Amitabh has a big spat with Jaya: Imposes his will..
It was a typical family gathering at any funeral. Amitabh was present with Jaya and their sons Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) and Raj (Hrithik Roshan) accompanied by Kareena and Kajol.
There is a soft melancholy tune playing, lending the right notes to the somber occasion. The preparations are nearly over and the pyre is to be lighted.
Amitabh calls upon Raj, the younger son to don the mantle. But the mother she is, Jaya, cannot bear the injustice. She insists that as the eldest son, Rahul is the one who should have the privilege of lighting the pyre.
The spat becomes an angry one. The typical male ego refuses to see reason and Amitabh finally has his way. Raj lights the pyre.
Who has passed away? Why is Rahul denied his natural right? Why does Amitabh come to such a strange decision? Why does Jaya fight back and ultimately give in?
Wait for all this as we keep you updated on Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham only at IndiaFM. This shot was canned last week somewhere in the Film City sets. Last month, a family song was shot on Amitabh, Jaya, their sons and their lady loves. A giant set of typical fair, the village mela, is ready. We will have a peep in that sometime this week.
Top
Shah Rukh in hot water over film dialogue
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has come under flak for his derogatory remarks about the world heritage sites of Ajanta and Ellora caves in the film One 2 ka 4.
Umesh Jadhav, joint secretary of the Aurangabad travel guides welfare association (ATGWA), told a media conference that Shah Rukh Khan's dialogues, in that film, could seriously affect tourism in the region.
In the film, when a child suggests a trip to the Ajanta and Ellora caves, Shah Rukh dismissively says, 'Ajanta aur Ellora bekar hai, wahan sirf tooti phooti building hain aur poora khandar hain'.
ATGWA members, up in arms over what they see as a slur on a prime tourist attraction, said that the dialogues were "an attack on our legacy, our bread and butter, and our national pride."
''This attitude stinks of the Taliban culture'' the association members said.
The ATGWA members have warned that if, within eight days, the offensive dialogues are not deleted from the film, they will file a petition in the High Court. Letters of protest have meanwhile been handed over to the Divisional Commissioner, Collector, Commissioner of Police, Department of Tourism and MTDC.
The association members complained, in passing, that there was no proper security at the site and therefore there was the risk that persons harbouring destructive tendencies, exacerbated by Shah Rukh's words, could damage the sites.
The ATGWA members also criticised the official brochure of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) for incorrectly stating that the caves are closed to the public on national holidays. This has meant that tourists who would otherwise have taken advantage of the holidays to visit the caves have tended to stay away, they pointed out.
Top
Miss World stars with Mr.India
Miss World, Priyanka Chopra has been signed opposite Anil Kapoor. The film that goes by the name of Hum Bhi Khush Tum Bhi Khush will be directed by Satish Kaushik and produced by Ripples Entertainment. Vikram Razdan, CEO, Ripples Entertainment said that this would be the first film Priyanka will shoot for. Priyanka has also signed films opposite Sunny Deol and Govinda. So watch out for her!
Top
Meghna Gulzar: No longer papa's little girl
To be born the daughter of the illustrious poet-filmmaker Gulzar and the hauntingly beautiful actress Raakhee is a mixed blessing for Meghna Gulzar.
The talented young woman who is readying her first directorial venture "Fil-Haal," says doors do open for her when her parents' names are mentioned but she is no longer papa's little girl.
In fact the gifted young director is not afraid of being compared with her father. "I'm prepared for the comparisons. I know if 'Fil-Haal' does well people will turn around and say 'her father directed it.' But I won't let such comparisons affect my work," Meghna told IANS.
"In reality, his only contribution to my film are the lyrics that he has written," she said. She, however, hastens to add that in "Fil-Haal" she has in no way emulated her father's style or themes. "I'm sure I've been influenced by him since my personality has been shaped by my father," she said.
Though at the moment Meghna isn't willing to reveal too many details about the plot she lets out that "Fil-Haal" is the story of two women, played by Tabu and Sushmita Sen, and the events in their lives that cause agony and ecstasy.
Tabu has almost being an in-house actress for the Gulzars. She considers Gulzar her "adopted" father and has given award-winning performances in his films -- "Maachis" and "Hu Tu Tu." She was also the first one to be signed for Meghna's "Fil-Haal."
The debutante director is all praise for the former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen who was selected for the other pivotal part. "When I met Sushmita I instinctively knew she was right for the part of the extrovert protagonist. I knew she would carry off the role brilliantly. And she did," she said.
Finance was easy too. Producer Jhamu Sughand -- who has backed several notable projects in recent times including "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam," "1947-Earth" and the forthcoming Aamir Khan production "Lagaan" -- agreed almost immediately to work with Meghna.
Like several women directors in India, Meghna had a tough time casting male actors in her first film. "Every leading actor presumed I was making a feminist female-oriented film. For a female director it's always an uphill task to cast the male characters," she said.
Meghna finally settled for the young model-turned-actor Sanjay Suri, who plays Raveena Tandon's brother-in-law in Kalpana Lajmi's "Daman," and singer Palash Sen. "I'm very happy with all the performances and with the way 'Fil-Haal' has shaped up," said Meghna. "But I'm not fully satisfied and thank god for that. Complete satisfaction is akin to complacency."
Meghna is the first of the crop of second-generation directors who are readying their films this year. Coming up next are Ramesh Behl's son Goldie Behl's "Bas Itna Saa Khwab Hai" starring Abhishek Bachchan-Sushmita Sen-Rani Mukherjee and Ramesh Sippy's son "Rohan Sippy" with "Kuch Na Kaho" with Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai.
Top
Movie Review : Rahul
My mother was a wicked woman. She did not love me."
This is how little Rahul (Master Yash Pathak) knows his mother. His father, Akash (Jatin Grewal), told him and he believed it. She left him and his father immediately after Rahul's birth and he never found out why. All he knew was that she was wicked enough to have left them and that she was a taboo topic at home.
Rahul and his father Akash lived, cooked, sang, exercised, fought, laughed and cried together. Their's was a complete family, a place where two men (and Rahul was definitely a man at 5) led a life of complete harmony. Rahul could toast bread for his father, lay the table and even polish his shoes on his own.
Every morning he saw his father off to work at the bus depot, for Akash ran a travel agency by himself, and then walked off to school. He had Jumbo and a 9-year-old Isha (Tanvi Hegde) for friends, while his drawing kept him company at other times. Isha amazed him with her 'magic' and Rahul was slave to her every idea, every piece of advice Isha had in store for him. His world didn't seem to need a mother.
And then, one sunny afternoon in church, he discovered that his mother wasn't the wicked one he had imagined at all. In fact, she seemed to remember him every day of those five years and continues to love him dearly. Ever since he finds this out from John (Gulshan Grover), a local grocery man, Rahul has a plan to meet his mother, Meera (Neha).
When he does, he discovers that she indeed loves him and is overwhelmed to have him back. Yet, she never wants to meet his father ever again. Reconciliation between them seems unfeasible.
Meanwhile, Akash decides to marry winsome Sheela (Rajeshwari Sachdev), while Meera is being wooed by the gentle Naveen (Mahesh Thakur). A double marriage seems to be on the cards and every attempt of Rahul and Isha to thwart these inevitabilities proves unsuccessful.
On Rahul's fifth birthday, his mother plans to file for custody, while his father plans to get married to counter the lawsuit. Who will Rahul opt for?
This is the adult world of dilemmas, anger, betrayal, hurt and humiliation that Rahul has to deal with and he has no clue how to go about it. All he knows is that he loves both his parents equally and wants nothing more than having them together again.
The story of RAHUL reminds you of two movies that tackled a similar theme MASOOM and AKELE HUM AKELE TUM. The dilemma of a child, who sees his parents at loggerheads, have been witnessed earlier, but this time the parents are divorced and are all set to enter into a new relationship.
There are certain things that need to be kept in mind when you attempt a film of this genre:-
* One, the narrative has to be rich in emotions;
* Two, the length of the film has to be concise;
* Three, the separation of the parents and the anguish of the child has to be handled with sensitivity.
The problem here is that the film holds your attention in parts. A few emotional scenes are well canned (Rahul and Neha having the first eye contact can be singled out!), but the drama does not make you emotional after the show has ended. And that's purely because what could've been conveyed in 13 reels has been stretched to 17 reels.
Director Prakash Jha seems influenced by MASOOM and AKELE HUM AKELE TUM. The scenes between the father and child bear resemblance to the latter, while the banter between Rahul and another kid, Isha, is similar to what was depicted in MASOOM.
As a director, Jha has been successful in extracting a wonderful performance from the child artiste, but the screenplay has some loose ends. Even the climax is long-drawn-out and tends to get too melodramatic.
The main flaw of the script is that the ground for separation of the parents is too flimsy. Moreover, the father is always shown badmouthing the mother in front of the kid, which does not give a pleasant feeling at all. It makes the hero's character negative, when it is not meant to be.
Anu Malik's music is easy on the ears, but the placement of songs is improper. The songs sound melodious on hearing, but should've been placed appropriately. At least one number can easily be deleted to make the goings-on crisper 'Souten'.
The pick of the lot is 'Ae Kaash Aisa Hota' (sung brilliantly by Ustad Sultan Khan) and 'Chhed Na Mujhko'. Cinematography (Arvind K.) is fair. Dialogues (Farhan) are well worded.
If RAHUL belongs to anyone, it's to the 5-year-old child artiste, Yash Pathak. The gamut of emotions displayed by the kid astonishes you. Natural and spontaneous, the kid is simply adorable and a delight to watch.
New-find Jatin Grewal is absolutely wooden. He maintains one expression throughout and fails to register any kind of an impact. However, the newcomer has screen presence and looks handsome throughout. Neha is just about okay, displaying a spark only towards the climax.
Gulshan Grover gives a good account of himself. Rajeshwari Sachdev gives the right expressions. Mahesh Thakur has no role to talk of. Tanvi Hegde (as Isha) delivers a spirited performance.
Top
Jingle all the way!
In the era of star sons, the newest kid to hit tinsel town is none other than 'Jumping Jack' Jeetendra’s son Tusshar Kapoor. Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai marks his lavish debut -- lavish, chiefly because it is produced by Vashu ‘Midas’ Bhagnani, directed by Satish Kaushik and co-stars the natural scene stealer Kareena Kapoor.
Grand music for a grand debut? Not really!
Against the trend of soundtracks of movies introducing newcomers having a fresh feel to them, MKKH offers nothing novel.
Anu Malik composes some regular fare to Sameer's lyrics, concocted with the usual dils, jigars, piyas and jiyas.
The first track is the peppy, foot-tapping Maine koyi jadoo. Spiced with funky beats and the saucy vocals of Babul Supriyo, Preeti and Pinky (of Piya piya from Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega fame), this one is poised to be a sure hit at the countdown charts.
Jabse Dekha hai has Babul Supriyo and Alka Yagnik proclaiming their love for each other. A mediocre track with an impressive chorus. Another version, which features Yagnik alone, sounds much better than the duet.
Catch King of pop, Sonu Nigam in superb form with Rabba mera rabba. His brilliant rendition infused with his trademark energy makes this racy, punch-packed track with awesome acoustics worth its while.
Surprisingly the title song fails to make any impression at all. Even the talented K.K attempts fail to lift this highly insipid number from the ordinary.
Remember Anuradha Sriram sensually crooning Tarra ra from Gharwali Baharwali? Well, she's back, oozing oomph through her husky voice in Duppata. A catchy track jammed with innuendoes.
K.K's Pyar re fits in the same mould as Lucky Ali's Ek pal ka jeena (Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai). Whether or not it will recreate the same magic for Tusshar remains to be seen.
Looks like the makers weren't too happy with the original title song, therefore Guncha Hai Gul Hai. A modified title song from Sonu Nigam. Ho-hum!
MKKH doesn’t quite live up to expectations. Which is a shame, taking into account that its music director Anu Malik was recently honoured with the prestigious National award.
A big-budgeted film like this certainly deserved a better deal.
Top
Hrithik's Ram to AB's Dashrath
Sanjay Khan is seriously planning on directing a film.
The subject? Well in keeping with his penchant for directing historicals. Sanjay Khan is said to be concentrating on producing and directing a mythological film.
This comes from the actor-director's belief that mythologicals will succeed. Therefore, he is hard at work on his film which will be based on the Ramayana.
If all goes well (negotiations are still on even as this snippet goes on the Net!), none other than Amitabh Bachchan will be play the central character of Raja Dashrath.
As for who will play Ram, no points for guessing.
Why, son-in-law Hrithik Roshan himself!
Top
Jackie doesn't have a clue!
Jackie has signed up a lot of flicks lately in which he plays the bad guy. On being asked how this transformation to a bad guy occurred he said, "I'm shocked myself. I never planned it this way. I wish I had. But I have never planned anything in my career. By chance, 1999 was my year of B graders. 2000 and 2001 are my years of villainy. I don't know what the hell is happening!" Jackie ended his statement with a hearty laugh. Besides his talent, his devil may care attitude has endeared him to so many of his fans.
Top
|