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Protest against 'Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya'
This Friday saw the release of Saawan Kumar Tak's "Dil Pardesi Ho
Gaya" nation-wide. This Indo-Pak love story seems to have affected
the sentiments of lots of people. The Muslim community has objections
to many scenes and dialogues in the film. There was a huge protest
at Mumbai's Novelty theatre. These protesters were really annoyed
with producer director Sawaan Kumar for projecting Muslims in bad
light in "Dil Padesi Ho Gaya". They were protesting with slogans of
boycotting Saawan Kumar and his film. They all jointly demanded ban
of the film from the theatres. Meanwhile all the theatre owners have
made adequate police and security arrangements at the theatres where
this film is running. Hrithik Roshan felicitated
Noted Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan was felicitated for his performance
in this year's super-hit "Koi Mil Gaya". This award was presented
to Hrithik at the 16th annual awards of Sahyog Foundation at St. Andrews
auditorium in Bandra in Mumbai. Prominent personalities who attended
the function was Dharmendra, Sunil Dutt, Jaya Prada and Simi Garewal.
Music director Rajesh Roshan was also present at the function. Sahyog
Foundation is a prominent socio-cultural organisation dedicated to
the cause of the poor and the downtrodden besides taking up the cudgels
against social evils. Emami files case against Rakesh Roshan's Filmkraft (Go To Top)
Calcutta-based cosmetic giant Emami has filed a case against Rakesh
Roshan's production company "Filmkraft" for infringement of contract.
Emami has alleged that the Roshans failed to fulfil an endorsement
contract, which the company had entered into over "Koi Mil Gaya".
According to the complaint, Rakesh Roshan had allegedly approached
Emami for in-film marketing tie-up for a sum of Rs 12 lakh. Emami
had signed a contract with Roshans. According to the contract, Emami
products were supposed to be endorsed by the characters and the brand
would be prominently featured in the film. However, when the film
released, Emami officials discovered that the scenes were not incorporated
in the film. As a result, they have filed a case in a Mumbai court.
Roshans are yet to receive a legal notice to the effect. The case
will be up for hearing in February 2004. Anu Malik in Gurinder's film (Go To Top)
Music director Anu Malik will be seen as an actor in Gurinder Chadha's
"Bride and Prejudice". Anu Malik will appear in the role of a pundit
in the film and will be seen welcoming the family in a wedding sequence.
Our west bishes are with Anu for his new role in the tinsel town. Vidhu Chopra acknowledges SRK's inputs (Go To Top)
Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra's first choice for the role of Munnabhai
MBBS was Shah Rukh Khan. But the acclaimed actor could not do the
movie due to problems with his back and his subsequent spinal operation.
With the film due for release, Chopra has thanked Shah Rukh Khan for
providing special inputs to the script. At the same time, Chopra does
not undermine Dutt's commendable performance in the movie, saying
he has done justice to his multi-colored character. Urmila's psycho role in Ramu's Ek Haseena Thi (Go To Top)
After playing a rape victim in Pinjar and an emotionally repressed
girl in Tehzeeb, Urmila Matondkar will be seen playing the role of
a psycho convict in Ramgopal Varma's Ek Haseena Thi. The film revolves
around a girl's trauma after she is wrongly accused in a crime. Saif
Ali Khan plays the male lead. Interestingly, Ek Haseena Thi is the
first Hindi film to be produced by 20th Century Fox. It is scheduled
to hit the theatres on December 26. 'Plan' in trouble! (Go To Top) Sanjay
Gupta's "Plan" is stuck at the post-production stage following differences
between lead actress Priyanka Chopra and the movie's associate producer.
Sanjay says that the movie is a situational comedy that will appeal
to both youngsters and the family. If Kaante was full of expletives
and double meaning dialogues that didn't go well with the family crowd,
Sanjay Dutt and Sanjay Gupta's second production "Plan" promises to
be different.
Flaws in Tehzeeb! (Go
To Top)
Film critic-turned-director Khalid Mohammad's "Tehzeeb" delves into
the complex relationship between an influential mother and her daughter.
But the film is receiving flak from film critics. The movie is a very
emotional one and the credit for it partly goes to a well-written
script and intense performances by both Shabana Azmi and Urmila. Diya
Mirza just about manages to play her role. A cameo by Namrata Shirodkar
seems to be forced into the narrative. Diana Hayden looks pathetic
and superficial, speaking highly accentuated Hindi. Colonial hangover syndrome in Bollywood!
Indian beauties have made a mark on the international scene. But lately
a strange phenomenon called a colonial hangover can be observed in
Bollywood because of which Indian models are getting a raw deal vis-a-vis
foreign models. Models like Yana Gupta, Roxanne, Lisa Ray, and Katrina
Kaif have foreign origins and all of them are bold and beautiful.
And all of them have a flourishing career in a short career span with
support from filmakers, choreographers and sponsors. Obscene pay packets
for foreign-bred beauties have left desi babes crying foul. Indians
seem to suffer from white skin syndrome where girls who have Caucasian
origin, who speak with accents and who are ready to get bold for any
campaign are preferred by choreographers and fashion designers. Amitabh plays a blind lawyer in his latest film, 'Zamanat' (Go To Top) Indian film industry's most bankable actor Amitbah Bachchan has teamed up with the newly-married actress Karisma Kapoor to finish the final schedule of "Zamanat" being made for the last seven years. The film directed by S Ramanathan also stars Arshad Warsi, Vijayashanti and Anupam Kher. The film was delayed earlier due to problems between the producers and the director. The last schedule of the film was being shot at various locations in Chennai. The film revolves around a blind lawyer, played by Amitabh Bachchan, who is out on a mission to save an innocent engineer accused of murdering his mother. Bachchan, who has worked with various south Indian directors, was quite impressed with the discipline down south. "The atmosphere has always been good. I have always said the kind of discipline in south Indian film industry is amazing. You don't see the same kind of professionalism in Bombay, though it is catching up now. But here the discipline and order has been great for years and it's always an honour to work here. The atmosphere of work here is very good," he said in Chennai. Bachchan, fresh with the success of "Baghban", one of the biggest grossers of 2003, is currently the busiest star in Bollywood with top big-budget films in hand. Karisma Kapoor, whose celebrity marriage created a lot of media attention in late October, had earlier worked with Bachchan in "Mrityudata". Karisma was earlier engaged to Bachchan's son Abhishek Bachchan but their engagement was called off. Karisma,
who plays the role of a strong-willed girl, said she enjoyed shooting
for the film. "Basically I am playing a strong-willed girl. She is
fighting for a cause, fighting for her love. She has been framed.
Right now we are shooting the climax of the film where everything
is going to finally fall in place, the right way," she said. Five
songs of the film have alreay been recorded and after the completion
of the post-production work, "Zamanat" will be released by March next
year. Amitabh and Shah Rukh as jokers (Go To Top) Amitabh
and Shah Rukh will be doing a film together and the film is funnily
titled as Joker. Director Ashok Sharma will be making this film. After
Mohabbatein and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, this is Amitabh Bachchan
and Shah Rukh Khan's third film together. Though very few details
are available on "Joker", the film is rumoured to be starring South
actress Ramya. Dino on international mag (Go To Top) Dino Morea is going places not only in Bollywood but in Hollywood as well. Apparently this is a fallout of his by now famous shoot for the famous magazine Maxim. The magazine is running a story on Bollywood in its current issue. The story has a photo feature on Salman Khan and Dino. The story is about Bollywood through the eyes of Dino. So how did the Italo stud get to feature in this world-famous mag? "The Italian photographer Attilio Concario of the magazine had contacted the Italian consulate in Mumbai to help out," explains Dino. Naturally the first Bollywood name they could think of was Dino Morea, half-Italian, half-Indian. And so he got featured in the magazine. So where does the Hollywood part come in? Apparently the Attillio was so impressed by Dino that he asked Dino to come to Italy where he would introduce Dino to some top showbiz personalities. Now these people, who Dino would be introduced to, are also closely connected to Hollywood.
Now Italy has had a long association
with Hollywood. Sophia Loren, Leonardo Di Caprio, the spaghetti westerns
(English movies produced by Italians) and a huge roster of producers
and directors come to mind. We hear that Dino has picked up a little
Italian these days. So with Dino possibly flying off to Rome in the
near future, will it be a Roman Holiday for him "at Hollywood? And
it is chutti for his Bollywood producers? "Good God, no!", says Dino.
"My feet are firmly planted in India. I have a number of movies in
hand. There is Saurav Shuklas Chehra with Bipasha. Ishk Hai Tum Se
and Plan. So there is no question of my going off anywhere?" Mira Nair's 9/11 depiction (Go To Top)
Monsoon Wedding, Kamasutra and Salaam Bombay fame director Mira Nair's
short film on September 11, based on a real life incident involving
an American Muslim boy, will be among the opening fare at the 8th
International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), starting in Thiruvananthapuram
later this week. Nair's film was part of a series of 11 short films
by leading directors from different countries on the terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Centre and other US landmarks on September 11,
2001. The collection of 11 films, each of the duration of 11 minutes,
nine seconds and one frame (11'9''01), was a talking point at the
Toronto and Venice film festivals last year. While Mira Nair's short
feature will share the honours with the Turkish feature film ''Encounters''
as the opening movies of the week-long IFFK, starting on December
12. Funt2ssh new-comer (Go To Top) Iqbaal
Khan The last new-comer of the year making his debut is a straining
Kashmiri boy Iqbal Khan in Imtiaz Panjabi's Fun2ssh. About his first
film Fun2ssh he calls it a crazy comedy with a crazy role of an aspiring
actor. Not belonging to any family tree of famous personalities of
Hindi cinema, Iqbaal comes from a family of professionals. His father
is a retired IAS officer, his two sisters are doctors and his brother
is a computer analyst. "They wanted me also to take computers as a
profession but I didn't like studying. So to get some money I took
to acting," he tells cheekily but then immediately counters, "For
cinema too you have to study although it is more to acquire trade
related knowledge. Cinema is not only about good body, impressive
face and facing the camera with confidence." Regarding 'Fun2ssh' Iqbaal
is very confident of its success. Before signing his maiden film he
had ensured that it had some known names that were acceptable on the
box office window. "This film has Paresh Rawal and he has his fixed
fan following." So this will ensure initial draw and later he is confident
that film will make its own impact to retain the viewers. Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Dev Anand (Go To Top) Bollywood evergreen hero Dev Anand has been selected for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2002 for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. The award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, a shawl and a swarna kamal, was instituted in 1969 to commemorate the outstanding contribution of late Dadasaheb Phalke to Indian cinema. President APJ Abdul Kalam will give away the award at a ceremony scheduled to be held on December 29, official sources said in New Delhi. Born
on September 26, 1923 in Gurdaspur as Devdutt Pishorimal Anand, he
graduated in arts from Punjab University and wenr to Mumbai to join
elder brother Chetan Anand who was already into films. The initial
years were full of struggle as, among other things, he even had to
sell some of his possessions and even worked in the Military Censor's
office reading soldiers' letters to their families. The film "Ziddi"
in 1948 at Bombay Talkies was Anand's first success. The following
year he turned producer and launched his own banner, Navketan. Navketan's
first offering was Afsar (1950) and then Taxi Driver, CID, Kala Pani,
Guide and Jewel Thief, among others. Lata, Dev honoured (Go To Top) Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar and evergreen Bollywood actor Dev Anand have been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Awards at the second International Film festival held in Pune. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar honoured Anand by giving him the traditional Puneri cap, while he presented Mangeshkar with a shawl. Holding world record for the most recorded songs, Mangeshkar is India's most famous woman singer. The eldest of five children, Lata made her debut in films as a child artist at the age of just 11. Four years later she started singing, struggling to match her immature voice to adult heroines. Her voice has personified woman characters in films right from the black-and-white period to the modern era. Mangeshkar has been awarded with the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour. Dev
Anand is one of the greatest stars the Bollywood has seen. Handsome
and debonair, he was the epitome of the suave, urban gentleman. The
stylish actor has often been called as Bollywood's Gregory Peck. His
forte was the boy next door. Part lover, part clown, part do-gooder.
Anand continues to make films today and though his last few films
haven't been successful, he just keeps going with amazing energy.
On January 26, 2001 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution
to Indian cinema. Amit Behl on an all-time high (Go To Top) Actor
Amit Behl is on an all-time high with two releases coming up this
month. On December 12, there is G Krishna's Ishq Hai Tumse in which
he plays Big brother to Dino Morea followed by JP Dutta's LOC. And
at the same time, theatre is welcoming him with open arms. Behl has
also acted in Rangmanch productions with Neena Gupta and Shubha Khote
among others. Meanwhile, his next play is with Himani Shivpuri and
Pallavi Joshi, which will again be a Rangmanch production. And yet,
Behl boy has an interesting array of serials in his kitty. There is
Ashok Pandit's Mukammal and Arun Frank's Zindagi Teri Meri Kahani
both on Sahara and then Awaaz Dil Se on Zee. Manisha's cashing on home production (Go To Top) Manisha
Koirala is keeping her fingers crossed as her home production Paisa
Vasool, the first film under her production banner, is soon going
to be released. Remarkably the film has two female characters as its
protagonists and no heroes at all. Since the movie is her first film
as a producer, the actress says that she has learned quite a few lessons
and admits that she can now empathise with producers she had previously
worked with. Ken's Fidaa (Go To Top) Admen
Ken Ghosh has already begun shooting for his next film called Fidaa,
which stars Fardeen Khan, Shahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor. Plans are
that he will complete the film by March so that it releases in April.
The director is mum about the plot but reveals that it will be a love
triangle and the subject is quite different from others. Director
Ken also reveals that he plans to make a horror film after Fidaa. Bullet - the first Indo-Bulgarian film (Go To Top)
Seems like Bollywood is finally opening up to new ventures with outside
countries. Following up on this trend is an Indo-Bulgarian joint venture
called Bullet the Target, which is reportedly almost complete. Shot
entirely in Bulgaria and Turkey the film's patch-up scenes were shot
at Mumbai's Kamalistan studio on Monday. Producer Asad Sikander completed
the entire shooting in a non-stop 60-day marathon shooting schedule
in Bulgaria with a 200-strong unit from India, Hollywoood and Bulgaria.
The film introduces model Aseem Merchant with Iqbal Khan of Funtoosh
in the main lead and Miss Bulgaria Natalia Kurgova, Rosy Vanarose,
Saasha and Saadhika provide the female support. River Moon in troubled waters (Go To Top) Deepa
Mehta's River Moon seems to be sailing in troubled waters. First Rahul
Khanna backed out and John Abraham was roped in, and now it is Kareena
Kapoor's turn to back out. Apparently, Kareena could not meet the
consecutive 40-day Deepa Mehta wanted. But insiders insist that what
prompted Kareena's walkout was the story of River Moon, which is reportedly
the same as Water. Set in the 1930s, the film shows the plight of
widows who were either forced to beg or become prostitutes. Deepa
Mehta has also reportedly planned to shoot the film in Chhattisgarh
and not in Varanasi because of the tension it had stirred amongst
the people and political parties earlier. Raghu Romeo rocks! (Go To Top) Mumbai's
much acclaimed 6th International Film Festival ended last week. Rajat
Kapur's "Raghu Romeo" won the award for the best film in the Indian
Competition category. The film is a satire on a bartender who has
fantasies of a TV soap opera actress. Other film that was honoured
at the festival was Adoor Gopalakrishnan's "Nizhalkkuthu" that won
the International Federation of Film Critics' Award. The film deals
with a hangman's guilt in Kerala. VK Prakash's "Freaky Chakra" received
special mention at the festival. Wajahh launched! (Go To Top) Director Gautam Adhikari launched his new film "Wajahh - A Reason to Kill" at Mumbai's Kamalistan studio. The film will have a marathon schedule after the muhurat. Gracy Singh has been paired opposite Arbaaz in the movie. Gautam Adhikari has "Bhookampt" and "Chehraa" to his credit. This movie, presumed to be a crime thriller, also stars model- turned-actor Zulfi Sayed and Shamita Shetty in parallel roles. "Wajahh"
will be co-produced by Makrand Adhikari and Anand Pandit. Arbaaz who
made his debut in a thriller "Daraar" will be seen in the role of
a doctor with pyschopath shades. After the muhurat, the director shot
a sequence between Arbaaz and Gracy where Gracy comes to visit Arbaaz
in a clinic. The director has refused to give any detail about the
storyline of the movie. Karishma-Amitabh together! (Go To Top) Karishma
Kapoor faced the camera after a long break for her pending film "Zamanat"
with Amitabh Bachchan. However, to everybody's surprise they were
quite civil to each other and behaved normally. Raam Raj Kalamandir's
"Zamanat" is being shot in a 9-day schedule. The film was shot in
Mumbai's Filmalaya studios till December 5. A song and some scenes
were canned on Karishma Kapoor and Arshad Warsi. Choreographer Chinni
Prakash picturised the song on the set of a 'basti'. The film will
also be shot in Chennai for the climax on Amitabh Bachchan, Karishma
Kapoor, Vijayashanti, Arshad Warsi, Anupam Kher, Sharat Saxena, Govind
Namdeo, Ayub Khan, Arushee, Prakash Raj, Salil Sudhakar and Raju Mawani. Anil Sharma's desert love (Go To Top) Anil
Sharma of "Gadar" fame is now fancying Rajasthan. He has canned a
desert race and three songs for Movie World's "Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan
Saathiyo" at various locales in Jaisalmer and Bikaner. The shooting
took place from November 20 to December 2. Amitabh Bachchan, Bobby
Deol and Sandali Sinha are the leading actors of the movie. The film
also stars Akshay Kumar, new-find Divya Khosla, Kapil Sharma, Surendra
Pal Singh, Rajesh Vivek, Vivek Shauq, Danny Denzongpa, Govind Namdeo,
Vishwajeet Pradhan and Ashutosh Rana. The music is by Anu Malik. Ekta's Krishna Cottage! (Go To Top)
Soap Opera queen Ekta Kapoor is busy with her next film "Krishna
Cottage". Balaji Films Ltd.'s Prod. No. 2 Krishna Cottage's final
shooting is in progress at Manori and Phoenix Mills where the final
song is being filmed on Sohail Khan and Natasha under the supervision
of choreographer Remo. The film also stars Isha Koppikar, Divya Palat,
Vrajesh Hirjee, Raj Zutshi, Hiten Tejwani, Ali Hasan, Usha Nadkarni
and Rati Agnihotri. The producers of the film are Shobha Kapoor and
Ekta Kapoor. The director of the film is Santram Varma. Music is by
Anu Malik. The thriller is a Jeetendra presentation. The dubbing of
the movie is already over. The background music recording will begin
next week. Ekta has "Kyonki Main Jhooth Nahin Bolta" and "Kuch To
Hai" to her credit. Win Kal Ho Naa Ho dresses (Go To Top) Fame
Adlabs, the buzzing multiplex at Andheri, brings a life-time opportunity
to win dresses of the stars worn in the film Kal Ho Na Ho. Fans will
be delighted to know that four of the Manish Malhotra designs will
be out for grabs only at Fame Adlabs. Fame Adlabs announced a week-long
on-ground and on-site contest and the winners will be decided by a
lucky draw to be held on Saturday, December 20. One can look forward
to winning the dress worn by Preity Zinta and Saif Ali in the much
hyped song Mahi We..., a black formal suit and the sexy dress of Preity. Dharmendra's day (Go To Top) Come
December 8 and it's the birthday of Dharmendra who has been in the
industry for past 35 years. As a successful hero, Dharmendra's innings
are so long that he has ironically played hero to the leading ladies
who have also co- starred with his own sons. But success to him did
not come easy either. He struggled hard to make his mark in tinsel
town and when his first film Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere was launched,
nobody recognized him at the premier of the film. A joint effort (Go To Top) Tigmanshu
Dhulia is working on the last song of Mediatrack's maiden film 'Charas
- A Joint Effort', produced by Anjum Rizvi at film city, Mumbai. The
song is picturised on Namrata Shirodkar and choreographed by Remo
and while the film is being wrapped the entire cast will participate
in the shoot. Written and directed by Dhulia of 'Haasil' fame, the
film is a complete youth-oriented adventure thriller based in the
valleys and jungles of Kulu Manali. Tehzeeb pairs Urmila and Shabana after 25 years (Go To Top) This week Bollywood will be seeing only one film releasing at the box office, Tehzeeb. Directed by film critic-turned-director Khalid Mohammed, who had earlier directed Fiza, Tehzeeb is an emotional story of a ghazal singer Rukhsana and her daughter Tehzeeb. The film premiered on Thursday at Mumbai's Fun Republic. The entire cast, film crew and many famous names of Bollywood attended the show. Tehzeeb stars Urmila Matondkar in the title role along with Shabana Azmi playing the role of Ruksana. Arjun Rampal plays Urmila's husband Salim and Diya Mirza plays Urmila's mentally- retarded sister Nazneen. Miss World, Diana Hayden makes a cameo appearance in the film as Shiba. Tehzeeb pairs Urmila and Shabana almost 25 years after they played mother and daughter in Shekhar Kapoor's Masoom. For Urmila, it was another challenging role after her internse performances in Bhoot and Pinjar. In Tehzeeb, Urmila plays the rather tough role of a daughter who breaks the rule to reveal a secret. Shabana is the main attraction of Tehzeeb with her coquettish performance as a quintessential music diva. A
R Rahman has scored the music for the film and Santosh Sivan is the
cinematographer. The film is an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's Autumn
Sonata and director Khalid Mohammed acknowledges it. But he says he
has fed in the lives and relationships of several close friends in
the film. According to Khalid, the story of Tehzeeb has emerged as
much from his conversations and interviews with friends and psycho
analysts, as also from his relationship with his mother whom he lost
early in life. Saawan Kumar's love and peace message (Go To Top)
Director Saawan Kumar Tak is ready with his latest venture called
"Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya", a film which deals with lovers separated by
the border. Essentially, it revolves around Sunny and Rukhsar who
fall in love and experience hardships because they belong to two countries
whose sentiments are so ingrained in hatred. According to Tak, the
message of the film is that peace and love is the only way to exist.
He wants to make a strong statement supporting harmony between India
and Pakistan via the medium of this film. Romesh Sharma reunites with the Big B (Go To Top)
Actor-director-producer Romesh Sharma will launch his home production
next year, which will have Sharma's good friend Amitabh Bachchan and
his 22-year-old son Karan Sharma in key roles Apparently Jaya Bachchan
is Sharma's oldest friend. They met when both were studying at the
Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Sharma had produced
Hum featuring Bachchan, Rajnikanth, Govinda, Kimi Katkar, Shilpa Shirodkar
and Deepa Sahi in 1991. Urmila on Pak music video shoot (Go To Top)
Urmila is packing her bags to fly to Karachi for a three day shoot
of a music video that will see a Pakistani actor starring opposite
her. In the video, to be directed by ad man Prahlad Kakkar, Urmila
will play a Pakistani girl. She strongly believes that the entertainment
industry and artists can play a significant role in bridging the gap
between the two feuding nations. Recently, she visited the Wagah border
for the music release of her movie Pinjar. Koena Mitra has another item number! (Go To Top)
Koena Mitra has another item number in her kitty. Sanjay Gupta's joint
venture Musafir with Sanjay Dutt will not only have Yana Gupta shaking
a leg in an item number, but will also feature another item song on
Koena. Producer-Director Sanjay Gupta was not satisfied with only
Yana Gupta gyrating in Musafir, so now he has roped in Koena Mitra
too. The sultry Koena, who hasn't been seen on the big screen after
her sizzling number in Ram Gopal Verma's 'Road', is sure to add more
'spice' to the film. Meghna Gulzar in comeback music video (Go To Top)
Meghna Gulzar is back after taking a short break following her debut
directorial venture - Filhaal. She has now come out with a music video
for Javed Akhtar's Shairana. The first song from the album "Chandani
Si....' by Alka Yagnik is being aired across all music channels and
it will be followed by the sequel "Hazaron Chehron Mein....' by Shankar
Mahadevan. Meghna, the daughter of poet Gulzar and veteran actress
Rakhee, had earlier directed the music video Marasim. David's latest film on the wrap (Go To Top)
David Dhawan known for his comedy films is currently wrapping up his
latest film, Mujhse Shaadi Karogee, at Mumbai's Film City. Produced
by Sajid Nadiadwala, the film stars Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and
Priyanka Chopra. Nadiadwala and Dhawan have reportedly spent Rs.5
crore on a special that depicts the scenic backgrounds of Goa. Fifty
percent of the film has been completed. The songs of the flick will
be shot overseas. Dino and Bipasha's romance (Go To Top) Paired
earlier in thrillers like 'Raaz' and 'Gunaah', models-turned-actors
Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu will now be seen in a romantic film called
'Ishq Hai Tumse'. Produced by G A Seshagri Rao under the banner Padmalaya
Telefilms, the film is directed by G Krishna. Bipasha plays a Muslim
girl called Khushboo, who falls for Arjun played by Dino. The film
has been shot in Hyderabad. Ashish gets noticed! (Go To Top)
Harry Baweja must be very impressed with Ashish Chaudhary's work after
seeing his work in 'Qayamat'. He has already signed Ashish to play
the lead role in his next film. The projected film will also star
Esha Deol and Isha Koppikar along with Ashish. Beside signing up Baweja,
the excited actor is also looking forward for the release of 'Shaadi
Ke Ladoo', a comedy flick that will hit the theatres in February 2004. Fardeen's gesture on AIDS day (Go To Top) Fardeen
visited Mumbai's red light area, Falkland Street, to talk to sex workers
on World AIDS Day on Dec 1, along with actor Rahul Bose. At the Alankar
theatre he stressed on the need to take action to curb the disease
from spreading. The sex workers who had earlier watched 'Jungle' cheered
the actor who managed to charm his way and make himself the 'hero'
for the day. LoC slated for Republic Day release (Go To Top)
JP Dutta's epic war film LoC will be released on January 26, 2004
on the Republic Day. The date of release will be a Monday instead
of the usual Friday but then it will be a perfect tribute to the martyred
soldiers of the Kargil war. Considering a huge cast of heavyweights
and starlets in the film, one wonders how director Dutta could have
possibly managed to complete the film! The film is produced and directed
by Dutta, lyrics have been penned by Javed Akhtar and set to the tunes
of Anu Malik. Secret of Amitabh energy! (Go To Top) Every
notable function has the Big B as the chief guest and, if not, he
certainly is on their wish-list. This time though he was just a guest
at a function held for the release of Richard Rothman's book 'Intelligent
Endings'. In a jovial mood Bachchan said that he would have to be
present at the function because the American author was a diplomat
and hoped he would not have to stand in queue for a US visa in case
he needed it. He even made it to another function later the same evening
to inaugurate a furniture function, where the artists had Bachchan's
film artily crafted as the furniture theme. On his unflagging stamina
to present himself in never ending functions, the Big B says he gets
his energy from 'Dabur Chawanprash'! A new patriotic film in the making (Go To Top) The desert town of Jaisalmer is buzzing with activity as a Hindi film crew begins shooting for "Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyon". An out-and-out patriotic melodrama, the film comes from the banner of Anil Sharma, whose earlier "Gadar" based on the bloody partition broke box-office records. Acting legend Amitabh Bachchan leads the patriotic bandwagon in this venture, which also stars musclemen Akshay Kumar and Bobby Deol with Sandali Sinha and debutante Divya Khosla providing the romantic touch. Besides the army angle, the film, replete with the regular Indian dosage of songs and dances, explores the relationship between a grandfather and a grandson. Bobby Deol, who is playing the rebellious grandson, said audiences could expect the film to be a complete entertainment package. "This is not just a patriotic film but is being made primarily with an army background. This film is basically about the relationship between a grandfather and a grandson. There is also a love triangle but it is basically based on the army," Deol said during a shooting schedule of the film on Monday. Sharma,
who is known for his penchant for larger-than-life drama, said: "This
film is a story of a family, it is a story of army soldiers who believe
that dying for one's country is what life is about. These are people
who believe boundaries only lead to division." The film, which has
music by National Award winning Anu Malik, will also be shot in exotic
locales of New Zealand and South Africa. The film releases by Diwali
next year alongwith a slew of other patriotic movies like "Deewar",
"Lakshya", "Aan" among others. Karan Johar on Cloud Nine! (Go To Top)
Karan Johar is on cloud nine with his 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' generating cash
all over India. In the United States, the film has raked in a million
dollars in the first week itself. This certifies that Shahrukh Khan
remains in the top bracket as an all-time favourite actor, though
the other two leads, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan, have also given
commendable performances. However, the character of Shahrukh is the
focal point in the film. Shahrukh's fans now await his next release,
' Main Hoon Na', which will mark the directorial debut of choreographer
Farah Khan. Rajiv has his hands full! (Go To Top)
Rajiv Ruia, director- writer- producer, is currently on an all-India
promotional venture for his debut film Mission Mumbai. He has another
ambitious project Jalan: The Fire Inside, an erotic psycho thriller.
Rajiv is believed to have approached Mahima and Manisha Koirala to
play the leading ladies. He has also talked with models like Aryan
Vaid, Shawar Ali and Milind Soman for the male lead in the movie.
However there is no confirmation as to whom has he roped in. Rajiv
says about the film, it will be a 'psycho-sexual thriller' that will
highlight the power of female sexuality. However, he clarifies that
the movie will not have just sex but many other elements of modern
cinema. Ruheen, Fardeen are still a pair! (Go To Top) The
presence of Ruheen at the Janasheen premiere, held on Tuesday at Mumbai's
New Excelsior theatre, set at rest all rumours about their split.
Ruheen flew down from Delhi just to be with her beau on the eve of
the film's release. This is for the first time that a Hindi film has
been released on Wednesday. The Khans wanted to celebrate Eid as well
as the release of their film with friends and relatives in the film
fraternity. Amongst the friends were Abhishek Bachchan and Karan Johar
and cousin Zayed Khan. Sanjay Dutt made it a point to attend the party
even though he could not attend the film's premiere. A dual role for Hema again! (Go To Top)
'Sita Aur Gita' started a new genre of dual role characters and especially
Hema Malini's hit formula which paved the way for many double trouble
flicks. Now, Hema is all set to do a double role in a television serial
produced by Sahara India Mass Communications. Let's see if this serial
will be able recapture the magic of 'Sita Aur Gita'! Amitabh releases 'Intelligent Endings' (Go To Top)
The literary influences of Amitabh Bachchan came to the fore again
at a book release function where he released "Intelligent Endings",
a collection of short stories by Richard Rothman, the head of the
Commercial Section of the U.S Consulate in Mumbai. He was quite enthusiastic
about the event and given that a compilation of his father's poems,
the late Harivanshrai Bachchan, is also in the pipeline. He seemed
to enjoy the reading of the stories after the book release. He advocated
reading as a habit in age of computers. Amitabh, Dimple pair up again! (Go To Top)
Seen last in Shashi Kapoor's 'Ajooba' in 1991, Amitabh and Dimple
are coming together again in Sony Juneja's 'Hum Kaun Hai'. This is
bilingual film in Hindi and Bengali. Amitabh and Dharmendra are doing
guest appearance in the film. Last night, Amitabh and Dimple were
shooting a song sequence at Mumbai's Joggers Park for the same. ANI & India Overseas |
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