Shah Rukh, Juhi paired again
There was a time when
Shah Rukh Khan and
Juhi Chawla were one of the most happening pairs on the silver screen.
Apart from
Rani Mukherjee and
Preity Zinta, Juhi is perhaps the only other Bollywood actress with whom Shah Rukh has shared immense chemistry. Their pairing in films like
Yes Boss,
Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and
Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani was liked by movie buffs a lot, irrespective of how these films fared at the box-office.
Over the years, Shah Rukh has only risen in the ranks to emerge as the indisputable superstar of Bollywood, while Juhi has relegated herself to a different kind of cinema. Be it
My Brother Nikhil or
3 Deewarein or the recently released
Bas Ek Pal, Juhi has sidestepped the Bollywood mainstream and has embraced the arty cinema.
Though Juhi acted in Shah Rukh Khan’s home production
Paheli last year, she was not paired opposite him.
Now, after a gap of many years, the two are teaming up again in
Ravi Chopra’s next film titled
Bhootnath.
The film will have SRK and Juhi playing a married couple. However, Shah Rukh does not have a full-fledged role. He only makes a brief appearance.
Amitabh Bachchan is the lead player in the film.
Ravi plans to start shooting the film from mid-October. He is almost through with his in-the-making
Babul.
Chelsea to tie up with Yashraj for 'Jhoom'
In the first tie-up of its kind, UK's leading football club
Chelsea has teamed up with India's
Yashraj films in the production of a movie titled
Jhoom, starring Bollywood heartthrob
Abhishek Bachchan and
Preity Zinta.
Bollywood megastar
Amitabh Bachchan also has a cameo role in the film which is slated to be released in May next year.
Chelsea was approached by Yashraj earlier with the story line of the film. The release of the film could coincide with a possible Premiership "triple" if Chelsea successfully defends the title this season, a Chelsea release said.
Abhishek, Priety,
Aishwarya Rai and
Lara Dutta all visited Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea headquarters, recently to attend matches against
Charlton and
Liverpool.
RDB goes to Oscar
The saga of a modern day youth rebellion and one of this year's biggest blockbusters,
Rang De Basanti, will be India's entry to the 2007 Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category, the Film Federation of India announced here on Monday.
The
Aamir Khan-starrer beat heavyweights like
Lage Raho Munna Bhai,
Omkara and
Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna to impress the jury with its "cinematic brilliance" and gain a possible ticket to the Oscars.
This is the second Aamir film to be nominated as an Indian entry for the Oscars after
Lagaan which was shortlisted among the five foreign films in the home stretch for Oscars before falling by the wayside.
'Umrao Jaan' apparels to be auctioned
The royal clothes of
J.P Dutta’s most awaited film
Umrao Jaan are to be auctioned for a noble cause.
Director J.P. Dutta has decided to auction the clothes of his upcoming flick to help an organization working for the welfare of girl children. The name of the organization will be announced on the music launch of the film, which is scheduled to be held on September 28.
The costumes of the film have been designed by
Abu Jani, Sandeep Khosla and
Anna Singh.
It is for the first time that J.P. Dutta, who has the reputation of making films based on war-front, is coming up with a woman-centric film.
Dealing with the feminine subject of the film, Dutta made sure that there should be enough ladies on the sets. According to the industry’s latest news, most of the assistant directors and editors for Dutta’s flick were females.
Umrao Jaan is a musical love story of a courtesan Umrao Jaan based on
Mirza Mohammed Haadi Ruswa’s novel.
In 1981 filmmaker
Muzaffar Ali directed the first screen adaptation of the novel. However, Dutta insists that his flick is not remake of yesteryear’s
Umrao Jaan, but it’s his original take on the courtesan’s life based on the script that his father
O.P. Dutta wrote.
The film features Bollywood’s most-talked-about couple
Abhishek Bachchan and
Aishwarya Rai in main leads.
The film is made at a huge budget of Rs. 200 million and has been shot mostly in Jaipur. Besides Ash and Abhi, the film also features
Sunil Shetty, Shabana Azmi, Arshad Warsi and
Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
Aish and Junior B paired in 'Sarkar 2'
The hottest couple in the tinsel town will be seen together in
Ram Gopal Varma’s sequel of
Sarkar.
Although there are still months left for the project to go on the floors, Ramu has confirmed the presence of
Aishwarya Rai in
Sarkar 2. She will play the lead role opposite
Abhishek Bachchan.
Sarkar 2 will also be the second film to bring
Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek and Aishwarya together on the big screen. The trio previously jammed together for the song "Kajra Re" in the last year’s hit
Bunty Aur Babli. In Ramu’s film, however, their roles will be properly fleshed out.
Ramu says he has been thinking of working with Aishwarya for quite some time. But he did not jump on the decision because he wanted to cast her in a project that is "worthy of her presence".
Just as
Sarkar was Ramu’s own interpretation of
Francis Ford Coppola’s movie
The Godfather,
Sarkar 2 will be roughly along the lines of
The Godfather 2.
The film will show Abhishek Bachchan becoming the head of the clan. Amitabh will have relatively lesser footage. Aishwarya will play the woman who loves Abhi and opposes his involvement in the underworld activities.
Even before
Sarkar 2 goes on the floors, we will see Ash and Abhi in two films.
J.P. Dutta’s
Umrao Jaan is slated to hit the theatres this Diwali, while
Mani Ratnam’s
Guru will release in December.
Ramu next gets busy in the remake of
Sholay. He hopes to complete the film by the end of this year.
Sarkar 2 is scheduled to go on the floors in February.
Dilip Kumar might return to acting
If things go as planned, we might see film legend
Dilip Kumar return to acting in a movie to be produced by his wife, former actress
Saira Banu.
He was the original
Devdas, with brooding eyes and a perpetual grouse with the world, but today's generation of actors have hardly seen him at work. And now, wife Saira Banu hopes to bring back husband Dilip Kumar to acting under her production banner.
"Yes I hope to bring back Dilip sahib once I prove my capability as a producer. There were one or two scripts that we had revived including
Satya Master. If he agrees, I would like to produce that film," Saira Banu told reporters in Mumbai in a rare press conference last night.
"Why not, it would be a good thing," Dilip Kumar said when informed of his wife's plans.
The thespian's last film was
Qila in 1998.
Saira also came out strongly against the recent trend of remakes of old films, saying she had even tried to convince filmmaker
Sanjay Leela Bhansali not to remake
Devdaas.
"I am totally against remakes of old films. How can you hope to replace the original actor, his performance in a remake? I have seen the new 'Devdas' and although it has great production value and grandeur, it does not have the soul that the original had," the yesteryear actress said.
Speaking about her directorial ambitions, she said: "I would love to direct, ideally a light, romantic ambition, but directing and even acting is a full time job. You have to be there all times. My priorities have changed. I prefer to look after my home and family. In production, I can take my own time."
The duo have also followed the trend of Bollywood stars foraying into the burgeoning Bhojpuri film industry, by coming out with their maiden Bhojpuri production, which is set to hit theatres next month.
Katrina in and as Devi Choudharani
Bollywood is rife with rumours that the beautiful
Katrina Kaif has been signed by director
Rituparno Ghosh to play Devi Choudharani in
Bankim Chandra’s similarly named classic.
The novel is based on the life of village girl Prafulla who is married into a zamindar's family. Ill-treated by her in-laws, she is forced to leave the house. After her mother's death she meets the notorious dacoit Bhavani Pathak, who encourages her to take part in devotional activities and christens her Devi Choudharani.
Reports quote Katrina as saying, “Yes, I'm doing
Devi Choudharani with Rituparno Ghosh. The film should go on the floor early next year and it will be made in Hindi. Rituji has explained the character that I have to play in detail to me. It's a dynamic character and it will be my first woman-oriented film.”
Devi Choudharani will be one of Ghosh's mega-budget films with plans of plans of shooting the entire film in Bangladesh, with some scenes in India.
John Abraham eyeing Hollywood?
Reports are that the dashing
John Abraham may star in a Hollywood film soon. John, who is currently in Toronto attending the International Film Festival, may sign a film opposite Hollywood actress
Liv Tyler.
Reports add that the film is tentatively titled
The Good, The Bad and The Avon and will be shot completely in Mexico from June next year.
According to a Bollywood source, "John has a very international look and can easily pass off as a Mexican actor. This is the reason the role has probably been offered to him."
Bhaskar Shetty, John's business manager however said, "He has not signed any film, but is in serious talks with various production houses abroad."
John’s forthcoming film
Kabul Express is one of the half a dozen Indian feature films at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Kukunoor finalizes John for his next film
Even as his already-complete
Dor is yet to hit the marquee, filmmaker
Nagesh Kukunoor is looking forward to work with
John Abraham in his next project.
Kukunoor seems keener to work with some famous names from Bollywood. After his critically acclaimed
Iqbal, Kukunoor has already canned
Dor with
Ayesha Takia and
Gul Panag in the lead roles.
And now he has tied up once again with Percept Picture Company (producers of
Dor) to make two films next year.
The first one is titled
Aashayein and will have John Abraham in the lead role. The second one is tentatively called
Bemisal. Kukunoor is hoping to rope in
Rani Mukherjee for this film.
As for
Aashayein, it will have John Abraham playing a good-for-nothing idler. He plays a compulsive gambler who hopes to win huge amount of money some day. That day eventually comes and he becomes rich in a single stroke of fate. But, on the same day he discovers that he has cancer. The film, as its title suggests, is about keeping hope in the times of despair.
Kukunoor says he saw John’s acting in
Deepa Mehta’s acclaimed film
Water and decided to rope him for the role in the film.
Rani turns glamorous for 'Tara Rum Pum'
Rani Mukherjee is shedding her simple look for a glamorous one in
Siddharth Anand’s movie
Tara Rum Pum.
The talented actress was last seen in a somewhat traditional look in
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna in which she wore expensive saris, had kohled eyes and kept her hair open. In
Tara Rum Pum, however, we will get to see an altogether different avatar of the actress.
Not only is Rani sporting an entirely different hairstyle in the film, she is also wearing very western outfits, something she seldom does before the camera.
Tara Rum Pum is currently being shot in New York. The movie brings Rani and
Saif Ali Khan together again after their successful film Hum Tum two years ago.
The first pictures from the shooting sets of
Tara Rum Pum show a completely transformed Rani. She is looking attractive and sexy in her new avatar.
Saif, on the other hand, has grown back his hair after the short crop of
Omkara. He has also shaved off his stubble.
Director Siddharth Anand says the film is a modern love story set in the US. It is a lighthearted tale of a relationship of mutual love and conflict between the two characters played by Saif and Rani.
Siddharth previously directed Saif in
Salaam Namaste. Although he has repeated Saif in his second film, he opted for Rani instead of
Preity Zinta because “Rani suited the role better,” says Anand.
Tara Rum Pum is being produced by Yash Raj Films. There is a possibility that
Abhishek Bachchan might play a cameo in the film.
Deepika Padukone opposite Junior B?
Rumours are that upcoming model-turned-actress
Deepika Padukone has been signed opposite
Abhishek Bachchan for a forthcoming film.
The film is rumoured to be
Delhi 6 to be directed by
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who last directed the mega hit
Rang De Basanti.
Deepika has already been finalized for
Farah Khan's next
Om Shanti Om opposite
Shah Rukh Khan.
Om Shanti Om is Deepika’s debut film and will go on floors in December.
Deepika has done a three-month acting course from
Anupam Kher's Actor Prepares Academy and also knows Bharatnatyam.
Deepika surely has lady luck on her side for she will be sharing the same frame with SRK and then also work with Abhishek at the very onset of her career.
When Hrithik will fight Hrithik
If rumors are to be believed
Hrithik Roshan will fight
Hrithik Roshan in a forthcoming film.
Rumours are that Hrithik will play a double role in the sequel of
Krrish – that was the sequel of
Koi Mil Gaya. And in that third part, Hrithik will also play the role of the super villain.
One wonders what prompted
Rakesh Roshan to cast Hrithik in a double role?
Perhaps doing so will save his production company
Filmkraft time and money that would need to be spent on training another actor, as the super villain, to perform the same stunts that Krrish the superhero is capable of.
More simply, it could be because it may be difficult for Filmkraft to find another Bollywood hero ready to take the same risks as Hrithik did to perform the stunts.
In other words, perhaps Roshan wants to be in a win-win situation in case the villain in ‘
Krrish 2’ were to eclipse the hero.
Only time will tell the real reason.
Shah Rukh Khan – the remake King?
After
Don and
Deewar, Bollywood superstar
Shah Rukh Khan wants to act in another remake.
Don is slated to release this Diwali and SRK wants to play the lead role of mega superstar
Amitabh Bachchan in
Deewar’s modern-day remake.
And now reports are that SRK will play the role of
Rishi Kapoor in the remake of
Karz that was directed by
Subhash Ghai in 1980.
Karz, which also starred
Tina Munim,
Simi Garewal and
Pran, was about a lover who takes another birth to take revenge on his unfaithful wife. The superb music of the film was a major contributor in making
Karz a hit.
Reports add that the remake of
Karz will be directed by
Farah Khan, who last directed SRK in the runaway hit
Main Hoon Na opposite
Sushmita Sen.
SRK and Rishi acted together in
Deewana in 1992, which starred the late
Divya Bharti in the female lead role.
In 2002, SRK played in
Devdaas the role that was earlier played by the legendary
Dilip Kumar.
Munnabhai creates धमाल at the box-office
Not only at home but also at the box-office abroad,
Lage Raho Munnabhai is turning out to be a money-spinner.
There is no doubt that the film by director
Rajkumar Hirani is headed to become a hit. Apart from
Rang De Basanti,
Lage Raho Munnabhai is perhaps the only other film this year that has been immensely liked by critics and layman alike. Even hit films like
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and
Fanaa have had their share of severe critics. But there is hardly anything not likeable about
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s latest production featuring the loveable duo of Munna and Circuit in their second innings.
Although
Lage Raho Munnabhai has fallen short of getting the mammoth opening at the box-office like
Karan Johar’s
KANK did, the movie still raked in decent earnings in its weekend run at the theatres in major Indian metropolises and some towns in central and northern India.
At the box-office overseas, the film has got a tremendous start, despite the fact that films starring
Sanjay Dutt have had a history of lacklustre performance in the US and UK.
In the UK, Munnabhai opened at 15th spot on the charts and made a decent £ 233,158 in its weekend run on 38 screens.
In the US, the film shot to 22nd position in its opening week and collected $ 863,073 (much better than expected) on 65 screens during its weekend run.
The response to the movie has also been very encouraging at the Australian box-office. Being shown on 8 screens there, the film has made 74,878 Australian dollars so far.
Back home in India, the euphoria around the film has just begun to build up with the word of mouth playing a big role in drawing more people to cine theatres. Many viewers are coming back to see the film for the second time.
According to trade analysts, if the film continues to grow on the audience in the coming weeks and months, then it might emerge as the biggest hit of 2006.
Big B tries hand at writing script
Amitabh Bachchan is helping write the script of one of his new films, a rare career move for the superstar traditionally known as a director's actor, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Bachchan, 63, is assisting in developing the script of
Johnny Walker, the first film he signed after recovering from intestine surgery this year, the Times of India said.
"I am excited about
Johnny Walker hence more involved," the daily quoted Bachchan as saying.
Although the script has been in the works for the last one year, the makers of the film, directed by newcomer
Soojit Sircar, have refused to reveal its storyline. Media reports have speculated that it is a love story.
Bachchan, who was voted the entertainer of the millennium in an online poll, has acted in more than 150 films, portraying the angry rebel, the honest police officer, gangsters, and now in keeping with his age, the authoritative patriarch.
Hrithik readies to play Akbar
From a superhero in
Krrish to a sly thief in
Dhoom 2,
Hrithik Roshan now takes yet another stride to play a royal role in
Ashutosh Gowarikar’s next film.
After months of speculation in the media circles, Gowarikar’s ambitious project
Jodha Akbar is ready to roll. The film is a historical with Hrithik playing emperor Akbar and
Aishwarya Rai playing his lover Jodha Bai.
It was speculated that Ashutosh Gowarikar had fallout with production house
UTV, which was slated to produce the film. But it now appears that UTV – headed by
Ronnie Screwvala – is firmly backing the project. The film has a lavish budget of Rs. 39 crore.
Hrithik and Gowarikar have been meeting over the past few weeks to discuss the nitty-gritty of Hrithik’s character in the film. It’s learnt that Hrithik will have to undergo training in elephant riding for the film. Emperor Akbar used to ride elephants. He seldom rode horses.
Gowarikar has also clarified that ‘Jodha Akbar’ is not a war movie but a love story.
Hrithik and Aishwarya will read the Mughal history and also the story of Akbar’s life before shooting for the film. The two might also undergo a diction training to get their dialogues right. Gowarikar has done thorough research on the movie’s subject. He is also taking the assistance of the learned scholar Haider Ali.
One more Hera Pheri
Get ready for yet another laugh riot featuring the loveable trio of Baburao, Raju and Shyam.
If you aren’t sated by the comic camaraderie between
Akshay Kumar,
Paresh Rawal and
Sunil Shetty in the recently released
Phir Hera Pheri, here’s some good news. The film’s producer
Firoz Nadiadwala is moving ahead with plans to make the third installment of the film.
The first version
Hera-Pheri was directed by
Priyadarshan. The second version,
Phir Hera Pheri, failed to match up to its prequel. It was directed by writer-turned-director
Neeraj Vora. Now, Nadiadwala is reported to have signed filmmaker
Anees Bazmee to direct the third version. Bazmee is the one who directed last year’s superhit comedy
No Entry.
Obviously, Hera Pheri 3 will again star Akshay, Paresh and Sunil in the main roles. The remaining star cast is yet to be finalized. Besides directing the film, Bazmee will also write its script.
Aish’s look in Umrao Jaan arouses curiosity
When one of the most beautiful women in the world goes behind the veil, it is natural for her fans to be curious. As
J.P. Dutta’s most awaited venture
Umrao Jaan is coming close to its release, the cine lovers are getting curious about
Aishwarya Rai’s look in the movie.
The director has still not disclosed much about her look and has kept Ash’s all-new avatar under wraps. After
Devdaas it will be Ash’s second movie in which she will be seen portraying a character from history.
In order to create a right look for Ash’s character of the courtesan and poetess
Umrao Jaan in the film, Dutta is said to have gone into meticulous detail in costumes and jewellery. He has also created the authentic ambience by using the right architecture and antique items. But more than the costumes and ambience, it is the performance of the leading actors on which the success of the movie hinges.
According to Dutta, Ash has worked intelligently to bring the right nuances in the mannerisms and body language of her character. The movie’s dialogues are in Urdu and Ash had to get the right voice modulation to bring conviction to her performance.
The movie is a musical love story of a courtesan Umrao Jaan based on
Mirza Mohammed Haadi Ruswa’s novel. In 1981, filmmaker
Muzaffar Ali directed the first screen adaptation of Ruswa's book, starring
Rekha in the title role. Rekha won a National Award for her performance.
It goes without saying that cinegoers will compare Ash’s performance with Rekha and it will be a great challenge for Ash to match up to her predecessor’s style.
J. P. Dutta insists that his film is not a remake of Muzaffar Ali’s
Umrao Jaan, but an original take on the courtesan’s life, based on the script written by his father
O.P. Dutta.
The flick will mark Dutta’s comeback after
LoC Kargil and his first experiment with a women-centric theme. Most of Dutta’s previous flicks were based on warfront, which left little scope for his female cast.
The movie buffs are also curious to see the chemistry between Ash and
Abhishek Bachchan who will pair opposite each other in this film after
Kuch Naa Kaho.
Umrao Jaan, made on a budget of Rs. 200 million, was shot mainly in Jaipur. It also stars
Shabana Azmi,
Sunil Shetty,
Arshad Warsi and
Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
The lyrics of the film are written by
Javed Akhtar and the music is composed by
Anu Malik.
The film is slated to release this Diwali.
