Romantic dinner, family time; TV actors share their Valentine’s Day plans

The season of love is here with Valentine’s Day approaching soon. Our favourite telly actors talk about what the day means to them, their plans for the day and who would they like to go on a date with.

Gunjan Utreja - I do not believe in a particular day to celebrate your love for someone. The relationship needs to be celebrated every day. So if I was in a relationship I would make it special every day. I would love to go out on a date with Deepika Padukone. I adore and respect her a lot. And it would be fun to know her more on this date.

Sheeba - I'm happy to celebrate every special day! Valentines Day is so romantic and I just love how everything is cast in red hues! My plan is a houseful of red roses and an intimate sundown with my loved one! All my family lives in my heart and I am happy to celebrate ValentinesDay with all of them.

Randeep Rai - It is important for me and in fact for everyone to make Valentine’s week special. But as I am single and also I  am busy shooting, it won't be possible for me to celebrate this Valentine's day. I would love to go on a date with Deepika Padukone as I have a huge crush on her.

Kajol Shrivastava - I have always believed and learned from my parents that Valentine’s Day is not only about boyfriends and girlfriends, in fact, it’s about celebrating with someone whom you love. So it may sound crazy but every year I celebrate Valentine's day with my family. In fact, sometimes we laugh at this that for us, days like Valentine’s Day, Friendships Day and New Years are like family functions in which we have to be present. So like every year we all will be celebrating it together. Since I'm shooting in Umbergaon they all may come over here. But the new thing about this year is that we have a new member in our family, my brother in law. So this time it will be more fun. I would love to date, Shah Rukh Khan. Goes without saying because he is witty, funny and a gentleman at the same time.

Saurabh Pandey - It's wonderful to celebrate Valentine’s Day. For me, it's not only about loving your better half, it’s about loving your family, your pets as well as your friends. It's nice to know that we have a day where we consciously celebrate those we love. My plan for thisValentine's Day is to take my wife out of Mumbai for a day and call all those people who I love and ask them how they are doing. If given a chance I would love to take Sridevi out for a dinner date along with my wife because we both are fans of her and admire her for all that she has done.

Gavie Chahal - I don’t feel that the expression of love needs a day but as it’s set in our culture now, so there is no harm in celebration. As it at least gives us a chance to express our feelings. I would love to have a day out with needy kids and I want to enjoy my day with their happy faces around.

Arjun Bijlani –For me, love means togetherness and spending quality time and understanding each other's needs and wants. Life without love is like food without salt! And this year, Valentine’s Day celebration would be a dinner with my wife Neha and our family. Not just this year, even after five years from now, I see myself as a happily married man living a meaningful life full of love happiness and laughter. All this is possible because my wife Neha is my biggest support system. My son Ayaan has completed our family and makes me feel full of joy daily.

Ssharad Malhotraa - Love is all about caring for someone else deeply and unconditionally. Love is being motivated to be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be, because you are so passionate about the other person. To me, love means finding someone who challenges you completely. It’s about finding someone who is truly your partner and best friend and someone who you can share all your experiences with. This Valentine’s Day, I will surely take Pooja out for nice dinner.

Tinaa Dattaa -  Valentine’s Day means you can express love to anyone on that day, even a friend. Valentine’s Day is like Friendship’s Day. Love is not always only romantic. We all need human beings in life and Valentine’s Day is a good day to express your affection.

Every team is a competition for us - Garima Jain

Actress Garima Jain speaks on cricket! Why did you choose to be part of Goa killer? How is it playing?

> I chose Goa Killer in MTV BCL because it is a new team and I wanted to invest my time to a new team and this year it will be like an experimenting year and next year we will be even stronger. Whenever we say Goa the first thing comes in my mind is water so I have this inclination towards water animals and I am a Shark too. So definitely it's great playing with Goa Killer and I really love it.

Is it tough to take out time for projects like this?

> Of course, it is very tough and very taxing because I shoot for Shakti and my set is in Naigaon so it's like you dedicate 12 hours of working on set and then travelling and then you go fro the practice, you play, you exercise so much. It's quite taxing. At the end, the result is very sweet and I have fallen in love with this sport. Anyway, I have always been a multitasker and I love multitasking. And also it's a way to get in shape so treated it as a workout.

Since when you love cricket and share your passion for the sport.

> Well, honestly since my childhood days I used to hate cricket. People used to watch cricket and I was like don't you have any work other than this but I think the love and liking for the sport grew last year when I played for BCL which happened on Colors so yes, I learned what is cricket all about and I started playing and with that time being I started enjoying it and also started loving cricket. Now it has become my passion and after shooting for hours if we are getting to play cricket, it's worth!

What will the main tasks and responsibilities be in the team?

> There are many tasks and responsibilities. Any sport for that matter requires teamwork. So yes, responsibility towards the game, towards our players and towards proving ourselves that we are no less.

What do you think the main challenges will be?

> I think the main challenge will be since it's a new team, to prove ourselves. I don't know about this year but last year Delhi Dragon was the strongest team and I believe Chennai and Mumbai will be quite strongest this time since there has been a lot of shuffling. Every team is a competition for us.

How much practice you do on day to day basis?

> Well, again it depends but we try and practice for at least 2 hours a day.

To build up more stamina and energy what is the physical training you are undergoing now please share...

> We do a lot of stretching exercises and we have got a physiotherapist who's there to help us of any injury or inflammation. There's a diet plan for the players so we started eating healthy. We are already on diet. We have started playing and having a lot of water. We have been having energy bars, protein shakes and all of that.

How is it working with Marinating Films (Anand Mishra)?

> Well, it's a two years association and I am totally loving it. They are very friendly and I am glad that they have come with something like this and more of such leagues should happen. There are people who play football in the TV industry and who are really good players, there are people who play good badminton and everything. So now I think Marinating Films should come up with something different. It could be Kabaddi also and I am really excited by the way. Goa Killer has fantastic owners in Manik Soni and Alan Kapoor.

Who is your favourite cricketer and why?

> Definitely Sachin Tendulkar goes without saying. I don't know off late I started liking Virat Kohli too and I have a crush on him but otherwise, also I have seen him playing and he is superb when it comes to his sport. I love the passion, the dedication and the energy that he shows on the ground. I have seen him playing live as well. He plays football too and I have seen him and he had a phenomenal stamina on the ground and he was very aggressive on the field but one has to be if you really have that passion in your mind that you have to win and have to make this happen every player should have that. So I really love that and he is sporty that ways. He takes everything in a good way. Nobody likes facing failure but that one particular respect should be in a player only then you can win. You should have the motivation and you should have confidence in your team and you should keep boosting up the team and keep motivating them towards being healthy and towards giving your best.

Our relationship is mature enough to survive long distance: Rohit Purohit on bond with Sheena Bajaj

Actor Rohit Purohit is away shooting in Umbergaon for Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s Porus. While long distance may be a dangerous option for many couples, it is not so for Rohit and his girlfriend Sheena Bajaj. The actor says that his shooting schedules have often kept him away from Mumbai, and Sheena understands this. “I think that our relationship is mature enough to handle it now...I have been shooting out since Razia Sultan days, that too in low network place like Umbergaon. But Sheena is an extremely supportive partner. She understands this situation and rather motivates me to keep my focus on work,” he says.  

Sheena says that she doesn’t visit the set often. “I don’t visit the set very often, I just went once. I feel the long distance keeps our relationship more alive. He was away during Arjun for a long time. Even during Raziya Sultan and now Porus. But he took a break for more than a year between both shows, so we got time together,” says Sheena.  

However, she admits that it does get tough. “I get bored when he is not around as I hardly have any friends. I spent time with my family. Also, when he is bored, he comes to meet me at home and spends time with my family,” she says.  

Talking about their relationship, Sheena adds, “We have a great bond of friendship more like bros, where we do fun stuff together like horse riding and sword fitting and we chill when we meet.”

Varun Dhawan's October gift to fans this Valentine's Day

Shoojit Sircar and Varun Dhawan have given a sweet and striking gift to the legions of their fans: Introducing them to the world of October with a special video launched digitally today!

Shoojit Sircar's unique take on love will make you wonder about the beautiful journey of life and relationships. 

The film reportedly sees Varun Dhawan surpass all previous performances and  milestone he has set so far along with the young talent Banita Sandhu who is making her acting debut in the film. 

Tell us what you think!  

Produced by Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar, October stars Varun Dhawan and Banita Sandhu. A Rising Sun Films Production, directed by Shoojit Sircar the film is set to release on 13th April 2018.

Staying away from my family is tough: Salil Ankola

Actor Salil Ankola, who is part of Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s Karamphaldata Shani, is busy shooting in Umbergaon for the show. The actor says that staying away from his family is not easy. “I have been shooting in Umbergaon for the past one and half years almost and initially the days and work hours were hectic but now it's sorted. But still being away from my family, friends, my life in Mumbai and my dog Muffin is a feeling I don't like. It's been tough! My wife Ria accompanies me all the time so there is a bit of solace,” he says. 

However, he still loves being an actor. “An actor can live so many lives and he can portray so many characters which a normal person cannot. That's the best part and that makes everything worth it,” he says. 

However, Salil agrees that being an actor and a public figure comes with its own set of responsibilities. “I have been a cricketer for so long and now I am an actor. These are the two professions that are the lifeline of our country's residents. We have millions of followers, who follow our each and every step and also copy us in every way. So, it's very important that we influence them the right way,” he says, adding, “We need to be careful especially with the teenagers and the young crowd, who are the future of our country.” 

Talking about fans, Salil says that he has often had interesting experiences with them. “From playing cricket for India to being an actor on TV and featuring in music videos, I have had various fans and various fans experiences. I have got love letters written in blood to marriage proposals…you name it and I have experienced it. However, my most recent fan experience was kind of embarrassing. I was in a flight back to Mumbai and was sitting in the first seat in the aisle with my wife Ria. Lots of people were shaking my hand and moving forward. One such guy, who probably was in his mid-forties, came up to me and shook my hand. He then told the other passengers behind him to make space. Then, to my surprise, he did a Sashtaang Namaskar, by lying flat on his stomach with hands stretched in a namaskar at my feet, like we do in a temple. He said, "Suryadev mujhe aashirwaad dijiye aur meri saari sankate door kijiye, main aapka bhakt hoo". I have never been so embarrassed ever in my life!” he says. 

Salil says that now TV shows are also no longer regressive and are spreading the right message of equality. “Our country has adapted and progressed leaps and bounds when it comes to viewership in urban areas and is open to a lot of bolder topics. The rural audience still has not reached that level of acceptance, though things are changing fast with people's mentalities,” he says. 

In fact, the actor says that there are a lot of changes in the TV industry too. “Now there are lots of channels and hence it gives a chance to a lot of actors to show their talent. Also, nowadays it's tougher to get TRPs and maintain them as the choice is wider. Secondly, with the trend of web series catching up, we are moving towards bolder subjects, stories and experiments, where there is no third party interferences in the casting,” he says. 

Talking about the kind of roles that he wants to take up, Salil says, “In my career in TV, I have done various roles as the lead. I am looking forward to some kind of an Indianised Game of Thrones series which will be fantabulous. I am even keen on taking up a mature love story which will be very demanding to perform. A father and son spy series set or a fantastic comedy will also be interesting. Basically, anything that will get me out of my comfort zone,” he says.