Archives for May 2008

Hello, my fellow Bolly-crazed peeps. Hope everyone enjoyed the first round of this ongoing feature.
I once again bring to you the glitzy, glamorous and starry world of Bollywood as we recap a host of events that entertained us in the last couple of weeks.

Sanjay Gupta threw a grand bash for his forthcoming film directed by Suparn Verma, Acid Factory. Verma debuted with Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena couple years back. The glittery event entertained the cast, crew and a few familiar faces from tinseltown. Acid Factory is set to release later this year.

The grand premiere of Bollywood film ‘Woodstock Villa’, which marks the debut of Sikander Kher, the son of versatile actor Anupam Kher, and Debutant actress Neha Oberoi was held in Mumbai on Thursday.

Sanjay Gupta, Shobha Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt have produced the film, which is a musical thriller.

National award-winning director Hansal Mehta has directed the film.

Hansal Mehta’s film stars Arbaaz Khan, Gulshan Grover and Shakti Kapoor besides many others.

Woodstock Villa is a film about swiftly changing moralities in today’s world and breaks new ground with every twist.

Music of the film has been rendered by Anu Malik and Shibani Kashyap while the lyrics have been penned by trio Virag Mishra, The Aryans and Manoj Muntashir.

Speaking to the media during the premier of the movie was debutant actor Sikander Kher who said, I would like to say that we have really worked very hard for this film and whole life I have worked towards becoming an actor. I would request all the people to please go and watch this movie. It’s very important for me.

The film has also introduced another debutant actress Neha Oberoi who was very excited about working with Sikander Kher.

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Being in love can be bliss. But what happens when the love of your life loves you a little too much for comfort?
Seeking or showering constant attention from/on your partner can be quite suffocating. Either way, certain lines, under the pretext of jealousy or suspicion, are never meant to be crossed.

Even the seemingly infallible Bollywood stars have their share of grey days and blunders.

While the grapevine is abuzz with rumours of Saif Ali Khan getting a tad too close for girlfriend Kareena's comfort, Jannat heroine Sonal Chauhan is still recovering from the public humiliation she faced at the hands of her beau.

Previously too, Salman Khan's violent escapades with ex-flame Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made headlines.

Art imitates life in larger-than proportions. And so, on-screen possessiveness has been effectively exaggerated in several movies. Be it Raj Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna's jealousy-inflicted husbands in Andaaz and Aap Ki Kasam or Raj Babbar and Amjad Khan's bad-boy obsession with an indifferent party in Lava and Muqaddar Ka Sikander respectively.

rediff.com takes a look at this breathing-down-the-neck breed in Hindi films:

Shah Rukh Khan in Darr, Anjaam and Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam

In the early years of his career, playing bad caught SRK's obsession, pun intended.

He stammered to perfection as the neurotic lover-boy in Darr, chased the girl of his dreams with devious devotion in Anjaam and eavesdropped on wifey when not cribbing for her attention 24/7 in Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam.

A couple of years ago, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta were the ruling troika of queen bees in Bollywood.

Almost overnight, you have new favourites Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif being labelled as the soon-to-be queens, thanks to their box-office successes in recent months.

Rani, who’s had a bad innings last year ( Ta Ra Rum Pum and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag ), was tinseltown’s blue-eyed girl until her films crashed at the box-office. Rumours of her marriage to Aditya Chopra didn’t go down well with the audience either.
Close rival Preity seems to have shifted gear to meaningful films and has become a franchisee owner of IPL, giving her no time for films. The Bachchan bahu has wrapped up for Sarkar Raj co-starring hubby Abhishek, walked the red carpet in Cannes Film Festival again and is exploring fresher avenues in Hollywood.

In such a scenario, it is inevitable that filmmakers would move on to newer stars who can offer bulk dates, commitment and box-office guarantee as well. Unlike male superstars, women stars never had that kind of sway over ticket windows anyway. While married male superstars are welcome, attached women superstars are almost outcasts even in 21st century Mumbai tinseltown. Why do top female superstars have such a limited shelf life? Says filmmaker Sanjay Gadhvi, “Globally, a film is sold mainly because of the male actor.

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The stifling 95 degree heat in Mumbai this weekend cannot be purely put down to the onset of the southern Indian summer. The self-satisfied glow of the organisers of the hugely successful Indian Premier League must also be ratcheting up the temperature a degree or two.

Built on a mountain of cash from some of India's richest individuals, the IPL began 44 days ago with a vision for the future that seemed almost as crackpot as the idea that India would boast one of the world's booming economies.Suspicion and scepticism greeted its beginning, but ever since Brendon McCullum set alight the opening match, the tournament has gathered strength and exceeded expectations. "It has been an unprecedented blockbuster," said one of the franchise owners, Vijay Mallya - and his Bangalore team bombed dismally.

The tournament culminates in the IPL play-off weekend, ending with tomorrow's final, where the organisers will be desperate to show the world their gleaming new toy. VIPs gathered from the world of cricket will be told how the IPL have broken their own targets in the first year.

The franchises expected to break even after year three. For the majority, it has happened in year one. Television viewing figures are astronomical, even by the standards of a country with a population of more than one billion. The huge advertising revenues have enabled people to ignore the inconvenient fact that 20 to 30 per cent of match tickets have been given away.

Finding a critic of the IPL is hard. The few dissenters within the Indian cricket board have been silenced by the £40 million they are set to make from the IPL's first edition.
"It has been sensational," said Kepler Wessels, coach of the Chennai Super Kings. "I've coached and played all over the world and over different eras and this reminds me very much of the Kerry Packer World Series that I played in. That was when cricket became professional and there is a similar vibe here. This has been a tremendous tournament and it will grow from strength to strength."

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Shah Rukh Khan tops her list of favourites. After a career spanning 12 years and 40 films, Shah Rukh is still the man who holds "a special place" in Rani Mukerji's professional life.

"I was considered a newcomer in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, but Shah Rukh never let me feel like one. The treatment he gave in spite of his superstar status then overwhelmed me," Rani, who made her debut with Raja Ki Aayegi Baarat in 1996, said.

She said Shah Rukh had always guided her in the right direction and she had gained a lot from him.

"I respect his dedication and the extra effort he puts towards his work. I still learn a lot from him," Rani adds..

The two have acted together in several films, including hits like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Chalte Chalte and Veer-Zaara.

They were also together in the critically-acclaimed offbeat film Paheli, which was based on a short story written by Vijayadan Detha.

When asked about her rapport with Saif Ali Khan, with whom she was seen in Hum Tum and Ta Ra Rum Pum, Rani said: "In my recent film Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic it was a good experience working with him. But while doing Hum Tum we had some reservations. With time, we get along well and have mutual respect for each other."

In Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, which is releasing June 27, Rani says she essays the role of an angel who has been sent by god to bring happiness in the life of a business tycoon and four orphan children.

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Katrina Kaif has just returned from Egypt after shooting a song with her favourite co-star, Akshay Kumar, for the keenly awaited SINGH IS KINNG.

And while Katrina is delighted with the way the song has shaped up, she is even more charmed by Egypt and its culture. 'It's among the most beautiful countries I have visited - the pyramids, the temples and the landscape are absolutely exotic. I even enjoyed the barbecue dinner on a boat on the Nile. We shot in a number of places and I've come back with fond memories of my trip.'

Ask her about the song she shot, Jee Karda, she smiles, 'Wait and watch. It should be on air later this month. We shot at 4am every day to capture the light and it was scorching. To keep cool we would stay in shades and sip fruit juice or mint tea.'

Barring a select few like Lagaan and Chak De! India, movies based on the sports theme have hardly clicked at the box-office.

But the Emraan Hashmi starrer Jannat, about match fixing in cricket, has proved the world wrong.

Released with 317 prints on 700 screens across the country, the film produced by Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt has completed two weeks and in Mumbai alone it has garnered more than Rs 20.5 million.

The film's all India collection is about Rs 200 million and the movie has already made profits, considering that it was made on a modest budget of Rs 100 million.

Approaching the third week of its run in 47 cinemas in Mumbai, it continues to draw house-full crowds.

Ashok Ahuja, director of Percept Picture Company which is the distributor of the film, gave credit to the marketing strategy for its success.

"The out of the box marketing strategy has played an important role in the success of the film. Though it had only one star, we changed the perception of the film through marketing and it has paid off," said Ahuja.

He also claimed that it was the first hit of the year in the true sense.

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The action on the field, the edge-of-the-seat, last-ball finishes bring out the boys in men watching the sport. While the sweat and dressing room gossip make women go weak in the knees. The Indian Premier League (IPL), which goes into its semi-final stage today, brought plenty of such excitement into our living rooms for the past month. Now the time has come to separate the champions from the also-rans, the men from boys. Which team will be the T20 championship winner, the final will decide on Sunday. But which IPL player wins the ladies’ vote for being the hottest player of the championship... BT will help you decide. And joining us in this task are some of

Bollywood’s hot and glamorous women who know a thing or two about men... if not cricketers.
Sushmita Sen, an avid cricket enthusiast who’s been following the IPL with great gusto, says Shane Watson is the hottest cricket star emerging this year. “He is definitely hot. With a winning attitude and killer looks to match,” she says. The sexy Malaika Arora-Khan, sister Amrita Arora and sister-in-law Alvira Khan, agree that Watson’s the cricketer who makes them go weak in the knees. “There is no doubt, he’s the hottest. And he has performed like a dream,” say all three.

There are more votes in favour of the Aussie cricketer and if Shane Watson ever thought of switching careers, he would be most comfortable in Bollywood. Leading lady Dia Mirza and the lovely Urmila Matondkar are thrilled that Team Rajasthan, which came in without any hype, has played some of the IPL’s best cricket and attracted so much attention. Both think Aussie bad boy Shane Warne was an inspiring captain... but it’s Shane Watson who sets their blood on fire. Joining them in his praise is the pretty Vidya Balan who says, “I’m not such a cricket enthusiast, but when I saw Shane Watson playing, I couldn’t take my eyes of him. What a good looker! And that killer instinct... it makes him the hottest among all.”

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Two Bollywood releases this Friday would mark the beginning of acting careers of three newcomers.

All eyes are set on Sikander Kher , the son of Anupam Kher and Kiron Kher , who makes his film debut with Hansal Mehta’s movie Woodstock Villa along with another newcomer Neha Oberoi . Though Neha has previously acted in one of the short stories in Dus Kahaniyaan , she considers ‘Woodstock Villa’ her proper Bollywood launch.

On the other hand, beautiful model Nisha Rawal is beginning her Bollywood innings in the romantic comedy Hastey Hastey opposite Jimmy Shergill .

Let’s profile the three newbies and see how much potential each has got.

Sikander Kher : Acting is in his DNA and he has worked in the film industry since his teens. At the age of 15, Sikander began as an apprentice under the master filmmaker Yash Chopra on his project Dil To Pagal Hai . Later he worked as an assistant to Sanjay Leela Bhansali during the making of Devdaas . To hone his acting skills, Sikander did workshops with his talented dad and also did a three-month acting course under Kishore Namit Kapoor.

Neha Oberoi : She began her acting career downsouth before Sanjay Gupta , who is a relative of hers, decided to take her under his wing. He cast Neha in the ‘Lovedale’ episode of his ‘Dus Kahaniyaan’. However, Neha considers ‘Woodstock Villa’ as her Bollywood debut.

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