Bollywood younger look

With 'Always Kabhi Kabhi' releasing today, the cast is reaching for the stars A couple of years ago, Bollywood went full throttle for terrorism-centric dramas. Today, it's all about capturing the angst-ridden, turbulent life of Gen-Next on celluloid. Close on the heels of youth-centric dramas such as Luv Ka The End and Pyaar Ka Punchnama comes another teen story, titled Always Kabhi Kabhi. Like the rest, this film  releasing in the UAE today  will double up as a launch pad for the majority of the cast. Fresher Zoa Morani labels her debut attempt as "an Indianised Gossip Girl", saying her role as caustic high-school student Nandini will remind you of Blair Waldorf, the spoiled Upper East Side princess from the popular TV series. "I am like Blair but without her fashion sense we have the same attitude and nature. And what drew me to this role was that it was not your run-off-the-mill, nice girl type," said Morani. She is no stranger to Bollywood though. Her family owns the production house Cine Yug and has Bollywood A-listers on speed-dial. Article continues below "But that didn't mean that I got the role because of my family name. From what I heard Roshan [Abbas, director] had seen my photograph and he instantly liked me. He didn't know my last name then," said Morani. A venture by matinee idol Shah Rukh Khan's production company Red Chillies Entertainment, Morani feels Always Kabhi Kabhi is modern Bollywood's answer to Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander — the 1992 smash hit featuring Aamir Khan as a college slacker. "There are some youth-centric films that purposefully use bad language or try to sound hip. We haven't done any of that. People will relate to it. Somewhere Shah Rukh wanted this movie to be about bridging the gap between the parents and kids. When you are a teenager, every problem seems so big," said Morani. Far Cry The ensemble high-school drama also features Brazilian model-turned-actress Giseli Monteiro of Love Aaj Kal fame. But her latest role is a far cry from the the coy Harleen Kaur, who barely spoke to her lover, in her debut feature. "I play the popular one in the school, foreign-returned and I have a lot of dialogues in the film. I have been taking Hindi learning classes but my accent was too strong, so I had another person dubbing my voice," said Monterio. Meanwhile, it was not language that challenged newcomer Ali Fazal. To look the part of a school hunk, he had to shed more than 14 kilograms in just two months. "Anything for a lead role in a film! But seriously, I wouldn't recommend losing so much weight so quickly. It wasn't easy absolutely no carbs," said Fazal, who made a cameo appearance in blockbuster 3 Idiots as suicidal student Joy Lobo. However, it was not his weight-loss programme that got him talking. "I will always remember the compliment that Shah Rukh Khan gave me he said he liked the fact that I did not try to imitate him during the audition. I had my own style," said Fazal. Apart from producing the film, Khan is slated to make a guest appearance with a high-energy song sequence. "We got to learn so much from Shah Rukh Khan. When he came onto the sets, he had this energy and buzz around him that you could almost feel. To make a debut in his project is a dream come true," said Monteiro. She is not alone. Morani is equally charmed by the industry veteran. "The biggest compliment I have ever received is when Shah Rukh told journalists that he saw a strong performer in me. I hope everybody else likes our performances too," said Morani.