Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif If sources are to be believed Katrina is recuperating in London with her family, but a reliable London source informs that to everybody’s surprise she is actually in New York. Coincidentally Ranbir Kapoor is also in New York shooting for Sajid Nadiadwala’s Anjaana Anjaani.
Post her surgery in Mumbai, Katrina flew off to London claiming to spend New Year’s Eve with her family. Katrina, who ushers in the New Year with her mother and siblings each year, was thrilled about the family reunion because she was looking forward to playing with her sister’s little son. But with Katrina in London, it surely raises questions about their relationship.
There is a huge debate as to how her visit to New York wasn’t out and how everybody knew that she was in London. When called up in London at her grandmother’s place, a relative informed that Katrina is in New York.
However Katrina said that she was very much in London. It is just a joke in about me being in New York because she is harassed by many calls.
Kaif also skipped her ex- boyfriend Salman Khan’s birthday in favour of New York. Ranbir and Katrina met on the sets of ‘Raajneeti’ but their friendship really took off when they shot Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. Ranbir has been in an ‘on-off relationship’ with Deepika Padukone while Katrina’s relationship with Salman Khan has slowly taken a setback.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Akshay Kumar won't charge a single penny for two of his films
Trade circles say that Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar was reportedly signed for as high a fee as Rs 71 crore for a film, has had a change of mind.
Reliable market sources say that the entire completion cost of Akshay’s next two films –‘Khatta Meetha’ directed by Priyadarshan and ‘Tees Maar Khan’ directed by Farah Khan will reportedly not exceed Rs 35 crore.
According to one trade source the cost of making ‘Khatta Meetha’ and ‘Tees Maar Khan’ won’t include the actor’s fee.
The same source adds that when Akshay realised that his films ‘Chandni Chowk to China’, ‘Kambakkht Ishq’ and ‘Tasveer’ lost money because of his individual fee as an actor, he decided to make a market correction.
Having studied the current Bollywood trade scene, the actor has decided not to charge a single penny for his films.
However, Akki’s banner ‘Hari Om Productions’ is a co-producer of the films ‘Khatta Meetha’ and ‘Tees Maar Khan’.
The actor explains the logic behind this drastic move of not charging his market fee. He said that for both the films his fees will be Rs.0. If both films are hits, then the production house will stand to benefit by getting a part of the profits. If the film is average, the profit margin will automatically be reduced. And if the film flops, no one will lose money because the budget has been controlled. By not charging his personal remuneration as an actor, he has made sure that these films will at least romp home with no losses.
Trade sources say that the Akshay is being closely watched by all actors who have home productions.
Reliable market sources say that the entire completion cost of Akshay’s next two films –‘Khatta Meetha’ directed by Priyadarshan and ‘Tees Maar Khan’ directed by Farah Khan will reportedly not exceed Rs 35 crore.
According to one trade source the cost of making ‘Khatta Meetha’ and ‘Tees Maar Khan’ won’t include the actor’s fee.
The same source adds that when Akshay realised that his films ‘Chandni Chowk to China’, ‘Kambakkht Ishq’ and ‘Tasveer’ lost money because of his individual fee as an actor, he decided to make a market correction.
Having studied the current Bollywood trade scene, the actor has decided not to charge a single penny for his films.
However, Akki’s banner ‘Hari Om Productions’ is a co-producer of the films ‘Khatta Meetha’ and ‘Tees Maar Khan’.
The actor explains the logic behind this drastic move of not charging his market fee. He said that for both the films his fees will be Rs.0. If both films are hits, then the production house will stand to benefit by getting a part of the profits. If the film is average, the profit margin will automatically be reduced. And if the film flops, no one will lose money because the budget has been controlled. By not charging his personal remuneration as an actor, he has made sure that these films will at least romp home with no losses.
Trade sources say that the Akshay is being closely watched by all actors who have home productions.
Gulzar set to direct a film in 2010
Noted lyricist-filmmaker Gulzar’s last offering as a director was Hu Tu Tu (1999), starring Tabu and Sunil Shetty. Since then, friends and family, especially his daughter Meghna have been urging him to return to direction. However, no idea seemed to inspire him enough to make that effort. That is until now. Gulzar is set to direct a film in 2010. The film’s subject will be women-centric like his earlier films and will star Vidya Balan.
Without divulging details, Gulzar says, “My next film will star Vidya for sure. I saw portions of Ishqiya and she is truly an outstanding actress.
The fact that Gulzar’s daughter Meghna and Vidya are close friends only enhances the director’s fondness for the actress. “I have known Vidya from the time she used to drop in with Pradeep Sarkar during Parineeta. She is a lovely girl. Do you know, when an Oscar was announced for Jai Ho, Vidya came home and gave me a trophy? Yes, an actual trophy! I am happy to see her friendship with my daughter. In Vidya, my daughter has found a soul mate. It’s very rare to see two people in the film industry reaching out to one another without ulterior motives. Vidya visits Meghna more than me. In fact, my daughter’s next also stars her. So both father and daughter are working with her,” adds the filmmaker. Apparently, Meghna’s next is a hard-hitting, marital drama.
As for Gulzar, Vidya has made a promise to herself. “I will keep sending him notes to start his film with me. I still remember that one shot in Parichay where the song Beeti na beetayi raina is going on and Jaya Bhaduriji is pleating her hair. That moment has stayed with me. No one captures everyday moments with such tenderness. I will do anything to work with Gulzarsaab. To me there are three people who are the epitome of culture and grace - M S Subbalaxmiji, Waheeda Rehmanji and Gulzarsaab.”
Without divulging details, Gulzar says, “My next film will star Vidya for sure. I saw portions of Ishqiya and she is truly an outstanding actress.
The fact that Gulzar’s daughter Meghna and Vidya are close friends only enhances the director’s fondness for the actress. “I have known Vidya from the time she used to drop in with Pradeep Sarkar during Parineeta. She is a lovely girl. Do you know, when an Oscar was announced for Jai Ho, Vidya came home and gave me a trophy? Yes, an actual trophy! I am happy to see her friendship with my daughter. In Vidya, my daughter has found a soul mate. It’s very rare to see two people in the film industry reaching out to one another without ulterior motives. Vidya visits Meghna more than me. In fact, my daughter’s next also stars her. So both father and daughter are working with her,” adds the filmmaker. Apparently, Meghna’s next is a hard-hitting, marital drama.
As for Gulzar, Vidya has made a promise to herself. “I will keep sending him notes to start his film with me. I still remember that one shot in Parichay where the song Beeti na beetayi raina is going on and Jaya Bhaduriji is pleating her hair. That moment has stayed with me. No one captures everyday moments with such tenderness. I will do anything to work with Gulzarsaab. To me there are three people who are the epitome of culture and grace - M S Subbalaxmiji, Waheeda Rehmanji and Gulzarsaab.”
Shahid to play Tom Cruise 'Top Gun' role
Shahid Kapoor, as Tom Cruise did in 1986 with Top Gun, is all set to wear a uniform and take to the skies in Mausam — his father Pankaj Kapoor’s directorial debut. Pankaj, who felt Shahid needs a change of image after playing roles like an aimless student in Ishq Vishq, a gangster-social activist in Kaminey, a struggling dancer in Chance Pe Dance and an entrepreneur before that in Jab We Met and Vivah, decided a uniformed soldier’s role would give his son a mature man’s image.
According to a source, the uniform has virtually been written into the script. Pankaj first toyed with the idea of making Shahid an Army officer. Then it was decided to cast him as an Air Force pilot. The last real big star to play an Air Force pilot in Hindi cinema was Rajesh Khanna in Shakti Samanta’s 1969 hit Aradhana, which itself was a copy of the 1946 Hollywood film To Each His Own.
Shahid’s role is being modelled on the lines of Tom Cruise’s from Top Gun, in which the actor played a Navy pilot training in the US Navy Fighter Weapons School known in the Pentagon as ‘Topgun’. The film was a super hit and had great music and songs apart from scintillating dogfights in mid-air and other action.
Shahid is taking the film seriously and has decided to train for the role after the release of Chance Pe Dance. Permission is being sought to make the film at the Air Force Academy in Dindigul, outside Hyderabad, much in the manner Top Gun was actually shot at the US Navy school in Miramar, California.
According to a source, the uniform has virtually been written into the script. Pankaj first toyed with the idea of making Shahid an Army officer. Then it was decided to cast him as an Air Force pilot. The last real big star to play an Air Force pilot in Hindi cinema was Rajesh Khanna in Shakti Samanta’s 1969 hit Aradhana, which itself was a copy of the 1946 Hollywood film To Each His Own.
Shahid’s role is being modelled on the lines of Tom Cruise’s from Top Gun, in which the actor played a Navy pilot training in the US Navy Fighter Weapons School known in the Pentagon as ‘Topgun’. The film was a super hit and had great music and songs apart from scintillating dogfights in mid-air and other action.
Shahid is taking the film seriously and has decided to train for the role after the release of Chance Pe Dance. Permission is being sought to make the film at the Air Force Academy in Dindigul, outside Hyderabad, much in the manner Top Gun was actually shot at the US Navy school in Miramar, California.
Avatar beauty Zoe Saldana in hot photoshoot
Avatar actress Zoe Saldana has won more admirers after shooting for a hot magazine photoshoot.
The 31-year-old, known as the computer-generated warrior Neytiri in James Cameron's latest blockbuster, posed for Complex magazine.
"Neytiri is blue, she's 9ft tall and she has bigger **** than I do," News of the World quoted the star as saying.
"But it's me - my face, my facial muscles, my expressions. And Jim captured that," she added.
The 31-year-old, known as the computer-generated warrior Neytiri in James Cameron's latest blockbuster, posed for Complex magazine.
"Neytiri is blue, she's 9ft tall and she has bigger **** than I do," News of the World quoted the star as saying.
"But it's me - my face, my facial muscles, my expressions. And Jim captured that," she added.
Aamir Khan's '3 Idiots' beats his own 'Ghajini'
Aamir Khan starrer '3 Idiots' has surpassed his last year's release 'Ghajini' in terms of weekend collection with 30% more profit at the box office.
The Rajkumar Hirani directed film, which released last Friday, has grossed Rs93 crore worldwide till Sunday.
Even the paid previews have garnered over Rs9 crore gross worldwide in collection which is above 'Ghajini's collection of Rs7 crore gross worldwide.
"Response has been overwhelming from all over the world. Aamir, Raju and I knew from the responses earlier on that people liked the film but this is something else," said Vidhu Vinod Chopra, producer of the film.
'3 Idiots', which the producers claim is the most widely released Hindi film till date, opened in India with 1550 prints in over 1760 screens and overseas 342 prints in over 366 screens in over 40 countries.
The figures from USA and Canada show the biggest opening weekend ever for a Hindi film.
"We have got reports from places like Australia that they have reduced 'Avatar' shows and increased ours. '3 Idiots' is the highest grossing Hindi film ever in Australia on its
opening weekend. Similarly in US, I have been told that 3 Idiots would be highest ever for a Hindi film," Chopra added.
In the UK, '3 Idiots' is claimed to have surpassed all other Hindi films and reached just below Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna', even though all theatres were shut down for Christmas and business has been for two days.
The Rajkumar Hirani directed film, which released last Friday, has grossed Rs93 crore worldwide till Sunday.
Even the paid previews have garnered over Rs9 crore gross worldwide in collection which is above 'Ghajini's collection of Rs7 crore gross worldwide.
"Response has been overwhelming from all over the world. Aamir, Raju and I knew from the responses earlier on that people liked the film but this is something else," said Vidhu Vinod Chopra, producer of the film.
'3 Idiots', which the producers claim is the most widely released Hindi film till date, opened in India with 1550 prints in over 1760 screens and overseas 342 prints in over 366 screens in over 40 countries.
The figures from USA and Canada show the biggest opening weekend ever for a Hindi film.
"We have got reports from places like Australia that they have reduced 'Avatar' shows and increased ours. '3 Idiots' is the highest grossing Hindi film ever in Australia on its
opening weekend. Similarly in US, I have been told that 3 Idiots would be highest ever for a Hindi film," Chopra added.
In the UK, '3 Idiots' is claimed to have surpassed all other Hindi films and reached just below Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna', even though all theatres were shut down for Christmas and business has been for two days.
The art of turning a film into a script
Nasreen Munni Kabir has emerged as an indefatigable chronicler of popular Hindi cinema. From her early breakthrough book on Guru Dutt to the Movie Mahal series which introduced Britain to Bollywood, Kabir has documented Hindi cinema's great personalities and movies.
She has also pioneered the documentation of the film script, which involves painstakingly noting down the dialogues of a film and translating them into English. She tried the experiment with Mughal-e-Azam and now she is back with the dialogue of Awaara which she calls 'Raj Kapoor's Immortal Classic'.
There is no denying Awaara's place in the Hindi film pantheon of greats, though the film can be a bit emotionally overwrought. For my money, Shri 420 is a more deeply satisfying film and is as good if not better in parts. But that is a moot debate. Awaara had a philosophical idea at its core: do genes decide a person's character or does upbringing matter, which formed the background to a love story between a rich girl and a petty thief.
All the usual ironies of Hindi cinema were present but the end result was not cliched and the credit for that goes to the then 27-year old Kapoor.
Awaara had terrific songs, stupendous acting, superb sets, breakthrough photography and most of all, bold and strong dialogues which held a deep resonance. Writer KA Abbas had imbued it with his leftist ideals, which gelled well with Kapoor's own sensibilities, and resonated with a young nation just out of the trauma of Partition. Yet questions do arise. Does the dialogue deserve a book of its own? Does the idea of printing these dialogues in four different ways -- in English, Hindi, Urdu and finally in Roman script but in Hindustani -- work?
In an industry not known for pre-scripting, any such effort can only be post-facto, i.e. taken off the film since so much is written right on the set. That shows because the cinematic instructions are few and far between and any commentary is the author's (Kabir) own comments drawn from her extensive knowledge and research. This is a strength and a weakness. In the end that really doesn't matter, because Kabir is an excellent guide and a veritable storehouse of information. The opening essay and the end notes have lovely trivia and also analyses of several scenes, including the famous dream sequence.
Awaara became a worldwide phenomenon, a cult film in Russia, Turkey and many other countries. Students and lovers of Hindi films, especially from the Golden Age, should read and imbibe from this book. It reminds us about an era when Hindi films had style, content and heart and were not simply a gigantic marketing exercise.
She has also pioneered the documentation of the film script, which involves painstakingly noting down the dialogues of a film and translating them into English. She tried the experiment with Mughal-e-Azam and now she is back with the dialogue of Awaara which she calls 'Raj Kapoor's Immortal Classic'.
There is no denying Awaara's place in the Hindi film pantheon of greats, though the film can be a bit emotionally overwrought. For my money, Shri 420 is a more deeply satisfying film and is as good if not better in parts. But that is a moot debate. Awaara had a philosophical idea at its core: do genes decide a person's character or does upbringing matter, which formed the background to a love story between a rich girl and a petty thief.
All the usual ironies of Hindi cinema were present but the end result was not cliched and the credit for that goes to the then 27-year old Kapoor.
Awaara had terrific songs, stupendous acting, superb sets, breakthrough photography and most of all, bold and strong dialogues which held a deep resonance. Writer KA Abbas had imbued it with his leftist ideals, which gelled well with Kapoor's own sensibilities, and resonated with a young nation just out of the trauma of Partition. Yet questions do arise. Does the dialogue deserve a book of its own? Does the idea of printing these dialogues in four different ways -- in English, Hindi, Urdu and finally in Roman script but in Hindustani -- work?
In an industry not known for pre-scripting, any such effort can only be post-facto, i.e. taken off the film since so much is written right on the set. That shows because the cinematic instructions are few and far between and any commentary is the author's (Kabir) own comments drawn from her extensive knowledge and research. This is a strength and a weakness. In the end that really doesn't matter, because Kabir is an excellent guide and a veritable storehouse of information. The opening essay and the end notes have lovely trivia and also analyses of several scenes, including the famous dream sequence.
Awaara became a worldwide phenomenon, a cult film in Russia, Turkey and many other countries. Students and lovers of Hindi films, especially from the Golden Age, should read and imbibe from this book. It reminds us about an era when Hindi films had style, content and heart and were not simply a gigantic marketing exercise.
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