Avan makes her debut with Dil Chahta Hai
Releasing on August 10, Dil Chahta Hai, seems to have become the hottest ensemble churned out by the film industry. Apart from the enviable star cast, the film is also in news for the professionalism and meticulousness with which it's been executed, like a bound script before the shooting, a single shooting schedule, experts that have worked in every department, basically all the elements that have eluded the Bollywood production teams.
One of the aspects that stands out is the new look all the stars of the film are sporting. One has heard of stylists being employed for the sets and the look of the film and big money being spent on the publicity campaigns but Farhan Akhtar's film is the first where a stylist was employed to give all the lead actors, character actors and even the extras a "look" in sync with the film and the characters they portray. The fabulous Job has been done by 27-year-old, Mumbai based Stylist, Avan Contracter. The look is a Rage and so is Avan Contractor. Young, beautiful and talented, Avan makes her debut as a stylist in Dil Chahta Hai, a fact hard to digest considering the amazing job that she's done.
Avan trained as a stylist from Schnell Hans in Mumbai. She did a brief stint as a Assistant director in the production house Script Shop under Adi Poocha. She also trained for a while in London from Vidal Sassoon. But Dil Chahta Hai happened to her only after she joined Juice, a salon in Mumbai run by Farhan Akhtar's wife Adhuna. The rest is history. Avan says that initially she had thought that she would just be doing the look of the stars but didn't expect her job to be such a detailed one. Calling her one and a half year long association with the film "interesting", Avan hopes that this starts a trend in the industry, to sync the look of the actors with the characters they play onscreen, a practice that is routine in Hollywood. Applauding Farhan's commitment, the young stylist said that she had long sessions discussing the script and the costumes of the film to facilitate her in zeroing in on the right look, that would complement each actor.
Actors' co-operation and the fact that the film was shot in a single schedule was a bonus. Avan claims that the professionalism of the team was a tremendous help. Avan Contracter hasn't been offered any other projects as yet but looking at the way the whole nation has gone crazy about the Dil Chahta Hai look, Avan seems set for the big league.
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Lajja brings Madhuri and Manisha together
There are many similarities between them, they are gorgeous and are both Subhash Ghai prodigies but till now they have never worked in a film together. Madhuri Dixit and Manisha Koirala will be seen on screen together for the first time in Raj Kumar Santoshi's Lajja and for fans of the two actresses, Lajja will be a must see.
The promos have been causing excitement amongst moviegoers even though Madhuri Dixit and Manisha Koirala have been a part of the film world for over a decade now. No filmmaker could ever bring the two together until Raj Kumar Santoshi signed the two for his magnum opus Lajja, which has five heroines. Even though there were fears that the two would not be able to work with each other due to their age-old rivalry, the result is for all to see on screen. "Madhuri, is a thorough professional I must say. She is beautiful and dances well, she acts well and the most important thing is that she is down to earth. Everybody goes through highs and lows and ups and downs and No.1's and No.10's and No.100's but what is really important is to be grounded", expressed, Manisha Koirala.
There was a time when the Nepali beauty was called Madhuri's successor by the media and when films like 1942 A Love Story and Bombay pushed Manisha up the popularity charts, there was a fallout between the two actresses. With Manisha lambasting Madhuri in her interviews, for many year's the two were not even on talking terms but a more mature Manisha does admit today that the rivalry and the bad blood was uncalled for. "What happens is you tend to kind of get swayed with what other person is saying and what print has written. You don't really get to know the real picture. So you react to things that you hear. Well it happened but I am glad that everything is sorted out, I am glad that I worked with her and we both like each other", remarked, Manisha.
Rivalry between two actors or actresses is not a new thing in Bollywood. Whether it was the the cold vibes between Jaya Pradha and Sridevi or the media war between Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor, actresses have warred with each other in the past, but the coming together of two of Bollywood's most talented actresses in a film can only mean good things for cinema lovers.
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Robbed’ Aamir breathes fire on piracy
: His biceps bulging through his grey polo-neck, Aamir Khan — the plain-speaking, righteous leading man of Bollywood — is hot under the collar. He is not faking it, this time.
Much as he tried to, the actor-producer could not stop pirates from grabbing Lagaan from him. Before the blockbuster was released, it was all over the place.
“We did not succeed in controlling the piracy of Lagaan. We tried our level best, but achieved little success,” Khan said today at a Confederation of Indian Industry’s two-day discussions on the entertainment industry, dubbed EnterMedia 2001.
Khan could hardly bear seeing the time, effort and money he had invested in the film go down the drain. “When you are about to release your work, somebody comes, grabs and sells it. It’s robbery. Thieves grabbed the benefits,” he said.
The actor said law enforcement agencies “should take very serious note of” film piracy, one of the major challenges confronting Hindi filmdom. The Film Federation of India estimates Bollywood loses Rs 1 crore a day because of pirated films.
At the discussion on “Cinemascope: Future Opportunities”,’ speakers including Khan, Shyam Benegal, Karan Johar and Javed Akhtar expressed concern over film piracy. They called for a tightening of the law and a continuing police crackdown to check the menace.
Khan, speaking as much for himself and as for the industry, said piracy was robbing investors of their expected returns. “It’s also very disappointing for the actors and actresses,” he said.
What upset Khan, the producer, most is that he would never know how well Lagaan had done at the box office. “The box office collection is the indicator of how a film has fared. But once it gets pirated, you never know how many people have watched it because there is no box office collection.”
Khan said he had tried hard to stop Lagaan’s piracy, but the effort did not pay off. “I had approached the Union home and information and broadcasting ministries. I had also talked to the commissioners of police in different cities and asked them to help.”
Law enforcers had tried to stop the Lagaan piracy, but had little success. “Once a pirated film is out, it is impossible to control it,” Khan said.
The actor suggested a “cure” for the malady: Attack the source of piracy. “Pirates make copies from one or two of the 300 original prints. If you can block it, there will be no piracy,” he explained.
The question is how, said Biren Ghose, chief executive of UTV Interactive, who moderated the discussion. “We need to launch a major campaign against piracy to create awareness. We also need to find other ways to deal with it.”
However, piracy is not the only thing that makes Khan see red. He is, also, furious with the blackmarketing of tickets. He squarely laid the blame on movie-theatre owners, especially in Mumbai.
Khan said the owners block 90 per cent of the tickets and sell them in black market, depriving investors who put in their money in making of the film. “This is what I hate about the film industry.”
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Aamir on Dil Chahta Hai
Son of film producer Tahir Hussain, Aamir Khan did a three-year stint as an assistant to his uncle Nassir Hussain during the making of Manzil Manzi and Zabardast. In 1988, the super success of his film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak catapulted him to stardom. He has been recasting himself and now his latest release Lagaan has been a blockbuster and has topped all charts. He is all set for his next release Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai.
Aamir, it must have been a hectic month for you from one studio to another and one interview to another. The Lagaan craze is still in the air and now Dil Chahta Hai is ready for release.
Yes, it has been quite hectic but I am happy with the kind of response Lagaan has got. It has been very exciting. Now I am looking forward to the reaction to Dil Chahta Hai.
How has the last month been for you? You must have been running around seeing that piracy is controlled and monitoring the collection as you are also the producer of the film. Then this being followed by Dil Chahta Hai's publicity, so have you had time to sit back and say that the film has been successful?
No, I have not had the time to actually sit back and relax and enjoy the success. Not yet.
Coming to Dil Chahta Hai now, Do you think that your look in the film is completely different compared to Lagaan. In Lagaan the audience sees a rural Aamir and now they will see a completely urban Aamir.
Yes, I think that will be really interesting for the audience. It was really interesting for me as an actor because Lagaan's shooting got over in June, 2000 and three months after that I started shooting for Dil Chahta Hai. The shooting carried on from August to January. So from a story about a village to a story about a total modern society is quite a jump for me.
What is the secret behind this new look, the new haircut and all?
There is no secret. This is a kind of character that I am playing.
Aamir, you are one of the actors' who reads the complete script before saying yes to a film and Farhan is a debutant director so how did he approach you? What was your initial reaction? Were you vary that he was Javed Akhtar's son?
Well, Ashish my manager told me about Farhan Akhtar. I was at a stage when I was not hearing scripts because I was very busy in my work. I have to be in the right frame of my mind when I am listening to a story but strangely enough the next day I don't know what clicked in my mind and I told Ashish to tell Farhan that I want to hear the story. Something in the back of my mind said I want to hear the story. Ashish was very surprised because I have never done that before. So I heard the story and I really liked it. I was very surprised by the script. It was very fresh.
The approach was fresh?
The approach was very fresh towards the writing, the dialogue, the way the characters had come about and the way the relationships were portrayed. I was quite taken aback when I read the script.
So he never used Javed saahabs connection?
No, he didn't even mention Javed saahab.
Now that the film is made and everything is on screen, you must have seen parts of it dubbing, so are you satisfied with your performance and the way the film has turned out?
I think Farhan is very talented. He has done a very good job. This is his first film as a director and I think he has done tremendous work. The kind of performance he has got from everybody and the way he has handled the entire crew is amazing. He has a particular taste and a particular style of doing things, which he has maintained very smoothly throughout the film and I think that is very commendable. He has shouldered the responsibility very well and very comfortably.
So where to now Aamir? Which way are you going now that you are saying that you will do one film at a time?
Well after a few months I am going to start listening to a lot of scripts and I am going to be reading a lot of material. I am looking forward to seeing scripts, which my production house can now make.
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Bombay cinemas on strike
Single-screen cinema halls in the Indian city of Bombay have gone on strike against the Maharashtra state government's new entertainment tax policy.
Nearly 70 cinema halls shut on Thursday because new rules give a three-year tax exemption to existing and new multiplex cinemas, while single-screen theatres continue to pay a hefty 60% tax.
The General Secretary of the Theatre Owners Association and Cinematograph Exhibitors Association of India, Nester D'Souza, told the BBC that single-screen theatre owners were annoyed at the government's discriminatory approach.
He said in a market-driven economy, the multiplexes would have a definite advantage because of the tax exemption given to them.
Heavy losses
Mr D'Souza pointed out that this would allow the multiplexes to offer better rates to film distributors, and to buy the marketing rights for the latest releases.
He said that single-screen theatres would be forced to run less successful B-grade films at a heavy loss.
Today's token protest is expected to cost the screen owners nearly six million rupees ($127,000).
But Mr D'Souza says the move was necessary to get the government's attention.
The theatre owners are expecting to meet the chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh, to discuss the issue.
They went on a similar strike about five years ago to protest against a hefty entertainment tax of 176%.
At that time, they remained shut for almost a month until the government relented.
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Movie Review : Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat
Trimurti Films P. Ltd.'s PYAAR ISHQ AUR MOHABBAT, directed by Rajiv Rai, is, to an extent, inspired by the Cameron Diaz-Matt Dillon-Ben Stiller starrer THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.
Yash Sabharwal (Sunil Shetty), a billionaire, is smitten by the lovely Isha Nair (Kirti Reddy), a medical student. Yash gives her a scholarship for further studies in Scotland.
In Scotland, Taj Bharadwaj (Aftab Shivdasani) falls head-over-heels for Isha. Taj is a perfect gentleman; always ready to lend his shoulder to a damsel in distress. But there's a problem, Isha treats him as a mere friend. Nothing more!
Enters Gaurav (Arjun Rampal), a model, who enjoys playing the most dangerous game of all, the game of love. He has an ability to cast a spell on any woman. He takes on the challenge to win and then break a girl's heart. The girl? Isha.
What happens next?
Going by his track record, Rajiv Rai's name has been associated with some of the most entertaining flicks, but he seems to be off target this time with PYAAR ISHQ AUR MOHABBAT. For, the film, a love story, neither strikes a chord, nor does it have moments that are etched on your mind or that can be cherished.
The basic premise, three guys falling head-over-heels for one girl, is interesting, but the film stands on two shaky pillars-a loose screenplay and mediocre music.
Actually, the film goes topsy-turvy in the initial reels itself, when Sunil Shetty offers Arjun Rampal Rs. 10 crores to woo Kirti Reddy on his behalf. Though well treated, it is too frivolous a thought for the common man to equate.
The film has its share of engaging moments in the first half. One such sequence is when Kirti plants a kiss on Arjun's lips on his birthday. But sequences like these are far too less to elevate the proceedings. Unfortunately, the second half does precious little to help enhance the state of affairs.
Director Rajiv Rai tries hard to justify all the three love stories, but the outcome gets tedious and confusing at times. Moreover, the climax is an absolute letdown. It is palatable till Dalip Tahil confronts Arjun Rampal and humiliates him in front of the august gathering, but the way the three love stories are culminated in the end appears slapdash.
Directorally, the film lacks the fizz associated with Rajiv Rai's flicks. The film has a rich look throughout, but no soul to captivate the audience. As a writer, he is not in his element either. The love story has too many holes and is far from convincing towards the latter reels. In a nutshell, it appears that the film is targeted at the NRI audience mainly!
Another drawback of the film is its music. The Rajiv Rai-Viju Shah combo had come up with numbers that stayed with you even after the show ended. Not this time! Barring the title track, the music is just about okay.
Cinematography is breath-takingly beautiful and the locales of Scotland and Swizerland are well canned.
PYAAR ISHQ AUR MOHABBAT is a showcase for Arjun Rampal to exhibit his talent. The guy looks dashing and emotes with utmost sincerity. He's handled the emotional moments with maturity, which is so rare for a first-timer. A confident debut!
Sunil Shetty is subdued, while Aftab Shivdasani has an edge thanks to his lovable characterisation. He is natural. Kirti Reddy looks nice, but comes across more as a mannequin. As far as acting is concerned, she's yet to learn the skill.
Monica Bedi impresses. Isha Koppikar's characterisation is half-baked. Harish Patel and Dalip Tahil stand out in the horde of character artistes.
On the whole, PYAAR ISHQ AUR MOHABBAT is too weak a film to leave any impression whatsoever. Disappointing.
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Sanjay Dutt's Marriage on the Rocks
Sanjay Dutt's marriage is on the rocks, with wife Rhea Pillai Dutt walking out of the Dutt household. This is the fourth woman to walk out of his life. Sanjay had lost out on his first steady, actress Tina Munim (now Mrs. Anil Ambani) due to his drug addiction after an eight-year long courtship. He went on to marry his second steady girlfriend, the late actress Richa Sharma, but this relationship was also troubled, with Sanjay opting to be in Madhuri Dixit's company, rather than being by his wife's side when she had contracted cancer. Ironically, Madhuri, for whom Sanjay had abandoned Richa, jettisoned him after his involvement in the Bombay bomb blasts case.
Later, while serving his term as an undertrial in the bomb blasts case, Sanjay came close to Rhea, who would often visit him in jail. Cupid struck and they fell in love with one another. But it was only after marriage that Rhea realized how wrong she was about her choice as life partner as Sanjay went back to his philandering ways.
Sanjay has reportedly been involved with many of his co-stars, including Sushmita Sen and Preity Zinta. In fact, it was his rendezvous with Sushmita in London, when he was caught smooching her by a journalist that made Rhea pull him up. Sanjay on his return told Rhea that nothing of the sort had happened and it was a case of yellow journalism. But when Rhea caught him red handed cozying up to Preity Zinta, she could not take it any longer and decided to call off their marriage.
This time the split seems final, but Sanjay does not seem to be too bothered as there is reportedly a new woman in his life: a half Indian-half Pakistani married woman with a four-year old child. Sanjay is evidently "madly in love with her" and is not bothered at all that his marriage is on the rocks.
Apart from his flings, Rhea is also disgusted by her husband's addiction to drinks and drugs. In fact, it was as a result of all this tension that she opted to become a disciple of Sri Sri Ravi Shanker of the 'Art of Living' fame.
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Movie Review:Tum Bin
Tum Bin
Starring: Introducing Rakesh, Himanshu, Priyanshu and Sandali
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Music: Nikhil-Vinay
Lyrics: Faaiz Anwar & T. S. Jarnail
Singers: Anuradha Paudwal, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Abhijeet, Jagjit Singh, Chitra, Taz & S. Shailaja
The directorial debut of Anubhav Sinha is the love story. Unlike other love stories Tum Bin is not the love story of 2 boys and 1 girl but rather it is the love story between 3 boys and 1 girl and that too very well made.
I will not ruin your thrill of movie by telling the story but will just give you my view about the movie.
In the movie Piya is Sandali and Amar is Rakesh and ofcourse the best Shekharis Priyanshu and last but the least is Abhigyaan is Himanshu.
The movie has all the new comers and yet it is too good. All the new comers have done the best and director Anubhav has been successful in getting best out of them. Of all newcomers, Priyanshu is the best.
He has done fairly well and looks comfortable in front of the camera. He also looks very handsome and smart. With little more fine-tuning in dance and dialogue delivery, his career definetly looks bright. Rakesh is likeable in the short role of Amar, and has done well. Himanshu is not so good in the movie. Sandali in the role of Piya charms you by her innocence and cute face.
As a first time director, Anubhav Sinha has managed to extract decent performances from the newcomers. He knows his work and makes the story look convincing. In times of no good movie..this movie is not a big hit kind of movie but it is alteast better and worht seeing if you like watching love stories. The sensitivity in the movie is handled very well. At times the film even makes you cry.
The music of the film is the highlight. Nikhil-Vinay’s composition, 'Chhoti Chhoti Raatein', is tenderly fashioned, Nikhil-Vinay’s second composition for the album, 'Tumhare Siva', is also a gem. Sung by Udit Narayan and Anuradha Paudwal. Another number 'Meri Duniya Mein' is also good. The title track, 'Tum Bin', is also too good. Overall, the music album is definitely worth listening to,
Camerawork is good and foreign locales (of Canada)are excellent. A time-pass fare.
Rating: Fair
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