'Paoli has the courage to go beyond her body on camera'

The filmmaker refrains from commenting on Abbas-Mustan's 2001 thriller Ajnabee that touched upon wife-swapping but says that he enjoyed Rajat Kapoor's Mixed Doubles. 

"That was a light take on wife-swapping. Mine would be far more dark and probing," Bhatt says.

Bhatt adds he chose Paoli for the new film because she's not self-conscious in front of the camera.

"Paoli has the courage to go beyond her body on camera. That's where I want to go with Love Games."

'My character won't resemble the one in Hate Story'

When asked about her sexually-charged roles and how it would impact her image and career in Bollywood, Paoli shrugs, "Love Games is another bold film, I agree. But Vikram and I are working on my character. I can assure you I won't be doing anything predictable. My character won't resemble the one in Hate Story."

 

Refuting reports that her family and boyfriend in Kolkata are upset with her daring act, the actress says, "First of all I am single. As far as my parents are concerned, they don't react to such things."

By: Reddif

Movie Review : Hate Story (Erotica/Thriller)

Cast: Paoli Dam, Gulshan Devaiah, Nikhil Dwivedi
Director: Vivek Agnihotri

Meet the newest avatar of Maa Kali! The fascist avenging woman has always been a favourite figure of fantasy fashioning for our films. Who can forget Nargis gunning down her own son in Mehboob Khan's Mother India?

The motivations for revenge in Hate Story are not quite the ones that impelled the woman protagonist to rise up in arms in Mother India or for that matter in Bhavna, a film directed by Hate Story producer Vikram Bhatt's father Pravin Bhatt, where Shabana Azmi killed her own husband.

Really, who needs a gun to get even when you have sex?

Paoli doesn't give a damn if her bare back or flesh flash across the screen. She displays a healthy attitude of disdain for the camera, letting it swoop down on her vulture style, never allowing her vengeful character's erotic journey to get sleazy, cheesy or lurid. The camera violates her character's privacy with her consent.

Hate Story is a tale that invites provocative measures of counter-argument. When the protagonist Kaavya (Paoli Dam) gets down to revenge, she spares no one, least of all herself. She announces she wants to be a sex worker, and thereafter, there's no looking back.

And quite a comely back it is.

Paoli's Kaavya uses her physique to lure her enemy into her trap. Director Vivek Agnihotri cuts into her journey of self-destructive vendetta like a knife.

The episodes sometimes stretch the limits of belief. But what the heck! No one is making a statement here on the politically correct conduct of the Indian woman.

In what can be regarded as one of the most defiantly unconventional debut performances, Paoli lets herself go with the furious flow of her character's vendetta.

The episodes hammer into one another with scarce room to breathe. The pace is dizzy most of the way. And when it slows down, you feel the protagonist's vendetta is losing its steam.

Steamy lovemaking scenes are strewn across the narrative's stricken landscape. The soundtrack suggests there's an urgent tragedy nudging the erotic content. The dialogues by Rohit Malhotra don't shy away from telling it like it is.

Vikram Bhatt's screenplay is Sidney Sheldon territory. It doesn't shy away from showing the heroine in an unflattering light. This is new-age cinema with no room for conventional narrative devices or apologies for what the protagonist sets out to do.

If in The Dirty Picture, Vidya Balan wore her sexuality on her sleeve, in Hate Story, Paoli uses her sexuality like a favoured currency in the stock market.

Mint-fresh and shock-proof, Paoli interprets her character with vigorous conviction. As her adversary Gulshan Devaiah (so watchable in Shaitan and That Girl In Yellow Boots) careens between rage and anguish quite effortlessly.

Hate Story is not quite the tale of the simpering wronged woman we've been seeing in our films since the time Adam impregnated Eve.

Hate Story pushes the envelope so hard, all the contents spill out in a torrential tumble of tantalising power-play set within the world of corporate battles and gender conflicts.

This is a most riveting and aesthetic saga of a woman's revenge against the man who's wronged her since RK Nayyar's Inteqaam - except for the fact that Paoli does things Sadhana in Nayyar's film could have never imagined.

By IANS 

Kate Middleton and Prince William shine in African Cats premiere rain

Kate Middleton and Prince William returned to the red carpet at a rainy royal premiere of Disney film African Cats in London last night.

Rain over me: The Duchess of Cambridge is sheltered by an umbrella held by her husband at the royal premiere of African Cats at The BFI Southbank in London last night (Picture: XPOSUREPHOTOS.COM)

The royal couple, who celebrate their first wedding anniversary on Sunday, posed for photographs in the rain at The BFI Southbank before the screening of the nature documentary, which helped raise money for the prince’s conservation charity, Tusk Trust.

The pair were guests of honour at the Disney documentary, which follows a pride of lions and a family of cheetahs on Kenya's plains as they battle for survival.

After the screening William rallied for support to try to reduce the threat to the animals.

VIDEO:  Watch the trailer for African Cats

'Vicky Donor' earns Rs 13.40 crore, director Shoojit Sircar ecstatic

New Delhi: 'Vicky Donor' is going places. After receiving rave reviews from the critics as well as the audiences, it has earned Rs 13.40 crore in the opening weekend. Director Shoojit Sircar is on cloud nine and says the film's success proves that the moviegoers have matured over the years. 

'Vicky Donor' is a light-hearted take on the taboo attached to infertility, sperm donation and artificial insemination. 

"I am happy with the kind of response 'Vicky Donor' has got. While writing the script, me and my writers thought we will get a positive response from young boys and girls, but with the film becoming so popular among the masses, it feels great," Sircar told IANS. 

 "I never thought my film will get a U/A certificate from censors. It came as a shock for me. The success of the film is the biggest example of audience getting mature. I personally feel that the audiences are very clever and they know what they want to see," he added. 

Co-produced by Eros International and JA Entertainment, the film was released Friday over 600 screens worldwide. The film, which was made with two newcomers - Ayushmann Khurrana and Yami Gautam - along with seasoned actor Annu Kapoor, has grossed over Rs 11.40 crore in India and Rs 2 crore overseas. 

"We are very happy with the audience as well as critics' reactions to 'Vicky Donor'. Sunday's collections showed a 91 percent jump over Friday figures," Nandu Ahuja, senior vice president, distribution, India, Eros International Media Ltd said in a statement. 

"The film created a positive buzz right from the launch of its trailer and has delivered on audience expectations. With its unusual subject, characters and dialogues, we are hoping for repeat viewings and a promising run at the box office," he added. 

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says 'Vicky Donor' success proves that content is king. 

"The success of 'Vicky Donor' is the triumph of its story. The script of the film is the real hero. Every character, be it Ayushmann or Kamlesh Gill or Yami, has fitted so beautifully in the film. I give full marks to the script. With a taboo topic, new actors, a small budget, the kind of business the film has done is commendable," Adarsh told IANS. 

"Films starring newcomers or lesser known actors don't find a theatrical outlet in the international arena. The success of 'Vicky Donor' should also encourage distributors to go beyond the boundaries of India and explore newer horizons," he added.

By: IBNLive

Happy to be cleared of Bofors taint: Amitabh Bachchan

Mumbai: Expressing happiness over his name being cleared in the Bofors payoff scam, mega-star Amitabh Bachchan, however, said Wednesday that he is 'pained' that it came after 25 years. 

Speaking to reporters here, Bachchan welcomed the revelations made by the Swedish investigators in the Bofors case. He said he had "lived with humiliation and loss of reputation" all these years.

"I am happy that the truth has emerged after 25 years," he said. 

However, he wished that his father, the late Harivanshrai Bachchan, had lived to see this development. "My family knew the truth on Bofors all along, from day one," Bachchan said. 

"My father once asked if I was really involved in the scandal. I wish this disclosure would have happened when he was alive," he added. 

Bachchan's reactions came in response to fresh revelations in the Bofors case in which Swedish investigator Sten Lindstrom said that the case against actor and then Congress MP and his family was planted in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter by Indian investigators. 

"From the very day we have maintained that we were innocent, for 25 years my as well as my family's name bore the brunt of the scandal of which I was never a part of," he said. 

He, however, wondered as to why Lindstorm cleared his name only now. He said he quit politics only because he could not get used to it. "I left before the Bofors scandal broke, but some people tried to link my exit from politics to the scandal," he said. 

Earlier, Bachchan had said on his blog that 25 years after the incident, "I read today from one that pioneered accusation and investigation, of innocence". 

"No one shall be able to understand or even remotely fathom, the hours and days and months and years of the anguish of petulant blame that I had to go through. But will it really interest another? No it shall not," he wrote. 

The Bofors case dates back to 1986, when Swiss arms manufacturer Bofors landed a Rs 1,500 crore contract to supply 155 mm howitzers to India. A year later, Swiss media began reporting that the company had paid massive kickbacks to Indian politicians, including then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and defence officials. 

Lindstrom now says there is no evidence to show Rajiv Gandhi was bribed.

By : IBNLive

Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif new movie to release in November

Yash Chopra decided to come back to direction and we all are excited about seeing the master back in the field. Though, the name of the movie is yet to be decided, er, it’s name is not London Ishq, but the film has Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles. This is one of the most awaited movies of the year, which is scheduled to hit the screens in November 2012. No doubt everyone is excited about Yash Chopra making a comeback but there are others attached to the movie such as Gulzar and AR Rahman who keep the anticipation alive.

The latest buzz about the movie is that it is loosely based on a book called “The End of the Affair” by Graham Greene. The novel is set in London during and just after World War II. The plot of the novel observes the passion, jealousies and discrimination within the relationships between three central characters. From this it can be concluded that the film is based on relationships, an area in which no one can beat Yash Chopra. After all how can we forget Sr. Chopra’s classic films Silsila and Kabhie Kabhie that were based on the complexity of relationships. In that league, should we be expecting another classic from Yash Chopra?