After Rang De Basanti, it is Delhi 6 for Rakeysh Mehra

Rang De Basanti was one my favorite movies of last year. It had a strong social message with great comedy and fantastic music from A. R. Rehman. Rang De Basanti bought Rakeysh Mehra the Star Screen Awards for the Best Director. Rakeysh has announced his next directorial venture titled Delhi 6.

The good folks at Indiafm tell us that Delhi 6 is Rakeysh Mehra's semi-autobiographical film. It is about a young man coming of age in the hustle bustle of Chandni Chowk in New Delhi. Shooting for Delhi 6 is expected to begin this summer.

[via Indiafm]

Technorati Tags: bollywood, bollywood news, rang de basanti, delhi 6, rakeysh mehra

Movies releasing this week - January 12, 2007

Bhagam Bhag continued to perform reasonably well at the box office in its second week. Kabul Express is doing well in multiplexes. Baabul registered huge drop in collections despite its big star cast. Dhoom 2 continues to do well in its sixth week. Vivah continues to its strong run at the box office in its eigth week. Aryan completely flopped. Apna Sapna Money Money, Don, Jaan-E-Mann, and Lage Raho Munnabhai are doing good business as well.

Box Office Top 5 in order are Bhagam Bhag, Kabul Express, Dhoom 2, I See You, and Vivah.

I expect Guru to become #1 at the box office next week followed by Bhagam Bhag, Kabul Express, Dhoom 2, and Vivah.



Guru
Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan, Mithun Chakraborty
Preview
Villager

Idhar village, Gujarat.

Don't dream. Dreams never come true, my father, the headmaster of our village school often told me when I was a young boy. But I did dream. As I grew, so did my dreams. Bigger than my outstreatched arms, bigger than my small house, bigger than my village.

I loved Idhar. It was quiet, peaceful, lazy and green. But I knew that my destiny was beyond this village...

I knew that my destiny had to be made by me.


Visionary

Bombay, 1958

When I came to Bombay I had two shirts, a wife, a brother-in-law and Rs.15,000 in a small suitcase to start a business. But all doors were shut for a newcomer. Indian business and trade were run by a handful of the rich and the privileged. Only they were given the licenses, they had the quotas and they controlled all the government and trade. It was an exclusive club where it was imposible for an ordinary middle class newcomer to enter, leave alone succeed. You had to kick the doors open or cajole them open. I did both. I did not take no for an answer. And that's because I can never hear the word no.

Winner

40 Years.

We started Shakti Trading in a 350 sq feet room, with one telephone, one table and three chairs.

Today Shakti Corporation is the first Indian company to enter the Forbes top 500 list.

People ask me how this happened.

I say by thinking...

Think Big, Think Ahead and Think Fast.



Anwar
Starring Siddharth Koirala, Manisha Koirala, Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Raaz
Preview
Anwar is the story of a young man, an artist, who leaves his home and everything he knows in order to escape a world he no longer recognizes.

All he ever wanted was a love story, Instead, his mentor abandons him and his best friend and his one true love betray him. Devastated, emotionally exhausted, he takes refuge in an old building, only to wake up the next morning to find his world turned upside down. Mistaken for a terrorist, Anwar finds himself in the midst of an unusual set of circumstances that resonate deeply with the modern Indian Condition and indeed with the Human Condition in this present-day global village.

Surrounded on all sides by a host of characters who try and engineer the situation to their profit, Anwar becomes the central character upon which the others base their hopes and their deepest desires. A rabble-rousing Minister pitching for the popular vote; two journalists; one a nationally renowned TV reporter and the other a small-town scribe, looking to resurrect their careers and, as a consequence, their lives; a priest whose only concern is the maintenance of the status quo; and a senior police officer who only wants to leave, but must first resolve the situation... in any way he can. Through them, and through the other stories weaving in and out of the film, we discover a huge love story, plastered against the canvas that is India. And that, above all, is what Anwar is about. About the simple human need to connect, to love and to be loved, and to believe...

But now remains Faith, Hope, Love, these three...

And the greatest of these is love.



Undertrial
Starring Rajpal Yadav, Monica Castelino, Kader Khan, Prem Chopra
Preview
This is a portrayal of the life of Sagar Hussain (Rajpal Yadav), whose life is a reflection of the two sides of the same coin – one side which is what the society perceives it to be, and the other side, is the truth.
Sagar Hussain is the under-trial prisoner at the central jail. He is ‘accused’ of raping his daughters continuously for eight years, and also, for conspiring to murder them. That is why Sagar is much hated by even his fellow prisoners irrespective of the extent of their crimes. Such a heinous crime that has made him a pariah for even the most hardened criminals.
The evidence is stacked up against Sagar. The last witness is Sagar’s wife, Sameena (Monica Castellino), who wants to ensure life imprisonment for him with the help of the public prosecutor, Mr. P.P.Verma (Prem Chopra). Amidst a guaranteed guilty verdict enters Ravi Vishnoi (Kader Khan) to, perhaps, his rescue. What happens thereafter is the crux of the story…whether one of the most strict judges of the court, Justice Jaya Reddy (Pratima Kazmi), pronounces him guilty? Do Sagar’s wife and daughters get ‘justice’? Does Ravi Vishnoi maintain his track record of never losing a case? The answers to these questions will emerge in UNDERTRIAL.

Box Office Report via Desi Fans
Previews via nowrunning

Technorati Tags: bollywood, bollywood movies, bollywood release dates, bollywood box office, guru, anwar, undertrial

Colbert talks about Shah Rukh Khan - Amitabh Bachchan feud on The Colbert Report - VIDEO

Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central featured a 2 minute segment called "We the Mediator" on the January 9, 2007 episode in which he takes sides on celebrity feuds and presents it by injecting his trademark humor to the proceedings. Check out the video-



[via nowrunning]

Technorati Tags: bollywood, bollywood news, amitabh bachchan, shah rukh khan, stephen colbert, colbert report

A movie on Abu Salem with the man himself

Now this is an interesting piece of news. Abu Salem's lawyer Ashok Sarogi and his wife, Saria, are producing a movie on the life of Abu Salem. The movie may feature Abu Salem himself for a few shots if the court grants permission to film him under heavy security. The cast and title of the movie have not been announced. The good folks at M&C give us this-

'The film will capture Salem's rise from a small-time street vendor in suburban Andheri to a dreaded mobster. I got the idea of making the film on Salem's life after I interacted with him in jail,' said Salem's lawyer Ashok Sarogi.

'During my interaction, I found that there was a tale behind his life's story. The film will project him as a man with a gentle heart,' Sarogi said.

The untitled three-hour Hindi movie is being produced by Sarogi's wife Saria and directed by N. Chandra with an Rs.40 million budget.

The cast includes leading Bollywood actors who would be playing the roles of Abu Salem and his love interest Monica Bedi, a former actor. But Sarogi is not disclosing the names at this stage.

The Sarogis are hopeful of roping in the mobster for some close-in shots, provided the TADA court grants permission.

'We want him for some close-in shots to be filmed within the city. We would move the TADA court to allow him to come out of the jail under police escort,' said Saria.

'However, if the court turns down our plea, then we will have to do the shots with a duplicate.'

I understand there is novelty value in getting the real life gangster appear in a movie and the authentic touch it would lend to the enterprise. As much as I would like to see Abu Salem play himself in front of the camera, I believe the court will be opening a Pandora's box if they allow this. Think about it - if they grant approval for Abu Salem, they will be setting a precedent that would be hard to reverse. Sooner or later, any film star who goes behind bars is going to want to continue working on their movies under the same pretext. Not only would this be unfair it would make the entire legal system a joke from an actor's perspective if they knew they could always get out of jail for a day behind the camera.

[via M&C]

Technorati Tags: bollywood, bollywood news, abu salem

Afghanistan government supports movie piracy by banning Kabul Express

Two days ago, news broke that Kabul Express, in it's third week of release, has been banned by Afghanistan because an ethnic minority of the country has been portrayed in poor light. The good folks at Dawn give us this-

“The film has some sentences which were very offensive towards one of Afghanistan's ethnicities, namely the Hazara,” said Minister of Culture adviser Najib Manalai. “For this reason it has been banned.”

Hazara people are believed to make up about 10 per cent of the Afghan population. A Shia Muslim minority, Hazaras are thought to be descended from remnants of Genghis Khan's invading army and have at times faced persecution.

Banning the movie only makes the Afghan government look like fools because they supported the shooting of the movie in their own country by providing heavy security to the cast and crew. That aside, does banning a movie ever actually work? Publicly banning a movie only draws more attention to it and raises the curiosity of the casual movie-goer. These movies usually end up grossing big at the box office because of this curiosity factor. Look what happened to Gadar when it was banned in some states in India.

News is coming out now that, despite the ban, pirated copies of Kabul Express are available in the black market with the prices of these copies jumping since the ban was issued. The good folks at Apun ka Choice give us this-

Four days after the Afghan government banned the John Abraham – Arshad Warsi starrer’s screening in the country due to fears that certain derogatory remarks in it about Shia Hazaras might offend the minority community, the rental rate for ‘Kabul Express’ has shot up to 30 Afghanis as against 10 Aghanis for other films in the local market.

The price of a DVD of the film has jumped from 50 Afghanis (one dollar) to 100 Afghanis, but people said getting hold of copies was no problem.

At the end of the day, the ban has hurt the makers financially but it has not stopped the viewer from obtaining copies of the movie. All the Afghan government has done is supported the growth piracy. Well done!

[via Dawn | Apun ka Choice]

Technorati Tags: bollywood, bollywood news, kabul express, afghanistan

Winners of the 13th Star Screen Awards

The Star Screen Awards have announced their winners for the year. The list below contains all the nominations with the winners in bold and my picks underlined. I must say that they did a fantastic job of picking the winners - all well deserved in a year full of great movies from Bollywood. I was not able to obtain a complete list of winners at the time of this writing so the winners of some categories have not been indicated.





Best Film

Krrish (Rakesh Roshan)

Lage Raho Munnabhai (Vidhu Vinod Chopra)

Omkara (Kumar Mangat)

Rang De Basanti (Ronnie Screwvala, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra)

Vivah (Kamal Kumar Barjatya, Rajkumar Barjatya, Ajit Kumar Barjatya)

Best Director

Anurag Basu (Gangster)

Nagesh Kukunoor (Dor)

Rajkumar Hirani (Lage Raho Munnabhai)

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Rang De Basanti)

Sooraj Barjatya (Vivah)

Vishal Bharadwaj (Omkara)

Best Actor

Aamir Khan (Rang De Basanti)

Ajay Devgan (Omkara)

Hrithik Roshan (Krrish)

Hrithik Roshan (Dhoom 2)

Sanjay Dutt (Lage Raho Munnabhai)

Shahid Kapoor (Vivah)

Best Actress

Aishwarya Rai (Dhoom 2)

Amrita Rao (Vivah)

Ayesha Takia (Dor)

Bipasha Basu (Corporate)

Kajol (Fanaa)

Kareena Kapoor (Omkara)

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male)

Amitabh Bachchan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)

Arshad Warsi (Lage Raho Munnabhai)

Atul Kulkarni (Rang De Basanti)

Kunal Kapoor (Rang De Basanti)

Nana Patekar (Taxi No. 9211)

Sharman Joshi (Rang De Basanti)

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female)

Gul Panag (Dor)

Kirron Kher (Rang De Basanti)

Konkona Sen Sharma (Omkara)

Ratna Pathak Shah (Yun Hota To Kya Hota)

Seema Biswas (Vivah)

Best Actor In A Negative Role (Male/Female)

Aamir Khan (Fanaa)

Esha Deol (Ankahee)

Saif Ali Khan (Omkara)

Shah Rukh Khan (Don)

Shiney Ahuja (Gangster)

Best Actor In A Comic Role (Male/Female)

Om Puri (Malamaal Weekly)

Ranveer Shorey (Khosla Ka Ghosla)

Shreyas Talpade (Dor)

Tusshar Kapoor (Golmaal)

Uday Chopra (Dhoom2)

Best Background Music

Dor (Salim-Sulaiman)

Fanaa (Salim-Sulaiman)

Gangster (Raju Singh)

Omkara (Vishal Bharadwaj)

Rang De Basanti (AR Rahman)

Best Music

Aksar (Himesh Reshammiya)

Fanaa (Jatin Lalit)

Jaan-E-Mann (Anu Malik)

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)

Rang De Basanti (AR Rahman)

Omkara (Vishal Bharadwaj)

Best Playback Singer (Male)

KK (‘Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai…’ – Gangster)

Sshaan (‘Chand Sifarish…’ – Fanaa)

Sonu Nigam (‘Bawri Piya…’ – Baabul)

Sukhwinder Singh (‘Omkar…’ – Omkara)

Shafqat Amanat Ali (‘Mitwaa…’ – Kabhi Alvida naa Kehna)

Zubin Garg (‘Ya Ali…’ – Gangster)

Best Playback Singer (Female)

Alka Yagnik (‘Tumhi Dekho Naa…’ – Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)

Anusha Manchanda (‘Golmaal, Golmaal…’ – Golmaal)

Rekha Bharadwaj (‘Namak Ishq…’ – Omkara)

Shreya Ghoshal (‘O Saathi Re…’ – Omkara)

Sunidhi Chauhan (‘Beedi Jalayale…’ – Omkara)

Best Lyrics

Gulzar (‘Beedi Jalayale…’ – Omkara)

Javed Akhtar (‘Mitwaa…’ – Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)

Prasoon Joshi (‘Subhanallah…’ – Fanaa)

Mir Ali Husain (‘Ye Hausla…’ – Dor)

Swanand Kirkire (‘Bande Mein Tha Dum…’ – Lage Raho Munnabhai)

Best Story

Gafla (Sameer Hanchate)

Gangster (Mahesh Bhatt)

Khosla Ka Ghosla (Jaideep Sahani)

Lage Raho Munnabhai (Rajkumar Hirani / Abhijit Joshi)

Rang De Basanti (Kamlesh Pandey)

Best Screenplay

Gangster (Anurag Basu)

Lage Raho Munnabhai (Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijit Joshi)

Malamaal Weekly (Priyadarshan)

Pyaar Ke Side/Effects (Saket Choudhary)

Rang De Basanti (Rensil D’Silva, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra)

Best Dialogue

Fanaa (Kunal Kohli)

Lage Raho Munnabhai (Rajkumar Hirani)

Malamaal Weekly (Manisha Korde)

Omkara (Vishal Bharadwaj)

Rang De Basanti (Prasoon Joshi, Rensil D’Silva)

Best Editing

Gangster (Akib Ali)

Lage Raho Munnabhai (Rajkumar Hirani)

Rang De Basanti (PS Bharathi)

Taxi No. 9211 (Aarif Sheikh)

Best Sound

Don (Andrew Belletty)

Gangster (Adil Ali)

Krrish (Jitendra Choudhary)

Omkara (K J Singh)

Rang De Basanti (Nakul Kamte)

Best Cinematography

Anthony Kaun Hai (Hemant Chaturvedi)

Don (Mohanan)

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Anil Mehta)

Omkara (Tassaduq Hussain)

Rang De Basanti (Binod Pradhan)

Best Special Effects

Alag (EFX - Prasad)

Dhoom 2 (Tata Elexi – Pankaj Khanpur)

Don (Red Chillies VFX)

Jaan-E-Mann (Prime Focus Ltd. – Merzin Taveria)

Krrish (Marc Kolbe, Craig Mumma – USA)

Best Art Direction

Don (Aradhana Sheth)

Jaan-E-Mann (Sabu Cyril)

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (Sharmistha Roy)

Omkara (Samir Chanda)

Rang De Basanti (Samir Chanda)



Best Choreography

Dhoom 2 (‘Dhoom…’ – Shiamak Davar)

Don 2 (‘Main Hoon Don…’ – Ganesh Hegde)

Jaan-E-Mann (‘Humko Maloom Hai…’ – Farah Khan)

Omkara (‘Beedi Jalayale…’ – Ganesh Acharya)

Rang De Basanti (‘Masti Ki Pathshala…’ – Ganesha Acharya)

Best Action

Dhoom 2 (Allah Amin)

Don (Sham Kaushal)

Krrish (Tony Ching Siu Tung (Hong Kong), Sham Kaushal)

Most Promising Newcomer (Male)

Siddharth (Rang De Basanti)

Upen Patel (36 China Town)

Vinod Sherawat (Gafla)

Most Promising Newcomer (Female)

Kangana Ranaut (Gangster, Woh Lamhe)

Onjolie Nair (Holiday)

Most Promising Debut Director

Dibakar Banerjee (Khosla Ka Ghosla)

Kabir Khan (Kabul Express)

Naseeruddin Shah (Yun Hota To Kya Hota)

Saket Chaudhary (Pyaar Ke Side Effects)

[via India eNews]

Technorati Tags: bollywood, bollywood news, star screen awards

Anupam Kher in a Chinese movie

Anupam Kher has been roped in by Ang Lee, the Oscar winning director of Brokeback Mountain, to play an Indian in his next Chinese movie Lust, Caution.



The good folks at Indiafm give us this-

The Oscar-winning director has made movies like Brokeback Mountain and the Oscar winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And now, he is all set to direct his Chinese film Lust, Caution- which is an espionage thriller set against the backdrop of World War II.



Kher plays an Indian in the movie, and will begin shooting next week.

This is good news for Kher who is on a high after the box office success of his recent movies like Khosla Ka Ghosla, Jaan-E-Mann, Apna Sapna Money Money, and Vivah. I wish him all the best for the future.



[via Indiafm]



Technorati Tags: bollywood, hollywood, anupan kher, ang lee, lust caution

Mallika's "obscene" performance at New Year's eve

Mallika is in the news again for her performance on New Year's eve at the J.W. Marriott and this time I am on her side. A social activist was offended by her couture and is gunning to to have her charged with obscenity.

The good folks at Indiafm give us this-

Onlookers raised eyebrows when the actress performed in a body-hugging skin suit and a silver bikini to top it. Social activist Vinod Jain has written to the Mumbai police, urging them to take immediate action against Sherawat for wearing suggestive clothes. He saw Sherawat's performance on certain television channels on New Year’s Eve and found it very offensive to the Indian culture. He said that the manner in which Mallika was dancing was very distasteful, and it portrays the Indian woman indecently.

Who the hell is Vinod Jain? Do I care what he thinks is tasteful and distasteful? Absolutely not. Has he heard of a remote? I don't think so. If he is offended against her suggestive clothes how hard is it to change the channel? This is the one thing that bugs me about India - people and groups out to get attention. No event, performance, concert, movie, or anything else for that matter, goes unprotested in India. Typically the protesters are a bunch of morons vying for media attention and Vinod Jain is in the same category. I hate it when insignficant entities like him try to become censors. I hope Mallika wins this one and slaps his sorry ass with a law suit.

[via Indiafm]

Update: Rediff has published an interview with Vinod Jain who "vows to pursue the case with police till they admit his complaint". The interview is insightful because it shows how clueless this guy is. On being asked why he didn't just change the channel, he says that he is a news addict and all news channels were showing Mallika dancing. Therefore, he sues Mallika. Go figure!

Technorati Tags: bollywood, bollywood news, mallika sherawat, vinod jain

Mallika is too precious

I have heard of a lot of celebrities do bonehead things, but boy this one takes the cake. Mallika is officially the stupidest and unprofessional celebrity in all of Bollywood. She walked out of her New Year's Eve performance at J.W. Marriott in Bombay because the organizers recorded more than 10 seconds of her act.



The good folks at nowrunning have this quote from Mallika's representative-

"It was a clear breach of contract, and not on Mallika's part. According to the contract, only 10 seconds of her performance on the stage that evening were meant to be televised. This is to say Mallika was clearly given to understand that the brief 10-second footage would be used for news clippings, etc.



"When she realised that the whole show was being telecast, she simply walked out."

I agree that if the contract explicitly stated that she would be taped for only 10 seconds then she has full right to demand that the organizers remove the extra footage. It is highly unprofessional of her to have walked out the way she did based on "understanding". She is also not planning on returning the money she was paid for the gig. Does she really think that she is that precious?



[via nowrunning]



Technorati Tags: bollywood, bollywood news, mallika sherawat

Shahid Kapoor will dance in pain for Star Screen Awards

Actors will do anything to ensure their nomination for an award is not looked upon unfavorably. What has this got to do with Shahid Kapoor, you ask? Shahid Kapoor sprained his neck while working out at the gym. Now, instead of backing out of his commitment to perform on stage, he will continue despite his condition.



The good folks at Indiafm give us this-

Shahid's elaborate act requires him to be brought on stage in a harness doing a 45-degree turn. The doctors have advised Shahid against it. "But a commitment is a commitment. And I can't back out. I'm taking injections and undergoing vigorous physio-therapy. On Saturday I'll take pain-killer injections and go on stage," promises Shahid who's just received the first best-actor nomination for the year in Vivah.

Is it a coincidence that he also has a best actor nomination? I think not. Would he have done the same if he had not been nominated? Maybe.



The Star Screen Awards are being held tomorrow, January 6.



Indiafm | Star Screen Awards | Nominations

Technorati Tags: bollywood, shahid kapoor, star screen awards, vivah

Movies releasing this week - January 5, 2007

No big releases are scheduled for this week. The box office is being dominated by Bhagam Bhag and I expect that to continue this week with little opposition. The other movies making up the top 5 in collections are Kabul Express, Dhoom:2, Vivah, and Baabul. Don't expect this to change in the coming week.







Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamana

Starring Rekha, Mahima Chaudhary, Vasundhara Das, Kim Sharma

Sex and the City with an Indian twist.



Game

A low budget non-starrer. If anyone has more information about this movie, you have too much time on your hands, my friend.



Technorati Tags: bollywood, bollywood movies, bollywood release dates, kudiyon ka hai zamana, game

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,

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

Dhoom Machale on iTunes

October 28, 2006 was a joyous day for Bollywood music lovers. In a first, Yash Raj Films has made the soundtrack of the much anticipated Dhoom 2 available on iTunes.

The good folks at Indiafm give us this-

Yash Raj Films intends to be on the forefront of the ever-emerging digital technology and availability of Dhoom:2 music content in digital format for downloads is the first step in this direction. Subsequently, other archive/catalogue audio titles shall also be made available online.

I applaud Yash Raj Films for this bold first step. The availability of legal digital music for $ 0.99 per track will go a long way in curbing music piracy plaguing Bollywood. While studios routinely complain about piracy in both movies and music, I am glad to see Yash Raj Films actually take steps in solving the problem rather than just whining about it.

The link to the Dhoom 2 soundtrack in the iTunes store of your country is available on the Indiafm page.

[via Indiafm]

Tags: dhoom 2, bollywood news, bollywood music

AIDS awareness films courtesy Bill and Melinda Gates

It is a season of changes in Bollywood. Everyone is trying something new, something different - sequels and remakes included. In the face of these changes, Bollywood is going to try another something that is new, novel, and noble.

Mira Nair, Kamal Hassan, Vishal Bhardwaj, and Santosh Sivan have been roped in to direct four 12-minute short films on AIDS for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Mira Nair will kickoff the campaign by directing AIDS Jagao with Shiney Ahuja and the Parineeta duo Saif Khan and Vidya Balan to be penned by Zoya Akhtar. All 12-minute films will be screened in theaters all over the country alongside commercial Bollywood movies.

This is a fantastic experiment that I wish tremendous success. If not for anything else, I hope people will go and watch the compilation of short films out of curiosity for the new format. Movies that serve as commentaries on contemporary social issues rarely fare well, but I am hoping the efforts of Bill and Melinda Gates will be better rewarded.

[via Rediff]

Tags: aids, bollywoodnews

Traffic Signal has no story

Madhur Bhandarkar's next venture titled Traffic Signal, to be released in January 2007, is one, according to Madhur himself, that has "no story".

In a recent Reuter's news report, Madhur said

"The movie, honestly, has no story. It's a slice of life. I have 60 characters and the film is about people you see every day at any traffic signal. It will show their lives, their perspectives, their ups and downs."

No, that is not a typo. There are 60 (sixty) characters in the movie. Madhur has earned respect as a story teller with his real-life dramas such as Page 3 and Corporate, but this has me seriously concerned. A movie with 60 characters and no story to hold them together? Even if the characters were varied and interesting, you have to have a story to tie it up. Without a story, the movie will be nothing but a collage of clips thrown together from the perspective of a traffic signal. I might be reading too literally into his comment so I will reserve judgment until I check it out myself, but it does make me wary.

[via WNED]

Tags: traffic signal, madhur bhandarkar, bollywoodnews

Vinod Khanna's replacement in Qurbani remake

It is the season of remakes in Bollywood. Hot on the heels of Don, Feroz Khan has announced Kurbani, a remake of Qurbani originally directed and starring Feroz Khan himself. The remake is going to star Fardeen Khan stepping into the role of his daddy playing the role of Rajesh. They have not, however, announced the name of a suitable lead for Vinod Khanna's role.

The good folks at Indiafm give us this-

The latest on KURBANI is that Khan Sr. has finalized a top actor to step into Vinod Khanna’s shoes [Fardeen is enacting the role that Khan Sr. had portrayed in the original]. But neither Feroz nor Fardeen are ready to divulge the name yet. “Yes, we’ve finalized the actor, but we’d like to announce it later, not now,” Fardeen tells me.

In my opinion, if anyone can do justice to the role of Amar, originally essayed by Vinod Khanna, it is Hrithik Roshan. Think about it. Hrithik can bring the same chiseled, smart look lended by Vinod Khanna in the original. Hrithik has portrayed deep friendship and a common love interest in Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon. I believe he is the right choice for Amar in the new Kurbani. Your thoughts?



[via Indiafm]

Tags: qurbani, kurbani, bollywoodnews, hrithik roshan

Music of Dhoom 2 and Vivah goes digital

Yash Raj Films and Rajshri, makers of Dhoom 2 and Vivah, respectively, have devised a novel plan to combat music piracy and increase the sales of the their albums. The idea is to make the MP3 CDs of the original music available with the audio CDs.

The good folks at IndiaGlitz give us this-

Marked at half the regular price of an original music CD and comprising of 40-50 songs at an average, they are a double delight for the listener since they come with numerous other hits from the production houses.

The MP3 CD of Vivah are said to include numerous Rajshri hits from yesteryears while the Dhoom 2 CD includes music from Bunty Aur Babli, Salaam Namaste, Veer Zaara, Neal N Nikki and many more.

This is a fantastic idea. I would lap up the MP3 CDs at half the price containing additional soundtracks any day over the regular audio CD. I hardly listen to audio CDs anymore and my iPod is my best friend. So, sign me up. Now, I wish they would make these CDs available for the state-side geeks.

[via IndiaGlitz]

Tags: dhoom2, vivah, bollywoodnews