‘That Girl…’ goes to Toronto, Venice film festivals
Indo-Asian News Service Friday, July 30, 2010 (New Delhi)
After bagging critical-appreciation for his co-production Udaan at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival this year, now Anurag Kashyap’s next That Girl in Yellow Boots is going to be screened at the upcoming Venice and Toronto film festivals respectively.
Produced and directed by Kashyap, the thriller will be screened under Out-of-Competition section at the 67th Venice Film Festival to be held Sept 1-11. At the 35th Toronto International film festival, the movie will have its North American premiere under Special Presentations.
Co-written by Kashyap and his girlfriend Kalki Koechlin, it stars Kalki, Naseeruddin Shah, Prashant Prakash, Gulshan Devaiya, Shivkumar Subramaniam, Divya Jagdale, Kumud Mishra and Kartik Krishnan.
That Girl in Yellow Boots is a story tracing Ruth’s (Kalki) search for her father in Mumbai. She struggles to find her independence and space even as she is sucked deeper into the politics of the city’s underbelly only to encounter a devastating truth.
The movie has been co-produced by National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) and Guneet Monga of Sikhya Entertainment is the associate producer.
Source: NDTV
Devgn plays terrorist in ‘Speed’ remake
Indo Asian News Service Friday, July 30, 2010 (Mumbai)
Ajay Devgn has been signed to play a terrorist in Priyadarshan’s yet-untitled film inspired by Jan de Bont’s 1994 thriller Speed. The film will be shot on an actual subway train speeding from London to Glasgow.
The 1994 Hollywood thriller was about a bomb in a bus that would go off if the bus loses its speed.
“But the film is not called Bullet Train, nor is it inspired by that film. I don’t know where this wrong news came from! It’s inspired by Speed. The difference is that we’ve translocated the terror attack from a bus to a train,” says Priyan, as he prepares to shoot this untitled thriller beginning September.
“We’ve got the permission to shoot on a London station and train. It took some efforts, but we did it. I don’t think it would’ve made sense to shoot the film without the actual location and train,” he added.
The most unusual part of the film is the casting. While Manoj Bajpai (a first for Priyan) has been cast in a positive role as the engineer trying to control the train’s speed so that the bomb doesn’t go off, Ajay Devgn plays the ace terrorist.
The last time he was cast in a negative role was in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Khakee.
“I’ve just signed Kangana Ranaut opposite Ajay. I’ve never worked with Kangana before. Tusshar Kapoor and Sameera Reddy have also been cast as terrorists. My other favourite, Suniel Shetty, is also there in a very special role,” Priyan says.
Apparently, Devgn recommended Kangana.
The film is written by Priyadarshan, Robin Bhatt (who also co-wrote Priyan’s soon-to-be-released Aakrosh) and Aditya Dhar.
“I’ve never directed a thriller before. As for Khatta Meetha, it’s already done and out of my system. After 81 films, how can I get excited about a release?,” Priyan says.
Source: NDTV
Aakrosh promos to hit theatres with Once Upon…
Indo Asian News Service Friday, July 30, 2010 (Mumbai)
The promos of Priyadarshan’s new film Aakrosh will hit the theatres along with Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai which released Friday.
Like Once Upon…, Aakrosh also stars Ajay Devgn in the lead. The star cast also includes Akshay Khanna, Bipasha Basu, Raima Sen, Amita Pathak, and Paresh Rawal.
Produced by Kumar Mangat, the film is slated for an Oct 1 release.
Source: NDTV
Will take action if Rahul Mahajan’s wife complains: Minister
Indo-Asian News Service Friday, July 30, 2010 (New Delhi)
Following reports that Dimpy Ganguly has walked out of her four-month-old marriage to Rahul Mahajan alleging domestic violence, Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath on Friday said a panel will look into the matter if the victim lodges a complaint with them.
“I will ask the National Commission for Women (NCW) to look into the matter if she (Dimpy) lodges a formal complaint with us. Domestic violence in no way is acceptable,” Tirath told reporters.
Dimpy married Rahul, son of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, on the Imagine TV reality show Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega in March this year.
“Rahul beat me up early on Thursday morning after waking me up to know the contents of a message that had beeped on my phone. When I asked him to go back to sleep, he flew into a rage and began hitting me. He punched, kicked and dragged me by the hair,” the 22-year-old Kolkata-based model told a TV channel.
Rahul has been accused of domestic violence for the second time. Earlier, his first wife Shweta Singh had accused him of physically abusing her. They separated in 2008.
Source: NDTV
Venus acquires Hindi audio rights of Endhiran
Indo Asian News Service Friday, July 30, 2010 (Mumbai)
Music label Venus has acquired the Hindi audio rights of the eagerly awaited Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai starrer, Endhiran from Sun Pictures, a division of Sun TV Network.
“It can’t get bigger than this! Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai, A.R. Rahman and Shankar (director) will create history with the blockbuster film Endhiran,” Champak Jain of Venus Records & Tapes said in a statement.
“Touted as one of the most expensive films with a heavy dose of special effects, its melodious music and sensational songs will take fans by storm. Venus is synonymous with good music and this prestigious project is a feather in our cap,” he added.
The audio launch of the trilingual science fiction film that is expected to release in the last week of August, will take place Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Oscar winning music maestro A.R. Rahman will give a special performance on the momentous occasion and Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan is expected to attend the function.
Directed by S. Shankar, Endhiran will release in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Source: NDTV
‘Once Upon…’ has ‘Don’-like background score: Milan Luthria
Indo Asian News Service Friday, July 30, 2010 (Mumbai)
Director Milan Luthria left no stone unturned to make his Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai appear like the 1978 Don. While Ajay Devgn’s character in the film has been designed around Big B’s persona, the film’s mood and background score are also in tune with the espionage thriller.
Moreover, One Upon… took its own sweet time to get to the censors as the director was busy trying to get the texture and quality of the background music from Don.
“It wasn’t easy at all. I had a new composer, Sandeep Shirodkar, to do the background score. I wanted the entire smoky atmosphere, the mood of intrigue suspense, tension and romance of the 1970s to come out of the music. My reference point was the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Don,” Luthria says.
The effort to get the right music took much longer than expected. And the film went for censoring much later than Luthria had imagined.
“But the effort was worth it,” says Luthria proudly.
An even prouder moment was when Luthria’s mentor Mahesh Bhatt saw the film Wednesday evening.
Says Luthria: “Mahesh is my boss. When I saw him whistling and cheering my film, I felt I had done my duty.”
With Haji Mastan’s adopted son and three biological daughters trying to prevent the release of the film, producer Ekta Kapoor and director Milan Luthria have quickly followed the court directive and inserted a disclaimer saying the film is a fictionalised biopic of Haji Mastan’s life.
However, the disclaimer is not the ordinary kinds that says – “All the characters of the film are fictional and any resemblance to any person living or dead is coincidental.”
“Our disclaimer says that it has nothing to do with Haji Mastan. We also have to put out a press statement saying that none of us from the film has ever made any statement claiming our film had anything to do with Haji Mastan,” Luthria explains.
But the question is, would the disclaimer pacify Haji Mastan’s family, especially when so many of the incidents in the plot would directly remind them of their family matters?
Source: NDTV
Aamir loses sleep as ‘Peepli Live’ release nears
Indo Asian News Service Friday, July 30, 2010 (Mumbai)
Aamir Khan is known to give his heart and soul to his projects and the superstar admits that he’s extremely nervous as his production venture Peepli Live nears its release date.
“As 13th Aug gets closer, the butterflies in my stomach are really beginning to flutter around. Have lost my appetite and my sleep,” Aamir wrote on his blog.
“I’m really depending on you guys (audiences) this time round for support. This is an especially tough one with no big stars and a film based in a rural background.”
“For those of you living outside India please tell all your friends, neighbours, collegues, gardners etc, who may not have ever seen an Indian film before, to give this one a try. Assuming you like it of course,” he added.
Directed by debutant Anusha Rizvi, Peepli Live is a satire on society. It revolves around two impoverished farmers – Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) – who live in a village called Peepli. They are about to lose their land due to their debts.
An incompetent politician suggests they commit suicide to get government help. The news spreads and the media turns Natha into a celebrity.
Source: NDTV
Ajay Devgn and his new covertible
Mid-Day.com Friday, July 30, 2010 (Mumbai)
Actor Ajay Devgn recently bought a costly convertible,BMW Z4,it’s a car that he is very possessive about and won’t let anyone else drive.
It’s a case of real life imitating reel life. On the eve of his film Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai’s release, Ajay Devgn, who owns a fleet of expensive cars, has bought himself a BMW Z4. Incidentally, his character in the film, Sultan Mirza also loves fast cars.
A source close to the actor reveals, “It is a silver convertible with red interiors. AJ is so possessive about his new car that he drives it around himself, and won’t part with the keys.”
Says Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai director Milan Luthria, “He’s very passionate about his cars. Ajay was one of the first actors to get a silver-grey Honda during Naajayaz. That’s the first film we had worked on together, when I was assisting Bhattsaab. During Kachche Dhaage, he was driving a Landcruiser.
We stopped at a petrol pump while driving out of Mumbai for the shoot. The attendant was so awestruck by Ajay that he put petrol instead of diesel! We had to wait for a mechanic to repair the car but till he came, Ajay refused to leave his car. A crowd of over 50,000 people came to gawk at him but Ajay sat unfazed. That’s how possessive he is about his cars.”
Source: NDTV
Jennifer Lopez to judge American Idol?
Press Trust Of India Friday, July 30, 2010 (Los Angeles)
Popstar Jennifer Lopez has joined the list of probable celebrities to be roped in, for judging talent show American Idol.
According to sources the 41-year-old actress has closed a deal to become a permanent judge on season 10 of the show, People magazine reported.
“It’s true and she’s excited about it,” said an insider.Justin Timberlake, Sir Elton John, Chris Isaak and Harry Connick Jr have earlier been rumoured to become the new judges on the show.
The news comes on the same day that Ellen DeGeneres announced she was quitting from her position as Idol’s newest judge.
According to sources, the If You Had My Love hitmaker’s longtime manager, Benny Medina,orchestrated the deal.
If it comes true, she will join judges Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi on the panel as Simon Cowell also announced his departure from the show earlier this year.
Lopez previously served as a guest mentor to the contestants in 2007.
Source: NDTV
Jennifer Love Hewitt finds new lover
Indo Asian News Service Friday, July 30, 2010 (London)
Hollywood actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, who has been single since April, has now started dating actor-director Alex Beh.
“She’s so into him. It’s relatively new. But they look really cute together,” a source close to Hewitt has been quoted as saying by contactmusic.com.
The 31-year-old Ghost Whisperer actress had split with American actor Jamie Kennedy, 40, in April after dating him for a year.
Now the actress has taken a liking for 27-year-old Beh, with whom she is said to have enjoyed a romantic date at a joint in Los Angeles. A witness says they were not even apprehensive about public display of affection.
“They were holding hands the whole night,” the source added.
Hewitt has earlier dated musician John Mayer, actor Ross McCall and television host Carson Daly and also recently said that she feels great about being in a relationship.
“I feel that as a person, I am better as a couple. But I am learning a lot about myself
Source: NDTV
