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Tag: Amitabh Bachchan

  • Amitabh Bachchan wins over Hollywood critics in ‘The Great Gatsby’

    Amitabh Bachchan wins over Hollywood critics in ‘The Great Gatsby’

    MUMBAI: Bollywood‘s icon Amitabh Bachchan recently won over Hollywood‘s most renowned critics, with his special appearance in the film ‘The Great Gatsby‘ directed by Auteur Baz Luhrmann.

    According to the sources the liveliest work in the film by far comes from two actors with only a few minutes of screen time between them: the agile, long-limbed newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as gabby golf pro Jordan Baker, and, in a single scene that marks his belated Hollywood debut, the living legend Bachchan as the flamboyant Jewish gambler.

    As per the media reports Big B himself was ever his modest self when he didn‘t charge anything for the film.A source close to Bachchan says, "He‘s extremely delighted with the way the film has shaped up. And even though his role may not be as big, he has left a mark and in his own style has made an impact."

    The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan as main leads.

  • Parle Products ropes in Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassador for Gold Star cookies

    Mumbai: Parle Products has roped in Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador for its recently launched Gold Star Cookies.

    The company will be carrying out an extensive 360 degree marketing campaign to support the launch of its new range.

    The brand symbolises class, rich quality, and outstanding achievement, a positioning which blends in perfectly with the enigmatic star‘s image and persona.

    Parle Products group product manager Shalin Desai said, “Bachchan has a magnificent personality and a strong connect among Indians across age groups. He embodies an exemplary blend of both style and performance, making him the ideal choice to endorse our products. The goodwill and reputation he has built over the last three decades compliments our own, built over the last 80 years‘. His remarkable appeal which spreads across all sections of people in the country, compliments our brand communication.”

    Bachchan said, “It gives me an immense pleasure to be associated with the most iconic biscuit company of India, Parle Products. There is hardly any other biscuit brand in India which is as popular as Parle. I am thrilled to begin a new journey with Parle‘s Gold Star cookies and take the brand legacy ahead.”

  • Bhansali’s TV debut ‘Saraswatichandra’ opens with 2.5 TVR on Star Plus

    MUMBAI: When Bollywood names get associated with television, the aspiration of the channels airing those shows rises. Be it Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate or Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati or Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss, these Bollywood personalities have time to time proved that their charisma can pull the audience to the television screen as well.

    This time it is someone who is not seen on camera but is someone who has been behind many Bollywood blockbusters like Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Black. Director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali tried out the television medium with ‘Saraswatichandra’ – and the fiction show has worked well on Star Plus.

    ‘Saraswatichandra’ debuted with 2.5 TVR on 25 February. The average rating of the show in its opening week stood at 2.1 TVR, according to TAM data for the Hindi Speaking Market (C&S 4+) provided by a Hindi GEC.

    Helios Media CEO Divya Radhakrishnan believes the debut rating of ‘Saraswatichandra’ is pretty good. “Earlier prime-time was from 8 pm which has now shifted to 7 pm. Considering the Hindi GECs’ standards, it is a big show and the channel has spent a bomb on it. I had thought it would get a better slot on the channel but for a 7.30 pm slot, 2.5 TVR ratings is good and it has picked up pretty well,” she said.

    Star Plus VP-marketing Nikhil Madhok said, “We are happy with the way the show has opened up. It is the highest rated debut amongst past few launches of our channel.”

    As per TAM data (HSM including 5 new LC1 markets, C&S, 4+) sourced from a channel, Star Plus continued to maintain its leadership position in the genre with the addition of 17 GRPs to notch a total of 265 GRPs. The other shows of the channel like Diya Aur Bati Hum (5.9 TVR), Nach Baliye (2.9 TVR) and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai (4.4 TVR) have seen rise in eyeballs.

    Zee TV climbed to second position with 226 GRPs, despite a loss of five GRPs. The channel’s recently launched kids’ reality show India Ke Best Dramebaz notched a whopping 4.4 TVR in the week ended 2 March.

    Following Zee TV is Colors that slipped to third position with a loss of 15 GRPs. The channel had earned 30 GRPs last week as it had aired Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘Khiladi 786’ on 23 January. The fiction shows of the channel recorded marginal difference in their ratings as it closed the week with 220 GRPs.

    Sony Entertainment Television lost 18 GRPs to clock 170 GRPs. The channel had gained numbers last week as it had aired the Filmfare Awards. Its recently launched fiction show ‘Khubsoorat’ opened with a TVR of 1 as it averaged 0.9 TVR in the week.

    Sab with 138 GRPs (same as last week) went ahead of Life OK in the ninth week of TAM. Life OK ended the week with 132 GRPs (last week 144).

    Sahara One with 24 GRPs (last week 24) remained at the bottom of the ladder.

  • The Great Gatsby set to release by May

    The Great Gatsby set to release by May

    MUMBAI: Amitabh Bachchan‘s debut international project The Great Gatsby that is in its post-production stage is scheduled to release by May this year.

    “Baz Luhrmann calls to update on ‘Great Gatsby‘… Final settings being done… Should be out May … Hope to see a print in April!” Bachchan posted on Twitter.

    The film has Bachchan playing Meyer Wolfsheim, a man with a dark past who helps the film‘s lead Leonardo DiCaprio‘s character make money when he first comes to New York after the First World War.

    The much anticipated film is an adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald‘s classic of the same name and also stars Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton in important roles.

  • The Attacks of 26/11 leaves Shekhar Kapur haunted

    The Attacks of 26/11 leaves Shekhar Kapur haunted

    MUMBAI: The image of the burning dome of The Taj, the empty CST station, the bullet marks at Leopold Café and the peaceful candlelight march come flooding back when one talks about the terrible 2008 terror attacks.

    These images came flashing back to talented director Shekhar Kapur who recently watched ‘The Attacks of 26/11‘. He used the micro blogging site Twitter to express his feeling after watching the movie.

    He tweeted, “Tonight is gonna b a tough night 2 sleep. Just came out of a screening of Ram Gopal Varma‘s film on 26/11 @RGVzoomin.” He further went on to add, “Every1 will have a deeply personal reaction 2 Ram Gopal Varma‘s film on 26/11, but it left me haunted by d ghosts of those fateful days.”

    Recently even superstar Amitabh Bachchan who saw the first draft of the movie praised it. Ram Gopal Varma has done tremendous research on the subject as well as the characters and this can be seen in the reaction of everyone who has seen the movie. The promos and music of the film have been received well by the audiences. The movie is slated to release on 1 March.

  • Salman Khan is best admired star on social media

    Salman Khan is best admired star on social media

    MUMBAI: Salman Khan beat Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan to become the most admired star on the social media.

    Looks like with two back-to-back Rs 100 crore hits last year in Ek Tha Tiger and Dabangg 2 and the unprecedented success of Bigg Boss 6, Khan has once again proved that he‘s the undisputed king of Bollywood, box office and the idiot box.

    The Dabangg actor also won an award for the best use of social media at this year‘s Zee Cine Awards. A research conducted by Asterii Analytics said, “We used sophisticated web analysis tools to scan millions of pages on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, blogs and online forums to quantify the total volume of buzz and conversations on Bollywood stars.

    A shortlist of 30 possible candidates was developed in the first phase. We developed 25 parameters to rank the candidates on the total volume of buzz. Using this four-phased process, we came to a single score and the top three candidates were Salman, Shahrukh and Bachchan. And Salman Khan emerged as the winner with a consistently high margin.”

    Salman has 7,516,597 fans on Facebook and 3,266,882 followers on Twitter. Not just that, the actor has fan club pages on Facebook and Twitter with over 757,057 and 577,919 followers respectively.

  • Sujoy Ghosh mulls Kahaani 2 with Amitabh Bachchan

    Sujoy Ghosh mulls Kahaani 2 with Amitabh Bachchan

    MUMBAI: Sujoy Ghosh, who had vowed to have his close associate Amitabh Bachchan in all his forthcoming films in any capacity, after he directed the veteran super star in Aladin, is mulling with the idea of working with the megastar in Kahaani 2, the sequel to his successful 2012 thriller Kahaani.

    The director, who has achieved a lot of fame with Kahaani, was speaking to this writer on the sidelines of a recent award function in which he annexed the best story writer award with Advaita Kala for Kahaani.

    “I am assuring you that Amitabh Bachchan will be part of Kahaani 2 in some way or the other. His blessings matter a lot to me. I can‘t see myself making any films without him,” Sujoy observed. Incidentally, Bachchan who was not in the ensemble cast of Kahaani, had lent his voice for the song Ekla chalo re.

    The director says he will roll the camera as soon as the script is locked.

    Asked as to when he would embark on shooting the film, Sujoy quipped, “I am still scripting the film so I can‘t say exactly when I will start shooting. The story will be a continuation from where we have left Kahaani. He however spilled the beans on Vidya Balan‘s role in the film. “She will be seen in an action avatar,” he added.

  • Director of Bombay to Goa S Ramanathan dies

    Director of Bombay to Goa S Ramanathan dies

    MUMBAI: Acclaimed director S Ramanathan, who brought Amitabh Bachchan into the limelight with his film Bombay to Goa, passed away in Chennai on Wednesday. It is said Ramanathan was listening to music when he just collapsed and passed away. It was a case of cardiac failure.

     

    Ramanathan shared a special bond with Amitabh Bachchan. He made three films with him namely Giraftaar, Ganga Jamuna Saraswati and Mahaan. Bachchan was also starring in his last vehicle Zamaanat that was in the making for more than a decade. He was planning to release the film this year.

     

    The other actor with whom the reputed Kannada director was associated with was Mehmood with whom he made Sabse Bada Rupaiya, Do Phool, Bombay To Goa and Faisla.

     

    Ramanathan started his career with theatre in Bangalore and spent most of his early days in the city. He later shifted to Madras, now known as Chennai, mainly because in the late 1950s and early 1960s the city was known for its film activities.

     

    Initially, he worked as an assistant to the then well-known director A Bhim Singh and later turned director with the Malayalam film Naadodikal and followed it up with films like Shreekovil and Devaalayam.

     

    After the success of Bhim Singh‘s Tamil film Madras To Pondicherry, Ramanathan decided to remake it in Hindi and moved to Mumbai. He titled the film Bombay to Goa for which he roped in then struggling actor Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role. The film became a hit and marked his long relationship with the superstar.

     

    Ramanathan had also the honour of working with legendary artistes like Raj Kumar, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vishnuvardhan and Shivaraj Kumar in multiple languages.

  • Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi voted most admired celebrities

    Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi voted most admired celebrities

    MUMBAI: With 43 per cent votes in the ‘Vuclip Icons of the Year 2012’ mobile survey, Amitabh Bachchan has been voted as the most admired celebrity along with Sridevi who left behind the likes of Kareena Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Vidya Balan with 33 per cent votes.

    "I am humbled to see the overwhelming response from my fans. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them once again for their love, blessings and unstinted support towards me and my movies. Whatever I have achieved in life is because of the love and support of my fans," averred Sridevi in a statement.

    Aditya Chopra was chosen as the most admired Bollywood filmmaker.

    "These findings reflect the opinions and expectations of a hundred thousand Indians on whom they view as an ideal leader. Being the most admired icon means more than just being successful," said Vuclip director India Business Nikhil Naik.

    Among the most admired Bollywood composers, A.R. Rahman emerged victorious with 70 per cent votes while Sonu Nigam bagged the title of the most admired male playback singer.

  • Amitabh Bachchan to reprise the role of Kabuliwala

    Amitabh Bachchan to reprise the role of Kabuliwala

    MUMBAI: French-Afghan filmmaker Atiq Rahimi is in plans to cast Amitabh Bachchan in a film based on Rabindranath Tagore‘s story of an Afghan dry-fruit seller and his love for a little girl whom he takes as his daughter.

    Though the story has been adapted a number of times for the big screen in the past, at least two versions of the tale have been made famous in films with Rahimi‘s being the third. It has been reported that Bachchan will reprise the role of the Kabuliwala made famous by Balraj Sahni in one of the earlier cinematic adaptations of the story. The film will be shot predominantly in Kolkata while parts of it will be shot in Afghanistan next year.

    Though Bachchan is a veteran in the field of acting, people in the trade feel that it wouldn‘t be easy for him to fit into the shoes of actors who earlier played the iconic role of Rehmat Khan – Sahni and also that of Bengal‘s veteran actor Chhabi Biswas‘ interpretation of the same.

    Bachchan has played an Afghan in Khuda Gawah. Meanwhile, he has been honoured by the Australian government for his remarkable contribution to the Indian cinema, which is celebrating its centenary year.

    Said the veteran actor on his blog, "Another recognition by the Australian Government and its Commission here in Mumbai, in celebration for the 100 years of Indian Cinema, and my contribution towards fructifying the relations between the two countries… I am most humbled."

    Last year, Bachchan was felicitated with an honorary doctorate by the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.