Check out Salman Khan’s beefed up, bronzed look in the movie ‘Veer’

Few years ago, Shah Rukh Khan played the role of Veer in Yash Chopra’s love story Veer-Zaara. Now Salman Khan is all set to star in an action film titled Veer.

The story of this film (directed by Anil Sharma) has been written by Salman himself and while we did show you some pics of the actor in his new look for Veer earlier, this picture gives you a clearer idea of what to expect from this flick. 

Salman, who is always known for experimenting with his looks, is seen in a beefed up, bronzed look with unusually long hair. The actor is seen wearing a fur jacket and an ethnic neckpiece and kada (bangle) Also from the looks of it, Salman seems to be playing a warrior of another era given the fact that he is seen holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.

In the recent past, Abhishek Bachchan tried the ‘superhero meets warrior’ look in Drona but unfortunately the film sank without a trace. Will Sallu bhai be able to pull of this warrior act in Veer, one will have to wait and watch.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi- First Look

RGV announces the mammoth starcast of his next directorial venture – Rann

Now that you all know RGV is getting busier with his next big release Rann – A News Story…what’s new huh? I’ll tell you. Remember RGV saying that Rann will be a high voltage drama and then the speculation about the starcast in the biggie? So if Aamir Khan decided to unveil the first look of his film Ghajini on Diwali day, RGV has decided to unveil the principal starcast of Rann after the D-day and their character sketches.

Harshvardhan Malik

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan

The founder of the first ever private news channel in the country INDIA 24/7, the Harvard-educated Harshvardhan Malik is India’s most respected media personality. He is a hardcore upholder of journalistic ethics. No wonder his Channel is battling for survival! 

 

Jay Malik 

Cast: Sudeep

A go-getter and highly aggressive and ambitious son of Harshvardhan Malik, Jay looks at his feather’s news channel purely as a business enterprise that must make profits to justify its existence. He hates that his competition is doing better than him. 

Purab Shastri
Cast: Riteish Deshmukh

Armed with a degree in journalism, Purab Shastri truly believes that the media should be the check point for the people of a country, and therefore, it should report news, instead of manufacturing news. Purab’s thinking sets him apart from most youngsters of this country. While everyone is chasing their individual dreams, Purab aggressively wants to work towards a better India. Needless to say, a clash between Purab and the powers-that-be looks inevitable. It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong! 

Mohan Pandey
Cast: Paresh Rawal 

It is every politician’s dream to become the Prime Minister of his country. To that extent, the leader of the opposition Mohan Pandey is no different from his contemporaries. The only difference being – if the need arises, Pandey can and will kill to get the coveted chair. 

Amrish Kakkar
Cast: Mohnish Behl 

Amrish Kakkar was the first to have the VISION and the foresight to realize that even the business of delivering NEWS can be made ENTERTAINING. Amrish therefore can be safely held singularly responsible for taking the television news industry to the dogs, or to the heights, depending on how you see it. His channel is no less than a shady brothel, the content that is NEWS is no less than a cheap hooker, and Amrish Kakkar – the most powerful pimp around. 

Nalini Kashyap
Cast: Manisha Koirala

Nalini Kashyap is the programming head of Harshvardhan Malik’s news channel, INDIA 24/7. Having been in the industry for long enough, she has developed a practical view of how things operate here. And this comes in direct conflict with what her boss, Harshvardhan Malik, thinks. Juggling the cut-throat world outside with the idealistic universe of her boss, Nalini Kashyap has her job cut out. 

Naveen Shankalya
Cast: Rajat Kapoor

Naveen Shankalya, apart from being the son-in-law of Harshvardhan Malik, is also one of the topmost industrialists of the country. Despite this, he is the most insecure man on earth, and won’t rest till he becomes the number one industrialist in the country. His best buddy Mohan Pandey becoming the Prime Minister of India will surely help his cause. 

Nandita Sharma
Cast: Gul Panag 

The assistant of an ad filmmaker, Nandita Sharma someday hopes to bag an independent feature film. She is in a live-in relationship with her boyfriend Purab. Nandita is smart, educated, and intelligent. She is also highly indifferent to what’s happening in the country, and first thinks about herself and her man, before anything or anybody else. On both counts, she represents the youth of India. 

Yasmin Hussain 
Cast: Raima Sen 

An ex-model, and fiancée of Jay Malik, Yasmin watches TV, reads gossip columns, and for most part, takes everything that is dished out to her, AT FACE VALUE. She does not understand the intricacies of power games, and hidden motivations behind actions of people. The resources at her disposal to know what is true and what is not, are limited. She is not innocent, and she is not clever either. Yasmin therefore epitomizes the ‘common man’. 

Anand Prakash Trivedi 
Cast: Rajpal Yadav 

A creative editor, Anand Prakash Trivedi has a knack for sensationalizing even in the driest story and making it sound like the story of the decade with super catchy headlines. More than any filmmaker, he makes far better movies. Only, he calls them NEWS. 

Well, looking at the starcast of RGV’s Rann, one can say that this in itself is a ‘breaking news’.

Laxman shuts out Australia

 

IN SUMMONING his incredible powers against Australia, V.V..S. Laxman has presented Ricky Ponting’s men with the fight of their lives to avoid a series capitulation in India.

Eight years after he destroyed Australian dreams in Kolkata, Laxman did his utmost to bury them in New Delhi, where Anil Kumble waited until the elegant batsman had raised his double century before declaring the Indian innings at 7-613.

Few batsmen have tormented Australian teams during their era of dominance like Laxman and with his unbeaten 200 at Feroz Shah Kotla, brought up with a lofted on-drive off the bowling of Michael Clarke, he took India closer to weakening Australia’s status as the world’s No. 1 Test nation.

It was the biggest total conceded by Australia since India’s 705 at the SCG in 2004, where Steve Waugh salvaged a draw in his final Test, and it will take a huge effort for Australia to save this match and keep the series alive leading into Nagpur next week and the fourth and final Test.

Openers Matthew Hayden and Simon Katich survived the 15 overs until stumps and will take up the fight today at 0-50. But Indian spinners Kumble and Amit Mishra were already finding plenty in the pitch to keep them interested.

Laxman and Gautam Gambhir reinforced India’s dominance by converting centuries to double hundreds. With a partnership of 278, they subjected Australia’s bowlers to almost a day of thankless toil without a wicket and Gambhir succumbed to exhaustion as much as Shane Watson when he got an inside edge onto his stumps for 206.

Having steered Cameron White through the covers to notch his sixth century against Australia, Laxman accelerated and offered only one chance, an edge that shot through between wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and Hayden at a wide first slip when he was on 134.

His second double hundred against Australia, a classy companion to his famous 281 at Eden Gardens in 2001, took almost eight hours and 301 balls. His only sin was to run down the middle of the pitch, for which he received two warnings from the umpires and was disallowed a run.

Laxman said he was struck by Australia’s defensive approach. “All of them are playing for the first time on Indian wickets and probably they are inexperienced, but their total approach has been defensive right from the start of the series. The way the captain said his team was an underdog for this series, it was already a defensive note,” he said.

“Anil, with all the criticism he is having, is very, very positive in the way he is talking about his team. Ricky is talking about the Indian team rather than his own team. They are very defensive in the way they are approaching their cricket.”

Australian seamer Stuart Clark said it would take a supreme effort from the Australians to claw their way back after Laxman’s performance.

“There will be a mental struggle but I think we are more than capable,” Clark said, who said the bowlers had tried everything to summon reverse swing without much success.

“He (Laxman) is very wristy and he hits balls that are just outside off stump through mid-wicket, but we did plan for that. He was just very good today and he got on top of us. Once the momentum went, it was hard to wrest it back.”

Laxman has saved his most devastating form for the world’s best team since 1998 and has scored more than a third of his 6254 Test runs against Australia. The 33-year-old has an average against Australia 10 points higher than his overall 44.99; it is a remarkable record.

Together, he and Gambhir forced Ponting to use eight bowlers, including a couple of overs of his own medium pace for the first time in more than two years in a Test.

Madhur Bhandarkar drops gay kissing scene from Fashion

Madhur Bhandarkar is known for making hard-hitting and realistic cinema; hence facing controversies around his film’s release is something which is not new to this talented filmmaker. His latest film Fashion starring Priyanka Chopra, Kangna Ranaut and Mugdha Godse in lead roles opened across cinema halls yesterday (Oct 29) and this time too, Madhur had to deal with a fair share of controversies.

Firstly, there were rumors that Kangna’s character in the film has been inspired by noted Delhi based model Geetanjali Nagpal. Then the censor board irked Madhur by giving him an ‘A’ certificate as they felt the film had certain objectionable scenes for kids. 

However, the director could have got himself into more trouble had he included a gay kissing scene in the film. The scene had actors Samir Soni and Anil Kumar share a kiss in a car but Madhur decided to drop the scene at the last minute as he didn’t want any further complications. However, for all of you who indeed want to have a dekko of the same, the director is planning to include it in the DVD of the film. Must say, Madhur has already started promoting the DVD of Fashion in a smart way.

RGV Targets MEDIA this time

After couple of decent HITS this year RGV set his eyes on Media for his next movie.( Thank god not another Mafia Movie). In his own words about the new Movie. Over to u Ramu (RGV)

“I have titled the film I am going to make on the media as रण.

 

रण means battle. And battle is a fight between large organized forces. In the context of a civil society and its deep complexities, large organized forces (read news channels, political parties and industrial czars) are not just involved in a fight with each other, but more importantly and frighteningly, they are battling a war within themselves and this is especially true of news channels.

 

If dog bites man, it is not news. But if man bites dog, it is news. And if a cat bites a dog, it’s Breaking News. Getting news is not the easiest thing in the world, so the next best thing obviously would be to make anything and everything appear to be news.

 

The way the news are presented today are much more entertaining than family soaps and thrillers. What’s worse is that we enjoy this kind presentation so much that we have got addicted to them for our daily dose of fun and drama.

 

AND HIGH DRAMA IS WHAT रण IS GOING TO BE.

There is the government – a system which runs the country, then there are wealth creators like industrialists etc and then there are politicians in the ruling party and the opposition.

 

All the above in a democratic society are supposed to be working for the common people and the one and only means of the common people having any idea as to what those are up to is through the media. Hence the media has been invented as a truth telling machinery serving the purpose of the common people so that they know they are in good hands or in case they are told that they are not, they can hope to exercise the power of their vote to bring about a change.

 

But in a free economy system where there is so much competition the media by default is lost in its purpose.

 

The Media is a reporting agency. It reports News. NEWS is what is new. New is what you hear for the first time. So to be able to be the first to tell you the various Newspapers and Channels have an intense competition among themselves and this they do on a need to survive, on an ego to be on the top and on a greed to get rich.

 

To be ahead of competition means more circulation and higher TRPs which in turn generate more and more Ad revenue which will translate into making more and more and more money.

 

Also the fact that in the process the people who run the media realize their power of influencing the common people inevitably makes them power hungry.

 

To sum up this film’s intention would be to expose the behind-the-scenes truth of how a truth telling machinery by the very virtue of its positioning has no choice but to corrupt itself to become a money-making and power-brokering enterprise.

 

 

Truth is Terrible

                 - Friedrich Neitzsche (Ecce Homo)

Sting Video Chiru

A sting operation showing actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi making some off-the-cuff remarks against politicians in a closed-door meeting set off ripples in his fledgling Praja Rajyam Party on Wednesday.

In a secretly filmed video, whose origin was not known, Chiranjeevi was seen telling a group of young IT professionals that they should be wary of politicians willing to join Praja Rajyam Party.

“The change we want to bring in the system will not be achieved if we open flood gates to politicians. They may be inevitable for the party in some places because of their experience but they don’t bring in freshness,” he told the gathering of his followers in his chambers in the highly-guarded party office here.

The nine-minute video was sent by unidentified persons to local TV channels which aired the footage and was also available on the internet.

It is not clear who is behind the sting operation and what could be the purpose behind it.

The video showed Chiranjeevi in a relaxed mood, exchanging views with a group of his young fans on a wide range of issues including SEZs, political corruption and organisational matters.

Speaking to them informally, he virtually suggested to them to “spy” on the politicians desiring to join the party and wanted politicians to be kept out of the finer details of the new party.

The meeting was said to be aimed at discussing the strategies for building the party organisation.

“We need young people like you who are selfless, dedicated and committed to bring in change in the society. You are my inspiration. You should appear to be closely working with politicians but at the same time keep a tab on them,” Chiranjeevi, was seen telling the gathering.

Golmaal Returns – Review

Two years ago, Rohit Shetty came up with a breezy entertainer GOLMAAL, which, most people agree, is the capable director’s finest work to date. The comic scenes hit the right notes and buttons. Perhaps, that must’ve prompted its producers [Shree Ashtavinayak] and Rohit to continue with the GOLMAAL series.

But GOLMAAL RETURNS treats the viewer like a nitwit, with zero brains. No-brainer laughathons have worked in the past and people have catapulted these films to ‘must watch again and again’ category. But GOLMAAL RETURNS is simply unbearable!
35 years ago, the Kiran Kumar – Radha Saluja comedy AAJ KI TAZAA KHABAR [1973] is the inspiration for GOLMAAL RETURNS. No issues with that, it’s an interesting concept. But screenplay writer Yunus Sajawal makes a mincemeat of the material, so much so that your head starts aching after a point and you want to tear your hair in disgust.
Seriously, what was the writer thinking when he came up with a pathetic screenplay? And how did a talented director like Rohit Shetty agree to ride on it? And how could an accomplished actor like Ajay Devgan green signal this enterprise? Questions, questions, questions…

GOLMAAL RETURNS was never meant to be a thinking man’s film, but the attitude is, no-brainer comedies have worked and this one will work too. To give the credit where it’s due, a few jokes/sequences involving Tusshar and Shreyas do bring a smile on your face, but in the absence of a tight screenplay, the film falls like a pack of cards.

Final word? Golmaal hai bhai script golmaal hai!
Gopal [Ajay Devgan], who lives with his wife Ekta [Kareena Kapoor], sister Esha [Amrita Arora] and brother-in-law Lucky [Tusshar Kapoor], gets stuck in a yacht after saving an attractive woman Meera [Celina Jaitly] from some goons. Both end up spending the night on the yacht and when he comes home the next day, his painfully suspicious wife, who is also a hardcore fan of the saas-bahu serials, smell fish.

Gopal knows it’s going to be hard to quell her suspicion, so he concocts a cock-and-bull story about having stayed the night with a fictitious friend called Anthony Gonsalves. Ekta refuses to buy his yarn and writes to Anthony [on a fictitious address given to her by Gopal], asking him to visit her.

Gopal convinces his junior at work, Laxman [Shreyas Talpade], to pretend to be Anthony. Everything goes according to plan till the real Anthony turns up.

If that isn’t complication enough for Gopal, a dead body is discovered at the location where he had saved Meera. The Investigating Officer, Madhav [Arshad Warsi], who is Esha’s boyfriend and also who cannot stand the sight of Gopal, learns that the latter had been missing from home that eventful night and begins checking on him.

A sequel carries the baggage of humungous expectations. And you definitely expect GOLMAAL RETURNS to be a step forward. The makers had thundered, “GOLMAAL RETURNS is bigger, it’s better” and that raises the bar. But the film is such a put off.
Writer Yunus Sajawal takes an interesting premise, but instead of upgrading it, only downgrades it with lacklustre situations. The writing is so weak, so lifeless that after a point you sit motionless, looking at the goings-on mechanically, instead of being a participant.

A few sequences do entertain you, but they’re few and far between. Not enough to camouflage the defects. In view of the fact that the writing is so weak, there’s not much that director Rohit Shetty can do to save the ship from sinking. However, the dialogues are howlarious. Music is not as inspiring. ‘Tha Karke’ is the best track, while ‘Tu Saala’ [well promoted] isn’t there in the film and ‘Meow’ comes during the end credits. And you’re exasperated by then!

GOLMAAL RETURNS belongs to Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade. Tusshar is terrific yet again, the real scene stealer, while Shreyas displays his comic side very well. Both, in fact, provide respite to the viewer. Ajay Devgan is likable. Kareena does the suspicious wife act well. Celina stays on your mind even after the show is over.

Arshad Warsi is relegated to the backseat. Amrita Arora is strictly okay. Anjana Sukhani gets no scope. Vrajesh Hirjee is alright. Sharat Saxena, Rakhi Vijan, Sanjay Mishra, Murli Sharma, Mukesh Tiwari and Ashwini Kalsekar fill in the blanks.

On the whole, there’s tremendous curiosity to watch GOLMAAL RETURNS and the terrific promotion has only enhanced the excitement. But the film is a major letdown in terms of content. Barring a few jokes and gags, this GOLMAAL pales when compared to its first part. At the box-office, expect a terrific start for the film, but GOLMAAL RETURNS lacks the power to stand on its feet after the initial euphoria settles down.

—————-Taran

Fashion – Review

Are you ready for an expose on the fashion industry? Where designers pass off ‘Indira Market, Bangkok’ stuff as their own creation. Where ad agency/fashion mag honchos call the shots. Wild lifestyles, backstage dramas, wardrobe malfunction, casting couch… ouch, ouch, ouch!

Madhur Bhandarkar, the undisputed king of realistic fares, comes up with yet another hard-hitting film that enlightens you, moves you, motivates and deflates you, even shocks and surprises you and of course, entertains you.
The solid reason why FASHION works is because Madhur brings alive everything you’ve read in newspapers or watched on TV as an outsider, to the big screen. And that works and how!
But let’s not give the subject material all importance, for Madhur’s handling of the subject is exemplary. Madhur dresses up his mannequins well, but most importantly, infuses life in those prime bodies. A number sequences leave you tongue-tied [more on that later].
But there’s a hitch. And this problem tones down the impact considerably. The running tine of almost 2.40 hours makes you restless, especially the penultimate 25-odd minutes. Yet, all said and done, FASHION has all it takes to be the showstopper this Diwali! FASHION tells the story of a small-town girl with a dream and the determination to make it a reality. Meghna [Priyanka Chopra] is ambitious, she wants to attain the status of a supermodel. She realises her dreams and rises to walk the ramps for leading designers across India.
But Meghna has to pay the price for her fame and her journey to the top. Her career starts sliding downwards. In this journey of Meghna, she encounters a number of people. Most importantly, Shonali [Kangna Ranaut] and Janet [Mugdha Godse]. Also, Abhijit Sareen [Arbaaz Khan], a tycoon who controls the fashion industry.

CHANDNI BAR, PAGE 3, SATTA, CORPORATE, TRAFFIC SIGNAL — every Madhur Bhandarkar film has a new story to tell and he tells it most convincingly. In fact, Madhur strikes a fine balance between realism and entertainment in every film. Given the fact that FASHION is all about the fashion industry, the narrative is inevitably filled with lots of glam-n-glitz moments. The fashion shows, the stunning models, the superb styling, the vibrant colours and the behind the scenes drama is worth every penny spent on the ticket.

But it’s not just ramp shows and style-n-fashion here. There’s a story running concurrently — of three models. One, the rise of an unknown into a supermodel. Two, the fall of a supermodel to dust. Three, the ambitious model not achieving success, but opting for a marriage of convenience.

While Madhur has handled the theme as if he were an insider, this review would be incomplete if you ignore two major sequences that are simply outstanding. One, Kangna’s wardrobe malfunction and two, when Priyanka exposes Arbaaz to his wife [Suchitra Pillai].
Mahesh Limaye’s cinematography captures every aspect of the fashion industry to the fullest. The screenplay [Madhur Bhandarkar, Anuradha Tiwari, Ajay Monga] is perfect, except for the penultimate portions. Niranjan Iyengar’s dialogues are fantastic. Nitin Chandrakant Desai’s production design is truly upmarket. The costumes and styling are top notch, a feast for the eyes. Salim-Sulaiman’s music is well synchronised as well. ‘Mar Jaava’ and ‘Jalwa’ are lilting creations.

Madhur places immense trust on Priyanka and she is remarkable all through, more towards the second hour. Post AITRAAZ, FASHION is another medal that shines the brightest when you look at her body of work. But the real star is Kangna. Her role may not be as lengthy as that of Priyanka, but the actress pitches in an awesome performance. Her confidence at the very start is infectious and her overall performance deserves an ovation.

Mugdha Godse is, again, supremely confident. She has dum. Arbaaz Khan is first-rate. Arjan Bajwa does well. Harsh Chhaya, the gay designer, stands out with a realistic performance. Ashwin Mushran, Priyanka’s confidante, is top notch. Samir Soni is good. Suchitra Pillai and Kittu Gidwani are effectual. Raj Babbar and Kiran Juneja are seasoned in such roles.

On the whole, FASHION has tremendous curiosity value and also shock value for the Indian audiences. Its subject — the behind the scenes working and drama of the fashion industry — is its USP. At the box-office, the pre-release hype and buzz will ensure a successful run for the film. Its business at multiplexes mainly should be bountiful. However, trimming the film will only help; not only will it enhance the film, but also its business. Must watch!

——- Taran

Dostana Promos