Entertainment: Nawaz, not an actor of a particular trend

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is trying to strike a fine balance between commercial and niche cinema, but the actor says he still feels a little hesitant to accept a typical masala film as it often fails to provide scope for performance.

Despite being a part of several commercial hits such as Badlapur, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Raees, the 43-year-old actor says it is the small-budget films that give him a kick to explore various sides to him as an artiste.

“I'm not always able to select those films which follow a particular trend. All my solo films such as Manjhi and Raman Raghav 2.0 are different. They are not typical Bollywood films, which are generally liked by the audience. The kind of films I do, might be difficult to understand but they have a lot of scope to perform, which I enjoy the most,” said Nawaz.

The actor's recent outing Babumoshai Bandookbaaz has done decent business at the box office and the actor says he never thought the film would receive positive feedback since it had “adult” content.

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, however, was unable to impress the film critics, who disapproved of its content but Nawazuddin says what matters the most to him is the reception by the audience.

Nawaz is known to speak his mind - be it his take on nepotism or his remarks on the existence of racism in Bollywood -he has time and again proved that he is one fearless star in the industry.

Ayushmann has knack of marrying content with commerce

Director R S Prasanna says Ayushmann Khurrana is an actor he can trust, especially when it comes to small-budget films like their recent release Shubh Mangal Savdhan.

The actor, who played the role of a man who suffers from erectile dysfunction in the Yash Raj-backed movie, is a natural when it comes to getting both script and box office collections right with his choice of films, says the filmmaker.

“Ayushmann came on board for this role, which goes beyond typical, because he has a knack for marrying content with commerce. He also understands how important reasonable budgets are today. He has proven to be very dependable and a winner for me,” Prasanna said in a statement.

The actor has so far steered clear of big-budget Bollywood potboilers and larger-than-life characters, preferring characters most people can identify and empathise with. And that is why Ayushmann can be called every man's hero.

Be it Shubh., Dum Laga Ka Haisha or Bareilly Ki Barfi, what makes Ayushmann tick is his ability to make these “sleeper hits” a success.

Deepti Naval wants film studio in Shimla

Veteran actor Deepti Naval, who inaugurated the International Film Festival of Shimla, has called for setting up a film school or film studio here.

The two-day film festival is organised by Himalayan Velocity with the support of Himachal Language, Art and Culture department at historic Gaiety Theatre.

“People from Bollywood descend on Shimla for shooting films, so why we should not have the facility of film studio,”Naval said.

As many as 46 documentaries, short films, animation and feature films will be screened in the competitive and non- competitive category and 35 film makers from 23 countries are participating in it.

“I am so excited to come to Shimla that there was no way that I could stay away from the festival. Why just once a year, it is a fantastic initiative and should get support from all quarters,” the actor said.

The entries in the festival included films from Singapore, Australia, Portugal, South Korea, Hong Kong, Italy, Nepal, Bhutan, Germany, France, USA, UK, Netherlands, Canada, Poland, Africa, Switzerland, Japan, Turkey, Oman, Tajikistan, Iran and India.