Friday, 13 July 2012
'Ek Tha Tiger' not anti-Pakistan, assures Kabir Khan
"I will say it once more... Ek Tha Tiger is NOT anti Pakistan....In this day and age, it's stupid to make films that are insensitive or derogatory to any country or community," Kabir tweeted.
The director, who earlier made "Kabul Express" on post-Taliban Afghanistan and won critical acclaim for it, says that jingoistic films lead to such situations.
"This is the price we have to pay because unfortunately our industry has made insensitive and jingoistic films in the past," he wrote.
According to reports, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the country`s media regulatory watchdog, has directed cable operators and satellite TV channels to refrain from airing promos/reviews of the movie till it is issued a no-objection certificate by the Central Board of Film Censors of Pakistan.
PEMRA alleges that the film shows the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI in a bad light.
Produced by Yash Raj Films, "Ek Tha Tiger" features Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif and is coming out Aug 15.
Kabir Khan is confident that the film will be released in Pakistan.
"I am absolutely sure that once the censor board of Pakistan sees 'Ek Tha Tiger', they will be more than happy to show the film in Pakistan," he posted.
"I can assure the millions of fans of Salman in Pakistan that 'Ek Tha Tiger' will release in theatres in their country," he added.
Kareena chooses Punit's film over Bhansali's: TOI Report
It is therefore difficult to imagine what went wrong as Kareena seems to have walked out of this very special project.
There is news that she will be working with Punit Malhotra in his next film after 'I Hate Luv Stories'. This will be under Karan Johar's Dharma productions.
Kareena's business manager Zahid said to TOI,
"We thought it was better to do three films in 150 days than just get stuck with one."
Earlier the actress had revealed that she had signed a couple of big banner projects. We learnt that the Karan Johar production is one of them.
Well, what we are wondering is, what could the reason be for the actress to let go of the Bhansali film when she was waiting for such an opportunity for so many years? Surely it can't be only a monetary one?
A married heroine can't be Juliet: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
"While Kareena says she played runaway bride from Ram Leela, the director maintains he called off the deal with her because the Juliet of his film can't be a married heroine
Aishwarya Rai couldn't be Heroine because she was pregnant. And Kareena, who is Heroine, can't be Leela in Bhansali's Ram Leela because she's getting married. While the actress said she had walked out from the Gujarati adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the filmmaker says he was the one to take the call not to work with her for this project.
"A Juliet no matter how far removed from Shakespeare's original vision of her cannot be a married woman. With images of her wedding festivities flashing all over, it would have been impossible for Kareena to pass herself as a Gujju Juliet despite her great talent," a source close to Bhansali said.
Initial mutual excitement over finally working together dissolved into doubts and misgivings because, the source added, Kareena was not being clear about her wedding dates. "Sanjay holds no grudge against the actress although she was less than honest with him about her wedding plans," the source said.
To start with, the announcement of her wedding came as a bolt from the blue to the director. "It threw up a series of frightening scenarios. Kareena would, understandably, get busy with pre-wedding and post-wedding events. In the midst of her wedding in October, Kareena also needed at least a month to promote Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine which releases a month ahead of her wedding date."
"The parting was anything but acrimonious. Sanjay was surprised to read on Monday morning that Kareena had 'walked out' of Ram Leela. The truth is, this was building up for a long time. And money was the least of the problems. Sanjay was extremely keen to work with Kareena. He thinks she is an exceptional actress."
According to this source, it was too early to decide who would step into Kareena Kapoor's sharp stilettos. A friend of Sanjay's, requesting anonymity, said, "It isn't easy to find a replacement for Kareena. Sanjay isn't even trying. He is now looking for a completely new Leela."
This is the third time Bhansali and Kareena have come 'this' close to working with each other. She was earlier offered Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas - both of which eventually starred Aishwarya."
So what do you guys think? After pregnancy, is marriage also seen as a handicap?
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
‘Bol Bachchan’: Movie Review (2012)
Hindi Movie Review (2012)Film: “Bol Bachchan”
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin, Prachi Desai, Krushna Abhishek, Archana Puran Singh
Directed by: Rohit Shetty
Rating: 3/5
Like that cute little boy who holds his father’s face in both his hands to get attention, “Bol Bachchan” just doesn’t let go. Its relentless quest for a rolicking time is infectious. The comic confusions are put forward with a giggly gusto. You can see the team had a great time shooting this subverted version of a 1979 comic classic.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee would be unable to recognize this version of his comedy ‘Golmaal’ on which Bol Bachchan is based. Hell, he might have even sued for subversion of his creative property. But then, he always loved the Bachchan family. And there are the two Bachchans in the film – Abhishek Bachchan and his likeable comic partner Krushna Abhishek. No, make that 3. At the very start the senior-most Bachchan, the Big B himself, makes a gracious song-and-dance appearance where the director Rohit Shetty lets us know he loves the Bachchans.
In one way or another.
The film casts Abhishek Bachchan in a double role of Abbas and his doppelganger double Abhishek Bachchan. Yes, that’s the name given to Abhishek’s character when he comes face-to-face with the village head-honcho Ajay Devgn, a kind of benign mukhia who is goofy and rather dumb, so dumb that he actually believes the on-screen Abhishek Bachchan’s cock-and-bull story about how his parents named him as such because they were big fans of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.
Right.
Devgn’s character, a not-so-gentlemix of a pehelwaan and Anil Kapoor in Virasat is as far removed from its origins, namely Utpal Dutt in Golmaal, as Archana Puransingh is from Dina Pathak. The former steps into the latter’s role with the kind of defiant toss of her head and bosom that makes the transition more of a humorous takeoff than a homage.
Indeed, some of the funniest scenes in this fair comic romp into Hrishida’s backyard feature the excellent Ms Puransingh.
The tongue-in-cheek tribute to the original film is quite often so cocky it makes you wince. Rohit Shetty has stripped away the gentle amiable wit of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and replaced it with a raw and ripe humour that takes swipes at anything that comes in the way of the satire.
Yes, the original featuring Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt plays on television in a sequence. And there’s a play being staged in Rohit Shetty’s imaginary village where two actors impersonating Dutt and Palekar enact the original film.
That is as close as we get to Hrishikesh Mukherjee in this punk-parody of the original comedy.
Valiantly, the dramatic tension in the comedy is based on a communal divide. The hero Abbas has to invent a Hindu phantom-double to avoid a religious backlash. Unusually for a comedy, the filmkeeps making sharp stinging remarks on the communal issue without causing offence. In one specially audacious sequence, the film’s writer targets two minority communities, the Muslims and gays, in the same range of vision without tripping over.
Now, that’s no mean achievement.
The cute Prachi Desai playing Devgn’s kid-sister remarks that some of our biggest names like Abdul Kalaam and Shah Rukh khan are “like that”. Devgn has the other minority community in mind.
Bol Bachchan dares to carry its sense of fun to an extreme of playfulness without toppling over into crassness. It takes on the scared cows without putting its feet in the cow poo. The elderly are often a brunt of ridicule in the plot. But again, no offence meant. Asrani’s rapport with his screen-son is truly funny.
However what doesn’t work is the enforced action sequences where just to simulate a climax in the trademark Rohit Shetty style, cars leap into the air, buses crash into windows – Shetty’s stunts are becoming predictable in their execution. A change is needed there.
What works are the performances. Ajay Devgn as the endearing bully is in top form. His mongrelized use of the English language is the cheekiest subversion of the original film’s content. In Hrishida’s Golmaal Utpal Dutt spoke only the purest form of Hindi.
Abhishek Bachchan pulls off the double role with the right blend of the subtle and the saucy. This is his second film after Dostana where he has to impersonate homosexuality.
Abhishek is dead-on.
A special word for Abhishek Krushna and Archana Puransingh who provide plenty of chuckles with their comic timing.
Hrishida may not approve. But this is Golmaal without the innocence of those times. And that’s the way we like it.
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