Sunday, May 15, 2011

Lindsay Lohan hires new publicist

Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan seems to be repairing her image by engaging a new publicist.

According to the Daily Mail, the 'Mean Girls' star has hired Hollywood publicist Steve Honig to oversee all of her future public relations matters, reports Contactmusic.

Honig is the president of The Honig Company and has over 20 years experience of handling issues related to the actress.

He will be the first official publicist to represent Lohan after she parted ways with her former PR manager, Leslie Sloane, several years ago.

Honig''s existing clients include Fiore Films, the same company that is currently producing the Gotti biopic about the former head of the Gambino crime family.

Vampires are very sexy: Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart, known for playing Bella Swan in the "Twilight: Saga" movies, says vampires are very sexy. "Vampires are very sexy. 

I think it's because they're meant to draw you in just to the point where they can then kill you. It's like a forbidden fruit. If it's something you can't have, then naturally you just want it more. Maybe that's why I was drawn to the role of Bella in 'Twilight'," contactmusic.com quoted Stewart as saying. 

However, the 21-year-old wouldn't be happy to be confronted by a vampire in real life. "I wouldn't like to be confronted by a real vampire, though, as they can read your mind!"

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker arrives for the screening of Wu Xia at Cannes Film Festival 2011

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker arrives for the screening of Wu Xia. Click this Image for best looking.

Singer Cheryl Cole arrives for the screening of Habemus Papam | Cannes Film Festival 2011

Singer Cheryl Cole arrives for the screening of Habemus Papam.Click this image for best looking.

Spanish actress Paz Vega looks stunning | Cannes Film Festival 2011

Spanish actress Paz Vega looks stunning. Click this image for best looking.

Penelope Cruz at Cannes Film Festival 2011 | Red Carpet Goddess

Penelope Cruz is all 'ruffled' up for the film premiere.

Please Click this Image to best view.

The cast and crew of Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides pose before the screening at the Cannes Film Festival Sam Claflin, French actress Astrid-Berges Frisbey, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, actor and producer Ian McShane and director Rob Marshall | Cannes Film Festival 2011


The cast and crew of Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides pose before the screening at the Cannes Film Festival. (From Left to Right) Sam Claflin, French actress Astrid-Berges Frisbey, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, actor and producer Ian McShane and director Rob Marshall.
To See the best View Click This Image.

Johnny Depp gives Penelope a helping hand | Cannes Film Festival 2011

Johnny Depp gives Penelope a helping hand. Click this Image to see the best view.

Czech model Karolina Kurkova also sports the lacy look | Cannes Film Festival 2011

Czech model Karolina Kurkova also sports the lacy look.

Robert De Niro poses with his wife Grace Hightower in Red Carpet | Cannes Film Festival 2011

Robert De Niro poses with his wife Grace Hightower in Red Carpet. Click on image for zoom in.

Lara off for vacation with family, dogs

After Vivek Oberoi, actress Lara Dutta has packed off for a summer vacation with not just her family but also her pets. But she chose not to reveal the destination, unlike Vivek who has gone to Bali.

"Vacation time! Dogs, domestic help, parents, sisters, nieces, husband's (mine and sisters) all headed 2 an undisclosed location! Its an Exodus!," Lara posted on her Twitter page.

The actress is quite happy after receiving a positive response for her debut production " Chalo Dilli", which also featured Vinay Pathak.

Aamir's Delhi Belly cost 30 crores

Actor Aamir Khan's production venture 'Delhi Belly' has gone way over budget...

One would think that Delhi Belly starring Imran Khan, Veer Das and Kunal wouldn't be a very expensive venture. However, Aamir Khan insists that movie will cost as much as a whopping Rs. 30 crores. When we caught up with the actor, he told us, "The budget has gone way overboard. But that happens with every movie we produce, be it Lagaan, Dhobi Ghaat, Peepli Live, or even Delhi Belly. We thought 'Delhi Belly' would be around 20 crores. Now, I see it easily costing us about 30!"

Aamir cites creative decisions as the reason for this. "I'm more of a creative person than a business person. So I tend to spend more once the creativity is justified, rather than curb creativity to stick to a limited spend."

When asked if the delay has caused an up in the spends, Aamir is quick to say, "Not at all. There was no re-shooting done. Yes, there has been a delay, but that has just affected the release date of the movie, and not the cost."

The delay in releasing Delhi Belly Aamir attributes to his busy schedule.

Zarine Khan swears her loyalty to Salman

Katrina Kaif, after much guidance from Salman Khan, is doing phenomnally well for herself. There are talks that after her newfound success, the girl has parted ways with her alleged boyfriend Salman, and is even dating Ranbir Kapoor.

Salman, though happy about Katrina's success, has now taken under his wings Zarine Khan, a Kat lool-alike, whom he launched in the movie 'Veer'. Zarine now has under her belt a success story in the form of 'Character Dheela' - an item number from the film 'Ready' that has hit the charts in a big way! And Zarine Khan feels completly indebted to Sallu for this recognition.

She is heard to have sworn her loyalty to Salman Khan. "I will never be able to thank him enough. He is an honest man, and I see myself falling back on him in times of difficulty. I shall forever remain loyal to him," is what she said at a conference recently.

Asin to team up with Shahrukh?

It seems the ‘Ghajini’ star Asin Thottumkal is in much demand these days, and is all set to join the SRK camp soon.

Reportedly, the actress, who has already worked with two Khans of the industry, will be seen playing the leading lady opposite Shahrukh Khan in a movie based on Chetan Bhagat’s ‘2 States’.

Buzz is that Asin, who has already teamed up with Aamir Khan in ‘Ghajini’ and Salman Khan in ‘London Dreams’ and ‘Ready’, was the first choice of producer Sajid Nadiadwala and director Vishal Bhardwaj for the SRK-starrer forthcoming movie.

“Asin, who is already working in Nadiadwala's production Housefull 2, recently met up with the producer and director to discuss the film. Both the producer and the director feel she is best suited for the role and Asin, too, is excited about the prospect of working with SRK and that too in a Bhardwaj film,” informed an industry source.

Asin’s character in the SRK-starrer imminent movie
‘2 States’ chronicles around the life of a young couple Krish and Ananya, who belong to Delhi and Tamil Nadu respectively, and come to know each other while studying at IIM, Ahmedabad.

Things take an ugly turn when they fall in love with each other, and their parents are against their ‘cross cultural’ marriage.
Asin is most likely to play the role of the Tamil Nadu girl, but the news has not been confirmed yet.

Kareena prefers Nayanthara over Asin
Meanwhile, it was reported that actress Kareena Kapoor watched the South Indian versions of her upcoming movie ‘Bodyguard’ on request of the director and liked Nayanthara-starrer Malayalam version more than the Asin-starrer Tamil version.

“Kareena commented that she found Nayanthara’s acting more promising and real as compared to Asin. Besides, Bebo also complimented her look and said that she would try to implement in her character,” confirmed a source.

But to handle the situation wittily, Bebo went on to say that Asin was also not too bad.

Well, we wonder what Asin has to say to about it!!

Hudgens moving to New York?

Actress Vanessa Hudgens is reportedly moving from California to New York. 

The "Sucker Punch" actress who split from Zac Efron in December after five years of dating has told pals that she can't wait to start a new life, reports femalefirst.co.uk. 

The 22-year-old has been romantically linked with Josh Hutcherson since splitting with Zac also admitted she would like a cameo role on musical TV drama " Glee".

"I totally would. I'm all for musicals. I love what they are doing. I'm very go with the flow, so if it happens, awesome," she said.

Kristen Stewart praises Foster

Kristen Stewart
Actress Kristen Stewart has revealed double-Oscar winner Jodie Foster has had a huge influence on her career. 

The "Twilight" had star appeared in the movie "Panic Room" when she was just 12 and Foster was playing the lead in the movie, reports femalefirst.co.uk. "One of my favourite actresses is Jodie Foster. I think this has a lot to do with me starring in my first movie with her. 

I watched her a lot on set. Jodie is not the kind of person to give advice, but she was definitely a strong influence on me," she said.

Beckham and son indulge in playful fight

David Beckham with son Cruz
David Beckham with son Cruz
David Beckham's youngest son Cruz is taking soccer lesson from daddy dearest these days, but it seems the legendary footballer will not let the six-year old outsmart him on the field.

Cruz tried to get the best of his father by running around and grabbing onto his leg as they fought for taking possession of the neon yellow ball during a football practise in Los Angeles the other day.

He apparently wasn't following the rules and the father-son duo engaged in a playful fight, which was simply adorable.

Beckham, 36, didn't let little Cruz get away by flouting the game rules and grabbed him by the waist before tackling him on the ground, reports the Daily Mail.

Dannii Minogue quits The X Factor

Dannii Minogue has decided to step down as judge on UK 'The X Factor' following a possible clash between the dates of the show and 'Australia''s Got Talent'.

The 39-year-old Australian singer, who joined the show in 2007 and mentored two winners, Matt Cardle and Leon Jackson, will be quitting the ITV talent contest just days before the new series is due to launch, reports the BBC.

Her departure fuels more speculation about the make-up of the panel, after the decision by Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole to appear as judges on the US version of the show.

She confirmed her decision to leave by posting a link through to the website mydaily.co.uk, for which she is a contributing editor, via her Twitter page.

"I am so disappointed that I can''t be a part of The X Factor this year.

"I''m going to miss the show and the amazing team who work so incredibly hard on it," she said.

"During discussions for me to return [to The X Factor] it became clear that unfortunately, this year, the X Factor audition dates in the UK clash with the live shows of Australia''s Got Talent during June and July. For this reason I am unable to return," she added.

Rihanna and Chris Brown bond on Twitter

After two years of 'no see no talk' following Chris Brown's assault on his former girlfriend Rihanna, the two pop singers seem to be putting their past behind them.

It has emerged that Rihanna and Brown are following each other on Twitter, reports the Daily Mail.
Rihanna, who has five million Twitter followers, has added Brown to the select group of 384 people she follows.
Shortly after that, Brown logged on to Twitter and followed her as well.

Rihanna and Brown were dating when he beat her up in 2009. The infamous assault happened the night before the Grammy Awards back in 2009.

The attack occurred in Los Angeles'' Hancock Park neighbourhood as Chris drove a rented sports car.
While they are only just following each other on the Internet, several websites are already speculating that a reunion could be in store, despite Brown and Rihanna''s past troubles.

Mallika Sherawat - Cannes Film Festival 2011| ‘Red Carpet Goddess’

Actress Mallika Sherawat is all smiles as she walks the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. This is the the actress' third appearance at the French Riviera.

 The actress opts for a black see-through gown while walking the red carpet at Cannes.

 Mallika will be promoting her film Politics of Love, Barack at the high-profile festival.

Sonam, Rhea leave for Cannes

Sonam
Sonam Kapoor and sister Rhea were the headturners at the airport the other night.

The two sisters left for Cannes. Sonam, who has been keeping super busy with her hectic shooting schedules and missing out on partying, was seen talking on the phone. Still managing dates, Sonam? The actress, who was unwell sometime ago, looked fit. Their luggage sure indicated that Sonam is likely to create quite a stir on the red carpet at Cannes


Aishwarya Rai walks 2011 Cannes Red Carpet | Photo Gallery

Aishwarya Rai walks 2011 Cannes Red Carpet and Aishwarya Rai walks 2011 Cannes Red Carpet and beautiful hair.
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Mamta Banerjee has worked hard: Mithun

Celeb brigade reacts to Mamta Banerjee's victory in West Bengal... 
 
Mithun Chakraborty : She deserves the thumping victory. She has worked hard. I completely empathise with her struggle to emerge a winner. Do you know she had got only one seat in the last Lok Sabha elections? I think it was the complacency, arrogance and over-confidence of others that worked to Mamta Banerjee's advantage.

Amole Gupte : More power to Didi!

Koena Mitra : Capricorn woman, Bengal's CM and a fighter who never lost patience. I am truly happy for her and her supporters. Hope Pashchim Bangla's new CM shows the magic that she has promised her believers for the future.

Rituparna Sengupta: Heartiest congratulations. May all her dreams and whatever she has envisaged for West Bengal come true. Riya Sen : I'm very happy for the poribartan (change) that Mamta Banerjee promises. She is tough and motivated in her fight against the CPM. And we've given her a chance to prove herself.

Pritish Nandy: Mamta's victory is historic. After almost 40 years a Communist government was overthrown and decimated by one adamant woman, who refused to be cowed down by the ruling regime's political might and their threats. Now the challenge is to make Bengal catch up with the rest of India and regain its past glory. Can she do it?

Tanushree Dutta: I'm not much into politics. But it is surprising to see that the CPM has given way to the Mamta regime by such a huge majority after a 35-year rule. Mamta is the first woman CM of Bengal. Change is always welcome. It opens up the possibility of a bright future.

Kumar Sanu: Yes, everybody needed a change. Mamtadi's honesty will speeden the process of Bengal's growth. And that's what we need.

Nandana Sen: I grew up in the era of Jyoti Basu. So this is a huge political and cultural change. It's the people's verdict and I've the greatest faith in the wisdom of our people. I'm extremely optimistic.

Amit Kumar: "Well, it's a historic win. Toppling a powerful Left government after 34 years. Great! Now we have to see how she anchors her government."

Indrani Dasgupta: I am happy with the new change. There's a lot of hope tucked onto Mamta Banerjee's government but it's also time the Left reconsiders and introspects their existing policies. Let the best for the State happen.

Raima Sen : I think it's a positive change.Hopefully we'll have a green Bengal.

Prosenjit: (Bengal's reigning superstar): It's a great success indeed and common people like us will expect some good work. Everyone who voted for her has a lot of faith in her.

Tanishtha Chatterjee : I think the younger people saw this change coming in West Bengal. In a democratic country, WB functioned as an autocracy. I hope the change is for the better and brings progress to the State. It is interesting that the change in the one-man rule in Bengal has come at a time when the Middle East is repudiating autocracy.

Anurag Basu : Friday the 13th will remain engraved in Buddha Babu (Jyoti Basu) and his party comrades' bitter memories for a long time. And they will try hard to make matters tough for Mamta Didi. It's a rough sea ahead for her. But the people of Bengal are filled with a new hope and will make sure her sailing is smooth.

Shefali Shah the makeover mommy

Actress and mother of two, Shefali Shah gets candid with reader Varsha Aswani on what it takes to raise 'terrorists', keep a marriage together and look like a million bucks

Makeovers are as commonplace in Bollywood as stilettos are in a five-star lobby. It was only once we got to Vipul Shah's office to meet the stunning new version of his wife that we grasped the gravity of this change.

Mirror reader Varsha Aswani was keen to discover how the busy actress managed the dramatic shift.

The sprawling office with cooling lights and white smooth walls was a relief from the scorching sun, as were the four air conditioners operating on full blast.

As we all settled in on fluffy sofas, movie buff, mother of three and grandmother of two, 52-year-old Varsha shifted around nervously. "I'm not sure about what I will say, I'm a little nervous," she said before the actress came in.

Shefali Shah stormed into the room with a resounding 'Hi' and plonked herself onto an adjacent couch. She was beaming and looked like she had managed to drop half her body weight on a whim while vacationing in Santorini. Her cheerful introduction seemed to have a calming effect on the group.

"The job of a homemaker is one of the toughest in the world," exclaimed Shah while Varsha introduced herself as one. "I have two terrorists at home. My sons are aged eight and nine and it's a nightmare.

They not only hate each other but go a step ahead and encourage me to kill their sibling. Once I called home to check up on them and was horrified to hear my younger son insist that our maid jump off from our seventh floor house!"

Varsha empathised and was interested to know how this 37-year-old mother managed to look as good as she did. "It wasn't easy at all," she said. "I have literally starved myself. It's been one endless diet. It started out with Ketosis, which is an intense offshoot of the Atkins diet. It takes a toll on the body but I did lose about 10 kgs in a month. Then I moved on to a food and exercise-oriented lifestyle to maintain it," she said.

"After years in the industry, which is your favourite medium television, films or theatre?" asked Varsha.

"I started with television but back then serials were a lot more meaningful. We had beautiful stories to tell. Now everything seems mass produced.

Theatre is definitely the toughest because I wasn't used to the loud tone and expressions. It took a little doing but I enjoy it. With films, your slightest flicker can be an emotion on the big screen. They are all so challenging and enjoyable. But these days, one needn't be a great actor to be a big star. The criteria have changed," she laments.

Ten years of marriage, two children and a hectic professional life, how does she make time for her relationship, asked Varsha.

A question closely associated with the subject of her latest film Kucch Love Jaisaa, where she plays the role of a woman so engrossed with her family that they take her for granted until she snaps and goes on a spending spree. "It's a lot like the movie. We get lost in our given roles of mother, wife etc, and almost never make time for ourselves.

Our new house is being readied, young boys, a movie up for release, we have little time for eachother," she confessed. "But even though the conversation doesn't veer far from home and work, Vipul and I try and take some time out exclusively for each other.

Over time, couples tend to take their partner for granted. Our relationship has evolved. I don't get as easily rattled as I did earlier, I am a lot more relaxed, we understand each other better," she says.

As if on cue, Vipul Shah flitted into the room and was greeted by a 'Hi baby' from his wife. They smiled at each other and carried on. After a decade, that's still a lot more than many other couples can boast of.

Aishwarya Rai sizzles at Cannes opening ceremony

Aishwarya Rai at Cannes 2011
Aishwarya Rai at Cannes 2011 
Bollywood Diva, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan walked the red carpet before the opening ceremony and the screening of 'Midnight in Paris' at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 11, 2011 in Cannes.

The stunning lady, who's a regular at Cannes flattered everyone with her million dollar smile at the event. Aishwarya rubbed shoulders with her fellow L'Oreal spokes model Ines de la Fressange at the soiree.

Mallika Sherawat, Sonam Kapoor, Minissha Lamba, Rani Mukherjee, Saif Ali Khan and filmmaker Karan Johar will also attend the festival this year.

Katrina is back as a tigress

The choice of Tees Maar Khan, her first flop in a long time, shook Katrina Kaif up so badly that she just went underground.

TOI reported how savvy Kat was sitting on a pile of scripts, but kept her producers dangling. She ultimately went on to refuse Rohit Shetty's Singham, Vipul Shah's next with Abhishek Bachchan, Kunal Kohli's offer with Saif Ali Khan and a couple of other projects.

Obviously even while people wondered what was happening, Kareena Kapoor, the reigning diva of Bollywood continued her march. Kareena quickly grabbed projects with the Khans — Aamir (Reema Kagti's film), Salman (Bodyguard), Shah Rukh (RA.One), Saif (Agent Vinod) and Imran (Short Term Shaadi). Says a trade source, "For a while, it seemed like Kat had lost direction. She seemed to be more involved in her love life (read: Ranbir Kapoor) than her career. However, once the RK Junior chapter ended abruptly, Kat was back like a wounded tigress baying for blood. She made sure she landed Kabir Khan's Ek Tha Tiger with her ex-lover Salman and in November, she is the chosen one for Yash Chopra's next with Shah Rukh. She is not in Dhoom-3 with Aamir, but there is a hint that she may land another Aamir project in the end of 2012. In other words, Kat's wait has proved fruitful."

Incidentally, there are naysayers who feel that SRK is hesitant to do a Yash Chopra film because that camp has now tied up with his rivals Aamir and Salman. However, the fact is, the Badshah of Bollywood has allotted a month in November for the Katrina film from that very camp. He then takes a break to promote Don-2. After the Christmas and New Year celebrations, he will continue to serenade Kat on screen."
So Bebo is not the only Khantastic girl at the moment. Kat has fired her salvo.

Salman Khan to turn producer

The actor plans to start his production house and give the profits to his charitable trust Being Human.

He has been an actor for more than two decades. He was written a couple of scripts and also sung a couple of times. He is known to be an unofficial editor on films. But now, after all these years, Salman Khan seems to be taking the big step.

The actor seems to have plans of starting his own production house. Both his brothers Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan have their individual production outfits. Even brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri has turned producer. Salman Khan has been instrumental in giving each of their careers a big boost with his starry presence in their films. However, not it seems that Salman Khan might use the privilege of his star power to his own benefit.

Though he has multiple projects on his hands including Sohail Khan's Ready and Sher Khan , Atul Agnihotri's Bodyguard , Arbaaz Khan's Dabangg 2 , Sajid Nadiadwala's Kick and Yash Raj's Ek Tha Tiger , he wishes to turn a producer soon. So the actor, who is known to be working only with friends and family when it comes to films, will now work for himself.

More importantly, he wishes to give the profits coming from his banner to his charitable trust Being Human. Like they say, charity begins at home!

Movie Review | Stanley Ka Dabba

Review: Stanley Ka Dabba

Cast: Divya Dutta, Divya Jagdale, Raj Zutshi, Amole Gupte, Partho
Director: Amol Gupte
Stanley ka Dabba is about a boy named Stanley who actually doesn’t have a dabba. So during the school break, he dips into the tiffin boxes of his many friends. But this irks the Hindi teacher Verma, played by director Amol Gupte, who forbids Stanley from coming to school without food.

Verma does this because he himself is a sweaty glutton who devours everything in sight. But Stanley and his friends successfully outwit their teacher.

Through this slim story, Gupte creates a poignant and piercing portrait of childhood and school days: the bond between friends, the bond children have with teachers, how swiftly and cruelly a child’s imagination can be crushed and how casually brutal adults can be.

Gupte is wonderful as the constantly eating, almost repellent Verma but the true magic here is the children. Their innocence and bewilderment about the adult world is heart-breaking. Partho, Gupte’s enormously talented son, doesn’t hit an artificial note through the film.

Let me warn you that Stanley Ka Dabba is slow. In places, the story seems stretched. The climax is predictable and not entirely convincing. But I recommend that you make time for the film. It has an inherent sweetness and honesty that will stay with you long after the film is over.

Movie Review | I Am

Movie: I AmCast: Sanjay Suri, Radhika Apte, Shernaz Patel, Anurag Kashyap, Rahul Bose, Arjun Mathur, Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh, Nandita Das
Music: Amit Trivedi, Rajiv Bhalla, Vivek Philip
Director: Onir
Producer: Onir, Sanjay Suri

Onir’s I Am is an earnest but uneven exploration of identity and fear, woven through four inter-linked stories. The protagonist of each narrative is struggling to define who she or he is. So Megha, a Kashmiri Pundit, played by Juhi Chawla, returns to Srinagar after 20 years but is a stranger in her own home. Abhimanyu, a documentary filmmaker played by Sanjay Suri, was sexually abused by his step-father and is grappling with his sexual identity. Afia, a divorcee played by Nandita Das, decides to become a single mother using a sperm donor and in the last story, a gay man, played by Rahul Bose finds out exactly how vulnerable his sexuality makes him.

These narratives are urgent and important and largely missing from mainstream cinema. Onir and his co-producer Sanjay Suri raised the money for this film by crowd-sourcing, which is that they asked for donations on Facebook. It also helps that Onir, Bollywood’s only openly gay director, isn’t coy about portraying sexuality in film. The strongest and most insightful story here is the one featuring Bose as a brutalized gay man. Bose, his tormentor, a horrific cop played by Abhimanyu Singh, and his lover, played by Arjun Mathur are first-rate. The sense of fear and loathing is palpable. Megha’s story isn’t as forceful but it is a poignant portrait of the tragedy of Kashmir and the shattered lives of all those touched by conflict, whether Pundit or Muslim.

But despite the good intentions and solid performances, I Am works only in fits and spurts. The screenplay, co-written by Onir, Merle Kroeger and Urmi Juvekar, often feels clunky and unwieldy. There are flashbacks within flashbacks and songs, which only slow down the narrative. In the weakest stories – Afia’s and Abhimanyu’s – the dialogue is stilted and awkward. In places, the film seems to carry the burden of its issues on its sleeve. It’s leaden and even boring.

In I Am, the craft doesn’t match the courage, which is why I’m reaching out for the equally clunky rating of two and a three-quarter stars.

Movie Review | Chalo Dilli


Review: Chalo Dilli

Cast: Vinay Pathak, Lara Dutta, Akshay Kumar, Yana Gupta,
Music: Gourov Dasgupta, Anand Raj Anand, Sachin Gupta, Rohit Kulkarni, Roshan Balu
Director: Shashant Shah
Producer: Krishika Lulla, Kavita Bhupathi Chadda
Chalo Dilli is a reworking of John Hughes’ 1987 comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles, in which Steve Martin and John Candy played mismatched strangers who take a life-altering trip together. Instead of New York to Chicago, the journey is made from Mumbai to Delhi via Rajasthan and director Shashant Shah also throws in camel carts and trucks.

Lara Dutta plays Mihika Banerjee, an uptight investment banker who is the senior VP of a 200-crore company, drinks Evian water and is obsessively clean. This is the type of woman who never cracks a smile, who after five years after marriage doesn’t have a child because she doesn’t want the responsibility and who is willing to travel on her own birthday because she doesn’t care about spending it with her husband. In other words, a woman in urgent need of a life-lesson on getting her priorities right. The perfect man to deliver this is the zarda-chewing Manu Gupta, played by Vinay Pathak, a shop owner from Karol Bagh, who is loud, talkative and relentlessly crass. But unlike Mihika, Manu has his heart in the right place and over the course of a long, unexpected journey, he teaches her what’s important.

Like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, this could have been reasonably good fun if the characters and situations were even half-way interesting. But Shashant, working from a screenplay by Arshad Sayed, doesn’t give us much to go on. The characters are strictly stereotype. A woman with a career must be the stiletto-heeled, multi-tasking boss from hell. And a man from Karol Bagh must wear loud shirts, chew with his mouth open and fart while he’s eating. It’s painfully predictable and not particularly amusing. At one point, Mihika is even given a lecture on the importance of having children. But by then, I was too bored to be offended. There isn’t much that actors can do with such paper-thin characters. Vinay attempts to give Manu some texture but there is a sense of déjà vu in watching him play the bumbling, large-hearted Everyman yet again.

Chalo Dilli strains hard to be uplifting and poignant but it doesn’t quite make it. I’m going with two stars.

Movie Review | Luv Ka The End

Movie: Luv Ka The End
Cast: Shraddha Kapoor, Taaha Shah
Director: Bumpy
Producer: Ashish Patil

Luv Ka The End is ostensibly made for the youth of this country by YRF’s new label Y-Films that has been launched, and I’m quoting from the press release here, ‘to create a brand of cinema that will capture the hearts and imaginations of this elusive bunch and rock their world.’ I walked out of the movie depressed. If this is really what the youth wants, we should be afraid, very afraid.

The film is about Rhea, played by Shraddha Kapoor, who is all set to celebrate her 18th birthday by losing her virginity to her boyfriend, Luv played by Taaha Shah. She has dreams in her eyes, which are quickly crushed when she discovers that Luv has only pursued her this long because he is part of some sick internet game, in which scoring a virgin gets him the biggest score. So she and her two best friends set out to take revenge using, among other things, laxatives, itch powder and super glue. As one of them puts it: Luv Nanda becomes Luv Nanga.

This might remind you of the Hollywood teen flick John Tucker Must Die, which was also about girls getting revenge on the local school stud who was cheating on them. But Luv Ka the End doesn’t even manage the innocuous, bubble-gum tone of that film. Debutant director Bumpy dresses it up a girl empowerment story and the women – Shraddha and Pushtiie Shakti, who plays her feisty friend Jugs do have some genuine sock-it-to-them moments.

But largely, Luv Ka the End is uncomfortably icky, tediously wannabe and depressingly homophobic. So characters determinedly use youthful lingo like babes, chill, BFF and of course, aren’t afraid of four letter words. Everybody is styled casual cool and we even have a new age mom giving lines like: I know love is hard baby.

But the sensibility of this film is not youthful, it’s juvenile. And that’s before you get to the part where Luv, under the influence of some pill, dresses in drag and breaks into a song that goes: Mera jism, jism, mera badan, badan, main hun taza mutton mutton, khol dilon ke button button.

I’m not sure what demographic that is aimed at but it definitely not for me. I’m going with one and a half star.

Movie Review | Haunted

Movie: Haunted

Cast: Mahaakshay Chakraborty, Tia Bajpai, Achint Kaur, Arif Zakaria and Mohan Kapoor

Director: Vikram Bhatt

The good news is that Mahaakshay, formerly known as Mimoh, has expanded his acting range since his disastrous debut in Jimmy. The bad news is that this means that he now has two expressions, which is two more than he had in that film.

In Vikram Bhatt’s Haunted, Mahaakshay looks either bewildered or tragic. Which given the circumstances, is not surprising.

Mahaakshay plays Rehan, a Stanford MBA who finds himself in the unfortunate position of house-sitting a gigantic mansion known as Glen Manor, which everybody in the film calls Glen Manoor.

The back-story is that in 1936, a lustful music teacher, played by Arif Zakaria, pounced on his student, played by Tia Bajpai, who then proceeded to kill him.

Being dead however wasn’t much of an obstacle. The teacher came back as a ghost and proceeded to do all the depraved things he had wanted to, for a full six days before she committed suicide. And the spirit of the teacher continues to rape the spirit of the student, filling the Manor with screams.

Which begs the question, technically speaking, how exactly does a ghost rape?

Of course Bhatt can’t be bothered with minor details like this. Instead he creates an absolutely ridiculous horror movie that works better as comedy, unintentional of course.

So, Rehan goes back into time with his cell phone and then proceeds to show his hip-hop moves. All the ghosts are caked in Ramsay style make-up and the dialogue is priceless.

Before making the moves on his student, the teacher declares: I want to teach you a new tune. And she has no clue about his motives until he starts inhaling her neck.

Vikram uses formulaic horror tropes – mist, screeching doors, books that fall by themselves and blaring background music that insists that you be scared.

I was trying not to laugh out loud. I’m going with one and a half star.

Movie Review | Shagird

Movie: Shagird

Cast: Nana Patekar, Mohit Ahlawat, Rimi Sen

Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Shagird is about the Delhi crime branch, a law enforcement unit that gleefully perpetrates crime itself.

The department, run by ACP Hanumant Singh, played by Nana Patekar, is relentlessly brutal and corrupt. A newbie officer Mohit, played by Mohit Ahlawat, makes feeble noises about the cash and killings but soon, he also learns to toe the line.

This dark student-teacher drama is played out against the backdrop of UP criminals with names like Bunty bhaiya, played by Anurag Kashyap, and politicians who are of course just criminals with legitimacy.

Shagird has moments of power and a rough, sweaty texture that throbs especially as the camera snakes through the bylanes of Old Delhi.

The story isn’t startling or new. Still, this intricate web of deceit and betrayal could have been a compelling thriller but Dhulia, who co-wrote it with Kamal Pandey, just doesn’t weave it skillfully enough. There is a strange childhood love angle and an even more ridiculous kidnapping plot.

We all know that politicians are corrupt but surely they aren’t shooting people in broad daylight on the streets of Delhi. And this gang is so dumb that they don’t even notice the gigantic television van following their car. And did I mention that Rimi Sen plays a leading news journalist, the type who goes to meet a dreaded terrorist wearing a tank top.

Nana Patekar fans will enjoy his purposefully eccentric, casually ruthless cop but honestly, it felt like déjà vu to me. I’m going with two and a half stars.

Movie Review | Shor In The City

Review: Shor In The City
Cast: Tusshar Kapoor, Preeti Desai, Alok Chaturvedi, Sudhir Chowdhary, Pitobash Tripathy, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Abhay
Music: Sachin, Jigar, Harpreet
Director: Raj Nidimoru, Krishna Dk
Producer: Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor

Shor in the City is a terrific film. It’s surprising and disturbing and has a vein of rich, dark humor coursing through it. With great skill and inventiveness, directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK capture the chaos, absurdity and cacophony that constitutes India’s maximum city: Mumbai.

Like I Am, Shor is also a multi-narrative film. Sendhil Ramamurthy plays Abhay, an NRI who returns to India only to find that you can never go home again. Because home now includes knife-wielding goons who are demanding protection money. Tusshar Kapoor is Tilak, a petty criminal whose main business is publishing. He sells pirated copies of best-sellers at street signals. The newly married Tilak is inherently decent but his friends Ramesh, played by Nikhil Dwivedi and Mandook, played by Pitobash Tripathy, are darker, wilder and more willing to risk everything in the pursuit of loot. And there’s Sawan, played by Sundeep Kishan, in love and desperate to become a cricket player but a spot on the team comes with a price tag of ten lakh. Over the 11 days leading up to the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, these lives intersect and irretrievably alter.

Raj and Krishna, who have co-written the screenplay with Sita Menon, set the tone and the pace with the opening scene in which Tilak, Ramesh and Mandook kidnap a famous author and force him to give them his unpublished manuscript. You instantly know that you’re in for a wild ride. Raj and Krishna build an atmosphere of dread, skillfully weaving tension with droll humor. You know that everything that can go wrong will, but meanwhile you can’t stop smiling. This is the kind of film in which an arms deal is interrupted by a phone call because the Bhai’s mother needs to know what he wants cooked for dinner and people talk casually about how difficult it is to sell a bomb.

The casting is pitch perfect. Tusshar, whose sister Ekta has co-produced the film, wisely underplays, blends into the milieu and surrounds himself with strong actors. Pitobash Tripathy is absolutely crackling as the somewhat unhinged Mandook. As is Amit Mistry playing the over-worked Tipu Bhai who keeps barking into his cell phone: main abhi busy main hun. Radhika Apte as Tilak’s college-grad bride is lovely and Nikhil Dwivedi, surprisingly effective. But you must also pay attention to the minor players – the office guard who proudly declares that he has had noodles with ‘saab,’ or Sawan’s large and comically solemn friend who tells the bank officer that he will stand as guarantor for a 10 lakh loan.

For me, the weak link in the chain is Sendhil Ramamurthy’s story. It’s intriguing but not convincing and his dialogue with his girlfriend is forced. Do people actually say things like: Do you want to talk about it?

But I recommend that you over-look these glitches and get on the roller-coaster ride that is Shor in the City. You won’t regret it.

Movie Review | Ragini MMS




Review: Ragini MMS

Cast: Raj Kumar, Kainaz Motivala
Director: Pawan Kripalani
When Dibakar Banerjee took a previously done concept to make Love Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD), he not only created cinematic poetry but its commercial success made its studio greedy enough to replicate the formula.

Sadly, what the studio did not realise is that unlike science, in cinema, formulas can not always be replicated. Proof - Ragini MMS, a clone between LSD, Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.

Uday (Raj Kumar) takes Ragini (Kainaz Motivala) to a secluded house rigged with cameras. He intends to shoot a sex video. What he does not know is that the house is haunted. The sexy twosome, soon turn into a murderous threesome.

There are too many things wrong with the film - the jump-cuts are often jarring, there are no subplots, it abounds in all cliches of the horror genre, though the performance of the lead pair is convincing, the others are bad, the ghost may not be wearing a white bed sheet and a candle, but her hazy, ugly witch avatar has been done to death before, the ghost is seen so much that she stops being frightening and the audio during the horror scenes is so loud that instead of the scene, it's the sound that scares etc.

Ragini MMS does not seem to be the work of one or a few creative soul, rather it looks like the handiwork of many heads trying to break creativity together that end up breaking apart the film instead.

One of the most key elements of a horror film is silence. The simplest trick in the horror filmmakers manual is to punctuate the film with lots of silent moments raising a false alarm in the minds of the viewer and striking horror when least expected. There is so much loud background noise put into the film that any sense of nuances is completely lost.

The lack of a credible back story or subplots ensures that you don't empathize with your butchered couple. Raj Kumar who almost essays the same videotaping voyeur's role he played in LSD, is underutilized and though a feeble attempt is made at the end to make you empathize with him, it's too late.

Also the concept of horror in the film is of western origin - that of pure evil. The Japanese version of horror, which is gaining currency in Hollywood after dozens of their horror films have been remade, is that of empathy for the ghost as well where the film also become a mystery, besides being a dumb slasher movie.

Also for horror films, besides a notable exception in Paranormal Activity, linear plots don't work. The unexpected twists in the story do.

Ekta Kapoor, who after landmark films like LSD and Shor In The City, has the chance to become the patron saint of creative directors, needs to remember that a director and his team is hired for their creative vision. She needs to learn to trust them for that.

Also, she needs to remember that you can copy a format and a formula, but not style and panache.

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