NEW DELHI, June 18:
Newbie actress Neha Sharma says she had no qualms taking up the small role of Shahid Kapoor’s girlfriend in upcoming film “Teri Meri Kahaani” as she is not looking for conventional roles in Bollywood.
Having made her acting debut as a leading lady opposite Emraan Hashmi in “Crook”, Neha will now be seen playing Meera, Shahid’s “dominating and bratty” girlfriend in the London setting of “Teri Meri Kahaani”.
“Though it’s a relatively smaller part, I did the film since I could relate to Meera. She is someone with grey shades and though she loves this guy (Shahid), she is pretty dominating and bratty.
“I didn’t have any qualms playing such a character because all girlfriends can’t really be docile. It is a normal relationship that we have depicted here; the kind that couples today share. The space which I have got into in ‘Teri Meri Kahaani’ is not really ‘filmy’,” Neha told.
The 24-year-old actress has a number of films in her kitty, including sex-comedy “Kya Super Kool Hain Hum” and as Vivek Oberoi’s solo female lead in “Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story”. Neha thinks playing a bit role in a film like “Teri Meri Kahaani” will not be limiting her prospects.
“Cliched as it may sound, but it is not just about the length of the character that you play, it was more about the kind of girl I was bringing on screen. It is a guest appearance but I really liked portraying Meera.
“I am sure there are others who think this is not the right move. However, conventional isn’t something for me in any case. Even ‘Crook’ was hardly a quintessential love story with which I started my career. It was a dramatic tale about racism. Even ‘Kya Super Kool Hain Hum’ is not conventional in any way,” said Neha.
“Teri Meri Kahaani”, directed by Kunal Kohli and starring Priyanka Chopra as the female lead, shows three different love stories set in 1910, 1960 and 2012.
“Kunal has indeed told an epic love story and I really like what Meera brings to the table. It was a wonderful experience working on the film and a real fun trip,” Neha said.
As for her next film “Kya Super Kool Hain Hum” where she would be seen in a much longer part, Neha is keeping her fingers crossed.
“I had already finished ‘Teri Meri Kahaani’ before starting ‘Kya Super Kool Hain Hum’. The promos are already a rage and the film is shaping up well too. It should be a happening year for sure.”
When it comes to taking up film projects, Neha says she signs on the dotted line only when she is sure that the film will be liked by the audience.
“First I have to look at the film from an audience point of view. One has to see the story from an actor’s point of view as well, but before that, I need to ensure hits. Hence the second thing I need to do is work on survival projects.
“For me, both are equally important because I have to do a film which is liked by the audience. It may not be a brilliant biopic or anything great but it should be successful,” she said. (PTI)

MUMBAI, June 18:
Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who shared a close bond with Mehdi Hassan, says it was hard for him and his wife Saira Banu to come to terms with the news that the legendary ghazal singer is no more.
The 89-year-old actor said that the India-born maestro, who died in Karachi on June 13, could connect with people from every strata of society through his magical voice.
“It has taken me and Saira some time to come to terms with the fact that Mehdi Hassan Miyan is no more with us in this world.
“The voice which we loved to hear when he connected with us on the telephone sometimes in recent years when he had to give up traveling due to his critical lung condition has been stilled, but the echoes remain in our subconscious and will continue to do so,” Dilip Kumar wrote in his blog.
“The magic of his voice cannot be described in words… He drew everybody – the common man, the well read, the rich, equally to him when he rendered the ghazals of such profoundly intellectual and philosophical poets as Faiz Ahmed Faiz or Ghalib for instance,” he added.
The veteran actor recalled his last meeting with Hassan, when the latter was unwell, saying that they held hands and recited together.
“He visited us whenever he came to Mumbai and it was always a great occasion for the family… The last time Hasan Miyan visited us he was having high fever and he wanted to lie down. He held my hand and we recited together his favourites and mine. I can still recall his soft voice as if it was just yesterday that he was here.
“I have witnessed his success and the incredible adulation his admirers accorded him in other countries and in Pakistan. He remained ever so humble and unaffected by it all as all great men are,” he said. (PTI)

MELBOURNE, June 18:
An Indian taxi driver was attacked and racially abused and his car smashed, as a group of baseball bat wielding youth went about attacking and robbing cab drivers in Melbourne suburbs.
The gang ambushed and robbed five taxis in separate incidents in the western suburbs of Melbourne.
Attackers wearing balaclavas and armed with baseball bats pulled up in two stolen cars and attacked the drivers at Sunshine, Brooklyn and Laverton North areas last night.
Harpreet Singh was driving his taxi through Sunshine suburb when his car was rammed from behind and a second car pulled up abruptly in front of him.
He said four men with baseball bats got out of the car in front of him and began smashing the driver-side window.
“It was terrifying. They were smashing the car and hitting me with the bats also,” he said.
“I leaned to the left side (of the driver’s seat) to avoid the baseball bats hitting me (but) one guy punched me in the face. They didn’t say anything to me, they just smashed the car and straight away asked for the money,” he was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.
Singh said he had already handed over USD 150 cash and his phone when one of the men punched him and the group sped off in the two cars.
He suffered a bloodied lip in the attack while another driver was hospitalised with a broken arm.
A report in ABC quoted the owner of the taxi as saying that the driver was taunted as he was beaten with baseball bats.
“They hit very badly you know, abusing him, you know, saying you’re Indian, go back to your country,” owner Sunny Singh told a radio channel here. (PTI)