Guess which legend wants to sing for Janhvi?

'I want to tell the singers of our country that they should not be another Rafi, Kishore, Lata, Asha or Mukesh,' Latajiji tells Subhash K Jha.
'Be yourself. Learn dedication to the craft from us, but do not imitate us.'

Lata Mangeshkar doesn't watch too many films any more, but she did catch glimpses of Dhadak.

"After he (Boney Kapoor) lost Srideviji so suddenly, his daughter's debut is reason for him to smile. Janhvi is pretty. I would love to sing for her," Lataji says.

The iconic singer also saw Anil Kapoor's homage to her in the promos for Fanney Khan.

"Boney and Anil are very close to us, the Mangeshkars," she adds.

"I had attended Anil's engagement to Sunita though I could not attend the wedding. I am so glad his daughter Sonam is married and is doing some really good work," she says.

"There was a time when actresses had to slow down after marriage. Thankfully, those days are over. As a working woman -- and I've been working since the age of 12 -- it would be unacceptable for me to give up my career after marriage."

"Anilji plays a fan of mine and Rafisaab (in Fanney Khan). He wants his daughter to be like me. It's very flattering to be still thought of as a hero and an icon," Lataji. "I've been lucky to be emulated for decades now."

"But I want to tell the singers of our country that they should not be another Rafi, Kishore, Lata, Asha or Mukesh."

"Be yourself. Learn dedication to the craft from us, but do not imitate us."

***

'I assume Sunny Leone has now 'retold' the 'untold' story'

Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story Of Sunny Leone is not the first film on the actress.

Two years ago, photographer-film-maker Dilip Mehta made Mostly Sunny on Sunny's life.

It took us to all the places and people who went into the making of the story and was a comprehensive take on a unique life.

But before it released on various platforms, Sunny and her husband Daniel Webber disowned the documentary, leaving Mehta baffled and bereft of a promotional figure for his film.

After Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story Of Sunny Leone released, Mehta expressed displeasure at what he sees as nothing more than an attempt to cash in on his efforts.

"I haven't watched the new series as yet," he says. "The way I see it, 'good' films get remade all the time. Frankly, I'm flattered. I assume in Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story, Sunny Leone has now 'retold' the 'untold' story, which was an 'untold' story, which she very earnestly 'told' me in the first place."

"Mostly Sunny continues to stream on Netflix. And it was 'sanctioned' by Sunny and Daniel. There was nothing unholy, untruthful or for that matter, underhand about it," says Mehta whose sister is Canada-based film director Deepa Mehta.

"Sunny and her manager/husband Daniel Webber shared her formative adolescence years and subsequent professional trajectory. Her voice is the very narrative of the documentary. I wonder what happened after that," he says.

***

'Ramayan has nothing to do with politics'

Kunal Kohli's acting debut, Phir Se, was a damp squib. Undeterred, the film-maker pushes along to the most ambitious project of his career.

"I am doing a new interpretation of the Ramayan," he says. "Why another? Because I feel the message and characters of the Ramayan are more relevant today than ever before. We are living in times when the Ramayan asserts its value to us in unexpected ways."

The director, who last directed Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra in Teri Meri Kahani six years ago, does not want to cast stars this time around.

"I am going with relative newcomers in Ramayan. It is important to cast unfamiliar faces; established actors with images do not work in the mythological context," he says.

"It is not possible to film the entire scripture. That was possible when Ramanand Sagar shot the Ramayan as a marathon television series. In a film, one has to select certain portions," he says.

The director plans to complete and release the film by next year.

Is Kunal attempting to be politically correct by making the Ramayan at a time when Hindutva is a political force?

"Not at all!" he exclaims. "I am not the least political. I don't even pretend to understand politics."

"My decision to film the Ramayan has nothing to do with politics."