Paris Hilton turns saintly
Socialite and hotel heiress Paris Hilton is excited at the thought of playing Mother Teresa in a film on the Nobel laureate, says well-known Malayalam director T. Rajeevnath.
Rajeevnath, who is scouting for a suitable actress, said a friend of his called up from the US to say that Hilton, in a late night television interview, expressed her delight at being short-listed for the title role.
Since news surfaced about the film, Rajeevnath has been approached by several international production houses.
"I have had a mail from the agents of Warner Brothers and several others, including from South Africa and Kenya, expressing their desire to associate with the proposed film," said Rajeevnath.
The English film will be mostly shot in West Bengal, where Mother Teresa spent most of her life serving the poor, and in several foreign countries.
The preliminary script has been readied with the help of scriptwriter John Paul.
The budget is expected to be around Rs.500 million ($11.3 million). Among those who have already pledged full cooperation in the film are actors Mithun Chakraborty, Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal.
Veteran cameraman Santosh Sivan has also been roped in, so has Ramoji Rao Film City who are keen to support the venture. The director has already said that the proceeds of the film would go to the Missionaries of Charity, which Mother Teresa founded.
Mallika Strikes Out Aishwarya
What Aishwarya Rai can do, Mallika Sherawat can also do. After Rai’s Oprah Winfrey sojourn, the Haryanavi Jat will be interviewed on the show
Good Morning America on ABC News. Sherawat and Asha Bhosle are the two Hindi film personalities interviewed by the channel besides leading personalities from other fields and senior politicians.
Tagging her as the new confident and cool Indian, the channel requested her to be on the show.
She spoke about the fact that it’s cool to be an Indian today and that Indians have much to be proud of in the wake of changing global equations. The show will be aired in America in March.
Madhuri Dixit to sizzle again
Madhuri Dixit fans all over can rejoice. Because the actress is all set to perform live on February 25th, after a gap of close to 6 years. The venue will be the Filmfare Awards and her performance will be a tribute to the late Parveen Babi.
She is currently in town for a two month vacation along with her sons. She will soon be joined by her husband. The entire performance will be prepared in four days flat. She is quite excited about it and is looking forward to meeting all her colleagues in Bollywood. It will be choreographed by Saroj Khan, her favourite.
I would love to act with Aishwarya
Chicken tikka masala and Bollywood leading lady Aishwarya Rai top Will Smith's list of favourites in India. He also says he's keen to see the Taj Mahal on his first trip to India.
The American movie and music star is in India for a week to launch Sony Entertainment's new English language movie channel, Pix, and make a guest appearance on Indian Idol, India’s version of the US hit, according to a media report.
Is it all over for Salman?
According to Bollywood, Salman Khan is the comeback king and is sure to bounce back.
The court has finally put an end to his misery by sentencing him to one year of imprisonment. With an estimated Rs 150 crore riding on Khan right now, the film industry should be in a tizzy but it is not pushing the panic button just yet.
"It is very difficult for me to say at this stage how my film will be affected," reveals director Ravi Chopra whose Babul stars Salman. "But I am sure Salman will come out of this unscathed."
A sentiment echoed by director Raj Kanwar, who is planning a film with the star. "Salman will bounce back from this. I am planning a project with him which will begin after the release of my Akshay Kumar starrer Humko Deewana Kar Gaye."
Salman has a cameo appearance in the film. The projects which could land in trouble if the judgment comes through are Sajid Nadiadwala's Jaaneman, Nikhil Advani's Salaam-E-Ishq, Chopra's Babul, Rumi Jaffrey's God Tussi Great Ho, amongst others.
Since it is a suspended sentence, everyone in Bollywood is expecting he will appeal against the ruling.
Aamir wanted Hrithik in Rang De...
Almost every Indian is going crazy over
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's
Rang De Basanti. And the most loved character that has emerged from the film was of Bhagat Singh, or Karan, played by
Siddharth.
Overnight, the south actor has found himself hordes of female fans. But no one knows that Mehra originally offered
Hrithik Roshan the role of Karan Singhania.
Actually, it was
Aamir Khan who was very keen to have Hrithik in the film. He thought he would be perfect for the role. Khan, along with Rakeysh, even went personally to meet Hrithik, to persuade him to do the film. But Hrithik turned it down.
Sources reveal Hrithik didn’t want to do the film because he thought Aamir’s role was better. Hrithik wanted to play DJ, Aamir’s role.
Father
Rakesh Roshan refutes this. “It was nothing to do with the length of the role. Yes, Hrithik was approached to play a role in
Rang De Basanti, but those dates were clashing with Krrish, so he couldn’t do the role.”
First hit of the year
Rang De Basanti has been declared the first hit of the year, with its first four days bringing in a cool Rs 22.8 crore worldwide. More than the fact that the movie gives its producers a reason to grin, and a sense of relief to director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (his first film, Aks, tanked at the box office), Rang De Basanti has become important in the three weeks of its release for quite another fact - it is very rare for a movie to become such a huge talking point.
It is a film about relationships, history, and about identity; the strands are skilfully woven.It is also a very contemporary experience. This is truly how a whole bunch of metro college kids talk, rap and hang out. It is another matter that the strands get skittered in the end, which results in the five young men dying a bloody death, after they kill the country's defence minister, who would otherwise have gone off scot-free, despite being guilty of malfeasance. Ironically, the killings, which cause the film to stutter and stop in most critics' opinions, have become the hottest debating point.
Its Mahabharat between Mani and Rituparno
Mythology has never had it so good. Two of the country's pre-eminent filmmakers from two corners of the country are all set to do their own take on the Hindu epic Mahabharat.
Mani Ratnam has started spadework on his version of the epic, which Bobby Bedi will produce. And Rituparno Ghosh has already started scripting his version of the Mahabharat, which will be produced by RPG, the film production sector of Sa Re Ga Ma and HMV.
Ritu, who has just completed a new Bengali film Doshar, is quick to clarify: "Please, everyone is making 'Mahabharat'. My film is not about the entire 'Mahabharat'. It will, therefore, not clash with Mani's plans at all.
"Mine is a 'womanist' view of the 'Mahabharat'. It will focus almost entirely on the female characters, particularly Draupadi who I think is one of the most fascinating women in our mythical culture."
Ritu's epic will start shooting in mid-2006.
"Ideally I'd have wanted it to be only in English. For Hindi audiences, the image of B.R. Chopra's telethon 'Mahabharat' is indelible. However, my producers want Draupadi to be a bilingual. So be it."
Hrithik nods for Zoya Akhtar's first
Hrithik Roshan is very choosy when it comes to signing new films. But the actor has reportedly given his nod to a movie that is written by
Zoya Akhtar, the younger sister of director
Farhan Akhtar.
It looks like Zoya has for the time being shelved her plans to make
Luck By Chance which was supposed to be a satirical, tongue-in-cheek exposé of the workings of the Hindi film industry. The movie could not get off because Zoya wasn’t able to find any replacement after
Saif Ali Khan walked out of the project more than a year ago.
The film, yet untitled, will be jointly produced by Farhan and his friend Ritesh Sidhwani.
Shooting of the movie is not likely to start before October this year. Till then, Zoya says she has ample time to work on the movie and “prep it up.”
Bobby Darling wins award at Monaco Film Festival
Bobby Darling can't believe his luck after winning the
best supporting actor award at the Monaco International Film Festival for his performance in "Navarasa".
The film is based on the life of eunuchs.
Bobby feels he has come a long way since his arrival in Bollywood six years ago.
"I started my career with a small role in Subhash Ghai's 'Taal'. And now he has given me a really fabulous role in his new production 'Apna Sapna Money Money'."
Bipasha as Draupadi
For his much cherished English Project tentatively titled
Draupadi, acclaimed Bengali director
Rituparno Ghosh has finalised
Bipasha Basu for the character of Draupadi.
Says ecstatic Rituparno, "I wanted my Draupadi to be dark and attractive. Not a sex symbol, but she had to possess the oomph factor. I could see all these qualities in Bipasha.
Bipasha, however, refuses to give out any details about her upcoming project till the deal is officially signed.
