metrofocus

Mika Singh records a song with 100 musician for Himmatwala

2012-06-21T12:29:00.001+05:30

After the superhit movie Housefull 2, filmmaker Sajid Khan has started working on his next movieHimmatawala. The latest buzz about the film is that the musician duo Sajid-Wajid, who are composing music for the film, have used 100 musicians for the recording of a song for the flick.

According to sources, the recording of the song for Himmatawala was recently held at the Sahara Studio and, Sajid Khan and Ajay Devgn were present on the occasion. Singer Mika Singh has recorded this song with live 100 musicians orchestra. This track will be one of the major highlights of the film.

Himmatwala is a remake of Jeetendra and Sridevi starrer 1980s movie with the same name. Produced by Vashu Bhagnani, the movie features Ajay Devgn in the male lead. Earlier, it was rumoured that popular South Indian actress Tamanna would debut in Hindi with this film, but it is not confirmed yet by the makers.

However, Himmatwala is a comedy film. Earlier, Sajid Khan had revealed that he had watched the Jeetendra's hit 36 times, when it opened in the 1980s. Now, he has re-written it maintaining the essence of the film. Prakash Raj has also been roped in for a pivotal part in the remake.

IIFA Awards Winners - Photo Gallery

2012-06-12T17:25:00.003+05:30

Sachin Tendulkar takes oath as Rajya Sabha MP

2012-06-04T11:37:00.001+05:30

New Delhi: Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar started his new innings on Monday taking oath as a Rajya Sabha member in the chambers of RS Chairperson Hamid Ansari. Sachin is the first active sportsperson and cricketer to have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha under the Prominent Citizens Quota.

Sachin was nominated to the Upper House along with film actress Rekha and industrialist Anu Aga in April, but had to wait to take his oath until the end of IPL season 5.

The nomination of Sachin had sparked a political slugfest with the opposition parties questioning the timing of the move by the government. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena had said that the timing of the nomination suggests that it is aimed at distracting attention from scams.

Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare congratulated Sachin and appealed to him to raise voice against corruption. "We welcome and congratulate him. Sachin should raise his voice against corruption and also against those who are not in favour of Lokpal. We will keep supporting him outside," Anna said.

World chess champion Viswanathan Anand on Saturday said that Sachin serving as a Rajya Sabha member would be a big step in his life and wished the cricket legend to enjoy his new role. "I hope he (Tendulkar) enjoys his role and he is able to do it very well. It's a big step for him and I think he will enjoy it," Anand said.

Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that his senior teammate Sachin Tendulkar will make a contribution as a Rajya Sabha member also. "This (Rajya Sabha) is a new avenue for him and I am sure he will do well and contribute there also," Dhoni said.

Ghanchakkar - Emraan Hashmi-Vidya Balan’s New Movie

2012-06-03T12:01:00.000+05:30

It sounds as if Raj Kumar Gupta’s next film, touted to be a comic thriller, has some resemblance to the controversial Imran Khan-starrer

Director Abhinav Deo’s Delhi Belly released amidst a lot of controversy, especially thanks to the ‘DK Bose’ song. Aamir Khan went all out to promote the small-budget film and it eventually went on to be one of biggest hits to date for his production house. The film was bold and was the starting point of a new genre – comic thriller. The Emraan Hashmi-Vidya Balan film Ghanchakkar is said to be another of this kind.

After the grim issue-based No One Killed Jessica, director Raj Kumar Gupta’s next is a comic thriller in which Emraan and Vidya are playing a married couple. An official statement says, “The film stars Emraan Hashmi as a lazy man with a taste for the finer things in life, and Vidya as his ambitious wife, a woman with her own notions about the world. After making a bad decision, the couple encounters two thugs, one with a bad illness and the other with a bad attitude.”

Doesn’t this plot sound similar to that of Delhi Belly, the only difference being that here the bunch of men has been replaced by a couple? Wethinks this could be an interesting film and we can blankly trust Vidya’s choice of work. She will be seen playing a quirky Punjabi woman in Ghanchakkar. And after the way she and Emraan vibed onscreen in The Dirty Picture, we have great expectations of this one!

Aishwarya Rai's daughter Aaradhya's photos hit on net

2012-05-30T15:24:00.003+05:30

The Bachchans have not released the pictures ofAishwarya Rai Bachchan's daughter Aaradhya even after six months after her birth. They have struggled a lot to keep them away from the hands of media men. But a leading Indian English daily has recently managed to click a couple of photos of the baby.

The English daily claims that it has unleashed the Aaradhya exclusive photos on the internet. These pictures have been snapped at the Nice-Cote d’Azur International airport, while she was returning home after visiting the Cannes Film Festival. The photos show Aishwarya Rai holding Aaradhya in her arms.

The picture is taken from a little distance and Aaradhya's face is not clear in it as Aishwarya is cuddling her. Aish has donned a black dress, while her daughter dressed in a pink baby suit and wearing a traditional bracelet with black and gold beads. The actress is protectively tucked in her arms to evade flashlights.

However, the photos of Aaradhya have been in great demand ever since her birth. Several international magazines approached the Bachchans and asked for rights for the pictures quoting 15 to 20 million dollars. But the Bachchans declined to sell them and they made it clear that they did not want to share them.

Shilpa Shetty With Her New Born Baby Son

2012-05-29T13:19:00.000+05:30

Aishwarya Rai Photo Gallery in International Cannes Film Festival 2002 - 2012

2012-05-27T18:51:00.000+05:30

International Cannes Film Festival 2002

International Cannes Film Festival 2003

International Cannes Film Festival 2004

International Cannes Film Festival 2005

International Cannes Film Festival 2006

International Cannes Film Festival 2007

International Cannes Film Festival 2008

International Cannes Film Festival 2009

International Cannes Film Festival 2010

International Cannes Film Festival 2011

International Cannes Film Festival 2012

Jannat 2 review

2012-05-09T04:11:00.000+05:30

Sonia Chopra

Welcome to the world where everything goes. Or in other words, mainstream Bollywood of the ‘80s. All the cliched characters are in place. There’s the criminal with a heart-of-gold, the “ziddi aur sanki” cop with a back-story, and the Girl (enough said).

So we have Sonu Dilli KKC (Kutti Kameeni Cheez, played by Emraan) who’s an illegal-gun seller. That’s his philosophy by the way—that a gun for everybody is the solution to society’s problems. A lowlife, he tells us how he earns the money and then blows it “chamdi ke chakkar mein” (for skin, meaning prostitutes).

This kind of crass language is a mainstay in the film, and has been amplified several-fold in the name of authenticity. So you have the mother-sister abuses in almost each sentence. Women are called “laundiya, cheez or maal". woh machliyon ko mera khoon pilana chahta tha”.

Sonu is being tracked down by Pratap (Randeep Hooda), an archetypal Bollywood cop. He’s too cool to wear a uniform, preferring shirts that are halfway open, has a tragic back-story that has propelled him to finish the illegal guns trade, is drunk on duty and, naturally, smokes like he’s popped out of a cigarette ad.

Cop wants lowlife criminal to lead him to the big guns (pun intended). The fact that now Sonu wants an honest life, since he’s in love and all, is an impetus. In yet another Bollywood cliche, he spotted his soul mate in an instant and fell in love at first sight. She’s a “doctorni” (lady doc), and he woos her with corny lines like “Haath mein zakhm tha, dil bhi zakhmi ho gaya.” And then he slashes his other hand so she can dress that up as well.

In the real world, he’d get a prescription slip to see a brave psychiatrist. In the Bhatt movies however, he gets a coy smile from the gorgeous doctor, completely out of his league. Meanwhile a song has him fantasize about the doc wearing less, revealing more.

Also in the real world, an educated independent woman would run the other way, if she saw a man giving life-threats to people, roaming around with loads of cash in a plastic bag, and wearing a T-shirt with a shiny skull. But our lady is enamoured. Sure.

Keeping his work hidden from her does not strike our hero as odd. As the audience, we’re supposed to go with his kooky definition of love, and support this highly mismatched couple.

Director Kunal Deshmukh (Jannat, Tum Mile) puts in several twists through the second half – most predictable, others lame. The main villain finally surfaces – he’s a religious sort who’s a great Devi bhakt (they always are, aren’t they). The finale fight is violent but crisply shot.

Among the positives are the background score, superb cinematography by Bobby Singh, and reasonably good music by Pritam.

Performances are note-worthy. Emraan Hashmi manages to humanize Sonu Dilli despite the characterization. Randeep Hooda is the best thing about the film. Esha Gupta is striking…if only she could act.

So there you have it. A tired story with cliched characters propped-up by an OD on machismo, some dialogue-baazi, and a gorgeous heroine does not a film make. At least not one worth watching.

Rating: One and a half stars

Agent Vinod – Movie Review

2012-03-23T19:44:00.000+05:30

The tradition of espionage sagas in Hindi film industry dates back to Jeetendra’s Farz [1967], Dev Kumar’s Spy In Rome [1968], Dharmendra’s Yakeen[1969], Mithun Chakraborty’s Surakksha [1979], Jeetendra’s Bond 303 [1985], Akshay Kumar’s Mr. Bond [1992], Shahrukh Khan’s Baadshah [1999], Sunny Deol’s The Hero [2003]. But the effort to find out an Indian spy agent equivalent to Bond and Bourne remained unsuccessful. Now with Agent Vinod, the industry seems to have given birth to one.

Sriram Raghavan has retained the title from 1977’s hit movie Agent Vinod, starring Mahendra Sandhu, but he has evolved a brand new plotline of his own. It is an ultra slick and stylish desi Bond movie that takes you on a whirlwind tour across continents. Its elegant narration keeps you tongue-tied throughout the movie. It is really a well packaged secret agent movie.

Saif Ali Khan’s wonderful performance is the major highlight of the film. Sriram Raghavan’s story and narrations are its USP. Pritam Chakraborty’s music, CK Muraleedharan’s cinematography, Peter Heins-Parvez Khan’s stunts, Pooja Ladha Surti’s razor-sharp editing and panoramic locales are the other attraction of the film.

The story begins with a series of seemingly unconnected events, all over the globe. In Uzbekistan, an ex KGB officer is tortured and murdered. In Cape Town, a group of International business tycoons discuss a rumor that the dead KGB officer had a nuclear suitcase bomb hidden away. In Moscow, an Indian secret agent is exposed. The agent is shot dead while trying to send a code red message to India. In India, the head of the raw sees the incomplete message. All it contains is a number 242.

Vinod (Saif Ali Khan) is the kind of agent who first kicks the door open and then finds out what's behind it. His unconventional approach puts him in dangerous situations, but he manages to get the crucial leads. Vinod is sent to Moscow to investigate why his colleague was killed. Vinod finds out that a Russian money launderer Abu Nazar (Ram Kapoor) has sent 50 million dollars to contact in Morocco, for an operation against India.

Vinod leaves for Morocco, where he meets an elderly Mafiosi Kazan (Prem Chopra) and the beautiful but mysterious Dr. Ruby (Kareena Kapoor). A series of twists and turns take agent Vinod across the globe from Marakkesh to Riga, Karachi to Delhi and finally London where he discovers the ultimate conspiracy.

Saif Ali Khan, who has taken long time after Aarakshan to get into the skin of a spy, has delivered flawless performance. He has a distinct style of dialogue delivery and he is a treat to watch on screen all through. Kareena Kapoor has a completely different and important role here and she has absolutely lived upto it. But they might surprise the movie goers as they were eager to see their off-screen chemistry in the film.

The beddie of 70 and 80, Prem Chopra makes sure to rock you again as a villain. Dhritiman Chatterjee, Adil Hussain, Gulshan Grover, Zakir Hussain, Shahbaaz Khan, Ram Kapoor, Ravi Kishen have delivered superb performances that really suit a Hollywood spy movie.

In technical front, Pritam Chakraborty’s music is the major highlight. He has composed six wonderful tracks for the film, out of which 'Pyaar Ki Pungi' is a runaway hit. 'Raabta' and mujra 'Dil Mera Muft Ka' are equally catchy. But the placement of the songs seems to be a problem. CK Muraleedharan's camera work is surely a feast to eyes. Peter Heins and Parvez Khan’s stunts, chase and action scenes are truly enticing. Pooja Ladha Surti’s editing is also commendable, but it could have been better if she has trimmed certain sequences.

In a nut shell, Agent Vinod is purely a desi Bond movie made with Hollywood standards. It is truly a Saif and Sriram’s Ugadi treat for the audience. It has the capacity to enthrall even Hollywood audience.

Producer: Saif Ali Khan, Dinesh Vijan

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Adil Hussain, Gulshan Grover, Zakir Hussain, Shahbaaz Khan, Ram Kapoor and Ravi Kishen

Music: Pritam Chakraborty

Reema Sen Marriage Photo Gallery

2012-03-15T11:47:00.000+05:30

BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS @ HOLY PARTY

2012-03-10T07:44:00.000+05:30

Ajay Devgn's Tezz shooting disrupted by Shiv Sainiks

2012-03-01T15:26:00.000+05:30

The shooting of Ajay Devgn's upcoming movie Tezzwas reportedly disrupted by a couple of Shiv Sainiks at the Filmistan Studios in Mumbai on Wednesday. According to sources, the film unit was busy shooting with Mallika Sherawat for an item song of the film and Shiv Shainiks objected hiring foreign actors for shooting.

Sources close to the production team says that Shiv Shainiks said that they would not allow foreigners to shoot for a Hindi movie in Maharashtra. The team tried to convince them that the movie is set in London and they are using a couple of foreigners for the film. But the team confirmed that there were no foreigners shooting at the moment.

Despite the Tezz team confirmation, Shiva Sainiks remained on the shooting set until the team finished the finished couple of shots featuring the foreigners. Later, they vacated the place and remaining shooting of the film continued as usual. Talking about the incident, producer Ratan Jain says that some Shiv Sainiks had arrived on the sets, but his team members spoke to them and it was sorted out.

Harbhajan Singh drops in on the sets of Ring Ka King

2012-01-30T17:11:00.000+05:30

The goodwill ambassador for Colors’ new sports entertainment reality show Ring Ka King is none other than our all time favorite Harbhajan Singh. Bhajji from swinging the ball on the cricket field is now all set to swing the same arms in the wrestling ring to cheer and mentor the 30 international wrestling champions who are here to win the Ring Ka King championship belt.

But we all need a little goodwill once in a while, don’t we? A little birdie told us that Bhajji’s close friend Geeta Basra was on the sets to cheer him on while he was showcasing his new skill for this Television show. With so much action around, his lady love was around to comfort him and give him a much needed boost!

We’ve also heard that she too was awestruck and had a blast watching the live matches of the wrestling giants with her “close friend” and wrestling enthusiast Bhajji. It seems the sets of Ring Ka King sure is buzzing with a lot goodwill!

Tata Prima Trucks presented Ring Ka King: Wrestling Ka Mahayuddh is starting on January 28th, every Saturday-Sunday at 8 PM on Colors.

Bumboo makers launch first official poster

2012-01-23T17:47:00.002+05:30

What is 'Bumboo'? 'Bumboo' is a 'Hindi' slang which signifies bad times. 'Bumboo' is a story based on the idea, that in this life we all meet someone who comes and makes every situation miserable. Bumboo is adapted from the classic cult French comedy "L'emmerdeur" by 'Francis Veber'.

The makers launched the official digital poster of the movie and the social media promotions. The movie is all set to release this year. "L'emmerdeur" is a cult movie which is watched and loved all over the world. Considering the original film's success, we can imagine the laugh riot in 'Bumboo'.

'Bumboo' stars Kavin Dave, Sharat Saxena, Sanjay Mishra, Sudhir Pandey, Sumit Kaul, Mandy Takhar. The movie is adapted by Jagdish Rajpurohit and Kavin Dave, screenplay by Jagdish Rajpurohit and Kavin Dave, produced by RCL Motion Pictures and directed by Jagdish Rajpurohit.

Actress Deepshikha Nagpal and Kaishav Arora Wedding Reception

2012-01-20T17:33:00.000+05:30

Actress Deepshikha Nagpal and Kaishav Arora Wedding Reception. Mink Singh, Poonam Dhillon, Akruti Mistry, Konika, Danny Denzongpa and Others were Present in the Event.

Madhuri too to be immortalised in wax

2012-01-15T23:44:00.000+05:30

Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit is the latest celebrity from Bollywood to make an entry in London's Madam Tussuads after Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. Tussuads said that they were thrilled to honour the "dazzling dancing star". The actress will be closely associated with the creation of her statue, which will be draped in a Manish Malhotra sari.

The actress joins the likes of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor who have been waxed at Tussauds.

"I am really thrilled I am going to be included at Madame Tussauds. It's a real mark of achievement and to be recognised for ones art and work. It's also wonderful to be following in the footsteps of other Bollywood stars and some of my personal heroes! (sic)," Madhuri said in a statement.

The 44-year-old also tweeted saying, "Madame Tussauds made the announcement and I am confirming it. Will be in London in March to introduce my likeness! Thanks for all your support." The 'Dhak Dhak' girl dominated the industry for close to two decades with hits like 'Tezaab', 'Saajan', 'Khalnayak', 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' and 'Dil To Pagal Hai'. The actress, who moved overseas after marrying doctor Shriram Madhav Nene, relocated to Mumbai recently with her husband and two kids.

"The decision to include Madhuri is set to delight Bollywood fans around the world as we are constantly inundated with requests to feature Madhuri. Her figure will make a stunning new addition to our Bollywood area which continues to grow in popularity every year. "The figure will cost 150,000 pounds to create and take a team of sculptors, hair, makeup and wardrobe experts four months to create," Tussads said in a statement.

Bipasha Basu's birthday party video gets leaked online

2012-01-11T17:24:00.000+05:30

Actress Bipasha Basu, who expressed her happiness for being single after almost a decade, planned her lavish birthday party. Bips who demanded a big surprise from her friends witnessed a disaster in the party since it turned out to be gossip fodder.

Mumbai Mirror happened to stumble upon a video of Bipasha's birthday bash that appeared online. The video, that surfaced on a particular entertainment website, showed Bips and her friends partying in a room decorated with flashing disco balls, red, pink and white balloons and white lilies. It captured more intimate moments of her jokingly stabbing the specially designed cake made of fresh fruit, cream and sponge, her uninhibited dance steps and even her group of girls dancing in the washroom.

A while later, Bipasha, who was shooting for a film and was reportedly clueless about the incident, started tweeting: "Jst bcoz v r actors doesn't mean v r nt entitled 2 our privacy! These troublemakers shld jst get more productive with their time!" Followed by another tweet: "I'm still in shock tht my privacy hs been invaded! These were pvt moments frm my bday tht were leaked n m very upset!"

Priyanka Chopra gives a birthday surprise to Hrithik Roshan

2012-01-10T17:47:00.000+05:30

It was a great surprise for B' Day boy Hrithik Roshan when he found something different on Twitter. Hrithik's upcoming movie's co-star Priyanka Chopra made his day by posting something unusual in her own style just for Hrithik.

Priyanka has posted their movie Agneepath's pictures on Twitter with no inhibitions, something she has never done before for any other actor. Thus, the actress wished Hrithik birthday in her own unique style.

In fact, Piggy Chops put up the picture as her profile picture. Hrithik was overwhelmed with the act and reverted with a smile by claiming himself to be Priyanka’s most-liked co-star.

Shahrukh Khan clears doubt with Katrina Kaif about Salman Khan

2012-01-09T17:00:00.000+05:30

Before agreeing to work with Katrina Kaif in Yash Chopra's untitled film, Shahrukh Khan apparently spoke to Katrina to find out if she was comfortable working with him since he was not in good terms with her ex-boyfriend, Salman Khan.

Being a thorough gentleman, Shahrukh Khan spoke to Katrina Kaif in length to find out what she felt to act with him since he and her ex-boyfriend, Salman Khan were rivals.

In the past, there was a big showdown on the sets of Chalte Chalte when Salman Khan barged on the sets where Sharukh Khan was shooting with Salman's ex-girlfriend, Aishwarya Rai. The shooting had to be stopped, after which Shahrukh requested Aishwarya to be replaced by Rani Mukherjee.

In order to avoid any such scene, Shahrukh spoke to Katrina and cleared the air. A source revealed to a leading tabloid that Katrina Kaif has made it clear to SRK that Salman is nothing more than a good friend today. The source also informed that if Salman tries to repeat his past actions, he will loose her good will.

Great going Katrina! The lass sure knows how to balance her professional and personal life. What say?

Abhishek Bachchan Players - a synthetic thriller

2012-01-06T15:32:00.000+05:30

Players"; Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Bipasha Basu, Bobby Deol, Omi Vaidya, Vinod Khanna, Shikander Kher, Johnny Lever; Directors: Abbas-Mastan; Rating: **1/2

They say birds of the same feather flock together: Charlie Mascarenhas (Abhishek Bachchan) and Riya (Bipasha Basu) are partners in conning and daredevil robbery.

As a last gift, Charlie's friend Raj (Aftab Shivdasani) reveals through a CD the possibility of a heist. "Ten thousand crore rupees worth of gold would be transported from Russia to Romania."

Raj warns Charlie that this heist, an improbable feat, is not a one man job. He would need a team to execute it and the only person who can help him put up the team is ace thief Victor Braganza (Vinod Khanna).

Victor assembles the players - Riya, an expert machinist, Bilal Bashir (Sikander Kher), an explosive expert who likes foreign cars, Ronny (Bobby Deol), a magician, and Sunny Mehra (Omi Vaidya), a make-up artist. Naturally, the captain of this team is Charlie Mascarenhas and their goal - The Gold.

In today's age, with the complexity of the internet, the team lacked a hacker. Victor's daughter Naina (Sonam Kapoor) unsuspectingly offers help by suggesting ace hacker, Spider (Nitin Neil Mukesh), to the team.

In the show of one-upmanship, what follows the heist is a game of con and deceit at every moment of the film. For humour, there is MC (Johnny Lever) and his family.

Sleekly made with fine action, crisp razor sharp edits, speeding cars and exciting photography giving you glimpses of scenic Siberia, Amsterdam and New Zealand, the film reminds you of a Bond film.

The leggy babes with leotard and boots, the guys with stubble and leather jackets, the palatial villas, the elongated limousines, the long car chases, the heist on the train - everything looks glossy and out of this world.

The racy background score by Sandeep Shirodkar and the soundtrack by Pritam creates the adrenaline required for a thriller but unfortunately the well-intended choreographed numbers breaks the momentum.

Ravi Yadav's cinematography and Husain Burmawala's editing are worth a mention. Technically, Abbas Mastan have churned out a very fine movie.

Unfortunately, the film delivers without any emotions. It is evident that the actors have not put their soul to the characters; they have just walked through their roles. And it shows. The glycerine and the pancake take the applause.

Sikander Kher seems to have some promise. In certain scenes, Sonam reminds of Simi Garewal. Vinod Khanna, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Abhishek's performances lack energy. Omi and Johnny Lever are stereotyped with their comic dialogue delivery. Bipasha has nothing new to offer and Bobby Deol is wasted in the minuscule role.

Touted as the desi version of Hollywood film "The Italian Job", the script sticks to the basic plot but is unable to get into the recesses of its characters.

"Players" is a synthetically made formula thriller. It does not touch you emotionally. But a good watch nonetheless.

CCL unites Indian film industry: Sohail

2012-01-05T00:08:00.000+05:30

Sohail Khan is upbeat about the second season of Celebrity Cricket League and says it is a platform which helps reunite the entire Indian film industry.

"It's all about sharing the space together. As we said, there is no barrier and all film industries can be a part of this competitive sport. It is great to see them unite and play cricket in a sporting spirit," said Sohail, who owns Bollywood team Mumbai Heroes.

The 20-20 cricket tournament has teams not only from Hindi cinema, but also Telugu, Kannada and Tamil cinema.

While actor Vishnu Manchu owns Telugu Warriors, L. Ganga Prasad of GVR Infra Projects is the owner of Chennai Rhinos, and Ashok Kheny of AKK Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. has Karnataka Bulldozers.

"It is great fun and we have a good laugh in the after parties regarding the experiences of the game. We are not cricketers. We are just actors training to play good cricket. Getting everyone together is good fun," he added.

Sohail's team boasts of actors and filmmakers like Suniel Shetty, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Sohail himself, Sonu Sood, Apoorv Lakhia, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Sunny Singh, Varun Badola, Kabir Sadanand, Raja Bherwani, Angad Bedi, Tushaar Jalota, Sharad Kelkar, Varun Rao, Sachin Joshi, Ashish Chaudhary and Vatsal Seth.

However, Salman Khan would not be able to play.

"Unfortunately not. His filming schedule and surgery last year have restricted him from playing but he may play in the next season of CCL. He is the icon player and ambassador of our team," said Sohail.

After an exciting first season, the second season brings in two new teams Bengal Tigers, owned by filmmaker Boney Kapoor and his actress wife Sridevi, and Kerala Strikers of the Malayalam film industry owned by National Award winning actor Mohanlal. And Sohail says that more teams are likely to join in.

"The league is also growing in size. Last year we had four teams, this year we've got six teams and next year we are going to have eight teams and then we are going to end with ten teams. We are going to introduce the Marathi and Punjabi team next year," said Sohail.

"Then there will be a Bhojpuri and a Gujarati team. We plan to cover all the film industries of India and it is a great platform for bringing together directors and producers," he added.

The Celebrity Cricket League matches will begin Jan 13 in Sharjah.

Rowdy Rathore Bollywood Action Film

2012-01-03T01:38:00.000+05:30

Rowdy Rathore is an upcoming Bollywood action film directed by Prabhu Deva starring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead roles. It is the remake of the Telugu film Vikramarkudu.

Cast & crew details

(Rowdy Rathore director, actors, writer, music director, editor & more)

Cast

Akshay Kumar

Sonakshi Sinha

Crew

Director : Prabhu Deva

Producer : Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Shabina Khan

Ronnie Screwvala

Zarine Mehta

Music Director : Jeet Ganguly

Banner : UTV Motion Pictures

Dance with a purpose, join in the flash mob!

2011-12-31T14:22:00.000+05:30

If you're busy shopping at a packed marketplace and someone next to you breaks into a jig, don't fret, just join in! Chances are it may be a flash mob.

It is the latest publicity gimmick that many event management companies, social activists, TV channels and movie production houses are using to create a buzz among masses.

Flash mobs have been a tried-and-tested technique abroad, but in India it is a new concept. It first started at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus when close to 200 people began dancing to Bollywood chartbuster "Rang de Basanti" last month.

Since then the trend has caught on and travelled to various cities like Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi as well as the national capital.

"Flash mobs in my opinion are a great new way to reach out to the masses, although they shouldn't be conducted so often that they end up killing the element of surprise," Ayush Gupta of Cabbageheads, an event management firm which organised the flash mobs at the capital's Janpath and Priya complex, told IANS.

Even though police played spoilsport during their flash mob, there was a purpose behind the activity, says the 20-year-old.

"We organised the flash mob with the sole purpose of opening minds around. We wanted to set a trend - a trend which screams of being bold enough to try new things! People need to loosen up a bit. Go crazy every once in a while. That's what we had in mind when we organised Flash Mob Delhi," added Gupta.

The team of Zee TV's flagship reality show "Dance India Dance" had also organised "Dancemobs" to promote the third season of the show. A flash mob of over 50 people began dancing at the Rajouri Garden market in West Delhi. From college-goers, shopkeepers and residents, lots of people joined in the flash mob and danced to popular Bollywood chartbusters.

"As per our research, 'Dance India Dance' connects with audiences across ages and is driven by the youth target audience. Also, it's that time of the year when a lot of people are out shopping or partying. Hence it becomes easier for us to reach out to more number of people at one go," Akash Chawla, Zee Marketing Head-National Channels, told IANS.

"The highest recall value of a thing is when it happens by surprise. Besides this, tapping the new media in a big way, the Dancemob videos will be uploaded on various social networking sites as well, which will help us to further increase our audience base," added Chawla.

According to the dictionary, a flash mob is "a large group of people mobilised by social media to meet in a public place for the purpose of doing an unusual or entertaining activity of short duration."

People of varied age groups are using online social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter to organise such surprise dance activities.

At the capital's Sarojini Nagar, a group planned a flash mob against sexual harassment and female foeticide, and danced to "Sadda haq".

In Mumbai, southern star Dhanush led a flash mob and danced to his Tamil-English hit "Kolaveri di" to promote the film "3", while in Kochi some enthusiasts danced to spread the message of peace.

The flash mobs are getting a lot of hits on YouTube.

Gupta feels "flash mobs will eventually fizzle out if they continue to happen at the rate they currently are."

"People should think new rather than follow the mob mentality. That's what'll make a difference," he added.

Shahrukh Khan wants to marry Vidya Balan?

2011-12-26T23:29:00.000+05:30

Shahrukh Khan had recently expressed his desire to marry Vidya Balan and even add her surname 'Balan' after his name!

Hey, wait! Before you let your imagination fly, here's the story....

Praising Vidya Balan's performance in The Dirty Picture, producer Ekta Kapoor referred to Vidya as Vidya Balan Khan. Ekta only meant that Vidya had carried the entire movie on her shoulders. Vidya too joked and said she would love to be called Vidya Balan Khan. The talented actress further said, “Saare Khans ke naam kea aage Balan Laga dete hai (lets add Balan after the names of Khans).”

Shahrukh Khan was apparently the only actor who reacted to this and said, “If Vidya Balan gets married to me, I won't mind to putting her surname after my name.”

Well, as you can imagine....this statement by Bollywood baadshah created quite a stir among the media. Quick to realise it, Shahrukh Khan added that Vidya has achieved a lot because of her talent. And for that reason, she should be recognised by her own name and so there is no need to call her Khan.

Well, we got it Shahrukh! Did you, guys?

PICTURE OF THE DAY

2011-12-25T12:38:00.000+05:30

Katrina Kaif is a British Indian actress and former model who appears in Indian films