http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz271Gm8Xh4&feature=share

Sprite Ad

YEH HAIN MOHOBBATEIN - MOn- Sat 11pm on Star Plus

Mother Dairy Commercial - Maa Jaisa Koi Nahi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOzjD86rt2s

Directorial Debut

An Interview with Neena Kulkarni on her Directorial Debut Play Mahasagar.

http://www.umovietv.com/Video/watch.aspx?v=News&i=5kr6YRxLNe4&s=Interview%20Of%20Nina%20Kulkarni%20His%20Next%20Upcoming%20..

Multiple Characters

Critical Acclaim...and more!

Mahatma vs Gandhi holds US audience in raptures
Jyotirmoy Datta
NEW YORK 6 MAY

IF THE tumultuous ovation by the sell-out audience here is any indication, the projected 10-city US tour of the play Mahatma vs Gandhi, directed by Feroz Khan seems set for a resounding success.

With Naseeruddin Shah playing the role of the Mahatma, Neena Kulkarni as Kasturba and Kay Kay as their first-born son Hiralal it was described by critics attending it as an almost flawless performance of international standards. [...] At curtain call, Khan not only had all his actors on the stage but also the behind-the-scene technicians, saying that it was entirely a team effort with everyone contributing equally.

Naseeruddin Shah made the Mahatma come alive on the stage, recapturing the slight stoop of the Bapu’s walk, his crosslegged crouch before his spinning wheel, even the very tone and timbre of his larger-than-life subject's voice.

Kulkarni’s Kasturba was a woman of epic depth, torn between a mother's love for her first-born and a wife's unquestioning faith in the tenets of her husband. Kay Kay's all-too-human Hiralal wrings our hearts, sometimes eclipsing in his frailty Naseeruddin's stern Mahatma The present play in English [...] began as a novel in Gujarati, Prakashno Padchhayo by Dinkar Joshi. It was adopted by Ajit Dalvi and reworked into its present shape with Khan contributing to the script.

The debut of the play in India did not go unnoticed and its US tour opened with a paean of praise in the Arts & Ideas section of The New York Times by the paper's chief of India bureau John Bums.

"A widely hailed stage production, Mahatma vs Gandhi has broken the taboos and Americans have an opportunity to join in the debate it has unleashed about one of history's most famous figures,” Burns wrote.

“The play looks at Gandhi through the prism of his tortured relationship with the eldest of his four sons, Hiralal, who died in a Bombay hospital barely five months after Gandhi's assassination, racked by tuberculosis and probably — the version accepted by the play — also by syphilis.

These two events provide the starting point for a production that many Indian critics have described as one of the best acted, most provocative English-language plays to emerge from lndia in years.” So strong was the demand for tickets that the Namashkar Foundation, which is hosting the tour on America's East Coast, announced at the end of the show that it was planning an encore performance in the New York area on May 30. IANS

EXCERPTED
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Rann Pics

Clicks from my latest film RANN.. this is my most recent look..

Selective work...

PLAYS

Hindi Theatre

Sambhog se sanyas tak – (writer,director- Pandit Satyadev Dubey)- 1975

Are mayavi sarovar- (writer- Dr. Shankar Shesh)- 1975

Aadhe adhure- mohan rakesh- 1975

Aah- Vijay Tendulkar-1976

Doctor aap bhi- Ajit dalvi-1999

Abe Bevakoof:- Pandit Satyadev Dubey- 1976

English Theatre

Educating Rita-Willy Russell- 1994-95

It’s all yours janaab:- Bharat Dabolkar

Mahatma Verses Gandhi- Ajit Dalvi (translation:- Mukta Rajadyaksh)-1998

Wedding Album-Girish Karnad-2008

Marathi Theatre

Selective plays

Guntata Hruday He- S.N. Navre( 400 shows)- 1971

Hamidabaichi kothi-Vijaya Mehta (250 shows)-1977

Mahasagar- Vijaya Mehta(600 shows) (Natyadarpan- Best supporting actress)-1978

Vat Vat Savitri- Ratnakar Matkari- 1985 (Best comedian- Natyadarpan)

Akasmaat- Suresh Chikhle(300 shows) (Best actress- Natyadarpan, Natyanirmata Sangh, Natyaparishad)

Dhyanimani:- Chandrakant Kulkarni, Prasant Dalvi(500 shows)1994-95 (best actress- Natyadarpan, Natyaparishad, Pune Gaurav, State award, Nirmata Sangh)

Aai cha Ghar unhacha:- Gajendra Ahire(300 shows) 1993-94 (Best Actress award- Pune Gaurav, Nirmata Sangh

Prempatr:- Abhiram Bhadkamkar (40 shows) 1998- (Best Actress- Pune Gaurav)

Naagmandal:- Girish Karnad, Dilip Kulkarni( 60 shows)1992-93

Dehabhaan - Abhiram Bhadkamkar (200 shows) 2002-03 (Best actress- Mata Sanman)

Marathi Films Selective

Aai (1992) (Best Actress- Apsara Award.

Haach Sunbaicha Bhau(1992)

Sawat Maajhi Ladki (1993) ( Best Actress- Maharashtra State Award and ABCM)

Saatchya aat gharat-2004

Uttarayan (2004)

Kavadse:- (2003)

Sarivar sari(2005)( State award for Best supporting Actor)

Shevri- Actor/Producer(2006) Best Film (As Producer) at The Pune International Film Festival and The 54^th National Awards 2006.

Nital (2006)

Amhi asu ladake (2006)

Gandhha- 2008

Gho Mala Asla Hava- 2008

TV SHOWS

Hindi	Marathi
Ados Pados	Nayak
Heena	Adhuri Ek kahani
Aatish	Raja shiv Chatrapati
Kayamat	Ek zunz wadalashi
Ek Packet Umeed	Salsood
Ladies Special	Haddapaar
Saarthi	Chal Navachi Vachal Vasti
Jhoota Sach
Janam
Star best sellers
Mere apne
Waris
Ankaheen
Chutki Bajake
Bhais Barabar
Hamidabai ki kothi(telefilm)
Punha-(telefilm)

I quote...

'Acting is about good characterization'

'The idea is to show more of character with a lesser touch of your own personality'

'When I came to serials my expectations were nil, because I was aware that my age fitted into the mother's slot'

The many faces of...

WEDDING ALBUM

Writer : Girish Karnad
Director : Lillete Dubey
Cast : Neena Kulkarni, Utkarsh Mazumdar, Ira Dubey, Suchitra Pillai, Rajev Paul, Amar Talwar, Seema Azmi, Deepika Deshpande, Raaghav Chanana & Armaan Sunny

A delightfully poignant tale of love & longing in a Shining IndiaThe "Wedding Album", Girish Karnad’s contemporary new play, explores the traditional Indian Wedding in a globalized, technologically advanced India . On the surface it's a familiar picture- a joyful event when members of the clan come together to celebrate and reaffirm loyalties, but behind the picture perfect smiles, simmer long suppressed suspicions, jealousies, frustrations and aggression. The play deals with a normal urban middle- class family : a daughter who lives abroad with her professional husband, a brother who is a software designer, a younger daughter happy enough to marry a suitable boy from the US she has never met, and then, of course, there is the doting mother and the loyal cook. A family, which is educated, liberal, and modern. Each snapshot shows its members frozen in a projection of respectability, but each figure has a double image, with the shadow of a hidden life. It’s a hilarious spectacle. And hopefully, both revealing and moving.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/after-monsoon-wedding--lillette-does-wedding-album/3760467852

Contribution to Marathi Cinema

Classic Picks

Uttarayan


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzcxePv-mnE&feature=related

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX7TnCTvpHUpHU

There are no grandiose plays for affection, no melodramatic proclamations of undying passion - just the quiet dignity of two world weary characters (beautifully played by Shivaji Satam and Neena Kulkarni) finding strength and companionship in each other.

The story follows Raghu(Shivaji Satam), a widower who's recently returned to Mumbai for his son's wedding. While revisiting his old neighborhood, he seeks out his childhood friend, Durgi(Neena Kulkarni). The two rediscover their friendship, but their youth is a distant memory. Durgi was abused by her former husband and father-in-law and has become withdrawn and guarded. Raghu has also been affected by the unforgiving reality of adulthood, after losing his wife to cancer. Slowly, the fragile characters inch towards building a relationship, vacillating between Raghu's quiet optimism and Durgi's wary insecurity.

Journey to the Other side presents love in its most honest form, full of frailty, tenderness and uncertainly. Now, that is the ultimate romantic gesture.

Shevri

http://shevri.blogspot.com/
Shevri by director Gajendra Ahire and actor/producer Neena Kulkarni won the Government of Maharashtra's Sant Tukaram award for the Best International Marathi Film at the closing ceremony of the Pune International Film Festival 2007 Shevri is about life of a middle-aged woman. Circumstances forces her to spend a night on Mumbai's streets. Her experiences and her story which unfolds in flashbacks is brilliantly interwoven to create a good movie experience. The star cast delivers great performances. The end is the predictable one, but a good, thought provoking movie for many reasons.


Sari Var Sari

Two Sisters born in a society that values conformity over independence. Their family and their surroundings was a constant reminder to them of what their place and aim in life should be.
Vini born with an intellect and a desire to work hard to achieve these limitations. But it is Mini who questions them.
Armed with a sensitive mind, boundless energy and a burning desire to make her own mark in this world, she refuses to be handed a predestined life. She has two choices; live the life that others chalk out for her, or tread own way forward.
Not content with her family's orthodox lifestyle and a future of being labeled' her husband's wife, she follows her heart and crosses all hurdles. But fame proves expensive. While her sister is applauded, Mini is scorned. She finds herself at the pinnacle of glory, alone without her father's pride or a pat on the back. Her once happy family is now engulfed in sorrow. Will her parents rigid attitudes prevent them from reaching out to her? Will the family ever be the same again ? Are familial bonds strong enough to overcome narrow minds and conflicting priorities?


Nital

This is the story of a doctor, who is young and intelligent, ready to take in her life with full enthusiasm. But for Neeraja, the protagonist, the things are not as smooth as for others. She has vitiligo, white patches in her skin, on her face especially.Though vitiligo is just the lack of a skin pigment, it affects the entire identity of a person. It is definitely not contagious and has not been proved medically as a hereditary disorder. After passing through the internal turmoil since her childhood, Neeraja has overcome her inferiority complexes. But the outside world is not as ‘human’ as it should be. Neeraja enters her friend Ananya’s elite and high society family as a doctor and every person in this well educated family is taken aback even with just the possibility of Neeraja becoming their family member.The story unwinds itself, portraying societal insensitivity and cowardice. On the other hand, it illustrates rationality emerging in younger generation about vitiligo.

Ananya is in emotional paradox penduling between the stereotypical preferences of the family and his own sensibility. The story ends on a positive note where he undergoes attitudinal change, driven by Neeraja’s confidence about her self image.

Savat Majhi Ladki- 1993
Director- Smita Talwalkar

A Comedy based on Infidelity!

A middle aged married doctor(Mohan Joshi) has an affair with his new doctor assistant(Varsha Ujgaonkar). Crisis strikes when his wife Beena(Neena Kulkarni) gets to know of this affair and decides to accept the muse gladly and get them married off, while she declares to retire as his wife! The confused couple have no choice left but to accept the offer and make a fool of themselves!

Coming soon- to be updated

Aai- 1996

Director Mahesh Manjrekar

Amhi Asu Ladake-2006

Director:- Abhiram Bhadkamkar