Bollywood News

The promos of Aamir Khan Productions’ Anusha Rizvi directed PEEPLI are being aired across all television cannels and web portals and as one can see apart from the main cast, there is the media which comes across as a main support backup in the film and forms part of the cast. We have had quite a few films where media was shown to be part and parcel of the movie but not many were successful. The last failure in this category was Ramgopal Varma’s RANN.

However, one film that had the guts to pull the media’s leg was Shah Rukh Khan’s PHIR BHI DIL HAI HINDUSTANI, which was ripped apart by the critics and the press alike and being quite ahead of it’s time even the audience could not relate to it’s satirical humour. So, we asked Aamir Khan and director Anusha Rizvi whether they felt any apprehensions since PEEPLI is a satirical comedy, and from the promos even the media appears to be bearing the brunt of the satire.

Aamir Khan was quick to reply that media is a part of PEEPLI and that is the reason why he had called the media especially while unveiling the first look of PEEPLI and was very interested in knowing the reactions of all.

Aamir jokingly added, ‘I don’t want you people to throw shoes at me and before any of you can pull my legs I have pulled a fast one on myself as you can see from the promos,’ referring to a promo where they show a journalist saying that since Aamir Khan’s first film LAGAAN based in a village was a hit he thinks that even this film will turn out to be one.

The director, Anusha Rizvi who herself is a television journalist, also added that media has become very advanced and is a powerful tool that can be used in all walks of life, so why not films!

Certainly we are sure that the media will see the funny as well as the satirical side of PEEPLI and give its full support when it releases all over on 13th August.

Actress Madhoo is excited about her ‘reel’ comeback caper that would bring her to the fore for her histrionics, yet again. Best known for her fresh innocence in Roja, Madhoo will be seen on the marquee as a strong woman of character and the backbone of Amrita Rao who not only takes care of her but also takes care of her late brother’s company’s corporate social responsibilities as well in Rajshri’s LOVE YOU…MR KALAKAAR, directed by S Manasvi, starring Tusshar Kapoor, Amrita Rao, Jai Kalra and others.

Says debutant director S. Manasvi, “Though Madhoo is Amrita Rao’s support system in the film, and has brought her up, she is also her best friend. She has portrayed the role of a woman who is in her late 30s but yet is a contemporary Indian woman of today.”

Says Madhoo, “I chose the character for its strength. It is a very well-etched role and working with Rajshri Production is something that every actor cherishes!”

Here is looking forward to more of Madhoo on the silver screen!

THAT GIRL IN YELLOW BOOTS, a Hindi thriller film directed by acclaimed film-maker Anurag Kashyap and co-produced by National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) has been selected for the esteemed 67th Venice Film Festival. The film will be screened under Out-of-Competition section at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Under this section important works by directors already established in previous editions of the Festival are showcased. The festival will take place from 1st to 11th September 2010 at Venice Lido.

THAT GIRL IN YELLOW BOOTS will also be screened at the forthcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film will have its North American Premiere under Special Presentations.

THAT GIRL IN YELLOW BOOTS is a thriller tracing Ruth’s (Kalki Koechlin) search for her father – a man she hardly knew but cannot forget. Desperation drives her to work without a permit, at a massage parlour. Torn between several schisms, Mumbai becomes the alien but yet strangely familiar backdrop for Ruth’s quest. She struggles to find her independence and space even as she is sucked deeper into the labyrinthine politics of the city’s underbelly. A city that feeds on her misery, a love that eludes her and above all, a devastating truth that she must encounter. And everyone wants a piece of her.

The movie stars Kalki Koechlin as Ruth alongwith Naseeruddin Shah, Prashant Prakash, Gulshan Devaiya, Shivkumar Subramaniam, Divya Jagdale, Kumud Mishra and Kartik Krishnan amongst others. The movie is written by Anurag Kashyap and Kalki Koechlin. Music of the film is by Naren Chandavarkar and the cinematography is by Rajeev Ravi.

An ecstatic Anurag Kashyap said, “I am on top of the world. Thank you NFDC to pull the project out of post production limbo and completing it. I would also like to thank Ronnie Screwvala, Sanjay Singh and Sikhya Entertainment for lending me the money and unconditional support”.

You are going to love actor Abhay Deol’s Arjun Barman look in his forthcoming film, AISHA produced by Anil Kapoor Films Company. What’s more, couturier fashion designer Kunal Rawal sought inputs for this exquisite look from not anybody else but the heroine of the film and his good friend, Sonam Kapoor. After all, the fairer sex has the best fashion sense…

The actress, who delivered the biggest hit of her career with I HATE LUV STORYS, sure seems to have some hidden talents as her friend, Kunal reveals. “Sonam is a multi-tasker and she has multiple talents. The fact that her father-sister duo is producing the film gave her a lot of creative freedom and the power to implement them. In fact, I was amazed by Sonam’s fashion sense and her understanding of the adorable characters in the film,” admits Kunal Rawal, who is an accomplished high-end designer.

She may have rubbished co-star Abhay’s intelligent image but the actress sure knows her pr�t and her haute couture. And having an upcoming rising star like Kunal as her friend helped her a lot in helping Abhay don a highly stylised look making him the next hunk in town. After doing films, which have been appreciated for his performances, now Abhay is paying some attention to style too and the duo of Kunal Rawal and Sonam Kapoor are his partners in crime.

Kunal has designed the looks for the male leads (Abhay Deol, Arunoday Singh and Cyrus Sahukar) for the movie AISHA (an adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’) by Anil Kapoor Films Company production. In the romantic film, AISHA, where Abhay Deol plays Arjun Barman (an investment banker), designer Kunal Rawal says that his brief was to style Abhay according to his profession. “Abhay is a clotheshorse. His character is the perfect dresser. Strait-laced yet fun and casual but his outfits are slightly slicker. He’s every girl’s dream. We have given Abhay suits in mixed subtle colors, suits without belts, vintage tie clips, vintage YSL belts from New York in contrasting colors. Arjun loves his brown belts and shoes.”

When it comes to ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI, audience as well as trade is pretty much convinced that the character of Sultan (which is modeled on Haji Mastan) is tailor-made for Ajay Devgn who pretty much seems to be in his ‘intense and dramatic’ zone here.

“Well, that’s what people say even though I never say that”, says Ajay with a smile, “Any role can be said to be tailor-made for anyone. The fact remains though that you have to work hard on every role. You have to study a character and then bring in your own interpretation so that you can perform it well. Aisa nahi hota that a director comes and tell you that ‘Hey Ajay, I wrote this role for you so you do it’ and then you feel glad about it and give an instant nod of consent. So even though Milan (Luthria) is a friend and said that he wanted me to play Sultan, I asked him to narrate the script to me before saying ‘yes’.”

While friendship between Jha and Devgn may have met some roadblocks for some duration at least, what was it about the relationship between Ajay and Milan that made they stay away for full seven years? It was way back in 1999 that Ajay had given a break to debutant Milan for KACHCHE DHAAGE and then also followed it up with CHORI CHORI (2003). However, the two went their different ways with Milan making DEEWAR (Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna), TAXI NO. 9211(Nana Patekar, John Abraham) and HAT TRICK (Nana Patekar, Danny Denzongpa, Paresh Rawal, Kunal Kapoor) with Ajay not featuring in any of the three films.

“Issme koyi badi baat nahi hai“, Ajay shrugs away any insinuations, “Casting is done according to scripts and there are some characters that suit and some which don’t. Milan and I have been friends for quite some time and ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI is one film where he thought of me as the right fit and hence came to me. In any case, In fact I used to be open with him around casting for these films as well and even share my suggestions. I was always in loop.”

If one studies Tusshar’s career graph carefully, he is someone who has enjoyed at least one good success every year. LIFE PARTNER (2009), GOLMAAL RETURNS (2008), SHOOTOUT AT LOKHANDWALA (2007), GOLMAAL (2006), KYA KOOL HAI HUM (2005), KHAKEE (2004) – it has been one continued good run for Tusshar Kapoor. Still, he is one actor who doesn’t seem to be making too much of hue and cry about this through. Pray, why?

“I guess I haven’t cashed my success to the utmost in the past”, ponders Tusshar, “Even when GOLMAAL RETURNS took such a fantastic beginning a couple of years back, I couldn’t celebrate much because I was in South Africa shooting for LIFE PARTNER. The film was a big hit but because I wasn’t in town, I could not find means to cash on the success. There was so much hype around the film but I couldn’t capitalize.”

So what is he aiming to do so that his standing in the industry becomes further firm and he gets better films and more important roles?

“For starters, I am trying to do things which are different”, says Tusshar, “Films like SHOR and HUM TUM AUR SHABANA are steps in that direction. GOLMAAL is anyways a franchise that I am proud of. I am looking at building a brand of myself so that people talk about me for the person that I am. All of this should lead to a perception building exercise.”

Well, one definitely would look forward to how that happens, considering the fact that GOLMAAL 3 is all set to release on 5th November. One can be rest assured that given his past experience, Tusshar isn’t going away anywhere and would certainly stay in town during and after the film’s release.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI releases today and Prachi is going through some nervous times. The youngest member amongst the film’s cast and crew, Prachi is enjoying only third Hindi film release of her career after ROCK ON and LIFE PARTNER. How is her professional life going, considering the fact that she has now been in the industry for some time?

“It has been exactly two and a half years since I started and when I look back, I feel that in the earlier days I used to feel so much like a lost child. I used to have these dreamy eyes and debuting with ROCK ON was like a dream coming true. Doing movies was an ambitious thing to do and I started off without any planning”, says Prachi, “Now ever since I have worked on OUATIM, I feel much more comfortable than how it was a couple of years back.

So can one say that her decisions are independent now or does she still look for guidance from anyone?

“I guess more than the guidance factor, what has really worked for me is that I can feel little more acceptance coming in”, says Prachi after a quick thinking, “I am just hoping that now I get my acknowledgment and space as an actor. In fact even after my first couple of films, there were people who used to ask me if that whether I would continue to do films. Now that OUATIM is arriving, I hope that it would be clear to one and all that rather than returning in a jiffy, I am here to play a long innings.”

Shot to fame with her critically acclaimed debut film LAHORE, Shraddha Das certainly has a reason to celebrate. Shraddha has outdone 100 girls to be casted in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Rom-Com- DIL TOH BACHCHA HAI JI as one of the leading ladies. The film stars big names like Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi and the Chatur of 3 IDIOTS, Omi Vaidya. Shraddha is paired opposite Omi in the film.

The actress went for the auditions of this movie and was one of the 100 young women who were auditioned for the role she bagged. “After my auditions I did not hear from anyone from the movie. I was heartbroken and just didn’t know what to do. But when I finally got a call and they said that out of the 100 women they auditioned I have been selected for the role, I couldn’t stop jumping with happiness,” she says.

Shraddha has done some movies in the south and made her Hindi film debut in LAHORE. But it has always been her dream to be a part of Madhur’s movie. “I haven’t stopped smiling since the day I was signed on for DIL TOH BACCHA HAI JI. My dream has come true and this is one of the best things that has ever happened to me in my life. Now I would tell people to dream more because dreams do come true,” says a very excited Shraddha.

The actress has been a part of many blockbuster movies down south and is known as the sequel queen because she has been a part of sequels of many Telugu movies like ARYA 2, MANTRA 2 and CHANDRAMUKHI 2. She has also sung song called ‘Gajjala Gurram’ in a Telugu movie titled SYE AATA.

Shraddha has seen all the movies made by Madhur and is a big fan of him, as she calls him her dream director. “I love his cinematic sensibilities. I have seen CHANDNI BAR, PAGE 3, CORPORATE, TRAFFIC SIGNAL and FASHION. What I really like about his movies is that women in his movies are not just a pretty picture in the frame. He makes all the characters in his movie important. When I was given the offer to be a part of this movie, I just said ‘YES’ without bothering to know what my role is going to be. I know that whatever he makes me do in this movie, I will have an identity and the character will be worth working on,” she further shares.

Well dreams do come true, is what this instance sums up. So keep dreaming and chasing your dreams, like Shraddha, who is now shooting for Madhur’s film in Mumbai and is on cloud nine, with joy no bound.

Those who are thirsting for some world class action sequences and edge of the seat thrill and adventure, top action director Allan Amin is here to oblige. The action coordinator of hit films like the DHOOM series and RACE has just completed work on two big budget films, Vipul Shah’s ACTION REPLAYY and Sohail Maklai’s KNOCK OUT.

Allan informs that he will soon start to work on Abbas Mustan’s ITALIAN JOB remake, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Katrina Kaif. Allan claims that the remake of ITALIAN JOB will be the biggest action film ever made in the Hindi film industry, and he has his plans ready in place in order to achieve that. Talking about the film Allan revealed that action will be the mainstay and highlight of this Abbas Mustan directed film, and that the audiences are surely in for a treat through some hard core spine chilling actions and stunts.

Well, coming from Allan we definitely believe what he has proclaimed and here is looking forward to the film directed by the men in white, who gave Akshay his first hit and the ‘Khiladi’ image and hoping that they do the same with Aby’s Baby too.

The young generation of Bollywood is extremely professional and always places its work and career ahead and above personal relationships and differences. No wonder we have such exciting pairing which one thought would never happen. Take the case of Abhsishek Bachchan and Katrina Kaif who are now working in three back to back films. A few years ago this would not have been possible for reasons known to one and all.

Similarly we have another extremely professional actress, Deepika Padukone, who has stated in very clear terms that she is ready to work with her ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor, if certain terms and conditions are met. When queried about her terms and conditions Deepika explained that first of all if the story demands the two of them to pair up, secondly her role should be substantial and powerful enough to excite her, thirdly if her dates are adjustable and last but not the least, she should get paid what she demands and gets. If all these conditions are met then Deepika says that she is ready to work with Ranbir or for that matter any other actor.

Well, this sounds mighty interesting, here is hoping that others (read the three Khans) too learn from these youngsters and pair up for sake of their fans!