Govinda Blog

From Govinda's latest interview

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:10:00 +0200

An excerpt from the latest interview, it's a very nice interview not made for promotion of a video. Worth the time reading!

Amongst all the comedy flicks you have worked in until now, who has been your favourite co-star?
I have enjoyed working with all the stars whether he is Kader Khan, Anupam Kher, Satish Kaushik, Satish Shah, Chunky Pandey, Shakti Kapoor or even Karishma Kapoor. Whoever works with me always gives their 100 percent. Even my recent pairing with Salman Khan was appreciated by the viewers.

Whom would you name your three all time favourite stars?
Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. Dilip Kumar is such an institute of acting that anyone who copies him can become a superstar. Dhramendra is my favourite hero and I have got a lot of respect for Amitabh Bachchan. Even today he is very active as an actor. It wouldn’t be wrong to call him the gem of India.

It’s been said that the people who do comedy are very happy in life. What do you have to say about the same?
It’s very true. But some times you come across some kind of people who joke about your happiness and then you have to show him some of your punches. It’s good to be nice and happy but only till someone else doesn’t use your nature in a wrong way.

Govinda Aala Re - new interview

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:03:00 +0200

In today's TOI there's a new interview with Govinda titled "Govinda Aala Re". Here's an excerpt of what they write:

Looks like you’re back with a vengeance...
Yes, along with Money Hai Toh Honey Hai , I completed Chal Chala Chal and Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai . I have also finished Loot. And I’ll complete David Dhawan’s last schedule in October. So, by the time I start to shoot for Mani Ratnam, I’ll have finished five films this year. From November, I’ll be more relaxed and doing only one or two films. I’m looking at doing good films, working with good filmmakers. That will curb rumours about me that start floating during the making of a film.

Rumours?
When I’m not in India... People feel Govinda is not here to deny, so let’s try and tarnish his image. At a political event, whenever I go there are between 50,000 to one lakh people. I stopped attending rallies because handling such a large crowd was difficult. Now people fear I’m going to come with more fame. These five films that are lined for release are all big banners and there will easily be publicity of at least 17 crore. They are worried that if I keep getting positive publicity, I will contest again. They are scared!

New pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:18:00 +0200

Here are two new pictures of Sunita and Govinda at the Comedy Awards and Rehana Ghai's birthday.

Ab Dilli Door Nahin part of 8-films deal

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:46:00 +0200

The upcoming animation movie Ab Dilli Door Nahin is part of an eight movies deal with People Tree Films:

People Tree Films will also be rolling out its first animation film called Ab Dilli Door Nahi, which will be directed by Nikhil Advani. The movie will have voice overs by Govinda, Akshaye Khanna, Boman Irani and Urmila Matondkar. The animation of the movie will be carried out by Pune based studio Crayon Pictures. "The movie is about a group of animals who raise their voice against increasing human enchroachment on their space and march up to Delhi to complain to the government officials in the Parliament. The herd comprises a monkey (Govinda), bear (Akshaye Khanna), parrot (Boman Irani) and a mother Panther (Urmila Matondkar). A panther cub is also a part of the group but we haven't yet decided on the voice for the same," says Talreja.

Problems with Showman

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:27:00 +0200

MumbaiMirror reports about problems at the sets of Showman - or whatever the name may be. And we've already reached the problem with this: it's the name as well as script changes which come all of a sudden.

It seems the actor is unhappy with the project as he was completely unaware of last minute script changes. And not just that. Apparently, the actor was not informed about the title of the film. Govinda has been told that the film is called Showman.

However, the film's cast and crew inform of differing titles like King Con and Con Flick. Govinda is agitated about the situation. “Yeh sab nahin chalega. Why do these title hassles happen to me only? I have been through this title-change recently (Money Hai To Honey Hai). As far as I know the film is called Showman. And as far as I am concerned there's no other title for the film,” he declared.

Govinda - The Playback Singer

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:20:00 +0200

The stars you see acting on screen rarely sing in the songs, too. When you think about the beautiful voices in the songs it's mainly names like Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan or Shreya Goshal doing the good job. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions, for example Amitabh Bachchan has sung many of his filmi songs in the last three decades. Sanjay Dutt, Shahrukh Khan and Govinda can be heard as well.
In some of these songs Govinda really sings, sometimes it's just a little bit of talking inbetween the real vocals or some mere rap parts.

Here's a (hopefully) complete list of Govinda's playback parts up to now. It's said that Tandon makes him sing for Loot again after a long time.

2003 Sandwich – Bahut Chalu (Govinda, Sonu Nigam, Hema Sardesai)
2003 Raja Bhaiyan - Sunday Manao (Govinda)
2002 Waah! Tera Kya Kehna – I Want Money (Govinda)
1999 Pop-Album with Kamini Khanna
1999 Haseena Maan Jayegi – I Love You Bol Daal (Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik, Sudesh Bhosle)
1996 Apne Dam Par - Aarah Hiley (Govinda)
1994 Dulaara – Aarey Ek Hai Anaar (Meri Paant Bhi Sexy) (Govinda)
1993 Aankhen – Bade Kaam Ka Bander (Govinda, Chunkey Pandey, Kumar Sanu, Mhd. Aziz, Aroon Bakshi)
1992 Shola Aur Shabnam – Gori Gori Baanki (Govinda)
1991 Karz Chukana Hai – Tere Haathon Ne Chhua (Govinda, Amit Kumar, Sapna)

Review: Bhabhi (1991)

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:10:00 +0200

Year of Production: 1991
Direction: Kishore Vyas
Cast: Govinda, Bhanu Priya, Gulshan Grover, Juhi Chawla, Anand Balraj, Shobha Pradhan, Ram Mohan, Dinesh Hingoo

Synopsis: Sita lives a middle-class lifestyle with her retired and widowed schoolmaster dad, Ramdas. One day she is molested by Prakash and slaps him. A few days later, wealthy Ghanshyamdas, a former pupil of Ramdas, approaches him to ask for Sita's hand in marriage for his son. The marriage takes place, Sita re-locates to Prakash's house and family, consisting of Prakash's mom, Shanti; his married sister, Shobha, whose husband is Police Inspector Sudhir; a cousin brother, Amar; and Shanti's brother, Rakesh, who had also attempted to molest Sita. Shanti and Shobha had wanted Prakash to get married to wealthy & gorgeous Sonia, are quite peeved with Sita, they abuse her both physically and verbally, while Prakash makes it clear that he only married her to get even for getting slapped. Things get worse after Ghanshyamdas passes away, and the rest of the family, save for Amar, attempt to burn Sita.

Review: The story of Bhabhi comes with a lot of changes but it needs time to come to the point. The first 40 minutes were more or less without much function, then – for quite some time – it gets much better. But the second half is pure non-sense. If they wrote David Dhawan’s name on the cover I wouldn’t have noticed that he’s not responsible for Bhabhi. And it’s no Govinda movie but rather a Gulshan Grover movie! He’s everywhere you look and this Rakesh guy is no nice person at all. The rest of the time is occupied by Bhanu Priya as Sita – the bhabhi in question. She’s very convicing, I have to admit this. To get some screen time for Govinda the director invented the character of Asha, Amar’s love interest. But only a few scenes and most of the videos are dedicated to Juhi and Govinda.

The soundtrack is a very classical one, the songs are good and the picturizations strange. Chandi Ki Cycle seemed legendary and I really enjoyed this song. Juhi and Govinda are a sweet couple but just part of the requisites in this movie. In my opinion neither of them is a real main character. They just exist to have something for the songs which are the highlights of this movie.

As I’ve already mentioned the second half is no good and the end likewise is not at all convincing but more a scene to get everybody into one frame. I had this “What the hell are they doing there?” feeling. The scenes between Juhi and Govinda are worth watching but the rest is a rather bad movie.

Rating: 4/10 points

David & Vashu Bhagnani speak about Do Knot Disturb

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:37:00 +0200

In this very recent article both, producer Vashu Bhagnani and David Dhawan, drop some lines about the upcomming Dhawan comedy Do Knot Disturb. The movie will be seeing Govinda and Sushmita Sen coming together after Kyo Ki... Main Jhoot Nahin Bolta again and Riteish Deshmukh - a huge fan of Govinda - will also star in it.

Bhagnani and Dhawan have earlier given hits like Hero No 1 and Biwi No 1.

"It (Do Knot Disturb) is an out-and-out comedy. Let's not pretend about that. But it is an original idea and script. When David and I come together, we can't fool around with people's expectations," Bhagnani said.

Added Dhawan: "When Govinda says he has full faith in me, I get frightened. Will I be able to deliver again this time? I can't say our film is spectacularly different from what we've done so far. But at the same time I must admit audiences want to see something different.

"Look at Jannat. Its success is so welcome. But I can't do something too different with Govinda because I can't play around with audiences' expectations."

Review: Beta Ho To Aisa (1994)

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:31:00 +0200

Year of Production: 1994
Direction: C.P. Dixit
Cast: Govinda, Varsha Usgaonkar, Gulshan Grover, Sharat Saxena, Vikas Anand, Anuradha, G. Asrani, Savita Bajaj, Mohan Bhandari, Vijayendra Ghatge, Raza Murad, Anjana Mumtaz

Synopsis: The family of Officer Anand (Vijayendra Ghatge) is suddenly shaken when he is shot in an encounter with J.K. (Raza Murad). Earlier, he hid his servant Dinubhai and his son Raju. The rest of the family has to flee and during the escape Dinubhai dies as well. Laxmi (Anjana Mumtaz) has to raise her children and Raju on her own. Years later Laxmi finds out that her beloved Raju (Govinda) has become a thief. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Mini (Varsha Usgaonkar) who happens to be J.K.’s daughter. When his mother realizes what he has been doing for some time she takes her family and leaves Raju. But then she gets to know what a good person Raju really is and the circumstances of her husband’s death are being disclosed.

Review: From the mere synopsis it does not sound too bad but Beta Ho To Aisa wants to many things in too less time. There’s a main plot but also a couple of smaller stories besides this one and soon there’s nothing to concentrate on anymore. Some of the supporting actors ruin the whole thing and even Govinda is not in a good form – well as long as he still has his shirt, that is.

After about an hour all of sudden there’s this very nice video with Varsha and nearly naked Govinda at a riverside and with the start of this song the whole movie improves for about half an hour just to get back to the rather boring plot after this time. It should be an exciting movie but it isn’t. The past history takes too much time and (besides that one song) there’s no real chemistry between Varsha and Govinda. I don’t even think that the love story was necessary, the movie would have done pretty well without it.

The songs, for one thing, are nice. Good and catchy melodies and especially Raat Morandowali was a fine song.

Rating: 3/10 points

Katrina out of Partner 2

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Thu, 7 Aug 2008 10:06:00 +0200

Reportedly the female cast of Partner 2 will not ressemble to the one from the first movie, they are looking for new leading ladies. Mumbai Mirror writes:

Sohail Khan Productions' sequel to Partner, titled Partner 2, will not have Katrina Kaif in the lead. Does this professional decision have anything to do with Salman and Katrina's souring personal relationship?

Sohail Khan confirmed the news when he said, "The sequel to Partner will have the same leading actors - Salman and Govinda, but we are looking for different leading ladies."

David Dhawan is now working on the scrïpt of Partner 2, which will go on the floors in March, or latest April, next year.

Another article said that it would be ready for the big screen by March 2009, we'll see about that I guess.

Review: Money Hai Toh Honey Hai (2008)

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Wed, 6 Aug 2008 13:58:00 +0200

Year of Production: 2008
Direction: Ganesh Archaya
Cast: Govinda, Hansika Motwani, Manoj Bajpai, Upen Patel, Celina Jaitley, Ravi Kissen, Prem Chopra, Javed Sheikh, Aftab Shivdasani, Ketaki Dave

A dream comes true with Money Hai Toh Honey Hai for Ganesh Archaya. Finally he was to direct Govinda, whom he already wanted to have in his directorial debut Swami. Unlike the latter, Money Hai Toh Honey Hai is said to be a comedy - I still wonder why.

Synopsis: Six losers - runaway rich guy Bobby (Govinda), failed businessman Lala (Manoj Bajpai), small time model Manik (Upen Patel), sacked copywriter Gaurav (Aftab Shivdasani), out of work actress Ashima (Hansika) and jobless designer Shruti (Celina Jaitley) - are randomly chosen by eccentric industrialist Jaiswal (Prem Chopra) to inherit his wealth. But when they get to the resort where they have been summoned, they find that they have to actually pay back a huge sum of money to the bank, and deal with Jaiswal’s villainous manager Batra (Ravi Kissen).

Review: In the beginning I felt that certain sting which tells you “Oh please, pull the plug!” I think it was Prem Chopra. The start of Money Hai Toh Honey Hai is not bad at all, it’s completely taken up by the introduction of the characters, but far too long for a good start. And after the introduction the movie could be well over – there’s nothing more to tell from this point on. It changes into an aimless spin around boredom and rarely there’s something to laugh at all!

Lucky No.1 – Upen Patel as Manik
I can’t stand Upen at all yet I have to admit he’s the secret star of this movie! The only actor whose introduction and story is funny. He got me really surprised by his performance though he’s running around half-naked in 60 % of the time.

Lucky No.2 – Manoj Bajpai as Lala Bhai
He’s wasted on this one. I feel sorry for the energy he invested in the project and his role had no substance at all. Sorry Manoj, you’re not made for mainstream cinema.

Lucky No.3 – Celina Jaitley as Shruti
I know that she can be good – if they let her. And they won’t let her here. That Shruti girl is a pain in the neck, absolutely boring but, at least once, I have to say that Celina was not showing her usual acting, it was way better.

Lucky No.4 – Aftab Shivdasani as Gaurav
He was nearly kept out of the promotion and likewise out of the movie. Just a few scenes with Aftab and they are nothing great though I believe he could have saved at least a little bit.

Lucky No.5 – Govinda as Bobby
Yes, so here we are. He looks great in the movie. But that’s it. The role of Bobby was designed for a 20 something happy-go guy, Govinda’s not like that. There’s one thing I liked about Bobby and the whole movie – his parents! Played by Javed Sheikh and Ketaki Dave they were very funny characters altogether. Ketaki – besides Upen Patel – made me laugh out, made me feel like it’s a comedy. Still the picture of Bobby does not fit into this family.

Lucky No.6 – Hansika Motwani as Ashima
I still wonder why she was casted here. All her co-star are older by years and more experienced by movies and that’s what you see at first glance. Ashima’s story is not funny either – this whole thing “No Big Deal”!

The songs were a bit strange, too. OK, Ta Na Na is nearly perfect (though I wondered about the windmills and the colors). Esha managed not to look stupid next to dancer Govinda and the two of them really turned this song into quite something. Meanwhile Churiyaan is a complete mess, you get to see itemgirl Ganesh Archaya and Hansika whose cloth style changes from classy to mongrel and all you wish for is the end of the song! Likewise Rangeeli Raat and Awaara Dil are not nice to watch. It’s no good idea to put all these different dancers into one picture – nearly perfect Govinda, jumping-jack Upen Patel and that Manoj Bajpai who looks like he’s accidentally swallowed a cane. Really no good and not at all funny either. No Big Deal marks one of the best moments of this whole movie. Finally they are not trying to be funny!

Rating: 2/10 points

Pictures for Chal Chala Chal out!

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Mon, 4 Aug 2008 22:56:00 +0200

It seems like there's finally something moving for Chal Chala Chal. First it was to release in Fall 2007, Winter 2007, March, April and May 2008. It's August now and there are some new pics, so I guess the release is somewhere ahead!

You can see the full Chal Chala Chal gallery at IndiaGlitz. It's not that they'd look overly promising but still there are one or two nice stills among them.

Has Govinda forgotten Sunil Shetty?

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Sun, 3 Aug 2008 11:38:00 +0200

Govinda is - as we've seen in the last article - full of praise for Salman after Partner's success. In the meantime, TOI states that you'd never hear any praise for Sunil Shetty at all.

Shetty had signed Govinda for his home production Bhagam Bhag which was actually a comeback movie for Govinda. But it seems Sunil Shetty loves his friends no matter what he gets in return.

Coming back to Govinda an insider informs that Govinda never used to throw tantrums during the making of BB but post the success of Partner he is back to his starry tantrums. After BB Sunil Shetty signed him for one more film called Loot which is produced by Popcorn Entertainment. This time however, Govinda refused to shoot in countries which Shetty zeroed on to shoot for Loot . He gave an excuse that he is unsafe in those countries and insisted upon Shetty to shoot in Bangkok.

However Shetty was left in a fix at the last moment because of Govinda’s adamant nature. He had to arrange everything once again when the schedule was just few days away.

Salman's cameo in Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Sat, 2 Aug 2008 12:21:00 +0200

With Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai which is said to release in November 2008 Salman Khan and Govinda once again team up and even Salman's "Partner" Lara Dutta will be on it. She is paired opposite Govinda, rather in a substantial role than as a nice accessory. Govinda plays a lawyer and his friend Salman will make a cameo as such as well. The whole movie will be loosely based on the Hollywood comedy "My Cousin Vinny" with Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomey in the lead roles. Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai will mark Govinda's second appearance as a lawyer after the comedy Kyunki Main Jhooth Nahin Bolta with Sushmita Sen.

"In the earlier film I felt we went wrong because what I was fighting for wasn't highlighted in the plot. In Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai I fight for a very topical cause. A group of youngsters in Mumbai, get into trouble for no fault of theirs. Nowadays we always hear of youngsters getting into trouble, so much so that they're afraid to step out of their homes to have fun. Why only youngsters? Even we of an older generation aren't spared", Govinda told to IndiaFM when the film was stuck in a controversy during the shooting.

Meanwhile Salman's new movie "God Tussi Great Ho" is ready for release on the 15th of August. Once again based on a Hollywood movie, Bruce Almighty this time. It also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra.

Review: Maharaja (1998)

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Fri, 1 Aug 2008 11:20:00 +0200

Year of Production: 1998
Direction: Anil Sharma
Cast: Govinda, Manisha Koirala, Raj Babbar, Shakti Kapoor, Aruna Irani, Salim Ghouse

Maharaja – the only on-screen lip-lock in Govinda’s career so far, and also one of his most surprising movies! It was only after the third look on the DVD cover that I once realized that this is the very celebrity I like.

Synopsis: Young Kohinoor, born into a wealthy dynasty, is saved by nanny Ameenabi and has to flee from home in order to survive an assault on his family by Ranbir Singh. 20 years later it got around that Kohinoor (Govinda), now a young man, has certain magical powers and that he can communicate with animals. TV reporter Shaili (Manisha Koirala) tries to meet him to invite him to her show and to take profit in his abilities. Kohinoor, very simple-minded and trusting, falls for her immediately and does not realize her bad intentions. Then, suddenly he’s confronted with his past – facing a threat by Ranbir Singh.

Review: Maharaja – this has to be said – is one of my favorite movies and it’s really a nice piece of cinema. A perfectly entertaining movie with the sort of 80s special effects though being made at the end of the 90s. Even that fact just makes you laugh. Usually Shakti Kapoor is a big minus of every movie for me – here he’s bearable even though he’s stripping down to his undies. There’s lots of small scenes to make you feel happy and good and the songs are superb! Maharaja really has the perfect kind of soundtrack for a movie from this decade. The songs are all very loveable, especially the first track right at the beginning of the movie and Main Tera Deewana. Manisha and (Govinda likewise) is very convincing in her role and I liked that portrait she gave to her character on screen. And Kohinoor – well, he just makes you want to have such a sweet man at your home. Completely uncomplicated, loves animals and always reacts very kind. Govinda is surprising in this role, you wouldn’t recognize him as the man of comedies like Aankhen or Raja Babu, he’s absolutely different here. And that’s exactly what I like about Maharaja.

Rating: 8/10 points

New Video from Katrina's birthday party

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:52:00 +0200

I know Katrina's birthday was already held on 16th of July but yet I found another video of the party with a few words from Govinda about the young actress.

Katrina Kaifs birthday

Things moving for Showman: Shooting can commence

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:20:00 +0200

Govinda has finally attained his visa to visit the UK and start working for Tigmanshu Dhulia's movie which is - so far - titled "Showman" (Though I've read about four different titles for it by now, we will have to wait).
Towards IANS Govinda mentions: The film is about sting operations carried by TV channels. "I play a con artist. The film is about sting operations on television and other fake encounters that are such an important part of our lives today. Besides the fact that I want to work with Tigmanshu and I’ve a terrific role, my biggest incentive for this film is London."

Per rumors actress Rimi Sen is paired opposite him in an extraordinary role of the 160 kg woman, Vidya Malvade will also be part of Showman.

Dhulia has another project with Govinda up his sleeves: Fame with Sunil Shetty and Kay Kay Menon. For an ardent Kay Kay lover such as me this would be wonderful. But we will have to wait what's happening since Fame was already announced some time ago but nothing has really happened so far.

Ganesh speaks about Money Hai Toh Honey Hai & Govinda

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:06:00 +0200

In a recent interview with choreographer and director Ganesh Archaya he speaks about Money Hai Toh Honey Hai and working with Govinda. There are rumors that the two - who got along very good until now - will part ways after the last movie. Mumbaimirror quoted bigger disagreements between them during the shooting: Govinda also feels Acharya was influenced by another actor in the film. He says, “I don't want to name anyone. But Ganesh suddenly stopped listening to me and stopped interacting with me. Ganesh left me with no choice but to keep silent after that. But I’ll surely say this. My films usually speak a language of innocence and that was lost in Money Hai Toh Honey Hai. I thought I was doing a film about the team spirit; little did I know that so much bitterness would creep in.”

The newly published interview, though, sounds a bit different. Here's an excerpt of what Ganesh said to IndiaFM:

You have choreographed Govinda who happens to be one of the finest actor-dancer in the industry today. So, how was your experience directing him this time?
Frankly speaking, I have no qualms in saying that I have really learnt a lot from Govinda, even while I was directing this film. And not just Govinda, I keep on learning something from every artiste of mine, as for me, learning is a never-ending process. The one major thing that I have learnt from Govinda is the value of time and the aspect of timing…Well; I am talking about comedy timing (laughs). As for my film, Govinda has always been punctual for shoots. That explains why we were able wrap up the film so fast. I should also say that Govinda is nothing like what he was in the past. He has changed for the good.

I guess we will have to wait and see what happens next between the two.

Ganesh was also asked about the movie in general and Haniska's part of it:

What made you cast a young actress like Hansika (who is nearly less than half his age) opposite Govinda?
My film does not have the clichéd love angle. But let me also tell you that there is something that's really 'different' about this film, which you will realize when you see the film in entirety. That's the reason why age was not a criteria between the characters in my film. Let me also add that Hansika has been portrayed as never before. She is looking so piping hot in this film! I am sure that a lot of people would have changed their perception (about Hansika being a child actress etc…).

The film is a multi-starrer. How easy or difficult was it working with such an ensemble cast? As a choreographer, I have handled more than 12 stars at a time. So, in that sense, handling the big names was not at all an issue for me as all of them respect me a lot and vice versa. As for the actors of Money Hai Toh Honey Hai, I have earlier worked with Manoj Bajpai, Govinda, and Aftab. But it was a first time for me to be working with Celina and Hansika, but I must say that they were extremely hard working and damn good at their work. Our equation with each other had become so good that we literally partied every single day of our schedule in Mauritius, so much so that no one came to know when the film got over! I got full support from all my artists.

First Box Office Report & Review Summary for Money Hai Toh Honey Hai

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:41:00 +0200

Govinda's new movie Money Hai Toh Honey Hai with Upen Patel, Manoj Bajpai, Hansika Motwani and Celina Jaitley has made it to the big screen last Friday. Reviews were no good and the audience did not yet appreciate it either.

AllBollywood has - as always - counted reviews all over the internet from various sites. The momentary results are disastrous: 13 reviews have been counted, none of them giving either a good rating or an average one. Nearly all 13 reviews gave 1.5 to 1.0 points of 5, that's a 25% rating in total. "A couple of good gags interspersed with heaps of mindless buffoonery is all you get of your money’s worth from this lame comedy" states ApunkaChoice and Buzz 18 joins in: "It's not a movie you'll want to pay exorbitant amounts of money for. But if you have nothing else to do and can enjoy mindless movies at times, go for a cheap morning show for this one". - By far the best you can get out of these reviews.

The final Box Office result is yet to be determined but a first report sees no hope for the movie. The tickets on the first day were only sold poorly with an occupancy rate of around 20 - 25% in the cinemas. Due to the bad review this is not expected to get any better during this week. Overseas reports are disastrous as well - in UK Money Hai Toh Honey Hai was a complete failure only collecting £ 22,413 on 21 screens.

New pictures of Money Hai Toh Honey Hai

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:28:00 +0200

IndiaFM has once again added many pictures of Money Hai Toh Honey Hai. Of course there are more movie stills with the release of it. It's actually Aftab who looks dashing on these! But Govinda's not bad either. There's like one or two scenes I really can't wait for and even Esha's appearance looks great with every picture of it coming up!

Besides the movie stills there's a couple pictures from the sets, especially from the days which we've seen in the Making Of earlier - Celina's birthday party and the pool scenes. Each of them really worth having a look!

New interview with Govinda

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0200

There's a new interview with Govinda on ScreenIndia, again it's designed to promote Money Hai Toh Honey Hai but some of the questions are still new and interesting - for example the ones about his son Yash or blogging (which he does not want to do *sigh*)

Here's an excerpt of it:

You are repeatedly saying that lately you got to learn a lot. Elaborate.
You will notice a new, changed and polished Govinda in the films to come. I say it has been a learning experience for me because today I see things with a different vision. I feel this phase is like my new beginning as an actor in the film industry. This is my aagaman and my comeback.

You were one of the first film stars to get into television with Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke. Are you open to more shows again?
Money hai toh honey hai. (laughs) When there is money why not do it?

Do you believe in blogging that is the in-thing today?
I feel since everyone is into it, I better stay away from it. (laughs)

Your daughter Narmada is now taking her first steps in Bollywood. What are your aspirations for her?
After Nammo met with an accident, she went into depression. I wanted to see her happy and so I decided to do anything for that. She too is trying her best and will soon be going to London to take lessons in acting. Fortunately, unlike me, she will not have to go through the rigours of a struggler.

What about your son Yash?
He is still too young to decide for himself but since the time I joined politics, he has faced facts of life from close quarters and now I feel he is like a grown-up boy who knows his mind.

Govinda in Ramayana?

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:05:00 +0200

Did I say evil role? HindustanTimes says that Mani Ratnam is going to do his new project based on the Ramayana! Mani Ratnam's next project will be an adaption of the Ramayan featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as modern-day Ram and Sita. The role that has been offered to Govinda is that of a modern-day human avatar of Hanuman. Vikram will be playing Ravan's part and in the Tamil version he takes Abhisheks role.

The Ramayana is a well-known Indian epic and tells about prince Rama and his wife Sita who is taken away by a demon king. After Rama has married Sita the new king of his father's empire is to be crowned but there are several sons, with Rama being the eldest. His stepmother, however, wanted to see her son Bharata, Rama's younger brother, become king. Remembering that the king had once promised to grant her any two wishes she desired, she demanded that Rama be banished and Bharata be crowned. The king had to keep his word to his wife and ordered Rama's banishment. When Bharata learned what his mother had done, he sought Rama in the forest. Rama refused to go against his father's command. Later in the story, Ravana, the evil King of Lanka, abducted Sita.

Hanuman, in this whole story, is of course a leader of the monkey who helps Rama to save Sita. Having a godly decent Hanuman owns magical powers and has been very popular with the people.

We are going to see how Mani is taking it into modern society! This would not be Mani Ratnam's first film based on an epic, earlier he made the Tamil movie Thalapathi with Rajnikanth and Mammooty in the leads, loosely based on the Mahabharata.

Watch Dus Ka Dum with Govinda & David online now

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:06:00 +0200

The episode of Salman Khan's Dus Ka Dum with Govinda and David Dhawan is online now.

Dus Ka Dum [ 25th July ] Part 1

Dus Ka Dum [ 25th July ] Part 2

Dus Ka Dum [ 25th July ] Part 3

Dus Ka Dum [ 25th July ] Part 4

First Reaction of the audience to Money Hai Toh Honey Hai

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:47:00 +0200

The audience asked by IndiaFM does not find anything special in the movie either. They classify it as timepass and Govinda gets several nice comments, but that's it.

First Reactions To Money Hai Toh Honey Hai - MyVideo

More Reviews: Money Hai Toh Honey Hai

noreply@blogger.com (Steena) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:39:00 +0200

Two more reviews of Money Hai Toh Honey Hai - only supporting what the others have already said. Suranjana Nandi from Buzz18 even questions if Govinda will become the next Dev Anand. Please spare me with this!
"You may not feel like coming back with your popcorn at all. But if you finally re-enter the theatre post interval, you will find the six in a plush bungalow just near the sea. Govinda tries to swindle money out of the other five by selling them dreams. And then the villain Ravi Kissen tries to muddle things up…and the six come together and their struggle begins. The plot though a little rushed in the second half and hazed in parts, holds itself together. About the actors, Govinda as usual is great with comedy. And boy, can he dance! Even at his age (real age not reel), this man can give any of the younger ones a run for their money as far as dancing is concerned." That makes 1,5/5 points in total.

Following this general direction is glamsham's Martin D'Souza with 1,5/5 points as well.
"For the first half of the movie there is a connection being made between these main characters by director Ganesh Acharya who also appears in a song. Manoj Bajpai is reduced to doing buffoonery; Prem Chopra is being slotted for the most insane roles of late while Govinda must be wondering, where his 'Partner' is."