News

After making a name for himself as a VJ, Purab made a debut in films with Bas Yun Hi. Since then he has impressed one and will with some wonderful performances in films such as My Brother Nikhil, Awarapan and Rock On. Purab will now be seen in Onir's I Am in which he plays a pivotal role. Bollywood Hungama gives you a chance to have a live video chat with Purab on Monday, April 25, at 1630 hrs Ist. Don't miss!

February 16, 2010: Purab Kohli, who gave a fabulous performance in ‘Rock On!’, will be returning to his Bollywood roots this year.

He debuted in Bollywood with ‘Bas Yun Hi’, starring Nandita Das. He will now be doing another film, ‘Afia’, with Nandita, who has, incidentally, lost a lot of weight and looks like a million bucks.

Purab first got noticed in Onir’s ‘My Brother Nikhil’. He will be working with Onir again for the director’s ‘I am…’ series. Well, looks like we’ll have a lot of Purab to see in the coming days.

-Sampurn...

Purab Kohli has said that his new movie Hide N Seek will bring something different to Indian cinema. The actor, who starred in Bas Yun Hi, claimed that his latest picture is more like an American teen horror than a Bollywood thriller. "Hide N Seek is different for its treatment. It's not a regular thriller, which makes it one of its first kinds that has been made in India," Kohli (more)...

It is very rare that you meet a director who is as passionate and dedicated to their craft. Raja Menon is one of those exceptional filmmakers. Menon has gone from ad filmmaking to now the director of two films: Bas Yun Hi in 2003 and then more recently Barah Aana. The film released and has received many accolades, which include the likes of Aamir Khan, John Abraham, Imran Khan and Zoya Akhtar all of whom conclusively proclaim, "This is a must-watch!" The film filled with a unique storyline, set in the slums of Dharavi and packed with power-house performances from Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Raaz and Arjun Mathur. When I found myself in conversation with Raja Menon, I couldn't help but be in complete awe. Not only was he incredibly enlightening but somehow read my mind before I could ask the next question! If I had much to ask, he had even more to share!

Tannishtha Chatterjee is truly an international actress and has made her presence known not only in Hindi cinema but also in German, Bengali, Indo-French and English films. She was critically acclaimed for her performance as Masha in the German/Bengali film Schatten der Zeit (Shadows of Time) starring opposite Irrfan Khan. In 2007 she was nominated at the British Independent Film Awards for her work in Brick Lane. The actress has worked with a multitude of directors including Florian Gallenberger, Subrata Sen, Sarah Gavron, Dev Benegal and Raja Menon. In fact she was seen in Raja Menon's first film Bas Yun Hi and in his most recent film the critically praised Barah Aana. Though in a relatively small role she makes quite an impact and is brilliant as Rani in the film. She recently talked with BollySpice about her work in the different film industries as well as all about Barah Aana.

Raja Menon made his first feature film Bas Yun Hi in 2003. That was a thriller-comedy and a failure at box office. Now, after five years, he is back to the screen with another thriller-comedy, Barah Aana. Based in Dharavi, Mumbai's famous slum, this film pivots around Shuklaji's (played by Naseeruddin Shah) strange life as an officially dead man. What happens when your brothers claim your death and get a death-certificate issued from authorized signatories? What could happen when you turn up in your village one fine morning after that, and the brothers refuse to recognize you now that they are the owner of your properties?...

Amazing as it may sound but the fact of the matter is that in spite of the poor box-office run of the new films in 2009, there are four new movies listed for release this Friday (with a probable fifth one in Lottery!). In fact, critically acclaimed actor Naseeruddin Shah will be competing with himself via two releases - Raja Menon's Barah Aana and Nandita Das's Firaaq. Not only that, Nandita Das, the lead actress of director Raja Menon.s first film, Bas Yun Hi (2003), is incidentally the director of Firaaq! The remaining two releases are Vinay Pathak's Straight and Robby Grewal's Aftab Shivdasani starrer Aloo Chaat....

Not many will be aware that Barah Aana is Raja Menon's second directorial venture. His debut film, Bas Yun Hi (2003), starring Nandita Das and Purab Kohli, sank without a trace. Taking moral responsibility for the failure of Bas Yun Hi, Raja took his time in directing his next and decided to take the plunge once again only after he had signed the actors that he desired and needed to make the film....