C Kkompany Movie Review

C Kkompany - Don’t see this company
With the number of so called comedy flicks being made at a random pace , here comes yet another one starring Tusshar Kapoor after ‘One Two Three’. This time around debutant Sachin Yadri fuses in the entire bandwagon of Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Balaji Telefilms’ and why not when the soap queen is the producer of this film.
Synopsis….
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.
To begin with the film in an absolute zero on substance and originality. Neither is the humour in good taste nor are the flow of events logical enough. Imagine a bunch of geeks threatening the entire city over the phone. Also there is a huge resemblance to the Munnabhai series and this goody goody element doesn’t work anymore.
The screenplay of the film is such a bore. Looks like Hindi cinema just loves making a mockery of the comedy genre.
The music of the film too offers nothing with Sanjay Dutt and Celina Jiatley trying their best at the ‘item numbers’.
On the acting scenario, Tusshar Kapoor has a long way to go. His comic timing is poor and those sleazy dialogues of the film are plain annoying.
Anupam Kher too is just overdone. His lines just bore.
Rajapl Yadav seriously needs to look for better substance oriented characters. Encashing on his height factor isn’t funny any longer.
Mithun Chakraborthy isn’t convincing at all and is bad at comedy.
All the cameos of Balaji serial actors is just a drab.
An out and out insult to the comedy genre.
Rating : *

Rock On!! Movie Review

Rock On!! - Relive an enthralling experience of friendship and

Finally the big day has arrived. With four Hindi films at the box office this week , all eyes are on ‘Rock-On’ for the obvious buzz it has created. The surprising fact is that the most awaited film of the year doesn’t feature a ‘Khan’,’Kapoor’or ‘Kumar’ . All that hype with relatively new actors and a director whose previous film ‘Aryan’ was a wash out.
The synopsis can well defined as the journey of Aditya(Farhan),Joe Mascarenhas (Arjun Rampal) , Rob(Luke Kenny) and K.D.(Purab Kohli) who want to see their band ‘MAGIK’ and it’s music at the peak. The passionate bunch travel through various stages of life to keep their ‘MAGIK’ alive and trust me , what a journey it is!
Director Abhishek Kapoor firstly brings in a story that really hooks you in especially when it’s the journey of the underdogs and when it’s got a lot to do with music. Abhishek ‘Gattu’ Kapoor fuses in the right blend of actors to carry each role with a certain amount of conviction. The narrative transitions, the friendship, the emotions, the alleys, the instruments…. You are jut drawn into all of it.
The narrative takes off very much like Farhan’s directorial debut ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ and when you would like to believe it’s a repeat of it all, you are taken aback. You are left with the same feeling you had years back when ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ was around. What surprises you here is that there is no Aamir , Saif or Akshaye.
If ‘DCH’ was remembered for Farhan’s directorial skills, this one too is headed a long way for his acting credentials. And of course not to mention, for his share behind the music of the film. Farhan excels right through the film. To say that he was better than the rest will be absolutely unfair in a film that highlights teamwork.
Farhan delivers with ease and with a great amount of conviction. The transition in character from one phase of life to another is not just brought about in his attire but very well with his body language. Farhan’s unconventional voice works in his favour and the myth that a hero should have a heavy baritone is done away with. The sequence where Farhan breaks out into an argument with his wife (Prachi Desai) and talks about the compromises of life brings forth brilliant dialogue delivery. Farhan often reminds you of Aamir Khan from ‘DCH’ and is in no respect less competitive.
The next highlight of the film is Joe Mascarenhas/Arjun Rampal. This is no doubt Arjun’s best film till date and wonder whether you’ll ever see Arjun in such a splendid role. Arjun carries the lead guitarist, rockstar look with ease. The complexity, the inner turmoil, the passion for music is brought out so well with the moustache embedded Arjun moving around from place to place with the guitar. Arjun delivers his lines really well especially in arguments with his wife(Shahana Goswami) and the scene where he reminds the band of its rules and gets into a spat.
Luke Kenny as Rob is another revelation. Many often wondered whether Luke ever spoke Hindi and here he comes out with a fine convincing performance. Luke often acts as the backbone of the band and binds the characters well enough. His scenes with ‘Anu Malik’ are funny but realistic enough.
Purab Kohli as the ‘Killer Drummer’ brings in all that humour and all that true ‘masti’ associated with any band. He is so full of expressions and entertains you right through. He brings in those smiles even through the emotional sequences.
Shahana Goswami comes in as a revelation of talent. For her debut she does extremely well. The shades in her character from the Joe’s girlfriend to his wife plagued by problems of running a household are carried out real well.
Prachi Desai does a very decent job as the soft spoken wife of Farhan. She speaks a lot through her smile.
Koel Purie is just apt.
One person who deserves much credit is cinematographer Jason West. His job has been splendid right through. The handheld camera movements make you feel as if you were present right through the performance. The lighting is just another treat. The practice sessions, the well light cobweb filled alleys, the emphasis on the instruments-simply brilliant.
The music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy was a rage much prior to the realease. The film just enhances it even more and don’t be surprised if you are keep humming tracks like ‘Tum Ho Toh’( which hasn’t featured in the promotion of the film ) once you are done with this flick. Great Job by Shankar Ehsaan and Loy! Kudos Javed Saab!
To sum it up Abhishek Kapoor strikes the right cord with the audiences and the character are so well defined and crafted. No character overshadows the other and the ‘Magik’ is brought alive. Many believe this flick is just for the metros; well it’s for anyone who has experienced the warmth of friendship, love and got a passion for music.
Rating : ****

Chamku Movie Review

Chamku - Lost itself through the journey
Vijayta Films Pvt Ltd celebrates its 25 years in the Indian Film Industry a Silver Jubilee by presenting ‘CHAMKU’ which is scheduled for release on August 29, 2008. The banner proudly owned by the Deol family brings forth director Kabeer Kaushik of the ‘Sehar’ fame.
The film Stars Bobby Deol, Priyanka Chopra, Danny Denzongpa, Irrfan Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Rajpal Yadav, Arya Babbar and has apparently been inspired by a true story. The film depicts the journey of a male Naxalite from the southern interiors of Bihar, tutored under a covert governmental program & trained to kill. CHAMKU(Bobby Deol), this is his story set in real time. A brutal past Kill - or - be - killed fights, political assassinations, explosive intrigues and a chance to encounter that culminate in an epic vendetta. Kahani kabhie Khatam nahi hoti (A journey that ends where it all began)
For starters, the film takes off real well with a great amount of intensity. Director Kabeer Kaushik does well in capturing the interiors of U.P. and other naxal bound places. The intense action sequences , the gun shots , the bloodshed etc keep you really hooked on to the proceedings.
As we move on and the character of Chamku starts revealing more of himself and things get a little weary. The usual love angle accompanied with hindi cinema creeps in and undue importance is given to developing the Priyanka Chopra-Bobby love angle.
Director Kabeer Kaushik who has been so tight with the screenplay of ‘Sehar’ suddenly makes you wonder whether it’s the same Kabeer behind this flick. Chamku might know where he is headed but the poor audience is absolutely lost trying to figure out what the likes of Reiteish Deshmuk , Rajpal Yadav, Irrfan Khan are doing The journey moves from a childhood revenge to the naxal backdrop to the underworld and the world of bookies etc. To top it all there’s Priyanka who drops in with the most predictable line-‘Main Teri Bachey Ki Maa Bane Wali Hoon’.
As for the positives, it’s the cinematography by Gopal and Bobby’s performance that keeps you hooked on. Keeping aside the number of ‘Fade Outs’, the camera draws you in.
Bobby Deol excels like never before. You might have seen traits of his ‘Chamku’ performance in ‘Badal’. The film truly belongs to Bobby who with his straight face says quite a bit. If elder brother Sunny was the synonym for’ anger’ watch out for Bobby. He excels real well with his bit and his look is just so apt. He’ll surprise even more if you watched his lame act in ‘Jhoom Barabar..’
Piggy Chops/ Priyanka Chopra is just wasted. Her bit in the film comes more as a hindrance to the flow. Her part brings in some lame songs and she just moves around flaunting colours of her ‘sari’.
Irrfan Khan has a more confused bit in the film nevertheless does pretty ok. Ritesh is wasted and so is Rajpal. Deepal Shaw does a tiny bit. Danny Denzongpa is there for a glance. Arya Babbar gets his two minutes of action and his character is killed.
The music by Monty Sharma has nothing to offer. Not a single track to take back.
On the whole, Kabeer Kaushik who was so tight with ‘Sehar’, disappoints and gives way to the clichés of Hindi cinema to seep in. A let down from Kabeer ‘Sehar’ Kaushik.
Rating : **

Mukhbiir Movie Review

Mukhbiir - The desi ‘Bourne’ gets bore
It’s been a while now that ‘Mukhbiir’ has been mired with problems that have given the film a back seat. First with a series of events involving change of producers from Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) to Color Chips and the legal money transactions to a postponement in the release date, the film has been badly hit.
Mani Shankar who established himself with ‘December 16’ and then went on to ‘Rakht’ and ‘Tango Charlie’ brings forth the story of an informer.
Synopsis…….
In the secret world of shadows where good and evil are deeply enmeshed,the dark world where fear stalks through streets, where the thin veil of sanity can get ripped off in an instant revealing the hidden face of stark terror-on that razors edge live the chosen ones, wearing masks that can never be taken off.This is a film about a young man and the many masks he wears enacting a desperate drama where forgetting the lines means instant death. This is the story of the many lives he has to live the many deaths he has to die.Director Mani Shankar would have wanted his film to take off very much the ‘Bourne Identity’ way. Though he tried to spin it a little bit here and there by asking the viewers to have pity on the informer or ‘Mukhbir’, he fails miserably.
The film bores and bores and bores. There is a complete lack of believability and connect with the storytelling. What’s with those close-ups of Samir Dattani time and again with those so called ‘Shayari’s ‘or one-liners? It’s just lame.
Samir seriously requires much more to look like that informer. His delivery is poor and his expressions are kiddish. From which angle does he act ( forget look ) like an informer?
The majority of characters have been simply scattered around without substance. Suneil Shetty just walks in and out and leaves no scope for understanding. Om puri does his bit well even though he often confuses.
Raima Sen was just a waste. Man, the way she falls in love with Mr.Mukhbir and breaks into the typical ‘Naach Gaana’ is ridiculous.
Sushant Singh does his bit of massaging the ladies and getting to do some Bhaigiri. Alok Nath too joins him on this bit.
On the whole the movie comes across as a very jaded one. With the delay and competition from former producers PNC’S ‘Ugly aur Pagli’, the film is bound to face rough waters at the box office.
Rating : *

Phoonk Movie Review

Phoonk - What the ‘Phoonk’?
Ramgopal Varma returns with ACE picture company- Praveen Nischol and Azam Khan-‘One more thought productions’ for a horror flick this time. It’s been a while since Ramu has done a horror flick unless the viewers of ‘Contract’ would love to believe otherwise.
Ramgopal Varma who excelled with ‘Bhoot’ and made people quiver , this time around dares the viewers to watch this movie alone. ‘Phoonk’ fuses in the black magic elements to bring forth some amount of fear. Well , does this flick live up to all those tall claims?
Synopsis….
Rajeev(Sudeep) , a successful Construction Engineer with a loving wife, and two children aged 10 and 8, is an atheist to the core. He scowls at God and even more at people who believe in the dark forces till one day when an evil was let loose in his happy home threatening to destroy his family and shake up the very foundations of his convictions and belief system.
To begin with , Ramgopal Varma seriously needs to look beyond scaring the audiences with gimmicks that have been overdone time and time again with his flicks such as ‘Bhoot’, ‘ Vastu Shatra’ etc. The slow movements of the camera is just not enough to scare today’s masses who in and out are exposed to films such as ‘Exorcism of Emily Rose’, ‘1048’, ‘JU-ON’, etc.
The screenplay of the film is a big setback and lacks a clear vision. Though the basic plot line may just be ok , Ramgopal Varma could have developed and executed things much better. It’s high time he does away with the focus on some lame dolls in the house and the overuse of the household maid; an attempt to scare that falls flat.
With not much movement in the storytelling, the overdone shots of the gates of the ‘Ambe Villa’ and the constant repetition of the SUV driving in and out , gets annoying.
The moment you think the film is going to get better and scarier, it just disappoints. The maid is not even close to what Seema Biswas did in ‘Bhoot’. The grandma just gets annoying with her constant head nodding and her hand stretching sequence was hilarious rather than frightening.
Lilette Dubey comes in from nowhere and gives her scientific view and justification for the proceedings. Zakir Hussain a very talented actor is quite wasted here as his body language and attire make him look really weird. There is no proper justification to his character and he is underused.
Ashwini Kalsekar starts off real well with her scary expressions and the focus into her eyes etc but eventually her laughter makes you giggle. Her character as the witch is pretty ok but the climax of the film was seriously poor on the special effects and thus was a major setback.
Kannada film’s renowned actor Sudeep does ok and the film doesn’t offer him much scope to prove his bit at bollywood. Amruta Khanvilkar is apt as the mother.
Ehsaas Channa is the best performer of the film (keeping aside the crow). One of the best things is that Ehsaas finally plays her character as a girl . She has matured as an actor and tries real hard to scare with the exorcism sequences.
On the whole, ‘Phoonk’ stands way behind Ramgopal Varma’s ‘Raat’ and ‘Bhoot’. It’s high time the director should seek a revival. He needs to win the confidence of the masses and bring back the three letter ‘RGV’ brand essence.
Go ahead Ramu and bring back some ‘Rangeela’ sort of film, you need a break from the dark side. Let the light seep in!
Rating : *

Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam Movie Review

Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam - All dialogues, no substance
This one was supposed to be one of the most awaited movies of the year for various reasons. Firstly, it brings back the ‘selective role choosing’ Mallika Sherawat alongside Rahul Bose. The two had a huge success story last year with ‘Pyaar Ke Side Effects’ and thus a repeat is expected here.
Also there is lots more value in terms of the talented Paresh Rawal , Kay Kay Menon and Zakir Hussain. Things get even better when the title revolves around one of hindi cinema’s most successful venture till date.
Maybe the title may be good enough to provide a hampering rebound effect.
Synopsis..
Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam is a mad, contemporary comedy about how a small town drama company gets involved in a deadly mission to save the country. Circa 1993 - The country was burning due to the Babri structure demolition and communal riots. A small town like St. Louise near Goa, where Police, CBI and RAW officers were out on high alert due to illegal activities like Rdx and Arms landing at the coastal area!
Set up in the same town is Kalakar Theatre Company, a theatre group of self indulgent dreamy actors who are always left with no choice but to perform the same age old period play 'Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam' every time. One fine day, they come to know that, an underworld don is planning a severe bomb blast in the country.
A funny and thrilling roller-coaster ride begins when the entire drama company designs 'A Deadly Game plan' and gets into the act to save the entire city from this blasts. Performing multiple roles in disguise, the characters make you go crazy and eventually, save the entire nation from the big bomb blast in a hilarious slapstick climax. It's a story of losers becoming winners... 'Actors' becoming 'Heroes' ...A comedy which thinks and winks!!!
‘Maan Gaye…..’ is well set within the parameters of the local theatre company and the noise produced by various characters involved with this theatre company. The movie takes off well with some really hilarious dialogues one after the other.
And then What?
There are a lot more of these dialogues with the film really not taking a step ahead. Sanjay Chel has no doubt been one of bollywood’s most successful dialogue writers with film’s such as ‘Rangeela’ , ‘Yes Boss’ etc to mention a few. Even as a director, he did well with his debut ‘Khoobsurat’ starring Sanjay Dutt and Urmila.
But, this one is seriously lame with all the focus being laid on the dialogues and the so called comedy flick getting its patriotic angle etc which is plain silly.
The film has definitely been inspired from the Hollywood flick ‘To Be or Not to Be’ starring Mel Brooks . The change here comes in the form of the shift from a Nazi environment to a riot prone Mumbai of the 90’s.
There are has been immense emphasis of Mallika Sherawat and her assets that the likes of Kay Kay , Rahul Bose and Paresh Rawal become insignificant.
What was all that undercover agent stuff and the words ‘Mulk’,’Quam’ etc doing in this comedy flick. It just made people look like clowns.
Mallika Sherawat does have some comic scenes with Kay Kay and her interaction sequences with Rahul too are funny. Mallika uses her oomph factor and brings in comedy specially cause of the support she receives from an actor like Paresh Rawal.
Paresh Rawal no doubt does well but leaves you with nothing much as the jokes and dialogues get repetitive. Kay Kay menon, What was he doing in this flick? He was so insignificant and was a cut paste of Naseeruddin Shah from ‘Sarfarosh’. It’s quite amazing that the very same Paresh and Kay Kay who were absolutely underused have brilliant roles to play in the competitor film of the week-‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’.
Rahul Bose who started his career real well on a more serious role , has now started getting commercialized. The masses did love his bit in ‘Pyaar Ke side Effects’ , but he needs to take scripts with some substance. He was fantastic with comedy in ‘Jhankaar Beats’ but in this one he falls flat and his hindi needs major improvement.
Pawan Malhotra does well and Zakir Hussain is ok.
All the naach-Gaana courtesy Anu Malik is not good enough to hold the masses except for ‘Marmari Baatein’. The music of the film too isn’t great and visuals of the songs aren’t appealing enough.
The movie requires some serious trimming and the cinematography is ok.
Chel has indeed excelled with his dialogues but not much emphasis has been laid on the script. Thus, this flick just ends up being nothing much but an overdose of one liners and witty remarks.
Rating : *1/2

Mumbai Meri Jaan Movie Review

Mumbai Meri Jaan - A beautiful heart-gripping film!
Not many had heard of director Nishikant Kamat until the accolades he received for his first Marathi flick ‘Dombivili Fast’. Later R.Madhavan and Nishikant teamed up for the tamil version ‘Evano Oruvan’. Now, comes a dream project for the director with his first commercial hindi flick ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ ; a film celebrating the undying spirit of Mumbai backed by the likes of UTV.
‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ talks about the July 11,2006 Mumbai train blasts. The film explores the impact of this devastating incident on the lives of the people of Mumbai. From a brilliant broadcast journalist(Soha Ali Khan) to a patriotic corporate man(R.Madhavan); from a retiring policeman(Paresh Rawal) at the twilight of his life to a rookie cop(Vijay Maurya) at the dawn of his career; from an angry and xenophobic unemployed young man(Kay Kay Menon) to a coffee-vendor(Irrfan) struggling to survive and belong: ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ follows the lives of people from all strata of Mumbai’s bustling society as they tackle the aftermath of a fatal incident that brings out the best and sometimes the worst in them.
To begin with the film just transcends into another world and you are dawn right into it from the very beginning. Though the narrative moves back and forth from one character to another, it’s the well laid out shots that really draw your attention.The cinematography by Sanjay Jadhav is splendid and the camera brings you up close and personal with the happening of events.
Nishikant Kamat does a great job with this flick and fuses in the right bunch of actors with a very good technical team to bring out something as special as ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’. Nishikant brings out the best from each actor and no actor overrides the other. And at no point does the focus shift from the script to the actors.
The characters of the film have been so well defined and sketched out. Take a look at the subtle reactions and body language that speaks a lot. For e.g. the indifference between Kay Kay Menon and the guys at the restaurant, Vijay Maurya’s expressions (which is usually just a straight face)etc.
The story, screenplay and dialogues by Yogesh Vinayak Joshi are terrific. Though the film may seem a little slow paced with the rapid edit switches between narratives nevertheless it’s impressive. The dialogues are really hard hitting especially the sequences exploring the lives of the news reporters and the policemen.
Every actor carries his part real well . Kay Kay , Soha , Madhavan , Paresh Rawal , Irrfan are absolutely brilliant. Each actors leaves behind something at the end of the film. Kay Kay’s transformation from anti-Muslim to harmony seeking individual is impressive. Soha emotes real well as the woman caught between her journalism and personal space.
The echo of the blast that resonates in Madhavan is transferred right into the viewers mind. Irrfan shocks you as the ‘Madrasi’ Coffee Wala. The transformation in his character too is splendid. Paresh Rawal leaves behind a lot of valuable lines and above all its actor Vijay Maurya who proves his bit here. Vijay seen earlier in ‘Bombay to Goa’ doing his bit of comedy , this time get you deep into reality. What a performance!
Out and out, this movie is a real hard hitting well made film. Nishikant Kamat excels with this one and is out to become one of the most sought after directors. Kudos to UTV for backing such a film! Great Job!
Rating : ****

Bachna Ae Haseeno Movie Review

Bachna Ae Haseeno - Bachna Ae ‘Audience’


Yet another Yash Raj film releases this week with Sidhart’Tara Rum Pum ‘ Anand spearheading the bandwagon.

Ranbir Kapoor returns after the disastrous ‘Saawariya’and what more with three beautiful women. Bipasha , Minisha Lamba and Depika Padukone are fused in to draw the masses either with their smile or sex appeal.

Synopsis….

Why do girls always fall for the wrong guy? Their mothers warn them about him. Their friends shake their heads disapprovingly.

Their minds tell them to escape while the going is good. But no! Oh no! Their hearts are another story altogether. You see, they are always sending all the wrong signals. His name alone is enough to scramble their brains and set their hearts racing. Meet Raj.

He is the stuff of dreams, with the looks of a 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' good boy. Who can blame him for falling in love as many times as love is fortunate enough to find him. It's not his fault that he's a heartbreaker, its in his DNA.

Come… discover his three love stories; Raj and Mahi, Raj and Radhika, Raj and Gayatri. Different ladyloves at different times in his life. And each one of them teach him a little bit about love and a little bit about life, in their own sweet, sexy or sassy way. Come fall in love... three times over!

To start off with one wonders whether films such as these ever have a scripting stage . Maybe someone walked up to the director and asked him to explore the Ranbir-Deepkia bonding that has been creating much hype in the media. Oh,well what about the sex appeal quotient? Simple, rope in Bipasha Basu and for those DDLJ lovers there is the cute Minisha Lamba.

No doubt there is the style quotient backed by the pretty locales of Sydney etc that is synonymous with every Yash Raj film but right from the opening 20 mins you are bored. The film is an overload of clichés. Right from the so called 18 year old Raj(Ranbir ) and his adventure joy ride and his pack of silly friends. The film to a certain extent crosses that thin line between humor and vulgarity with all those comments on Indian aunties and that over branding of condoms.

The music of the film is pretty ok and cinematography too is enticing but nothing saves a film that is headed nowhere. The proceedings of the film are quite lame especially when the heroic Raj cries for the very first time and is headed to apologize to his previous flings. And then comes one song after another and how silly things get when Ranbir is made Bips personal assistant.

Ranbir Kapoor hasn’t evolved as an actor and isn’t convincing at all. There’s a lot more to an actor than just being cute.

Bipasha Basu is wasted and does nothing beyond bringing in the oomph factor.She looks much older than Ranbir.

Minisha Lamba still needs to work on her Hindi. She’s Ok.

Deepika Padukone impresses with her simplicity and her body language. She is efficient and should take more characters of substance.

On the whole, this film lacks real substance be it humor or emotions and ends up being a silly fling swing flick.

Rating: *

God Tussi Great Ho Movie Review

God Tussi Great Ho - A complete Salman flick


The very first time one heard of this film the excitement levels rose. After the success of ‘Mushje Shaadi, Rumi Jaffrey , the writer of the film was now turning director. What more when you have the likes of Salman , Mr.Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra?

But over a span of 2 years (which can be observed in the film), the equation between the actors changed drastically. Be it the Salman-Priyanka or the Amitabh-Salman scenario. This surely has impacted the promotion of a ‘mighty’ film and until last week Salman didn’t come out to give interviews.

So, here it finally is… ‘God Tussi Great Ho’, an adaptation of ‘Bruce Almighty’.

Synopsis..

At the end of the worst day in his life, Arun Prajapati (Salman Khan) angrily rages against God for making his life miserable. To his astonishment, God (Amitabh Bachchan) appears before him in human form and endowing Arun with all of his divine powers, challenges Arun to take on the big job and see if he can do it any better.

Arun responds to his newfound powers with childlike zeal and sets off making one hysterical yet disastrous decision one after another. The love of his life Alia (Priyanka Chopra) is astonished at the 'new' decisive and confident Arun. He thinks he can make the world a happy place by granting everybody their wishes. But to his horror, this results in unprecedented mayhem. Ultimately, Arun realises that he is only human, and being God is tougher than he thought!

Well if you are wondering whether it is a complete rip off you’ve got it wrong. Writer and debutant director Rumi indeed does quite a bit to change the proceedings of the film to fit the Indian constraints. He fuses in the family angle, the drama, marriage scene, fight sequences etc to entertain.

Then what’s wrong with this flick?

The major drawback lies in the writing of the film an area which is Rumi’s forte.

The film lacks a certain vision and objective and goes zip-zap leading to no real resolution. The fusion of numerous tracks , the Salman-Sohail repetition of gimmicks (which have become exhaustive since their last flick), the so called lie detector etc..

There seems to be a lack of believability with the setting of characters in a competitive Tv channel etc. Take a look at the office environment and the attires used. It’s weird!

Nevertheless, the film truly belongs to Salman Khan who is sure to make you laugh in the midst of all this confusion, barring his Vikram Phadnis designed outfits, he does extremely well. Salman’s presence and characterization lifts the film. Salman steals the show right through without saying much and with just a bit of body language.

Priyanka Chopra falls flat with her performance and if you are expecting a repeat of her ‘Mujshe Shaadi Karoge’magic with Salman , you’’ll be disappointed.

Amitabh Bachchan does pretty well as the character of ‘God’. Though he has very few scenes with Salman , he expresses plainly with his tone.

Sohail Khan isn’t at his best but compliments Salman with every prank of his. Just that his act with Salman has started to get repetitive.

Anupam Kher and Rajpal Yadav are hilarious. Rukshar is wasted.

Music of the film by Sajid –Wajid is ok and the best track of the film ‘Aqsa Beach’ fades out within minutes of the film’s opening and at the end of the film you aren’t left back humming any track. A track of high recall value has not captured its potential.

Cinematography by Ashok Mehta is good .

On the whole, the film would have surely been a hit three years back but that doesn’t deny the possibility of another success story here. With Salman’s huge fan following and a little help from ‘God’ this one may just prove right at the box office. This film offers nothing really unique but at some point or the others does a good job at either connecting people or connecting them to their creator. A little bit promotion would have done wonders for this one.


Rating : **

Singh Is Kinng Movie Review

Singh Is Kinng - Khan is still King!


There has been a lot riding on this flick and why not when you have one of the hottest pairs Akshay and Katrina who return yet again after ‘Namastey London’. All the more hype when you have Anees Bazmee heading the ship. Bazmee’s track record at the box office says it all- Tremendous success with his previous ‘Welcome’ creating a box office record.

Now here we are with ‘Singh is Kinng’, with Vipul Amrutlal Shah who enjoyed much success with Akshay’s ‘Waqt’ taking his place as producer.

So does Akshay Kumar’s box office record especially overseas prove that he is the new King of Bollywood?

Synopsis…

Lakhan Singh aka Lucky [Sonu Sood] is the King of the Australian underworld, accompanied by his associates [played by Javed Jaffrey, Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, Yashpal Sharma, Kamal Chopra and Sudhanshu Pande]. Far away, in a small village in Punjab, where Lucky was born, there exists someone more notorious than him - Happy Singh [Akshay Kumar].

The village is fed up of Happy. Out of desperation, they decide to send him on a long trip to bring Lucky back to Punjab, as his despicable deeds were maligning their image in Australia.

The happy-go-lucky bumpkin, taking his mission a bit too seriously, embarks on his journey, accompanied by his friend, Rangeela [Om Puri], who hates Happy for dragging him into it.

The high point of his journey is his chance meeting with Sonia [Katrina Kaif], with whom he falls in love, but upon reaching his destination, things take a precarious turn as he runs into a series of comic misadventures, leaving him penniless. He is fortunate to find warmth and affection in an elderly lady [Kirron Kher].

In a strange turn of events, an attempt on Lucky's life is foiled by a well-intentioned Happy, who fights off the attackers by risking his own life. Following the altercation, Lucky lands up in hospital paralyzed and Happy, unexpectedly, finds the tables turned on him when he is expected to assume the role of the new King.

To begin with ‘Singh Is Kinng’ relies heavily on the star value of Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif and not much has gone into the plot. No doubt that an Anees Bazmee flick has nothing much for the intellectuals and is usually loaded with some whacky lines and interactions between characters. But this time out, Anees fails at something he is an ace-Comedy. There seriously aren’t many funny lines or scenes and the movie gets lost in the glamworld scenario of splendid locales etc.

There seems to be a lack of focus in the film which takes off well as an idea of a Punjabi lad ‘Happy’ going out to get King but things get haywire with the action followed by the stretched out love triangle between Akshay-Katrina-Ranveer. To make things worse Javed Jaffrey who starts out well irritates with his act and what was the double role for?

At some point one would wonder whether the film was really made with a solid script or just with an initial thought further enhanced by the so called star power at the box office that Akshay has been enjoying .

Maybe the flick was a shot at Shahrukh who has rightfully been called the King of Bollywood for ages. And with much being said about the rift between Akki and Srk , a lot can be observed with certain sequences in the film drawing references to King Khan.

The cinematography is splendid and a little editing of the tracks would help. The music is entertaining no doubt enhanced by loads of colour but it just pops in and out anywhere. The Snoop Dogg version appears at the end while the credits roll.

Akshay Kumar no doubt excels with his performance but since there isn’t much sensibility in the emotional sequences in the film you don’t connect with him much the way you would in a ‘Humko Deewana Kargaye’ or ‘Namastey London’. Katrina is cute and fits the bill. She is sure to draw in the masses.

Neha Dhupia does real well and impresses. Sonu Sood emerges with a brilliant performance and gets his share of bollywood finally. Manoj Pahwa , Yashpal Sharma and Sudhanshu Pandey are ok. Om Puri does well. Kirron Kher is ok but the logic behind her shedding tears etc is so lame. Ranvir Shorey is ok. Jaaved Jaffrey annoys.

To sum it up , Akshay does well but the film is much below expectations and why not when the title’s got the word ‘King’ attached to it. Akshay is no doubt a great performer but with this film lacks the true persona of the ‘King’ and there’s still a lot more to get to that ‘King’ status. So for now , Khan is still King.

Rating : **1/2

Good Luck Movie Review

Good Luck - Don’t push your luck too far!


Well , there is actually nothing much to mention about this film which has been swinging around with its release dates . The producers even went out to have the hoardings placed upside down hoping that luck would just shine upon their flick.

Well the film promises interesting names such as the likes of Aryamaan (whose launchpad ‘Family’ misfired due to Amitabh Bachchan’s ailment), Sayalee Bhagat, Ranvir Shorey, Archana Puram Singh and Aditya Datt the man behind ‘Aashiq Banaya Apne’ spearheading the flick.

Synopsis….

Vicky[Areyamaan] wants to make it big as a singer but is cursed by bad luck and on the other hand, Saba[Sayalee Bhagat] is enjoying her good luck spree. But with a series of events Saba kisses Vicky and the good luck too gets transferred around thanks to a tarot card reader [Archana Puran Singh].

Things get miserable for Saba and now she has to get her shot at that kiss to get her luck back once again. In between come characters such as Lucky Ali (who plays a music Baron) and Ranvir Shorey( who plays a gigolo ) drop in.

For a filmmaker like Aditya Datt who was quite a name with his first ‘Aashiq Banaya Apne’, he seems to be taking the graph downwards. What a disaster of a film!

Where’s the plot? A straight lift from ‘Just My Luck’ which was a dud itself. Lindsay Lohan was nominated for the worst actress award at the Razzies, wonder whether our guys in this flick would procure a few Razzies.

The movie just goes on and on with its share of poor jokes and people trying real hard to be funny. Sayalee Bhagat seriously should have chosen a better film, throughout she just annoys.

Areyamaan too fails immensely with his delivery and lacks conviction. Lucky Ali, what was he doing there? Ranvir was pushing his luck too far.

Music by Anu Malik was rather hilarious than soul stirring or romantic. The choreography by Shabina Khan especially in the last track is weird.

An Out and out waste of time and a real disappointment from Aditya Datt.

Rating : *

Ugly Aur Pagli Movie Review

Ugly Aur Pagli - Script falters, Ranvir scores


A film called My Sassy Girl released in Korea way back in 2001. It's about a loser who meets a drunken girl one evening on his way back home. He takes the girl, who falls unconscious, to a hotel for the night as he does not know where her house is. The story takes off from here as he gets a call from the girl the next day to know what happened the last night. They meet again and again and become good friends. But the relationship is strange as the girl is completely whacked out. And the guy keeps pleasing her anyway she wants him to as he sees some internal grief in her.

Cut to 2008 and we have Ugly aur Pagli being made by a new director Sachin Khot. And this film precisely has the same story. Kabeer (Ranvir Shorey) is an engineering student who has been failing for four years. And one night on way back to home he meets a drunk Kuhu (Mallika Sherawat). And the rest of the story follows as the Korean movie.

So obviously this one is what they called 'inspired'. Which in straight sentences mean 'Not an original story'. So much for all creativity!

That apart for people who has not seen the Korean film and people who do not mind copied stuff, Ugly aur Pagli is an interesting film. It's a love story and yet stands far apart from the regular love stories. To add to it is the interesting narration and screenplay. And the jokes involved are simple and straight. There is no attempt to be double meaning. The dialogues are youthful and fun.

Ugly aur Pagli however falls in the characterization. While Kabeer's character is pretty rounded, Kuhu's character fails to impress. The character builds up too late and there are no reasons provided to why she behaves the way she does. The second half gets better but by then it has lost on attention. Clearly a problem with the script!

The movie looks bright and nice due to the camerawork and colours used. And the movie could have been made crisper by editing out some scene here and there. The music is no great kicks either. It works for the film but nothing you take with you outside the theatre.

On the acting front Mallika shows that she can't do emotional scenes although she may slap and kiss well. There are a couple of scenes when she sheds tears and they almost make you laugh. Ranvir Shorey however continues with his terrific form. He is definitely one actor to look out for. But he should not be made to dance. His face gives away that he is uncomfortable doing that. Dances classes for suggested!

Ugly Aur Pagli may have drawn better marks if it was original. The youth will may like this movie for the 'hatke' storyline. But at the end of the day it really fails to entertain you the way it's supposed to. You won't regret giving this one a pass.

Rating : **

Mukhbiir Movie Review

Mukhbiir Movie Review

Mukhbiir - The desi ‘Bourne’ gets bore


It’s been a while now that ‘Mukhbiir’ has been mired with problems that have given the film a back seat. First with a series of events involving change of producers from Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) to Color Chips and the legal money transactions to a postponement in the release date, the film has been badly hit.

Mani Shankar who established himself with ‘December 16’ and then went on to ‘Rakht’ and ‘Tango Charlie’ brings forth the story of an informer.

Synopsis…….

In the secret world of shadows where good and evil are deeply enmeshed,the dark world where fear stalks through streets, where the thin veil of sanity can get ripped off in an instant revealing the hidden face of stark terror-on that razors edge live the chosen ones, wearing masks that can never be taken off.

This is a film about a young man and the many masks he wears enacting a desperate drama where forgetting the lines means instant death. This is the story of the many lives he has to live the many deaths he has to die.

Director Mani Shankar would have wanted his film to take off very much the ‘Bourne Identity’ way. Though he tried to spin it a little bit here and there by asking the viewers to have pity on the informer or ‘Mukhbir’, he fails miserably.

The film bores and bores and bores. There is a complete lack of believability and connect with the storytelling. What’s with those close-ups of Samir Dattani time and again with those so called ‘Shayari’s ‘or one-liners? It’s just lame.

Samir seriously requires much more to look like that informer. His delivery is poor and his expressions are kiddish. From which angle does he act ( forget look ) like an informer?

The majority of characters have been simply scattered around without substance. Suneil Shetty just walks in and out and leaves no scope for understanding. Om puri does his bit well even though he often confuses.

Raima Sen was just a waste. Man, the way she falls in love with Mr.Mukhbir and breaks into the typical ‘Naach Gaana’ is ridiculous.

Sushant Singh does his bit of massaging the ladies and getting to do some Bhaigiri. Alok Nath too joins him on this bit.

On the whole the movie comes across as a very jaded one. With the delay and competition from former producers PNC’S ‘Ugly aur Pagli’, the film is bound to face rough waters at the box office.

Rating : *

Mission Istaanbul Movie Review

Mission Istaanbul - No Mission, No Vision

Apoorva Lakhia better known for his sleek action packed flicks with an overload of so called ‘stars’ brings forth his mission with overtones of international terrorism. Vivek Oberoi walked away with rave reviews for his role as ‘Maya Bhai’ in ‘Shootout’, now let’s see what mission offers him?

Synopsis…

Vikas [Zayed Khan] is one of the most promising journalists in the country. Owais [Suniel Shetty], who heads a controversial Istanbul-based news channel Al Johara, makes him an offer to head the channel. This offer comes at a time when Vikas is undergoing a divorce with his wife Anjali [Shriya Saran].

But little does Vikas know that the decision will change his life forever. Owais is killed and Turkish commando Rizwan [Vivek Oberoi] tells Vikas that if he decides to quit as well, he would be bumped off as well. In a place where the gun has the last laugh, will a journalist survive or will he fall prey like many others?

This time around you are really perplexed with what’s going on screen. With all those Osama Bin Laden look alike and news channels and reporters splashed over, the film is headed nowhere to tackle terrorism. The protagonist being an army trained journo with the divorce crisis and bla bla.. it doesn’t get anywhere.

Apoorva Lakhia has lost it out big time. With his focus on enhancing certain favourites such as Vivek Oberoi , Shabir Ahluwalia and Zayed Khan embedded with all those violent or so called action sequences, the plot lies in the bin.

The movie starts off too with those cliché Shriya Saran –Zayed Relationship crisis and songs etc further carried on by even more songs and still a lot more songs being so irrelevant.

The songs too are such a drab except for the opening track. It’s a blessing that they skipped the title track. That’s some real good decision making!

What about the dialogues of the film? The serious ones made me laugh out loud. The George Bush replica is such a dud. The so called 13th floor of the ‘Alzohra’ news channel concept is so silly.

On the acting front, Zayed Khan is such a waste. He is so not convincing as the journo and neither can he deliver his lines well. The sequences that require him to get emotional sees him getting into the Shahrukh Khan mould.

Vivek Oberoi is good but gets repetitive. He carries those elements of Bhaigiri throughout and eventually the lacuna in the script makes him sound boring. Shweta Bharadwaj does nothing more than run around trying to be Lara Croft. Shriya Saran has no scope at all and from no angle gets close to being a journo.

Nikhetan Dheer is nothing more than a lump of muscles. The actor who was extremely promising with ‘JodhaAkbar’ is so underused. Shabir Ahluwalia is the finest lot of them all. He carries off well with his body language and fits the bill. Sunil Shetty is hardly there.

Wonder why the Abhishek Bachchan track was even there?

On the whole, ‘Mission Istanbul’ sums up to being a dull fare and much below Lakhia’s standards.

Rating : *

Money Hai Toh Honey Hai Movie Review

Money Hai Toh Honey Hai - What was that?


Ganesh Acharya is no doubt a man with immense talent. For people who have heard of his growth in the business of entertainment over the years know very much that Mr.Acharya has come up against all odds. With his very first film ’Swami’ as a director, you were eagerly awaiting his next.

Well, it has arrived in the form of ‘Money Hai Toh Hai’.

Synopsis..

The film has six characters: Bobby [Govinda] is a happy go lucky guy, who wants to prove himself. Lalabhai [Manoj Bajpayee] is back on the road as his business fails and he loses all his money. Gaurav [Aftab Shivdasani], a copywriter, is fired from his job. Manik [Upen Patel] is a struggling model who sleeps with a middle-aged fashion designer [Archana Puransingh], hoping to make it big. Ashima [Hansika] is a successful TV star, but she's not happy with her career and is desperate to do films as the lead heroine. Shruti [Celina Jaitley] is a struggling dress designer who wants to design for the common man.

One fine day, they all get an SMS informing them that they are the owners of a 1,000 crore company. However, their happiness does not last long for the lawyer reveals that there's a loan of 1,200 crore on the company and they must repay it and until the loan is repaid, they would be kept under house arrest.

From ‘Swami’ to ‘Money Hai Toh Honey Hai’, what’s with Ganesh Acharya? His previous flick had stuck to its roots that’s the storytelling. But here, where’s the storytelling? It is crass.

Looks like Ganesh just picked up a few friends from the business and did them a favour by claiming to cast them in a big multi-starrer. The plot has nothing much and the execution is such a bore. The movie seems like a culmination of concepts of brand names be it the ‘Idea Cellular’ or reference to lame jokes with names such as ‘Tata Sky’.

The movie just keeps dragging from one character to another in an attempt to sound funny. Finally, post interval the characters get together and if you are hoping things get better, you’ve got it wrong.

There is an overload of irrelevant songs with some good choreography. Looks like Ganesh promised every actor his share of ‘naach-gaana’ be it Upen Patel or Hansikka.

Govinda loves eating all the lime light. No problem. Just that it would be better provided he sticks to his age . Govinda seems to have learnt a lot from good friend Salman Khan so much so that he apes him completely with this flick. What’s with Govinda’s styling? The actor just goes bla bla , boring you.

Upen Patel is just annoying and does nothing beyond flexing his muscles. Aftab is just a cut paste from his recent flicks. Celina Jaitley tries her hand at being serious with her vision in her character but fails. Manoj Bajpayee does some lame stuff and is totally underused. Kim Sharma , RaviKissan- not required.

Prem Chopra bores. Archana Puram Singh is sleazy. Hansikka does a fare job and comes across as a chirpy bubbly character. She does her bit well.

Forget all those dance moves and forget this flick. It’s a big disappointment. Wonder how producers like Kumar Mangat sanction such flicks?

Rating : *

Awards for Aishwarya Rai

Awards of the International Indian Film Academy
2003
Won
Popular Award
Actress in a Leading Rolefor: Devdas (2002/I)

2000
Won
Award for Artistic Excellence
Actress in a Leading Rolefor: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)

Filmfare Awards
2007
Nominated
Filmfare Award
Best Actressfor: Dhoom:2 (2006)

2005
Nominated
Filmfare Award
Best Actressfor: Raincoat (2004)

2003
Won
Filmfare Award
Best Actressfor: Devdas (2002/I)

2001
Nominated
Filmfare Award
Best Actressfor: Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000)
Best Supporting Actressfor: Mohabbatein (2000)

2000
Won
Filmfare Award
Best Actressfor: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)

Screen Weekly Awards
2005
Nominated
Special Award
Jodi No. 1Shared with:Vivek Oberoi

2003
Won
Screen
Best Actressfor: Devdas (2002/I)
Special Award
Jodi No. 1for: Devdas (2002/I)Shared with:Shahrukh Khan

2001
Nominated
Screen
Best Actressfor: Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000)

2000
Won
Screen
Best Actressfor: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)

1998
Won
Screen
Most Promising Newcomer - Femalefor: ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997)

Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards
2005
Nominated
WAFCA Award
Best Breakthrough Performancefor: Bride & Prejudice (2004)

Zee Cine Awards
2005
Won
Critics Choice Award
Best Actressfor: Raincoat (2004)

2003
Won
Popular Award
Best Actressfor: Devdas (2002/I)
True Indian Actress


2000
Won
Popular Award
Best Actressfor: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)
Lux Face of the Year

Aishwarya Rai Filmography

Filmography
Jump to filmography as: Actress, Producer, Soundtrack, Thanks, Self, Archive Footage
Actress:
In Production
2000s
1990s
Bhopal Movie (2008) (in production) .... Jasmine Singh
Singularity (2008/I) (in production) .... Tulaja
Pink Panther 2 (2009) (completed) .... Sonia
Sarkar Raj (2008) .... Anita Rajan
Jodhaa Akbar (2008) (as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) .... Jodhaa Bai
The Last Legion (2007) .... Mira ... aka Dernière légion, La (France) ... aka Ultima legione, L' (Italy)
Guru (2007) .... Sujata ... aka Gurukant (India: Telugu title) ... aka Mani Ratnam's Guru (India: English title: complete title)
Journey Across India (2007) .... Mumtaz Mahal ... aka Taj Mahal: The Great Indian Experience (India: English title)
Dhoom:2 (2006) .... Sunehri ... aka D:2 - Back in Action (India: English title: informal English alternative title)
Umrao Jaan (2006) .... Ameeran / Umrao Jaan
Provoked: A True Story (2006) .... Kiranjit Ahluwalia ... aka Provoked (UK: short title)
The Mistress of Spices (2005) .... Tilo
Bunty Aur Babli (2005) .... Special Appearance (song) ... aka B.N.B. (India: English title: promotional abbreviation)
Shabd (2005) .... Antara Vashisth/Tammana
Bride & Prejudice (2004) .... Lalita Bakshi ... aka Balle Balle! Amritsar to L.A. (India: English title) ... aka Bride and Prejudice: The Bollywood Musical (International: English title: promotional title)
Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na (2004) .... Diya Malhotra
Raincoat (2004) .... Neerja 'Neeru'
Khakee (2004) .... Mahalaxshmi ... aka The Uniform (International: English title: informal literal title)
Kuch Naa Kaho (2003) .... Namrata Shrivastav ... aka Don't Say a Word (International: English title: informal literal title)
Chokher Bali (2003) .... Binodini ... aka Choker Bali: A Passion Play (International: English title) ... aka Sand in the Eye (India: English title)
Dil Ka Rishta (2003) .... Tia Sharma ... aka Heart of Gold (International: English title) ... aka Relationships of Hearts (International: English title: informal literal title)
Shakthi: The Power (2002) .... Dream Girl
23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002) .... Special Appearance (song)
Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (2002) .... Komal Rastogi
Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) .... Special Appearence
Devdas (2002/I) .... Parvati ('Paro')
Albela (2001) .... Sonia
Mohabbatein (2000) .... Megha ... aka Love Stories (Europe: English title)
Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke (2000) .... Sahiba Gareval
Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000) .... Preeti Vyas ... aka You Have My Heart (International: English title: informal title)
Josh (2000) .... Shirley
Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) .... Meenakshi ... aka I Have Found It (International: English title) ... aka Priyuraalu Pilichindi (India: Telugu title: dubbed version)
Mela (2000) .... Champakali
Sanam Tere Hain Hum (2000) .... Special Appearance
Ravoyi Chandamama (1999) .... Special Appearance (Song) ... aka Shankar (India: Tamil title)
Taal (1999) .... Mansi ... aka Thaalam (India: Tamil title)
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) .... Nandini ... aka Straight from the Heart (International: English title)
Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) .... Pooja Walia ... aka Lets Go Back (International: English title)
Jeans (1998) .... Madhumitha/Vaishnavi
...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997) .... Ashi Kapoor
Iruvar (1997) .... Pushpa/Kalpana ... aka Iddaru (India: Telugu title: dubbed version) ... aka The Duo
Producer:
Bhopal Movie (2008) (in production) (executive producer)
Soundtrack:
Bride & Prejudice (2004) ("My Lips Are Waiting (a.k.a. Goa Groove)", "My Lips Are Waiting (reprise)") ... aka Balle Balle! Amritsar to L.A. (India: English title) ... aka Bride and Prejudice: The Bollywood Musical (International: English title: promotional title)
Thanks:
Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) (special thanks)
Self:
"Grand journal de Canal+, Le" .... Herself (1 episode, 2008) - Episode dated 15 May 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Herself
"The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" .... Herself (1 episode, 2007) - Episode dated 15 August 2007 (2007) TV episode .... Herself
52nd Fair One Filmfare Awards (2007) (TV) .... Herself
Guru World Premiere in Toronto (2007) (TV) .... Herself
"Aspekte" .... Herself (1 episode, 2006)... aka Kulturbericht (West Germany) - Episode dated 29 September 2006 (2006) TV episode .... Herself
Bollywood Queens Vol. 2 (2006) (V) .... Herself/Various characters
"HARDtalk Extra" .... Herself (1 episode, 2005) - Aishwarya Rai (2005) TV episode .... Herself
"The Oprah Winfrey Show" .... Herself (1 episode, 2005)... aka Oprah (USA: short title) - Episode dated 24 April 2005 (2005) TV episode .... Herself
"Late Show with David Letterman" .... Herself (1 episode, 2005)... aka Late Show Backstage (USA: title for episodes with guest hosts) ... aka Letterman (Australia) ... aka The Late Show (USA: informal short title) - Episode dated 8 February 2005 (2005) TV episode .... Herself
"Koffee with Karan" .... Herself - Guest (1 episode) - Episode #1.4 (????) TV episode .... Herself - Guest
Bollywood Remixed - Das indische Kino erobert den Westen (2004) .... Herself
From Bollywood to Hollywood: The Making of 'Bride and Prejudice' (2004) (V) .... Herself
"Tinseltown TV" .... Herself (1 episode, 2004) - Episode dated 7 February 2004 (2004) TV episode .... Herself
"60 Minutes" .... Herself (1 episode, 2004)... aka TV Land Legends: The 60 Minutes Interviews (USA: rerun title) - Episode dated 2 January 2004 (2004) TV episode .... Herself
"Comme au cinéma" .... Herself (1 episode, 2003)... aka Comme au cinéma: l'émission (France: long new title) ... aka Comme au cinéma: le magazine (France: long new title) - Episode dated 20 May 2003 (2003) TV episode .... Herself
Bollywood Sirens: Aishwarya's Greatest Hits (2003) (V) .... Herself
48th Manikchand Filmfare Awards 2002 (2003) (TV) .... Herself (Best Actress)
"Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai" .... Herself (1 episode, 2002) - Aishwarya Rai (2002) TV episode .... Herself
Bollywood im Alpenrausch (2000) (TV) (uncredited) .... Herself
Archive Footage:
101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies (2005) (TV) .... Herself - place #7
Pride and Prejudice Revisited (2005) (TV) (uncredited) .... Lalita Bakshi

Biography for Aishwarya Rai

Date of Birth
1 November 1973, Mangalore, Karnataka, India

Birth Name
Aishwarya Krishnaraj Rai

Nickname
Ash
Gullu
The Queen of Bollywood

Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography
Born into a traditional south Indian family, Aishwarya started modeling at a young age. This green-blue-eyed beauty appeared in advertisements for many prestigious firms; the ones that brought her into the limelight were the garden sari and the Pepsi ad. Crowned Miss India 1994 runner-up, she was a hot favorite in the run for miss world title, which she won, her beauty and charm made her India's darling. Ash stormed into the Indian movie industry, where she has proven herself a brilliant & genuine actress. Her performance in Iruvar (1997) was critically acclaimed, and she won the Screen best female debutant award for her role in ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997). She was adored in movies like Taal, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, her item number in 'Bunty & Bubbly' had sent waves of rhythm across the nation. With her successful Bollywood movies & prestigious Hollywood projects lined up for release it is impossible to ignore this Indian diva in international scenes.

Spouse
Abhishek Bachchan (20 April 2007 - present)

Trade Mark
Her blue-green eyes

Trivia
Wanted to study medicine, but circumstances prevented her.

Miss World 1994.

Dated Salman Khan.

Was offered Rani Mukherjee's role in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998).

Runner up, Miss India 1994

Ambassador (spokesperson) for Longines watches since 1999.

Daughter of Vrinda Rai

Sister of Aditya Rai

In April 2003, she suffered an accident on the sets of Khakee (2004) when a car driven by a stuntman got out of control, hit her, took her down a crevice, and slammed her into a cactus plant. She broke a bone in one foot and suffered severe cuts, and she was rushed to a hospital. The incident rekindled the discussion about poor safety standards on Bollywood film sets.

The first Indian actress to be on the jury of the Cannes International Film Festival.

Has made over 50 music videos in only seven years.

Despite the fact that she is adorned with jewelry in her music videos and movies, she is apparently not too fond of it.

Is the highest paid actress in Bollywood.

Created a frenzy at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival when she arrived at the premiere of her film _Devdas (2002)_ in a coach and wearing a beautiful yellow-orange-embroidered sari.

Was originally cast in the role of Jwala in the film _The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005)_, but dropped out before filming started due to contract problems. The role was later given to Amisha Patel.

Loves collecting watches.

Made her first commercial for Camlin pencils when she was in the 9th grade.

Was the Coca Cola Girl for the Middle East and south Asia.

Favorite subject in college was Zoology.

Has achieved iconic status all over South Asia.

Is featured in the 2004 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

In a poll conducted by Hello magazine, she was voted the number-one attractive woman of 2003, beating actresses such as Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

In April 2003, L'Oréal signed her as its new international brand ambassador (spokesperson).

The first Bollywood star to appear in Rolling Stone magazine (Issue 932, October 2, 2003)

Gained 20 pounds for Bride & Prejudice (2004) because she didn't want her character to look like a supermodel and also felt that it would add a sense of realism to the character.

Is a Bunt, like fellow actors Shilpa Shetty and Sunil Shetty. The Bunts are a South Indian community who mainly speak Tulu, which is Aishwarya's mother tongue.

Turned down the lead in Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (2003). The role was given to Gracy Singh.

Turned down the role of Mastani in the film _Bajirao Mastani (2005)_.

The first movie star she ever met was Rekha. Aishwarya was still in high school at the time and was a model. While at a grocery store with her mother, Aishwarya was tapped on the shoulder by none other than Rekha herself. Rekha recognized Aishwarya from her modeling ads. She complimented the young Aishwarya on her good looks and wished her all the best.

Is fluent in the languages English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Urdu.

Receives at least two movie offers every day.

Was originally intended for the role of Priya in the film _Chalte Chalte (2003)_.

Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai are the only stars to advertise for both Coca Cola and Pepsi.

Before she was famous, she auditioned to do voice-dubbing for a television serial and was rejected.

Shahrukh Khan recommended her to play Kaurwaki in the film Asoka (2001). But the director wanted to cast someone who hadn't already been paired with Shahrukh as a leading lady.

After winning the title of Miss World in 1994, the host of the event, Richard Steinmetz, actually asked Aishwarya out. But being a professional, she refused right away.

Sued the magazine Star and Style for a sum of Rs 20 million (2 crore) for printing an article claiming that actress Raveena Tandon had caught her and Akshay Kumar in a compromising position at the poolside of a five- star hotel.

During the filming of the song 'Dola Re Dola' from the movie _Devdas (2002)_, Aishwarya's ears were bleeding because to the heavy earrings she had to wear, but she continued to perform anyway.

Is a trained classical dancer. She learnt classical dance and music for five years while in her teens.

Has a puppy named Sunshine, which was given to her as a gift by friend Vivek Oberoi.

Won the title of Miss Photogenic in the 1994 Miss World Pageant.

Has won over 100 awards since 1994 when she was 20.

Is good friends with actress Preity Zinta.

Has gained a cult following in Pakistan.

Was listed in Time magazine as one of 100 most influential people in the world (The 2004 TIME 100).

Ran the Olympic-torch relay in June 2004.

Turned down a role in San wa (2005) due to her touring schedule. The role was eventually given to Mallika Sherawat.

Has refused to work with Salman Khan after their break-up, in spite of several offers.

Has over 17,000 Web sites dedicated to her.

In 2004, Aishwarya became the first Bollywood and Indian actress to have her own statue at London's Madame Tussauds museum.

On January 2nd, 2005, she became the first Indian actress to be interviewed on "60 Minutes" (1968).

Voted #9 in Harpers and Queen magazine's list of the 100 most beautiful women of today. (Harpers and Queen, June 6, 2005)

A tulip produced in 2005 was named for her.

Member of the jury at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.

When Oprah Winfrey saw Aishwarya's interview on "60 Minutes" (1968), she was so fascinated by her that she got a hold of Ash and invited her to be a guest on her show. On April 25, 2005, Aishwarya became the first Indian and South Asian actress to be featured on _"Oprah Winfrey Show, The" (1986)_.

Turned down the role of Helen in the film Troy (2004).

Director Andy Tennant offered her a part in _Hitch (2005)_, but she turned it down because she was so busy with other films.

Turned down the role of Anna in Barsaat (2005).

In the summer of 2005, Mattel released limited-edition Barbie dolls inspired by Aishwarya and her costumes. They were released only in Britain and sold out within minutes. These dolls are now considered rare collectibles among fans.

Her favourite film is Casablanca.

Was voted number 12 on VH1's 50 Sexiest Actresses of the Last 20 Years. (December 2005)

Roger Ebert has said he considers her the most beautiful actress in the world.

Was voted as E's 7th sexiest celebrity in the world

The first actress from India to get signed on with the American Library Association and also have a poster made of her for schools and library's all across America.

Was originally signed on to play the part of Simmi in Bluffmaster! (2005), but was replaced without any notice by Priyanka Chopra. Director Rohan Sippy then gave Aishwarya a "special thanks" in the end credits as an apology.

Turned down the part of Sandhya in _Saamna (2006)_.

When President George W. Bush visited India in March 2006, he invited Aishwarya, along with Aamir Khan, to a luncheon. Aishwarya could not attend because she was in Brazil at the time filming for Dhoom:2 (2006).

Was considered for the role of Priya in Krrish (2006).

Turned down the lead in Corporate (2006) because she didn't have any dates available for filming. The role was given to Bipasha Basu.

In mid 2001, Aishwarya started work on two films titled Radheshyam Seetaram and Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke. For reasons unknown, filming stopped on these films in February 2002. Filming was never completed and the films have now been shelved. The only glimpse of the movies that exist for the public to see are photographs from the sets and publicity shots.

Performed to an audience of 85,000 in Melbourne, Australia at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games with 800 backup dancers. (March 2006)

Was cast with a small role in Lajja (2001), but was dropped because there were already too many major stars in the film.

When Karan Johar asked Aishwarya on his talk show which film she wishes she could have been a part of, she responded _Khamoshi: The Musical (1996)_.

Is the second Indian actress to appear on the cover of TIME magazine in 2003. The first was Parveen Babi in 1976.

Is very popular in many Arab countries.

Featured in People Magazine as one of the 100 Most Beautiful People in the World. (Issue May,8,2006)

Was considered for the role of Kalyani in Water (2005).

Got her education at Arya Vidya Mandir and DG Ruparel College, both in Bombay, India. She was also accepted into Raheja College of Architecture in Bombay, but never went.

Good friends with fellow Indian superstar and icon, Madhuri Dixit. The two worked together in the super-hit and widely acclaimed Devdas.

Listed as number 3 of 'Top Bollywood Actresses' of 2006. (rediff.com, 8-25- 2006)

Caused a day long traffic jam in Dubai, United Arab Emirates while filming a soap commercial. People would stop for hours just to catch a glimpse of their favorite actress. (September 5, 2006)

Listed #3 by UK magazine Eastern Eye one of "Asia's Sexiest Women" (Sept/ 2006).

Is the most photographed woman in India.

She was the first choice for the role of Jane Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), but she turned it down due to filming conflicts.

She secured 90% marks in HSC at Ruparel college in Mumbai.

her Pepsi ad with Aamir Khan was shot in one night during the infamous Bombay riots.

Has been in six movies with Abhishek Bachchan, more than with any other actor.

Came in #1 in BollySpice.com Magazine's list of "Top 10 Actresses of 2006".

Turned down the part of Malvika Talwar in Baabul (2006).

In January 2007, she announced that she has accepted a marriage proposal from current boyfriend, actor Abhishek Bachchan.

Is often referred to as "the most beautiful woman in the world".

In 2005, Hugh M. Hefner attempted to create and Indian version of Playboy for India, which would feature South Asian women and Indian pop culture articles, but no nudity. He wanted to have Aishwarya on the cover of the first issue. The magazine was rejected.

Twice turned down the lead in the Hindi version of Chandramukhi (2005).

Was invited in 2005 to be a presenter at The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV), but was unable to attend because she was busy filming for The Mistress of Spices (2005).

Is active in various charities and often visits orphanages.

Her favorite Western designer is Giorgio Armani. Whenever she is in London, clothes are taken to her hotel for her to choose from.

Is the second of five Indian women to win the Miss World title. The first was Reita Faria, who won in 1966. Others include Diana Hayden who won in 1997, Yukta Mookhey in 1999, and Priyanka Chopra in 2000.

Ranked #30 in TIME magazines issue of '100 Most Influential People of the Year'. This is her second time making the list, her first being in 2004. (The Time 100, 2007).

Has appeared on more magazine covers worldwide than any other Bollywood or Indian star.

Director Brett Ratner is a fan of Aishwarya's and he wanted her to be cast in Rush Hour 3 (2007), but she turned down the offer.

Was considered for the part of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale (2006).

Her wax statue at Madame Tussauds Museum in London was borrowed by the museum in New York for six weeks. The statue was flown to New York and made its debut on August 15, 2007, making her the first Indian actress in the American version of the museum.

About 15 kilos of henna was special ordered from Sojat in Rajasthan for the henna ceremony before her wedding.

Her wedding invitations were embossed with two entwined As and delivered along with a box of chocolate meringues. Within the invitation was also a poem about new beginnings written by Amitabh Bachchan's father and renowned poet Harivash Rai Bachchan.

Her wedding ceremony lasted a total of three days. It was the most awaited and talked about wedding in years and the press followed it like Princess Diana's wedding.

For her 34th birthday, she went to go see Beyonce Knowles in concert in Mumbai.

Biography for Amitabh Bachchan

Date of Birth
11 October 1942, Allahabad, India

Birth Name
Amitabh Harivansh Srivastav

Nickname
BIG B
Munna
One Man Industry
Angry Young Man
Bollywood's Shahenshah
Amith
Big A

Height
6' 0½" (1.84 m)

Spouse
Jaya Bhaduri (3 June 1973 - present) 2 children
Trade Mark
His baritone voice.

Trivia
Arguably India's greatest ever superstar.

He launched a multi-faceted commercial enterprise known simply as Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited, or ABCL. ABCL is engaged in production, distribution and all other aspects of the movie industry.

Had a very close association with the former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi (also Prime Minister) and he was elected to parliament with a huge majority from his home town of Allahabad. But his stint in politics did not last long and he was implicated in the infamous Swedish Bofors Gun deal scandal along with Rajiv Gandhi, the U.K. based Hinduja brothers, and others.

Was one of the judges for the 1995 Miss World beauty pageant.

While filming Coolie (1983/I) he received a near fatal injury. He was hospitalised and the Indian press issued daily bulletins on his health.

Was a former stage actor, radio announcer and freight company executive in Calcutta, India.

Went to Sherwood College, a boarding school in the hill-station town of Nainital, and from there to Delhi University where he earned a double MA degree.

When he was just trying to get a break in movies he was told to soften his 'deep' voice. However it was soon realised that his deep rich voice was excellent for narration. He has provided narrations for several films.

Suffered from a rare muscular disorder known as myasthenia gravis.

Father of Abhishek Bachchan

Is a vegetarian

Presenter of Kaun Banega Crorepati, India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire

The first Asian actor having a wax model of his likeness displayed at Madame Tussaud's in London, UK

Highest paid Bollywood actor in the film industry.

Was named Actor of the Millennium in a BBC News Poll ahead of such luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Sir Lawrence Olivier, and Marlon Brando.

Was considered 'finished' in the late nineties after super star status for 20 years, a string of flops and failed political and business ambitions. But made an unexpected comeback as host of the popular TV quiz series "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" (2000) which put him right back on the number one spot of Bollywood actors over 40, reaffirming his reputation as the living legend of Indian cinema with a new series of high profile films (Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) etc.)

Formed a popular screen couple with Rekha

He also sung in many movies such as Laawaris, Toofan and Silsila.

Became a grandfather in 1997 when his daughter Shweta gave birth to a daughter, Navya Naveli Nanda.

Works with the Indian government's media campaign to publicize the National Immunization Days and encourage people to take their children to be vaccinated against polio and other deadly diseases.

Son of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, who passed away in January 2003.

Suffers from asthma.

His favourite screen name is Vijay, which he had as his character name in over 20 movies.

His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan was considering naming him 'Inquilab' (which means 'revolution') before settling down for Amitabh which means 'brilliance unlimited'.

On his 61st birthday, he relaunched ABCL as AB Corp. ABCL had to be closed after debts of more than millions of rupees. However, Amitabh has decided to relaunch it with a name change.

Actress Nirupa Roy is mostly cast as his mother and last time she featured was in Lal Baadshah (1999).

Has a double M.A. (Master of Arts) degree.

The facial caricature of the Indian comic book character 'Supremo' is based upon him.

Following a near fatal accident while shooting Coolie (1983/I), during which he suffered internal bleeding and required 17 bottles of blood, he became a champion for the cause of encouraging more people to donate blood.

Singer Sudesh Bhonsle dubs his voice for playback songs in many movies.

At the age of 58, he jumped from a height of 30 feet, along with co-star Manoj Bajpai, for his 2001 movie Aks (2001).

In 1996, he released an album called "Aby Baby". This album was released under ABCL and featured songs like "Eer Bir Phatte" and remixes of his songs from his early movies "O Saathi Re" and "Kabhi Kabhi". "Eer Bir Phatte" was inspired by one of his famous dialogues in his movie _Adalat (1976/I)_.

In 1984, he was honored by the Indian government with the Padma Shri Award for his outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry.

He is the only actor who achieved at least one hit every year for 15 consecutive years - from 1972 in Bombay to Goa (1972) to 1986 in Aakhree Raasta (1986).

He has played double and triple roles in a number of films. His double role starrers include _Adalat (1976/I)_, Don (1978), Kasme Vaade (1978), The Great Gambler (1979), _Bemisaal (1982)_, Desh Premee (1982), Satte Pe Satta (1982), Aakhree Raasta (1986), Toofan (1989), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), Lal Baadshah (1999) and Sooryavansham (1999). Mahaan (1983) had the superstar in a triple role.

He was closely associated with Indira Gandhi, the former Indian Prime Minister, and her son, Rajiv Gandhi. It was Mrs. Gandhi who wrote a letter of introduction for Amitabh, and that's how he got his break in Bollywood.

He was the original choice to play a role in Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai (2003), which he declined and was finally played by Om Puri

His survival and his success could in short be termed best in his wife's own words that "Amit ji is a loner !"

Although Amitabh Bachchan's Immaan Dharam (1977) proved to be a disaster, the producer went ahead and announced Asmaan with Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, with Mohan Kumar in the director's seat. Salim-Javed, who had penned the script of Immaan Dharam, were scripting Asmaan as well. However, the film was shelved subsequently.

Rakesh Kumar, who had directed Khoon Pasina (1977), Mr. Natwarlal (1979), Do Aur Do Paanch (1980) and Yaarana (1981), had turned producer and announced Charlie, with Amitabh Bachchan enacting the title role. Padmini Kolhapure had been cast opposite the Big B. However, the project never got made.

Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar were seen on screen for the first time in Ramesh Sippy's Shakti (1982). But much before Shakti happened, Eagle Films had signed Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan for their new project, which was to be directed by Yash Chopra. However, the project did not materialize subsequently.

In 1976 Amitabh Bachchan was to star in Manoj Kumar's Naya Bharat, alongside Amitabh it was also supposed to star Manoj Kumar, Hema Malini, Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman and Rishi Kapoor. The film was shelved subsequently.

Amitabh Bachchan, Parveen Babi, Mithun Chakraborty and Rati Agnihotri were teamed in Tala Chabi, produced by Romu Sippy and directed by Raj N. Sippy. One of the foremost character actors then, Pran, had been signed to enact the main villain's role. An official announcement was made in April 1982. The movie never took off.

Amitabh Bachchan was supposed to play one of the lead roles in Shashi Kapoor's Utsav (1984) however; Amitabh opted out of the film. Shashi Kapoor replaced him.

Amitabh Bachchan was the first choice of Rakesh Roshan's King Uncle (1993). But since the actor wasn't signing films then, Roshan opted for Jackie Shroff.

Prakash Mehra was planning on making Chankaya Chanddragupta and had signed Amitabh Bachchan for the main role. The movie was shelved.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra wanted Amitabh Bachchan to play the lead role of Inspector Inayat Khan in Mission Kashmir (2000). The reason why Amitabh Bachchan declined the role was because of his commitment to Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein (2000).

Kader Khan wanted to direct him as the lead hero in Jaahil, unfortunately the movie was never made.

He hates the word Bollywood, the word that describes the Hindi film industry.

Is teetotal

On 31 October 2006, he shocked the unit of a forthcoming movie Shootout at Lokhandwala by recording 23 scenes in 5 hours. Achieving this feat was unheard of.

His daughter, Shweta, is married to Nikhil Nanda, who is the grandson of Raj Kapoor. (Raj Kapoor's daughter, Ritu, took on the last name of Nanda when she married Rajan).

His daughter, Shweta, was born on March 17th.

His mom, Teji Bachchan, passed away in Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on December 22, 2007, after a prolonged illness, at the age of 93.

Has a mannequin of himself in Madam Tussaud's Museum in England. Along with Shahrukh Khan, Aishwariya Rai Bachchan and Salman Khan.