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Priyadarshan upset with journos

Priyadarshan is upset with journos as even after issuing repeated media statements about the title of his forthcoming film "Bhool Bhulaiyaa", some still refer to it as "Chandramukhi".

"It's a comic thriller called 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa', not 'Chandramukhi'. And it's a re-make of the hit Malayalam film 'Manichithrathazhu'. Moreover, it is not produced by me, but by Bhushan Kumar under their banner T-Series. I hope now things clear up," said Priyadarshan.

An exciting thriller-comedy, the film revolves around conservative and superstitious people living in a small town. The film promises to reveal many dimensions of human psychology.

Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Shiney Ahuja, Amisha Patel, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav form the cast of the film, and Neeraj Vora has penned the screenplay and dialogues.
   

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Ajay Devgan's secretary preparing to launch daughter

Mumbai, March 21   If Ajay Devgan's secretary-cum-producer Kumar Mangat is splurging money on his daughter Amita's launch vehicle "Haaley Dil", the Devgan family is leaving no stone unturned to make it a perfect debut for her.

Mangat, who produced last year's critically acclaimed "Omkara", is spending Rs.100 million on "Haaley Dil". Ajay is keenly scanning the list of possible actors as he has taken the responsibility of finalising the male lead.

"Since her father is his manager as well as mentor, Ajay is like a big brother to Amita," said a source.

Ajay's brother Anil is to direct the love story.

The film is expected to go on floors by the end of this month.

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Abhishek's compliment made Karan's day

While shooting at Kamalistan recently for "Betiyaan Apni Ya Paraya Dhan", TV actor Karan Mehra was more than glad to bang into Abhishek Bachchan, who was also shooting at the same place for his Motorola ad.

When the duo met, the first thing Abhishek had to say was how much he liked Karan's new Mountain Dew ad. Karan was of course happy to hear that, especially coming from such a great star.

But Karan also conveyed his own share of congrats. When Abhishek inquired for what, Karan commented that the last time they had met he was single, now he was hitched!

"That was really sweet of him. We had great fun during the little while we had been shooting together," said Karan.

Karan will be soon seen in a cameo role in Abhishek starrer "Drona", which is set to release soon.
 

Doctor's film on AIDS shoots down myths
By Frederick Noronha, 

Mumbai, March 21   Doctor-filmmaker Jorge Guillermo Caravotta, whose AIDS documentary "Second Life" was released recently, says people are dying more from the stigma attached to the disease than the disease itself.

India has 5.1 million HIV positive people, second only to South Africa. However, the stigma and discrimination associated with this disease are the real enemies, said Mumbai-based Caravotta, an Italian doctor of Argentine origin.

"My source of inspiration was Kamal, the first PLHA (person living with HIV/AIDS) to be my colleague," he said.

Kamal discovered her HIV/AIDS status six months into marriage. After her husband's death and daughter's birth, she completed her medical studies to "live for positive people like her", says Caravotta's film.

"I never thought of making a documentary film about HIV/AIDS before. But after listening to her during a trip to Delhi, I found in her story a lot of courage to empower PLHAs," Caravotta told IANS.

"India acted as an alarm clock for my film-making creativity, boosting my potential," he added. "I would like the message of the documentary film spread all over this country with the same velocity as the virus."

The National Family Health Survey, the most extensive study on health and nutrition in India, reported that 57 percent of women are unaware of HIV/AIDS. Health officials and doctors still reject patients suffering from this fatal illness, the doctor said.

Big companies are unclear about the disease, said Caravotta. Families eject children from their homes if they contract HIV/AIDS. Some institutions refuse to take care of HIV positive children, he added.

"Can we stop this epidemic with condoms? Can we stop it with antiretrovirals? Can we stop this epidemic with pamphlets only?" he asked.

"My main objective in 2004 was not to make a documentary, but to record some incidents about PLHAs. Then, in 2006, I was touched by the transformation of the people and this was the beginning of my film," he added.

The Humanity Films Year produced the Hindi-Marathi "Second Life" with English subtitles. The documentary was first shown in December.
 

Shabana-Javed's sellout shows in US
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, March 21   Actress Shabana Azmi and her husband Javed Akhtar had a string of crazy experiences in the US when they went there to stage their play "Kaifi Aur Main".

The couple, which conducted 14 shows in different cities last month, first got delayed at the St. Louis airport due to an ice storm and when they reached Washington, they were asked to condense the play that is based on Shabana's parents' lives.

Recalls Shabana: "Javed and I had taken on a lot of teaching engagements along with our play 'Kaifi Aur Main' where we enact scenes from my parents' life. After our speech in St. Louis, we were to leave for Washington DC. But we were stranded in St. Louis because of an ice storm.

"Finally, we reached Washington at 12.30 a.m. for the 8 p.m. show. And the audience was still waiting. Can you imagine? Our singer Jasvinder Singh continued singing until we reached."

What followed was even crazier.

"We had the theatre for only an hour. We had to compress and edit a two-hour play to one hour. Javed was editing on stage and I was picking up the cues. Our director Ramesh Talwar was going crazy behind the stage wondering how Javed did it. I must say Javed is a master. He could edit the play on the spot because he's a writer. At the end of it...standing ovation! Very gratifying," Shabana told IANS.

All the 14 shows of their play were sold out in the US. "We got a standing ovation everywhere. I must say Javed has acted better than any professional actor. There's a lot of poetry in the play. Javed is able to recite those lines with a conviction that no one else can.

"Audiences were very surprised by his voice projection and his sense of humour. Not too many people know my father was a very humorous man. Javed could get into the skin of my father's lines.

"I'm blessed to have a husband who has written a play on my parents' life. The play has got the best of abba's lyrics, poetry, politics and romance with my mother."

Shabana feels "Kaifi Aur Main" will go as far as her earlier play "Tumhari Amrita".

"It's a very personal play for me. There're bits that churn my guts. But it's also about remembering my father with a lot of affection. Hence healing and cathartic. I must say the poem 'Bahut ajeeb aadmi tha' that Javed wrote on my father was very healing for our entire family.

"My brother Baba said we must remember our father with joy. At the time when it happened, it was naturally very traumatic for me. But today I know what my brother means. We remember him with joy. The play celebrates him. It's wonderful that my mother's book 'Yaad Ki Rehguzar', on which this play is based, is being picked up by nine universities in the US."
 

Aishwarya, Rohan team up for Lux ad
By Subhash K. Jha,

Mumbai, March 21   After "Kuch Naa Kaho", Aishwarya Rai teams up once again with Rohan Sippy, this time for a sizzling Lux commercial.

"That's right," said media recluse Aishwarya. "Rohan and I have been friends for ages. When his name cropped up for the new Lux commercial, I immediately grabbed it. We shot the ad in Dubai and it's turned out really hot," the actress told IANS.

Talk veers to rumours that Aishwarya has not been giving ample time to the promotion of her films.

"Not true at all! I've been virtually living out of suitcases, running from location to location all over the world, trying to get my four new films ready. Even then I've always made myself available for the promotion of all my films."

She admits being hard pressed for time during the release of "Mistress Of Spices", and therefore being unable to participate in the promos.

"I nevertheless agreed to a number of one-on-ones on the film. What could I do if the press persons were looking for more spice than I could give them about the film?" she laughed, dodging all questions on her personal life.

Right now, she's all set to promote Jag Mundhra's "Provoked" in a big way.

"Provoked" is the harrowing tale of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a battered Punjabi housewife and mother of two who is beaten and raped by her alcoholic husband.

"It's a film and theme I completely believe in. I suggested we get the real Kiranjit Ahluwalia, whom I play, into the promotional loop for 'Provoked'.

"As for me not dubbing my lines in the Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi versions, I speak Punjabi in the original English version of the film. So, the Punjabi version needs no dubbing from me. For the Tamil and Telugu versions I've asked them to get professional dubbing artistes who speak in these languages. How would I sound speaking in Tamil and Telugu? I don't think Hrithik (Roshan) dubbed for the South Indian versions of 'Krrish'."

Her last word on the bikini controversy in "Dhoom 2" -- "Thank god people have stopped talking about it. It was never me."
 

Rani - from poor cousin to Bollywood's biggest star
By Arpana, 

New Delhi, March 21   From bit roles in C grade movies to the polished performance in "Black", birthday girl Rani Mukerji, who turns 29 Wednesday, can look back at the last 10 years with deep satisfaction.

When she joined the film force in 1996 with the box office dud "Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat", she was literally written off by critics. Rani was plump, short, her voice was rough and nobody was willing to work with her.

Then cousin Kajol, a big star then, put in a word for her and Karan Johar hesitatingly cast her in his directorial debut "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai". There was no looking back after that. The poor cousin metamorphosed into a rising star, considered one of the most powerful women in Bollywood today.

"When Karan wanted my voice to be dubbed for 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', I really thought that it was bad and very husky and rough, but slowly I worked to improve my diction, and am now quite comfortable with it," Rani was quoted as saying.

Karan didn't regret his decision. The film was a blockbuster and Rani got rave reviews. Not only was she honoured with the Filmfare award, offers started pouring in as well.

Since then, Rani has played a successful innings and has given hits like "Black" (2005) "Bunty Aur Babli" (2005), "Paheli" (2005) "Veer-Zaara" (2004), "Hum Tum" (2004) "Yuva" (2004) "Chalte Chalte" (2003) "Saathiya" (2002) "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" (2001) and "Ghulam" (1998).

She was also seen in an unconventional role in Kamal Hassan's "Hey Ram", which made headlines because of her kissing scene. But she rebuffed all the controversies saying that the kiss with Kamal was mechanical. "He was constantly checking the right angle. Where was the passion?"

She claims that Kamal re-invented the actress in her after the 'Hey Ram' experience.

Last year, Rani had two releases -- "Kabhi Alvida Naa Khena" (KANK) and "Baabul" - both damp squibs. However, that didn't really make a difference because her performance was appreciated and applauded.

With six Filmfare awards in her kitty, the actress has today surpassed her rivals and is touted as one of the most versatile and talented actress.

As she climbed up the success ladder, controversies followed her to the top. In November last year, she was shooting a film in Varanasi when fans crowded the set and security guards beat them up with sticks. There was a storm in the media and reports that said she should have stopped the security guards. Rani even apologised for her behaviour at the conference but it didn't seem enough.

"I was asked to say sorry for my behaviour at the press conference, which I did," she said.

Another controversy was her tiff with KANK co-star Preity Zinta. Talk of their tiff travelled all the way to India from New York but Rani put a stop to it by making an appearance with Preity on the Holi special episode of STAR Plus' quiz show "Kaun Bangea Crorepati", hosted by friend and colleague Shah Rukh Khan.

Rani is currently busy with Bhansali's "Saawariya" and Siddharth Anand's "Ta Ra Rum Pum", which is releasing on April 27. The story revolves around a racing driver and Rani is paired with Saif Ali Khan in the film.

She will also feature in Pradeep Sarkar's "Laaga Chunari Mein Daag", hitting the marquee on Oct 12.

As far as her love life goes, she has been linked with her co-stars like Govinda, Abhishek Bachchan and right now the buzz is that she is dating the elusive Aditya Chopra.
 

Big B allows Preity to occupy prized hotel suite
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, March 20   Strange stories about Amitabh Bachchan throwing a tantrum over not being put up in a presidential suite at a luxury hotel in Kolkata are doing the rounds.

According to a report, Amitabh made huge demands on the producers of Rituparno Ghosh's English-language film "The Last Lear" and even "threatened" not to shoot for the film until he was given the presidential suite at a particular luxury hotel in Kolkata.

But an associate of the superstar told IANS: "Of course, Amitabh was to be put up in the suite. He doesn't need to throw a tantrum for that. It is his by right. However, when he reached Kolkata for the shoot, the presidential suite was occupied by someone else.

"Without the least fuss he quietly took an ordinary suite with an interconnecting room for his valet Pravin, who needs to be with him to give his food, medicines and so on, on time. And his makeup man is not staying at the same hotel. He's been put up in a much less expensive hotel."

The presidential suite was subsequently allotted to Preity.

"She arrived in Kolkata for her second schedule. By then the presidential suite was vacant, and we asked Amitabh if he'd like to move into it. He said he was comfortable where he was, so Preity was given the presidential suite."

Ghosh, neck-deep in work, is horrified at the story about Amitabh's alleged demands.

"Far from making demands Amit-da is the epitome of cooperation. I've never seen such fierce dedication and passion in anyone. I wish every actor in this country would learn the meaning of commitment and dedication from him. After 'The Last Lear', I want to make at least a dozen films with him," said Ghosh.
 

Priyanka's special gift for her brother
By Subhash K. Jha, 

Mumbai, March 20   Priyanka Chopra's younger brother Siddharth is probably the happiest kid in Mumbai now. His indulgent star-sister has got him the most precious gift of his life - a T-shirt signed by the entire Indian cricket team.

Recalling the episode Priyanka told IANS: "I was on my way to London on a British Airways flight. My brother Siddharth was with me - he comes to see me off every time I leave Mumbai. At the airport he nearly swooned when he spotted the entire Indian cricket team. He went ballistic. 'Didi, get them to sign my T-shirt and I'll be your slave for life.'

"I was embarrassed and horrified. How could I just go ahead and ask them to sign my brother's T-shirt? But Siddharth insisted. Then I wondered which T-shirt he wanted the team to sign since he obviously hadn't brought an extra T-shirt to the airport. To my horror, Siddharth took off the one he was wearing and gave it to me."

On flight, Priyanka hesitantly sent over a message to the team with her 17-year-old brother's request.

"I'd have loved to meet them personally and make the request on my brother's behalf. But it was a night flight and I was in the executive class while they were in business. So I just sent over the request. They happily and graciously agreed. I came out of the flight with every member of the team's signature on my brother's T-shirt."

Priyanka's demeanour lights up. "Now my brother guards the T-shirt as though his life depends on it. Of course he didn't remember his promise to be my slave for a year. The little brat!"

The year ahead is looking swell for Priyanka.

"I'll have quite a few releases this year. 'Love Story 2050' and 'Drona' will probably come one after the other at the year-end. Then I've the comedy 'God Tussi Great Ho' with Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan."
 

Hindi films boom in US, 7 break $2 mn barrier
By Arun Kumar, 

Washington, March 20   A record number of Indian films reached blockbuster status in the United States in 2006 with half of the 14 foreign language films that grossed over $2 million being in Hindi. No other language came close to contributing so many box office hits to the list.

Spanish, despite being spoken by millions of more Americans, trailed far behind as the next most popular foreign language at the US box office with only two films above the $2 million benchmark last year.

More Hindi films surpassed this box office level in 2006 than in all previous years combined, showing immense growth for Bollywood films in America, according to boxofficeguru.com.

Hollywood also seems to be now ready for Bollywood. Superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie recently produced their new feature film "A Mighty Heart" in India and both George Clooney and Will Smith have expressed interest in collaborating with the Bollywood film industry on future projects.

Wes Anderson is shooting his next film "The Darjeeling Limited" in India. And Mira Nair brings the best of Hollywood and Bollywood together in "Shantaram" that stars Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan.

Until now, Bollywood films have mostly been available in Indian theatres and small video shops far outside of Los Angeles. Time Warner Cable of Los Angeles is changing that with the launch of its International Movies on Demand service allowing fans to watch them at their convenience. For this the cable company has teamed up with BODVOD, a company that holds exclusive rights to popular Indian movies from top Bollywood studios such as UTV and Adlabs.

Many new Bollywood films have now made their on-demand premieres including one of the highest-grossing films in India last year, the Adlabs sci-fi action thriller "Krrish". Shot in Singapore, the groundbreaking special effects in the Hrithik Roshan smash have made it Bollywood's first super hero blockbuster.

The hits keep coming later this season with the much-anticipated premieres of Shah Rukh Khan's action blockbuster "Don", the New York-set comedy "Jaan-E-Mann", and the epic Moghul-era romance "Umrao Jaan" starring the newly-engaged Bollywood power couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan.

Time Warner Cable of Los Angeles is also showing its support for Bollywood and South Asian cinema by sponsoring the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA), which is now in its fifth year of bringing the best of new Indian cinema to movie fans in Southern California. It runs April 17-22 at ArcLight Hollywood.

"Time Warner Cable is excited to sponsor the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles this year and proud to give our 1.9 million customers in southern California access to more Bollywood and South Asian movies," said Roger Keating, executive vice president, Time Warner Cable.

"By creating a separate international category to showcase films from around the world, Time Warner Cable connects people to the many diverse cultures represented in the southland on the most convenient, easy-to-use platform cable has to offer," he said.

"We are truly delighted to be working with Time Warner Cable of Los Angeles this year," stated Festival Director Christina Marouda. "The availability of international films On Demand is an important step towards highlighting Indian cinema. IFFLA's commitment to present quality Indian cinema creates an ideal partnership."

With this new partnership with IFFLA and BODVOD, Time Warner Cable digital customers can view a movie of their choice for just $3.95 with unlimited access within 24 hours. Film genres in the International category include Bollywood, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.

"This is a perfect strategic fit between Time Warner Cable and IFFLA and we are happy to bring them together," said Anjali Jindal, head of programming for BODVOD Networks, the provider of Time Warner's and other cable operators ' Bollywood on-demand category.

"In addition to content, we focus on developing innovative, mutually beneficial partnerships in the community to create awareness for both on-demand services and support reputable cultural organisations."
 

ICICI, King Khan team up to lure NRIs

London, March 20   Leading Indian bank ICICI has launched an advertising campaign featuring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to lure the 1.3 million people of Indian origin living here to open an account.

ICICI Bank teamed up with Khan, who has a big fan following in Britain, to launch its HiSave account that pays 5.65 percent interest on deposits of 1 pound or more.

"He is our brand ambassador and his name is so easily recognisable to anyone of South Asian origin. He is very popular," said Sonjoy Chatterjee, managing director of the bank in Britain.

ICICI currently has six branches in Britain, employing around 200 people who look after a balance sheet of over 2.5 billion pounds of assets.

The bank's branches are mostly located in areas heavily populated by the Indian community like Wembley, Leicester, Southall, Manchester and Birmingham, The Sun newspaper reported.
 

Designer Manav Gangwani launches his music album
 
Mumbai, March 20   Delhi-based designer Manav Gangwani has released his first music album "Passion", a unique extravaganza that celebrates the fusion of fashion and music.

"'Passion' is the first-of-its-kind thematic album that merges the musical sojourn with fashion to create the perfect visual," said Gangawani.

Director Karan Johar and Gangwani's favourite, actor Raveena Tandon Thadani, launched it Monday at Taj Lands End, Mumbai, amid a galaxy of celebrities.

Gangwani began his career in 1999 and has swiftly penetrated the high-end luxury market. His exclusive clientele includes high-profile socialites and Bollywood celebrities.

The designer says he has always been passionate about music from a very young age. Having realised that style has always been loosely associated with music, he conceptualised "Passion" with the Bangash brothers - Amaan Ali and Ayaan Ali Khan.

The experimental fashion music album, launched by Music Today, includes chants and percussion to the accompaniment of sarod and other Indian instruments. This is set to be the trendsetter in the fashion industry.


IANS