Bollywood News

Looks like the multifaceted Farhan Akhtar is truly inspired by Aamir Khan’s style, who recently celebrated 10 years of his production house and his epic film LAGAAN.

Now Farhan is all set to celebrate 10 years of his directorial debut DIL CHAHTA HAI, a film that showcased the Indian youth in a new light .The director will take people down memory lane by screening the film along with its cast and crew at Taj Enlighten Film Society’s ‘Naya Cinema Festival’!

Pranav Ashar, Founder member of Taj Enlighten Film Society confirms, “The festival is called Naya Cinema Festival which will be held from the July 15 to July 31. Farhan’s DIL CHAHTA HAI was released exactly ten years back on 24th July and we plan to have a screening exactly on the same day. The festival will celebrate directors whose debuts or second films have been path-breaking. Among the confirmed names are Aparna Sen’s 36 CHOWRINGHEE LANE and Kundan Shah’s JAANE BHI DO YAARO. The festival will be held at Cinemax, NCPA, Edward cinema and some other places.”

Speaking about the filmmaker-actor, Pranav said, “Farhan was the first one to become a member of this society. He has always been very supportive. In fact, when we approached him to inaugurate the festival, he immediately agreed. The film had received tremendous praise from critics for portraying contemporary Indian youth as cosmopolitan and urban. Apart from the screening, he will have an interactive session with the audience and speak about the making of the film.”

One of the much anticipated films of the year, BREAKAWAY, has already been short listed as the curtain raiser of the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival, one of the most influential film festivals of the entire year.

BREAKAWAY is an Indo-Canadian film, directed by Robert Liebermann, produced by First Take Entertainment and Hari Om Entertainment which stars a host of popular Indian, American and Canadian actors such as Russell Peters, Anupam Kher, Camilla Belle, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Rob Lowe, International singers like Ludacris and Drake and a special appearance by Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar.

Being launched at the Toronto Film Festival is indeed a major advantage for the movie due to the expected crowds of 250,000 enthusiastic movie-goers and the great deal of publicity that the film will achieve. Its main contender for the Curtain Raiser is Sarah Polley’s TAKE THIS WALTZ.

BREAKAWAY is based on the Canada’s favorite sport ice hockey and has been shortlisted due to its strong Canadian angle and Hollywood star power, practically assuring them a screening in the Thomson Ray Hall, one of the festival’s main halls, which includes a seating of 2630 people.

Featuring debutant actor Vinay Virmani, BREAKAWAY has been co-produced by Russell Peters, Clayton Peters and Akshay Kumar.

Festival toppers Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey, who will ultimately choose an opener, have not revealed anything about the same.

Here’s hoping to see this much awaited film on the big screen at the Toronto Film Festival very soon!

As the release date of the much talked about film DELHI BELLY comes closer, many little known facts about the movie are trickling in the open.

According to reliable sources, the script writer of DELHI BELLY had to compile 15 drafts before the movie went on the floor. It took him more than 3 years to finish writing the story.

Adds our source, “The makers of DELHI BELLY are of the opinion that this kind of cinema will usher in a new era of adult films that has never been explored before. So far the adult cinema in Bollywood has been attempted on cliched lines. DELHI BELLY tries to break free from that mold and bring in a culture of adult films that reflect the mood of the times and are not just narrated for mere titillation factor as was the trend before.”

DELHI BELLY, which captures the life of contemporary youth in urban India, is set to hit theatres on the 1st of July.

Director Anand L Rai’s TANU WEDS MANU starring R.Madhavan and Kangana Ranaut that released earlier this year has already received a lot of appreciation both from critics as well as the audiences.

The movie was also loved by superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who not only tweeted about the movie but was also heard appreciating the film to a set of people.

After shooting his first love story in Lucknow and Punjab, the director this time again goes to interiors of North India for his next love story which will be shot in Banaras and Allahabad produced by Eros International.

Well, here’s hoping a next big entertainer from the talented director!

Reliance Entertainment and Maruti Pictures’ DOUBLE DHAMAAL that released in 1953 screens worldwide on 24th June has grossed Rs 39.60 crores at the box office in its opening weekend making it the second highest opening for this year.

The weekend collection of DOUBLE DHAMAAL is higher than the entire lifetime box office of DHAMAAL.

DOUBLE DHAMAAL has grossed Rs. 34 crores in India (Rs. 25.60 crores net) and Rs. 5.6 crores gross overseas.

Sanjeev Lamba, CEO, Reliance Entertainment said, “DOUBLE DHAMAAL has received an overwhelming response over the weekend and will continue to attract audience in large numbers across the world. The film has already opened in 37 countries and is scheduled to open in non- traditional markets like France, Russia, CIS States, China, Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus amongst many others.”

DOUBLE DHAMAAL is co-produced by Maruti Pictures and Reliance Entertainment and directed by Indra Kumar. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Mallika Sherawat, Kangna Ranaut, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Ashish Chaudhary and Javed Jaffrey.

HOUSEFULL 2 is all set to be the first big release immediately after IPL 2012 and the makers have already started counting their numbers. Sajid Khan, who is known for being quite open about his predictions, especially when it comes to the fate of his films, has now claimed that his multi starrer would create havoc at the box office and create and break quite a few records.

“I am sure audience would be looking forward to some solid big screen entertainment immediately after the cricket season, “says Sajid who is working backwards to ensure that the film meets it’s 27th April release deadline, “Trust me, 74 crores of HOUSEFULL would be crossed within a weekend or at maximum 4 days for HOUSEFULL 2. The first week would stand at 100 crores while there won’t be more than 30%-35% drop in the second weekend when even the biggest of films get a 50% drop. I am so sure HOUSEFULL 2 will pick up in a big way with word of mouth and lead to immense repeat value.”

Now that he has made this ‘big bhavishyavaani’ about the film’s super success, rest assured every move of his would be closely scrutinized for next 9-10 months before the film eventually hits the screens at IPL 2012 conclusion.

“See, you have to be 100% faithful to your craft”, he says, “Of course at the end of the day it is all in God’s as well as audience’s hands. They are the ultimate teachers who give you a scorecard. I know I will pass with flying colours but then I will also pray that teacher’s mood is good during next April/May.”

Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and with music by Sajid-Wajid, HOUSEFULL 2 boasts of a huge cast comprising of Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, John Abraham, Asin, Jacqueline Fernandez, Zarine Khan, Shreyas Talpade and Shazahn Padamsee along with veterans like Mithun Chakraborty, and Rishi Kapoor with Chunkey Pandey and Johny Lever adding on to the comic fun. The film releases all over on 27th April.

It seems that everybody is waiting eagerly for Salman Khan to get married! Earlier Aamir had said the only way to get Salman married is to tie his hands and take him directly to mandap. Now here is some more interesting buzz to know that not only Aamir is worried about Salman settling down for good, but even Sameera Reddy has a lot to say for Sallu.

Sameera Reddy was recently seen at some virtual gaming portal’s anniversary where she couldn’t resist talking about Salman. She said, “It is very unfortunate that Salman is not yet married in spite of the fact that he’s been into relationships for a number of times. The girls really benefited a lot after being with him. But at the end Salman was all left alone. I think it’s high time when he (Salman) should get into an arranged marriage.”

Well Sameera, was this a genuine answer or is it because of the soft corner that you have for Salman, who is also your first crush?

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was seen along with her husband Abhishek Bachchan for the first time after her pregnancy news. The couple was seen at a special screening of X-MEN: FIRST CLASS at a suburban multiplex.

The actress was spotted wearing a white top and a full length yellow shrug on a blue jeans. Her baby bump was not visible. It’s believed that her baby is due in November, which makes her four months pregnant.

Meanwhile, her upcoming film HEROINE which was announced at the Cannes Film Festival this year is kept on hold by UTV.

Terror would take a new meaning in MURDER 2 with Bhatt’s giving a re-launch of sorts to Prashant Narayanan, an actor who has been around for close to a decade, with the film. He would be playing the character of a eunuch in the film and would be the chief nemesis for Emraan Hashmi and Jcqueline Fernandez.

“If you thought that a villain in Bhatt’s earlier films were cruel and psychopaths, then you have just seen the top of the iceberg. Prashant’s character of Dheeraj Pandey crosses all limits when it comes to carrying a disturbing persona,” informs a source close to the film.

“Since Prashant is playing a eunuch in the film, the obvious reference point goes back to ‘Maharani’, a memorable character of a eunuch pimp that was played by Sadashiv Amrapurkar in Sanjay Dutt starrer SADAK. However Pandey is deadlier than Maharani,” the source continues.

One hopes that the makers say this with utmost confidence. After all one till date remembers Lajja Shankar Pandey (Ashutosh Rana) of Akshay Kumar’s SANGHARSH, Chappan Tikli (Gulshan Grover) of Naseeruddin Shah’s SIR and Ronnie (Sharat Saxena) of Aamir Khan’s GHULAM, all of which were made by Bhatts.

Jacqueline, who happens to be tormented by Prashant’s character in the film, says, “Well, I can say with confidence that Dheeraj Pandey is someone you can’t forget. He is so freaking cool and simply phenomenal. I am currently working on a film like HOUSEFULL 2, but still get a jolt when reminded of Prashant’s psycho act. Even as I am talking to you, just the thought of him continues to terrorize me.”

Even though he made his presence felt almost thirty years back, and that too as a frontline villain in Subhash Ghai’s courtroom drama, MERI JUNG, it was comedy and dance that proved to be Javed’s savior and made him a darling of the audience. Shows on television, and mostly the ones on kids channels soared his popularity sky high and one cannot forget his interesting roles in films like SALAAM NAMASTE, DHAMAAL, KAMBAKKHT ISHQ and 3 IDIOTS which made him a popular star with comedy patronizing audience.

Javed’s latest release, DOUBLE DHAMAAL, has opened to a terrific response at the ticket window and once again Javed has been receiving a whole lot of appreciation and accolades for his performance. When asked about whom he credits his popularity to Javed immediately replied that he owes everything to the kids who have made him reach this height of popularity. The humble actor went on to add that he is not popular amongst the kids but it’s the kids who have made him popular and that he will always make sure that he essays roles and does shows on television that are appreciated by the children and said that he shares a very good rapport with the children and befriends them quite easily.

Certainly DOUBLE DHAMAAL is another such clean cut entertainer which is being loved by the kids, and especially Javed’s character has left them asking for more!