Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar was a unique royal in that he was wellknown for his association with the fashion world. A fashion designer himself, he promoted the traditional Mysore Silk sarees under his own brand name ‘Royal Silk of Mysore’. Aimed at reviving people’s interest in these sarees, Wadiyar held several fashion shows and was constantly in touch with fashion consultants.

Fashion guru Prasad Bidappa recalled the directives he got from the Maharaja whenever they worked together. “He came to the business of design to ensure that there was a continuity in using Mysore Silk. He strongly believed that people should not forget heritage. His entire collections were based on that. It wasn’t so much of a fashion collection as a heritage textile collection. He started designing to inspire young designers. He wasn’t interested in becoming a 100 shops kind of label. It was a project to introduce Karnataka Silks to designers of India. A lot of people paid attention to the silks since he introduced it.”

Recalling memorable moments, Bidappa said, “He was such a wise person that it was always good to spend time with him. He was knowledgable about many things ranging from politics to criticism, history of our state, culture and tradition. He was a wonderful human being, warm, friendly and always full of humour. He’s a special person. He’s different from most people you meet. He had an enormous sense of history. Recently he wasn’t going out much. He was working more from home and doing a lot of writing. Socially he wasn’t interested in keeping a high profile. He was a private person that way.”

Deepa Subramanian, a city based gallerist recalled, “At the launch of my gallery in 2010 April, he was the Chief Guest. He initially said ‘I can’t promise you; don’t mention my name on the invite’. But he came and stayed for about an hour. He was such a gentleman. No fuss at all. He came on time, did his job. and wouldn’t talk much.”

Passionate cricketer
I am extremely saddened by this news. He was a very well-respected individual. Personally, I have had very limited interaction with him. He once invited me for a party at his palace and I remember him calling me up to congratulate me after I became the captain of India. He was not well in the run up to the recent KSCA elections. I wish he had taken care of his health. My thoughts are with his family.
Anil Kumble, former India cricket captain

He was very happy when we won the recent KSCA elections. He had definite plans for the next three years and was very keen to implement them at the earliest. His demise is really unfortunate.
Brijesh Patel, former Test cricketer

As a Mysorean who grew up watching Mysore’s royal family, I feel a great sense of loss at the passing away of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar. We didn’t live too far from the Mysore palace. I fondly remember watching Narasimharaja Wadiyar and his father during the colourful Dasara celebrations every year. Mysore has been synonymous with the palace and the royal family. Mysoreans will agree that the Maharaja tradition has enriched Mysore and the royal family has made unparalleled contribution. We considered the royals as part of our own families. Today, I am saddened.
Javagal Srinath, former Test cricketer

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Other / by Bangalore Mirror Bureau / December 11th, 2013

B-3 has three actors. While we all know that Harshika Poonacha and Srikanth are a part of the film, the team has been very particular about keeping details about the third actor under wraps. Even on the day of its release, they steadfastly maintained that that would be the mystery element of the tale. But they let us in on some memories — scary, hilarious and heart-warming — from the making of the film.

There was a scene in which Sriki (Srikanth) had to act like the characters of two girls (who are friends) and enact their conversation about each other’s love lives. Since it was a three-and-a-half minute single shot, he had to prepare his act thoroughly. As he found it difficult to rehearse both the characters’ parts at one go, Harshika helped him prepare for almost 5-6 hours. Though she did not have a scene that day, she came on the set only to help Sriki.

We were shooting at an old factory that was all dusty and had creepers all over. One night, when I was sitting alone in a corner before my shot, I heard something rustle near me. Scared, I asked Sriki, who was sitting a little ahead of me, if he too had heard it. He hadn’t, but when I heard it again, I got up and sat near him. The next morning, we found the scales of a snake near where I was sitting initially. That was scary.

A film that was to have just one song ended up with five tracks. The most memorable composition for me would be the romantic number Allondu Belli Moda. I’ve always wanted to compose a song without using too many instruments and I was able to do that with this track. We’ve only used a guitar for the rhythm.

When we were going from Rameswaram to a village called Dhanushkodi in a van, all of us decided to sit on top of the vehicle instead of inside it. Sriki, Shyam and the rest of us found it very difficult to maintain balance as the van did not have an external carrier that we could hold on to. Instead, we just held on to each other and had a good laugh about it.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Regional> Kannada> Film / by Parinatha Sampath, TNN / December 06th, 2013

The growing success of the Ranveer-Deepika starrer Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela despite a lot of controversies has surely left its actors thrilled. Rejoicing the victory, Gulshan Devaiah, the bad guy in this Indian adaptation of Romeo-Juliet says, “It’s really overwhelming to see this kind of response. People send me messages on Twitter and Facebook. Like the other day when I went to the gym, people there were like ‘Hey you were really cool man.’ The feeling is so complicated… it’s as big as a Tsunami. Kya kahein, yeh sab Ram ki Leela hai.”

Starting his career with unconventional films like Shaitaan and Hate Story, Gulshan Devaiah breaks the trend with a commercial film like Goliyon ki Rasleela Ram-Leela where he plays the notorious villain. Playing the menacing Bhavani reveals yet another grey shade of Gulshan, just like his previous hits. Is that a mere coincidence? “I like to do things that are slightly out of the box or teda. I want to try and take up roles which are unlike me. Mostly the understanding is that there is a hero who is always shining and there is a villain but there is nothing in between. We all are imperfect. The difference is some people have darker shades of grey and vice versa. In this film, Bhavani’s negativity is highlighted. And as I said before, I like exploring the different phases of human psychology which happen only in such roles.”

The actor who cannot stop gushing about the success of his latest release revealed that if not for his friends and family, he would have never agreed for the film. “I found it really difficult to say a ‘yes’ to Bhavani. It was my manager Shobha Sant and my wife Kalliroi who convinced me to take up this offer.” But his obstacles increased after he joined hands with the Ram Leela team. This urban lad turning into a Gujju gaon ka chora was no cakewalk. “Learning the flavor and accent of Gujarati was a little difficult. I went for a workshop with Homi Wadia (who plays Ranveer’s father) for a couple of days. And of course learnt a lot from Supriya Pathak! Being around her really helped me understand the rhythm of Gujarati since she is so experienced. Also, I spoke in a flatter voice to give the villainous feel which helped me get the pronunciations better.”

Now with a success like that, Gulshan is bound to be flooded with offers and a few may even involve him playing the role of a hero. But the actor says that he doesn’t want to be unrealistic and would always choose to remain unconventional even in mainstream cinema. “To be honest I would love to be a hero but is it practical to do it? No. I cannot dance like Hrithik nor fight like Shahid. I love watching their films. I loved Ranveer’s role in my film but I cannot do it because it won’t suit me. I don’t want to confuse the audience because it’s foolish of me to compete with these people who are well versed in it. I want to make my own niche.”

But that doesn’t mean Gulshan is restrictive about his roles. Moving away from his forte and exploring genres has always been one of his dreams and his future projects reflect just that. “I have completed a comedy film recently with Radhika Apte titled Hunterr directed by Harshvardhan Kulkarni which is a slice of life kind of film. And I am also going to start shooting for a thriller called Cabaret to be produced by Pooja Bhatt. Here, I’ll play a role with lighter shades of grey, but surely not a villain.”

Very few people are aware of the fact that Gulshan Devaiah has had a connection with the world of acting before as a theatre artist. But cinema for him is passion. The actor is in love with every aspect of filmmaking. Ask him if theatre has taken a back seat and he immediately agrees to it. “I love cinema. I love the process of filmmaking. I just love being on the set. I have taken a temporary retirement from theatre. And I would like to go back to it only when I get the urge to do it again. Jab woh andhar ki awaaz kahegi ki to go back to the stage.”

Article written by staff at Bollywood Hungama.

source: http://www.oyetimes.com / Oye! Times / Home> Cinema> Oye Masala / by Kiran Arora / Wednesday – November 27th, 2013