Tag: Vogue

  • How did Zoya Akhat prep ‘The Archies’ actors for the film?

    How did Zoya Akhat prep ‘The Archies’ actors for the film?

    Famed Indian director Zoya Akhtar is set to release her Netflix film ‘The Archies’ on December 7 on the streaming giant. The film stars babies from all the royal acting families of Bollywood: Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, Vedang Raina, Agastya Nanda, Mihir Ahuja, Aditi Saigal and Yuvraj Menda. In an interview with Vogue, the ‘Made In Heaven’ creator opened up about how she prepped all the newcomers for the film and how they became close friends with one another.

    Speaking to Vogue, Akhtar said she set up an intense boot camp, and made the actors go through acting workshops, dance training and everything else.

    “I wanted them to be comfortable from the get-go. There are 200 people on set, there’s a camera in your face and you have to go up and perform when the word ‘action’ is said. It’s daunting.”

    She added, “I wanted them to be over all of that by the time they came to set, so it was very important for them to get along with one another. There was this big boot camp where they had dance classes, acting workshops and cinematography training.”

    Zoya also revealed she was happy the actors became close friends with each other, and hoped they championed each other through the course of their careers:

    “I hope they champion each other throughout the course of their respective careers because they’ve been so good – they’ve been good for each other and they’ve been good with each other.”

    When the trailer was released on social media platforms, many criticised how all the actors came from acting families, and the fact that all the characters were fair skinned and didn’t look Indian. Speaking to Mid-Day at TUDUM, Zoya addressed the backlash saying:

    “Why do you think that? They’re all Indian. This is kind of reverse (racism). Are you saying fair Indians are not Indians? How do we define what an Indian looks like? It could be Hrithik Roshan, it could be Mr. Rajinikanth, it could be Diljit Dosanjh, it could be Mary Kom. That’s the beauty of India. There are a lot of Indians that are light-skinned.”

  • ‘While we were dating, Ranbir told me not to wear lipstick’: Alia’s Vogue interview sparks outrage

    ‘While we were dating, Ranbir told me not to wear lipstick’: Alia’s Vogue interview sparks outrage

    Alia Bhatt’s recent Beauty Secrets interview with Vogue has gone viral, but for all the wrong reasons. A clip from the interview has sparked backlash, in which the actress reveals that while she was dating her now husband, Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, he didn’t allow her to wear lipstick when they were going out.

    “When we used to go out at night he would say ‘Wipe that off’”, the actress commented.

    It should be good to mention here that there is a 10-year age gap between the two. Alia was 17 years old when she began working on ‘Student Of The Year’ when Ranbir dropped by on set, and joked to director Karan Johar about whether he should marry her.

    Since the clip went viral on Twitter, users have expressed outrage on Ranbir’s relationship with his wife. A few months ago, the actor was slammed for body shaming Alia during a livestream, while she was pregnant with their daughter Raha. Then, he was criticized for saying that he hopes Raha doesn’t have Alia’s personality, because “she talks quite loud and is vivacious.”

    READ MORE: Ranbir Kapoor under fire once more after comment on Alia Bhatt goes viral

    “I would dump his a**,” one user commented.

    Many users pointed out how Ranbir Kapoor has qualities similar to a toxic boyfriend, as one user put it:

    “Ranbir is one of those toxic men who finally settle with much younger women they can easily manipulate. she might be happy doing whatever he wants but it’s still a sad situation esp with her background.”

    https://twitter.com/rubypinkpark/status/1691663918530535450?s=20
  • ‘I don’t own a single pair of designer clothing’: Sara Ali Khan’s attempt to dispel nepotism comments spark backlash

    ‘I don’t own a single pair of designer clothing’: Sara Ali Khan’s attempt to dispel nepotism comments spark backlash

    Bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan was the latest celebrity to feature on the cover of Vogue India. A comment from the interview went viral where the ‘Zarra Hat Ke Zarra Bach Ke’ actress spoke about wanting to come across as more relatable amidst the criticism that she is a nepo-baby. The actress is the daughter of Saif Ali Khan, as well the granddaughter of Sharmila Tagore, and comes from the family of the last ruling Nawab of Pataudi.

    “I wear my honesty with more pride than any designer clothes. In fact, I don’t have a single pair of designer clothing in my wardrobe. I know people initially judged me for it but I’m happy that they can now not only appreciate but also identify with me because of these very reasons.”

    Many readers were confused by the statement because how does it prove you’re “relatable” and a normal person because you don’t own designer clothes, when everyone knows your royal lineage, especially the fact that you come from a generation of stars? The statement received backlash on social media, with many calling the actress ‘tone-deaf’ and ’embarrassing’ for trying to prove that she was not a nepo-baby.

    Can Bollywood stars seriously just admit they come from privilege? Stop embarrassing yourselves

  • Vogue to release new Kamala Harris cover after original sparks outrage

    Vogue to release new Kamala Harris cover after original sparks outrage

    Vogue will publish a new limited edition of its latest issue featuring a different photo of Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris after the original cover image sparked controversy, the magazine has announced.

    Critics slammed the photo that graced the hard copy of the February issue, saying it was poorly composed and diminished Harris’s achievements as the first Black woman to be elected vice president.

    Social media users criticised the lighting of the photo — in which Harris wears a blazer, jeans and sneakers — and also questioned whether the magazine had lightened her skin.

    Following the backlash, Vogue announced it would release some copies with a more formal portrait of Harris wearing a light blue Michael Kors pantsuit. That image had been used for the digital cover.

    “In recognition of the enormous interest in the digital cover, and in celebration of this historic moment, we will be publishing a limited number of special edition inaugural issues,” a spokesperson for Vogue said.

    Editor Anna Wintour was forced to defend the original image after it circulated online earlier this month, insisting it was not the magazine’s intention to “diminish” Harris’s “incredible” election victory.

    “When the two images arrived at Vogue, all of us felt very, very strongly that the less formal portrait of the Vice President-elect really reflected the moment that we were living in which we are all in the midst — as we still are — of the most appalling pandemic that is taking lives by the minute,” Wintour had said in a statement to the New York Times.

    “And we felt to reflect this tragic moment in global history, a much less formal picture, something that was very, very accessible and approachable and real, really reflected the hallmark of the Biden-Harris campaign and everything that they are trying to, and I’m sure will achieve,” she added.

    Both photos were taken by American photographer Tyler Mitchell, who in 2018 became the first Black photographer to shoot a Vogue cover with his portraits of music icon Beyonce.

    Harris, 56, did not publicly react but sources close to her told US media that she was surprised by the choice of the more relaxed photo.

    The controversy was the latest to hit Wintour, who found herself under pressure during the massive Black Lives Matter protests that swept the US last summer.

    She apologised for not making enough room for Black stylists and photographers in the magazine.

    Wintour added that she also took “full responsibility” for “publishing images or stories that have been hurtful or intolerant.”

    Meanwhile, Harris is all set to become the first Black person, the first woman, and the first South Asian to serve as vice president after she is sworn in by US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s first Latina member.

    She and Joe Biden will take their oaths in a ceremony that will take place in front of a heavily fortified Capitol, where a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building two weeks ago, enraged by his false claims that November’s election was stolen with millions of fraudulent votes.