Wallpapers, Music & Reviews

Black

2005-02-21T01:47:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

Karam

2005-02-09T01:52:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

Fun Indian Movie

2005-01-19T16:17:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

Sheesha

2005-01-17T01:06:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

Blackmail

2005-01-05T01:22:00.000+05:00

insan

2005-01-05T01:00:00.000+05:00

Vaada

2004-12-28T18:49:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

Vashu Bhagnani teams up with Satish Kaushik in "Vaada", an unusual thriller. After last years super hit "Tere Naam" Satish Kaushik is trying something different this time - a thriller. The movie is scheduled for a december release.

Synopsis

Rahul and Puja are newly married and totally devoted to each other.

One day..they meet with a terrible accident and...Rahul loses his eight sight. On a business trip abroad Rahul meets a friend Karan. Impressed by his dynamism and business acumen, Rahul asks him to join his business. They return to India and Puja is stunned to see her husband with her friend Karan. Rahul's love for Puja is blind and unquestioning. Karan's love for Puja is obsessive and uncontrollable.

Puja is trapped between a blind husband and a sighted lover. Rahul can sense Karan's obsession. Karan can see Rahul's possessiveness. Now begins a deadly cat and mouse game between the two... Rahul can feel a web of deceit tightening around him. Karan can see a devious trap being laid for him. Will one of them succeed or will both fail?

Elaan

2004-12-28T18:23:00.000+05:00

WALLAPERS

Vikram Bhatt is back with another thriller 'Elaan' which has Rahul Khanna, Arjun Rampal, Mithun Chakraborthy, John Abraham, Lara Dutta and Amisha Patel in the lead. 'Elaan' is produced by Venus and it has music by Anu Malik and lyrics by Sameer. Elaan is a crime thriller and has been extensively shot in Europe. In what seems to be a global affair, the film starts off in Mumbai, moves on to Goa, Venice, and concludes in Munich.

Synopsis

Terror has a new name - Baba Sikander. Extortion, drugs, murder, kidnapping is his game. Baba Sikander's very name strikes fear, for he rules by fear. Just his phone call can sound your death knell. He can finish your life, while you're still alive. Or worse, sentence you to a living death. He recognizes no geographical boundaries for terrorism is his reign he respects no international law, for he makes his own.

His evil tentacles encircle the globe, terrorizing the rich and smashing the stubborn. Obey him and he may let you live. Incur his wrath and invite certain death. One man, Kantilal Shah refuses to yield to his demands and pays the terrible price. One man, Karan Shah will defy the improbable odds and make an impossible vow - he will capture the mighty Baba Sikander and drag him back to India, alive. This is his Elaan.

Sameera Reddy

2004-12-18T01:57:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

Sameera Reddy says she was shocked to read that Bipasha Basu expected to be paid to work in a renowned Bengali director's film."A film like this has to be done for the love of acting," tells Sameera in an interview referring to "Kaal Purush" by director Buddhadeb Dasgupta. Another experience that has got Sameera really excited is a "cultural swap" with former Spice Girl Emma Bunton. Excerpts

Q: How's it working in Bengali film "Kaal Purush" with Buddhadeb Dasgupta?

A: Simply out of this world. I can't believe I'm actually doing a Bengali film, and neither can all the people around me. I was in a state of shock when I was offered the role. Every line, every word and pronunciation was alien to me. The first take had 11 lines - can you believe it? Then I got a hang of it. Every night I've sat and gone over the lines. After I did my first shot, the director said I reminded him of Smita. I was like, 'Smita who?' When he said 'Patil', I freaked out. Imagine being compared with her! Working with Buddhadeb Dasgupta is such a mind-blowing experience. I was shocked to read that Bipasha Basu expected to be paid money for "Kaal Purush". A film like this has to be done for the love of acting. You can make your money working in Bollywood.

Q: You seem excited.

A: What really was a pleasure to me was that "Kaal Purush" allowed me to get away from my hot image. I get to dress very simply for my role of an ambitious middleclass wife. I'm quite excited about taking on a body language and culture that are totally different for me. "Kaal Purush" is a very different world. The way films are shot in Bollywood and Kolkata is totally different. The long trolley shots, the long takes...these are so new to me.

Q: How are Mithun Chakraborty and Rahul Bose as co-stars?

A: I must say Mithunda is very humble. He has been extremely sweet. The first thing he said to me was to speak to his son in Mumbai who, according to Mithunda, was more excited than him that his father was working with Sameera Reddy. Rahul of course is a wonderful actor. He knows the language and having him around is a great help. I'd want to do more such films. But let me add, I laugh my makhan-masala, jhatak-matak (mainstream) movies in Mumbai. I thrive on them. But yes, a film like "Kaal Purush" is also welcome.

Q: That reminds me of your sizzling role in "Musafir"?

A: I play an extremely mature role. I know people think it's a very bold role. But they're completely off the track. Looking at the films that have come this year I feel I'm in kindergarten. "Musafir" did begin as a bold concept. When it was conceived, the sexual frankness seemed to work well with the theme. But as the film progressed we realised that 'bold' has been done to death. So we consciously steered away from that. We've focussed on a fantastic storyline, action and packaging.

Q: So Sameera Reddy isn't hot in "Musafir"?

A: The sensuality comes from the body language rather than any overt attempt to be sexy.

Q: So it isn't Oliver Stone's "U Turn"?

A: No, not at all. We've changed it completely. "Musafir" is about a woman trapped in an awful marriage. She isn't just unhappy. She's traumatised.

Q: And now I believe you're swapping places with Emma Bunton?

A: (laughs) Oh yeah. That's so much fun. Emma is the British Spice Girl and I'm the Indian spice girl, ha ha! The BBC approached me a few months ago to undertake this exchange programme with Emma Bunton. Last week she came to Mumbai and did all the things I do. I'll now be going to London and Bristol to do the things she does. Basically they wanted a chirpy Bollywood actress with a metropolitan image who can bring a feel of Bollywood to England to live Emma Bunton's life, shop where she does and make a guest appearance in the hit series "Casualty". I got her in Mumbai, got her dressed up by clothes dresser Rocky S and had her sent to a Bollywood set. She was in a state of shock. I sat with the BBC and planned her visit to Mumbai. I wanted her to live those couple of days exactly the way I do. As for me, she has planned a surprise for me in London just like I planned a surprise for her. But I've an inkling that she has arranged this shopping spree for me.

Musafir

2004-12-18T01:30:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

You wonder what Hindi cinema has come to. After the poetic, languorous and tender Dilip Kumar-Madhubala alliance in "Mughal-e-Azam" comes the leery, sordid and sadistic Mahesh Manjrekar-Sameera Reddy liaison in "Musafir"."Musafir" is certainly a grey and grim departure from conventional cinema. It gives us a gritty and violent world of deception and debauchery where none can be trusted, certainly not the creative visionary who stands at the helm of his murky universe of mean men and women.Sanjay Gupta's vision is as whacked out as the vision of a drugged trapeze dancer teetering at the brink of his disintegrating world.Having gone to Hollywood to source and sustain all his films, from "Aatish" to "Kaante", Gupta now takes a "U-Turn", literally. He's electrifyingly inspired by Oliver Stone's film by that name. In the central role of a battered but not beaten wife, Sameera fits into Jennifer Lopez's role, creating a uniquely sensuous space for her character.The wife, Sam, in "Musafir" is unlike any victimised heroine we've seen before. She takes her husband's tormenting brutality without a flinch, and yet goes out into the Goan sandscape to slither and slide to Vishal-Shekhar's raunchy tunes, returns home in time for another bout of self-deprecating roughing-up from her husband.

Enter Anil Kapoor...in more ways than one. As the stranger riding into the dusty town, Anil fills up the battered wife's life with his exuberant anxieties. This role is quite a departure for the ever-careening actor. He's neither good nor virtuous. He's an actor fobbing off a mid-life career crisis by whooping it up on screen.Gupta's film breaks all the rules. It does so with an urgent insouciance that needn't render itself to any worthy definitions of aesthetics.It's all about the money, honey...and sex. In the second and by far the more riveting half, the director hatches a devious plot whereby we see the husband Luka (Mahesh) and his wife both trying to convince the stranger in town Lucky (Anil) to kill the spouse. The narrative here becomes double-edged. By imposing both the husband's and the wife's perspectives on the hellish marriage, Gupta confers an unsettling ambiguity on his plot. The scorching aura of the goings-on and the feeling of a heated heist degenerating into a wacky waste never leave the narration.The trigger-happy storytelling indicates a distending, disembodied orgy of sexual and emotional brutality. The first half is replete with images from Quentin Tarantino's cinema. These mean men with guns in their hands and cigarette butts dangling stylishly from their parched lips could be part of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, if only their swagger had more substance.

Gupta's mean men are the quintessential nowhere people. They float in and out of the realm of nightmare and fantasy like a patient on the operation table swimming in and out of consciousness. "Musafir" isn't a pleasant film to watch. It represents the other, dark face of mainstream Hindi cinema that moves in a direction opposite to the cinema of Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar. To that extent Gupta deserves to be credited for his adventurous spirit.But the mood of rebellious creation never quite attains the nubile nirvana of a work of pop art. The cinematography by P.S. Vinod captures the night and early morning shades as well as the evening time languor of hedonistic Goa. Gupta's characters make you uncomfortable. Watching them go through their monstrously mercantile motions you wonder what sort of minds have conceived such fictional lives. And what quality of life the film recommends for viewers.What keeps you from flinching away are the performances. Anil and particularly Mahesh are first rate as the stranger and the husband. Sameera's is an interesting performance.

Sanjay Dutt's villainous Billa with stained teeth and a hyperactive knife is a guttural caricature of the screen villain. He keeps making jolly jibes at Hindi cinema's formulistic villains. But you feel Billa pokes fun at the archetypal villains because he secretly admires them and wishes he could be a part of that comic-strip diabolism. In a similar vein we can see Sanjay Gupta struggling to be offbeat in his filmmaking mainly because he knows not to be any other way. "Musafir" is a psychedelic journey into crime and sex that Quentin Tarantino could've made if only he knew how to shoot Sufi-Bhangra songs right in the middle of a serious shootout!

U2

2004-12-09T13:57:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

Singer Becomes Editor
Bono is to be guest editor of the UK's most influential political radio programme later this month. [more...]

MTV Jammed U2', This Friday
'MTV Jammed U2', shot when the band played live in Brooklyn two weeks ago, will air on MTV this Friday.[more...]

And the Nominations Are...
U2 have received three Grammy nominations for the single 'Vertigo' - the new [more...]

U2.Com Getting Up To Speed ...
Five days on, launch issues with the new U2.Com are being resolved, speed and functionality is picking up.[more...]

'Chasing Away Ugliness'
"The job of art is to chase away ugliness", Bono tells Chuck Klosterman for the cover story of the new issue of Spin Magazine. [more...]

Three Songs Live, BBC1, UK, Tonight
‘Ireland’s biggest boy band’ performing on ‘Friday Night With Jonathan Ross’ tonight.[more...]

I hope she does not get pregnant!

2004-12-09T09:48:00.000+05:00

Raveena Tandon, Karisma Kapoor, Malaika Arora and Madhuri Dixit are going to be mums in 2005. But for once filmmakers aren't biting their nails.The to-be moms, super-professionals all of them, are making sure that none of their assignments clashes with their maternity leave. In fact it's unlikely that Raveena, Karisma or even Madhuri would want to pursue their careers after motherhood. It's the second time for Madhuri. And she's got her priorities worked out crystal clear. Just before the stork paid her a second visit, Madhuri was all set to sign on the dotted line with Zoya Akhtar, Somnath Sen and Rituparno Ghosh.But once she got pregnant, Madhuri didn't hesitate in letting them all go for the sake of motherly bliss.How unlike the past when married heroines made every effort to hide their pregnancy until it couldn't be concealed any longer, creating panic among producers who didn't know how to fob off the visibly increasing girth on screen.Pregnancies had to be written into screenplays to accommodate the changed status in a heroine's life. Smita Patil kept working till the very last days of her pregnancy. She died soon after childbirth.No wonder filmmakers in the past were petrified of pregnant heroines. Once, Manmohan Desai was shooting his most ambitious film, "Ganga Jumna Saraswati" where Jaya Prada was one of the protagonists. The actress had just gone on record to declare she was indeed married.Manmohan Desai was scared. "Damn, I hope she doesn't get pregnant. I wish I had added a clause to that effect in the contract."For years it was believed that matrimony and motherhood spelt the end of an actress' career. Sharmila Tagore almost broke that belief. The most fruitful innings in her career started after marriage and motherhood with "Aradhana". Her colleagues still remember her son, Saif Ali Khan, running around on the sets of her most famous films.Earlier there was the effervescent Nutan. She had called it quits after marriage. But after Mohnish was born she was coaxed back to do her most memorable role in Bimal Roy's "Bandini".

But these two actresses couldn't break the matrimonial and motherly mould in movies. Producers would still run scared the minute an actress got married. No wonder the bright Kajol preferred to quit after motherhood. Recently Kajol was all but cajoled by Karan Johar to be part of his next directorial venture. But since Johar's film required her to be out of the country for a longish period, Kajol has said thanks but no thanks."Today's heroines know they're here for a specific time span. Unlike their counterparts in the past who clung to their stardom - fading or otherwise - for as long as they could, and then some more, today's girls are very practical about their careers. They know when to quit, while they're still ahead," opines filmmaker Arjun Sablok.Twinkle Khanna married Akshay Kumar and said adieu to a movie career. Today she's happy being wife to Akshay and mom to two-year-old Aarav. Twinkle looks on with a faraway look and a slight smile. "I was very clear about my priorities. My career never mattered that much. To be very frank I was bored of acting. Quitting in spite of being fairly successful was no big deal. "I had seen my mom (Dimple Kapadia) set a very promising career aside to look after me and my sister. And why just mom? Didn't Jaya aunty (Bachchan) give up a very bright career to be a wife and bring up Shweta and Abhishek?"

As Raveena and Karisma prepare to take on the maternal mantle, some uncanny similarities emerge in their marital status. Both are married to divorcees and both the actresses are ready to become mothers at about the same time. Neither actress has made an official statement about quitting movies. But that might just be the case. Raveena, in fact, had a spate of releases in the last two months. She isn't signing anything new. Karisma's last film for now is the long-delayed "Mere Jeevan Saathi". There are no new assignments on the anvil.Many industry girls, including Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor and Preity Zinta have made it clear that they plan to become wives and moms before the next five years. And all three plan to quit. "I can't be an actress and a mother at the same time," declares Bipasha

Ab... Bas

2004-12-09T09:46:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

In the 1970s and 1980s, the woman in Hindi cinema used to take things without uttering a word, even if the husband was indulging in adultery, was disloyal, had a kid outside marriage, was a physical abuser…Times have changed. The woman in Hindi cinema is no longer the submissive, compliant sort. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth is her motto. That's the essence of AB… BAS!, directed by Rajesh Singh.From the looks of it, AB… BAS! may seem like a sex-based theme. But it's not! Yes, there's some titillation [hot smooches, bedroom scenes et al], but there's a story as well - of a wife who walks out on her husband and when pushed against the wall, decides to take matters into her own hands. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!Soumya [Diana Hayden] wins a beauty pageant and has the guys mesmerized by her looks. Karan [Shawar Ali], a tycoon, also present at the pageant, is completely smitten by Soumya. They meet, he woos her and soon enough, proposes marriage.Soumya and Karan get married and become proud parents after Soumya delivers a baby girl. Everything seems to be hunky-dory till Soumya answers Karan's cellphone and the cat is out of the bag: Karan is indulging in extra-marital affairs.

Soumya questions Karan about it, but he pacifies her and even offers an apology. But the thought of her husband cheating on her continues to nag Soumya. Karan continues with his philandering ways and Soumya questions him again. This time, Karan gets physical and even threatens her with dire consequences.Soumya decides to walk out and even asks for divorce, but Karan is adamant: Walk out and face the wrath. Somehow, Soumya escapes with her kid, but Karan traces her no matter where she goes. But when things go out of hand, Soumya decides to teach Karan a lesson!Every year, there are a couple of movies that aren't very innovative in terms of script, but somehow, allow you to enjoy them on some level. AB… BAS! is one of those films. Even though its story does get predictable and the screenplay has some glitches, AB… BAS! manages to keep you hooked on to the screen.Inspired by director Michael Apted's ENOUGH [2002; starring Jennifer Lopez, Billy Campbell], AB… BAS! starts off as a routine love story but gathers steam the moment Diana learns of Shawar's frivolous ways. The story again picks up when she escapes and the hide-and-seek game continues right till the pre-climax.The final 15 minutes of the film, when Diana bashes Shawar black and blue, is amongst the most interesting parts of the film. The culmination to the story looks apt, considering that the man had been shown as a slimy character, a mental and physical abuser and the woman has faced his fury all through.

But the screenplay has its share of loose ends. For instance, how does Shawar reach the hotel the moment Diana escapes from the house? And when the going gets tough, when her daughter and her survival is at stake, why doesn't Diana report the matter to the cops? Even the manner in which Shawar goes about physically abusing Diana's friend [Pravin Sirohi] and foster parents [Aroon Bakshi, Neena Kulkarni], one wonders why don't they report to the media [since he's a tycoon] or the cops. Even Diana's father [Raju Kher] wants nothing to do with his daughter in one scene and in almost the next scene comes to her rescue. The reason offered is not too convincing!Rajesh Singh's direction is appropriate in most parts. Although the screenplay is not as convincing at times, the director camouflages the defect with some deft strokes, especially towards the climax.Music [Daboo Malik] is melodious. 'Tu Ishq Mera Hai' [filmed at the Floating Market in Bangkok, besides other panoramic locales of the city] and 'Kehta Hai Mera Dil' [filmed on Nigar Khan] are two numbers that stand out, for the catchy tunes as well as their filming. Cinematography is eye-catching.Diana Hayden shows vast improvement over her debut vehicle and enacts the author-backed role with sincerity. Her expressions tend to get loud at times, but something like this works well with the masala movie audiences.

Shawar Ali enacts the maniacal husband, a wife-beater convincingly. For most of the movie, he manages the cold, menacing and cruel look with conviction. Nisha Harale is passable. Pravin Sirohi makes his presence felt. Amongst character actors, Raju Kher stands out, followed by Aroon Bakshi and Neena Kulkarni.On the whole, the target audience for AB… BAS! are the masses and it should keep them content. Considering the price it has been sold at as also the genre of the film, it should find the going smooth at smaller centres/single screens.

Hulchul

2004-12-03T10:26:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

Years ago, the late O.P. Ralhan made a film called "Hulchal", which was about a mistaken murder conspiracy. The pace was maddening.The new "Hulchal" certainly doesn't lose the race to pace. Its plot about mistaken perceptions of family pride and ego is narrated with roller coaster celerity. In the opening shots, the way Amrish Puri strides in fluid motions with his sons (Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Arbaaz Khan and Akshaye Khanna) across the crusty brown rural landscape to mete out justice to the villagers immediately reminds us of his dignified feudal demeanour in Priyadarshan's quasi-classic "Viraasat".Lamentably this cauldron-heated comedy is entirely bereft of that one quality that made "Viraasat" so memorable: dignity.Every actor's mouth is subjected to scatological humour repeatedly. Jokes about nature's calls, unclean bums and spittle litter the narrative creating cheesy dialogues by Neeraj Vora.But if you come to terms with the film's base instincts, "Hulchal" is fun in parts, and not just for the cute chemistry between Akshaye Khanna and Kareena Kapoor but also for the fabulous rapport that Arshad Warsi builds with the plot.If you enjoyed Warsi's performances in "Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part 2" and "Munnabhai M.B.B.S.", you'd realise how resourcefully he makes space for himself in the thankless role of the hero's sidekick.

Not that Akshaye is lacking in resourceful comic aptitudes. Though his talent was never in doubt, in "Hulchal" he comes into his own, far more than his previous parody pilgrimage with Priyadarshan in "Hungama".There's more of everything in "Hulchal". The jokes are broader, the humour is cruder, the melodrama is louder, and the feuding and fuming feudal canvas is so stretched out, it makes the Mahabharata look portable in comparison.Though many portions of the plot in the second half are patently outdated with askew camera angles and thunderous background music to match, the romantic core works, thanks mainly to the Akshay-Kareena-Arshad scenes that are done with the director's trademark penchant for colouring his characters in bright shades without making them gaudy. Kareena's comic timing is impeccable. Some of her earlier scenes and dance steps seem to be inspired by sister Karisma's comic compatibility with Govinda in "Raja Babu" and "Hero No.1". The only other important female character is Kareena's authoritarian grandma played by the versatile Laxmi. Too bad her ill-fitting white wig reduces her character to a caricature.

To the plot's undying regret, the bridled flamboyance, the vivid synergy of people and location that bleaches and belches colour and vibrancy (terrifically photographed by Jeeva) makes way for a blatant display of melodrama in the second-half.Once Farha appears as Paresh Rawal's secret wife to counter his family's misogynist aspirations, "Hulchal" begins to resemble those old and very outdated Hindi films from the south in the 1960s, 70s and 80s where homilies weren't delivered...they were hammered into the plot and there from transmitted to the audience with not a care about aesthetic correctness.The story of a feuding family brought together by their offspring is nothing new to Hindi remakes of south Indian films. Satish Kaushik's "Badhai Ho Badhai" and Ravi Shankar's "Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein" are recent examples. Apparently in the south, zamindars with moustaches that twirl like whips are still in.Hindi cinema has moved on. And so has Priyadarshan. From making a wacky urban comedy about two struggling migrants and their landlord in "Hera Pheri", he makes the journey back into the realm of rusticity with a rollicking cast that comes along for a bumpy joyride without qualms or queasiness. Akshaye and Kareena with their upmarket city clickers' images move effortlessly into the rural backdrop though admittedly there is very little of Kareena in the second half and too many squabbles and fistfights among the men who behave like brawling brothers.Audiences too are well advised to go the Kareena-Akshay way - discard your churlishness about the much-abused genre of the pot-boiler, and sink into the sea-storm of satire created in wave after wave of piquant parody.Not all of it is tasteful or even funny. But sequences such as the one where Akshaye sneaks in upon Kareena and her family watching her grandfather Raj Kapoor's "Bobby" or the one where Paresh Rawal pretends not to recognise his father in his wife's presence are enormously risible.

Though the quality of humour provided may not be your cup of tee-hee, the fun never stops the melodrama. Often Priydarshan punctures the mood of mirth with a sudden spurt of drama or vice versa. At the end of the frenetic farce, you may not think much of the plot's vertiginous character spins. But you have to salute the talented cast and director for belting out a broad comedy with the diligent affection of a sweetmeat maker frying jalebis at a boisterous Punjabi wedding!

A Kiss or a Miss?

2004-11-25T09:53:00.000+05:00

Too much of anything is bad. Even if it's Bollywood's newly found dalliance with the kiss.
In the last two years, Hindi film stars seem to have lost their coyness about matters erotic, so the kiss is no longer a censored issue. But excessive freedom has fuelled an inverted defiance that could diminish the charm of the on-screen kiss.
If there's one trend that appeared in 2004, it was the urge to put lips where words fail.
Emran Hashmi, whose only claim to fame - other than being Mahesh Bhatt's nephew - is that he indulged in deep-throat kissing with Mallika Sherawat in "Murder", is back at it.
In the Bhatts' new film "Zaher", Hashmi has apparently completed a hat trick of smooches.
The ever-committed method actor will be seen locking lips urgently with an African model in Pooja Bhatt's "Rog".
Even traditionally shy and conservative superstars like Kareena Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan fell for the kiss this year.
Abhishek Bachchan kissed Rani Mukherjee in "Yuva" and Antara Mali in "Naach". "But that was the need of the moment. I certainly won't do it just for the heck of it," said Abhishek.
Kareena brushed more than furtively against Fardeen Khan's lips in "Dev".
"It was for Govind Nihalani's film. That isn't the same as kissing for some run-of-the-mill film," Kareena defended herself.
And she's right. Kareena's lip-to-lip in "Dev" or for that matter, Aishwarya Rai's stolen smooch with Vivek Oberoi in "Kyun...Ho Gaya Na", were not as explicit as Mallika Sherawat's locked lips in "Khwahish" and "Murder", which exceeded all limits of decency.
Otherwise, mainstream stars have certainly not broken the prescribed parameters of mainstream intimacy.
But the kiss is not alien to our films. Even in the pre-perestroika days of sexual inhibition, Raj Kapoor kissed his Russian co-star in "Mera Naam Jokeer", Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat Aman locked lips in "Satyam Shivam Sunderam" and Aamir Khan planted a passionate kiss on Karisma Kapoor's trembling lips in Dharamesh Darshan's "Raja Hindustani".
Yet now at the end of the year, with suggestive titles like "Kiss Kiss Ki Kismet" and "Kiss Ke Liye" biting the dust, the kiss no longer seems like a big deal.

Rs.2.5 crores.. Wow God is Kind: Kareena Kapoor

2004-11-24T09:51:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

(Kareena Kapoor)

Kareena Kapoor has just bagged a Rs.25-million ($554,000) contract for a film - an unheard-of fee for an actress in India - even though her films haven't seen much success.The film is producer Harry Baweja's son Harnam's launch film.In Chennai to shoot Priyadarshan's new film with Salman Khan after an endorsement trip to Chandigarh and Ludhiana, Kareena laughs at her good fortune. "I guess it's just someone's protective eye over me. Otherwise how do you explain my place in Bollywood in spite of such a low success ratio?"About her new release "Aitraaz", she is as defensive as the lawyer she plays. "It's certainly not a washout. It's doing well in the multiplex theatres in big cities. I enjoyed playing the wife and lawyer."But it's the other woman Priyanka Chopra who has walked away with all the praise. "I didn't want to play the bad woman again. I had just done one in 'Fidaa'," says Kareena. "I was happy doing the more conventional role and the few meaty scenes I had. I enjoy working with Akshay Kumar. We've a new release coming up next month."In Dharamesh Darshan's eagerly awaited "Bewafaa", Kareena is cast as Kajal, a young vivacious girl compelled to marry a man much older. Though it's being perceived as a traditional story of a woman's sacrifices, Kareena shoots down the perception. "No, no, the film is very contemporary in feel. It's been beautifully shot in Canada and though it does address itself to issues such as the sanctity of marriage and family, it isn't an old fashioned film at all."But right now, Kareena is most excited about her new release. "'Hulchal' is my first comedy and my first film with Akshaye Khanna. He's a terrific co-star, and the film has shaped up really well. "And weren't Priyadarshan's two earlier comedies 'Hera Pheri' and 'Hungama' big hits? I feel 'Hulchal' will complete a hat trick of hits for the director."In the meantime, Kareena has started shooting for Priyadarshan's non-comedy film co-starring Salman. "I don't want to get caught in any one groove or style. I've had an eventful year. Now I want it to get better."Kareena has been suffering a series of minor health ailments that have depressed her. "But that's okay. I'm a born fighter. Nothing can get me down for too long."

I feel so good after doing it: Aishwarya Rai

2004-11-24T09:41:00.000+05:00

WALLPAPERS

BOLLYWOOD LEGENT (Aishwarya Rai)

Aishwarya Rai is in celebration mode. And not because she has just completed 10 years of being one of the most beautiful women in the world!

It was a big day for her. "It's exactly 10 years since I was crowned Miss World. Can you believe how time flies? And I am feeling on top of the world," tells Aishwarya.

"If I am feeling on top of the world it's because I've been there... I've just come back to Mumbai after meeting our soldiers at Siachen (the high-altitude glacier)."

She is one of the world's most beautiful women about whom poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar once said: "She's so beautiful that people are compelled to say, 'Oh don't lie! No one can be so beautiful'."

But compliments like these don't flatter her any more. She's looking for bigger challenges in life than scaling peaks of beauty.

And certainly Aishwarya seems indescribably exhilarated by the experience of visiting Siachen.

"No woman from our industry has ever been there. And very frankly I was a little apprehensive. But I'm glad I was mad enough to attempt it," she laughs.

"Just to see our soldiers smile and look happy made my heart dance with happiness."

Aishwarya's interaction with soldiers in Siachen will be telecast on NDTV in mid-December as part of the channel's soldiers-meet-star interactive show "Jai Jawaan".

Rani Mukherjee, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt and Johnny Lever have been on the show. Though Rani went all the way to Kargil to entertain the soldiers, Aishwarya is the only one to go to Siachen.

Is this her way of conquering new heights? She laughs. "I don't know. But I feel so good after doing it."

Now she is all set to be seen in her first avant garde Hindi film "Raincoat", which opens Dec 12.

"It's my first completely realistic, contemporary character, and I'm very excited about how it's received."

Apart from Raincoat Aishwarya Rai has also shown interest in acting in a film based on the life of the Buddha along with Hollywood star Brad Pitt.

Bhupendra Kumar Modi, the newly elected president of the Mahabodhi Society of India, said the film, which would convey a strong message about Buddhism, would be directed by Shekhar Kapur while motivational guru Deepak Chopra would write the script.

Modi said that Aishwarya would play a powerful role in the film on Buddha.

"She is keen to act in the film," tells Modi over telephone from Bodh Gaya, the birthplace of Buddhism.

Modi, an industrialist, said the Buddha's teaching would be the main theme of the film. "Though other films have been made based on Lord Buddha's life and ideas, this film will be different," he said.

He said the film would be produced by his company MCorp Global with financial support from other bodies. Hollywood actor Richard Gere, a staunch Buddhist, is also interested in financing the film, which will cost Rs.500 million (over $10 million).

Modi said the film would be made in English and dubbed into several Indian languages. Pre-production work had already started with Shekhar Kapur working on the film for the past two months.

The shooting would start next year and the film is likely to be released in early 2006. "A part of the film would be shot in India as this is the land of Lord Buddha, but post-production work will be done in Hollywood," he said.

Miss World 2004 Wallpapers

2004-11-18T01:29:00.000+05:00

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Mallika Sherawat

2004-11-16T03:35:00.000+05:00

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Does the failure of Kis Kis Ki Kismat , starring Mallika Sherawat, indicate that an excess of sexuality no longer guarantees heavy box-office draws?
"People are wary of seeing Mallika exposing herself. What more of her can audiences see that they have not seen in film after film?" Bollywood Trade quoted Manoj Desai, a film exhibitor, as asking.
But Praveen Thakkar, the film's distributor, disagrees. "I don't think it is an indication that sex has stopped selling at the box-office.
"Sex has a worldwide appeal and it will always sell, provided it is supported by a sensible story," Thakkar said.
Director Karan Razdan, whose films tend to capitalise on sex, feels that the failure of Kis Kis Ki Kimat actually endorses the fact that sex sells.
Razdan observed, "As far as I know the film was projected as a comedy, and not one with passionate scenes, which audiences would expect from Mallika Sherawat.
"The promos gave the impression that audiences would be left watching Dharmendra's jokes, instead of Mallika's sensuality," said Razdan.
He felt a film's sensuality, if reflected in the promos, makes a big difference to its box office draw.
Director Govind Menon also refused to see his film's failure as a sign that Indian audiences are suffering from an erotic overkill.
"I am told that the film did poorly because it lacked sexuality, despite having a star known for her sex appeal," he said.
Citing a weak script, poor direction and lack of adequate publicity as reasons its failure, Menon said, "Both sex and violence sells in films. Sexuality is a major element in big films. That's why Basic Instinct gets re-released so often."

Laetitia Casta

2004-11-12T02:51:00.000+05:00

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Britney Spears

2004-11-12T02:10:00.000+05:00

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Britney Spears may have titled her new single "Me Against The Music," but she has rarely been more creatively in tune than she is right now. "I feel like I've hit a great new stride as an artist," she says with pride. "I've worked hard, and I feel like I've grown on so many levels."
In truth, "Me Against The Music" is hardly about declaring war against grooves. "Actually, it's about the intensity that people approach music with," Britney shares. "It's about getting totally lost in the music and pushing yourself to the edge in every way you can imagine. I love thoroughly immersing myself in music, and I wanted to capture that intensity in a song."
Britney's musical intensity and her evolution from a teen renegade into a provocative young woman are undeniable throughout "In The Zone," her fourth Jive Records collection. First and foremost, the project shows her flexing notably strong and mature songwriting muscles. She co-wrote 7 of the project's 12 sterling new compositions, collaborating with such heavy hitters as Red Zone ("Me Against The Music," "The Hook Up"), The Matrix ("Shadow"), Moby ("Early Mornin'"), and Cathy Dennis ("Toxic," "Showdown"). Also contributing hit worthy material to the album is R. Kelly ("Outrageous"), Ying-Yang Twins on “(I Got That) Boom Boom

Adaa

2004-11-12T01:26:00.000+05:00

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Keeping in with current Bollywood mood debutant director Ajeet Sinha is all gung ho about Adaa that he promises is going to keep viewers glued to their seats. For starters, he says the film has a bold theme and the presentation he vouches will be aesthetic and not vulgar. One could take his word for the film stars ex Miss World Diana Hayden in the lead. By the way, the film also stars ex Mr World Rajeev Singh. Adaa also stars Gulshan Grover and Vasundara Das. "For a change, I play a good man," says Gulshan Grover. As for singer Vasundara Das she says, "This is actually my first Hindi film." Das had made her debut in a Tamil flick and was seen with Kamal Hassan in Hey Ram!

Rog

2004-11-12T01:03:00.000+05:00

Director: Himanshu Brambhatt
Producer: Pooja Bhatt, Sujit Kumar Singh
Music Director: M.M Kreem
Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri, Neelesh Misra

WALLPAPERS

Rog is the story of a troubled police officer who falls in love with a dead woman who's murder he is investigating. Ilene Hamann plays the leading lady who mesmerizes all who surround her with her breathtaking beauty and sensuality. The model, after being spotted by Producer Pooja Bhatt, was signed as the lead actress for the film making her the first South African in history to play a lead actress in a Bollywood film. Rog wraps up its shooting in the first week of October and plans to hit the theatres in early December and has been shot at various locations in Mumbai and Alibaug. Written by Mahesh Bhatt and directed by Himanshu Brambhatt, Rog's music is scored by M.M.Kreem and lyrics by Sayeed Qadri and Neelesh Misra. The cinematographer for the film is Anshuman Mahaley and the Production Designer is Pooja Bhatt. Dialogues have been penned by Niranjan Iyengar and Subodh Chopra.Rog promises to continue the lineage propagated by Jism in its emotional and sensual content and assures that the twists and turns in the plot will leave the audience gasping in its seat.

Aitraaz

2004-11-03T02:12:00.000+05:00

Director: Abbas-Mustan
Producer: Mukta
Arts Cast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Annu Kapoor, Amrish PuriMusic : Himesh Reshammiya
Lyrics: Sameer

WALL PAPER

In the accused box of a courtroom stands a man, startled and shocked that destiny could lead him there. Only some time back Raj Malhotra had the world at his feet. None could point a finger at him. Today, he is accused of the most heinous crime.It all starts when he met Sonia again. A blast from his past, he was aware that she knew only one way to ive and that was her way!!! And one fateful day things do not go her way.Raj Malhotra is accused.Now his most prized possession, his honour, is at stake. He finds himself helpless in a world that is called a MAN'S WORLD! At the mercy of a woman who puts to use her most effective weapon.But the doors of justice are waiting to be knocked. The dram has just begun. The Court is far from adjourned.Characters
Raj Malhotra(Akshay Kumar)
The accused is a significant player in the telecom industry with many an ace up his sleeve; which not only make him the man of the moment but could also make him the man of the future. But for now, the future is black.Law ordains that one is innocent until proved guilty. But strange is the fate of Raj, which makes him guilty until proved innocent.
Priya (Kareena Kapoor)
Priya is the epitome of a dream companion. Her love and stoic support towards Raj are his biggest trump card. Unshakable in her resolve, she knows how to play her part in a game of manipulation.The devious shadow that threatens to put Raj's honour at stake, finds an adamant Priya at the opposing end... And from a content woman, Priya becomes a woman with a mission that she must accomplish. She is now Raj's partner in more ways than one.
Sonia Sharma (Priyanka Sharma)
The complainant is the fascinating and focused Sonia. She believes that goals are meant to be achieved. Namely her goals. Whatever the price!!!Indeed, if money makes the world go round, a woman can bring the world to a standstill. Wonia succeeds in brings Raj's world to a complete stop for reasons that go beyond the expected diginity and grace. Her mantra is clear. Nothing shall come in between her wants and desires.
Ram Choitrani (Annu Kapoor)
Careful, convincing and conniving Ram Choitrani is a perfect foil to the prosecution lawyer. As the defence lawyer, he faces Mr.Patel in the confines of the court with aplomb.But little does he know that he will get embroiled in a fateful web from where there is no way out.Mr.Patel(Paresh Rawal)The prosecution lawyer, Mr.Patel is as shrewd as he is foxy! He does all in his power to create a win-win situation for his clients. The truth is absolutely incidental where he is concerned. Success has a strange affinity towards him. Now he is involved in a case as controversial as can be. Will success be his yet again? Or is he in for a surprise?
Ranjit Roy(Amrish Puri)
Ranjit Roy is the accused's boss. He also shares a brow-raising relationship with the complainant Sonia. He is a mere pawn in the hands of Sonia and it is by virtue of this, that many lives are thrown out of gear. Can he afford to ignore the situation that he is in, or will he

Tauba Tauba

2004-11-03T02:04:00.000+05:00

Starring: Amin Gazi, Payal Rohatgi, Rocky Sandhu, Monalisa

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Tauba Tauba is about adolescent youth and its fixation with ‘objects’ of sexual desire. At the center of the story is a fifteen-year-old boy who is irrecoverably drawn towards his sensuous teacher.Director T.L.V. Prasad has tried to lure the audience by incorporating a sexually explicit theme in the film and supporting it with a good number of titillating acts by two hot babes – Payal Rohatgi and Monalisa. The movie tells the story of an adolescent boy Sunny (Amin Gazi) who is attracted to his teacher (Payal Rohatgi). He and his friends never miss a chance to take a peek into ‘the forbidden’ whenever opportunity presents itself. They slobber at the sight of their teacher’s cleavage whenever she bends down. They ogle at her curvaceous body when she exercises. The remaining image is thereafter completed by their over-active imaginations.The term at school comes to an end and vacations follow. Sunny goes back to his opulent house in Pune where he feels utterly alone because his millionaire father is always busy making more money. So Sunny starts spending time on Internet, obviously browsing porn sites.Sunny is caught seeing these sites by his father’s manager Rocky [Rocky Sandhu]. Rocky has a dream of making a film with his girlfriend Rubina (Monalisa) as the heroine. But he needs to pay back a big amount to money to a guy named Sultan bhai before he can realize his dream.In the meantime, Sunny’s school friend Lokesh visits him one day and tells him about this voluptuous woman living in Sunny’s neighborhood. Sunny is baffled to know that all this while he was watching porn but did not notice that there was a ‘sex goddess’ living in his neighborhood. Moreover, the neighbor is their teacher Payal (Payal Rohatgi). She is a single woman, living alone and has a flair for skimpy dresses – all that the boys want.So, it is only a matter of time before Sunny introduces himself to his irresistible neighbor. One night, Sunny finds Payal very inviting and he grabs the opportunity by neck and, to his good luck, gets laid. But to his misfortune, he wakes up the next morning to find Payal dead.A shocked Sunny rushes towards home only to bump into Rocky, who offers him help to get rid of the body.But Sunny’s troubles are far from over. One day he receives a letter containing photos of him burying Payal’s body. The blackmailer demands Rs 1 crore which Sunny pays through some blank cheques of his father. However, a few days later, Sunny spots Payal in departmental store. Shocked again, he approaches her and she tells him that it was all a plan hatched by Rocky. She supported Rocky because she needed money for the medical expenses of her boyfriend.Feeling cheated, Sunny plans to get even with Rocky and get his money back. Payal promises to help him.Tauba Tauba begins as a sex comedy but becomes more of a thriller in the second half. But the major pitfall is that the director fails to catch the flavor and the essence of the ‘sexually-overdriven’ adolescent age of young boys. All the attention seems to have been paid to the steamy acts by Payal and Monalisa. Monalisa looks cute but doesn’t carry the sex appeal. The oomph quotient is formidably contributed by Payal Rohatgi who flaunts her well-toned body with little possible inhibitions. Young actor Amin Gazi looks natural playing a testosterone-fired young boy. But the art of acting is far from all three of them.The film has a good dose of sexual exposure, balanced with comedy (in the first half) and thriller (in the second half). But sadly, there is hardly any substance in the story. However, if you expect to see lot of cleavages, or Bikini-clad babes, you will not be disappointed

Veer Zaara

2004-11-03T00:43:00.000+05:00

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherjee
Direction: Yash Chopra
Production: Yash Chopra
Music: Madan Mohan

WALLPAPERS

After a period of 8 years, Yash Chopra once again dons the directorial garb to bring us a love legend… a tale of love, courage and integrity.
The film aims to bridge the differences between people in India and Pakistan through a touching love story between an Indian pilot and a Pakistani girl.
Even though a major part of the movie has been completed for quite some time now, Chopra had not revealed its title. But now it is confirmed that the title of the movie is Veer-Zaara.
Sounds unusual title for a movie? But it is not.
Veer-Zaara recounts the epic tale of an Indian man, Veer Pratap Singh (Shahrukh Khan) and a Pakistani woman, Zaara Hayaat Khan (Preity Zinta) - a story of a love so great that it knows no boundaries.
It is also the story of Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukerji), a Pakistani lawyer who tries to break the barriers separating the two.
The music of Veer-Zaara will be released in September. With lyrics by Javed Akhtar and music composed by the legendary late Madan Mohan, this album is sure to give music lovers a much-awaited bouquet of timeless melodies.
The movie is expected to hit the theatres in the second week of November

Madhoshi

2004-10-26T11:04:00.000+05:00

Starring Bipasha Basu, Priyanshu Chatterjee, John Abraham
Director : Tanveer Khan

WALLPAPERS

Madhoshi marks the directorial debut of Tanveer Khan. For his first movie - starring Bipasha Basu, John Abraham and Priyanshu Chatterjee - Tanveer weaves an intricate love story out of a tragedy. In the movie Bipasha plays a fine arts student named Anu, a bright girl from a happy and affluent family. But Anu's world shatters when her sister and brother-in-law are killed in the horrifying 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. A mentally shocked Anu goes into perfect solitude.To get Anu to start her life again, her parents decide to get her married. So they get her engaged to Arpit Oberoi (Priyanshu Chatterjee), who is a well known ad-filmmaker with a bright future ahead of him. Not long after his engagement to Anu, Arpit gets an international ad Film project and leaves for the U.S. During these days Anu comes across another young man named Aman (John Abraham), who is a member of the anti-terrorist organization. Aman is a handsome guy with unflagging spirit to root out the evil of terrorism. No sooner than Anu comes to know him and his purpose in life, she begins to fall in love with him.It is now her real dilemma starts. On one hand, she is engaged to a man who accepted her in her days of despair. On the other is a man with whom she connects on a very deeper level. Divided in her mind, Anu resorts to a desperate measure just a few days before her scheduled marriage. She cuts the veins of her wrists. Although Anu survives the suicide attempt, the diagnosis of her mental condition shocks everyone - she suffers from Schizophrenia…ReviewBy Nitika DesaiThe punchline of the movie says that an illusion goes beyond imagination. And that goes true for the main character Anu (Bipasha), for whom the line between illusion and reality is quite blur. Having gradually recovered from the mental shock of her sister’s death in 9/11 attacks, Anu turns into a woman given to mental delusions. But the real question is – Is her ideal man Aman (John) just a figment of her imagination or does he exist in reality.Madhoshi is a promising attempt by first time director Tanveer Khan, but it still fails to impress because of some unimaginative writing. The movie start off quite well with the 9/11 attacks and then slowly establishes the gravity of Anu’s trauma, followed by a mandatory sequence of songs in the first half. The story picks up after the introduction of John Abraham, and with him comes the element of suspense in the story.But the treatment of the story in the latter part of the second half is what tantalizes the most. The climax, when the suspense is cleared, is childish in conception and a complete letdown. Yet, Madhoshi leaves an impression because of commendable acting by Bipasha Basu, who does everything from her erotic poses and hot scenes with John to her delirious act as a possible schizophrenic with utmost conviction.John Abraham too deserves a mention for his portrayal of Aman. His screen presence and the credibility with which he plays Aman add vitality to the film. Priyanshu Chatterji is sincere but not skilled in his acting.Another good thing about Madhoshi is that it does not resort to Bollywood stereotype (save the song and dance). The movie has many essential ingredients like romance, suspense and, at the same time, it derives from the catastrophic terrorist attack and goes into the mind of a girl who longs to spend her entire life with a man devoted to anti-terrorism. But, of course, you will have to see the movie to know whether that man exist in reality or just in the mind of this girl.

Popcorn Khao...Mast Ho Jao

2004-10-26T10:57:00.000+05:00

Director: Kabir Sadanand
Producer: Pritish Nandi
Music : Vishal, Shekar
Popcorn Khao...Mast Ho Jao" belongs unapologetically to the cool school. It borrows heavily from the Archies comic strip. Newcomer Abhishek Kapoor makes a pleasantly scrambled Archie while Yash Tonk - full of cheesy chutzpah and gulping gusto-is Jughead. Tanisha and debutante Rashmi Nigam play demure Betty and Veronica.Last year, the same campus formula was used in Ken Ghosh's "Ishq Vishq". The dialogues in "Popcorn Khao..." and the performances are far more elevating and intelligent.Debutant director Kabir Sadanand makes no bones about making a film that doesn't try to say anything beyond its romantic surface. Still, he surprises us in the second-half with some very tender interludes between the self-motivated Rahul (Kapoor) and the all-giving small-town girl with rock-steady values Tanya (Tanisha) who's so devoted, she cries when Rahul is mistreated by the neighbourhood femme fatale.To our relief, there are no vamps and villains in Sadanand's scheme of things, no heaving highs (not counting the bosoms and thighs that surface in sloping splendour for the two utterly uncalled-for item songs) and no whimpering lows. The narrative moves at a tranquil pace, neither creating overt drama nor making a song and dance over playing it cool.Having adopted the Archies formula, Sadanand goes back to many other more native sources to tell his story. The theme of the innocent musician's compromise and corruption in big bad Mumbai has its echoes in Raj Kapoor's "Shri 420". You can, in fact go back to Aziz Mirza's "Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman", where Sah Rukh Khan had to choose between 'love' Juhi Chawla and 'amibition' Amrita Singh.The choice, as they say, is clear. Without raising a hue and cry over its moral preoccupations, "Popcorn Khao..." gives us a portrait of the Innocent Abroad as he wades through the concrete jungle trying to find a place for his restless spirit.These deep ideas are not quite what this film aims at. While having a good time, "Popcorn..." does aim to provide an underbelly of simmering thoughts which are kept out of visual range but nonetheless mingle with the cosmetic emotions of characters who live on the edge of shallow waters.Most of all, perhaps subconsciously, this is Kabir Sadanand's homage to "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", Karan Johar's historic take on the Archies formula.Tanisha and Rashmi Nigam are clearly modelled on Kajol and Rani Mukherjee in Johar's film. Many scenes featuring them with the hero also echo "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" without blinding aping the source material.Kajol's sister Tanisha, who made a disastrous debut last year, is vaguely engaging. Like her sister in Karan Johar's film, Tanisha is made to go from tomboy to sari-clad woman of the world who says: "I've begun to say important things because I now understand the value of little gestures in life."Rashmi Nigam wears the I-Am-Cool expression throughout the film. Maybe she's saving up the other expressions for later.Akshay Kapoor in the author-backed role gives a surprisingly confident account of his character's confusions and ambitions. After Sammir Dattani, who made a spectacular impact in "Uff Kya Jadoo Mohabbat Hai", Kapoor's is the only notable debut this year. Director Sadanand puts in an interesting cameo as a Hollywood-fixated star in Bollywood. He brings out the vanity of the average Hindi star with cocky conviction.The film often pokes fun at mainstream conventions. After Rahul's bohemian landlady (Kamini Khanna) hugs him and gets sentimental, she quickly pushes him away, saying: "Don't think I'm going to behave like the Pinto Aunty in Hindi films."While looking away from the formula films, "Popcorn..." still manages to pay homage to conventions. But the quadrangle gets tedious in time. Though the characters seem to have all the time in the world, you want the plot to hurry to its inevitable conclusions. "Pocorn..." takes its own sweet time to get there...the stress being on sweet.

Wajahh

2004-10-26T10:48:00.000+05:00

Director: Gautam Adhikari
Starring: Arbaaz Khan, Gracy Singh, Shamita Shetty
Music: Anand Raj Anand

Released on October 8 with mega publicity and media blitzkrieg, the first commercial film production Adhikari Brothers marks a shift of a television major player into serious cinema making. Gautam Adhikari, the elder brother, directs this suspense thriller produced by Makrand Adhikari Do you believe in Palmistry? You may not be but Director Gautam Adhikari has used this platform in his debut film 'Wajahh-A reason to Kill'.
The plan of an ex-lover to kill the husband of his girlfriend to get her back is the main theme of this thriller story. Director Gautam Adhikari has developed this theme on a suspense platform adding some glamour and comedy as ingredients. In fact, through this film. Sri Adhikari Brothers and Lotus Films have come together to realise a long awaited dream. This film is jointly produced by Markand Adhikari and Anand Pandit. Anand Raaj Anand has composed music for his own lyrics. The story of the film centers around a neurosurgeon Dr. Aditya Bhargav (Arbaaz Khan) and his wife Trishna (Gracy Singh). Doctor Aditya Bhargav has a happy social as well as family life with wife and friends like Sameer (Sudesh Bery).
But the prediction of just one astrologer shatters everything for Dr. Bhargav. One day, just when Dr. Aditya Bhargav goes with wife Trishna to a party arranged by Sameer, an engineer Raj predicts that Dr. Aditya Bhargav is going to kill his wife in the near future. The orediction is an astrological one. Now this creates a fear psychosis and doubt in the heart of Trishna. She always feels that Aditya is going to kill her and she becomes suspicious about Aditya's attitude.
Meanwhile a biker Mike threatens Trishna that he will kill her if she does not going away from Aditya's life. The return of Aditya's lover Ishita (Sameeta Shetty) from America becomes one more reason of conflict between Aditya and Trishna.
Trishna is not going to accept Ishita's friendship with Aditya but Aditya is not able to convince his wife that there is no place for anybody other than Trishna in his heart. Meanwhile Trishna's friend dies in a fire accident at Aditya's kitchen.

Trishna accuses Aditya for this and thought that this was a plan to kill her. Aditya's friend Sameer tries to bridge the growing gap between Aditya and Trishna but in vain. One day the biker Mike calls Aditya and hands over him some photographs. After looking at those photographs Dr. Aditya rushes to kill Trishna. But Trishna shoots Aditya and at the same time some unknown killer also kills biker Mike.
Now the entire truth is unveiled. This was a plan by Raj the ex-lover of Trishna. Raj had plotted the prediction to create a plot to kill Aditya and Trishna was working with his direction. But Trishna and Raj could not succeed in their plan because Aditya did not die. Now the police inspector Bholenath (Satish Kaushik) starts an inquiry into the incident. After Adity's escape, the fear of being trapped by law Raj leaves Trishna alone. Now Trishna feels cheated and kills Raj.
But for a ungrateful wife the last judgement could be death. Finally this has happened that Trishna has killed herself and Aditya has got back his love Ishita. The entire story of the film centers around Gracy Singh and Arbaaz Khan. The simple innocent village beauty of 'Lagaan' has turned into a furious obsessed lover in 'Wajahh-A reason to kill'.
Gracy's perfromance in this film looks more mature. Arbaaz's performance in the role of a short-tempered husband is satisfactory. Sudesh Berry has made a come back after a long time to the big screen. She has performed in his usual small screen style. Though Samita is in a major role but her performance is not effective. Director Gautam Adhikari has put all his small screen experience to make this suspense story a success but screenplay needs a lot of improvement on the characters.
Satish Kaushik's return as a comedian makes a mark in this film but not attractive because of a poor story line.

But the music tracks are more situational and Daler Mehndi's appearance in one song would be able to entertain for a few minutes. Over all, the same conflict between wife and husband, a little suspense and post marital love affairs have not been put in a subtle way to attract the audience. Finally audience may not find any 'Wajaah-A reason to kill' to watch this movie.

Bride And Prejudice

2004-10-26T10:43:00.000+05:00

Director: Gurinder Chadha

Starring: Aishwarya Rai, Martin Henderson, Anupam Kher, Namarata Shirodkar, Meghana Kothari, Piya Rai Choudhray, Naveen Andrews, Nadira Babbar, Indira Verma, Daniel Gillies

Music: Anu Malik
The crossover film of 2004 Bride and Prejudice is neither a completely Bollywood flick nor entirely a Hollywood caper. A mix of both the cultures both in terms of the story and filmmaking!
And for the first time, Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai is paired opposite a Hollywood star - Martin Henderson (of The Ring fame). The movie released on October 8 with great fanfare and has been well received by city audience hungry for crossover films. The credit of course goes to Director Gurinder Chadha who debuted with her much-acclaimed film Bhaji on the Beach in 1993 and struck to fame with the super hit Bend it Like Beckham in 2002.
The film is adapted from Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice with the only difference that while in the original the clash between Darcy and Elizabeth crops up due to their social status, the conflict between Darcy and Lalita over here is a result of their cross cultures. Another reason for the crossover effect! Ace actor Anupam Kher plays Mr Bakshi, a man who is always in a quandary when it comes to marrying his daughters. Coming from a not so rich family background, Mr Bakshi simply cannot afford to pay the wedding dowry.
Nadira Babbar plays Mrs Bakshi and is the mother of four daughters and her sole aim is to find the perfect partners for her daughters. Pretty but now old Namrata Shirodkar plays Jaya who is the eldest daughter of the Bakshi family and of marriageable age. Aishwarya Rai plays Lalita who is next to Jaya.

Smart and stubborn, she is determined to seek her own love without the meddling of her mother. Meghana Kothari plays Maya Bakshi and Peeya Rai Choudhary plays Lucky who complete the sibling quartet. Martin Henderson plays Will Darcy who is an American hotelier who is instantaneously attracted to Lalita. Love at first sight but this time the Hollywood way! Mr Balraj anglicized as Mr Bingley (Naveen Andrews), is a British Asian from London and the new neighbor to the Bakshi family. Mrs Bakshi sees this good-looking personality as a prospective partner for Jaya.
Balraj's best friend, Darcy, meets Lalita on a social meet and instantly falls for her. Love at first sight for him (but this time the Hollywood way). However the same is not true for Lalita. How the spark ignites between them and what hindrance comes in their path is subsequently revealed in the plot of the film. Anu Malik, whose musical compositions have already been used in crossover films like Monsoon Wedding (Chunari Chunari) and The Guru (Chori Chori), has composed seven peppy numbers for the film. Incidentally, Malik even plays a small part in the film. He plays a pundit who welcomes the family during the wedding. One of the songs has been penned by Farhan and Zoya Akhtar. Gurinder Chadha states, "The music is a mix of West Side Story,
Fiddler on the Roof, Grease and also Hindi film music". With the success of Hollywood musicals like Moulin Rouge and Chicago, perhaps this musical too would be acknowledged overseas

Renowned cinematographer Santosh Sivan (Asoka, Fiza, Terrorist, Tehzeeb) handles the camera while Saroj Khan is the choreographer. Definitely, the film is for those who have a lust for Hollywood way of looking at things and are not looking at conservative Hindi cinema. The music is also a fine blend and one tends to start humming it immediately. Another good try by Gurinder which the city audience will love!

Shukriya

2004-10-26T10:39:00.000+05:00

Director: Anupham Sinha
Starring: Aftab Shivdasani, Shreya Saran (Introducing)
Music: Vishal-Shekhar, Himesh Reshammiya, Raju Rao and Devendra Yogendra

How much time do you need to meet death? Just a fraction of a second! But what happens when death accompanies you for four days as a human being.
But actor Anupam Kher challenges death to become a human being and Death, accepting his challenge, accompanies him for four days as a family member in the film 'Shukriya'.
Film 'Shukriya' is based on an experimental plot on the universal truth of death and a man's journey knowing very well that death was going to embrace him in just four days. Karan Jindal (Anupam Kher) a business tycoon in England has a dream to open a cancer hospital for the poor in the name of his mother Gayatri Devi. The desire for the hospital was born from the tragic death of his mother because of cancer when he had come to London before thirty years.
Now the Gayatri Devi Cancer Hospital is waiting to be inaugurated. Jindal has planned to inaugurate the hospital after four days on his sixtieth birthday. Meanwhile he comes to know that death is going to embrace him exactly after four days. Now Jindal is in a dilemma. He does not want to leave his caring wife Sandhya (Rati Agnihotri) and two loving daughters but death is dragging him. Jindal feels guilty that he could not do anything for his younger daughter Sanam (Shriya Saran).
Now he gathers courage to challenge death to become a human being. Because it is difficult for a human being to be free from the bond of love and relationships. Death accepts his challenge and joins his family as his friend's son Rohan Verma (Aftab Shivdasani). Jindal's daughter Sanam loves a dancer and singer Rocky. Sanam invites Rocky to her father's sixtieth birthday party. But just after Sanam's invitation Rocky meets death.
The story takes an interesting turn when Rocky turns to Rohan, the human form of Death. Sanam is happy with Rocky's appearance in her family

But only Jindal knows that Death is accompanying him in the body of Rocky as Raohan.
On the other hand, Rohan is now trapped in the bond of love of Jindal's wife Sandhya and daughter Sanam. But eventually truth is unveiled before Sanam that her father is.
Going to meet death after four days on his sixtieth birthday and Rohan is not his first love Rocky. Finally Sanam gets back her love Rocky from the cruel claw of death but her father departs forever. In this film there is another parallel love affair between Yash (Indranil Gupta) and Sanam but it is one sided. Yash has devoted his best efforts for the growth of Jindal. He also loves Jindal's daughter Sanam but Sanam loves Rocky.
With the appearance of Rohan, Yash has to sacrifice his love. Actor Indranil Gupta has made his entry to big screen through this role. But he has to learn a lot on acting, especially on the expression of emotions. This film is based on an experimental theme about the universal truth of death. Life and death are two parallel ends and each human being has to journey between these.
Director Anupam Sinha in his debut film has tried his best to prove his point on an unusual plot but the screenplay needs a lot of attention. On the technical side, the director has to be more cautious for his next films as some jump cuts kill the smooth flow of the film.
Anupam Kher and Rati Agnihotri once again come out with their mature performance. Aftaab Shivdashani in the first half plays his usual "chocolate boy" role, but in the second half the serious role is not up to the mark.
He has to give a lot of attention to get the tag of serious hero. Newcomer Shriya Sharan's acting is praise worthy. The songs are more situational and move well with the story. Vishal-Sekhar's music would be able to find a place in the market for few days.

When the producers and directors in Bollywood has adopted sex and exposure as easy means of accumulating commercial success new director Anupam Sinha has made an good attempt on an experimental plot in the film.
'Shukriya'. Just try to find out the serious theme if you are a critical viewer but for just entertainment no such stuff for you in 'Shukriya'.

Dil Bechara Pyaar Ka Maara

2004-10-26T10:34:00.000+05:00

Direction: Omkarnath Mishra
Starring: Vikas Kalantri, Aslam Khan, Divya Palat, Aman Sondhi, Jonita Dulla, Mallika Kapoor and Rajpal Yadav Music: Nikhil Vinay

Another Friday another film, but this Friday was very special for Rajpal Yadav who had earlier been seen in so many films like 'Road', 'Company' and 'Main Madhuri Dixit Banana Chahati Hoon' (all with Antara Mali) as a side hero only.
'Dil Bechara Payaar Ka Maara' has been released in a few theatres only as in the industry language it is a 'C' grade film. The movie star cast comprises Vikaas Kalantri, Aslam Khan, Divya Palat, Aman Sondhi, Jonita Dulla, Mallika Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Shahzad Khan and others.
'Dil Bechara Payaar Ka Maara' is exemplary in more than one way - for example Onkarnath Mishra (writer-director) has shot the film in a record 31 days and finished post-production in two months. MC Pandey has produced the movie and this is his first movie. 'Dil Bechara Payaar Ka Maara' is the story of three friends - Deepak (Vikas Kalantri), Sanjay (Aslam Khan) and Vinod (Aman Sodhi). They all have different wishes and different ways of life.
While Deepak wants to become a singer, Sanjay wants to become a businessman and Vinod aspires to become a top batsman. On the other hand, the movie has three sweet heroines - Sherry (Divya Palat), Shree (Jonita Dulla) and Neela (Mallika Kapoor).

Like boys these three heroines also have different desires. Sherry dreams of a businessman husband, while Shree wants to marry a singer and Neela wants to marry a cricketer.
But here the film takes a turn and Sherry falls in love with Deepak who is a singer, Neela falls in love with Sanjay and Shree falls in love with Vinod who is a cricketer.
But interestingly, all the three boys hide their original profession and try hard to become what their girlfriends want. Here comes the forth character 'Tundabhai' (Rajpal Yadav) who loves all the three girls and at least wants to marry one. The whole movie moves around this hide and seek game with a little bit of laugh. Rajpal Yadav emerges very well in comparison to others. He shows his acting ability and proves that he is no more a side hero.
Rajpal makes his mark even in the presence of three other heroes. In fact, he has over-shadowed the three heroes while others just do their job with no special attention. They just deliver their dialogues like Ramlila characters. Writer-Director Onkarnath Mishra doesn't seem to do any value addition to the film, even if he had all good intentions of doing so.

Technically, the film falls flat, the whole packaging of the movie seems to have been done in a terrible hurry. The music front is not too sunny either and the Nikhil-Vinay duo fails to attract the audiences in the cinema hall. On the whole, if all that Mr Pandey wanted to do was to spend his money, it could have been better spent on a noble cause instead of on the making of a poor show like 'Dil Bechara Payaar Ka Maara'.