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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Ruslaan


Ruslaan Mumtaz is one of the new entrants among the Bollywood heroes. He is young, he is good-looking, and he is also naturally talented (he happens to be the son of yesteryear actress Anjana Mumtaz). He is yet to make it big, though he is waiting to do so, having played the lead hero in just two films.

His first big break as the romantic hero was in the teenage love story called "Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar", or in short "MP3". The film, directed by Robby Grewal, flopped, but thankfully Ruslaan did not sink without a trace. He became the cynosure of all eyes, with his charming screen presence. The peppy songs scaled up the charts too. Young girls had instantly recognized him as the sweet swinger in the music video 'Aap jaisa koi' which had been widely shown on all music channels some months before his big screen outing! And after "MP3" released on home videos, Ruslaan's fan following grew substantially.

I missed seeing "MP3" on the big screen as the movie had just come & gone, but thanks to the coaxing from many of my e-friends who had egged me to see the movie, I did catch it on video a year later. I was impressed by Ruslaan. At the same time, I got to know that he was personally known to one of my friends who had so many good things to say about the young lad. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

Ruslaan has had his grooming in dance, under the tutelage of Shiamak Davar, and for three years in theatre. His mother had been initially hesitant about him joining the world of films, but later he successfully convinced her to give it a shot. Even as the shooting started, the ride was not so smooth for him. Just on the second day of the shoot, he had to jump off the ramp from a cycle and accidentally the cycle's tyre snapped out; he fell straight on his face and the shooting got delayed by 2 months.

Then as the cast & crew of "MP3" got ready for the next schedule, just one week before the shoot Ruslaan fell off a bike! Again he had hurt his face which was so bruised and scarred that the shoot had to be delayed once again! Finally, the film having been liked by the young girls & boys Ruslaan, must have felt compensated for all the agony. He soon signed his second big film "Teree Sang" with director Satish Kaushik. For this one too Ruslaan had a motorbike shot, it was a very simple shot and he had to take a turn. Ruslaan tried it out a little faster than usual, and the bike skidded with him being thrown off! Luckily, Ruslaan did not hurt his face this time though he had hurt his entire body. He completed the film being on painkillers all the while!

Even being called 'accident prone', and having had nasty brushes with falls, getting his face smashed or having torn ligaments, Ruslaan remains ever-energetic & spirited. He has a very modest approach towards his career, although he has a dogged determination to excel.

Ruslaan just thanks his stars for a good threshold and hopes to live up to the expectations the ticket-buying public. With the release of "Teree Sang" in theatres all-over, and having bagged yet another cool project called "Jaane Kahaan Se Aayi Hai" with Nikhil Advani, he leaves no stone unturned to give his very best. Ruslaan has had to work rather hard for the film. Even though Ruslaan has a well-maintained physique, he has pulled up his socks to sweat it out in the gym for no less than two hours each day, to be able to beef up adequately. And after the workouts, he has to often spend as many as six hours in dance class, getting training from the renowned choreographers Bosco and Caesar. Hope his efforts pay him rich dividends. All the best, Ruslaan!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

As Ruslaan danced in that famous scene from MP3 (the topmost pic in your post), he also walked straight into the hearts of his fans! Hardly has an actor been so phenomenally sought after by his fans even without his films setting the cash registers ringing! He has the typical chocolate-face and drop-dead-gorgeous looks which has catapulted many an actor into stardom till date!

Dibyendu Paul said...

27-year-old kid from ‘Teree Sang– A Kidult Love Story’ has Kaali Zubaan. Everything evil he said during the shoots of the film did come true.

Satish Kaushik and his team were on the shooting location in Dalhousie. They were supposed to shoot there on the next day. Ruslaan the teen actor in the film opened his evil mouth and said to the enthusiastic director, “What if the snow melts tomorrow.” Guess what! Next day the snow actually melts away.

The team experienced his kaali zubaan second time during the bike sequence. He was casually talking to the director about his previous film’s experience, that how the shoots got delayed for three months when he faced the accident during a cycle sequence. And again he met with an accident and injured his co-actor Sheena as well. But this time no shootings got delayed.

Another one ......

Ruslaan Mumtaz of MP3 fame, while returning from the shoot of his latest film ‘Mastang Mama’ was stopped by a traffic policeman at the Dadar Circle allegedly for jumping the signal which Ruslaan was sure he had not. But the policeman insisted he had. He asked Ruslaan to produce all document, such as license, registration book, insurance papers, PUC, etc. though all were in order, after much deliberation he told Ruslaan that he may go. As Ruslaan was about to leave the policeman once again tapped on the window glass signaling Ruslaan to lower it. Ruslaan in a exasperated tone said “now what?”

The policeman said he would like to give him a piece advice if he, Ruslaan does not mind and won’t feel bad. He kept on repeating this for the over 5mins till Ruslaan assured him he does not mind and to get on with whatever advice he wanted to give. By this time our young hero was totally exasperated.

To Ruslaan’s astonishment the policeman said “go straight down this road and after the second traffic light you will see a medical shop selling ayurvadic hair oil.” “Why” said Ruslaan. The policeman replied ‘ As you are an actor after a few years you will start loosing your hair but if you use this oil you will have healthy hair and will not have to wear wigs or caps’.Looks like everyone wants to make a ‘Mama’ out of Ruslaan.

Unknown said...

Not only does Ruslaan have the boy-next-door looks, but he is also extremely photogenic. The pics that accompany this write-up are ample proof of that fact. If he bags the prime projects and gets the chance to showcase his talent, I am sure he'll make it really big in Bollywood! In case he fails to make a mark with his current & upcoming films, he can at least expect to wow the television audience.

pallavi said...

I have heard that Ruslaan is too sweet as a person, that he is very kind-hearted.
Whenever he sees that someone is in trouble or someone needs help, without giving any second thoughts, he immediately lends his helping hand. It was reported that while he was shooting at Dalhousie, where the most difficult part of the shoot was to climb up & down the hill for about 20 minutes to reach to & from the location... when Ruslaan saw that his obese and asthmatic director had trouble covering the treacherous climb, like a good samaritan he used to give the man company so that he did not feel alone. They both used to walk slowly and reach their destination. So touching!

Arpita said...

Ruslaan surely has a lot of potential as a newcomer. That's what I feel.
I saw 'Teree Sang' on Sunday, and I did not find the film half as bad as the reviews had made me believe. Sometimes the critics are into bad-mouthing just for the heck of it.... The director, Satish Kaushik, has put in much effort to make it an entertaining teenage love-story. The songs from the film, especially "Maula mila de..." and "More saiyaan..." have already become chartbusters, and they are being hummed & danced to, like anthems, by all the young guys & girls. Ruslaan too has captured the fancy of the youngsters with his handsome features, and I'd want to see more of this newbie in the coming years.

Unknown said...

The guy looks damn sexy! Especially in the shirtless pics!;)

LoverBoy said...

I feel sorry for him. He has been short-changed by destiny.

Vivek said...

Ruslaan is back with his new film I DON'T LUV YOU! Interestingly, it is based on an MMS scandal and Ruslaan himself had been dragged into ignominy some time back because of something similar in real life that involved Ruslaan and Salma Agha's daughter. Ruslaan has two more projects in his kitty: MASTANG MAMA, and ROMEO IDIOT AND JATTANI JULIET.