News & Views

Amitabh-Shatru movie

          Mumbai, June 29: This film, irrespective of its box-office success will make history! Believe it or not, but film, 'Yaar Meri Zindagi' featuring Big B and Shatrughan Sinha will finally see the light of the day! Big deal, you may say, but not if you knew that the film was made during the 'Kala Pathar' era! The film also stars Sudha Chandran, Sharda, Aruna Irani, Padma Khanna and Ranjeet. Producer director Ashok Gupta has directed the film while the music is by the late RD Burman.

Uday's Achilles' heel?

          Mumbai, June 29: Recently released film, 'Supari' has landed actor Uday Chopra in trouble. Rumours are that in spite of a huge starcast, scenes were cut and the movie was made to highlight Uday. Other actors in 'Supari' include Rahul Dev, Akash Saigal and Nandita Das. The film also included two new actresses opposite Uday Chopra and Rahul Dev.

Chunky's cupful of work

          Mumbai, June 28: Comic actor Chunky Pandey has been busy organising Bollywood shows abroad these days. His shows are big hit in Bangladesh where he enjoys a star icon status. Now, Chunky has decided to diversify and take his shows to Africa. The actor will also be appearing on the silver screen in the movie, 'Fresh Lime'.

Big B's days with the dog

          Mumbai, June 27: Will the Big B never stop surprising us? After having impressed audiences with a varied range of characters, the legend is trying to do something different yet again! Amitabh Bachchan will be seen training a dog in his next flick, 'Dogs'. Starring Rishi Kapoor and Diana Hayden, the movie promises an interesting script! While Amitabh Bachchan plays a character with shades of grey, Rishi Kapoor will play an out and out negative character. Mukul Abhyankar will direct the movie. Debutant producer SM Ausaja will produce the film.

Ash's Midas touch!

          Mumbai, June 27: If the grapevine is to be believed, then director Rituparno Ghosh has a winner on his hands. It is being said that Aishwarya Rai has churned out an award-winning performance in the movie, 'Chokher Bali'. The film, based on Rabindranath Tagore's novel, is a psychological study of relationships between sexes in a well-to- do family. The film revolves around four protagonists played by Aishwarya, Prasenjit, Toto Roychowdhary and Raima Sen. 'Chokher Bali' releases in October this year.

Bollywood resolutions for Shahid

          Mumbai, June 27: New kid-on-the-bloc Shahid Kapoor is displaying a great deal of maturity as far as his career in the tinsel town is concerned. Even after being flooded with offers, he has restricted himself to two films a year, that too belonging to different genres. As per now, Shahid is under a five-film contract with Tips but is free to sign any other film as well. Ken Ghost will direct three of Tips films while Anise Bazmee will direct the remaining two.

'Marigold': Salman or no Salman?

          Mumbai, June 25: Salman Khan's upcoming movie, 'Marigold' is food for a lot of rumours. Till recently, the grapevine was rife with the talk of Salman Khan being chucked out the Indo-American project, 'Marigold'. However, as per the sources, Salman Khan will commence shooting for 'Marigold'. The shooting will wrap up in six to nine weeks. Meanwhile, he also has plans to start working on his home production, 'Lucky' to be directed by Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao.

Varma attempts another genre

          Mumbai, June 25: Ramgopal Varma is a walking-talking film school. This is evident from the way he encourages his assistants. Prawaal Kumar, another protege of Varma, has been entrusted with the direction of a light entertainer, 'Gayab' starring Tusshar Kapoor. Prawaal is also the director of Varma's second horror flick, 'Darna Mana Hai'. However, the piece de resistance is that 'Gayab' will be a songless movie.

Sanjay's place under the sun

          Mumbai, June 25: Things are moving on the right track for actor Sanjay Suri. He got the sobriquet of the 'thinking actor' after movie 'Filhaal' and his latest release 'Jhankaar Beats' is getting rave reviews. Sanjay will be back in another intense role in 'Dhoop' with Gul Panag. 'Dhoop' is a story of the struggle of a helpless father whose son sacrificed his life in the Kargil war. The film will see an August release.

Plagiarism charges against Rituparno

          Mumbai, June 23: Award-winning Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh is being accused of plagiarism. According to sources, a section of the film industry has accused Ghosh's next film with Amitabh Bachchan of being based on Satyajit Ray's life. Ghosh though refutes such charges. He says that his new film has been inspired by his own movie, 'Unishe April'. The new film delves into the relationship of a director father with his son.

'Koi Mil Gaya' music sweeps charts

          Mumbai, June 23: The movie, 'Koi Mil Gaya', has everything going for it right now. Along with the promising promos that have impressed cine-goers, the movie's music is also topping the charts. This could be for Rakesh Roshan to rub his hands in anticipation, for this film could resurrect Hrithik's lost star image. Hrithik's another film, 'Mein Prem Ki Deewani Hoon' by Rajshree Productions, will also soon open for the audiences.

Ego hassles between Manoj and Urmila 

          Mumbai, June 23: Manoj Bajpai, who is starring in Chandraprakesh Dwivedi's 'Pinjar' reportedly walked out of the dubbing studio. According to the sources, the walkout was a result of his feeling left out in the film. He thinks that Urmila is getting all the attention with him being made to sit on the sidelines. The movie, 'Pinjar', is a partition saga written by novelist Amrita Pritam.

Potent star cast!

          Mumbai, June 22: Vivek and Kareena will come together for a movie. According to the sources, Tips is interested in signing Vivek and Kareena for their next film. The hit director-duo, Abbas-Mastan will be directing that project. With Abbas-Mastan at the helm of the affairs and Vivek and Kareena in the lead, the audiences can sure look forward for some real entertainment. Also, Tips is looking to repeat the successful combination of director Ken Ghosh and actor Shahid Kapoor in the near future.

Casting troubles for Bhansali

          Mumbai, June 22: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next magnum opus like 'Devdas' has also run into troubled waters. His latest venture, 'Bajirao Mastani', is facing problems with Kareena walking out of the movie. His first choice to play the female lead in the movie was Aishwarya Rai. Aishwarya too refused to do the role due to Salman Khan's involvement in the film.

Pamela Rooks in 'Dance Like a Man'

          Mumbai, June 22: Pamela Rooks, who portrayed Khushwant Singh's book onto the film called 'A Train to Pakistan', is back in the limelight. Her next directorial venture is film 'Dance Like a Man'. The film boasts of some big names like Mahesh Dattani as the scriptwriter along with Asif Zakaria and Shobana. Both of them play the lead role of a Bharatnatyam dancer couple. Sarod player Ravi Shankar's daughter Anoushka Shankar has played their daughter's role with Samir Soni as her fiancie.

Amitabh-Rishi back on screen

          Mumbai, June 20: Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor, who have together given some of the most memorable movies, will be seen together on the celluloid once again. The two actors who came together in hits like 'Kabhi Kabhi', 'Amar Akbar Anthony' and 'Naseeb' are now doing first timer Mukul Abhayankar's thriller tentatively titled, 'Dogs'. The Big B will again be seen playing a negative character. The two actors had last appeared together in Shashi Kapoor's directorial debut, 'Ajooba' in 1991.

Nana to don director's cap

          Mumbai, June 20: The last time Nana took up direction, it turned out to be a blockbuster called 'Prahar' featuring Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor. Nana will pack even greater punch when he takes up direction for a second time. Reason? Nana has teamed up with Ram Gopal Varma for his next film. The film is titled, 'Jumman' where he plays a butcher. He is also contemplating an interpretation of Girish Karnad's play, 'Hayavadana'.

Salman's tryst with Hollywood!

          Mumbai, June 20: Salman is the latest Indian export to Hollywood. His Hollywood caper 'Marigold' will indeed be seeing the light of the day, what with rumours about its shelving due to the Iraq war. The movie will see Salman with an American actress. Williard Carroll will direct the movie. The musical trio, Shankar-Ehsaan- Loy has already composed two songs for the movie. Meanwhile, another Indian actor, Vivek Oberoi, has also been cast in a British movie, 'The Invaders'.

'Bhoot' strikes in Delhi 

          New Delhi, June 19: A mysterious death in a cinema hall has added a touch of Hitchcock to Hindi horror movie 'Bhoot'. A theatre manager in New Delhi on Thursday said a man was found dead in his seat on Monday after the late-night screening of the movie. Roop Ghai, manager of the Paras cinema hall, said the theatre's cleaning staff found the man, aged around 50, slumped in his seat after the end of the showing of 'Bhoot.' "It's our daily routine that after every show we check the cinema hall. While checking, the staff found a man 'sleeping'. When our staff could not wake him up, we suspected something foul and thus contacted the police", Ghai said. Though there has been no official confirmation, local reports said the man might have died of a cardiac arrest. The mysterious death has boosted ticket sales of the horror movie.

           Tushar, an ardent cinegoer, said the sound effects made the movie more scary. "The sound effects are really scary...so even if scary part is not there, with the sound you get scared. You just jump from your seat," Tushar said. However, to Mohit, another cinegoer, the appearance of the ghost was the scariest. "There is this one scene where suddenly out of nowhere a ghost appears and it really scares you ...where Urmila Matondkar (the lead actress) is going up and the ghost comes...," he said. Directed by one of India's new crop of filmmakers, Ram Gopal Verma, 'Bhoot' is a spooky thriller about a possessed housewife and is set in a high-rise Mumbai apartment. Before the movie starts, a message from the director appears on the screen warning people with heart problems or pregnant women to view the film at their own risk.

Mumbai model in Tamil movie

          Chennai, June 19: Urvashi Patel, a popular Mumbai model, is all set to hit 'Kollywood' with her movie 'Thati Thavudu Manasu.' The model-turned-actress had always been a Tamil movie buff and had longed to act in one. She jumped at the offer of a role in the movie which is also starring actress Mumtaz.

Simran becoming a film distributor

          Chennai, June 19: Actress Simran is trying her luck at film distribution. She, it is claimed, is strict about payments to be made by the producers. For the movie 'Kovilpati Veeralakshmi' (starring herself), however, she has made an exception. The reason cited for her leniency is that the movie might win her a National Award. She has also asked for rights to remake the movie in Hindi. If this happens, she will be the producer-cum-distributor.

Single song and dance sequences now a fashion 

          Chennai, June 19: Single song and dance sequences now seem to be the order of the day. Kiran, having been admired for her energetic moves in a single song and dance number in 'Arasu', is now appearing in yet another song and dance sequence in the Vijay starrer, 'Thirumalai.' Actress Vindya will also be doing a single song and dance sequence in a movie with Hrithik Roshan.

Wedding bells for Ayesha Julka

          Mumbai, June 19: Lead actress of popular movies like, 'Khiladi' and 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander' -- Ayesha Julka is all set to tie the knot. Her would-be-hubby is Sameer Vashi, a construction tycoon. With marriage, it seems that good times are back for Ayesha who will also appear in Vijaya Mehta's 'Purush' opposite Ashutosh Rana. Her another movie, 'Sikkay' directed by Mahendra Shah will also hit the theatres soon.

Second time lucky?

           Mumbai, June 19: Director of hit movie, 'Aankhen', Vipul Amrutlal Shah has decided to team up with his hit star cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal for a second time. The upcoming project titled 'Waqt-Race against Time' will be written by another 'Aankhen' member, Aatish Kapadia. The production team is yet to finalise the leading ladies for the movie. Meanwhile, there is a talk of 'Aankhen' having been picked up Hollywood as a movie theme.

'Serious': Shweta Menon's new mantra

          Mumbai, June 19: Shweta Menon wants to get serious now. Contemporary of beauty queens, Sushmita Sen and Aishwariya Rai, Menon has apparently had enough of item numbers. But she is looking forward to her upcoming flicks, 'Market' and '88 Antop Hill' as she says these roles are challenging. Good thinking, Shweta!

Kalpana's back at the box-office

          Mumbai, June 18: Her 'Daman' failed to impress the audiences but Kalpana Lajmi hopes to change that with her next movie, 'Kyon'. The movie probes into the dark side of the urban society where children from affluent families are pushed towards crime, drugs etc. The cast features Rahul Dev as a cop talking the youngters of this net. Amit Jain, Sachit Patil, Prateeksha, Sanobar Kabir and Chaitanya Choudhary have played the youngsters. Soni Razdan will also be seen in the movie in the role of a fading actress.

Shabana-Urmila to pair up again

          Mumbai, June 18: Variety is the spice of life. Perhaps nobody believes in this more than our Urmila. After giving a heart-stopping performance in Ram Gopal Varma's 'Bhoot', Urmila is ready to give another complex character a shot. She is doing Khalid Mohammad's 'Tehzeeb', a movie about a complex mother-daughter relationship with Urmila playing the daughter. This should be interesting to watch especially when Shabana is playing the mother. The actress will also be seen in Chandraprakash Dwivedi's partition saga called, 'Pinjar'.

'C' Rani's obsession

          Mumbai, June 17: Rani seems to have cultivated a new superstition. For strangely, three of her movies are all starting with the letter 'C' including her latest release 'Chalte Chalte' with Shah Rukh Khan. The movie has had a good opening at the box-office. However, that is not all. Coming up is another interesting movie starring Rani Mukherjee and Anil Kapoor titled, 'Calcutta Mail'. Rani plays a novelist in this movie. Her next movie to hit the theatres shall be 'Chori Chori' with Ajay Devgan. 'Chori Chori' is a love story. On being asked about her latest obsession with the letter 'C', Rani says it just 'coincidence'.

Gulshan's goodness

          Mumbai, June 17: Gulshan Grover has shed his on-screen villainy. The talented actor is playing a tough police officer in movie, 'We Are Not Monks'. The movie has been made by a group of young graduates, Pema Dhondup, Pierre Pasler, Rajeev Ahuja and Kimberely Dukes. According to these young film-makers, the aim of the movie is to change the perception of the West towards exiled Tibet. Gulshan, on a high after his 'Jajantaram Mamantaram' which is doing good business the country over, has not charged any money for the project. 'We Are Not Monks' which several artists from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts featuring in it, has already done the rounds of several film festivals.

Taxman's Bollywood List

          Mumbai, June 17: The list is out! The IT department has brought out the list of the highest tax payers in the industry. If the tax returns are any standard to go by, then Hrithik Roshan is the highest paid actor in the Bollywood followed by Shah Rukh Khan. Third on the list is director Subhash Ghai and Amitabh Bachchan at the third and fourth spot. Hrithik's income this year was a whopping Rs 14.13 crore out of which he paid a tax of Rs 5.18 crore. Shah Rukh Khan too paid a Rs 4.37 crore to his earning of Rs 13.57 crore.

Bollywood's wheel of fortune

          Mumbai, June 16: Happy days are here again for Bollywood! Thanks to movies like, Raj Kanwar's 'Andaaz', Ramgopal Varma's 'Bhoot' and Ken Ghosh's 'Ishq Vishq', business is looking up in the tinseltown. Although, none of these movies have been countrywide hits, they have acted as catalysts in reviving the trade in the industry. Distributors are willing to touch various projects unlike some time back when the repeated failure of films at the box-office had made them apprehensive. It seems that the distributors are just happy recovering their costs as of now.

Simran: Revisitng Bollywood

          Mumbai, June 16: Simran, the hit south Indian actress is trying to stage a comeback to Bollywood. Even after not so good start, the actress has not given up on Bollywood yet. She will now be seen in Shashi Ranjan's 'Ek Bar Phir Se'. She has been paired up against Sanjay Dutt. Also starring along with Simran are actors Jackie Shroff and Raveena Tandon. According to sources, Simran will also be acting in a Mani Ratnam project.

Nagesh's tryst with UK

          Mumbai, June 16: Nagesh Kukunoor is really going places. His upcoming film, 'Teen Deewarien' will be screened at the Commonwealth Film Festival. The movie, produced by Metallights, packs quiet a punch with talented actors including Nasir, Jackie, Juhi and Nagesh himself. The film is about Juhi, playing an ambitious documentary film-maker, trying to make a film about three dreaded prisoners played by Nasir, Jackie and Nagesh.

Vivek's rendition

          Mumbai, June 15: Actor Vivek Mushran has caught the singing bug. The actor who made his debut in Subhash Ghai's 'Saudagar' has brought out a music album called, 'Kahin Ho Gaya'. Apart from lending his voice to the tracks in the album, he has also written the lyrics for four of them. According to Vivek, this album has been his dream since for long. As for the timing of the album, he says that this is perfect timing, as he is currently involved with two teleserials only.

Karan turns producer

          Mumbai, June 15: Karan Johar has taken up a new profession. Although still very very much a part of the tinseltown, the talented director will now step into production also. Johar along with father Yash Johar has produced Nikhil Advani's 'Kal Ho Na Ho'. Reportedly, he will start working on his next film next year only and apparently, this film will feature new faces. Refusing to divulge any details about his next venture, Karan says that he is still working on his next film's script.

Boom launches with a bang!

          Mumbai, June 14: Kaisad Gustad has reason to be happy and why not. His next film, 'Boom' starring Big B, Jackie Shroff and Katrina Kaif is slated to have a three-minute special capsule on fashion TV. This is big honour considering that 'Chicago' and 'Matrix Reloaded' have been the only movies to be launched by FTV. Boom is a story about fashion world meeting the underworld. The capsule will have leading actresses of the film, Katrina Kaif, Padma Lakshmi and Madhu Sapre walking the ramp. Jackie's wife, Ayesha Shroff's Quest Film, has produced the film.

Rajnikanth gives double whammy

          Chennai, June 13: Southern icon Rajnikanth is all set to act in a bilingual flick. The movie is directed by current sensational Telugu director Teja. While the star seems pretty impressed with the storyline, other logistical details are yet to be finalised.

SP's son turns producer

          Chennai, June 13: Singer SP Balasubramaniam's son SPB Cheran is turning producer with a film titled 'Unnai Saranadaindean'. The movie starring Ganai Amaran's son Venkat Prabhu in the lead role has Miss Femina Mira Vasudevan cast opposite him. But naturally SPB will be setting the music for his son's venture, while Samudrakanni, K Balachander's associate, wields the directorial baton.

Simran denies marriage rumours

          Chennai, June 13: Quashing rumours of marriage with cousin Deepak, southern starlet Simran has said that simply because she turns down a film, does not necessarily mean that she has tied the knot. The sizzling actress had recently turned down Kasthoori Raja's movie 'Theendae Theendae, on account of an uninteresting storyline.

Vikram to stay true to commercial cinema

          Chennai, June 13: After the success of movies like 'Gemini' and 'Dhool, Vikram has announced that he will stick to doing such commercial movies. It is such movies that feel the pulse of the masses and luer them to the theatres, he feels. However, he is hell bent on giving a new look to his image.

'Lakshya' shooting in Ladakh 

          Mumbai, June 12: Rigorous preparations are on to shoot Farhan Akhtar's next film, 'Lakshya'. The heavy weight star cast, including Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta, are shooting in Ladakh these days. The news is that the conditions in Ladakh are so hard that Akhtar had to give the entire crew two days off, just so that they get acclimatized. So, 'Lakshya' crew is enjoying the cool environs of Ladakh before they start working.

Ahmed's 'Lakeer'

          Mumbai, June 12: Child actor Ahmed Khan who featured in 'Mr India' after taking up choreography as his career is now embarking upon another filmi career. The talented choreographer will now be producing his first Hindi movie. The film, tentatively titled, 'Lakeer', will have actor Sohail Khan in the lead. Ahmed's brother, Bobby Khan, will direct the movie.

Katrina's lingua franca

          Mumbai, June 11: Katrina has been in the media spotlight more for her alleged link-up with Salman than for anything else, including her debut movie 'Boom'. This piece of news though is different. Apparently, the pretty lady has a really bad Hindi diction, if her being dropped from 'Saaya' is any sign to go by. However, veteran producer D. Rama Naidu from down south is her hope. Naidu has signed Kaif for a Hindi/Telugu film with his son, Venketesh. To be directed by Vijay Bhaskar, the film is slated to go floor in July.

Jackie-Mukesh bhai bhai?

          Mumbai, June 11: The Chinese dragons will tie up with the Indian tiger in the field of film production. Martial arts expert Jackie Chan will be shooting his next film in India. The movie, co-produced by Jackie Chan productions and Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh productions, will have a budget of 60 million dollars. The production units have identified the locations in West Bengal and Jaipur and shooting is likely to begin in August. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has shown a lot of interest in the Indo-Chinese project and is willing to provide all kinds of help to Jackie Chan productions. Mukesh Bhatt's production will be providing the Chinese crew with all the infrastructural and logistical support.

American Chai on Indian shores

          Mumbai, June 11: Following the trend of crossover films featuring America-born Confused Desis is another film trying to win over the desi audiences. 'American Chai', a film about an Indian in the US trying to fulfil his musical dreams in spite of family resistance, will be up for release on June 20. Although the movie was released abroad long time back, it is coming to India only now. Before this, the movie was doing the rounds of several film festivals before touching the Indian shores. Shringar