DNAINDIA.COM

After returning to the ramp after nine years at the India Men’s Week, actor Pooja Batra will be following it up with yet another ‘guest appearance’ at the Lakme Fashion Week for designer Babita Malkani. Pooja admits that she might even take a bigger break after walking the ramp.

“I am in Mumbai for a good three weeks and I want to make the most of it. Not only I am walking for Babita, I will also be attending all the post-event parties to catch up with all my designer and model friends with whom I have lost touch over the years,” says Pooja, who has settled down in Los Angeles after she got married to orthopaedic surgeon Sonu Ahluwahlia.

Walking the ramp is fun even though she didn’t plan it at all, says Pooja. “Babita has been a friend of mine. I have a habit of lifting clothes from her. It’s like ‘Yeh accha hai, mujhe de de yaar’. Now, when I came down to Mumbai, it was Babita’s turn. She asked me to be her show-stopper and I obviously can’t say no to her,” she adds.

Pooja, who was last seen in 2005 in the historical epic Taj Mahal, says that though she is not keen on doing television, she always welcomes a great role with open arms. “I have always been a keen actor. But I don’t know about television here though I am anyway doing something on international television (she is referring to the American sitcom Outsourced). I am pursuing acting in America. I have booked a show there and I am hoping my character develops. It is for NBC (channel).” she adds. So, once she is out of the country, will she do the vamoosh act again?

“If I am there then you ask, ‘Why are you away for so long’ and when I am here, you ask me, ‘When are you going back?’. Pehle decide kar lo, whether you want me here or not,” she jests.

Pooja Batra returns to films as a casting agent, having set up Glow Bell Inc., in Los Angeles.

What made you give up acting and become a casting agent?

I have not given up acting nor have I become a casting director. I love acting. If a good script or role comes by, I would like to act again. My company Glow Bell, Inc. basically bridges the gap between Hollywood and Bollywood and helps in acquiring actors, producers, directors and companies from Hollywood to Bollywood and vice-versa.

What makes the job interesting?

I have to constantly think out of the box. I am forever meeting interesting people. The requirement of the role, availability of dates and the budget are the criteria for selecting.

Who are your topmost clients in India as well as Hollywood?

It is very hard for people here in Los Angeles, to do business in India. Since I know people personally here as well as in India it helps to expedite the whole process. Also people are sceptical here unless there is a known person. Sylvester Stallone has been our

topmost client so far and it was a delight to work with him in Kambakkth Ishq as it was my first project. However it took me six months to convince Stallone and have him sign on the dotted line. I loved working with Sajid Nadiadwala too and am looking forward to more work from him.

You are also planning to launch a software in India to team up with modelling or acting agencies. How will you go about it?

Glow Bell, Inc. is helping a LA-based company called Casting Networks, Inc. to launch in India. We are already in our phase one. Yes we are getting the best modelling agencies and acting agencies on board ModelWire and CNI. It is very exciting as the response has been tremendous.

What are your plans to explore Indian talents in Indian films?

India is a storehouse of talent. As an actor, one should have the platform to be seen and noticed. Actors who are serious about their craft should not leave a single opportunity to get noticed. Our plans are to have a module where people can look for talent.

This is an exciting time for Indian actors to get work here as Middle America has become aware of India. A lot of roles are going out to Indian actors and people are warming up to Indian culture.

Did you take up this job so that you could give ample time for your marriage as well as concentrate on your work?

It can get very challenging to juggle both personal and professional lives for some but I am really lucky as I and my husband are on the same page.

You are apparently heading the India operations of LA Casting, a Los Angeles-based company along with your own agency?

Glow Bell, Inc is helping LA Casting set shop in India. We are very excited about it and the response has been amazing.

What are the other Indian films that your agency has worked on?

Chandni Chowk To China. Glow Bell, Inc. acquired Raja Bohemia for a song.

What are the Hollywood films?

I was working on a film called Medieval to be directed by Rob Cohen and produced by 20th Century Fox and New Regency. They were looking for a male actor from Bollywood but the project got shelved.

Any chance of doing a Hollywood film since you are working among them now?

My pilot Outsourced got picked up. I am looking to see how my character develops in it.

INDIA ABROAD

New Delhi (IANS) Remember Pooja Batra? The former Indian beauty queen and actress is Hollywood bound.

She is making a comeback to showbiz with upcoming American sitcom ‘Outsourced’ and also helping Indian actors find a foothold there with her casting company.

Pooja, 36, who married orthopaedic surgeon Sonu Ahluwalia in 2003, is currently settled in Los Angeles and has been running her own casting agency – Glow Bell Inc. She will dazzle on screen after five years. Pooja has done over 21 movies like ‘Virasat’, ‘Haseena Maan Jaayegi’ and ‘Nayak – The Real Hero’.

‘I am pursuing acting in America. I have booked a show there and I am hoping my character develops. It is called ‘Outsourced’. It is for NBC (channel); so I am keeping my fingers crossed,’ Pooja, who was last seen in 2005 in the historical epic ‘Taj Mahal – An Eternal Love Story’, told IANS.

Set in a Mumbai call centre, ‘Outsourced’ is an adaptation of a Josh Hamilton-Ayesha Dharker-starrer by the same name. The show has been picked up by NBC for its fall schedule.

Directed by Ken Kwapis, it stars Ben Rappaport in the lead alongside others like Rizwan Manji, Sacha Dhawan, Rebecca Hazlewood, Parvesh Cheena, Anisha Nagarajan, Pippa Black and Diebdrich Bader.

Probed about it, she said: ‘It is confirmed and it has been okayed, but right now they are developing the characters and shooting with the principal cast. Then they will focus on the others.

‘So whenever they are writing and developing the show – since it has to be character driven – hopefully I’ll see more of me. But, yes, I am in the show,’ added Pooja who has still managed to retain her youthful looks.

Majorly absent from the big screen after marriage, the 5’9′ beauty was in the capital to burn the runaway at the recently concluded Van Heusen India Men’s Week (VHIMW) for designer duo Rohit and Abhishek.

Not many know that this drop dead gorgeous face is also spearheading the operations of LA Casting, a Hollywood casting agency in India, to provide opportunities to Indian talent to work in the West.

‘My company Glow Bell Inc is trying to set that (LA Casting shop) in India. In fact, I have been here and now because of LA Casting. I have been coming very often,’ she said.

Pooja was also instrumental in bringing Hollywood actors Sylvester Stallone and Denise Richards for Sajid Nadiadwala’s last year release ‘Kambakkht Ishq’.

So doesn’t she miss Bollywood? ‘Yes I do. A lot,’ she said.

Has it taken a backseat for now?

‘No, I am open to movies. I’d love to come back to Bollywood. I have been there (LA) for five years and it becomes really difficult when you are that far away. So something good has to come my way. Obviously, it hasn’t, so I haven’t done it,’ she said with her signature smile.

And her ideal role would be?

‘Something that interests me, has a nice character draft and something that I want to do,’ said the actress, who has also pursued a course in filmmaking from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

TV producer and director Shaffee Shaik made South Africa proud when he directed the inaugural South Asian Excellence Awards in New York last night.

The glitzy event, which took place at the Waldorf- Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, honoured the achievements of South Asian Americans in various fields and was broadcast to over 100 countries.

The ceremony featured South Asian achievers in business, entertainment, social and public service, science, sport, literature, technology, IT and the performing and visual arts.

Hosted by British actor Nitin Ganatra, the show included performances by the Jamaican music duo Chaka Demus and Pliers, Indian Idol winner Prashant Tamang and acclaimed international musician Raghav Sachar. The celebrity guests included actress Pooja Batra, tennis legend Vijay Amritraj and former Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Shaik produces the popular religious programme Spirit Sundae on SABC1 at 11am on Sundays.

"This is a once-in-lifetime opportunity for a TV director, because you get to work in the best and latest high-definition digital outside broadcast units with probably the best TV crew and expertise," he said.

He said the South Asian Excellence Awards had taken months of planning. "Although I'm based in Johannesburg, I co-ordinated most of the technical aspects between our India, London and New York offices via e-mails and conference calls every second day," he said.

Shaik's first international production was in 2002 when he directed the Bollywood Movie and Music Awards at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlanta City. He is also the director of his own company, New Wave Productions, formed in 1995.

When Zee TV launched in South Africa in 1996, he was appointed as their operations director for three years.

He is also the African representative for DStv's Sony TV and B4U. In between, he runs a direct marketing company with his brother, Suleman.

His skills have made him Sony TV's preferred international director for shows in Atlantic City and, over the past five years, the annual British Asian Sports Awards in London.

"It has taken a long time, with dedication and hard work, to get to this stage of my TV career, especially to be recognised as a director of international standard," Shaik said.

All the Pooja's seem to be going crazy about George Clooney at the Dubai Film Festival. The man, we think, has the knack of making every woman feel special. Even Sameera Reddy returned a shade redder from the Toronto Film Fest, after meeting Charming Clooney, remember? We did tell you about Pooja Bedi's weak knees on meeting the man recently, but there's yet another PB who is floored having met George - Pooja Batra. There for the screening of her film Taj Mahal, she tells us, "This is the result of working hard with the best. I've had a blast meeting actors whom I admire so much... it was absolutely fantastic meeting George Clooney whose work I appreciate so very much!" Gush, gush, and more gush!