*reminder*

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/29/...ain663862.shtml

Just saw the interview. She looked awsome!!!! And I was even more impressed with the whole interview!!! You ROCK ASH!!!

Pranav

Always awesome

oh man! what was with the laughing? she could have done whole lot better than this. I mean you atleast expect a person who has had this big amount of exposure to public would react some maturity in an interview. I liked some of her answers but the ones like "are men intimidated by you?", "you have a boyfriend?" she could have done better, I say. I liked her answer about being independent and living at home.

Hiya Chitz, thanks for the reminder, else I'd have missed it. I was pleasantly surprised. She looked good and did good. I agree with the laughter bit Chitz, it did grate a bit, but I thought she was very good with the rest. Go get 'em Aish, I am on my way to being a convert Wouldn't go as far as to say you rock... but looks like eventually you could!

So funny how she mentions whats the best compliment she has ever got in response where Bob Simon mentions some people think of her as a Greek goddess born as an Indian, she goes "when people say I am real". May be she thinks of herself as fake?? or she is fake?

I kinda agree with the laughter bit because she did come across as a bit immature due to that. Besides that I was quite impressed with her answers. My take on it was that I think (as it is in most cases) the questions/answers were rehearsed and she played her part quite well.

Pranav

I dont think this was rehearsed. Do you really think so Pranav?

I am quite sure...but then kanoon saboot mangta hai aur mere paas saboot nahin hai. However, whatever (little) I know about these type of interviews, the questions are typically known before hand. "Rehearsed" may be the wrong word I used, but I am quite sure the questions are communicated in advance.

Pranav

Overall it was good, but I thought she did overact as far as the
laughter part went. She came up with some good response
looked preety good.

Anyone knows if there'd be a re-run of the show or if it's available somewhere on the web?

Yeah I have copy of it if you want. its 60 MB.

Sure Chitz, if you can please upload it. yousendit.com would be a good tool to use for this purpose. Thanks.

Hey but it's only audio okay?

hehheheh you think he wants to hear her???!!!

Just kidding, just kidding... but seriously...

Oh forget the audio, here's first part of the video.
Click to view attachment

Hahaha.. I'd like to believe but *sigh* its not possible. haha Just uploaded first part of the video. Second one is here. It's 18 mb.

60mins_2.zip

You got me, T!!

Woody Allen once in his usual quizzically comical vein remarked, "Life is 90% showing up". If AR could n't be seen, she'd not be more than 10%.

You heard, C?

Thanks Chitz once again for uploading this video. I just had a chance to view it and boy! did n't she look wonderful. I was floored.

If I do a bit of pop-psychoanalysis (not as Freud intended!), I'd say that beneath that layer of sheen and the excessive laughter (which, at times was almost hysterical), she seemed very defensive and unnatural with her answers and mannerism. It was almost as if she took this as another set of her acting.

Extracts from her answers, like "We'd cross the bridge" (in an answer to the kissing in Hollywood), or "That's for my autobiography" (in an answer to do you have a steady BF?), or "you are blushing, aren't you?" are some of the examples that indicate that she did n't enjoy answering, despite the outwardly appearance of her bursting into a giggle every now and then. She never seemed to speak her mind, except to the question of living with parents.

This must be one of the worst celebrity interviews I have ever seen.

Thanks Anurag, for honest opinion. I am glad we have common thinking about most of the things she said I thought she was trying to be most politically correct, but I dont know if she actually did that or not. The more I hear about this interview from others, the more I think she is only about looks and nothing else.

Chitz, she is n't exactly my GF/wife so I can afford honesty in giving my free opinion.

I don't think she even managed to be politically correct.

Consider what she said in response to the question of "doing kiss scences in Hollywood".

She first came up with a cliched response of "crossing the proverbial bridge when coming to it" and then promptly followed it up with something that is the bane of Bollywood movie making exercise:

She said something on the line of, We'd work on script, the story, and see where it goes from there.

Huh?

Now, this is exactly how things operate in Bollywood. Actors/actresses dictate what should be part of script and story and what not. As an actress, she ought to know that there are scriptwriters and story writers who first decide the content in conjunction with Director and producer. This is not something that actresses decide. Their agents and they read it and if they like, they take the movie. You don't ask for a change in the script because there are kiss scenes in it.

Oh, I am sorry this was such a wasted rambling! Do we have a script in our movies? Ever?

Don't get me wrong guys. I love her. She looks an angel but she needs to work on her language. I'd say her PR team blew this one.

Aishwarya on David Letterman right now... pardon me if I am repeating this information, but I just came to know and don't have time to check at HF for any previous messages. Am off to watch her!

... and I mean the David Letterman show!!

Despite my love-hate relationship with her, I remembered to watch her tonight. I had to give her 15 minutes from my busy schedule.

What was up with her choice of dress? If only she had a leather hunter in her hands, she would have fulfilled many a men's (and women's too!) wild fantasies.

Dave got her goat when he asked her, how did she get into modeling and acting, when she was a young girl. She was speechless.

At least, she kept her hysterical laughter under control this time.

But I think she can do well with a bit more confidence and poise. Could the lack of either have something to do with her choice of shallow roles and the fat but fatuous contracts that she began to accept and sign up for respectively after having won the Miss World competition? I mean it's not hard to put a smudge on one's own conscience in this dog-eat-dog world.

Really? I thought it was tonight - that is on the 9th. No? Guess not. Lagta hai iss baar recording dekhna padega.

Here is more on this:
http://www.hamaraphotos.com/news/story17.html

Missed it!!!

Can someone upload it please?

Recent news articles say that she's going to make an appearance on Oprah as well. This is good for Ash in terms of exposure, and she's appearing in all the biggies in one trip. I mean 60 Mins, Letterman and now Oprah, what's next

Not to forget the Super Bowl ad of L'oreal!! She definitely has the right publicity strategist.

I saw Black the other day (I am not veering off the topic here, please bear with me). I am a woman, so I cried throughout the movie and couldn’t bear to talk till the next day. My cousin tells me she did the same. A friend tells me he shed a few tears too (this from someone I consider pretty controlled!). Still… there was something missing. In mainstream Bollywood there’s a sincerity that’s lacking in the most sincere effort. That’s the best I can describe it. This is Ash’s world, her background. She’ll need more than her good looks to get her somewhere in Bollywood. She’ll need passion and sincerety. Whether or not it’s in her, only time can tell (besides those that know her). I am just happy that an Indian actress is getting an opportunity to make an impact on this part of the world and I hope she makes the most of it. Bride and Prejudice didn’t do much for me (it’s not a patch on A & E’s Pride & Prejudice), but then neither did Moulin Rouge and people loved Nicole Kidman in that!

Donahue..

All these appearances are going to do no good to her cause if as T. said she kept on being insincere on these shows. First of all, she is a complete misfit for such comdey/humor oriented shows where hosts and guests don't mind having a little fun even at their own expense. Her defensive attitude and reluctance to kiss on screen in Hollywood is a sure shot recipe for disaster. At best, she might land an ethnocentric role in some movie but the more I see her, the more I am getting convinced that she knows little of acting.

BTW, T. is Black such a good movie that you cried? Or, you were reduced to tears by the pain of watching?

Anurag, Black is one of the better movies to come out of Bollywood in recent times. Of course they could have done it much better, but it was very moving nevertheless. "Cried" is an understatement. I thank my stars I went on a weekday, I'd have embarassed myself no end in the weekend bheed bhad!

NY Times calls Ash radiantly beautiful but inert:

http://movies2.nytimes.com/2005/02/11/movies/11boll.html

Anurag, can U please copy paste the article on here? It's asking for pwd. Btw finally managed to watch the interview. What was with the staring? And asking him how he got into doing this? She is being a lot more defensive than she should be, I agree. Also she thinks a lot before saying anything. I watched her on this other clip where she attended the launch of Neeta Lulla's new store, and at the end of each word she makes a sound "ummm" I mean cmon... how much you gotta think before praising the dress designer that has helped you enormously?

Chitz, I tried to copy and paste but the formatting and the hyperlinking is going awry while doing it.

It's asking for password because you need a registration at NY Times, which btw, is free and the process pretty unobtrusive.

And, chitz that was not staring. That was flirting -- what else it was with her hands under the chin, eyes fluttering while looking intently at Dave with a smirk across the face? It quickly disarmed Dave and she got sometime to ruminate over what she could say further.

Coming back to my favorite topic Bash-the-Ash (no, seriously I love her way too much! ), I gotta say that she made a few leaves turn inside me while I watched Raincoat today. This was a poignantly beautiful story told in a poetic fashion by Rituparno Ghosh.

The poetry by Gulzar and the lyrics by the director truly capture the latent emotions of Mannu and Neeru, who steadfastly hide their trials and tribulations all along. "Piya tora kaisa abhimaan", though rendered very uninspiring by Shubha Mugdal is a song that I am bound to sing for a while in my shower.

While, Ajay Devgan seems every bit Munnu from village with a city college education and hardened with time, Neeru, at times seems artificial with her mannerism and the dialoge delivery. She says Saneema for Cinema but pronounces Competition and Dietition with the perfect native accent and stress at syllables. I think the role suited Ash perfectly with her practical and conniving ways but in general, her modelesque figure and a cherubic face impedes her ability to play all kinds of characters.

Kisi mausam ka jhonka tha
Jo is deewar par latki hui tasveer tirchi kar gaya hai
Gaye sawan me ye deewaren yun seeli nahi thi
Na jaane is dafa kyo in me seelan aa gayi hai
Daraare pad gayi hai aur seelan is tarah behti hai
Jaise khushk rukhsaaro pe geele ansoo chalte hai..
-Gulzar

A quote from an article...

Aah finally got to read it it was worth reading. Now I will wait for the movie to come on DVD to watch. They are only running it in one theater here. The reviews are bad. I read in the latest issue of People magazine about the same thing so now I will wait.

I didnt know this is how you flirt... from where I was looking it just seemed like staring. Oh well.



Yeah I saw it. Ajay Devgan was great and so was the other gal who plays his friend's wife. I better not make any comments on Ash. May be a gal like Nandita Das, Tabu, or that Sen gal from Mr. & Mrs. Iyer would have been a better choice for the role of Neeru. But that's just my opinion.

The songs were nice. Though I havent got a chance to listen to them again.

LOL @ how you noticed her pronunciations.

Yeah, why didnt she think of making funny about some desi serial when DL asked her about Happy Days reunion? She takes everything too seriously.

Chitz, which movie you are talking about?



Not me, Ash flirts like that, may be. I only act as I always do.



I agree someone else would have done better but among all Ash movies, this might be her best attempt at some serious dramatics.



The songs, in the context of the movie are fantastic -- very relevant and that's how I began to like them. As a soundtrack, the songs offer little for your purchase.

That reminds me to talk about a soundtrack that I am listening to a lot these days, and that's from the yet to be released movie Black Friday (am I right?).

Apparently, there happens to be an Indian music Group called Indian Ocean that produced music for this movie and boy! am I impressed with this. It's mostly instrumental but fantastic tabla playing and very attractive orchestra. They also have a live album called Desert Rain which has meaningless words (deliberately so!) in its lyrics and the music is riveting to say the least. It's the kind of music that gets you to tap your feet against the floor, shake your head with delightfullness, and mumble to yourself the monosyllables in rhyme with the music.

Oh I was talking about Bride and Prejudice. I already watched Raincoat.



Ayyo! I would not think you would flirt like that... *eeks* But seriously, dont you think Ash needs to take some lessons for flirting.



Yeah, she needs more practice though. Drama doesnt come to her naturally, I think.




I personally like Shubha Mudgal's songs a lot so I am all for the entire album. She has a fantastic voice!!

I guess you are talking about movie Black. No clue who is in it and havnet even heard the songs but now that you suggest, I will listen to it after I listen to Raincoat stuff

Nope, Chitz, I am talking about "Black Friday", not Black. It seems these days Bollywhoo is "Black"ened.

Just one thought about "RAINCOAT":

Wouldn't it have been more effective had it been edited within the duration of, say, an English-language film? Particularly for a film of this genre?

I felt the sequence between the landlord and Ajay Devgun was too drawn out. After all, how long does it take to obtain even fresh-made 'puries'? The duration of Aishwarya's absence was too convenient -- to narrate a different picture (for the benefit of the audience).

I thought that even the Aishwarya-Ajay sequences were prolonged.

That it was "inspired" by an O. Henry tale was, in a sense, a let-down for me. I had hoped Bollywood has 'graduated' to some semblance of originality.

Yet, hats off to the makers for having the guts to present a different kind of movie.