
It was just a twoscene part, but neither filmmaker Ramesh Sippy nor late actor Jagdeep ever thought that Soorma Bhopali — from the 1975 hit Sholay — would become a legendary character. As Sippy puts it, “Honestly, it (the part) was only meant to be a comic diversion, something that used to be a norm in those days, in a Hindi film. But we had no inkling about the kind of impact the character would have on the audience. With his unmatched sense of timing and gestures, Jagdeep brought Soorma Bhopali to life, and made it one of the most loved characters ever.”
Though it was an extremely small role, late Jagdeep, who was a known face by then, readily agreed. Before Sholay, Sippy had worked with the comedian in Brahmachari
Overwhelmed by all the love coming her way, singer Samadipta Mukherjee shares why Monday, July 6, would always be the ‘most special’ day of her life. Her rendition of Mozart’s 40th symphony G Minor, using Indian sargam, was praised by (1968). “When we were casting for Sholay, I immediately thought of him as he was fantastic in Brahmachari. Plus, he was well versed with Bhopal, so, I knew he’d bring out the flavour of Soorma Bhopali,” he says.
For Sippy, what made the late actor “absolutely wonderful” was his range as an actor. “Comedy is a serious business, but the kind of flair and ease he’d bring shows the kind of great actor he was. Once he got hold of a character, you didn’t have to tell him too much on the sets. That’s wonderful about a really good actor,” says the filmmaker, adding that the veteran actor was “very unwell” for the past couple of years.
Interestingly, not many know that Soorma Bhopali was the legendary Lata Mangeshkar, who shared the video on Twitter and blessed the young talent.
An elated Mukherjee says, “I’m finding it difficult to express how fulfilled I feel. In fact, I still can’t believe this has actually happened. I didn’t even know Lataji posted my video, till I started getting calls from friends and relatives.” The 22-year-old, who started learning music when she was four, recounts she went ‘numb for sometime’ when she saw the post. “We all look up to Lataji and nurture this secret wish of performing in front of close to getting edited out of Sholay. Sippy tells us, “The film released during Emergency, and it was nearly three-and-a-half hours long. So the last show would end around midnight, which wasn’t ideal for that period. Also, Sholay was criticised on it’s initial release and declared a flop.”
Sippy recalls that he was requested by distributors to shorten the length of the film, and he took out the comedy scenes featuring Jagdeep and Asrani. “In those days, a film would usually release in B and C centres after having had a run in A centres. But when Sholay came out in B and C centres (minus the comedy scenes), people complained a lot, so we had to put the edited parts back,” he shares. her one day. That she has heard me singing is enough for me,” she adds.
This is the first time she tried to Indianise Mozart’s symphony, and had posted the video on her Facebook page on World Music Day, June 21. “My mother started crying when I showed her Lataji’s post,” says the Kolkata resident.
Currently pursing Masters degrees in Music and English, she also teaches music to kids. “All this appreciation is encouraging, but I don’t want to get carried away. I’m in no hurry,” she concludes.