Lights Camera Action - Reviews,Previews,Gossip and More..

RGV in soup again??

2009-06-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

Another Ram Gopal Varma film and yet another controversy. This time it's the theme song of Rann, Jana Gana Rann, that has hogged the limelight. RGV has used the Indian National Anthem (with additional lyrics) to project the theme of his film which in a way also highlights the state of present-day India where corrupt politics, communal violence etc. have become the order of the day. Definitely not an India our forefathers had dreamt of.

Going by the discussion boards in various news websites, the reaction toJana Gana Rann has been strongly negative. From what I have read, many are accusing RGV of insulting the National Anthem and some have even called him a desh-drohi. Now aren't those reactions too far-fetched? I am convinced that the song does not disgrace our National Anthem in any way, instead it simply instills a thought for a change, a change for a better India, and it does so by exposing the bitter truths. How does it then insult the idea of patriotism? I would have been absolutely against RGV if he had misused his freedom of expression but fortunately he is mature enough to respect it. All I would like to say is that let us not make a mountain of a molehill of every single matter. It is perfectly fine to voice an opinion but before doing so it is also important to understand the true intent behind the matter concerned. We have had too many good films in the past which were banned or which sank without a trace due to irrelevant public and political pressure. This is sad and in one way or the other it puts a big question mark on the freedom of artistic expression.

What RGV said, "I have not tinkered with the National Anthem. Tinkering would be if I would have shown it in bad light. I haven't done anything of this sort. Through this song, we are talking about the disputes in the country but there were no intentions to ridicule anything."

The song is well sung but the lyrics could have been better poetically.

Saif Is Now Agent Vinod.

2008-09-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Director Sriram Raghavan is all set to turn Saif Ali Khan's childhood dream to play a secret agent into reality with his espionage thriller Agent Vinod, being produced by the actor himself.

Apparently, Agent Vinod would be a full take on the James Bond-Tom Cruise genre of sensuous spying with Saif dressed in the best, wooing and bedding some of the most glamorous women in the industry.
Sriram Rhaghavan who in the past has given us gems like Ek Hasina Thi and Jhonny Gaddaar, with Saif who has often experimented with movies like "Being Cyrus"(though he is doing less of those kind of movies), its left to be seen what magic can these two create together. Wishing Saif and Sriram on their new ventures.....

Quentin Tarantino Back With "Inglorious Bastards"

2008-08-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

For all you Quentin Tarantino fans, the latest from the master is the Brad Pitt starer "Inglorious Bastards" which also stars Mike Myers, Eli Roth and Natassia Kinski. The movie promises be a great watch for action buffs and is being made in English,German and French. The movie is extensively being shot in Germany and is slated to release next year....

To talk about the plot, it is set in the Nazi occupied France during the Second World War.It is the story about group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" who are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers....

In the past Tarantino has set high standards with movies like "Pulp Fiction", "Reservoir Dogs"...... It is left to be seen as to how the audience react to his war drama which he describes it as "Once Upon A Time In Nazi Occupied France".

Singh Is Really Kinng!

2008-08-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Singh is Kinng definitely proves to be a king of the box office not only in India but various other countries abroad. The biggest hit this year has also made it to the glittering Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF 2008). It will be one of the eleven coveted movies to be screened at The Roy Thomson Hall on Sunday, 7th September, 2008.

So we are about to see Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif and Vipul Shah share the red carpet with the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Colin Farrell, David Schwimmer and Kate Beckinsale.

Rajiv Ghanghi Awards For Darsheel, Saif And Lara

2008-08-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

Guess the jury of the Rajiv Gandhi Awards have vowed to surprise people every year. This time they surprised us even more.

They awarded Saif Ali Khan the Best Actor trophy for excellence in acting. Child prodigy Darsheel Safary got a trophy too while the most surprising award was - Best Actress Trophy for Lara Dutta.

Wonder why? Havent seen Lara Dutta do any remarkable stuff last year.. whatever happened to the likes of Konkana Sen, Rani Mukherjee, Nandita Das etc.

SRK and Madhavan Brothers

2008-08-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Shah Rukh Khan has previously worked with Madhavan in Saathiya, but this time they are going to be onscreen brothers in Shahrukh-Karan Johar next flick ‘My Name Is Khan’.

Apparently, it was Karan who approached Madhavan to star in his movie, as he was impressed with Madhavan’s recent performance in Guru.Madhavan found the opportunity to work with K-Jo hot and immediately signed the dotted line for the same.

The movie also stars Kajol as SRK’s wife and is rumored to have a guest appearance by newbie Imran Khan.

But do they actually look like brothers???

Vidya Takes A Break.

2008-08-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

After the release of her latest film,Ksmat Konnection, actress Vidya Balan is believed to be taking it easy. The actress is believed to be on a vacation for the next couple of months.The vacation isn't planned but it is a vacation which has been forced on the actress. The actress's next two films, Chenab Gandhi and Pa, do not begin their shooting schedules till another two months. She also has a Vishal Bharadwaj film, which too will begin shooting around September. Besides these few assignments, Vidya hasn't signed any other project. So, till the shoot begins, she has no other option but to sit at home and chill. But she is believed to be putting her vacation to good use. Besides making burkha clad trips to cinema theatres to watch her won film, she is also sitting at home and reading scripts. The actress who is now nine films old in the industry, admits that she was quite nervous before the release of Kismat Konnection. It is for the first time that she rung up people asking them about how they liked the film. Maybe this anxiety has something to do with a certain Shahid Kapur. Incidentally, the director of the film, Aziz Mirza is least bothered by reports on the film, good or bad. He is currently chilling at his farmhouse.

RGV's "Phoonk" movie stills

2008-08-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

Neil Nitin Mukesh in "Tera Kya Hoga Jhonny"

2008-08-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

After debuting in a super thriller like "Jhonny Gadaar", NNM is done with the shoot of his second movie, "Tera Kya Hoga Jhonny".The movie is being directed by Sudir Mishra, the maker of critically acclaimed "Hazaaron Kwahishein Aisi", apart from Neil, the movie also stars Kay Kay Menon, Soha Ali Khan, Karan Nath amongst the lead, the movie also has two filmakers displaying their acting skills, filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Aditya Bhattacharya are playing a cameo in the movie.

The movie is about the city of Mumbai and a kid who sells coffee on the streets, in the director's words "It's set at a time when Mumbai wants to be Shanghai".The movie is produced by Pixion Film Company and is entirely shot in Mumbai. After the success of "Jhonny Gadaar", its left to be seen "Tera Kya Hoga Jhonny".

Bollywood Animated

2008-08-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

The Indian animation industry is sure growing big, with the biggies like Rajnikanth and Yashraj venturing into it. The Yashraj in alliance with Walt Disney is almost done with its first animation "Roadside Romeo",the movie is slated to release this october. In the past movies like "The Hanuman", Anurag Kashyap's "The Return Of Hanuman" have opened to good box office collection there by hinting that the indian audience are ready for it.

Down South Rajnikanth's daughter, Soundarya is all ready with with her mega animation venture "Sultan -The Warrior", the movie is made over a budget of over 70 crores and Rajnikanth is lending his voice for the lead character.Govind Nihlani, the maker of movies like "Dev", "Thakshak" has also lined up 4 animated movies. Singeetam Srineevasa Rao, the maker of "Pushpak", has 3 animation movies under-production after his not so successful "Gatothkach".Karan Johar with SRK's "Red Chilli Production", is all set to make his animated version of "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" Many other studios like UTV Toons,Prime Focus, 2nz Animation are working on many 2D and 3D animations.

Rituparno Ghosh With His "Sunglass"

2008-08-03T01:59:00.000-07:00

Rituparno Ghosh, popular Bengali writer and film maker is all set to make his bilingual venture (Hindi and Bengali) , "Sunglass".The movie is being produced "Planman Motion Pictures" has Jaya Bachchan, Konkana Sen Sharma, Madhavan, Raima Sen and Sanjay Suri amongst the cast.

The maker has also managed to rope in Naseeruddin Shah for a cameo, Rituparno is also planing a movie with a full-fleged role for Naseer next year. It is also believed that Naseer was more than happy to accept the role from Mr. Ghosh whom he regards to be one of India's most talented young filmmakers.
Konkana Sen has sung for a song in the movie for both, Hindi and Bengali versions."Raincoat" Rituparno's last hindi venture being not so successfull, it is to be seen how the audience react for this venture of his.....

Bono To Be Godfather To Brangelina' Twins

2008-08-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

Rocker Bono is set to become the godfather to the new Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie twins. The Sunday Mirror reports that the U2 frontman will be godfather to the two children, Knox Leon and daughter Vivienne Marcheline, who were born in France earlier this month.

A source told the newspaper: "Brad and Angie think the world of Bono. They have been friends for years. Brad is a massive U2 fan and told Bono how much he admired him when they were introduced at a party a few years back.

"Since then, they’ve become very close, which Brad is thrilled about.
Angelina is inspired by Bono’s humanitarian work and gets on with his wife Ali Hewson." The source added.

Sridevi Says No To Yash Raj

2008-08-03T00:52:00.000-07:00

With many actresses coming back these days after a 'break',many are wondering when Sridevi will be doing it.With Kajol and Madhuri Dixit
having made their comeback,Tinseltown is buzzing with names of others who could be back.It has been confirmed that Sridevi
was offered a film by the prolific filmmaker Yash Chopra,opposite Amitabh Bachchan with whom she has been seen in Khuda Gawaah.
But the profilic actress rejected the offer and it is being reported that husband Boney Kapoor is the reason for her refusal.
Apparently Boney wanted her to make that awaited comeback of her' with a home-production rather than with an outside
production house.Though Boney has denied these charges,he has also not given away any reasons as to why the movie with Yash-Raj
din't happen.Looks like we'll have to wait longer to see Sridevi on screens again.

Ajay Turns Green

2008-08-03T00:49:00.000-07:00

Ajay Devgan is turning green these days.No no..not with envy,it is because of his next movie titled 'Toonpur Ka Superhero'.
The film is a mixture of animation and live action and for many of the scenes Ajay has to shoot against a green screen.
Being an animation film with some real elements,the film is supposedly a very big undertaking and has around 200 crew members
for every shoot.Ajay is reportdly very excited about the project and is always hooked to the off-line camera to get a glimpse
of how he is going to look with the animated charecters.Besides this film,Ajay also has 'London Dreams' with Salman Khan and
Asin in the pipeline which is going on floors in mid-september.The film will have a long shooting schedule.

Sajid Gets A 'HouseFull' Of Stars

2008-08-03T00:46:00.000-07:00

Sajid Khan has signed some of Bollywood’s biggest stars for his next release scheduled to release in 2009. The cast will
include Akshay Kumar,Riteish Deshmukh,Deepika Padukone,Jiah Khan and Boman Irani.Contrary to rumors neither Amitabh Bachchan
nor Kareena Kapoor are part of the film.Sajid is reportedly on the look out for a third heroine and will be announcing
who that will be soon.The movie is titled 'Housefull' and is set to go on floors in January 2009.Housefull, will be a
romantic comedy and will be filmed in several different locations including New York, New Jersey, Rio and the Bahamas.
According to reports Sajid named the movie 'Housefull' because he is very sure that this movie is going to be the biggest hit
of 2009 and all the theatres would be running the movie,hence the name.Lets hope that at least this time Sajid is not joking
around..Remember what happened the last time he said this..I know you do..how can anybody forget the brainless 'Heyy Babby'.
Fingers crossed this time...

Neil Nitin Mukesh Heading To 'Jail' After 'Freeze'

2008-08-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

Neil Nitin Mukesh is about to wrap up his new movie 'Freeze' opposite Bipasha Basu and then he's zooming off to New York
to work opposite Bips' other half John Abraham and Katrina Kaif in a new Yash Raj production.
Neil, who caught the attention of tinsel town with 'Johnny Gaddaar' last year,is all set to star in Madhur Bandarkhar's
next venture titled 'Jail', a tale of three prisoners.According to sources 'Jail' is going to be a thriller and it is
believed that it took Madhur a very long time to finish the story which he has apparently been scripting since he did
'Chandini Bar'.Madhur has promised that like all his movies Jail is also going to be entertaining and real.The film is about
a normal middle class boy,Prakash Dixit who lands in jail due to some sudden change in circumstances.What happens in
jail and to him forms the core of the story.

Milan Luthria Decides To Cast Sanjay Dutt

2008-08-02T22:19:00.001-07:00

So Sanjay Dutt it shall be.It has been confirmed that Milan Luthria’s epic gangster movie, 'Once Upon A Time in Mumbai' will
star Bollywood’s Big Bad Boy,Sanjay Dutt. He will play the role of gangster Haji Mastan, who along with Karim Lala and
Varadarajan ruled the streets in Mumbai in the 1970s, extending their influence into politics and Bollywood.The film is said
to be based on how these gangster' came into power and changed the face of the city overnight.It is not the first time that a
Bollywood actor is playing the role of Haji Mastan on celluloid.Amitabh Bachchan played a role based on him in 'Deewar' and
is said to have met him to observe his mannerisms.Mastan, who had connections with Dilip Kumar, died in 1994.50-year-old
Sanjay Dutt is currently shooting in South Africa for the movie 'Chatur Singh Two Star' and has recently signed a
nine-movie deal with Balaji TeleFilms.

'Sarkar Raj' Script Heads To Oscar Library

2008-08-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

Another film has been honoured with the request to place its script in the Academy of Motion Pictures library. The honour
to be part of the prestigious Oscar library has been previously given to Devdas, Kal Ho Na Ho, Lagaan, Lage Raho Munnabhai,
Namastey London and now Sarkar Raj joins the shelves.The film, made by Ram Gopal Verma starred Amitabh Bachchan,son
Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
The script will be permanently housed in the library and available for students and other filmmakers for reference and
study. The library has a huge collection of not only scripts but also books, photographs, periodicals and manuscripts as
well as musical scores and recordings plus costume sketches, artifacts and oral histories.

High School Musical 3 : Senior Year - First Look

2008-08-02T21:50:00.001-07:00

Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman return to the roles they created
in the international smash hit 'High School Musical' and the record-breaking 'High School Musical 2' in the third part of
the Disney series.
'High School Musical 3: Senior Year' finds high school seniors Troy and Gabriella facing the prospect of separation as they
head off to different colleges. Joined by the rest of the Wildcats, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their
experiences, hopes and fears about the future. With incredible new music and exciting dance numbers designed to take maximum
advantage of the big screen, this motion picture extravaganza delivers plenty of high-energy entertainment from East High’s
talented ensemble.

Soundtrack For The New Bond Movie To Be A Duet

2008-08-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

Billboard are reporting that Alicia Keys and The White Stripes' Jack White are uniting to perform the theme song for the
new James Bond movie 'Quantum of Solace'.The song, "Another Way To Die," will be the first duet in Bond soundtrack history.
White has written the track and will record it alongside Keys with the 'White Striper' also playing drums.The soundtrack to
the movie will be released Oct. 28.The score for the film will be composed by David Arnold. The film itself, which once
again sees Daniel Craig as 007, hits theaters in the U.S on November 7th.

The 'Inspired' Remake Of 'My Sassy Girl' : Ugly aur Pagli Review

2008-08-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

As I had mentioned earlier in my preview,'Ugly aur Pagli' is based on the Korean film 'My Sassy Girl'.So,i decided to check
out the story of the 2001 Korean movie before watching our so-called 'inspired' Indian version.'My Sassy Girl' is about a
loser who meets a drunken girl one evening on his way back home.He takes the girl,who falls unconscious, to a hotel for the
night as he does not know where her house is. The story takes off from here as he gets a call from the girl the next day to
know what happened the last night. They meet again and again and become good friends. But the relationship is strange as
the girl is completely whacked out..And the guy just keeps trying to please her..Now after this little piece of gyaan,I
decided to check 'Ugly aur Pagli' out..turns out the movie is not just inspired but is a complete frame to frame copy of
the original.Just that the charecters in this case are called Kabir(Ranvir Shorey) and Kuhu(Mallika Sherawat).If you forget
about the fact that the movie is a 'copy' and actually look at it as a different movie all together,'Ugly aur Pagli' is
quite an intresting film..considering that it is a kind of love story that has'nt been seen on Indian screens before and for
the sheer freshness of the narration and the screenplay.But the script is too weak and leaves you with too many unanswered
questions.Debutante director Sachin Khot fails to impress,though the movie is very well shot,it fails to keep the viewer
hooked to his seat.The second half does get better but by then the whole attention-factor to the movie is lost.The movie
does manage to muster a few laughs in its course.Mallika Sherawat as Kuhu is just average and she does show that she is
absolutely horendous with emotional scenes.Ranvir Shorey is brilliant as usual and is certainly the actor to look out for in
the coming years minus his dance ofcourse..After watching the movie I really regret having rated Anu Malik' music as even
good.It has no relevance what-so-ever with the movie.
Overall 'Ugly aur Pagli' is an average movie.Watch it if you have nothing else to do.

Rating : 2/5

Rajinikanth Shows The Real 'Him' : Kuselan Review

2008-08-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

Wow..This is certainly something new..'Kuselan' has three very notable differences from other Rajinikanth movies.
unlike most of the Superstar' movies Kuselan is going to have you emotionally choked up,it is surely the first movie where
you won't see him uttering a punch dialogue and you also won't see him flexing his muscles to bash up the baddies.
'Kuselan' is about two childhood friends,with one growing up to become a star in the film industry,while the other lands up
as a barber in a hamlet.Balakrishnan(Pasupathy) is the poor barber who leads a happy and content life with his wife in his
village.One day his friend and now,Superstar Ashok Kumar(Rajinikanth) ends up in the village as it was the shoot location of his upcoming film.
How the two friends meet and what happens when they do meet forms the rest of the story.
‘Kuselan’,i feel is where you get to see Rajinikanth – the real Rajinikanth, the human being.In fact i feel its the first
time the 'superstar' has actually acted in a movie..in the sense that,he has always played that larger than life charecter
and this is one movie where he sheds it.Rajinikanth plays himself in the movie and goes about his job at ease.He actually
manages to get a tear or two in the eyes of even the most emotionally unchallenged people in the climax scene that he shares
with Pasupathy.Intrestingly,the superstar also takes the oppurtunity to let people new about a few facts about his life..
like the one' regarding his political aspirations and stuff.Pasupathy,playing the poor barber is extremely good and manages
to garner all sympathy.Itb was'nt an easy job for the actor considering that he was cast beside a show-stealer like Rajinikanth,
but he does an absolutely commendable job.Meena who plays the barber' extremely loving and caring wife is good as well.
Her portrayal of the charecter in some of the scenes are brilliant.Hey hold on..if you are thinking that 'Kuselan' is all
good and a delightful movie,here comes the pain..Nayantara and vadivelu,who though do the job entrusted to them,I feel were
of absolutely no use in the movie.Nayantara manages to lend the glamour quotient to the movie but with no significance and
Vadivelu just adds another slow-down factor to an already slow-paced movie..I geniunely feel that the director could have
done away with his charecter.There is also a song featuring many stars from the South-Indian industry (a la OSO).P.Vasu'
direction is just good.He fails to make a brilliant movie out of this by wasting his resources,sometimes even misusing
them.Music by G.V.Prakash is average.Though the movie has a very proviking thought to it,I really don't know if it would
be able to make an impact afterall..For a hardcore Rajinikanth 'Kuselan' provides all the reasons to celebrate.

Rating : 3/5

James Bond 007 - Quantum Of Solace Preview

2008-08-02T02:43:00.000-07:00

Cast : Daniel Craig,Mathieu Amalric,Judi Dench
Director : Marc Forster

Quantum of Solace continues the high octane adventures of James Bond in Casino Royale. Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he
loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M
interrogate Mr White who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone
had imagined.
Forensic intelligence links an MI6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to
the beautiful but feisty Camille, a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene, a
ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organisation, Quantum.
On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control
of one of the worlds most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano. Using his
associates in the organisation, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government,
Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in
exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land. which is however a main source of the South American water supply. In a
minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer
to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even
M, to unravel Greenes sinister plan and stop Quantum getting its way.

Mark Wahlberg To Star In Max Payne Movie

2008-08-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

Yes you heard it right..the Max Payne movie is coming.It is based on the popular video game series of the same name,
the movie revolves around an undercover New York City detective investigating a powerful crime family responsible for the
murder of his wife and child.I dont really know much about the game so i'm really unaware of what those mysterious
creatures with wings shown in the trailers.From what i could make out the story is a fairly standard crime saga..or may be
there is some super-natural element linked to the story that i m not aware of.Anyways,from the first look the movie does
seem exciting.It is being directed by John Moore, the man responsible for 'Behind Enemy Lines' and the horendous remakeof the
Omen.It stars Mark Wahlberg in the lead role and co-stars Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges and Chris O’Donnell.It is slated to hit
theatres in the U.S on October 17th.

The New Charecter In Transformers 2 : Exclusive Pictures

2008-08-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

Iron Man Triology Is Coming

2008-08-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Though the buzz has been around for quite some time now,there was no surity in it.But now we have it,Director Jon Favreau
has declared that the 'Iron Man' movie was the start of his trilogy for the 'Iron Man' series.So,'Iron Man 2' is now officially
coming.Apparently,all the stars have been signed for 'Iron Man 2' already.Whats going to be new in the second movie is the big
question thats now being asked.It is known that 'Iron Man' main nemesis in the comics is Manderin, a descendent of
Genghis Khan who wears ten alien rings, each with their own special ability.You could see Manderin emerge from the shadows in
the sequel.But one character that we will see in Iron Man 2 for certain is War Machine.It is a fact that in the comics,Tony
Stark takes to alchoholism after the hostile takeover of the Stark Industries.So Tony Stark, it seems, is going to hit the
booze in the sequel.According to Favreau,the movie is going to show shades of dark to Stark' charecter.This is not new to us..
I mean we've seen the hero turning dark in very recent superhero movies like in 'Star Wars:The Revenge Of The Sith' or
'Spiderman3' for instance.

Rajnikanth Considers ShahRukh' Request

2008-08-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

With 'Kuselan' having released,one person who was'nt really happy with the fact was King Khan 'SRK' whose 'Billo Barber' with
Priyadarshan is also based on the same lines,with it being the remake of malayalam hit 'Katha Parayumbol' as well.So when SRK
heard that 'Kuselan' was ready to hit the screens,he got really worried because that would mean that the hindi version of
'Kuselan'(the dubbed version) would come out before 'Billo Barber' which is slated for a Diwali release.SRK is reported to
have contacted Rajnikanth asking him not to release the hindi version of 'Kuselan' before Diwali and the South Indian Superstar
has reportedly obliged to the request and has infact promised King Khan on the same..A very humble gesture indeed by
Mr.Rajnikanth.SRK must be a really relieved man.

Preview : Rock On : Another Dil Chahta Hai ?

2008-08-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Title : Rock On
Cast : Farhan Akthar, Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny, Purab Kohli, Koel Puri.
Produced by : Farhan Akthar, Rithesh Sidhwani.
Written and Directed by : Abhisek Kapoor.

Writer and Director Farhan Akthar, who gave us gems like Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya is making his acting debut with the very refreshing looking "Rock On".The movie is been produced by Farhan's "Excel Entertainment" and has Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny, Purab Kohli, Koel Puri are amongst the cast. The movie is Written and Director Abhishek Kapoor,the maker of not so successful "Aryan".
Rock On is the story of 4 friends who set out to make the best rock band in the country, which never gets made but years later they again get together to start again from where they had left.

With the music already being a super hit, the expectations are soaring high,the movie promises to be a refreshing youthful entertainer

Review : The Mummy : The Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor - strictly for "The Mummy" fans

2008-08-01T06:47:00.001-07:00

Hitting theaters this week is the the third part of the Mummy series, which can be described as a disappointing in simple words, the movie fails to recreate the aura and the splendor that the first two parts did.Though the movie has its movements, like the one set in 5th BC where cause for the rivalry between the terracota soldiers and the Yeoh's magicians is depicted, apart from a few movements like there is nothing much to carry home, its nowhere close to the previous "The Mummy" series. The script by Miles Miller gives flashes of "The Shanghai Noon" and "The Shanghai Knights" ( Miller's previous works).

The movie is technically strong, good cinematography, great special effects but all this supporting a very poorly written and flawed script.Coming to performances Brendan Fraser fails
to potray Rick O'Connell, Maria Bello playing Evelyn, previous played by Rachael Weisz fails to bring back her charm.Jet Li as the the ruthless ruler fails to impress, much to my suprise it was Michelle Yeah who stands out, grabbing our attention every time when present in the frame.

This Chinese expedition of Rick may best be forgotten...Watch it if you are a die hard "The Mummy " fan...

Rating: 2/5

Posh Not To Star In 'High School Musical 3'

2008-08-01T04:09:00.000-07:00

Victoria Beckham's representatives have laughed off rumours claiming that the singer is set to star in
'High School Musical 3: Senior Year' - despite the film's star Zac Efron asking film bosses to sign her up.
The former 'Spice Girl' had allegedly been slated to play a sexy English teacher in the latest outing of the
hit Disney franchise.The speculation reached new heights after Efron gave the Brit his backing to land a role in the film,
saying, "She (Victoria) is hot, funny - and let's not forget her success with The Spice Girls."

Priyanka-Harman Romance Off ???

2008-08-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

Reports state that love has gone out of the window for Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja.After the debacle of Love Story
2050,it seems that all is not well in paradise.A lot was expected of the film with respect to a many things.Harman's
career has now come under the scanner.Harman and Priyanka were counting on the film to cement their on screen romantic jodi
as well.But with the film's dismal show at the box office, it seems that both are having second thoughts about their
real life romance.Harman has been hugely affected by the film' no-show because he still has to prove himself.
Priyanka,on the other hand has some good films lined up this year like Fashion, Drona and Chamku, besides Ashutosh
Gowariker's next starring Harman as well.According to reports the couple is putting off their romance for all the right
reasons and want to focus on their carrers instead.

Vijay' New Acqusition

2008-08-01T03:28:00.000-07:00

Kannada actor Vijay who recently won the Best actor award for his performance in 'Duniya' is all set to present himself
differently in his forthcoming films by showing off his newly acquired six-pack abs.His next film is Rockline Venkatesh's
'Junglee' which is being directed by Soori,who had earlier directed him in 'Duniya'.Also in the pipeline for him is a film
titled 'Cheetah' to be directed by Maadesha.Vijay supposedly hit the gym for three months to develop his new avtaar.
Incidentally, Vijay has three films set to release in the next few days which includes Ravi Belagere directed
'Mukyamanthri I Love you', Sumana Kiththoor directed 'Slum Bala' and Om Prakash Rao directed 'Putta'.

Now Its The G.I Joe Movie That is Going To Hit Screens

2008-08-01T02:03:00.001-07:00

Remember G.I.Joe... yeah,yeah you guessed it right..those toys we played with as kids.There is a lot of excitement for the G.I. Joe movie that will likely hit theaters in summer of 2009.Stephen Sommer’s will
be the director and since you can’t have a movie without a script, at least in theory, they’ve hired Stuart Beattie to go
ahead and write it.Beattie has previously written the first Pirates of the Caribbean and the Michael Mann movie Collateral.
The script will be written to pit the Brussels-based Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity (G.I.J.O.E) against Cobra,
the bad guy arms dealers.The G.I.J.O.E. team will be international.It is not clear still if previous drafts will be used
to frame the script or if it is going to be a completely new one.
But i still wonder how are they ever going to make a full movie of those little green army men. Anyways,i m hoping that a
free “G.I. Joe Lootbag!” will be included with each ticket.

Tranformers Sequel Goes On Floors

2008-08-01T01:37:00.000-07:00

Michael Bay has just started filming the sequel for Transformers.And guess what the title is..No it isn’t Transformers 2,
they’re calling it Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.It has also been reported that the sequel will see quite a few new
charecters and many changes to existing ones..One of the big things about the Transformers that hasn’t shown up in the movie
yet is the ability of some Transformers to turn not into vehicles but weapons.Megatron for instance, transforms into a
hand gun which is then fired by other robots,in the original cartoon.Reports state that this feature is going to make it into
the sequel.Reports also have it that Soundwave will make it into the sequel.Infact it is being told that Soundwave and one
of his tape robot buddies Ravage were present in the earlier scripts for the original movie,but were not introduced as they
could not sort out the size problem with Soundwave.The first teaser trailer of the movie will be ready this year,
maybe within a few months.

Salman Khan Does A Jim Carey : God Tussi Great Ho Preview

2008-07-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

Cast : Salman Khan,Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan
Direction : Rumi Jaffery
Produced By : Afzal Khan

So here comes the Bollywood version of 'Bruce Almighty'.Salman Khan plays Arun Prajapati who blames God for his miserable
life.The Creator,played by Amitabh Bachchan decides to give all his divine powers to Arun so that he can try and use them
and see if he could make his life better.So Arun decides to grant everyone wishes and just to end up complicating things more..
How Arun realises that being God is not easy either forms the story.Priyanka Chopra plays Alia Kapoor, Arun' love intrest and
Sohail Khan plays Rocky, the other guy in Alia' life.

Rajni' Robot Slated To Go On Floors This August

2008-07-31T21:43:00.000-07:00

The much-awaited film, ‘Robot’, starring Rajnikanth and directed by Shankar, will kick off in USA. According to reports,
the movie touted to be the costliest film to be made in Tamil Cinema and will begin with a song sequence featuring
Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai.‘Robot’ will be made in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu simultaneously. Plans are on to commence
shooting from 15th August.With 'Kuselan' having hit the screens and Rajinikanth's animation movie 'Sultan - The Warrior',
directed by his daughter Soundarya slated to hit the screens in April 2009,fans of the 'Superstar' are thrilled as they
would get to see their favorite actor on screen over and over..

Katrina Out Of 'Temptetions Reloaded'

2008-07-31T21:05:00.001-07:00

News Agencies are reporting that in a reciprocal move of his face-off with Salman Khan,Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan
has dropped Katrina Kaif from his 'Temptation Reloaded Tour'.Katrina was to perform along with Kareena Kapoor,Arjun Rampal,
Javed Ali , Anushka Dandekar and Ganesh Hedge on the tour.But SRK has reportedly decided to blacklist Katrina.
Katrina,herself has reportedly been fuming over Salman’s misbehaviour at her birthday bash and has apparently ended her
relationship with him...

Rewriting The Record Books : The Dark Knight - Fastest To The $300 Million Mark

2008-07-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

The Dark Knight continued its box office onslaught this week,shattering new records and winding up solidly at number one
for the second weekend in a row.The previous record for fastest film to $300 million was owned by
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. It hit the mark in just 16 days. It stole the record from Revenge of the Sith
which managed the fest in 17 days. Before that was Shrek 2 at 18 days. Seeing the pattern? The Dark Knight did it in just
10 days, beating the record by nearly a week. Don’t look for that one to be broken anytime soon.
Of course, by default, that gives Batman the top all time 10-day total. Dead Man’s Chest had the previous spot with
$258 million. The Dark Knight is sitting pretty at $314 million. Again, a total that likely won’t be touched for a long time
to come.At $314 million Batman has also now officially made Iron Man and Indiana Jones’ struggle for number one cash maker
of the year a pointless battle. They’ll be left to bicker over number two as The Dark Knight takes a crack at topping Star
Wars for the number two all-time record (there’s no chance of becoming number one...Titanic holds that one solidly
at $600 million).

The Lindsay Lohan-Samantha Ronson Relationship

2008-07-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

Lindsay Lohan is reportedly a lesbian or maybe bi-sexual or maybe just bi-curious.Whatever she is,she’s said to be currently
dating Samantha Ronson,and we couldn’t be happier for her.You see: the whole point of romantically seeing someone is that
they balance you out.Most times when celebrities date eachother,they simply spur on more reckless behavior.But Samantha
Ronson seems to be having the opposite effect.Reliable and centered, she escorts Lindsay to photo shoots, screenings, and
even recently defended Lindsay’s little sister against tabloid rumors.
And beyond all that, Lindsay actually looks happy. The woozy, glazed-over eyes of an unreasonable party girl are gone,
replaced with the adoring, tender ones of a doting girlfriend. I have no idea if these two will make it in the long run,
but this is certainly,a step in the 'right direction'.With Samantha’s help,Lindsay has actually shed the 2A.M. coke lines
for 11P.M. snuggles.

RGV' Innovative New Marketing Strategy : Watch 'Phoonk ' Alone In Theatre And Win Rs.5 Lakh

2008-07-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

After the failure of Contract,Ram Gopal Verma has devised a new way to promote his new film,Phoonk which is a flick based on
superstition and black magic.It is set to release next month.And if reports are to be believed,Ramu claims that Phoonk is
the scariest of all his horror films.So much so that now Ramu and producer,Azam Khan,have,rather immodestly,announced a
prize money of Rs 5 lakh for anyone who can dare to see the film all alone in the theatre. Darna strictly mana hai..
Azam Khan says, “We're confident that the film is so scary that it will be extremely difficult to watch it all alone in a
theatre. We will be running a contest and giving out details on our website about how to participate in it. Right now we
have decided that we will screen the film for the winners of the contest a few days before the release of the film, that is
on August 22. At the moment we have planned four trials that we will screen in a preview theatre.”The condition is simple -
anyone who wants to win Rs 5 lakh has to watch the film from start to finish,without getting out of the theatre .The contest
will be well-publicised .We are now working out the logistics of date and time.”Although Ram Gopal Varma remained
unavailable for comment, his close friend says, “Ramu is very confident of the film and knows that he has made one of the
scariest film on black magic and that's why he is ready to challenge viewers.” Any takers???

SRK and Priyadarshan Unite

2008-07-31T03:42:00.000-07:00

Shah Rukh Khan's Latest venture is with ace comedy film maker Priyadarshan and is called "Billo Barber".Like most of Priyadarshan's movies this is also inspired by last year's biggest malayalam hit "Kadha Parayumbol", starring Mamooty and Sreenivasan. The hindi version has Shahrukh playing Mamooty's role while Irfan Khan plays Sreenivasan's.

The movie is about a village barber Billo (Irfan Khan), who'll be losing his business because he has not been able to come to terms with the changing trends. One fine day a movie unit visits his village for shoot and so does Billo's school mate who is a superstar now...All of a sudden Billo's status changes just because he is star's friend...
The movie will also star Deepika Padukone, Juhi Chawla, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra amongst the female lead.It'll be Produced by SRK's Red Chilli Entertainment...With Yashraj's Shahrukh starer "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" wrapping shoot, looks like SRK will have back to back releases....

Star Wars To Hit Screens In An Animated Version

2008-07-31T01:36:00.000-07:00

Star Wars as a cartoon? Why not. The past two movies were almost entirely animated anyway. The only thing real in Revenge of
the Sith were it’s handful of human actors.For George Lucas, the movie is really just a way for him to launch his first
post-prequel Star Wars television series which is slated to premiere soon.Computer animated action movies can work, if
they’re done properly. Brad Bird proved that with The Incredibles and more recently Dan Harmon with Kung Fu Panda.
So here' hoping that George Lucas manages pull off something that comes straight from his 'obsession'(animation).

The End Begins : Terminator 4 Preview

2008-07-31T01:13:00.000-07:00

Cast : Josh Brolin, Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Common
Director : McG
Produced by : Victor Kubicek, Derek Anderson, Moritz Borman

Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators.
But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington),
a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future,
or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on a journey that takes
them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible wipe-out
of mankind.

"Jhonny Gaddaar" maker gets romantic !!!

2008-07-31T00:53:00.000-07:00

Sriram Raghavan, the maker of crime thrillers like "Ek Hasina Thi" and "Jhonny Gaddaar" is all set to try his hand at romantic comidies, the movie will be called "Happy Birthday" with a caption "Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”.... Aishwarya Rai and John Abraham will play the lead and this will be the first time Jhonny and ash will be sharing screen space.

The film maker has roped Vishal-Shekhar to compose music for the movie. It will be produced by Gaurang Doahi . Paresh Rawal will be playing a vital role in the movie, Amithab Bachchan is also expected to play a cameo .

Sriram Raghavan will also be doing a action movie with Saif Ali Khan called "Agent Vinod" , the shooting of which has already began...

Rani To Star In Brother Raja's Debut

2008-07-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Rani Mukherjee has reportedly agreed to star in brother Raja’s debut Bollywood flick.The flim will be directed by Raja
and is beind scripted by Ishaan Dutta (of 'Mohabbatein' fame).Repots also have it that Javed Akhtar hasn been roped in to
pen the dialogues of the film.Shahid Kapur and John Abraham are being considered to play the male lead.It seems that Priyanka
Chopra is being considered as the second option if all does'nt go on well with Rani.The movie is a love story and is more
like an urban DDLJ and is slated to go on floors early next year.Bali will be the major location for the shooting of the film
It is also believed that the first half of the movie is about travelling.Hope this brother-sister jodi will give us a good
flick to remember.

Prime Minister Expresses Shock Over Death Of 'Voice Of India' Winner Ishmeet Singh

2008-07-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday expressed shock over the tragic death of young celebrity singer Ishmeet Singh,
“The prime minister was quite shocked and saddened after hearing about the death of Ishmeet,” an official at the Prime
Minister’s Office said.The 19-year-old singer, who had won the Amul Star Voice of India-2007 reality show last November,
had gone to the Maldives Monday to perform at a carnival due to be held on August 1. The singer was with the family till
Monday and had boarded a flight to Mumbai from Chandigarh the same day en route to Maldives. Ishmeet drowned in the swimming
pool of a beach resort in Maldives on Tuesday.An investigation is being sought into his untimely and mysterious death.Even
legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar expressed shock over the news.

A Hunk and Three Sizzling Beauties.But Will It Work For Yash Raj : Bachna Ae Haseeno Preview

2008-07-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu, Minissha Lamba
Director: Siddharth Anand
Producer: Aditya Chopra

After the 'very different' Salaam Namaste which got into light the concept of the 'live in' relationship,Director Siddharth
Anand has come up with his next venture 'Bachna Ae Haseeno'.With Yash Raj films trying to regain lost ground,will this
movie make a differnce to their fortunes..lets hope so.With a really young and relatively fresh starcast 'Bachna Ae Haseeno'
is quite obviously targetting the college audience.Ranbir Kapoor plays Raj,a charmer who gets women going head over heels..
Minishaa Lamba plays Mahi,a simple and sweet 'kudi' from Amritsar,lost in her dreams with a no-hassle life.Radhika played by
Bipasha Basu is a power house dancer who wants to make Bollywood swing to her tunes.She is somebody who is ready to go
that extra mile to conquer her dreams.Deepika Padukone plays Gayatri,who is abroad and is determined to get what she wants.
How Raj goes through various phases of his life with the three woman forms the story.With the not so impressive music 'Bachna
Ae Haseeno' has started on a bad note..Lets just hope the movie has something better to offer,otherwise,i m afraid Yash Raj
Films will have to make some drastic changes to see the light of the day again.

Anurag Kashyap does a modern Devdas

2008-07-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

Anurag Kashyap, one of India's most talented and promising filmmakers is all set to make his modern version of Sarat Chandra's "Devdas" and is calling it "Dev D". Anurag, popular for his writing for movies like "Satya", "Shool", "Kaun", "Yuva" "Water", has also directed movies like, the hard hitting, realistic, controversial "Black Friday", metaphorical, out of the box "No Smoking" and animated super hero "The Hanuman Returns".

Abhay Deol is potraying the modern Devdas or rather "Dev D" and newcomer Kalki will slip into the role of Chandramukhi, Paro will be played by another newcomer Mahi.This movie will potray how Devdas would react to the current issues. It is said that it was Abhay Deols idea initially to make a modern version which was later adopted and written by Mr.Kashyap. The whole movie will be ending on a positive note, not like the previous versions of it. The movie is produced by "UTV Motion Pictures" sister concern "UTV Spotboy Pictures" .
There were also rumours that the producers backed off when Anurag's "No Smoking" fell flat at the box office but now that the movie is complete and post production work is on and the the movie will be showing in theaters soon, it is to be seen how the audience react to this modern, realistic version of Devdas....Mr.Kashyap all the best...

Jennifer Lopez to star in "The Governess"

2008-07-30T03:37:00.000-07:00

www.celebrity-gossip.net
reports that J Lo has signed up for a romantic comedy called "The Governess" with the Yari film group.The movie will be directed by Nigel Cole of "Calendar Girls" fame, the shooting is scheduled to begin in Massachuesetts.
J Lo plays a thief in the movie who gets a job as a nanny for a wealthy family to pull off a robbery but instead she falls for the children....
J Lo is currently working on the pre-production of " Love And Other Impossible Pursuits".This will be her first project after giving birth to her baby twins...

Music Review : Bachna Ae Haseeno- average

2008-07-30T01:40:00.000-07:00

Title : Bachna Ae Haseeno
Cast : Bipasha Basu, Minissa Lamba, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone.
Music by : Vishal-Shekhar
Produced by : Aditya Chopra
Directed by : Siddharth Anand.

'Bachna Ae Haseeno' is the latest Yashraj flick hitting theaters this month, the music is average to describe it the best. The creators, Vishal-Shekhar fail to recreate their magic, their genius can be seen in patches like the the remixed version of the original "bachna ae haseeno" track where they have retained the late Kishore Kumar's voice or in the ' Kudha jaane' track, sung by Kay Kay and Shilpa Rao which flows very smoothly. Whereas the very punjabi ' Jogi Mahi' fails to impress, it might even flash memories of 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge'...

The songs like ' small town girl' and ' lucky boy' might help in story telling but lacklustre to listen. 'Ahista Ahista' sung by Lucky Ali and Shreya Goshal sounds above average,but not great. With two weeks to the movie's release it'll be interesting to see how the audience react, since most of the Yashraj movie albums are a superhit with the audiences .

Preview : Singh Is Kinng

2008-07-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

Title : Singh Is Kinng
Cast : Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Om Puri, Sonu Sood.
Music by : Pritham
Produced by : Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
Written and Directed by : Anees Bazmee

'Singh Is Kinng' is the latest offering from the Anees Bazmee stable, after the super box office success of 'Welcome' the maker has again gone with same lead. Akshay Kumar is at his career high and has left no stone unturned to ensure the success of this flick, he has even performed with 'Snoop Dog' for a promotional video for the movie. Katrina Kaif is also on a career high with her previous five movies being successful at the box-office.The movie also stars Om Puri, Sonu Sood and Yashpal Sharma among others.

The story revolves around Happy Singh( Akshay), a trouble monger, fed up with his histrionics the villagers send him to Australia to bring back his fellow villager, in Australia he gets into further more trouble. The movie promises to be a rib tickler and a complete "paisa vasool".
'Singh Is Kinng' hits theatre near you on the 1st August.

Salman Katrina breakup?

2008-07-29T14:26:00.001-07:00

(www.bollywood.celebden.com) reports that if sources are to be believed,Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif are going through a rough patch after the Salman-Shahrukh tiff at Katrina Kaif's birthday . Close sources reveal that Katrina and Salman haven’t been on talking terms ever since the birthday bash.

A close friend reveals, Katrina blames Salman Khan for the entire episode. Katrina thinks that Salman should have restrained himself because he was playing the host. Although Salman took the initiative of the party to please Katrina, Katrina is in no mood whatsoever to forgive Salman for causing her embarrassment on her birthday.

Close sources call it a final blow to their relationship.

Preview : Mumbai Cutting .....a city unfolds

2008-07-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

Title : Mumbai Cutting

Cast : Ranvir Shorey,Soha Ali Khan,Vinay Pathak,Tara Sharma, Raima Sen,Jimmy Shergill,Yaspal Sharma, Sushant singh.

Produced by : Sahara One Productions, White Cloud Films

Directed by : Anurag Kashyap, Rituparno Ghosh, Sudhir Mishra, Rahul Dholakia, Revati,Kundan Shah,Shashanka Ghosh, Ruchi Narain, Jahanu Barua, Manish Ghosh, Ruchi Narain, Jahanu Barua,Manish Jha and Ayush Raina

For the first time in the history of hindi cinema eleven of the most promising filmmakers of Indian are coming together with their ten minute work of art to make the magnum opus 'Mumbai Cutting'.
With a caption of "11 stories...not 11 films" it promises to be a great rendezvous of great story telling...Ilayaraja, Indian Ocean and Sanjeev Srivastava have supported the cause with their music..

All stories set under the backdrop of Mumbai (India's entertainment capital), the movie makes an ernest attempt to pay its tribute to the city..The movie is also expected to talk about the spirit and lifestyle of Mumbai and much more, like the film by Anurag Kashyap "Pramod Bhai 23" is expected deal with juvenile deliquency while Rituparno Ghosh's "Urge" is expected to capture outsiders illusions about the city...The movie is still under postproduction and expected to show in cinemas soon.... Watch out for something new and intetresting coming your way!!!

'Rajnikanth At His Very Best' Claims Director P.Vasu : Kuselan Preview

2008-07-29T04:29:00.000-07:00

Cast : Rajnikanth,Pasupathy,Meena,Nayantara
Produced By : K.Balachandar, Ashwini Dutt and Vijayakumar
Director : P.Vasu
Music : G.V Prakash
Genre : Drama

After having tasted success in ‘Panakaran’, ‘Mannan’, ‘Uzhaipalli’ and ‘Chandramukhi’ in the past,director P.Vasu and
Rajnikanth team up yet again.the hype and expectations surrounding the movie are but obviously very high. 'Kuselan' is a
remake of Malayalam movie ‘Katha Parayumbol’.Rajinikanth and Pasupathy are cast in the lead roles. The movie is about two
childhood friends.One grows up to become a successful actor and other a barber who struggles for his livelihood.
What happens when they meet forms the core.The movie also stars Meena who plays the barber' wife and Nayantara who plays
herself.Others in the starcast include Vadivelu, Prabhu, Vijayakumar and Sneha.G V Prakash has scored music for this flick.
‘Kuselan’ promises to be an entertainer which is sure to provide moments of immense joy for all Rajnikanth fans.

Yash Raj Films Desperately Need A Hit

2008-07-29T03:20:00.000-07:00

When Yash Chopra won the 'Power' award at the Filmfare not so long ago,his production company was undoubtedly the numero uno
in the film industry.But suddenly the company seems to have gone into a slump.With almost all their movies like Neal n Nikki,
Kabul Express, Ta ra rum pum , Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag,Aaja Nachle and Tashan bombing at the box office,
Yash Raj films is going through an extended rough patch.Even Mr.Yash Chopra himself publicly criticised the movie making
gaint,now managed by his son Aditya Chopra for bad marketing strategies and sluggish scripts.Although the biggest hit of
last year did come from the Yash-Raj banner in the form of 'Chak De India',the company is desperately searching for that one
commercial masala flick with which they could strike gold and get back onto ruling terms in the industry.The company' very
strength,the power of their banner is working against them these days with people thronging to theatres in the first week
expecting those 'larger than life' lovestories in wonderful foreign locales just to end up dissapointed..and then starts
the downfall.Its not that these movies have'nt done good business, its just that they are no where close to the standards
that Yash-Raj sets.Personally all these movies were just an average offering in some very sumptuous packaging.I ve seen the
trailers of Bachna Ae Haseeno and not too surprisingly, i think it is finding the road to nowhere as well.Hopefully they
prove me wrong...Yash Raj also has quite a few star studded movies in the pipeline..with the animation film by Jugal Hansraj
titled 'Road Side Romeo' starring Saif Ali Khan the Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' the company is hoping to
set the record straight before entering 2009.

Preview : The Mummy : The Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

2008-07-29T01:25:00.000-07:00

Title: The Mummy : The Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor
Cast:Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Luke Ford, Michelle Yeoh.
Written by:Alfred Gough, Miles Miller.
Music by: Randy Edelman.
Produced by:James Jack, Stephen Sommers.

The Mummy : The Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor completes the Trilogy of the Mummy series. The sequel also stars asian super stars Jet Li as "Emperor Han" and Michelle Yeoh as "Zijuan". Made over a budget of 175 million, this sequel promises to be bigger and better than the its precursors.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor stars Brendan Fraser reprising his role as explorer Rick O'Connel , along with his son Alex (Luke Ford), wife Evelyn (Maria Bello, taking over the character from Racheal Weiz and brother-in-law, Jonathan (John Hannah). The two parents are now retired, but they must stop the resurrected tyrannical Han, the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li) , a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse, and whose army was found by 18-year old Alex. The Emperor now wishes to rebuild his empire, and threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service with his Tertracotta Army. The undead Terracotta Army faces another, smaller, raised-from-the-dead army made of the Dragon Emperor's enemies, who were burried under the Great Wall OF China.
The movie will be Released in theaters on the first of august and promises to live upto the expectations...

Exclusive Singh Is Kingg Movie Pictures

2008-07-29T00:26:00.000-07:00

Farhan Akhtar Unleashed : Rock On Music Review

2008-07-29T00:17:00.000-07:00

Music By : Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Produced By : Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani

Marking his debut as a singer and that in a big way is Farhan Akhtar and i must say he' unveiled to us a power house..phew..
The dude can actually sing.Shankar Ehsaan Loy strike hopefully will strike gold with this album.. It is an absolute delight
to listen to and the lyrics by Javed Akhtar are brilliant.. i really could'nt believe what i was listening to.. i mean the
lyrics are absolutely trendy,to say the least.All songs from the album are really good and Farhan' vocals gives them a very fresh
feel.Besides Farhan,Caralisa Monteiro (Phir Dekhiye),Dominique Cerejo (Ye tumhari meri baatein),Suraj Jagan (Zehreelay) and
Raman Mahadevan (Sindbad The Sailor) have lent vocals to the album with all of them doing very well.All songs have that
pop-rock element to them with two exceptions in 'Zehreelay',which is a full on rock song and a slow number in 'Tum Ho Toh'.
The album is definite blind-buy.Double thums up to Farhan Akhtar and papa Javed Akhtar.Rock On completely rocks.

Hrithik Roshan Trains His Vocal Chords

2008-07-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

When almost every other actor is doing it these days, how could Hrithik Roshan abstain from trying his hand at singing.Reports have it that Hrithik has sung a song was for the Papa Roshan' forthcoming film ‘Kites’ which is being directed by Anurag Basu. Besides Hrithik, the film stars Barbara Mori and Kangna Ranaut. Music is being composed by uncle Rajesh Roshan.
The song is reported to be in English and it is being told that it was uncle Rajesh' idea to have him sing for the movie. Hrithik is believed to have gone through a training session for his vocal chords to get the twang right. The perfectionist that Hrithik is i'm pretty sure he'll do pretty well with this new found interest as well.

Rumour or Reality : Sony Pictures Replacing Tobey MacGuire In SpiderMan 4???

2008-07-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

Latino Review (http://www.latinoreview.com) reports that Sony/Columbia and producers Laura Ziskin and Grant Curtis are mulling new names for the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The site stresses that no offers have been made yet but that things are simply in preliminary talks.
The names doing the rounds to replace Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spiderman are…
Patrick Fugit of 'Almost Famous' fame and
Micheal Angarano who was recently seen in the 'Forbidden Kingdom'

Promises To Be A Complete Rib-Tickler: Ugly aur Pagli Preview

2008-07-28T22:39:00.001-07:00

Cast : Ranvir Shorey,Mallika Sherawat
Written By : Anil Pandey
Director : Sachin Kamlakar Khot
Produced By : Pritish Nandy Communications
Genre:Comedy

Inspired from Korean super-hit movie "MY SASSY GIRL" Ugly aur Pagli is the story of Kabir(Ranvir Shorey), an engineering
student who is completely carefree.He always wanted to have a girlfriend and is searching for love.But destiny has other
plans for him...Kabir meets Kuhu(Mallika Sherawat) who sends his life for a toss making him dance around circles, run
semi nude, ride bicycles without seats, wear skirts and high heels...
Just Hoping that this is not just another no-brainer comedy.

Snoop Dogg' Maharaja Style Entry Into Bollywood : Music Review Of Singh Is Kingg

2008-07-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

Music Director : Pritam
Lyrics : Mayur Puri
Producer: Vipul Shah

Pritam has done a very
commendable job this year
giving different variety of sound.Right from Race to Jannat to Kismet Konnection,its all worked.But Singh Is Kingg takes it all to a completely new level..its got biggest India' hit musicdirector in him with India’ geniune superstar Akshay Kumar and godfather of the rap scene Snoop Dogg.The soundtrack
rights were reported to sold for Rs. 135 million, thats a whooping amount.But is it worth all that after all... lets see..
When i got the cd,i thought it was going to have a universal genre of music with an obvious punjabi soul to it to go
with the Singh factor.But it was not to be.. all the songs where Bhangra and hip-hop combination based.If you are a
Bhangra music fan then this album is going to set your floor on fire.All the songs have a very groovy feel to them but the
one stand out track that impressed me more than Big Snoop' title track was 'Teri Ore' sung by Rahet Fateh Ali Khan and
Shreya Ghoshal,who lends a lot of emotion to the song and is really good.
Final verdict: Skip the album if you are not into the Banghra-Hip-hop fusion music culture.

Anu Malik Makes A Comeback Of Sorts In 2008:Ugly Aur Pagli Music Review

2008-07-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

Music Director : Anu Malik
Produced By : Pritish Nandy Communications

Anu Malik does a la Pritam giving us a lot of item numbers in this very promising movie..The music cd contains nine tracks
but two of the tracks have three versions.So that makes it five tracks in the true sense.'Karle Gunaah' sung by Ishq Bector,who
seems to be all around bollywood these days and Anushka Manchanda is a punjabi rap song with a very reggae feel to it.
It is hip and will be heard in clubs and discs soon.'Shut up Aa Nachle' sung by Anu Malik,Vasundhara Das and Dibyendu Mukherji is a standard Anu Malik tune and is not so impressive.'Talli'sung by Anu Malik' daughter Anmol Malik,Hard Kaur and Mika Singh,
the song is got a nice feel to it.Anmol resembles Anu Malik in every aspect..the voice quality,the tone,its all the same.
'Yaad Teri Aaye' is a beautiful romantic song and Mohit Chauhan as usual excels with his vocals in this genre.'Yeh Nazar'
switches gears and takes you into the pop-rock world.Sunidhi Chauhan and Shaan have provided vocals.Lyrics by Amitabh Verma are not too impressive.
Overall the music is pretty good and the cd is worth a buy.

Preview : Righteous Kill

2008-07-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

Title: Righteous Kill
Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, 50 Cent(Curtis Jackson).
Written by:Russel Gewirtz.
Produced by:Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson.
Directed by:Jon Avnet.

This is the second time, two of the greatest actors of our time , Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are coming together(after the lacklustrous "heat" ) in a Jon Avnet (of "88 minutes" fame) film. The movie is made over a budget of 60 million american dollars. It also stars 50 Cent ( rap singer and musician) , Frank John Huges and others.The film shooting began in August 2007 and is expected to hit theaters in september 2008.
De Niro(Thomas Bocchino) and Pacino(David Fisk) both play detectives who come together to solve a recent murder and to find the probable connections between this murder and a case they beleive they solved years ago.The movie also marks the debut of Jake Cito.
Righteous Kill is regarded as the most anticipated movie of the year, hopefully it'll be a great watch for both Robert De Niro and Al Pacino fans..

Best Of Bollywood So Far In 2008

2008-07-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

Aamir
Jodha Akbar
Sarkar Raj
Mithya
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

Hollywood Movies To Watch Out For

2008-07-28T02:41:00.000-07:00

A Complete no Watch Flick..Even If They Are Distributing Tickets For Free : MIssion Istaanbul Review

2008-07-28T01:35:00.000-07:00

It was quite obvious that Mission Isatanbul was going to be an action movie..At least that was what i thought before going
into the cinema..I m sorry if got it wrong,but i seriously think the genre of the movie should have been comedy.Mission
Istanbul is absolutely hilarious to say the least..Pathetic acting,horendous camera angles and number of technical errors
that director Apoorva Lakhia makes leave you in splits in this so called 'action packed' movie.I must say that the movie
lacks any action element what so ever and is a complete no brainer.I mean i can understand that Indian movies have now
gone on to a different level with its use of technology and stuff..but ending world terrorism with a pen drive..huh..

Vikas Sagar(Zayed Khan),a news correspondent with an Indian news channel takes up a job with Turkish news gaint Al Johara
to get an inside view of terrorism.Because of this his fellow journalist,wife(Shriya Saran) divorces him.Now grief
striken Vikas Sagar heads to Istanbul where he is greeted by Owais(Sunil Shetty),a news correspondent for Al Johara..Vikas
meets the boss(Niketan Dheer) and is warned about 13th floor from where Al Johara' security is controlled (in a very horror
movie style..like in those purani haveli' Ramu kaka says "13th floor pe jaana mana hai").Vikas and Owais are sent to
Afghanistan to cover news about the militant gang(a la Al Qaeda) where Owais is killed..Vikas heads back to Istanbul heart
broken.Now enter Rizwan Khan(Vivek Oberoi) who reveals the activities of Al Johara to Vikas.Both set out on a mission to
conquer 13th floor and hack all the information from the Al Johara database..How they go about doing this and 'save the world'
as Rizwan says forms the rest of the story.

After the super duper success of Shootout At Lokhandwala one would have thought that Apoorva Lakhia would deliver something
equally decent,if not better.But the director fails miserably.Every aspect of the movie is sluggish and it really
does test your patience.Acting is not even worth a mention.. I'd say it couldn't have gotten worse. Zayed Khan has again proved that he is the best "over actor" in the industry, if there were Oscars for over acting he would have won the a lifetime achievement award for the same...Exaggerated action would
have probably worked a decade ago but even then this movie unfortunately would'nt have made an impact.The few things that
the movie does offer is an intreval,some very nice sunglasses and not to forget a really bad headache.

Overall Mission istanbul is complete 'Mission Failure' and is not even worth considering for a watch.. I guess,sleeping on
a bed of thorns would be less painful.

Rating:0.5/5

Flaws:
1)When Shriya Saran is reporting in Kashmir, she is facing a camera and reporting while a completely different angle is shown
on TV.But guess what..there is only one camera..so which camera is showing her on TV??
2)Zayed Khan is seen swimming in the sea water at the port..but intrestingly the sea has ceramic tiles at its bed..huh
3)Vivek Oberoi is seen driving a black scorpio in a scene..in the very next scene the black scorpio changes into a blue
scorpio getaway....
4)The pen drive is supposed to release a virus into the computer after download is complete..So why is there no virus
released in the climax scene where the bad guy downloads info into his computer.....

Movies To Watch Out For This August

2008-07-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

My Best Friends Wedding Rip-off : Review of Made Of Honour

2008-07-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

“Made of Honour ” is yet another English which follows “the formula” of romantic comedies….. tragically it does it ‘head to toe’…. Borrowing its plot generously from “My Best Friends Wedding” it makes a very amateurish version of it …. There is nothing new about the movie(except a few Turkish wedding jokes….) You can absolutely predict literally every scene,one after the other ….. the actors fail to make an impression with their dumb monotonous effort especially the lead actor (Patrick Dempsey) I mean how can anyone have the same mind numbing expression throughout the movie ,doesn’t he get bored?

To talk about the story hmmm….. its My Best Friends wedding to say the least… but the problem is that the lead fails to bring in the charm and spark of Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts …. The story is of a Casanova (Patrick Dempsey) who all of a sudden realizes the need of a serious relationship in his life, who better than his best pal (Michelle Monaghan) but then comes the world’s most predictive twist she is engaged to some Turk….. what next? Everyone knows ……. My greatest problem is that why make a movie about a story that even my six year old niece can predict? Waste of money and time…….

Skip it ……watch ‘My Best friend’s Wedding’ again instead……

Rating:1/5

Fairy Tale told with a great Sense of Humour

2008-07-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

I have never been a fan of animated cinema, they are simply not my kind (unrealistic), this was the second one, after “ratatouille” .To be honest ,I loved it , though it is the usual underdog fairy tale, it has been told with great sense of humour . Its technically brilliant, good writing(Writers: Dan Harmon, Rob Schrab), great screenplay, it manages to do almost everything right.

It’s the story of a fat , slacky panda (Po), who dreams to be the “dragon warrior”.
There comes a situation wherein the ‘the dragon warrior’ (who would safeguard the valley of peace from a monstrous snow tiger), who would be selected by the master (a turtle).The furious 5 (tigress, snake, monkey, crane, mantis) would be amongst the favoured , not much to our surprise ‘Po’ gets selected. This is followed by the training and the climax, watching which you’ll end up in splits.

The heart of the movie lies in its writing , these are the kind of movies that are great source of relaxation, great for weekend watching. Jack Black’s voice ( for Po) is the biggest positive for the movie. Much to my surprise “Dustin Hoffman” (Rat or fox , I couldn’t make out) didn’t quiet impress me. Jackie Chan, Angelina Joulie, Lucy Liu are amongst the others who have lent their voices which you hardly recognize.

Overall Kung Fu panda is a good watch. Its funny.

Rating:3/5.

Heath Ledger delivers a larger than life performance

2008-07-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

Brilliant is the word.If you thought Jack Nicholson' portrayal of the joker was scintillating.. i'd say think over.. because here comes Heath Ledger in his last role before his mysterious and untimely death.Ledger has given us something we will remember for a long long time.Redefining the villain role Ledger has this attitude all through his performance that it completely leaves you gasping for words..I don't think it is wrong at all to say that the movie rides completely on his performance.

The Dark Knight is a technically very sound movie with some great camera angles and good cinematography.Its all about the Joker who gives Gotham City anther menacing time.How batman saves Gotham from another disaster forms the rest of the story.But for once its not about the story (though i must say that the second half was really wasted and dragged after a gripping first half).. its all about performance.

Heath Ledger delivers an absolutely divine performance.Christian Bale & AaronEckhart dont disappoint either but are hardly noticeable as Ledger shadows them completely.His licking actions and all those suttle elements that he gives the character are unmatched.He leaves you asking for more and wishing that he stayed just to give us more roles like this to remember.
Watch The Dark Knight even if you are not a super-hero movie fan just to experience something that is heart stopping.And i must say that all the bike and car crazy people watch the movie for the batmobile and for Bruce Wayne' Lamborghini... its a delight to the eyes..

Rating:4/5(The extra 1 for Mr.Heath Ledger)

Aamir Khan and nephew Imran Khan strike the right chord

2008-07-25T22:34:00.001-07:00

A small suggestion to producer Mr.Aamir Khan.. please dont hype your movies somuch so that we go into it expecting it to b something never seen before andthen we end up disappointed.Look at what happened to Mangal Pandey..n thenthere was the beatiful Taare Zameen Par..i dont have to mention about themarketing strategies that both movies had.While the former was all over the place the latter did keep a low profile,at least till it released.

No worries Jaane Tu Ya Jaane na is not another Mangal Pandey.First timedirector Abbas Tyrewala' venture is not really a path breaking movie but itis something different.Though being a really predictable lovestory Jaane TuYa Jaane Na is different from most movies in its genre because the entirestory is made in the form of a narrative.Jai(Imran Khan) & Aditi(Genelia d Souza)are best college buddies who do most things together.After graduating outof college both of them want to find partners..which they do eventually by helping eachother out.But in the process they realise that they are actuallyin love with eachother..(not surprising at all eh..) so they get togetherand then the usual ending.. they lived happily ever after.

Though it seems like a really boring story..it actually isnt..the movie has elements that keep you glued to your seats(at least for the first time youwatch it).. hilarious one-liners & a really intresting screenplay besides thevery funny idea of the speaking portrait (a la HumPaanch) make it a very watchable movie.Not to mention the acting by each and every actor in themovie is top quality (except for the usual horendous acting by Arbaaz Khan).I must say that Imran Khan definitely has star material in him.Genelia d Souzais the surprise package and is very nice.The gang of friends are good as welland actually lend soul to the movie.Comeback actress Manjari(of Rok Sako TohRok Lo fame) is pretty good as well.The movie also works because of somemusical brilliance by maestro A.R.Rehman, the music is fresh and does not haveany dink-chak element which is the real plus.There very few places wherethe movie falters but i must say that there is immense room for improvementfor Abbas whose direction is a little slow paced..

Overall a very watchable and likeable movie.A double thums up to Imran Khan.

Rating:2.75/5

Flaws:1)Inspector Whagmare'(Paresh Rawal) table in the his first scene faces towardsthe door,but in the scene with the khan brother' the table is facing away fromthe door and is also placed differently.

RGV delivers yet another flop:Contract review

2008-07-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

Surprise surprise.. just when we thought RGV was getting back on track aftera series of blunders with Sarkar Raj,he manages to deliver het another of hisnumerous misadventures. Unfortunately for him,the purple patch hasnt lastedfor long.the story of Contract seems really monotonous,especially becauseit comes from the RGV stable.I mean,how many times havent we seen two gangsfight out for the top spot.Poor casting and dragging screenplay add to thewoes of the movie.

Contract is about army man Aman Malik for whom family comes before nation onthe list of priorities.Aman is happy with his simple life with his wife anddaughter and even turns down an offer from the police to join hands in helping them capture menacing terrorist Sultan (a la Osama).But as life would have ittragedy strikes with Sultan being is cause.Driven by rage for badla our happyfamily man turns into angry young man and joins hands with the devoted policeofficer.Together they device a plan for Aman to enter the underworld.Amanturns into Amaan and takes the underworld by storm by killing the mostpowerful goonda of Mumbai jail AK Rao.Impressed by Amaan' antics Sultan' acquanitance R.D recruits him into his gang.Then Amaan goes on a killingspree and kills almost all of R.D' dushmans.The fear of loosing his newrecruit grips R.D and hence Amaan is flown out of India.A few more antics overthere and Amaan gains access to Sultan.How he ends Sultan' reign forms therest of the story.

Except for a few moments of brilliance from Zakir Hussain (Sultan), thereis absolutely no commendable performance in the movie.Gunga and his typicalMaharastrian wife are too loud and actually get on your nerves in a few scenes.The debutant lead tries hard to make an impact but is not veryimpressive either.Music is not too surprisingly horendous.And i must say that RGV has lost the plot.In his attempt to recreate the magic of Satya andCompany he is failling time and again.Buck up RGV.Please give us bettercinema.But i do like one thing about this movie.. there are no irritating Nisha Kotari' :-).

Rating: 1.5/5

Flaws:1)In the temple scene after the bombing, how come the three year old girlturns into monkey man.She has really hairy legs...???2)In the jet ski scene it is shown that Amaan was clinging on to the jet skito get access to the rival boat.But how come there is nobody seen on the jetski when pretty girl Iya is flying it over the waves and going on jolly roundsaround the boat.....????3)In the climax seen where our (serial killer) hero does some unbelievablyamazing shooting (i say this because u see that in every scene of the climaxour hero shoots the bad guys way before they even pick up their guns... phewthats fast...) how come one of the gang members is firing bullets into thinair.As far as i saw there was nothing in the direction except for a brick wall.and eventually he ends up getting shot on the back and ofcourse no prizes forguessing... he dies...