Bollywood Paradize

I have no marraige plans with John: Bipasha Basu

Post under Bipasha Basu, Bollywood News

When I meet her for this interview at Yashraj Studios, Bipasha Basu tells me that she is more than happy with the fact that since the time that she had made her debut in Bollywood with Abbas-Mustan's Ajnabee, she has made rapid strides as an actress in the last eight years and carved for herself a niche in the industry.

"It has been a learning process for me from Ajnabee till my latest release- Bachna Ae Haseena. I have learnt everything on the job slowly and steadily unlike then new comers today who come prepared even with their first film."

Bipasha confesses that she has matured with time and become more responsible, as an actress. "I am glad I could live to see a film of mine celebrating its golden jubilee like my second film after Ajnabee- Raaz did.

I am not bragging about it but genuinely I feel sad that today it is not possible for any actor, including John Abraham to celebrate the jubilee of his or her film, since a stage has come when a film has got to recover its cost in the first three days of its release with films having become a big business with the mushrooming of the multiplexes."

Bipasha admits that she enjoyed working with Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna Ae Haseena.

"I had a fabulous time playing the character of the Shiamak Davar dancer Radhika in Bachna Ae Haseena" Bipasha recalls the fact that while doing a dance number for the film, she even had a tear in her meniscus but continued to perform after a physiotherapist was brought to the sets and kept on stand by to attend to her.

According to her, the choreographer Ahmed Khan manipulated the steps in such a way that the weight was there only on the left leg and the best thing was that when she saw the film, it looked like she was not at all in pain when executing her steps.

Bipasha is angry when you ask her how comfortable is it to be pitted with a young guys like Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna Ae Haseena and Neil Mukesh in Freeze, who are younger than her.

"Why is an actress who has not even touched 30 labelled as a senior actress just because she is cast opposite new actors like Ranbir and Neil, who are younger to me just by two to three years?

Aishwarya Rai has married Abhishek Bachchan who is three years younger to her but has it in any way changed their relationship"?

Bipasha feels that it is unfair that there is an anti lobby for a woman when she is cast opposite a younger actor even though she does not sport wrinkles.

"Why is it that no one has any objection when an actor like Nana Patekar or for that matter Anil Kapoor is cast opposite actresses who are half their age? There was no hue and cry raised when Akshay Khanna was teamed in Dil Chahta Hai opposite Dimple who is senior to him by 25 years

. It is indeed high time that women are given a break."

Bipasha feels that she has not been given her due as an actor though she had given an award winning performance in Corporate because of limitations.

"There are many reasons why I am not offered good films. I do not belong to any particular camp like some other actresses. It is well known fact that I have a boy friend who I do not hide in my closet.

All said and done, we should not forget the fact that it is a hero oriented film industry and I cannot ask for more than what I being offered."

Bipasha is now getting opportunities to prove her mettle as an actress. Among the films that she has up her sleeves are Freeze directed by Jehangir Surti and Pankh directed by Sudipto Gupta.

While Freeze in which she has been teamed opposite Neil Mukesh is a romantic thriller, Pankh is a psychological thriller which deals with the psyche of a young boy who has to play a girl child because of his mum's pressure.

I play this interesting imaginary character of a woman who guides him through his turmoil."

Bipasha is frank enough to admit that she could identify a lot with the character of Radhika which she had essayed in Bachna Ae Haseena, because Radhika is a contemporary young independent young woman like Bipasha is.

"Your first love can end in marriage if you are lucky. Also you can fall in love any number of times till you end up meeting your ideal soul mate. It is all a question of your luck."

Bipasha does not mind admitting that love is her top priority in life even though she is a career woman. "What would you do in life if you are busy 24/7 with only your work and have no one to share your life?

However, in case you want to know when I am planning top plunge into marriage with John, let me confess that as of now there are no marriage plans for us though we do not hide the fact that we are seeing each other and are in love.

What I like the best about John and myself is that both of us do not carry the baggage of being stars. We are like-minded soul mates who do not like to hide behind sunglasses."

Aashayein Movie Preview

Post under New Movie, Upcoming Movies

Cast: John Abraham, Sonal Sehgal, Girish Karnad, Farida Jalal
Directed by: Nagesh Kukunoor

Aashayein is the story of an angry, confused, compulsive gambler who discovers new meanings of fortune and life through a dramatic turn of events.

At a party celebrating his big gambling win, Rahul proposes to his girlfriend Nafisa. But within minutes of announcing his engagement to her, Rahul collapses on the floor. Aashayein

After a medical diagnosis, Rahul discovers that he has only a few months left to live. The movie is a moving tale of Rahul's journey from darkness to light. It is a journey about love, hate, life, death and hope.

Sonal Sehgal plays Nafisa, a doting and loving girlfriend who wishes and hopes that love will conquer all her troubles. Other characters touching Rahul's life include Sister Grace (Prateeksha Lonkar), who dedicates her life to the happiness of her patients in the hospice.

There is also Parthasarthy (Girish Karnad), a fun-loving but stubborn character wishing to be reunited with his family, while the intelligent, virtuous and loving Madhu (Farida Jalal) wants to lead a normal life and not be ostracised while in the hospice.

Also present is 10-year-old comic book lover Govinda (Ashwin Chitale), who dreams of everyone's life being just like a comic book.

How Rahul gets influenced by these characters in the hospice and how he makes the most of his limited time is what Aashayein is about. This moving saga is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor of Iqbal (2005) and Bombay to Bangkok (2008) fame.

I will kill Gauri Khan: Vidya Balan

Post under Bollywood News, Gossips, Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan made a shocking statement quite recently. She declared her love for Shah Rukh Khan and even went on to state that for him, she would be even willing to kill Gauri Khan.

However, it is quite obvious that she said so in light humor as all this chit-chat happened on the 'Sajid Superstars' show! We bring some exclusive tidbits on what to expect from the show

- On being asked about her crush, Vidya Balan didn't bat an eyelid as she only mentioned one name - Shah Rukh Khan! When warned by Sajid Khan that Gauri Khan could well be watching the show, she confessed that for getting the man of her dreams, she would even be willing to kill Gauri Khan!

- She did mention her disappointment though for missing out on being even nominated for Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Though she gave her heart, body and soul for the role of a woman possessed and saw some critical and commercial acclaim for the film, she was left perplexed when award functions ignored her completely. In fact one of her scenes from the film even made it to the best scenes selected by Sajid Khan.

- Her worst scene was an embarrassment for her though as a sequence from her tele-serial 'Hum Paanch', which was aired years back on TV. No wonder, she was red faced all through the duration as the scene played.

- There was some more fun in store as she was asked to choose her favorite between designers Manish Malhotra and Aki Narula. For the uninitiated, there is no love lost between Vidya and the two designers, hence the query holds on quite some relevance.

- She also mentioned about how uncomfortable she was about the thought of enacting a love making scene with Sanjay Dutt for Parineeta. In fact a few weeks back, even Sanjay Dutt had mentioned that it was quite strange to shoot for the scene since director Pradeep Sarkar insisted in dozens of retakes before the scene was finally canned!

- However, Vidya admits that Sanjay Dutt made it all comfortable for her and in the end she didn't have any hesitation to continue with the shoot. Just like the major part of the industry which loves Sanju baba, even Vidya couldn't help singing praises for her co-stars whom she truly believes has a heart of gold.

- Sajid however didn't have a heart to listen to what Vidya had to say, especially when she opened her mouth to sing a song. The moment she started singing 'Pal Pal' from Lage Raho Munnabhai, Sajid went off to sleep!

- Things perked up further though when other celebrities started placing their questions to her. One such question came from Ritiesh Deshmukh, her co-star in Heyy Babyy, who asked her to clarify the legend behind her being called 'Nagin Chachi' by quite a few members of the film fraternity. Keep guessing the reason before Vidya spills the beans in the show!

- While she was all fun in making her dancing entry into the show with the song 'Dholna' [Heyy Babyy], things turned a little serious as she was asked to reveal some bitter truths. In a round of controversial questions which followed, she was asked about her role in the Shahid-Kareena break-up. In addition, she was also grilled about her involvement with John Abraham.

She did come up with smart answers for two of the biggest controversies of her personal life ever since she entered celluloid. To know about what did she have to say about her 'affairs' with John and Shahid, tune in to Sajid's Superstars at 8:00 PM (note the revised timings), Saturday on the newly launched channel COLORS!

Pakistan captain denies affair with Sayali Bhagat

Post under Bollywood News, Sayali Bhagat

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has denied reports of his making secret trips across the border to keep alive his affair with former Miss India and Bollywood actress Sayali Bhagat.

Shoaib however admitted that Sayali was a "close and dear friend" whom he met at a promotional event during the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year.

"Sayali is a close and dear friend and that's about it," Shoaib told.

Media reports from across the border linked Malik with Sayali, the Bollywood beauty who made her film debut by starring opposite Emraan Hashmi in The Train.

Malik has been frequently travelling to India this year and in fact has been spending most of his off season there. When asked whether his relationship was the reason behind the trips, Malik said: "I've a contract with Reebok in India and have to go there once in a while for promotional activities. My friendship with Sayali has nothing to do with it."

While Malik tried to play down his affair with the former Miss India, Pakistani media has been flashing news on their romance.

According to reports they met at a store opening in Delhi last year and since then, kept in touch via email and occasional phone calls.

Talking to a leading daily Sayali said, "We need more time because we are just getting to know each other. Our religion is not an issue, I am more concerned about the distance between us.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I believe when you want something from the heart — the whole universe conspires to get it for you.” she added. But Malik is more focused on his team's next international assignment, the proposed three-nation tournament in South Africa involving Sri Lanka and the hosts next month.

"The postponement of the Champions Trophy was a big blow for us. But we have to leave it behind and get ready for the next assignment."

Malik hoped his players will be ready for the challenge in South Africa.

The triangular event is being planned at the request Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which is trying to compensate for the postponement of the Champions Trophy which was supposed to take place here Sep 12-28.

There have been reports that Malik is likely to lose his captaincy following the resignation of PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf, who elevated the experienced all-rounder to the important position after the World Cup debacle last year.

Malik has been criticised for being a 'weak' captain in recent times and it is expected that he could lose the captaincy to either vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq or senior batsman Younis Khan.

But Malik said that he is not under any pressure.

"It's an honour to lead Pakistan and I am doing it to the best of my ability," he said.

C Kkompany Movie review

Post under Movie Review, New Movie

MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. started a trend of sorts. Gangsters with a heart of gold acting as modern-day Robinhoods. Robbing the notorious rich and helping the oppressed poor.

Writer turned debutante director Sachin Yardi borrows a leaf from MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. and presents a tale that not only talks of Robinhoods, but also makes a scathing attack at news reporting hitting an all-time low (anything for TRPs), makes digs at Ekta Kapoor and her serials, also looks at the underworld-builder-cops nexus.

The story of three losers attaining power overnight makes for interesting viewing.

But the problem is, C Kkompany lacks consistency. The comedy is truly hilarious at places, but there're times when you sit motionless, not reacting to the on-screen antics. If the first hour is a joyous ride, the second hour is akin to driving on a road full of potholes. T

he climax is also a letdown (in the mela), although the end sequence -- C Kkompany is now a movement -- was the right way to conclude the film.

All said, C Kkompany had the germs of being a cool entertainer, but it ends up being a one-time average watch.

C Kkompany is about three individuals, all living in the 'C' Wing of a middle class housing society: Akshay (Tusshar) is a crime reporter, Mr. Joshi (Anupam Kher) is a retired accountant trying to deal with his ungrateful son and Lambodar (Rajpal Yadav) is at loggerheads with his wife over his job. These three friends share their respective plight with one another and find solace in each other's company.

On one occasion, they play a harmless prank to tackle their problems.

One thing leads to another and before they realize, the incident becomes big news. But things don't stop there. They put their new founded fame to good use and this in turn triggers off a series of incidents, which propel them to such heights that the three become the talk of the nation.

That Sachin Yardi has a flair for comedy was more than evident when he penned the thoroughly entertaining KYAA KOOL HAI HUM. C Kkompany also boasts of humour-laden sequences that keep you in splits at several points.

But keeping the humour alive from start to end is not everyone's cup of tea. Yardi's humour works till the beginning of the second hour, but things stagnate thereafter. Things get repetitive. There's not much movement in the story and the comic scenes also range from enjoyable to avoidable.

Music is quite okay, but the songs -- barring the Sanjay Dutt track at the outset -- show up without valid situations. The Tusshar-Celina track, although well shot, comes up from nowhere. Cinematography is alright.

C Kkompany gets its glory because of its three protagonists. Tusshar is only climbing the ladder with every film. He's excellent. Anupam Kher proves yet again that he's amongst the best in the business. Rajpla Yadav is efficient too.

Mithun Chakraborty is in command after a long time. The veteran is superb. Vinay Apte and Dilip Prabhavalkar do complete justice to their respective roles. Raima Sen is pleasant. Karan Johar, Mahesh Bhatt and Ekta Kapoor's appearances give the film that extra sheen.

On the whole, C Kkompany is funny in parts, not in totality. An ordinary fare!

Rock On!! — Movie Review

Post under Movie Review, Upcoming Movies

Before I start reviewing this film , I would just like to make my purpose of writing this review clear to all the readers . As a reviewer my job is to analyse a film so even though if the film is liked by the masses it is very much possible that I would still find it fairly entertaining and won’t be satisfied with the product . So one thing is clear that Rock On is a good film and would be liked by audience in general to an extent . So should I must stop writing anything about the film and just say that it would be liked by people at large so go and watch it ? My answer to that question is no , I would still write about the film since I have seen it as a general audience and there would be someone that might agree with my opinion .

So cutting the crap off lets talk about the film . The film in my view is a good example how an average film that very well could have been a classic but doesn’t turn out to be one due to some flaws in it . Rock On as we all know is about Music so the biggest role that anybody could play in this movie was the music itself .The heroes of the film are not Farhan or Arjun but it is the music . Chak De is a classic in sports film genre not just only because of SRK or the Girls but mainly because of the Hockey that was shown in it . Same thing applies over here .In Rock On I couldn’t find one single musical tune that I would never ever forget in my life . There was no piece of music that was as powerful so that it can last a lifetime . Music being the base of the film and the base itself wasn’t that strong . I agree that it wasn’t that bad but even music of several films is equally good or even better . But those films are not based on music . This one does . People who would wanna argue with me will say to me that Dude you don’t understand rock music that’s why you are saying so . For them I would like to say that Dude lets assume I don’t understand “Rock” music , so what , most of the people in India don’t but still they listen to LP and Greenday don’t they ? Then why do they do so , the reason being music of all genres is at the end of the day music only and good music can always cheer you up . You don’t have to do a thesis on it . Music of Rock On cheers me up but like all other movies . Mind you this is not a Music Review , I am talking of music because it is the biggest factor and the whole film is based on it .

Lets leave music aside and talk about other aspects . Next comes the script . The script or the story of the film is very much predictable and several such scripts have been already written and just set-up has been changed to an extent . The story as we all know is about a band who gets a chance to fame but gets broken up due to ego clashes and then one day they again reunite to create “Magic” . You would understand why I have quoted the word magic after you see the film . That’s the story of the film for you. Simple and tested many times on screen .

After script comes performances and situations . The audience’s connection with the characters is only limited to an extent and the audience doesn’t get attached to any of the characters . This fact is very much clear from the fact that even though one of the band member is not completely fit health wise you don’t feel sympathised for him to a large extent . You’ll just feel sad but you won’t sympathise because the connection with the character is quite less . On the other hand if SRK gets ill in a film people start crying or at least sympathise with him just because his characters connect with the audience . So the connection is quite less and the characters are forgettable . I still remember sameer , aakash and siddharth of Dil Chahta Hai because I felt connected with them . And I don’t even remember the name of Farhan’s character in the film . I just remember name of Arjun Rampal just because his name is quite cool in the film , Joe Mascarhenas . Sorry if the spelling is wrong .

Then comes acting . Well if you didn’t feel connected to the characters that means the actors didn’t act that well . Most of them were first timers and were good for first timers but were not at all great . The whole group of Jaane Tu.. was much better acting wise . Casting as they plays a big role and I could find only two characters being properly casted , one being Arjun Rampal as tough guy who is soft at heart and his wife(Debby) which is played by Shahana Goswami . This girl has got talent and acting comes naturally to her . She according to me acted the best in the whole film even though her role was quite small . Farhan has acted so so and his acting skills are not as good as his Direction skills so he must focus on what he is better at rather than wasting time on improving his acting . He has done a fair job but why should he act when he can Direct a fine piece of Cinema like Don and Dil Chahta Hai . The two sidekicks Luke Kenni and Purab kohli have done their job like they should have and not tried to become heroes which is appreciable . Purab is quite funny and can act better . Luke is good for the kind of role he has played in this one but nothing more . Then comes Prachi Desai , the TV girl , who looks nice but gives very limited expressions . She was either smiling or mum . She never got a chance to prove her acting skills . Still , it would be quite difficult for her to go ahead in Bollywood . Arjun was as usual , neither too good nor too bad .

After script and acting comes screenplay and Direction . The screenplay of the film wasn’t that tight and had gone lose on several occasions . The pace of the film is a little on the slower side . The cinematography by Jason West was top notch . But I couldn’t understand the basement or the attic where the Band practises . There are no such places in India . You may find many such places in America but not in India . In a way the film would appeal to western audiences more than Indian audience after all how many “original” bands does India have anyways who write and compose songs on their own . There may be a lot but the number would be still low as compared to the west so all the original bands don’t get offended . Then comes Direction which is by Abhishek Kapoor who has done a decent job as a newcomer but could have done much better . How much influence did Farhan had on the sets that we don’t know so nothing can be said about his Direction skills . The story itself and actors were weak what could have the Director done . He should have probably worked harder on the script before going on to make it .

Overall , the film is good and would be liked by people in general . Saying that , I would still say that it could have been a much better film and probably a classic if they would have worked slightly harder . The film would entertain you for its length but won’t blow your minds . So if you want to just pass some time then you can watch it . I expect a top class product from Farhan who is the producer also , especially after films like Don and Dil Chahta Hai coming from his house . The film can be watched once and the efforts that those guys have put in can be appreciated .

Movie Rating : Three Stars out of Five , entertaining to an extent but same old story .

There’s a line that appears on screen after the film ends that says —”Don’t Download the Music , Buy it” which reminded me of the starting credits of the Hollywood Hit “The Simpsons Movie” that featured Bart Simpson writing something on the Black Board as punishment . See the screenshot . I laughed very hard when I saw it since I had myself downloaded the film and watched it even before it got released in India .