Revealed: Why Shriya Saran is missing

The actress gets ready to globe trot for the festival premieres of her upcoming films 

Apart from signing a Hindi film after a hiatus (debutant Karan Butani's flick opposite Jimmy Sheirgill), Shriya Saran is packing her bags for her trips to Toronto and Tokyo. In the meanwhile, the actress, who is currently shooting in Mysore for a period fantasy bilingual (Kannada-Tamil), has been shuttling between Mumbai and the South for her regional commitments.

Mira Nair's film based on Salman Rushdie's book Midnight's Children, in which Shriya essays a pivotal role, premieres at the Toronto film festival on September 9. While her Tamil film Sivaji with Rajnikant will be showcased in the 3D format at the Tokyo Film Festival on September 15. 

Says Shriya, I am looking forward to these back-to-back trips. From Toronto, I will leave directly for Tokyo. Mira Nair is keen to have the entire cast at the film's premiere. Rajnikant Sir has a huge fan base in Tokyo, so I am looking forward to see him and his scores of Japanese fans in action.
The starlet is also planning her outfits for the red carpet at both the festivals. I am right now busy with my shoot in Mysore, and there is barely a week before I leave.

Shriya begins shooting for her untitled Hindi film in December in Uttar Pradesh. She says, People may find me missing from the Hindi film scene. This is due to my projects in the South. I am doing Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. 

So whenever I am shooting there, people assume that I have disappeared!` Shriya who was seen in B-Town flicks like Aawarapan (2007) Mission Istanbul (2008) and Gali Gali Mein Shor Hain this year, hopes with her next she will be back on the Hindi film scene.

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Shriya Saran attempts to take another shot in Bollywood

South import Shriya Saran's B-Town outings have all proved to be duds

The starlet is now looking at taking another shot in debutant Karan Butani's flick opposite Jimmy Sheirgill. The untitled film is a love story set in the rural landscapes of Uttar Pradesh. Butani, an assistant of Tigmanshu Dhulia, has roped in his mentor as creative director of the film.

Shriya was seen in Aawarapan (2007) followed by Mission Istanbul (2008) and Gali Gali Mein Shor Hain earlier this year. Hope her current film proves lucky to her.

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Southern invasion in Bollywood

We take a look at big names down south who've made a mark in Bollywood 

Ileana D'Cruz made her debut in the Telugu film 'Devadasu' which became the year's first major commercial success. After a successful stint down south, the actress is set to make her Bollywood debut with Anurag Basu's 'Barfee' starring Ranbir Kapoor. 
Asin Thottumkal reprised her role in the Hindi remake of 'Ghajini' opposite Aamir Khan after she won her second South Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Tamil film 'Ghajini'. Her next project 'London Dreams' opposite Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan flopped badly at the box office, but 'Ready' opposite Salman Khan sawhuge success at the box-office
Siddharth made his Bollywood debut as part of the critically acclaimed 'Rang De Basanti' alongside Aamir Khan and Kunal Kapoor. His second Bollywood movie 'Striker' portrayed the life of a carrom player and became the first Bollywood film to release on YouTube and in theatres on the same day
Kajal Agarwal made her acting debut in 2004 in 'Kyun... Ho Gaya Na!' in a minor supporting role as the friend of lead actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. In 2009 'Magadheera' became the biggest blockbuster of all time in Telugu cinema, by which she became one of the most sought-after actresses in the Telugu film industry. The actress struck gold with Rohit Shetty's action flick 'Singham', paired opposite Ajay Devgan

Priyamani doesn't need an introduction in the south film industry. It was only a matter of time that the National Award winning actress turned her attention to Bollywood and made her Bollywood debut in Mani Ratnam's 'Raavan' sharing screen with Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She only grabbed more attention with Ram Gopal Varma's 'Rakht Charitra'. 
Shriya Saran appeared in several South Indian movies, the most famous being 'Sivaji: The Boss' opposite Rajinikanth. Her Bollywood stint includes movies like 'Mission Istanbul' and 'Awarapan'
Bhumika Chawla is best known for her performances in 'Tere Naam', 'Gandhi, My Father' and the south film 'Sathyabhama'. She even won a Filmfare nomination for Best Actress for her performance in her debut Bollywood movie, 'Tere Naam' opposite Salman Khan
The Kolavari Di singer Dhanush took the world by storm with the promotional video of the song from the movie '3'. Down south he has a number successful flicks and the Rajinikanth's son-in-law is all set for his next Bollywood venture 'Raanjhnaa' opposite Sonam Kapoor
After a series of hit films in Telugu and Tamil, Trisha debuted in Bollywood with the movie 'Khatta Meetha' opposite Akshay Kumar
Ram Charan Teja, better known a son of Chiranjeevi, is all set to make his Bollywood debut with upcoming remake of 'Zanjeer'

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Midnight's Children: Shriya Saran emerges the most powerful

It was a battle between the Nose and the Knee on location for Midnight’s Children in Sri Lanka.


Apparently Satya Bhabha who plays the hero with the long nose and Tamil superstar Siddharth Narayan who is cast as Satya’s foster-parents’ abandoned child who grows up hating his life in the slums, both had a pitched battle going on.

While Satya’s character has an extra-long nose (which came naturally to him since he’s a Parsi) Siddharth’s character Shiva has extra-bulky knees with which he tries to subjugate Satya. 

Though it’s Satya Bhabha who occupies centrestage in Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children apparently it the Rang De Basanti actor Siddharth who has made a very strong impact. 

A member of the team on condition of anonymity said, “Among the male members of the cast, and that includes brilliant performers like Anupam Kher, Ronit Roy, Vinay Pathak and Rahul Bose, Siddharth is the clear stand-out performer. Satya, a relative newcomer to cinema had many tough confrontation scenes with Siddharth who’s virtually a veteran of Tamil, Telugu and Hindi cinema. ” 
So did Saleem and Shiva the two rival characters from Midnight’s Children, who are like Shashi Kapoor (the long nose and all) and Amitabh Bachchan in Yash Chopra’s Trishul, actually end up hating each in real too? 

Incidentally the same source from the Midnight’s Children team tells us that among the female actors Shriya Saran emerged the most powerful. This, with Shabana Azmi, Seema Biswas and Shahana Goswami in the cast, is saying a lot. 

When asked about Siddharth and Shriya stealing the show Deepa Mehta laughed, “I love all my actors. But yes, these two are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. ”

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