Director Shoojit Sircar, who's currently shooting his Amitabh Bachchan-Sarika starrer marital drama in Shimla, has been facing a casting issue. He needs two actors to play his protagonists at the age of 24-25, to play young Amitabh Bachchan and Sarika, just like Smriti Mishra who had played Kirron Kher's younger avatar in Sardari Begum in Shyam Benegal's film.
The problem is who can match the two actors physically and in terms of talent?
How about Abhishek Bachchan and Sarika's daughter Shruti, who's all set to make her debut as an actress?
Divulges Sircar, "I did ask Abhishek to do the role. But he didn't feel the time was right to fit into his father's shoes. Even as I shoot with Amitji, we're auditioning young men who have his looks and at least some acting talent. As for Sarikaji, we've more or less found a young actress to play her younger role."
Apparently, when Renzil D'Silva, of Rang De Basanti fame, wrote the screenplay he had envisaged Abhishek as the senior Bachchan's junior avatar. Source: Indiafm.com News | 4 Feb 2008 | 3:56 pm
Raghav Sachar has been short-changed, and how. His song 'Manzar', a part of Sunday's soundtrack, has brought him nothing but grief. First, he was left out of the song's picturisation because the producers wanted a famous face, Tusshar Kapoor; and now his name has been drooped off from the CD cover even though he is the singer and composer for that song.
Incidentally, Raghav has done a lot of tracks for Sunday's producer Kumar Mangat, but this is the first time he was short-changed by him.
Raghav says, "Well, the damage is done and I have spoken to Kumarji. There is no mistake from his office. It is the fault of either the music company, Eros, or the designer, Rahul Nanda, who has committed the flaw."
When asked if he was planning legal action against the music compnay or the production house, Big Screen Entertainment, Raghav replies, "I was planning to, but I don't know where exactly the mistake has actually originated. As I have a lot of contracts lined up, I don't think making a big noise about this will make sense."
Raghav has composed songs for One Two Three and Haal-e-Dil and also has his album Play It Loud out in stores. Source: Indiafm.com News | 4 Feb 2008 | 3:49 pm
Shahid has been an unabashed fan of Aamir Khan ever since he became an actor. Now in choreographer-turned-producer and Shahid's close friend Ahmed Khan's newly-started film Paathshaala, being directed by Sanhay Leela Bhansali's erstwhile assistant Milind Ukey, Shahid gets to pay a tribute to his favourite actor.
In this unconventionally plotted and designed film, Shahid plays an English and music teacher who comes into the lives of a group of young troubled students. The similarities to Taare Zameen Par are delightfully direct.
Ahmed Khan doesn't deny the fact that Taare Zameen Par has made a huge difference to the way we look at movie entertainment and at the parent-child relationship. "I'd happily admit that Paathshaala is inspired by Taare Zameen Par, except for the fact that Paathshala was conceived and written a year ago. It's about a sensitive nurturing teacher's interaction with a group of kids. I've signed some really talented kids like Swini Khare from Cheeni Kum, Ali Haji from Fanaa and Dwij Yadav from Nanhe Jaisalmer. We're really fortunate to suddenly have so many talented kids in our cinema. So why not put them to creative use? It's about time we addressed issues regarding children in a serious but entertaining way," says Ahmed sounding more like the brains behind Taare Zameen Par than ever before.
Interestingly, Ahmed has selected some of the most extraordinary child actors to have come into the film industry in the last couple of years. "And on top of that, let's not forget I was once a child actor myself," laughs Ahmed who did a role as a child in Mr India.
"Shahid too was a child actor. So we're all putting our minds making a film about the mind of a child and the child within man."
Ahmed has directed two films, the dumb Lakeer and the dumber Fool N Final. About the latter Ahmed says, "Please don't blame me. Blame the producer. For the first time in Paathshaala, I'm doing a film straight from my heart."
The set representing the school where 'teacher' Shahid does an Aamir Khan has been erected at Film City. "We even have a basket-ball court as part of the school set," says Ahmed proudly. Source: Indiafm.com News | 4 Feb 2008 | 3:29 pm
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Legendary singer Mukesh's grand-son, Neil Mukesh, is in an extremely angry mood. "Enough is enough! I won't be taken for granted any longer."
The provocation for this normally mild-mannered young actor's outburst is director Tigmanshu Dhulia accusing Neil of unprofessional and starry behavior. Taking a deep breath Neil explains, "Though I've done two back-to-back films with 'Johnny' in the title I'm no Johnny-come-lately. By the grace of God, I come from family where I can live comfortably without earning a single penny all my life. Luckily for me, that's not how I want to live. I do understand my responsibilities and that's why I need to be disciplined and professional in my conduct."
Sighs Neil, "The truth is Tigmanshu Dhulia was to do another film called Fame with me. I was really excited about it. He suddenly changed his mind because someone else (Sunil Shetty) was making a film on the same subject (Paparazzi). At the eleventh hour, Tigmanshu came to me saying he wanted to do another film called Good Night from Feb 15 when I didn't even have a script in my hand. I had never heard the subjectâ¦nothing! And I was supposed to say 'yes'? Wow! This is very disturbing."
Calming down just in time the young actor seen as Ranbir Kapoor's nearest rival, confesses, âIn all honesty, I wanted to work with Tigmanshu. But I need time to prepare. I can't work with proposal makers. I can't play around with my career, sorry. I won't work with a director who comes with a one-liner. If that makes me look choosy then so be it. I've struggled for many years. My debut film Johnny Gaddar was stuck. Where was everyone when my father (singer Nitin Mukesh) and I would be crying together wondering if my first film will ever be completed?"
Neil says the early struggle has matured him. "If I choose my roles correctly am I being unprofessional and starry? Acting is something I'm passionate about. Even if I'm running a high fever I forget about it once the camera is switched on."
Neil is excited about the film he'll be doing with Madhur Bhandarkar. "We've been discussing the idea for a long time. I like to be on board from the outset. I like to watch the film evolve from scratch. We'll start the film as soon as he finishes making Fashion." Source: Indiafm.com News | 4 Feb 2008 | 12:32 pm
Shahid Kapoor is said to be a big fan of Aamir Khan. Now he is all set to pay tribute to his favourite star in his upcoming movie Paathshaala. The movie's storyline resembles Aamir's Taare Zameen Par and has Shahid Kapoor playing a teacher who comes to the lives of ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 12:01 pm
Diversity is what everyone in the film industry aims at. Be it a director, actor or an actress, everyone wants to do a variety of roles and act in different languages. Three films old, Bhama made her debut with Naivedhyam directed by Lohithadas. Her next film was Hareendran Oru Nishakalankan ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:50 am
Among the many special things that have happened to Saif this year, the animation project with Yash Raj Films definitely ranks as a whammer. Says Saif, "It was fun doing the voice for Roadside Romeo. To dub for an animation film is very challenging and very different from dubbing for ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:48 am
Filmmaker P.T. Kunju Mohammed's Paradesi stars Mohanlal as an Indian Muslim named Valiyakathu Moosa, who despite being an Indian by birth, lives the life of a paradesi (alien) in his own country. Though the movie did not make it big at the box office, Mohanlal feels that the role is ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:39 am
The present day beauty contests have set a different trend of sorts. The much-coveted title brings along with it, not just the tiara and the gifts, but also a free ticket to Bollywood and multitude of endorsements. Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:37 am
Dialogue and screenplay writer M S Ramesh is back to direction after a long hiatus. Ramesh who is known for his hard hitting and action films, this time has arrived with a soft film which centers around love and peace. Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:28 am
Big-budget, multi-starrer AMMA's film, Twenty:20 which started shooting in December 2007 was planned to hit theatres in April. However, as the shooting of the second schedule gets delayed, the movie will now be released in July. Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:22 am
Certain sections of the Rajput community in Rajasthan have raised an objection on Ashutosh Gowarikar's magnum opus Jodhaa Akbar starring Aishwarya Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan. According to them, the argument is that, historically speaking, Jodhaa was not Akbar's wife. In fact, they she was not even a Jaipur princess, though ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:20 am
It is Sarika, who plays the Big B's better half in Shoojit Sircar's new film currently being shot in Shimla. The mega-star has for some time been somewhat concerned about the absence of suitably strong and charismatic co-stars.
According to a source close to the Big B, "Rekha, he won't act with. He has done enough films with Jaya Bachchan and Jaya Prada. Hema and he were a smashing success in Baghban but a flop in Baabul. Dimple Kapadia and Sharmila Tagore don't click with Mr. Bachchan. Hence, he has lately gone into an experimental mode with co-stars, like Shefali Shah in Waqt, Rani Mukherjee in Black, Tabu in Cheeni Kum and Preity Zinta in The Last Lear." After her bravura performance in Parzania, Sarika is an actress whom the Big B has wanted to pair himself with for some time now. The opportunity came after Tabu said 'no' to Shoojit Sircar's untitled film.
The pair is kindling unique chemistry in the frozen snows capes of Shimla and Manali. At 64 and with two major near-fatal illnesses behind him, Amitabh Bachchan continues to surprise everyone including himself, with his zest energy and drive for excellence. Consider this, all of last week he shot from early morning till dusk for Shoojit Sircar's untitled film (earlier called Shoebite).Then in-between he flew to a remote village in UP for the inauguration of the girls's school named after his daughter-in-lawâ¦and rushed back to join the unit in Shimla...all within a week. "Amitji is turning out to be a role model for all of us over here. In Manali, and now in Shimla, we're frozen to our bones. Adding to our woes is the fact that all the scenes are being shot outdoors in the snow where most of us can't even see, let alone feel anything. Amitji takes to the camera as though the freezing weather was just a prop. He's the first one to reach the location. He rehearses rigorously in the freezing temperature with Sarikaji who plays his wife," says the deeply appreciative director Shoojit Sircar.
The film is about an autumnal couple rekindling their love for another in the snow-called climes of Manali and Shimla. The last time Big B was in Shimla it was to shoot a portion of Sanjay Bhansali's Black. Snowfall had to be recreated in the studio for that film since the camera lenses were obstructed by the snow. Shoojit has no such problems. "I'm not shooting snowfall. Just capturing these two aging people in the snow. I find the snow very romantic. In fact, I shot my first film Yahaan with Jimmy Shergill and Minissha Lamba in the supposedly forbidden snow-scape of Kashmir.â Jimmy Shergill also features in Sircar's second film. "He has a beautiful role; I owe it to him after the way he stood by me during Yahaan. And Dia Mirza plays a beautiful role. Also on board are Gulzar Saab and Shantanu Moitra who wrote the lyrics and composed the music for Yahaan. I couldn't make my second film without them."
As for Sarika, the director just can't stop singing the neglected actress' praises. "She brings a certain freshness to the film. Amitji and Sarikaji look so much like an abiding couple I wonder why nobody thought of casting them together before!" Source: Indiafm.com News | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:17 am
The 10th biennial Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation films (MIFF 2008) got off to a colourful start here with the screening of three films from South Africa, Canada and the US respectively. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:03 am
Washington (ANI): It seems that pop singer Michael Jackson is now craving to be called an art mogul, for he has evinced interest in buying artwork created by acclaimed New York painter Kehinde Wiley. Wiley is famous for his portraits of urban black men in classic Renaissance scenes, and his clientele ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 10:59 am
London, (ANI): Kylie Minogue has reportedly rekindled her romance with former beau Olivier Martinez. The two were seen walking arm-in-arm during a two-day reunion in Paris. According to one onlooker who spotted the couple, Kylie and Olivier looked ‘very intimate" as they 'poured their hearts out to each other'. Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 4 Feb 2008 | 10:42 am
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She said no to Nagesh Kukunoor, the guy who gave her career's best film, Dor.
"I just couldn't do the kissing scene in Aashayein. We tried to find a way out. But it didn't work out for me. Fortunately for me, Nagesh is a dear friend. He didn't hold my 'No' against me. We completed Tasveer with Akshay Kumar in Canada. And there was nothing there to made me uncomfortable."
Ayesha is aware that her more uninhibited colleagues are making hey-hey-hey while she refuses to get bold on camera. "But I don't mind losing out on roles. At least ten years from now I don't want to look back and cringe at anything. I've a family and a boyfriend. And I don't want to embarrass anyone."
Ayesha has an exciting year ahead with films with big-league heroes. "After Sunday with Ajay Devgan, I'm working with Akshay Kumar in Nagesh Kukunoor's supernatural-psychological thriller Tasveer. We shot it in one stretch in Canada. Then, I've Prabhu Deva's Wanted, an action film with Salman Khan. Here I don't have much to do. I hang around doing whatever leading ladies do â¦sing, dance and purse my lips when the hero fights," she says with disarming honesty.
Candid in her self-assessment, she sees a boyfriend as no impediment to her career. "In fact, I'm so glad Farhan is not a part of the industry. And that he's a self- made man who loves me for whom I am. I don't think having a boyfriend is any problem for a career. The only annoying part of having a boyfriend is that every time I've a release I'm informed by the press that I'm getting married in two months. It irritates me. When I get married I'll announce it from rooftops. I'm proud of my boyfriend."
Boyfriend is no problem. But her self censorship code does hamper her onward progression. "There're things that I wouldn't do, like kiss and wear certain kinds of clothes. And yes that does put me at a disadvantage. But I'm very happy with the work that I'm getting. After Dor, I'm being taken seriously as an actress. "
Last year she had a patch of rough whether when Salaam-e-Ishq and No Smoking bombed. "Everyone kept asking why I reappeared in No Smoking in a double role. I'd like all questions about that film to be directed to the director Anurag Kashyap please. I've no clue. It was small role, just ten days' work. I'd do another film for Anurag anytime. He's a friend." Source: Indiafm.com News | 4 Feb 2008 | 10:33 am
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan cut short his shooting schedule here and flew to Mumbai Monday following reports that miscreants had attacked his house, police sources said. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 4 Feb 2008 | 9:00 am
He is a man of few words and creativity has always been in his blood. Rajat Kapoor is a strong believer in accidents. For him acting, life, love and wife, all happened by accident. Nevertheless, there was one thing he was very sure of and that was making films.
After his first directorial, Raghu Romeo to his next Mixed Doubles Rajat has only grown to outshine veteran directors. An actor himself, he has an eye for talent and potential artists. His comical Bheja Fry can still make audiences fall off their chairs laughing.
Rajat is now all set with his next film, Mithya featuring Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Naseeruddin Shah, and Vinay Pathak. Bollywood Hungama brings an opportunity for all moviegoers and fans to interact with Rajat Kapoor live on Celebrity Chat on February 4 at 1600 hrs IST. Source: Indiafm.com News | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:34 am
Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi has said that the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune and Satyajit Ray Film Institute (SRFI) in Kolkata will soon be upgraded to match global standards. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 4 Feb 2008 | 6:30 am
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be seen with a different co-star in Shoojit Sircar's untitled film - the talented Sarika. The two are shooting an autumnal love story in the snowy landscape of Shimla and Manali. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 4 Feb 2008 | 5:30 am
Ayesha Takia is shooting down roles that require her to wear skimpy clothes or get intimate with her co-star because she doesn't want to embarrass her family and boyfriend. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 4 Feb 2008 | 5:30 am
Bollywood may still go for foreign locales but a film in English to be released in Hollywood has settled for the idyllic settings of Ooty in southern India for its entire shoot. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 4 Feb 2008 | 4:02 am
Money, conspiracy, deceit, betrayal, lies - Rajat Kapoor's third directorial venture 'Mithya' is about all this. Releasing Friday, the film is set in Mumbai's underworld. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 4 Feb 2008 | 4:01 am
The days of daring and adventurous producers and directors are almost gone, laments the extremely versatile Tom Alter, who has merged into the Hindi film industry and television as a natural-born despite his foreign origin. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 4 Feb 2008 | 4:00 am
Adopting a Gandhian means of protest, workers of a Rajput organisation Sunday presented roses to cinema hall owners and appealed against the screening of Ashutosh Gowariker's film 'Jodhaa Akbar'. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 3 Feb 2008 | 1:00 pm
