Posts Tagged ‘Ashutosh Gowariker’
Despite her two films, Saawariya and Delhi 6, not making way for her at the box office, Sonam Kapoor is still counted among Bollywood’s more sensational leading ladies. She did manage to pick up accolades for her two performances and is being closely watched by the big daddies of cinema because she has talent in abundance… not to mention that ‘it’ quality to make her soar. In one of those off-the-cuff interviews, Sonam talks to BT about her leading men, and her varying chemistry with each of them…
Ranbir Kapoor
My chemistry with Ranbir is special. Ranbir will also always be the most special costar in my life because he is my first hero. After Saawariya I was offered a couple of films with him but if we haven’t worked together, it is because I’ve decided that when we do team up it must be for something sensational. I don’t want to do a multiple heroine project with him. Both of us must have equal parts.
Imran Khan
Shooting for I Hate Luv Stories is a riot. Imran and I are like two puppies always getting at each other. Our pairing is similar to the Dimple Kapadia-Rishi Kapoor one in Bobby. We’re both young, we’re constantly pulling each others’ legs on the set. It’s a young, fun pairing that is vibrant.
Abhay Deol
He’s a fabulous performer. Aisha wouldn’t be the same without Abhay in it. He keeps feeding me humus with carrots/cucumber. And I find our chemistry similar to the Julia Roberts-Richard Gere one in Pretty Woman. Abhay is more mature and grounded than I am. Also he is very intelligent. I love spending time with him on sets.
Abhishek Bachchan
Well, what can I say? I think I played the perfect Bittu to him in Delhi 6. We haven’t been offered any other film together as yet. Those reports that I was offered Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se before Deepika Padukone signed it, are untrue. Of course, I’d love to work with Abhishek again.
No time for tears for Deepika
Posted on: November 19, 2009
MEENA IYER Times News Netowrk (BOMBAY TIMES; November 19, 2009)
A few days before Diwali, Deepika Padukone was a girl deeply in love. Despite her own work assignments, the leggy beauty was shunting between Mumbai, Bangalore and Bhopal just to be able to spend quality time with beau Ranbir Kapoor. Just when they were crowned the hottest couple of Bollywood, came the news that they had decided to part ways. BT even heard a diva, with chocolate-like complexion, telling people on the sets of a comedy film that the hotshot couple had made a clean break. But if rumours are to be believed, the embers haven’t died down yet. True, Ranbir and Deepika are no longer the couple they used to be, but the two still exchange a dozen phone calls everyday. While one may or may not give credence to this, it’s very clear that the young actors don’t want to ruin a friendship they’ve shared even if the ‘fondness’ levels have dipped. Besides, both are smart enough to understand that being in the same industry, they will cross each other’s paths everytime. Meanwhile, instead of wallowing in self pity, Deepika has decided to keep herself immersed in work. The girl has green lighted Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Khelien Hum Jee Jaan Se with Abhishek Bachchan; Kunal Kohli’s next with Imran Khan and Pradeep Sarkar’s film with Neil Nitin Mukesh. She’s expected to fly to the US on a work assignment around November 20, do two new commercial endorsements and then there’s also Kartik Calling Kartik and Houseful which she has to complete.
Deepika Padukone to star opposite Imran Khan, who happens to be her ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor’s closest friend
Deepika Padukone, who recently split with Ranbir Kapoor, will star opposite his closest friend Imran Khan in a film produced by Kunal Kohli. The film is the directorial debut of Danish Aslam, Kunal’s assistant.
A source says, “Post her breakup with Ranbir, Deepika is taking on more and more assignments to keep herself busy. She now wants to focus on her career and make all the right moves.
She has signed films with Ashutosh Gowariker and Yash Raj Films. Danish’s film, which is jointly produced by Kunal Kohli and Big Pictures, is another big film in her kitty. Deepika is very excited about it.
She chose to sign the film despite Imran being Ranbir’s close friend as she has moved on. She doesn’t want to mix her personal life with her professional life.”
Confirming the news, Kunal Kohli says, “It’s true. We have finalised Imran and Deepika for the film. We are hoping to start the film early next year. It’s a love story and we are yet to find a title for the film. Danish will be making his debut as a director with this film.”
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| Ranbir | Imran Khan |
Asin out of Gowarikar’s next?
Posted on: November 3, 2009
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Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film Khelenge Hum Jee Jaan Se has suffered a major jolt, now that its leading lady has walked out of the film. Asin, who was to play the female lead opposite Abhishek Bachchan, opted out citing date problems. Apparently, Asin was not too happy with her role and hence left the film. Our source revealed, “Asin was excited about working with Ashutosh Gowrikar, but after hearing the script, she mulled over it and opted out. She has said that she has date problems, whereas actually, she is not happy with her character in the film. And after the lukewarm response to her last film London Dreams, Asin wants to be absolutely convinced of what she does next. Also, recently, Ashutosh delivered a turkey in the form of What’s Your Raashee? So, Asin does not want to take anymore chances.” Ashutosh remained unavailable for comment. |
By Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 02, 2009)
The lead pair of Ashutosh Gowariker’s next, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, which is based on the Chittagong Uprising, is finally in place. We had earlier reported that Abhishek Bachchan will play the lead role as Surjya Sen. Gowariker has now finalised Asin to play the female lead. A source said, “This will be the first time that Abhishek and Asin will be paired opposite each other. The film’s first schedule will tentatively start around November 25.” Apparently, the forthcoming film will be produced by Gowariker along with PVR Pictures and not UTV who had produced his last three films. Gowariker was unavailable for comment. |
The Bollywood piracy plot is getting more sinister. After arresting employees of major post-production and distribution firms for spiriting out DVDs of new films, Mumbai Police is now on the hunt for a major player in the racket named Jitender Kumar, who is suspected to have links with the Dawood gang. Crime Branch sources said teams have been despatched to Delhi and Ghaziabad to arrest Kumar, a ‘bigshot from Ghaziabad’ who apparently runs a major pirated material distribution racket in north India. Officials said he also has connections with the two piracy groups now in police custody. The latest arrests are those of Kalapi Nagda, 29, head of overseas distribution of Shemaroo Pictures and Neerav Shah, 30, manager of overseas distribution of Reliance Big Cinema, on the basis of information provided by UFO Moviez associate vice-president Rajesh Chaudhary, who was arrested on Tuesday. “Afsar Hyder Hussain alias Ashraf, who was picked up on Tuesday, is the link between Kumar and the groups in Mumbai. Though Afsar deals with Kumar to sell and distribute pirated movies, last year, Kumar tipped off the police that Afsar was carrying pirated material and got him arrested at Mumbai airport,” said a senior police officer who did not wish to be named. Sources said Kumar is involved in distribution of pirated movies in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Gwalior. Gowariker wants Rs 50 cr in damages from UFO Moviez Following the arrest of Chaudhary, a key player in the racket, What’s your Raashee? director-producer Ashutosh Gowariker has reportedly sought Rs 50 crore in damages from UFO Moviez. A legal notice has been sent to the firm for leaking DVDs of the yet-to-be-released film. The police had on Tuesday arrested a group of five persons, who allegedly bought DVDs from Chaudhary and sent them to one Asif in Pakistan. Nagda and Shah – arrested on Wednesday – also allegedly bought original DVDs of new films from Chaudhary, who revealed their names during interrogation. “From them, we have seized original DVDs of the unreleased films Fast Forward and What’s Your Raashee? and the recently released Dil Bole Hadippa,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said. According to Maria, Nagda has contacts in Pakistan and he sent original DVDs with Shah’s help to one Zubair. “For each DVD sold, Chaudhary got Rs 2 lakh, Nagda got Rs 35,000 and Shah got Rs 10,000,” Maria added. “We are checking if Asif and Zubair belong to the same group.” Maria said Shah knew Chaudhary as he coordinated transport of original DVDs from UFO Moviez to overseas customers. Shah and Nagda were colleagues at Shemaroo Pictures before Shah shifted to Reliance Big Cinemas. Meanwhile, UFO Moviez has dismissed Chaudhary from service. Top officials of the firm met senior Crime Branch officers and said they would cooperate with the investigation. Video-meet decides DVD price The suspects in police custody have revealed that the price of pirated DVDs is decided by video-conferencing between film suppliers and distributors. Tanzim Sayed alias Aman used to act as a mediator between suppliers like Afsar and distributors. “The DVD price and suppliers’ commission was decided according to number of copies of the movie made. Defaulters would be eliminated,” a police officer said. |
Bharati Dubey & S Ahmed Ali I TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 24, 2009)
Mumbai: UTV software and communications, producers of the film What’s Your Raashee? has demanded a compensation of Rs 50 crore each from Adlabs Films Limited and UFO moviez for ‘abetting piracy and infringement of copyright’. Both the parties have been asked to pay up within 7 days.
The masterprint of Ashutosh Gowariker’s yet to be released What’s Your Raashee? was stolen from Adlabs on Monday evening. UTV in its notice to Adlabs mentioned that in violation of the agreement, the masterprint of the film had been illegally copied on the Adlabs premises and sold to persons engaged in piracy, causing huge damage. The notice also alleged that the illegal activity was possible because of some highly-placed persons employed by Adlabs who gained access to the prints and made copies of it.
In its notice to UFO moviez, the producers alleged that UFO employee Rajesh Chowdhry arrested in the case has also confessed to piracy of the film Aage Se Right. “It is apparent that the entire illegal piracy racket has been able to continue unchecked on UFO premises and that their security system does not provide adequate protection,’’ the notice said. UFO has sacked Chowdhry but officials said that Aage Se Right was not released on the UFO platform.
UTV has also written to all producers and distributors’ bodies to send showcause notices to Adlabs and UFO moviez. Also, a film delegation including producer Mahesh Bhatt, senior vice-president of AMPTPP Vikas Mohan, Yash Chopra, Ratan Jain and Mukesh Bhatt will be meeting joint commissioner Rakesh Maria on Thursday.
Meanwhile, two more officials of two private companies, Neerav Shah (30), the manager of Reliance Big Pictures (overseas distributions) and Nagda Kalapi (29), the head of the overseas distribution of Shemaroo pictures, were arrested in the case. Kalapi and Shah get a ‘benefit’ of Rs 35,000 to 50,000 per film, said senior inspector Ansar Peerzade. A video-piracy racket was busted on Sunday. Ashraf Hussain alias Afsar, Feroz Khan and Aman Tanzeem Sayyed were arrested in the case. Their interrogation helped the police arrest Durgadas Bhakta, manager, business development of Adlabs and Chowdhry.
An Adlabs spokesperson said, “The incident in connection with What’s Your Raashee is not attributable to us in any manner. The film prints are recorded under the best possible security measures.’’ A UFO spokesperson Charu Sacham said that the company has communicated separately with the producers’ fraternity and assured them that their business interests and intellectual property are of paramount importance.
different characters, something that no female actor has ever done before. “It’s great. I hope it happens. The paper work’s going on,” said Priyanka, who’s played a character from each of the 12 zodiac signs. But Ashutosh has other concerns. “If she makes it, it will go down in history. But my focus now is on how the audience will accept the film. It’s the first time I’ve done a romantic comedy,” said the producer about his film which has Harman playing Yogesh Patel who’s forced to choose a bride from out of the 12 proposals that he gets, all played by Priyanka, of course. “Playing 12 characters from 12 raashees was quite tough,” said the actress, who in reality is a true blue Cancerian. “I’m homely, emotional, possessive and very protective… but I’m also very moody. Sometimes, even I’ve no control over my moods,” she said, also confessing to her biggest fear, “I’m scared of heart breaks.” But that doesn’t change her belief in love marriages. “My mom gets into fits and tells me, ‘You know, you should get married now’ …but I don’t take her seriously ‘coz I’ve been hearing her say that since I was 20,” she laughed and added, “My ‘love’ marriage will be with the consent of my parents. So the boy better know — he’ll have to get my dad’s permission. We are very old fashioned that way.”
But Ashutosh is forward thinking. He didn’t doubt Harman’s skills even though his earlier films had bombed at the BO. “I asked myself and my wife Sunita two questions: Do we want him even if his LoveStory 2050 fails? What if Victory also bombs? But we decided that he was the best choice. I believe in giving a person a second chance,” he said.
After the release of the film, Ashutosh will be making the rounds of the theatres across the country, watching the film with the aam junta. “But the two theatres that are like barometers for me are Gaiety Galaxy and Chandan in Mumbai,” he said. Even Priyanka is keeping her fingers crossed, “I believe in box office success. Nobody makes films to sit and watch in their drawing rooms.”
sharin.wader@timesgroup.com
Fenil’s Bollywood Talk # 67
Posted on: September 24, 2009
HARISHCHANDRACHI FACTORY IS INDIA’S OFFICIAL ENTRY TO OSCARS!
September-end period is crucial as it’s the time when the film to be sent to the Oscars is announced. 2 years back, a controversy had erupted when Eklavya was sent to the Oscars. Last year’s choice was unanimous-Taare Zameen Par. However, this year, it was difficult to predict which film will ultimately be selected as none of the flicks (at least the Hindi ones) were ‘typical Oscar material’. But The Film Federation of India nominated an unknown upcoming Marathi flick, Harishchandrachi Factory (Harishchandra’s Factory) as India’s official entry to the Oscars.
Although none of the mediapersons and audience has seen Harishchandrachi Factory (HF), the decision has impressed almost everyone. It is a period flick which throws light on Dadasaheb Phalke’s experience while making the first feature film of India, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913! With such an excellent plot, there are high chances that the film will indeed impress everyone when it releases in theatres.
The director of the film, Paresh Mokashi, is obviously happy to see that his genuine efforts have bore fruit. He had wrote the script of the film way back in 2005 but failed to find a financer till 2008. Then, he sold his flat so as to raise money for the film. Kudos to such passionate people who are willing to go to any lengths to fulfill their dream!
HF even managed to beat Bollywood biggies like New York, Kaminey, Dev D, Delhi-6, ‘What’s Your Raashee?’ and the Marathi biggie Mi Shivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoy to become India’s Oscar entry. Anyways, some of these Bollywood films were well made but didn’t deserved to be in Oscars. Even if any of these films was nominated, it would have failed to reach the final 5. Let’s hope HF succeeds at the Oscars!
P.S.: UTV is in talks for acquiring the rights of the film.
(Info derived from articles of Times of India and Mumbai Mirror)
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‘WHAT’S YOUR RAASHEE?’ KA KYA HOGA?
There has been considerable hype surrounding the 3rd biggie of the season, ‘What’s Your Raashee?’ (WYR). Directed by Jodhaa Akbar and Lagaan director Ashutosh Gowariker and starring Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja, WYR is based on the novel Kimball Ravenswood by Shri Madhu Rye (why hasn’t anyone reviewed the book on MS?). The novelty of the film is Priyanka essaying 12 different characters. Although the film can and should take a good opening, what can go against it is its length. The film’s duration is around 3hrs 30mins which is too long for a romantic comedy. Also, single screens are going to exhibit only 3 shows in a day which may take a toll in its BO collections. Let’s hope the film succeeds in engrossing the audiences completely in its entire 200+ mins duration!
This post first appeared on MouthShut.com: http://www.mouthshut.com/diary/bafipomro/Fenils-Bollywood-Talk67
By Deeptiman Tiwary and Abhijit Sathe (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 23, 2009)
Some of the top distributors in Bollywood may be aiding and abetting film piracy. This fact came to light after Mumbai Crime Branch busted a major racket involving employees of two major post-production companies and some pirates who have in the past six months pirated 11 films even before they were released. The pirates have revealed the names of some distributors who gave them information on ready-to-be-released films and even helped procure copies of masterprints. The latest masterprint that fell into their hands was of Ashutosh Gowariker’s What’s Your Rashee?, slated to be released on Friday. The Crime Branch has arrested six people, including a business development manager from Adlabs Films and an associate vice president from UFO Moviez, in connection with the case. It has also found that the entire racket is being run from Karachi in Pakistan. A Crime Branch officer said, “The accused have revealed the names of some distributors who were helping them with information on where the films were being processed and who were the people who could be contacted for a masterprint. They also facilitated these liaisons.” Crime Branch chief Rakesh Maria said, “There are some people from inside the industry, but we are still verifying their exact role and involvement. It would be premature to reveal their names as of now.” HOW THE CASE WAS CRACKED
The Crime Branch was investigating a piracy racket involving copies of Dil Bole Hadippa! when it stumbled upon information that the masterprint of What’s Your Rashee? was out and would be delivered to a man in Kherwadi. A Crime Branch team under Senior PI Ansar Peerzade and API Naik laid a trap on Sunday morning and arrested three people, Afsar Hyder Hussain alias Ashraf, 26, Firoz Irfan Khan alias Salim, 23, and Tanzim Ali Sayed, 26, and recovered pirated CDs of What’s Your Rashee? and Dil Bole Hadippa!. During interrogation they told police that they had got the copy of the film’s masterprint from business development manager with Adlabs, Durgadas Bhakta, and associate vice president (operations and digital mastering) with UFO Moviez, Rajesh Chaudhary for Rs 2 lakh. Following this, Crime Branch arrested the two along with Bhakta’s associate Ajay Pal, 27. While Adlabs has processed What’s Your Rashee? UFO was entrusted with the job of digitising the film and releasing it in multiplexes by uplinking it to the satellite. It was at UFO that Chaudhary made a copy of the film on his laptop and wrote it on a DVD. Both Bhakta and Chaudhary got Rs 1 lakh each for the job. THE KARACHI ANGLE The pirates also disclosed that they would send a print to one Asif in Karachi who would further distribute them to various countries including Bangladesh, France, Germany, Netherlands and Indonesia. INDUSTRY REACTS An official spokesperson from Adlabs said, “Our security measures makes us one of the most protected and safe environments for motion picture handling. The incident regarding What’s Your Rashee? is not attributable to us in any manner.” Siddarth Roy Kapoor of UTV said, “We are currently in the process of determining the exact events that have transpired, but have been assured by the authorities that the print was recovered before any damage was done. On a lighter note, we are very encouraged at the huge demand for What’s Your Rashee? amongst the pirates, but would urge them to wait three days to watch the film in all its glory on the silver screen.” |
