Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged rajeev masand
Sajid Khan calls Akshay Kumar a flop, gets booted?
01 month ago
by Fenil Seta
in Rumour has it
His unsparing assessment of the star’s career on a TV show reportedly led to his ouster from the Housefull franchise
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 11, 2013)
Creative differences with Sajid Nadiadwala may be part of the problem but the real reason why Sajid Khan will not wield the megaphone for the producer’s next, Housefull 3, is the spat he has had with the star of the franchise – Akshay Kumar.
During a recent show on TV, when host Rajeev Masand asked Sajid why he doesn’t work with newcomers, he replied: “Housefull 1 and Housefull 2, sort of, got Akshay out of a bad patch of six to seven flop films. He had a run of six to seven flop films, after which Housefull became the first big grosser in 2010. Then again, he had a patch of six to seven films. Then again, it was Housefull 2.”
Not surprsingly, Sajid’s comments did not go down well with Akshay, who promptly called him and gave him a piece of his mind. “It was a big showdown. The conversation ended with Akshay telling Sajid he didn’t want to interact with him anymore,” revealed a friend of the actor. “Akshay is very angry and has told his buddies about it. Even filmmakers like Karan Johar, Rajkumar Hirani and Farhan Akhtar don’t pass such remarks. Like every other actor, Akshay has had his share of highs and lows. More significantly, he is on a firm footing right now,” the friend pointed out.
When word about the fiasco reached Nadiadwala, he decided Sajid would not direct Housefull 3, especially since he is More >
The ‘Gay’teway To Bollywood
01 month ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Depiction of gay characters in Bollywood continues to be steeped in stereotype, even as realism’s struggling to rear its head
Aakanksha Naval-Shetye (DNA; March 28, 2013)
At a recent Gay and Lesbian Center gala held in LA, studio mogul (Sony Pictures) Amy Pascal, in her speech highlighted the stereotypical depiction of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community) characters in Hollywood films. She insisted that studio bosses scrutinise and make an attempt to eliminate gay slurs. She said, “How about next time, when any of us are reading a script and it says words like fag, faggot, homo, dyke — take a pencil and just cross it out.” The studio honcho also pointed out that not every gay character on screen needed to be defined by his or her sexuality. She quipped, “Can’t we depict men and women who just so happen to be gay — perhaps a lawyer or soldier or business executive or scientist or engineer…”
While the issue was raised about the depiction of LGBT characters in Hollywood, things are as bad, if not worse in Bollywood.
No laughing matter this! Filmmakers in popular cinema here continue to use characters of alternate sexuality seeped in stereotypical images as crutches to provide comic relief. Few will forget Kantaben’s shocked expression on seeing Saif Ali Khan and Shah Rukh Khan in bed together in Kal Ho Naa Ho or Abhishek Bachchan’s effeminate act in Bol Bachchan. John Abraham’s flirty act with Boman Irani’s character in Dostana had the audience in splits, More >
Ghanta Awards 2013: Toasting the worst
03 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
With award ceremonies becoming a dime- a- dozen and some of them mere self- appreciation societies, it’s time to call a spade a spade. The annual Ghanta Awards aim to do just that
Tunali Mukherjee (MID-DAY; February 3, 2013)
INSPIRED by the Razzies, which honours the worst in Hollywood, the Ghanta Awards were started in 2010 by film critic Karan Anshuman and Prashant Rajkhowa. In its third year now, they have found wide support amongst filmgoers with tickets to the awards selling within hours and trending worldwide on Twitter. But they continue to receive a cold shoulder from the filmmakers.
“The Hindi film industry isn’t really known for laughing at itself,” laments Anshuman. “ However, Uday Chopra tweeted saying he was most excited about winning the Worst Actor award in the first year.
Also, we had once asked Rakhi Sawant to be our chief guest. She did pause and consider it for a moment before declining,” he laughs.
This, however, has not deterred the duo. “We felt terrible that we hadn’t acknowledged Bollywood in any way considering how prolific we were at producing garbage,” laughs Anshuman. “Out of the 400- odd Bollywood movies released in a year, there are rarely more than five quality films. Movies can’t be pure business. They need heart. And there isn’t enough going around,” he says.
This year’s nominees consist of most members of the 100-crore club, with Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn being favourites for Ek Tha Tiger, Rowdy Rathore, Housefull 2, Joker, More >
Is the novelty of 3D already wearing off for Bollywood?
19 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Sharmila Ganesan Ram | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; August 21, 2012)
In Bollywood, UFO generally refers to the audience’s vision of Akshay Kumar before a stage performance. But in the soon–to-be-released Joker, the stunt-prone actor will be the one who spots the Unidentified Flying Object, the “udta firta omelette” as his character calls it.
Had it not been for a recent change of plan, this omelette and its extra-terrestrial inhabitants would have come flying at you from the screen. “The initial plan was for Joker to be the first 3D film with a big star,” says director Shirish Kunder. “But taking into account the recent responses to 2D versus 3D ventures, we decided to reach out to a wider audience.”
Kunder’s sense of caution is shared by much of Bollywood. “Big production houses are extremely sceptical about using 3D,” says trade analyst Komal Nahta, who does not see a bright future for 3D films in India. And the primary reason, feel insiders, is that 3D is being used more as a “gimmick” than a genuine creative tool.
Three years ago, it was James Cameron’s Avatar, whose multi-billion-dollar box-office returns started it all. Almost every other Hollywood producer, to justify higher ticket prices, started converting 2D films to 3D. Predictably Bollywood, too, jumped on to the conversion bandwagon with Ra.One and Don 2—both, however, did not do as well in the 3D format as they did in 2D. “Releasing a film in 3D is not a sureshot success idea unless it is backed by content that More >
The Best DIRTY PICTURES of 2011
11 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Bollywood constantly fetes itself for its films. Now, there are a few jeers among the untiring cheers
Sharmila Ganesan Ram | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; March 18, 2012)
In the film Rockstar, Ranbir Kapoor’s character wants to experience pain so badly that he volunteers to fall in love and deliberately has his heart broken. “He could simply have watched Bodyguard instead,” offered an aspiring standup act at a comedy club in Lower Parel not too long ago. Yesterday, the same venue hosted an awards show where Bodyguard received four nominations. Oddly though, this didn’t kill the comic’s jibe but only made it better.
The Ghanta Awards was the kind of event where most of the nominees did an Aamir Khan. Who would want to attend a function that rewards their mistakes after all? Out of all the nominees, only Sonam Kapoor who was nominated in the ‘Worst Couple’ category (along with Mausam co-star Shahid Kapoor) attended the show while Anurag Kashyap had tweeted saying he would happily collect the award if his film That Girl In Yellow Boots, which had been nominated in the Worst ‘Holier Than Thou’ category, won. This category, refers to ‘parallel’ films that are allegedly inspired by the grammar of world cinema but often end up being as rotten as their Bollywood counterparts. But despite some worthwhile nominees, the award surprisingly went to Dhobi Ghat.
SRK’s biggest gamble Ra.One emerged as the worst film. Salman Khan bagged the worst actor (Ready and Bodyguard) while the More >
Ekta’s film make a huge noise
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
BOMBAY TIMES (April 28, 2011)
If the recent buzz by the Bolly twitterati is anything to go by, Balaji has completed a hat-trick of acclaimed hits, with its thrillercomedy, Shor in the City, releasing today. Directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, the film stars a wide ensemble including Sendhil Ramamurthy, Tusshar, Pitobash, Nikhil Dwivedi, former Miss England Preeti Desai, and Radhika Apte.
After LSD and OUATIM, Ekta Kapoor saw a massive hit in the award winning Marathi production, Taaryanche Bait. Now Shor is set to hit the bull’s eye. The makers were so confident of the product that they opened it out to industry and media folk substantially in advance of the release. The overwhelming response by those who saw it, has made the film a major talking point and the first choice of cinegoers today. With a smart, innovative and effective promotional strategy, the company has turned a costeffective favourite festival film (officially invited to Pusan and Dubai) into a keenly awaited commercial thriller-comedy, which promises to leave a mark at the box office. Made cost-effectively, the slick and energetic film, which has three parallel stories running with Mumbai as the backdrop, is set to set the cash register ringing.
A sample of what acclaimed filmmakers and critics are saying:
Just watched a SUPERB film…a technical and cinematic victory!!! SHOR is a must watch!! Well done ekta!!! – Karan Johar.
Watched last nite. Out of the box More >
Dont miss the last sip of coffee
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Karan Johar dishes out the Koffee Awards and celebrates the best moments of this edition’s celebrity chat show
BOMBAY TIMES; April 17, 2011
A proud Karan Johar takes the curtain call as he dishes out a spicy, juicy finale episode for this season’s Koffee With Karan tonight. KJo has film critic Rajeev Masand, celeb chat show presenter/ actress Koel Purie, India’s top fashion designer Manish Malhotra and BT editor Sarita Tanwar on his couch as he dissects the controversial season that went by and crowned the moments that made big headlines or people who bowled over audiences with their swagger, charm, candidness and attitude. All the action and the madness will be aired at 9 pm tonight on Star World.
Phas Gaye Re Obama rocks
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
The dark horse at the derby this week has beaten all other favourites
Meena Iyer | TNN (BOMBAY TIMES; December 7, 2010)
Revel Films’ Phas Gaya Re Obama, produced by Ashok Pandey and directed by Subhash Kapoor — that film with a kink about the kidnapping of an NRI, has turned out to be this week’s most celebrated comedy. Trade pundit Taran Adarsh says this is one of the smartest comedies Bollywood has produced in recent times. “And though it has a non-star cast, the collections saw a huge jump on the weekend because of the merit of the film,’’ he says.
Warner Bros. Pictures, who have distributed the film across India, also have reason to smile. The weekend collections from Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Pune have been heartening to say the least. What’s more, both the critics and the janta are unanimous in their praise for this intelligent comic caper. Nikhat Kazmi, film critic of the Times of India, says, “PGRO makes you laugh because of its zany situations, rather than elicit canned laughter that comes out of stock situations like making people slip over banana peels, go scatological or hit and pinch each other insanely.’’ She describes it as a delightful end-of-the-year surprise.
Minty Tejpal, the Mumbai Mirror reviewer, says that PGRO scores because it is an adult, mature film that is smart, funny and well-written… not to forget smartly directed. Rajeev Masand, Entertainment Editor, CNN-IBN, adds, “PGRO has More >