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News:
Mohabbatein Releasing soon!
Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre win 75 lakh in KBC
Star Merchandising Arrives in India
Bollywood magic in Southeast Asia
Indian film bags Green Oscar
Hot babe Shilpa Shetty finds a new admirer
J.P.Dutta's Next :Choodiyan
Jyothika- Honey I shrunk the Canadian
Lisa Ray: Her eyes came from
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Mohabbatein Releasing soon!
CAST -----> Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai INTRODUCING ---> Jugal Hansraj, Jimmy Shergil, Shamita Shetty, Preeti Jhangiani, Uday Chopra and Kimi Sharma SUPPORTING CAST -> Anupam Kher, Shefali Chhaya, Amrish Puri, Archana Puran Singh and Saurabh Shukla PRODUCED BY ---> Yash Chopra WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: ---> Aditya Chopra MUSIC ---> Jatin Lalit LYRICS ---> Anand Bakshi
Its time for the romance Moguls, Yash Chopra and family to give Bollywood a new Romantic love tale. But this time Aditya Chopra who is making a come back to the silver screen after five years has a romantic with a twist!
The difference that Mohabbatein will make to the Chopras’ long list of love stories is the introduction of Shahrukh and Amitabh at the focal point of the film. The former who believes in love and the latter who does not, caught in a tussle between a three-in-one love story. Mohabbatein introduces Yash Chopra’s youngest son Uday Chopra, besides being celluloid host to a host of newcomers including Jugal Hansraj, Jimmy Shergill, Shamita Shetty, Kim Sharma and Preeti Jhangiani.
Mohabbatein has a campus backdrop and the film is set in a hostel in London. Narayan Shanker (Amitabh Bachchan), is a strict principal who will not tolerate any nonsense (read flirting, dating or romance) within the campus. Raj Aryan ( Shah Rukh Khan) is a young lecturer in the college, who's immensely popular among the students, and who's in love with Narayan's daughter in the film, Aishwarya Rai. Aishwarya is dead and appears only in flashback sequences, we are made to believe. Enter six young students played by Jugal Hansraj, Jimmy Shergil, Shamita Shetty, Preeti Jhangiani, Uday Chopra and Kimi Sharma who are in love with each other. Till a widow (Shefali Chaya) enters Bachchan's life, helps him forget his past agonies and in the process, love blossoms between the two. This, along with the endeavors of his own daughter and her lover will finally melt the heart of the elderly principal. Running concurrent to this basic theme is also the story of three young couples in the college, whom Shah Rukh and Aishwarya help in realizing their love. The conflict of values amongst the three generations makes an interesting movie. And then, Narayan Shanker and Raj Aryan join hands together. Aditya Chopra is wrapping up Mohabbatein in at a break neck speed.
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Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre win 75 lakh in KBC
It is going to be the mother of all crorepati shows. A monster Diwali
special dreamed up by the guys who've swept the imagination of the
nation by storm. Of course, it is the hypnotic persona of megastar
Amitabh Bachchan which has largely paralysed the city between nine and
10 pm for the first four days of the week. But the programme, which
has a 93 per cent viewership, seems to be dreaming up newer ways to
petrify (as in turn to stone) the public and stay ahead by leaps and
bounds in the ratings game.
The latest is a special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati shot for the
festive Diwali season by the Star TV thinktank. This features not just
the general proletariat who come to the show with starry eyes and
tired fingers (from weeks of dialing to get on to the hotseat) but two
hot stars - Sonali Bendre and Aamir Khan. The episode with the
Sarfarosh stars has already been shot and is going to be publicised in
a starry way to build up the hysteria before the show is aired.
Of course, keeping in mind that the stars came out of turn for the
show, it was pre-decided that the proceeds of their winnings (if at
all, and whatever the amount) would be written out to the favourite
charities of the stars. So while Aamir decided to donate his prize
money to his regular, CRY, Sonali wanted to give her win to Saint
Catherine's Home in Andheri; an orphanage. The reason the sexy Sonali
chose that one was, as she told us, "Because it is one of the few
orphanages which take in HIV positive children. Something which not
too many other orphan homes are comfortable with. And you know how I
feel about children and HIV. It makes my heart bleed, but there is
just so much you can do about it. We can at least try."
The Bendre bombshell was far more cheerful when it came to telling us
about the 'star' episode itself.
"Oh, I was pretty good, if I may say so. I ended up winning 25 lakhs -
just two questions away from a crore. Not bad, huh? For a first time
quiz attempt? But of course, Bachchan was a great help. He was very
comforting and encouraging and he kept on giving us more time to play
with. He is just so good."
She added, "As for Aamir, well, after I won 25 lakhs, he just couldn't
believe it. In fact he kept saying, 'Now I have to better that. I have
to win more for my charity. And he did. Maybe it was just to outdo me,
but he ended up winning 50 lakhs. Just one more and he would have won
a crore. His general knowledge is superb. Anyway, he couldn't stop
grinning about how he had outdone me that day. Seriously, it was a lot
of fun for such a good cause."
Seventy five lakhs donated to good causes in a day was terrific. Which
is why Star now hopes to make this a special feature on occasions.
Next in line likely to participate are Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar
with more to follow.
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Star Merchandising Arrives in India
BOMBAY, India (AP) - The concept of using the image of movie stars to sell products, with the celebrity getting a percentage of sales, has arrived in the film capital of Bombay, or Bollywood, as it is nicknamed.
Although India produces about 800 movies a year, making it one of the world's largest film industries, using stars to sell products is fairly new.
Hrithik Roshan, star of this year's runaway hit ``Kaho Na Piyar Hain'' (``Say it's Love''), has signed contracts that allow his name and image to appear on a variety of products in return for a share - 15 percent - of the revenue.
``The scale of merchandising of Hrithik Roshan will be matching the image of a megastar,'' said Jayanti Lal Gada, director and chairman of the Popular Entertainment Network, which sells the rights of Indian films to TV and video companies.
``Merchandising is a new concept,'' Gada said after the signing of deals for Hrithik Roshan video games and perfume. The first contract to market pens was signed earlier this year.
Next on the list: Hrithik toys.
``Of course, we are trying to market some of the top-branded consumer durable items utilizing the skyrocketing popularity of Hrithik Roshan,'' he said. ``This is not simply getting endorsements. It is, rather, launching consumer brands in the name of the star.''
Film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Zeenat have allowed their names to be used on perfumes in fixed-price deals, with no reported share of profits.
Lata Mangeshkar, a popular Indian singer, is reported to have signed a deal last October for 10 percent of the sales of her Lata perfume, as well as upfront money, according to The Financial Express newspaper.
Roshan's contract with PEN to launch a series of products for which he receives a percentage of the sales revenue is closer to the American system of star merchandising.
The deal depends on accurate accounting of revenues for Roshan to get his fair share. Because this system is new in India, it was only possible because of Gada's friendship with the star's father, producer Rakesh Roshan.
Gada estimated the sale of the pens would total about $1.1 million over a five-month period. The perfume and video games are being launched during the main Hindu festival of Diwali, when gifts are exchanged.
``This is the first time that an Indian film star is being marketed properly, and according to his popularity and mass appeal, which could easily be termed in the market as Hrithik mania,'' Gada said.
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Bollywood magic in Southeast Asia
Bangkok, Oct 13 - Late evening at a roadside restaurant in interior Laos, a crowd sits transfixed in front of the television screen, watching a movie in a language strange to this part of the world.
Though none of the songs and dialogues are comprehensible to them, the audience seems to be enjoying every minute of the action which ranges from wild, gyrating dances to impossible fights and stunts. Well, that's Bollywood magic in Southeast Asia for you!
Decades after they made their first appearance in Southeast Asia the popularity of Hindi films and songs from the Indian film industry still endures, commanding loyal audiences from Laos, Cambodia and Thailand to Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar.
Simplistic in their themes and melodramatic most of the time, Hindi films nevertheless remain probably the last Indian cultural influence in this region which derives a lot of its language, religion and traditions from the subcontinent. Indian mariners and traders who came to Southeast Asia nearly 2,000 years ago are said to have brought Buddhism and also profoundly influenced language, scripts and social practices in the area.
The two great cultural influences in this region for centuries have been India and China. While China gave the region its material habits such as cuisine, crafts and work ethics, it was India that provided the spiritual traditions of religion, art and entertainment. The popularity of Hindi films in the region is simply an expression of the affinities people experience with Indian culture.
"Whenever I feel depressed, I watch a Hindi movie to cheer me up," says Somchintana, a lecturer at Bangkok's Thammasat University and a long time fan of Hindi cinema.
Many from the older generation in the region prefer Bollywood films for their social themes and family melodramas which are considered a "less corrupting" influence than Hollywood movies filled with sex and violence. Several Hindi stars such as Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini have their own following among old-time movie fans. In Laos the locals even have their special name for Amitabh Bachchan who is known as the "long one"!
In many ways the films have done for India's popularity in this region what diplomacy can barely hope to achieve. "The popularity of Hindi movies helps us immensely in getting along with local people," says an Indian businessman in Indonesia.
Videotapes of major Bollywood box-office hits sell in outlets throughout the region with distributors in Thailand and Myanmar even dubbing them in local languages. While countries like Malaysia and Indonesia show Hindi films on television networks regularly, less developed countries like Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar screen them in makeshift cinema theatres using ordinary video equipment.
Although Bollywood movies are pure entertainment rather than mirrors of Indian culture, they still reflect social values that find an echo in most Southeast Asian countries. The virtue of strong family ties, loyalty to friends, marital fidelity and the fight against social injustice are common themes in most Hindi films. Another reason for their popularity movies are the songs and dance sequences.
In Thailand Indian movies with religious themes, in particular, have proved to be very popular. One film that, video retailers claim, has been a big hit with Thai audiences is `Jai Santoshi Maa' which tells the tale of an Indian goddess reputed to bring material prosperity to the devout.
During the eighties Hindi films saw a temporary dip in popularity especially among the younger generation of movie-goers in rapidly modernizing countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, who preferred films from Hollywood and Hong Kong. Apart from a drop in the quality of Hindi films themselves, their diminishing audience was also a reflection of changing social values within Southeast Asia.
In the late 1990s there is evidence that the "updating" of Hindi films, with more Western pop-style music, slick cinematography and more liberal societal attitudes, has helped revive their popularity. The advent of satellite television, showing Hindi movies and film programs aimed primarily at South Asia but also available in Southeast Asia, is another big factor for the revival of interest in Hindi films.
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Indian film bags Green Oscar
The film Shores of Silence- Whale Sharks in India by renowned wildlife
filmmaker Mike Pandey has won the top award for environmental films on
television at the Wildscreen 2000 festival, also known as the Green
Oscars, in Bristol. The film was chosen out of 47 international
entries in the British city. This is the second time that a film by
Mike Pandey has won the Green Oscar at the Wildscreen International
Film Festival for Environment and Conservation. The Last Migration-
Wild Elephant Capture in Sarguja had become the first Asian film to
win the Wildscreen Panda (Green Oscar) in 1994. That film had gone on
to win five other international awards. Shores of Silence- Whale
Sharks in India, the first Indian film to focus on a large marine
species, is a hard-hitting account of the slaughter and trade of whale
sharks on the western coast of India. One of the 47 films selected of
a total 424 international entries, it was made under difficult
conditions and took almost three years to complete. The film was
produced, directed and filmed by Mike Pandey of Riverbank Studios,
assisted by his core crew Rita Banerji and Shibani Chaudhary and
backed by veteran technicians Lalman and Rajinder Pratap. The film is
supported by the Earth Matters Foundation, which has begun an
awareness campaign to save the whale shark, which is the largest fish
on Earth. Two other films by Mike Pandey- Honey Hunters of the Blue
Mountains and The Living Fossil- were also shown at Wildscreen 2000.
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Hot babe Shilpa Shetty finds a new admirer
While the gallent Yuvraj was thrashing the Australians in the
quarter-finals of the ICC Knockout cricket tournament in Nairobi, an
elderly man tucked in the press-box of the Nairobi Gymkhana was
thinking not-quite cricket. Here was the former English cricketer
Geoffrey Boycott sitting in front of the confession box and speaking
his heart out. This time, his heart lay mysteriously in Bollywood.
Steadfast by the 'aila' girl. Never known to mince his words, this
notorious Yorkshire man (he had violent rows with his past
girlfriends) said he was flattered by Shilpa's vital statistics. Even
Ashwariya Rai fell short of his adoration. The reason- "Shilpa is
stronger."
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J.P.Dutta's Next :Choodiyan
After tackling twice the issue of India-Pakistan relations in "Border"
and "Refugee", JP Dutta has slated as his next film the romantic
epic "Choodiyan". Its original cast comprised Sanjay Dutt and
Raveena Tandon. Precursng date problems have led him to
replace them with Bobby Deol and Karishma Kapoor. One more
heroine is yet to be finalised. All auguries point to Manisha Koirala
winning the choice role. Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar have been
signed for the musical credits. It is described as an old fashioned
love story. Take that to mean what you will.
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Jyothika- Honey I shrunk the Canadian
Jyothika is certainly going places. Not literally, but is definitely drawing foreign crowds to India. Slated to star in an Indo-American venture titled 'Little John,' this one also stars Canadian star Bentley Mitchum along with South star Jyothika. A great plot that will bring to fore the best of Indian culture in a kitschy collage of temples and mystic powers and other such abracadabra stuff, this one appears to be aimed at a purely western audience. To be directed by another well-known filmmaker down South, Singeetham Sreenivasa Rao, the film will also involve a whole lot of SFX, simply because during the course of the film, John, (Mitchum) turns into a six-inch pygmy, finding his way around women's saree pallus. As far as Jyothika goes, this is another feather in her cap, or should we say a maple leaf! Way to go, babe!
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Lisa Ray: Her eyes came from
Her cat eyes have held many in splendour. And yet, those catty eyes contain a strange kinda mystique. Filmfare Online decided to investigate and finally found where those eyes, those sexy eyes, actually come from. Well, well, with a couple of female cats and we mean the four legged, furry variety lazing around at her colourful apartment in downtown Bandra, Lisa could not help but see the resemblance between her eyes and that of her Siamese cat's Pinky. "Porky has dark eyes, " she said referring to the other Siamese cat. And with three pairs of cat eyes gazing at us, in gentle wonder, we could only let down our guard and warm up to them, Lisa included.
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