I Gautam Gambhir: Akshay can’t thank enough for helping in this crisis us
Every help in this gloom comes as a ray of hope,” tweeted MP Gautam Gambhir, as he shared the news that actor Akshay Kumar has pledged ₹ 1 crore to Gautam Gambhir Foundation (GGF) to deal with worsening Covid-19 crisis. He tells us, “Delhi is crumbling. Delhi is dying. It needs every kind of support. Every contribution matters and I can’t thank Akshay enough for supporting us. He told me, ‘Whatever you want in this Covid situation — medicines, oxygen cylinders, food — please do it and I’d want to donate’. He also said why don’t we open an ICU or Covid centre with oxygen, ventilators and stuff. I said we can, but organising doctors and nurses would need government’s support.”
Asked, if after Kumar, he hopes that more celebs would come forward to help, Gambhir says it’s a very conscious decision. “Its a very individual choice. I’ll never force anyone to come out and support. This country has given us everything — our identity — it’s up to us how we want to give it back,” says the former cricketer, who was accused of ‘hoarding’ Fabiflu medicines.
Mention this and he clarifies, “If I buy 300-400 strips on market price, and give them to the needy for free, is that hoarding? No. Hoarding is if I keep thousands at my home, and black market them. For me, saving people’s life is far more important
Tthan the allegations and negativity people throw at me.”
Strangely, Kumar’s decision to donate to GGF drew some criticism for the same reason. Gambhir admits he saw this coming. “I told him you might get trolled. He said, ‘I don’t care’. I said I’ve got trolled by doing the right thing. He said, ‘We’ll keep doing the right thing’. So, we were on the same page that all we need to answer is our conscience,” he says, pointing at hypocrisy of people.
“How easy it... When people don’t come out to support, they say, ‘Paise kamate ho, kuchh desh ke liye bhi kar do.’ And when people help, they say, ‘Why are you doing it for this person?’ So, it’s a double edge sword. Karo toh gaali khao, na karo toh gaali khao,” he rues.
Gambhir’s stint as a commentator in the ongoing IPL is also being criticised. He reacts, “Do these people realise that if we feed thousands of people, look after the education of
150 children of martyrs and sex workers, if we install air purifiers, open Covid centers, distribute 50,000 ration kits — all that needs money. Today, Akshay could donate because he’s working. If he stops acting, where is he going to donate from. So, If I don’t work, where am I going to get that money from?”
Akshay Kumar remained unavailable for a comment. wenty years ago, Urmila Matondkar played the role of an obsessed lover in the late Rajat Mukherjee directorial, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya and “set the bar for the anti-heroine role”. The romantic thriller co-starred Fardeen Khan and Sonali Kulkarni and was produced by Ram Gopal Varma.
Recalling the experience, Matondkar says, “In our films, we are used to innocent, saccharine sweet heroines but back then, this film and my character, Ria broke the mould. We had seen antihero, was were accepted by audiences but not an antiheroine! Today, if a movie like this is released, it won’t be a novel idea as we have seen many on OTT and in cinemas. But back then, it broke boundaries. I had said this back then, that even after 10 years, heroines will think twice before taking up such a role, let alone do justice to it.”
The actor adds how
Manish Malhotra was supposed to design costumes but due to his busy schedule he couldn’t. She shares, “I ended up putting together a dishevelled look for Ria. Other than the physical traits, to take a character who people don’t like and make her vulnerable, form connect with the audiences was challenging. In fact, people were rooting for Ria and it was a big success for me, personally, that as an actor I could connect with the audiences. Though Ria was wrong in her obsession, her feelings were so genuine that appealed to people.”
During the climax shoot, Khan was supposed to hit her in a move suggested by her
URMILA MATONDKAR ,
Actor and while doing so, he almost hit her on her ribs. “Had I not ducked, I could have been hurt. So, I fell and I couldn’t stand or walk. I couldn’t even breathe for a long time and was taken to the hospital. He was most apologetic and we laughed about it later,” she reveals.
Another highlight of the film was the music. While her favourite is Roundhe hai mujhe tera pyaar, it was Kambhkht Ishq which was a success. “It was shot like an item song for promotion and served its purpose. It remains one of my best choreographed and shot songs.”
Matondkar is glad even today people remember her performance in the film. She says one of the sweetest compliments came from (late) Feroz Khan saab, who said, “You made me cry and I don’t like crying’. Unfortunately, Rajat is no more. Another one was from Hrithik Roshan, who after watching my introduction shot, told me that he couldn’t believe that a woman’s back could look so defined,” she signs off.