Lindsay Lohan`s 14-year-old sister Ali seems to have had cosmetic surgery done on her lips and maybe her hair and eyes too. Source: Zee News : Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 4:41 pm
Disney execs have shot down the reports that they are considering casting a Persian prince in their next venture titled `Prince of Persia: Sands of Time`. Source: Zee News : Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 4:41 pm
A Pakistan filmmaker has won the
prestigious student Emmy award for her documentary on an
Indian Muslim woman`s struggle to break into the American
political system. Source: Zee News : Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 4:41 pm
Letters between James Bond creator Ian Fleming and his real-life `Miss Moneypenny` are going up for grabs at an auction. Source: Zee News : Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 4:41 pm
British pop star Robbie Williams, who is in dispute with his record company, has turned to cooking and wants to host his own cookery show. Source: Zee News : Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 4:41 pm
American actress Demi Moore has revealed her secret to looking sexy even at the age of 45 - medical leeches. Source: Zee News : Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 4:41 pm
Pakistan`s new Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gillani is a big fan of bollywood star Aishwarya
Rai and melody queen Lata Mangeshkar. Source: Zee News : Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 4:41 pm
This certainly isn`t cricket. On Sunday, when Celina Jaitley was invited to perform at the Indian Cricket League`s match between Pakistan and India, she had what could be termed an encounter with abusive guests from across the border. Source: Zee News : Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 4:41 pm
Her first appearance on the big screen was as a simple 'salwar-kameez' clad girl in Maine Dil Tujhko Diya. However, with following films like Plan, Musafir and Taxi No.9211, she decided to go the glamorous way and oozed sensuality. We are talking about the super-sexy Sameera Reddy.
Sameera is currently on a high post the success of Race where she played the dumb assistant's role to perfection. Now, next on her agenda is the mad-cap comedy, One Two Three, where she will be seen with talented actors like Suneil Shetty, Tusshar Kapoor and Paresh Rawal. Bollywood Hungama brings you the sensuous Sameera Reddy in an exclusive chat where you can get to ask all that you want to know about this super-hot babe. Don't miss this chance to chat with Sameera on Tuesday, April 1 at 1500 hrs IST. Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 26 Mar 2008 | 3:21 pm
When a film releases, we often talk about the stars, the plot, the drama, the suspense, the romance and it's ever growing popular music. We've also seen biggies giving credit to the spot boys and lights men, from the 'chai wala' bringing 'chai' on the sets to the smallest of the technicians. But in this very exclusive interview Sanjay Choudhary, son of yesteryears music maestro Salil Choudhary, breaks his silence as to why the Hindi Film Industry doesn't recognize the background score as the backbone of any film in all major award functions. He also talks about his achievements, his past and much more.
How and when did you first decide to enter Bollywood as a background music composer?
Composition started for me at the age of 7. But the first film for which I worked as a background music composer / director was the 1996 Aamir Khan starrer Sarfarosh. I've worked with my father, Salil Choudhary who gave background music for films like Anand starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna. I played the percussion during the background score of Anand. I was just 7 back then. I then got the on-hand learning process from my father like how to make the background score. He also taught me the aspects of story reading and how to match the background score with the screenplay of the film. To learn to make the background score is a completely different art and it runs parallel to the screenplay.
My father, Salil Choudhary, gave background music for Anand and I played the percussion for it back then
What changes have you seen taking place in the background score or music in general over the years?
Composing background score requires melody and doing the arrangements. But that is according to the situation of a particular scene I'm looking at. But in the early days, song compositions were done on situations, where the situation was created as a screenplay. Today, there is no particular situation created for a song. The song is just composed, the director selects the song and then decides on the situation like where the song can be placed or used in the film. There are many compositions of my father's background score, which were then turned into famous songs during his time.
Do you at all edit the background score?
I try and get into the scene and chat to my director as to what thought he has in his mind. I put my thought together and then we see how close we come in our level of thinking. I then create that into the score and arrange it according to whatever instrumentation is required for that particular sequence.
What is your style?
The whole thought process of scoring the background music is very different. I'm very screenplay oriented, story oriented and character oriented which now-a-days is not taken into consideration. My background compositions are not to be heard in the film but it has to be felt. I create a subtle background score, which takes the film forward, and then suddenly you realize that there was a score behind. Right from Sarfarosh till now, I have a different style in creating background score.
My background compositions are not to be heard in the film but it has to be felt. I create a subtle background score, which takes the film forward.
Is it challenging enough just like what the music directors' job is?
Background score is the backbone of any film but very few from our Hindi Film Industry agree to it. The best thing about creating background music for any film is that you have complete freedom to choose and experiment with the score which you create. That makes my job challenging because we come up with something new all the time.
Which directors have you enjoyed working with?
There are certain directors who are very particular about their films' background score. They shoot their film with the thought process of the background score in their mind. Like Jab We Met, the film that I worked on and in my forthcoming Samir Karnik film Heroes. These directors give a lot of importance to background score until the whole film is over. They know what they want and what they can get from me. So it makes our job more exciting and easy.
Are you given any specific timeline or deadline to deliver your final product?
That depends on director to director. Some of them want it in a fortnight because they don't have time and that in turn becomes tedious for us. I like giving it a thought, make notifications of the scenes and then take about 20 to 25 days to complete the score.
Any particular thought you'd like to share with us what I may have missed out on?
I would like to send across this message through Bollywood Hungama that I am sad that the Hindi Film Industry have recognized the background music as one of the technical awards in all major award functions. That's not done. I wonder why the music director category is not considered as a technical one? Music, be it any kind, should be treated on an equal level.
I like giving the background score a thought, make notifications of the scenes and then take about 20 to 25 days to complete the score.
What has been your favourite background score you've composed and what's next in the pipeline?
My favourite background composition has to be my first film Sarfarosh. Then the recent Jab We Met. I also liked Zinda, Chocolate, and Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal because all three were experimental films. We've used hip-hop, rap, Indian, Western, classical, etc. You name it and we have used every bit of it in our background music. That was different. Right now, I'm working on Samir Karnik's film Heroes and will be soon starting Sunil Shetty's production film called EMI staring Sanjay Dutt. Another film I'm really looking forward to is Wednesday, a UTV production directed by Neeraj Pandey staring Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. I've done my best work for that film so far and it's due for release in April or May. Source: BollywoodHungama.com Features | 26 Mar 2008 | 2:49 pm
Miss Universe 2000, the beauty with brains and now also a talented actress, Lara Dutta, will travel to New Zealand and Fiji along with Bollywood heartthrob Kunal Kapoor this week.
Is the reason, a sell out show of 10,000 rocking fans? No! It's something more. Lara and Kunal, who have an association of many years with the Art Of Living Foundation, will be in New Zealand and Fiji this week making appearances in The Art Of Living's special workshops which will be conducted by the internationally renowned teacher, Sangeeta Jani.
Looking at the increasing problems of drugs, alcohol and violence in today's youth, the Art Of Living Foundation has taken the responsibility of running several service projects for the youth and helping them to live their life in a positive manner.
Lara, Kunal and Sangeeta's first ever visit of its kind, is eagerly awaited by the local NRI community as well as other Kiwis and Fijian people. Dignitaries, Politicians and sportstars such as Triathlete Hamish Carter and former Blues and All Blacks Rugby player Charles Riechelmann have lent their support to the cause in Auckland.
Lara and Kunal will be engaging with thousands of youth and launching The Art of Living's Youth Service Projects in New Zealand and Fiji. Go 'Miss Universe' and 'Mr. Bollywood', its time to spread the message of World Peace! Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 26 Mar 2008 | 1:05 pm
One Two Three revolves around three Laxmi Narayans who create a lot of confusion because of the similarity in their names. In addition to that, Diamonds worth ten crores are stolen from a certain Don, Papa. The diamonds accidentally fall in the hands of young lovebirds - Chandu (Upen Patel) and Chandni (Tanisha), who quickly hide them in a car. Papa and his idiotic henchmen Albert (Vrijesh Hirjee) and Pinto (Manoj Pahva) are desperately hunting for the diamonds while hot headed police officer Mayavati Chautala (Neetu Chandra) is on the prowl looking for offenders of any kind.
The first Laxmi Narayan (Tusshar Kapoor). He's from a âkhandaniâ mafia family and his mother prays that with a few murders under his belt, he will be settled for life. The second Laxmi Narayan ( Sunil Shetty) is a loveable geek who takes pride in being accurate and detailed. He'll do anything to please the boss, including bearding a Don in his den. Lastly, the third Laxmi Narayan (Paresh Rawal), all the Bhabhis and Behenjis of Delhi will vouch for his uncanny eye - Just one look and he can gauge your innermost measurements. But then he comes across Laila (Sameera Reddy) who refuses to show him what he wants and blackmails him instead!
Preview
Enter the first Laxmi Narayan (Tusshar Kapoor). He's from a khandani mafia family and his mother prays that with a few...
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Music Reviews
Trademark Raghav Sachar flute kick-starts the title song 'One Two Three'. While Earl ED does the rap and reggae in the background...
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News
- Upen cajoled by producer to promote One Two 3
- 'One Two Three' is no 'Hera Pheri'
- Eros' impressive line up for 2008
- Raghav Sanchar goes missing from Sunday CD
- Upen Patel signs 3 core deal with Eros
- Upen Patel and Tanisha's one crore dance
- Mangat's One Two Three flagged off
Features
- "I too may become Akshay Kumar" - Tusshar
- "I can't be dismissed as my time has just begun" - Upen Patel
- "Kajol had fifteen years, give me time...I will get there" - Tanisha
Gallery
Movie Wallpapers
Movie Stills
- Audio Release Of One Two Three
- First Look: One Two Three
- Movie Screensavers: One Two Three
Broadband
Raghav Sachar Does The One Two Three
Trailer 1 (One Two Three)
- The Making Of One Two Three
- One Two Three - The Song In The Making
- Paresh Rawal Speaks About One Two Three
- Ashwani Dheer Speaks About One Two Three
- Rock Mahi (One Two Three)
- Raghav Sachar Speaks About One Two Three
- Audio Release Of One Two Three
- Neetu Chandra Speaks About One Two Three
- Lights, Camera, One Two Three! Source: BollywoodHungama.com Features | 26 Mar 2008 | 12:38 pm
Kunal Kapoor and Jimmy Sheirgill have lent their voices to the characters of Ram and Laxman respectively in Rohit Vaid's Mahayoddha Ram under Contiloe Pictures. Mahayoddha Ram which apparently is Vaid's directorial debut, is a VFX driven 3-D animation film. In addition to Jimmy and Kunal, Gulshan Grover and Sameera Reddy have also given their voices for Ravana and Sita's characters.
Throwing some light on the story of the film, Vaid informs, "Mahayoddha Ram cuts out the extraneous of Ramayan by highlighting the very fight between Ram and Ravana over Sita. Ram versus Ravana in contemporary times is what Mahayoddha Ram is in totality." Interestingly, there will be ten different voices for all the ten heads of Ravana in the film. Vaid further adds, "The film is full of special effects with trees destroying themselves and Brahma disappearing. However, my two favorite scenes which need to be mentioned here are first, the aggressively shot construction of the bridge while crossing Lanka and the war scene where Inderjeet (Ravana's son) takes on Ram and Laxman."
Jimmy Sheirgill in all praises for the director Rohit Vaid says, "Rohit is a very intelligent director. I was so amazed to witness the kind of preparations he had done before signing me for Laxman's voice."
Aadesh Shrivastav has composed the background score for the film. Ashok Banker has written the screenplay and Javed Akhtar has penned down the lyrics. The film is expected to release by the end of the year in December. Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 26 Mar 2008 | 12:32 pm
Manini Dey, the very versatile actress known for her comic touch on screen has taken up to anchoring now, as the gorgeous lady will be seen managing the behind the scene gupshup with the contestants of Rock N Roll Family, in a show on Zee Muzic called Rock N Roll Family ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 11:34 am
The government needs to push reforms quickly so as to transform the private radio industry and boost the revenue streams, experts have said and noted that the Rs.3 billion industry is currently plagued by lack of viability. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 26 Mar 2008 | 11:30 am
Race has opened to a record breaking response and as things stand today, at worse this TIPS film is a box office HIT. No wonder, director duo of Abbas and Mustan is on cloud nine with Race coming as a shot in the arm, especially after Naqaab and 36 China Town not doing particularly well at the box office.
The obvious question which the filmmakers are being faced with - Would Race have a sequel? After all it is pretty much a possibility.
- The film's ending was open ended and two of the main protagonists who supposedly get killed aren't actually shown dead on screen. Also, the relationship between the other two protagonists too has been left open for speculation. What does the director duo feel about this?
Says Abbas, "Yes, it is true that the ending of Race has been left open. In fact Ramesh Taurani has been having discussions with us to see if we can develop the plot further and get a sequel in the running."
- With the film getting a huge response, it would indeed be quite challenging to get something as interesting, engaging and 'twisting' as the original, if not more! After all, audience won't be settling down for anything lesser when it comes to shock value and surprises in store at every corner, isn't it?
"I agree", laughs Abbas, "This is exactly the reason why we have to be extra careful even in announcing the sequel to the film. First of all we have to get the film right on paper and then plan ahead on execution. However, on his part, Ramesh Taurani has already registered Race 2 as a title. So yes, we are not ruling out the possibility of a sequel being made. If we get a script in place which is even better than the original, we will certainly go for it."
- Meanwhile Race continues to do crazy business at the box office. Not just has it's opening being phenomenal (22 crores net in 3 days) and is in comparison with Bollywood's biggest money spinner Om Shanti Om, it is looking forward to an extended business with One Two Three (March 28) being it's only notable opposition till 11th April (when U Me Aur Hum and Krazzy 4 arrive). Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 26 Mar 2008 | 11:23 am
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Animated
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Producer: Percept Pictures Company
Music: Tapas Relia
Lyrics: Satish Mutatkar
THE FILM
How much can a film change tracks from first half to the second half? There have been numerous instances of films arriving at theaters, which have a good start to the story but loose steam mid way. Some films are good till the very end before a shoddy climax kills the impact. Worse, some films are horrible from start to finish. However, Return of Hanuman is a classic case of one of the rarest instances of a film, which is excellent in the first half and downright intolerable in the second half.
First and foremost, let's acknowledge the hard work which has gone into creating the look of the animated characters. Frankly, Return of Hanuman has some of the glossiest characters one has seen in an animated film coming out of India. Whether it is the hero of the film or the demons or the Gods, each of them stand out due to a good visual appeal.
Secondly, the characters and the situations in the first half are truly impressive. The proceedings in heaven and 'shani graha' are truly engaging because the lingo they are shown to be using are contemporary and hence in sync with the current times. Imagine, 'Naarad Muni' breaking into a jig with English forming a part of his vocabulary. Or Gods enjoying on beach side with 'apsaras' serving them Pinacoladas. Or the assistants in heaven using laptops to keep track of the happenings across the universe.
This is not all as evils at Saturn too are shown to be engaging themselves in satire. A 'Shani TV' prominently 'breaks news' about how people on earth are killing each other by themselves, hence making their lives easier as they are no more required as destroyers! In fact, the first 40-50 minutes amaze due to numerous such incidents centered on spoof and satire making one nod in appreciation. One looks at the film in entirety rather than looking for a story, which is based on Hanuman coming to 'prithvilok' and being born in a poor family.
Spoofs aren't restricted to Gods and demons as even our dear old Bollywood and Hollywood aren't spared. Be it Shah Rukh Khan's six pack abs, Himesh Reshammiya's singing style, Gabbar, Matrix, Thakur, Raj Kumar - just about everyone is referred to in Return of Hanuman.
It is the latter portions of the film, which go on a complete downhill route. Talks around volcanos erupting and gloabl warming turning out to be a reality take precedence. Moreover, the comeback of Rahu-Ketu, the prime villains, turns Return of Hanuman into a special effect saga. Storytelling takes a backseat and computer wizardry comes into force. All of this kills the fun quotient of the film as 'Mahabharata' style war begins that makes the narrative mundane. The innocence and cleverish treatment of the film's mood is lost and Return of Hanuman looses it's entire purpose and entertainment quotient.
Wish the film could have stuck to the way it had begun!
PACKAGING
The DVD comes in an attractive box with good combination of paper and plastic. The layout is highly attractive with it's target audience, kids, expected to catch it on the stands on the first look itself. With a rich color combination adding to the appeal, the DVD box has number of goodies like 'Notebook labels', 'Hanuman mask' and a free 'Hanuman Chalisa' audio CD.
DURATION
The film comes with a film's DVD (lasting 101 minutes) and an audio CD (~50 minutes) of 'Hanuman Chalisa'.
SPECIAL FEATURES
DVD of Return of Hanuman has an added 22 minutes of 'Making of the Film'. The feature has an (unintentional) amusing beginning since practically the entire staff of Percept Pictures starts making an appearance one after another to talk about the film. However, director Anurag Kashyap does take a viewer through his experience of making the film (thinking on the lines of animation, being there more as a decision maker rather than executor, painstaking process of making every single frame perfect etc.), one chuckles looking at one face after another coming in and doing the talk. Was it required?
People from Toons Animation India, who are responsible for the animation of the film, do give an insight into how a design on paper was translated into moving frames. Also notable is to see how numerous designs for each and every character, whether big or small, in the film was created before a decision was taken on the eventual character that one sees on the screen.
The most interesting part of this segment is the choreography of the main song in the film - 'Aasmaan Ko Chuke'. Longines Fernandes, the choreographer of the song, is shown as getting his entire team of dancers in a workshop and getting them perfecting the steps before the animation team copied them on paper/computer. So what you see as the animated versions of cheerleaders, animals, super heroes, Gods and the rest of the ilk dancing is actually something which was conceived with the real dancers. Impressive!
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen format
- Subtitles In English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 399/-
CONCLUSION
Well, to cut it short, Hanuman Returns is an amalgamation of Anurag Kashyap's other two releases of 2007. If the first half consolidates on the brilliance of Black Friday, the second half tops the absurdity of No Smoking. Got the picture?
Rating: ** Source: BollywoodHungama.com Features | 26 Mar 2008 | 11:22 am
Minnamminni Koottam - Kamal's latest film follows the footsteps of films like Krishnagudiyil..., Mazhayethum Munpe and Kaikudanna Nilavu... which he had named in the best romantic traditions. Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:47 am
Washington (ANI): Troubled singer Britney Spears has just been given a Lifetime Achievement award - for bad skin. Britney who is very prone to acne was given a Skinnies gong, which is presented every year by skincare expert Dr. Vail Reese on his Skinema.com website. Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:41 am
Heavy rain and floods washed away the sets of Pazhassi Raja worth Rs.50 lakhs yesterday, which caused for a delay in the shooting of the much awaited Mammootty film. Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:39 am
Ace director Ameer, known as one of the Trend Setters in Tamil, will be felicitated by Tamil Film journalists on Monday for bagging the special award for his film Paruthi Veeran in Berlinale, a month ago. The film was honoured with a special award under Asian category for best direction ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:35 am
As the Rs.13 billion ($324 million) animation industry grows rapidly in India, global players like Walt Disney and Cartoon Network are increasingly looking at the country for content - with the same level of specialisation but at lower cost. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:30 am
Washington (ANI): Elvis Presley's ex wife Priscilla has confirmed reports that she was operated upon by an unlicensed plastic surgeon. Presley underwent a botched surgery in 2003. She has now confirmed that she was a client of Dr. Daniel Serrano, who was jailed for injecting industrial, low-grade silicone into women's faces. ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:27 am
Almost all superstars have ensured their participation in the Vishu race of Malayalam Cinema. As usual Mammootty is in the first place, who has confirmed his film Annan-Thambi well in advance. He has completed the final pack-up last week for the same. Lakshmi Rai and Gopika are the heroines of ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:20 am
It is really hot and big news on Dasavatharam. The film has achieved an impossible thing even many politicians failed to achieve ever. The Tamil Nadu CM Kalaignar and his arch rival former CM Jayalalitha will appear in the film as what they are in present. Both the great politicians ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:16 am
London (ANI): English singer songwriter Amy Winehouse is willing to go back to rehab. The 24-year-old 'Rehab' singer recently shocked onlookers when she stepped out with scabby skin for a night out to dine on kebabs. "Amy has admitted she needs to check into rehab again," the Sun quoted a source ... Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:08 am
Actress Bhavana is currently not accepting any new projects in any language. Staying in her Trissur house, the actress is even not picking up her phone and she has instructed her assistant to reply all the calls. Source: Oneindia - Entertainment | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:07 am
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Dating younger men seems to be in. Earlier Dimple Kapadia attempted the dare pair with Akshaye Khanna in Dil Chahta Hai, Saif Ali Khan in Being Cyrus and Amol Mhatre in Leela. It's now Bipasha Basu who's attempting the dare pair with Ranbir Kapoor and Neil Nitin Mukesh in two of her forthcoming films.
Ranbir is her co-star in Siddharth Anand's Bachna Ae Haseenon and its Neil in new-director Jehangir Surti's Freeze. According to the plot, Bipasha plays a slightly older co-star to both the coveted debutants of 2007.
In Freeze, Bipasha is cast as a deejay to Neil Mukesh's role of a high-flying photographer. Bipasha is at the moment reluctant to talk about her role. "We're in discussion. I like the script. It's too soon to talk about it."
Neil too is cautious, but far more forthright. "Yes, Bipasha is opposite me in Freeze. And I'm really excited. She's someone I've always admired." Mention the age-difference, and Neil gets immediately embarrassed. "Nobody will notice that she came to the industry before me. Our characters justify our presence. She does play someone older. Is she really older to Ranbir in the Yashraj film? Just a coincidence, I guess. In our film, I play this guy who starts off as down-and-out and then goes to become this really big name in his field. I like playing characters with a graph. Johnny Gaddaar had that graph. I went from greed to atonement. My second film Tera Kya Hoga Johnny with Sudhirbhai (Mishra) is again a character with shades. I start Freeze in April."
But there's a John in this story. Bipasha was reluctant to do another film where her co-star was younger. John convinced her. "That's true," states Neil. "Bipasha did have her doubts when she read the script. But then John Abraham who happens to be a pal of the Freeze director happened to go through the script. He convinced Bipasha to go for it. John is a really cool guy. And Bipasha, she's hot! I hope John doesn't mind my saying so." Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 26 Mar 2008 | 10:01 am
On March 18, when top cop Ravi Kant Sharma was sentenced for the murder of journalist Shivani Bhatnagar, director Sushen Bhatnagar shot a dramatized version of the Sharma hearing for his film Monica which is based on the life of Shivani Bhatnagar.
Director Sushen Bhatnagar, who shares his surname with the murdered mediaperson, sounds stunned. "It wasn't planned that way at all. But while we were shooting the murder trial and verdict in our film with an actor named Dadhi Pandey playing Varma's role, we got to know that the real-life cop had been sentenced. It was uncanny, almost as if the dead girl was telling us something."
Sushen has taken his namesake's signal from heaven very seriously. "I want to complete Monica and release it as fast as possible. Shivani's story, of a small-town girl's ambitions, has to be told. The issue is alive right now because of Sharma's sentencing. And Shivani's story cannot be allowed to die."
The role of the celluloid Shivani is played by the gifted Divya Dutta. Says the director, "I've earlier done a true-life drama, Trisha, with Divya. It's important for me as a filmmaker to use cinema as an extension of the newspaper. I feel Divya understands the mindset and the yearnings of an ambitious small-town girl better than most actresses in Bollywood who don't know of the existence of a world outside the metropolis."
Ashutosh Rana plays a character inspired by the late Pramod Mahajan. Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 26 Mar 2008 | 9:38 am
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This certainly isn't cricket. On Sunday, when Celina Jaitley was invited to perform at the Indian Cricket League's match between Pakistan and India, she had what could be termed an encounter with abusive guests from across the border.
Celina had finished her performance and was taking what she calls a "glory round" with her security personnel around the stadium, when she heard loud abuses in Hindi coming out of the players' enclosure.
"At first I couldn't believe where it was coming from. I still want to give them the benefit of the doubt because it's so hard to believe they could behave this way," she says with a shudder, recalling how she wanted to rush back to her car and drive away from the nightmare. "But I couldn't because the security guys wouldn't let me pass. So I was stuck listening to myself being described in the most colourful language."
Celina refuses to lay the blame on anyone for the abusive incident. But she does admit that she recognizes the Pakistani players because she had participated in a TV interview with them for a sports channel.
"But what hurts and offends me more is the fact that people from our own country have chosen to speak on behalf of those who abused me. As they say, I am 'just another Bollywood actress'. Fine. Does that mean I don't command even the respect that other woman get?"
All in all it hasn't been a very pleasant Easter and Holi weekend for Celina. "I attended my producer Kumar Mangatji's Holi bash on Saturday and then having ensured that I wasn't required for shooting on Sunday, I left for Delhi for the ICL, tired and irritable. I had no clue what was waiting for me. And to top it all, I had observed Lent this Easter and was very weak and depleted. This wasn't what I expected." Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 26 Mar 2008 | 9:30 am
Writer-director Manish Acharya wanted to set his second film in the 1970s, but 'Om Shanti Om' beat him to it. So the 'Loins Of Punjab Presents' director is now planning his action-drama with a 1980s backdrop. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 26 Mar 2008 | 9:00 am
The business of animation rests, among others issues, on having strategic partners who will be able to create products that can be long lasting, experts maintain. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 26 Mar 2008 | 8:33 am
This certainly isn't cricket. Actress Celina Jaitley alleged that cricketers from across the border abused her after she performed at the Indian Cricket League (ICL) match between Pakistan and India. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 26 Mar 2008 | 8:30 am
Akshaye Khanna is on Cloud Nine and rightly so! His work in RACE has come in for tremendous appreciation and most importantly, its success at the box-office has only added to the excitement. Shooting for SHORTKUT in Bangkok, the actor confides in me that no one expected RACE to work in such a big way. âOf course, all of us were confident that it would work big time, but the numbers have caught everyone unawares,â he sounds elated.
Akshaye, who has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, now looks forward to working with Akshay Kumar some day. âImagine the two of us in one movie,â he states, âAnd only two people can achieve the impossible -- Abbas-Mustan and Priyadarshan. In fact, they've been toying with the idea of casting us in a movie, but haven't found the right script yet.â
Akshaye now looks forward to his next release MERE BAAP PEHLE AAP, which brings Akshaye and Priyadarshan together after a gap of few years. âIt's a fabulous film. In fact, I'd like to say that it's Priyan's best film so far,â he beams. Coming from someone whose name is synonymous with qualitative cinema, it only increases the expectations from this film. Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 26 Mar 2008 | 7:11 am
Now it can be told! Everyone knows that Fardeen Khan was initially supposed to enact the role that has been portrayed brilliantly by Akshaye Khanna in RACE. Also, Mallika Sherawat was the first choice for the role of Mini [eventually portrayed by Sameera Reddy], the dumb associate of the investigating officer. Not many know that the casting underwent many changes before it finally went to the actors we see on screen today. Read onâ¦
To start with, when Fardeen Khan opted out of the project [the dates were clashing with HEYY BABYY], the makers approached John Abraham for the part. John heard the script, but declined the offer because he didn't want to portray a negative role [didn't he win accolades in DHOOM?]. The role went to Akshaye Khanna.
Before Bipasha Basu came into the picture, the role was initially offered to Priyanka Chopra. She too, like John, didn't like the idea of playing a negative role interesting [although she won tremendous praise for her part in Abbas-Mustan's AITRAAZ]. Bipasha was the next choice and when she heard the script, it was a 'Yes' instantly.
Anil Kapoor too wasn't the first choice for the part of the investigating officer. This role was first offered to Ajay Devgan, who loved the script, but felt that he wouldn't like to do a strong, intense film then. Akshay Kumar was approached next. The actor shares a terrific rapport with Abbas-Mustan, but he declined the role because he didn't want to play a secondary role. Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 26 Mar 2008 | 7:04 am
Almost a century after film pioneer Dadasaheb Phalke made 'Raja Harishchandra' in 1913, the Indian cinema and entertainment industry has spread its wings worldwide - not just winning accolades from its widely dispersed diaspora and international audiences and earning huge profits abroad but also luring foreign investment. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 26 Mar 2008 | 5:00 am
It may take yesteryear lover boy Rishi Kapoor and his son Ranbir some time to showcase their talent together. But the young actor's girlfriend Deepika Padukone already has that privilege. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 26 Mar 2008 | 4:01 am
Model-turned-actor Upen Patel says he is fed up of his 'bad boy' image and he is not a wild person in real life. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 26 Mar 2008 | 2:00 am
With the release of Race and its magic at the Box Office Saif has entered the elite list of stars in Bollywood. The Chote Nawab has shot up straight to the region of Shah Rukh Khan, Salman and Aamir. Source: IndiaGlitz.com - News | 26 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Vipul Shahs next film London Dreams has Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan playing the lead roles. But who are playing the lead heroines for these two heroes in this film? Source: IndiaGlitz.com - News | 26 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Dream girl, Hema Malini, soon would be launching a 15 minute dance video, which will create awareness about the serious issue of female foeticide. Music director Ravindra Jain has lent the music for the video.
Hema Malini explained that the video would focus on social issues like female foeticide, domestic violence, and dowry, which are faced largely in India. Esha and Ahana Deol will also join their mother in the cause and would be featuring in the video as well. Work on the video has already begun, they will introduce the topics in a dance ballet, Parampara, and based on its quality, they will convert it into 45 minutes video. However, the telecast TV or theatres would depend on the Ministry Of Women And Child Development.
Vouching strongly for the cause, the Deol family hopes to stand for women related causes. Source: BollywoodHungama.com News | 25 Mar 2008 | 4:55 pm
India will soon have its own version of the Emmy Awards - the television equivalent to the Oscars in the US - Kunal Dasgupta, CEO of Sony Entertainment Television, said here Tuesday. Source: IndiaeNews.com: Bollywood News | 25 Mar 2008 | 4:13 pm
The term 'Thriller', as per the filmy dictionary means the license to entertain with some racy pulsating edge of the seat drama! Well, Bollywood has seen many of these in the recent months gone by. Of these, some hit the Bull's Eye, whereas many others bit the dust!
With another thriller, Race, which opened last week, Bollywood Hungama thrillingly brings you the list of five recent thrillers which completely failed to thrill the audiences and turned out to be big horrors for the producers and distributors.
Aggar: Anyone who was expecting a power packed performance from the actors and thrilling story telling from the director was in for a disappointment. Well, its high time that thriller makers get rid of the two words 'betrayal' and 'obsession' which marks the introduction of every romantic-thriller that hits the silver screen. Aggar revolves around Shreyas Talpade who conspires to kill his wife played by Udita Goswami while using Tusshar as his guinea pig. But since good has to prevail over bad Shreyas' plan backfires. The lopsided star cast only goes ahead to distort the script even more⦠It's a wonder how the audiences managed to sit through the movie.
Cash: Oodles of oomph-matic style sans any substantial substance aptly describes Anubhav Sinha's thriller flick Cash in totality. Cash joins the bandwagon of the Indian films which are well-known for their abysmal quality. Cash failed to cash in on its pre-release hype at the B-O. The music probably was the only saving grace for this multi-starrer. The film is about a mad race behind diamonds between Ajay Devgan and his gang (Riteish Deshmukh, Zayed Khan, Esha Deol, and Dia Mirza) and the underworld don Sunil Shetty. The idiotic angle is that, till the end Shamita Shetty who claims to be a top security officer never realizes that Ajay is the mastermind behind all the thefts. His pretentious writer-profession manages to keep her in wraps. Some officer she is...wonder if she was given any training before taking on such a role. Won't be too shocked if the Crime Branch sues the filmmaker for portraying them as so dumb. As for the end, if you happen to watch it then fill us in on the details.
Naqaab: Now, this one was apparently a much-awaited film considering the super success of Humraaz in 2002. Unfortunately, the love triangle with a twist failed to recreate the magic. An emotional tale of a middle class girl, Urvashi Sharma, who is confused between the love of a millionaire, (always Bobby Deol) or an aspiring actor Akshaye Khanna (note the similarity with Humraaz). But while walking the aisle, Urvashi realizes her love for Akshaye (perfect timing) and runs to him leading to Bobby's suicide. Little did she know that Akshaye's love for her happens to be a contract made by Bobby with a 'veiled identity'. Apparently, Bobby was making a romantic film on Urvashi and Akshaye and had only used herâ¦For crying out loud, didn't the filmmaker have a better idea to remove the 'Naqaab' of the culprit? Well, the film climaxes with the murder of Bobby Deol. One can only wonder as to why the script was even being attempted in the first place!
Speed: The faster it came the faster it disappeared. Inspite of being a complete rip off the Hollywood film, Cellular it had a terrible fate at the B-O. Well, Speed not only lacked flow it also lacked the pace, so much for the title. Sanjay Suri, an undercover MI 5 agent, is compelled by Sophie and Aftab to murder the Prime Minister at the bargain to get his wife (played by Urmila) back. Zayed accidentally happens to get a call from Urmila and tries to rescue her. Aashish Chowdhury on the other hand is a corrupt a security officer who in charge of the Prime Minister's security. With so many characters in the film, the viewer only gets confused as to who is the good guy and the bad guy here. And what connection does the title have with the film anyway.
The Train: And last but not the least, The Train. Why do Bollywood filmmakers replicate Hollywood flicks? Here's sighting one more example. The Train, is a copy of the Jennifer Aniston starrer, Derailed, with a Bollywood 'tadka'. Inspite of oozing with sex and skin show, the film managed to get beaten up at the B-O. Guess the audiences are no longer falling for Emraan Hashmi's 'Killer-Kisser' instincts anymore. Emraan Hashmi and Sayali Bhagat's already disturbed married life goes through turmoil when he begins to have an affair with Geeta Basra. Well, it's not always the wife who catches you cheating on her, like in this case Emraan and Geeta's intimate moments are intruded by a crook, who then rapes her and blackmails him. Post this; the film goes for a toss. After paying the blackmailer a ransom, Emraan decides to tell his wife the truth. The final climax is something that you should watch yourself to have a nice laugh. This is one 'Train' that the audiences were happy to miss. Source: BollywoodHungama.com Features | 25 Mar 2008 | 2:19 pm
Coca-Cola India recently announced torchbearers for the Olympic Torch Relay and present among them was Aamir Khan.
The six torchbearers were from diverse fields like Cinema, Government, Corporate house, NGO, Science and grassroots. The criteria of selection involved short listing luminaries, who besides having excelled in their respective fields should have also demonstrated commitment to the cause of environment stewardship and Aamir was asked to represent Cinema.
Aamir who is also Coca-Cola's brand ambassador said, âI am delighted to be a part of the Olympic Torch Relay. This truly is a rare privilege and an absolute honor. What makes this feeling even more special is that it has given me the opportunity to be associated with the world's greatest sporting event and at the same time also raise awareness to the cause of the environment. On behalf of Coca-Cola, I am delighted to announce the roll out of the company's latest environment awareness initiative. The countrywide program includes organizing painting competitions in schools on the theme âThe Need To Protect Environmentâ. The initiative would involve thousands of students across India.â
All the selected environmental champions would run with the Olympic Torch as part of the worldwide Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay. In the month of March 2008, the Olympic Torch Relay began its round-the-world tour that includes one-day relay in Delhi. This would be the largest Relay in the history of the Olympic Games, covering approximately 137,000 kilometers (85,128 miles) over a span of 130 days and traveling to all five continents represented by the Olympic Rings. Source: BollywoodHungama.com Features | 25 Mar 2008 | 1:12 pm
