The Biggest Bollywood Films to Look for in 2009

As the year that was 2008 comes to a close and we all reflect back on the year that was we thought we'd take a glimpse into the future to bring you the biggest films to look forward to in '09!

'Kambakht Ishq': This film has been buzzed about ever since it hit the floors! Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor star in this movie that has been shot in locales such as Los Angeles and Italy. Plus let's not forget the addition of Hollywood actors Denise Richards, Sylvester Stallone and Brandon Routh. Sounds like this film might take Akki's spot in B-Town one notch higher.

'Billo Barber': The film's producer and star is Shahrukh Khan (enough said!) and also stars Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutta. It's a remake of a Malayalam film and it also will feature guest appearances by Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor. The film garners attention purely based on SRK.

'London Dreams': Salman Khan's films may not have done too well in 2008, but we're pinning our hopes on the film based on a rock band and their friendships. The film also stars Ajay Devgun and 'Ghajini' beauty, Asin.

'Veer': Another one of Salman Khan's films, but this time around Sallu's written the script! The film is supposed to be a take on Hollywood's 'Gladiator' and also stars British beauty Lisa Lasarus. Beefcake Sallu as a gladiator? Yeah, that sounds about right!

'Naagin' - the Snake Woman': It's Mallika Sherawat's next attempt in Hollywood. The film stars Mallika in a non-speaking role, as a, you guessed it, snake woman. The film is directed by Jennifer Lynch and also stars Irrfan Khan.

'My Name is Khan': For the first time since 2001's 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' audiences will get to witness the magical pairing of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol! Not to mention the fact the guy to finally get the two together again is super producer and director for the film, Karan Johar! The film is based on a real life couple living in Los Angeles and stars SRK as a man with a mild case of autism.

These are just a few films that are already on radar, there promises to be a whole lot more as time goes on. Here's to a successful 2009!

Akshay and Deepika nominated for Asian Film Awards

Hong Kong, Jan 22: Bollywood heart-throbs Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone have been nominated for the Best Actor and Best Actress category at the prestigious third Asian Film Awards which were announced here on Wednesday.

While Akshay was nominated for his action cum comic-caper `Singh is Kinng`, Deepika was nominated for her double role in `Chandni Chowk to China`, the official website said.

`Singh is Kinng` unfolds the story a simple village boy from Punjab who goes all the way to Australia to bring back fellow villagers who have now turned notorious gangsters in a foreign country.

Deepika plays the role of twin sisters in her latest movie `Chandni Chowk to China`. Her characters in the film have both negative and positive shades. The story revolves around an Indian cook who travels all the way to China in search of his true destiny.

The contenders in the Best Actor`s category include China`s Ge You for `If You Are the One`, South Korea`s Ha Jung-Woo for `The Chaser and Japanese actors Kenichi Matsuyama for Detroit Metal City` and Masahiro Motoki for `Departures` and South Korea`s Song Kang Ho for `The Good, The Bad, The Weird`.

Deepika was nominated along with Chinese actresses Zhao Wei for `The Painted Skin`, Zhou Xun for `The Equation of Love and Death`, Jiang Wenli for `And the Spring Comes` and Japan`s Eri Fukatsu for `The Magic Hour` and Sayuri Yoshinaga for `Kabei-Our Mother`.

Former bond-girl and the star of "Crouching Tiger" Michelle Yeoh will head the 13-member jury which includes Chairman of Taiwan`s Golden Horse Awards, Peggy Chiao among others.

The awards ceremony will be held in Hong Kong on March 23.

Bureau Report

Spicezee Bureau

Mumbai, Jan 19: If the saying ‘once bitten twice-shy’ holds true then dusky babe Asin lives by it. She might be just one movie old in Bollywood but this bombshell from down south is one fast learner. The long legged lass, who was previously forced to keep mum and stay miles away from the media as per contract by Aamir, has now shunned all such bindings.

Taking her ‘Ghajini’ experience forward, the southern beauty quashed a contract from the makers of her forthcoming flick ‘London Dreams’. According to our sources, the makers of ‘London Dreams’ wanted Asin to sign an agreement as per which all her interactions with the media would be curbed.

However, Asin who has already had a bad experience with Aamir Khan shooed off the contract. A news daily quoted a source as saying; “Asin was irked with Aamir for having restricted her from interacting with the media during the making of ‘Ghajini’, which took almost two years. Though a contract bound Asin kept mum about being told not to interact with the media, she was not happy about it”.

So, now when producer Vipul Shah asked her to sign a similar contract, the actress refused right away. "She turned down the gag contract saying that she wants to be vocal on her accord and does not want to feel caged anymore”, adds the source.

Smart move girl!

A FANTASTIC MOVIE! By Eye TV India Bureau Critic's I-view

Finally, the much awaited and publicized Aamir Khan's 'Ghajini' has seen the light of the day. Two days before the scheduled release on Merry Christmas, the Madras High Court had restrained its screening. However, as the luck would have the court's division bench stayed that restrain order and opened the doors for its release. As expected, the movie has had a huge advance booking and created a houseful scenario in the capital of India. Incidentally, the movie's original Tamil version was also a major hit, and so 'Ghajini' in Hindi has proved its credential on the opening day and has been doing better everyday even in the wake of fierce competition from Akshay Kumar starrer animation movie titled 'Jumbo'. Since Aamir is a perfectionist, he has left no stone unturned to hit his usual target of perfection. Looking at 'Ghajini', we find it very rewarding due to its very story. Besides, director A.R. Murugadoss tells the story in a wonderful way. And on top of all this, the movie has Aamir Khan at the helm of affairs. So, the movie has to succeed at the box office. No surprise!
The movie runs for full three hours and that too without boring the viewer who is now accustomed to a shorter duration. The viewer gets stuck to his seat and forgets that there is going to come an interval too. He story keeps you guessing about the next scene. Then there is no scope for getting bored. Yes, the genre of the movie isn't very different though for Aamir it is as the latter has been moving from one to another in his movies. In spite of it being the usual Bollywood stuff, the screenplay keeps one glued to his or her seat. The reason is simple that the same story has been told differently with a lot of twists. Though it's a war between the good versus evil , yet it's free from the so called violence. The good prevails over the evil and brings solace to the audience. That's all.
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The story goes like Aamir Khan suffers an extreme memory loss following the murder of his girlfriend Asin. But the loss of memory is short-lived. He goes to work and slowly but steadily regains the memory .Thus, he remembers his love interest and tries to pursue his lost path. He carries with himself Polaroids that remind him of his past. In this movie, Aamir tattoos them on his body, which constantly remind his mind .
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After all, one cannot go on weaving innumerable stories. However, he can certainly change the style of narration or presentation. That provides relief to one's eyes and captures one's attention without falling a prey to the repetition. This is the style of 'Ghajini's original, meaning Tamil version director A.R. Murugadoss. He starts off with what happens in the past, comes to the present, falls back in time and thus returns to the earlier theme. Again, the loss of memory in a movie isn't new. Many movies have shown a sort of amnesia. But, 'Ghajini's memory loss is very different inasmuch as the hero recalls events but for 15 minutes only. Aamir has displayed extraordinary skill in the portrayal of a man suffering from short-term memory loss. He doesn't speak but says everything through his eyes - body language. Every narration is full of that's the beauty ! Thus, the movie will be remembered for long. Every expression is strong enough to tells a lot. This saves the movie showing undesirable fighting scenes and turning the movie into a violent one.

Acting-wise, Aamir is superb. We have never seen the actor performing so well. Less said the better about his look, his hairstyle and his physique. The movie may inspire thousands of its viewers to gym for wellness, if not for his memorable body. His body movement is great indeed! Historically, following the success of his Tamil movie, the director was looking for an actor to play his bold character of Shiva. When he met with A. R. Rehman and asked him to name a Bollywood actor for the coveted role, the latter suggested Aamir Khan for the lead role. Aamir accepted the offer but with a rider that he would begin its shoot after eight months.

To do full justice to play this role, Aamir underwent fitness training under his Guru Satya for six months - working in gym from four to six hours every day. In fact, once he broke his knee during the shooting of a stunt and deferred the shoot for a month! Another interesting matter is that the director had first signed Kangna Ranaut but later replaced her with Ziah Khan at the instance of Aamir. Kangna had reportedly leaked out to the media that she has bagged the coveted role. The director had decided to repeat his heroine Asin for the Hindi version, too. She has played her role fabulously and proved worthy of acting opposite Aamir Khan.

She looks fresh and photogenic. Jiah Khan is impressive too. Pradeep Rawat plays an equally successful the villain vis-à-vis hero Aamir Khan. Then follows A.R. Rehman's music. He has left nothing unturned to show his genius. 'Guzarish', 'Behka' and 'Kaise Mujhe' are the notable ones. Ravi Chandran's cinematography is brilliant too. Less said is better as one needs to watch and then conclude. Hence, the movie might prove the best one of the year, both acting as well as money-wise.

INDO-PAK TENSION HITS FILM BUSINESS By Eye TV India Bureau In the News

Pakistani film watchers who were eagerly awaiting for the two of the biggest Bollywood movies of 2008 - Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Rab Ne Banadi Jodi' (RNBJ) and Aamir Khan's 'Ghajni' - got disappointed following the deferment of their release in Pakistan. According to reliable sources, the tense relations between the two countries caused by the Mumbai attacks stopped the whole schedule of their release though already announced. Interestingly, the theater owners who did roaring business after decades with the release of Indian films since last year, are keeping their business on by again releasing old films. This is to recall that Bollywood movies like 'Goal', 'Welcome', 'Race' etc had been big hits in Pakistan. One needs to believe that such was the boom that due to shortage of quality cinema halls, the existing ones had started screening special shows to meet the demands of film viewers and to cope with the rapid release of new Bollywood films.
Even now, Nishat cinema in Karachi is screening 'Yuvraaj' and 'Dostaana' with different show timings while other cinemas have again released 'Bhagam Bhaag' and 'Golmaal Returns' to keep their business going as they point out there is no competition between the demand for Pakistani and Indian films. While cinema owners are incurring heavy losses in the absence of new Bollywood movies, the video parlors are happy and celebrating as they can cash on the pirated videos of new Hindi releases. It is learnt that pirated prints of 'RNBJ' and 'Ghajjni' are selling like hot cakes though the government is busy in launching a crackdown on their sale or renting out. It is noteworthy that the recent lifting of Pakistani ban on Indian movies that stayed for decades had profusely benefited the exhibitors, distributors and theater owners in Pakistan thanks to the improvement in relations between India and Pakistan.
With relations between the two countries nose-diving and the peace process being suspended after the Mumbai attacks on November 26, the release of the latest Bollywood movies has been totally stopped in Pakistan. Though there is nothing officially but the Censor and culture ministry have not cleared any new Indian films for release after the Mumbai incident, according to informed Pakistani sources. Nadeem Mandviwalla, a well-known distributor and owner of Nishat cinema in Karachi, vouches this information.

Sexy sisters Malaika, Amrita make wedding plans?

Submitted by Bollywood Gossip on Sunday, 28 December 2008No Comment

Bollywood Gossip : The oomph brigade of the Arora sisters, Malaika and Amrita are chilling out in Goa at the moment. While the husband-wife jodi, that of Arbaaz and Malaika, went there to celebrate their wedding anniversary, younger sis Amrita and her beau Shakeel (he seems to follow her everywhere) made it a perfect family union by joining in the fun.

“It had been so long since all of us went out spent time together. We all have been busy working on our films and shows, and we hardly get to meet. And even if we did meet it was for never for more than a few hours. So when Malaika told me that she and Arbaaz were heading Goa, Shakeel and I also found the perfect reason to spend some family time together. And yes, all of us not only had a mini-vacation but got a little closer as a family too!” said Amrita Arora.

Well, this leaves us with little or no shak about Shakeel and Amu tying the knot in Goa sometime next year, as per rumours. Does that explain their li’l family trip to Goa?

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Celina waits for Homosexuality to be accepted legally

Submitted by Bollywood Gossip on Thursday, 25 December 2008No Comment

Bollywood Gossip : As we all know Bollywood Actress Celina Jaitley has started blogging where she shares her thoughts on elections, the terror attack, security, the common man and myriad other issues which she feels she can contribute to.

Celina Jaitley is the only Bollywood actress who is a Gay Right Activist and openly supports their stand.

Having worked on development projects related to HIV and AIDS, the actress is all set to unleash her ideas and share her thoughts with like-minded people.

“I believe actions speak louder than words.

As of today me and a couple of others have decided to start an initiation of ‘Voting for none provision’ I am waiting for a party to see what really and genuinely it has to offer to me, I am waiting for a feeling of security within my own city.

I am waiting to get a ration card and passport on time without red tapism, I am waiting for Homosexuality to be accepted legally, I am waiting for compensation to all who laid their lives, I am waiting for protection within 15 minutes of a terrorist attack, I am waiting to see my country at its full potential” Says the actress.

When we asked Bollywood Actress Celina Jaitley about her recent venture she said, “I am very happy about the kind of response my blog has received.

I have received an offer to write a column in a newspaper too. But all that kept that aside, I thank everyone for the feedback and response. I am happy about the fact that it motivated many.

But will people’s response to this tragedy continue or will it fizzle out with time is my question and the next topic that I would write on. We have to hold together if we want a change in the system because I don’t want this fire to fizzle out.”

-Santabanta.com