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Tag: Bollywood

  • Gunday continues its strong run at the box-office

    Gunday continues its strong run at the box-office

    MUMBAI: Last week saw two films of different genres release. Darr @ The Mall a direct lift of a Hollywood flick from 1989 and Highway, a road movie. While, Darr @ The Mall is a total reject, Highway, also not creating a fad, is a little better. In which case, last week’s solo release, Gunday has reaped the benefit.

     

    Darr @ The Mall has fared poorly with its day to day collections barely touching a crore mark. The film collected Rs 3.2 crore for its opening weekend.

     

    Highway, banking on Sajid Nadiadwala’s banner and director Imtiaz Ali’s past record, fared a shade better. The film collected Rs 12.7 crore over its opening weekend with the Sunday collections showing a decent growth.  The film’s 75 per cent business came from Delhi-NCR-Punjab and Mumbai. But, that is not enough to slot the film as an earner with as much as Rs 30 crore incurred for the release of the film.

     

    Gunday proves once again that films on male bonding, friendships don’t usually fail. With an excellent weekend of Rs 43.93 crore, the film ended its first week run with a healthy Rs 63.1 crore adding another Rs 8.15 crore for the second weekend taking its ten day total to Rs 71.24 crore. Both, Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor have consolidated their positions in the industry.

     

    Hasee Toh Phasee has had a decent second week, its average merits notwithstanding. The credit goes to Parineeti Chopra whose performance is being appreciated by all. The film has added Rs 7.7 crore in its second week, taking its two week total to Rs 33.05 crore.

     

    Jai Ho has not managed to do much business at the end of it fourth week with collections of Rs 45 lakh and a four week total of Rs 105.35 crore. It has not lived up to its expectations as other Salman Khan blockbusters in recent history.

     

    Note: An Rs 100 crore grosser is not necessarily a hit because the take home amount is less than 50 per cent of that amount with over half going towards the theatre’s share and a part of it to the distribution expenses.

  • Is B’wood moving towards equality?

    Is B’wood moving towards equality?

    MUMBAI: It has been spoken about many times, but this year seems to attest that Bollywood is actually shunning gender-biases and is moving towards equality. That is what is evident from the movies releasing this year. Many movies of the year are giving prominence to its female actors.

     

    While Parineeti Chopra’s character in Hasee Toh Phasee is a well-etched out role with eccentricities that makes it stand out among all the other characters in the film (even the hero Siddharth Malhotra), in this week’s release – Highway – Alia’s character has been written with similar fervor as well. In fact, Alia’s father and one of the most lauded filmmakers of the country – Mahesh Bhatt – thinks that Alia has ‘lived’ the role of her lifetime.

     

    “Thank you Imtiaz Ali for making Alia ‘live’ the role of her life time. The women of our country will empathise with this heartfelt tale,” wrote Bhatt on Facebook.

     

    In the months to come, Bollywood is going to spring up many such surprises where women will get a chance to not just live their lives but raise the bar too. Many movies with strong women characters and centered around women are going to make a mark at the big screen.

     

    There’s Queen starring Kangana Ranaut that tells the story of a girl whose wedding is called off when her fiancé passes away and she, instead of crying over her situation, decides to move on. The focus of the film is on the character growing up as an individual.

     

    Another one in the pipeline is Gulaab Gang starring Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla among host of other female actors. Again a woman-centric film based around the activist group Gulaabi Gang, shows how women have started getting prominence in the film industry with diverse being written for them.

     

    One of the other movies being looked forward to is Bobby Jasoos starring Vidya Balan in which she portrays the character of a sleuth. The film is not just being anticipated as Indian cinema’s answer to detective films but probably is also one of the first in India to be bringing in a female actor to play a sleuth.

     

    Mary Kom’s biopic with Priyanka Chopra portraying the sportstar in the film is another addition to the list. While biopics are any way not too regular in India, one on a female sportstar is something very rare. And thus this is one movie that every movie buff is waiting for, especially after Irrfan and Farhan Akhtar have raised the bar of getting in to the skin of the real life people they portrayed in Paan Singh Tomar and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Priyanka is surely being watched out for in this upcoming movie.

     

    Doesn’t it seem to be a great year for women in the film industry?

  • Indian films in Festival of India in Lao PDR and 3 other south east Asian countries

    Indian films in Festival of India in Lao PDR and 3 other south east Asian countries

    NEW DELHI: Selected films from Bollywood are part of a three-day Festival of India in Lao Peoples Democratic Republic inaugurated today by the Lao Minister for Information, Culture and Tourism Dr. Bosengkham Vongdara and Indian’s Culture Secretary Ravindra Singh in the capital city of Vientiane at the National Cultural Hall. 

    Speaking on the occasion, Singh said the Festival of India in Lao PDR would encourage people to increase India’s cultural ties with the south east Asian countries and deepen the historical bonds. He thanked the Lao Authorities for contributing towards the development of the Nalanda University. The South Zone Cultural Centre is the nodal agency for conducting the event. 

     

    Official level delegation talks were also held on a wide range of subjects between the two countries. The Indian side was led by Singh while the deputy prime minister and foreign minister Dr. Thongloun Sisoulith led the delegation of Lao PDR. 

    Indian Ambassador to Lao PDR Gururaja Rao said that the talks were cordial and constructive and India and Laos would seek to sign the Cultural Exchange Program in the coming days as also enhance people to people contact efforts. 

     

    Selected films of Bollywood would also be presented in the Festivals of India to be held in Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

     

    The films include Jodha Akbar, Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam etc. The film festival would be presented by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

     

    They will be part of the Festival being organised by the Culture Ministry. The Festivals of India in Cambodia would be held from 14 to 19 February. The Festivals of India in Vietnam will be held from 6 to 15 March and in Myanmar from 17 to 21 March.

     

    The Indian delegation to the Festivals of India led by Culture Secretary Ravindra Singh will have artiste delegation of 75 artistes.

     

    The two festivals would also comprise a Dance Festival of Classical Dance on Ramayana; a Buddhist Exhibition Dhamma Darshan presented by the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara; a Buddhist Mahotsava by the Central Institute of Himalayan Culture Studies in Dahoo, Arunachal Pradesh; a Food Festival by the Tourism Ministry; and aMehendi Art and Yoga festival by artists from the South Zone Cultural Centre and Yoga teachers from the Department of Ayush.

  • Life OK rides on Screen Awards’ success

    Life OK rides on Screen Awards’ success

    MUMBAI: When one of television’s biggest properties – the Screen Awards – moved from Colors to Life OK, the second Hindi general entertainment channel from the Star stable, some feared there could be a drop in viewership for the Bollywood award show.

    Life OK proved the naysayers wrong. The awards ceremony this year had a whopping 9.0 million TVTs, 23 per cent more than the 6.9 million TVTs (ratings provided by Life OK) garnered by Colors for the last year’s edition of the awards show.

    The Screen Awards saw Life OK’s gross viewership rising sharply. The channel’s GVTs jumped to 375 million in Week 4 of TAM ratings from 347 million a week earlier. The show on Life OK had Kamla Pasand as the title sponsor and 13 other sponsors.

    Life OK officials chose to remain tight-lipped about the financial details of the show. Industry sources said the channel was expecting Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 1,50,000 for 10 seconds, but closed most deals between Rs 80,000-1,00,000.

    “The 20th Annual Life OK Screen Awards were the channel’s first big-ticket Bollywood event and we are delighted with the response from our viewers not only in India but all over the world. With a clear intent to disrupt both – how an event is programmed and marketed, with Screen properties, we managed to reach out to more viewers than the biggest events and movies on television (in this year so far) – to be precise 74 million people,” said Life OK general manager Ajit Thakur.

    “This is just the beginning of Life OK’s journey to the next level – watch out for more.”

    The 20th Annual Screen Awards themed ‘Commemorating heroes’ celebrated excellence in over 30 categories across the entire sweep of filmmaking in the Hindi and Marathi film industry.

     

    For Thakur, the success of the awards owes mainly to ‘content’ apart from extensive research and hard work.

    “We have always believed that when we pick up something new, we want to do it differently and in a Life OK way. This is why we picked up Screen Awards amongst all the awards. And even there, we did not go for regular humour which is associated with all the awards. We gave it a substantial meaning and that is where Shah Rukh Khan was very supportive and the event was a full family entertainer with the important theme of ‘Heroes integrated’ in the show,” he explained.

    Thakur said a lot of the content was personally driven by Khan as he took interest and invested time. SRK was leaving for Dubai for another award show when the Life OK scriptwriter accompanied him on the flight and improvised the script.

    The content was also repackaged. “When the Screen Awards shifted from Colors to our channel, everyone thought ratings will drop. But the reason why we partnered and Screen came on-board was they saw a match of content and intent where we believe entertainment must come with inspiration,” said Thakur. 

    A special awards category ‘Hero of the Year’ was introduced. There were special moments galore, what with SRK introducing heroes or Deepika Padukone performing on a giant nagada several feet above the ground – her act was an ode to the emotional journey of a woman.

    The actors, who performed in the show, started rehearsing 10 days prior to the shoot. The acts were choreographed by Geeta Kapoor and the set was designed by production designer and art director Omung Kumar. The set designing took five-six days. To capture the interesting moments, close to 20 fixed cameras were used.

    Apart from the content, Life OK’s marketing strategy worked well too. A month prior to the event, a huge outdoor campaign was held across Delhi, Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra with SRK. Ads were released across major newspapers on the day of the telecast as well as a week before it was aired on the channel. Promos were aired across the Star Network and even outside of it. Digitally, #LifeOKScreenAwards was trending on Twitter on the day of the telecast.

    The post-production work was completed in less than 10 days. Shot on 14 January, the awards were telecast on Life OK on 25 January, a day prior to the telecast of the Filmfare Awards on Sony Entertainment Television.

  • Golden Kela nominates the most popular for the worst performance

    Golden Kela nominates the most popular for the worst performance

    MUMBAI: They are the heartthrobs of Bollywood and their movies were the highest grosser of 2013. But still, they couldn’t impress their critics much. We are talking about Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, whose movies Chennai Express and Dhoom 3 earned in crores at the Box Office but have been nominated in the sixth edition of the Golden Kela Awards – the Indian version of the Raspberry Awards – that celebrates the worst of Bollywood.

     

    Interestingly, these two are not the only ones facing flak; many top notch actors of the industry are in the list. So while there’s Deepika Padukone for Chennai Express, Sonam Kapoor has been nominated for Raanjhana, and Sonakshi Sinha for R…Rajkumar.

     

    Golden Kela Awards founder Jatin Varma thinks that the movies that released this year gave the jury ample choice for the nominations. “It might be tough for the voters to decide which one was the absolute worst! This time the nominations were especially difficult, because Bollywood spewed out an incredible amount of crappy films and the Indian audience spent a large amount of money on them,” he remarked.

     

    To add spice to the show, a few new categories have been introduced that include special awards like Aakhir Kyun Award, Dara Singh Award for Worst Accent, Bas Kijiye Bahut Ho Gaya, Aap Yahaan Aaye Kisliye Award and Ra.One Award for Worst Premise. These awards will only be announced at the official awards ceremony that will take place on 29 March, 2014 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

     

    The  voting lines are opening on 1 February and one just needs to log on to www.goldenkela.com to check out the categories, nominees, updates and cast a vote.

     

    Here’s a full list of the nominations…

     

    Worst Actor (Male)

    Ajay Devgn for Himmatwala
    Ram Charan Teja for Zanjeer
    Imran Khan for Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbaai Dobara
    Aditya Roy Kapoor for Aashiqui 2
    Ranveer Singh for Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela
    Arjun Kapoor for Aurangzeb

     

    Worst Actor (Female)

    Shraddha Kapoor for Aashiqui 2
    Priyanka Chopra for Zanjeer
    Pallavi Sharda for Besharam
    Sonam Kapoor for Raanjhanaa
    Sonakshi Sinha for R…Rajkumar
    Deepika Padukone for Chennai Express

     

    Worst Supporting Actor (Male)

    Aditya Roy Kapoor for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
    Imran Khan for Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola
    The Whole Male Cast of ABCD
    Sachin Joshi for whatever he did
    Sanjay Dutt for Zanjeer

     

    Worst Supporting Actor (Female)

    Deepika, Jacqueline, Ameesha for Race 2
    Anushka Sharma for Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola
    The Whole Female Cast of ABCD
    Kangna Ranaut for Krrish 3
    Vaani Kapoor for Shuddh Desi Romance

     

    Worst Director

    Sajid Khan for Himmatwala
    Rohit Shetty for Chennai Express
    Rakesh Roshan for Krrish 3
    Anand L Rai for Raanjhanaa
    Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Ram-leela
    Prabhudeva for R…Rajkumar
    Apoorva Lakhia for Zanjeer

     

    Worst Film

    Himmatwaala
    Raanjhanaa
    Besharam
    Krrish 3
    Aashiqui 2
    Chennai Express
    Ramleela
    Dhoom 3

     

    Baawra Ho Gaya Hai Ke
     

    Vishal Bhardwaj for Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola
    Tigmanshu Dhulia for Bullet Raja
    Ali Zafar for Chashme Baddoor
    Aamir Khan for Dhoom 3
    Ranbir Kapoor & Abhinav Kashyap for Besharam
    Aditi Rao Hydari for Murder 3 & Boss
    Sudhir Mishra for Inkaar

     

    Irritating Song

     

    Lungi Dance
    Tum Hi Ho
    Lat Lag Gayi
    Party All Night
    Raghupati Raghav
    Gandi Baat

     

    Atrocious Lyrics

     

    Raghupati Raghav
    Saree Ke Fall Sa
    Tamanche Pe Disco
    Grand Masti
    Boss
    One Two Three Four
    Ishqyaun Dhishqyaun
    Babli Badmaash
    Chingum Chabaake

     

    Worst Sequel/Remake

     

    Zanjeer
    Chashme Baddoor
    Aashiqui 2
    Murder 3
    Dhoom 3
    Shootout At Wadala
    Himmatwala
    Race 2
    Yamla Pagla Deewana 2
    Krrish 3
    Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara
    Grand Masti

     

    Why Are You Still Trying
     

    Preity Zinta for Ishqk In Paris
    Sunny Deol for Singh Saab The Great
    Prateik Babbar for Issaq
    Jkackky Bhagnani for Rangrezz
    Vivek Oberoi for Jayantabhai Ki Love Story
    Neil Nitin Mukesh for 3G & Shortcut Romeo
    Shahid Kapoor for R…Rajkumar

     

    Worst Debut
     

    Girish Kumar
    Poonam Pandey
    Ram Charan Teja
    Sasha Agha
    Veena Malik
    Leander Paes

  • FOODFOOD integrates with Nagesh Kukunoor’s Lakshmi

    FOODFOOD integrates with Nagesh Kukunoor’s Lakshmi

    MUMBAI: FOODFOOD, the No 1 food lifestyle channel in India joins with director Nagesh Kukunoor’s film,  Lakshmi,  based on women trafficking, a frightening reality that haunts women from deprived backgrounds. A true story of a child-woman whose spirit could not be broken in spite of trauma and emotional battering she faced.

     

    As a part of the integration FOODFOOD is hosting a contest during its popular TV show Cook Smart with Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor who is joined by director Nagesh Kukunoor, stars Shefali Shah &the protagonist Monali Thakur (ex Indian Idol) on the show. During the episode, January 23rd, 5.00 PM, viewers will be asked three contest questions from the said episode and the questions will be posted on Facebook page of FOODFOOD. The winners will get Lakshmi movie merchandise and exciting prizes.

     

    Stay tuned to FOODFOOD on January 23rd, at 5.00 PM, to Cook Smart and win fabulous prizes.

  • 4th Gionne Star GiMA sees outstanding success

    4th Gionne Star GiMA sees outstanding success

    MUMBAI:  The 4th Gionee Star Global Indian Music Academy (GiMA) Awards powered by Reliance 3G unfolded this evening at NSCI Stadium, Worli. Initiated by Wizcraft International to applaud the finest achievements in the music Industry, GiMA has grown into an established dais that unites the biggest musical talents in the country onto a common stage.

     

     

    The ceremony hosted by Ranveer Singh featured some of the best performances by some of the finest stalwarts in the music industry as well as some of the brightest stars of Bollywood. Asha Bhosle’s also paid tribute to music legend R.D. Burman with her performance on some of his most iconic songs Mera Naam Shabnam, Dum Maro Dum, Gulabi Chehra, Duniya Mein and Aa Dekhe Zara among others.

     

    The evening also saw a spellbinding performance by Sonakshi Sinha who performed as last year’s ceremony as well. With an exciting segment hosted by the hit comedian Kapil Sharma and some electrifying performances by Mika and Honey Singh, the evening hit all the high notes.

     

    The love story Aashiqui 2 walked away with 6 GiMA awards leading in the film category. The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Honour was awarded to Asha Bhosle in the Popular category for her outstanding contribution to the music industry. Pt Ram Narayan, considered the finest sarangi exponent in the country and the man who made it a popular instrument was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Honour – Classical.

     

    On winning Best Playback Singer Female, Shreya Ghosal said, “It’s very special when you win an award, it reminds you that there is so much work to do, so much more music to enthrall audiences, I am very proud to be a part of this industry. Aashiqui 2 has definitely been the flavor of the year.”

     

    The show also showcased a host of promising and upcoming artistes including Aditya Narayan, Shefali Alvares, Ankit Tiwari, Sreeram, Bhoomi, Aditi Singh Sharma, Siddharth Mahadevan and Nikhil Paul George come together in a very special act, rendering the chart busters of the year gone by. Usha Uthup also had a special performance singing a number of songs, most notably, Skyfall.

     

    The 4th edition of the Gionee Star GiMA Awards is presented by Gionee and Star TV and powered by Reliance 3G. Brand Partners for the event are Renault and the Videocon Group.

  • Madhuri Dixit can’t stop humming and dancing to the Oral B jingle

    Madhuri Dixit can’t stop humming and dancing to the Oral B jingle

    MUMBAI: Known for her enigmatic and charming smile, Madhuri Dixit, the brand ambassador and Chief Smile Officer of Oral-B kick started the fourth edition of Smile India Movementby shooting for a dance videoat a mall in Mumbai. This is the first time that a Bollywood celebrity hasparticipated in a flash mob-styled performance. Shoppers were absolutely thrilled to witness the surprise star act. The jingle, sung by the National award winning playback singer Rekha Bhardwaj andchoreographed by the multi-talented Ganesh Hegde, captures the essence of how a‘bindassbateesi’ is the key to a beautiful life!

    Themesmerizingdance moves of Madhuri not only brought smiles on faces, young and old, but also got them to forget their worries and join in the foot tapping number.The performance created astir among the audience and the mall reverberated with the cheering and applauding by the crowd while the enthusiastic Madhuriinteracted with audiences by encouraging them to match hersteps and her signature smile.

    The passion with which the crowd reacted to the dance break out was overwhelming to witness. Everyone from youngsters tomothers, store staff to police inspectors dropped their personal errands and enjoyed the spectacle. Spectators got a glimpse of the fun side of Madhuri, who kept interacting with the dancers and joking around with the crew.

    The catchy jingle, which is one of the key highlights of the video, truly caught her fancy. Madhuri couldn’t stop humming the melodyevenduring the breaks between shots. The jingle aimsto spread the message that a family which smiles together is truly a reflection of a happy and healthy family.

    Commenting on her association with Oral-B Smile India Movement 4, Chief Smile OfficerMadhuri Dixit said, “I loved the overall experience of dancing with the crowd. Ittook me back to the memories of dancing on various pop numbers. In fact my dressing was very similar to what I wore for the Que Sera Sera video. The enthusiasm of the dancers and the crowd, kept all our energy levels high. It was a great experience to be shooting with friends and fans all around me, watching them enjoy it and bringing a smile to their faces. The Oral–B Jingle is so upbeat that even my children love itand hum it and then we all break into the signature step. I am truly proud to be associated with the Oral-B Smile India Movement 4 and encourage people to take better care of their family’s smile and ultimately their overall oral health. “

     

    As India’s Chief Family Smile Officer, Madhuri believes a family that smiles together, stays together! So celebrate your family’s smile with the jingle through the link appended below –

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWRsW7RpvZ8

     

     

  • Juhi Chawla takes a route to social causes

    Juhi Chawla takes a route to social causes

    MUMBAI: If the promos of her upcoming film, Gulaan Gang, are to go by actor Juhi Chawla looks fresh and ready to reclaim the silver screen once again. She just seems apt for the role. And if the promos of the film are grabbing so many eyeballs, it only makes sense for the actor to create the right buzz with doing all things right.
     
     
    on a recent trip to Delhi, the actor took out some time from her busy schedule and attended an event for the NGO Routes2Roots, which promotes building peace through cultural integration. Juhi interacted with the children who are part of the ‘exchange for change’ program and was seen in great enthusiasm for the initiative. 
     

    The actress was seen in western attire for a change and we must say she was looking as ravishing as she does in her counterpart Indian dresses.

  • ‘Satyamev Jayate 2’ to kick start soon

    ‘Satyamev Jayate 2’ to kick start soon

    MUMBAI: He isn’t the Mr Strategist and Perfectionist of Bollywood for no reason. This time around actor Aamir Khan has made sure that the second season of his TV show – Satyamev Jayate, the shooting of which began recently, remains in the news throughout the year.

     

    The season one of the show highlighted the social evils and also brought to the light the sufferings that people at large go through because of those. While the second edition is again set to bring forth the evils of the Indian society that’s becoming a hindrance in the country’s growth, the actor has devised a plan to give the audience enough time to execute the ideas promoted through the show in reality. The 12-episode show, this time, would be presented in installments – four episodes at the beginning of the year, four mid-year and the last four at the year end.

     

    While the other details are still being worked upon, what has come out is that the season is set to kick start soon with an episode focusing on the plight of rape victims. The episode has already been shot at the Yash Raj Studios and the actor has requested the audience present at the shoot to keep the details to themselves.

     

    The TV audience are set to witness some life-changing incidents, it seems.