Archive for: March 2007

Delhii Heights is another of the small films that hits the Box Office this week. The music by Rabbi Shergill was appreciated and found to be soothing. Let’s see if the movie is as as soothing as the music. Here’s what the critics have to say.

Sanjay Ram — “For a film to hold its audience, it should have a story compelling enough to tell. Delhii Heights is nowhere near compelling, nor is it told well.”

Movie Rating - 1/5

Rajeev Masand — “There’s no real plot to this film, the characters in Delhi Heights are dull, uni-dimensional and have no personality at all.”

Movie Rating -1/5

Martin D’Souza — “The movie balances on a weak script and as a result comes crashing down much before it even takes off. ”

Movie Rating - 1/5

Taran Adarsh — “Barring the Jimmy-Neha track and to an extent, Rohit-Simone track, the other stories only add to the length of the film. Had the director concentrated on limited characters, the results would’ve been better.”

Movie Rating -1.5/5

Naomi Dutta — ” Delhi Heights is shockingly amateur - and even an otherwise efficient actor like Jimmy Shergill hams unbearably .”

Movie Rating -1/5

Say Salaam India deals with the game of cricket. A game every Indian can relate to. Iqbal and Lagaan proved to be very successful with cricket used as a back-drop in both the films. So how will Say Salaam India fare at the box office. Will the Caribbean woes of the Indian Cricket Team prove as a dampner for the film. Let’s see what Bollywood critics have to say.

Rajeev Masand — ” It’s bad enough that Salaam India is most ordinary, even the timing couldn’t be more inappropriate — this picture heralds our Indian cricket stars as heroes of the nation. Really, such bad timing. ”

Movie Rating -2/5

Taran Adarsh — ” On the whole, SAY SALAAM INDIA is an honest attempt, but is bogged down by the period of release. “Movie Rating - 2/5

Starring Aditi Sharma and Sarwar Ahuja who had won the talent hunt on ZEE TV, Khanna and Iyer touches upon an intercaste marriage. Prescribed to be a romantic comedy, Khanna and Iyer is one of those many low budget movie that are recently being made. So does Khanna and Iyer hit the jackpot? Or does it fall without a noise? Check out what critics all over have to say about Khanna and Iyer.

Taran Adarsh — “KHANNA & IYER tries to be different, but ends being the same kahani moviegoers have witnessed a zillion times.”

Movie Rating - 1.5/5

Rajeev Masand — “I know of several bad films that have at least some redeeming quality, but Khanna & Iyer is one of those rare films that has nothing right about it, it’s an error of judgement on the part of everyone who worked on it..Go stick pins in your eyes, that’s probably less painful than watching this film.”

Movie Rating - 0/5

Ashutosh Gowarikar is known for executing his films meticulously. In Jodha Akbar, the director seems to have gone a step further. Apparently, real gold and diamond jewellery is being used for the film starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai.

As for the safekeeping, all jewellery has been kept in a special executive room, and all actors have to go there to wear their ornaments. Around 50 guards have been hired for the security of the jewellery alone.

The period film is being shot in Jaipur currently, and a team of 80 people has been designated for the styling of the the jewellery that the cast will adorn.

A source on the sets confirms, “Yes, there are several people who are specially taking care of the jewellery. Besides, all the actors are also taking personal interest in the jewellery.”

Audiences will get a visual treat in terms of precious stones that will be featured in the film. Our source says, “They have used emeralds, rubies and pearls, all specially designed for the film. They are all very expensive. For instance, a simple Rakhi on actor Sonu Sood’s wrist costs around Rs eight lakh. As for the safekeeping, all jewellery has been kept in a special executive room, and all actors have to go there to wear their ornaments.”

Music director Pritam has completely gone agog with the success of his latest compositions for the film Metro. With positive reviews from all over the country, no reason why one should hide their excitement. “The music …

Just like India is out of the World Cup Hattrick and Just Married, are almost out of the theatres. Both films though had generated some sort of expectations but bombed big time at the Box Office . Lets check out how this weeks releases Namaste London and Namesake fare at the Box Office.

A film that is doing exceptionally well at the ticket window is Namaste London. It opened 75 per cent on Friday and reached up to 90 per cent by Sunday. The low opening can be blamed on the Sri Lanka-India crucial World Cup match that had the Indians glued to their TV sets.

But India’s out from the World Cup and audiences were into the theatres to forget about the bad experience at the Windies. Namatey London took the audiences attention off the Carribbean to London. And the audiences did get impressed.

The credit goes to the film’s fresh look: a theme that attracts NRI audience and the buzz surrounding it. The movie publicity has also been able to atttract audiences towards the theatres. Akshay Kumar got all the appreciation for his sincere performance while Katrina Kaif got the whistles.

Looks like Vipul Shah has got an Hattrick for himself — Aaankhen, Waqt and now Namaste London.

Result: Distributors Malamaal

Sanjay Dutt is an avid watcher of Shah Rukh Khan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati 3. Dutt has been very generous with his compliments to the new quizmaster, and the two actors have forged a new friendship because of it. No wonder then that when SRK asked Dutt to appear on a special episode of KBC3, he agreed without a moment’s hesitation. Dutt and Boman Irani shot for the special episode in Film City.

A close friend of Dutt reveals that recently Sanju got so carried away by SRK’s amusing antics on the show that he messaged him about it. “Sanju messaged SRK to say that he loved watching him in KBC 3, and how much he enjoyed watching it because of him. “What’s more, the source says that SRK immediately replied back thanking him.The SMS broke the ice between the actors.

They have been chatting regularly since. He says, “It was great fun.Initially, I was very apprehensive but Shah Rukh made me feel very comfortable,” adding, “I watch KBC 3 every day. I like Shah Rukh’s warmth on the show. He is really good, comes across as a warm and caring personality, and the show is so much fun because of him.”

ShakaLaka Boom Boom starring Bobby Deol, Celina Jaitely, Upen Patel and Kangana Raut is all set for release next month. The music touted to be a musical extragavanza has not quite had the audiences clinging to the music. So that’s …

Debutante director Raj Pendurkar is very hopeful about his forthcoming flick Bombay to Goa. Denying any similarity to the good ol’ Amitabh Bachchan –Aruna Irani starrer, Pendurkar promises oodles of fun and laughter in his three-hour bus ride. Sure – with an interesting starcast that includes names like Vijay Raaz, Jagdeep, Asrani and the Great Indian Laughter Champions!
How much is your Bombay To Goa inspired from the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Bombay to Goa?

The only thing common is the name, and the journey. Nothing else!

Are there any shades of the Marathi film Navra Mazha Navsacha?
No. I have seen that film, and I think it is very nice. But my film has nothing to do with this one. The script of Bombay to Goa is very different – in terms of the way we were looking at it and the way we wanted the characters to come out.

So makes your Bombay to Goa different?
There is nothing different. Bombay to Goa is very basic. It is about regular people, normal people. And we are trying to get humour out of them. The story is about two lives – Lal and Das. Lal is played by Sunil Pal and Das is Vijay Raaz. Lal is a very ambitious guy, a dreamer, who wants to become big in life and start his own business. There are people, you give them 5000 rupees and ask them to start a business like a vada pav centre. And they start having dreams of having a chain of restaurants. So Lal is just like that – he is a dreamer and always thinking about doing something big in life. Das is a loud-mouth, a very arrogant kind of a person. He is a driver who used to work in BEST. His boss irritates him, and eventually he leaves the job. Lal gets Rs. 2 lakhs by winning some contest. The duo plans to put up a business. Das comes up with an idea to start a travel agency. But they don’t have enough money. They just have 2 lakh rupees and these days you don’t even get a Maruti car in 2 lakh rupees so how will they get a bus? So they plan things out and go to Chor Bazaar. Using spare parts of old cars and imported cars, they create a bus. Lal has no idea about what the bus is going to look like. He just gives the money to Das and says I trust you, go ahead with it. Das asks Lal to get the passengers for the bus on a particular day. Lal tells everybody that we have this palace-on-wheels coming up. He gets 15-16 passengers. He gives them a discount claiming that you’ll get the best bus service in the world. But when the bus comes in, it is a madhouse, and people demand their money back. So Das comes up with an idea, saying that this is a pick-up bus and we can get passengers on the highway. Finally, they try to persuade passengers on the way and carry on with their journey.

After about a year long break from films, Kareena Kapoor will return to the silver screen with Lovely Singh’s Kya Love Story Hai. Kareena has done a special item number for the film. Incidentally, around the same time last year, she was shooting for the song Yeh Mera Dil from Farhan Akhtar’s Don. It’s ironic that she started her break and ended it with dance numbers.Kareena’s track in the film, It’s Rocking Yaara Ishq To Karo is sung by Alisha Chenoi. The video was shot at Filmistan Studio in Mumbai. Returning after her year long break, Kareena has lost oodles of weight and is looking very gorgeous. She reveals that the reason for her looks and curvaceous body is yoga, which she has been practicing religious for quite a while now.

Kareena has done this dance number for free as a friendly gesture for Lovely Singh. She has known Lovely from the time when he was an assistant to Satish Kaushik. And now that he is debuting with his first film, Kareena is supporting his venture with her dance sequence. This will be the opening track of the film.