#she’s a phenomenal actress for such a young age and I’m SO SO SO proud of her

[twisted-tales-told]

Every time someone comments “isn’t Annabeth supposed to have blonde hair” the media literacy goddess claws out of the ground under your feet unhinges her jaw and chomps you right in half

[princess-of-france]

Also- since Love's Labour's Lost has been on the brain, and you are such a cool theatre person: dreamcast for LLL? Thank you so much!

OMFG MY FAVORITE COMEDY YES YES YES 

*blows kazoo*

(Also, I’m cracking up at you thinking I’m a “cool theater person,” because I promise that’s a wonderfully accidental illusion; in reality, I’m just a cryptid who’s entire genetic makeup consists of triple-espresso lattes, Gmail push notifications, Shakespeare plays, and tears. But you’re very kind!)

Before I answer this amazing Ask, I think I should clarify that my dreamcast for LLL already exists — or, at least, it existed in 2018 — and I had the dazzling, life-affirming pleasure of seeing them perform my beloved plotless comedy at my favorite theater festival on the planet: the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

So here’s to Amanda Dennart and her IMPECCABLE Love’s Labour’s Lost:

^^^ Yes, that is King Ferdinand of Navarre, played by the once and future Daniel José Molina, meeting the Princess of France — the fabulous Alejandra Escalante — with a paper bag over his motherfucking head so that he doesn’t break his kingly oath of Not Looking At Female For 3 Years. (Fun fact: these two are now married!)

[Photo credit: Jenny Graham.]

BUT NOW TO THE MAIN EVENT:

Critically, I think LLL is a play about eight young people experiencing love for the first time and struggling to reconcile that love with their desire to be the Cleverest Person in the Room. Like so many whip-smart young people, the Crazy Eight equate cavalier carelessness with power, but the problem is: true love requires radical, wholehearted, unbearable vulnerability. It demands chaos and madness and mess and mistakes. True love asks us to be willing to look like an idiot. And most young people just aren’t ready for that, the first time it happens. It’s why the ending of this play is so goddam devastating.

And it’s why it’s so important to me that my cast list for the Crazy Eight reflects the youth, innocence, and inexperience I see baked into every one of their lines. Love has to seem like a first-time visitor to all of them. Love has to shake up their worldview like a snow globe, bowl them over, and then leave them impermeably altered. Love has to be the thing that makes them grow up. 

So, with that, I am proud to present...

~THE NAVARRE NERDS~

1. KING FERDINAND OF NAVARRE — Paapa Essiedu

Love of my complete life. I don’t know if there’s a better actor with a bigger heart anywhere on earth. His Henry VI was utterly inspired, so I know he can be Kingly. Plus, he’s a passionate advocate for decolonizing Shakespeare and making classical theater accessible to all and...yeah. I adore him. 

2. BEROWNE — Anthony Boyle

THIS IDIOT. I had to find a picture of him laughing, because he’s played a lot of Moody Broody Types, but OMG when he cracks a grin... Anthony is just a jewel of an actor: versatile, intense, thoughtful, emotionally articulate. He’ll keep Paapa’s Ferdie laughing, but also bring out the big guns for Berowne’s gorgeous character arc from horny cynic to lovesick wooer to chastened fool.

3. DUMAINE — Alfred Enoch

Perfect angel darling. There’s no doubt in my mind that Alfie can do Smug, Suave, Would-Be-James Bond Dumaine as well as Dorky, Clumsy, Foot-Constantly-in-Mouth Dumaine with equal flair. Also, I love him. <3

4. LONGAVILLE — George MacKay

Apparently, this sweetheart is playing Hamlet soon in the new Ophelia movie, which is HILARIOUS, because he looks like the most Innocent Innocent to ever Innocent. I suppose this is what makes him a good actor. And he is very good.

~LES FILLES~

5. PRINCESS OF FRANCE — Lily James

This goddess is always getting cast as ingenues who fall in love with their eyes and hearts wide open, which is all fine and good. But I wanna see her fall in love against her will, against her better judgment, and with stubborn denial attending her every step of the way...partly because Lily is up to the challenge, and partly because it would be precious af.

6. ROSALINE — Karla Crome

BAMF. Berowne won’t know what hit him. Karla is talented in a way most of us can only dream about, but even more importantly, she is whip-smart, self-possessed, and in love with herself. Get it, girl.

7. KATHARINE — Shay Mitchell

It’s hard to beat Shay for Sleek, Feline Intelligence. I like to imagine Katharine as the ultimate duchess: rich, spoiled, overeducated, overprivileged, dressed to the nines every minute of every day. But she carries so much pain behind the mask. Being fabulous is no substitute for losing your big sister. And I think Shay can do justice to all those layers.

8. MARIA — Francesca Mills

I had the honor of seeing Francesca in Rachel Chavkin’s epic production of American Clock at the Old Vic this past winter. In a cast of over 20 brilliant actors, she emerged as the brightest star. I have never fallen in love with an actress so quickly. Sweet, inquisitive, sassy, and smart, with a crystalline voice, Francesca is the ultimate heroine. Her Maria will be the most adorable in human history, I think.

9. BOYET — Tamsin Greig

Imho, no one does Blustery Spinster Energy better than Tamsin. (See her performance as Miss Bates in the 2009 BBC miniseries, Emma.) My favorite version of Boyet is the adult female chaperone that the Princess and her ladies gleefully dress up as a man to stymie Ferdinand’s guards. It makes 5.2 all the more giddy and revelatory, and also it just makes narrative sense. Tamsin will play the beleaguered and increasingly exasperated Wine Mom to perfection.

~THE PSEUDO-SCHOLARS~

10. DON ADRIANO DE ARMADO — Riz Ahmed

I just can’t even express how much I love Riz. He dissolves completely into every single role he plays, no matter how absurd the character may seem on paper. And that is a very pertinent qualification for playing Armado, because he has the hard-fought distinction of being the most Abjectly Batshit Character in this bonkers play. Also I just really wanna get his autograph help

11. MOTE — Kiernan Shipka

THIS GIRL. Oh man, I don’t even know where to begin. She’s so flipping good at her craft, and at such a young age!! Honestly, I’d hate her if she weren’t so damn precious. All she needs to do is learn how to do a Scottish accent and then she’ll be 100% ready to play the wee snickering Watson to Armado’s pirate-Holmes. I’ve always read Mote as Armado’s platonic life partner slash surrogate daughter. She’s probably the only person in the world who knows Armado’s social security number. (Plus, Riz is a sweetheart, so you just know they’ll become great friends!)

12. DR. HOLOFERNES — Olivia Colman

What can I say? She’ll play the broad, slapstick comic relief stock character of Il Dottore to perfection...right up until the moment she doesn’t. Then she’ll make us all sob. “This is not generous, not gentle, not humble!” (V.ii.2570)

13. NATHANIEL — Cyril Nri

Can’t you just see this angel loving the crap out of Olivia’s Holofernes?? Like, he probably built an extension onto his rectory home JUST to give the famous visiting Italian academic a place to stay during her time in Navarre. Great actor, great human, great smile. 11/10

~BELOW-STAIRS~

14. COSTARD — Andy Samberg

My only Costard. I mean, he’s the only white boy I know who could play such a cowardly fuckboi of a character without turning him into a 2-D caricature. Not to mention the fact that Andy is a spectacular improv actor, so he can invent a lot of new lines and jokes for the hallboy! Win-win!

15. JAQUENETTA — Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Because I want the oft-disregarded Jaquenetta to be the Narrator of this whole wild shebang, I need an actor who can foster a deliciously familiar, non-4th-wall relationship with the audience and/or camera. Phoebe is the undisputed Queen of this. She’ll be STELLAR. And she and Andy will make people cry from laughing so hard.

16. CONSTABLE ANTHONY DULL — Andre Braugher

I love the idea of this Juilliard-trained classical actor sitting quietly with his crossword puzzle in the back of the polished oak Navarre library, watching a group of the Dumbest Smart People in human history talking themselves into a tizzy over false Latin and prickets and excrement and bad, mis-delivered iambic hexametric sonnets and just chuckling to himself. (Also: BB99 reunion!)

17. MERCADÉ — Randall Park

Tbh, I feel bad giving such a small part to such a phenomenal actor, but the thing about Mercadé is that he is like the BIGGEST small part in all of Shakespeare. He’s right up there with the First Servant in Lear in terms of the sheer narrative punch he packs into just a few short lines. And I think the best Mercadé is the one who has a personal relationship to the Princess. Maybe he was a personal aide to her father, the King? Maybe he helped raise her? Regardless, I think their conversation at the end of 5.2 is more than just the delivery of a sad message. It’s a communion between two grieving patriots of France. I want an actor whose warm heart will shine through that brief interchange. Randall can obviously do that, tenfold.

Aaaaaaand I think that’s it! Thanks again for the Ask, Lauren!! This was an absolute treat. xx Claire

[adiamondsrae]

✨🖤✨🏀 R.I.P. Kobe 👑✨🖤💯✨ Look at his Babygirl looking at him ✨😍✨ sooo adorable !!! Beautiful and loving sweet picture ✨🥰✨ ✨🤩✨🖤✨ Melanin sparkles so magically in the sun ☀️, just make sure you wear sun screen for the bad stuff in the sun not good for the skin ✨💯✨ ✨✨ #MarsaiMartin is endless groundbreaking actress !! So many milestones and accomplishments she’s made as young as she is. The youth is the future and I’m so proud of her and her womanly empowering moves for the betterment of humanity...#TheFutureIsFemale ✨💯✨💅🏽✨🖤✨ ✨✨ Jennifer Lewis at age 19 & 63, INCREDIBLE...PHENOMENALLY BLACK ✨🖤✨🥰👑✨💅🏽✨ so ageless ✨💯✨ ✨🤩🖤✨ Melanin is MAGICAL ✨💅🏽🖤🥰✨ beautiful Babygirls ✨🥰✨ My newly found comical joy in this world @jay.nedaj (definitely follow) !!! Hysterically hilarious and relatable...Louis...Prada...Gucci...POP eeem tags 🏷...POP em tags ✨🤣✨💯💅🏽✨ ✨Ghetto Blue’s Clues✨ https://youtu.be/TUTliR5XXJg ✨🤩💅🏽✨ Andddd new merchandise COMIN ✨😍✨ ✨✨Magic Johnson and COLD ASS SKWAD of talented individuals...just a cool vintage ass picture...I enjoy memories and life celebrations...and a healthy dose of reality ✨💯✨ pretty DOPE picture ✨🤩✨ #BlackGirlsLoveHorrorToo #BGLHT #Melanin #BlackGirlMagic #Cosplay #Horror #Halloween #HalloweenIsYearRound #HorrorMovies #Scary #HorrorFan #Movie #HorrorMovie #HorrorArt #HorrorFilm #Spooky #LaCorona #CoronaVirus #StayHome #QuarantineLife #BlackLivesMatter #WeAreNotJustAnotherHashtag #BlackGirlsAndBoyGotThatMagic #BlackGirlsAndBoysAreMagical #StopPaintingUsAsAMinority #StopPaintingBlacknessLikeItsABadThing #WeAreNotTheMinority https://www.instagram.com/p/CFt1tQJFhTc/?igshid=1fjem93m8eeps

[joysaidit-blog]

Published May 26, 2017 on xonecole.com 

Katerina “Kat” Graham is a powerhouse in every sense of the “word,” – literally.

You may know Kat Graham for her role as “Bonnie Bennett” in TheVampire Diaries but the 27-year-old is currently gearing up for her debut as a young Jada Pinkett (sans“Smith”) in the upcoming Tupac biopic, All Eyez on Me, and let’s just say fans may be in for treat.

Although she’s a bit nervous about it, she has the slender and petite aesthetic of 5’0″ Jada Pinkett. And much like the outspoken veteran actresses, the eloquently bold Kat had a mindful and mouthful to say about her life and her role last year when Kode Magazine debuted their groundbreaking #GenerationNoir issue,

 The singer/actress opened up about learning the “dark side” of Hollywood at the tender age of 14, which is when Graham first had to decide for herself whether or not to succumb to the pressures that come with being in the industry, or rise above it.

Kat also speaks on the importance of being aware of her platform as a Black woman in front of the camera, and using such visibility to bring awareness to such issues as racial and social injustice, using slain 12-year-old Tamir Rice as an example.

  In short, to say Kat was preaching a good word in this sit down would be an understatement. Peep the most compelling parts of Kat’s interview plus an exclusive peek at Kat in All Eyez On Me below:

On Her Mom Teaching Her to Choose Positive Black Roles Only: “Make Your Race Proud”

“I’m a Black girl. My mom even said to me when I was younger, ‘You need to take projects that make your race proud. You need to be a positive representative.’ It’s not just – ‘Oh I’m going to play a strong African American woman on a television show.’  It’s also what you do when you’re not shooting, in your free time. Are you going to be walking red carpets to get fashion press, or are you going to be actually dedicating your time to helping people? Maybe visit refugee camps, or go profile people, work for the U.N. refugee agency, you know – take some damn responsibility for the fact that people are watching you.”

On Witnessing the ‘Dark Side’ of Hollywood:”I saw the rise and fall of Lindsay Lohan”

“I think when I first started in the industry, I was very bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I thought that Hollywood was fair and once they saw me dance and act and sing, that if I was just a very nice person, everything would come to me quickly. Then as I started to get into thirteen or fourteen years old, things got a little dark, really. Living in one bedroom apartments in Hollywood with your mom, having no money – a little darkness started to set in. My views on Hollywood changed a little then.

“I did Parent Trap when I was a little girl. I saw the rise and fall of Lindsay Lohan. I was seeing a lot of drugs and all this stuff. And it was at about that time that I had to really look at myself and say, ‘What kind of person do you want to be?’ Because at that time there weren’t a lot of roles for women who looked like me. And if there were, no one cared about the little black girl who had a little part in this or that, unless it was Raven Symone or someone from The Cosby Show. That’s when I started to write my own little short films. And I started producing my own music. That’s when I started to develop as an artist. I didn’t like what Hollywood was doing, and I wanted to create something different.”

On the Future and Helping to Create a World She Hopes to One Day See:

“I’m hoping that I can live in a world where it’s okay to challenge the mold, where we are all different shapes and sizes and we come from different places. I’m hoping that I can live in a world where there are black-owned businesses, and African Americans support other African Americans, and we don’t tear each other down. That we do more than just tweet a hash-tag about something, that we get out there with picket signs, that we challenge an unfair system, that we speak on things that maybe people would rather not talk about.

“I’m hoping that I can live in a world where the men and women are strong and opinionated and still graceful and poignant in how they express themselves. I hope that I can live in a world where that takes precedence over looking pretty at an awards show.”

On Playing Jada Pinkett and the “Bigger Picture”

“It’s so important to me, the work I’m doing on this project. Because Tupac and Jada saw something different for themselves when they were growing up. They wanted to be what the industry tried to peg them as.

Left: Kat & Demetrius Shipp Jr Right: Jada & Tupac

 “All this development with T.V. and film. Having a Black president and having Black directors. All this stuff, from my perspective, has really only blossomed in the past few years. Where the audience is seeing more than the slave movie or the drug addict or the funny best friend. It’s still an issue. You want me to not talk about it? I’m going to talk about it. It’s still an issue. I’m going to challenge it. But I can’t challenge it by just creating the way that we’ve been programmed to create. Because so often we’re not in the room with a Black writer or a Black director.”

 On Tamir Rice, Police Slayings and the System Needing Work

“It’s cool to talk about what you’re wearing and who you’re dating. And nobody really wants to hear about this young boy – 12 years old and the cops (Tamir Rice) thought he was 18, you know? These are realities about today, and people just have to wake up.

“No one is perfect. No system is perfect. There are things in our government that we could definitely work on.”

Phenomenal woman! Check out the gallery of Kat’s sophisticated slay below!

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    #Archives |Kat Graham On Changing The World: “Challenge An Unfair System” Published May 26, 2017 on xonecole.com 

[lavila27]

Eclipsed- a review by Lauren Avila

Last weekend I went into the city to see the matinee performance of Danai Gurira’s play Eclipsed. I spoke with the cast after the show and told them that it’s probably the most powerful and moving piece of theater I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of theater. I’ve seen beautiful ballets, exciting symphonies, creative musicals, and unforgettable plays but Eclipsed moved me in a visceral and practically tangible way. I found myself laughing, crying and shaking with emotion throughout the play.

Eclipsed is about five women in Liberia during their civil war in 2003. The audience is first introduced to Wife #1 and Wife #3 who live in a one-roomed shack, who are hiding a young teenage girl from the Commanding Officer (referred to as CO). However it doesn’t take long and a bit of bad timing for The Girl to be found by him anyway. As Act I goes by, the three wives adjust to what life is in these new circumstances. Immediately you get to know these characters’ personalities through their casual talk in spite of the life their leading. We still hear them talk about their hair, age, style, and history. At the heart of it, the first three women you meet are just like you and me. They are people with likes and dislikes, opinions and thoughts, and feelings and fears. They find entertainment in each other and even discover humor in their turmoil.

The creative team behind the play made some really immersive decisions. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat and even inside that shack with those women in Liberia. It was due to the lighting, the cultural music, and the intimidating presence of that CO that the audience was thrown into the ups and downs of the wives’ daily lives.

Later in Act I the audience and The Girl meet Maima, who was formerly Wife #2. She is now fighting as a soldier and tries to convince The Girl that she doesn’t have to settle for a life like the one she’s stuck in. She can fight and defend herself instead. Knowing that Wife #3 is pregnant and getting bigger everyday and Wife #1 is no longer desired by CO, The Girl expects that her circumstances are only going to get worse so she chooses to fight.

In Act II, the audience is submerged into The Girl’s new reality. This time the battle is intense and violent. Armed with a gun, The Girl is fighting for her life and freedom. We find however that this life may be even worse than life as Wife #4. In a heartbreaking monologue, The Girl breaks down while telling the story of how she turned a young girl over to a group of men who brutally raped her and then had her throw the girl in the river while she was still alive. Meanwhile, Wife #1 is finding a new identity as well when Rita, a women’s peace ambassador tries to help her discover her worth and potential.

There’s so much complexity to each of these women. The have layers and unique stories. It’s easy to relate with each one. Even though Rita has a story of her own, I believe she is also the personification of the audience. She wants to help these women and she’s desperate to have them reclaim their names and identities. At the end, you can’t help but wonder who you would be? Would you be the fighter, who only trusts herself to protect and provide for her life? Would you be the Wife, who stays in the life she knows because it’s safe and familiar? Would you be a helper, who takes risks to help others even when you know that the outcome may never help you? Would you be a new beginner, who ventures into an unknown new world with nothing but a little hope that anything will be better than this? Would you be The Girl, who tries to find the balance between being a warrior and a woman? Honestly, I don’t know who I would be. It’s truly a thought-provoking play on a lot of counts. It’s a story of survival, sisterhood, solidarity, and strength. The most impactful moment, however, came after the curtain call. Each performance of Eclipsed is dedicated to real girls who have been kidnapped and/or are missing. The performance I attended was dedicated to Sarah and Karen? (I may be mistaken) who were kidnapped outside of their high school in Kenya. They’ve been missing for three years. They had us say their names out loud and I found when I opened my mouth that my voice was quivering and I was breathless.

Eclipsed is a masterful production with a compelling story, monumental truth, surprising humor, and palpable inner strength. I applaud the entire creative team but especially Danai Gurira. I can really sense the research and passion in this project. I’m so proud of her work as a fellow writer and as a fan. I also really appreciate the incredible cast of women I saw. Their fearless, flawless, and fierce performances were truly astounding. I was left speechless at intermission and again at the curtain call. There was applause at the conclusion of both Acts, including a standing ovation at the end. I don’t understand how these beautiful ladies bring themselves to these very dark places everyday, twice a day sometimes. They are inspiring actresses. Stacey Sargeant, Ayesha Jordan, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Adeola Role, and Akosua Busia were not only phenomenal but also very gracious. Thank you very much ladies for spending a few minutes with me. Today marks the end of their run in San Francisco. I don’t know what’s next for Eclipsed but if it ever goes to a city near you, I would definitely recommend it. At the performance I went to, I was among a very diverse crowd. There were old and young, men and women, and all ethnicities. I even saw children there. I personally wouldn’t have brought kids with me but to each their own. I hope you get to see this show some day readers. Until that time though, you can buy the book online!

Side note: the Curran theater’s makeover looks amazing! I can’t even recognize it from what it used to be. From old SF to new SF, wow!

[lazyupdates]

She may have wedded the superstar of the ’70s, Rajesh Khanna. But Dimple Kapadia’s life has been no less phenomenal. Married to both the arc-lights and a megastar in the same year she chose to give up one for the other. But Dimple Khanna soon grew up to some sinister home truths. She yearned for the view outside… never mind if it meant walking down alien alleys. From there began her tryst with herself – as an actor, as a woman. A bunch of formula films later, she broke into the parallel orbit and asserted her credibility as an actor. Aitbaar, Kaash, Lekin, Rudaali, Krantiveer, Angaar, Luck By Chance, Being Cyrus, Finding Fanny… Dimple’s rise as an actor has coincided with her growth as a person. While Mrinal Sen compared her to Sophia Loren and described her face as ‘a landscape of desolation’, Feroz Khan called her a woman ‘who’s just dying to be herself on screen’. Like her character Shanichari in Rudaali, a professional mourner who draws from the torment of her soul, Dimple’s performances resonated the angst within.

Love and loss have been her close allies. Be it the death of relationships or the demise of her loved ones, she’s survived it all. While as Bobby she was sheer sunlight, her wine eyes, through the years, reflect a hangover of pain. And to create what better than revisiting the manor of your own memories. Here’s going through the life and times of the incredible actor…

 That year – 1973!

Amidst a line-up of a hundred young girls, Raj Kapoor singled out the older daughter of Gujarati entrepreneur Chunilal Kapadia and Betty to be launched opposite his son Rishi Kapoor in Bobby (1973). In fact, her introduction scene in the film was inspired from Raj’s first meeting with muse Nargis decades ago… where an unsuspecting Nargis had opened the door to Raj… running her flour smeared hands through her hair!

But before Bobby could win over the audiences, superstar Rajesh Khanna wooed a 15-year-old Dimple to be his child bride in March ’73. While this unexpected twist left his thousand female fans shattered – some even committed suicide – it was a fairytale wedding for Dimple. For someone, who often strolled past the superstar’s sea-facing bungalow Aashirwad in Bandra to someday walk in as the empress of his castle was a surreal moment.  “I came to know him precisely seven days before the marriage. We were together in a flight to Ahmedabad for a show. He sat next to me but did not utter a word. Just as the flight was about to land, he turned towards me, looked hard into my eyes and said he wanted me to marry him,” Dimple once recalled the whirlwind romance. She was 16 to his 31.

 Blockbuster Bobby

Six months after her marriage, released RK’s love tale Bobby. “Mujhse dosti karoge?” asks Bobby Braganza in the iconic scene. A cleft on her cherubic face, sherry eyes, a natural naiveté and loads of untouched sexiness… Dimple became a teen icon. She helmed the Bobby cult – the dotted and knotted Bobby blouse and the earphone-hairstyle, the Bobby clips, Bobby sandals… were feverishly followed. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (along with Jaya Bhaduri for Abhimaan). But that was the magnificent anti-climax of her nipped-in-the-bud career. The mehndi on her hands, visible in the last portions of Bobby, was a grim reminder that she was now Kaka’s possession. 

The rocky marriage

One can never fathom the reasons behind Rajesh’s impulsive decision to marry Dimple. Some dubbed it as ‘attention seeking’, some called it an ‘ego boost’ for the superstar, who wanted to spite his ex-ladylove, actor/model Anju Mahendroo. But sadly, by the end of 1974 when their first daughter Twinkle Khanna was born (she shares the same birthdate, December 29, with her late father) the cracks in the marriage were evident. Rajesh’s slipping stardom and his alleged alcoholism and abusive ways left his adolescent wife traumatised. Still in her early 20s, in 1982, Dimple, reportedly, moved into her parents’ home with daughters, Twinkle and Rinkie, aged eight and five then. She began working with Ramesh Sippy for her comeback film Saagar. “Right from the beginning of my marriage I knew it wouldn’t work out. My biggest failing is I don’t take a stand. I let people stomp all over me. Finally, when I do put my foot down, it’s too late,” she had told Filmfare in July 1983.

The eventuful ‘80s

Though Saagar was to be her comeback, Dasari Narayana Rao’s Zakhmi Sher (1984), opposite Jeetendra released first. Saagar premiered in August 1985 and was controversial for the scene where she was seen topless for a split second. Her easy performance as Mona D’Silva, torn between her friend (Kamal Haasan) and beloved (Rishi Kapoor), won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award. “Certainly, marriage brings security… I was Mrs Rajesh Khanna. It takes guts to leave all that. But now that I’m earning and fending for myself, I feel more secure. There’s a hell of a difference in spending your time playing cards and acting,” she said to Filmfare in October 1984.

Mukul Anand’s Aitbaar (1985), a Hitchcockian thriller (apparently based on Dial M For Murder) with Suresh Oberoi and Raj Babbar, had her play the beautiful wife of a sadistic husband. The film had soulful music by Bappi Lahiri. The songs Kisi nazar ko tera intezar aaj bhi hai and Awaaz di hai have great recall value.

Rahul Rawail’s actioner Arjun with Sunny Deol added to her reliability just as it sparked off rumours of a liaison between the lead pair. Feroz Khan’s stylised Janbaaz (1986) presented her in a sexy and glamorous avatar and is still remembered for her steamy lovemaking scene with Anil Kapoor in the barn. Dimple’s moment of epiphany came with Mahesh Bhatt’s Kaash (1987). The narrative that dealt with the decline of a superstar (Jackie Shroff) had perhaps a familiar echo for the actress, who was also evolving as a person. Her act of a disillusioned wife and a distraught mother had flashes of brilliance. In fact, Bhatt was then quoted saying, “I couldn’t differentiate between Dimple and Pooja her character… She has gone through so much in her life that… she only has to be herself.” Dimple and Jackie shared a great chemistry as their bond traversed through love, conflict, abuse and estrangement… only to come anew.

The dramatic, though coarse, Zakhmi Aurat (1988) had her play a police officer, who gets gang-raped. After the judicial system fails her, she joins forces with other rape victims to castrate the rapists. The film was a bold statement, hitherto unseen in our films. Another notable film was Mukul Anand’s Insaaf (1987). Her pairing with Vinod Khanna was a beauty meets brawn encounter with the song Sulagti hai aankhen… celebrating it to the hilt. Subhash Ghai’s Ram Lakhan (1989) was another commercial success in her diary.

The offbeat ’90s

“When I do glamorous roles, people say I look haggard. Why can’t directors conceive me in a realistic set-up? Why can’t directors like Mahesh Bhatt and Shyam Benegal sign me?” asked Dimple in a Filmfare interview in September 1985. And the ’90s threw open the floodgates of arthouse cinema for her. Govind Nihalani’s Drishti (1990) had Shekhar Kapur and her as a married urban couple, trying to find meaning in a dithering marriage.

Based on Rabindranath Tagore’s short story, Gulzar’s Lekin (1990), set in Rajasthan, revolved around Vinod Khanna who’s entranced by Reva (Dimple), a spirit. Apparently, to make her character truthful, director Gulzar asked her to refrain from blinking and give a ‘fixed gaze’ for a surreal effect. Another milestone was Kalpana Lajmi’s Rudaali (1993). Also set in Rajasthan, the film was based on Mahasweta Devi’s story about professional mourners. Dimple played Shanichari, a woman who has never cried despite a sad life but is compelled to weep for a living. It won her the National Award. “I was proud; I’d proved that an actress from mainstream cinema could win an award,” she told Filmfare in October 1993.

Mrinal Sen’s 1995 Bengali drama Antareen had her play a woman in a loveless marriage. In Mehul Kumar’s Krantiveer (opposite Nana Patekar), she played a journalist, who becomes a rape victim and received her fourth Filmfare Award as the Best Supporting Actress. Other notable films were Shashilal K Nair’s Angaar (1992), where she played an orphan and Priyadarshan’s Gardish (1993), where she played a prostitute.

The magical millennium

Not averse to playing her age, the 2000s had her dabble with an array of characters. They include Farhan Akhtar’s directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai (2001), where she played Tara Jaiswal, a middle-aged alcoholic divorcee. Her amorphous relationship with much younger artist Siddharth (Khanna) here was a poignant portrayal. Leela (20012), directed by Somnath Sen and co-starring Vinod Khanna, followed her unconventional relationship with a student. The year 2005 saw her unite with Rishi Kapoor in Pyaar Mein Twist. They played two middle-aged single parents, who fall in love. Her part of ex-superstar Neena Walia in Luck by Chance (2009), referred to in the film as ‘a crocodile in a chiffon saree’ was applauded. In 2006, she co-starred with Saif Ali Khan and Naseeruddin Shah in Being Cyrus (2006), directed by Homi Adajania. She essayed Katy, Shah’s neurotic wife, who has an affair with a younger Cyrus. Cocktail (2012) and Finding Fanny (2014) tapped her reserves of fun even as they completed her trinity with Adajania.

The golden years

Through time, her equation with estranged husband Rajesh went through an overhaul. The two, somehow, never divorced and the initial resentment gave way to a newfound mutual respect. This was more than evident, when he was detected with cancer. The family, along with son-in-law Akshay Kumar, rallied around Rajesh, stepping wholeheartedly into Aashirwad once again, giving him the support and care that perhaps only a family could shower. When he passed away on July 18, 2012, he was given a farewell, which was a reminder of the phenomenon he once was.

Today, Dimple seems to be in a peaceful phase. “Rinkie is my child and Twinkle is my mother. Twinkle looks after us all. She tries to make my life as comfortable as possible,” she one shared with Filmfare. Fond of painting and surfing the internet, she’s enjoying the mellow moments that life has thrown her way. “There has been a lot of pain in my life but I don’t find myself going into that area…This could be wrong because people say it’s cathartic to go through the process. I’m scared of losing myself even for a few minutes. It’s too painful. I don’t know whether that’s going to work for me or hit me all at once. But so far life has been kind,” she had once shared with Filmfare. A deep thought indeed!

QUOTES:

Certainly, marriage brings security… I was Mrs Rajesh Khanna. It takes guts to leave all that. But now that I’m earning and fending for myself, I feel more secure. There’s a hell of a difference in spending your time playing cards and acting  – Dimple Kapadia to Filmfare in October 1984 

There has been a lot of pain in my life but I don’t find myself going into that area…This could be wrong because people say it’s cathartic to go through the process. I’m scared of losing myself even for a few minutes – Dimple to Filmfare in 2010

When I do glamorous roles, people say I look haggard. Why can’t directors conceive me in a realistic set-up? Why can’t directors like Mahesh Bhatt and Shyam Benegal sign me? 

-Dimple to Filmfare in September 1985

Memorable songs featuring Dimple

Hum tum ek kamre mein bandh ho – Bobby Sagar kinare dil yeh pukare – Saagar Kisi nazar ko tera intezar –  Aitbaar yaara – Kaash Jab jab teri soorat dekhoon – Janbaaz Yaara sili sili – Lekin Dil hum hum kare – Rudaali

The post Birthday Special: Looking back at the phenomenal journey of Dimple Kapadia appeared first on Lazy Updates.

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Oprah Winfrey’s Golden Globes Speech - January 07 2018 Oprah accepted the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement with a rousing acceptance speech that began as a personal reflection and ended as a call to arms. After being introduced by Reese Witherspoon, she acknowledged the significance of becoming the first black woman to win the award, and said she hoped that the raised voices of her fellow actresses might lead to a world in which “nobody ever has to say, ‘Me too,’ again.” Photo I: Oprah Winfrey's DeMille Award acceptance speech Photo II: Recy Taylor in 2011 in Lafayette Park in Washington after touring the White House. Credit Susan Walsh Photo III: Recy Taylor in a 1944 photograph..jpg > Video Of Winfrey's speech January 07 2018 https://youtu.be/LyBims8OkSY Here is a full transcript of Ms. Winfrey’s speech:    Ah! Thank you. Thank you all. O.K., O.K. Thank you, Reese. In 1964, I was a little girl sitting on the linoleum floor of my mother’s house in Milwaukee, watching Anne Bancroft present the Oscar for best actor at the 36th Academy Awards. She opened the envelope and said five words that literally made history: “The winner is Sidney Poitier.” Up to the stage came the most elegant man I had ever seen. I remember his tie was white, and of course his skin was black. And I’d never seen a black man being celebrated like that. And I’ve tried many, many, many times to explain what a moment like that means to a little girl — a kid watching from the cheap seats, as my mom came through the door bone-tired from cleaning other people’s houses. But all I can do is quote and say that the explanation’s in Sidney’s performance in “Lilies of the Field”: “Amen, amen. Amen, amen.” In 1982, Sidney received the Cecil B. DeMille Award right here at the Golden Globes, and it is not lost on me that at this moment there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given this same award.    It is an honor, and it is a privilege to share the evening with all of them, and also with the incredible men and women who’ve inspired me, who’ve challenged me, who’ve sustained me and made my journey to this stage possible. Dennis Swanson, who took a chance on me for “A.M. Chicago”; Quincy Jones, who saw me on that show and said to Steven Spielberg, “Yes, she is Sophia in ‘The Color Purple’”; Gayle, who’s been the definition of what a friend is; and Stedman, who’s been my rock — just a few to name. I’d like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, because we all know that the press is under siege these days.    But we also know that it is the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice. To tyrants and victims and secrets and lies. I want to say that I value the press more than ever before, as we try to navigate these complicated times. Which brings me to this: What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I’m especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell. And this year we became the story. But it’s not just a story affecting the entertainment industry. It’s one that transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics or workplace.    So I want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault, because they — like my mother — had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue. They’re the women whose names we’ll never know. They are domestic workers and farmworkers; they are working in factories and they work in restaurants, and they’re in academia and engineering and medicine and science; they’re part of the world of tech and politics and business; they’re our athletes in the Olympics and they’re our soldiers in the military.    And they’re someone else: Recy Taylor, a name I know and I think you should know, too. In 1944, Recy Taylor was a young wife and a mother. She was just walking home from a church service she’d attended in Abbeville, Ala., when she was abducted by six armed white men, raped and left blindfolded by the side of the road, coming home from church. They threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone, but her story was reported to the N.A.A.C.P., where a young worker by the name of Rosa Parks became the lead investigator on her case and together they sought justice. But justice wasn’t an option in the era of Jim Crow. The men who tried to destroy her were never persecuted. Recy Taylor died 10 days ago, just shy of her 98th birthday. She lived, as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men. And for too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up. Their time is up.    And I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth — like the truth of so many other women who were tormented in those years, and even now tormented — goes marching on. It was somewhere in Rosa Parks’s heart almost 11 years later, when she made the decision to stay seated on that bus in Montgomery. And it’s here with every woman who chooses to say, “Me too.” And every man — every man — who chooses to listen. In my career, what I’ve always tried my best to do, whether on television or through film, is to say something about how men and women really behave: to say how we experience shame, how we love and how we rage, how we fail, how we retreat, persevere, and how we overcome. And I’ve interviewed and portrayed people who’ve withstood some of the ugliest things life can throw at you, but the one quality all of them seem to share is an ability to maintain hope for a brighter morning — even during our darkest nights.    So I want all the girls watching here and now to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say, ‘Me too’ again. Thank you.” Notes: - Golden Globes: Recy Taylor, who was the woman Oprah mentioned? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42603330 - Recy Taylor, black Alabama woman raped by six white men in 1944, dies aged 97   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/29/recy-taylor-alabama-dies ————————– Steven H MacDowall Join my Blog ‘The Thursday File’ every week. My next posting > January 11, 2018 > The Thursday File #707 - sign up today! > www.thursdayfile.com