Welcome - hilarious but leave your brains behind and enjoy the movie…

Welcome movie starring Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Paresh Rawal, Feroz Khan and Mallika Sherawat is going on at cineplex’s. It also has a special dance number by Malika Arora Khan. Though the film is based on Hollywood’s ‘Mickey Blue Eyes’, but is still interesting with Anil – Nana and Mallika doing a great one to pull the comedy in the film. Never to forget Akshay is subtle but nice, and is paired with Katrina (Namaste London pair) in the film. For me - watch the film, leave your brains behind and enjoy. Probably that is one of the reason you spend the money !!!. Welcome is directed by Anees Bazmee, produced by Feroz Nadiadwala and written by Rajiv Kaul and Praful Parekh duo.

In the film story flows that Akshay and Katrina fall in love. Akshay is Rajiv in the film, nephew of Dr Ghungroo (Paresh Rawal) while Katrina is Sanjana, sister of mobsters Uday Shetty (Nana Patekar) and Majnu (Anil Kapoor). Family members of both of them i.e. Dr Ghungroo and Uday and Majnu want nice spouses, who have good name in the society. But the twist is here as the respectable doctor when Dr Ghungroo goes whacky as he comes to know that his ‘to be bahu’ is sister of these mobsters. It is here where begins the mayhem as Rajiv and Sanjana realize that they must bring the criminals to the straight path before they get married…...never to forget RDX played by Feroz Khan who is International partner of the mobsters and jumps in the fray.
Welcome, is being distributed worldwide by The Indian Film Company (IFC), and as per web site information it had grossed Rs 571.8 million in its opening week.

Enjoy the fun !!!

Film enjoyment is contagious, says study

Sify.com

If you are you a movie buff then this research is sure to bring a smile on your face --- the presence of other people may enhance our movie-watching experiences. Researchers from University of Chicago carried out a study and explained that ''the more in sync we are with the people around us, more we like the movie,'' the Science Daily reported. They suggested that over the course of the film, movie-watchers influence one another and gradually synchronise their emotional responses.

''By mimicking expressions, people catch each other's moods leading to a shared emotional experience. That feels good to people and they attribute that good feeling to the quality of the movie,'' explain researchers Suresh Ramanathan and Ann L McGill.

In a series of experiments, the researchers had participants watch a video clip. Some of the participants watched alone, some with other people whose expressions could not be seen due to the presence of a partition, and some with other people whose expressions could be seen.

The participants used to indicate their feelings at each moment with the help of a joystick.

The researchers found that people watching a film together appeared to evaluate the film within the same broad mood, generally tracking up or generally tracking down. In another study, the researchers videotaped participants and found that synchrony of evaluations can be traced to glances at the other person during the film and adoption of the observed expressions.

The researchers explained: ''Participants who looked at each other at the same time appeared to note whether the other person's face expressed the same or different emotion than their own.

Perceived congruity of expressions caused participants to stick with their current emotional expression . . . Perceived incongruity, on the other hand, led to a dampening of subsequent expressions.'' ''Social effects described above were bi-directional suggesting that such influences were mutual rather than the result of a leader-follower pattern,'' they concluded.

The researchers are the first to examine how a shared experience affects not just our immediate feelings, but also our overall impressions of the experience as a whole.

Madhuri's 'Aaja Nachle' back in theatres of Punjab and UP

Madhuri Dixit's film "Aaja Nachle" was back in theatres of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh with the state authorities deciding to give it a green signal after some controversial lines were removed from the title song.

A decision to allow screening of the film in Punjab was taken by the state government late last night, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister D S Guru said here on Sunday. A notification in this regard was also issued on Sunday.

The Punjab government had last night asked district magistrates to decide on whether to screen the movie after its objectionable content in the title song had been removed. The Badal government had on Saturday banned the movie in order to maintain law and order in the state.

In Uttar Pradesh, screening of the film started in various cinema halls with theatre owners giving an affidavit on removing the controversial portions in the film and respective district authorities verifying the amendment.

Reports from Lucknow said cinema hall owners had furnished affidavits as desired by the government on deletion of the objectionable portions and the district authorities too verified that they had the amended reels for screening before they were allowed to go ahead with showing of the film.

SRK apologises to Manoj Kumar

Press Trust of India, Friday, November 16, 2007: (Mumbai):

Offended by a sequence in recently-released film Om Shanti Om, yesteryear actor Manoj Kumar is contemplating a legal action against the fim's makers.However, Shah Rukh Khan tendered an unqualified apology to Manoj Kumar for the sequence in the film.

"Manoj Kumar has been offended by a certain sequence in the film, and he asked me whether any legal action was possible," Kumar's lawyer Mukesh Vashi said. "However, I myself haven't seen the film. So, I would be able to advise him only after seeing it," Vashi added. Kumar told a TV channel that "Indian audiences had made Manoj Kumar into an icon; that icon has been wounded, made fun of; a moral action is more important than a legal action." Om Shanti Om, released last week, is a spoof on Bollywood films of 70s, and shows a few real-life film characters from the Mumbai film world. Kumar is reportedly angry about a sequence in which he has been shown being thrashed by policemen outside a theatre. In the movie, Khan's character steals Kumar's pass to enter a movie premiere, and police, not recognising Kumar, beat him.

Khan is also a co-producer of the movie, directed by Farah Khan. Khan said "I was completely wrong. If he is hurt, I apologise. I called him in the afternoon, and the first thing he said to me was "it is no big deal, son," Khan told reporters.

"People do parody. It is a done thing," Khan said, adding Manoj Kumar had every right to say anything to him. A look-alike has played Kumar in the movie, Khan's home production. In a hastily called press conference, Khan said "I should have been over-careful. I should have called him earlier (to tell him about the spoof)."

Farah Khan, who was also present, said "I am to blame for this. I wrote that scene."
About Kumar's remark that it was unpatriotic on OSO producer's part to make fun of him, Khan said "I think he did not mean it. He was angry." When asked whether Manoj Kumar was over-reacting, Khan said it was not so. "He belongs to a different era. People from that era have a different way of talking. If I were old, I would react in the same way," Khan said. "His achievements are marvelous. We grew up watching his movies. I have immense respect for him", the younger actor said.

"Tomorrow, we will go his place and have a cup of tea," Farah said. Farah said she offerred to cut the scene when she called Major Kumar but he said there was no need.

Earlier, an emotional Major Kumar had told reporters that "Shahrukh has hurt my soul. Manoj Kumar was made into icon of India by the audiences. By making fun of him, Shahrukh Khan has wounded him." He had also consulted lawyers as to whether any legal action was possible.

Farah Khan credits Shah Rukh’s shirtless act behind film’s success

Bollywood filmmaker Farah Khan, who is riding high on the success of "Om Shanti Om", credits superstar Shah Rukh Khan's shirtless song-and-dance sequence as one of the main reasons for the film's good opening.

"Om Shanti Om", a film on reincarnation, had a tough battle to overcome for box-office supremacy as it was sharing its opening date with "Saawariya" -- on unrequited love -- by top Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

But three-days since its release, analysts say, "Om Shanti Om" has edged past "Saawariya”.

"The entire credit for the film's success goes to Shah Rukh," director Farah Khan told Reuters over phone on Sunday. "He is the film's main attraction and the shirtless song is definitely one of the main reasons for the film's hit. It is the scene to watch out for."

The bare-chested act by the 42-year-old actor who underwent rigorous training sessions to develop a six-pack, has helped the song "Dard-E-Disco" reach the top of the charts across television channels and FM radio stations.

"I have made many girls and women happy by showing Shah Rukh in a very different way," she said. "He has a huge audience base and everyone I'm sure is loving the way he has pulled it off. He had to train a lot for the scene and he is looking very good."

Dream Girl goes on canvas

After making millions of hearts flutter with her evergreen beauty, the dream girl of Bollywood Hema Malini has been put on canvas by Kanhai Brothers. The beauty of traditional Kanhai art is implausible. The life-size portrait of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K Advani says it all. Govind and Krishna Kanhai were to gift Hema Malini this beautiful creation on her birthday. However, due to some schedule problems, they could not make it. Nevertheless, Vrindavan brothers did the honour of laying an exhibition in Mumbai

Kanhai Brothers seem to be adding on in the list of Dream girl’s admirers. Well, that does not come as a big surprise. What say Hemaji?

Source : IndiaFM

Ash to do a sci-fi film?

If all goes as per plans, it will be nearly after a decade that actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan would be starring in a film with sci-fi elements and fantasy. This would be for the upcoming and untitled offering by producer Rohan Sippy. Incidentally, Rohan is known to share a close friendship with Abhishek Bachchan. In the start of her career, Aishwarya had worked in the Shankar directed ‘Jeans’ (1998), which abounded in special effects.

However, while John Abraham’s dates are already available with the makers, Aishwarya’s signature on the dotted line is still awaited. Director Sriram Raghavan (‘Johnny Gaddaar’), who would be shifting genres from thrillers ( he also directed ‘Ek Haseena Thi’) to a love story with this film says, “Yes, the film does have a fair bit of sci-fi and fantasy elements. Though it is a love story, the plot is unique and requires a different treatment. We may go abroad to get the special effects in place.”

Will Aishwarya feature in this film? “There are positive indications about her being a part of the project. But I guess the final decision may come only after Diwali once we are able to sit down and discuss it with her,” divulges Sriram. He adds, “Aishwarya was busy with her ‘Pink Panther’ shoot abroad. Once in India, she was occupied with the Karva Chauth ceremony. Once the festivities are through after Diwali, we should have all the dates finalised.”

Earlier there were talks about the shooting beginning in November. “We have moved a little. We will begin in December and should still be able to finish more than 70 per cent of the shoot in a start to finish schedule. Post this, work on special effects would begin.” The film will also star Nana Patekar. Incidentally, Aishwarya’s ‘tough girl’ act in Aditya Chopra’s ‘Dhoom 2’ was much appreciated.

Source : DNAIndia

Oh, how Sanjay Bhansali hams!

On screen on Diwali


www.rediff.com
Raja Sen

First off, using the ever-fantastic words of Pete Townshend entirely out of context, The Kids Are Alright.

No, Ranbir and Sonam Kapoor -- megahyped bachchas sharing a surname but entirely different Bollywood legacies -- aren't, as the hype might have had you believe, the instant quick-mix superstars ready to take Bollywood into the next generation. He's occasionally likeable, she's undeniably attractive. And that's that. As said, they're alright.

The problem lies with their puppeteer, the all-conquering badshah of bluster. Sanjay Leela Bhansali [Images] takes Fyodor Dostoevsky's White Nights -- a stark, lovely story about romance born and rekindled over four nights -- and, picking out its barest heart, proceeds to smother it in mixed-up layers of trite melodrama. And money. And so this soft core, this tender tale, is hidden -- under several reams of indiscriminately wrapped silk and velvet, of loud noise and harsh light, of bewildering backdrops and the colour blue -- so deep beneath smug self-indulgence and a bizarre budget that you can't even hear the heartbeat anymore.

The story is simple: a minstrel, full to the brim with can-do enthusiasm, falls in love with a fair maiden. All would be well, except she is awaiting her faraway lover. Doggedly the singer tries to awaken her love, while she loyally stalks the bridge assigned to the some-night rendezvous. Over four nights, love, loyalty and longing are all born and questioned.

A still from SaawariyaWe're told, most redundantly, that this is a tale set in a different world. It is a fairytale realm reminiscent of the classic Prince Of Persia video game, with gondolas and prostitutes scattered around a wet Venetian nightmare. The architecture is whimsical, as is the generous use of flickery neon. Clock towers with hyperactive needles coexist merrily with sprawling mosque courtyards and numerous tiny cobalt by-lanes lead arterially out of the central tiny bridge area, most such roads seeming to lead to the exorbitantly built brothel or the one-resident-only guesthouse. It sounds fantastical and brilliant, and could certainly have been, except it doesn't really have a concept. Or a point.

Thus Omung Kumar gets to play madman art-director, Bhansali letting him go wild and asking only that he be theatrical and sporadic. 'Just paint everything blue and leave lots of room for Raj Kapoor film references,' the brief could well have read. And so runs the gamut, from azure to cerulean, with walls and pillars and peculiar choices of artwork.

And while dollars are positively dripping from the scenery, nothing is spectacular. Remember MF Hussain's Gajagamini? Now replace the high concept in that film with a big budget. The result is Saawariya [Images], an underwhelming waste. Thousands of Bollywood songs are shot with madcap little unreal backdrops; Bhansali has just used one of those for his entire film. One imagines it'll be a while before Sony Pictures grandly bankrolls another Indian project.

Black, flaws and all, was very well shot. Here one can imagine cinematographer Ravi K Chandran stifling a yawn. And if, for God's sake, you're building an absurdist city-of-many-cities, at least leave physical room for some mindblowing camerawork. There are a few -- four, count them -- well-executed shots in Saawariya, most of them simple cutaway shots. What in the world has been thought-through in this movie?

Not the characters, certainly. Ranbir's Ranbir Raj tells Sonam's Sakina that she knows everything about him: his name, where he lives, what he does. One assumes that is all there exists in their character sketches as well. Oh, and the boy is told to be restless, the girl, patient. Outside of that, there is no depth, despite the actress' limpid eyes and the actor's sometimes cheeky grin. These are cardboard characters, lazily written and ineffective. In a stylised world impossible to relate to, at least the protagonists should have been flesh and blood.

Instead, the director hams.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali needs to be thwacked with a subtlety stick, much like Sakina messily beats carpets hanging around her. Everything is overblown and hyper-real in the director's head, and there is no room for soft reality. The characters populating his movie, therefore, cannot sob without hysteria or laugh without sliding off a chair. A glare is held for ten minutes, a coy glance for five. And the dialogue is immeasurably grating, making the film's sub-130 minute length seem twice as long.

It is a testament to the star-kids, then, that they've gamely gone through these dizzying motions without afflicting career hara-kiri. Ranbir, playing a character labeled over-lovable from start to scratch, is often painfully exaggerated and moronic, but he does salvage a few moments of charm where you feel for him -- even if only sympathy at his debuting in this production. There might be hope, sure. But then there's that towel song, the most homoerotic picturisation in Hindi cinema, which could likely take a few years to live down.

The gorgeous Sonam Kapoor [Images] is armed with a great laugh -- almost as infectious as her father's -- and one wishes she was allowed to simper softly, instead of having a clearly overdubbed plastic giggle plastered onto her. She has the worst lines and moments in the script -- save for Rani Mukerji's [Images], where Bhansali clearly cashed in all his Black chips -- but there is a merciful agility to her movement, a fluidity to her style. It is a character impossible to like, and yet she warms you up to her.

The only times in the film the kids really, really work are when the tension abruptly breaks and they burst into laughter. It is almost as if -- or, possibly, because -- the director yelled cut and two old friends dropped the painful masks and chilled. God, how much better a Jab We Met [Images] style debut would have been for these two.

A still from SaawariyaIt's hard to fathom what Bhansali expects anybody to like in this film. With close to a dozen songs assaulting us once every seven minutes, on average, there is no room for the narrative to flow. The background score is deafening, and the writing is so emotionally manipulative -- wait for the way Ranbir convinces Zohra Sehgal to let him bunk with her -- it makes you want to pen down an alternate script in immediate protest. And, despite conjuring up moments with legends like Sehgal and Begum Para -- irresistible when devoutly mouthing Mughal-E-Azam dialogues -- these are too few and far between. Are we actually supposed to enjoy Ranbir doing dad Rishi's rabblerousing lines from Karz, or laugh at Rani's pathetic half-malapropisms? Please.

What's the deal, Mr Bhansali? This isn't a Luchino Visconti remake, as many had feared, but a bizarre reworking, an overbaked version of a very simple romance. Dozens of dancing prostitutes do not a Federico Fellini make, sir.

This film opens with Ranbir, off-screen, persuading a whore to listen to two lines of song. She deigns to listen and he picks up his blue six-string. And instead of an eager-to-please youth fumbling with a scratchy guitar, we get -- after a sudden title screen with the star-kids' name, a la Rajnikanth [Images] -- a mega song-and-dance production, a full-blown intro. No wonder the heartbeat is muted.

As Gulabjee, lady of the night, would say, I don't likes.

For some dreams, life is not enough

Preview - Om Shanti Om

This Diwali will see release of Shahrukh’s most awaited mega movie namely ‘Om Shanti Om’,. Time will tell whether his magic will work or not ? But nevertheless Shahrukh is all out to promote the same. The film is about reincarnation and has glamorous supermodel turn actress stunning Deepika Padukone opposite King khan. The movies plot starts in 1970 and ends in 2007, and probably that is the reason has a catch line ‘for some dreams life is not enough’.

Deepika is already in news with this movie and other thing which had caught media attention is King Khan’s six packs body which has already made it to cover page of many film magazines. Om Shanti Om has 12 song tracks but one of them namely "Deewangi Deewangi will feature 31 bollywood stars, and has zany signature tune of the film. Film has all the hit- masala and is raring to go. It has been produced by Gauri Khan (SRK’s wife) and directed by Farah Khan, her second directorial venture after her first ‘Main Hoon Naa’. Film already has a web site namely www.omshantiomfilm.com , in case you wish to hear a song track and download the film poster. Arjun Rampal, Kirron Kher, Bindu and Shreyas Talpade are some of the other cast in the film. Media reports quoting Farah Khan state that Amitabh Bacchan and Abhishek will be there in a guest appearance in the film. Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjani, better known as Vishal-Shekar, have put together the possible hit music of the film.

The film will be released at Diwali with another blockbuster Sawaariya. Though media reports do point out about some contention between the multiplex owners and distributors of these two movies over revenue sharing. Hopefully it will get resolved by then or else, will not to able to see both of these in multiplexes.

Rani and Konkana shine in an average film ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’

After a brief hiatus, Rani Mukherji was back with ‘Laaga Chunari mein daag’. Laaga Chunari Mein Daag is directed by Pradeep Sarker under Yash Raj Banner. Though it is a typical average Hindi film based on the plot of 1970s – 1980s, but something, which outshines in the film is the work of Rani and Konkana Sen, who play roles of sisters. The film starts with a nice humming number. Cinematography is superb in the film; Ghats of the Ganga, and Banaras, looks stunning so is Switzerland.

Story revolves around Rani who plays a role of Badki, elder sister of the family who due to hardships in the family, decides to take on the responsibility and lands up in Mumbai to earn money to support the family. She is exploited, but fights on and gets transformed into Natasha, a high priced escort. Meanwhile Chutki her younger sister, played by Konkana Sen after completing her MBA, gets a job in an ad agency, in Mumbai and comes to stay with her sister.

When she realizes the bitter truth about Badki’s lifestyle, she insists that the family face it together. Kunal Kapoor who plays boss of the younger sister and then her fiancé suits his character while Abshihek Bacchan has a two song and five scene role and is paired with Rani. Role of father is played by Anupam Kher while mother who undergoes hardships and turmoil of life is played by Jaya Bacchan. Hema Malini is there for a scene but as always looks stunning.

An average film, but is doing brisk business. A debatable dialogue in the film was on definition of patents and trademarks by Rani Mukherji on her role as Natasha whereby she defines it as practices used by so called developed world on developing world to exploit them further.

by Anil Gulati
Source www.mynews.in

Salman Khan on a wall clock!

Anil Gulati

Moved by his idol, Salman Khan, Kirori Mal got Salman moving on the wall. That’s the ingenuity of a barber in a dusty village in Madhya Pradesh.

DHARDA GANESH is a village in the Shivpuri district of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is more than an hour’s drive from main district headquarter or Shivpuri urban and one has to navigate many bumpy roads and stretches which hardly have roads. The village looks like a typical village in the state of Madhya Pradesh with a cluster of mud huts, roofed with thatch or earthen tiles, narrow paths full of mud and water (if it rains) which leads to the outside world. Probably time had a little effect on these villages.

I happened to visit this village on some work. But it was interesting visit for me as I had an opportunity to visit the shop of Kirori Mal. Kirori Mal is a barber. His shop is just at the entrance of the village, outside the Panchayat Bhawan. It was a makeshift shop, a few inches above the ground. One had to climb to enter it.

Probably he seems to be a huge fan of Bollywood. The walls of his shop were lacquered with the photographs of all the well-known actresses. May be it was an added attraction to his shop for the clients who came for a haircut or for shave and sometimes had to wait for their turn. He was a self-confessed fan of Salman Khan. But I was bit puzzled as I could not see Salman Khan on the walls so got bit inquisitive. I dared ask him where is Salman Khan? He looked into my eyes and then pointed his finger towards his wall clock, which was hanging on the wall of his shop.

There was the Khan, captured in the wall clock! Actually he had a cut out of Salman Khan and had replaced it with second’s needle in the clock. Instead of ‘seconds’ needle, it was Salman’s photograph cut in shape of it. It was quite an interesting way to use a photograph of his idol.

So it was Salman Khan on the move that too every second! Not only Bollywood actress but also moving Salman attracted the young clients of the village to visit his shop every now and then.

Source - www.merinews.com

Thankfully Cinema is promoting 'No Smoking'

Anil Gulati
Smoking has become a symbol of elitist behaviour, especially among the college and university students. The role of cinema is crucial in this habit of the new generation as the youth smoke their way to stardom in the campus.

THE HEALTH MINISTER of India would be a happy man with this film. After all, he has been urging film industry not to smoke, at least on screen. Obviously he is right. Films, advertisements and celebrities do have a strong influence. In fact, recognising their power to influence, many developmental and social organisations globally and in India are using them to help promote positive behaviour. If they smoke, they tend to promote smoking as an acceptable behaviour. Fact of the matter is that smoking kills, though silently.

Just by printing pictorial and graphic warnings on the harmful effects of smoking on cigarette packets may not have a significant impact. The need is of more. As per one estimate, tobacco kills 8,00,000 Indians in a year and about four million people the world over. Estimates also tell us that approximately 1,60,000 people develop cancer each year as a result of tobacco consumption. Every year some 4.5 million Indian smokers suffer from angina or heart disease and about 3.9 million people get lung disease. The major concern is for youngsters, who get hooked on to smoking at an early age.

A survey conducted among 2599 college students in Delhi shows that two per cent of the surveyed students smoked their first cigarette before attaining even 10 years of age. The survey, conducted among the students of three colleges in the capital, also revealed that 61 per cent of them smoked for the first time while they were between 16 and 20 years of age. Exposure to smoking activities, easy availability of cigarettes in educational institutions and the message of smoking getting reinforced through films are the major contributors to the problem.

Thankfully, a film titled ‘No Smoking’ will hit the Indian cinema halls on October 29. Anurag Kashyap’s ‘No Smoking’ has John Abraham and Ayesha Takia in the lead roles. The film is supposed to be a surrealistic take on a smoker trying to quit the habit. Even the song tracks in the film are about the mental and physical state of the individual, who is completely dependent on smoking in spite of knowing well about its effects on his health and mind.

The song, ’Jab Bhi Cigarette’ is about the bygone days as the protagonist fills his ’ash tray’ with the remains of his cigarettes. Similarly, song tracks like ’Phoonk De’ and ’Kash Laga’ are centred on the subject of the film. We will have to wait to see how this film does at cinema halls. Whatever be its fate, the effort has to be complimented.

Meanwhile a good news on the same front is that the World Lung Foundation - South Asia (WLF-SA) has also begun work on a two year project to make the North Campus of Delhi University a ‘tobacco free’ area, a positive move that would help reduce smoking. The project needs to be replicated by other educational institutions in India.

The Bollywood-Hollywood marriage

Anil Gulati

Indian stars and filmmakers are not far from Hollywood. Hrithik is said to have signed a leading production, Adlabs and Hyde Park Entertainment are working in a co production and Sony Pictures is producing Bhansali’s ‘Saawariya’.

THE BLUE-EYED Krish is planning to work on a Hollywood film in the near future. Media reports say that he has signed a deal with Brad Pitt’s management company Brillstein Grey Entertainment. Though there has been no official confirmation from him, and nor has he denied. His guarded response to media was: “If I get a script that really looks good, then I will”. While Hrithik will be possibly exploring himself in Hollywood, in Bollywood director Vikram Bhatt has come out with Zayed Khan’s venture ‘Speed’ which was released on Friday. Though the film is titled ’Speed’ but has picked up leads from Hollywood’s action packed thriller ’Cellular’ and another hit ’Nick of Time’. Urmila Matondkar has also acted in the movie.

On Hollywood - Bollywood connection, it may be worth to mention about the Ashok Amritraj’s and Adlabs’ new joint venture film, which will feature film actors from Hollywood and India. Hyde Park Entertainment, (Amritraj’s company) has announced the film titled ‘The Other End of the World’, which will be directed by Jimmy Dodson. It stars Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives), John Tucker (Must Die), Shriya Saran, Larry Miller (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Sara Foster (The Big Bounce), Anupam Kher and Tara Sharma.

While talking of the same connection it may be pertinent to mention about Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming romantic film ‘Saawariya’, which will be released near Diwali and is the first Indian film produced by a Hollywood company – Sony Pictures.

The power of Bollywood is also growing and probably that is the reason an American expensive watch company namely Swatch Group is eyeing the Indian film industry, to associate with Bollywood movies to promote its brand Hamilton, which has been featured in over 300 Hollywood movies.

The marriage of Hollywood and Bollywood brands is a win-win situation for all stakeholders – their economies, the industry, cast and crew of both the countries as well as the audience. This will also boost cultural and business relations between the countries and the people

Laughter shows crank up TRPs, dump wit

Anil Gulati

Laughter is a new cash cow these days for TV channels. Gone are the days when we had satirical kavi sammelans, it is day of gags, spoofs and slap stick comedy

THE INDIAN LAUGHTER CHALLENGE has a new look Shekar Suman, bustling Navjot Singh Sidhu and a brand new sponsor Britannia. The new avatar promises ’Purane Jokes Ab Aur nahi. TGILC 3- Naye Jokes Naya Talent.’ The show has got a new face Shonali Nagrani, along with Parizaad Kolah, as an anchor.

Thanks to the Laughter Challenge and its kick off, Sunil Pal, Raju Srivastava, Ehsan Qureshi, Bhagwant are household names today. These shows have brought them to fame. News channels for whom news (or so called breaking news!) was the buzz, comedy has become a new TRP puller. From late night (and weekened day time) crime capsules and horror capsules it is now over to comedy.

Aaj Tak uses Raju, while Star plus uses ‘Star’s one’ laughter challenge retakes. When we refer to these shows one needs to mention about Shekhar Suman’s (The Laughter Challenge Judge) ‘Poll Khol’ on Star Plus, probably the first one to kick off such shows on the news channels. NDTV’s ‘Gustakhi Maaf’ may have a special mention in all this as it stands out differently and still retains its original flavour, though it is majorily focused on politics, cricket and a bit of Bollywood.

In all this jhamela many old timers do feel that comedy is moving into the ‘remix zone’ and originality is just fading away. May be true, but presently it is attracting TRPs. TV critics add that days are not far when it gets staid and the cheap humour gets repetitive. There is indeed a growing need to bring something new or else it may loose excitement of viewers - which anyway is short lived!