Valentine Special:Stars speak

Priyanka Chopra: "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge tops the list of my favourite romantic films, followed closely by Maine Pyar Kiya, Casablanca and Love Story (the Ryan On-Neal-Ali MacGraw starrer).

Dino Morea: Casablanca & Gone With The Wind—"I like both equally …not much of a choice between the two. They both exude an old-world romance superbly. The acting is uniformly charming, Notting Hill: "Love the idea of a fan following in love with a star. Wish it happened with me."

Anari, Chandni, Sangam—"Love the first for the Raj Kapoor-Nutan chemisty, and Chandni for Mr Yash Chopra's intense romanticism. Sangam was so passionate. No one understood love and passion better than Mr Raj Kapoor…Among recent romantic films Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge tops the list.

Irffan Khan: "Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar for its supreme story-telling……The Russian film Cranes Are Flying for its treatment, Kadal in Tamil for its songs, casting and direction. Autograph in Tamil for its narrative simplicity.

In Hindi my favourite romantic films are Amar Prem and Kati Patang for the oh-so-charming Mr Rajesh Khanna,, Pakeezah for its songs scale and Meena Kumari, Devdas for Dilip Kumar, Guide for its excellent song picturizations and performances… and Maqbool for subjective reasons.

Urmila Matondkar: Gone With The Wind for its passion, drama, pain and triumph. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ) for its innocence and the sheer magic of falling in love.

Amrita Rao: DDLJ for that whole concept of destined soul mates…Shah Rukh Khan coming over to India to win over Kajol when she was getting married, was so cute…and their onscreen chemistry rocked!....

Rangeela, the roadside romeo Munna's love for the wannabe star Mili was enchanting….Maine Pyar Kiya is one of the most romantic films I've ever seen..the whole idea of Suman (Bhagyashree) coming to live in Prem (Salman)'s house was so touching, innocent and pure…

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam because it said sometimes we fall in love but the screenplay of destiny has some other plans. Finally, Ishq Vishq….for personal reason (smiles).

Sammir Dattani: Titanic—"I sang the theme song 'My heart will go on' to my first girlfriend over and over again, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam: "Sanjay Bhansali is my most favourite director and this films tells you love isn't about self-fulfilment but sacrifice…and of course Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge: "I can watch Shah Rukh-Kajol's chemistry forever, and a day."

Sanjay Gupta: "Girl Meets Boy & Overcomes Hurdles never appealed to me. I think the true test of love begins post-marriage or post your 30s. My choice of romantic films isn't your typical love stories. But to me they're all about love…Pyaasa, Guide, Tere Mere Sapne, Abhimaan, Arth and of course my all-time favourite Aandhi.

Amrita Arora: Maine Pyar Kiya, and only Maine Pyar Kiya. Saw it 18-20 times. Still cry whenever I watch it.

Arshad Warsi: "My favourite romantic film is DDLJ. It was fun but not frivolous. I loved the relationship shared between Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. I felt their emotions touch me and wanted them to be together."

What's wrong with dating girls

For his role of the cleansing cop in Risk, Randeep Hooda went on a vigorous physical preparation to play the cop. He also modeled his role on "encounter specialist" Daya Nayak.

Says Randeep, "I've always admired Mr Daya Nayak. Picture mein nayak hum hain, real–life Nayak wohhain. I got access to him through mutual friends. I always felt he had the personality that was required for the character. I love the way he handles.

His job and how articulate he is in the media and in his personal interaction. Daya and I became friends. He shared his experiences and also demonstrated certain behaviour traits which I incorporated into my cop's character. Through my interactions with Mr Nayak I discovered a new-found respect him."

However Randeep didn't adopt Daya Nayak's body language or his other overt traits. "Not that I lost weight or decided to look lean and mean. Why should a cop look a particular way? But as a cop I definitely needed to feel strong from inside, a man who's capable of shouldering a huge social responsibility.

And it's always advisable for an actor to have the broadest shoulder possible in order to carry the film. This cop isn't like other famous cops who fight an indignant battle against the system. This cop is less clichéd. He knows there's no point in trying to change the system.

You gotta do what you gotta do within the restrictions given to you. But let me add I'm a great fan of the great cops on screen, like Mr Bachchan in Zanjeer, Om Puri in Ardh Satya and Manoj Bajpayi in Shool.

See, I play a guy who is the way he is, not because of his uniform. He'd have wanted to do the same things even if he wasn't a cop, though he'd probably not have the power to do so."

And Mohit Ahlawat in Shiva? " No I wouldn't go that far," Randeep deadpans. "Not that I had any quibbles with Ramuji and Mohit's interpretation of the cops film. Every one has an opinion… and an arse-hole."

Did Randeep do a cop in Risk because he couldn't do Shiva? "Absolutely not! Me and my Risk director Vishram Sawant planned it long before I did D with Ramuji. Risk has got nothing to do with anything else. As far as the genre goes Risk will be compared with other cops films.

Look, there're actually four kinds of stories in films…a love story between two people, a love story among three people, a revenge story, and a journey… How you put your soul into these genres makes all the difference."

Randeep is definitely excited about shouldering the entire responsibility as the cop on thr prowl in Risk. "It's not a rule to play the central character. In my very first film Monsoon Wedding I was part of a large ensemble cast."

He clarifies that this isn't a story of Daya Nayak's life. "Our movie isn't based on his life, like Shimit Amin's Ab Tak Chappan. Risk is a fast-paced commercial film with all the ingredients."

What Randeep really relished in Risk was working with Vinod Khanna. "I've been a fan of his ever since I was a child. Although he plays the antagonist in Risk there's a calm energy about Vinod Khanna. Many of my folks back home in Rohtak find him really hot. It was an honour to share screen space with this actor."

Randeep's erstwhile mentor is re-making Sholay. Randeep's take? "I've no comments on Ramuji's remake. Well, remakes have been done in the West. I'm sure Indian filmmakers would like to re-interpret old hits. …though I can't see how you can improve on a film that's already a big hit.

I'd like to be in a remake that's already been done, or one that I can carry forward. I'd love to do Scarface which has earlier been done by greats like Paul Muni, Al Pacino and Mr Bachchan (in Agneepath)."

Says Randeep, "An actor is raw material mouldable in other's hand. After the break from Mr Varma I've continued to grow as an actor. I didn't deliberately break away. It was destiny. Risk is a new start, in a way. And I carry the film. So it's a challenging responsibility."

As for his second English-language film… "I'm a bit curious about Karma Confessions & Holy because it is my first international film since Monsoon Wedding. And since I'm not in the habit of running to the monitor after every shot I wonder what they've actually made.

Monsoon Wedding was my first film, and I was dreading to see the end-result. That I was surrounded by a stellar cast didn't help my confidence level. Now I've slightly accepted myself on screen. Though the search for a core in my characters continues. At the end of a film I'm still dissatisfied.

At the end of the day an actor is only a cog in the wheel. But experience helps. I've done six films in six years. That's meager output. But I've learnt a lot. The movie experience is truly magical. I'm growing as a person. I'm losing my ignorance, becoming more humble."

On a more personal note Randeep is blissfully single. "We're always single, aren't we? I'm very happy being on my own. I'm a young normal single man of 30. And I don't have to worry where my next meal comes from.

So I've a lot of time to socialize in a buzzing city like Mumbai. So what's wrong with being seen with beautiful women? However all women who want a permanent place in my life can apply through my secretary."

On his Risk co-starTanushree Dutta, Randeep says, "She's a very hard-working young woman, bound to go far…Not just Tanushree everyone else in the unit was so committed to the project. That's the only way to make a good film."