Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged The Times of India
Konkona’s Ek Thi Daayan based on father Mukul Sharma’s book
05 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
BOMBAY TIMES (December 19, 2012)
Konkana Sen Sharma’s next, Ek Thi Daayan, is based on her father Mukul Sharma’s book. Mukul, who is a columnist with The Times Of India, has been a close observer of witchcraft, which is reportedly rampant in Bengal.
Konkana, who has grown up in Kolkata, could relate to the nuances and intricacies of the role better than others. This made producer Vishal Bhardwaj confident that she was the best choice for the role.
Only focusing on winning the Miss World 2012 title-Vanya Mishra
010 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
PFMI World 2012 Vanya Mishra is prepared to win the Miss World title
BOMBAY TIMES (July 23, 2012)
A few hours before her departure for Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, where Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2012 Vanya Mishra will compete for the title of Miss World 2012, she was a picture of total confidence and composure. Excerpts from an interview:
Describe your life post your auditions in Delhi for PFMI 2012. Life has changed 360 degrees. I’m living my dream and am totally in love with what I’m doing. I’ve changed so much, all for the better! There are times when I wake up and actually have to pinch myself, to believe that I’m still the same Vanya Mishra, a 20-year-old from Chandigarh who wanted nothing more than to make her single mother proud by winning the PFMI 2012 title.
How have you changed? I’m a new person with the same old values. I’m more confident and so much more groomed than I ever was. My body is in great shape. My sense of style, my body language, my diction, my understanding of and interaction with people has changed so much; I now believe that sky is the limit.
Do you harbour Bollywood dreams? Well, I guess every girl dreams at some point to be a part of Bollywood. The timing has to be right. I don’t want to be just part of Bollywood. I want to be a big star. Right now, I’m only focusing on winning the Miss World 2012 title. So, it’s one step at a time. I’m just 20! So yes, Bollywood will happen when the time is right.
How confident are you of More >
Cops pour cold water on Deepika’s housewarming
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
But Deny Receiving A Complaint Or Penalizing Actor
Bharati Dubey & Nitasha Natu | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; October 3, 2011)
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone’s housewarming party ended abruptly early on Saturday after police landed up at her brand new pad at Prabhadevi. Though sources claim that the actor was penalized, the police have denied it.
An eyewitness, who was present outside the flat, told TOI, “A police patrolling van stopped outside the building around 3.15am. An officer went to Padukone’s flat on the 26th floor. We learnt that residents had called up the police control room, complaining of loud music being played at her party.”
Meanwhile, a crowd, including mediapersons, had gathered in the building compound.
“A little later, another police vehicle arrived and cops in plainclothes went up to Padukone’s apartment. What was strange was that the vehicles and cops did not exit from the side of the building where the crowd was. They left from the other gate of the building, probably to avoid being asked questions by mediapersons on whether the actor was penalized,” said the witness.
A few minutes after the cops had left the building, some of the actor’s guests too made an exit. These included actor Imran Khan, his wife Avantika, liquor baron Vijay Mallya, actors Abhay Deol and Preeti Desai. The guest list at the party included top notch with names like Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar, Priyanka Chopra, Siddharth Mallya, Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Riteish More >
Agressive lyrics trend in Punjabi rap picks up
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Punjabi rap, with its explicitly violent and crude lyrics, has invited ringing condemnation from established singers. But the kids can’t get enough
Jaspreet Nijher & Ruhi Batra | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; October 2, 2011)
The latest Punjabi hit song, Gaddi moudan ge, by Mika, poster boy of Punjabi cool, celebrates hooliganism, while the explicit titles of some of the latest chartbusters — Gippy Grewal’s Gangster and Hathiyaar, KS Makhan’s Badmashi, Preet Brar’s Desi gun — point to a trend that packages violence as a fast moving consumer good. In a radical departure from a tradition rooted in folk, Punjabi songs that once extolled golden mustard fields, pretty girls and brave men, are today littered with words like ‘bandookan’ ‘dunali’ (guns), ‘daru’ ‘bootlan’ (liquor), and gangsta rap phrases such as ‘signal todah ge’ (we’ll break all rules) and ‘chak laan ge’ (we’ll kidnap the girl).
High on testosterone and low on taste, such songs revel in being youth anthems and are meant for those who think it’s cool to cuss crudely. Sociologists attribute this to the love of notoriety and risk-taking that is embedded in the Punjabi psyche. “This region of North India faced the maximum onslaught, whether of foreign invaders or the Partition,” says Dr Archana Sachdeva, a retired sociology professor. “Land and women became a prized possession. Hence, just like all music reflects the state of its people, Punjabi music too acquired characters of violence that eventually came to embody More >
Film-makers vie for larger screen pie
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Bharati Dubey | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 26, 2011)
Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One may beat Salman Khan’s Bodyguard with sheer number of screens it will be played out in cinemas this Diwali.
The film will be released in 3,200 screens, which is the highest ever for any Bollywood film. However, there is every chance that Ritesh Sidhwani’s Don 2 may defeat Ra.One with an even bigger release in Christmas. Sunil Punjabi, CEO of Cinemax Cinemas, said, “The overall demand for films has increased and hence the need for a larger number of print runs.”
Actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan believes like China, which has a 45% growth in moviegoers; India too is experiencing a similar trend but feels the number of theatres is not enough. “There are about 14,000 theatres in the cities, 8,000 in southern India and 7,000 in the north. Every day we hear that more theatres are being added, however, the population is also increasing. Once the retail of cinema gets more organized, people will come to the theatres.”
Ritesh Sidhwani, who plans to release the Don sequel in Christmas, said, “I plan to show my film in every possible screen available in the country. It is the last week of the year and there is no other film releasing along with Don 2. Apart from that the movie is a franchise and already has its audience.’’
Bollywood has begun following Hollywood way of bombarding cinema halls with maximum screens. Trade analyst Amod Mehra said, “Avatar released internationally in more than More >
Smuggler invests 50 lakh to make Bollywood movie
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
C Unnikrishnan | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 26, 2011)
Mumbai: Red sanders smuggling kingpin Ajit Satam had invested Rs 50 lakh to make a Hindi movie, possibly with Mallika Sherawat as the lead actress. Satam had paid the money as advance to Susie Ganeshan, an assistant to director Mani Ratnam, directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) officials said.
Satam, arrested three weeks ago, is currently in jail with four of his associates. During questioning, Satam said he wanted to produce a movie.. “He did not confirm about the choice of the lead actress but we learnt Satam planned to make Sherawat the heroine and had planned a trip to Nigeria,” an official said. The script was not decided and the payment was made four months ago. DRI is likely to question Ganeshan for more details on the payment.
Satam wanted to enter Bollywood considering the money he made by exporting red sanders, a banned item, officials said. He made a profit of Rs 2 crore in export of one container. A Std XII dropout, Satam had a passion for cars. He owned six high-end cars—a Ferrari, two Bentleys, one BMW and two Mercedes.
Investigations showed that the Ferrari ran only three kilometres, though he paid over Rs 3 crore for the car, officials said. A probe is on to find out any violations, if any, in the purchase of these cars and their registration. One of them is registered in Nagaland without the vehicle travelling there. Satam had planned to buy a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but was arrested by then. More >
Bollywood-Air Force’ love-hate relationship
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
‘Mausam’ is the latest film to run into controversy with the IAF. Sunday Times explores Bollywood’s uneasy relationship with the armed forces
Meenakshi Sinha | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 25, 2011)
Tales of valour and courage by men in uniform have always gripped popular cinema. But they have also had their fair share of controversies over cinematic liberties.
Mausam, which has just been released, is no different. This directorial debut of veteran actor Pankaj Kapur, whose son Shahid is the hero of the film, ran into controversy when the Indian Air Force (IAF) refused to give a no objection certificate (NOC) over a computer-generated aerial sequence. This led to the film being released on September 23 instead of a week earlier as planned.
Shahid, who plays a fighter pilot in the movie, claims there were no requests for any changes in the script or scenes, only minor tweaking of an action sequence involving six fighter planes, one of which was flown by him. “It was a 30-second sequence that shows me inside a Mirage 2000 which could not be shown to the IAF earlier,” he says.
He agrees that while all necessary clearances were sought by the producers prior to its shooting, this kind of roadblock could have been avoided. “But we’re happy to make the changes because it helps the film look more authentic.” He acknowledges the support given by the IAF for the film, including the use of its air bases and aircraft. Mausam features Sonam Kapoor as the female lead and is More >
Bhojpuri director lends hand to nail fake cops
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Mahima Sikand | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 25, 2011)
Mumbai: The Mumbai police have come up with a slew of innovative measures to tackle the menace of fake policemen.
The Amboli police station has roped in Bhojpuri director, Moncy Shahnawaz, to help them spread awareness. Shahnawaz has produced two documentaries showing how people are duped and outlining the modus operandi of these gangs. These documentaries are now being screened in movie halls and on cable channels. There are plans to start showing them in some colleges. “The idea is to raise awareness among the public. Most of the victims are senior citizens, so we are showing the movies on Aastha and spiritual channels,” said Vishwas Nangre-Patil, additional commissioner of police (Western Region). The police have also started visiting spiritual gatherings to educate senior citizens.
The police have also taken the help of 50 elderly women to help bust the network of fake cops. The women are given a few bogus ornaments and two-three escorts who follow them. These decoy operations are intended to catch the culprits red-handed. “We have been carrying out these operations for the past week and so far, no crime has been reported. The increase in patrolling by constables along all roads has ensured that such incidents have dramatically gone down,” said Nangre-Patil.
The emphasis on senior citizens stems from the fact that they are the worst affected by this menace. Nangre-Patil explains how these people operate. More >
Dawood’s relative turns filmmaker
01 year ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Bharati Dubey | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 23, 2011)
Mumbai:India’s most wanted man shot by own relative! No, this is not the fanciful working of a tapori journalist, but a story in reel life. Zubair Khan, son-inlaw of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar, is making a film on the life and crimes of the fugitive underworld don.Zubair Khan (33), who is currently shooting some patchwork for his debut film in Nagpada, told TOI, “The theme is the underworld-politician-police nexus. My film, titled Lakeer Ka Fakir, will be the most authentic movie on the underworld. I grew up in this area and have seen everything from close quarters. I have even shot at all the real locations associated with Dawood, something which no filmmaker including Ramgopal Varma has access to.’’
Like Karim Lala, Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel, Zubair too was born in a hospital at Do Taaki in Dongri, the teeming downtown area long associated with the rise of Mumbai’s ganglords. Claiming to know every nook and corner of the area, Zubair said, “I am comfortable shooting here. Most of the locals are my childhood friends and know me well, so they go all out to assist me. I have included some of them in my movie.”
While gangland films like Shootout at Wadala and Agneepath had no chance to shoot at real locations, Zubair’s relation to the D-clan, a unit member said, is the sole reason he was allowed to shoot at Pakmodia Street, where the don stayed before he fled India, as well as below Haseena More >