NEW YORK (TIP): “Cinema that does not entertain is boring. I find parallel cinema boring,” said veteran actor Rishi Kapoor at the promotional campaign of his upcoming film Besharam. He said it in response to a question on the contributions of parallel cinema to 100 years of Indian cinema. He added, “I have been fighting this for over 40 years, ever since I joined the industry. Why pay entertainment tax on something you are not entertained with? It takes a great deal of energy to do fight or romantic scenes. So I request people to not discount our efforts and instead stop giving credit to parallel cinema.” Kapoor senior was joined by his wife and costar Neetu Singh, Ranbir Singh and Indian Australian debutant actor Pallavi Shardha at the grand ballroom, at Indian consulate on Monday. The actors were in New York to promote their latest film ‘Besharam’ scheduled to release October 2.

The Kapoor Khandan (family) along with the new Indian Australian actress gave a special appearance at the Maharashtra Tourism Diwali at Times Square event where both Pallavi and Ranbir performed at the Light Up Times Square gig. For Ranbir, alumni of the School of Visual Arts in New York and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, celebrating Diwali on Times Square with his family and fans on Times Square was surreal. “All my life I’ve come to New York and walked the streets of Times Square completely anonymously,” he said, “and now 30,000 people are screaming my name! It was a surreal moment.” His 10 minute appearance made the crowd that had waited for him since morning, go ballistic. His female fans continued to follow him even at the press conference held at the Consulate for the film’s promotions. Besharam is a slapstick, in-your-face funny dialogues and proper, shameless fun. It is everything you’d expect from the director who gave us Dabang: slapstick, in-your-face funny dialogues and proper, shameless fun. The film is about Babli (Ranbir Kapoor) a street smart car mechanic is living in a Delhi orphanage.

He is charming and lives life to the fullest. He also steals cars to support his orphanage.He has no sense of right or wrong till he unwittingly hurts the love of his life, Tara (Pallavi Sharda) and is chased by cop couple Chulbul Chautala (Rishi Kapoor) and Bulbul Chautala (Neetu Kapoor). Babli realizes that there is no right way of doing the wrong thing. Babli sets out to fix all the wrongs in his life and he continues to be shameless about it. Sanjeev Lamba, CEO of Besharam’s distributor Reliance Entertainment, providing insight into the current state of Bollywood in relation to Hollywood and the international movie marketplace noted that among the major marketing strengths of Besharam was the fact that three members of the Kapoor family were the main stars, and appearing together onscreen for the first time. This according to Lamba was the reason for Besharam to have one of the largest global releases ever for a Hindi film which included an unprecedented 200 theaters across North America. “It’s only fitting because Ranbir is a rising superstar, his parents have made an immeasurable contribution to the industry, and it’s the first time they’ve acted with him,” said Lamba. “Besharam is an attitude. It’s where you listen to your heart and follow it. The tagline of this film means Babli isn’t afraid of getting insulted and he’s not looking for respect,” said Ranbir confessing that he is not a Besharam. “In real life I am actually pretty shy, but I guess in front of the camera I focus.

It is very important for an actor to be Besharam in front of the camera. Unless you express yourself fully you can’t connect with the audience,” said Ranbir who attended the School of Visual Arts in New York for three years, and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute here for another year. Asked for an anecdote about working with his father, Ranbir revealed that “in real life,” he never looked into his father’s eyes, but that during the filming of Besharam, he “discovered” Rishi’s eye color. Asked about the tag ‘Super star’ and its use in the present day context, Kapoor scion said, “The tag super star is over used today, It is used for anybody who delivers a Friday hit. To choose good scripts and work with good directors is the first step. But more importantly, I need a larger body of work to get there… For me and a new generation of actors, being a good actor is the new superstar.” He said the concept of super star is dying because “unlike yesteryears actors, today’s stars are everywhere, the mystery as an actor- that kept fans asking for more-is missing partly due to social media.” The consulate event began with a welcome address by Consul General of India Dnyaneshwar Mulay who introduced the film team and highlighted the contributions the Kapoors made during 100 years of Indian cinema.

He even praised the first family of Bollywood for contributing 84 years to the largest film industry in terms of production of films every year. Bollywood’s Kapoor family goes back four generations. Prithviraj Kapoor was an actor (roles including the emperor Akbar in the 1960s historical epic Mughal E Azam) and theater company founder. His sons Raj, Shammi and Shashi Kapoor likewise became famous actors and directors. Karishma, Kareena and Ranbir are now carrying the legacy. Asked at the press conference whether he felt jealous of his son who had made his remarkable mark in a much shorter span of time than he had, Rishi Kapoor said he couldn’t be more proud of the “male heir to the legacy” of the Kapoor family. He said he felt fortunate that he had worked on three films with his late father, Raj Kapoor, including the 1973 blockbuster Bobby, Rishi’s first film as male lead. Neetu Singh too made a couple of remarks, including the one that she was proud of Ranbir. Another was that she and Rishi ensured giving the best values of life to their children. In fact, it was for the consideration of raising the children in a befitting manner that she had decided to keep herself away from working in the films. And Ranbir flattered her with the observation that he found his mother to be the best artist to work with. It was a pleasure to see a doting family.