Teree Sang - Movie Reviews

By: Tushar Joshi
Date: 08-08-2009

What's it about: It isn't as witty as Juno, nor a laugh-a-riot as Knocked Up. Instead Teree Sang is the story of teenage lovers Kabir (Ruslaan) and Maahi (Sheena) who grace early parenthood when a night of camping and champagne ends up being quite 'bumpy'. Of course, their folks don't welcome the news with open arms, but scare them to run away and seek shelter in a ruined house up north. Not to forget, the film suffers from the rich dad-poor dad syndrome with Kabir's peeps (Satish Kaushik and Sushmita Mukherjee) staying behind the sabzi-mandi while Maahi's (Rajat Kapur and Neena Gupta) stay in a palatial house. The climax gets all preachy with its Sunday sermon and an argument over kudraat ka kanoon versus our laws.

What's hot: Surprisingly the first half fleets through effortlessly without annoying you much (barring the Annu Malik Qutubminar song!). There is a certain honesty and old-age charm to the film that warms you up in the beginning. Ruslaan delivers an understated and impressive performance. Using his mannerisms and body language, he succeeds in giving Kabir the vulnerability and charm the character requires. There is an earnest likeability that he has, which works for him. Certain moments between Ruslaan and Sheena have been captured well.
What's not: The film digs its own graveyard in the second half with a bagful of clichés and corny one-liners (Rajat yelling "shut all modes of communication" to his hapless assistants when he discovers his daughter's pregnancy). Satish Kaushik should have spared us the horror of watching him in his inner wear and hid behind the camera. Neena and Rajat imbibe superficiality and moroseness while playing the snotty parents who have no time for their daughter. But the biggest culprit that massacres the plot is the never-ending court climax that has Rajat hallucinating that he's the Prime Minister delivering a speech from the Red Fort. Championing the cause of teens wanting babies just because nature permits them is quite hard to digest in this time where birth control pill commercials are being telecast during prime-time TV shows.
What to do: I recommend blasting Madonna's classic anthem Papa Don't Preach as a substitute to watching Teree Sang.

Teree Sang U/A; drama. Dir: Satish Kaushik. Cast: Ruslaan Mumtaz, Sheena Shahabadi, Satish Kaushik, Sushmita Mukherjee, neena Gupta, Rajat Kapur.

LINK: http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2009/aug/080809-Teree-Sang-Movie-Reviews.htm

Ruslaan had a tough time dealing with his co-star's possessive mom

By: Tushar Joshi
Date: 2009-08-06 Place: Mumbai
Ruslaan Mumtaz is excited about the release of his second film Teree Sang this Friday. A love story, it deals with teenage pregnancy, and has Sheena Shahabadi as his romantic interest. However, the 17-year-old actress took her screen avatar seriously and actually fell for her co-star, creating complications during shooting. Sheena's mom learned about her daughter's feelings for Ruslaan and spent all her time and energy trying to keep them away from each other, even though Ruslaan had no interest in her romantically.

Momma says NO!A source, who has worked on the film reveals, "Sheena's mom was very possessive and wouldn't let her spend time with Ruslaan off camera. One day, when she heard that Sheena was having lunch in Ruslaan's room, she got very upset. She warned her daughter not to venture in his room alone and called up director Satish Kaushik to express her displeasure. The actress' mom even asked that their trailer vans be parked far away from each other." Director Satish Kaushik laughs the whole incident off, "Sheena's mom reacted like how any mother would. It was quite funny to see her mom screaming out her name in between shots. We would all tease Sheena about her big crush on Ruslaan, so obviously her mom had issues with them hanging out." We just hung outRuslaan, on the other hand, doesn't want to make much of the incident, "Sheena is a sweet girl. We did hang out a bit like every co-stars do. I just want to wait and watch the reaction the film gets." Kaushik is happy that his film got an overwhelming response from school principals in Delhi. "I showed my first print to over 50 school principals and they loved the movie. They thought that every child and parent should watch the film."Momma says NO!A source, who has worked on the film reveals, "Sheena's mom was very possessive and wouldn't let her spend time with Ruslaan off camera. One day, when she heard that Sheena was having lunch in Ruslaan's room, she got very upset. She warned her daughter not to venture in his room alone and called up director Satish Kaushik to express her displeasure. The actress' mom even asked that their trailer vans be parked far away from each other." Director Satish Kaushik laughs the whole incident off, "Sheena's mom reacted like how any mother would. It was quite funny to see her mom screaming out her name in between shots. We would all tease Sheena about her big crush on Ruslaan, so obviously her mom had issues with them hanging out." We just hung outRuslaan, on the other hand, doesn't want to make much of the incident, "Sheena is a sweet girl. We did hang out a bit like every co-stars do. I just want to wait and watch the reaction the film gets." Kaushik is happy that his film got an overwhelming response from school principals in Delhi. "I showed my first print to over 50 school principals and they loved the movie. They thought that every child and parent should watch the film."

LINK: http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2009/aug/060809-Bollywood-Ruslaan-Mumtaz-Teree-Sang-Sheena-Shahabadi.htm

The kiss worked in Teree Sang love scene

By SUBHASH K JHA, 7 August 2009:
Satish Kaushik's film on teen pregnancy Teree Sang featuring Ruslaan Mumtaz and debutante Sheena Shahabadi as teenagers who became parents after having unprotected sex, was stalled for a number of reasons. One among the many reasons is the crucial love-making scene where the girl gets pregnant. When the director saw the decisive sequence he felt it lacked the impact it should. Says Satish, "The girl Sheena was inexperienced in that sequence, and it showed. We needed to scrap and reshoot the scene." However a second stab at realism in the love-making yielded no productive results. Kaushik had to shoot the sequence a third time.. "This time we finally got it right," says leading man Ruslaan . "In fact it's all due to the girl. She went all-out to make sure the love scene looks convincing. We added a kiss this time which wasn't there originally to make it look convincing. And the whole series of incidents leading up to girl's seduction and pregnancy looks very convincing now. In fact a little too convincing." Ruslaan feels the censorboard might have a problem with the scene. "I hope it doesn't get snipped because, Satishji, Sheena and me worked really hard on it. Sheena was very brave. When we couldn't get the love scene right two times she had this do-or-die attitude the third time. We made the scene as authentic as we could . Now when I look at it I wonder how me and Sheena will sit with our parents and watch the Teree Sang at the premiere." Teree Sang is Bollywood's first film about teenage preganancy. Says Kaushik, "A lot of people who've seen Teree Sang feel it looks like we're endorsing teenage pregnancy. But we are not. We're actually saying teenagers should be more careful if they choose to have sex. It's stupid to turn coy about matters of sex and pretend our children don't know about the birds and bees when in fact today's kids are very much into physical relationships. We need to education them about how to prevent pregnancy and we must legalize abortions."
LINK:

Ruslaan becomes a father at 17.

Isn't that surprising? But that's true. Ruslaan Mumtaz, who shot to fame with his earlier film MP3 (MERA PEHLA PEHLA PYAAR), is all set to play the role of a teenage father in his forthcoming film TEREE SANG. The film is directed by Satish Kaushik and takes a look at the issue of teen pregnancy. The film is all set to release in theatres in the first week of August. Talking about his role in the film, Ruslaan says, ''When Satish Ji said I'm the hero of TEREE SANG, it was a challenging job for me. I had to look like a seventeen year old kid and had to lose a lot of weight to fit into the role.'' The issue of teenage pregnancy has always been a much debated issue. Though Bollywood has earlier attempted films on similar lines, but TEREE SANG promises to bring a new insight into this sensitive issue.
July 9, 2009 5:10:49 PM ISTRuhail, Bollywood Trade News Network
LINK: http://www.glamsham.com/movies/scoops/09/jul/09-ruslaan-becomes-a-father-at-17-070913.asp

Delhi CM unveils the music of Satish Kaushik's Teree Sang

By Joginder Tuteja, July 15, 2009 - 17:58 IST
It was a proud moment for director Satish Kaushik as political bigwigs came together yesterday to support his film on teen pregnancy - Teree Sang. Most prominent personality to grace the occasion was Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit who unveiled the film's music at Constitution Club, New Delhi.Says Satish Kaushik who has worked with Ruslaan Mumtaz and debutant heroine Sheena Shahabadi in Teree Sang, "We were quite tensed if she would be able to come for the event because of the 'Metro' tragedy in the capital. Still, she did fulfill her promise in spite of the fact that she was hard-pressed for time." The music launch, which also saw good attendance from media, showcased promos and songs from the film. "Sheilaji loved the fact that the film deals with the issue of teen pregnancy", informs Satish Kaushik, "She had good words to speak about Teree Sang since we are bringing to fore a sensitive subject. She saw the promos and admitted that the kids were looking very good together. Since she herself is a film buff, she has promised to go and watch the film once it releases." As per the filmmaker, the CM personally went to Ruslaan and Sheena and blessed both of them. "It was quite nice on her part as she wished them all the success. She is a great leader and I hold her in very high esteem. The people of Delhi love her and it is phenomenal to see the way she holds her dignity in front of lakhs of people", says Kaushik. He also goes on to share an interesting anecdote. "Sheilaji was particularly impressed by the fact that our production house is called 'Karol Bagh Film and Entertainment'. Karol Bagh holds a special place in the heart of Delhites. I come from Delhi and my partner Anupam Kher too has spent so many years in the city when he used to have 'ghar-ka-khaana' at my place. It was just apt that we shoot our film in Delhi as well." Satish Kaushik was accompanied by the lead pair of the film while his co-producer from Delhi, Manoj Mittal, joined him too. Other prominent names present at the event were High Court lawyer Sunil Mittal, Dhawal Gada from PEN, MP Rajeev Shukla and Girish Agarwal, a prominent name in the Delhi society circles, amongst others.Also starring Satish Kaushik himself along with Sushmita Mukherjee, Rajat Kapoor, Neena Gupta and Anupam Kher in a special appearance, Teree Sang, which is produced by Bharat Shah, has music by new finds Sachin & Jigar and is all set for a 7th August release.
LINK: http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/2009/07/15/13069/

DELHI CM LAUNCHES 'TEREE SANG' MUSIC

This is indeed very bold on the part of Bollywood to make films on subjects until now untouched. The current movie is one in that direction as it is based on teenage pregnancy. After handling mature themes like marital blues and surrogate motherhood, Satish Kaushik has come out with 'Tere Sang'. He aims at informing the viewers about the unsafe sex prevailing among today's youths and also about the problem's solution through sex education to them. The music of the movie was lauched in New Delhi on July 13, 2009 by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms Sheila Dixit, in the presence of VIPs and music lovers besides the media. The movie stars Ruslaan Mumtaaz of the 'Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar' fame and debutant Sheena Shahabadi. Speaking to the media on the launch of the music in the capital, Satish Kaushik said that Delhi is very close to his heart and that's the reason why he had shot his movie in Delhi. Not only that he even named his film company as Karol Bagh Film & Entertainment Pvt Ltd on Delhi's famous market-cum-residential place - Karol Bagh. Satish added that many teenagers today are landing themselves into trouble through unprotected sex. So, he thought of reaching out to them and telling them how and why they should be careful with their lives.
The movie is also significant inasmuch as another Bollywood sibling has thus entered into the industry. This is Sheena Shahabadi, daughter of yesteryears' actress Sadhna of the 'Nadiya Ke Paar' fame. This is a good news as the sibling is beginning her career not with a conventional movie but with a meaningful one that has a message to convey to the audience. Besides, the message is very topical in today's context when sex education has become vital in propagating safe sex. In her debut 'Teree Sang', she plays a teenaged girl whose boyfriend Ruslaan Mumtaaz makes her pregnant. Satish Kaushik-directed 'Tere Sang' tells the story of 15-year-old Maahi played by Sheena and 17-year-old Kukko played by Ruslaan Mumtaaz who are schoolmates. In one of their outdoor rendezvous with a bunch of friends, they decide to 'experiment' and end up making love to each other. When Maahi gets pregnant, she decides to give birth to the child and Kukoo fully supports her in this matter. She is very excited with her debut role though it's unusual. She is aware that pregnancy and abortion are too common among the girls of her age today and the consequent agony they suffer. She is bold and favors teenage romance and a physical relationship, but with necessary protection! Sheena is very happy that Bollywood has welcomed her with open arms, and that the movie is very subjective and she loves playing her character. She is very happy that she has acted in her debut movie with none other than a director like Satish Kaushik, who has been very cooperative and never let her feel a newcomer. Incidentally, Satish Kaushik himself along with Sushmita Mukherjee and Rajat Kapoor will star in the movie. The movie will hit theaters on August 7 this year. 'Tere Sang' is produced by Bharat Shah and co-produced by Anupam Kher, Satish Kaushik and Manoj Mittal. Music is by Sachin-Jigar and lyrics by Sameer.

After MP3 - MERA PEHLA PEHLA PYAAR - Ruslaan Mumtaz

After MP3 - MERA PEHLA PEHLA PYAAR, Ruslaan Mumtaz would be seen again on the big screen in Satish Kaushik directed TEREE SANG. In the film, he plays the role of a 17 year old boyfriend of a 15 year old girl (Sheena Shahabadi) who gets pregnant from him. The film comes with a message around teen pregnancy and has one of it's major promotional pegs being sex education. ''I am 26 today and through the film, I want to tell youth to be responsible'', says Ruslaan in a matured tone, ''When we are 16-17 years old, we pretend that we know everything. But then when I look back today, I feel that I was stupid.''

Any act of stupidity that he wants to narrate? ''I remember that as a 17 year old, I sometimes used to sneak out with my dad's car. I also used to drive after consuming alcohol and used to boast to my friends that I was all cool and nothing is gonna happen. Today, I feel it was all so risky'', he says.

How about sex? CHECK OUT: Ruslaan becomes a father at 17

''Well, nature has made you such that sex happens. But then at the least one has to be responsible'', says Ruslaan without revealing much about his own past, ''What may happen though is that as a kid you may rely completely upon friends or whatever material is available to you. Through the film, we are trying to tell parents to communicate with their kids and talk to them about sex so that they make conscious decisions in their life.'' Directed by Satish Kaushik, TEREE SANG tells the story of Maahi (Sheena) and Kukko (Ruslaan) who play school mates. In one of their outdoor rendezvous with a bunch of friends, they decide to 'experiment' and end up making love to each other. When Maahi gets pregnant, she decides to give birth to the child. In this journey of hers, she gets complete support from Kukko.