By Bollywood Hungama News Network, January 2, 2010 - 12:49 IST
Although his De Dana Dan is a hit, Priyadarshan is on the look-out for a serious image for his films with titles to match. For his next film, which is about caste wars and forbidden inter-caste marriages in Bihar, Priyadarshan wanted a title that would convey the flavour and feel of the Bihari milieu.
Priyan wanted to call the film Gangaajal, not knowing that the title had already been taken for another Bihari fable.
Says Priyan, "I thought something like Gangaajal was the best title for this film because it allowed audiences to know exactly where the plot and characters were going."
In his mind he had settled for the title as the best one for his film, until he shared it with his leading man Ajay Devgn. To his horror, Priyan was told by Ajay that Prakash Jha had already used the title. Ajay knew about Jha's Gangaajal because he had played the lead in it.
Then began the search for another title. Now Priyan's Bihar based drama is called Nishaad.
Nishaad starring Ajay Devgn, Bipasha Basu and Akshaye Khanna had been shot without a title all this while mainly because Priyan wanted the film to have a hard-hitting title.
Finally Priyan's script and dialogue writer came up with Nishaad because the director barely knows any Hindi.
übersetzt von sylva: Na endlich hat der Film einen Titel...Nishaad. Der Film handelt von Kastenkampf und verbotenen Eheschliessungen zwischen den Kasten und spielt in Bihar.
Erst wollte er den Film Gangajaal nennen, aber da hat ihm Ajay erklärt, dass es bereits einen Film mit diesem Titel gibt...er hatte schliesslich die Hautrolle.
Ajay Devgn and director Rohit Shetty have had Diwali hits over the past two years (Golmaal Returns in 2008 and All The Best in 2009). So, they plan to release Golmaal 3 during Diwali 2010.
"We plan to begin shooting the new Golmaal film in March. We have already finalised the script, and the cast is falling in place. We will try to wrap up in time for Diwali next year," reveals Rohit, who is also busy judging a television show these days.
Golmaal 3 will be co-produced by Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision and Ajay Devgn. Besides Ajay, Kareena Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade and Tusshar Kapoor return from the last Golmaal film while talks are on with Bipasha Basu for a central role.
übersetzt von soulsurfer: Das Skript ist fertig, die Dreharbeiten beginnen im März, der Release ist für Diwali 2010 geplant. Neben den üblichen Verdächtigen soll auch hier Bips eine Hauptrolle spielen.
Indo-Asian News Service Monday, January 04, 2010 (New Delhi)
Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn recently visited the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan to seek blessings for his forthcoming movie Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge. The film's trailer and posters have hit the theatres on Dec 25.
Scheduled to release on Feb 26, Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge is based on noted satirist Sharad Joshi's short story.
Co-produced by Warner Bros. Pictures India and Wide Frame Films, the laugh riot also stars Konkona Sen Sharma and Paresh Rawal.
Directed by Ashwin Dhir, the film revolves around a middle class couple who have an unexpected guest at home.
The news had been in the rounds for quite sometime about Priyadarshan’s next film which is going to be far from being a comedy. The ace National award winning director was said to bring in a film on a serious subject with the backdrop of inter-caste marriages in Bihar.
The filmmaker for past few days had been chalking out titles suitable for the film. He was keen to get a strong title that will be able to support the film’s equally strong storyline…
It is said that Priyan had circled on the title Ganga Jal. But his film’s lead stars Ajay Devgn and Bipasha Basu were quite amused with the choice. They both had in fact acted in Prakash Jha’s film that had same title! And this fact was unknown to Priyan!
And finally the director with his script and dialogue writer’s help fixed on another title – Nishaad.
Besides Ajay and Bipasha, Nishaad also has Akshaye Khanna in a pivotal role.
India’s iconic SUV, the Mahindra Scorpio, took another step in stardom with the unveiling of a premium, special edition `Scorpio Coffee Table Book’ at the Auto Expo in Delhi today. Film actor Ajay Devgan - the Scorpio’s first customer, and Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director, Mahindra Group, took special pride in unveiling the book, which chronicles the journey of India’s best loved SUV since its launch in 2002.
In his foreword to the book, Anand Mahindra states, “In Mahindra & Mahindra, we have never believed that our business is to make cars. Rather, our business is to give shape to dreams and to create legends. Our dream is to become India’s first global cult brand and thereby create a unique niche for ourselves and for Indian cars, all over the world. We believe that the Scorpio was the beginning of our journey there. This volume chronicles a great adventure and a labour of love and it is a pleasure to share it with aficionados everywhere.”
“The launch of the Scorpio in 2002 signalled the coming of age of the automotive sector in India, and was a milestone for the country’s automotive industry. The Scorpio redefined the SUV space and continues to occupy a special place in the minds and hearts of more than 200,000 owners across the country. I am delighted to present the ‘Scorpio Coffee Table Book’, which is apt testimony to a vehicle that is now a cult brand,” said Dr. Pawan Goenka, president, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
The ‘Scorpio Coffee Table Book’ is available at leading book stores, Mahindra dealerships across the country, and also at the Mahindra Pavillion in Hall No. 2 at the Auto Expo in New Delhi. In addition to the premium ‘Scorpio Coffee Table Book’, the other delights awaiting Scorpio enthusiasts at the Mahindra Pavilion include a Special Edition Scorpio with premium finish interiors and exteriors, a Mahindra Great Escape off road game starring Scorpio, a snazzy new Scorpio website, Scorpio-branded merchandise and much more.
In 2002, the Scorpio was launched with much fanfare to international acclaim. This was followed by the Scorpio SLX in 2004, the Scorpio CRDe in 2005 and the All New Scorpio in 2006, which sported 43 new features. Not content to rest on its laurels, Mahindra launched the Scorpio VLX, LX and the Scorpio Getaway in 2007, the Scorpio Automatic in 2008 and the New Mighty Muscular Scorpio in 2009.
New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) A day after small cars hogged the limelight, it was the turn of celebrities, including Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan and cricketer Sourav Ganguly, today to add glitz to the ongoing 10th Auto Expo.
While Khan, the brand ambassador of Hyundai Motors, unveiled the new i10 electric car and sports variant of Genesis, Devgan visited the Mahindra & Mahindra stall and launched a picture booklet of the 'Scorpio', besides unveiling a limited edition of the SUV.
On a hectic day that saw unveiling of over 10 different types of vehicles, a late appearance by Khan threw schedules out of gear. It, however, didn't stop other companies from showcasing their latest offerings.
German car maker Volkswagen showcased its high-end luxury car Phaeton with sticker price of Rs 75 lakh that will be available in the market from March onwards.
Yes, the Devgns are horsing around in Karjat! That’s the best way to describe weekends at the sprawling farmhouse on the outskirts of Mumbai that Ajay and Kajol have. And, joining the family and daughter Nysa is Ginger, a pony Ajay presented the six-year-old girl with on New Year’s day!
The pony is white and has black spots and Nysa is in love with Ginger already. It has become a permanent resident at the farmhouse where the Devgns are spending the next month and a half. Ajay is shooting at a nearby studio in Karjat for Milan Luthria’s Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. And Kajol is shooting for Karan Johar’s Step-Mom. “Nysa has school, so they join me on the weekends,” said Ajay, confirming his New Year’s gift for Nysa. “My little one expressed a desire to learn to ride. So I got her Ginger,” he added.
Nysa’s riding lessons began on January 1, itself and she is said to show a natural flair for the sport. Ajay himself is a keen rider and his friend Milan Luthria used to be a jockey at one point. It was with Milan’s expertise and help from a couple of other close friends that Ajay managed to get the pedigreed Ginger from a stud farm in Pune.
Now the actor wants to buy himself a horse so that he can ride with Nysa. Kajol doesn’t know to ride but is eager to learn. The actress will enrol for full-time riding lessons after her current schedule of Step-Mom and the promotions of her forthcoming film My Name is Khan are over.
Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday said it has suffered a production loss of around five per cent due to supply constraints of components.
“Our company has lost production of around five per cent since October due to supply constraints. The supply shortage has come from various kinds of components,” Mahindra & Mahindra President (Automotive) Pawan Goenka told reporters at the 10th Auto Expo.
He said the industry expects the supply constraints to continue for a few more months. “This supply shortage is because of capacity constraint among auto component makers. Nobody has expected this kind of big recovery in auto sales and this has let to this problem as supplier had not invested to deal with this kind of volume increase,” he said.
Goenka said he expects a recovery from the constraint by April this year once the suppliers are able to ramp up capacity.
Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group, along with Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra in the esteemed presence of Scorpio’s first customer Ajay Devgan, unveiling the Scorpio Coffee Table book at the 10th Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Amitabh Bachchan has expressed a desire to try his hand at farming someday. So has Aamir Khan. However, both of them have been beaten by Ajay Devgan.
Ajay has six film releases in 2010 but one would never have guessed that besides acting what gets the actor’s adrenaline pumping is farming.
His close associates say that the actor, who spends weekends at his Karjat farm house, has, for the last three years, been actively involved in farming.
On his 28-acre Devgan Farms, he is said to have approximately 4500 papaya trees, 2500 banana trees, 500-odd bora (green berries) trees, and he also has kesar and hapoos mango orchards.
News has it that for the last three seasons, the Devgan Farm mangoes have been winning the Best Mango prize at the Raigad Zilla Mango Competition.
Confirming the news Ajay says, “Well, I’ve always been keen on organic farming. We grow our own vegetables like brinjals (egg plant), ladies finger (bhendi), raddish (mooli) and even fresh tomatoes. If I’m not in Karjat, the vegetables are sent to me at my Juhu home. While I’m not involved in the day-to-day supervision of the farm (I have a full-fledged staff caring for it), I keep myself abreast with what happens here.” He is happy that Karjat, in recent years, has been getting enough water for irrigation. And, he is also aware of which is the best season for the various vegetables and the fruits.
He modestly admits that it is indeed an honour to have picked up the award for the best mangoes three seasons in a row. “This year the mango trees have just started to flower,” says the actor. “We’ll have a late start to the mango season. The kesar fruit should come in April, while the Alphonso will come in May.”
Reacting to a news item about a Ratnagiri farmer selling a single Alphonso at an exorbitant Rs 333 for export to Australia, the actor says that he also has plans to take mango farming to the next level.
As of now, the papaya, the bananas and the berries from his farm are sold at the Vashi local market on a regular basis.
However, his mango crop is comparatively limited. Besides picking up awards at Raigad, the fruit is mainly for his home consumption. “I’m hopeful that soon we’ll grow more mangoes,’’ he says, “On the one hand, it is flattering that foreign countries are ready to pay such a high price for our mangoes. However, I’m worried that if we export all our mangoes, the locals may not get to enjoy the fruit.”
Ajay is also involved in paddy farming-and even grows his own rice. He concludes, “What is really gratifying is that we use no artificial fertilisers. Everything is grown organically.”
übersetzt von soulsurfer: In dem Artikel steht, dass Ajay seit drei Jahren schwer in die landwirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten auf seiner Farm involviert ist, wo unter anderem Papayas, Bananen und Mangos angebaut werden. Für seine Mangos hat er sogar mehrere Preise gewonnen, und er beschäftigt sich mit der Zukunft des Mangoanbaus.
Auch das biologisch angebaute Gemüse für den privaten Haushalt wird auf der Farm geerntet - Auberginen, Rettich, Okras und Tomaten beispielsweise. Aber auch Reis und Zuckerrohr, ebenfalls organisch angebaut, werden von seinen Feldern geerntet.
Ajay Devgn is a chain smoker, a politically incorrect way to be these days. However, the actor is seriously thinking of kicking the habit.
Wife Kajol has been persuading him to give up his nicotine fix. But more than that, it is his six-year-old daughter Nysa who keeps saying, ‘Poppy please don’t smoke.’ Whenever Nysa spots Ajay lighting up, she gives up whatever it is that she is doing at that point, runs and sits in her father’s lap.
“Then I’m forced to stub my cigarette,’ says Ajay. Looks like Nysa will succeed in doing what Kajol couldn't.
Mumbai, Jan 18 (IANS) Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, who has just bagged the Stardust award for Reader’s Choice best actor in comedy for “All The Best”, says his forthcoming film “Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?” is a hilarious movie but unlike any slapstick comedy. “It is not a slapstick comedy. It’s a lighthearted film. This comes under a different genre. There is sensibility along with humour. There is also an undercurrent emotion in it. After a long time I did a film of this kind,” Ajay told reporters at the official launch of the upcoming film’s website here Monday.
The film, directed by Ashwani Dhir, revolves around the story of Puneet (Ajay Devgn) and Munmun (Konkona Sen Sharma), a happily married couple living in Mumbai. Their life takes a turn when a distant relative Chachaji (Paresh Rawal) turns up unannounced at their doorstep from a far off village.
The chaos that follows makes it a rib tickling comedy where the agonised couple tries out various methods to get relief from him but fails time and again. The film is set to release Feb 26.
“There are mainly three characters and it’s a problem between the three of them,” said Ajay.
Konkona has always been offered serious roles and “Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?” would be her first full-fledged comedy.
“I am mainly seen as a serious actress… I am usually not given a chance to do films which are more lighthearted in nature. That’s why I am very grateful to the director and producer of ‘Atithi…’ that they thought of me for this character. I really enjoyed doing it,” said Konkona.
“I think people will relate to the film a lot because this is basically reflecting on the lives of young couples today in Mumbai. There are people from all over the country coming here to make their lives. People are struggling and if they have guests coming from their village, there is a question of privacy. It’s not like Delhi where you have huge sprawling houses. So I think because of all these factors people will relate to it,” she added.
Nevada (ANI): Hollywood beauty Sarah Thompson Kane is reportedly heading to Bollywood to act as hero Ranbir Kapoor’s American girlfriend in the blockbuster drama Raajneeti. Los Angeles born Sarah, with a Southern and British accent and educated at Columbia University (New York), is well-versed with tap-ballroom-jazz-swing-ballet and does yoga.
According to reports, Sarah’s character follows Kapoor from USA to India after he deserts her for political aspirations. Releasing on May 28 next, its cast, besides Sarah and Kapoor, also includes Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Vivek Oberoi, Nana Patekar. Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed has welcomed the new trend of Hollywood stars going to Bollywood and hopes that Hollywood-Bollywood “engagement” will bring West and East closer.
In a statement in Nevada (USA) today, Zed, who is the chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, said that India had a rich literary heritage and, if looked deeply, could provide lot of themes of international appeal to Hollywood.
By Subhash K Jha Posted On Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 02:50:16 AM
The secret is out. Ranbir Kapoor’s American girlfriend in Raajneeti, the one he abandons to pursue his family’s political dynastic ambitions in India, is 30-year-old Sarah Thompson Kane.
Sarah is best known for her role in Cruel Intentions 2 and for playing South African cricketer Hansie Cronje’s wife in the 2008 biopic Hansie. She was chosen to play Ranbir’s American girl in Raajneeti after a great deal of deliberation. “We auditioned nearly 30 girls before we selected Sarah. She was right for the part. It’s a substantial role and we needed an actress who could act and would look compatible with Ranbir,” says director Prakash Jha.
In the film, Sarah and Ranbir fall in love in an American university. She later follows him to India.
This is the first Caucasian actress that Ranbir has shot with. Apparently the vibes were so thanda between the two that the director decided to scrap the kissing scene between them.