Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged police
Bigg Boss season 4 gets Lucky?
Jul 23rd
Delhi’s super thief Bunty, on whose life Oye Lucky Lucky Oye was based, has been signed for the next season of the show
Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 23, 2010)
Remember the Abhay Deol starrer Oye Lucky Lucky Oye? The Punjabi rap song Superchor should ring a bell. The story of the film is loosely based on the life of Devinder Singh alias Bunty, the super chor who created quite a stir in Delhi with his clever robberies. Bunty robbed over 300 houses and 100 showrooms in Delhi, before he was finally nabbed in 2007.
But the super chor, as the film clearly elucidates, had the police clueless about his whereabouts for over five years.
Turns out Bunty the super chor is now reformed and will be seen making his TV debut in the popular show Bigg Boss as one of the contestants. Bunty has already been signed on to be one of the 13 contestants but the matter is still under wraps.
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| Abhay Deol and Neetu Chandra in a still from Oye Lucky Lucky Oye |
Our source said, “It was the idea of one of the creative heads of the channel and it was not an easy task to meet him. Bunty is known to be on the run and keeps on changing his phone numbers. When he was finally contacted, he was surprised at the offer but eventually accepted it.
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| Devendra alias Bunt y |
He has signed the contract and has also signed an agreement where he won’t be allowed to talk to the media or reveal anything about the show.”
Another source in the industry said, “This show is known to get controversial characters to grab eyeballs. When the show roped in Monica Bedi or Rahul Mahajan, who are both controversial figures, the show was discussed in the media extensively.”
When contacted, the channel officials refused to comment on the news. For now, Bunty too has managed to remain unavailable for comment but then again, this super chor has always been good at evading people.
Abhishek, Sanju in RGV’s Department?
Jul 21st
Ram Gopal Varma’s next Department will be loosely based on the lives of encounter cops Daya Nayak and Pradeep Sawant; Sanjay Dutt and Abhishek Bachchan will play the lead roles
Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 21, 2010)
It seems Ramu is veering away from making horror films now. For good reason we suppose. The director is all set to make his next film Department, which is apparently based on the lives of encounter cops. Apparently Sanjay Dutt will play a character that is loosely based on Sub-inspector Daya Nayak. Added to this, it is believed that Abhishek Bachchan will play a role that’s based on DCP of ATS Pradeep Sawant.
Our source said, “Department will explore the much-discussed subject of the relationship between the police and the underworld. The subject of this nexus has been the theme for many films but in Department, it will be portrayed in a more real manner. The film will deal with the forming of the encounter squad and will follow the lives of the encounter cops and their friendships and rivalries.”
It is believed that director Ram Gopal Varma has already spoken to Sanjay Dutt. They will be working together after ten years. They had worked together in Daud. Ramu has apparently spoken to Abhishek Bachchan as well and the necessary formalities are to be finalised.
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| Abhishek Bachchan | Sanjay Dutt | |
Apparently, the film will also have a character based on the current Director General of police D. Sivanandhan. Ram Gopal Varma had loosely fashioned the role of Commisioner Srinivasan (Mohanlal) in Company on Sivanandhan earlier. However, casting for the character Ramu plans to have in Department, is yet to be finalised.
When contacted Ram, Gopal Varma said, “I am working on the story of a film called Department and it’s not based on any existing characters. Nothing has been finalised.”
However Dharam Oberoi, Sanjay Dutt’s business manager, confirmed the news and said, “All I know is that Sanju sir (Sanjay Dutt) is doing Ramu’s next film. Since Ramu has directly spoken to Sanju I am not aware of the details of his role. The dates will be finalised once Sanju is back in India.”
Movie Review: RED ALERT by FENIL SETA
Jul 10th
This year, two thorny disputes of India reared their ugly head full throttle-one, the honour killings and the other, the Naxalite movement. After the CRPF officer’s massacre at Dantewada in April and the Jnaneshwari Express accident, the Red movement has become the most burning issue of our country. Red Alert, dealing with this menace, comes at a perfect time when there is considerable awareness and know-how about the ‘revolution’ among the common man. Exceptionally treated and performed, Red Alert throws light on the stark realities of the people involved in the movement and also offers a ray of hope to all those poor who are unnecessarily engulfed in the battle. One of the finest films of this year, without doubt!
The story of the movie: Narsimha (Suniel Shetty) is a poor farm labourer in a backward district of Andhra Pradesh. One day, when he is assigned the task to deliver food to a Naxalite group in his region, hell breaks loose and before he could realize, he’s sucked into their revolution and movement. He goes with the tide, expecting that whatever he’ll do will result in his family getting two decent meals a day. However, the truth was darker than was expected. On one hand are the Naxalites who are fighting for the poor and for a good cause. On the other hand is the system comprising of government and the police and in other words, the enemies of these Naxals. Narsimha fails to understand-arent the police, the government a part of our country too? How can they be enemies? Finally, after a chance confrontation, Narsimha, instead of being a puppet of Naxalites, decides to take matter in his own hands.
Everything in the film right from the beginning-location, setting, treatment, script and performance makes you forget that you are watching actors on screen. Everything is so realistic that soon they actually seem to be the characters they are playing. The film wins from the first scene itself when Narsimha gets entangled in a cross fire between Naxals and police. The film maintains its flow well and that too right till the end. The intermission point was terrific leaving a painful question with no definite answer.
If the first hour was great, second half was even better. Vinod Khanna’s entry and the attack on a school were wonderfully treated. Narsimha’s confrontation with Velu (Ashish Vidyarthi) gives a solid twist to the tale and takes the film to a high. But from here, the film might seem predictable but lo! The climax turns out to be the most unexpected too! It was good to see that the makers didn’t opt for the beaten path and instead come up with something fresh and new. Also, the film strikes a neat balance and gives a nice overview about both the Naxals and the system. Naxals are not anti-India and as Ashish Vidyarthi says at a point in the film which sums up all-“We are revolutionaries and not terrorists. Terrorists are against the country, we are against the system!” At the same time, the government is also shown in a positive light towards the finale. Maybe this was done to appease them but whatever be the reason; the film turns out to be brilliant, gives a nice message and offers a ray of hope to all the landless and poor.
All those who make fun of Suniel Shetty and his mannerisms, it’s time to watch Red Alert and change your mindset! The actor gives the best performance of his career in Red Alert! The way he slips into his character so effortlessly and comes up with an outstanding performance is truly incredible! This act, undoubtedly, deserves a National Award and also a nomination in other awards (that might not happen though!)! For me, this is one of the most brilliant performances ever!
Sameera Reddy shines in her deglam avatar and was absolutely natural. Here’s another actor who is a great performer and should be taken seriously! Ashish Vidyarthi gives a terrific performance. It was great to see him after a long period of time! Seema Biswas, like everytime, comes up with another intense performance. Makrand Deshpande (as Raghavan the journalist) and Sunil Sinha (Murli) leave considerable mark. Vinod Khanna was a delight as usual while Zakir Hussain was amazing as the Home Minister. Naseeruddin Shah, like Raajneeti, is seen in this film in a miniscule role! Bhagyashree, Ayesha Dharkar and Gulshan Grover play their part well. Others lend able support.
Lalit Pandit’s music fails to make impact. Actually, a film like Red Alert doesn’t require songs at all. However, Monty Sharma’s background score was exhilarating. Allan Amin’s action was believable but at the same time not too gory. Yet, unfortunately, the film was awarded an Adults-only certificate! K. Rajkumar’s cinematography was very nice but too shaky in the action scenes. Locations were breathtaking.
Aruna Raje’s screenplay was watertight, making the film completely engrossing. Hats off to her for coming up with such an intense script inspired from a real life story (as claimed by the makers)! Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s direction was brilliant and this is easily his most accomplished work till date. It requires guts, knowledge and confidence to come up with a film like Red Alert and Mahadevan truly comes out with flying colours! Just like Red Alert, his another offbeat film, Staying Alive, is also stuck since more than a year and it’s high time it gets a release too!
Some of the best scenes:
1. The first scene
2. Lakshmi (Sameera Reddy) rescued by the Naxals
3. Narsimha learns to shoot
4. The failed attack at the minister’s house
5. The intermission point
6. Krishnraj’s entry in the narrative
7. Foreigner’s kidnap
8. The attack on the school
9. Narsimha’s confrontation with Velu
10. The last 25 minutes
On the whole, Red Alert is a brilliant peace of cinema. It gives a true and justified portrayal of the Naxalite movement, an unsolved and most prevalent issue of country. As expected, this grim, serious film has kept most of the audiences’ away inspite of getting considerable acclaim. But here’s a request-give this film a dekko and that too in theatres! Let’s encourages films like Red Alert so that we can have more of such meaningful cinema in future! Satisfaction is fully guaranteed!
My rating-**** out of 5!
Om Puri’s house robbed
Jul 10th
The actor’s house was ransacked and the robbers fled with Rs1 lakh cash and jewellery worth Rs 75,000. Police are investigating…
(MUMBAI MIRROR; July 10, 2010)
Unidentified robbers broke into the residence of Om Puri’s flat in Nalanda building, Andheri, on Thursday night, and fled with Rs 1 lakh cash and jewellery worth Rs 75,000.
The incident came to light on Wednesday when Om’s son Ishaan visited the flat to play with his toys. Om’s wife, Nandita told Mumbai Mirror, “We have two houses in Andheri. We use the one in Nalanda for Ishaan’s toys and library. Ishaan went to play there and realised what had happened.
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| Om Puri with wife Nandita |
The entire house had been ransacked. Ishaan called up Om, and then we filed a complaint at the Versova police station.”
“The neighbours say that they heard the door close twice around 11.30 pm on Thursday. They thought that Om and I had come there on one of our regular visits,” Nandita added.
A police team rushed to Om’s residence on Friday morning to investigate the matter. “They suspect three Nepali watchmen of the building. They were appointed five days ago and they haven’t been seen around after the incident. The police have taken all the fingerprints at the site. They are checking on all the trains leaving for Gorakhpur,” said Nandita.
Pritam gets a nasty surprise on bday
Jun 29th
When Pritam refused to come home early for his surprise birthday party, his wife lied about a murder at their house
Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 29, 2010)
Here’s a first. One party that music director Pritam would have a tough time forgetting, would be his own recent birthday bash. And for obvious reasons, for he almost got arrested by the police. Well, almost.
Pritam’s wife Barbie had planned a surprise birthday party at their new Goregaon flat and had invited all his friends from the industry. But when Pritam kept refusing to come home early from work, for one reason or another, Barbie cooked up a vicious plan.
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| Pritam | Imtiaz Ali– one of the guests |
Our source said, “Pritam was busy in a music recording and post that he had planned to go for his regular temple visit, like he does every Saturday. Just then he received a call from his wife saying that one of the boys he had hired recently as domestic help, had killed someone in their new Goregaon flat. Shocked beyond belief, Pritam turned his car around to rush to Goregaon.
On the way, he was frantically calling some of his friends. He stopped once to rush to an ATM to pick up money. On reaching he realised to his utter shock that his wife had fooled him and cooked all this up just so he would rush home for his own surprise party. All his friends from Bollywood were present there.” Needless to say, Pritam couldn’t have reacted naturally then and would have cut the cake with a smile on his face.
When contacted, Pritam said, “Yes it is true. My wife scared the daylights out of me. I was on my way to Mukteshwar temple where I go every Saturday. She told me that the cops had come and even made me speak to one of them.
This was none other than my close writer friend Charu who pretended to be a cop from Goregaon police station. When I reached there I was surprised to see that all my film friends Sanjay Gadhvi, Imtiaz Ali, Bhushan Kumar, Mohit Suri, Vipul Shah were there. I never drink or eat non-vegetarian food on Saturdays. Not in my wildest dreams had I imagined my wife would plan a party like this.”
We think the harrowed husband could do with an apology. Maybe a song could help?
KamaSutra model kills self for love
Jun 26th
A top model from the 1990s and a party circuit regular, Viveka Babajee, hanged herself in her Bandra flat. Who is the mysterious Gautam allegedly mentioned in her suicide note?
Mumbai Mirror Bureau (June 26, 2010)
Top model Viveka Babajee, who featured in Kamasutra advertisements, hanged herself at her Bandra residence late on Friday evening. The 37-year-old model has left behind several notes, one of them naming a certain Gautam, sources said.
Viveka had a bitter break-up with writer-director Rohit Jugraj a year ago.
The hanging body was a horrific throwback to the Nafisa Joseph incident. Viveka was quite the toast of her time, bagging some of the most prestigious assignments on and off the ramp in her belle epoque, the 1990s – the saucy Kama sutra campaign is one that comes to mind.
The neighbours, on realising that she wasn’t answering the door bell, called the police. Her body was found hanging in her room at Continental Towers in the plush Rizvi Complex of Bandra.
It was 7 pm and even as the body was being sent to Cooper Hospital for a post-mortem, shock waves were already resonating through the fashion world. Some members of the fashion fraternity even began heading to the hospital to offer their respects.
Some friends, who spoke to us, claimed the model had been dating Gautam was only for a month. Amitabh Gupta, additional commissioner of police, western region, while refusing to divulge any details about this alleged Gautam, did however confirm the presence of a suicide note. “Investigations are on. Yes, we have found a suicide note.”
Viveka continued to work in fashion into the new century. Socialite Sharmila Khanna, who introduced her to the world of modeling the late ‘80s, said: “I found it strange that Viveka chose not to engage in modeling for the last four to five years. Nobody knew why.”
Viveka hailed from Mauritius,and owned an entertainment firm called Vibgyor Entertainment that organised events. She represented Mauritius for the Miss Universe in 1993, having won the title of Miss Mauritius.
In her later years, she carved a niche for herself as a fashion choreographer. In the new millennium she tried her luck with films, like many of her ilk, acting in a B-grader titled Yeh Kaisi Mohabbat (2002).
Not much was known of her personal life, save for the fact that she was engaged to Rohit Jugraj, the director of the ill-fated Ram Gopal Varma-presented brawn-flick James.
Guard detained for Rs 84L robbery at Hema Malini’s Goregaon house
Mar 2nd
S Ahmed Ali | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; March 2, 2010)
84-LAKH ROBBERY (Brief Informtation):
HOW: One or more people broke the grille of a window at the rear end of the bungalow at Yashodhara Hilltop Society in Dindoshi, Goregaon (E), to enter the house. They damaged the latch of the bedroom door and broke the lock of the safe to steal the valuables. The police suspect it to be an inside job and have detained one of the two guards at the bungalow. A team has been sent to UP to nab the other suspect.
WHEN: Hema Malini’s cousin, who usually looks after the bungalow discovered the crime on Saturday morning when he found grilles of a window broken and valuables missing from the bedroom safe. The police said the robbery occurred possibly between Friday night and Saturday morning.
THE LOOT: In her complaint, Hema Malini said gold and diamond jewellery, worth Rs 79 lakh, and Rs 5 lakh in cash were stolen from her safe
DETAILED INFORMATION:
Mumbai: The Dindoshi police claimed to have solved the Rs 84-lakh robbery at actor Hema Malini’s Dindoshi bungalow last week, with the detention of one of the two security guards who were deployed at the house round the clock.
The other guard, also suspected to be involved in the robbery, has allegedly fled to his native place in Uttar Pradesh with the loot and a police team has been dispatched there to nab him. “We have detained one of the chowkidars who has given us some leads in the case. We are on the right track and hope to solve the case in a day or two,’’ said additional commissioner of police (north region) R E Pawar.
Hema Malini’s cousin, who usually looks after the 2,500 sq-ft bungalow at Yashodhara Hilltop Society in Dindoshi, Goregaon (E), discovered the crime on Saturday morning, when he found one of the windows broken and valuables missing from the safe inside the bedroom. He immediately called up the actress—who had just returned from Nagpur where she had gone for a dance performance—and the two went to the Dindoshi police station together.
In the complaint, which was lodged by the actress’s cousin, said while she was away in Nagpur, someone had broken into her house and stolen gold ornaments and cash, collectively worth Rs 84 lakh. “I was away for a dance show when this robbery occurred. No papers were lost, only jewellery and money are gone,” said Hema Malini. When asked if she suspected anyone, she said the police were working on it and would hopefully nab the culprit soon.
The valuables were kept inside a safe in her bedroom, said the police, who are baffled that the actress kept so much of gold and money in a bungalow (AA-39), where she stays only on weekends. Though Hema Malini claimed to visit the bungalow pretty often, a source said she stayed there hardly once a month. Following the complaint, a team from the Dindoshi police visited the actress’s bungalow and after an inspection, they said, the incident took place possibly between Friday night and Saturday early morning. Prima facie, it looked like the robbers broke a window at the rear end of the bungalow to gain entry into the house. Closer observation revealed that the accused had not only broken the iron grille on the window but also broke open the damaged the door latch of one of the bedrooms and that of the safe. “There must have been at least two to three people who were involved in the crime. They seemed confident about the layout of the house and they were so deft at breaking in that no one heard them while they were at it. From the look of it, it seemed like that of an inside job,’’ said a police officer.
The bungalow, which is among two dozen buildings that is kept under watch round the clock, is surrounded by highrises on all sides. “Hema Malini deployed two gardeners and two private security guards who stay inside the servants’ quarters built adjacent to the bungalow,’’ said S Kakade, inspector of the Dindoshi police station. “Hema Malini has this house for the past 20 years and this was the first time that the place had been broken in. We are sure to solve the case soon.’’
Robert De Niro would like to work with me-Satish Kaushik
Feb 22nd
Satish Kaushik on going over-the-top in mainstream films and yet underplaying for his overseas projects
By Indu Mirani (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 22, 2010)
Some would call it a schizophrenic existence but Satish Kaushik who straddles cinema at both extremes of the drama spectrum is unfazed.
If on the one hand he has done over-the-top desi comedy characters with such outlandish names as Calender, Pappu Pager, Airport, Muthuswamy and Kunj Bihari and directed melodramatic mainstream films like Tere Naam ( 2003) Badhaai Ho Badhaai (2002), Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001) Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000), Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999), on the other he has a growing fan base overseas with stellar and underplayed performances in Brick Lane (2007) and Road, Movie (2010).
He treasures the fact that when Robert De Niro met him at the Berlin Film Festival recently he walked upto him saying, he (De Niro) had seen his work in Brick Lane and would love to some day work with him. And yet, he is aware that mainstream cinema needs larger than life characters and is proud his comedy is appreciated by not just urban audiences.
Satish and Dev Benegal have fulfilled an old commitment by working together on Road, Movie. “Dev was an assistant on Shyam Benegal’s Mandi and right then he had told me he wanted to work with me one day,” says Satish. Talking about his character, Satish describes him as representi
ng experience, a man who knows about everything be it the police, films, relationships, projectors or trucks. He is one of the three people Abhay Deol encounters as he tours Rajasthan with his touring cinema.
With two international films under his belt now, Satish Kaushik is poised to take advantage of Hollywood’s new interest in Bollywood following Slumdog Millionaire and Anil Kapoor’s success as a television actor. He is finalising an agent in LA and has taken time off to think, read and write before deciding what it is he wants to pursue next. But this Satish knows for sure, he can straddle both the worlds with ease, like any good actor should be able to.
Cinemas cowed down by threat from Sena
Feb 12th
Multiplexes & Malls More Worried About Damage To Property Than Profits From Film
Bharati Dubey | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 12, 2010)
Mumbai: Despite assurances from the Maharashtra government and the police that adequate protection would be given to cinema halls screening ‘My Name Is Khan’, multiplex owners and theatres across the state have decided not to screen the Shah Rukh Khan starrer on the first day of its release on Friday.
Each of Mumbai’s 70 cinemas were expected to rake in about Rs 2 lakh a day. But exhibitors were not worried so much about losing that amount as they were worried about losing money due to damage to property. The latter, they think, would be costlier and more of an annoyance in the long run.
About 90% of multiplexes are situated on leased property and mall owners, too, are in no mood to bear losses for the sake of a film’s release. Exhibitor and distributor Ramesh Sippy said, “If a film like ‘My Name Is Khan’ does not release on the first day, the minimum loss for a day would be around Rs 3 crore (for all Mumbai multiplexes), but the potential damage to property is what is working on the exhibitors’ minds. At present, a multiplex like Inox is situated in such a location (Nariman Point) that if the front of the property is damaged the multiplex would be unable to pay the reimbursement. So most of the multiplexes have decided against releasing the film in the present scenario.’’
Multiplex owners are reportedly under pressure from mall owners who are in no mood to incur any losses due to damage. The owner of a mall in the western suburbs said, “We really don’t have faith in the police force. They will do nothing if the Sena comes and vandalises our property.’’
Multiplexes have had several meetings with the police, chief minister and home minister and remain under pressure from the government to release the film, but most of them said they have no faith in the police force. An industry source said that the multiplexes have been told that if they don’t release ‘…Khan’, they shouldn’t release any other film. Another industry source said, “The government even told multiplex owners that if there is any damage, the state would compensate them. But even that did not convince them to release the film.’’
Vishal Kapoor, chief operations officer, Fun Cinemas, said, “All of us decided not to screen the film tomorrow as the environment is not healthy. We will wait and watch for the scene to get better.’’
Sippy added, “There are so many multiplexes whose screens were torn. To replace a screen is not only expensive, but the owners lose business for two to three weeks because screens are not of standard size and are made to order.’’
Manoj Desai, managing director of G-7 multiplex, Bandra West), has already planned to replace ‘My Name Is Khan’ with the Anthony Hopkins film ‘The Wolfman’. He said, “I have incurred a loss of Rs 3 lakh. The screen of my Maratha Mandir was torn down on Wednesday evening. I just cannot afford to take more losses.’’
On Wednesday, most multiplex chains were also complaining that, while their halls were provided full security in Mumbai, their cinema halls outside the city did not have any police cover, which they have pointed out to the police and state.
Meanwhile Sippy also said, “Audiences would certainly not want to enter a cinema hall and watch a film surrounded by cops.’’
Multiplexes in Mumbai stop MNIK bookings
Feb 10th
Despite halls being vandalised, and threat of Sena protests, Shah Rukh and Karan Johar say… Khan WILL release this week
By Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 10, 2010)
With the Shiv Sena going on the rampage against the theatres screening My Name Is Khan, the sudden and violent change of stance after indicating a truce has shocked the film industry.
Several Sena dominated pockets of the city including Mulund, Kanjurmarg, Ghatkopar and Chembur witnessed attacks on theatres planning to screen My Name Is Khan. Huma Adlabs, Shreyas, Ashish and Metro were among the theatres attacked.
Yesterday, the film’s producer Karan Johar met up with Police Commissioner D Sivanandan to discuss the situation. While the police has warned of strict action against troublemakers and over 200 arrests were made on Tuesday, the situation remains volatile. And bearing the brunt are the theatres.
“We are waiting to hear from the distributors (Fox Cinemas) to take an official stand on whether or not to go ahead with the release of My Name Is Khan. It is as much their decision as ours,” said Shunali Shroff of Fame Big Cinemas, adding, “Hopefully, by Wednesday morning, things should get resolved.”
Devang Sampat, GM Marketing, Cinemax said, “We are yet to take a call on this. I have still to speak to the operation team since this is more of an operation call.”
Meanwhile, in an interview to a television channel, Shah Rukh Khan said that while he has had a warm relationship with Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray, he didn’t feel there was anything he had said which he should apologise for. He also said that he had not sought any appointment with them to sort out the issue.
It may be recalled that the Shiv Senas had taken an objection to Shah Rukh’s comment that Pakistani cricket players should be allowed to play in the IPL.
At the time of going to press, representatives from all the multiplexes were in a meeting with Chief Minister Ashok Chavan to find a solution to the impasse.
