Ruskin Bond expanded his story for Priyanka's ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’: Ruskin Bond, the grand old ’sahib’ from Landour in Mussourie, has been bitten by the tinsel bug. The novelist will make his maiden foray on the big screen with a cameo in Vishal Bhardwaj’s forthcoming ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’, based on his short story ‘Susannah’s Seven Husbands’. ‘I am in the movie. I have told Vishal that I have got a movie part. Don’t you dare cut me out,’ Bond told IANS at the ongoing DSC Jaipur Literature Festival.
This is not Bond’s first movie with filmmaker Bhardwaj. ‘I had earlier collaborated with him in the ‘Blue Umbrella’ which was also based on my story. The story was recommended to Vishal by his wife. I could not work with Bhardwaj on that movie,’ the 76-year-old author said.
Bond has been actively involved in scripting ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’, which stars Priyanka Chopra, unlike a previous screen adaptation of his short story ‘The Flight of Pigeons’ in ‘Junoon’, where he ‘did not even meet the director’.
‘Susannah… was originally a short story comprising a few odd pages. When Vishal decided to turn it into a movie, I expanded the story into an 80-page novella and then began to think in terms of scenes. It became an actual script – a 200-page full-length Hindi script,’ Bond said.
Bond appears in the movie with Priyanka Chopra, who kills ‘each of her seven husbands’.
‘I had to devise regional (Indian) ways of killing the husbands,’ Bond said.
The author believes that movies do justice to literature.
‘I was a great movie-goer as a boy. I had watched some great movies adapted from Charles Dickens’ classics like ‘David Copperfield’, ‘Great Expectations’, ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Christmas Carol’. His classics lend themselves to brilliant visual adaptations on screen. Stories by writers like Somerset Maugham and Daphne du Maurier were also made into movies,’ Bond said.
‘My own writing has been influenced by the fact that I went to see the movies and I always thought in terms of visuals,’ he said.
Bond said his ‘fondness for short story as a preferred writing format dates back to his early youth’. ‘One of the reasons why I like writing stories is because when I started writing I had to make a living out of it. Novels could take up to a year,’ he said.
Bond said the sense of perpetual wonder that marked his stories was because he didn’t grow up.
The novelist, who believes in the importance of the oral tradition of story-telling feels that laptops have changed the way children look at stories. ‘They read great stories on the internet. Fantasy has a great appeal today and technology has made inroads into stories,’ he said.
According to Bond, whose books are also steeped in fantasy, ‘the Harry Potter novels had been brilliantly executed and highly successful’.
‘Potter has proved children’s books can outsell adult books and become bestsellers,’ he said.
Born in 1934, the iconic writer of British origin was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1999 for his contribution to children’s literature. He is famous for novellas and short stories like the ‘Room on the Roof’, ‘Night Train at Deoli’, ‘Time Stops at Shamli’, ‘Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra’, and ‘Flight of the Pigeons’.
But what is the master storyteller’s favourite story? Pat comes his reply: ‘Often at night, I am restless and my blanket slips off. An unseen benign hand puts the blanket back on me. It is a very motherly ghost.’
This is a ghost story that Ruskin Bond has never got around to writing. It is his friendly guardian spirit.
Shahrukh Khan with Kareena Kapoor next film Angoor remake?: You may soon see Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor together again if all works as planned. It is said Rohit Shetty, the man behind Golmaal series, is planning to remake the funniest Hindi films of all times Angoor with Shahrukh and Kareena in the lead roles.
The news has it that Rohit Shetty is roping in Shahrukh for the role played by Sanjeev Kumar and Kareena for the role played by Moushumi Chatterjee in the original. It is also said that Tusshar Kapoor would play Deven Varma’s role in this comedy film. “After he made Golmaal 3, everyone was wondering what Rohit Shetty’s next plans were. People were guessing if he would make a fourth sequel but the director surprised everyone by choosing to work on an Angoor remake. That he decided to work with Shahrukh Khan on this came as a real shocker. It seems that Rohit is now wanting to work only with A-listers,” Mumbai Mirror quoted a source as saying.
Well, it will be a treat to see Shahrukh and Kareena together again!
Hard Kaur turns in a de-glam avatar for Akshay's 'Patiala House': Don't be surprised if you notice a deglam Hard Kaur in Akshay Kumar starrer "Patiala House". The female rapper is trying to make a mark with her Bollywood debut.
Real name Taran Kaur Dhillon, the hip hop singer has given up on her oomph and funky avatar to play a desi Punjabi girl Komal in the movie. "Patiala House is going to surprise everyone with Hard Kaur now as an actor, playing the role of Komal. Her fans will enjoy her fresh role and her new avatar as a Punjabi kudi," producer Bhushan Kumar said in a statement.
Said a source: "She plays the role of a Punjabi girl who wears only Indian dresses which is quite the opposite of her in real life."
Releasing Feb 11, "Patiala House" has been directed by Nikhil Advani. It also stars Anushka Sharma, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia.
Deepika Padukone not interested to play in Shahid's 'Heer Ranjha'?: Producer Sajid Nadiadwala’s Heer Ranjha is unlikely to go on floors. As things stand today, the Shahid Kapoor and Deepika Padukone starrer is almost shelved.
Sabir Khan, who was supposed to direct Heer Ranjha is still working with Nadiadwala but on a different film, which will most probabbly have Shahid playing the lead but Deepika is not a part of this.
Rumour has it that Deepika was not too keen on acting in Heer Ranjha. Shall we assume she is not as friendly with Shahid as she was a few months ago? A friend of Nadiadwala’s stood up for him and said, “Deepika was never in the project. Sajid is still doing Sabir’s film; he is reworking its script.”
In that case, why did Sabir tell a section of the media about Deepika being paired with Shahid in his film? Reportedly, Sabir had said, “I don’t think it really makes a difference if the leading lady is taller than the hero... any heroine, no matter how tall she is, is keen to work with Aamir Khan. Dippy (as Deepika is fondly called) has agreed to do the film. I think Shahid and she make a great pair. They’ve never been paired before.”
A source very close to the film confirmed and said, “Heer Ranjha is not happening, at least not with Shahid and Deepika together. Right now, Sabir is writing something new.”
Shahrukh Khan will returne into the IIFA Awards 2011?: It was a legendary drop-out or opt-out whichever one you prefer to go with, the Bachchan - IIFA disassociation came as a startling surprise for Bollywood Crazies. Following this unfortunate development, AB Baby and Mrs while at the unveiling of Stardust's latest issue featuring them retorted to journo inquiries on the matter with Abhishek jointly saying on behalf of the couple, "If I am free, I will think about it, but my primary focus is movies."
After all the B buzz, it's now appears the spotlight is shifting from the B's to the K's - the Khans that is.
There's strong buzz gathering that after a long absence from the International Indian Academy Awards (IIFA), Shah Rukh Khan may return to the IIFA awards weekend this year not just as a star attendee but a potential host.
Rumours are also rife that Salman Khan, who played a imminently visible role at last year's awards in Colombo Sri Lanka is possibly coming to town as well.
They may not see eye to eye, but Toronto's undoubtedly eying a potential Khan reunion!
Stardust Awards 2011 Nomination List: Superstar Of Tomorrow - Male Aditya Roy Kapur - Action Replayy & Guzaarish Ali Zafar - Tere Bin Laden Ranveer Singh - Band Baaja Baaraat Rajat Barmecha - Udaan Suriya - Rakht Charitra-2 Vikram - Raavan Superstar Of Tomorrow - Female Barbara Mori - Kites Sandeepa Dhar - Isi Life Mein Shraddha Kapoor - Teen Patti Sonakshi Sinha - Dabangg Trisha - Khatta Meetha Zarine Khan - Veer
Breakthrough Performance - Male Arunoday Singh - Aisha Herry Tangri - Love Sex Aur Dhokha Meiyang Chang - Badmaash Company Omkar Das Manipuri - Peepli Live Pradhuman Singh - Tere Bin Laden Sikander Kher - Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey
Breakthrough Performance - Female Aditi Vasudev - Do Dooni Char Amrita Puri - Aisha Neha Chauhan - Love Sex Aur Dhokha Shalini Vatsa - Peepli Live Urvashi Sharma - Khatta Meetha Vishakha Singh - Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey
Hottest New Director Abhishek Chaubey - Ishqiya Abhishek Sharma - Tere Bin Laden Abhinav Kashyap - Dabangg Anusha Rizvi - Peepli Live Maneesh Sharma - Band Baaja Baaraat Punit Malhotra - I Hate Luv Storys Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan - Lahore Vikramaditya Motwane - Udaan
Hottest New Film Aisha - Rhea Kapoor Dabangg - Arbaaz Khan Peepli Live - Kiran Rao Tees Maar Khan - Shirish Kunder, Twinkle Khanna & Kritika Lulla Tere Bin Laden - Pooja Shetty Deora Udaan - Anurag Kashyap
Standout Performance By A Music Director Amit Trivedi - Aisha Meet Brothers - Isi Life Mein & Do Dooni Char Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Guzaarish Sneha Khanwalkar - Love Sex Aur Dhokha Sohail Sen - Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey
New Musical Sensation - Male Amit Trivedi - Suno Aisha from Aisha Indian Ocean - Des Mera & Zindagi Se Darte Ho from Peepli Live Karthik - Behne De from Raavan Shail Hada - Tera Zikhr Hai from Guzaarish Sohail Sen - Yeh Des Hai Mera from Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey
New Musical Sensation - Female Alyssa Mendonsa - Uff Teri Ada from Karthik Calling Karthik Himani Kapoor - Dum Dum Mast Hai from Band Baaja Baaraat Harshdeep - Chand Katori from Guzaarish Mamta Sharma - Munni Badnaam Hui from Dabangg Nageen Tanvir - Chola Maati Ke Ram from Peepli Live Vibhavari Joshi - Saiba from Guzaarish
STARDUST SEARCHLIGHT AWARDS
Best Film Allah Ke Banday Do Dooni Char Love Sex Aur Dhokha Phas Gaye Re Obama Red Alert - The War Within
Best Director Anant Mahadevan - Red Alert - The War Within Dibakar Bannerjee - Love Sex Aur Dhokha Faruk Kabir - Allah Ke Banday Habib Faizal - Do Dooni Char Subhash Kapoor - Phas Gaye Re Obama
Best Actor Abhay Deol - Road, Movie Boman Irani - Well Done Abba Paresh Rawal - Road To Sangam Rishi Kapoor - Do Dooni Char) Sunil Shetty - Red Alert - The War Within
Best Actress Minissha Lamba - Well Done Abba Neetu Kapoor - Do Dooni Char Neha Dhupia - Phas Gaye Re Obama Supriya Pathak Shah - Khichdi The Movie Tannishtha Chatterjee - Road, Movie
READERS' CHOICE AWARDS
COMEDY / ROMANCE
Best Film - Comedy / Romance Band Baaja Baaraat Golmaal 3 Housefull I Hate Luv Storys Tees Maar Khan
Best Director - Comedy / Romance Farah Khan - Tees Maar Khan Maneesh Sharma - Band Baaja Baaraat Punit Malhotra - I Hate Luv Storys Rohit Shetty - Golmaal 3 Sajid Khan - Housefull
Best Actor - Comedy / Romance Ajay Devgn - Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge Akshay Kumar - Housefull & Tees Maar Khan Akshaye Khanna - Tees Maar Khan Imran Khan - I Hate Luv Storys Ranveer Singh - Band Baaja Baaraat
Best Actress - Comedy / Romance Anushka Sharma - Band Baaja Baaraat Deepika Padukone - Housefull Kareena Kapoor - Golmaal 3 Katrina Kaif - Tees Maar Khan Konkona Sen Sharma - Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge Sonam Kapoor - I Hate Luv Storys
Best Film Of The Year - Drama Guzaarish Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey Lamhaa My Name Is Khan Raajneeti
Best Director - Drama Ashutosh Gowariker - Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey Karan Johar - My Name Is Khan Prakash Jha - Raajneeti Rahul Dholakia - Lamhaa Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Guzaarish
Best Actor - Drama Abhishek Bachchan - Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey Amitabh Bachchan - Rann Hrithik Roshan - Guzaarish Ranbir Kapoor - Raajneeti Shah Rukh Khan - My Name Is Khan Sanjay Dutt - Lamhaa
Best Actress - Drama Aishwarya Rai - Guzaarish Bipasha Basu - Lamhaa Kajol - My Name Is Khan, We Are Family Katrina Kaif - Raajneeti Kareena Kapoor - We Are Family
Best Film Of The Year - Action / Thriller Aakrosh Dabangg Ishqiya Karthik Calling Karthik Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Rakht Charitra
Best Director - Thriller/ Action Abhinav Kashyap - Dabangg Abhishek Chaubey - Ishqiya Milan Luthria - Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Priyadarshan - Aakrosh Ram Gopal Verma - Rakht Charitra Vijay Lalwani - Karthik Calling Karthik
Best Actor - Thriller/ Action Ajay Devgn - Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Akshaye Khanna - Aakrosh Arshad Warsi - Ishqiya Farhan Akhtar - Karthik Calling Karthik Naseeruddin Shah - Ishqiya Salman Khan - Dabangg Sanjay Dutt - Knock Out
Best Actress - Thriller/ Action Bipasha Basu - Aakrosh Deepika Padukone - Karthik Calling Karthik Kangana Ranaut - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Sonakshi Sinha - Dabangg Vidya Balan - Ishqiya
Dream Director Karan Johar - My Name Is Khan Milan Luthria - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Prakash Jha - Raajneeti Rohit Shetty - Golmaal 3 Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Guzaarish Sajid Khan - Housefull
Star Of The Year - Male Ajay Devgn - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai & Golmaal 3 Akshay Kumar - Housefull & Tees Maar Khan Hrithik Roshan - Guzaarish Ranbir Kapoor - Raajneeti Salman Khan - Dabangg
Star Of The Year - Female Aishwarya Rai - Guzaarish Kajol - My Name Is Khan Katrina Kaif - Raajneeti & Tees Maar Khan Kareena Kapoor - Golmaal 3 Vidya Balan - Ishqiya
Best Actor In An Ensemble Cast Abhimanyu Singh - Rakht Charitra Arjun Rampal - Raajneeti & Housefull Emraan Hashmi - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Govinda - Raavan Manoj Bajpayee - Raajneeti Ronit Roy - Udaan Sonu Sood - Dabangg Tusshar Kapoor - Golmaal 3
Best Actress In An Ensemble Cast Dimple Kapadia - Dabangg Lara Dutta - Housefull Prachi Desai - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Shernaaz Patel - Guzaarish Zarina Wahab - My Name Is Khan & Rakht Charitra
Best Film Of The Year Dabangg Golmaal 3 Housefull My Name Is Khan Raajneeti