Monday, December 29, 2008
Bollwood ticket sales escalating in Poland
Recently Poland had the annual chance to be part of and relish different flavours of Bollywood in an exclusive Hindi film festival titled as "Ticket To Bollywood".
Anil Wadhwa surely will be a proud man today seeing the growth of the seed that he had sown with great expectations some years back.
Anil, a former Indian ambassador to Poland was the first person to sense that the Hindi films can find a great market in the European country. He drew out solid plans for the Hindi films to get a foothold there.
This is for the forth time that this film festival is being organised in Poland which now has accepted films from B-Town to a great extent with several Hindi films becoming super hits over the years.
"Ticket To Bollywood" is a one month long event and this time the screenings were held across 12 places.
The movie which captivated the citizens of Poland the most was the period flick 'Jodhaa Akbar'.
The impact made by Ashutosh Gowariker's movie can be assessed by the reaction of Gabellia Krzyzowska who is a great lover of India.
She says " 'Jodhaa Akbar' gives us a few glimpses of the medieval history of India. All these years we were glued to the beauty of the Taj Mahal alone. Now we can understand the intricacies of a secular experiment of the great Mugal king Akbar".
'Paheli' having Shah Rukh in the lead role, Ajay Devgan's 'You Me Aur Hum', 'Dor' directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, 'Mr & Mrs Iyer' filmed by Aprana Sen etc..are some other movies which showcased the style of film making from Bollywood.
All the movies were shown with Polish subtitles.
One among the hardcore Bollywood lovers from Poland Bogna Zakszewska after watching the films said that 'Mr & Mrs Iyer' impressed her a lot as it presented entirely different dimensions to human sensitivity and the quality of the movie is not inferior to any Hollywood film.
Ghajini – History Maker in Indian Box Office
In fact, Yash Raj Film's 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' starring Shah Rukh and Anushka could fetch merely around Rs. 10Crores on the first day across all the centres.
Well, now Aamir Khan and Director A.R. Murugadoss undoubtedly get ennobled as 'History Makers in Pages of Bollywood'.
Fine! Its a billion dollar question whether Bollywood's superstars would now let Murugadoss getting back to Kollywood. Sources have revealed that King Khan had already requested Murugadoss for a more powerful script than 'Ghajini'…
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Aamir Khan replaced by Kunal Roy Kapoor in Delhi Belly
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Aamir has stepped out from playing one of the three key characters in his forthcoming production 'Delhi Belly'. Starring Imran Khan in lead role, Aamir was supposed to don the characterization of a slovenly person with prankish sense of humor. Kunal Roy Kapoor who directed 'The President is coming' replaces Aamir now.
Directed by ad-filmmaker Abhinav Deo, major portions of the film has been completed and plans are to release it by mid of 2009. The film is made in English with attempts of targeting on International audiences.
Bollywood celebrities attend Mid-Night 'Xmas' Mass
Usually, Kareena heads to St. Mary's Church for Christmas Mass Celebrations and this time she couldn't get seats as the church was crowded. Normally, she has her driver reserving some seats earlier and this time he failed to do so. Since Kareena's mom has bad knees, she wasn't in a condition of standing for a long time.
The celebrities could experience a peaceful and silent ambience at St. Andrews Church that helped to get involved in good prayers on the propitious occasion
Friday, December 26, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
SRK's intro of Anushka to World
It all happened yesterday at Yash Raj Studios, Mumbai where the charming actress posed with sensational gestures. Well, Anushka an embodiment of lavish elegance turned spotlights on her and of course turned to be ducky missy of Medias. With so much of love and affection for "Tanni ji", Surinder Sahani (SRK) showered loads of kisses and hugs saying Anushka kept him on his toes while the making of the movie.
Addressing the press, Shah Rukh elatedly requested everyone to put forth simpler questions to his sweet heart. Well, the cute missy was cheerful sharing her working experience with leading producers in town and King Khan. Indeed, she rendered her beautiful voice on 'Dance Pe Chance'…
Listen to Songs from 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' on Raaga.com
A song to pacify
The song which started to being beamed today was made as a tribute to all those people who are experiencing intense pain due to the sudden departure of their loved ones, killed by the terrorists.
Shiabani says "it is just a way to show our solidarity towards the unfortunate incident that happened recently. The song is rather emotional but also conveys the message to let go of what has happened and put ourselves together".
The song which does not have any video goes like this "Alvida, Ho Chali Jaan Badan Se Juda, Muft Mein Lut Gaye Ai Khuda… Alvida Alvida Alvida Alvida".
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Rab Ne Bana Di Record Break
The total collections for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in India are around Rs. 42 crores net (i.e. gross collections of Rs. 70 crores). The total gross collections for all overseas markets are over $4 Million (i.e. around Rs. 20 crores).
In the Middle East, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has broken all previous records for first week collections, grossing just under $1.3 million. The previous highest grossing film in the Middle East was Dhoom:2, which grossed approximately $1.86 million across its entire run. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is on course to break this all-time record going into its second week.
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has received a tremendous response from all audiences, witnessing mixed reviews and yet the film is set to continue achieving great numbers as it moves into its second week and beyond, and indeed has the potential to finish as one of the biggest blockbusters of all-time.
Listen to Songs from 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' on Raaga.c
Ranbir-Asin for a Sci-fi Dhamaka
Known for churning out best flicks, GV Films of South Indian Film Industry have geared up for their Bollywood endeavor. The untitled film would be simultaneously made in Tamil and Hindi with Asin as female lead in both the versions.
GV Films has now successfully completed remaking John Abraham-Nana Patekar starrer 'Taxi No 9211' in Tamil. Also the producers have stated they are planning to make 4 multi-lingual animation films in 2009.
Malikka leaps with laurels
The gorgeous missy was a part of an expert panel where she shared her thoughts & comments. It was a great pleasure as she divvyed up with her brilliant motifs with personalities like renowned Hollywood filmmaker Oliver Stone & Dato' Farah Khan, President of The Melium Group, which is into the retailing and brand managing of international lifestyle and fashion labels.
The actress impressed everyone present at the discussion with her insightful & original views about the exciting challenges and opportunities facing the movie business and the impact of Indian films in brands and business.
The discussion was moderated by none other than celebrated international TV interviewer Riz Khan.
Much elated with an exciting endeavor, Malikka says; "It was a huge surprise for me to be invited to the global forum along with Oliver Stone - What do we have in common, I asked myself. I guess for better or for worse we both have our own brands - and as Oliver Stone says - people either love or hate his films, but certainly have a strong opinion about him, his politics and his films."
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Deepika Padukone's double treat
She lets your breathlessness perpetual. She is sensuously alluring and undoubtedly the heartthrob of young lads. 'Deepika Padukone' with her beguiling looks transfixed everyone and now she's there on the cover pages of international magazines. Of course, it's not a surprise for she deserves it and if you wanna take a glimpse on her stunning looks, grab the copies of The Man and Fashion Magazine Elle.
These are the most high-valued magazines in the globe and it's all about lifestyle and fashion….
Kylie Minogue to sing for A. R. Rahman
According to reports A. R. Rahman had considered two other pop divas Madonna and Rihanna earlier. But then things didn't work out as expected.
'Blue' is expected to be one of the most expensive films ever made in India surpassing 100 crores.
International flavor in Indian films is sure to make many heads turn towards India. Sure looks like an innovative trend.
Abhi-Ash to sing for 'Raavana'
Getting on with this, Rahman has said, "Some of the songs in 'Lajjo' were off same musical backdrops, so we could shift them into Raavana. Of course, it's very rare as this doesn't happen all the time. Working with Mani Rathnam keeps refreshing me with new innovative thoughts".
Shooting for this bi-lingual flick is fast approaching on all schedules and plans are to release it by mid of 2009.
Chitraganda is chandra
The topic of her uncanny resemblance to the late acting queen Smita Patil has come up from time to time, but it can be assumed that it was the message of assurance imbibed by B-Town that an incredibly talented actress to look out for the future has landed up which kept her in the news all the time she was thought to have totally disappeared.
Sudhir Mishra gave her the fantastic break that any aspiring performer dreams of, and now the mentor and his student are back with another project with a fleshy role for Chitrangada.
The movie is the director's own creation inspired from the eternal love story of Devdas.
Titled as 'Aur Devdas', politics acts as the canvas on which the story of the flick has been painted.
Chitraganda's plays the role inspired from the character of Chandramukhi and is called as Chandra in the film.
Her character has a complex nature with an enchanting beauty hiding her selfishness and shrewdness.
The actress who was last seen in 'Sorry Bhai' says that the two extreme sides of her character are what she loves the most.
Although she is a very materialistic and ambitious lady she falls deeply in love with Devdas who in every way is totally opposite to her.
Shiney Ahuja plays the role of Devdas and Lara Dutta give life to the character of Paro.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
RNBDJ is YRF's ever highest venture
In the Middle East, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has set a new record altogether as the highest opening film of all-time. The previous highest was Dhoom:2, which grossed approximately $1.86 million across its entire run. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has grossed approximately $1 million on its opening weekend alone.
The film has also received a grand opening across all overseas markets, including the UK, USA, Australia, Europe, Africa, and other territories in Asia. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has been appreciated tremendously by audiences across the board and the film's performance promises to continue in the same vein moving forward. Well, Yash Chopra should be bit elated with this flick getting him rejoice.
Perhaps, it's more evident that Adhi-SRK is worthy ennobled as 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'….
Monday, December 15, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
SRK loses out to Aamir on promos
Well, it was SRK's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Aamir Khan's Ghajini hitting headlines in the recent times. So, who wins the race of promoting their respective flicks? It's Aamir Khan who has been striding all the way across media channels. Being a brand ambassador for Tata Sky, it does work wonders for him. Uh-huh, the help guide channel where commercials for Tata Sky are aired round the clock has kick-started featuring promos for Ghajini.
It goes inclusive of making of 'Guzarish' and 'Bekha' featuring visuals from scratch where Rahman tunes 'Bekha' on his keyboard, Aamir learning dance steps, entire cast and crew speaking about these songs…
Apart from this, there is exclusive game 'Ghajini Contest' where viewers have to answer simple questions and win tickets for premiere show.
Fine! What stopped SRK and Yash Raj Films from promoting 'RNBDJ' was the Mumbai Terror attack. As there wasn't enough time to gear up for promos, they had to remain Chup Chap…
The tale of two songs
The two tracks- 'Aye Bachoo' and 'Lattoo' were included as Aamir felt that the movie with all its raw and powerful action scenes need to be mellowed down with some groovy music.
Thus Ravi Udyawar who had worked before with the star for the Samsung 'Next is What?' campaign was selected as the right man to do the job after being recommended by ace cinematographer Ravi K Chandran who knows his style of working well and the producers getting fully satisfied after watching the various commercials that he had made before including the ones for Chevrolet and Limca.
The ad man's job was to visualize and direct two songs in a stylish manner.
Ravi Udyawar says that 'Aye Bachoo' is the song through which Asin is introduced in the movie and the paparazzi is shown getting wild as she appears and walks the red carpet. She is also shown waking the ramp like a supermodel.
A photo shoot session of the actress with men styled up as mafia gang members surrounding her is also there in the song.
The track was shot at the Film City in Goregaon and Mukesh Mills in Lower Parel.
Jiah who plays a college student in 'Ghajini' is the main element of the song 'Lattoo'.
This song is shown happening in Jiah's college.
After Ghajini, is it Ghilli?
It's an era of remaking South Indian films in Bollywood and looks like they're endless. With Aamir Khan's 'Ghajini' is all set for release on Christmas Day, Salman Khan's 'Wanted Live or Dead' remake of Telugu movie 'Pokkiri' is close on heels of completion.
And here goes another talk in town. 'Ghilli' – a tremendous blockbuster in Telugu and Tamil is being remade in Malayalam now. Buzzes are that the film would be soon remade in Hindi and if it is believed to be true, discussions are going about finalizing casts and crew.
The Tamil version had Vijay and Trisha donning lead roles with the song 'Appadi Podu' turning to be its limelight. If you are still guessing what's this song all about? Well, Abhishek Bachchan danced for this song in commercial advertisement of 'Motorola'. The fame soon spread across towns and cities as it was repeatedly aired in music channels, reality dance shows and more.
Buzzes have also stated that Deepika Padukone would play the female lead role enacted by Trisha in both Telugu and Tamil version. Since, her characterization is about being bubbly all throughout the show, Deepika seems to be watching the film's DVD repeatedly.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Shipa starts a blog
During the recently concluded reality show "Big Boss" in which Shilpa was the host, she used to term her appearance by calling it as "Shilpa Channel".
Retaining this particular title now the sultry B-Town heroine has made up her mind to start her blog titled as "Shilpa Channel".
Shilpa also intends to use to use the interactive medium to communicate with the media personalities.
The blog can be accessed through the personal web site of the actress.
"I would love to work with SRK" – Asin
The actress was a part of original version 'Ghajini' in Tamil starring opposite Surya. As Murugadoss approached Mr. Perfectionist with a special screening in Oct 2005, the actor was quite impressed with Asin's performance and roped her in for remake.
So, how about Aamir playing pranks on her? "No, I was quite surprised that he didn't take on pranks while filming. Instead, he was so serious discussing every shots with his co-stars", says Asin. And on her characterization from original version and its remake, there's nothing such big difference apart from new settings and language.
Ask her about Aamir giving Hindi tuitions that happens to be 'Talk of the town'? Well, the actress utters she's perfectly fluent with Hindi as she studied in Naval Public School. So there was no need for tuitions…
After working with all Khans (Aamir, Salman and Saif), her only desire is all about joining hands with King Khan and she is hoping for a good offer.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Shilpa Shetty Dating Raj Kundra
Raj, who is a leading businessman in Britain, is also responsible for the launch of Shilpa's perfume S2, which recently topped the charts in UK as well as her new DVD on Yoga. He is also a force behind her super-successful musical tour of Miss Bollywood shows. Raj has recently produced the Jimmy Sheirgill-Kay Kay Menon film Strangers that released a few weeks ago.
When the news of their relationship broke out six months ago, Shilpa and Raj had denied it stating the couple was "just friends". "Things between them have changed since then. The relationship has blossomed and matured with time. They were friends before. Now they make a lovely couple," says Shilpa's publicist Dale Bhagwagar.
Raj Kundra's former wife Kavita had also made accusations that Shilpa broke her marriage by having an affair with him. "Those were incorrect claims. Shilpa came to know Raj only post-Celebrity Big Brother and four months after his wife had parted with Raj," Dale points out.
So is Shilpa planning to settle down in matrimony? The publicist states, "It's too early to speculate marriage. All I can say is that Shilpa is dating Raj. She's just started to know him better. So let's give her some time and not jump to conclusions. But their affair could just turn out to be the biggest love story of 2008.”
Shilpa Shetty has ended a boom year that was replete with the Celebrity Big Brother win, a successful charity drive, an Honorary Doctorate from the Leeds Metropolitan University, the Rajiv Gandhi award and finally two successful films (Life In A…Metro and Apne) in addition to an offer from Hollywood that she turned down for the second film in the new Pink Panther series.
Meanwhile, the actress has decided to bring in the New Year abroad with her family. "Currently, she is on a money splurging spree in Las Vegas and is going berserk with obsessive shopping," laughs Dale. No prizes for guessing whether Raj is accompanying the Shettys.
Amrita Rao's 'Hot' new avatar in 'My Name is Anthony Gonsalves'
Says Amrita " It surely is a new look for me. As an actress one cannot restrict oneself to a particular image, and needs to constantly keep on experimenting with different kinds of look, costumes and characters.
She adds " TUM MILEY' is one of the most romantic song, I have ever done. I was just sporting the attitude of the song. Additionally it was shot in idyllic goa. I just share a certain karmic connection with the place.
Incidentally whilst shooting in Goa, Amrita surprised the locals with her command over 'Konkani'. Whilst shooting for the song, she even learnt to cook the authentic goan delicacies at Britto's in Baga, Goa.
So whilst every third person is packing their bags to herald the New Year in Goa, Amrita will be seen in a new avatar in the first mega release of 2008!!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Urvashi Sharma bridges her 'Doorie' with Bollywood
Now she goes in a completely opposite direction in her latest music video for Atif Aslam's 'Doorie' where she is covered from head to toe. Recently premiered on music channels, the song is fast picking up momentum and audience is loving to see Urvashi in a new avtar.
These two music videos bridge her gap towards making a Bollywood debut as she is currently also working on Abbas Mustan's yet untitled film that stars Bobby Deol and Akshaye Khanna in the lead.
This is Urvashi's first film out of 8-feature film contract with TIPS Films, something that most can only dream of. She is also slated to work on a love-story, which includes the elements of a thriller. The film will be directed by Kookie Gulati, who assisted director Ken Ghosh in 'Ishq Vishq' and 'Fida'.
Currently based in Mumbai, Urvashi Sharma was spotted by Elite Model Management India in Delhi just a year and a half ago. In no time, this striking beauty was signed on by Garnier, Globus, TBZ and Ponds, and has featured in a series of ad campaigns, commercials, magazine and fashion shoots for the best designers in the industry.
Don – 2 to hit floors in Oct 2009
Post-Don, Farhan's life has been transcending successful into different ventures as an actor, a playback singer. Well, he will be stepping into the shoes of hosting a reality show Oye, It's Friday from December 12. Speaking on this new venture, Farhan says "It's completely different from shows hosted by Karan Johar and Sajid Khan. Of course, there are chit-chats between me and celebrities while there'll be more dancers shaking their legs, live performances by actors".
As an actor, he is curious about his forthcoming flick 'Luck By Chance' that depicts him in the role of a struggling actor. Also he had plans to direct his 'Voice from the Sky' with Akshay Khanna in lead role, but it is shelved due to some production issues.
Ask him about his plans for Don's sequel? Farhan utters, "Yup! I am working on script now and probably we will start shooting it somewhere between October-November".
Celina's Jaitley pursuit for happy love
The actress elatedly celebrated her birthday and all that she expected as her birthday gift from God was to grand never-ending romance and love. Celina celebrated the entire occasion by throwing party for destitute girls for she felt nothing makes her happier than experiencing smile on their innocent faces.
Alas, the actress feels quite distressed since her parents left Mumbai not celebrating this occasion. Her pet dog unable to feel their absence swallowed a plastic and a complete daytime prior to b'day was spent in Veterinary Clinic. Nevertheless, it was about cheering herself up as she picked BMW from stores to celebrate her birthday and successful in Bollywood.
Jiah- making a sizzling visual statement
A much anticipated role in an Aamir Khan movie is doing wonders for the dusky beauty Jiah Khan who in recent times has not been seen in any substantial roles and needs a hot shot character to fuel her future in B-Town.
The latest edition of the famous magazine Maxim has presented the young actress in a never before seen way.
It if for the first time film lovers have got a chance to see the full extract of the sultry lady's raw and earthy splendor displayed with such perfection.
The exquisite moments revealing the striking poses of Jiah covered in gorgeous attires were captured by the ace photographer R.Burman.
Editor of Maxim India, Anup Kutty says "we have been getting too many requests from out readers to get Jiah to do a Maxim shoot. And with 'Ghajini' around the corner, we figured this would be the best Xmas gift we could give to Maxim fans. This shoot will definitely raise a few eyebrows and get Jiah the kind of attention she truly deserves."
Talking about her experience, Jiah says " It was a lot of hard work but a great fun shooting for MAXIM. I am usually portrayed as sexy but actually I consider myself a regular girl. The photographer R.Burman made me very comfortable at the time of the shoot. I feel the photoshoot has helped me search the best out of myself.".