RE: December 2009 - News - 2

Here is a first look of Milan Luthari’s ‘Once upon a Time in Mumbai’. The movie is based on Mumbai underworld, and Ajay devgan plays notorious gangster Haji Mastan nd Emraan Hashmi will be basing his role on the character of Dawood Ibrahim

Quelle: http://www.bharatbytes.com/2009/12/first...time-in-mumbai/

Friday, December 11, 2009 1:12 IST

Mumbai: Post 26/11, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, one of the popular locations in Bollywood movies, was abandoned by film producers. But filmmakers are now returning to the historical landmark to shoot scenes for their movies.

Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge, a joint venture between Hollywood's Warner Bros Pictures and India's Wide Frame Films, starring Ajay Devgan, Konkona Sen Sharma and Paresh Rawal, has become the first Bollywood movie to be shot at the CST a year after the tragedy.

Scheduled to release on February 26, 2010, the film is a laugh riot directed by Ashwni Dhir which revolves around a middle class couple coping with a visiting relative who has outstayed his welcome and the various methods through which they try to get rid of him.

A source present on the film set said: "After the 26/11 tragedy, which left many in grief, CST has never been the same. But things have started getting back to normal. A particular scene in the movie that revolves around Ajay Devgan, Konkona and Paresh Rawal needed to be shot at CST and people were proposing they should shoot at a studio as post the terror attack, even though it has been a year, everyone is a little cautious. But the filmmakers put their foot down as they wanted to lend an authentic look to their movie and went ahead to shoot at the CST as opposed to a studio."

Dhir told DNA: "It was a very proud moment for us all to bring back Bollywood to CST.

The location has seen many iconic movies being shot there and we couldn't let terror make us stay away from one of the industry's dearest filming locations. We had a great time shooting there."

Quelle: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_cs...r-26-11_1322451

10.12.09

- Deepa Mishra, Sampurn Media
Though their first stint in films failed to create any Khalbali among the music-aficionados in the film titled Kalballi, the musical duo of AD Boys kept doing the good work.

But now, with the recent success of Aao Wish Karein and De Dana Dan they have bounced back with their melody. In fact their brimming talent has succeeded in waking up the music industry up to them and their passion for music.

According to sources, the young composers have been roped in for a big project by Ajay Devgan.

Quelle: http://www.planetradiocity.com/musicrepo...d=1&newsid=1748

By: Upala KBR Date: 2009-12-15 Place: Mumbai

Ajay Devgn and Konkona Sen escaped a mishap on the sets of their next film Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? on Thursday afternoon when the set they were shooting on, caught fire.
Ajay and Konkana were shooting the title song promo at Filmistan with choreographer Ahmed Khan and junior artistes dressed as doctors. The set was that of a laboratory with lots of dry ice in it.

Smokin'...
Talking about it, producer Amita Pathak says, "There was some kind of voltage fluctuation and bulbs started bursting followed by smoke. Almost all the gadgets -- from the DVD player to the monitor -- got shorted. I was sitting with my back to the monitor when smoke began billowing out it. Ajay asked us to throw some dry ice on it. But finally, the smoke became thick and overpowering and we all had to rush out of the sets. We realised that a fire had broken out!"

Fire snuffed out in time
First the actors -- Ajay and Konkona -- were evacuated and then, the entire crew with the 400-odd dancers and junior artists left the sets. Amita continues, "We always have a few people from the fire department present on the sets for such emergencies and they managed to snuff out the fire in time. But for that, we had to stop the shooting for two hours. I am happy to state that there were no injuries. Though my unit was calm and composed, I was a bit panicky as I didn't want anyone to get burnt. I was very tense till the last person went out of the sets."

The flip side
One flip side to the whole incident was that everyone thought that the fire was a prank being played by Devgn -- a known prankster. Amita says, "He was the first one to point out about the smoke. And while the rest of us were panicking, Ajay was the one standing around relaxed and cool. When things got really messy, we realised he wouldn't have done something that could have endangered our lives."

Quelle: http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/200...Konkona-Sen.htm

übersetzt von sylva:
Am Set von 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge' fing es an zu brennen. Erst wurden Ajay und Konkona in Sicherheit gebracht, bevor die anderen gehen durften. Erst dachten alle, dass es sich um einen von Ajays berühmten Scherzen handelt, weil er seelenruhig blieb, als es anfing zu rauchen bis man begriff, dass es Ernst war.

17.12.09

The much talked about multi-starrer “Rajneeti” will have its first-look during the screening of the most awaited movie of this year end “3 Idiots”. “Rajneeti” is undoubtedly one of the most awaited films of 2010 and its scheduled for a May release.

Rajneeti, which is termed as the modern adaptation of The Mahabharata is a multi-starrer by Prakash Jha. The film stars Ajay Devgan, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor as the lead roles along with Nana Patekar, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai and Naseeruddin Shah. The movie is produced by Ronnie Screwvala and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures. The music of the film is composed by Pritam.

Prakash Jha had recently announced the release date of Rajneeti and it’s way too late for the film lovers to wait for almost half a year more to watch it. But the good news comes that atleast they can have a first look at the flick during the screening of “3 Idiots” at breaks.

Well…call it a nice strategy or a coincidence! That the first look of a much anticipated movie will be showed at the screening of another talked about film. Now that makes another reason to watch “3 Idiots”…

Quelle: http://www.newspostonline.com/entertainm...g-2009121777851

17.12.09

Konkona Sen Sharma has already proved herself as an actress. After Wake Up Sid, she has become a more commercial actress, leaving her parallel cinema leanings behind

Films like Mr & Mrs. Iyer , Page 3, Omkara and many more have always proved her as an intense actress but after Wake Up Sid she has became a commercial actress and a name to count on, at the Box Office. And now she is coming up with a comedy film called Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge .

We asked Konkona whether it was a sudden decision or not to which she said “No, the story came to me sometime in June but I don’t like to announce a project till it goes on the floors as I am a bit careful that way.” And what was her reaction to the script? “It was a very cleverly written story with a lot of humour an I liked it” added Konkona.

Konkona might not have the beauty queen looks but she has made it big by her performances and impressed one and all by her acting prowess. One has seen her in intense characters mostly, so we wonder why she decided to switch to comedy “ I am an actor and I guess I can do all kind of roles and when the director wanted to try me with comedy and offered me the role, I took up the challenge. I know I have this image of a serious actress but that is something I have no control over. And if I succeed in being a comedian too then only I guess I will be called as a complete actress, like they say a complete package” said Konkona.

When we asked Konkona what kind of preparation has she done for the role and how challenging was it doing a comedy film, she simply said, “ Life in a …Metro was a bit on the lighter side, yes, this is the first comedy I am doing but there was nothing really challenging, as my part is not comic. It is Paresh Rawal who creates all the funny situations.”

Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge also stars Ajay Devgn and Paresh Rawal along with Konkona Sen Sharma. The film is slated to be shot over 50 days at Yashraj Studios and other locales in Mumbai and is slated to release on 26th February 2010. The Music for the film will be composed by Pritam, while the lyrics have been penned by Irshad Kamil. The Cinematographer of the film is Aseem Bajaj, sound recordist Shubhash Sahu while production designs will be by Sabu Cyril.

Quelle: http://www.starboxoffice.com/newsdetails...ews_20091217_80

Ajay Devgan is really sweating it out in the gym these days. He wants his trainer home just as soon as he wakes up, even before his ritual morning pooja. So while you are snuggled into yous soft rajais, lost in early morning happy dreams, Ajay is toiling over his hundred crunches. Ufff! Who says its easy being an actor in todays times.

Quelle: http://celebsrdevils.blogspot.com/

Posted: Dec 18, 2009 at 1113 hrs IST

Post 26/11 no shooting was allowed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji (Railway) Terminus due to security reasons. But after the first anniversary of the tragedy, things seem to be getting back to normal at this landmark locale. The first movie to be shot there is Warner Bros. Pictures and Wide Frame Films Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge, which stars Ajay Devgn, Konkona Sen Sharma and Paresh Rawal in the lead.

The scene, which revolved around Ajay, Konkona and Paresh, was shot at CST rather than a studio to give authenticity to the scene. The entire platform and a train were hired from 10 in the morning to 4 in the evening. “The government wants to prove that terror attacks cannot scare us. Of course there is the usual grind of bank guarantee, police permissions and private security, but everything went off smoothly,” says Amita Pathak, co-producer of the film. The cost of shooting one day at CST is around six to seven lakh rupees.

Scheduled to release on February 26 2010, this laugh-riot, directed by Ashwini Dhir, revolves around a middle- class couple and an unwanted guest.

Quelle: http://www.screenindia.com/news/Atithi-T...t-26-11/555329/

Posted on 18 Dec 2009 at 10:17am

In a hero-centric industry, where the leading ladies merely prettify the screen, Bhumika Chawla is one Tollywood actress who has essayed roles with a substance consistently. Her films may be few and far in between, but she boasts of acting in only female-oriented films, be it Missama, Anasuya or her much hyped film Amaravati. While the actress attributes her success to luck, she also claims that the attitude in the film industry is fast changing.

“I thank my stars for all the good films that came my way. Since I almost always play the lead role, I consider myself lucky. But that apart, Tollywood heroes too are gradually warming up to the idea of female-oriented movies,” says Bhumika, who is busy shooting for another female-oriented movie called Kotha Bandham.

In fact, after a long hiatus, the actress now has five films in her kitty. “It was no conscious decision to act in so many films simultaneously, it’s a mere coincidence. Everything came to me at once and now I’m shooting for five films in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi.”

After Tere Naam, Bhumika’s Bollywood career was marked by a spate of duds, but the actress hopes to make a comeback with Naam, where she acts opposite Ajay Devgn. “I did seven films in Hindi after Tere Naam, but most of them didn’t click at the box office. Moreover, I didn’t get any exciting offers and a few projects were shelved. But I have no regrets, you can’t expect a superhit everyday,” says Bhumika, who adds that her loyalties lie with Tollywood.

“As long as I act, I will continue doing films in Tollywood. I am living out of Mumbai and Hyderabad. The Tollywood audience loves me and I won’t treat the Telugu film industry as a mere stepping stone and move on,” she adds.

With her career graph only looking up, the actress who is currently basking in marital bliss, insists that her marriage never affected her career, like her critics claim. “Marital status is not a hindrance to anyone’s acting career. Kajol and Juhi continue to act even today. Bharat Thakur never interferes in my work and has only been supportive. We both discuss the roles I am offered. But I take the final decision.”

Quelle: http://thebollywoodactress.com/actress-b...s-in-her-kitty/

Friday, December 18, 2009

The buzz doing the rounds is that UTV is rethinking their association with Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti.

Apparently the film maker has asked for a huge amount for the project that has sent the production house reeling under shock.

Utv feels that the movies subject is not a commercial mainstream film for the director-producer to demand such an exorbitant price. Rajneeti's storyline is not commercial but it includes all the biggest stars in it from Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Ajay Devgn and Arjun Rampal. A film with such big stars of Bollywood will obviously cost Prakash Jha a lots of money but Utv is in no mood to extend budget.

Our source close to the unit says, “Prakash Jha asked for Rs 75 crore for his film Rajneeti. UTV was taken completely aback. The film may have a big cast but its subject does not lend itself to popular entertainment.” Siddharth Roy of UTV however maintains , 'This is untrue. We are happy with the project. Prakashji and we share a great relationship. The theatrical trailor is out with 3 idiots next week.'

But the source adds, “Things are not the same as before between the two parties. There have been issues and both are determined to iron out the differences. Earlier during Sohail Khan’s Main Aur Mrs Khanna at the last minute UTV names went missing from the film ads as there was a rift between the production house and the crew which was not sorted in time with regards to the promotion of the film. Sohail and Salman admitted that the film was poorly marketed and did not focus on the love story angle of the film where the strength of the film lay."

Prakash Jha said, “Nothing like this has happened. If you are working with a big cast and crew there is always a big budget. But the production house has not said anything against it. They understand the budget and film making process. After all they are one of the biggest film production house.”
Whatever the current scenario is, the film does look like a lot of money went into assembling the star cast alone. The film is due for release in May 2010.

Quelle: http://www.starboxoffice.com/newsdetails...ews_20091218_85

TNN 19 December 2009, 12:00am IST

Ajay Devgn and actress-wife Kajol will go on a month long Christmas/New Year vacation to their farm near Karjat.

The actor who has a sprawling house in Karjat is currently getting the swimming pool re-modelled. Yes, it will be the size that will be good enough for Olympic gold medallists. Ajay, Kajol and Nysa will spend Christmas there... and immediately after the New Year, Ajay will combine business with pleasure. He will shoot for Ekta Kapoor’s Once Upon a Time in Mumbai at the nearby studio, so that his vacation time with the family is also not eaten into. This is what you call style.

Quelle: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/enter...how/5352231.cms