Over the weekend in Chennai, Jackie Chan made a hurricane visit, waved at thousands of fans, attended the music release of Kamal Haasan’s movie, Dasavatharam and left.

The whole exercise lasted for a mere 24 hours. And guess what his biggest blunder was? “I forgot to promote my own film, Forbidden Kingdom, which is releasing in India this week. For the first time, I will be coming on the screen with another of my favourite action hero, Jet Li,” said Jackie. We also asked him what he thought of Mallika Sherawat.

“Oh she’s a darling; I would love to do another film with her. And I’m sure the feeling is mutual,” he laughs. Here’s to their mutual admiration society, then! Read More ...

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) recently announced the awards in the Technical category.

And no prizes for guessing the winners as it were the regular suspects who walked home with the prestigious honors. The winners included superhit like Chak De India (five awards) and Om Shanti Om (four awards). While Chak De India bagged the awards in Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound Recording, Best Sound Re-recording, Best Screenplay (shared it with Life in a Metro), Om Shanti Om got it for Best Art Direction, Best Special Effects, Best Costume designing and Best Makeup.

The choreography award has gone to Vaibhavi Merchant for Aaja, while Javed Sheikh & Ejaz Sheikh won the best action award for the movie Shootout at Lokhandwala.

The Award for Best Sound Recording went to H. Sridhar for Guru, while A. R. Rahman won the Idea IIFA Award for Best Background Score for the movie Guru. Imtiaz Ali won the IIFA for Best Dialogue for Jab We Met.

The prestigious IIFA awards are to be held Bangkok, from June 6 -8 ‘08.

Earlier this week, Nokia in association with Big Music came up with an innovative way to promote the music of director Tanvir Ahmed's forthcoming film Ada-a way of life. The film's music has been composed by music maestro A.R. Rahman and die-hard Rahman fans not just have a chance to enjoy his music but also play around with it.

Yes, you heard it right for the first time ever Nokia along with Big Music and A.R. Rahman gives listeners a chance to remix two tracks from this film. The winner of this contest (who will be chosen by the music legend himself) gets a chance to spend one day with him and remix two of the songs of Ada in Rahman's studio.
Producer-director Tanvir Ahmed, who seemed pretty excited by this unique concept, "Big Music has the music rights of my film Ada-a way of life. Rahman has composed some wonderful tunes and through Nokia's newly launched Xpress Music mixer application, listeners have a chance to remix two of Rahman's songs from the soundtrack of the film. It's a very unique and innovative concept"

We also decided to get some more details on the film and its cast, "Ada- a way of life is a film which has many different layers. It's a love story with a social, spiritual, family and crime angle to it. The cast comprises of debutant actor Ayaan Ahmed and Nauheed Cyrusi who play the romantic lead. Apart from them we have Rahul Roy and Ayesha Jhulka who play the role of the parents and there is also Saurabh Dubey who plays the antagonist," said Tanvir

We also quizzed the director on the status of the film. "Well the film is complete, the post-production is currently going on now. As for the music, we had a formal launch at the Nokia event yesterday but the music should be in stores by May 6. The film would release after two months." Said the director
Director Tanvir Ahmed's plans of making a film titled Ada which was to star Big B and Dilip Kumar in the year 2001. So we decided to get the facts straight from the director if this is the same project or a different one considering the title is one and the same, "Yes I had decided to make a film called Ada long time back We had decided to make it on a grand scale with some big names and Rahman had composed the music for us after Lagaan. Mr. Jhamu Sugandh was supposed to produce the film but things didn't work out and the project didn't take off due to certain reasons. Now my film Ada- a way of life only has the same title but it is a completely fresh and different story which is more relevant in today's times. However since Rahman had made 10 tracks for us which were nice romantic numbers I decided to retain them in this film."

Incidentally, debutant Ayaan Ahmed happens to be director Tanvir Ahmed's son, so is this, like a launch for him, "Nothing of that sort. It's just that I was finding a new hero for this fresh love story and he suited the character aptly. He has been able to carry off the role well and I am happy," signs off Tanvir Ahmed. Read More ...

While in 2007, YRF's tally of flops outweighed that of hits, their first release this year has failed to charm critics and the audience response to Tashan has not been too heartening.

Though heavy on formula and style, the film starring the reigning star of the box-office, Akshay Kumar, and media's favourite star couple, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, has no story to tell. Seems that writer-director Vijay Krishna Acharya was so busy packaging egos that he forgot what he wanted to say in Tashan.

The fact that Tashan did not release in several multiplexes due to a long-standing tiff with cinema hall owners over sharing of revenues has been a major dampener. The country's top production house has been trying to get multiplex owners to agree on a new revenue sharing formula.

Their offer of keeping 55 per cent of the box-office collections in the first week was rejected by exhibitors.

According to news reports, the first day's collection of Tashan, which opened only in single-screen theatres on Friday, stood at 70 per cent to 80 per cent in Mumbai. Given that the film has not met expectations of both critics as well as audiences, the collections are likely to dip in the days ahead.

Its releasing in single-screen theatres is economically less profitable as fewer number of shows can be screened each day and the cost of tickets is much lower than in multiplexes.

Trade weekly said the film had a 70 per cent start, but there were reports of business sliding downwards as day progressed. The reports are negative and the biggie is not likely to sustain in the days to come, according to trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

For YRF, the third highest spender in Bollywood at the moment after Reliance Entertainment and Indian Films, the fate of Tashan will serve as a cautioner.

The illustrious production house will be pumping in Rs 3.5 billion over the next 15 months into the industry and cannot afford to leave their audiences feeling unsatisfied.

Reliance Entertainment and Indian Films, which will be investing Rs 5 billion and Rs 4.4 billion in the industry over the next year-and-a-half respectively, are the biggest moneybags of the industry at the moment. But among the seasoned banners, it is YRF that leads the pack. They have both the talents as well as enjoy faith of the audiences.

The Rs 120 billion strong Mumbai-based Hindi film industry is inundated with public and private investment. Entry of corporate bigwigs has shaken up traditional production houses.

This year, YRF, is releasing as many as five films across genres - thriller, comedy, romance and animation, starring some of the top actors and directors. Though the number is small in comparison to other banners, the banner is not known to churn out so many in a single year.

Known as the czars of Bollywood, YRF have been going through a bad patch ever since the average performance of Ta Ra Rum Pum and debacle of mega-starrer Jhoom Barabar Jhoom last year.

Though they tried to do things differently by taking up women-oriented scripts, they could not make things work in other releases of last year Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Aaja Nach Le. The only saving grace was Chak De! India.

The lesson that content is king is still to get embedded in the core of filmmaking in India. But with production houses like UTV Motion Pictures planning to roll out 18-20 films this year and the Indian Film Company readying 12-13 films, it is a lesson that needs to be internalised at the earliest.

UTV, Indian Films and YRF will produce some of the most awaited releases of the year like Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi starring Shah Rukh Khan, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra's Dilli 6, Akshay Kumar starrer Singh is Kinng, which is being directed by Anees Bazmee, and Ghajini, which has Aamir Khan in the main lead.

The gargantuan night of glamour took place at the Excel Docklands in London last Saturday. The night when the stars dropped from their limos in their most attention-getting outfits, tasteful or not, (we all know there is no such thing as bad publicity). I often snickered at the flattering costumes. I often groaned as the stars prattled on endlessly during their thank you speeches. I cringed in anticipation of the musical acts - will they be impressive or a snooze? But love it or hate it, like thousands of other Indians, I was glued to my seat that night watching the Zee Cine Awards 2008...live!

So as most of the public was eagerly awaiting the arrival of their favourite Bollywood star inside the arena, I was impatiently waiting for them to first arrive on the mere 5 meter red carpet kept only to make us media feel that it was a grand red-carpet event. The few first ones to arrive were designer Manish Malhotra & model Nina Manuel who respectively played hosts on the red carpet for channel ETC and Zee After Hours. Come 6.30 pm, BMW's, Mercedes, Bentley's, Chryslers piled up one behind the other to bring in some of Bollywood's well-known faces. Like the lovey-dovey couple Saif Ali Khan who looked like a true Nawab in his white blazer with yellow embroidered collar on his blue jean along with his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor wearing a dark brown dress and looking quite tanned (they've just popped in to London from their vacation in Maldives). The entire Kapoor family walked the red carpet from Randhir, Rishi, Neetu and Chimpoo Kapoor to Ranbir Kapoor in a trademark London style outfit wearing a pink jumper on his black suit. Also hand in hand walked the hot contender honewali Kapoor bahu Deepika Padukone in her beautiful long black outfit. Neil Nitin Mukesh who was accompanied by his father Nitin Mukesh and his mother looked desperate to win an award...and why not? Karishma Kapoor walked in with her Polo obsessed husband Sanjay Kapur, and when asked him whether he has any plans to make it even bigger in Bollywood by showing his acting skills, he said "Yes" and after a long pause uttered "No". So what exactly is your answer Mr. Kapur?

But before the Kapoor brigade, Lara Dutta graced the red carpet in her blue dress and soon followed her ex boyfriend Kelly Dorje in a rather strange looking outfit along with...hold your breath...three stunning ladies. As for Kelly, all we can say is - teen tigda...kaam bigda. The Jaanbaaz jodi of dad Feroz Khan and son Fardeen Khan attended, then the lonely looking Riteish Deshmukh in his grey suit and blue shirt walked all alone by himself. Mrs. Gauri Khan in her olive green outfit was seen on the red carpet without hubby SRK who already escaped the media through the backstage. It was a white day where many of the celebs wore white - Upen Patel, Dia Mirza, Simi Garewal and Raima Sen. Of course, Abbas Mustan were the only ones missing, which reminds me that when Sajid Khan asked Fardeen Khan why does he feel that the director duo wear white always, he replied - 'I think because they must be a fan of Simi Garewal'. Ha!

The beautiful, the ever-so-charming, the crowning glory and the saagar jaisi aankhon wali Dimple Kapadia along with her daughter Rinke Khanna and designer Abu Jani. Dimple made all heads turn in envy when she walked the red carpet in her exquisite and delicate red and golden kurti. Veteran actors Shammi Kapoor Saab, Prem Chopra Saab and Rakesh Roshan too made their presence felt at the Zee awards. But the last to arrive after all the celebs had taken their seats was none other than music maestro A.R. Rahman. He was late and I wanted to know the reason why, to which he gave me the most clichéd answer of all - 'There is lot of traffic in London'. Agreed Sir!

So as the red carpet looked deserted outside, the show looked packed inside. From Saif Ali Khan to Katrina Kaif, from ace choreographer Ganesh Hegde to British Asian singer Jay Sean, all showcased their acts with thunderous applause. But the show stealer was Shah Rukh Khan who received the maximum, not only by his Om Shanti Om performance right at the end of the show but just by the cameras showing his face on the giant screens kept for the public. Can you believe it? It was funny man Vinay Pathak who received the maximum as well. How? Read on...He came up to receive his award for the best comedian but as the crowd in London hardly know him and his popularity in India, the arena went a bit quiet. So Vinay comes up to the microphone and tells the audience that he knows how to get them cheering on for him in three words. The words were - 'I love Shah Rukh Khan'. That's Vinay at his best. The fans seemed like they wanted to tear off the screens and take SRK out of there. He is meant to be the 'King' after all.

11 pm - the awards were given out, the acceptance speeches were delivered and the stars walked out in style after the award functions heading to the grande 'After Party' at the St James Park Hotel near Buckingham Palace hosted by Zee. Zee Haan, aapne theek suna. So while Saif Ali Khan was getting too private in front of the public eye with Kareena in the middle of the road outside the Hotel entrance (no wonder his next film is titled - Roadside Romeo), it was Mr. Rishi Kapoor who was more watched by the public for his disrespectful behavior and using swear words left right and centre towards the security guard only for the reason best known to him. What I did hear from the veteran actor though was that he was complaining about his car not turning up on time to fetch him when he stepped out of the party. What's further more embarrassing is the fact that he was shouting and swearing in front of Neetu Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone and how can we forget...the public too.

While the rest of the fraternity were enjoying their drinks, chicken and dance, the Kapoors left quietly after making a bit of noise.

Karan Johar’s Dostana is already making a lot of noise even before its release. Dostana which is supposed to be a modern version of Yash Johar’s Amitabh Shatrughan starrer Dostana has Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra and John Abraham in the lead. Shilpa Shetty has also been roped in to do a hot item number in the film.

Here are some exclusive images of John Abraham and Shilpa Shetty shooting for the item song in Miami. Read More ...

In November 2006, Dhoom-II from Yash Raj Films got off to a bumper opening. Since then, most films churned out by the banner have been taking a beating at the turnstiles, except for Chak De India, and to some extent, Ta Ra Rum Pum. Most have failed to get even a decent opening.

All that was expected to change with their latest offering, Tashan. An ensemble star-cast which has been making all the right noises, attractive promos and a strong pre-release buzz were all signalling a good start.

However, reports from around the country are pointing towards a discouraging show, say experts. “It’s one of the weakest films coming from them,” says Taran Adarsh, editor, Trade Guide. “The film has got no opening and the feedback from those who have seen the film is very bad.”

If poor reviews and stiff competition from Indian Premier League (IPL) matches weren’t worry enough, the Chopras hit another snag— they have not been able to strike a deal with major multiplexes so far. “There is no compromise so far,” said film expert Vinod Mirani.

The Yash Raj banner, known for making love stories with big star casts, which cater to family audiences, has been experimenting with genres of late. Last year, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Main Daag and Aaja Nachle, all of them toplining some of the biggest names in the country were all given a cold shoulder by critics and audiences alike.

Their first film of 2008, Tashan, an action thriller, is being dubbed a film high on style, but lacking in content by experts.

While Yash Raj refused to comment, Taran Adarsh believes that another failure would dent the company’s image greatly. “You can’t really take the audience for granted,”
he says.

Trade expert Komal Nahata believes that it’s time for a serious rethink at Yash Raj Films. “They need to realise that they need to start giving some importance to quality too. Tashan fails to do that big time.”

"I'm just not stepping out of Mumbai for some time now. That's why I had to say no to the Zee awards. Right now I can't focus on any work that takes me outside Mumbai," Hrithik said.

The award function was held Saturday in London.

Hrithik is at the moment shooting for Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut "Luck By Chance" in Mumbai. The actor has a guest appearance in the film - a commitment he made long ago and is only too happy to fulfil since Zoya is not only a close friend of Farhan's sister but also the first female director Hrithik has worked with.

"We've been shooting nights for the last few days. And I've one full song to do before I am done. That will keep me busy till the end of the week," said Hrithik who acted in Farhan's "Lakshya".

Music rights of Vipul Shah's 'Singh is Kinng' has been sold to Times Music for a whopping Rs 13.5 crore.

The music rights were earlier owned by Indian Films, the worldwide rights holder of 'Singh is Kinng'.

Sources close to the production house said that the sale of music rights of this film is the highest ever in more than a decade. The sales are for a limited period of eight years.

The music industry has been going through a turbulent time and had hit the slumber in revenues. Average music sales were less than Rs three crores and even a much talked-about project like Shahrukh Khan's 'Om Shanti Om' had gone for Rs seven crores.

If the music sale of 'Singh is Kinng' is any indication, then music valuations are back.

"This is a landmark valuation and we are very proud to be associated with the biggest films of 2008--'Singh is Kinng' and 'Ghajini' (starring Aamir Khan)," said Sandeep Bharghava of Indian Films.

Vipul Shah, producer of 'Singh is Kinng' said, "Akshay Kumar has been commanding a huge draw, whether it is the box office, satellite or music. I am not surprised at all as Akshay Kumar is a very dependable superstar and has proved his worth time and again."

Adarsh Gupta of Times Music said "having tasted success in 2007 with 'Welcome', we are now signing on what is believed to be the biggest hit of 2008--'Singh is Kinng'."

While refusing to confirm the acquisition price Times Music COO Adarsh Gupta said, "We have heard the songs of Singh is Kinng and we feel it is Pritam's best work till date. Based on our experience and understanding of the current market dynamics, we believe we are in a position to monetize the music of Singh is Kinng not only in a true conventional way, but also create newer avenue."

"Based on our experience and understanding of the current market dynamics, we believe we are in a position to monetize the music of 'Singh is King' not only in a true conventional way but also create newer avenues," he said.

Meanwhile, according to sources, Indian Films has also sold the Mumbai territory (except Mumbai city) of 'Singh is Kinng' for a whopping Rs 10.6 crores to Raksha Enterprises.

The film starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif is scheduled for release on August 8.

Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya

Producer: Aditya Chopra

Banner: Yash Raj Films

Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor

Rating: ****

With Tashan's release, it seems like Yash Raj Films is beginning to find new ground.

After a string of boos and a Chak De! India in between, Yash Raj Films has dared to make something new and different.

It's just not love sagas and a few songs this time, it's all that and a lot more action and one helluva twisted plot. The film, though with many slips, is thoroughly engaging and entertaining. The vibrancy and spunk keeps it alive and loaded.

Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor) wants to learn English to impress and a call centre executive and diction coach Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan) comes to his rescue. But convincing him to teach Bhaiyyaji was Pooja's (Kareena) job. A smart cookie, she manages well. Learning to fall in love with Pooja was not as difficult as teaching Bhaiyyaji to speak in English, for Jimmy. But where a smart cookie crumbles there lies deception.

What follows is the tale of deception, double crossing and more than one can imagine.

Somewhere caught between is an angry don and a deceived English tutor. Found on the way is Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar) who initially from the tracker and hitman becomes the tracked. Trailing through this is the complete package of love, memories, brilliant songs and heavy duty action.

To start with, the plot is interesting. Though it's a wee bit twisted, it is cleverly scripted. There isn't an overdose of anything and more or less things are to the point making the entire viewing experience fun, just as it is meant to be.

At this point one must commend the dialogue writer for the spunky and zesty dialogues that bring a smile to your face. The lines are not new, but the language is and so is the essence packed in it making it different and in a sense new.

Character development is another area that... s thoroughly laudable. There is great character build up that is relevant and not something that is done on a superficial level. Many might consider it superficial, however if one tries to look beyond the gloss and the glamour that the film offers in abundance, you see the character actually moving ahead with the story and growing stronger indicating change.

However saying it was perfect is unjustified, a lot of unnecessary delving is seen, which if avoided would have resulted in a much more crunchy and powerful film. Also the oration in the end comes across as a sermon, but this once you won't mind.

Filled with tons of colour and gloss the film is a visual treat. Sadly though the sloppy-in-parts editing does nothing to make it anymore rich or crisp. Aki Narula's clothes look fantastic, the textures and colours on display make your jaw drop with awe.

The music is great as well, though the same cannot be said about the choreography except for Dil Dance Maare, which is a rocker. Songs like Falak Tak and Dil Haara have the actors doing the most lifeless steps.

When it comes to acting, the film belongs solely to Akshay Kumar who has taken home the trophy. He is in full form in this film and delivers his best till date. His body language, diction and style is all true to the character. Anil Kapoor too delivers a noteworthy performance. He brings life to the lines and the character, which is hard to imagine someone else play. Kareena Kapoor looks ravishing but that's about it, pouts galore and some action scenes are all she delivers. Saif Ali Khan does well, but sadly the role does no justice to him. His usual magic fails to be seen in this film.

This film has action, drama, romance and helluva lot of comedy, if this ain't a power packed entertainer, it's hard to say what is.

Get out of home and watch it... it's solid entertainment.

The multiplexes have risen against Yash Raj Films yet again. The banner's new release, Tashan, has still not found a multiplex to be released in today. The film will, however, release in single screen theatres.

"We had a meeting with Yash Raj [representatives] yesterday but we could not resolve the problem," Vishal Anand, vice president, Fun Republic theatre, Mumbai, says. "But we hope that we will be amicably resolve this issue soon."

Though the exact details of revenue sharing are not known, multiplexes do not want to bow in front of Yash Raj -- or for that matter, any big production house -- every time their film releases.

Even Anees Bazme's Welcome was not 'welcomed' in multiplexes when it released. The film was screened only the day after, because of the same revenue sharing problem. Other films to get affected were Aamir Khan's [Images] Taare Zameen Par [Images] and Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar. Read More ...

So the great day is finally near.

A new chapter is going to be written in the history of Kollywood and the whole of the Indian film Industry when the music launching function of Kamal Haasan’s next movie takes place.

A whole stadium having the capacity of 5000 people will witness the launch of the music by none other than one of the most popular actor in the world Jackie Chan.

Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan will receive the audio C.D. from Jackie Chan.

The function will be graced by the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu K.Karunanidhi who is chief guest of the programe.

Malayalam Superstars Mammootty , Illayathalapathy Vijay, M.P. and Actress Hema Malini, B-Town heart throb Mallika Sherawat and Kollywood pin up girl Asin, are some of the hot shot celebrities who will be attending the grand event at Nehru indoor Stadium in Chennai.

By what has till now come up in the media about the film, everyone who is keenly waiting the release of this movie knows about the peculiarities that it is going to offer.

Right from the never ever experienced before story of the film and a complex story-telling technique, the ten different roles in a single movie by Kamal Haasan, the substantial use of visual effects and graphics, a perfect replica model of the house of America’s President The White House and even a tsunami recreated in the sets for a particular portion of the ‘Dasavadharam’, the colossal film directed by K.S.Ravikumar and produced by Oscar Ravichandran is going to be a master piece and one gem of a show reel experience for film lovers.

Kamal Haasan himself stating that ‘Dasavadharam’ combines the humor and fun of ‘Michael Madana Kamarana’, the sadness of ‘Mahanadhi’ and the emotions of ‘Thevar Magan’ and ‘Hey Ram’ have increased the curiosity about the films content among the members of the audience.

But for now the wait for this magnum opus film is getting too hard to handle.

Despite her stellar performance in Parineeta, Pradeep Sarkar decided to replace Vidya Balan with Rani Mukerji for his next film, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. Vidya was reportedly hurt about this, but it’s time to make amends now, as Sarkar has cast her once again for his upcoming film with Abhishek Bachchan, to be made under the Yash Raj banner. Abhishek and Vidya previously shared screen space in Guru, but this is the first time they will be seen as a couple. While Abhishek didn’t have any hits besides Guru last year, Vidya became a box office darling with her performances in Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiya.

Now, we just have to wait and see if their much-delayed onscreen pairing actually clicks with audiences.

Big B has had quite an interesting start to the year. Refreshed after celebrating Jaya Bachchan’s 60th birthday in Miami, he’s now busy campaigning for the IIFA awards, which will soon take place in Thailand. Bachchan is a brand ambassador for IIFA, but is especially excited about it this year as Abhishek and Aishwarya have both been nominated for their performances in Guru.

Speaking about Abhi-Ash, the couple will celebrate their first wedding anniversary on April 20. Apparently, they have planned a romantic trip for themselves in Miami. The day will also be special to them for professional reasons. “I give them my love and best wishes for their first anniversary,” says Amitabh. “We will be launching the promos for Sarkar Raaj (starring Abhi-Ash and Big B) on that day in Mumbai. Hopefully, using the wonders of technology, Abhishek and Aishwarya can join us for the press conference from Miami and interact with the media. The video conferencing will be done using Skype.”

Bachchan’s Bhootnath is slated to be released before Sarkar Raaj. The film, which stars Juhi Chawla and a child actor, will also include a cameo by Shah Rukh Khan, Big B’s supposed Bollywood rival. “The comparisons are only in your mind, not in ours” says Amitabh. “The media has created a story, and now you are trying to complete it by asking questions, hoping that somehow, somewhere, either Shah Rukh or I will say ‘yes’ to them. But there is no such thing going on. So, I think the faster you end this story, the better it will be.”