Hollywood star Jackie Chan said on Friday that he yearned to do an Indian film and was "eagerly waiting" for a good project.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the audio release of 'Dasavatharam', starring Kamal Hassan, Chan said: "India is the world's biggest market for movies. I want to do a film here. I am eagerly waiting for a good project."
Escorted by 'Dasavatharam' director K.S. Ravi Kumar, Chan described Bollywood star Mallika Sherawat, who shares a brief screen space with him in 'The Myth', as a "dear friend and a sister".
Answering questions on his ability to do daredevil stunts despite his 54 years, he said: "I have no fixed diet as I eat anything I like. But the secret of my fitness is exercise, which I never miss."
Chan is here at the invitation of Oscar Ravichandran, producer of 'Dasavatharam' in which Kamal Hassan performs an unprecedented 10 roles.
Chan arrived in Chennai on a chartered flight and is accompanied by 10 personal bodyguards.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
I never wanted to be an actor: Arshad Warsi
He might be one of the finest actors in Bollywood with an impeccable comic timing but actor Arshad Warsi, whose latest film 'Krazzy 4' has just hit the screens, says he did not dream of becoming an actor.
"I never wanted to be an actor. I was also terrible in business, so I didn't want to be a businessman either. I was interested in choreography. But now after spending 12 years in the industry I think people have accepted me and I am a decent actor now," says Arshad, who started his career with 'Tere Mere Sapne' in 1996.
Arshad, who immortalised the character of 'Circuit' a henchman of 'Munnabhai' in 'Munnabhai MBBS' and its sequel 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' says, he never tried to do anything different to get into focus.
"I never tried anything out of the way. For me, It has always been being in the right place at the right time. Now I'm getting a variety of roles and things are looking good," he says.
Arshad's 'Krazzy 4,' which is supposed to be a rip off from Howard Zieff's 'The Dream Team', has received some flak from the critics. However, Arshad has no qualms about acting in such flicks.
"I dont care for honesty. Every film is a copy of some other film, so it doesn't bother me. As long as the Indian junta is happy and are enjoying the flicks, I am happy to do such films," he says.
"I never wanted to be an actor. I was also terrible in business, so I didn't want to be a businessman either. I was interested in choreography. But now after spending 12 years in the industry I think people have accepted me and I am a decent actor now," says Arshad, who started his career with 'Tere Mere Sapne' in 1996.
Arshad, who immortalised the character of 'Circuit' a henchman of 'Munnabhai' in 'Munnabhai MBBS' and its sequel 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' says, he never tried to do anything different to get into focus.
"I never tried anything out of the way. For me, It has always been being in the right place at the right time. Now I'm getting a variety of roles and things are looking good," he says.
Arshad's 'Krazzy 4,' which is supposed to be a rip off from Howard Zieff's 'The Dream Team', has received some flak from the critics. However, Arshad has no qualms about acting in such flicks.
"I dont care for honesty. Every film is a copy of some other film, so it doesn't bother me. As long as the Indian junta is happy and are enjoying the flicks, I am happy to do such films," he says.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
'Tashan': The Ishtyle…The Goodluck…The Pharmoola
What happens when you throw two guys who hate each other together...
A cool call center executive Jimmy Cliff (Saif Ali Khan), a desi wannabe gangster Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar) add for good measure a beautiful girl Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) who can't be trusted. They go on a journey across spectacular India. A journey which will alter the course of their lives in more ways than one. A journey where even enemies need to trust each other if they want to be alive...
Trouble is, in this world no one can be trusted ever!
And to top it all there is the evil eye of Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor). He is a maverick gangster who enjoys killing people as much as he enjoys speaking English.
What you get is... TASHAN
Also see: Exclusive images of 'Tashan'
Character Sketches
Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar)
NAME: Bachchan Pande
AGE: 30 as per police records, 25 as per Chachi, 26 as per Omprakash, I think 28
MARITAL STATUS: Don't understand question
QUALIFICATIONS: Can steal electricity anywhere, Can break all bones of body with guarantee
WORK EXPERIENCE: Fully experienced
ACHIEVEMENTS: Recovered everything from a cow to a bungalow
AIM: Become killer
Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan)
NAME: Jimmy Cliff (Jeetender Kumar Makhwana P.S. Keep it confidential)
AGE: Depends on the age of the girl across the table
MARITAL STATUS: Not interested but always available
QUALIFICATIONS: Qualified enough to fix any girl in record time and ya of course, graduate
WORK EXPERIENCE: In the past two years working in a call center and coaching English
ACHIEVEMENTS: Highest number of girlfriends from class 5 to graduation
HOBBIES: Can't you guess
AIM: To stay alive
Pooja (Kareena Kapoor)
NAME: Pooja Singh
AGE: What is it got to do with you
MARITAL STATUS: Hot and single
QUALIFICATIONS: 34-22-34
WORK EXPERIENCE: More than you think
ACHIEVEMENTS: Still to achieve my main goal
AIM: To fool everyone
Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor)
NAME: Lakhan Singh urf Bhaiyyaji
AGE: Remember not but young at heart
MARITAL STATUS: Bachelor since baby, will marriage soon
QUALIFICATIONS: MMS from King Kong University, JKL in Botany from Bing Bong University, BBMS from Kaun Sa Desh, Currently getting made English Honours marksheet, also Three more degrees getting made in progress
WORK EXPERIENCE: Bhaiyyaji self made man, Pulled rickshaw and now pulling Money from all over India
ACHIEVEMENTS: Gunning and Robbing
HOBBIES: Wearing foreign costume, English speaking 24 hours
Monday, April 14, 2008
Convention passé as Bollywood pegs hope on special roles
A common thread running through over-the-top comic caper 'Krazzy 4' and sombrely romantic 'U, Me Aur Hum' is the theme of mental illness.
While actor Ajay Devgan has chosen Alzheimer's, which leads to gradual memory loss, as the subject for his directorial debut 'U Me Aur Hum', actor-turned-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan has depicted the world from the eyes of four mentally unstable men in the much hyped 'Krazzy 4'.
In the former, Kajol, one of Bollywood's most talented female actors, essays the role of a young woman who suffers from Alzheimer's. How the aliment tests her marriage forms the core of the film, which tries to strike a balance with a breezy first half.
The last time Kajol was seen on the big screen was in 'Fanaa' in which she portrayed the role of a visibly challenged Kashmiri girl to perfection. The actor has become very selective after her marriage to Ajay and it seems she is willing to take up only very special roles.
And such roles are coming by much more frequently in Bollywood, which is desperately seeking to break the mould in a bid to keep its increasingly discerning audiences hooked.
"After a spate of movies featuring roles of physically challenged people, including 'Black' and 'Iqbal' on one hand and slapsticks like 'Pyare Mohan' and 'Tom, Dick and Harry' on the other, Mumbai dream merchants now seem to be focusing on tales of the mentally challenged," said a trade observer.
Ajay's film comes on the heels of superstar Aamir Khan's directorial debut 'Taare Zameen Par', which was based on autism. The film, a surprise blockbuster, took a sensitive view of the differently-abled and promoted inclusiveness.
On a less serious note, 'Krazzy 4', which also released Friday, brings together acting powerhouses like Irfan Khan, Juhi Chawla and Arshad Warsi in an attempt to trickle the funny bone and at the same time deliver a moral message.
Produced by Rakesh Roshan, the film is a comedy about four mentally unstable men and how their view of a world, which is going increasingly insane, makes more sense.
The film that features two special item numbers by Shah Rukh Khan and Rakhi Sawant, respectively, and one promotional number by heartthrob Hrithik Roshan has generated a lot of buzz but is also facing rough weather.
The controversy surrounding the film's music has died down but now the film has been branded as "insensitive" for its portrayal of the mentally ill.
For long, the Mumbai-based Hindi film industry represented the mentally challenged as comic supporting characters that add an amusing sideshow to the central story.
Dinesh Bhugra, who has written a book that analysis depiction of mental illness in Hindi films, says that compared with Hollywood's portrayal of psychological ailments, Indian cinema is perhaps less enlightened.
"There are fewer Bollywood films that look at mental illness in a serious and sympathetic way," he said.
This, he argues, gives an impression that "Indian cinema may be 30 to 40 years behind Hollywood's image of psychiatry."
Remember Salman Khan in 'Kyon Ki', where the lead's illness bears no resemblance to any realistic mental illness, Ajay in 'Main Aisa Hi Hoon', which tried hard to deal with autism, and Hrithik in 'Koi... Mil Gaya', where he has a developmental disorder about which almost nothing is known, except perhaps that it's 'cute'.
Most such films played up mental illness for pathos, trying very hard to make their protagonists earn the audience's sympathy, but came out as non-serious.
At the same time, films like '15 Park Avenue' and 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara' had their heart in the right place, but not the marketing power.
It remains to be seen whether films like 'U, Me Aur Hum' and 'Krazzy 4' can find the balance between marketability and sensitivity like 'Taare Zameen Par' did.
While actor Ajay Devgan has chosen Alzheimer's, which leads to gradual memory loss, as the subject for his directorial debut 'U Me Aur Hum', actor-turned-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan has depicted the world from the eyes of four mentally unstable men in the much hyped 'Krazzy 4'.
In the former, Kajol, one of Bollywood's most talented female actors, essays the role of a young woman who suffers from Alzheimer's. How the aliment tests her marriage forms the core of the film, which tries to strike a balance with a breezy first half.
The last time Kajol was seen on the big screen was in 'Fanaa' in which she portrayed the role of a visibly challenged Kashmiri girl to perfection. The actor has become very selective after her marriage to Ajay and it seems she is willing to take up only very special roles.
And such roles are coming by much more frequently in Bollywood, which is desperately seeking to break the mould in a bid to keep its increasingly discerning audiences hooked.
"After a spate of movies featuring roles of physically challenged people, including 'Black' and 'Iqbal' on one hand and slapsticks like 'Pyare Mohan' and 'Tom, Dick and Harry' on the other, Mumbai dream merchants now seem to be focusing on tales of the mentally challenged," said a trade observer.
Ajay's film comes on the heels of superstar Aamir Khan's directorial debut 'Taare Zameen Par', which was based on autism. The film, a surprise blockbuster, took a sensitive view of the differently-abled and promoted inclusiveness.
On a less serious note, 'Krazzy 4', which also released Friday, brings together acting powerhouses like Irfan Khan, Juhi Chawla and Arshad Warsi in an attempt to trickle the funny bone and at the same time deliver a moral message.
Produced by Rakesh Roshan, the film is a comedy about four mentally unstable men and how their view of a world, which is going increasingly insane, makes more sense.
The film that features two special item numbers by Shah Rukh Khan and Rakhi Sawant, respectively, and one promotional number by heartthrob Hrithik Roshan has generated a lot of buzz but is also facing rough weather.
The controversy surrounding the film's music has died down but now the film has been branded as "insensitive" for its portrayal of the mentally ill.
For long, the Mumbai-based Hindi film industry represented the mentally challenged as comic supporting characters that add an amusing sideshow to the central story.
Dinesh Bhugra, who has written a book that analysis depiction of mental illness in Hindi films, says that compared with Hollywood's portrayal of psychological ailments, Indian cinema is perhaps less enlightened.
"There are fewer Bollywood films that look at mental illness in a serious and sympathetic way," he said.
This, he argues, gives an impression that "Indian cinema may be 30 to 40 years behind Hollywood's image of psychiatry."
Remember Salman Khan in 'Kyon Ki', where the lead's illness bears no resemblance to any realistic mental illness, Ajay in 'Main Aisa Hi Hoon', which tried hard to deal with autism, and Hrithik in 'Koi... Mil Gaya', where he has a developmental disorder about which almost nothing is known, except perhaps that it's 'cute'.
Most such films played up mental illness for pathos, trying very hard to make their protagonists earn the audience's sympathy, but came out as non-serious.
At the same time, films like '15 Park Avenue' and 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara' had their heart in the right place, but not the marketing power.
It remains to be seen whether films like 'U, Me Aur Hum' and 'Krazzy 4' can find the balance between marketability and sensitivity like 'Taare Zameen Par' did.
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