RE: December 2007 - News - 4

Double Impact

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Kumar is playing the lead in R.K.Khanna’s Kisise Kam Nahin Hain Hum as a police inspector in which he has co-stars like Manoj (Jr. Ajay Devgan), Sanjay Mandhar ( Jr. Sunny Deol) and Sagar (Jr. Salman Khan). It is a total lookalike film akin to Ramgarh Ke Sholay. Finally Kumar pays a tribute to Farah Khan thus, “I am thankful to Farahji to have featured me in OSO.”
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Von welchem Film reden die hier?

Quelle: http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=18262

Halla Bol lacks commercial viability

There’s not much to write about Vanraj Bhatia’s “Halla Bol”. The music is average and Bhatia’s compositions may not sell, which may be a disadvantage for the makers of this Pankaj Kapur and Ajay Devgan starrer.

“Shabad Gurbani” is a prayer sung by Sukhwinder Singh. Being a Punjabi, Sukhwinder delivers it well. The music is lot like what one hears at religious places with the harmonium and the tabla playing important roles.

“Barsan lagi” is a classical piece sung by Sneha Pant. Mehboob Kotwal provides lyrics for the song, which doesn’t have the potential to become a commercial hit.

The composer doesn’t strike the right notes with “Is pal ki soch”. Neither Harshdeep’s voice nor the composition impress. The music doesn’t have anything interesting to offer and chances are that it will disappear without a trace.

Next is “Jab tak hai dum”. The song is about perseverance and battling all odds. Sukhwinder’s forceful voice seems appropriate and the music isn’t that bad. But again, commercially, the track wouldn’t find much of an audience.

The qawaali is heard in full blast when Amjad Farid Sabri renders Mehboob Kotwal’s lyrics in “More Haji Piya”.

While Vanraj could be praised for sticking to the social theme of the movie and composing music accordingly, the album definitely has something missing. “Halla Bol” could have been composed better to make it commercially viable.

Quelle: Halla Bol music lacks commercial viability

Sanjay talks about his film and link ups

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Two of his films, Kidnap and Mr Fraud, have been in the making for a while. They would be his first priority.
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Quelle: http://www.radiosargam.com/films/archive...link-ups.html/2

Ramu! Bh’aag

Is Ajay Devgan Avoiding Varma?

The Industry, isn’t the place where trusting someone comes easily. Everyone who has ever trusted someone, has a betrayal story to speak about. Trust doesn’t come easy. And with the kind of closed atmosphere in the industry, anything gone wrong cannot be hidden for long, and even before the offender realises it, the news has already hit the headlines, and with it, all the dirty secrets fall out like a torn bag of beans. So what one risks here is not just trust, but also a great deal of untold secrets.

The verdict is out; ‘Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’ is by far the most agonizingly painful movie you have had to put up with.
A complete opposite of what one would expect from Ram Gopal Varma and his erstwhile brand of movies. But one should definitely admire the man’s courage for venturing out in spite of all the opposition he faced.

In fact, even when the critics were busy tearing down Ramu and the entire cast of ‘RGV Ki Aag’, there was one and the only person who stood the acid test and was appreciated in the debacle of a movie.

That actor was Ajay Devgan, the only saving grace of the film, and Ramu’s long time friend and confidante. Ajay has time and again showed his histrionics and is no doubt, a fabulous actor. Ajay Devgan and Ramu have worked as a team since their ‘Company’ days. In a way, that film resurrected Ajay’s temporarily flagging career.

With a career graph so good that some even said that he bettered Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay has always had loyal fan following, expecting nothing but the best from him. Even when this hit duo (of Ramu and Ajay) weren’t seen doing every other film Ramu’s factory churned out, Ajay was always the support behind Ramu, and the duo always discussed work together, showing their undeniable trust in each other. Some insiders even laughed at their amity and joked that Ajay was Ramu’s ‘Male Urmila’.

Whilst their partnership flourished, Ajay in the meanwhile was contemplating another move in his life. He was soon thinking of turning director himself. Although Ajay had already been a producer and his production house did fairly well under his charge, a creative diversion was what Ajay was looking for, and talks were on to find a suitable script that would help Ajay make his directorial debut.

But whilst the search for Ajay’s script was on, Ramu was considering the remake of ‘Sholay’. When Ramu approached Ajay with his script, the versatile actor decided to go ahead with the film, and agreed to the part his director asked him to play. Blindly trusting Ramu’s script, he went ahead and decided to be a part of Ramu’s version of the old blockbuster ‘Sholay’.

Little did Ajay know that he would be a part of a debacle. Without any consideration for the people who were protesting against the remake of this eternal classic, Ramu went ahead and claimed that his was a different take on the same, thus dodging all ridicules aimed at him. But when the results were out, Ramu and his cast were left questioning their own judgment. With the theatres not even half full and failing to recover even the basic costs, Ramu’s falling track record only deteriorated, leave aside the tons of critical reviews questioning the director’s vision and even sanity.

This was also quite a blow to the cast of the film. Even the actors suffer when any film bombs at the box-office. Though Ajay is not the type of guy who would crib about such losses, one thing was very sure, that Ajay would definitely be giving a second thought to Ramu’s choices. After all, he needed to take care of his standing, as his careless choices could tarnish his reputation as an actor.

With his own directorial debut in the offing, Ajay wanted to make sure everything went off well and his image wasn’t affected by anything like this. Also at this stage when he was turning director himself, Ajay probably didn’t need a director to bring out the actor in him.

After this, Ramu knowing the dud he had come up with, had openly admitted his mistake in taking up a topic that was close to the heart of many people from the industry, and unforgettable as far as the national audience was concerned. Since a bad film like that not only invited public criticism, but also a whole lot of discontentment from the film fraternity.

But trust Ramu to put the failure aside and move on. He soon started work on his next project ‘Sarkar Raj’, a sequel to ‘Sarkar’, which was publicized as the movie with the Bachchan trio viz, Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. It was also heard that Amitabh had pinned all hopes on this movie to do wonders for his son, and was keen on making this film work somehow. And amongst the overtly publicized roles bagged by the trio, there was another role for which Ramu had earlier decided on Ajay Devgan.

Apparently, Ajay had already given his consensus for this film too. All this had already started working out before ‘RGV Ki Aag’ was released. In fact, Aishwarya, who was intended to spice up the story, had already started shooting for the film ‘Sarkar Raj’ post the shoot of her film ‘Jodha Akbar’, that was being extensively shot in the outskirts of Mumbai.

But it took one Fateful Friday to change the entire scenario; the day ‘RGV Ki Aag’ released. With people expressing their lack of trust in Ramu’s vision, everyone was rethinking their decision regarding the fate of much-touted ‘Sarkar Raj’ too. The latest rumour had it that the one who was clearly backing off from Ramu’s film was none other than his long time associate, Ajay Devgan.

Earlier, Ajay was offered a cameo in the film, a powerful portrayal of the role of Abhishek’s nemesis. As of now, Ajay has backed off citing date issues, since he has already started work on his home production and is making fast progress with a continuous shooting schedule. But industry insiders say that Ajay has developed cold feet post the dismal showing of Ramu’s ‘Aag’ and he isn’t sure about the standing of his role in the film anymore.

So he thought that since his directorial debut was underway, he could clearly state this and slowly ease out of the scene. Our sources also insist that it’s not just Ajay who is wearing the thinking hat, even Amitabh and Aishwarya are developing cold feet now.

With Ajay backing out, the search is on for someone who would be good enough to fill in Ajay’s shoes and take it from there on. It’s been heard that it is the debutant Prashant Raj who played the character that Amitabh Bachchan played in ‘Sholay’, will most probably be the next convenient choice for Ramu. It will be a while before anyone can actually speak about the status of the film with Ajay moving out and the Bachchans taking a second hard look at the proceedings. Ramu supposedly knows what he has risked.

Ajay being the kind of sensible actor he is, is not in frame of mind to entertain any more such flops that might ruin things for the career he has worked so hard for. With the last damp squib in his kitty, Ramu doesn’t seem to be in a position to argue his stand with Ajay. With the many people whom Ramu offended with his dud ‘Aag’, he was already skating on thin ice, where any wrong move could cost him dearly. Looks like he pushed his luck too far this time, and with this balloon bursting on his face, it might be a while before Ramu takes up film making a bit more seriously, post the realisation.

For the talented director that he is, this will surely make him think hard before venturing out on sacrosanct territory the next time. As far as Ajay is concerned, he did pay a heavy price for blindly trusting his one time friend, and now, all he is looking at is to cautiously win back the lost game.

Quelle: http://www.magnamags.com/magna_stardust/node/1801

Chennai Superstars clinch the inaugural ICL T20 tournament - December 16

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It was an electric atmosphere as over 10,000 people turned up to watch the final. Looking in a holiday mood, the crowds enjoyed the presence of Bollywood stars like Ajay Devgan, Ayesha Takia and Irfan Khan coupled with top models walking the ramp during the innings break.
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Quelle: Chennai Superstars

Salman didn’t interfere

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Anees also reveals why he hasn’t worked with his one-time favourite Ajay Devgan in his last few projects (including ‘Deewangi’). “Ajay and I are almost like brothers, but he has also been busy with other projects.

Also in my last two films, ‘No Entry’ and now ‘Welcome’, there was no concrete role for him. However I do have a nice subject in mind that I would love to make with both Ajay and Kajol. It’s a love story.”
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Quelle: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1139730

Ajay Devgan, Soha mobbed by the media

Hotel J W Marriott saw a surprisingly large downpour of celebrities. Actors, producers, directors, musicians and models they were all around for the Pixions Bash. Ajay Devgan and Soha Ali Khan were mobbed by the media. While others such as Sudhir Mishra, Neil Mukesh and Soha Ali Khan were seen enjoying each other’s company. It was in all a fun and star-studded event.

Quelle: http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2624392.cms

Images: Stars who will shine in 2008

Ajay Devgan

This year was not a great one for Ajay Devgan. Cash and Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag were major disasters. But next year promises to be a fabulous one with many firsts. In 2008, Devgan will make his debut as director with U, Me Aur Hum co-starring wife Kajol. This is likely to be one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year. Then there's Halla Bol, marking the comeback of director Rajkumar Santoshi and the director's other two films as well - London Dreams and Ramayana. The latter will see him play Lord Ram, possibly the role he will come to be known by, and one which is sure to quadruple his fan following. He will also be seen in Golmaal Returns, and is also doing Anees Bazmi's Naam.

Quelle: http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/fullsto...14572835&page=3

Ajay Devgan fears taking on Akshay Kumar

The producer of the Ajay Devgan starrer Halla Bol, Abdol Samee Siddiqui, and director Raj Kumar Santoshi are upset with rumours that the movie was postponed from December 21 to January 11 as the film wasn"t getting sold. In a frank chat, both clear the air.

Selling price

Santoshi is in Los Angeles busy with pre-production work of Asoka. Refuting rumours, he says angrily, “It"s absolutely not true.

I really don"t know who is spreading these rumours. Halla Bol has been sold at a very good price. In fact, Sudhir from Pyramid Saimira told me last week that the offer for the Bihar territory was more than Om Shanti Om."

Siddiqui adds, “Halla Bol was already sold to Pyramid Saimira a month ago at a fabulous price."
So why was Halla Bol postponed? Says Santoshi, “We decided to postpone the film as three films releasing on the same day (December 21) would harm everyone"s business."

Siddiqui adds, “The decision to postpone was taken jointly taken by Ajay Devgan, the producers, distributor and Raj Kumar Santoshi."

Joint decision

He adds, “It wasn"t because Ajay didn"t want to clash with Akshay Kumar or anything else! Halla Bol is a very different commercial film so we needed to promote it in a different way. Our marketing strategy is the only reason."

There have been reports that Halla Bol is based on the Aamir Khan-Narendra Modi clash. Both Santoshi and Siddiqui deny the rumour. Santoshi says, “The question of Halla Bol being based around the Narmada Bachao Andolan clash doesn"t arise as we shot the film much earlier.

Ajay plays a superstar but he"s not based on any real-life character. There are vested interests that are trying to harm Halla Bol. I don"t know who it is yet, but once I"m back I will definitely find out."

Quelle: http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywo...hay-041207.html

Julia shelved

Sanjay Dutt starrer Julia, based on the life of Fearless Nadia, has been shelved

Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan and the German actress Franka Potente starrer, Julia is in trouble. According to our sources, the producer UTV Motion Pictures is no longer keen to go ahead with Vishal Bharadwaj's ambitious project for reasons best known to them.

It comes a shocker as Bharadwaj has completed his screenplay and has signed all the actors. recently, he had meetings with the cast members to fix the shooting dates.

From what we hear, the director had some irreconciliable differences with the producers , which led the producers to pull out of the film.When quizzed about it, a UTV official (name withheld on request) refused to comment and suggested that we speak to Bharadwaj himself.

Though the filmmaker was not available for comment, his spokesperson informs that Julia has been put on hold for the time being. He says, "It is just that Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan's dates could not be matched. The film will start by the end of 2008." Now Bharadwaj will have to either approach some other producer or put the project on the backburner.

Julia is based on the life and times of Mary Ann Evans aka Fearless Nadia, who ruled the Hindi film industry in the '30s.

Quelle: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper....2370262b74946b3

By IndiaFM News Bureau, December 17, 2007 - 17:53 IST

This one would go down as one of the most under-rated and ignore performances of Ajay Devgan ever. He came up with an endearing act in Main Aisa Hi Hoon but let alone the complex part that he played, majority of audience haven't even heard of this film which came and sunk without a trace. A 2005 release, this Harry Baweja film starred Ajay Devgan as Indraneel Thakur who was a grown-up man with the brain of a seven-year-old child. The twist in the tale here is he himself he had a girl child whom he had to take care of. The film did have its emotional moments, especially the ones featuring Devgan (who was terrific once again) with the kid. Notice the scenes he shares with the child - they would truly make you drop a tear or two!

Quelle http://www.indiafm.com/slideshow/2007/12/17/149/index6.html