Big B Back with a Bang
few years ago, Amitabh Bachchan had been written off as an ageing, has-been superstar who simply would not face the reality and accept roles more appropriate for his age.
Bachchan's films began to flop -- except maybe for David Dhawan's Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Promoters of a live show concert in the New York area featuring Bachchan faced tough competition when another event with younger Bollywood stars, including Akshay Kumar, was announced for the same weekend.
Then last year, director Aditya Chopra's Mohabattein was released and at the same time STAR TV signed Bachchan for Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of the hit international game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Suddenly Bachchan fans began to appear out of nowhere, including here in North America, even though KBC is not broadcast in the United States and Canada (the show is available on videocassettes in North America).
Last weekend Bachchan's re-discovered star power was amply evident in desi movie theatres across North America as fans came in large numbers to see his new film -- director Suneel Dharshan's Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love.
Although not a monstrous hit like Mohabattein, Ek Rishtaa had a very respectable opening -- its weekend gross was approximately $210,000. The film was released in North America by Tips Music on 24 screens.
Last month Tips also released Albela with Govinda and Aishwarya Rai.
As is becoming common practice for some Bollywood producers, on Monday the official DVD of Ek Rishtaa was released. But the film's distributor is not worried about its theatrical run.
"There are a lot of people who want to see the film on the large screen," Pranav Shah of Tips Music said. "The film is doing really well. It has Amitabh Bachchan on almost every frame."
In Fremont, CA Shiraz Jivani's Naz 8 multiplex had Ek Rishtaa playing simultaneously on six screens on Friday. And on Saturday and Sunday there were ten shows each, with four screens dedicated to Ek Rishtaa.
"Amitabh Bachchan is the big draw," Jivani said. "Also it is a family story and the word is that you can take the children to see the film."
Jivani expects 10,000 people to see Ek Rishtaa in its first-week run at Naz 8. This number is impressive considering that 17,000 people saw Mohabattein in its first week, but that film was produced under producer/director Yash Chopra's banner and ended up grossing approximately $2 million in North America.
In comparison, Ek Rishta's director, Suneel Darshan, does not have a strong resume. His first two films -- both action masalas -- Ajay (1996) and Jaanwar (1999) were box-office duds.
The last film to do an impressive business at Naz 8 was in March when 13,000 people turned up in the first week to see director Piyush Dinker Pandya's surprise hit, American Desi.
Ek Rishtaa also performed rather well at the Cine Plaza multiplex in North Bergen, New Jersey. The Friday night show on two screens was sold out, Cine Plaza's Rippy Sethi said. On Saturday and Sunday the film was shown on five screens at the theatre, he added.
"The film has a good look and the promos were very promising," Sethi said.
Next week, on the Memorial Day weekend, Bollywood fans will be treated to director Satish Kaushik's musical comedy Mujjhe Kucch Kehna Hai. The film is being released in North America by Video Sound and stars Karisma's sister Kareena Kapoor and newcomer Tusshar.
MKKH is Kareena's second film and has a historical significance for Bollywood trivia lovers. Thirty-four years ago, Kareena's mother Babita acted in her second film with a new actor. The film was Farz and the actor Jeetendra, who happens to be Tusshar's father.
Incidentally, Tusshar's last name is also Kapoor, but like his father he has decided to use a screen name. And no, Tusshar is not related to Kareena.
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Nandita's Tamil debut a Mani Rathnam film - IANS
MUMBAI: For critically acclaimed Indian film actress Nandita Das, who has
done films in several regional languages including Bengali, Malayalam,
Kannada and Oriya, cinema is a global village.
And it is now time to win over Tamil cine-goers. The big news about
Nandita's Tamil debut is that it's being helmed by one of India's celluloid
geniuses, Mani Rathnam.
According to informed sources, Nandita flew to Chennai from Mumbai, where
she's currently dubbing her lines for Rakesh Mehra's almost-complete Aks,
Tuesday for a hush-hush meeting with Rathnam, and the deal was struck at the
end of the discussion.
Nandita confirmed her presence in Rathnam's low-budget film starring south
India's new heartthrob Madhavan. "That's right, I am doing Mani Rathnam's
new Tamil film. But it isn't the romantic lead. I have a very powerful
character to play, and I'm looking forward to the experience," Nandita told
IANS.
Rathnam, who has worked with Madhavan in his last film the phenomenal hit
Alai Payuthe, maintains there's tremendous untapped talent in north India.
Rathnam earlier cast Tabu and Aishwarya Rai in his political Tamil film
Iruvar, Manisha Koirala in Tamil-Hindi Bombay, and Manisha-Shah Rukh Khan in
Rathnam's first Hindi venture Dil Se.
Rathnam's choice of Nandita is bound to come as a surprise to many. Even as
this enterprising actress garners rave reviews for her portrayal of the
real-life rape victim in Jagmohan Mundhra's Bawandar (which has finally been
cleared by the censors), she's all set to be seen as Sanjay Dutt's wife in
Mahesh Manjrekar's realistic drama Pitah. The role was earmarked for Tabu
who apparently had last-minute misgivings about playing mother to growing
children.
Nandita suffers from no vanity. In her next release, Rakesh Mehra's eagerly
awaited Aks, she plays wife to the megastar Amitabh Bachchan, her senior by
several years.
Determined to take on the Mumbai film industry on her terms, Nandita says,
"Success based on compromise isn't worth having."
Not the least perturbed about her reputation as a "fussy" and "difficult"
actress in Mumbai, Nandita says she would rather be true to her ideals than
walk into dishonest situations.
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Hollywood, Bollywood come together for a cause
In a fund raiser of a different sort, former US president Bill Clinton will
be joined by hollywood as well as bollywood stars for a cause. In a gala
event here next month, they will collect together to raise two million US
dollars for the victims of the Gujarat earthquake.
Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Amisha Patel, Aishwarya Rai,
Urmila Matondkar and Miss World Priyanka Chopra are among those expected to
add glitter to the function along with hollywood icons Stevan Seagal and Uma
Thurman.
The fundraiser to be held on June 12 is organised by the American Indian
Foundation.
Clinton will present mementos to those who contribute 50,000 dollars or
more, Vice Chairman of the event Vikram Chatwal said.
The two-and-a-half-hour show will also feature Pakistani performer Rahat
Fateh Ali Khan and designer Rohit Bal's collection.
"The aim of our organisation is two-fold -- to raise funds directly and to
create awareness about the needs of the country among the people, especially
members of the Indian community across the United States," Executive
Director of the foundation Pradip Kashyap said.
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Rekha-Kundan Get Together - Kya Kehna?
Rekha, who was very impressed with Ram Gopal Verma's Satya, has still to
realise her desire to work with "Ramuji". But till such an opportunity comes
her way, she isn't exactly cooling her heels. She is doing the new film
directed by Kundan Shah who has become hot after Kya Kehna.
The buzz is that Rekha plays the role of Mahima's mother in the film and the
role of Preity Zinta's step mom (yes, the latter seems keen to repeat her
Kya Kehna triumph with Kundan). The film co-stars Arjun Rampal and Jimmy
Shergil. Besides being promising actors, the two young turks are a good bet
if Kundan wants to complete his film fast.
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Rinke Khanna-Antra Mali Join Ramu's Company
For all those who were hesitating to ask Rinke Khanna "kem chhe?" after the
poor showing of Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai, the news is she is doing just
fine. Besides playing a stellar role in the release of the week, the
Tusshar-Kareena love story, Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, Rinke, is also a part of
Ram Gopal Verma's Company, a stark film on the underworld. Rinke plays the
female lead opposite Ajay Devgan.
The film also offers a second chance to Antra Mali, whom Ramu had earlier
cast in his Aftaab-Urmila starrer, Mast. Antra stars opposite the hot,
newcomer Vivek Oberoi.
As long as there is Ramu, there is hope for newcomers and people looking for
a second chance.
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Kajol: Its Not Good Bye Yet!
Ajay Devgan had warned his Tera Mera Saath Rahen director Mahesh Manjrekar
that Mrs Devgan, ie Kajol, wasn't too keen on doing any more films. "Yet, at
the same time, Ajay told me to narrate my subject to her if I wanted to,"
says Mahesh. After Kajol had heard the script, she asked when Mahesh planned
to make it. Unsure if that meant a 'yes', Mahesh tentatively replied,
"Soon," only to have Kajol retort, "Why not now?"
So if all goes well, Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham may not turn out
to be Kajol's last film after all.
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Peeya Basanti Girl To Pair With Uday Chopra
For all those who went boggle-eyed staring at Nauheed, the bright-eyed girl
who acted in the popular Sultan Khan-Chitra music video Peeya basanti re,
the news is that she has been signed by Padam Champion Kumar for his film
Supari. Nauheed (who has done innumerable ads including one for Ayurvedic
Concepts) will replace Rinke Khanna, the first choice for the role. By a
strange coincidence, Rinke's good friend, Uday Chopra will star opposite
Nauheed.
This is the first film Uday, son of Midas man Yash Chopra, has started
post-Mohabbatein - a good six month's after the film's release. Supari, a
film dealing with the underworld, stars Nandita Das and Rahul Dev, too.
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Deeya-Priyanka: Bollywood Spree?
Eavesdrop on the conversation of any filmmaker launching a new movie these
days and chances are that the heroine being discussed is either Miss Asia
Pacific winner, Deeya Mirza, or Miss World Priyanka Chopra. With most
established heroines like Aishwarya Rai and Karisma Kapoor already in the
rather-mature bracket and there being only so many films Kareena can do,
these two newcomers have being making hay with the efficiency of a harvest
combine.
Pretty Priyanka Chopra has already been pencilled in for prestigious
projects like Anil Sharma's The Hero opposite Sunny Deol, Maan Singh Deep's
film with Govinda, a Bobby starrer for Sunny's home production and a film
made by Ripples' Entertainment which will probably be her debut. Besides,
talks are on for a film which will co-star both Bobby and Abhishek. Vikram
Razdan of Ripples points out that these girls are in demand because they are
"petite, pretty and already famous."
Aishwarya lookalike Deeya Mirza (though nothing miffs her more than to be
called that) is also said to be negotiating with a half-a-dozen major
filmmakers, mind-boggling for a newcomer whose first film (Om Jai Jagdish)
has barely begun shooting. Vashu Bhagnani, the producer of Om Jai Jagdish,
has already signed Deeya for his next film too, this time opposite Arjun
Rampal. Vashu raves, "I think ladkee mein kuchh baat hai. Agar who industry
ko samajh ke chale and signs the right films, she will really go far."
2001 is the year when around 25 newcomers, male and female, are slated to
make their debut in major feature films. With several of them already
becoming stars, looks like a wave of Generation X is upon us.
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Singer Asha Bhonsle composes romantic tunes
After years of belting out seductive numbers for Hindi films, popular singer
Asha Bhosle has cut her first romantic album where she has both composed and
sung the songs.
The album by the 68-year-old singer who has lent her voice to over 12,000
songs in a five-decade career, features eight romantic tracks penned by the
late Majrooh Sultanpuri.
The melodious album, Aapki Asha (Your Asha), will also feature a promotional
video where she plays an indulgent aunt who helps bring a love-struck couple
together.
"Tell me if you like my tunes...if you didn't, then don't let me know," the
singer told a glittering lineup of directors, producers and musicians at the
album's launch on Monday.
Promoters Universal Music said they planned a promotional tour called "Asha
2001" where Bhosle would meet fans at music stores across the country.
"We are honoured that her non-film career began with us. We feel she is a
complete singer," Vinay Sapru, vice-president marketing of Universal Music,
told Reuters on Tuesday.
Bhosle's music has spanned the entire musical spectrum from devotional songs
to seductive cabaret numbers in Bollywood films. And her fan following
extends all the way from people aged six to sixty.
Star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who released her album, said he planned to
carry Bhosle's album with him for the coming Zimbabwe cricket matches.
"I listen to songs to pep me up just before the match so that I knock (the
ball) around in the first 15 overs," he said.
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Reveiw of Pyaar Tune Kya kiya
Pyar Tune Kya Kiya
Starring: Urmila Matondkar, Fardeen Khan and Sonali Kulkarni
Music Director: Sandeep Chowta
Director: Rajat Mukherjee
Producer: Ram Gopal Verma
About The Movie:
It is a thriller related to marital problems from the house of Ram Gopal Verma. The movie is not a common love triangle movie but it is about a conflict caused by the presence of the other woman.
Upside of movie: Fardeen Khan is in need of good movie and may be this movie might be it. He has played his role very well and there is no argument about his acting and talents. Urmila, is definitely different from all of her movies. It will not be surprising if she wins the Filmfare award for best actress for her powerful performance. Sonali Kulkarni has also done well.
Thought it is director Rajat Mukherjee’s Debut film, he has done a good job of directing. Also scriptwriters have created good dialogues to create mixed emotions about feeling of love. Music by Sandeep Chowta is another plus point for the movie and Sandeep has done a wonderful job of creating tunes, especially “Kambaht Ishq” sung by Sukhwinder, Sonu Nigam and Asha Bhosle . The title song “Pyar tune kya kiya” by Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik and “Roundhe” by Alisha Chinai are also worth praising. Cinematography by Sanjay Kapoor is excellent. The movie does not drag like the normal Hindi movies with cheap comedies and boring songs. In fact is a good remake of Hollywood movie ”Fatal Attractions”.
The movie is definitely going to draw the crowd. It is different movie from other love stories. It might be the first hit of 2001. Must see movie!
Downside: This film is minus downside. After so long a very good movie has come down.
Rating of Movie: very good (5 of 5)
I am not going to write story and steal your fun of watching the movie: enjoy and let me know your view.
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