King of Bollywood

Movie Review of : Ra.One

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:12:00 +0000

Rating:*** (3.5)

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Shahana Goswami, Armaan Verma

Direction: Anubhav Sinha

Genre: Sci-fci

Duration: 2 hours 35 minutes

Story: Goofy gaming expert, Shekhar Subramaniam (Shah Rukh Khan) wants to be a super hero for his son Prateik (Armaan Verma). But his young son, like all young sons, thinks super villans are more cool. So Shekhar creates the ultimate clash of good against evil by pitting a very powerful anti-hero Ra-One against a seemingly less potent good guy. But can the good guys ever lose?

Movie Review: Rajnikant's Robot may have pre-dated it, but Ra-One does manage to hold despite the larger-than-life quality of Rajni's antics as Chitti. Here, Shah Rukh Khan does the train walk sideways and he does it rather well. And if that is not enough, the two desi sci fi heroes have a split second encounter on the streets of Mumbai, with Rajni saar showing off his flying googles act and SRK replicating it with elan. Twin Rascals!

Ra-One works on several accounts. First because it has some interesting clashes betwen G-One, the good robot(Shah Rukh Khan) and Ra-One, the bad robot, who can take the form of anyone he wants. Secondly, the bond that G-One develops with the family he is supposed to protect, Kareena and her young son Prateik, is warm and winsome. There is also a lot of wit thrown in here and there in the screenplay, specially when the film concentrates on the geeky and loving Subramaniam's family dinners. And finally it is the excellently sung and choreographed Chammak-Challo number which keeps the mercury rising to unprecendented heights.

The film falls back in the emotional quotient. Understandably, robots have no feelings, but remember, even the steely Terminator managed to have a very special relationship with the mom and her messiah son. Also, considering so much money has been poured into the film, the special effects and the hi-tech gadgetry lacks the glitzy feel of Hollywood sci-fi. In some places, it even gets somewhat tacky with all those flying cars hurtling into nowhere and the digital game screen going gaudy in orange.

Small quibbles, actually, since Ra-One is sure to usher in a crackling Diwali at the box office and give the audience paisa vasool entertainment, with fine performances by both Shah Rukh and Kareena. Even young Armaan is efficient. Go have a blast.

Tees Maar Khan is Censor-bored

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 05:48:00 +0000

The Censor Board put the film through a near guillotine with 18 cuts. Director Farah Khan took it to the revising committee and has come out a winner

Tees Maar Khan is censored with a U/A certificate but not before some unwanted hiccups. The film had been given some really uncalled for cuts by the Censor Board committee in Mumbai and Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder had to go to the revising committee to get the certificate for the film. The revising committee passed the film without much debate.

They even asked for the phrase 'Maa ki aankh' to be removed; Golmaal Returns had the same dialogue

Our source said, "Some of the members at the censor board were unreasonable and demanded some unjustified cuts from the film. In fact they even asked the word Sheila to be removed from the song Sheila ki fawani. Some of the other cuts involved scenes where Katrina Kaif's naval wasvisible. They even asked for the

phrase 'Maa ki aankh' to be removed; Golmaal Returns had the same dialogue even in its promos barely a month ago. Some other words like tawaif, etc were also asked to be removed. Farah Khan did not accept these cuts and took the film to the revising committee in Delhi. The committee of seven members saw the film on Thursday and did not find anything so earth-shattering in the film to warrant 18 cuts. The film was passed with only a couple of cuts and a passing certificate will be issued to the film early week."

Pankaja Thakur, Censor executive, said, "We are not giving any statements on Tees Maar Khan till the whole process ends. For us the process is not over yet." Farah and Shirish remained unavailable for comment. Still reeling from the 'maar' at the hands of the Censors, we presume.

Katrina goes Missing

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:41:00 +0000

Katrina Kaif with sister Isabella

On the set of Zoya Akhtar's ZindagiNa MilegiOobara, the ac ress and her ister vamoosed to explore the mountains of Spain

Last Sunday was quite a dark one for the unit of Zoya Akhtar's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. They were all shooting in Andalucia, south of Spain, when Katrina and her sister suddenly went missing.

On Sunday morning, when the unit gathered for breakfast, Katrina didn't tum up. Presuming she was sleeping till late, Farhan Akhtar and others started joking about her laziness. But people began panicking when Katrina and her sister Isabelle (who had joined the crew some time ago) were nowhere to be found. When the sisters did not surface by evening, some people thought about informing the pOlice. The unit decided against it and chose to send out a search party to find the two women. But just then, Katrina and her sister emerged from nowhere.

Says a source from the unit, "This was late in the evening. We were all wondering what to do when Katrina suddenly showed up with her sister. The girls had lost their way in the mountain."
When contacted, Katrina confirmed the incident with a nervous giggle, "Yeah, Isabelle and I did get lost in Andalucia. It was the day off from shooting.

We both love the mountains.We took off early in the morning, on our own, thinking we would be back by breakfast. But while exploring the enchanting Little town, we were hooked on its beauty." Both the girls were mistaken for locals because they didn't speak at all with people on the way. Katrina continues, "Somewhere during the day we lost our way on a deserted stretch. We had no map, no water, no food. On this stretch,
there was not a single soul in sight. It was scary but fun."

Reminiscing the incident, Katrina is far from looking distressed; she longs to go back to Andaluda. "Not for work, just to have fun . Me and my sisters," she says. Sure Katrina, just carry a map next time.

Salman Khan can dance, says choreographer

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:37:00 +0000

Not everyone swears by Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan's dancing prowess. But his choreographer for the movie 'Dabangg' says he has become technically strong and even gives his own inputs.

'This is not the first time I am working with Salman. I've worked with him even earlier when I used to be an assistant with Ganesh Acharya. But now he has changed; today he is technically stronger. He also gives his inputs for steps,' Shabina Khan Ansari told IANS.

'Dabangg', a film set in a small town of Uttar Pradesh, will feature Salman in the role of a cop. His younger brother and actor Arbaaz Khan has produced the film while Abhinav Kashyap is the director. The film is slated for a September release.

Ansari has choreographed two songs in the film, a romantic track and a hardcore dance number. She gave Salman steps suiting his character.

'I created steps for Salman keeping in mind his character and image. He is playing a cop in the film, so I didn't want his moves to be professional like a dancer's. He plays a straightforward person in the film; we kept all that in mind,' said the choreographer.

'Even Salman really pushed himself. Everyone liked his dancing in 'Wanted'; so he wanted to improve upon that,' she added.

So what's the strong point in Salman's dancing? 'It's his style,' said Ansari, without a second thought.

'He has his own way of doing steps. Even if I teach him something, he will do it in his own way. But it actually comes out to be nice and audiences love it,' she added.

'Dabangg', which has music by Sajid-Wajid, also stars Sonakshi Sinha, the daughter of veteran actor Shatughan Sinha. However, she doesn't get to shake a leg in the film.

'Sonakshi will not be seen dancing in the film. Her character doesn't demand that, but even in the romantic song, where you see her moving a little, you can see rhythm in her body. She has a music sense and I'm sure she will be a great dancer,' Ansari said.

She has over 12 years' experience and has been part of several Ram Gopal Varma projects such as 'Company', 'Bhoot', 'Naach' and 'Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon'.

She has also worked on films like 'Jashan', 'Yahaan', 'Aksar' and 'Well Done Abba' among others.

Currently the choreographer has her kitty full with projects like 'Kajraare', which is close to release, 'Chai Garam' and 'Will You Marry Me'.

Deepika’s taking the 'plunge'

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:04:00 +0000

Okay, badminton can take a backseat, this babe is turning out to be a diving diva. Yeah, so far she’s shown her moves in many badminton courts, but now she’s ready to take some more risks.

Deepika Padukone is taking the big dive. Her latest passion is diving — from the skies to underwater. Recently, while shooting in Mauritius, Deepika was keen for some adventure, so she took time off to do scuba-diving and sky-diving. And it was almost addictive; the gal couldn’t stop her diving adventures. “I had the time of my life and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done,” she said, squealing with excitement. Way to go, gal. Go on and take the plunge. We mean only the diving types, alright.

Movie Review : Housefull

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Mon, 03 May 2010 04:16:00 +0000

Film: Housefull

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Jiah Khan, Boman Irani

Genre: Comedy

Direction: Sajid Khan

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Critic's Rating:***

Story: Akshay Kumar, the proverbial loser, believes he can ward off his bad luck by finding true love. But each time he falls in love, misfortune strikes and his girlfriend walks out on him. This time, hope begins to float...He finds Deepika Padukone who does love him. But how does he convince her military-man brother, Arjun Rampal and extract himself from the web of lies his friends, Riteish and Lara, have built around him?

Movie Review: Sajid Khan returns after the success of Heyy Baby, a spilt milkfood and soiled diaper soiree that did manage to tickle your funny bone with its infant histrionics. With Housefull, he doesn't stray much and tries to create a similar riot of hilarious episodes, centred around two couples -- Akshay Kumar-Deepika Padukone and Riteish Deshmukh-Lara Dutta. Trouble lies not so much with the couples as with their relatives: Lara's estranged Pappa, Boman Irani and Deepika's angry brother, Arjun Rampal. Can the boys manage to win their beloved's parivar walas? Not an easy task, specially when both are losers of sorts and don't have the mandatory big house, big money, big lifestyle....

The film begins on a funny note, with Akshay trying to seek refuge from his bad luck by moving in with his best buddy, Riteish and his wife, Lara. A vacuum cleaner turned awry and a tryst with a tame tiger on the sofa are some of the spoofs that showcase Akshay Kumar in his quintessential comic act: deadpan humour by the I'm-just-a-simpleton hero. You do settle down for some fun and games, but sadly, the film peters off into a not-so-funny middle with Akshay serenading Jiah Khan and the viewer having to endure a prolonged Chunky Pandey cameo as Aakhri Pasta, an Italian hotelier who actually makes you want to howl than laugh. Thankfully, he is bundled off, but the muddlesome middle has already taken its toll on the film by putting the brakes on comedy. The second half picks up again as the foursome rent a house and the relatives -- Boman and Arjun -- arrive. The game of subterfuge and mistaken identities begins with Akshay reluctantly pitching in as Lara's husband and Deepika's boyfriend and trying his goofy best to win over both Boman and Arjun.

It's literally slapstick humour, with a lot of slaps flying around between simians and humans, humans and humans. Nevertheless, it makes you laugh, provided you don't go looking for artistry and intelligence. Also, you'll find the usual jokes about homosexuality and Gujarati incredulousness, made famous by Kal Ho Na Ho. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's audio track has a few peppy numbers which however do not promise to end up as chartbusters, except Mika's `apni to jaise-taise...' The rest of the songs are good while they last. Period. Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh share a better chemistry between themselves than they do with the girls. Wish the Boman Irani and Lilette Dubey track had been explored further. It did have great potential.

All said and done, Housefull might not set the summer scorching, but it does create a ripple after a prolonged lull at the multiplexes. Let the summer begin to simmer, then sizzle....

A word about:

Performances: Akshay Kumar never laughs in the film, yet manages to make you laugh with his `loser' act. Riteish and Akshay share a combustible chemistry which is much more than we can say about Akshay and Deepika: quite thanda.

Dialogue: Simple and slapstick.

Story: Revolves around the usual formula of a comedy of errors and mixed-up identities.

Cinematography: Vikas Sivaraman keeps his camera mostly indoors, except when it moves to Italy.

Music: Shankar-Ehsan-Loy do not come up with an inspired track. They just fit the bill, except when they reinvent the popular Laawaris number `aapka kya hoga, janab-e-wali'.

Styling: Both Deepika and Lara sport the urbane and chic look with their skimpy dresses. Jiah Khan oscillates between the traditional and the oomphy image by donning both the salwar kameez and the bikini. The boys -- Akshay, Arjun, Riteish -- are cool and casual.

Hrithik, Barbara fix date at Taj

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:19:00 +0000

For lovers, the ultimate ode is the Taj Mahal. The Barbara Mori and Hrithik Roshan romance has been written about, but so far it has done nothing but create trouble for the Kites co-stars.

Mumbai Mirror gazed into the crystal ball and saw Barbara and Hrithik at the monument of love in Agra in March. The prophecy also says that they obviously will be seen together, very much in love.

And the intimate moment, unfortunately, shall find its way into the press. It might confirm the now on-off romance but nevertheless it has tremendous potential to work in the film’s favour, if the makers are smart about it.

Of course, the film’s publicity is slated to begin only a few weeks prior to the film’s release on May 21. But no one grudges two people in love a quiet moment in the moonlit shadow of the Taj Mahal.

However, Rakesh Roshan, the director of Kites, says, “It’s not true. Barbara will be in India only around May 8.”

Movie Review : Pyaar Impossible

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:06:00 +0000

Film: Pyaar Impossible
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Uday Chopra, Dino Morea
Genre: Romance
Direction: Jugal Hansraj
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes

Critic's Rating:

Story: Be-spectacled geek, Abhay falls in love with college hottie, Alisha and silently slinks away into the shadows when he realises she's unattainable. Seven years later, he re-enters her life as the nanny and hopes to woo the single mom, this time at least. Does he succeed?

Movie Review: It wasn't Napoleon alone who thought impossible was a word only to be found in a fool's dictionary. Bollywood -- and all fiction, for that matter -- believes impossible ain't a word when it comes to testing the power of love. Hence, the preponderance of the froggie-turned-into-a-Prince-Charming pyaar in fairy tale and folk lore.

So we aren't really surprised when a hot and happening Priyanka Chopra sweetly declares she ain't no princess, just an ordinary girl and falls in love with Shrek's colonial cousin, Abhay the geek, who's been nurturing a doggy devotion for her for the last seven years. Of course, he does re-enter her life as the nanny to her brattish girl (sassy tween Advika Yadav), washes her dishes, does her laundry and plays friend and counsellor to her when she's drawn towards the office Lothario (Dino Morea).

But that again isn't the A-ha moment in this film. What really surprises us here are the gripping performances and the unrushed restraint with which this run-of-the-mill romance unfolds and manages to gently draw you into the drama. Uday Chopra's nerdish Abhay is almost lovable with his low key, almost unnoticeable presence; Dino Morea is suave yet devilish; young Advika is precocious, yet precious....But hey, it's Priyanka who never does let you blink. As Alisha, the careerist who always falls for the wrong guy and struggles to keep her sundry avtars -- mom, working woman, lonely girl longing for love -- in sync, she's terrific. Truly, in terms of talent, she's one of the most watchable actors currently. Remember Fashion, Dostana, Kaminey....

Of course, in terms of the script, you are reminded of so many Hollywood films you have seen. The most recent being the Catherine-Zeta Jones and Justin Bartha romance, The Rebound, where Bartha's nanny scenes seem to have been summarily fitted into Pyaar Impossible. But eventually, the film scores with a desi feel that is making its presence felt in more and more urbane comedies rolling out of the Bollywood mills.

Nothing stupendous here. Just a sweet and soppy flavour with a picture-perfect Priyanka: Watchable.

A word about

Performances: Priyanka is the scene-stealer here, walking away with all your applause as the uptown girl who is in control in everything but her love life. Uday Chopra too pitches in a well-tuned, low key performance as the geek who gets tongue-tied before the woman he desperately loves.

Story: Uday Chopra turns storyteller with this film. Surprisingly, he manages to keep the heart and soul in the right place.

Dialogue: They are straight out of stuff you and me speak. Absolutely life-like. More importantly, they are spoken realistically: no hysteria, no hungama.

Cinematography: Santosh Thundiiyail captures Singapore sufficiently well, but it's the indoors that end up as warmer.

Music: Salim-Suleiman's score is funky yet forgettable. No, this one's not truly a Yash-Raj production in terms of its music.

Styling: Manish Malhotra does get Priyanka perfectly in sync with both her images: serious mom and hot girl. So you have her switching from casual shorts at home to slinky off-shoulders at parties and no-nonsense dresses at work. Uday wears his shirts out and his geeky specs in place.

Inspiration: Most recently, it's The Rebound for sure. Specially Uday's nanny act.

Avatar : Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Film: Avatar
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver
Genre: Action
Direction: James Cameron

Duration: 2 hours 43 minutes

Critic Rating:

Story: Circa 2154. The US army lands up in Pandora, an earth-sized moon in outer space. Their objective: to extract the much-needed minerals from Pandora's soil. But before they can do that, they must fight the peace-loving indigenous inhabitants of the alien world, relocate or destroy them with their spies and bombs.

Movie Review : And we thought sinking the Titanic was a titan task! Well, this time round, James Cameron chooses to play god and creates a whole new world with such exquisite finesse, aesthete and eye for detail, he almost takes your breath away. In terms of sheer technology, Avatar marks the coming of age of both CGI and 3-D cinema with its art house special effects and its shock and awe treatment.

On the one hand, it's the sheer iridescence of the canvas and the never-before contours of the creatures, the flora, the fauna flying across the screen that makes you marvel at how computers can augment creativity; on the other, it is the umpteen times you jump back to avoid the arrows, the guns or slide away from the floating dandelions and fierce raptors that leaves you completely mesmerised with this brand new cinematic experience. Truly, Cameron's vision of Pandora is pure art, with its tall, wide-eyed, slender, blue Na'vi people, it's post-modern creatures and its verdant greens.

But more than all this, it is Cameron's cry against war and violence that makes Avatar an eloquent testimonial to the present. Mercifully, the film isn't visual extravaganza alone; it has a meaningful story too that could end up making this magnum opus a modern-day parable for pacifists, climatologists, humanists, globalists.... For the filmmaker openly indicts America for its post 9/11 expansionist policies and clearly states: ``when people are sitting on shit that you want, you make them your enemies. That is the only way you justify taking the stuff away from them!'' Stuff? Minerals, here. Oil, in the real world.

It's a simple story, told straight. In this futuristic world, the US Armed Forces discover a source of priceless minerals in Pandora, a distant moon orbiting a star. They want to send in their troops to tame the indigenous Na'vi people, before extracting the minerals. But before they send their daisy-cutters and rocket launchers, they send in humans who have been transformed into Na'vi look-a-likes (they call them avatars) to infiltrate the peace-loving race and learn about their weaknesses and strengths. Enter, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic marine, who is promised a pair of legs for betraying the pacifists of Pandora. It doesn't take long before Jake falls in love with the beautiful Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the daughter of the Na'vi chief, and turns rogue on his own people. Can't blame him really, specially since his boss, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) is a mean, macabre, war-mongerer who treats every non-American as ``a fly-bitten savage, living on trees.''

Avatar is indeed a complete cinematic experience, with cinematographer Mauro Fiore, music director James Horner and special effects maestro Joe Letteri joining hands with director/screenwriter James Cameron to create a strong and visually-stirring plea to save the world, before it is too late. And the only way the human species can do it is by abdicating its destructive tendencies. For Indophiles and Indian philosophy enthusiasts, Avatar is a whole treatise on Indianism, from the very word `Avatar' itself. Add to this the blue-skinned, monkey-tailed, god-like Na'vi race and the linkages could be endless....

A word about:

Performances: Surprisingly, there are no big names in Cameron's cast, but the characters are all credible and attention-grabbing. Both Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana sculpt a warm love story as the blue-skinned human avtar and Na'vi woman. The film also marks the return of Sigourney Weaver in another tryst with aliens.

Music: James Horner composes a fine music score that has a fusion blend of both Oriental and the Occidental notes.

Cinematography: Pandora is a visual paradise, with each fern, each dandelion etched out in detail. Kudos to Mauro Fiore for this spledid tribute to Mother Nature.

Story: Cameron's story is both timely and topical with a strong anti-war statement finely blended with the evergreen romance between a human and an alien.

Dialogue: Simple, straight, yet hard-hitting, some of the lines are laced with humour too.

Special Effects: Absolutely first rate...Avatar justifies its bloated budget of being billed as the most expensive Hollywood Film at approximately $500 million.

Shruti in sexiest Asian list

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:16:00 +0000

Who is the sexiest Asian girl of them all? Well, it may be Katrina Kaif, who topped the annual World's Top 50 Sexiest Asian Women list published by Eastern Eye, a UK magazine.

But one name that made it into the list for the first time is none other than our Ulaganayagan's daughter Shruti Haasan, who has been given 49th place in the list.

The gorgeous star child, who debuted in Bollywood with Luck opposite Immran Khan, has shown off her multitasking skills time and again.

She is a singer, actor and with Unnai Pol Oruvan, a music director too. Now the actress is busy in a Telugu film opposite Siddharth, directed by National Award winning director Prakash Rao. Like father, like daughter!

Movie Review : What's Your Raashee

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:06:00 +0000

What's Your Raashee

Film: What's Your Raashee (Romantic Comedy)
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Harman Baweja, Anjan Srivastava, Dilip Joshi, Darshan Jariwala, V Badola, Manju Singh
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
Duration: Three hours and 30 minutes
Critic's Rating:

Goodman told us why it was important to know the zodiac sign of a stunning girl in the college or a handsome hunk in the neighbourhood before embarking on the arduous path of romance. It's rashee, the zodiac sign, that decides our personality type, she said. And we believed her. For Yogesh Patel, the central character of Ashutosh Gowariker's latest movie, though, rashee isn't for romance but marriage. The young MBA student-cum- executive-cum-guitarist-cum-DJ must match his compatibility with one of 12 girls over six days before taking the big plunge. It isn't an easy choice to make, especially with a bunch of goons threatening to chop off his fingers.

There's Anjali, an Arian who likes Tom, not Cruise, but Jerry's bugbear, a girl who pretends to love wine and cigarettes to impress the NRI bride-hunter. There's Sanjana Shah, the noodle-strapped Aquarian from Kampala who pleads with Yogesh to reject him because she's already in love; there's Kajal, the spunky Gemini who falls for him but wants to date him for a year before deciding whether to tie the knot.

Yogesh has his task cut out. The Libran power woman wants a pre-nuptial agreement; the honest Cancerian admits having lost her heart and virginity to a use-and-forget neighbourhood boy. The Sagittarian option is an astrologer who wants alingan and chumban to propitiate the stars, and a Virgo, Pooja, an idealist doctor who wants to practice in the village. And for good measure, we have Vishakha, the Taurean super-rich daughter of a cotton king.

It's really a long, long list of women. And it has resulted in a long, long movie. The movie's first hour is also its most entertaining. Not that the movie degenerates thereafter, it merely gets repetitive and wears you down.

More since Gowariker can't resist the song and dance routine with every lady. The title track and Aaja lehrate should be chartbusters. Bikhri si zulfein should be sung plenty of times in television shows. But once over, most of the songs don't stay with you. They merely act as narrative speed-breakers.

If the movie still works to an extent, it is because Gowariker maintains fluidity in the narrative and gets uniform good work from his support cast, especially from Yogesh's elder brother Jitu (Dilip Joshi) and his uncle (Darshan Jariwala) who bring subtlety to comedy.

Back in 1974, Sanjeev Kumar played nine characters in Naya Din Nayi Raat. The film flopped but the actor's performance was applauded. In What's Your Raashee Priyanka Chopra gets the role of a lifetime playing 12 characters. And while she does fairly well with the urban characters – power woman Rajni, microbiologist Sanjana, college girl Kajal – she is not comfortable acting as girls distant from her own surroundings. A funny laugh and non-convent accented English, that occasionally slips, doesn't really make for a girl that Arian Anjali is. It is just a caricature. So is Shankara, the underage girl. Priyanka's is a competent performance in a role where anything less than memorable is a form of under-achievement.

Size matters. A less-than-ruthless editor could have easily trimmed What's Your Raashee by 45 minutes without compromising on its soul. Gowariker seems to have fallen in love with his own work. Too bad, his indulgence prevents the audience from doing the same.

Akshay madness spreads over

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:43:00 +0000

Recently, the Khatron Ke Khiladi-Fear Factor Level 2 girls along with host Akshay Kumar decided to come out of the screen at an event held by Colors.

Rupali Ganguly said, “There wasn’t any time for groupism as we were all so bothered about our performance. ” Shveta Salve and Anushka Manchanda jokingly cut in, “She’s lying! There was a lot of groupism but then that happens everywhere especially when so many girls are there.” Nauheed Cyrusi, Bruna Abdullah, Rosa Catalano, Sushama Reddy and Jesse Randhawa, too, were there and it was a tussle when it came to getting pictures clicked with Akshay. Everyone wanted to stand beside him! Lucky Akki!

Missed: Though Mandira Bedi was supposed to attend, she couldn’t as she had to be rushed to the hospital with a fractured ankle.

‘Rekha was ego trip for Amitabh’

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:10:00 +0000

Susmita Dasgupta finds Amitabh Bachchan an interesting subject to study. Here, she decodes the superstar, the subject of her PhD and a book

Is there an Amitabh ‘before’ and ‘after’ ABCL?
There is definitely a before and after ABCL Amitabh. The ABCL tragedy, like all stupendous failures have split Amitabh into a before and after image. The trauma of having failed appears to have drastically changed the person whose image was that of the invincible.

What is Amitabh, the husband, like?
As I could observe, and at that point of time I was nearly 20 years younger, that Amitabh and Jaya were ideologically apart. For Jaya, there was a distress about why Amitabh did the films that he did. Jaya would have loved it were Amitabh to remain in the Hrishikesh Mukherjee camp and graduated later to Satyajit Ray (Manik Kaku for her; Jaya is exceptionally well-connected). But Amitabh went into rather "cheap stuff" with which she was not comfortable. To the best of my mind, this was the basic reason for a kind of stand-off. Jaya and Amitabh were dutifully husband and wife but I felt that the romance in the marriage was lacking. Also Jaya is a ‘Bong’ woman, the oldest among three sisters, and most probably the brightest, daughter to a doting father and that too an important one. She is Bhaduri, an upper caste Barendri Brahmin, who are very proud people. But slowly as Amitabh got involved in his career, he himself became the centre of all attention which was very difficult for Jaya to swallow. After all, at the time of their marriage she was the star and he the also-ran. The change in the power position within the marriage as Amitabh became successful also changed the soft, intense and emotional romance which Jaya and Amitabh had.

How is the superstar with his kids? Is his rapport different with Abhishek and Shweta?
With his children, Amitabh is doting, pampering, blind with affection and only pretending to be firm, but very interested to be a part of their lives and eager to go to any lengths for their well-being. The daughter is interesting, I am not so sure that she feels the same way towards her parents as they feel towards her. I get this strange feeling that Shweta is seeking to move out of her parents’ very doting shadow and that marriage helped her have some independence that her extra protective parents robbed her of. Abhishek loves and would love to continue to be under the parents’ protection.

What about the Rekha episode? Is there reason to believe the affair happened, despite Amitabh’s denials?
Yes, it is a matter of great speculation for me as well. I always sided with Amitabh when he denied all on Rekha. But, only recently, I saw this television footage in which Amitabh suddenly got up and moved away as Rekha came near where he was seated. This makes me believe that yes, they did have an affair. The sudden getting up and moving away was a giveaway. It was almost a pose of fleeing from Rekha... why would a man want to do that if he is not guilty of something? I believe Amitabh knew from day one that he wasn’t serious about Rekha. Also, he’s very, very class conscious... Rekha was perhaps an ego trip.

How do you think Abhishek fares, being Amitabh and Jaya's son, and now Aishwarya’s husband?
Abhishek reminds me of Prince Salim and he has the Prince Salim syndrome. In today’s world, Abhishek’s appeal lies in a certain sense of being chaperoned, someone who seeks and has security and, on the basis of an assured lifestyle, can afford to be nice to one and all. Just as Amitabh’s image crashed with failure, Abhishek's image can crash if the shadows of persons chaperoning him are taken away. The image contains the shadows of the biggies that he nests among.

Was he behind Abhishek joining films?
Yes, he was totally behind Abhishek's joining films and if I were to have my opinion, then to push him to cinema. That’s why I say that Abhishek is prince Salim, the reluctant heir of Akbar when his heart was away in Venice, Rome and even Spain.

Amitabh is projected today as the loyal friend... what drives his friendships with the Anil Ambani and Amar Singh?
I feel that Amitabh has never been a loyal friend. Loyalty has never been his characteristic trait. Anwar Ali and Amjad Khan are at least two who Amitabh never even acknowledged. I have seen him rather stand-offish with Javed, Salim, Prakash Mehra, the persons who made him. Amitabh never attended Hrishida’s funeral. He refuses to acknowledge Desh Mukherjee or Tinnu Anand. So, he looks for friends as far as he has something to gain from them.

The Amar Singh episode is strange. He must be really gaining something out of Anil Ambani and Amar Singh and that “gain” has some connection with the “loss” in terms of money.

Why do you think he is still working? Is it insecurity, to consolidate a space for Abhishek or love of acting?
Amitabh is still working, yes, what you suggest to consolidate Abhishek’s career, but to the best of my understanding, Amitabh is Bhishma, he wishes to prove that he is immortal as a star. I think that Amitabh is seeking immortality by constantly reinventing his image to suit each new age that he lives in.

He’s alive in each word of his songs

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Manoj Kumar remembers Gulshan Bawra, who gave us the legendary song Mere desh ki dharti.

Average-wise, Gulshan Bawra was the Don Bradman among lyricists. We had the pleasure of knowing each other before we entered the world of cinema. He was almost a family member for me. Meri desh ki dharti from the film Upkar happened when we had gone to a shrine to pay our respects. When we returned to the car, he was singing Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle… jawanon bhar bhar lo jholiyan… khushi se bolo boliyan… I had remained quiet as he hummed these lyrics.

A couple of years later when I made Upkar, I went to music composer Kalyanji and narrated the script. I called up Gulshan at home and told him the situation from the film. I recalled the lyrics I had heard him hum as we were returning from the shrine. They had stayed in my mind… I thought that it was a great idea for my film, given a bit of improvisation. I did not like the lines: jawanon bhar bhar lo jholiyan… khushi se bolo boliyan. I had them removed from the song finally. Instead, I insisted on: Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle ugle heere-moti. Both, Kalyanji and Gulshan were hesitant about the change. They advised that the mukhda of a song cannot have just one line. But I remained adamant about the song and suddenly, an hour later, Gulshan jumped in his room where he was sitting. ‘This is great!’ he exclaimed with joy.

Every filmmaker, while writing the screenplay arrives at a landmark point in the plot where he believes that the scene can be narrated musically. The situation is then explained to the lyricist and that’s exactly how Mere desh ki dharti happened.

Gulshan had written another song, Har khushi hai wahan tu jahan bhi rahe for Upkar. Now, he could not finish writing the whole song because he had to escort my brother to a college in Ajmer. Later, Gulshan himself confessed to the media that the second stanza of the song was not written by him, but was penned by Aziz Kaifi and me.

Gulshan was a jolly good fellow. I got to know about his illness some two-and-a-half months ago. He had told me that he was undergoing the last radiations and was all right otherwise. When we had met at Shakti Samanta’s chautha ceremony, he had said that he was doing absolutely fine. In fact, he was truly excited about a new car he had purchased after 27 years. He was proud to have paid the money to buy the car. I was thankful to God that my friend was doing well then… But again, he’s alive in each word of Mere desh ki dharti. That song is imperishable!

When Mahendra Kapoorji, who sang Mere desh ki dharti, passed away, our Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said that he would always be remembered for the song. It hurts to know that so many people associated with the song — Kalyanji, Mahendra Kapoor and Gulshan Bawra — are no more. Gulshan worked very well with Prakash Mehra on songs like Yaari hai iman mera. Before he became well-known, Gulshan wrote songs under a pseudonym.

Gulshan was also an entertaining comedian. Hardly brooding, he always had everyone in splits with his act of mimicry. I don’t understand when he used to sit and write. He always seemed on the move. When I would ask him how he was, he would often hum the lines of his hit song, Iss gulshan ko ujde huey ek zamaana beet gaya… Gulshan and I were from the same village near Lahore, Pakistan. My chief assistant Sikandar was Gulshan’s cousin. So we bonded on much beyond just cinema. Filmmaker Kewal Sharma, cricket player Manmohan Sood, Gushan and I we were good friends.

Gulshan has only gone away physically. He was a wonderful man. He was a friend to everyone and would never spread gossip. God bless his soul. My love to his wife.

Shiney Ahuja gets judicial custody till July 2

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:51:00 +0000

In a relief of sorts for Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja who is facing a rape charge, a Mumbai court Thursday did not extend his police custody and sent him to judicial custody till July 2.
Shiney was arrested Sunday after his teenaged housemaid complained to police that he had raped her. His police custody ended Thursday.

Making a plea for extending his police custody, the police lawyer said it was necessary to carry out further investigations and to prevent the accused from tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses.

However, Shiney's lawyer Shrikant Shivade argued that since the investigations were almost completed, there was no need for his further police custody.

Accepting the defendant's contention, the magistrate of the Andheri court sent him to judicial custody.

Shivade later told mediapersons that he would appeal against the court order and seek bail for the accused actor.

The lawyer clarified that Shiney has not made any confession of rape as speculated in a section of the media.

The actor's wife Anupam, who was present in the court, expressed her satisfaction with the court ruling and said: 'Shiney's one step closer home.'

Anupam had put up a spirited defence of her husband Wednesday, telling the media that Shiney was being framed in the rape case as he is a celebrity and a soft target. She, however, declined to name who was behind the frame-up.

Under judicial custody, the actor will be lodged in the high-security Arthur Road Jail in south Mumbai.

The jail also houses Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir alias Kasab and the Special Court where the Mumbai terror attacks trial is being held by Special Judge M.L. Tahilyani.

The Oshiwara police late Sunday picked up Shiney from his Versova home after his maid lodged the rape complaint.

Later, the investigators searched Shiney's house and sent him and the victim for medical and DNA tests.

The complainant-victim hails from Kokbaan village in the coastal Konkan region of western Maharashtra, and lived in Vasai suburb of neighbouring Thane district. She commuted daily by train from Vasai to Andheri to work at Shiney's residence for the past one year.

Movie Review : Ek: The Power of One

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Ek: The Power of One (Drama)
Cast: Bobby Deol, Nana Patekar, Shriya Sharan
Direction: Sangeeth Sivan
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes Critic's Rating:**

Someone's suddenly woken up, pulled this out of the cans and peddled it as brand new cinema. Sad. The ruse doesn't work. For the viewer immediately sees through the stale plot and narration and wonders why Bobby Deol would do something he's done before: sleepwalk through a role as an assassin who suddenly gives up his trigger-happy ways for a change of heart and role. Actually, he wasn't too bad in films like Baadal and Bichoo, which showcased his bleeding heart once the bullets had all been fired. But here, he simply chooses to do a ramp walk through the rough and tumble of a mercenary's life, complete with designer glares, guns and goth make-up.

Nandu, the man from nowhere, is hired by a CM aspirant to fake-out an assassination and help garner the sympathy votes. But the killing turns out to be real and before you can say whodunit, Nandu is on the run, ending up in distant Hoshiyarpur. He enters a pucca Punjabi household as their long-lost son and begins on his arduous journey of remorse and redemption, with the large extended family gorging him with sarson ka saag and sermons. Of course, he gets enough time to flex his muscles here too, as there are a whole bunch of bad farmers ready to usurp his adopted dadaji's land. But bone-crunching is relatively easy for our crook-turned-saviour compared to the nosey investigations of the CBI officer (Nana Patekar) who is determined to nab the politician's killer.

It's Nana Patekar's tapori act as the hard nosed cop which actually saves the day for this dismal film which keeps drifting into schmaltzy family business, whenever the action revs up. Watch it only if you want to see what old-fashioned Bollywood looked like, before the smart new wave swept away the cobwebs.

Deepika sizzles on ramp

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:12:00 +0000

It’s a model arrangement – with so many models making the jump to films,the Bollywood showstopper at designers’ shows already knows the ropes.

And Deepika Padukone, who walked the ramp for Tarun Tahiliani at the Delhi fashion Week, was in her element. The looker was a natural on the ramp, and she felt at home on it, too. “Delhi is the hub of fashion and where I started modelling,” she said.

So, has a lot changed since her days as a model? “The scene backstage was almost the same. The only new thing was the many international faces, which is encouraging,” she says.

Deepika is now based in Mumbai, but she’s all for Delhi designers. “The clothes that they make are wearable and very creative,” she says. Maybe that’s why she’s coming back to walk the ramp again this week – at the Wills Lifestyle India fashion Week, for Ranna Gill and Rina Dhaka, and she says she’s going to catch up with friends in Delhi.

Leave me alone

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:34:00 +0000

A harassed Rahman, fed up of non-stop felicitation, seeks peace and solace in Bengaluru

Post-Oscars it's not been an easy time for A R Rahman. He returned home to a kind of hysterical fanfare that exhausted and alarmed him. Rahman has been beleaguered by a blitzkrieg of attention. He is finding it tough to cope with all the adulation. Suffering from serious fatigue the maestro has decided to go completely underground for a while.

After cancelling his work-related trip to London, Rahman has now disappeared from his home in Chennai to destinations unknown. Presumably he has surfaced in Bengaluru . But none of his close family and friends are telling his fans, admirers and the media about his whereabouts. A close friend, on condition of anonymity, spilled the beans. “All the international and national attention finally got to Rahman. He is essentially a very very shy artiste. All he cares about is God and his music, in that order. He doesn't talk about anything else. Going on stage and being the cynosure of thousands of eyes is death for him. He went into hiding with only his God and music for company.”

Inaccessible at the moment to all but his closest family members, Rahman reluctantly replied to persistent queries about his health. He said, “I am just recovering from all the exhaustion.”

The question is, how will this media-shy genius cope with all the demands on his time and attention that are bound to be showered on him? A producer who has worked with Rahman followed him all the way to Bengaluru to sign him for his next project, but he refused to meet him.

Salman Khan loses his temper once more

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Salman Khan once again loses his temper. The incident happened early this morning (March 6), when Salman attended Amrita Arora and Shakeel Ladak's wedding sangeet. Salman who was enjoying himself a little too much was pacing about and then suddenly decided to take off his shirt.

Also attending the party was Shah Rukh Khan. The two actors reportedly had an argument several months ago at Katrina Kaif's birthday bash. As Salman was about to leave reporters asked him about patching-up with SRK. This was when Salman flew off the handle.

And soon after getting furious with reporters Salman Khan who had come to the party in a Mercedes, left instead in an autorickshaw.

(With inputs from Times Now)

Movie Review : Dhoondte Reh Jaoge

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:50:00 +0000

Film: Dhoondte Reh Jaoge (Comedy)
Cast: Kunal Khemu, Sonu Sood, Soha Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal
Direction: Umesh Shukla
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes
Critic’s Rating:**

True. Dhoondte hi reh jaoge, for that side-splitting comedy that's supposed to give you paisa-vasool entertainment. Though, to be honest, if you still keep looking -- and manage to sit through the tedious first-half -- you might glean a few laughs in the second half, when the film actually tries to spoof all the successful Bollywood films from Sholay to Lagaan.

Paresh Rawal is an unsuccessful film producer who is desperate to make a film and strike a comeback. He gets his chance when Kunal Khemu, a frustrated chartered accountant, decides to junk honesty for char-sau-bisi (fraud), because his behenji-type girlfriend (Soha Ali) is hell bent on settling down. Now behenji, being a fan of Biswajit and other Bengali actors, also dreams of being a big star herself. So her CA boyfriend wants to kill two birds with a stone. He wants to make Rs 100 crore by making a flop film and he wants to cure her of her Bollywood ambitions by casting her as the heroine who will never get a role after the dismal show. The devious duo also manage to rope in the reigning star, Sonu Sood and happily sound the clapper board for their dream venture.

But hey, what's this. The premier show, which was supposed to be a tryst with tomatoes and eggs, turns out to be a heavily applauded affair, with the audience rolling in the aisles at this ungodly mix of Sholay, Gadar and Lagaan. Now that would have been okay, if you were applauding too. Ironically, you end up lamenting the great loss, for the film actually had a great potential and comes loaded with some fine actors. They all try hard but the juvenile script terribly lets them down.

Bollywoos the black lady

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:22:00 +0000

At the 54th Idea Filmfare Awards, the night was forever young at Yash Raj Studios — even at 1.30 am yesterday when the dance floor pulsated with the energetic feet of GenNext’s stars , Ayush Khedekar, Tanmay Chheda, Azharuddin Mohammed, Ashutosh Lobo, Rubina Khan and Tanvi Ganesh. Recognise them?

The Slumdog kids of Mumbai, new to Bollywood, but world-weary already after their trip to Hollywood for the Oscars. All smiles and bubbling with enthusiasm, they had superstar Shah Rukh Khan earlier describing them as the fresh and new talents of Bollywood’s future”. The Bollywood Badshah generously included emcees Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan, who replaced Karan Johar and himself at the glittering function, in his felicitation of the Slumdog Millionaire team and said pointing at the duo, “They are the future, we must nurture them.”

You could see that onscreen rivalry was replaced for Bollywood bonhomie at the 54th Idea Filmfare Awards. Ranbir and Imran, with a wicked sense of humour, ran through the audience like liquid fire, poking fun here, making a jibe there, pulling a leg, raising laughs all the time. When they hit the ‘gay’ note, Dostana filmmaker Karan Johan joined in, with the stunning Deepika Padukone and Konkana Sen Sharma adding the glam bit to the onstage compereing. But it wasn’t only about fun. There were feel-good themes and moments — the need of the recession-hit hour. Hope was the underlining theme and underdogs really stole the show.

Hrithik Roshan and the most deserving Priyanka Chopra bagged the Best Actor and Best Actress award respectively, and Jodhaa Akbar was declared the Best Film, but small budgeted films like Mumbai Meri Jaan (Best Film for Critics Award and Best Screenplay), Oye Lucky Lucky and Rock On also made the grade and took away several honours. Then there was Oscar winner and veteran costume designer Bhanu Athaiya going up at 82 with much grace to collect the Lifetime Achievement Award. “It’s better late than never,” she smiled adding, “costume designers were never taken that seriously in Bollywood even after we got the Oscar home. But young designers are changing that.” The Lifetime Achievement Award was also given to Om Puri by Amitabh Bachchan. And Puri, on a emotional note, recalled his days as “scrawny, long-haired, funny-looking fellow” who dared to dream.

Image via Wikipedia

The nail-biting moments onstage were challenged by scenes offstage that couldn’t be caught by the camera or emcees. Like the Bachchan clan walking in majestically and heading for the front row where already was sitting Bollywood’s grande dame Rekha! And Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan discreetly going backstage when Shahid Kapoor stepped out front to dance; then, sneaking out when he returned to his seat after the performance. Also, the audience thinking Kangana Ranaut in her Best Supporting Actress speech meant boyfriend Adhdhyan when she mentioned “someone special”... only to find the hot actress was describing her sister Rangoli!
Performance wise, Abhishek Bachchan, the lovely Katrina Kaif, newcomer Jackie Bhagnani and Shahid Kapoor set the stage on fire. Bipasha, Rekha and Katrina complimented Shahid. “You rock,” Bips told him. And Rekha added, “You’ll come to collect your Best Actor Award in ten months’ time.” The entire audience put in a performance for double Oscar winner A R Rahman by giving him a standing ovation: he won the Filmfare Award for Best Background Score. Anil Kapoor missed the event but daughter Sonam made up as she came, gave an award and quietly left.

Shah Rukh Khan summed up the feeling of the moment at the 54th Idea Filmfare Awards when he said, “Om Puri recalled his struggling days, and I remember my days when I was also scrawny, long-haired and funny-looking ... but we dared to dream and we made it. So there’s hope for everyone who dreams.”

Filmfare: 'Jodha Akbar' bags top awards

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:37:00 +0000

The 54th Idea Filmfare Awards draws to a close with 'Jodha Akbar' making a clean sweep taking home the Best Movie, Director, Actor, Lyrics and Background Score awards. Priyanka Chopra wins the Best Actress award for 'Fashion'.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO

Best Movie : Jodha Akbar

Best Director : Ashutosh Gowarikar for Jodha Akbar

Best Actor in a Leading role (Male): Hrithik Roshan for Jodha Akbar

Best Actor in a Leading role (Female): Priyanka Chopra for Fashion

Critic Awards

Best Actress : Sahana Goswami for Rock On!

Best Actor : Manjit Singh for Oye Lucky! Lucy Oye!

Best Jury Award : Nishikant Kamat for Mumbai Meri Jaan

Special jury mention to Prateik Babbar and Purab Kohli for Jaane tu ... and Rock on! respectively.

Lifetime Achievement Award : Bhanu Athaiya, Om Puri

Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male): Arjun Rampal for Rock On!

Best Actor in Supporting Role (Female) : Kangana Ranaut for Fashion

Best Dialogue : Manu Rishi for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Best Screenplay : Yogendra Vinayak Joshi, Upendra Sidhaye for Mumbai Meri Jaan

Best Story : Abhishek Kapoor for Rock On!

Best Music Director : A R Rahman for Jaane tu...

Best Lyrics : Javed Akhtar for Jashn-e-Bahara (Jodha Akbar)

Best Playback Singer (Male): Sukhwinder Singh for Haule haule (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)

Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal for Teri ore... (Singh is Kinng)

Best Sensational Debut (Male): Farhan Akhtar and Imraan Khan

Best Sensational Debut (Female): Asin Thottumkal for Ghajini

Sony Filmfare Best Scene Award: Rab Ne Banadi Jodi

R D Burman Upcoming Talent: Benny Dayal for Ghajini

Technical awards

Best Background Score: A R Rahman for Jodha Akbar

Best Costume : Manoshi Nath for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Best Cinematography : Jason West for Rock On!

Best Sound Design : Vinod Subramanyam for Rock On!

Best Choreography : Longines for Pappu Can’t Dance Sala . ( Jaane Tu...)

Best Editing : Amit Pawar for Mumbai Meri Jaan

Best Production Design : Vandan Kataria and Monica Angelica Bhowmick for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Best Action : Peter Hein for Ghajini

Best Visual Effects Award : John Deitz for Love Story 2050

ON-STAGE ACTION

And the Blush Award goes to...
Well, this is not a new category but a special award discovered by the hosts Ranbir and Imraan. The nominations for the category were Rekha, Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif , Priyanka Chopra, Preity Zinta and Shreya Saran.

And the cool dudes chose the eternal beauty Rekha as the deserving candidate for the award.

SRK takes the stage
Deepika and Konkona invite SRK, who’s wearing a cream jacket gifted by friend Karan Johar. The man takes the opportunity to thank Big B, Dharmendra and Govinda, who visited him when he was not well. SRK talks about India’s Oscar win, Rahman and Resul Pokutty’s achievement and honoured the entire Slumdog... team. He also mentioned that he loved Anil Kapoor for his child-like excitement at the Oscars.

Ranbir and Imraan proved to be true brave hearts, when they enacted last years’ hosts SRK and Saif.

Life time achiever talks
Here’s what an elated Bhanu Athaiya said as he received the Lifetime Achievement Award, “This award belongs to my father who introduced me to the world of art. This award goes to those directors who gave me beautiful films. This award goes to the actors who put faith in my work. It’s a beautiful award. I am very happy. Thanks Filmfare.”

Shahid grooves on stage
Shahid Kapoor gets on the Filmfare stage not to present or receive the award but for a cool performance after a long gap. The man grooves on his popular numbers including Aai Pappi , Tum He Ho, Mauja hi Mauja and Nagada Baja from Jab We Met .

“I got all emotional. It is my first award in all these years. It’s special,” says a happy and sentimental Arjun Rampal as he takes home the award for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category.

Producer Vashu Bhagnani’s son Jaccky Bhagnani is performing takes the center stage for a performance.

Meet the new hosts: Konkona and Deepika
Konkana Sen Sharma and Deepika Padukone take over the show as the new hosts of the evening.

Jovial and charming Ranbir and Imraan bow down to music maestro A R Rahman as he takes his first Filmfare award for the evening for Best Background score in Jodha Akbar.

The hosts fort the evening, Imraan Khan and Ranbir Kapoor leaves the audience stunned as the dudes arrive on the stage riding on cool bikes.

The evening opened with a patriotic feel with the Bollywood brigade standing up to the National Anthem.

And soon it’s the time to rock, as the Rock On! man, Farhan takes over the stage. The multi-talented Farhan is performing on the popular Laundry song from Rock On!

THE LATE COMERS

King Khan’s here!
Still recovering post his shoulder surgery, Shah Rukh Khan arrives at the event in a cream suit and black trousers. The man is wearing a sling to support his left shoulder.

When Saif played Bebo’s boy
Just in time comes tinsel town’s hottest couple – Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. The sight to watch was when Saifu stopped on the red carpet only to tie-up Bebo’s blouse.

John-Bipasha get candid
John Abraham walked in with the bong beauty Bipasha Basu. John is sporting a Narendra Kumar black suit, while the lady looks ravishing in a golden saree by Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Gili jewellery. John says, "Bips is just nominated, I hope she wins." I’m very happy, excited...Filmfare is very special...it;s here that I got my best debut award,” quips an elated Bipasha.

Better late than never! Well, Priyanka Chopra is finally here dressed to kill in a gorgeous blue off-shouldered gown. The lady nominated in the Lead Role (Female) category for Fashion quips, "The only similarity that I see in myself and my character in the movie (Meghna Mathur) is that she hailed from a small town and so do I. Though I have been nominated earlier also and had won awards too, but this being my first ever nomination for the Best actress category makes it all the more special.”

Bachchans are finally here!
If you had been missing the Bachchans from the scene, they have arrived just now, with Senior and Junior Bachchan wearing black suits and Bahu Bachchan inan elegant Black and golden saree.

Nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category, Abhishek Bachchan expresses, “It's not really about the nomination but about the recognition that an actor gets for his work. Though it's great to be nominated and I'm glad to see my name in the same sentence as that for best actors.

Taking over from hubby, Aishwarya adds, "I completely agree with what Abhi said, it's always nice feeling to be here at this award night among the film fraternity and see everyone applauding for your work.

OFF-STAGE ***-BITS
Hugs all round: Sushmita bumps into Saif and Kareena backstage. The lady is all praises for Kareena and gives a warm hug to the hot couple.

Serious talking: Director Madhur Bhandarkar, Retiesh Deshmukh, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Asha Bhonsle spotted discussing the awards.

Ranbir-Sonam just-friends?: If the excitement is soaring high on the stage, back stage is no less steamy. Just spotted chatting and giggling were ‘just friends’ Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Where’s Deepika?

THE RED CARPET
The glistening red carpet is already studded with stars as Bollywood's most sought after names make an entry to witness the most coveted award's night - that's full of fun, entertainment, glamour and of course suspense to know who’ll take home the Black Lady tonight!

First to be spotted on the red carpet was the musical trio of Shankar Ehsaan and Loy in all black attires.

Next making an entry was choreographer, singer Shiamak Dawar. So, what’s the man looking forward to? “Well, the highlight of today’s celebrity performances has to be Shahid and Abhishek Bachchan.” But who’s your favourite? “Shahid is my student and is my favourite. Junior AB is full of energy and both are hard workers. Not that others aren’t good but they are very special to me,” shared Dawar on the red carpet in the middle of directing the star performances.

The Rock On! effect
The Rock on! man Farhan Akhtar is already here dressed in a black tuxedo designed by Arjun Bhasin. He is all set to open the starry night with a rocking performance. “ Jodha Akbar and A Wednesday are the toughest competitors for my movie Rock On!, ” shares Akhtar. And what about his nomination in best play back singer category, the star says, “I am simply amazed to be nominated for the singer act,” added an elated Akhtar.

The golden couple, Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi is the next to make an impressive entry. Hear what mom Shabana has to say about son’s nominations? “We are proud of Farhan and his work. Now, let the best movie win,” says Shabana. Akhtar who’s sporting ethnic attire has two nominations in Best Lyrics category for Jashn-e-Bahara (Jodha Akbar) and Socha hai (Rock On!) Shabana is wearing an Anuradha Wakil’s outfit.

Arjun Rampal, who is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for Rock On! , arrives with wife Mehr Jessia is wearing a Muskino. “It’s really good to be nominated for Rock On! It’s a very special film for me and it’s nice to see it getting acknowledged with such a nomination.”

Love birds on red carpet
The much-debated host of the evening, Imraan Khan is here with girlfriend Avantika.

Kangna Ranaut, who has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for Fashion walks in with beau Adhyayan Suman. The lady looks gorgeous as usual in a black gown.

Hosts: Ranbir, Imraan and...
Karan Johar joins the starry league with mom Hiroo Johar. The buzz around says that, Karan will join the stage with Ranbir Kapoor and Imraan Khan as the hosts of the show.

The Jaane tu ...brigade
Prateik Babbar, who is nominated in Best Supporting Actor category, for his role in Jaane tu... enters in Paul Smith outfit. “I’m feeling good and I am pretty confident about my nomination,” says Babbar. The young actor is also sporting a black shimmery cap, which he intends to wear throughout the evening to keep the luck on his side. Well, it seems the man definitely needs lady luck!

Jaanu tu... star Genelia D’Souza is next to make an impressive style statement in a beautiful black gown. Though the girl doesn’t have a nomination, she is cheering for Jaane tu ... bagging the Best Film nomination. “I have come here to enjoy the evening. It feels great that Jaane tu ... has been nominated

The debut faces make an impact
SRK’s Tani partner from Rab ne..., Anushka Sharma is the next to grace the red carpet in a golden one-shoulder gown designed by fashion designer Gaurav Gupta, while Tabu is wearing a Gavin gown. Sounding modest about her nomination Anushka says, “I have done my best and given my best performance. Now, I want to enjoy the night. I will miss Shahrukh, I wish he was here.”

The babe from the South, who took Bollywood with storm with her role in Gajhni wore the hue of the season –purple. Ask her about her expectations from the night and comes a modest reply, “No expectations really. I am here to have a nice time. It was my first movie and now it’s my first nomination, I’m feeling good.”

Slumdog... sensations
After sweeping off the International award scene with adulations, Slumdog... kids are here on Filmfare red carpet. Before we could wish, legendary music maestro A R Rahman walks the red carpet.

And there are others too...
Keeping with the all black tradition, comes the beautiful Sushmita Sen in an elegant black gown. Alka Yagnik, who is nominated in the Best Playback singer category for Tu muskura... (Yuvvraj)

Preity Zinta enters the starry venue in a black gown, in which she appeared to be a bit uncomfortable. The lady seems to be in a sporty mood, as IPL was all that she crooned for here as well. “This year we are looking forward to a stronger team,” said Preity when asked about her next move in the field. But where’s Ness Wadia? Well, the lady preferred to make a quiet exit.

Cohen praises Katrina

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:04:00 +0000

Rob Cohen met Katrina Kaif at a private dinner party recently.

The director who has directed movies like The Fast and The Furious, Dragon Heart, Stealth and XXX, was all praise for the beautiful actress. An eyewitness said, “Cohen kept praising her and also showed a lot of interest in the work that she had done so far.” Now will that translate into a role in his film? Over to you, Mr Cohen.

Bollywood Box Office

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Bollywood Box Office - For the week 6 /02//09 - 12 /02/09
Rank	Movie	No. of weeks	Current Weeks Collections	Total net Gross
1	Dev D	1	8,30,00,000	8,30,00,000
2	Luck By Chance	2	2,93,00,000	13,49,00,000
3	Chal Chala Chal	1	1,40,00,000	1,40,00,000
4	S Crorepati (Dub)	3	1,39,00,000	9,33,00,000
5	Raaz TMC	3	1,17,00,000	25,72,00,000

Hollywood Box Office - Feb18, 2009
Rank	Movie	No. of weeks	Daily Collections	Total net Gross
1	He's Just Not That Into You	2	$1,174,386	$60,291,452
2	Friday the 13th	1	$1,106,198	$46,113,883
3	Taken	3	$996,620	$82,688,256
4	Coraline	2	$975,171	$41,290,322
5	Confessions of a Shopaholic	1	$862,218	$19,726,060
6	Paul Blart: Mall Cop	5	$604,490	$113,720,998
7	The International	1	$575,564	$12,003,985
8	Slumdog Millionaire	14	$569,061	$89,316,895
9	The Pink Panther 2	2	$475,113	$25,175,885
10	Gran Torino	10	$388,260	$130,390,410

Source : www.mid-day.com

Movie Review : Siddharth: The Prisoner

noreply@blogger.com (Science Lover) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:52:00 +0000

Film: Siddharth: The Prisoner (Thriller)
Cast: Rajat Kapoor, Sachin Nayak
Direction: Pryas Gupta
Duration: 1 hour 34 minutes
Critic’s rating:***

There's a whole new breed of filmmakers who are trying to find a foothold in Bollywood with their different background. These are the cine-literate folks who have learnt their craft from French, Italian, Iranian art house cinema and their philosophy from existentialists like Kafka and Camus. Small wonder then, director Pryas Gupta chooses to pay tribute to Albert Camus' 1942 classic, The Stranger (L'Etranger) by having our hero pick up a copy from the footpath and walking off lovingly with it. Only this time, the book has been written by Siddharth Roy (Rajat Kapoor), the hero who missed the Booker and somehow ended up in jail. Don't know why. Don't need to know, perhaps.

Having paid his tribute, the director gets on with the business of storytelling. Again an ambiguous, teasing exercise that sees you following our protagonist on his silent jaunts in the streets of Mumbai, as he tries to rebuild his life, after a stint in prison. Having been separated from his wife, he lives in a decrepit room and pounds on a typewriter, creating the new Booker-winning manuscript. Unfortunately, the manuscript gets exchanged for an ungodly wad of notes in a cyber cafe. While the cyber cafe boy (Sachin Nayak) desperately hunts for the underworld's moolah, our writer launches a frenzied search for his manuscript. In between, he takes a break to rebuild bridges with his three-year-old son, only to realise that despite being free, he has carried his prison within him.

A metaphorical film about freedom and desire, the film keeps you engrossed. Firstly, by its explorations on the leitmotif of greed. And secondly, due to Rajat Kapoor's nuanced, almost minimalist act of a man in torment.