Who do you think makes the best cop? Vote below…

Ajay Devgan

While Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan claimed monopoly over the “six-pack abs”, Ajay Devgan took everyone by surprise by showing off his bulging biceps and chiselled body for ‘Singham’. And the trailer has more than raised our expectations with the punches, stunts and kicks!

Aamir Khan

After Sarfarosh, Aamir Khan dons the khaki again for his film with Reema Kagti. Unlike his previous cop movie, we think we’ll get to see more of him in his uniform. We might be reading too much into it, but looking at AK’s stubbled look, he just might be playing a troubled cop in the film.

Salman Khan

He was an undercover cop in Wanted and a corrupt rustic hero in Dabangg. As Chulbul Pandey, Salman Khan not only had some hard-hitting action scenes in the film, but also many whistle-worthy dialogues.

John Abraham

While John Abraham mostly was on the other side of the law in films like Dhoom and Karam, he’s all set to save his love, Genelia D’souza from the baddies in Force. So maybe the poster doesn’t exactly convey that he’s a police officer – what with the tattoos, bean cap and all – but that body is one to die for!

What happened to Subhash Ghai’s plans of releasing his two films – LOVE EXPRESS and CYCLE KICK – together for consumption in the price of one ticket?

– The plan didn’t work out as there was an issue of entertainment tax. The cinemas would have had to pay entertainment tax twice on every ticket.

Why did ALWAYS KABHI KABHI not open well? After all, it has Shah Rukh Khan’s banner to its credit.

– Shah Rukh Khan’s banner, not Shah Rukh Khan himself! If you are trying to hint that Shah Rukh has lost his crowd-pulling power, wait for Diwali when his Ra.One will hit the screens.

More: Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One Will Take An Earth-Shattering Opening

Nowadays, so many Marathi and Bhojpuri films are being made. Has their business gone up? Are Marathi and Bhojpuri films clicking at the box-office?

– So many Hindi films are also being made. Does that mean, the success ratio of Hindi films has gone up?

Follow Komal Nahta on Twitter

Aamir Khan’s documentary on Lagaan, directed by his friend, Satyajit Bhatkal, is inspiring take about how no problem on location can bog a unit down if the spirit is intact.

The docu-drama, titled Madness In The Desert: The Lunacy Of Filmmaking, has been ably directed by Aamir’s friend, Satyajit Bhatkal. It captures the troubles the unit had to face when they shot the landmark film, ‘Lagaan’, in Bhuj in Gujarat. For days together, director Ashutosh Gowariker called the shots on location while lying on a cot as he developed a slipped disc problem because of which the doctor advised him a month’s bed rest. Rather than let the shooting schedule be postponed, Ashutosh kept the show going on by lying down on a cot while directing the artistes. Senior actor A.K. Hangal also fell ill and could barely walk but he completed his shooting before returning to his home in Bombay. The documentary is indeed an inspiring fare about how no problem on location can bog a unit down if the spirit is intact.

Vote: Is Aamir Khan a better promoter of films than Shah Rukh Khan?

]]> http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/aamir-khan%e2%80%99s-inspirational-docu-drama-on-lagaan/feed/ 0 http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/shah-rukh-khan-aamir-khan-promoters-par-excellence/ http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/shah-rukh-khan-aamir-khan-promoters-par-excellence/#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:47:38 +0000 Komal Nahta http://www.koimoi.com/?p=61964 When it comes to promoting their films, there’s no one to beat the two Khans, Aamir and Shah Rukh. Here’s why…

Shah Rukh Khan’s RA.ONE Extravaganza

Shah Rukh started the promotion of Ra.One, his most ambitious project to-date, with a campaign which kick-started in January this year with a full-page spread in a leading national weekly (all city editions), exactly ten months before the film’s scheduled release (on Diwali 2011). Again, in early June, he launched the first full-fledged trailer of the Rs.100 crore film and undertook city tours to promote the film.

Aamir Khan & Imran Khan’s DELHI BELLY

On his part, Aamir is leaving no stone unturned to market his Delhi Belly. Imagine hosting a party to celebrate the success of a song of the film. That was surely a first in the film industry. But the party was a well-deserved one because the Bose D.K. song of Delhi Belly has indeed become a rage with the youth, never mind if Anubhav Sinha, the director of ‘Ra.One’, is outrageous about the doublemeaning lyrics of the song.

Again, Imran Khan, the hero of ‘Delhi Belly’, has been made to file a PIL in the court against the government’s move to increase the age limit of persons allowed to consume alcohol to 25.Now, when Imran’s belly doesn’t demand alcohol, whether in Delhi or Bombay, why would the star get into litigation with the government? It’s the timing, you see. ‘Delhi Belly’ is on release and it makes sense for the American passport holder to become a hero among the 18-25 age group youth who, in any case, are agitated by the government move. Incidentally, Imran’s lawyer has filed the PIL on the star’s behalf to make matters convenient. Obviously, Aamir’s nephew won’t have the time to attend court. Coming back to marketing and promotion of films, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan deserve kudos for coming up with more and more novel ideas always rather than kabhi kabhi.

Prefer Shah Rukh Khan over Aamir Khan? Take part in the poll below:

Katrina Kaif in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan

If there’s one film Katrina Kaif is gung ho about, it is her Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. The film, which co-stars Imran Khan and Ali Zafar, “has all the masala for the masses,” according to Kaif.

Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan in Ek Tha Tiger

After this film of the formidable Yash Raj Films banner, Katrina has also been finalized for another Yash Chopra film, Ek Tha Tiger. This film, which will get her together with her ex-boyfriend, Salman Khan, will be shot extensively in Turkey and Ireland. Has Katrina seen Salman’s Ready? “Yeah, I saw it recently,” she drawls, adding, “I thought, it was quite nice.” And while on Katrina, there are rumours that she will also play the female lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan in another Yash Raj film, the one to be directed by Yash Chopra himself.

Read more: The Truth About Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif

Komal Nahta Talks About Katrina Kaif – Salman Khan’s EK THA TIGER

“Though he has been associated with Yash Raj Films earlier, this is the first time that I will be working alongside Gulzarbhai”, said Yash Chopra. “I am looking forward to some brilliant poetry, which I am personally very fond of. It will also be a privilege working with the award winning pair of A.R. Rahman and Gulzarbhai and making some wonderful and meaningful music.”

Gulzar is equally thrilled about the association, “Yashji is someone who understands poetry and has probably redefined the poetry of romance through the music of his movies. There is a sense of excitement and anticipation in working with him.”

Although the final cast of the film hasn’t been formally announced, Yash Chopra commented that “when I make a movie, Shah Rukh will be involved with it”. The yet untitled film will have two leading ladies.

Gulzar and A.R. Rahman’s last Bollywood collaboration was for the music of Mani Ratnam’s Raavan.

X-Men: First Class (dubbed) was okay while the collections for the English version was very good. West Is West was very weak.

COMPARATIVE FIGURES IN INDIA

Box-office figures from June 10th-16th.

Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan

Akshay Likes Competition

While we all know about Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan’s camaraderie (the two never miss a chance to meet up while shooting in the same studio in Mumbai), Akshay’s admiration for the Hrithik Roshan was lesser know. In reply to question by a fan, Akshay tweeted, “I don’t blame you for being a huge SRK & Hrithik fan, they are incredible actors as well as amazing people.”

Akshay Doesn’t Booze

While people say that it is difficult to find out which Bollywood star drinks or smokes (as many of them indulge in private), Akshay Kumar, who is a self confessed fitness freak, has never been associated with any such ills. Yet, the star was patient enough to clarify his position once again: “Many people ask if I drink! To be honest, I don’t, people say I’m boring, I don’t care.” Well that makes Akshay a suitable candidate for an anti-addiction campaign, doesn’t it?

Read more: Bollywood stars and their smoking habits

Akshay Never Fakes

Remember the 1996 Akshay Kumar starrer Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi? The movie, co-starring Rekha, had Akshay fighting it out with international WWF fighters including ‘The Undertaker’. Many still wonder if Akshay, a trained martial arts fighter, actually sparred with the wrestling star. Akshay cleared the air by tweeting: “So you wana know the truth! Question is can u handle the truth. Did I honestly wrestle the real UNDERTAKER of the 90′s? Of course I did, I’ve never faked anything in life.”

Watch: Akshay Kumar & The Undertaker In The Boxing Ring

Akshay Likes (Promoting) His Films

The actor, who is shooting “nonstop” in London for Sajid Khan’s Housefull 2 had good things to say about the film. “HOUSEFULL 2 has already become unforgettable while filming & we are only in the 2nd week. Ritesh D (Deshmukh) is a Legend.”

Follow: Akshay Kumar on Twitter

Minissha Lamba's Kill Bill Inspiration For Bheja Fry 2

A source says, “Few know that the actress’s nurse look has been inspired by Darryl Hannah’s look in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Minissha felt that the look was just apt for the promo video. It has already raised quite a few eyebrows and everybody is curious to know more about the film.”

Reportedly, Minissha had a tough time finding a nurse’s cap similar to one Darryl Hannah has donned in the film. “The head cap worn by the Darryl is a style statement. It was very fashionable and different compared to the caps worn by Indian nurses,” said the source.

Who do you think looks better as the femme fatale?

Minissha Lamba As The Hot Nurse In We Go Crazy – Bheja Fry 2

Amitabh Bachchan and Pooja Jain, Executive Director, Luxor Group.

Bollywood super star Amitabh Bachchan will continue as the brand ambassador of Parker pens in India. An official press release by Luxor Writing Instruments made the announcement today (June 15, 2011).

The Big B will soon be seen in an extensive all-India multimedia campaign for the brand. The campaign, created by advertising agency Lowe Lintas, will position the brand as the world’s most respected pen.

“When we speak of Mr. Bachchan, there is an innate respect associated with the name…. Everyone will be able to make this out of all the advertisements, both print and television, which have been made keeping in mind the amalgamation of these two big names,” said R. Balki, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas.

R. Balki has also directed Amitabh Bachchan in two films, Cheeni Kum (2007) and Paa (2009). Mr. Bachchan had won the National Award for best actor for the latter film.

UTV To Produce Film On Chanakya Novel

UTV Motion Pictures has acquired rights to Ashwin Sanghi’s book – Chanakya’s Chant. The interesting fast-paced story of the bestseller, based on politics in two radically different eras, will now be adapted into a film by the studio.

Chanakya’s Chant is a historical political thriller released in January 2011. The book narrates two parallel political tales, one in Chanakya’s puranic Bharat 2300 years ago and the other in post-independence contemporary India. While the ancient story is largely historical, based upon Chanakya’s rise to power and the clever tactics applied by him towards installing Chandragupta Maurya on the throne, the modern story is mostly fictional and tells the tale of Kanpur’s Pandit Gangasagar Mishra who draws inspiration from the master strategist Chanakya and employs his strategies in a modern context to get his protégée Chandini Gupta appointed to the highest office in India.

“While the film is currently in its scripting stage, we are in talks with top notch writers and directors to make this the next big political drama after Raajneeti” said Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO, UTV Motion Pictures.

Koimoi.com Editor Komal Nahta analyses the trailer and promos of the Hrithik Roshan-starrer Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (releasing on July 15, 2011). The promos of the film will appeal more to the niche audiences rather than the masses, he says.

Check out Komal Nahta’s video blog on YouTube.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Trailer

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Song Promos

Bin Bulaye Baraati – Star Cast

Aftab Shivdasani, Priyanka Kothari, Om Puri, Mallika Sherawat (special appearance), Shakti Kapoor, Vijay Raaz, Gulshan Grover, Mukesh Tiwari, Hemant Pandey, Sanjay Mishra, Johny Lever.

Bin Bulaye Baraati – Plot

Bin Bulaye Baraati is a hilarious story. The story takes off when, Gulshan Grover (Durjan Singh) who sports an unbelievably different look of a dangerous dacoit meets don Mukesh Tiwari (Gajraj) at a casino to sell his diamonds and jewels, and AD (Aftab) who is on the run, takes away with the van full of dacoits’s fortune. As lovers AD and Shreya (Nisha Kothari) are on the run, they come across , Murari (Rajpal Yadav), Hazari (Sanjay Mishra) and Chita Singh (Vijay Raj), who are also on the run. The cat and mouse game of the chase results into chaotic pile-up with more characters colliding together leading to dramatic and comical sequences where all of them end up to take shelter at Madhavgarh Village. The film continues with a string of characters like PP(Om Puri) Rajo (Shweta Tiwari), Sajjan Singh (Johnny Lever), Ajay Prakash (Shakti Kapoor), Manoj Joshi (Loha Singh), Ranjeet (Hemant Panday), not to forget the sexy dancer Malika Sherawat. The excitement unfolds as this characters face-off each other in a once-in-a-lifetime performance packed with healthy comedy, drama and action backed by the melodies that would be remembered for years to come. The audiences zoom with laughter on the edges of their seats as the movie come to a thrilling climax.

Bin Bulaye Baraati – Box-Office Expectations

The film has a lot of stars, Aftab Shivdasani being the biggest of the lot. But none of these actors have the potential to bring the audience into theatres on the opening day. The rest will depend on how the public reports of the film are.

Bin Bulaye Baraati – Release Date: June 17, 2011

Cycle Kick – Star Cast

K.P. Nishan Nanaiah, Sunny Hinduja, Girija Oak, Ishita Sharma, Dwij Yadav, Tom Alter, Sameer Kocchar.

Cycle Kick – Plot

Cycle Kick is the story of two brothers, Ramu and his younger brother Deva. They live in a small coastal village and without parents have grown up relying only on life’s necessities. Ramu works all morning and attends college in the afternoon just so that he can send Deva to a decent school. Both boys can’t see their lives altering… Until one day they find a beaten up cycle. The repair it and swiftly their lives change. Ramu is able to be more productive and take up extra jobs and Deva fulfills his dream of owning a cycle, which is seen as a symbol of status in this sleepy village. Their lives are looking up… Then suddenly the cycle is stolen. What happens then?

Cycle Kick – Box-Office Expectations

The promotion of ‘Cycle Kick’ has been very poor. Do not expect the film to take an opening at the box-office.

Cycle Kick – Release Date: June 17, 2011.

Cycle Kick – Trailer

Bheja Fry 2 – Star Cast

Vinay Pathak, Minissha Lamba, Amol Gupte, Kay Kay Menon.

Bheja Fry 2 – Plot

Good hearted but not worldly-wise, the rolly-polly tax inspector, Bharat Bhushan (Vinay Pathak) is back to fulfill his long cherished dream of becoming a singer. He wins a talent show which gives him a chance to go a free cruise. On the cruise Bhushan meets Ajit Talwar (Kay Kay Menon), an acrid tongue sadistic business tycoon, who is taking sheath on the cruise to flee from the Income Tax department. Close on his heels is tax inspector M.T. Shekharan (Suresh Menon), who is trying to unearth the identity of a financial scamster. The cruise becomes a perfect rendezvous for Bharat with the presence of Ranjini (Minnisha Lamba), a sweet and straight- forward media executive who Bhushan met on the game show. Everything seems perfect in his life with her company till a string of oddball occurrences owing to a mistaken identity finally wind up leaving Ajit Talwar and Bharat Bhushan stranded on a deserted island. What happens then?

Bheja Fry 2 – Box-Office Expectations

Bheja Fry (2007), the film’s prequel, had done good business at the box-office. Hence, ‘Bheja Fry 2’ will have a certain section of the audience queuing up at the theatres.

Bheja Fry 2 – Release Date: June 17, 2011

Bheja Fry 2 – Trailer

Bhindi Baazaar Inc. – Star Cast

Kay Kay Menon, Prashant Narayanan, Pawan Malhotra, Piyush Mishra, Deepti Naval, Shilpa Shukla, Vedita Pratap Singh, Caterina Lopez.

Bhindi Baazaar Inc. – Plot

The film revolves around gangs of Mumbai who have embraced pick pocketing as an art and a means of earning a livelihood. They use their intelligence as a canvas and their spontaneity as a brush to survive in this dangerous profession. The film starts with a game of chess being played between two characters; Shroff (Kay Kay Menon) and Darzi (Gautam Sharma). It highlights the ambitious and planned moves of a pawn to reach the other end of the board. Their every move in the game correlates with life in the real world and how people are used or killed as the game progresses. The story is based on the quest of a small time pickpocket Fateh (Prashant Narayanan) and his ambitions to become a MAMU (local area don).

Bhindi Baazaar Inc. – Box-Office Expectations

Although the film’s promotions have picked up, its cast is not one that can command an opening at the box-office. As a result, its box-office fate will depend on the public reports and word-of-mouth publicity.

Bhindi Baazaar Inc. – Release Date: June 17, 2011.

Bhindi Baazaar Inc. – Trailer

Always Kabhi Kabhi – Star Cast

Ali Fazal, Giselle Monteiro, Zoa Morani, Satyajeet Dubey, Shah Rukh Khan (special appearance)

Always Kabhi Kabhi – Plot

Tariq Naqvi (Satyajeet Dubey) is a Bill Gates-like genius who’s under pressure from his parents, who expect him to top MIT. Sameer (Ali Fazal) is Aishwarya’s (Giselle Monteiro) first true friend and a guy everyone wants to be like. Then there is Nandini (Zoa Morani), the bitch of the school, whom everyone hates. Her pet hate is Tariq and her love is taking bets. The four teenagers’ destinies seem to take them on different paths. Somehow, though, they all come together at St. Marks (a school).

Always Kabhi Kabhi Box-Office – Expectations

The film’s pre-release USP is the fact that it has been produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s production company, Red Chillies Entertainment. As the cast of ‘Always Kabhi Kabhi’ is rather new, the rest will depend on the public reports of the film.

Always Kabhi Kabhi – Release Date: June 17, 2011.

Always Kabhi Kabhi Trailer

Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan

Ever wondered if Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan will share screen space in a movie together? Unfortunately, such a scenario might remain a pipe-dream if you are to consider the dwindling number of multi-starrers being made these days. Instead, what we have today is many more ensemble cast films that have at the most one or two A-List stars and many other actors, some character actors, others non-A-list heroes.

An ensemble cast film is basically a film in which every important actor is like the hero of the film. In other words, an ensemble cast film is a multi-starrer in which all the actors may not be top stars but all of them have almost the same footage and the same prominence in the film.

Aamir, Shah Rukh, Salman may agree to work in an ensemble cast film more willingly than they would probably jump at a multi-starrer. That is because in a multi-star cast film, an A-list actor would have to worry about being overshadowed by the other A-lister/s. On the other hand, the same stars have no problems signing up on a project that has other character actors playing roles that might be as good as theirs. Let’s take a look at a few such films with ensemble casts.

Delhi Belly: The forthcoming Imran Khan-starrer is an ensemble cast film because although only Imran Khan is the real star in the cast, his co-actors, Vir Das and Kunal Roy Kapur, have been given equal prominence in the film’s posters, promos and music videos. So, we can safely expect that the troika will have the screen-time equally split among them as well!

Shor In The City: Tusshar Kapoor, the only known face in the cast of the dark comedy, shared the screen with lesser known actors like Nikhil Dwivedi and Pitobash. The three actors played fast friends in the film. Also starring in the film was Hollywood actor Sendhil Ramamurthy.

Yeh Saali Zindagi: Arunoday Singh, Chitrangda Singh, Irrfan Khan and Aditi Rao Hydari got together for this Sudhir Mishra film. You would think, Irrfan Khan, the best-known face in the cast, was the hero of the film. But if you’ve seen the film, you would’ve realised that each of the actors had string roles, almost of equal length.

Rang De Basanti: Aamir Khan was indeed the star of this Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra film. But Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Siddharth, R. Madhavan, Atul Kulkarni and Soha Ali Khan played important characters in the film. In fact, the climax belonged more to Siddharth than Aamir. Had it not been an ensemble cast film, you could be sure, the climax would have the meatiest scenes reserved for Aamir Khan only!

Ishqiya: A very unexpected pairing – Vidya Balan playing the steamy and rustic seductress with the veteran Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi.

Khosla Ka Ghosla!: Anupam Kher, Ranvir Shorey and Parveen Dabas managed to form a formidable team against the dastardly Boman Irani in Khosla Ka Ghosla!. Nobody could claim to be the solo hero just like you couldn’t say, so-and-so played a character role in the film while so-and-so was the hero.

Maqbool: An adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, Irrfan Khan played the brooding gangster in Maqbool. But was he any bigger a hero in the film than, say, Tabu or Pankaj Kapur?

Monsoon Wedding: Even with a biggie like Naseeruddin Shah, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Lillete Dubey, Vijay Raaz, Vasundhara Das and Randeep Hooda had prominent – nay, equally prominent – roles in Monsoon Wedding. A truly ensemble cast film, this.

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro: Considered to be the baap of all Bollywood comedy films, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro paired Naseeruddin Shah with Ravi Baswani. Even though Satish Shah played a corpse in almost the entire film, he was just as much a part of the laughs as Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur and Satish Kaushik.

Husain had written and directed two Hindi films, the Madhuri Dixit-starrer, Gaja Gamini (2000), and the Tabu-statter, Meenaxi: Tale of 3 Cities (2004). MF Husain was often in the news due to the millions his paintings made at auctions and also for his supposed search for the next muse.

1. Bejoy Nambiar, the director of Shaitan, was the line producer for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan and the assistant director for Guru.

2. In 2008, Nambiar won the Hollywood television reality show, Gateway. As the winner, his first film was supposed to be produced by Ashok Amritraj. However, the project never took off.

Shaitan Movie Stills

3. Rajat Barmecha, who starred in Anurag Kashyap’s production Udaan, and Raj Kumar Yadav, of Love Sex Aur Dhokha and Ragini MMS fame, have guest appearances in Shaitan.

4. Vinay Venkatesh, the vocalist of the Mumbai-based death metal band Bhayanak Maut, was friends with Bejoy Nambiar. Bejoy had casually mentioned that he wanted to use one of their songs in his film. That’s how their song Habemus Papam, from their 2009 album ‘Untitled Bhayanak Maut Album’ appears in the film.

5. Bejoy had already roped in Kalki Koechlin for the movie before Anurag Kashyap stepped in as the film’s producer. Kalki’s character in Shaitan, Amy, does a lot of charcoal painting. Kalki prepared for the role by practicing charcoal painting for three months. A lot of her paintings have been used in the film.

Shaitan Trailer