Rumour has it that Salman Khan has been invited to the wedding reception of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai .
While the Abhi-Ash wedding will strictly be a private affair (with relatives and close friends of the Bachchans and Rais), a large number of Bollywood celebrities are expected to attend the reception. And reports have it that Salman Khan, Aishwarya’s ex-flame, has also been invited.
According to the buzz, it was Amitabh Bachchan himself who called Salman’s father Salim Khan (who co-wrote scripts for many Bachchan films) and invited the entire Khan family to the reception.
Vivek Oberoi , another ex-boyfriend of Aishwarya, has reportedly not received invitation either from the Rais or the Bachchans.
It is also learnt that Salman Khan is planning to gift Abhishek a specially tailored Sherwani as the wedding gift.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
Aishwarya Rai confirms doing 'Sarkar' sequel
The gorgeous Aishwarya Rai has confirmed teaming up with Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan and fiancé Abhishek Bachchan for the sequel of Sarkar .
This was told to a news agency none other than by director Ram Gopal Varma .
"News travels fast! Yes, it’s true Aishwarya has agreed to be a part of Sarkar 2 . We only need to work out her dates. She’ll of course play the lead opposite Abhishek," Varma confirmed.
Considering how much in the news the pair is, Varma has got quite a winning combination on his hands.
Laughs the filmmaker: "I don’t think that’s the primary motivation for my casting Aishwarya. You see, I’ve been meaning to work with her for some time. Who doesn’t want to work with Aishwarya Rai? But the vehicle has to be worthy of her presence.
"I did approach her on a few occasions earlier. Things didn’t work out. I’m glad she’s on finally."
‘Sarkar 2’ which will carry forward the story of the ‘Godfather’ – like political clan will now have Abhishek playing the messianic saviour of the downtrodden.
The Bachchan senior has confirmed that he would have comparatively less to do in the sequel to "Sarkar". But knowing Varma's passionate proclivity for the Big B's histrionics there’s bound to be more of Amitabh than it would outwardly appear possible.
"I can’t say right now how much scope the three main stars will have in ‘Sarkar 2’. But Amitji, Abhishek and Aishwarya are going to be seen in a light not cast before," revealed Varma, who has just directed Bachchan in Nishabd .
Source: Apunkachoice
This was told to a news agency none other than by director Ram Gopal Varma .
"News travels fast! Yes, it’s true Aishwarya has agreed to be a part of Sarkar 2 . We only need to work out her dates. She’ll of course play the lead opposite Abhishek," Varma confirmed.
Considering how much in the news the pair is, Varma has got quite a winning combination on his hands.
Laughs the filmmaker: "I don’t think that’s the primary motivation for my casting Aishwarya. You see, I’ve been meaning to work with her for some time. Who doesn’t want to work with Aishwarya Rai? But the vehicle has to be worthy of her presence.
"I did approach her on a few occasions earlier. Things didn’t work out. I’m glad she’s on finally."
‘Sarkar 2’ which will carry forward the story of the ‘Godfather’ – like political clan will now have Abhishek playing the messianic saviour of the downtrodden.
The Bachchan senior has confirmed that he would have comparatively less to do in the sequel to "Sarkar". But knowing Varma's passionate proclivity for the Big B's histrionics there’s bound to be more of Amitabh than it would outwardly appear possible.
"I can’t say right now how much scope the three main stars will have in ‘Sarkar 2’. But Amitji, Abhishek and Aishwarya are going to be seen in a light not cast before," revealed Varma, who has just directed Bachchan in Nishabd .
Source: Apunkachoice
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
When Aishwarya Rai hugged Vidya Balan
There is apparently no truth in rumours about cold vibes between Aishwarya Rai and Vidya Balan on the sets of Mani Ratnam’s film Guru .
Even though her role in the film is not very big, Vidya has some fond memories from the movie’s shooting. Most of her scenes in the movie are with Madhavan . Vidya has few scenes with Abhishek and only one scene with Ash in the film.
Vidya recalls the day when she shot with Ash. She recounts that before the shoot a couple of people on the set were nervous and she herself was filled with anticipation of shooting with Ash.
“I was not nervous, but slightly anxious. And then Aishwarya walked up to me and gave me a warm hug and said ‘I hope you are okay’. That gesture really got me relaxed,” Vidya says.
She adds: “Ash is dignity personified.”
About Abhishek, Vidya says he was “a livewire on the sets” and always full of fun.
‘Guru’ has Vidya playing a handicapped woman.
Abhishek plays a man who comes from a village to the city with a dream to make it big. How he realizes his dream with sheer struggle and perseverance is what the movie is about. Ash plays a woman who is married to Guru against her wishes, but she starts loving him as time passes.
The movie, directed by Mani Ratnam , hits the theatres on January 12.
Source: Apunkachoice
Even though her role in the film is not very big, Vidya has some fond memories from the movie’s shooting. Most of her scenes in the movie are with Madhavan . Vidya has few scenes with Abhishek and only one scene with Ash in the film.
Vidya recalls the day when she shot with Ash. She recounts that before the shoot a couple of people on the set were nervous and she herself was filled with anticipation of shooting with Ash.
“I was not nervous, but slightly anxious. And then Aishwarya walked up to me and gave me a warm hug and said ‘I hope you are okay’. That gesture really got me relaxed,” Vidya says.
She adds: “Ash is dignity personified.”
About Abhishek, Vidya says he was “a livewire on the sets” and always full of fun.
‘Guru’ has Vidya playing a handicapped woman.
Abhishek plays a man who comes from a village to the city with a dream to make it big. How he realizes his dream with sheer struggle and perseverance is what the movie is about. Ash plays a woman who is married to Guru against her wishes, but she starts loving him as time passes.
The movie, directed by Mani Ratnam , hits the theatres on January 12.
Source: Apunkachoice
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Dhoom 2 Advance Booking is a Record
align=justify>“The entire weekend for ‘Dhoom 2’was sold out on Tuesday itself. Only five tickets are left for a Sunday eleven o clock night show which I plan to watch with my friends,” says Shonali Shrofff of Fame Group of Multiplexes. “It is undoubtedly the biggest advance booking of the year,” she added. The recent trend of advance booking starting on the Sunday instead of Wednesday has seen an unprecedented response in case of big films like ‘Fanaa’, ‘Krrish’, ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ and ‘Don’. But if Shonali Shroff is to be believed then ‘Dhoom 2’ has broken all earlier records. Girish S Wankhede, Manager Public Relations for Cinemax Group of Multiplexes emphatically states that all shows are totally house full. “The advance booking is tremendous,” he says. Devang Sampat, GM, Marketing and Sales, Cinemax says that the reason for such opening is the trust people have in “Mr Perfectionist” Aditya Chopra. “Moreover the starcast is such that it can’t get bigger than this,” he added.
Yashraj Films had started the trend with ‘Fanaa’ of getting a higher chunk of the ticket sales figures from the multiplexes. Vinod Chopra successfully adapted the same module with ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’. There have been rumours that Yashraj Films once again tried to get a bigger share of the pie from the multplexes before the release of ‘Dhoom 2’ but it hasn’t been verified as no one is willing to talk. This correspondent had spoken to Shonali Shroff of Fame Multiplexes a day before ‘Fanaa’ was about to be released. She had said then that Fame is still not sure about releasing ‘Fanaa’ due to the prevailing uncertainty on revenue sharing. But on being asked today if a similar situation arose with ‘Dhoom 2’ she was prompt in saying, “We have very good relations with Yashraj Films. There’s no problem at all.”
‘Dhoom 2’ is also setting another record in terms of number of screens showing the same film in a particular multiplex. You can imagine how big a release it is by the following numbers:
Fame Adlabs, Andheri: 18 shows per day
Fame Malad: 21 shows per day
Fame Kandivali: 14 shows per day
Cinemax, Versova: 20 shows
Cinemax, Sion: 8 shows
Cinemax Kandivali: 12 shows
Cinemax Wondermall, Thane: 12 shows
Cinemax Eternity Mall: 13 shows
Cinemax, Andheri single screen: 4 shows
Cinemax Nasik: 9 shows
In a year that has seen huge money spinners like ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, ‘Krrish’, ‘Fanaa’ and ‘Rang De Basanti’, there’s every possibility that ‘Dhoom 2’ shall be the icing on the cake of a great year for the Hindi Film Industry. Stay tuned to IndiaGlitz for the ‘Dhoom 2’ review first thing tomorrow and a video of the public opinion this weekend.
Source: Indiaglitz
Shooting for Dhoom 2 was like a college trip - Ash
We hear you are playing a negative role in Dhoom 2, what was it like and what was the rationale behind taking on this role with negative shades.
Firstly all the talk on a lot of aspects of Dhoom and my character in the film. I guess assumptions are fine, because it definitely keeps the curiosity picking and the audience out there wondering, how much truth there is to it, so I am wondering whether at this point in time I should shed more light or let the audience go discover for themselves in the theatres. Speculation has been aplenty right from the time we starting filming, so it’s all a lot of assumptions. Slating or slotting the characters already I don’t think should be done, because I will not define my character as negative or positive for that matter because she’s a live wire in the film and with a character that’s just typically her, when you discover Sunehri you will find that she’s just a singular individual, it will take you a while to even figure her out and that was the idea in the way we agreed that I perform her, where you will not be able to slot her, she completely throws you. It was definitely exciting for me to discover and deliver Sunehri simply because in a given scene, while having relatively regular pieces of conversation within that its layered, in a single moment she’s striking a conversation, in a single moment she exudes excitement, almost hero worship to Mr A, in the next second she’s turning on an attitude and challenging him, almost reckoning to be an equal, so in that sense, just like Mr A takes the audience a while to figure out, so does Sunehri. So thereby when I say performing Sunehri was defined in my mind, this is what I mean by etching her out, that there were so many little little aspects that it felt very important in creating her in terms of content apart from of course the visual impact and that is something all the characters we all definitely focused on, as something we brought to the table as a team from director down to the stylist.
Did you do your stunts yourself? What was it like?
A couple of them, as would go with an action film and with safety first being the mantra always in every film set and that isn’t anything new, its common knowledge, within the film fraternity as well as the audience. But nevertheless a lot of the work was something that we as a team of actors and technicians did push ourselves for, to experience the adrenaline rush first person because that’s what makes it super exciting in terms of what you deliver and also in terms of what the audience gets to actually experience on screen when they see the artist/ actor in person, pushing themselves beyond the norm. The high point probably was actually at Orabi Gorge, where we had the jump, there’s this one moment where Hrithik’s character Aryan challenges Sunehri, (that’s me) in the film to jump, given the premise of the scene which when you see you will enjoy it, and she takes a beat and goes for it and so does he and you see a glimpse of that in the promos. That was a trip, it was an absolute high, and never in my life have I experienced just literally jumping off the edge, I had to actually do that, of course they looked after our safety, and there is a bungee that we are connected to in person as well, even in the moment on screen, but to actually do this literally just jumping straight foot first like off a diving board, was fantastic. Even when you are actually hauled up, just after a take, when you’ve spent it out there, it was, quite a moment for both Hrithik and me, because just next us, there was a trickle of a waterfall so we were actually seeing the water drops just literally going down in reality what visually we refer to as slow motion, literally the drops were going down forever.
This is your first film with Hrithik and Bipasha, how was the experience of working with them?
Superlative, I mean it really has been fantastic, fun just like the rest of the team, be it Abhishek, Uday, I think the fact that the 3 of them have known each other since childhood, they constantly share their anecdotes which just make you feel that you belong to those bunch of kids who went to those Birthday parties, or hung out in their schooling years, you just felt that you were part of the inner circle, because it was so wonderful to see them spontaneously and at the most unexpected moments, have a recollection and relive it, made you feel you were there as well and the brief moments that I got to share with Bipasha, I must say she’s a real cool girl, and I am glad we are a team on this film, all of us, because the camaraderie was genuine, the spirit was fab and the energy was about being team players, and that’s something that everybody brought to the table very professionally while on the job and aside it just kept the energy what it should be, on a film like this, very naturally. So we had a blast while making the film, solely zeroing on my specific co-star for the film, that is my pair that’s Hrithik, like he himself was saying that its great that he also had eased up a lot and he says that generally, not just from this film, we had a world tour and a commercial together and I guess both of us had been psyched by perception about being extremely professional, being very detailed, almost obsessive about our work, each of us had been told that about the other, but when we have worked together, I can safely say that, I think that’s a given. In any committed passionate professional would be that detailed for what they bring to the job, and I relate to that, so I don’t think there’s any need to make much ado about it. It’s fairly natural to work that hard or be that much of a perfectionist on the job.
What do you think of the music of Dhoom 2 as compared to Dhoom?
I would never make comparisons, because the fact is that Dhoom was a super success and it was a signature tune at that point in time, in every club, car, bikes, a raging success, and I am glad that Dhoom 2 was received with equal if not more responsive. It has been superlative again and very very positive, and I think it was very clever, to have the first promo go on air with KANK, it was very gratifying for the whole team to have received such a tremendous response, where the audience was already in Dhoom 2 while watching the movie! This is something we heard in first person, we all received it on text and as a team we were overjoyed. It was very very good to know that people were so looking forward to this film, with so much anticipation, we’ve had a blast making it, so we can’t wait to share it with our audiences.
Did you watch Dhoom and what did you think of the film?
It’s evident that because at that point it was definitely a cluster breaker. The identity is youth but I take it as just going by the success, they become family experiences that kids enjoy, parents go the entire family goes and they just have a good time, and you come away with an adrenaline rush. I sincerely believe that age is a state of the mind, even 20 years later I will say this. And everybody has been there done that or has aspired to be there do that and have all these experiences in person, if not, cinema is the perfect dream world, the closest thing to experiencing any moment in person. So it was good to know that Dhoom was well embraced, so when approached with the idea of Dhoom 2 touted as a sequel, but I always call it yet it is a brilliant idea, and Adi knew what he was doing when he came up with this idea, going by the response. We were very very happy to be on team, its really funny, how 20,000 ideas fly around within the team of course, about the next Dhoom and the next Dhoom, and the next Dhoom, so it obviously a very clever franchise. At the end of the day it’s a fab experience for the team as well as for the audiences. It’s like college will always be an experience everybody cherishes and the pulse and pace of this movie, is one that is universally enjoyed.
You have so many releases coming up, what makes Dhoom 2 special?
It’s definitely a first in my career and it’s interesting it’s happened in the 10th year of my film career. Of course that’s by choice, its not a moment if I may say so, a moment I have been waiting for to happen to me, in the sense that there have been offers to do roles in the western mode but I have been very choosy, very evident in the choice of films that I have done and made so far. This was a tough offer to resist, because I thought it was perfect, if this was what I wanted to bring on board, this was the perfect premise to do so. So in terms of playing an out and out westernized character, so obviously youth oriented and trendsetting, so obviously fashionable and fun, but at the same time racy, evidently hot and super cool, this was the perfect premise to do so, so yes I chose to project the way I never have before on this film, because I felt it seemed so natural and at ease and it went with the language of the film. If you do find Sunehri sexy at every given point, Sunehri just is, she isn’t someone who is working to turn it on in every frame, unless she needs to as a character, while interacting with another character. So I thought it was great where, wearing shorts or short skirts, dressing a certain way was just natural to the character, it wasn’t about trying to work it on celluloid. I don’t need to resort to tactics, to get attention, thank you very much, I have more than my fair share of it even in my saris! It’s not something I needed to explore for the sake of the apparent, it was a definite character created, and it’s just the language of the entire film and of all the characters. We have shot in Rio, where it was only natural to be dressed a certain way, we have shot in South Africa, yes also in Mumbai, but while interacting with the characters it’s all a natural progression of the celluloid theme. Hence the comfort level.
What was the best moment during the course of shooting the film?
The film as a whole, but like I say apart from the part of the absolute thrill of working on celluloid, I must confess, I thoroughly enjoyed the team, I enjoyed the gang, off-screen as well, because like I just shared with you earlier, that it was so nice that everybody was just being, it was the whole team. There were a lot of laughs, a lot of fun. There has been a lot of talk about the fitness regime, something that I only explored very honestly for a month to 5 weeks before we started the film, then it has only been my schedules throughout the last year, my different films I ‘ve been working on, I didn’t get a chance really focus on the fitness. So for all the talk in the media, this is the truth, it was just 4-5 weeks last year before we started. Then after making Guru, both Abhishek and me had to put on weight for Mani’s film, so we resumed the schedule, I suggested we take Deepika ( the fitness instructor) with us because we were doing the action part of the film, and whatever little bit we could do, which was barely 2 weeks, while filming, but the fun part was that everybody would be in the gym, I mean everybody not just the actors. And it was fun because while we would all try to get into a bit of a routine, I think we were just having so much fun hanging around, that we’d be just about that sincere and then the next plan to go out to dinner, which we would all do very happily and try and hold on to the myths that if I gorge now it will show 20 days later, so that we are on safe turf, it was like a college /road trip, I’d say this film, where while we were working in all sincerity but it was all so much fun, on set and after hours. I think that is by far the best memory the best is everything about D2 is fabulous while making it, but I think we’ve come away being really good friends, time and tide will be able to define the strength of the friendship but nevertheless it definitely went beyond being co-stars, and its something that I really cherish and hold dear to my heart.
How did you enjoy shooting on location in South Africa and a message for your fans there?
South Africa incidentally has a home turf kind of significance in my life, because yes, I did win my title in Sun City of Johannesburg, and I have been there a couple of times, not that often, but a couple of times, my work took me back there, to Cape Town to film Dil Ka Rishta extensively which was again a family experience, so my memories are very very warm, and people have been extremely loving and its something that a lot of my film fraternity really cherish and enjoy with the people of South Africa. Even the year I was giving up the title, when Amitji was on board the panel of the jury, at the pageant, it was overwhelming to see the strength with which our people had descended to Sun City and the applause that he was rendered just took the entire pageant’s breath away because it was so good to see, and such an awakening to the rest of the world to recognize, how passionate our people are about our cinema, and the members of our film fraternity, and the love that they are so generous with. Hence I personally share a very warm bond with our audience out there and I can just extend a heartfelt thank you, for their love and blessings and good wishes all through my career and it was great fun now coming back there and shooting for Dhoom 2, a fun experience for us and again with a lot of very fond memories, I am glad that every time I have come there and worked or filmed, or participated in a pageant, I have come away with super success and a lot of love and great memories, so I guess that’s a good sign.
Did you do any kind of special preparation for this role?
Like I said one was the visual was very imperative, as a pre-requisite, its something we as a team agreed we definitely would work on, as I do work on every film, here it zeroed in on the physical appearance in terms of fitness, and it was a body language and a body type that I hadn’t brought to celluloid before, and since I was going to dress a certain way, I needed to just be the person who wore those clothes, very naturally and not because it was an element of worked on excitement, I am glad that it has turned out exciting, that wasn’t the reason for the costume. People who have well toned bodies as we look around, naturally dress a certain way, when you’ve really worked on your midriff you see that they are happy to wear shorter tops, when you have worked on your legs, they naturally wear short skirts, not because they need to show their legs but they feel natural and comfortable in it. So that was a body type that I was determined to work on, and I was very glad to discover that the first time in my life that I have got down to working out, my body responds very quickly and its very reassuring to know that, so with a little bit of focused time and work it was good to know that we can achieve it, and bring that on board. In terms of the styling, working with Anaita, whom I worked with several times in my career specially in my modeling world, or in the fashion magazine assignments, we’ve worked many times before, so she knows me, my body type, my aesthetics, my comfort, and so we worked on it together very easily and she’s done a fantastic job, because that’s what again people right from on the set and now the audience have begun to identify. The clothing feels like me, it feels natural even if it means seeing me for the first time in the western mould. It doesn’t seem uncomfortable, it doesn’t seem unnatural, and that’s something Anaita knows about me, so we worked on it together and arrived at Sunehri. We decided that we would go with a different hand in terms of makeup and hair styling because that again would bring a newness to board, so I worked with Subbu who also I have known from my advertising, and modeling experience, though this was the first film we were working on together. So we did one day of a look shoot as in a test with my dear friend Farooque and once we arrived at Sunehri, there she was bang on ready to go on set. Obviously the final verdict is the nod from Adi, it was fun to arrive at her in terms of the visual. In terms of preparation to characterization, we were clear again as a team as I said before that we would create a character, while we knew that the visual would be the initial head turner, we needed to create someone who would be, specifically a character from this franchise.
Also it has worked out really well, fortunately or coincidentally that currently I am having so many different releases, Umrao Jaan, Dhoom 2 and Guru, and ahead there’s Provoked and Last Legion, it’s great that not only visually we have arrived at a specific character, but also in terms of her mannerisms her personality is very very specific and can be identified as someone who belongs solely to this film.
What next? Can we expect to see you doing some more action films in the international front?
Well I started in fact just pre Dhoom 2 I made Last Legion, which was definitely action not contemporary though and I experienced sword fighting and I am a warrior in that film, so I completed that movie before I started Dhoom, so that would technically be my first experience in the action genre, but it wasn’t in the contemporary times, so I am glad that within the year, between last year and now, I have actually got through and tasted action spectrum in Roman times and contemporary biker times and its been a lot of fun, its been a huge adrenaline rush, exactly what I was looking forward to and like I tease I have tasted blood, I can’t wait to have more such experiences because they are really fulfilling and it’s a rush that can’t be explained, but it’s a definite high, that’s the most fantastic part of our job, because we get to experience which probably people just think or dream about, and irrespective of what point in time of your life, to what space you are physically in, where you are, it could from the ridiculous to the superlative in excitement, but the fact is we get to experience life through our film making and I think that’s a blessing.
Source: IndiaFM
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Ash Has Got a Money Mail
Aishwariya Rai is making millions by starring in big films both in India as well as abroad. She also happens to be the highest paid brand ambassadors in the country. So, it’s bound to make news when a parcel containing 23, 000 Euros (Approximately Rs 14 lakhs) weighing 16.5 kgs is addressed to her name and address by an unknown person from South Africa.
The customs officials had notified regarding this parcel to Rai but she didn’t revert back to their repeated notifications through letters. Ash is currently shooting for Ashutosh Gowarikar’s ‘Akbar Jodha’ in Jaipur and the customs officials have clearly stated to her manager Haris Singh that they can’t wait for her beyond the end of this week after which she would have to be summoned under the Customs Act.
According to the customs officials she was not under investigation but if she continues to be non-cooperative with the investigations then she could face action under the Customs Act. The consignor is the one who is really answerable and can be questioned even if he is a Non-Indian. Film industry sources are saying that it might be an act of a fan who was eager to prove his loyalty towards the beautiful former Miss World. Well…What can we say…There are other better ways of showing your affection-n-loyalty dude.
Source: Indiaglitz
The customs officials had notified regarding this parcel to Rai but she didn’t revert back to their repeated notifications through letters. Ash is currently shooting for Ashutosh Gowarikar’s ‘Akbar Jodha’ in Jaipur and the customs officials have clearly stated to her manager Haris Singh that they can’t wait for her beyond the end of this week after which she would have to be summoned under the Customs Act.
According to the customs officials she was not under investigation but if she continues to be non-cooperative with the investigations then she could face action under the Customs Act. The consignor is the one who is really answerable and can be questioned even if he is a Non-Indian. Film industry sources are saying that it might be an act of a fan who was eager to prove his loyalty towards the beautiful former Miss World. Well…What can we say…There are other better ways of showing your affection-n-loyalty dude.
Source: Indiaglitz
Friday, November 10, 2006
Umrao Jaan back in a new avatar
Now here we see Aishwarya Rai in a completely contrasting look from what she did in Umrao Jaan. No heavy make-up or the golden clothes, Ash has gone from glam to plain simple in her forthcoming film Guru. If you remember in early images of Guru, we saw an aged Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan. Here we see her sporting simple jewelry with a black top and black dupatta. Well, Umrao Jaan didn’t do the trick. Let’s hope Guru will!!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Exclusive Synopsis of Dhoom 2
BACK IN ACTION... DHOOM:2 reinvents the action comedy genre and propels it into the 21st century.
Ali’s (Uday Chopra) dream of becoming a police officer has come true. He is now ACP Jai Dixit’s (Abhishek Bachchan) ‘right hand man’. Together, they are trying to keep a tight leash on the crime in India. Little do they know what they are going to be up against.
Enter Aryan - Mr. A (Hrithik Roshan) - A hi-tech international thief. After pulling off a series of impossible heists all over the world, his next target is Mumbai, India. The case is given to ACP Jai and Ali. Helping them put the pieces of the puzzle together is ACP Shonali Bose (Bipasha Basu), Jai’s college mate, now a police officer in her own right. For the last two years Shonali has been tracking these amazing thefts and is now an expert on this thief, who no one has seen.
Once in Mumbai, Mr. A finds his match in Sunehri (Aishwarya Rai), a petty yet clever thief. She makes him an offer he finds very hard to refuse. A partnership! Aryan accepts.
And so the game begins – a game of cat and mouse – a game of good v/s bad.
The “COPS” - Jai, Shonali and Ali; and they are after Aryan and Sunehri – “The ROBBERS”.
From the desert of Namibia to the backwaters of Goa, the mean streets of Mumbai and the ancient forts of Rajasthan, and finally to “Wild n Exotic” Rio, Brazil.
Does ACP Jai Dixit manage to nab Mr. A? Or does Mr. A prove to be too much for him?
Never-Seen-Before Action Sequences, Hi-Tech Heists, Breathtaking Hi-Speed Chases, Non-Stop Laughter and Excitement will lead you to the answer to these questions.
Go On…! Enjoy the RIDE…!! ONCE AGAIN…!!!
Source: Indiaglitz
Ali’s (Uday Chopra) dream of becoming a police officer has come true. He is now ACP Jai Dixit’s (Abhishek Bachchan) ‘right hand man’. Together, they are trying to keep a tight leash on the crime in India. Little do they know what they are going to be up against.
Enter Aryan - Mr. A (Hrithik Roshan) - A hi-tech international thief. After pulling off a series of impossible heists all over the world, his next target is Mumbai, India. The case is given to ACP Jai and Ali. Helping them put the pieces of the puzzle together is ACP Shonali Bose (Bipasha Basu), Jai’s college mate, now a police officer in her own right. For the last two years Shonali has been tracking these amazing thefts and is now an expert on this thief, who no one has seen.
Once in Mumbai, Mr. A finds his match in Sunehri (Aishwarya Rai), a petty yet clever thief. She makes him an offer he finds very hard to refuse. A partnership! Aryan accepts.
And so the game begins – a game of cat and mouse – a game of good v/s bad.
The “COPS” - Jai, Shonali and Ali; and they are after Aryan and Sunehri – “The ROBBERS”.
From the desert of Namibia to the backwaters of Goa, the mean streets of Mumbai and the ancient forts of Rajasthan, and finally to “Wild n Exotic” Rio, Brazil.
Does ACP Jai Dixit manage to nab Mr. A? Or does Mr. A prove to be too much for him?
Never-Seen-Before Action Sequences, Hi-Tech Heists, Breathtaking Hi-Speed Chases, Non-Stop Laughter and Excitement will lead you to the answer to these questions.
Go On…! Enjoy the RIDE…!! ONCE AGAIN…!!!
Source: Indiaglitz
Monday, October 30, 2006
Aishwarya turns 33 this week
She rules the hearts of millions and is touted as one of the most beautiful actresses ever to grace Indian cinema. Aishwarya Rai, who turns 33 Wednesday, returns to the marquee after a long hiatus - playing a courtesan in "Umrao Jaan" and an oomph girl in "Dhoom 2".
The actress, who is said to be dating Abhishek Bachchan, will reportedly announce her engagement on her birthday. According to insiders, Abhishek's ailing grandmother Teji Bachchan is eager to see him married, and the couple is said to be planning to tie the knot early next year.
But Aishwarya, who is apparently attending family dinners and get-togethers at the Bachchan household, is tight-lipped about her relationship.
She is currently busy promoting her two films. In Yash Raj Films' upcoming "Dhoom 2", Aishwarya plays a hi-tech thief along with Hrithik Roshan, while in J.P. Dutta's "Umrao Jaan", a screen adaptation of Mirza Mohammed Haadi Ruswa's Urdu novel "Umrao Jaan Ada" and a tragic historical, she plays a courtesan.
"When Dutta narrated the script to me, I told him that if you get Aishwarya to play the role of Umrao Jaan only then make the film, else drop it. According to me, the character requires an enigmatic quality to it. This is what I feel Aishwarya's personality symbolises," said well-known lyricist Javed Akhtar on the actress.
"Hers is a personality that is a kind of riddle. Even Dutta felt the same way and now after watching the finished product I feel that no one else could have made it."
However, there is a notion among some that she is not a good actress and has hogged the limelight mainly for her looks, and her affairs with co-stars Salman Khan and Viveik Oberoi.
"Aishwarya is not known as a bankable actor. People think of her as wooden. She can't emote. Dutta is not only a good director; he is also a good technician. He knows how to extract work from his artist. We are confident that Aishwarya must have played the role convincingly," New Delhi-based distributor Sanjay Mehta told IANS.
"Umrao Jaan" and "Dhoom 2" will put to test her versatility. Critics believe that so far only Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been able to extract the best out of her in his hit "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" and "Devdas", India's official entry for the Oscars in 2003.
Her being crowned Miss World in 1994 made her entry into films smooth. She was flooded with offers but chose to start her acting career with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film "Iruvar".
Her performance was critically appreciated and she soon forayed into Bollywood with Rahul Rawail's "Aur Pyar Ho Gaya" opposite Bobby Deol. The film not only fetched her a Filmfare award for best debut but she had top-notch directors making a beeline for her house.
She was soon signed up by one of the most talented filmmakers in the industry, Bhansali, for "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam". In this love triangle, which also had Ajay Devgan, she was paired for the first time with Salman Khan.
Their onscreen chemistry was electrifying and the film was widely appreciated and fetched her Filmfare's best actress award.
She started receiving offers from some of the biggest names in the industry - Subhash Ghai, Yash Chopra and Mansoor Khan.
Chopra signed her up with Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in "Mohabattein". The film didn't do well but the audience liked her pairing with Shah Rukh. Bhansali cast the two in his magnum opus "Devdas" that went on to become a major hit.
Post-"Devdas" Aishwarya shifted her focus to Hollywood. Her first international venture was Gurinder Chadha's "Bride & Prejudice". The film was a flop but it didn't stop her from getting new projects.
Some of her prestigious international projects include - "Provoked", "The Last Legion" opposite Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley and "Chaos".
While scaling new heights in Bollywood and international films, Aishwarya never crossed the line in terms of skin show on screen.
"I am not comfortable about kissing or nudity. I am clear about what I want. I'll work only with good directors who'll offer me two-dimensional roles. The director and the role are most important.
"Women in the industry have been exploited very often but there are some actors who believe that the short cut to stardom is through nudity or exposure. Such success is, in fact, very short-lived. I have never done a kissing scene nor do I have intentions to," she is quoted as saying.
Since she set foot in filmdom, the India media has been sometimes nasty to her but she hasn't bothered much about what they thought or wrote about her.
"Someone asked me why I'm politically correct, even when people hit out so openly at me. But the truth is I've never been brought up to behave any other way. I can't say anything hurtful about anyone. I just don't believe in saying mean things. I won't feel good doing that. This is the way I am.
"I'm amazed how many people feel good hitting out at me. They're welcome to do it. Earlier, they had more leeway to deny their indiscretions in print. But now on television they look pretty ridiculous denying what they say," she has said.
Apart from promoting a wide variety of disparate brands, Aishwarya has many firsts to her credit - she has the distinction of being the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival and also appeared on Oprah Winfrey's talk show.
About her appearance on Winfrey's show, she told the media: "I never thought I'd actually be meeting her -- and that too, on her show! I was extremely happy to be on her show. I admire her."
She also appeared on another prestigious American talk show "60 Minutes".
She has graced the covers of international magazines like TIME, which placed her on their list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World Today". Aishwarya has also been termed as one of the most beautiful women by TIME magazine.
Aishwarya, whose last Hindi release was "Shabd" that sank without a trace at the box office, is hoping to hit the bull's eye with "Umrao Jaan", "Dhoom 2" and Mani Rathnam's "Guru". While "Umrao Jaan" releases next Friday, "Dhoom 2" is set for a Nov 24 release and "Guru" in December.
Source: Glamsham
The actress, who is said to be dating Abhishek Bachchan, will reportedly announce her engagement on her birthday. According to insiders, Abhishek's ailing grandmother Teji Bachchan is eager to see him married, and the couple is said to be planning to tie the knot early next year.
But Aishwarya, who is apparently attending family dinners and get-togethers at the Bachchan household, is tight-lipped about her relationship.
She is currently busy promoting her two films. In Yash Raj Films' upcoming "Dhoom 2", Aishwarya plays a hi-tech thief along with Hrithik Roshan, while in J.P. Dutta's "Umrao Jaan", a screen adaptation of Mirza Mohammed Haadi Ruswa's Urdu novel "Umrao Jaan Ada" and a tragic historical, she plays a courtesan.
"When Dutta narrated the script to me, I told him that if you get Aishwarya to play the role of Umrao Jaan only then make the film, else drop it. According to me, the character requires an enigmatic quality to it. This is what I feel Aishwarya's personality symbolises," said well-known lyricist Javed Akhtar on the actress.
"Hers is a personality that is a kind of riddle. Even Dutta felt the same way and now after watching the finished product I feel that no one else could have made it."
However, there is a notion among some that she is not a good actress and has hogged the limelight mainly for her looks, and her affairs with co-stars Salman Khan and Viveik Oberoi.
"Aishwarya is not known as a bankable actor. People think of her as wooden. She can't emote. Dutta is not only a good director; he is also a good technician. He knows how to extract work from his artist. We are confident that Aishwarya must have played the role convincingly," New Delhi-based distributor Sanjay Mehta told IANS.
"Umrao Jaan" and "Dhoom 2" will put to test her versatility. Critics believe that so far only Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been able to extract the best out of her in his hit "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" and "Devdas", India's official entry for the Oscars in 2003.
Her being crowned Miss World in 1994 made her entry into films smooth. She was flooded with offers but chose to start her acting career with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film "Iruvar".
Her performance was critically appreciated and she soon forayed into Bollywood with Rahul Rawail's "Aur Pyar Ho Gaya" opposite Bobby Deol. The film not only fetched her a Filmfare award for best debut but she had top-notch directors making a beeline for her house.
She was soon signed up by one of the most talented filmmakers in the industry, Bhansali, for "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam". In this love triangle, which also had Ajay Devgan, she was paired for the first time with Salman Khan.
Their onscreen chemistry was electrifying and the film was widely appreciated and fetched her Filmfare's best actress award.
She started receiving offers from some of the biggest names in the industry - Subhash Ghai, Yash Chopra and Mansoor Khan.
Chopra signed her up with Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in "Mohabattein". The film didn't do well but the audience liked her pairing with Shah Rukh. Bhansali cast the two in his magnum opus "Devdas" that went on to become a major hit.
Post-"Devdas" Aishwarya shifted her focus to Hollywood. Her first international venture was Gurinder Chadha's "Bride & Prejudice". The film was a flop but it didn't stop her from getting new projects.
Some of her prestigious international projects include - "Provoked", "The Last Legion" opposite Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley and "Chaos".
While scaling new heights in Bollywood and international films, Aishwarya never crossed the line in terms of skin show on screen.
"I am not comfortable about kissing or nudity. I am clear about what I want. I'll work only with good directors who'll offer me two-dimensional roles. The director and the role are most important.
"Women in the industry have been exploited very often but there are some actors who believe that the short cut to stardom is through nudity or exposure. Such success is, in fact, very short-lived. I have never done a kissing scene nor do I have intentions to," she is quoted as saying.
Since she set foot in filmdom, the India media has been sometimes nasty to her but she hasn't bothered much about what they thought or wrote about her.
"Someone asked me why I'm politically correct, even when people hit out so openly at me. But the truth is I've never been brought up to behave any other way. I can't say anything hurtful about anyone. I just don't believe in saying mean things. I won't feel good doing that. This is the way I am.
"I'm amazed how many people feel good hitting out at me. They're welcome to do it. Earlier, they had more leeway to deny their indiscretions in print. But now on television they look pretty ridiculous denying what they say," she has said.
Apart from promoting a wide variety of disparate brands, Aishwarya has many firsts to her credit - she has the distinction of being the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival and also appeared on Oprah Winfrey's talk show.
About her appearance on Winfrey's show, she told the media: "I never thought I'd actually be meeting her -- and that too, on her show! I was extremely happy to be on her show. I admire her."
She also appeared on another prestigious American talk show "60 Minutes".
She has graced the covers of international magazines like TIME, which placed her on their list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World Today". Aishwarya has also been termed as one of the most beautiful women by TIME magazine.
Aishwarya, whose last Hindi release was "Shabd" that sank without a trace at the box office, is hoping to hit the bull's eye with "Umrao Jaan", "Dhoom 2" and Mani Rathnam's "Guru". While "Umrao Jaan" releases next Friday, "Dhoom 2" is set for a Nov 24 release and "Guru" in December.
Source: Glamsham
Ash-Abhishek to marry next year
According to Kannada newspaper ‘Vijayakarnataka’, Aishwarya and Abhishek will tie the knot sometime in February, 2007 and Aishwarya will officially announce the news on her birthday, November 1.
The story was revealed to the newspaper by Bachchan family's astrologer Chandrashekhara Swamiji. According to him the year 2006 will be unlucky for the married couple and so he advised Aishwarya and Abhishek to marry in 2007.
There is, however, no official confirmation of the reported wedding. The two stars, who have been romantically linked since over an year now, have consistently refused to confirm media speculation on the issue.
Past media reports have suggested that the couple have kept their wedding plans in abeyance pending a nod from the
Bachchan family, something that has so far not been forthcoming. In the recent past Ash has made great efforts to assuage any misgivings that the Bachchan family may have harbored about her abilities as a homemaker. Her efforts at winning the hearts of the Bachchan family include a hospital visit to Abhishek's grandmother Teji Bachchan and frequent visits to the Bachchan home. Recently she and her family spent their Diwali with the Bachchans.
According to the report, Aishwarya (born in Dhanu Rashi) and Abhishek (born in Kumbha Rashi) marriage was likely to face roadblocks in 2006 problems but, from October 27, when the planetary positions change, both Ash and Abhi will have the support of Jupiter (Guru-bruhaspathi).
A horoscope match was confirmed in Nov 2005 when Amitabh's brother, Ajitabh, visited a priest in Bangalore in the company of Abhishek, at the behest of Teji Bachchan.
It is reported that the ailing Teji Bachchan is very keen to see her grandson wed.
However it still remains to be seen how much truth lies behind all these rumours. Aishwarya has always been tightlipped about the relationship while Abhishek has managed to evade the topic whenever he has confronted the issue.
Is it another publicity gimmick ahead of the release of Aishwarya and Abhishek starrer movies - Dhoom 2 & Umrao Jaan?
Source: Santabanta
The story was revealed to the newspaper by Bachchan family's astrologer Chandrashekhara Swamiji. According to him the year 2006 will be unlucky for the married couple and so he advised Aishwarya and Abhishek to marry in 2007.
There is, however, no official confirmation of the reported wedding. The two stars, who have been romantically linked since over an year now, have consistently refused to confirm media speculation on the issue.
Past media reports have suggested that the couple have kept their wedding plans in abeyance pending a nod from the
Bachchan family, something that has so far not been forthcoming. In the recent past Ash has made great efforts to assuage any misgivings that the Bachchan family may have harbored about her abilities as a homemaker. Her efforts at winning the hearts of the Bachchan family include a hospital visit to Abhishek's grandmother Teji Bachchan and frequent visits to the Bachchan home. Recently she and her family spent their Diwali with the Bachchans.
According to the report, Aishwarya (born in Dhanu Rashi) and Abhishek (born in Kumbha Rashi) marriage was likely to face roadblocks in 2006 problems but, from October 27, when the planetary positions change, both Ash and Abhi will have the support of Jupiter (Guru-bruhaspathi).
A horoscope match was confirmed in Nov 2005 when Amitabh's brother, Ajitabh, visited a priest in Bangalore in the company of Abhishek, at the behest of Teji Bachchan.
It is reported that the ailing Teji Bachchan is very keen to see her grandson wed.
However it still remains to be seen how much truth lies behind all these rumours. Aishwarya has always been tightlipped about the relationship while Abhishek has managed to evade the topic whenever he has confronted the issue.
Is it another publicity gimmick ahead of the release of Aishwarya and Abhishek starrer movies - Dhoom 2 & Umrao Jaan?
Source: Santabanta
Monday, October 23, 2006
Jodha Akbar in trouble
Ashutosh Gowarikar 's ambitious project Jodha Akbar that stars the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai and the handsome Hrithik Roshan in the title roles, has run into trouble.The shooting of the film that was supposed to commence in coming weeks has met with huge resistance from Kshatriya segment of society, especially those belonging to the princely states of Rajasthan.
The film has Hrithik and Ash in the roles of Akbar, the great Mughal emperor and Jodhabhai, a Hindu princess married with Akbar, respectively.
Surajmal Singh, the chief of Rajput youths in Rajasthan, has been resenting Jodhabhai's portrayal in the wrong frame her and characterization in films and TV channels in the past.
According to him, there has been a big misconception about Jodhabhai and it has been repeated many times by the entertainment and media world. He adds that there are no proofs of Jodhabhai's marriage with Akbar in historical records.
In fact, it was Pannabhai (the look alike of Jodhabhai) who was married with emperor Akbar and not Jodhabhai.
The agitated Rajputs have been asking the filmmakers to prove the relevant facts before commencing the film's shooting in Rajasthan.
These Rajputs have threatened to take legal action against the producers if they fail to abide by the historical facts about Akbar and Jodhabhai.
Source: ApunKaChoice
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Ash like you have never seen before
Yash Raj films' Dhoom simply turned around the John Abraham's career yet producer Aditya decided to rope in a fresh appeal for Dhoom 2. He went ahead and roped in even bigger stars like Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai for the role of the villains.
So far this year, Ash fans in India have had to be content with seeing the Bollywood beauty on the small screen endorsing brands or gracing events such as the Cannes film festival. Rai's only film released in 2006, Provoked has still to do the rounds in India.
However, despair not. The seemingly interminable wait to see the enchanting Bollyood beauty, larger than life on the silver screen, is now nearing its end. Incidently, the wait was not because Rai had too few assignment on hand but because she had too many of them.
Speaking about the diversity of her roles in the forthcoming films Aishwarya told a TV channel, "What's nice about these three films coming up is that each character is distinctly different. So while Umrao Jaan is a courtesan a lot more ornate visually while Dhoom is very contemporary and racy...something that you have not seen me do.
The actor will soon be seen in four big ticket films in quick succession. The bonanza starts with JP Dutta's Umrao Jaan. Next in line are Yash Raj Films Dhoom 2, followed by Mani Ratnam's Guru. Finally, we will see her on 19 Jan 2007 in the $67 million Hollywood period action adventure The Last Legion, distributed by MGM.
What is interesting about Rai forthcoming films is that other than herself, nothing else is common in them. The films belong to different genres, her roles in them are diverse and the filmmakers that made them are a breed apart. All indications that Rai is now a matured actor.
Source: Santabanta
So far this year, Ash fans in India have had to be content with seeing the Bollywood beauty on the small screen endorsing brands or gracing events such as the Cannes film festival. Rai's only film released in 2006, Provoked has still to do the rounds in India.
However, despair not. The seemingly interminable wait to see the enchanting Bollyood beauty, larger than life on the silver screen, is now nearing its end. Incidently, the wait was not because Rai had too few assignment on hand but because she had too many of them.
Speaking about the diversity of her roles in the forthcoming films Aishwarya told a TV channel, "What's nice about these three films coming up is that each character is distinctly different. So while Umrao Jaan is a courtesan a lot more ornate visually while Dhoom is very contemporary and racy...something that you have not seen me do.
The actor will soon be seen in four big ticket films in quick succession. The bonanza starts with JP Dutta's Umrao Jaan. Next in line are Yash Raj Films Dhoom 2, followed by Mani Ratnam's Guru. Finally, we will see her on 19 Jan 2007 in the $67 million Hollywood period action adventure The Last Legion, distributed by MGM.
What is interesting about Rai forthcoming films is that other than herself, nothing else is common in them. The films belong to different genres, her roles in them are diverse and the filmmakers that made them are a breed apart. All indications that Rai is now a matured actor.
Source: Santabanta
Monday, October 16, 2006
Aishwarya & John have the quality
They've never been paired before. "But if you close your eyes you can see how good John Abraham and Aishwarya Rai look together," says producer Gaurang Doshi who's all set to bring together the golden couple in his new magical mystical romantic musical Happy Birthday.
To be directed by Sriram Raghavan who earlier did Ram Gopal Varma's Saif-Urmila starrer Ek Hasina Thi, Happy Birthday starts shooting in January.
Says Gaurang, "We had signed John about a year back. But we we needed a strong charismatic and popular leading lady. Because Happy Birthday isn't about just the male protagonist. When Ash said yes, everything fell into place. She has never been seen with John before. They look like Adonis and Venus together."
John is on the look-out for new leading ladies to be paired opposite. In Water he's paired with Lisa Ray, in Baabul with Rani Mukherjee and in Salaam-e-Ishq with Vidya Balan for the first time.
Says Gaurang, "The catch-line for Happy Birthday will be, 'Those Who Don't Believe In Magic Will Never Find It.' We needed a magical pair. John and Ash have the quality."
Adds John Abraham, "I think Aishwarya and I will make a good team. It's a great script. Sriram is a super-director, and we're excited."
The music score is being done by Vishal-Shekhar.
Source: Santabanta
To be directed by Sriram Raghavan who earlier did Ram Gopal Varma's Saif-Urmila starrer Ek Hasina Thi, Happy Birthday starts shooting in January.
Says Gaurang, "We had signed John about a year back. But we we needed a strong charismatic and popular leading lady. Because Happy Birthday isn't about just the male protagonist. When Ash said yes, everything fell into place. She has never been seen with John before. They look like Adonis and Venus together."
John is on the look-out for new leading ladies to be paired opposite. In Water he's paired with Lisa Ray, in Baabul with Rani Mukherjee and in Salaam-e-Ishq with Vidya Balan for the first time.
Says Gaurang, "The catch-line for Happy Birthday will be, 'Those Who Don't Believe In Magic Will Never Find It.' We needed a magical pair. John and Ash have the quality."
Adds John Abraham, "I think Aishwarya and I will make a good team. It's a great script. Sriram is a super-director, and we're excited."
The music score is being done by Vishal-Shekhar.
Source: Santabanta
Umrao Jaan - A woman of many talents
How does one describe 'Umrao Jaan'? Story of a courtesan. An emotional journey of a girl child to a most desired woman. A tale of a highly literate person. A costume drama. Producer-director JP Dutta packs this and a lot more in his take on Mirza Hadi Ruswa's book 'Umrao Jaan Ada'.
It has been a common saying - If Lucknow was the heart of Avadh, Umrao was the heartbeat! Set in 19th century, 'Umrao Jaan' is a journey of an eight year old girl called Amiran. Hailing from a lower class family, she was a daughter of a sweeper, a 'jamadar', who was employed at 'Bahu Begum ka Makhbara' in Faizabad [now in UP]. He was a simple man with limited desires and a supporter of truth. This righteous trait of him landed him in trouble since his statement against Dilawar Khan, a criminal, changed the course of life.
Dilawar Khan was imprisoned but on return he kidnapped young Amiran and sold her to Khannum Sahib [Shabana Azmi], owner of a 'kotha' in Lucknow. Though 'kothas' have their own meaning when it comes to films, the one that we are mentioning from the era of 19th century was a hub for cultural activities. There was education, literature, poetry, styling, classical music, dance....everything that could make an individual a master in arts.
Amiran too became one such literate person and was named Umrao [Aishwarya Rai] by Khannum. She learnt everything in the confines of the kotha - living up in stlye from Bua Hussaini, education from Maulvi Sahib, music and dance from Kathak Acharya and many more skills, including poetry, from Bismillah, Khurshid and Gauhar. Also 'Ada' was her signatory name due to her proficiency over writing and presenting poetry.
Soon Umrao Jaan Ada was a name to reckon with and the entire Lucknow was bowled over by her beauty, charms and skills. Every man wanted to watch her sing and dance but Khannum's kotha was only for the elite. Also for Umrao it was only one man whose attention she desired - Nawab Sultan [Abhishek Bachchan]. A nawab who had luxury of riches at his feet, even he reciprocated to her feelings and was equally in love with her. Meanwhile Faiz Ali [Suneil Shetty], a hardened outlaw, too was in love with Umrao Jaan. Even his love was true as he cared for her in all earnest in spite of the world recognizing him as a dacoit.
Will Umrao Jaan indeed get true love? Would she be able to live a life with her Nawab forever? Will Faiz let everything go away from him so easily?
Will Umrao's dream of her own house and family be fulfilled?
Also starring Divya Dutta, Himani Shivpuri, Puru Rajkumar, Ayesha Jhulka and Kulbhushan Kharbanda in key roles, 'Umrao Jaan' boasts of a great crew in the form of dialogues by O.P. Jutta, art by Bijon Das Gupta, lyrics by Javed Akhtar and music by Anu Malik.
'Umrao Jaan' is coming to take your breath away on November 3, 2006.
Source: Indiaglitz
It has been a common saying - If Lucknow was the heart of Avadh, Umrao was the heartbeat! Set in 19th century, 'Umrao Jaan' is a journey of an eight year old girl called Amiran. Hailing from a lower class family, she was a daughter of a sweeper, a 'jamadar', who was employed at 'Bahu Begum ka Makhbara' in Faizabad [now in UP]. He was a simple man with limited desires and a supporter of truth. This righteous trait of him landed him in trouble since his statement against Dilawar Khan, a criminal, changed the course of life.
Dilawar Khan was imprisoned but on return he kidnapped young Amiran and sold her to Khannum Sahib [Shabana Azmi], owner of a 'kotha' in Lucknow. Though 'kothas' have their own meaning when it comes to films, the one that we are mentioning from the era of 19th century was a hub for cultural activities. There was education, literature, poetry, styling, classical music, dance....everything that could make an individual a master in arts.
Amiran too became one such literate person and was named Umrao [Aishwarya Rai] by Khannum. She learnt everything in the confines of the kotha - living up in stlye from Bua Hussaini, education from Maulvi Sahib, music and dance from Kathak Acharya and many more skills, including poetry, from Bismillah, Khurshid and Gauhar. Also 'Ada' was her signatory name due to her proficiency over writing and presenting poetry.
Soon Umrao Jaan Ada was a name to reckon with and the entire Lucknow was bowled over by her beauty, charms and skills. Every man wanted to watch her sing and dance but Khannum's kotha was only for the elite. Also for Umrao it was only one man whose attention she desired - Nawab Sultan [Abhishek Bachchan]. A nawab who had luxury of riches at his feet, even he reciprocated to her feelings and was equally in love with her. Meanwhile Faiz Ali [Suneil Shetty], a hardened outlaw, too was in love with Umrao Jaan. Even his love was true as he cared for her in all earnest in spite of the world recognizing him as a dacoit.
Will Umrao Jaan indeed get true love? Would she be able to live a life with her Nawab forever? Will Faiz let everything go away from him so easily?
Will Umrao's dream of her own house and family be fulfilled?
Also starring Divya Dutta, Himani Shivpuri, Puru Rajkumar, Ayesha Jhulka and Kulbhushan Kharbanda in key roles, 'Umrao Jaan' boasts of a great crew in the form of dialogues by O.P. Jutta, art by Bijon Das Gupta, lyrics by Javed Akhtar and music by Anu Malik.
'Umrao Jaan' is coming to take your breath away on November 3, 2006.
Source: Indiaglitz
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Aishwarya, John abraham in Happy Birthday
Here’s a casting coup!
John Abraham and Aishwarya Rai have been teamed for the first time in Gaurang Doshi’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to be directed by Sriram Raghavan. Gaurang has a penchant for multi-starrers [AANKHEN and DEEWAAR] and HAPPY BIRTHDAY will have its share of stars too. While Gaurang and Sriram are in the process of finalizing one more leading lady, Paresh Rawal has been roped in for a pivotal role in the film.
There’s a big surprise too, but Gaurang wants it to be just that -- a surprise -- when people watch the film. Okay, let’s give you a clue: The icon will enact one of the key roles in the enterprise.
What’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY all about? “All I can reveal right now is its tagline -- ‘Those who don’t believe in magic, will never find it’,” he smiles. So it’s all about magic? “Not at all! It’s a new genre, completely commercial, a complete dhamaal,” he isn’t in the mood to divulge more.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY begins shooting early next year and the makers are hopeful of releasing it in August 2007. Vishal-Shekhar are scoring its music.
Source: IndiaFM
John Abraham and Aishwarya Rai have been teamed for the first time in Gaurang Doshi’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to be directed by Sriram Raghavan. Gaurang has a penchant for multi-starrers [AANKHEN and DEEWAAR] and HAPPY BIRTHDAY will have its share of stars too. While Gaurang and Sriram are in the process of finalizing one more leading lady, Paresh Rawal has been roped in for a pivotal role in the film.
There’s a big surprise too, but Gaurang wants it to be just that -- a surprise -- when people watch the film. Okay, let’s give you a clue: The icon will enact one of the key roles in the enterprise.
What’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY all about? “All I can reveal right now is its tagline -- ‘Those who don’t believe in magic, will never find it’,” he smiles. So it’s all about magic? “Not at all! It’s a new genre, completely commercial, a complete dhamaal,” he isn’t in the mood to divulge more.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY begins shooting early next year and the makers are hopeful of releasing it in August 2007. Vishal-Shekhar are scoring its music.
Source: IndiaFM
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