Saif bowled out by more money

Organizers of a charity cricket match are withdrawing their offer to Saif to make an appearance because of his demand for a hefty fee.

The good folks at Bollyvista give us this-

Saif Ali Khan was asked to make a fleeting appearance at a charity cricket match at Mohali, but he demanded a fat pay packet to do it! Saif's unsporting gesture did not go down well with the organizers of the match.

The match will be a limited 20 over match played between former Indian cricketers and Bollywood personalities such as Neha Dhupia, Anupam Kher, Rahul Bose, and possibly Suneil Shetty.

Saif is riding high on his recent success with Parineeta, Salaam Namaste, Being Cyrus, and Omkara, so it goes without saying that he has made enough dough to keep his boat afloat. So what's up with the diva attitude? Shame on you, Saif, shame on you!

[via Bollyvista]

Tags: bollywood news, bollywood, saif khan, cricket,

Umrao Jaan - Movie Review

J P Dutta recreates the story of Umrao Jaan based on the famous book 'Umrao Jaan Ada' by Mirza Hadi Ruswa.

The story is about the emotional journey of a common small town girl Amiran, abducted from her home and sold in the bazaars of Lucknow.

When she first came to Lucknow, she was Amiran, the eight year old daughter of a lower middle class family. Her father was a Jamadar at the 'Bahu Begum Ka Makhbara' in Faizabad. A pious and simple man, he gave evidence in a case against Dilawar Khan, a habitual offender. Dilawar was sentenced to jail for ten years.

After finishing his sentence Dilawar came out, only to kidnap Amiran, car her to Lucknow and sell her to a kotha owned by the astute Khanum Sahib. This was the vengeance and a few rupees as bonus. "Let her suffer a death worse than a death", he said.

A kotha in that age, especially that of Khanum was not only a cultural hub known for excellence in performing arts but also a temple of learning - learning the art of living. As an inmate of the kotha, Khanum gave her the name 'Umrao', Bua Hussaini brought her up in style. Maulvi Sahib imparted education; Khan Sahib initiated her into the world of music while the great Kathak Acharya made her feet move to rhythm. In the company of Bismillah, Khurshid and Gauhar Mirza, Umrao developed varied skills including poetry. The pen name "Ada" was ample proof of proficiency in writing and presenting poetry that she went on to acquire.

Graduating in years, Umrao became a rage in Lucknow. A beauty that was stunning, a manner that was enticing and words that were soul stirring, made the name of Umrao Jaan mean sheer joy of watching and listening.

Stepping into youth, she had to seek the love of her life. His name was Nawab Sultan. With the whole of Avadh at her feet, Umrao craved for Sultan's company. Somewhere deep inside her being, she had a dream of a husband, a family and a home. She chased her dream from one end of the rainbow to the other.

Would she realize her dream ever? Would she come face to face with Amiran once again?

Release Date: November 3, 2006

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Tags: umrao jaan, bollywood, movie review

Amar Akbar Anthony will get the remake treatment

No movie from the 70s or 80s is safe these days, especially the Amitabh Bachchan ones. Amar Akbar Anthony is the next movie starring Amitabh in the original that is being remade by David Dhawan.

Curious about the casting? The good folks at Telugu Portal give us this-

He has roped in Salman, Arbaaz and Sohail Khan in the roles of Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor respectively, reports Bollywood Trade.

What is up with Bollywood and remakes these days? Has the well of creative writing run completely dry? Are there no original stories left to tell in Indian movies? Now remakes by itself is not a bad thing, but I just feel that Bollywood is going overboard with it. I am especially skeptical about David Dhawan being at the helm of this. David has produced his fair share of duds in the past and I would hate to see him ruin a classic like Amar Akbar Anthony to a street-side comedy.

[via Telugu Portal]

Tags: amar akbar anthony, bollywood, bollywood news

Retailers shy away from MP3 soundtracks

The advent of original soundtracks produced in MP3 format has retailers worried. One shopkeeper stated the following reason-

First and foremost the margins are quite low. While I can send a regular CD for approx. Rs. 150/= and earn a margin of Rs. 25-30 at an average, in case of MP3 this comes down substantially since its cost is in the range of Rs. 60-80/=. Fair enough, I may still manage to cover some ground due to the volume factor as it is bound to grow, but then what happens to the other titles that I wish to sell.

Typically these original MP3 CDs come with a selection of tracks from other films. The retailers are worried that including additional soundtracks hurts the music sale of the regular audio CDs for those films. The shop owners have adopted to keep the MP3 CDs away from their displays and sell them only if a customer demands it.

This is a worrisome trend. Although I can understand that it makes business sense for the mom & pop music shops, I am afraid that such tactics will hurt the adoption of original digital music. They need to understand that a lower margin coupled with a small loss from the soundtracks of older movies is better than no business at all, which is what will happen when the kids get pirated music online for free.

[via IndiaGlitz]

Tags: bollywood, bollywood music, bollywood news

Sooraj Barjatya is Karan Johar's guru

CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand recently interviewed Sooraj Barjatya and Karan Johar to discuss their brand of film making. The interview contains the usual fluff with Karan and Sooraj expressing admirations for each other's films, but it I found this quote from Karan Johar interesting-

After seeing Hum Aapke Hain Kaun I realized Indian cinema is about values, tradition, subtlety, romance. There is so much soul in it. After watching this film I got the answers to all the questions I had in my mind. I decided to go ahead and be a filmmaker only after watching this film.

Come to think of it, both Barjatya and Johar's films have similar themes. They address the values and traditions of the Indian culture. The difference being that Karan's films are heavily westernized and whereas Sooraj's films are heavily Indianised. In the interview, Barjatya even admits this by saying-

If I had conceived KANK, it’s setting would not have been New York but perhaps somewhere in Delhi.

Perhaps Amit ji's character would have been someone from Haridwar or Jhansi who dons a holy ganji. I think it’s just the way we look at characters.

The dream merchants: Barjatya and Johar | Video 1 | Video 2 | Video 3

Tags: bollywood, karan johar, sooraj barjatya