Bollywood News Feed

Live Chat: Aditya Narayan on March 12 at 1330 hrs IST

2010-03-11 12:07:42

Entering the industry as lead actor is the famous playback singer Udit Narayan's son Aditya Narayan. He made quite a rage few years back as a child artist alongside SRK and Salman in Pardes and Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai respectively. But gone are those days as he is back in the industry ready with his debut as the leading star in Vikram Bhatt's horror flick Shaapit. In fact Aditya has also written and composed the promotional song for the film. Seems like he is extremely geared up about his maiden venture. Burdened with expectations or confident with experience, that's for you to ask and for him to answer as he joins us for a celebrity live on Friday, March 12, at 1330 hrs IST exclusively for you on Bollywood Hungama. Be here to meet this new chocolate boy of Bollywood.

Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai helped Jacqueline bag cameo in Housefull

2010-03-11 07:06:20

Her debut film Aladin may not have worked at the B.O. but that hasn't deterred Jacqueline Fernandez one bit. In fact, the gorgeous actress, who will be seen next in Milap Zaveri's directorial debut Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai (JKSAH), has caught the attention of many-a-top filmmakers one of them being Sajid Khan. The story goes that Sajid was so impressed with Jacqueline in JKSAH that he decided on casting her in a special appearance in his film Housefull. Says director Milap Zaveri, "Everyone knows that Jackie has done a special appearance in a song in Housefull but no one knows how she bagged that. It so happened that Sajid Nadiadwala and Sajid Khan were looking for an actress to do a guest appearance in the 'Apni Toh Jaise Taise' track when they saw JKSAH. They both loved the film and especially Jackie's performance and decided on casting her in that song." Sajid Khan also is happy that he cast Jacqueline for the cameo in the song. "Jackie fit the bill perfectly. I really liked her work in JKSAH and thought she looked really hot in some sequences. So we (producer Sajid Nadiadwala and I) immediately zeroed in on her for a small part in the 'Apni Toh Jaise Taise' track." Looks like JKSAH has already begun doing wonders for Jacqueline's career even before its release.

Rajeev Khandelwal to get engaged to girlfriend Manjiri Kamtikar

2010-03-11 07:07:17

Given a choice Rajeev Khandelwal was happy being attached to his girlfriend Manjiri Kamtikar because he knew marriage or not, he was in love with her for keeps and he didn't need any formal announcement to prove it. But the engagement to be held in May is being done to comply with the lady's parent's wishes... Says Rajeev, "Manjiri and her parents come from a world far removed from cinema and the entertainment industry. They don't understand the workings of Bollywood and their knowledge of what goes on here is based on what they read and see on television. You can't blame them for thinking actors are not to be trusted." Manjiri's parents were anxious that he make the association formal. Gallantly, Rajeev volunteered an engagement ceremony. Says Rajeev, "But I don't know how it got out. I haven't discussed it with anyone. Manjiri's parents or my parents in all their innocence must have shared the information with some people." Rajeev enjoys the distance that his girlfriend provides from the goings-on in the industry. "She works in an ad agency and is far removed from show world. She keeps me grounded. I'm looking forward to spending my life with her."

Rana Daggubati wants to remake Telugu film Leader in Hindi

2010-03-11 09:44:11

Rana Daggubati who makes his Hindi debut in Rohan Sippy's Dum Maro Dum wants to bring his Telugu political blockbuster Leader to Mumbai with subtitles. Says Rana, "The political message of the film is definitely not restricted to Andhra Pradesh. I'd like to remake the film into Tamil and then maybe Hindi. After I do Rohan Sippy's film in Hindi, I'd like to do Leader in Hindi." Explains Rana, "We've tried to show the difference between a politician and a leader. We need responsible leaders. I play an honest leader, a Chief Minister. We've heard so many CMs being sworn in. We didn't know what their oath means. From the time we were children we read about Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mahatma Gandhi. Today my 5-year old nephew is studying about the same national leaders. Where are the political heroes of and for the new generation?" Says Rana Daggubati, "My role is actually an amalgamation of a whole lot of younger politicians from Rahul Gandhi to Barak Obama. For months my laptop would be open showing profiles of international politicians. Locally my reference points were Rahul Gandhi, Milind Deora and Sachin Pilot. Today's youth - and I mean people from the age of 19 to 25 - is fully knowledge of present-day politics. They're becoming more and more politically savvy. It's a beautiful direction in which we're heading. I thought the youngsters my age would enjoy the love story. But they connect more with the politics in Leader." Apparently, a song 'Maa Telugu Talli' in Leader had to be changed because of the current political disturbances in Andhra Pradesh. Rana plays it safe by saying, "There were some rumours about removing the song. We did alter it during the shooting because we understand the sensitivity of the issue."

After The Hurt Locker, David Bryan's next is Abbas Tyrewala's film

2010-03-11 11:26:55

The Best Picture Oscar winner The Hurt Locker's victory came as no surprise to some big Bollywood names, specifically, Abbas Tyrewala, John Abraham and Madhu Mantena. David Bryan, Supervising Art Director on The Hurt Locker who was widely praised for his life like replication of the battle scarred streets of Iraq in Jordan, is the Production Designer for Abbas Tyrewala's next venture, starring John Abraham. The really interesting story however, is that David's only managed to convince Abbas to join his project as a Production Designer after showing Abbas footage from The Hurt Locker and how he'd recreated the streets of Iraq in the award winning film. David has on several occasions impressed Abbas with his detail and precision in Production Design. Looks like the Abbas is going to every extent recruiting genuinely talented people to mount this film (earlier titled 1-800 Love) on a large beautiful canvas. It may be recalled that during the shooting of the film in London, the production had managed to block off traffic completely on Tower Bridge for 3 nights and had shot several scenes with even boat traffic on the Thames being restricted! David's first release after The Hurt Locker is to be Abbas's film, which is now under post-production. Speaking on this film, David said, "We wanted to portray the real London that is rarely seen, it's an amazing city with very diverse locations. In particular we were looking for a real iconic Studio Apartment for our lead actor John Abraham. Later in autumn, the climax to the film grew into an epic 4 nights filming on Tower Bridge with John doing his own stunts, a real star!" He went on to further add, "Working with a Bollywood crew was a great experience, much more than on a similar British film." Expectations are already high from Abbas's new film, coming as it does on the heels of the scripting and debut directorial magic that he displayed in the smash hit Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Now with a key member of the history making Oscar Best Picture winner responsible for creating the look and feel of his film, the expectations are only bound to grow.

BollyNewz will be soon back in Action

2010-03-10 14:14:35

We are migrating BollyNewz.com to new server. In the process we had minor data loss and lost few images and articles. We apologize for this inconvenience and we are trying hard to restore the data. Previous Owner (Editor-in-Chief) of this site became busy with his real world work and as months passed site was not frequently [...]

Live Chat: Vijay Lalwani on March 12 at 1600 hrs IST

2010-03-10 08:13:12

In the last few years, many ad filmmakers such as Pradeep Sarkar, R.Balki, Rensil D'Silva, etc. have made an entry into Bollywood as directors. The latest person from the ad fraternity to join the film fraternity is none other than Vijay Lalwani, director of the recently released romantic thriller Karthik Calling Karthik (KCK). The Farhan- Deepika starrer has been garnering rave reviews and Vijay's directorial skills have fetched him a lot of praise. Now that the film is released since two weeks, we at Bollywood Hungama give you a chance to ask Vijay Lalwani all that you want about KCK, his future projects and much more through an exclusive Live Video Chat on Friday, March 12, at 1600 hrs IST. Don't miss!!!

Deepika lights up Ambegaon village

2010-03-10 08:30:57

It seems like the whole of Bollywood has taken to Charity and Philanthropy, and not far behind in this race is Deepika Padukone. She has recently adopted a village in Maharashtra by the name of Ambegaon that needed a do-gooder desperately. Her adoption of the village was part of the Greenathon campaign and since Ambegaon village was facing major electricity crisis, Miss Padukone decided to do the needful. She decided to sponsor them. Picking this village over others wasn't a spur of the moment decision for her. She did a lot of reading and research before she gave the village a helping hand. Going the whole way, Deepika plans to visit the village in the near future again to see the progress. That's being a responsible citizen. What say?

Ranbir-Katrina shoot extra scenes for Raajneeti

2010-03-10 05:27:59

When Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif met for a shoot on Monday, it was just like old times when they shot for Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti last year. The twosome was fiercely competitive when they shot for the two films. So it was when they shot again together on Monday. The competitive spirit has taken over Raajneeti in a big way. Both Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif see the film as a passport to the National Awards. With stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpai, Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgn in the cast, the young stars of the show have decided to pull out all stops to ensure their performances are noticed at the right places. All efforts are now on by Ranbir and Katrina to ensure optimum audience participation in Raajneeti. A music video, only a part of which will be included in the film and the rest used for promotion, is to be shot. Says the director Prakash Jha, "We certainly don't want to pitch Raajneeti as a dry political drama .Ranbir and Katrina are big commercial stars. We want their fans to see our film as an entertainer. At an edited length of about 3 hours' playing-time, we want viewers to be glued to the edge of their seats. I wouldn't call it a multi- star cast film .I'd call it a multi-actor film." With the Ranbir-Katrina jodi being hotter-than-July, a certain amount of spicing up is certainly the order of the day. And the hit jodi is more than willing to shoot extra days to ensure the product gets them maximum attention. On Monday, Ranbir and Katrina did some additional shooting for Raajneeti at Mona Shourie's Future Studios long after their dates for Raajneeti had dried up. Ranbir Kapoor just back from Las Vegas rushed to the shooting. close-ups and continuity shots were shot with the two. A sizzling music video featuring Ranbir, Katrina and Arjun Rampal is also on the cards. So who says politicians can't dance? Says Prakash, "We did some patchwork shooting on Monday, close-ups, etc. Yes. It's for the betterment of the end-product. We all want Raajneeti to be a big success. Katrina and Ranbir have surrendered themselves completely to the project and will do whatever is required."

Lawrence Bender starts the countdown to FICCI Frames 2010

2010-03-09 13:03:06

India's largest entertainment convention the FICCI Frames is back with a bang! The biggest of the names from Bollywood, Hollywood and the Indian corporate sector will mull over the future of the film industry at Hotel Renaissance, Mumbai from 16-18th March 2010. Adding glitz to the annual event will be a power packed line of international speakers, renowned Hollywood producer Lawrence Bender, Hollywood scriptwriter Steven De Souza, The French Film Commissions' Franck Priot and Bollywood stalwarts like Karan Johar, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Bose, Anurag Kashyap and others. FICCI Frames' Digital Media partner Hungama Digital Media Entertainment and Lawrence Bender will also hold a special screening of Bender's latest film, Countdown to Zero. Bender's films have, over the past 20 years, been nominated for 29 Academy Awards (including three for Best Picture) and have won five. His recent films include Inglorious Basterds and An Inconvenient Truth. Bender's latest Countdown to Zero traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs. With its newfound global recognition, the Indian films industry is a front runner in international business interest. Says renowned Bollywood screenwriter Kamlesh Pandey, who will also be speaking at Frames this year, "Like any other cultural export i.e. literature, heritage, even our films can be the ambassadors of our country. The power of Indian cinema is more than any other power in this country." Citing the example of Slumdog Millionaire, Pandey adds, "Though Slumdog Millionaire was not completely an Indian film, it exposed India to the whole world. We have all the capabilities including the right talent, stories and expertise which can take the industry to the top. All that we need is the right sensibility and a global perspective of film making." Instituted by FICCI and organized with the aim of positioning the Indian entertainment industry, the annually held FICCI Frames is amongst the premier in the business conventions in the country.

T-Series inks 5 Film Music deal with Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd.

2010-03-09 15:38:09

The bond between T-Series and Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd. just got stronger. T-Series has acquired Music Rights of Shree Ashtavinayak's Khatta Meetha directed by Priyadarshan starring Akshay Kumar and Trisha Krishnan, Golmaal 3 being directed by Rohit Shetty starring Ajay Devgan, Kunal Khemu, Shreyas Talpade and Kareena Kapoor, Tees Maar Khan starring Akshay Kumar, Akshye Khanna, Katrina Kaif directed by Farah Khan. Run Bhola Run starring Govinda, Tushar Kapoor directed by Neeraj Vora and an untitled film starring Saif Ali Khan directed by Kunal Kohli. With this mega deal T Series once again proves that they are the biggest player in the music industry.

Live Chat: Subhash Ghai today at 1600 hrs IST

2010-03-09 06:02:11

Some have called him Dream Merchant and others called him a Showman. Whatever it might be one thing is certain that Subhash Ghai is what you call as an alchemist, just as he touches something, it turns into gold. Over the years every aspiring actor has waited with bated breath to work under his famed banner Mukta Arts, the same banner that gave the audience unforgettable films such as Ram Lakhan, Khalnayak, Pardes, Taal and Aitraaz to name a few. Subhash Ghai is now all set to present his next production Right Yaa Wrong, directed by Neeraj Pathak and starring Sunny Deol, Irrfan Khan and Eesha Koppikhar. After being in this industry for so many years as a director, producer, screenplay writer and story writer, it's hard to think of Bollywood without him. He has literally seen this industry grow and having him on Bollywood Hungama's live chat is such an honour. Subhash Ghai will be live on Bollywood Hungama's Celebrity Chat, today, March 9, 1600 hrs IST.

Nandita Das in Kolkata to shoot for Onir's film Afia

2010-03-09 06:11:26

After winning multiple Filmfare awards for her directorial debut, it was a grand homecoming of sorts of Nandita Das in Kolkata which is not really her hometown. Nandita is an Oriya by parentage. But because of the number of films she has done in Bengali she's often mistaken for a Bengali. So it was when she landed in Kolkata last Sunday. Armed ecstatically as she was with her 4 Filmfare awards for Firaaq, the city greeted her with open-armed ovation. "The last film I shot in Kolkata was Paddakhep (Footsteps) with Soumitra Chatterjee," she says from the sets of Onir's Afia. "We're now shooting all over the city." Nandita is naturally overjoyed with the Filmfare awards for Firaaq. "To be honest I was surprised to find Firaaq's nomination in so many categories. It shows that even the popular space is acknowledging a film like Firaaq that tends to be slotted as a niche film. But getting 4 awards for costume, sound, editing and finally the Critic's Choice Award for the best film of the year! It sure was a surprise." This was the first time Filmfare award function that Nandita attended. And she's impressed. "I had gone expecting nothing, had come to see the much talked- about spectacle, which is sure was." Nandita feels Firaaq which was clumsily released would now get a new lease of life. "These awards are a big help to a film that was so badly released and so many people just didn't get to see it. They create a curiosity in people's mind. I met so many people from the fraternity who said the first DVD they were going to get is that of Firaaq!" The impact of Firaaq has stunned Nandita. "What matters to me is that people see the film as a story I keenly wanted to tell and wanted it to reach the audiences. Thankfully a film's shelf life is much longer than a release. All those who have seen it, friends and strangers have championed the film and I am so grateful for that. I am really thankful to Filmfare and the critics who are known to be difficult to please, for helping spread Firaaq." Nandita is now looking at directing another film. "Having won about 10 awards each internationally and in India, and getting an overwhelming reaction from those who have seen it, it is time I start my next project. I have begun thinking of a story, although the journey of bringing it to life is long." In the meanwhile, there's Onir's Afia where she plays a wife desperate to be a mother. Nandita has done her own research on sperm banks before plunging into the part. "I did a bit of homework on the net and had a long chat with Onir who has done extensive research on the net...But it's more about the space to make your own choice. And that's a universal desire!"

Live Chat: Vikram Bhatt on March 10 at 1500 Hrs IST

2010-03-09 06:30:12

Remember the horror flick that made you jump off your seat. The one where every time something invisible used to shock Bipasha Basu, you would feel eerie too. Yes! We are talking about Raaz. The one that was directed by none other than Vikram Bhatt. After his film1920, he is now yet again ready to release the spooks with Shaapit. This time again like 1920, the film will have newcomers, namely, Udit Narayan's son Aditya Narayan and Shweta Agarwal. Has Vikarm taken a penchant for spine chillers, here is your chance to put your curiosity to rest as we bring this director with a will to stand apart right here at Bollywood Hungama's Celebrity Video chat. So get your questions ready and login on Wednesday, March 10, at 1500 hrs IST.

Budget plays havoc with Rajeev Khandelwal starrer Joker

2010-03-09 08:35:42

After Sanjay Gadhvi's proposed Parisian romance 7 Days & 7 Nights In Paris which apparently has now been relocated to Punjab, we now have the Rajeev Khandelwal starrer Joker being relocated from New Zealand to Ooty at the eleventh hour. The emotional father-son story directed by Kumar Gaurav's cousin Vikram Tuli, featuring Rajeev with the 5-year old Shrey Bawa was supposed to be shot from the end of January to the middle of February in New Zealand. But the film's main drama has now been shot in Ooty. Rajeev feels the shift of location makes no difference to the essential emotions of the film. He has never felt more challenged as an actor. Quips Rajeev, "That's because I've never had a more challenging co-star. Shrey Bawa who plays my son is just 5. But he's a veteran compared with me. He has done innumerable ads. And he played Priyanka Chopra and Bobby Deol's son in Dostana. He gives me the shivers. I just can't keep up with him." Apparently, the Bawa boy is so brilliant he makes Rajeev fumble with his lines. In the dramatic scenes, Rajeev often has to ask for retakes. Bawa gets its right the first time. Says Rajeev, "This is a very emotional father-son story. Many times I get too choked to say my dialogues. But Shrey never slips up. He's the best actor I've worked with." Where does that leave Prachi Desai who plays Rajeev's love interest in Joker? Rajeev is mighty excited by the new jodi. "Prachi and I go back a long way. We were both part of Ekta Kapoor's Balaji soaps. Now when I see us together in this film I wonder why no one thought of casting us together before." Rajeev has also signed a film to be produced by Nariman Irani's production house who had done the original Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Don. Entitled Taiynaat the Khandelwal starrer will be directed by debutant Ehsan Hyder. This would be the fourth film of Rajeev's career and all four with debutant directors. "And there's a fifth debutant director Vibhu Puri coming up in Chenab Gandhi," Rajeev says happily.