Farah Khan invited as jury for Berlin Film Festival

MUMBAI: Choreographer turned director, Farah Khan, has been invited to be part of the main jury at the Berlin Film Festival which is to be held from 5 - 15 February 2009. Khan, however, is tied up due to her prior commitments and may not be able to make it.

Unfortunately Khan's dates are booked by Star Plus' Nach Baliye, the weekend reality dance show. However the show producers are trying to work out the details so that she can attend the festival.

Khan says, "It's a matter of great honor. The schedule is very exacting. We need to watch four movies a day. My big worry is how will I be able to live without my triplets. They will manage fine without me, but I will miss them. Ten days is a long time to be away from them. But if all things work out, I will be boarding that flight to Germany."

Karan Johar to make Dostana 2

Tarun Mansukhani making a sequel to the immensely likable DOSTANA? That’s the buzz in the industry. “Not a bad idea,” Tarun smiles, “But the truth is, I haven’t decided anything yet. I don’t have an inkling of what to make next. But I hope to start working on my next film within a fortnight.”By the time you’re reading this, Tarun must’ve flown to the U.S.; he’s the line producer of his mentor Karan Johar’s MY NAME IS KHAN.

Talking of the DOSTANA sequel, Tarun says that a lot of people have asked him about it. “It would be a great idea to take the Abhishek - John story forward. But the sequel has to be better than the first part,” he adds.

Tarun is simultaneously involved with the animation version of KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI.

Incidentally, Tarun had joined Karan as an apprentice when he started KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI and the talented director must be reliving the moments all over again.

“I owe everything to Karan. He’s family for me. I can never think of branching out of Dharma Productions. Never!” he gets emotional as he says this.

Vistaar Religare invests over $1 million for 'Victory' publicity

New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) Harman Baweja's second film “Victory”, which also stars over 30 national and international cricketers has come into big money. Vistaar Religare Film Fund (VRFF) is investing Over $1 million in the movie's promotion.

Directed by Ajitpal Mangat, it has been jointly co-produced by Walk Water Media, a production house promoted by Manmohan Shetty.

“We are pleased to be associated with a strong financial powerhouse that aims to corporatise the film industry. This is a landmark deal as it is happening in India for the first time that a third party is putting in the money for print and advertising," said Shetty.

“The industry is in urgent need of entities that will recognise the depth of talent available in the country and work methodically to produce superlative cinema," he said.

"Victory", releasing Jan 30, is VRFF's first project. The film is a combination of cricket and cinema and narrates the story of a small town boy, who dreams of making it to the Indian cricket team. How he fulfils his dream forms the essence of the story.

VRFF is India's first film fund approved by Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It is a joint venture between Religare, an integrated financial services institution and Vistaar Entertainment that also produced critically acclaimed "Dharm".

“We are confident that 'Victory' will be a prudent investment decision for us and will provide fruitful returns to our investors,” said Sheetal Talwar, managing director, VRFF.

Sonam Kapoor's stunning look in Filmfare Magazine

Young and Hot Sonam Kapoor will be feature in popular indian magazine Filmfare for January 2009 first edition. Issue will hit stands on 07 January 2009. Sonam must be on cloud 9 as she grab new and biggest endorsement project from L’Oreal. She overtakes from former Miss World and World’s most beautiful lady Aishwarya Rai. Sonam will be a brand ambassador of L’Oreal which will be for India. here are HQs of Sonam kapoor scans from Filmfare Magazine.

Hrithik-Ash in Bhansali's English Film

Mumbai, Jan 1: Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming project will surely be a treat for the international markets, literally. The film is being made in English and stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Sanjay Bhansali, even after the flop of his last flick ‘Saawariya', is in his high spirits with his film-in-the-making. Bhansali said, ‘I am directing another film with hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. I am very excited about this project and so is my team.'

It is worth mentioning that Hrithik-Aishwarya made it to the list of World's Sexiest Celebs last year.

When asked about making his film in English, Bhansali said, ‘I know it is important to make films for our market but it's the time when our cinema should reach the remotest corner of the world. Languange is hardly any barrier today and it is not the first time that I am making a film in English. ‘Black' was in English too.'

The director has done amazingly well with Aishwarya in his last two films ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' and ‘Devdas'. Let's see, whether the team will be able to make a hattrick!

Year 2009 to commence with big-budget releases

Mumbai: : The year 2009 is set to begin on an eventful note with big-budget movies like 'Chandni Chowk to China' and 'Luck By Chance' slated for release in January. 'Chandni Chowk to China', an action comedy flick starring Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone, will hit screens on January 16.

The film, produced by Hollywood studio Warner Brothers and Rohan Sippy, is about a simple cook from Chandni Chowk mistaken for a reincarnation of an ancient peasant warrior by residents of an oppressed Chinese village. Industry sources said a "heavy dose of comedy and breathtaking locales" like the Great Wall of China were the highlights of the film apart from the Kung Fu.

This will be Akshay's first film with Deepika after sharing screen space with Katrina Kaif for the last couple of his films. Filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, after a successful debut as an actor in 'Rock On!', will don the greasepaint again for his sister Zoya's directorial debut 'Luck By Chance' which releases on January 30.

The plot is centred around Bollywood and how people from different walks of life come to the "dream city" to make it big in an industry where luck clicks more than hard work. The movie, stars Farhan Akhtar, Juhi Chawla, Konkana Sen Sharma, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Hrithik Roshan.

Shah Rukh Khan will be back again on screen in the first quarter of 2009 with 'Biloo Barber' which is slated for a March release. SRK's last film 'Rab Ne Ba di Jodi' that released in December last year did well at the box office.

COO of Big Pictures, the entertainment arm of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADAG) Group, Mahesh Ramanathan said that the company will release 18 films in nine Indian languages this year.

"2009 should be a normal year and there is no cause for worry. A temporary liquidity crunch has been mistaken for recession in the film industry. But demand had not dried up. With inflation under control and interest rates coming down, there is no issue of recession at all," he said.
He said his company was eyeing the best directorial talent from across the country.

Vinay Shukla's 'Mirch', Vinod Pande's 'Chaalu Movie', Vikram's '13 B', Zoya Akhtar's 'Luck By Chance' and Sudhir Mishra's 'Sikander' are the Hindi movies being produced, marketed and distributed by Big Pictures, he said.

'Sikander', traversing lesser-explored territories, is a story dealing with loss of innocence in strife-torn Kashmir. Sanjay Suri and R Madhavan form part of the cast of the film produced by Sudhir Mishra and directed by Piyush Jha.

'13 B' is a super-natural bilingual (Hindi and Tamil) thriller.

Among regional films lined up for release this year are Malayalam film 'Kutty Srank' by Shahji Karun, Kannada film 'Ijjodu' by MS Sathyu, three Bengali films -- 'Kalponik' and 'Abohomann' by Rituparno Ghosh.

Other films that may kiss silver screen this year include Buddhadeb Dasgupta's 'Janala', Amol Palekar's 'Samantar' and Punjabi film 'Chak Jawana' directed by Simerjit Singh.

Shahrukh, Kareena sizzle in Billu Barber Movie

When it comes to talent and beauty, SRK seems to trust Kareena Kapoor the most. This was revealed when Shah Rukh released his item number with Kareena before the other two, featuring in his upcoming Flick Billo Barber.

Shah Rukh Khan has got shimmy with three top slot actresses Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone in his home production Billo Barber.

The track ‘Marjani Marjani' composed by Pritam has a Moroccan feel to it. Choreographed by Prasanna, who always is on board Priyan's films, it is a peppy number.
SRK plays himself, a superstar, in the film

Billo Barber is remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol. Directed by Priyadarshan, Billo Barber will see him play a superstar. The film also stars Irrfan Khan, playing a barber.

News / Gossips - Sameera Reddy

Mumbai, Jan 02: Glamorous Sameera Reddy says she connected with the late Smita Patil's spirit while playing a rustic Dalit woman in Nagesh Kukunoor's "Yeh Hausla", walking bare feet in the mud in ghagra-choli with peacocks accompanying her. The actress says she finds the comparison with Smita "uncanny".

"I never knew I could do these things. And this Smita Patil comparison is getting uncanny. It was Buddhadeb Dasgputa who first compared me with her," Sameera told reporters.

But Sameera, who has featured in films like "Musafir" and "Taxi No. 911", is satisfied with the experience.

"I feel I'm now born as an actor. When people see me in 'Yeh Hausla', I hope they see me and not just Smita Patil.

"While doing 'Yeh Hausla', I felt I was connecting with Smita's spirit. Maybe it was the pure, unspoilt ambience and that whole spirit of 'Chakra' and 'Manthan' that Smita is associated with."

She says her director was a great help.

"Nagesh has taught me so much. I've connected with emotions within myself that I never knew existed. I felt I've gone to acting school. Other actors came and went. But I was there for the full 47-day schedule. I'm in every frame of the film," said Sameera.

She has shot on the outskirts of Jodhpur in Rajasthan with peacocks for 46 days for the film.

"Where I shot with Nagesh was a different world completely without trappings of urban life. I felt I had gone back to basics. I was in a ghagra-choli walking bare feet in the mud and these peacocks would accompany me everywhere. I've never been so close to nature before. And the thought of flying off to Bangkok for my next film gives me strange feeling of cultural dislocation." Sameera is going to Singapore to do a new Priyadarshan comedy.

The Kukunoor film came Sameera's way almost by default. Kukunoor had heard Dasgupta comparing Sameera to Smita Patil after working with her in two films - "Kaalpurush" and "Ami, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala".

When he offered her the role, John Abraham told Sameera to grab it with both hands.

"He (John) also told me to do it at one stretch. I realised, it was the only way to play this character. I didn't return to Mumbai even for a day."

When the release of Kukunoor's "Aashayein" featuring John got delayed, the director didn't waste time. Off he went to Jodhpur for a start-to-finish one stretch shooting of "Yeh Hausla".