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News:
Madhuri pregnant!
Fiza..Movie Preview
DDLJ Completes 250 Weeks in Mumbai Theatre
Shahrukh Khan steals the limelight at the B4U bash in London
Amitabh Bachchan's "Kaun Banega Crorepati" most popular television show
Music director Kalyanji's death splits the last musical duo in Bollywood
Sizzling September !
Manisha's still in the groove!
Hrithik's volte face
Interview of Aishwarya Rai
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Madhuri pregnant!
Sridevi is expecting a baby and apparently so is Kajol but if the overactive grapevine is to be believed, then Madhuri Dixit has also joined the gang… You guessed right! Apparently, she is pregnant too! Well our heartiest congratulations go out to her but does that mean she has finally said bye bye to films? Her director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam fame is reportedly in a fix! As it is, he was quite jittery when she turned Mrs. Nene. Hmm…we do wonder what his reaction to this new development will be! Watch out for this space for more juicy details, guys.
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Fiza..Movie Preview
young girl in search of her brother who disappeared during the communal riots of 1992-93 in Mumbai. Fiza revolves around the relationship between a widowed mother (Jaya Bachchan) living in the hope that her son, Amaan (Hrithik Roshan) will one day return, and her daughter who, fed up with living with uncertainty, resolves to go in search of her brother.
Nishatbi, the widowed mother of Fiza and Amaan, is more than optimistic that happiness will once again re-enter their homes. The mother and daughter stride to lead their lives normally, but are always beset with one important question - where is Amaan ?
Refusing to come to terms with his absence and after making every effort to trace him, Fiza sets out to determine whether Amaan is dead or alive.
Using various methods - be it through the media, politicians or the law enforcement agencies, Fiza embarks on her mission which brings her into contact with various characters and situations. The story looks at family relationships and the characters of Shehnaz (Neha), the neighborhood girl whom Amaan loved deeply, as well as Fiza's college friend Anirudh (Bikram Saluja) who admires her bravado and spirit are introduced nowThere are chances that Amaan could have some compulsions which prevent him from returning home. Chances are also that he had a certain inescapable reasons for breaking away from home.
Either way, can Fiza bring back Amaan home ? And if she can, can life be beautiful once again for the devastated family ?
The film is produced by Pradeep Guha in association with UTV Motion pictures. The film has music by Anu Malik and one song has been composed by A.R. Rahman. Santosh Sivan is the cinematographer of Fiza.
The film emphasizes the importance of communal harmony and the need for national integration. Fiza will open all over on 8th September 2000.
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DDLJ Completes 250 Weeks in Mumbai Theatre
Mumbai, Aug 30 (PTI) Contrary to celluloid romances in India, wherein protagonists defy parents' wishes and societal norms to marry, 20-plus film-maker Aditya Chopra's maiden venture 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' (DDLJ) continues to mesmerise audiences as it runs a 'paise vasool' show for a consecutive 250th week, ending this Friday.
The film, which was released some time in October 1995, has crossed 196 weeks (almost four years) in a matinee show at Maratha Mandir, a theatre located in South Central Mumbai.
"DDLJ is a not merely a film, but a statement which stresses upon the fact that today's youth yearns to go back to his roots, his customs, his traditions," celebrated film icon Yash Chopra, who spoke to PTI on behalf of his son Aditya said.
Film pundits consider 'Dilwale' as a trendsetter of the 90s which showed superstar Shahrukh Khan emerge a winner, managing to convince his prospective father-in-law of his sincerity.
Chopra agrees: "This very fact that a London-bred boy, instead of eloping braves an emotional conflict, wins over his girl friend's family and then marries her," he said. MORE
'Dilwale' was a tremendous success in the overseas circuit and has mopped up more than Rs 200 million in the European and American markets, industry sources said.
"DDLJ revived the international theatre market of Hindi films, which was almost killed by the video circuit," says Sahadev Ghai, business executive, Yash Raj Films.
After Rajashri Production's mega-hit 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun', 'Dilwale' was the second largest grosser, he said.
Trade pundits too think that the non-resident Indian angle and the exotic locales in the film worked wonders for it.
"Children born to Indian-born parents were attracted by the strong-to-the-roots feeling conveyed by the film and hence it clicked all over the world," Komal Nahta, editor Film Information said.
Seconding Nahta, Chopra said,"Indians living abroad suffer from cultural insecurity and Adi's film made them more vulnerable towards their very own desh ki mitti (motherland)."
Infact, 'Dilwale' earned Chopra an award from the British Tourism Authority for promoting Britain as a destination.
Nahta considers DDLJ an out-n-out entertainer as it has good music, classic performances, scintillating outdoor shoots and after all a clean plot with a moral message.
"The repeat audience at Maratha Mandir belong to this school of thought," he observes.
According to Nahta, the film has mopped up a net business of approximately Rs 500 million, out of which Rs 170 million were from Mumbai territory alone.
He also attributed success of 'Dilwale' to the heart- rending performances by stars Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher and Farida Jalal. MORE
Referring to new generation directors like son Aditya, veteran film-maker Yash Johar's son Karan and Suraj Barjatiya, Yash Chopra said they were 'complete directors' who conceive their film, nurture it and also release it without any second or third party participation.
"Dilwale is Adi's creation. I would have never thought of making the film with his kind of a story," Chopra confessed.
However, film critics strongly disagree with 'Dilwale' story line but nevertheless attribute its success to the hero's silent traditional approach to win back his girl.
"The film is clearly marketed for the overseas audience and it expresses amazing fascination for the patriarchial system, made explicit very persuasively," well-known film critic Mythili Rao says.
The message that the young film-maker wanted to give was that deep inside us, there seems to be a trend towards accepting validity of our traditional system, she said.
Lauding Aditya's efforts, Rao says he had mastered his father's school of making romances and present it to the 90s generation. MORE
Yet, Deepa Gehlot takes a tough stand on 'Dilwale' and says that it was not easy to perceive a young man from the West to return to his roots for his love.
"There is a cultural difference between Indians born abroad and those born in India and are settled abroad, the film was a sugar coated pill meant for gulping down one's own sorrows and seek happiness in the Alps or the lush yellow sarso fields," she said.
"There are no special celebrations for 'Dilwale' as all of us are busy with the post-production of our new film," says Chopra.
Meanwhile, Aditya Chopra is ready to set the silver screen afire with 'Mohabattein', a yet another boy-meets-girl romance, to be released on October 26, 2000.
"Mohabattein, like Dilwale is also very close to our heart... like we say in our punch line for Dilwale... come fall in love..." says a smiling Chopra.
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Shahrukh Khan steals the limelight at the B4U bash in London
The King of the Khans, Shahrukh Khan, dressed in a casual, open-neck
shirt stole the limelight at the B4U bash in London's exclusive
Mayfair. The Bollywood superstar, who likens himself to Brad Pitt and
fellow actor Sanjay Dutt to Mel Gibson was in London this weekend to
participate in a series of all-singing, all dancing extravaganzas,
organised by the music channel, Bollywood For You (B4U). B4U is
promoting live concerts at Wembley, Manchester and Birmingham
featuring Shahrukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Johnny Lever, Sushmita Sen, Juhi
Chawla and Namrata Shirodkar. Once on the London podium with the rest
of the famous five- Johnny Lever was missing- Shahrukh Khan attracted
the most attention and the most laughter with his inimitable
one-liners for Bollywood. He didn't stumble once, not even when asked
to say something in a foreign language for the benefit of London's
cosmopolitan audience. Out poured a mix of Pushtu and Farsi, much to
the amazement of the local journalist who asked the question. Former
Miss Universe Sushmita Sen obliged with a few words of Spanish,
Namrata Shirodkar spoke in Marathi, Juhi Chawla mumbled a sentence in
convent Hindi and Sanjay Dutt offered a robust rendering in Punjabi.
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Amitabh Bachchan's "Kaun Banega Crorepati" most popular television show
The Megastar of Hindi films Amitabh Bachchan's hosted television show
"Kaun Banega Crorepati" has become the most popular television show on
Indian television. It has made all other rival cable channels to sit
up and rework with Star TV for hosting the first 135 shows of "Kaun
Banega Crorepati". The ratings of Star TV have soared sky high and it
has been making massive profits. Star TV's "Kaun Banega Crorepati" is
the Indian version of the television programme "Who wants to be a
Millionaire". Cinema in the metropolis and other cities are faced with
poor collections during the 9 pm shows, Monday to Thursday, because
"Kaun Banega Crorepati" has caught up with television viewers like
wild fever. The fever's been akin to the kind witnessed when has come
down by 50 per cent and 70 per cent in the case of weak films.
According to inside sources in Bollywood, Nine Broadcasting India, the
Indian outfit of Australian media mogul Kerry Packer, is understood to
have opened a dialogue with Amitabh Bachchan to host Greed, a game
show which is also very similar to "Who wants to be a Millionaire".
Sources said talks with Bachchan were only in the initial stages and
it is still uncertain to what extent it will progress. If Packer is
eventually able to rope in Bachchan for the show on DD Metro, it will
be a casting coup for the channel. DD Metro reaches a considerably
larger audience than Star. Packer's new show will be aired on DD Metro
during prime time. Nine Broadcasting India has recently bagged the
prime time slots and it is likely to be positioned against Star TV's
"Kaun Banega Crorepati".
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Music director Kalyanji's death splits the last musical duo in Bollywood
Noted music director Kalyanji, who had teamed up with his younger
brother Anandji to become one of the most popular musical duos in
Bollywood, died in Mumbai on Thursday evening after an asthma attack.
He was 72. Kalyanji's death has split the last surviving pair of the
Bollywood's three most popular music director duos. The journey had
ended for Shankar-Jaikishan in 1971 with Jaikishan's untimely death.
For the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo, the curtains came down only last year
when Laximikant died of a liver ailment. Kalyanji started as an
assistant to music director Hemant Kumar in the 1952 film Nagin. In
1954, he started composing independently, when he composed the music
for Samrat Chandragupt. He teamed up with his brother in 1956 and soon
they became very popular with the success of the music of Saraswati
Chandra, Chhaliya and Upkaar. For most of their career, the duo mainly
stuck to two male playback singers who infused life into their music.
In the 1960s, it was Mukesh (Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim, Vishwas,
Saraswati Chandra). After Mukesh's death in 1977, Kalyanji-Anandji
turned to Kishore Kumar who, by then, had already sung quite a few
memorable numbers for them, including Zindagi ka Safar (Safar) and
Mera Jeevan Kora Kagaz (Kora Kagaz). In the late 1970s and the early
1980s, the duo was, arguably, at the peak of its career. Along with
Kishore Kumar, they created songs that enhanced Amitabh Bachchan's
image as a superstar. These included the songs in Don, Khoon Pasina,
Muqaddar Ka Sikander and Laawaaris. The pair also composed the music
for most of actor-director Feroze Khan's films, like Qurbani and
Yalgaar. Their last hit was most probably Tridev in 1989.
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Sizzling September !
This is for all you movie buffs out there, wanna know which are the new releases you can expect in the near future? Well here they are; Beti No. 1 will be releasing on September 1. Vijeta, the dubbed version of Gladiator, will be releasing on September 1 Hrithik's Fiza and Rakesh Roshan's Karobaar will both be releasing on September 8 Raja Ko Rani Se Pyaar Ho Gaya will finally be releasing on September 15 The Saif and Pooja Bhatt starrer, Yeh Pyar Hi To Hai will be released September 22. Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai's Dhai Akshar Prem Ke will be releasing on September 29. Finally, Dil Pe Maat Le Yaar and Astitva will both be releasing either in September or sometime in October.
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Manisha's still in the groove!
Manisha Koirala, Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Aftaab Shivdasani and Rambha will soon be seen together in Raj Kumar Kohli's next venture. Although a name hasn't been decided upon as yet, the movie was launched with the recording of its first song on August 21. Produced and directed by Raj Kumar Kohli, this movie too, will no doubt bear the stamp of the Kohli genius.
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Hrithik's volte face
Hrithik Roshan started something when he said, in an interview in the Times Of India, that his first appearance in Filmfare editor Khalid Mohammad's upcoming feature film, Fiza, occurs only after the interval.
That sent the producer, distributors and exhibitors ballistic. Like, here's everyone looking to Hrithik's presence to power Fiza to the box office gold medal, and the guy goes and says in public that he is kind of a glorified guest star!
Adding gratuitous insult to injury was, of course, the fact that the damaging interview had appeared in the Times -- the group Khalid Mohammad works for.
In a bid to put out the fire, a press conference was hastily arranged, on Sunday, to reassure all and sundry that Hrithik is in fact the star of the film. Hrithik was given his reassuring lines to speak and he spoke them on cue -- rather in the manner of a Bollywood courtroom scene where the hero goes, Main jo bhi kahoonga, sach kahoonga, sach ke siva kuch nahin kahoonga.
The assembled media listened in some amusement. And laughingly asked each other which version was the sach -- the one in the Times interview, or the one being trotted out here.
It all puts you in mind of this flip definition of the word 'clarification' -- When someone clarifies an earlier statement, it means you have understood the original statement too well.
Anyways, the media conference proceeded. And a good time was had by all.
As we trooped out, one journalist was overheard asking another: "What is the fuss all about? The tagline on the film's publicity poster is all the clarification we need, really.'
The line, for the uninitiated, reads: "Karishma Kapoor in search of her brother."
"If he was there throughout the film, as is claimed, why would Karishma be looking for him?" the journo asked, tongue firmly stuck in his cheek.
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Interview of Aishwarya Rai
Q:My tryst with flops is over, but I've miles to go : - Aishwarya Rai
Ans:She is the undisputed number one today. At least as far as the males of this country are concerned. Aishwarya Rai with her pencil-thin body, long arms and neck and a face that could prompt men to commit murders has finally arrived. Despite the rather jerky beginning, her career is soaring at the moment. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Taal, Josh, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Mohobbatien. The first four released, liked and giving her the lever to get better roles. With Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai having just been released, we catch Aishwarya in a reflective mood as she reminisces about her films-past and present.
Q.Are you happy with your role in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai?
Ans.In Hamara Dil... I am a simple, middle-class girl who is raped. This is her past that she can't forget. I meet Anil who is a good human being and we share a house and children, neither of which are ours. How we deal with situation there on is what the film is all about. I am thrilled to be working with Boneyji, Anilji and Satish Kaushik. I was really thrilled that they considered me for this role. My character is appealing and very real. I've tried to portray her just the way Satishji had conceived her. Though this girl has a past I can relate to her; at one time she even becomes normal. I have tried to keep her different from Mansi and Nandini's roles that I did in the past.
Q.Would you say your tryst with flops is over, thanks to your last release Josh?
Ans.Yes, I think so. When you make a film that is as well made as Josh, you do expect results. I enjoyed playing the tomboyish character because that's the way I'm in real life too. I have more male friends than female ones. And working with Shah Rukh was really great. I learnt a lot.
Q.A couple of weeks from now you have Dhai Akshar Prem Ke to look forward to. So tell us honestly how was it working with Abhishek Bachchan?
Ans.Abhishek is just like his father. In Mohabbatein I play Amitji's daughter and in Dhai Akshar. I am Abhishek's girlfriend. Dhai... is a dramatic film with a lot of scope for emotions-- romance and drama. It just might be a typical Hindi film heroine kind of role. But I really enjoyed playing that too. Abhishek is a performer. What else can one expect after having a dad like Amitji?. Both have a wonderful sense of humour-I think that's their best quality.
Q.After the numerous awards and deafening applause, do you feel you have achieved your goal as an actress?
Ans.Not at all. There are miles to go before I sleep. I still have to accomplish a lot and go on higher levels. There are the technical aspects of my craft, I have to learn. I still have to work with numerous talented people we have in the industry. I am thankful that Mr Ghai and Sanjay had the foresight to have faith in my talent and give me films to establish my credibility. I now try and choose films that are on a different track from the usual stuff of filmi dramas. Which doesn't say that I won't do typical Hindi films anymore.
Q.So which are the other films on hand?
Ans.Other than Dhai Akshar Prem Ke opposite Abhishek Bachchan and Yash Chopra's Mohabattein with Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, I have Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Aaj Ka Devdas with Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, Hum Pancchi Ek Daal Ke and Radhye Shyam Seetaram with Sunil Shetty, and another film with Yash Chopra with Shah Rukh.
Q.Do you still get butterflies in your stomach at the release of a film?
Ans.Well a wee bit. Of course because all these are important films as is every film of mine. All of them have me in different roles so I am not worried about that but only about the audience's reaction to me. I must take this opportunity to say that they have been very loving, and supportive towards me and I hope they are the same always. I don't want to let them down ever.
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