Why Aamir insisted on Asin...

Asin, a huge star down South has acted with almost all big names and has several blockbusters to her credit. But even then, she never thought in her wildest dreams that her debut in Hindi films will be with Aamir. And guess how did she land up the role? Aamir saw her in the original Ghajini and was impressed with her, he requested director Muradoss to repeat her in the Hindi version as well. Infact, we heard Aamir personally called her to tell her to do the film. Lucky girl, we must say! We only hope that her career doesn’t head the Gracy Singh (hope you guys still remember her?) way!

I'm ready to make India's Scariest movie ever

Move over Bhoot and Phoonk. Ram Gopal Varma's Agyaat is here.Ramu's next film entitled Agyaat would be something he has never a done before. A film about an invisible predator creating havoc among a group of people in an isolated spot.An old Hollywood formula. "But never done properly in Hindi cinema. Something like Poseidon Adventure or The Towering Inferno. These were about natural calamities striking a group of people. Mine would've a far less indentifiable enemy, attacking a film crew on an exotic island, "informs Ramu even as he divulges that his media film Rann has been shifted to January 2009.The film written by two Varma discoveries Punet Varma and Hari will be shot by a debutant photographers Surjo. It will be shot in Sri Lanka from next month. "The media film Rann I'm starting at the end of January 2009. Agyaat I'll shoot in the Sigria jungles of Sri Lanka. I recently went location hunting there. It was a stunning stretch of wilderness. I've never seen anything so frightening in my life. All the principal photography will be done in Sigria 35 days. Then the special effects will be done in Mumbai.My Phoonk had very hastily done special-effects. Agyaat will be a first of its kind in terms of effects. In fact Agyaat is being made primarily for the special effects."Says Ramu, "It's about a film crew that loses its way in the jungles. And something out there starts killing them one by one. Why a film crew? Because it's like a walking office.There's a narcissistic star, a subservient spotboy, cameraman, a frustrated action director, an assistant director who has a crush on the heroine, a selfobsessed actor, a producer who thinks the director is making a mess and a director who thinks he's the Steven Spielberg of India …All of them have their own mindscape in the given hierarchy. But the moment they's caught in terror situation their inherent humanism comes to the surface."Ramu wants to tailor the plot like a reality show. "When you see Bigg Boss you see a group of people in an isolated place coping as best as they can. We see their rapidly-changing inter-personal relationship. In my film the same happens. I'm shooting them in real time with characters whom we can identify with, like the hero who turns out a sissy.Can't cast an established actor there, can I?"Ramu is casting largely newcomers. "Because I don't want the audience to watch these characters with pre-conceived notions. A very basic Hollywood formula.."I know, but not done well in our cinema too often, I've always been fascinated by Hollywood's Aliens/ Blarewitch Project formula where a group of people are trapped in a situation and besieged by an enemy that they cannot see. Someone is killing them one by one. And they're trying to get away. I don't know what that genre is called. But it's not a Friday the 13th where a psychopath on the prowl. It's more like Blairwitch Project where the killer is not visible to the eye.In The Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers I remember one line. 'Why do we always expect alien creatures to invade a space ship. Why can't it be a biological invasion?' I want to explore this terror of the unknown."Ramu is supremely kicked by his new project. "The challenging part in Agyaat is to create an evil force that's not visible, definable or even comprehensible.Some strange phenomenon in the jungle.I read an interview with Ridley Scott where talking on Aliens he said, 'There's no need to understand what's happening during a time of terror. Because if you explain it you reduce the thrill of it.' Hence Agyaat, the unknown." Agyaat will have some of the best special effects seen in Indian cinema. "It will be a projection of a destructive force from which the victims cam't hide or run. They simply succumb to it."Ramu is as excited as ever. "I haven't done anything like Agyaat. I'm a great fan of this Hollywood genre.And I can't wait.The moment I call my film Agyaat (The Unknown) I can go into a hundred different dimensions of the unknown. "

farha turn as actress

Farah Khan only did a blink-and-miss appearance for her hit entertainer Om Shanti Om, but now B-town's most successful female director will be seen in a special appearance in Milap Zaveri's Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai with Riteish Deshmukh.
Farah plays herself in the film. Milap Zaveri, who is currently shooting a sequence, with Riteish, Jacqueline Fernandes and Sonal Sehgal in Karjat, says, "It's a cameo. Ruslan plays a young superstar in the film while Riteish is an assistant director so we wanted a certain credibility to the whole scene. We wanted the scene in the film to be directed by a big director, so we approached Farah. She's a great sport and immediately said yes.
We were to shot for a day but now, it has become a five-day friendly appearance. In fact, Farah jokes that if we use her in our publicity posters we will have to pay her."
Milap adds that they have made Farah do mad things in the film. "She keeps abusing or hitting Riteish but all in good fun. There's a sequence where Riteish gives her tea and she spits it out on his face but he's so lost in love with Jacqueline that he doesn't notice."
Milap says he wasn't nervous about directing Farah as much as his choreographer Bosco was. "He has directed her in a scene where she's choreographing and was very nervous. He kept checking if she was okay."
Farah Khan adds, "It was my idea to spit the tea in Riteish's face. It wasn't nerve-wracking facing the camera, as I know Milap. He's Sajid's friend and it was a set full of young people. Though I had to play myself, I am not such a tyrant in real life," she laughs and adds, "They wanted a particular image where I had to do mad things.
I let them do whatever they wanted. I didn't interfere but only made suggestions."

kat n sallu romantic drama in Yuvvraaj

Katrina Kaif is concerned about the fate of Subhash Ghai's Yuvvraaj. The actress says, "I really want this film to do well. This is my first romantic drama opposite Salman without the support of comedy like Partner and Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya. Yuvvraaj is special to me and I want it to remain as a special memory." Kat plays a cellist in the film and is part of an orchestra in Austria. "Subhashji (Ghai) spared no cost for my costumes. They must have cost lakhs but not once did Subhashji say anything. My styling was done by Rocky S and I wore outfits designed by Jenny Packham, Rocky and Tarun Tahiliani."

john turns producer in 1-800-love

John Abraham will not only be acting in filmmaker Abbas Tyrewala's second venture 1-800-Love after the hit Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, he will also be co-producing it.

1-800-Love is a quirky, witty and savagely funny look at the man-woman relationship and writer-director Abbas roped in John for the project, after having worked with chocolate boy Imran Khan in his debut film.

The filmmaker, who's still polishing up the movie's script, says John decided to jump in as a producer the minute he heard the narration.

"After hearing the narration, John not only loved the script, he wanted to come on as a partner. So, effectively, the project will have three producers - Madhu K., John and myself," Abbas said.

Incidentally, 1-800-Love gets its title from the toll-free phone numbers in the US. John, who's currently shooting in New York for Kabeer Khan's film on terrorism entitled New York, is now looking out for roles that would challenge him as an actor. After Anurag Kashyap's No Smoking and Nagesh Kukunoor's to-be-released Aashayein, Abbas seems to be the director John needed to get his creative juices flowing.

Abbas' movie is set to be shot in Boston in April in a start-to-finish schedule and the filmmaker has now headed for the hills to write the final draft of the script, a source close to him said.

kat thought is BIG pay is better than pals

Mumbai, Oct 29: While Salman and SRK are busy winning pals and confidantes to their respective sides, Sallu’s babe Katrina Kaif has decided to have the best of both the worlds. The sultry diva seems to have cut out a perfect balance between life and work, ensuring that her emotion does not fiddle with work ethics.

A clear example of this professional-personal life equation was recently witnessed in Dubai, where the sexy seductress bought the house down, grooving with none other than Sallu’s ‘jani-dushmaan’(cut-throat enemy) Shah Rukh Khan.

Even though Sallu rules her heart, Katrina seems to thinking straight from her head when it concerns bagging some big bucks. The actress made sure that she proved her money’s worth as she performed hand in hand with King Khan on his much sought world tour 'Temptations Reloaded' in Dubai.

The gorgeous-twosome gave a rocking performance that left the crowd thirsting for more.

According to sources, the show kick started with the sassy babe grooving on her hit film numbers from ‘Race’ and ‘Singh Is Kinng’. Even though her solo act was much applauded by the audience, it was the SRK and Katrina act that emerged as a clear shows-topper.

The jam-packed show that went on till the wee hours of morning, surely had the crowds going mad as King Khan romanced Sallu’s gal.

lolo belive yoga is d best way to keep body in shape

Giving full credit to Yoga and vegetarian diet for her beautiful figure, top Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor said one should not go for a crash dieting. Talking to mediapersons before her latest release 'Golmaal Returns, which opened today, the actress said her winsome figure came from a combination of Yoga and vegetarian diet.

''I don't believe in crash dieting and my diet consists of wholesome food including rice, pasta and vegetables. I also don't go for weight training'', she said. She said working for the RK banner was an unfulfilled dream and she was always ready for it provided the script and cast was good. ''I would like to work with anybody who is comfortable with me, including cousin Ranbir, provided we get a good role together,'' the Bollywood beauty added.

even Salman complemented on his looks in Ghajini - Aamir Khan

aamir khan launched his much awaited film, ghajni's first teaser promo amidst a media gathering at a suburban Mumbai multiplex. We caught up with the actor -director at the event. The film releasing worldwide on December 25th was earlier scheduled for a Diwali release. "It was only because of my leg injury that the makers had to postpone it to the year." Aamir told us.

Aamir had not seen the promo on the big screen but had seen it many times over on the computer at the editing studio. Aamir unable to hide his excitement said, "I am dying to watch the teaser on the big screen. I want to get the same exact feel that my fans shall when they see it for the first time.

Golmaal Returns: with 4 coolmaal

Guess who’s knocking the doors of box office this Wednesday! It’s none other than the much awaited film of 2008- Golmaal Returns. Creating a laugh riot already with its promos, the film provides hopes of headless yet, meaningful comedy in Hindi cinema. We’ve revealed the comic side of the new and old characters in the film, helping you to connect with the characters better. The male lead of the film is Ajay Devgan a.k.a. Gopal, who tickled your funny bones with his devil-minded comedy in Golmaal. It looks like Gopal will repeat history, but this time with a new partner- Kareena Kapoor- playing his better half in the film. Next is our very own tapori back from Golmaal- Arshad Warsi who promises a laugh yet again, but this time in the character of a lazy police officer. Tusshar, yet again plays a dumb person in the film- doubling up the humour. And, last but not the least is new entrant Shreyas Talpade in the boy gang, who’s replaced the cute Sharman Joshi of Golmaal.

The female leads, as we see are 4 new entries- Kareena Kapoor, Amrita Arora, Celina Jaitley and Anjana Sukhani. If the buzz is to be believed, Bebo has got the maximum screen space in the film, due to which the rest of the ladies are dejected and also upset. But, what lies beneath? Let this Wednesday decide that!

Atif Aslam - Gulabi Ankhien

	Atif Aslam - Gulabi Ankhien

new releaseing date for EMI

The release date of the forthcoming film 'EMI' has been postponed.

The earlier fixed release date of October 29 has been moved forward to November 7.

Because only around 40% of the sound mixing of 'EMI' has been completed in Anand Studios, the makers of the movie, Popcorn Entertainment and Balaji Motion Pictures felt that it will be difficult to wrap up the remaining work and also complete the censorship procedures before November 7.

On November 7, the movie will be hitting the big screens along with 'Dasvindanya', 'Horn Ok Pleasssss', 'Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi' and the latest James Bond movie 'Quantum Of Solace'.

Success taking its toll on Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka has been keeping really busy and is working round-the-clock for Karan Johar ’s ‘Dostana’ and at other times she is busy attending promotional shoots for her forthcoming movie Love Story 2050 .

According to a report, Priyanka had a bad asthma attack on the sets but the former Miss World insisted on completing the shoot as the entire cast Abhishek Bachchan , John Abraham , Boman Irani and Kiron Kher was present for the sequence.

Once she gave the shots, Priyanka took off to attend a media event for ‘Love Story 2050’.

When asked as to what kept her going Priyanka said, “I could not cancel the interview since they had come all the way to shoot and it is not nice to disappoint people.”

Seems like literally fainting on the sets will soon be taken as a clear indication of one’s skyrocketing career.

karzzzzzzzzz

Karzzzz' is one more remake of Subhash Ghai's 80's hit under the same title. This time, Himesh Reshammiya who is a singer turned music director turned actor has tried to imitate the original version, but with slight changes as demanded by the change of period. The story of the remake isn't much different, though. While Ghai's vamp was Kamini Verma played by Simi Grewal who crushes under the wheels of her car her lover Raj Verma played by Raj Kiran, the new version sees Kamini played by Urmila Matondkar killing her billionaire lover Dino Morea in the latter's private helicopter.

And, that's right; 80's car killer needs to be a helicopter killer during the 21st century. Another slight change is seen in the movie's shooting . Ghai shot the movie in Oooty's beautiful environment in India, while Satish Kaushik has moved outside the country to Cape Town of South Africa, to give the African capital's glimpses to the present viewers who look forward for international locales. Monty, the central character, remains the same; though Ghai had Rishi Kapoor a talented actor to play this role, Kaushik's movie has Himesh a singer turned rock actor to do it.

shahid on trouble during KAMINEY shooting

The industry blue eyed boy and the new romantic icon of the youth,surely has a huge fan following amongst the girls.

Eye witness rave that Shahid who is presently staying at the Taj in Pune shooting for Vishal Bhardwaj KAMINEY has a huge problem getting to the sets. Invariably the campus crowd in Pune has got the news of Shahid shooting in Pune and the girls have been mobbing and gate-crashing on the sets for autographs.

Even recently the same frenzy was witnessed by the media, when they had a special show for girls for Kismat Konnection in Mumbai multiplex. Shahid was mobbed by the girls present there. Industry watchers say that they have not seen this kind of frenzy for a long long time. Not surprising, since the young superstar has got 3 back to bck solo hits in Vivaah, Jab We Met and Kismat Konnection, and is on his way to superstardom.

kat N salman share d screen in "HELLO"

Katrina Kaif to play an Angel with Salman Khan in Hello

It has been reported that real life lovers Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif will be seen together in Atul Agnihotri’s Hello.

And not only that, but Katrina will be playing and Angel. Her character will be seen meeting Salman’s character in an airport lounge where the two discuss a group of employees who work in a call centre. In another scene, towards the very end of the film, Katrina’s ‘Angel’ will be shown gliding away from Salman Khan. Let’s hope she doesn’t do that in real life.

The film, which releases next month, is based on Chetan Bhagat’s much loved novel One Night at the Call Centre.

king khan refuses to work with big B

Amitabh refuses to do film for Farah because of Amitabh

Shah Rukh Khan is all but ready to work with director Farah Khan for a third time, after super hit Main Hoon Na and last year’s stupendous blockbuster Om Shanti Om… however there is a little hitch… and that hitch is Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan.

Farah, who delivered triplets earlier this year, now wants to restart production on Happy New Year, the film that she was supposed to make in place of Om Shanti Om. At that time, the film’s pivotal character was to be portrayed by Amitabh Bachcha, however he fell ill and the film was shelved. In its place Farah and Shah Rukh started working on Om Shanti Om.

Farah wants to start shooting for the film from middle of next year but the problem is the cold war between Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. The film’s main stars are both of them but the two haven’t been getting on well with each other recently. Hence, the hitch! Just like fellow director Karan Johar, Farah Khan is not willing to work for a film that doesn’t include Shah Rukh Khan, and Shah Rukh has said that he can’t share screen space on a large scale with Big B. One can recall that Shah Rukh and Amitabh did star in this year’s dud Bhoothnath, but the two hardly shared any joint scenes.

I don't want to be either No.1 or No.2.

Akshay Kumar has given the maximum number of hits in the last one year and now the box office collections of his new release "Singh Is Kinng" has cemented his position as the number one star.

"But I don't want that. I'm not a superstar. I'm not saying this for effect. I'm only here to entertain people. I keep telling my wife I don't want to be either No.1 or No.2. I just want to be alive and kicking in the film industry," Akshay told IANS.

Akshay describes "Singh Is Kinng" as an entertainer.

"It is not a great film. It's an entertaining film. That's the kind of cinema I believe in," said Akshay who has dedicated the film to his father and secretary, both whom have died.

"It's my first home production and I've dedicated the film to my late secretary, Mr. Vikas Bali, and to my father. They'd be so proud of 'Singh Is Kinng'."

Do you think "Chandni Chowk To China" will be as big a hit as "Singh Is Kinng"?

"That's a scary thought. And I don't want to think about it."

Mumbai Meri Jaan

“When you feel like crying, just urinate”, says a senior constable to his subordinate in the film adding, “That way you drain the excess water from your body”. This line acts as a metaphor to the pissed-off attitude of an average troubled citizen, about which he chooses to do nothing. That gives the gist of Mumbai Meri Jaan , a film that touches the lives of an assorted array of cosmopolitan citizens, in a way never witnessed before.

Amidst formula-driven films, only once in a while do you come across a movie which strikes chord with a social theme and is enormously entertaining at the same time. Only once in a while do you come across a movie that has an outstandingly original screenplay and more importantly it connects with the viewer convincingly. Only once in a while do you come across a movie that incites you emotionally and is technically flawless simultaneously. That’s Mumbai Meri Jaan!!!

In terms of theme and format, the film is reminiscent of Naseeruddin Shah’s Yun Hota To Kya Hota where multiple stories ran in parallel episodes and converged at the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. This one, too, has several tracks but the individual stories ‘emerge’ from the 7/11 train bombings in Mumbai. Much against your predictable perception, the film moves away from any opinionated or political argument on terrorism and traverses a more atomic approach by representing the ordeal of the violence in five individual lives.

Suresh (Kay Kay Menon) is a Hindu extremist who has a cynical outlook towards the minority community. Nikhil (R Madhavan) is a contemporary corporate guy who opposes plastic bags, endorses public transport and is progressively patriotic. Rupali (Soha Ali Khan) is a popular television journalist who sensationalizes news to make it saleable and considers that as freedom of expression. Tukaram Patil (Paresh Rawal) is a senior constable at the verge of retirement and is paired with a patrolling partner Sunil Kadam (Vijay Maurya) whose young blood wants to rebel against social injustice and corruption. Thomas (Irrfan Khan) is a nomadic coffee vendor who doesn’t gain a sense of acceptance in the class-driven society and has his own uncanny ways of getting back to the aristocrats.

phoonk

Phoonk resorts to the standard horror film template that Ram Gopal Varma had adopted in his earlier films like Bhoot and Raat . A human is possessed by spirit. The lead protagonist doesn’t believe in supernatural. He checks up with a psychiatrist who follows a scientific approach and passes off the haunted hangovers as some dissociative personality disorder. But the elderly deem it as eerie. After much debate over science and superstition, an exorcist is summoned who liberates the possessed from the evil forces.

Phoonk follows an exactly identical outline and ends up being a regurgitated version of Bhoot (set in a Vaastu Shastra verandah) with minor modifications. Ram Gopal Varma perhaps attempts to give a new discourse to the narrative by having a child possessed here. Little does he realize that this juvenile dimension has already been exploited several times since The Omen (1976) to Aruna Raje’s Gehrayee (1980) where a teenaged Padmini Kolhapuri was possessed. The disbelieving protagonist is her father. Meanwhile a ‘black magic’ label is given to the story to renew the motivation of the horror. But the film, by no means, analyzes the intricacies or aftermath of the black magic practice in India. Rather the resolution of the sorcery is dramatically fabricated to formulate a filmi climax.

Phoonk routes for the conventional gimmicks to induce fear by opting for creepy background score, hovering camera movements and shocking sound effects. But these trifling technicalities do no account for an honorable horrifying feel, because the outcome of the sound effects is merely a natural reflex action to stimulus and not fervent fear. Beyond these technical mechanics, the legend in itself doesn’t have the potency to evoke much horror.