Posts tagged kabir khan

Is releasing a biggie on a holiday always beneficial?

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3 weeks ago
by Fenil Seta in

BOMBAY TIMES (May 28, 2013)

 

Booking a release date for your film well in advance has become an obsessive trait in Bollywood. Filmmakers have started giving out press statements, booking advertisements and keeping an entire PR machinery handy for the sole purpose of announcing the date they have circled in the calendar for their future releases.

Hrithik Roshan’s Krrish 3 is coming on November 3 (Diwali) this year. But we also know that his Bang Bang is coming on May 1 next year (Maharashtra Day, 2014) and his Shuddhi is out next Diwali. Ranbir Kapoor’s Bombay Velvet is out at Christmas next year.

And so on and so forth. A trade source points out that since there are only 52 Fridays and more than double the number of releases, getting a premium release date has become the most important aspect for a producer. So even before shooting begins — for e.g. Shuddhi will start only by the end of this year, but Karan Johar has already decided he will release it at Diwali next year. He has also made the announcement public, so as to keep others at bay.

BIG HERO, BIG HOLIDAY SUCCESS Success on a holiday is guaranteed for a big hero — like Salman Khan, who brought Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010) and Bodyguard (2011) on Ramzan Eid, Ek Tha Tiger on August 15 (Independence Day) last year and Dabangg 2 just before Christmas 2012 and it went on to become the biggest phenomenon ever.

Says director Kabir Khan, “If a film is released on a holiday, it does make a big difference to the opening More >

Saif Ali Khan to play the lead in Sajid Nadiadwala-Kabir Khan’s film

1
1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; April 22, 2013)

 

In a first, Sajid Nadiadwala, Kabir Khan and Saif Ali Khan team up for a film. The yetuntitled thriller is set against a contemporary backdrop and will focus on the lesser-known aspects of sub-continental politics. The movie will be shot in India, the Middle East, the US and Europe and the female lead opposite Saif is yet to be decided.

Says Sajid, “I have loved the three films Kabir has made (Kabul Express, New York and Ek Tha Tiger). Our journey together will be interesting and that is most important to me.”

Talking about his hero, Kabir says, “I have admired Saif for being a powerhouse performer and also one of the biggest stars in the country. I’m also excited about working with Sajid, knowing the kind of canvas my film will get. It will be interesting to see my genre of films merging with his banner.”

Saif Ali Khan refuses to get drawn into the Sajid vs Sajid war?

1
2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

The actor says everyone should be professional about their work and treat everything as such

Upala KBR (DNA; April 17, 2013)

 

Director Sajid Khan and producer Sajid Nadiadwala have been in the news for the past few days. The director and the producer, who worked on three films, will not be working together in the near future. Battle lines have been drawn and friends have taken sides and line up behind ‘their guy’. At this point, Saif Ali Khan is the only actor in the B-Town who is ‘friends’ with both Sajids.

Saif is working in Khan’s next comedy and he is also part of Nadiadwala’s next to be directed by Kabir Khan. He doesn’t find it necessary to take sides. In fact, SAK is one actor who has consciously never been part of any camp in the industry.

Recently when there were reports that Saif was having second thoughts of working with Khan after the debacle of Himmatwala, the Nawab of Pataudi came out in support of the director. That raised eyebrows in the industry that was speculating if the actor had indeed picked sides. But Saif refuses to get drawn into a tug-of-war between the two ex-friends both of whom he is working with.

Saif has always been very clear about his friendships and priorities in Bollywood. He prefers to walk his own path and is purely interested in doing good films without getting dragged into people’s personal equations with each other. There is no question of him leaving either of the films. He wants to do gritty commercial entertainers like the ones More >

We actors are not your mothers-Saif Ali Khan

0
2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Saif Ali Khan shoots from the hip about allegations that Go Goa Gone violates the Cigarette Smoking Act

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 11, 2013)

 

While Saif Ali Khan knew it was a gamble venturing into the world of zombies, the producer of Go Goa Gone, directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, is enthused by the favourable response the film’s trailer has garnered.

Says the actor-filmmaker: “I am feeling great. Sometimes, our job is to do something unexpected. It’s very tempting to follow the beaten path. It’s so boring making the same thing. When Kunal Khemu got the script and the directors narrated it to me, I thought it was very funny and unusual.”

But hasn’t the Goa Government lashed out against his production house Illuminati Films, alleging defamation of the state and violation of the Cigarette Smoking Act? Saif seems rather amused. “I will sort it out,” he says.

But doesn’t he think showing actors smoking on the big screen has an adverse impact on society? “This is a very last generation idea. We actors are not your mothers to tell you that smoking is bad. Why can’t I just be an actor? I don’t smoke in my personal life…” he shoots back.

Far from being anxious about the controversy that has erupted over his film, Saif is hoping the CBFC (Censor Board of Certification) will support him. “Why are these NGOs not objecting to the guns and the killing in the film? How about banning video games that have more violence than films? As for the allegations of misusing More >

Nawazuddin refuses to promote years-old short film, turned into feature film

0
2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Subhash K Jha (DNA; April 4, 2013)

 

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is currently facing a problem that successful actors often have to — his old, forgotten unreleased films are being being dug out by producers who are keen to ride on the actor’s new-found success. However, the case of Gangs Of Gardulley, whose makers have accused Nawaz of ignoring them and their plea to complete their film, is a unique one. Nawaz says he had shot for a short-film which without his knowledge or consent has been turned into a full-length feature film, by the makers.

Nawaz, who is currently shooting in Shimutala, Bihar for Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Hindi film, says, “The short film was done very early in my acting career, when I was hungrily doing anything that was offered to me. It was one of the 70-odd short films that I did even before I did a cameo in Kabir Khan’s New York. It was a short film on drug abuse of 30 minutes’ duration.”

Nawaz is appalled that its makers are now claiming that they have an incomplete feature film that they wanted the actor to complete. An upset Nawaz adds, “I didn’t have any recollection of this short-film because it was called something else when I shot for it. Now they’ve re-titled it Gangs Of Gardulley to cash in on my Gangs Of Wasseypur. What’s more, I had worked with a different director. Now they’ve roped in someone else as director. So they’re talking about a different project, not the one I’ve done.”

Nawaz shares, “I found out that they’ve secretly shot more footage with More >

Ex-Japanese Katrina Kaif ready to work in Kabir Khan’s Japan film

0
2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 22, 2013)

 

Not many may be aware that Katrina Kaif lived in Japan for some time during her growing up years.

The actress has fond memories of the country and even remembers a smattering of Japanese.

The actress went on a nostalgia trip about the land of the rising sun when Kabir Khan ( who directed her in Ek Tha Tiger) told her about the plans to release her film there.

Says Kabir, “Before I left for Japan for the premiere of Ek Tha Tiger, I spoke to Katrina about the film being released on April 20. She was excited about it. She has spent two years in the country so there are a lot of memories attached to the place.” He adds, “ She even made me learn a few Japanese words that would come in handy. Katrina still remembers whatever she had learnt as a youngster,”

More importantly the star also told Kabir that if he shot a film in Japan, she would have to be part of the cast! Kabir, along with Yash Raj Films folk Avtar Panesar and Aashish Singh, scoured for locations to shoot a film across different cities in Japan.

Adds Kabir, “Even though YRF was just checking the possible locations in the country, Katrina told me that if I ever had to make a film that was going to be shot in Japan, I would have to cast her.” Kat was unavailable for the premiere of her film with Salman Khan due to her shoot commitments.

“As she was busy, she could not make it but she is keen to visit Japan again,” informs Kabir.

YRF has been scouring locations for its film project in Japan

0
3 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 15, 2013)

 

Though they have not yet pinpointed which of their future projects will be shot in Japan, Yash Raj Films (YRF) folk have been scouring locations to base one of their films in the land of the rising sun.

After the premiere of their Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif production Ek Tha Tiger in Tokyo recently, YRF folk visited several spots in the city that could be possible venues for the shoot.

They included Aashish Singh vice president, (production) and Avtar Panesar, vice president (international operations). Director Kabir Khan also accompanied them.

Over the years, not too many Bollywood flicks have been shot in Japan due to the high costs involved. Tokyo is considered to be one of the most expensive cities in the world. Reason enough for production houses to stay away. But with Japan keen on luring Indian tourists and Tokyo being the candidate city for the 2020 Olympics, the authorities feel that they need to open their doors to Indian production houses.

Among the scenic locations that were checked out in Tokyo included the Hama Rikyu Gardens, a sprawling landscaped garden surrounded by a seawater moat filled by the Tokyo bay. In the 17th century it was the family garden of the ruler Tokugawa Shogun with duck hunting grounds, teahouses (which still exist!) and the flora of Japan including the cherry blossom trees. The heritage site is dotted by Tokyo’s skyline of skyscrapers and a must see for tourist with its boat rides. For any More >

Celebs narrate how they gatecrashed into Bollywood

0
3 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Shubha Shetty (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 13, 2013)

 

A recent media event at FICCI Frames saw an interactive session between outsiders who have made it big in the film industry. Aptly titled, ‘Gatecrashers who made the party: The out of towners of Bollywood’, the session had Sujoy Ghosh, Kabir Khan, Gauri Shinde and Amit Sadh as panelists. While most chose to remain diplomatic, it was interesting to see Kabir Khan take on the moderator, Karan Johar. “There were times when I would wonder why filmmakers like you, could not spare even five minutes for newcomers like me and hear my script. There is no platform that gives us outsiders a chance to meet someone influential in this industry,” he said. However, he also mentioned: “It was out of this concern that we had started the script cell with Aditya Chopra. Unfortunately we had to close it down as random people started alleging that we were stealing the scripts submitted by them.” While Amit Sadh narrated an incident how a director once broke his morale by tagging him as a misfit, Sujoy Ghosh spoke about knocking on every door with his script for years.

The highlight of the evening was perhaps Karan’s recollection of his first meet with Shah Rukh Khan. He said: “I didn’t know him back then. I first met him at Anand Mahendroo’s office where I had gone for a role in a TV serial. When Mahendroo walked in, Shah Rukh just said: ‘Sorry, I don’t want to do television any longer. I would rather do films,’ and left. So, there was this man, More >

61 Indian directors to interact with Steven Spielberg

0
3 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Jigar Shah (MID-DAY; March 11, 2013)

 

It’s almost impossible to not know who Steven Spielberg is. And for some lucky Indian directors, the dream of meeting and knowing him better is about to come true. Turns out the celebrated Hollywood filmmaker will be interacting with about 60 personalities from Indian cinema and share tips on filmmaking.

Spielberg, who is known for films like Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, ET, Jaws and Jurassic Park, is making his maiden trip to India. This development is a direct result of his association with Anil Ambani. The industrialist’s entertainment production house has a tie-up with the American’s film studio. In fact they both produced the much-acclaimed Lincoln, amongst other films. Fittingly enough, a special party in his honour has been organised on the March 12 where Spielberg shall be meeting the who’s who of Indian film industry.

What’s more interesting about this event is that Spielberg would be having an interactive session with a room full of directors from the country who have already confirmed their presence. A well-placed source says, “It can easily be called as master class session wherein Steven Spielberg will be imparting knowledge to Indian directors and would be learning from them as well and the list includes the biggest of names like Rajkumar Hirani, Anurag Kashyap, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Abhishek Kapoor, Habib Faisal, Ram Gopal Varma, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Farah Khan to name a few.”

And the invitation goes More >

Namaste japan, says Salman Khan

0
3 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Aakanksha Naval-Shetye (DNA;March 7, 2013)

 

For all those who can’t have enough of comparing South superstar Rajinikanth to Bolly superstar Salman Khan, here’s one more ‘byte’ to chew on. Like Rajini, who’s probably been the only Indian hero to command a huge fan following in Japan, it is now Salman, who is storming the markets there with Ek Tha Tiger. Filmmaker Kabir Khan who was in Osaka to announce the release of his action thriller in Japan confirmed on tweet about the buzz that Salman is creating there. Alongside the poster of the dubbed version of ETT, Kabir tweeted, “Just got over with a packed press conference in Osaka. Happy to see the excitement in Japan about the release of EkThaTiger .”

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