Has Bollywood shut its eyes to movies on farmers?

New Delhi, Emaciated farmers ploughing the fields, parched fields, scheming land sharks, broken down huts – these may reflect the reality of many Indian villages, but seldom get captured in Bollywood films.

Audiences prefer an escape from the hard life of rural, agrarian India on screen, while filmmakers resort to idyllic, picture postcard landscapes in films with villages as their backdrop.

Actor-producer Sohail Khan’s attempt to revive the forgotten rural essence in Hindi cinema with “Kisaan”, which released Friday, has got a lukewarm response and not-so-encouraging reviews. It revolves around farmers being forced to sell their lands to rich businessmen.

“Such films are appealing only if they are packaged in a viewer-friendly manner. Movies like ‘Mother India’ and the lot were epics and brought about an absolute change in movies thenceforth…The audience will only watch such films when the right minds work on them and make them in an authentic yet mass appeal manner,” Madhur Bhandarkar told IANS.

Agriculture’s share in India’s GDP has plummeted from 46 percent in 1960 to 20 percent at present despite the fact that about 70 percent of the population is still engaged in the rural sector. Simultaneously, films on the rural economy have also dwindled.

Puneet Sira, who has directed “Kisaan”, says his movie is a tribute to the country.

“India is going through an economic change and today more than ever, people are paying attention to the problems of the country… I am sure after ‘Kisaan’, we will realise that the audience is aware and ready for such issues to be brought on the big screen. We owe a lot to our motherland and this movie is a befitting tribute,” said Sira.

Arbaaz Khan, who plays one of the male leads, said: “Farmer deaths have reached an all time high in our country. It’s not like it’s a problem that has just started. On the contrary, it’s a problem our country has been facing for centuries. We just decided to make a film on the basic difficulty faced by our motherland.”

If “Kisaan” hasn’t got an encouraging response, “Summer 2007″ by producer Atul Pandey last year that focused on the issue of farmer suicides in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region was also a no show.

In fact, Bollywood has only had a handful of successful movies throwing light on farmers like “Do Bigha Zamin” (1953) and “Mother India” (1957) apart from “Upkar”, which was made by Manoj Kumar on late prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s request.

The 1965 slogan of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan” hailed the soldier and the farmer as icons of patriotism and hard work. But today the Indian farmer is no longer counted upon as a hero in the nation’s growth, not even on the big screen.

Bhandarkar blames “lack of audience” as the main reason for the rural theme getting sidelined in Bollywood.

“Movie viewers usually go to cinema halls to escape reality. Most of the audience is made up of mall-hopping youngsters who will not be able to relate to the topic and hence will not enjoy it,” he said.

“These films should be presented in a way that best suits people’s mentality. Urban India is very unaware of the problems faced by farmers and unless they (films) are presented in a particular manner they will not work,” he said.

Mahesh Bhatt too feels that such films are not commercially viable.

“They are very appealing but not very financially viable. They are viable only if the names making these films are big or intelligence is used in making such projects. Filmmakers don’t want to use topics which might have any chances of not making it big and would rather stick to money minting projects,” he said.

In recent times Aamir Khan’s “Lagaan”, which was set in a village in pre-independent India, did exceptionally well. But many feel the film’s success was due to the sub theme of cricket.

Apparently, Bollywood perfectionist Aamir has shown interest in producing a film based on the plight of farmers in Bhopal. Anusha Rizvi, a former journalist with first hand knowledge of the issue, is going to direct it while Raghuvir Yadav has been roped in to play the lead.

“It’s not that these issues are irrelevant; on the contrary, they are more relevant now than ever before. These topics are very good and should be touched upon more often. There would be a large audience which would be interested in watching such meaningful cinema,” said Bhatt.

Indian-origin beauty is Miss Bollywood UK

London, A British beauty of Indian origin will be whisked off for a Bollywood role after being crowned the first ever Miss Bollywood UK at a gala event in Birmingham.

Reena Patel, from London, beat off 14 rivals – whittled down from a long list of 900 – at the star-studded event Saturday night to win the title which comes with the offer of a Bollywood role and a year’s modelling contract.

The runner up was Simran Chadha from Manchester and the third place was taken by Stacey Fox of Essex in an ethnically diverse contest held at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.

The judges included Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala, said Miss Bollywood UK CEO Zia Choudhury, a Leicester-based model and actor.

Patel, 23, now waits to be flown off to India to live the life of a Bollywood celebrity and will be automatically entered into the finals of Miss Universe Great Britain which will give her an opportunity to compete for the title of Miss Universe.

“The appeal in Bollywood is the song and dance, the glamour, the people – it is after all the largest film industry in the world,” Choudhury said.

“Suddenly we’ve got this cross-over between Hollywood and Bollywood which adds to the authenticity of the Indian film industry. It’s an exciting time to be part of Bollywood.”

The contest was open to women from all ethnicities as organisers wanted it to be as diverse as possible.

Patel follows the success of Liza Lazarus, a Welsh beauty who scooped the Miss Universe UK title last year, and then found herself starring with Salman Khan in the period drama “Veer”.

Designer says ‘Fashion’ was bad, plans Shahid Kapoor starrer

New Delhi, He was so disappointed with Madhur Bhandarkar’s celluloid take on the fashion industry that designer Rahul Jain has decided to wield the megaphone himself. He wants to sign Shahid Kapoor to play the lead role.

Jain says it was his childhood dream to direct a movie, and after watching Priyanka Chopra-Mugdha Godse- Kangana Ranaut-starrer “Fashion”, his dream turned into determination.

” ‘Fashion’ was a very bad movie. I didn’t like it at all. I’m making this movie just to break the notion that fashion is only about glamour. A lot of hard work goes behind it. Today, if we are famous, it’s because of the amount of hard work that we have put in,” Jain told IANS.

“I want Shahid to play lead protagonist in my movie. He has got talent and fits perfectly into the role. The movie revolves around my experiences in the fashion circuit and how I have evolved over the years.”

Describing his yet-to-be-titled movie as a designer’s perspective into the fashion world, the outspoken designer says the movie will show how success, pain, sorrow and struggle are associated with a designer’s life.

“The movie will talk about the pain, agony and discrimination that goes in this fashion circuit. It is not based on any fiction but all that I have observed, seen and dared to talk about. It would be the harsh reality of the fashion world.

“It would talk openly about the exploitation that exists in the fashion world,” said Jain who doesn’t have any formal training in fashion designing.

He gave up his corporate career to explore his creative side and teamed up with Gunjan Arora in 1998. Since then they have been working together for their label Sirali.

Jain has finished the script and says talks with production houses are in the final stage to finance the film. He plans to finalise everything about his project by October.

But before taking the plunge, Jain plans to assist one of his director friends to learn the nuances of direction.

“Whatever I do, I do with perfection; hence I would be assisting one of my friends to learn the basics of direction. It would help me during the making of the movie.”

Shah Rukh may have been victim of random selection parameter

Chicago, Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s two-hour detention and questioning at the Newark International Airport could well be a result of the random selection parameter built into the US immigration’s security system rather than racial profiling.

Now whether that parameter was designed deliberately to focus on people of certain names, religion, background, nationality or race is a different story altogether. On the face of it, Khan may have been randomly picked out by the US Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services’ database. The system at the airport threw up Khan’s name for any number of variable reasons. It is hard to speculate on the algorithm that triggered it.

Someone might argue that the Khan = Muslim = possible terrorist = detention logic, although profoundly offensive, it seems to have been built into the system with the rationale that it is better to humiliate a thousand innocent Khans than let a potential terrorist Khan enter the US.

However, this explanation does not make sense because Khan has been visiting the US for many years. As a matter of fact, he only recently finished a shooting schedule of his latest film “My Name is Khan”, which ironically deals with the kind of stereotyping and profiling that he just experienced.

Isn’t the Bureau’s database designed in a way where the immigration officer, who detained Khan, could have instantly pulled up the actor’s record and known about his many past visits? Apparently not, because once the system randomly selects someone it is expected of the officer in question to go through the standard procedure of detention for questioning.

At some level it is understandable that the whole security apparatus has been designed to not just take out potential terrorists in their first attempt but to disrupt their operation at any and every stage. No one at the Bureau is likely to acknowledge that the system works the way it does because of a built-in combination of intelligent and brute logic as well as preordained bias.

Forget the Bureau’s own database; a simple Google search of Khan’s name would have at the very least made the detaining officer question his action. There are 3,610,000 search results of his name on Google. Depending on when it is searched this number is sometimes even higher. Such a Google search should have stopped any reasonable immigration officer in their tracks to wonder that for a terrorist, Khan has managed a fantastic cover of being one of the world’s biggest movie stars.

Perhaps behind creating a security system that depends as much on brute and random logic as intelligent sifting was the deeply embarrassing case of Mohammad Atta, the ringleader of the 9/11 terror attacks.

In 2005, Navy Captain Scott J. Phillpott, who was in charge of the Pentagon’s counter-terrorism project codenamed ‘Able Danger’, created a stir when he said in January 2000 his team had identified Atta as a member of an Al-Qaeda terror cell operating in Brooklyn, New York. And yet Atta was able to travel in and out of the US unmolested. Atta’s lapse was attributed to the fact that he first went by part of his name as Mohamed el-Amir and eventually travelled to the US in June 2000 as Mohammed Atta.

The result of the security churning that followed 9/11 was the compilation of a list of nearly 1.1 million names who were either terror suspects or people of interest by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list has been a subject of serious scrutiny and criticism by civil liberties groups, which believe it is sweeping in its reach and more often than not throws up those who have absolutely nothing to do with any terrorist groups.

An internal audit report recently quoted by The Washington Times underscored the failures in managing the list. It said there were at least 10 people who should have been kept out of the US according to the list but were allowed to enter while there were many more who should not have been on it but remain there.

It quoted Democratic Senator Patrick J. Leahy, who as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee has oversight of the FBI, as saying “that the FBI continues to fail to place subjects of terrorism investigations on the watch list is unacceptable”.

“Disturbingly, (the) report reveals that in 72 percent of the cases, the FBI has also failed to remove subjects from the list in a timely manner. … Given the very real and negative consequences to which people on the watch list are subjected, this is unacceptable.”

It is not clear whether Khan’s name is on this list or not but the fact he showed up on the immigration’s database it is conceivable that a similar name is on it. However, it should be rather easy for the law enforcement agencies to specifically exclude someone of Khan’s global recognition from such a list.

Now that every visitor to the US and even permanent residents are fully fingerprinted on arrival every time it is hard to comprehend why specific names attached to specific fingerprints and passport numbers cannot be exempted. For some reason once a person gets on the FBI watch list it is very difficult to get off. The Washington Times story said some 65,000 names were audited and more than a third of it were outdated.

Security experts say that the random selection parameter is designed to make preventive determination more effective. They acknowledge that one of the negative fallouts is that many innocent people get singled out because of this parameter. They also point out that when the national threat index is higher the system is designed to become less discriminating. In simple terms, during heightened alerts it is possible that the system will sweep up many more people with a set of specific names and backgrounds than it would normally do.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, for all domestic and international flights, the current US threat level is High, or Orange, which is just below the highest Red. That may partly explain how the actor was singled out because of his name. It is a form of profiling based on many parameters such as names, religion, ethnicity and nationality.

As Khan acknowledged the immigration officials were polite but the question is not one of etiquette but effectiveness. Khan managed to stir up those who matter because of who he is. Lesser mortals might have had to go through a more nerve-racking experience once red flags go up against their names and they are asked to step aside at the immigration counter.

Aishwarya Rai down with chest infection

New Delhi, Actress Aishwarya Rai is down with a “chest infection” and “flu-like symptoms” and her father-in-law, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, is worried.

“Aishwarya has taken ill and is down with chest infection and flu like symptoms. She had a high fever yesterday, but is settling down today,” he posted on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com Saturday from Singapore.

“It’s worrying to be so far away from children and not be there to look after them. Yes, they are mature and married and responsible, but children will always remain children,” he added. Aishwarya is married to Bachchan’s son Abhishek.

The 66-year-old veteran is in Singapore to look after his friend and Samajwadi Party chief Amar Singh, who underwent medical treatment there.

“I stay back till he (Amar Singh) is sound enough to travel back,” he wrote.

Apparently Bachchan also is suffering from a “strained back”.

Four Men and Katrina Kaif

In the much awaited sequel to Dostana, Priyanka Chopra will be replaced by the gorgeous Katrina Kaif. And joining the loony team of John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan in their chase of the leading lady of the film, the filmmaker has signed on two more actors, Arjun Rampal and Riteish Deshmukh in the sequel. So now, Kat will have four men wooing her in the movie. Bring it on! The more the merrier, we say. BTW...how does Sallu feel about Kat working with his ex-flame Aishwarya Rai's hubby Abhishek and his bitter enemy John Abraham again after New York?

Watch Rani Sizzle in a Bikini

On Friday it was told that actress Rani Mukerji may wear a bikini in Dil Bole Hadippa, and on the weekend the sizzling video was out. Now we sincerely apologise for the late post, but we spent until now getting used to seeing the otherwise safe Rani getting wet and wild under the shower in a striped bikini top. We must admit that while the thought of seeing Rani in the flesh had us scared (what with her previously flaunted flab and all), but what we saw turned out to be quite refreshing. Rani seems to have toned up considerably, she's looking young, fresh and manages to keep up with co-star Shahid Kapoor who is a great dancer. But best of all, she's not conscious and that makes the video worth a watch.

Bipasha Gets Married

Okay we're just sensationalising. But how else can we compete with the others? So here's the real deal: Bipasha did get married, but only on celluloid. Rituparno Ghosh's Benglai film Shob Choritro Kalponik (we couldn't pronounce it either) is all about Bipasha Basu's life after marriage to Bengali superstar Prosenjit.

Maybe John will view this shaadi album, feel a twinge of jealousy, and muster up the courage to finally put a ring on it. If he's done fooling around with co-stars and designers, that is. Fine, fine, we'll put the "allegedly" before fooling around. But John, you can't get around this one on a technicality!

Bollywood Heroes Become a Little More Human

From determined farmer to disco dancer, angry young man to romantic lover, the Bollywood hero has had many avatars, but in each, he has been epitomised. Our male protagonists have been able to outrace a car with a bullock cart, single-handedly vanquish fifteen villains, and always get the girl. They have been unbeatable, untouchable - perfect.

But not anymore. A new spate of movies is set to break this mould, centering on heroes that are not necessarily perfect example of their species. And this is not arty, alternative cinema, but mainstream Bollywood flicks starring some of the biggest actors in the industry, including Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor.

In Vishal Bhardwaj's Kaminey, due to release this Friday, Shahid Kapoor has a double role, where he plays estranged twin brothers. The movie is marketed as a "dark comic ride", and boasts all the ingredients of a box office success - guns, drugs, hit songs, and leading actress Priyanka Chopra in a wet white tank top. Shahid too, is the ultimate hero - muscles bulging, he runs with wild horses, seduces women, and parties hard. But, there's a difference. Both twins have extremely noticeable speech defects - one stutters, and the other lisps. The fact that the heroes of such a big production suffer from syndromes much ridiculed in Indian society is unusual indeed, and has been the cause of much speculation in the media.

Karan Johar, famous for his candy floss blockbusters, is now working on My Name is Khan, a film whose protagonist suffers from Asperger's Syndrome (a mild form of Autism, made famous by Forrest Gump and Rain Man), and who is picked up by American authorities in the wake of 9/11, who mistaken his disability for suspicious behavior. The film is apparently based on a true story. Shah Rukh Khan, who is playing the lead character as well as co-producing the movie, told a daily here that the movie is "not about a disabled man's fight against disability. It's a disabled man's fight against the disability that exists in the world -- terrorism, hatred, fighting." My Name is Khan is slated for a February 2010 release, and coincides with three Hollywood upcoming films that also feature Asperger's Syndrome, including Adam.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, one of India's few leading directors who has tackled disabilities in his past movies, has begun shooting for his next, Guzarish, in which India's version of Sly Stallone - Hrithik Roshan, will play a paraplegic, paralysed from his waist up and confined to a wheelchair for most of the film. The film is rumored to also deal with euthanasia and stars former Miss World Aishwarya Rai. Fans of Hrithik Roshan's famous dance moves and action sequences, both of which will be amply showcased in his upcoming home production Kites, are bound to be disappointed.

It is true that some Indian movies in the past have featured main roles with disabilities - Kajol, a leading actress who will star in My Name is Khan recently played a visually impaired woman, and Rani Mukherjee essayed the role of a visual, hearing and speech impaired girl in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black. But heroes, especially those portrayed by big-named leading men, have until now, been largely untouchable. These upcoming movies, along with spreading awareness of conditions like Asperger's Syndrome and paraplegia, will also hopefully pave the way for an era of protagonists who along with being perfect lovers, dancers, fighters, and sons, will also be just a little more real, and human.

Movie Reviews: Life Partner

The verdict of this multi-starrer comedy film is out:


LIFE PARTNER also surprises you because Rumy Jaffery incorporates vignettes from real life. Most importantly, LIFE PARTNER entertains, makes you laugh [at even silly jokes] and keeps you hooked for most parts of the film... Govinda is in terrific form this time. After PARTNER, the talented actor gets a role that does complete justice to his abilities...On the whole, LIFE PARTNER may lack the hype, but this one springs a pleasant surprise.

Mallika Pins Hollywood Hopes on Dress

What should I wear to the Tarantino premiere tonite? Would something scandalous be appropriate?This is the tweet Bollywood's sex symbol Mallika Sherawat sent out before the Los Angeles premiere of Quentin Tarantino-directed Inglourious Basterds, teasing her fans, seductively setting the tone for what we saw on the red carpet later that night - a black dress with a see through front, skimpy bits of black covering her modesty. Scandalous indeed.

Now it wasn't the embodiment of elegance, this S&M-meets-Xena-the-warrior-princess look. Not everyone liked the dress. In fact, some critics ripped it apart, calling it her 'Inglourious Moment'. But everyone wrote about it. And that's exactly what she wanted, this Bollywood star who's been known to use shock value as her formula to success. Her first Hindi feature film saw her nonchalantly asking a chemist for a pack of condoms (which she later put to good use, of course), followed by her next big banner film, which also made headlines for its racy content. While international publications preferred to showcase pictures of Tarantino and the star cast of Inglourious…Indian media - online and offline - were abuzz with Ms Sherawat's Los Angeles premiere ticket. Some even ran headlines like 'Hollywood's New IT Girl' and 'Mallika Upstages Jolie', as the curvaceous Bollywood star stood her on in front of the stick-thin Angelina.

The dress in question - love it or hate it - is more than just a dress. As Ms Sherawat is well aware, it has the power to make heads turn, shutterbugs click, journalists write, and if we're being dramatic, make or break her already begun foray into Hollywood. The actress is currently involved in the post-production work of her forthcoming Hollywood flick Hissss, a project she bagged on recommendation of The Myth co-star Jackie Chan, and has reportedly signed another film, where she will play a character partly inspired by Kamala Harris, attorney General of San Francisco.

Add to this, Ms Sherawat has also been hobnobbing with the right peeps in LA - hip hop star Usher met the actress and promised to dedicate a song to her, Ozzy Ozbourne hung out with her before a concert and talk show host Oprah Winfrey planned an India trip with the actress, which was cancelled at the last moment because of the flu scare. She's even got a coveted Hollywood milkshake named after her, joining the likes of Paris Hilton and David Beckham; she's the first Indian celebrity to get invited to Twitter's LA headquarters, and if that wasn't enough, Los Angeles has awarded the actress honorary citizenship!

Now will the revealing dress, reportedly from Frederick's of Hollywood's Black Label Collection, give her well-networked existence in Hollywood that extra push? It's possible. After all, Hollywood does have a history of scandalous dresses raising career graphs! Remember J-LO's threatening-to-come-undone green Versace outfit at the Grammy's in 2000? The palm-leaf patterned dress pushed an on-the-verge-of-a-musical break-through Jennifer Lopez to the good side. "For me, it was one of the eye-opening moments of what a dress could actually do. And I was on the cover of the paper the next day, because of that Versace dress," the star had told People magazine. There's also Elizabeth Hurley's revealing black Versace piece precariously held together by safety pins. After Hurley wore it to the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral, she became a household name overnight.

Dress for Headlines. They all do it. But not everyone makes the cut. Looks like Mallika has her hopes pinned on this one.

‘Kaminey’ releasing worldwide, barring in swine flu hit Mumbai

Mumbai, Mumbai will have to wait. With Maharashtra in the grip of swine flu and the country’s entertainment capital’s malls and multiplexes shut down for three days, much awaited films such as “Kaminey” and “Life Partner” will give the city a miss as these are released worldwide.

The swine flu scare has also led to a weeklong shutdown in Mumbai.

“We are going ahead with the release of the film (’Kaminey’) this Friday across the country and worldwide. This will not include the markets of Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai following the directive given by the government. We look forward to release the film in these regions as soon as the cinemas are given permission to re-open,” Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures said in a statement released here Wednesday.

“Being a corporate, we are fully insured for the two-day delay we are facing in these markets,” he added.

Aman Gill, director, domestic theatrical distribution of Studio 18, the distributors for “Life Partner”, echoed the view.

“We are going ahead with the worldwide release of ‘Life Partner’ as per schedule, as we can’t stop the release because the prints have already been dispatched. Except Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, we will release the film wherever we can,” Gill told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, “Kaminey” stars A-listers like Shahid Kapoor in a double role and Priyanka Chopra in the lead. Laugh-riot “Life Partner” has been directed by Rumy Jafry and stars Govinda, Tusshar Kapoor, Prachi Desai, Fardeen Khan and Geneila D’Souza.

While “Kaminey” is releasing with 1,200 prints worldwide, “Life Partner” is following suit with around 700 prints globally.

Trade pundits told IANS that the Maharashtra belt accounts for 30 percent of the all India collections for a movie while Delhi and Uttar Pradesh combine accounts for 30 percent of the total business.

Considering a long weekend with the Janmashtami and Independence Day holidays in tandem, insiders claim it to be a “lucrative” period despite any odds.

“We are expecting a very lucrative weekend. Despite all fears, there will be footfalls no matter what. And with both Janmashtami and Aug 15 holidays back-to-back, it is going to bring in a good business,” said a Mumbai distributor, on condition of anonymity.

Tushar Dhingra, COO, BIG Cinemas, however, shrugged off any news about the multiplex closure.

“We have not received any official information about the shut down of the multiplex for next three days. So I am not in any position to comment on this. But if this happens then we will co-operate because health is a priority and you can’t compromise on that,” he told IANS.

Other leading multiplex chains like INOX and Fame refused to comment.

I’m not Twittering, says Asin

Mumbai, Asin Thottumkal has a serious problem – she has impersonators on all major social networking websites. Setting the record straight, the actress says that other than her own blog, she is neither on Twitter nor Facebook.

“I was ready to overlook these fake IDs using my name as long as they weren’t harmful. But now the problem is getting out of hand,” Asin, who made it big in Hindi films with “Ghajini”, told IANS.

The other night a colleague had a whole long conversation with ‘Asin’ and called up the next day to share her excitement about the intimate conversation they had.

“I nearly fell off my chair. I won’t name this actress. But she said we shared our most intimate secrets on Facebook. I nearly fell of my chair and asked her whom did she share her secrets with because it was most certainly not me.

“Two days ago a journalist came to interview me and said she got all the information on me from what I had written on Twitter. For the record, I’m not on any of the social-networking websites. Apart from my own website, I’m not on the internet for any other purpose. I started blogging even before Aamir Khan did in August 2005,” said Asin.

“I was clubbed with Chetan Bhagat and Shashi Tharoor and put on a social networking website. But I’m not on Orkut, Facebook or Twitter. Apparently there are lots of fake profiles,” she added.

Asin is also upset with false reports that she relishes meat despite the fact that she is a vegetarian.

“Its been ages since I have had non-vegetarian food. For all practical purposes, I’m a vegetarian. But I read this horrible report about how I love all kinds of exotic meats. I haven’t been approached by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). But that doesn’t mean I’ve to go the other way,” she said.

Decade later, Salman Khan the singer returns

Mumbai, A decade after he was last heard as a singer, Salman Khan is back behind the mike for his upcoming release “Wanted”. Composer duo Sajid-Wajid say the song titled “Most Wanted Track” is true to the mood and theme of the film.

“The song is indeed a special part of ‘Wanted’. We wanted to make something ‘dhamakedaar’ for Salman bhai and the idea was to have a track that gives audiences a taste of what the film is all about. This is why you don’t just hear Salman bhai mouthing a few dialogues from the film but also singing in the true sense,” Wajid told IANS.

In the late 1990s, each of Bollywood’s three big Khans tried flexing their vocal chords as singers.

Aamir Khan saw huge success coming his way through the song “Aati kya Khandala” in the 1998 movie “Ghulam”, Shah Rukh Khan’s “Apun bola” that he sang for his 2000 movie “Josh” is heard till date and Salman too came up with a ‘tapori’ hit in “Chandi ki daal par” in “Hello Brother” in 1999.

Salman’s new song has quite a few dialogues. It in fact begins with now-famous dialogue, “Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di…..”, and packs in a lot more such one-liners that are bound to keep the masses and lovers of action cinema happy.

“Most Wanted Track” is currently being played along with the teasers of the film. If those 60 seconds are any indication, then this Boney Kapoor production is pretty much a successful film in the offing.

Courtesy the zany sound, two major aspects of the film are highlighted – Salman and ‘desi’ action – setting the tone for lovers of hardcore masala action.

“Salman Khan has always been known for giving his all to a film where his heart is set. ‘Wanted’ pretty much appears to be the film where he is back in a full-on action avtar five years since the release of ‘Garv – Pride And Honor’,” said a trade insider.

Wajid said: “The film is a full-on commercial affair and we went all out to make the album a complete package affair. Other than this theme track, which is of course the highlight of the film, we have incorporated a few dance numbers. We in fact even got Kamaal Khan, who has done so well with Salman bhai earlier, to sing a song (’Ishq Vishq’) in ‘Wanted’.”

In the past, Salman has been credited as a singer for a couple of songs like “Chal mere bhai” or “Main hoon Yuvraaj”. However, he didn’t sing in the conventional sense for either.

While in the former it was Sanjay Dutt who actually crooned the track, with Salman just chipping in as a drunk younger brother, in the latter he primarily spoke a dialogue or two for around a minute as he introduced his character.

” ‘Most Wanted Track’ is a full-fledged song though. Other than the dialogues, Salman bhai is heard singing ‘Teri yaad satati hai’ as a part of it. He has got the feeling of pain spot on. The genre of the song dictated that he sing in a laidback tone and he has done that perfectly fine,” said Wajid.

Produced by Boney Kapoor, “Wanted” is directed by Prabhu Deva and features Ayesha Takia Azmi opposite Salman Khan. The film also stars Mahesh Manjrekar, Asseem Merchant, Mahek Chhal and Prakash Raj along with Anil Kapoor in a special appearance.

You’ll see a different me in ‘Kurbaan’: Kareena Kapoor

Mumbai, She has played a prostitute, a bubbly girl-next-door and the ultimate glamour queen in her almost decade-long career, but Kareena Kapoor says “Kurbaan” has given her the opportunity to sink her teeth into one of the best roles in her career.

“I am so confident that in ‘Kurbaan’, audiences will take to my character in a big way,” said Kareena, who looks forward to playing a variety of roles across different genres of films.

“Especially after ‘Kambakkht Ishq’, they would see a different me in the film,” Kareena told IANS.

A Karan Johar production, “Kurbaan” is directed by first time director Rensil D’Silva and has terrorism as its background.

“The girl’s role is very strong in ‘Kurbaan’ and I have worked really hard on my performance. I’m expecting a lot from the film,” said the actress, who has won critical acclaim for her performance in “Dev” and “Omkara”.

Kareena is paired with boyfriend Saif Ali Khan in “Kurbaan”, which also stars Vivek Oberoi, Dia Mirza, Kirron Kher and Om Puri in principal roles.

The actress says she is once again expecting accolades from critics for her performance in the film.

“Well frankly, this is one film where I am expecting both box-office success and huge critical acclaim. The film is extremely well made and, to add to that, quite topical,” she said confidently.

With music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Salim-Sulaiman, “Kurbaan” is aiming for a November release.

For Kareena, 2009 would be an eventful year as it would also see the release of Rajkumar Hirani’s “3 Idiots”, where she is paired opposite Aamir Khan, and debutant director Prem R. Soni’s “Main Aur Mrs. Khanna” with Salman Khan.

After being in the industry for close to a decade, doesn’t she aspire for more awards?

“See, ever since I began my career, I have always maintained that I want to be a star actress. I should give the kind of confidence to filmmakers that I can carry off any role confidently. Whether it is a Geet (’Jab We Met’) or a Dolly (’Omkara’), Simrita (’Kambakkht Ishq’) or the character I play in ‘Kurbaan’ – I am mixing it up all.

“For me, work is like a passion and when I do a film, I don’t really think of commercial gains or awards. What is most important for me is to be engaged in some quality stuff. I sign a film because I like to enact the character that I have been offered. If box office success and awards come then, well, it’s great,” she said.

Priyanka is great as an actress: Shahid Kapur

New Delhi, Are they or aren’t they a couple? That’s a question Bollywood actor Shahid Kapur steered clear of, even as he praised his “Kaminey” co-star Priyanka Chopra to the skies saying she is at her “career’s best right now”.

“I always knew Priyanka is a very good actress and after working on ‘Kaminey’ with her, I realised that she has given one of the most splendid performances of her career. I think Priyanka is at her career’s best right now,” Shahid told reporters here Sunday evening.

“Apart from that she is a team player and it’s so great she did this film despite knowing that the hero has a double role. She is a self-assured actor and very confident. She knows whatever she does she’ll give her best and she’ll be noticed and appreciated by the audience,” he added.

Reminiscing on his camaraderie with the beauty queen-turned-actress while filming the movie, he said: “It was amazing and I had a lot of fun working with her. We started our careers almost at the same time (2003).”

The 28-year-old actor was in the capital to be a part of BIG 92.7 FM’s ‘Dilli Ka Kaminaapan Quotient’ contest and promote his film “Kaminey” at the radio station. The contest was won by 15 listeners who had to prove that they are the biggest ‘kamina’ of the city.

Releasing Friday, “Kaminey” has been produced and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures and written-directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. Writer-turned-director Amol Gupte makes his onscreen debut in the film.

Shahid is on a chain of promotion visits and has been noticed marketing the movie alone, without the leading lady.

He explained: “Me and Priyanka are doing a lot of promotions together and also individually. We are together promoting (the film) and we recently did a press conference in Bangalore.”

“Kaminey” has had its share of controversies too considering a reported on-off relationship between Shahid and Priyanka.

Shahid kept mum on this but insisted that such rumours added to “pressure” in a celebrity’s life and career.

“People say that any kind of promotion is good promotion but I don’t personally subscribe to that… The rumours add pressure. It’s difficult all the time dealing with all the speculations about your personal life but I guess as an actor it becomes a part of your job… its an occupational hazard. But it’s not a great feeling… you have to learn to deal with it,” he said.

“It’s ok to be a bit inquisitive about anything (from the media’s side) but it’s also important to have a little privacy of your own (for actors),” he added.

Shahid unhappy over ‘A’ certificate for ‘Kaminey’

Chandigarh, Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor, who is looking forward to the release of his latest film “Kaminey”, is upset over the ‘A’ certificate it has been given by the censor board.

“I am quite surprised with the decision of censor board to have given an ‘A’ certificate to ‘Kaminey’. One should not go by the title of the movie as there is no other offensive word or abusive language used in the entire film,” Kapoor told reporters here Saturday.

“My family members have seen the movie. They found it very good and did not point out anything objectionable in it,” said Kapoor, who was in Chandigarh Saturday to promote the film.

“Kaminey”, which is directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, is slated to release Aug 14. Priyanka Chopra plays the female lead role opposite Kapoor.

Kapoor added: “Our aim was to make a U/A certificate movie but when we got an ‘A’ certificate our whole team was unhappy and could not understand the reason behind it.”

There are reports that the censor board had advised Vishal Bhardwaj to cut some scenes and to make certain changes in “Kaminey” if he wanted an U/A certificate for the film.

Aishwarya happy with two mega southern projects

Chennai, Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai is elated over bagging the main leads in two mega south Indian projects – Mani Ratnam’s “Ravan” and Shankar’s “Endhiran”.

“Shankar had approached me previously to work with him, but it never materialised. Finally, everything landed in place and here we are working together after 10 years,” said Aishwarya on the sets of “Ravan”.

Tamil superstar Rajinikant, who is playing the male lead in “Endhiran”, was also very keen to work with Aishwarya and had tried to sign her for his earlier ventures – “Padaiyappa” and “Chandramukhi”, but the actress could not spare the dates.

Speaking about Ratnam’s “Ravan”, in which she once again teams up with her husband Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya said: “I don’t want to reveal much about it. Working with Mani is always a delight. He is a man of perfection. I am lucky to act in his movies again and again.”

Aishwarya was earlier seen in Ratnam’s “Iruvar” and “Guru”, in which Abhishek was in the main lead.

While shooting for “Ravan” in the jungles of Kerala, the entire cast and crew had a scary experience when an elephant ran amok and killed 51-year-old mahout Andavan.

The actors including Abhishek, Aishwarya, Vikram, Prabhu and Munna had to take shelter in a guest house.

According to sources, the film personalities spent the night in the forest guest house and survived on bread and eggs. After 12 hours of tension and waiting, the crew returned to their hotel.

Now the cast and crew of “Ravan” has moved to Ooty where the remaining portions of the film will be shot.

I wasn’t uncomfortable doing intimate scenes: Prachi Desai

Mumbai, After playing Farhan Akhtar’s petite wife in “Rock On!”, Prachi Desai has now teamed up with Tusshar Kapoor in “Life Partner” and she had to shoot some intimate scenes in the film. While she insists she wasn’t uncomfortable, the actress admits she was definitely a bit shy.

“I am a little shy but I don’t know why everyone is saying that I was uncomfortable doing those scenes. In fact, everyone on the set did everything to make me comfortable,” Prachi Desai told IANS in an interview.

Her co-star Tusshar had said that Prachi wasn’t comfortable doing intimate scenes with him and was too much into the “don’t touch me” mode.

The 20-year-old, best known for her role as Bani Walia in television serial “Kassamh Se”, is tired of doing mature roles and wants to play someone more her age.

“I’m waiting to do something young, something that goes with my age. I have had enough of these mature roles. It would be nice if I get to play something close to my age,” Prachi said.

The young actress was in the capital for designer duo Kapil and Monika’s collection for the “Celebrating Vivah 2009″ event and walked the ramp in a heavy, embroidered baby pink lehenga.

Elaborating about her role in director Rumi Jaffrey’s “Life Partner”, Prachi said she could relate to her character and it was easy to play a shy girl.

“In this movie, the role I’m playing is of a very shy girl who likes silence and I am very much like that in real life. I’m very down-to-earth and simple too.”

The actress has also signed a movie “Once Upon A Time” with mentor Ekta Kapoor in which she plays a don’s wife.

Not revealing much about the character Desai said: “It’s too early to talk about it.”

She, however, said that she doesn’t see much of a difference in the work environment between television and movies.

“I don’t miss TV at all. It’s like graduating from school to college. There is not much of difference but, yes, working in showbiz increases the level of expectations of your fans. But those expectations keep us going as we are here because of their love,” she said.

Talking about her dream role, Prachi said she wants to essay the role of Paro in “Devdas” if it is made again for the big screen.

“Paro of ‘Devdas’ is a very beautiful character and Aishwarya Rai looked beautiful in it. Though it would be very difficult to re-create the magic of that movie again on big screen…. if it is done, I would love to essay the role of Paro,” Prachi said.

Fox STAR Studios to distribute Shah Rukh’s ‘My Name Is Khan’

Mumbai, Actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Karan Johar have inked one of Bollywood’s biggest deals with a Hollywood studio. Fox STAR Studios will finance and distribute their forthcoming film “My Name Is Khan”, reportedly spending Rs.100 crore (Rs.1 billion / $20 million) in the process.

Shah Rukh and Karan, who are co-producing the film, announced their tie-up with Fox STAR Studios, a joint venture between 20th Century Fox and STAR, at a press conference here Thursday.

“We are very happy that Fox STAR Studios is taking responsibility of a film of this stature that too in a different language, though we do speak a bit of English in the film as well. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to take Indian cinema further,” said Shah Rukh.

Though they didn’t talk about the money, Fox STAR Studios have reportedly bought distribution rights for around Rs.100 crore for the film about a Muslim (Shah Rukh) who suffers from the Asperger syndrome, a form of autism that impacts social interaction abilities. He is arrested as a suspected terrorist in post-9/11 Los Angeles after authorities mistake his disability for suspicious behaviour.

Fox STAR Studios will market and distribute “My Name Is Khan” in India, while its sister companies, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox International, will distribute the movie in the US and other territories respectively.

Karan Johar is wielding the megaphone after three years to narrate the emotional journey of a Muslim man from India in the film, in which Shah Rukh has teamed up with Kajol. In the past, the two have starred in hits like “Baazigar”, “Karan Arjun”, “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge”, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” and “Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham”.

Talking about the movie, Karan said: “I’m almost petrified when it comes to making a movie with Shah Rukh and Kajol. Together, they have given iconic love movies and so they raise the level of expectations each time they are paired.

“This time it is again a love story but with a different treatment. It won’t be like ‘Dilwale Dulhania…’ or ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, nor will it have songs shot in Egypt or Switzerland. But it will still leave a mark in the hearts of people.”

The partnership on “My Name Is Khan” follows Fox STAR Studios’ distribution deal with multiple Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” in India earlier this year.