Bollywood actors are known for acquiring new skills when it comes to preparing for their films. From learning different forms of dance to mastering martial arts, the star brigade has done it all.
A bevy of actors are now learning various languages to perfect their film roles. These include Preity Zinta who took French lessons for her maiden production, Ishkq In Paris, and Abhay Deol who learnt Tamil for his next release, Shanghai.
Preity Zinta
Learning French
The actor, who was last seen on the big screen in 2009 in a song from the film Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, is set to make a comeback with her first production called Ishkq In Paris.
Preity is currently shooting in Paris and her character in the film is partly French and partly Indian. The film’s director, Prem Soni, was quoted as saying, “We did not want to dub Preity’s French dialogues in the film and we were certain that she would be able to get the French accent and pronunciation right, before we begin shooting.”
John Abraham
Learning Marathi
To prepare for his role inspired by infamous gangster Manya Surve in his upcoming venture Shootout At Wadala, actor John Abraham will be learning Marathi. Filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar will be helping the 39-year-old actor by giving him lessons in the language.
Confirming the news, the film’s director Sanjay Gupta claimed, “I want John to have the basic knowledge of colloquial Marathi as it will help him to grasp the minute details of his character. Mahesh will meet John to discuss the nitty-gritty of Marathi, later this month.”
Farhan Akhtar
Learning Punjabi
Actor Farhan Akhtar, who will be essaying the role of ace athlete Milkha Singh in director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, has taken Punjabi lessons in order to perfectly portray his character. The 38-year-old actor has taken the help of noted lyricist Gulzar to learn the language. “Farhan Akhtar is going through extensive training. He will be multilingual at the end of his project,” said a spokesperson for the film.
Ranbir Kapoor
Learning Bengali
Ranbir, who was last seen in director Imtiaz Ali’s film, Rockstar (2011), is reportedly learning Bengali for his role as legendary actor-singer Kishore Kumar. The biopic is directed by Anurag Basu and is expected to go on floors in March this year.
“Though the biopic will be in Hindi, Kishore had the habit of mixing Bengali with Hindi. Basu wants to incorporate this element into the film,” says a source. Interestingly, the 29-year-old actor, who will be playing a deaf and dumb character in Anurag Basu’s Barfee, picked up some Bengali while shooting for the film in Kolkata last year.
Abhay Deol
Learning Tamil
Abhay Deol has learnt Tamil for his role in director Dibaker Banerjee’s upcoming film, Shanghai.
The 35-year-old actor, who plays the role of a south Indian IAS officer in the political-thriller, hired a language expert to help him in his endeavour. “Abhay had a language coach when we were filming Shanghai and he would go through every line with the coach before shooting his scenes,” Dibakar was quoted as saying.
Imran Khan
Learning Haryanvi
Actor Imran Khan, who is currently shooting for director Vishal Bhardwaj’s upcoming film, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, learnt Haryanvi for two months as he plays a villager from Haryana in the film. Riding high on the success of his recently releasedfilm Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, the 29-year-old actor was in the Capital recently for the pre-production work of Matru, and was quoted as saying: “I learnt Haryanvi for my role in Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola as I wanted to be authentic.”
Rani Mukherji
Learning Tamil & Marathi
Actor Rani Mukerji, who was last seen in the film No One killed Jessica (2011), will now play the role of a Maharashtrian girl in her upcoming film, Aiyaa, directed by Sachin Kundalkar. The film is a quirky love story between Rani’s character and a Tamil boy.
Rani, 33, learnt both Marathi and Tamil for the film. “As Rani has to speak Marathi on and off, my friend Amruta Subhash took Marathi sessions with her. Also, since she is in love with a Tamil guy, she learnt Tamil too,” Sachin was quoted as saying.
Ranbir Kapoor
Learning Bengali
Ranbir, who was last seen in director Imtiaz Ali’s film, Rockstar (2011), is reportedly learning Bengali for his role as legendary actor-singer Kishore Kumar. The biopic is directed by Anurag Basu and is expected to go on floors in March this year.
“Though the biopic will be in Hindi, Kishore had the habit of mixing Bengali with Hindi. Basu wants to incorporate this element into the film,” says a source. Interestingly, the 29-year-old actor, who will be playing a deaf and dumb character in Anurag Basu’s Barfee, picked up some Bengali while shooting for the film in Kolkata last year.
Abhay Deol
Learning Tamil
Abhay Deol has learnt Tamil for his role in director Dibaker Banerjee’s upcoming film, Shanghai.
The 35-year-old actor, who plays the role of a south Indian IAS officer in the political-thriller, hired a language expert to help him in his endeavour. “Abhay had a language coach when we were filming Shanghai and he would go through every line with the coach before shooting his scenes,” Dibakar was quoted as saying.
Imran Khan
Learning Haryanvi
Actor Imran Khan, who is currently shooting for director Vishal Bhardwaj’s upcoming film, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, learnt Haryanvi for two months as he plays a villager from Haryana in the film. Riding high on the success of his recently releasedfilm Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, the 29-year-old actor was in the Capital recently for the pre-production work of Matru, and was quoted as saying: “I learnt Haryanvi for my role in Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola as I wanted to be authentic.”
Rani Mukherji
Learning Tamil & Marathi
Actor Rani Mukerji, who was last seen in the film No One killed Jessica (2011), will now play the role of a Maharashtrian girl in her upcoming film, Aiyaa, directed by Sachin Kundalkar. The film is a quirky love story between Rani’s character and a Tamil boy.
Rani, 33, learnt both Marathi and Tamil for the film. “As Rani has to speak Marathi on and off, my friend Amruta Subhash took Marathi sessions with her. Also, since she is in love with a Tamil guy, she learnt Tamil too,” Sachin was quoted as saying.
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