July 3rd, 2009
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Jaaved Jaffrey, Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Arora, Boman Irani and Kiron Kher
Director: Sabbir Khan
Stars: **1/2
July 3rd, 2009
Do you remember where you were when those ill-fated planes crashed into the Twin Towers on the morning of September 11, 2001? Everyone does. It is to our generation what the Lennon assassination was to the one before us, and the Kennedy assassination to the one before that. Only, this is much graver…not just in magnitude, but in impact as well. It changed the world we live in, built boundaries between nations of disparate religions and made xenophobia the most common malaise afflicting humankind. It brought to the fore the inherent discrimination in our society, manifested most grotesquely in the racial profiling of the FBI in the USA and its detention of individuals perceived as suspects; and the human rights violating treatment meted out to them at these detention camps, most notoriously Guantanamo Bay.
Kabir Khan knows the significance of 9/11 which shocked, altered and distorted humanity as we know it. So to anyone who suggests that the film shouldn’t only be looked at from that point of view, and be appreciated as some Bond-type thriller (which it is not by a mile…and more!), my retort is this- It’s a film called New York (not very subtle, are we?) for crying out loud, with the 9/11 and the subsequent paranoia as the key event and fuel to the narrative. So pardon me, if I choose to look at the movie seriously (not very bright either, are we?).
Coming back to my first question, we all remember where we were when we first heard news of the attack on the Twin Towers. We all reacted with shock and horror…not knowing how the event would affect our existence. In retrospect of course, I’m willing to concede that some, in Hawthornian wisdom of a family destroying what it stands for only to regroup much more strongly, even felt that it was necessary. Necessary enough to bring the change, we needed! And yet, in Kabir Khan’s surprisingly inert film, the three lead characters react with little to no emotion to the incident. To be more specific, the answer to my first question to Neil Mukesh’s character Omar (looking kinda like apna Umair!) would be- On the morning of 9/11, I was busy nursing a heartbreak having realized that the girl I loved and thought loved me, loved an alpha-male friend instead. How did he react to it? With indifference! And that is my problem with Kabir Khan’s New York- a film that wants to be important, tries to be important…but does so, indifferently. And more ridiculously, ignorantly and childishly.
So the mighty FBI tracks down Omar, who now lives the American dream plying taxis, and force him to infiltrate back into the lives of the girl he loved, Maya (Katrina Kaif, perfectly cast) and the alpha-male she chose over him, Sameer (John Abraham). The FBI seems to believe that the once American patriot Sameer aka Sam (see, not very subtle!), now operates a sleeper terrorist cell. You see, they need evidence to arrest Sameer, else they risk the NGOs and HRAs getting after them for wrongful prosecution…something they cannot afford. So far, so good. Omar, after throwing some puzzling tantrums without any bargaining chip whatsoever, reenters the lives of Maya and Sameer and their kid. This is where the problem begins, and they slowly begin to pile up.
July 3rd, 2009
A change of sex for the changing times. Vikram Seth has announced that he will be writing A Suitable Girl, a ‘sequel’ to A Suitable Boy, his best-selling, critically acclaimed 1994 novel. Scheduled for publication by Penguin in India in 2013, Seth’s new novel will pick up the story of Lata some 60 years after her mother had been looking for a ‘suitable boy’ for her in post-Independence India. “It wasn’t as if I decided to write a sequel, although there were vague hints in A Suitable Boy that there was unfinished business. Even if my publishers wanted an immediate follow-up, I simply wasn’t inspired enough. It was only after I started wondering about some of the characters again that I decided to write this book.”
Seth’s agent David Godwin has sold world rights (excluding the US) of the still-in-the-writing book to Hamish Hamilton UK for 1.7 million pounds (approx Rs 13.3 crore). Penguin India is launching the Hamish Hamilton imprint in India this July and will therefore do the book in 2013.
While A Suitable Boy had the backdrop of post-Partition India, Hindu-Muslim violence and land reforms, Seth intends to “pixellate” this story with happenings in today’s India (“from 2001 to now, or even later”). “I don’t pick and choose subjects or settings; they pick and choose me. After the publication of The Golden Gate, I was asked why I had a Japanese American character and not an Indian American in it. I said because a Japanese American fitted the part. In any case, the characters will decide the backdrops. I just hope that they choose things interesting.”
July 3rd, 2009
It seems that not a week goes by in the geekosphere without another sequel or remake idea stirring up debate. Most are easily dismissed as hokum Hollywood potboilers, but at least two current projects are looking pretty promising. The first is Steven Spielberg’s and Will Smith’s remake of Oldboy, the startling 2003 Korean thriller/horror from Park Chan-Wook which was based on the Japanese manga of the same name. The second is the upcoming Predator reboot, which is being overseen by Robert Rodriguez.
The Oldboy remake is currently at the centre of a legal battle involving the manga’s publishers, Futabasha, and the Korean producers of Chan-Wook’s film, with the former suggesting that the latter had no right to negotiate with Spielberg and Smith over a new version. That is unlikely to scupper the film being made, however. What’s interesting about the remake, which would feature Smith in the role made famous by Min-sik Choi, a man imprisoned for 15 years in a grubby cell without explanation, is that Spielberg is apparently planning to follow the story from the original comic book rather more closely than Chan-wook.
July 3rd, 2009
New Delhi: Last year he was in the news for making filmmaker Rakesh Roshan pay Rs.20 million in a copyright infringement case. But right now composer Ram Sampath is upbeat about more creative things - he is composing “insane” music for two Aamir Khan Productions’ - “Dhobi Ghaat” and “Delhi Belly”.
While “Delhi Belly” is being directed by ad filmmaker-turned-director Abhinay Deo, “Dhobi Ghaat” is the directorial debut of Aamir’s wife Kiran Rao.
“It was really nice and easy working with Kiran since we are very good friends since a long time. She is extremely good at her work and is an incredible filmmaker. It’s been nothing but a pleasure working with her,” Sampath told IANS in an interview here.
“The music of the film is really eclectic and very experimental. I must say that it is very courageous on Kiran’s part to incorporate music like this in her film,” he added.
Sampath, who was in the city to launch MTV’s new reality show “Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On With MTV”, has earlier composed music for films like “Family” and “Khakee”. Apart from that he has worked on various music albums and jingles.
July 3rd, 2009
Will The Real Bollywood Please Stand Up? Beware Of The Fakes!
I would’ve probably written a piece on Kambakkht Ishq titled My Thoughts on KI, but then that would’ve meant I’d committed the mistake of ‘thinking’ while watching an Akshay Kumar comedy. The irony of course is that KI, without being subversive or anything remotely intellectual to warrant the use of a word such as ‘subversive’, did make me ‘think’. And to that credit (or discredit in case of an Akki flick), I don’t know if I should write a re-view of it.
Anyway, to cut to the chase…Akshay Kumar plays a role that he was born to play- that of a stuntman. An opening montage of Hollywood stars at a red carpet event gives way to Akshay Kumar crashing through a window. Bollywood gate-crashing Hollywood’s party! Just as I was tempted to go off on a tangent and ‘think’, in typical pseudo-intellectual style, about the potential subtext to all that might follow, Akshay Kumar is revealed to be Brandon ‘Superman’ Routh’s body-double. I was again tempted to go off on a tangent about actors who play Superman being cursed (I mean, Routh goes from Bryan Singer to Sabbir Khan! Sabbir Khan, who? Eggjhaactly!), but was hit harder by the dampener that Bollywood no gate-crashing Hollywood…Bollywood merely a cheap imitation of Hollywood…a second rate copy! And ‘cheap imitations’ are a strict no-no to Bebo- Kareena Kapoor playing a stuck-up b*tch, incidentally called Bebo (a role she was born to play?).
So when Bebo’s chaddi-buddy (literally!)Amrita Arora (me no acting, hence me no clothes!) is set to get married to stuntman’s sibling Aftab Shivdasani (I don’t think, therefore I am not!), Bebo steps in to prevent it. As does Big Brother Akki. Both have the same agenda, but different beliefs. She believes that all men want sex…he agrees! He believes that all women are trouble…she proves it! I’d like to say, and so begins a battle of the sexes…but unfortunately, what begins is only a piling of the most inane, childish and crude humour passed off with the confidence of having finally ‘arrived’ on the world stage. But how can you ‘arrive’, when you’re film is too busy trying to ‘come’!
July 3rd, 2009
I was struck again by the how difficult, if not impossible, it is to predict what will survive, or what will become significant. When “Dostana” was released, I found the film quite mediocre, and never thought the film would amount to anything (I don’t mean in a box office sense, I mean in terms of “meaning” something in the wider culture). And yet Dostana has surprised me, contributing to a new acceptability and a new level of visibility for the gay community in India; the film has certainly contributed to changing the terms of the discourse (of course, a film, and a film’s reception, is the confluence of many factors; and one would ignore the wider socio-economic context — wherein an upwardly mobile Indian elite increasingly has come to see accepting the legitimacy of gay rights as one of the hallmarks of “civilized” behavior; or rather, as resistance to the same being a symbol of “backwardness”, and an embarrassment): it can be no coincidence that post-Dostana, we saw Abhishek adopt a mock-gay persona at multiple public functions; Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan did likewise; then, after the elections, the Law Minister Veerappa Moily suggested that Article 377 (interpreted to criminalize homosexuality) was outdated (he later claimed he was misquoted); and now the Delhi High Court had come down in favor of gay rights. Dostana did not, of course, cause any of this — but it has become a watershed moment in contemporary urban/metro popular culture, a moment when Bollywood was (slightly) ahead of an emerging political consensus.
July 3rd, 2009
Let’s get to the point. The film starts with a bang. So anybody who went to see with moderate expectation (including myself) was pleasantly surprised. How quickly 1st one hour gets over you hardly know. The first half is good entertainment. It has some crude humor taking the comedy to lowest extreme as well as some good hilarious moments making one to laugh one’s heart out. By interval you get the ‘Welcome’ish feel and Akshay’s one liners brings a smile on your face.
10 minutes post interval, your entertainment level heightens till the momentum of the movie changes. The usual ishq vishq scenes starts happening in the most senseless way. Here Kareena to some extent salvages the scene and she really shows her mettle. Thanks to her, the second half becomes less torture, though the emotional scenes does get on to your nerves. It is not that I do not like emotions, it is just that when a movie takes you to a good comical high, you do not expect yourself to be thrown from there into a sea of emotions. The climax helps in picking the momentum and ends with the remix version of Mangalam song.
Surprisingly the song looks good in the movie. Most of the songs are in first half and are entertaining. The two best tracks - Mangalam and Bebo are in the second half and this in some way helps second half from becoming unbearable.
Akshay is at his witty best in first half. His comic timing is superb and his one liner evokes laughter. He shows once again why he is a Superstar. Kareena comes to her mettle in second half and looks delicious. She gives her best performance.
Hollywood actors, for whoever they are, were used like toilet papers in KI. Brandon Routh was made to look like a fool with hardly any role.
Denise Richards - the lesser said about her the better.
Sylvestor - I am still his huge fan. I liked him when he says ‘Kombakatah eeeshq’. Unfortunately his role is hardly of any significance. But in those two minutes scene, he leaves an impact. What a star!
However are these enough to make this film good? Unfortunately the answer is No. Overall the film fails to reach the heights of Welcome or OSO because of the last 45 minutes. It is plain average and sometimes boring. The end result is that the euphoria created by 1st half diminishes. Climax averages things out in the end leaving you with the feel - OK…just what I expected!
Following scenes/sequence are simply brilliant in Kambakkth Ishq:
1. All stunts performed by Akki-They look first rate and make superman look like a fool.
2. First altercation between Akki and Kareena at the church - This really sets up the tempo, mood and characters of the movie
3. Akki’s act as tanned doctor - Akshay just brought the floor down
4. The Business Class scene - This is howlarious and could be performed only by Akshay and Kareena with such attitude and timing
5. Operation theatre scene - Have you ever laughed while watching someone getting operated? In this scene you will. Infact you will clap as well. Akshay is outstanding here
6. Kareena’s act in Bebo. She is delicious
7. Om Mangalam chant that Akshay hears - This goes to director’s credit
8. Climax scene - The last few minutes between Akshay and Kareena is what is called pure Chemistry.
Will it be another Tashan or CCTC? No
Will it be another Welcome? No
It is another Heyy Babyy. 50 Cr looks easy thanks to the huge opening and good first half. 70 Cr looks difficult due to lackluster 2nd half.
July 3rd, 2009
Bizarre has a new meaning and it’s called KAMBAKKHT ISHQ.
Of late, Akshay Kumar has earned the reputation of making you laugh in film after film. You expect KAMBAKKHT ISHQ, his new outing, to transport you to ha-ha-land, given the smart-n-chic promos of the film.
KAMBAKKHT ISHQ belongs to the same family of films which have wooed the masses, such as MUJHSE SHAADI KAROGI, WELCOME, SINGH IS KINNG and GOLMAAL RETURNS. The prime motive is to entertain you for the next 2 hours, logic be damned.
Yet, KAMBAKKHT ISHQ is different because it depicts the battle of the sexes, a theme that’s rarely depicted on the Hindi screen. The lingo is poles apart, so is the attitude. In fact, this is a modern take on relationships, with the two hours divided between laughter and emotions, frivolous and reality.
Let’s get this straight. KAMBAKKHT ISHQ works in most parts thanks to the kind of star power and energy that the two actors pack in — Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor. It would’ve been difficult to hold the film from falling apart had the two actors not been competent enough to carry off their respective parts. Also, the presence of Hollywood stars — Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards — the first on the Hindi screen, is an added bonus. 1 pe 2 ka offer; Bollywood stars ke saath Hollywood free!
July 2nd, 2009
She was not introduced with the poise and glamour associated with typical Yash Raj heroines. But newcomer Anushka Sharma, who danced her way into audiences’ hearts with Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, says she can always glam up for her next film for the banner.
“Even when girls are presented as ’seedhi-saadhi’ in a Yash Raj film, she is glamorous. And coming from a glam background I wouldn’t have minded being glossy in my first film. But you know what? This was such a huge opportunity.
“I couldn’t have asked for more. I fell in love with my character and the film. It’s a dream role for any debutante. I can always get into chiffon saris in the next Yash Raj film. Or the one after that…,” Anushka told IANS.
July 2nd, 2009
What’s SRK doing with two green creatures who look as though they’ve come from a sci-fi movie
?
Well, the two green ‘creatures’ are Chouw and Mouw. And they are part of the revamp of the logo of Videocon, one of India’s foremost electronics brands.
July 2nd, 2009
Stories of Freida Pinto’s popularity overtaking that of Bollywood’s reigning queen Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have been rampant ever since the release of multiple Oscar-winner Slumdog Millionaire.
After questions of who out of the two is more beautiful and more importantly, who is being paid more, now Freida seems to be replacing Ash in yet another way.
Reports say that after the attention given to Freida thanks to Slumdog and her recent international projects, she might be the Indian face on the red carpet of all major international film festival and award ceremonies.
July 2nd, 2009
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Veteran actor Karl Malden, who won an Academy Award for his role in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” has died at age 97, his manager said Wednesday.
Karl Malden in “The Streets of San Francisco” in 1974. Malden was nominated for four Emmys for the series.
Malden died in his sleep about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, said his manager, Bud Ross.
Malden appeared alongside Marlon Brando in two of director Elia Kazan’s classic films of the 1950s — “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “On the Waterfront.” He won the best supporting actor Oscar for “Streetcar,” which was released in 1951, in 1952 and was nominated for his role as a priest crusading against crooked union bosses in “On the Waterfront.”
July 2nd, 2009
- Torna Adrash
Seldom have there been such close interactions between the American and Indian corporate world – and that too for a Hindi movie. Kraft and Amul have taken us to a land where no one has been before. Ladies and gentlemen – stand and applaud. Kambakth ishq is the perfect amalgamation of American and Indian cheese.
My twin brother, aka Toran, had written a misleading piece a few days earlier of how KI did not live up to expectations. In a masterstroke by the producers – the real film was unveiled to a select audience only last night at a glitzy multiplex in amchi Mumbai. The craze for this preview was so high – that the newly opened sea-link road was jammed. It took this writer 2 hrs to reach the multiplex – but the wait was well worth it
July 2nd, 2009
July 1st, 2009
The film starts with an inordinate amount of muscle emerging from the ocean and an aging Shilpa Shetty introducing the two male leads as she tells us to shut up and bounce on Miami beach. The song is visually and otherwise catchy but almost too much so - I forgot to read who composed the music for Dostana as all the rioting-with-color visuals were flashing by! The men are living on friend’s couches/beds and need to find an apartment, bump into each other, and visit that high rise apartment where they are told only Baby-log can be tenants, no Baba-log. Thus are two hunky males transformed into a gay couple - i.e. Baby-Baba-Log. They start to bond with the stunning Priyanka, and of course in a Deewana Mastana finale she walks away with another guy. Along the way in funny, crude, slapstick, and sometimes pathetic ways, the theme of gays is kept front and center.
The film was a barrel of laughs in the first half, slow paced, dragged-out, and sometimes ridiculous in the second half, full of music and color, and generally quite entertaining for me. It did not help that the Indian multiplex had an almost 30 minute break so people could spend money at the food counters. But in that break I listened to all the chatter in the theater and heard an older lady proclaim that the film would not do well in India as a majority of people there do not know anything about gays, others chimed in with their versions of gayness knowledge in India, and I was surprised to hear no condemnation of that lifestyle or anything about the film itself being unpalatable to them. This same group had two children under 12 years of age - but they seemed least concerned about the appropriateness of content. I suspect some of the raunchy humor might have escaped the kids, and schools in the Blue states are constantly talking of gay families to these kids. The laugh-out-loud moments were many and the laughter was very real in the almost 80% full theater (I had no trouble getting tickets 15 minutes before showtime). If even a fraction of this chatter happened in the Indian theaters then IMHO a baby-step was taken towards awareness that there are gays and they are people too. One wrong note - although such stereotyped gays are everywhere - was the character of Boman Irani, if one keeps a PC frame of mind.
The film itself was well written and and situations were deliciously concocted in the first half. ”Fell in love in Venice”, Beedi Jalayle, Maa da Laadla, Jhumma Chumma etc., the hilarious references to the gayness of Gabbar (a man walking around with a belt and always saying Kitne Aadmi thaaay!), and Munna Circuit, all evoked lots of laughs. The male leads had almost equal screen time and equal opportunities to hit on the girl, but Abhishek rose head and shoulders above John Abraham in the comic scenes and barring a few serious moments, John basically was eye-candy (clothed or unclothed, though for me clothed was so much better). Priyanka had the best written role in the film - that of an uncomplicated girl who is independent, and goes about her business in a non-judgmental way. She did justice to it and looked like a million bucks in the process. Kirron Kher was a laugh riot. Bobby Deol had as much charisma as a lamp-post and did nothing to enhanec the film. With a better actor in that role the film would have improved. The songs were already catchy as audio versions, but the framing of each one made them so much better on screen. The award goes to Maa da ladla and Desi Girl - and the choreography award is rightly given to Beedi Jalayle.
According to Karan this was Tarun Mansukhani’s story idea, and Tarun certainly did a good job with his debut film. As a comedy Dostana worked very well for me - it was illogical, lush and lavish (necessary? who knows, but still visually great), lewd-crude-slapstick funny, well acted (if we consider John’s abs, biceps and pecs as part of the performance and ignore Bobby), and maybe it did take a baby step towards highlighting the existence of the Baby-Baba-Log, and suggesting that families should make a move towards accepting them and their lifestyle/life-partner choices. A word of caution to Indian audiences -leave the kids a thome.
July 1st, 2009
By now, all one can do is rue the fact that some of India’s most spectacular and notable films from the silent era and even in the years after are lost forever. With many old film studios defunct by now and producers not having the original prints of their old films, we are probably doomed to not having a recorded history of film at all.
However, the Pune-based National Film Archive of India (NFAI) is trying to change this dismal state of affairs, and is working on preserving at least the films it has in its libraries in the digitised format before they are lost forever. “Some of the films we have in our archives are in such a bad condition, they are like patients in a hospital ICU,” says Vijay Jadhav, NFAI director and project head. “We decided to invite tenders for digitising the about 20,000 films that we have in our archives, because digital prints will last much longer and who knows, there may be no cinema projectors or even films in the future,” he muses.
The first phase will see the digitisation of about 1,000 Marathi and Hindi films made in the 1920s to 1950s. “Most of them are silent films. We have completed the process for 10 of these films, and are waiting to show them to our technical committee. It is a slow process and much depends on the condition of the film,” avers Jadhav. The process involves generating the films in LTO4 format, and the final product is transferred to tape drives. The advantage of tape drives is that they are cost-effective, do not require constant power supply to run and take up less space. “First, the film is scanned to a hard disk, after which any colour or physical corrections are done. The film is later transferred using the LTO4 technology. The film can then be further converted to DVD or tape or another format based on the medium that will be used to play it. Each restored film would take up about 2.5 terrabytes of memory,” informs Jadhav, adding that since NFAI is aiming to preserve the prints for archiving purposes, the restoration becomes more expensive and costs about Rs 8 lakh per film.
July 1st, 2009
‘Kambakkht Ishq’ across 2000 plus screens worldwide
Eros International will release Sajid Nadiadwala’s KAMBAKKHT ISHQ, co-produced by Sunil A. Lulla and directed by Sabbir Khan, on 3rd July across an unprecedented 2000 plus screens worldwide, making it one of the widest releases in recent times. This would include more than 1400 screens in India and over 600 overseas and will be a combination of prints and digital format.
Owing to popular demand, Eros International, Sajid Nadiadwala and the multiplexes have decided to open advance bookings from Sunday, 28th June itself, instead of the usual Wednesday.
July 1st, 2009
Kareena Kapoor on kisses, bikinis, catfights and love—past and present
Let’s talk about your forthcoming film, Kambakkht Ishq. Do you think love is like that?
The word kambakkht can be interpreted in many ways. It can be an expression of pain, or desperation or exasperation. In the film, it’s used in a more fun manner. For a passionate girl like me, love is intense and deep. I don’t take it lightly. Fun is an important aspect of love but it’s the intensity that stands the test of time.
July 1st, 2009
The squeals and screams start even before the guest of honour begins to descend the stairs to the club floor where the partygoers have been awaiting his arrival for an hour.
By the time he reaches the bottom step the crowd has swelled to a heaving mass, everyone trying to get near him, touch him, take his picture and plead for autographs.
Johnny Depp, courteous and obliging, poses for photographs and graciously attempts to answer the questions and comments thrown at him before beating a retreat behind a phalanx of security guards who clear the way for him.
July 1st, 2009
Akshaye Khanna is quite the elusive actor, who shows up only when his films are up for release. The actor puts down his behaviour to ‘ultra shyness.’
He talks to Nithya Ramani about his film, Short Kut: The Con Is On, costarring Arshad Warsi and Amrita Rao. He also tells us why he thinks he did not make it to the A-list category in spite of being in the film industry for a little more than a decade.
What is Short Kut about?
July 1st, 2009
It looks like Suchita Bhatia who has leveled charges of plagiarism against the makers of New York
is in trouble.
July 1st, 2009
Courtesy: bollywoodhungama.com
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As for Salman and Sunny, the duo has worked together in films like Jeet and recently Heroes. Both are even known for their well-chiseled physique till date. The duo even recollected some interesting facts about how their younger siblings (namely Sohail and Bobby) would make midnight calls to them after downing a few pegs. Salman recalled how Sohail once called him in the wee hours of the morning. A panic-stricken Salman’s first thoughts were whether all was well with his parents and family. But was stunned to hear a sizzled Sohail mumble: “Bhai, I love you!” Sunny had an identical incident to talk about when Bobby called him at 3.00 in the morning crying. Sunny wondered if he was in any kind of trouble and called up other members of the family to trace Bobby’s whereabouts only to discover that Bobby had called to say how much he loves him!
All in all, this was indeed one dhamakedaar episode and to catch all the fun of this special episode tune into 10 Ka Dum this Saturday, July 4th at 9 pm IST only on Sony Entertainment Television.
July 1st, 2009
www.duskadum.blogspot.com
Friday, May 29, 2009
Karishma and Kareena Kapoor feature in the inaugural episode of season 2 and it has been pure joy working with the fabulous Kapoor sisters. I have worked with both of them in quite a lot of films: My brother Sohail’s latest film has Kareena with me – Mr. and Mrs. Khan. Both sisters have some similarities yet they are different individuals. Both have been punctual, sincere and hardworking but Kareena is not as vulnerable as Karishma has been probably because Karishma had to struggle a lot and she paved way for Kareena. Film industry has changed a lot and this can be observed between the two sisters. These days of fast changing world bring about a generation gap even if siblings are born within three years of each other whereas Karishma is 6 years older than Kareena. Remuneration of artists has undergone sea of change during the last couple of years. Karishma used to work hard on her roles and used to come to the sets with Kareena, who was almost like her understudy. While watching her elder sister Karishma, Kareena imbibed a lot. Both the sisters are full of life, energy and ambition.
The show revealed hidden heroes among commoners and also projected the commoner in me. Basically I am a simple straightforward man so for me it was a fun filled voyage of discovering each other. Last season ended on a note of happiness for all of us and a promise that we will repeat it with greater energy and friendlier spirit.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Now I observe that my nephews and nieces play with electronic toys and know a lot about computers and other gadgets. In our childhood, we played with traditional toys and most of our time was spent on playgrounds. Sohail’s son Nirvan and Arabaz’s son Arhaan and Alvira’s son Ayan play with gadgets like experts. Alvira’s daughter Alige is so confident that she almost matches grownups in number of things. The other day we were all chatting and having a great time. Nirvan and Ayan were taking photographs with their mobile phones. After an hour or so the kids edited the photos I such a way that it looked like a film! My father is rattled with these gadgets and he uses them only when his landline is not working. His grandchildren fix up his mobile, read messages for him.
July 1st, 2009
After dilly-dallying for over 10 months, Indian government has finally banned popular toon porn site Savitabhabhi.com. According to documents seen by contentSutra.com, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, has asked all Internet Service Providers to block the website in a communication dated 3rd June. Photo: Neelabh
Where are the owners?
The CCA, a government agency under the Department of Information Technology, is entrusted under the IT Act to block websites. N Vijayaditya of the CCA confirmed the development. “There were several complaints against the site. We have taken action under the relevant sections of the IT Act and blocked the site,” he said. When asked if the agency will give a chance to the owners of the site to defend themselves, he said nobody has come forward so far with such a request.
Challenging the ban
The law could come to Savitabhabhi’s rescue, according to Pawan Duggal, cyber law expert and an advocate at the Supreme Court of India. “Under Section 67 of the IT Act of 2000, publishing or transmitting obscene electronic information is punishable with up to five years’ imprisonment and Rs 1 lakh in fine. The creators of Savitabhabhi can challenge the ban, arguing that it is an expression of their thoughts and what is expressed is not lascivious.
July 1st, 2009
“Some men see things as they are and say why… I dream of things that never were and say why not”
An apt proverb for Bollywood’s own gladiator Salman Khan.
How did VEER originate?
Well, Salman Khan had this project in his mind for past 20 years, i.e. even before he stepped in the Bollywood film fraternity. But since he made his mark in this diversified industry as an actor, the project went on hold for a long time.
Salman was so keen and passionate about the film that even when the film’s director and producer was not ascertain, the actor had approached the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt & Kumar Gaurav and narrated the story. Salman wanted these soaring celebs to be an integral part of the film. Initially, Big B, Sanjay Dutt and Kumar Gaurav had agreed on the colossal project, but as time took its toll, these actors couldn’t take part due to their prior commitments and other projects.
For past 4 years Salman Khan was trying his level best to get this project commenced as the market had develop or rather widened and the time was right to craft a big canvas film like Veer. Salman was all geared up to approach and assign the producers of the film, but due to the immensity of the project such as big budget, 6-8 months pre-production planning, shoot schedule and required approx 150 days for completion, producers were unavailable. None of the producers had time for such a huge project due to prior commitments and hence didn’t want to run a risk.
When fortune was not favoring Salman Khan, I put my foot forward.
June 30th, 2009
Am I the only one looking forward to this project? I’ve enjoyed Luthria’s CHORI CHORI, KACHCHE DHAAGE and DEEWARR-LETS BRING OUR HEROES HOME. Not a flawless director by any means, but Luthria still has a firm grasp over the medium and his efforts in both KACHCHE DHAAGE and DEEWARR were commendable given the magnitude of both films(though he fell short in the latter). The teaming up of Ajay Devgan with Emraan Hashmi (someone who I’m a fan of) is in itself exciting, plus the story at hand sounds fantatsic (my favourite genre)…we could potentially have a real winner and dark horse here! Below is an older piece…no doub tI have a great weakness for the title here too!
Kangana Ranaut is all set to step into the biggest shoes of her career when she attempts to play the role of the legendary actress Madhubala in a flick which is also somewhat about the underworld don Haji Mastan (FYI he was madly in love with Madhubala, she – not so much.) The movie is called “Once Upon a Time in Mumbai” and is being produced by Ektaa Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms. Apparently Ajay Devgan and Emraan Hashmi have been on board for ages but were waiting for their leading lady to be cast. Ajay Devgan will be seen as Haji Mastan and Emraan will potray the role of young Dawood Ibrahim.
So apparently Madhubala led quite the tragic life. I found this tribute on YouTube check it out.
June 30th, 2009
Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” is a grave and beautiful work of art. Shot in high-definition digital by a filmmaker who’s helping change the way movies look, it revisits with meticulous detail and convulsions of violence a short, frantic period in the life and bank-robbing times of John Dillinger, an Indiana farm boy turned Depression outlaw, played by a low-voltage Johnny Depp. Much of what makes the movie pleasurable is the vigor with which it restages our familiar romance with period criminals, a perennial affair. But what also makes it more than the sum of its spectacular shootouts is the ambivalence about this romance that seeps into the filmmaking, steadily darkening the skies and draining the story of easy thrills.
The thrills are certainly there in the sensationally choreographed prison break that opens the movie under a bright blue Midwestern sky that stretches across the wide screen like a cathedral ceiling. Dappled by fluffy white clouds, it is the kind of sky that tends to show up as a backdrop in paintings of the Madonna and Child, but here offers a sharp contrast to the long-distance image of Dillinger and his friend Red (Jason Clarke), quickly striding toward an enormous, looming prison. Mr. Mann goes in closer once the men enter the prison, where they help disarm the guards, and he pulls back again for the long view as Dillinger fires on the prison with a machine gun while the escapees make a run for the getaway car.
By force of Hollywood habit, you might expect that this vision of the suddenly lone gunman would serve as a prelude to another exciting joy ride about living fast and dying young. Instead it’s followed by a striking short scene of a wounded escapee being dragged alongside the speeding car while Dillinger and another man struggle to pull him up. In the most startling shot, Mr. Mann places the camera right next to the fallen man, pointing it up at Dillinger’s dark, ominous figure as he almost blots out that blue sky. Dillinger holds on until the man’s grip wilts, the dead body slipping away in one direction as the car races off in the other. Laying the blame elsewhere, he next tosses another man out of the moving car.
This, then, is Mr. Mann’s Dillinger: brave enough to stand his ground, loyal, ruthless. There’s a hint of the demonic in this portrait, particularly when the outlaw is gliding through a bank, his long, dark coat fanning around him and a tommy gun in one hand. This is the stuff of legends, of shoot-’em-ups and matinee gangsters with jaunty smiles. Mr. Mann loves this apparition of calculated bravura and initially he frames the first few heists as seamlessly choreographed set pieces. During the first robbery he shows Dillinger and two accomplices from high overhead, the camera peering straight down as the men fan across a black-and-white bank floor like MGM dancers. When Dillinger leaps across a railing, he soars.
June 30th, 2009
Been singing A.R Rahman in the shower for as long as your can remember? Well hop out put a towel on, and check out the FIRST ever Bollywood online singing competition. Brought to you by State Farm and of course Saavn.com . All you have to do is go here bollystar2009.com, upload video of yourself singing and have your friends vote for you. You could win the chance to be in an upcoming Bollywood flick! Just imagine, singing in the rain with your favorite star because YOU are the next Bollystar.
Want to show off your talents to live audience? Live auditions are being held in California and New Jersey from July 10-11th at your leading Bollywood theater. Check here for more details. As soon as I know them so will you! Just remember the last chance to become the next Bollystar is July 28,2009. Good luck!!!
June 30th, 2009
This may come as a big surprise to some of you, but a World Bank study says that Patna is ahead of Mumbai when it comes to the ease of starting a business.
According to the World Bank ranking announced on Tuesday, Patna is second only to New Delhi in this regard, but way ahead of Mumbai.
Of the 17 cities that figured in the World Bank and International Finance Corporation’s ‘Doing Business In India 2009′ report. So check out which are the other Indian cities, according to the World Bank, where it is easy to start a business…
June 29th, 2009
It was all about looking into the future for Bollywood with films like Aa Dekhen Zara, 13 B and Kal Kissne Dekha hitting the screens in recent times. But now it is flashback time and forthcoming movies will see popular actors exploring the times that have gone by.
These include Saif Ali Khan’s production debut Love Aaj Kal, Akshay Kumar’s Action Replay and Once Upon a Time in Mumbai that stars Emraan Hashmi.
Said director Imtiaz Ali, who has brought together two eras in his Love Aaj Kal: “The film moves in two different eras - 1965 and 2009 - almost simultaneously. They could well be termed as Love Kal and Love Aaj respectively due to their relevance with the characters and the time period involved.
June 29th, 2009
Talk about gays and their acceptability problems are no longer hush-hush with ‘Queer Pride’ rallies becoming an annual event in many Indian cities. And one-film old writer-director Tarun Mansukhani takes pride in bringing homosexuality out of the closet in films with his commercial hit “Dostana”. He now plans a sequel to the comedy.
“It was an intentional thought to make a light-hearted film on a serious subject. I personally believe that is the way to make people listen. If I were to attempt an Indian version of ‘Brokeback Mountain’ or make an equally serious film, I don’t think I’d get half the response I’ve received,” Mansukhani told IANS in an e-mail interview.
“I didn’t expect people to walk out of the theatre saying ‘Hey! I?m okay with homosexuality’. I wanted them to walk out laughing and then later when the entire family was sitting at the dinner table laughing about the film, I was hoping that someone would continue the discussion. And I achieved that. I’m proud to say that I?ve made homosexuality come out of the closet and onto the dinner table. I think it worked,” he said.
The 33-year-old now plans to launch part two of his successful hit that had Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra in lead roles.
June 29th, 2009
In times of recession, Eros International is hedging its bets on a money making director — Farah Khan, rather than bank on Anubhav Sinha. Farah’s successful track record has put the brakes on Anubhav’s Ra 1 temporarily. She will begin shooting her film Happy New Year ahead of schedule, while Ra 1 has been pushed from September to next year.
A few days ago, we told you how Farah Khan had to rush with the script of the first half of Happy New Year to San Francisco where Shah Rukh is shooting currently. It was a known fact that Farah was supposed to start her film only early next year. We hear, Eros International insisted that Farah’s film should start this year, by the end of November.
Ra 1 is being presented by Eros International and produced by Red Chillies. It was slated to go on the floors before Farah’s film, “That’s true,” says the source, “But when Eros studied the project Ra 1, they felt that this film may not derive sufficient returns in today’s economy. They felt that it would be better if the commercial director Farah Khan put her project on the floors first. They wanted to back that first and wait for things to improve on the economy front. They will go with Ra 1 but only at a later date.”
June 29th, 2009
Be ready to fork out $250 to be seen in same pic with SRK at a US hotel
PS: Think we haven’t heard of Photoshop, guys?
When Indian movie stars shoot aboard, fans travel from far and wide to catch a glimpse of the homegrown actors.
The management of Hotel Fairmount in San Francisco, USA got a whiff of SRK’s superstardom when fans from literally all over the States started pouring in to catch a glimpse of the actor. They came up with a master plan to cash in on their guest Shah Rukh Khan’s star power.
June 29th, 2009
LOS ANGELES — Horrid reviews couldn’t dent “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” which demonstrated once again the power of sequels by selling an estimated $201.2 million in tickets at North American theaters over its first five days.
The huge No. 1 entrance to the marketplace was on par with last summer’s Batman sequel, “The Dark Knight,” which sold $203.8 million in tickets over the same period and now ranks as one of the biggest blockbusters in movie history with over $1 billion in global sales. Overseas “Transformers” sold $186 million in tickets in its first five days.
The summer movie season has already seen some significant hits, among them a “Star Trek” reboot and “Up,” but it took a true sequel to break the bank. (“Terminator Salvation” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” while technically sequels, were more efforts to take franchises in new and unfamiliar directions in hopes of resuscitating them.)
People complain about Hollywood’s tendency to be unadventurous with its big-money titles, but the moviegoing masses clearly get the most excited when they are not being surprised. In other words, the multiplex really rocks when movies are served up the McDonalds way: predictably and comfortably.
Somehow I have never managed to catch Khuda Kay Liye. 
Neelu - A Review of KHUDA KAY LIYE- Ăbzee 
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