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Tag: Arjun Rampal

  • Interface communications launches new campaign Nivea launches Men

    Interface communications launches new campaign Nivea launches Men

    MUMBAI: NIVEA India, an affiliate of Beiersdorf AG, has launched a brand new campaign for NIVEA Men Fresh Active Deodorant.

    The campaign features Arjun Rampal who is the face of NIVEA MEN and follows the codes of simplicity and attempts to break the monotony in one-dimensional category like deodorants. The campaign kicks off on television as well as digital media and further builds the new brand platform: It starts with you.

    Speaking on the launch of the campaign, NIVEA India MD Rakshit Hargave said: “The NIVEA MEN deodorant campaign highlights the new brand proposition of IT STARTS WITH YOU very well. Essentially, the platform IT STARTS WITH YOU urges Indian men to unlock their everyday potential and take charge of their lives. Arjun Rampal, our latest addition to the NIVEA family, fits seamlessly into the brand values as he too is selfmade & juggles multiple roles in life. He personifies masculinity, success & self confidence, all qualities which a NIVEA MAN represents.”

    Commenting on being the part of the ad campaign, Arjun Rampal said, ‘‘I always endorse brands  & products  that I use personally.   The new NIVEA MEN range is a wonderful exciting range & definitely something that I use regularly. This new deodorant commercial is a very energetic film with a tongue in cheek humor about it. Most deodorant ads show men spraying the deodorant and girls falling over them. All that happens in this ad too, but wait for the last line.”

    The campaign is conceptualized by ECD Robby Mathew and creative director & copywriter Rakesh Menon of Interface communications and the production company is Future East Film.

  • Jacqueline to play director in Roy

    Jacqueline to play director in Roy

    The Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez seems to be on cloud nine these days. The reason being, in her upcoming film Roy, she is super excited about not just playing a double role (first time in her career), but also she will be seen playing the role of a movie director.

     

    Talking about the same, an excited Fernandez said that she’s lucky enough to be playing a director in the film, and that she will take some tips from directors she knows. She added that they will start the shoot by end of the year.

    Roy also stars Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Rampal in the lead roles. While the film is being directed by Vikramjit Singh, it’s slated for a June 2014 release.

  • Satyagraha: A glorified hunger strike

    Satyagraha: A glorified hunger strike

    There is cinema called Prakash Jha genre. It is basically anti-establishment in its essence. The usual elements involve badly skewed good-vs-bad struggles, the usual locations, plenty of crowds and a small constituency that is supposed to represent the national scene of India today.

     

    Amitabh Bachchan is the honest, retired masterji of a small township. His principles are as tall as his personal being. He is not always right but that is the way he is. He has cast his son, Indraneil Sengupta, in his very own mould. The son, an engineer, is the head of development of a whole precinct of Ambikapur, which is represented by the politician Manoj Bajpai in the state assembly. A new bridge is being built with his design, and Bajpai’s brother is the contractor. As expected, a slab from the bridge collapses and kills many workers. The builder has used inferior materials but the blame is put on the designer, Indraneil, who is killed soon after. A compensation award of Rs 25 lakh for the killed workers’ families is announced by Bajpai in front of the media. Days pass but the award is not forthcoming due to corruption. When approached,the district collector is rude. Angry with his behaviour, Bachchan slaps him in front of his subordinates.

     

    Bachchan is arrested for slapping a public servant. Enter Ajay Devgn, Indraneil’s bum chum who supported Devgn after his parents died in an accident. Devgn tries his best, appointing a topmost lawyer and even approaching the collector. Nothing works and he decides to start a campaign for the release of the honest ex-teacher through posters and MMS clips. Soon the local toughie, Arjun Rampal, an expelled student of Bachchan, joins the campaign with Devgn. Rampal’s speciality is crowd mobilisation. Devgn decides to rope in Kareena Kapoor, a TV journalist from ABP News. Kareena is supposed to travel with the PM on his Japan jaunt but Devgn convinces her that something major is happening in Ambikapur by sending her manipulated pictures of huge crowds. When she arrives, she sees no crowds but not to disappoint her, Rampal soon produces a huge mob.

     

    Bajpai decides to play a good guy, comes personally to his constituency and orders the release of Bachchan and also presents him the cheque for Rs 25 lakh. But looking at the crowd’s backing, Bachchan refuses to accept the money till corruption is totally done away with in Bajpai’s constituency. He gives a deadline of a month for the purpose. However, Bajpai is a tough nut to crack. He holds the ultimate power in the state government which stands because of support of his party. He is in the position to call the shots. This becomes the clash of egos between Bajpai and Bachchan and his supporters Devgn, Rampal and Amrita Rao. Kareena stays back to cover the movement as well as to support it and ends up falling in love with Devgn while she is there.

     

    Bachchan is taunted by the widow of one of the workers who died when the bridge slab collapsed. She tells him it is fine for him to refuse Rs 25 lakh but because of him even her compensation of one lakh is not forthcoming. She and her children have to remain hungry. Bachchan is moved and decides he too won’t eat until the widow’s children get their due and the local administration clears all the dues of the people. He is now on a satyagraha. Don’t know why hundreds of people come and stare at the hungry Bachchan on satyagraha because for the viewer of this movie whatever is happening becomes unbearable! Some relief during this time comes in the form of one of Gandhiji’s favourite Bhajans, Raghupati Ragav Raja Ram with reworked words. Since politicians like Bajpai don’t always relent, the only way to end the film seems to be to let the armed forces out on the mob. There is chaos and deaths and for some reason Bachchan goes for a stroll. Devgn goes to find him when Bajpai’s goons shoot at both, killing Bachchan and hurting Devgn.

     

    Devgn and Rampal go after Bajpai only to hand him over to the police; not a very satisfactory way to deal with a villain for the viewers.

     

    Satyagraha is a dry, insipid film with a script of convenience. Director Prakash Jha may be adept at collecting and handling crowds but the same can’t be said of scripting. A few scenes and sequences are also taken from the film Gandhi. Dialogue is routine. Photography is fair. Editing is slack. Musically, the film has a couple of good songs: the title song and Raskebhare tore naina. Performances by all artistes are okay; the script offers no scope for histrionics to any character.

     

    Satyagraha has nothing except its star line-up to attract people. But that has never been reason enough for the cine-going public.

  • Prakash Jha to turn his film Satyagraha into a book

    Prakash Jha to turn his film Satyagraha into a book

    MUMBAI: Not limiting his next venture Satyagraha just to film, Prakash Jha is mulling with the idea to turn it into a book too.

    He, along with his co-writer Anjum Rajabali, is working on the script again, to modify it into a book. The film that has been written very critically includes many underlying facts which might not be known to the masses. So the director has decided to compile the script into a full-fledged book.

    However, the original script written by Anjum Rajabali was heavily modified by Jha to make it appropriate for the film. According to the co-writer the script was modified numerous times to make it apt for the film.

    In the book, the writers would include required details from the original as well as the modified film script.
    Jointly produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Prakash Jha Productions, Satyagraha examines the current socio-political system in India. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai and Amrita Rao.

    The film is slated to release on 15 August this year.

  • Inkaar: A love story badly told

    Inkaar: A love story badly told

    MUMBAI: Inkaar has been widely promoted as a film on sexual harassment at work place. Ideally, the work place here is an ad agency. Ad agencies are generally identified with glamour because that is what they cater through their ads and are thought to be full of people with open and free minds. It helps the cause of the film because, otherwise, ad agencies are not the only place where romances, affairs or molestations happen. Whatever the perceptions created, Inkaar, in a nutshell, is just another love story.

     

    Producers: Tipping Point Films, Viacom 18.
    Director: Sudhir Mishra.
    Cast: Arjun Rampal, Chitrangada Singh, Deepti Naval, Vipin Sharma, Gaurav Dwivedi, Mohan Kapoor, Rehana Sultan.

    Arjun Rampal is a high flying ad executive, the CEO of a happening agency with a US tie-up. Since ad agencies are generally identified with their leaders, Rampal is a legend in his own right in the ad world. Like all good leaders he encourages and grooms his team. One such person he has chosen to groom and hone talent of is Chitrangada Singh, a sensuous, sharp and ambitious girl from a small town, Solan in HP. Even before she can prove herself, Rampal is struck by her poise and beauty; if you count his ogling her at all meetings and briefings that happen in any office, he is obsessed with her!

     

    Rampal takes Singh under his wings, she shows sparks and soon her talent and contribution make her the blue eyed girl of the agency. The proximity leads to a romance between Rampal and Singh. The job creates many opportunities to travel and spend time together and soon the relationship becomes physical.

     

    Singh has also impressed the owners, especially the American partner, and she is soon delegated to the American partner agency. On her return, before the romance can rekindle, a management move to make her the creative head of the agency leads to parallel powers in the agency. After all, she is an ambitious woman and has no reason to say no despite Rampal‘s suggestion not to accept as he thinks she was not yet ready for the responsibilities.

     

    In the egos clash, romance is sacrificed, and this being a creative field, also sacrificed are some client accounts. Every time Singh needs Rampal‘s help, there are hurdles, or so she feels. Due to their past liaison, she smells a demand for sex whenever she encounters him. Exasperated, she decides to complain of harassment against her CEO, Rampal. You would expect a horde of woman activists to descend on him and newspaper headlines all over. But, no, here it is all hush, hush, no media and no activists, only one social worker; Deepti Naval sits on an inquest.

     

    As both the parties are called to testify in turns, the film‘s narrative comes in flashbacks because the inquest hears a particular incident told by Singh, Rampal follows with an explanation. This leads to unfolding of the film in various flashbacks. This does not help the cause of gripping the viewer with a taut telling of the story and fails to involve him. Other colleagues also tell their part in the events over the years. While a bias is evident against Singh from most colleagues, Naval also thinks that with two attractive persons working closely, sex is bound to happen! When the matter is not clear, Naval asks the panel sitting with her to vote on guilty or not guilty!

     

    When there is no inquest in progress, the ad world seems busy in revelry, drinking and generally having fun.

     

    Rampal has decided enough is enough and SMSs his resignation and heads home to Shahranpur to meet his father of various flashbacks in the film, Kanwaljeet Singh. Before that, he has had a confrontation with Singh in the washroom. When asked by Singh about his attitude, his response is ‘Because he was angry and because he loved her‘. Singh remembers it and its time for her also to pick up her car keys and follow Rampal to Shahranpur!

     

    Due to the piecemeal style of the script, the direction never gets a handle on the proceedings. Music lacks appeal.

     

    Rampal, as a lover in flashbacks and an annoyed accused in present is good in latter part. Singh is mainly glamour. Rest have no definite roles to play.

     

    Inkaar, has opened with poor response with little chance of improving.

     

    Mumbai Mirror: Lacks face value

     

    Producer: Raina S Joshi.
    Director: Ankush Bhatt.
    Cast: Sachin Joshi, Gihana Khan, Prakash Raj, Vimala Raman, Mahesh Manjrekar, Aditya Pancholi, Prashant Narayanan, Ra

    A guy wanting to be the clone of Salman Khan is understandable. After all, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan have had hundreds of them. But the hero here, Sachin Joshi, in his self financed film, also wants to clone a Salman Khan film! So, Mumbai Mirror is to be watched with Joshi as its hero but while imagining you are watching Salman Khan on screen.

     

    Joshi, in his pretence of playing Salman Khan, brings along the same actor, Prakash Raj to play the villain. What lets him down is his thin voice.

     

    Joshi is a police inspector in a station headed by his maternal uncle, Mahesh Manjrekar. He drinks, womanises, gambles on cricket matches and finally, also takes to snorting drugs. However, when it comes to action, he is never found wanting. Worst crime a man can commit, according to him, is raise a hand on woman of which he is unforgiving. Typically, he had a thing going with a bar dancer, Gihana Khan, who is now the don Raj‘s mole.

     

    Raj is the biggest don of Mumbai owning almost 70 per cent dance bars in the city, a man whom no policeman can touch. Joshi and Raj are soon to be pitted as the latter wants to open a dance bar in Joshi‘s precinct which Joshi would allow as long as there are no dance girls involved. Joshi also learns that dance bars are just a front and the real business behind this façade is that of drugs.

     

    The war between Raj and Joshi peaks and game of chess laid out in Raj‘s den now becomes real as both try to outwit the other. As a result, Joshi is suspended from the force. He continues his fight and, in the process, also meets a TV reporter, Vimala Raman, to add a mild romantic angle to the proceedings. Joshi adds another bad man, Aditya Pancholi, to the fight, turns Raj and Pancholi against each other. He is surprised to trace the source of drugs supply, and carries out the final elimination. Also eliminated is the corrupt CBI man and Raj‘s puppet, Sudesh Berry.

     

    To fill up the screen and make the film watchable, there is a line up of some known talent in the cast. There is always some action on screen but the problem is that there is nothing new. Dialogue by Ghalib Asad Bhopali is good when not remixing old Salman Khan lines. Music is out of sync. With a seasoned supporting cast, the performances are good. Joshi, Gihana and Raman are okay.

     

    Mumbai Mirror, lacking face value, finds no takers and is faced with no show situation.

  • AXN ties up with Sudhir Mishra’s ‘Inkaar’

    MUMBAI: Action oriented broadcaster AXN has tied up with Sudhir Mishra‘s movie ‘Inkaar‘, starring Arjun Rampal and Chitrangada Singh.

    An on-air and social media tie-up, the campaign is already on. The contest asks the fans to choose their favourite movie character-Rahul Verma (Arjun Rampal) and Maya Luthra (Chitrangada Singh). AXN in association with Inkaar, gives a chance to the lucky few to watch the premiere of the movie with none other than the star cast themselves.

    The contest on social media comes from the fact of Alpha men and Omega women which is the basis of the movie. AXN has also shot a very sassy promo for the contest which is an integrated promo for AXN‘s ongoing 15 year celebration.

    Fans can visit AXN India‘s Facebook page and vote for their favorite movie character and can get the opportunity to sit next to stars watching ‘Inkaar‘.

  • Chakravyuh: A let down from Jha

    Chakravyuh: A let down from Jha

    MUMBAI: In 1973 Hrishikesh Mukherjee made Namak Haraam, an adaptation of the English film Becket (1964) an all time classic. Namak Haraam was a classic of its time too and since then, every filmmaker worth his salt has dreamt of making his own version of Becket. While many toyed with the idea, no one could put together a script worth half a Becket. Now that Namak Haraam and Becket are faded from memory and unknown to today‘s generation, Prakash Jha has taken the plunge. His latest offering, Chakravyuh, is a rehash of the great classic.

    Earlier, Jha took liberties with three classics: the epic tome, The Mahabharat; the all time Hollywood classic, The Godfather; and Shyam Benegal‘s classic, Kalyug, to make his Raajneeti. This time he tries Becket at his own peril. The film is woven around the Naxal problem in India vs corrupt politicians and trigger-happy policemen. In that, the police have a carte blanche: kill a Naxal when you see one, rape his woman to complete the ‘justice‘. That is how Chakravyuh proceeds.

    Arjun Rampal and Abhay Deol are bum chums. Rampal is one born with the proverbial silver spoon but he uses that spoon to feed his poor, no-background friend, Abhay Deol. No footage or effort is wasted on establishing their friendship, how it happened or the depth of it. The director says that they are great friends who will waste their life on each other so you accept it; period.

    When Rampal joins the police academy (since when did rich boys chose this profession?) he forces his pal Deol to join too. Also in the academy is Esha Gupta, Rampal‘s lady love. They both qualify but Deol is a rebel and is rusticated for attacking an officer. After that, he vanishes from the scene for the next seven years while Rampal and Gupta pass out with flying colours. As the film begins, they are married; he is a super cop now and she heads the intelligence wing! She is in police uniform at all times; he is inevitably in mufti and riding an SUV. That is about as much glamour as you can afford in this kind of a film.

    Rampal and his police keep falling prey to same old ploy where an ‘informer‘ plants the Naxals‘ whereabouts, the police attack and are picked off like sitting ducks by the Naxals. Rampal is hit by a bullet and that is when his bum chum, Deol, suggests he penetrate the Naxals as a police mole to help Rampal defeat them. Deol, having joined the Naxals to help his pal destroy the movement, soon starts empathising with the Naxals‘ problems. He realises that they are the ones denied justice. He takes up the cause of the discriminated and goes on to become their protagonist at the cost of alienating his friend and benefactor, Rampal.

    The equations have changed, friends have become foes. But, sadly, the film has lost its plot by now. There are encounters between the police and the Naxals and the process goes on and on. This film has no story to tell really. From script to execution, everything about it is poor; include the star cast to that which has no draw. What is a principled, educated policeman like Rampal doing protecting his corrupt masters, the politicians? How does the title fit in?

    The cast of Chakravyuh reads like the maker‘s office roll call, consisting mainly of Jha‘s regular faces. It does not matter if they don‘t really fill the bill. Of his main players, Rampal, Deol and Gupta, none has a well-defined role. The only one who steals a march is the little known Anjali Patil. Om Puri and Manoj Bajpayee don‘t help much because of their sketchy characters. And it is high time Murali Sharma changed his expressions and mannerisms. The music is a letdown and the film offers nothing in the name of entertainment.

    Prakash Jha‘s story, screenplay, direction and the very idea of making this film fails to justify why anyone will pay 200 to 300 rupees to watch it.

    Chakravyuh is poor beyond redemption.

  • Heroine: Bhandarkar has nothing new to offer

    Heroine: Bhandarkar has nothing new to offer

    MUMBAI: Every time a heroine oriented film is due for release, which is not very often, I am asked to give my views on why heroine films don’t work. I used to give detailed explanations hoping that what I said was understood. I think Madhur Bhandarkar‘s latest film, Heroine, has made my job easier. Next time I am asked this question. I can just say, “Go watch Heroine and you will know why. Heroine is usually what our heroine films are all about, which is certainly not a Lara Croft movie; this is not even a The Dirty Picture or a Kahaani! Usually, those plotting a heroine oriented film end up making their heroine‘s character weak and exploited and this is not what people want to see.”

    Bhandarkar has a mould ready in which he can cast his fashion model, a corporate woman or a heroine. The profession changes but the shape, size and sound remain the same. The events, the ups and downs, the drama are rewritten around his new protagonist but the essence remains the same. Bhandarkar is supposed to be one of the progressive filmmakers but what he has been making since Chandni Bar is like what Jacqueline Susanne and Jackie Collins wrote and was filmed as long ago as 1970s!

    In Heroine, Kareena Kapoor is a whimsical girl with a troubled childhood. She has run away from her home in Delhi, come to Mumbai and has become a top film star; the film does not dwell on how. Her character in the film tells the story of what is supposed to be happening in our film industry, especially star relations, emotions, exploitations, betrayals, insecurities, media and PR stunts, almost all exaggerated.

    Kapoor is celebrating the success of one of her films and expects super star Arjun Rampal, who she is passionate about, to attend which he does not. Their romance is kept back successfully from the media in a scenario where, otherwise, each star bitches about the other and leaks scandals to media. Kapoor has self destructive tendencies coupled with her insecurities about her top slot. And her lover, Rampal, makes her pop pills, drink continuously and smoke like a chimney. Her suffering is generally self-inflicted. Her pressure on Rampal to marry her finally leads to him dumping her. In search of love, she falls for the successful cricketer, played by Randeep Hooda. If she was in a hurry to tie the knot with Rampal, here Hooda is in hurry which, she feels, will be detrimental to her career. The romance breaks. Kapoor‘s career is all but over when she engages the services of a noted PR person, Divya Dutta, who knows all the tricks, usually dirty, of keeping her client in limelight.

    Kapoor is back on covers and in the endorsement market but a big film offer eludes her. Always exploited, Kapoor decides to play dirty to get that one offer. But she dodges advances by Sanjay Suri and he in turn reduces her role to a cameo.

    Desperate, Kapoor says yes to two offers, one to do a shoestring budget film and the other to attend a wedding in Delhi for a fee. Rampal is on same flight on his way to attend the same wedding. The lovers unite and decide to do a film together. But, again, Kapoor‘s insecurities get the better of her and as a result she loses both, the film as well as Rampal. But before that she has played her last card: releasing her sex video with Rampal on the net to promote the shoestring budget film she did. If such tricks worked in real life, every willing-to-strip newbie would be a star on debut. However, here it works for Kapoor and people flock to theatres to watch her small budget film as if the sex video was its trailer!

    The basic plot of this film remains same as his earlier film. The problem in case of Heroine is that there is no story as such to hold a viewer‘s interest. The film tries to cram in all that is supposed to be evil about the film industry with all its stereotypes, including a bitching friend, a gay dress designer, a bisexual guy on hand when in need, a loyal secretary as well as a cunning one, party scenes, bought media loyalties, forgotten stars and so on. It is all used to deliver 147 minutes of tedium. So whose story is this, a heroine or the film industry?

    The casting is poor in that those vying for or competing with Kapoor for the top spot look like side actors. Kapoor and Rampal are the best the film has to offer. Stars draw people to the cinema; making an economical film with small timers does not mean low admission rates. Heroine does not have much to offer and the viewer is saddled with faces he does not care to watch. Bhandarkar disappoints both in writing as well as direction. Except at three or four places, dialogue is routine. Musically, the film has one item number in Halkat jawani, which is well choreographed, along with two hummable numbers, Tujhpe fida and Khwahishein. Photography is good.

    This was the film for Kapoor to show her acting skills but that does not happen because of her ill-defined character. The character lacks consistency due to which one fails to identify or empathise with her. Rampal is okay but looks spent in this film. Shahana Goswami impresses in a brief role. Others who do well are Ranvir Shorey, Datta, Helen, Govind Namdeo and Hooda.

    A comparison with The Dirty Picture becomes inevitable after watching Heroine and one concludes that Heroine has nothing of what made The Dirty Picture a hit.

    Heroine has had huge amount of promotion which has not helped it get a decent opening and the bad reports will only make it suffer further at the box office.

  • Preity Zinta’s Ishkq In Paris to release on 21 September

    Preity Zinta’s Ishkq In Paris to release on 21 September

    MUMBAI: Preity Zinta‘s debut film as a producer Ishkq In Paris is set to hit the silver screen on 21 September.

    Zinta‘s comeback film is apparently inspired from a Hollywood love story, Before Sunrise.

    The romantic drama that released in 1995 is about a young American man and French woman who meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one romantic evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.

    Directed by filmmaker Prem Raj, ‘Ishkq In Paris‘ stars French actress Isabelle Adjani and Arjun Rampal in the lead roles. Salman Khan plays a cameo in the film.

    Zinta was last seen on the big screen in 2009 in a cameo performance in Salman Khan starrer Main Aurr Mrs Khanna.

  • Sohail Khan mulls Iron Man in Hindi

    Sohail Khan mulls Iron Man in Hindi

    MUMBAI: Sohail Khan is set to make a Hindi version of Iron Man.

    Understandably, Salman Khan is being cast as Iron Man. Also in the cast will be Deepika Padukone who will reprise the role of Black Widow, Arjun Rampal as Captain America and Sohail Khan as Thor amongst others.

    Iron Man was a 2008 American science fiction superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The film, directed by Jon Favreau, starred Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Robert Downey JR as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, and Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye.

    Reportedly, Salman Khan will take up the film soon after he finishes with Arbaaz Khan’s Dabaang 2.