Saturday, June 21, 2008
Zayed Khan: Lights, Camera, Action!
After movies like Rocky, Fight Club- Members Only, Speed, Dus and Cash, Zayed Khan is now ready to rock with his next high- voltage action- packed flick, Mission Istanbul. The film was unveiled during the IIFA weekend. Apparently, Zayed was caught in action during a la mode photo shoot for FHM, an international magazine. The dashing actor left no stone unturned in giving his best. His vibrant energy flowed all over the room. When asked about Mission Istanbul, Zayed stated that he absolutely adores his character of a journalist. Inspired by the role, his fascination to be a real- life journalist was clearly visible. “I lack patience” he chuckles, “so I’d rather try my hand at sting operations”.
Surprisingly, this dedicated actor believes in doing his own stunts with calculated risks, and with the director’s approval. “It’s very difficult to play an action character as it requires a flawless, fit muscular body and the life in Mumbai makes the job tougher than ever!” he concludes.
De Taali Will RUN!!
Even though De Taali has taken close to 2 years to reach the finishing line, Riteish Deshmukh is looking at this delay being a blessing in disguise. He feels that instead of releasing last year, it has only benefited De Taali to be arriving in 2008 since the kind of humor is more suited for today's audience than yesterday's.
"By that I don't mean to say that the jokes have become naughtier", warns Riteish who insists that De Taali is a complete family entertainer unlike his previous hits like Kya Kool Hain Hum, Apna Sapna Money Money and Masti which resorted to below the belt humor at quite a few junctures, "It is just that the film has a very urban-n-cheeky humor with focus on one liners."
"Audience has been exposed to world cinema in last few months and the kind of humor De Taali offers is unlike what we have been used to seeing in regular Bollywood comedy films over the years.
Today's audience is far more open to a film like De Taali", reasons Riteish who has seldom seen any of his comedy flicks failing at the box office.
What led to the film's delay in getting completed by the way? There were also quite a few casting hassles when the film went to floors earlier and only Riteish seemed to be the one who was there on board from Day 1 till today.
"Let's not rake up the past", insists Riteish, "What matters is that today Aftab (Shivdasani), Ayesha (Takia), Rimi (Sen) and myself have given De Taali their 100% and made sure that we go by our director E Niwas' vision.
Of course when we got started, we all believed that the film would be wrapped up in quick time. But then a slight glitch here and there and things went a little haywire."
What happened?
"We were all committed to different projects and for us to come back together at the same time was of course challenging", reveals Riteish, "I had to leave for my Cash shoot. Aftab, Ayesha and Rimi got busy, too. One thing led to other but everything happened only for the good in the end."
Talking about the business prospects of the film, Ritiesh makes a wise comment, "It is not just theatrical revenues any more. Market is wide open. You can earn so much more from DVD rights, overseas market, satellite etc.
Today so many different avenues have opened for a film to earn. Recovery is hardly an issue if a film comes with decent merits and when it is an entertainer like De Taali, there is hardly a cause to worry." - Joginder Tuteja
How King became Kinng!
Recently, Akshay Kumar revealed that he saw the phrase 'Sing Is King' at the back of a truck, which is where he got his inspiration for the film's title. "It went brilliantly with the theme of our film, " he revealed.
But how did the 'King' become 'Kinng'? Laughs the man behind Aankhen, Waqt and Namastey London, Vipul Shah, "As a Producer I have my film's interest to caretake. We need success at any cost.
My view has always been that whatever can be done to better the vibes of the film or add to the 'luck' factor should be done. So very simply, the extra N is only to bring it numerologically to an auspicious number."
Commenting on Bollywood's belief in numerology, he adds, "As Indians, don't we do this all the time? Whether it's while buying a car, striking a deal or Grihapravesh, we always look for auspicious dates or lucky charms, don't we? So as a Producer I'm looking for auspicious signs for my film!"
Rani’s hot high-budget item number
Yashraj Films rarely include item numbers in their projects, but it looks like there’s no escaping this Bollywood trend. Aditya Chopra recently made a generous offer to Rani Mukerji, asking her to do an item number for his film Rab Ne Banaya Jodi for a hefty fee. Rani, of course, couldn’t refuse! So, after SRK, Hrithik and Aishwarya, it’s now Rani’s turn to shake things up. Early in her career, Rani had done an item number in the Aamir Khan-Manisha Koirala film Mann.
Her sensational performance had brought her a flood of offers from Bollywood bigwigs. Now, she’s a star. She is, after all, doing an item number; that’s what the stars do these days.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Moview Review: Aamir
AAMIR:
Director : Rajkumar Gupta
Music : Amit Trivedi
Lyrics : Amit
Starring : Rajeev Khandelwal
Everything happens in one day. As the protagonist alights from his flight in India, he is taken for a ride, literally. For the first few minutes, as things happen in a flurry, your heart races anticipating the turn of events. Eventually, you settle to an engrossing fare with an unusual end. The end, as the beginning, raises many questions. About how unsuspecting Muslims are used by those in power to spread terror.
Dr Aamir Ali (Rajeev Khandelwal) is one such unsuspecting Muslim who is dragged to the vortex of terrorism. His only crime; that of being a Muslim. But does he succumb to the terror tactics or does he bow down before God? Does he do what is asked of him, or does he sacrifice his life and is labeled a suicide bomber, for his family to bear the stigma?
This film is for the discerning audience. It raises many questions in the mind of the viewer and leaves many questions unanswered. It's almost as if it's a film for the festival circuit.
Rajeev Khandelwal as one who is caught between the devil and the deep sea is convincing in his performance. Dragged to the by-lanes of Mumbai, inhabited primarily by Muslims, he is given a taste of how his brethren are living. At least that is what is being drilled into his head by the one who is constantly feeding him information on Islam. Forced to follow orders on phone, Aamir is sent from one destination to another as his movements are tracked, until he is to do the final delivery of the red bag at Andheri station.
The truth dawns on Aamir that the bag contains a bomb. What does he do here? Go on... watch this flick.
What is really over-the-top is the precision of the terror network that track him down right from the time he exits the airport. A little hard to digest. Nevertheless an interesting film backed by tight editing, sound background score and a solid performance from Rajeev. This lad from television has a good future on the big screen.
TO GO OR NOT: Not to be missed!
Ratings : 4/5
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