Madhavan very fond of Kangana Ranaut: Actor R. Madhavan really enjoyed working with National Award winning actress Kangana Ranaut in 'Tanu Weds Manu', so much so that the multi-lingual star admits he has become fond of her and would like to do more films with the pretty actress.
'I am very fond of Kangana and attracted to her. I feel she is an extremely competent actor, very professional and she has actively contributed to the role for the first time,' Madhavan told IANS.
'As an actor, I have never worked with a heroine who does that. They (other heroines) are happy doing what the script demands from them but Kangana is the one who was pushing the envelope. I hope I can do another film with Kangana, I really enjoyed working with her,' he said. Madhavan rubbished a media report that said he was angry with Kangana as she was hogging the limelight in the film's promotion.
'Unfortunately, it's wrong news,' he said. 'Kangana is shooting in Bangkok, so she did her character's (Tanu) promotion earlier,' he said.
'There is absolutely no reason to be upset with her and I am really missing her.'
Directed by Anand Rai, 'Tanu Weds Manu' is set to hit theatres Feb 25. It is a romantic comedy, which shows how two seemingly opposite natured people fall in love.
'I don't know why this romantic tag stuck with me for so long.
They (directors) want it, so I give them that. I am not going to fight it. This is a different kind of romantic story. It's not a cliche 'hold my hand and get into a fight' later on kind of story. It's very real and I don't remember if I have seen such a romantic film ever,' said Madhavan, who plays the role of Manu in the film.
About the film, Madhavan said: 'Manu is brought up in a small town in a middle class family, very happy with whatever his parents have in mind for him, no rebellious quality unnecessarily. He goes to London, spends eight to nine years and comes back with his tradition intact, like most Indian guys, who go from a small town, do.
'What happens is you forget that in the span of time of your staying abroad, your town has changed-McDonalds, MTV, all have come in and people are having flings for the sake of it and suddenly there is a complete mismatch in the opposite direction.
'You are an Indian, she is westernized, you are a conformist, she is rebellious and there is a mismatch. But love has its own course.'
The character is semantic to most of the foreign-returned small town guys, said Madhavan. 'It rarely happens that one who goes abroad, returns with a foreigner wife or girlfriend, smoking and speaking with an accent. Ninety percent
come back being more Indian than they were.'
The reigning star of the south is eager to offer varied shades of characters to his Hindi audience.
'In the south, I have done some really dynamic characters, really brutal and masculine ones. Unfortunately, the Hindi guys haven't seen that angry guy in me as yet. So if a script like that comes along, I would really love to do (the role of) an angry young man now,' said Madhavan.
'I think I am competent in comedy. Even 'Tanu Weds Manu' is comical but it has no comedy, it's humorous. But I would love to do a comedy film. I just did a hard-core comedy film in Tamil, which did very well,' said Madhavan.
The actor revealed that he has signed two more Hindi films but refrained from giving any details.
Saif Ali Khan to teach Amitabh Bachchan!: Saif teaches Big B how to use iPadMegastar Amitabh Bachchan's hectic shooting schedule in Bhopal for 'Aarakshan' is proving to be quite a learning experience.
'Saif (Ali Khan) introduces me to a cool application on iPad - 'Rehearsal'. Particularly useful for us (artists) in reading scripts, making comment,' Amitabh wrote on microblogging site Twitter.
The film based on the sensitive issue of reservations is being directed by Prakash Jha and stars Deepika Padukone apart from Saif.
Bollywood celebs tweets for India in World Cup: Many Bollywood stars, including Akshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu, cheered for the Indian cricket team in the first match of the World Cup Saturday.
India are playing Bangladesh in Dhaka in the Cup opener. 'Big day today! India will win for sure! Wishing Mahi n his team to do the magic:) We want the Cup!!! Let's cheer for them (sic),' Bipasha posted on her Twitter page.
An excited Akshay Kumar posted: 'Da Greatest Festival of evry Indian has finaly arrived' da Cricket World Cup' :) All da Best 2all da teams, especialy INDIA. Ps: Husbands do not neglect ur wives'.
Legendary singer Asha Bhosle was quite upbeat about catching the match on TV.
'I don't know about you but I'll be glued to the idiot box this afternoon for 1st match of The World Cup. JAI HIND!' she posted.
Some actors like Diya Mirza and Jackky Bhagnani, who are busy with work, have asked their fans to keep them in the loop for the updates on the match.
'Too much happening with our shoot on right now. Going to miss watching all the world cup action! Keep me posted! INDIA! let's go for GLORY,' said Diya.
Jackky, who will be seen in 'F.A.L.T.U.' soon, wrote: 'Jeetege bhai jeetege india jeetega! What's d score guys, I am dubbing!'
Even former beauty queen-turned-actress Neha Dhupia missed out on the match, and remarked: 'Long day at work and i'm only half way through... envy those who are home, watching the match!'
Neil Nitin Mukesh wants to play a situational comedy: He has always played intense and serious roles, but not many know that Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukesh has a humorous side which he would like to explore in films. The actor is keen to do situational comedies.
'I would love to be a part of a comedy film but it is very important what type of comedy the film has to offer. I can't bang my head here and there and make people laugh,' Neil told IANS on phone from Mumbai.
'I would love to be a part of a situational comedy, something like 'Hera Pheri',' he added. Five-films-old Neil has garnered plenty of critical acclaim with serious roles in his films 'Johnny Gaddaar', 'Aa Dekhen Zara', 'Jail', 'New York' and 'Lafangey Parindey' but off-screen the actor admits he is a clown.
'I am a clown off-screen and keep making people laugh with my acts. I have a great sense of humour. I am a good mimicry artiste also, a glimpse of which you would have seen in 'Johnny Gaddaar',' the actor proudly said.
Last seen in 'Lafange Parindey' with Deepika Padukone, Neil returns with yet another dark role in Vishal Bharadwaj's '7 Khoon Maaf', which is an adaptation of Ruskin Bond's short story 'Susanne's Seven Husbands'.
He plays the role of the 'lucky first husband' to get married to Susanna, played by Priyanka Chopra.
'Earlier, I was a bit nervous about working with Vishal but in course of time I realised he is a very humble human being and a great director. He has a different vision and explains each and everything so beautifully to an actor,' he said.
The actor sports a moustache for his role as an army man, Major Edwin Rodrigues, in the film, and says the character is inspired by his uncle Mohnish Mukesh.
So, does he plan to sport a moustache in future?
'Let's see how the audience responds to it. That will only decide whether or not I would sport it in future,' he said.
Apart from Neil, the film also stars John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Annu Kapoor and Russian actor Aleksandr Dyachenko.
Asked if he was ever apprehensive about being a part of the multi-starrer '7 Khoon Maaf', Neil said: 'I don't understand why everybody is asking the same question. If I had been apprehensive, I would not have taken the film in the first place.'
'Such things sometimes create a doubt in the minds of actors like us - whether we made the right decision or not,' he added.
Meanwhile, Neil is busy shooting for Abbas Mustan's 'Players' with Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and Sonam Kapoor and reveals that he has signed another film.
Salman Khan to take Yoga session from Kareena Kapoor: Muscleman Salman Khan is the latest to join the Yoga bandwagon, and it’s none other than Yoga freak Kareena Kapoor who has inspired him to adopt a healthy lifestyle through yoga.
While shooting for Bodyguard, Kareena managed to convince Salman to try out Yoga, and the Salman enjoyed the yoga sessions enough to give up his weight training for asanas.
Reports suggest that Salman is hooked to Yoga and is enjoying it so much that he has convinced his brothers Sohail Khan and Arbaaz Khan to do Yoga with him every morning.
Wonder who else Salman will give his newly discovered Yoga gyan to?
7 Khoon Maaf Review: Jesus! I feel bored to death. There’s no bell tower nearby to rush to and vent my indignation nor any spouse to bump off. And though I don’t exactly feel like being punished for someone else’s sins, I am overwhelmingly disappointed to see that Vishal Bhardwaj -- the bellwether of the herd of new-age Hindi film-makers, the auteur who so convincingly brought the Bard of Avon to the badlands of UP -- has now strayed into mediocrity with so artless and heartless a film as 7 Khoon Maaf, his seventh directorial work certainly not deserving of a pardon.
Based on a short story by Ruskin Bond, the movie tells the tale of a woman named Susanna (Priyanka Chopra) who’s decidedly unfortunate in love and matrimony. In her fatal quest for love, she marries six times and every one of her hubbies turns out to be a rank scumbag: be it a lame chauvinist Major (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a junkie rockstar (John Abraham), a sadomasochistic poet (Irrfan Khan), a Russian double agent (Aleksandr Dyanchenko), a Viagra popping lech (Anu Kapoor), or a money-grubbing, mushroom-loving quack (Naseeruddin Shah). Jesus knows who Susanna’s seventh casualty is for Bhardwaj leaves an open strand in the end and gives the bored viewers a teeny quiz to hair-split. That’s the only intriguing part where you snap out of the slumber but soon see the end credits roll. Granted that a story so episodic as this could not have been told but linearly. But why, pray, is the jumble of Susanna’s matrimonial misadventures reduced to the incessant yo-yoing between her elation at finding the ‘right’ man and her subsequent dejection at the discovery that he’s actually a scumbag. So while the hubbies are kicked to the famished man-eating panthers, or are drug-overdosed, or snake-bitten, or buried alive, or shot point blank, not once does a yawning viewer see a scrap of ingenuity so expected of a Bhardwaj film.
Of course, the bleakly-lit frames and Susanna’s own darkening complexion serve as metaphors to the dark side of her personality, and Bhardwaj does throw in time-references in the tale -- from the falling of the Berlin wall to the Mumbai terror attacks -- but come on, a viewer expects more than such customary symbolism. Even the film’s music gives the impression that its composer (Bhardwaj) was battling a creative block.
After hitting the peak with Blood Brothers (a short film I consider Bhardwaj’s best work to date), Vishal has been on a downslide, first marked by the utterly ordinary Kaminey and now cemented by 7 Khoon Maaf. Is the genius of the maverick careening into mediocrity? Was the dream of a bold new Hindi cinema just a chimera?
One thing is for sure. There’s much worthwhile to do with your time than to watch the gloomy tale of an unscrupulous hubby-slaying woman whom you see whirling like a dervish with no less than the Redeemer in the end.
Amy Jackson to play in Bollywood films: Look, who is all set to enter Bollywood? Miss Teen World 2008 Amy Jackson, who is a British gal from Liverpool. Amy has been selected to play the lead actress opposite Prateik Babbar in a remake of a romantic South Indian film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa.
Earlier it was said that Trisha will do the role, she has also played the lead in the original. But Amy floored director Gautham Menon of Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein fame with her beauty and charm and bagged the role. Not many know Amy has already worked in a Tamil period-film, Madrasapattinam, which won her plaudits for her role of Amy Wilkinson, an 18-year-old daughter of the British governor, who falls in love with an Indian man.
As Gautham tells a tabloid, “We signed her on after seeing her Tamil film. We did a workshop with her to help with her Hindi diction. She has learnt all her dialogues.” Amy was always keen on making career in acting and the she has no problem in learning Hindi or Tamil.
Prateik dates were creating problems for Gautham, and then it was also rumoured that the movie is shelved. But it’s very much on and will go on floors this April, announces the director.
Gautham also made Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa in Telugu with the name Ye Maaya Chesave. Both the films were simultaneously shot with different cast and different climaxes, and guess what, both the films were superhits. Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa is the story of a Hindu boy, Karthik, who is an assistant director and a Syrian Christian Malayali girl, Jessie. The film explores the complicated relationship between them.
Film Director contest: Salman Khan wins, Shahrukh Khan lose?: In what appears to be a covert contest of one-upmanship between Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan the former has prevailed over the latter once again.
The plot of the Sallu-SRK cold war just got thicker as the Dabangg director Abhinav Kashyap, who was being wooed by SRK to direct his next home production, has reportedly decided to stick with Salman and focus on the Dabangg sequel. Abhinav was recently approached by SRK and asked to pen a script that could be shaped into a pot-boiler a la Dabangg, to be produced by SRK. Likewise, Salman wanted Kashyap for the Dabangg sequel.
So the director was torn between the two Khans and there was even a rumour that he might tag up with SRK because he had his differences with Salman while filming Dabangg. But guess what? Kashyap has decided to remain loyal to Salman and Arbaaz Khan (producer), who gave him the first break. Meanwhile, SRK deals with the disappointment of having lost the chance to work with Kashyap soon. But then, there’s always a second time.
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