Bollywood

Mid-Day.com Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (Mumbai)

Shilpa Shetty spent her first wedding anniversary yesterday in Dubai with husband Raj Kundra at her new home on the ninetieth floor of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

Says a source close to the actress, “Shilpa was thrilled when Raj gifted her the luxury apartment. It’s his wedding anniversary gift to her.

He gifted her the keys in Mumbai a week ago. She had visited Dubai a few months ago, had loved the building and expressed a wish of staying there.

The couple has taken a three-day break to celebrate their first wedding anniversary there. Raj also has something else planned for Shilpa – a lavish dinner with a few surprises thrown in.”

Shetty will design the interior of the apartment while she’s there. She then heads to Bangkok to shoot a shampoo ad on November 26.

And to think, Shilpa’s trip to Dubai almost never happened! She had an attack of pharyngitis on Saturday morning. She was to fly to Dubai on Sunday but had to postpone her trip by a day.

The source adds, “Shilpa suddenly developed 103-degree temperature on Saturday night and a bad bout of pharyngitis. Though the fever waned by Sunday evening, her voice has gone completely.

She was in much pain but they didn’t want to cancel their trip. Raj and Shilpa finally left yesterday morning.”

Source: NDTV

Indo-Asian News Service Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (London)

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has ruled out plans of starring in Bollywood films as she is interested in more real cinema rather than the song and dance routines.

She has been offered several “stereotypical” roles for “a girl from India” since finding fame – but she’s adamant she will avoid parts in all-singing, all-dancing Bollywood movies, contactmusic.com reports.

“I wouldn’t want to do a Bollywood film per se, but I would like to do an Indian language film. For some reason I think Bollywood has become synonymous with commercial cinema, which is song and dance and everything that is larger than life. I am interested in the reality,” she said to a magazine.

“It is great to have entertainment, but I think there needs to be something that also makes you want to go back and think about what you’ve seen,” she added.

“Mindless cinema is not my cup of tea…I could get into trouble for saying that. I don’t think Bollywood is only mindless cinema, but a lot of films they churn out are not films that I completely enjoy watching,” the actress said.

“I say hats off to them for doing what they do, because it takes a lot of courage. It is easier to stand and deliver dialogue. Imagine dancing a song out and kind of expressing through it. I think it is a challenge and requires you to lose your inhibitions,” she added.

Source: NDTV

Indo Asian News Service Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (New Delhi)

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is in the capital to celebrate his grandson’s birthday, can’t stop raving about the post-Commonwealth Games Delhi, but says he is put off by the traffic.

“I drove in from the new terminal T3 of Delhi – a monstrous, clean and so far efficiently run facility. It’s a city by itself in its size, the buggy cart coming in useful for transport within the terminal,” Amitabh wrote on his blog bigb.bigadda.com Tuesday.

“And then to drive out to a refurbished New Delhi, still clean and organised as a result of the leftovers from the Commonwealth Games, but still horrendous in traffic,” he added.

Big B is also impressed by his grandson Agastya’s growth into a fine boy.

“I am here to wish my grandson Agastya a very happy birthday. He has grown up to be a fine gentleman even in his growing up years and days,” he wrote.

Source: NDTV

Indo-Asian News Service Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (Mumbai)

Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has denied reports that she got some changes made in the script of her forthcoming film Break Ke Baad.

“I don’t get into script changing at all. I believe the director and the writer have a vision when they want to make a certain film and we are actors; if we like it we should be a part of it, if not then there is always another chance,” said Deepika.

Break Ke Baad, also starring Imran Khan, has been directed by new director Danish Aslam and is the production debut of Kunal Kohli. The film is slated to hit the screens Dec 10.

Source: NDTV

Press Trust of India Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (Panaji)

With all three of his Golmaal films making it big at the box office, Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgan feels that Goa is lucky for him.

The 41-year-old actor is riding high on his three consecutive successes this year – Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai, Raajneeti, and Golmaal 3 – and an average fare in Aakrosh.

Latest hit Golmaal 3, directed by Rohit Shetty, was extensively shot in Goa and even the story of the film is based on the tourist state.

“You can say Goa is lucky for me. But it will be wrong to say that Goa is my success mantra as there are many people who work for the success of a film,” said Devgn, who was here to inaugurate the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Source: NDTV

Press Trust of India Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (Mumbai)

Actor Purab Kohli, who is all geared up for his up-coming film Turning 30, says, of all his films, Rock On, increased his market value in B-town.

“I think Rock On has increased my market value in Bollywood. I started getting offers from several quarters,” Purab told PTI.

The model-turned-actor garnered lot of appreciation for his performance in Rock On, where he was seen sharing screen with Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny, Prachi Desai and others.

Purab who will be seen next opposite Gul Panag in Turning 30, essays the role of a photographer in the film.

Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava and produced by Prakash Jha, Turning 30, is the story of a single woman who grapples with several issues as she turns 30.

“I feel each and every person who is either in late 20′s or at the age of 30 have worries about his work, marriage, family and others. It brings additional responsibility as one needs to plan out things keeping in mind their own future and their loved ones,” Purab said.

The former VJ will be working with Director Onir again for the I am series. It consists of four short films: Omar, Afia, Abhimanyu and Megha.

Each film shares the common theme of fear and is based on real life stories.

Purab, who has earlier worked with Onir in My Brother Nikhil, said, “I am part of one of the series titled I am Afia, alongside Nandita Das. The film is about a girl (Nandita) who decides to become a mother using a sperm donor.”

“I play a medical student from a smaller town who donates his sperm for some extra money. He is taken aback by the strange request of Afia who insists on meeting the donor whose sperm she is using,” Purab said.

Source: NDTV

Press Trust of India Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (Panaji)

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar has rubbished allegations that Bollywood personalities are hardly excited about film festivals like IFFI and prefer to stay away.

“It is not true that Hindi filmmakers, producers or directors are not coming for such festivals. They may be busy with their projects, so it is difficult to take time out for it,” Bhandarkar said.

“Bollywood personalities do go for film festivals,” he added.

Actor Ajay Devgn, who was here to inaugurate the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI), seconded the ‘Fashion’ director’s comments, saying, “Hindi film industry is increasingly getting connected to the film festivals.

Gradually everyone from Bollywood is linking themselves with the festival. It will take some time.”

Source: NDTV

Mid-Day.com Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (Mumbai)

Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai poised to come together for Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of Hamlet.

According to sources, Vishal Bhardwaj has decided to do an adaptation of Hamlet. He apparently wants Hrithik Roshan to play the Prince Of Denmark and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, his Ophelia.

Hamlet would be Vishal’s third Shakespearean adaptation after Maqbool which was taken from Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Omkara which was Vishal’s take on the Bard’s Othello.

The director has always maintained he would do three Shakespearean adaptations in his career and then leave Shakespeare alone.

Like the earlier adaptations, Hamlet too would be very dissimilar to the Shakespearean original. While Vishal remained unavailable for comment, a source reveals, “He has indeed gone to Aishwarya and Hrithik with Hamlet.

He is excited about doing the last of his Shakespearean trilogy. In the past, he has approached both Hrithik and Aishwarya somehow things haven’t worked out. This time, he’s determined to make it.”

Previously Hrithik-Aishwarya have worked together in Dhoom 2 (2006), Jodhaa Akbar (2008) and Guzaarish (2010).

Source: NDTV

Vikram Thapa Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (Mumbai)

According to Sanjay Leela Bhansali slow and steady wins the race, in which case victory is already in the bag for Guzaarish, which recorded an extremely slow start.

If the trade buzz is to be believed the film’s opening weekend losses are to the tune of Rs 40 crores, but Bhansali seems to be taking it in his stride.

“Even if 40 people went for the film, I wanted them to appreciate it. Word of mouth would do the rest,” said the director.

While Bhansali may be literally putting his money where his mouth is, let’s not forget these are times when a film’s fate is decided by the moolah it makes on the opening weekend.

And as if Golmaal 3′s extended run at the Box Office wasn’t bad enough, the coming weekend will see Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone enter the big screen with their happy rom-com Break Ke Baad.

Will anyone then have the time for the tearjerker that is Guzaarish? “My films are not sad, they they are liberating,” said Sanjay.

Bhansali may say it’s liberating, the critics may add it’s fascinating, but the audience are unforgiving. Looks like Bhansali’s Guzaarish will remain just that for the filmmaker when it comes to a hit.

Source: NDTV

Indo-Asian News Service Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (New Delhi)

It was a battle between a magician from the East and a wizard from the West and their spell proved unbreakable as both Hrithik Roshan starrer Guzaarish and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 wowed audiences, with the two running neck and neck in the first weekend.

While Guzaarish lost its initial pick to the boy wizard on Friday, Hrithik’s magic tricks and intense acting picked up Saturday onwards.

“The weekend was superb. While Guzaarish was good with 85 percent occupancy, Harry Potter… did around 70 percent both in Hindi and English. Collections wise both movies have done neck to neck business, however, ‘Guzaarish’ is a class movie and not meant for everyone,” Amit Awasthi, senior manager (Programming and Operations) of Spice Cinemas, told IANS.

Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (Cinemas) of Wave Cinemas, said: “Harry Potter… was good with 60-70 percent occupancy as per its fan following while Guzaarish is a class movie and not for masses but it garnered 70 percent occupancy. The content for both is being appreciated and both are worth watching.”

While Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is the seventh installment in the epic franchise, it has been directed by David Yates. The wizard trio – Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint reprise their roles in the movie.

Distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, the movie earned a gross of Rs.11.3 crore in its first weekend, according to the distributors. It released in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu in India.

Guzaarish, on the other hand, is the story of a magician (Hrithik) who becomes paraplegic after a trick goes haywire. The movie highlights the issue of euthanasia (mercy killing). Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, it also stars Aishwarya Rai.

“Harry Potter was good on Friday while Guzaarish picked up Saturday onwards. Both the movies did a neck to neck business with on an average 70-75 percent occupancy,” said Amit Shah, chief manager (programming) of DLF DT cinemas.

Added Jayendra Banerji, vice president (Operations) of Satyam Cineplexes: “The weekend was very good with both Guzaarish and Harry Potter… doing very well. While the former got 65 percent occupancy, the latter was anywhere between 60-70 percent. Both the movies have been appreciated a lot, however, Guzaarish has won kudos for its technical brilliance and emotional content despite not being a movie for the masses and only multiplexes.”

A source from PVR Cinemas, however, had a different story.

“Both the movies got only 50 percent occupancy on an average because of more shows and because people didn’t like both the outings that much…. The movies didn’t go down well with audiences as per their expectations. However, Guzaarish did better than Harry Potter…,” said the source.

Source: NDTV