Minissha Lamba: WELL DONE ABBA is a political satire
WELL DONE ABBA is all set for release and Minissha is expectedly excited about the film which would be her first release since KIDNAP (2008).
“At the heart of it, WELL DONE ABBA is about a father-daughter relationship in a village setup. However, I play an educated girl in the film. Shyam babu is very pro-education of girl child; this is something that he feels very strongly about. He wanted this character to be someone who stands on her own. Also, since the film is a political satire, the subject had to be handled quite carefully”, says Minissha who has mostly played a city girl in her earlier films like BACHNA AE HASEENO, KIDNAP and HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD, to name a few.
This is where decades of experience that Shyama Benegal carries in film making came in handy.
“A dialogue coach was present on the sets right through the film so that was of great help. Moreover, there were other reference points also shared with us which helped us get into the feel of the character and the ambience we were in”, says Minissha.
The film is a story of Armaan Ali (Boman Irani), a driver working in Mumbai. He takes leave for a month to find a husband for his teenage daughter (played by Minissha) but returns to work only after 3 months. When his young employer tries to sack him, Armaan narrates the reason that led to his delay, which forms the crux of WELL DONE ABBA.
With Boman Irani playing the title role of ‘Abba’ and Minissha Lamba as his daughter, the film also stars Sameer Dattani (as Minissha’s love interest), Ravi Kishan, Ila Arun, Salim Ghouse, Sonali Kulkarni, Rajit Kapoor, Yashpal Sharma and Ravi Jhankal. A BIG Pictures production, the film has lyrics by Swanand Kirkire, Ila Arun and Ashok Mishra with music by Shantanu Moitra. WELL DONE ABBA is releasing all over on 26th March 2010.
Akshay’s death defying stunt for HOUSEFULL
Keeping true to his signature Akshay Kumar -Bollywood’s box office king performed yet another death defying stunt for his forthcoming film Sajid Nadiadwala’s and Eros International’s HOUSEFULL.
We come to hear that a scene in the film required Akshay to perform a stunt underwater while the camera placed in the chopper overhead was to shoot the scene.
To make things worse the day the preparations were made and scene was to be shot the production found out that the tide was high and that it made the stunt even more risky than it already was.
Reveals a source, “The scene shot with the camera in the chopper above involved Akshay performing underwater stunts. After making all the preparations with the camera, chopper and lighting we found out that it’s a high tide day and that it was very risky for Akshay to do the stunt”
But knowing Akshay Kumar and the daredevil that he is by now we know what transcended.
“Ultimately Akshay refused to postpone the scene and performed it in spite of it being dangerous and did it quite brilliantly in fact. Everyone applauded his bravery,” adds the source.
Abhay Deol: ROAD, MOVIE is experimental
Abhay Deol doesn’t deny the fact that his recent release ROAD, MOVIE is quite experimental. Still, he is quite pleased though with the response that the film is fetching internationally. “We have been to some really major festivals and foreign audiences are going gaga over it. There have been awesome reactions all over which has pretty much established Dev’s vision of making ROAD, MOVIE as a film which has a universal appeal.”
Still, closer home, what kind of vibes he is getting from ROAD, MOVIE? Are they similar to the kind that he got for his last two releases, DEV D and OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE? After all when it comes to commercial parlance, these two films still touched upon mainstream boundaries while ROAD, MOVIE appears a little too experimental.
“Yes, ROAD, MOVIE is indeed a bit more experimental whereas DEV D was actually quite stylish in treatment rather than being experimental”, admits Abhay whose name has spelled quality ever since he made his debut with SOCHA NA THA that arrived under the baton of now hot-shot director Imtiaz Ali, “In fact DEV D relied a lot on visuals while OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE had music to elevate its commercial viability. Moreover, since it was a Delhi based film, there was a lot more identification factor involved. Still, when compared to DEV D, it was slightly more niche and edgier. Both films were quite commercial nonetheless.”
Meanwhile, Abhay continues to live the philosophy that he has adapted ever since he started working in Bollywood films. “I have maintained that I like to be different with each film of mine. I want to work in films that are non-Bollywood in appeal. Of course, in my attempt to do so, I don’t think I can please everyone. But then I am also sure that I won’t disappoint anyone either”, signs off Abhay with a smile.
Also starring Satish Kaushik, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Mohammed Faisal Usmani, Virendra Saxena and Yashpal Sharma in principal roles, ROAD, MOVIE is produced by Ross Katz & Susan B. Landau and is currently running in theaters.
Sajid promises a whopping collection for HOUSEFULL
Eros International and Sajid Nadiadwala’s romantic comedy entertainer HOUSEFULL directed by Sajid Khan has the entire team excited for a single reason and that is that they all agree it’s a great film.
In fact so much so is Sajid Khan’s confidence in the film that he has promised producer Sajid Nadiadwala great success at the box-office.
The romantic comedy entertainer HOUSEFULL is a story of normal people caught in abnormal situations sparked off by a white lie. The film starring Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Jiah Khan and Arjun Rampal talks of the world’s unluckiest man trying to find true love to change his luck.
Reveals a source ‘Sajid is very confident about his film whoever has seen glimpses of the film have given him great feedback. It has a great star cast, a lot of comic moments, great music, stunning locations - it has everything going for it. Sajid has blind confidence in the film and hence has promised Sajid Nadiadwala that the film will open to packed seats”
So let’s wait and watch while HOUSEFULL opens to a houseful this April.
PHOONK 2 now on April 16th
Ram Gopal Verma’s much awaited film PHOONK 2; the sequel to PHOONK, release has been pushed ahead.
The horror thriller, which was scheduled for 9th April 2010 release, will now arrive a week later i.e. on 16th April 2010. However the promotion of the film has already kick started.
The makers are busy concentrating on their promotional activity - the scientific scare contest, which challenges the viewers to watch the film all alone in a theatre to win a cash prize of 5 Lakh.
PRINCE Vivek’s ‘Tere Liye’ stealing hearts
The music of producer Kumar Taurani’s upcoming thriller PRINCE is being appreciated by netizens across the globe. In fact the video of the latest song from PRINCE, ‘Tere Liye’ has reached a record of 1,40,000 hits in just a couple of days of it being uploaded on a leading film website. A record number; it is believed to have beaten some of the biggest releases of the season.
Speaking of this overwhelming response, Kumar Taurani, MD, Tips Films and Producer of Tips says, “It is heartening to see the music and the movie getting such a great response from the audience. Tips Industries has always been known for making popular music and we are glad that the music of PRINCE is getting appreciated by everyone.”
The music of PRINCE is given by Sachin Gupta and the movie is directed by Kookie V Gulati, starring Vivek Oberoi, Nandana Sen, Aruna Shields and Neeru Singh. PRINCE is set to release on the 9th of April 2010.
Ranbir-Katrina shoot extra scenes for Raajneeti
When Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif met for a shoot on Monday, it was just like old times when they shot for Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti last year.
The twosome was fiercely competitive when they shot for the two films. So it was when they shot again together on Monday.
The competitive spirit has taken over Raajneeti in a big way. Both Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif see the film as a passport to the National Awards. With stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpai, Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgn in the cast, the young stars of the show have decided to pull out all stops to ensure their performances are noticed at the right places.
All efforts are now on by Ranbir and Katrina to ensure optimum audience participation in Raajneeti. A music video, only a part of which will be included in the film and the rest used for promotion, is to be shot.
Says the director Prakash Jha, “We certainly don’t want to pitch Raajneeti as a dry political drama .Ranbir and Katrina are big commercial stars. We want their fans to see our film as an entertainer. At an edited length of about 3 hours’ playing-time, we want viewers to be glued to the edge of their seats. I wouldn’t call it a multi- star cast film .I’d call it a multi-actor film.”
With the Ranbir-Katrina jodi being hotter-than-July, a certain amount of spicing up is certainly the order of the day. And the hit jodi is more than willing to shoot extra days to ensure the product gets them maximum attention.
On Monday, Ranbir and Katrina did some additional shooting for Raajneeti at Mona Shourie’s Future Studios long after their dates for Raajneeti had dried up.
Ranbir Kapoor just back from Las Vegas rushed to the shooting. close-ups and continuity shots were shot with the two. A sizzling music video featuring Ranbir, Katrina and Arjun Rampal is also on the cards.
So who says politicians can’t dance? Says Prakash, “We did some patchwork shooting on Monday, close-ups, etc. Yes. It’s for the betterment of the end-product. We all want Raajneeti to be a big success. Katrina and Ranbir have surrendered themselves completely to the project and will do whatever is required.”
Vikram Bhatt is ready to unleash his third horror film ‘Shaapit’
Vikram Bhatt is ready to unleash his third horror film SHAAPIT, after RAAZ and 1920. This time, like RAAZ and 1920, the film stars two newcomers in principal leads — Udit Narayan’s son Aditya Narayan and Shweta Agarwal. Ironically, RAAZ also starred relative newcomers Bipasha Basu and Dino Morea, while 1920 marked the debut of Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma.
Why this penchant for newcomers? “Simple! They look believable. They look like they need to be protected, which would not be the case if you cast the already-established actors,” Vikram reasons. Frankly, everyone thought that Vikram would move on to his fav genre — suspense-thriller — after 1920, but he chose to make a horror film again. “Yes, the subject of SHAAPIT excited me tremendously. Also, I strongly feel that there’s a huge market for horror films, which needs to be tapped by film-makers,” Vikram adds.
SHAAPIT hits the screens on March 19. Will it prove a hat-trick for this talented film-maker, let’s wait and watch!
Arjun Rampal to play villain opposite SRK in Ra.1
By now its common knowledge that Shah Rukh Khan and Arjun Rampal are close friends. The duo have starred together in super-hit films like Don and Om Shanti Om. Shah Rukh even made a fleeting appearance in Arjun’s home production I See You that released a few years ago. Now SRK and Arjun Rampal will once again be seen together in Shah Rukh’s home production Ra.1 to be directed by Anubhav Sinha.
While Shah Rukh plays a super-hero kind of a character in the film, the buzz is that Arjun will be playing his nemesis. The sci-fi film which is expected to go on floors very soon features Kareena Kapoor as the female lead.
Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan set to release on December 24, 2010
This Christmas, audiences are in for a big treat with Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan which is set to release on the Christmas Eve, December 24.
Says Farah, “I’m really happy that we will be releasing Tees Maar Khan on the 24th December, 2010. TMK is a very kid friendly, holiday season kind of film, full of fun, big dance numbers and action comedy. It’s just the kind of film you’d want to watch in the holidays.”
Still in its filming stages, Tees Maar Khan is already in the news for its leading jodi Akshay Kumar & Katrina Kaif and director Farah Khan’s track record for delivering two super-hit films.
Says Akshay Kumar, “Tees Maar Khan will be our gift to audiences this holiday season. It’s a great film with a great script and with Farah you know you’re in for a treat with larger than life scenes, great music and hilarious dialogues. The movie will have you laughing uncontrollably.”
Tees Maar Khan is produced by Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd. and Shirish & Farah’s home production ‘Three’s Company Pvt Ltd.’ and co-produced by Akshay Kumar’s ‘Hari Om Productions’.