Friday, February 29, 2008

"Mithya" movie review

Well I finally caught Mithya. And just in time too. Finally because I have been reading good reviews about it on the internet and only last week a friend told me that he saw it and loved it. he also said Mithya is your kind of movie and you will love it. Just in time because even though it is a great movie, it is fast disappearing from the theaters.

So much for the intelligent movie goer in India or for that matter in urbane Mumbai. Here comes a great movie and even after great reviews, positive feedback and great word of mouth it really isn't pulling in crowds like it should. My feeling is that it didn't have item numbers (sad situation na?), not major undressing of the heroine(s) or the hero (as is the norm nowadays), and perhaps lack of front line stars. Anyway the movie has received critical acclaim, earned decent movie and given recognition to people like Rajat Kapoor, Ranvir Shorey, and even hot bod Neha Dhupia.

Now about the movie - a short review of Mithya.

The movie is awesome! The way the character of Ranvir Shorey is developed is great. The finer points, the nuances, the pettiness of the thugs, their take on their gruesome lives. All very well researched and thought out. Ranvir Shorey is obviously the star of the movie. Within minutes you feel for him and start sympathizing and empathizing with him. He is gullible, funny and a coward. Yet at times he is brave, street smart and brutal. Confusing? Mixed up? Isn't that how all of us are. At times fearful, at times brave.

Neha Dhupia has got a nice meaty role and she does competently. It does help that she is extremely easy on the eyes. She dresses like a wannabe actress and looks good in the role. She also is a gangsters moll and plays it well with style and bitterness well balanced in her performance. Naseer has a small role but is adequate. Vinay and his side-kick play their thug roles with aplomb. We also get to see former telly actress Irawati Harshe after a long time. And she looks delectable. She is attractive and charming as the don Raje's cute and understanding wife.

All in all engaging cinema and a great successful venture for Rajat Kapoor as a director. May he make many more films like this in the future. Also expected to do well in the coming week are films from Subhash Ghai, Black & White and a comic caper/gangster slapstick One Two Three which should be out in theaters soon.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The ban on Jodhaa Akbar by MP government lifted! A victory for fair play

The ban on Jodhaa Akbar put unilaterally by the MP government has been stayed by the High Court. When the ban was imposed on the movie by the MP government, there were hardly any protests in the state. In fact the few stray protests by the Rajput groups died down in a few days. But will our governments who are more political than social let sleeping dogs lie? No they won't and soon we had a scenario where Government banned a movie expecting trouble when there was none. Some might defend the cation as over zealous but if one looked at the ground situation, it was obvious there were no major Rajput organizations, militant or otherwise who could cause problems or create a law and order problem. It was just a non-performing government trying to score a few brownie points with a small community.

In fact there were a few Rajput groups who protested the move and files a PIL against the government and asked them to revoke the ban. There were also the distributors who were upset by the ban as they felt it highly unnecessary and were keen to cash in on the immense interest them movie has generated.

Thankfully the High Court saw this cheap political stunt by the MP government and had the ban on Jodhaa Akbar revoked. WIth this UTV and Ashutosh Gowariker will be mighty pleased as it will ensure they do not lose on on valuable revenue on the movie. It will also be a sharp reminder to other governments that they cannot play around with the law as they please.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Shama Sikander the little minx from Hindi serials does an Item number in Tamil Movie

A Tamil movie called Vellitherai has been showing promos on TV and a hot babe in one of the numbers has everybody asking about her. The number in question is ‘Kanji Paanai’ and she has danced with Prakashraj in the song. The surprising answer to that question is Shama Sikander. Yes the very sweet and cute guzzu girl from 'Yeh Meri Life Hai'.

After that serial had wound up prematurely she was not seen in any other serials or movies for that matter. The only place i saw her was in an ad for Sauna belt on some obscure channels. Mind you she was looking hot. She has a nice slim figure and a nice flat tummy and she was perfect for plugging a product like Slim Sauna which promises to make you lose fat if you use it.

Apparently Prakashraj zeroed in on this Rajasthani beauty after being impressed by her bubbly face which would be a big plus for the rustic and playful folk number. I am definitely looking forward to this number as I think she is a great looking babe and would be sensuous in an item number.

Ranvir Shorey-Vinay Pathak to the fore...viva la new age cinema

Thanks to the parallel or new age cinema we are being introduced to actors who might have otherwise been languishing in the periphery of cinema and away from the recognition that they rightly deserve. One of the stars who has slowly and steadily worked his way up is Ranvir Shorey. This extremely talented actor started off as Channel V VJ and it was his double act with his funny twin Vinay Pathak that he came to the publics notice. At least he came to my notice. I don't know how many people remember his days as a VJ and his at times atrocious and at tongue in cheek humor. They had a ball and who ever watched it with them enjoyed the show immensely. It was only because of the presence of a Cyrus Broacha that they were not crowned the undisputed funny men of TV. And were they funny.

They then graduated to films where they picked up small buy significant parts. It seemed they could not act without each other or they simply liked each others company too much. Perhaps it gave a sense of security to them when they stepped in to the big bad world of Bollywood that they had each other withing shouting range. Vinay Pathak was first off the blocks with a smallish but funny role in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

I was watching Jism recently and realized that they were playing John Abraham's friends in the movie. It was around this time that Ranvir's name was splashed on the Bollywood scandal pages for his messy affair with Pooja Bhatt and his drinking problems. He reportedly ranted outside her house once after being punch drunk. He luckily managed to get out of that phase and started doing small but significant roles.

He was seen in small but important roles in Khosla Ka Ghosla, Traffic Signal, No Smoking, Bheja Fry, Aaja Nachle and major starring roles in Mixed Doubles and now Mithya. Bheja Fry was of course the huge sleeper hit of last year that catapulted his buddy Pathak on to the big league. And that is what Mithya will do for Ranvir I think. I hope it does well, as it is a brilliant film, with great reviews and has been getting great word of mouth publicity.

And the movies they have acted in together? Mixed Doubles, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Bheja Fry and Jism. Proves that buddies work and play together?

Friday, February 22, 2008

Next bollywood offering - One Two Three

The next movie from the Bollywood shop floor is One Two Three, a movie starring Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Tusshar Kapoor, Sameera Reddy, Esha Deol, Neetu Chandra, Tanisha, Upen Patel and then some more.

The promos are running full steam on the various TV channels and I think the film will release soon. When the promos, trailers and songs are seen in continuous succession that means the movie is progressing well, the shooting is almost complete and the producer has not fled from Bombay!!!! Hehe heheh heh. So the movie will be released a few weeks after they say it will That's who Bollwood works here.

The songs or at least the songs used in the trailers look catchy and the movie has a kind of happening freshness. By freshness I mean one was getting tired of the comedies being churned out. And this one looks a bit well made and has a decent plot for a change. But it also has Tushar Kapoor and when a movie or project has him, I immediately think of Balaji films (Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, Kyaa Kool Hai Hum). That means Balaji is involved and thats how he got the role. And that screws up the project to an extent. No issues with him but he seems just too wooden, no charisma and very ordinary looking. And his language control is bad. I mean I heard he can barely speak Hindi in real life. Then why do they come into Bollywood for gods sake? For the easy money? Its disgusting, working in the Hindi Film Industry and not knowing the language. I mean I can understand people like Upen Patel or Katrine Kaif who came in from England, they have an excuse. But a Bombayite? And what about Marathi? Shouldn't the MNS or Shive Sena retards be targetting him?

Anyway, only hope is for Paresh Rawal in the movie. Prob is he is doing the same roles too often. He must start abstaining from such roles and go for a major overhaul. Are you listening Paresh bhai?

Bad news for Ashutosh G, as Jodhaa Akbar gets banned by unscrupulous MP government

News is just out that Ashutosh Gowariker's epic love drama Jodhaa Akbar, has fallen victim to caste politics and the MP government has banned it from been screened in that state. And this is after the protest were dying down. The Rajput community had asked for a ban a week ago but seeing that their demand were being ignored they slunk away like the snakes they were. But the lame duck government (what else do you call a government which instead of upholding the law plays vote bank politics) decided it was a grea chance to bag the loyalty of the Rajput community. And so they banned the film even though there were no perceivable law and order problems.

(Check below link for news article on Yahoo.co.in
http://in.news.yahoo.com/indianexpress/20080223/r_t_ie_nl_general/tnl-mp-bans-jodhaa-akbar-theatres-threat-aaaedd4_1.html)

In fact only last week a minister Mr. Gaur saw the film and found no problems with the movie and suddenly the CM now finds it a danger to Law and Order and bans it? Mysterious. Actually cheap politicians playing cheaper games.

Under fire Jodhaa Akbar notches up Rs 38.53 cr in 4 days!!!

That will be sweet Sufi music to Ashutosh's ears, wouldn't it? After all the controversies, the unnecessary threats and the fire bombing and protests (which are adding more states to its tally), it is nice to hear of such figures for the very talented and conscientious director.

In only its first 4 days, Jodhaa Akbar has mopped up 38.53 crore from the box office (domestic and international). And there is three days of collections to be added to complete a week. It is UTV Motion Picture release. Last year Om Shanti Om grossed about Rs 42 crore for the entire week and that was a Shah Rukh Khan vehicle. A close second so far has been Akshay Kumar movie Welcome as it grossed about Rs 37 crore in the first week of its release.

Last years Aishwarya-Hrithik starrer Dhoom 2 had total box office collections of Rs 32-33 crore in the first week of its launch.

US territory
After Om Shanti Om (about Rs 6.90 crore), Jodhaa Akbar (6.40 crore) is the second highest Bollywood grosser during the first-four days of its release.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Subhash Ghai's Black & White may turn out to be a surprise hit

The movie Black & White which is to be released by Ghai's Mukta arts soon may actually surprise a lot of people and become a hit. And the person who may be surprised the most might be Subhash Ghai himself!!! Thats because the last time he gave a hit, we were in the stone ages.

It has been a sad degeneration of a film maker who was handed the title of Showman, previously belonging to Raj Kapoor. Obviously the pressures were too much or he got carried away and got too conceited. For any person, and more importantly a professional artiste, growth is very important. What is success without intellectual growth. Perhaps thats why they say that failure hands out more lessons than success. Perhaps thats what happened to Mr. Ghai. He got big successes - perhaps easier than others got them. That went to his head and he assumed he knew all there was to film making. But film making is nothing but story telling in a audio-visual medium. And one needs to be able to read the lessons every day life gives you. Not announce films without stories, re-use formula's and pay more importance to the name of the actress you are launching. And in many cases rename her so her name is more correct numerologically (is there is any word like that).

And the trap is truly set when film makers go to controversial stars with criminal backgrounds just to ensure they get a chunk of the media bytes (Sanjay Tada Dutt?). The movie he made in that case Khalnayak was trash (cept that raunchy Choli number by Ms Dixit) and it was badly received but for Mr. Ghai it was good enough to count as a hit. Now thats where you know a person has fallen on hard times when he finds mediocre success thrilling. I found even Saudagar all tripe. And then things went worse. Movies like Yaadein, Kisna though he got a Pardes in between. That i reckon was his last hit.

Now the erstwhile Showman has started producing more movies in the hope of improving his success rate. Makes sense na? If it clicks, its a Mukta film. Else the director botched up the vision. As had Nagesh Kukkunoor in Bombay to Bangkok. Sigh!!!

Anyways, Black & White is carrying reports (planted I guess) that the young kid, Sinha is impressive in the film and it make even a seasoned pro like Anil Kapoor insecure. How insecure we will see after the movie releases. The music is by Sukhwinder and he has given the expected Punju flavor and the title song is good- earthy and catchy. The trailers look promising. The story seems ok. Lets see the movie. Best of luck, Mr. Ghai.

Akshay Kumar-Bhushan Kumar gang up for new movie '8x10'

With the resounding success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa, T-series are all set to repeat they big marquee star from that film in their next project. Akshay Kumar who is soon acquiring the tag "Jubilee Kumar" will team up with T-series top honcho Bhushan Kumar for a new movie project titled '8x10'.

The film will top line besides Akshay Kumar, the flavor of the season - Shahid Kapur (Jab We Met) and the sizzling Ayesha Takia. Nagesh Kukunoor who is also directing Akshay in Tasveer will also direct this film indicating a growing working relationship between him and the Khiladi Kumar.

Hrithik's trance dance in 'Jodhaa Akbar' lauded by one and all

Looks like Hrithik's dedication to his craft is paying him rich divedends. His trance dance in 'Jodhaa Akbar' has been widely appreciated and a person no less than Amitabh Bachchan has said "not since Stanley Kubrick's legendary sci-fi '2001: A Space Odyssey' in 1968 had there been such an apocalyptic moment in a film". Now comparing his scene to Stanley Kubrick's movie is a great achievement and is a great pat on the back for Hrithik. He was told that it was moment when Akbar connects with divinity. So it was critical he portrayed a man connecting with God and obviously it has worked well.

Hrithik Roshan said, "I joined the singers to dance with one hand pointing towards heaven, which was receiving the divine gift, while my other hand pointed to the ground, which meant I was connecting the gift received from divinity to people down below. I was the medium, the recipient of divine communication'. Well, I was going to catch the epic movie as it is as I am a huge fan of Ashutosh Gowariker, but now it looks like I also have a scene of the century to look forward to.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Bipasha Basu looks cute in her new trimmed hair-do


(Image courtesy Rediff)

Bengali beauty Bipasha Basu has gone and got her curly locks chopped and I must admit it looks very natty. She was always in the Bombshell category and thats why her long and swirling hair suited her personality and her roles. Surprisingly initially I never found her attractive. No no , I'm not gay. Its just that I found her just too oomphy but still nothing to dream or fantasize about. I found others like Amisha Patel, Hrshitaa Bhatt, Riya Sen, Rimi Sen, Rani Mukherjee quite hot. But Bipasha?? Naaa....

Then later when she got her hair straightened I found her suddenly very desirable. I can't explain it. Yes, now she is part of my fantasy list of actresses.

The Bong bombshell actress is promoting her film upcoming movie Race. It stars Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Akshaye Khanna and Sameera Reddy. In this movie she is is seen with long tresses - her usual va-voom look. You can see why I think it is cool.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Aamir Khan in Rajkumar Hirani's next movie

Apparently since Shah Rukh Khan has backed out from doing Hirani's next film he has on to his next film. It is named Idiots. It will feature Khan. This has been posted on Aamir Khans blog and obviously it has been given the go ahead by Aamir himself.

The movie is on a college campus, and deals with five 'useless' students. Remind anybody of Golmaal. But of course if Aamir is involve with this project it will be special and something to look forward to.

Shah Rukh Khan was supposed to act in a film by with Munnabhai director Rajkumar Hirani. But there was a big scrap with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's movie Eklavya being selected for the Oscars and when some Industry asses took potshots at Chora and his movie he hit back saying some earlier choices were not all that great. In the list he mentioned Paheli of SRK. This obviously got SRK's goat, the conceited ass that he is and he then refused to do Hiran's next movie as Hirani and Chopra are a known tag team in the Bollywood Industry. Vinod Chopra is also the film's producer.

Due to this development Hirani moved on to his next project.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Ektaa Kapoor and Sanjay Gupta call a truce

Ektaa Kapoor and Sanjay Gupta have called a truce. Sanjay Gupta had organised a bachelor party or a party for singles. Though for the life of me, I cannot understand how Sanjay Gupta can be called as single after creating all those press stories about him trying to woo his wife back in his life. Does that mean she has told him f&*^ off and thats why he is single?

Ektaa Kapoor and Sanjay Gupta had a money dispute over their film, Shootout At Lokhandwala. Ekta's Balaji and Gupta's White Feather films were producing this film, starring Sanjay Dutt and Vivek Oberoi. Apparently Gupta had withdrawn 2 crore as payment for Big B's smallish role but later Big B had stated he had done the role for free as he was close to director Apoorva Agnihotri. This was obviously egg on the face of Sanjay Gupta and it led to a big fight.

The latest news is that Gupta had thrown a party for singles on Valentine's Day & invited Ektaa Kapoor too. This apparently melted the ice between the two and helped them get back to buddy-buddy terms. So alls well in Bollywood's circles two famous or infamous production companies.

Verdict on Jodhaa Akbar is out - its a landmark movie

I was just going through rediff and read a review of Jodhaa Akbar on it. And I was pleased with what I read. The reviewer must have caught a premiere show of Jodhaa Akbar and has sent in a review. Like I expected (and desperately wanted it to be true) the movie is supposed to be brilliant. Apparently if the director had a tighter script and better editing was done this movie would have been a master piece. But if and buts can change the fate of the movie now.

The words used to describe the two principal characters Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are "brings his muscular presence and charismatic personality to make the role his own" and "Some of her dramatic scenes are weakly performed but she whips up excellent chemistry with Hrithik" respectively.

A later review in the Times Of India isn't all that generous. It says the movie is a bit long, and the sub-plots weak. It does acknowledge that the main characters have done a great job, the character actors are sincere and the sets and battle scenes are good.

I hope this movie does well as it will be one the the best movies in the careers of both the main leads - Hrithik (Dhoom:2, Krrish, Lakshya, Koi Mil Gaya, ) and Aishwarya (Provoked, Guru, Guru, Umrao Jaan, Bunty Aur Babli, Shabd, Raincoat, Kuch Naa Kaho, Devdas, Albela, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Aa Ab Laut Chalen).

Want to check out the review?
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/14jodhaa.htm

I think all this suggests it is much more worth than a movie ticket. If that isn't convincing then the fact that the director is a certain Ashutosh Gowariker should be reason enough.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Aishwarya wearing ethnic outfits in Jodhaa Akbar and yet looking hot

I saw some pics of Aishwarya from the hugely anticipated movie Jodhaa Akbar. She is seen wearing ethnic outfits yet looking hot. The costumes are the traditional Ghagra Choli that are still worn in parts of Rajasthan but when you put Ash in them you can imagine how they get sexed up. The outfits show off her belly and yet look dignified.

Lucky for her its a period film and not much skin show was expected as it would give another reason for Abhishek to see red. He was reportedly upset when her much touted smooch with his buddy Hrithik in Dhoom 2. That was also the reason that he was stuck off the wedding invitation lists.




(Image courtesy Rediff)

Friday, February 8, 2008

Sajid Khan recomends award committes also should ignore Aamir Khan and his movies

Sajid Khan had some unhappy memories of Screen awards. His movie Heyy Babyy lost out to Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par in the best directors category, an award he would have dearly loved to get his hands on. His movie was his debut movie and besides being acclaimed as a funny movie it set the cash registers ringing all around the country and overseas in countries with a large Indian diaspora.

But that obviously wasn't enough and he had a crack at the awards committee and had a suggestion for them. He said they should skip Bollywood movies where they know the award recipients will not turn up to collect the award.

Sajid said of Aamir and his latest baby Taare Zameen Par,

"Aamir is a very good friend of mine. He is a star par excellence but when he gives a statement out in the press that he is not interested in awards, then I think the awards also should show no interest in him... You are giving out all the awards to Taare Zameen Par, which, again see the point is, it deserves and I'm not saying it doesn't deserve... It's a fantastic film, but you know that there is going to be no-one coming to take it."

Aamir Khan's directorial debut movie was in the running for 17 Star Screen Awards and won 7, including Best Director (Aamir Khan), Best Supporting Actor (Darsheel Safary) and Best Story (Amole Gupte).


Karan Johars Dharma Productions to roll out 4 new movies

Karan Johar's Dharma Productions have announced that they will be launching 4 new films very soon. After rolling out 5 movies in the past decade starting with the mammoth hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hain, his debut film, Karan went on to release Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho And Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. The first two were big money earners while the third though criticized a bit by his fans, did do decent business for Dharma productions.

KJ will helm his fourth film, which will begin shooting from Oct '08. Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol will be the leads in this yet untitled film. Shibani Bathija who also wrote for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna will script.

Next will be Dostana, starring Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra. Then comes the animated version of KKHH - Kootchie Kootchie Hota Hain. It will be directed by Tarun Mansukhani. It will use the voices of the original cast - Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerjee.

The 4th movie, will showcase the Tashan couple Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and one more lead actor.

Whew, that a lot on a single persons plate right? Best Of luck KJ.

Fitting revenge for Aamir Aamir Khan - May start attending award functions!

It is an old story that Aamir Khan does not attend the Indian award ceremonies excepting the Nationals. This is due to the reason that there is great corruption or nepotism in handing out the awards. Stars close to the organizers tend to be favored more and those who do not suck up top the committee ate ignored in spite of good performances. Aamir is one of those who don't pay much attention or special treatment to such programmes and hence he also keeps way from such functions.

I remember in the eighties when Anil Kapoor was the reigning star he used to sweep the awards. Be it Filmfare, Screen or what ever few awards were there then. He even got it for a pretty lousy films like Beta. He was the reigning star then with Mr. India, Ram Lakhan, Parinda, Eshwar, and quite a few hits in a row. He was also touted as the person to take over from Amitabh Bachchan. Yes, he was (is) a fabulous actor too, unlike some hammy superstars of today. But it was obvious the person with the biggest bank balance picked up all the Bollywood awards.

The same routine continues today with the biggest gainer being Shah Rukh Khan. His acting is pretty painful, but he delivers the hits, has stupid girls going gaga over him, has the nation searing by him and by that logic picks up most of the awards. The net result, starred in several dozen films, acted in? Two! Swades and Chak De India. And awards for almost all the movies.

Now a lot of corporate companies have jumped in and the number of award shows have also increased. So that means almost any star will get an ward, if not in this show then another one. He just has to be nice or pay up money for an ward and it is his. And yes, he or she may be also asked to dance or do some routine on stage. And then he is presented an award by a grateful awards committee.

So it isn't a surprise that Aamir chose to keep away from all the mess. But him deciding to attend such functions now could be because his star child actor Darsheel Safary has been nominated for a Best Actor category for an upcoming award ceremony. This means the delightful scenario that if he wins, he beats the super stars like SRK, Akshay and others vying for the same award. What fitting revenge it will be for Aamir if this happens. His protege thumping the actors who have been in the industry for donkey's years and yet got beaten by a kid.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

The top 10 romantic Bollywood movies of all time

Rediff has prepared a list (with readers inputs) of the top 10 romantic Bollywood movies of all time. Nice idea as it throws up surprise movie that one might not think of.

It has the customary and expected Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Bobby. Mentioning the top 10 so far and if your favorite movie isn't there, then go to the URL below and add your vote.

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/jan/30msg.htm

  1. Bobby
  2. Dilwale Dulhaniye Le Jaayenge
  3. Mughal-E-Azam
  4. Maine Pyaar Kiya
  5. Dil
  6. Lamhe
  7. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
  8. Kashmir Ki Kali
  9. Aradhana
  10. Love Story

Since I am not a Shah Rukh fan, I find DDLJ too high on that list as I find it over-rated. But it is a fun film. I would have liked Socha Na Tha in the list, and QSQT a lot higher.

Will the Jodhaa Akbar Rajput/relation controversy affect the film?

The furore about whether Jodhaa Bai was Emperor Akbar's wife or daughter-in-law hasn't died down like I thought it might. The group making noises are a small fringe group and so lack the political muscle or social base. And add to that it is almost impossible to confirm or deny who Akbar married or didn't. He had 34 wives according to reports in the media! So how is one to know if any of these these women are not Jodhaa Bai and if the Muslim women listed in history are Hindu women with their Muslim names after conversion.

Rediff has a well written article about the story. Click on the link below for more details.

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/06jodha.htm

It also could be a well orchestrated campaign to rustle up some crucial media coverage of a film which is of epic proportions. Such a big budget will need to draw in people in large numbers to ensure it does earn money for its producers. And Indians are notorius for ignoring good historical movies. Must be the lack of appreciation of our own culture and traditions. The Mughal rule impacted the polity and landscape of India in a major way and hence educated Indians would be more than interested in such a story straddling that era of history.

But we all know this doesn't hold true, as the masses look at cinema for escapist fantasies. I hope and pray Jodhaa Akbar is made well and interestingly so that it succeeds and a talented director like Ashutosh Gowariker is suitably rewarded for making good cinema.

It will also be a landmark film for Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as they need to true blue movie like this in their portfolio to justify the confidence of the industry in their talents. Though Hrithik has Koi Mil Gaya, Lakshya and Mission Kashmir in his bag he needs to get the big roles right. Same for Aishwarya who has mostly dominated the media for non-filmy reasons than those related to great roles. She does have Iruvar, The Raincoat, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Provoked and Guru but she is also remembered for Kajra Re and Kambakth Ishq. So they both need to movie like Jodhaa Akbar on their resume.

Actor Karan Singh star of Dil Hi Dil Main, commits suicide at residence

In a sad development for Bollywood, another young actor Karan Singh star of Dil Hi Dil Mein, commited suicide at residence in Oshiwara in suburban Mumbai on Thursday morning. Though his movie released years ago, it was a flop and he wasn't seen in any major Hindi movie later. He then acted in some Bhojpuri and South Indian films. Karan had also recently swung over to movie production & was reportedly working on a Hindi movie project.

Karan is survived by his wife, and two daughters, who were not at home yesterday.

Karan was found hanging from a ceiling fan at about 1:30 am and police are investigating the case. Sadly Dil Hi Dil Main will be his only claim to fame. In this movie the sexy Sonali Bendre (Sarfarosh) was cast opposite him. She has now retired gracefully from movies after marriage with Goldie Behl.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Shaad Ali snaps up Akshay-Kareena in Yashraj's next flick

After having a rousing start with Saathiya and later following up with a enchanting Bunty aur Babli, Shaad Ali came up a cropper with the Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. The big budget movie from the Yashraj stable bombed badly and was panned by the critics and rightly so.

I had gone in to see the movie at a cheap single theater in Mumbai and found the flow and narration pretty disconnected. The reason I went it was I knew it was a Yashraj Movie and I would get to see some glamor if not good cinema at least. And the star cast was excellent. My favorite Abhishek, and a very hot Lara and the all time malai kofta- Preity Zinta. Which idiot calls her bubbly. I find her sizzling. her body is luscious and yes, she does have a cute smile. That doesn't mean you restrict your fantasies to candy floss romance. She is white butter according to me.

Bobby Deol is a good looking stud who has wasted the movies spent on him. His films are getting more and more meaningless and his hits are drying up. When was the last time he gave a hit? Baadal? Semi-partial hit. And ages ago.

But surprisingly the two lesser stars did well, though I found the praise for Bobby was a bit extravagant. He was playing the usual bumbling mama's boy and a flamboyant playboy- roles he has essayed in all his movies. But yes, Lara Dutta was great - as the sassy hooker as well as the arty-farty french-indian chic. Looks yummy with that extra baggage. Abhi was ok. And Preity was cute, funny and competent. But- the movie sucked.

Surprising since Shaad has shown good touch in his earlier movies. I guess he stuck to his style of narration and it didn't come here. One has to innovate and most importantly learn. Else you will stagnate. Any one remember Subhash Ghai?

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Rajinikanth’s Robot to be re-named to a Tamil one

By now we all know that Rajinikanth is doing Robot- a movie that will be directed by Shankar. But news has come out that the title would be changed, as Robot is an English word.

This is good news as there has been a tendency to give English names for Indian movies and Tamil movies are also to blame in a big way. Recently there was talk of giving rebates to movies that had authentic Tamil names as opposed to English ones. The last few years have seen a spate of Tamil movies with English names like Boys, Sivaji – The Boss, and a lot more. Then there was an outcry and it was suggested giving tax rebates to movies opting for pure Tamil names. That had a desired effect I think. I checked a popular Movie site just now and even after 10 pages I couldn’t spot a Tamil movie with an English name. (http://www.behindwoods.com/features/Gallery/movies/movies5/index.html)

That’s could be one reason why Rajinikanth is changing the name to a Tamil one. Sujatha, who is supposed to be writing Robot, is on the lookout for a suitable name and the word is that the name Iyandhiran has been recommended. Rajini and Shankar have apparently accepted this name. But there has been no official confirmation about this yet.

It has been some time since he has done a Bollywood movie. He has some decent hits in his bag such as Hum, Dalapati (dubbed from Tamil) and a few ordinary ones like ChaalBaaz, Farishtay and Dalaal No.1.