Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The double hundred Fowler hit in the Madras Test was an absolute beauty.
I grew up in Madras and did my schooling at St. Bedes and college at Loyola.
'Madras Cafe' is set against the backdrop of the civil war in Sri Lanka in the 1990s.
It is very difficult to make films like 'Madras Cafe' in India, given the diverse nature of the country.
I have seen many festival films and I will be blunt, I don't think 'Madras Cafe' was ready for festivals.
After being signed for 'Madras Cafe,' I joined Jogi Singh's acting classes, where I learned the basic nuances.
As offers came pouring in from the Telugu industry, I had to discontinue my studies and I shifted base to Madras in 1974.
I've been to Delhi, Madras, Bangalore and a lot of other cities, but I have never seen a crime set-up like that in Bombay.
I have never said no to a film. Except once, 20-25 years ago, when a producer from Madras wanted me to play Jeetendra's father.
It is easier to make a film but difficult to make it on your own terms. In that sense 'Madras Cafe' was a very satisfying experience.
Radha Krishna Sir, the director of 'Jil,' had seen 'Madras Cafe' and liked my acting in it. He wanted a performer and so got me on board.
Chennai has changed a lot. I knew Adyar as a village which has now become the heart of the metropolis. But my heart still beats for the old Madras.
It was a surprise for my family when I told them that I was offered 'Madras Cafe.' My family was initially worried because I have got no film background.
I have been receiving calls from all quarters since the release of 'Madras.' I need to thank audiences for believing in me and making this film successful.
If I had used real names, I don't think 'Madras Cafe' would have ever seen the light of day because it was a political film, an adaptation of a true incident.
In Shoojit's films, there is no hero and villain. Every character has its own space and there is a social message in all of his films whether it is 'Vicky Donor' or 'Madras Cafe.'
My films play only in Bengal, and my audience is the educated middle class in the cities and small towns. They also play in Bombay, Madras and Delhi where there is a Bengali population.
We were five kids at home, and my mother and grandmother ensured that we all had a very grounded upbringing in Madras. Even in school, I never used to tell anyone that my dad was an actor.
I grew up, as many Indians do, in an archipelago of tongues. My maternal grandfather, who was a surgeon in the city of Madras, was fluent in at least four languages and used each of them daily.
When I was growing up in the south Indian city of Madras, there were only two political parties that mattered; one was run by a former matinee idol, and the other was run by his former screenwriter.
I don't know how to put it, but I don't have many friends. All my friends circle was in Madras, and I lost touch with them. But I'm friends with all my directors, and they are very important for me.
My debut film, 'Madras Cafe,' is a political thriller in which John Abraham plays an army officer. My character's name is Ruby Singh, and I play John's wife, with all the strappings of an army man's wife.
Most of the top actors and actresses may be working in ten or twelve films at the same time, so they will give one director two hours and maybe shoot in Bombay in the morning and Madras in the evening. It happens.
In Queen Mary's, which was an all-girls' college, I learned discipline, hard work and to be competitive. But at Madras Film Institute, I learned about the world, being free and knowledgeable, and thinking beyond oneself.
Whether that was in the Chepauk Stadium in Madras or at the Ilford Cricket School, there was a daily diet of cricket run by my dad. It was a hard school but he knew what he was doing. Everything I achieved was down to my dad.
Sometimes a director is making three films. Perhaps he is shooting a film in Madras and a film in Bombay and he can't leave Madras as some shooting has to be done, so he directs by telephone. The shooting takes place. On schedule.
'Vicky Donor' or 'Madras Caf,' John's films have been path-breaking. I have full faith in the script of my movie, and my director, too, is a debutante. I like the conviction with which they work, and that gives me a lot of confidence.
My dad's whole family is in Madras and I was born in America so we didn't have that big Indian community. I don't really have anything interesting to say about it. When I talk about it people are like, 'meh, let's talk about something else.'
If Bombay can become Mumbai, Bangalore can become Bengaluru, Madras can become Chennai, and Calcutta can become Kolkota, there is no reason why Allahabad should not become Prayagraj and Faizabad should not become Ayodhya. To re-establish our original identity, we have renamed these places. I am happy that people have welcomed this.
I joined the Madras Christian College but dropped out after three months. Telugu music director Ramesh Naidu asked me to assist him, and I did so for over a year. I did think of rejoining college, but by then, I was discovering the musician in me. I worked with Illaya Raja and Raj Koti and soon shifted to commercials. This led to movie offers.
