GS WEBZONE: [ItzToday.com] Handwritten 'Dhobi Ghat' invites by Kiran Rao

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

[ItzToday.com] Handwritten 'Dhobi Ghat' invites by Kiran Rao

Handwritten 'Dhobi Ghat' invites by Kiran Rao
Fever crippled Aishwarya Rai couldn't promote 'Guzaarish' in Delhi
Priyanka Chopra feels herself too young for marriage
Katrina Kaif calls Farah Khan a nice director
Saif Ali Khan to star in Siddharth Anand's '2 States'
Aishwarya Rai has a desire to work again with Rituparno Ghosh
12 Worst Bollywood Movies of This Decade

Handwritten 'Dhobi Ghat' invites by Kiran Rao

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:43 AM PST

No one beats Aamir Khan when it comes to his out-of-the-box promotional strategies. Now his wife Kiran Rao is following her perfectionist hubby's footprints and sending hand-written post cards to invite the media to a screening of her directorial debut "Dhobhi Ghat".

"What started five years ago as a vague idea is now a 100-minute reality and I am most excited (and very nervous)," Kiran wrote in a handwritten post card inviting the media for a dekko at her film's first look Nov 17 in Mumbai, a copy of which is with IANS.

Kiran will write personal notes about her experience in the city and while shooting there every week on a post card before dispatching it to the scribes.

Essentially about Mumbai, its essence and its people, "Dhobhi Ghat" revolves around four characters in the Maximum city. Produced by and starring Aamir, it has Prateik Babbar in the lead. It is releasing Jan 21.

Fever crippled Aishwarya Rai couldn't promote 'Guzaarish' in Delhi

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:38 AM PST

Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, who was supposed to arrive here Tuesday to promote her upcoming film "Guzaarish", had to cancel her trip at the last minute due to fever.

The actress has been jetsetting for promoting the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, in which she plays a nurse named Sofia.

"Aishwarya is not travelling to Delhi. She is down with fever. She has had a hectic week of promotions," her spokesperson told IANS.

The 37-year-old was travelling Nov 11-13 and went to Dubai and London for a day each. After reaching Mumbai Nov 13 afternoon, she packed her bags to promote the film in Kolkata the next day.

Before the promotions for "Guzaarish", she was also busy promoting her other big films "Action Replayy" and "Robot".

Her co-star Hrithik Roshan too has been under the weather, but he accompanied Bhansali for the press conference in the capital.

"Guzaarish", a story about a magician who becomes quadriplegic when one of his tricks goes wrong, will release Friday.

Priyanka Chopra feels herself too young for marriage

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:47 AM PST

She may be one of the most eligible single women in tinsel town, but getting married figures nowhere on the agenda of National Award winning actress Priyanka Chopra. The 28-year-old says she is too young for it.

Priyanka is in fact "amused" by recent rumours that she has given in to her parents' incessant requests to get married.

"It's actually quite amusing how much momentum this particular rumour has gathered. But it's completely ridiculous. Of course, like any girl I'd want to be married some day but for god's sake I'm only in my 20s and for an actress that's like being a teenager,"Priyanka told IANS in an interview over e-mail.

Nevertheless, she admits her parents want her to settle down.

"My parents have been wanting me to be married since I was born and have been coaxing me since I was old enough to understand the concept...Like any normal Punjabi family," she said.

But does she see herself married in the next five years?

"I don't plan my life, so I don't know. It will happen whenever the right guy comes along and sweeps me off my feet...whenever destiny permits," quipped Priyanka, who was seen in her rough and tough avatar in the reality TV show, "Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 3".

The former Miss World is counted among the most formidable actresses of the current generation and reached the peak of her career with projects like "Fashion", "Dostana" and "Kaminey".

She is enjoying her success, awaiting her upcoming releases, and busy working hard for her new projects, which hardly leaves her with time to mingle with people. She feels her celebrity status, at times, makes it difficult to meet good men.

"As actors we largely meet only co-actors and people from our industry. To top that, I am not too social as a person...so parties and social dos are not my scene! So yes, I guess it is difficult (to find a good match)," she said.

Besides, Priyanka says she has no hang-ups about the background of the person she will marry.

"I have no fixed notions on who or what he will be! All I know is that he should keep me happy and love me for all I am. It has to be someone who is secure in his own skin," said the actress, who was last seen opposite Ranbir Kapoor in "Anjaana Anjaani".

Priyanka has been previously linked with three actors - Harman Baweja, Shahid Kapoor and Hollywood star Gerard Butler, but she prefers not to comment.

She said: "I have never felt the need to discuss my personal life. I never have and never will until there is something or someone substantial to say something about!"

In the meantime, work is all that's on her mind.

Her forthcoming projects include Vishal Bharadwaj's "Saat Khoon Maaf", in which she plays a femme fatale who kills her seven spouses.

She will also be seen with superstar Shah Rukh Khan once again in "Don 2 - The Chase Continues", the sequel to the 2006 "Don - The Chase Begins Again". Both films are slated for release in 2011.

She has also signed up for Anurag Basu's "Silence", and will be featuring with Ranbir once again.

Katrina Kaif calls Farah Khan a nice director

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:32 AM PST

She has a reputation for setting men's hearts aflutter and had worked only with male directors. But Bollywood star Katrina Kaif said working with a woman director - Farah Khan in "Tees Maar Khan" - has been a nice experience.

"I've had wonderful experiences of working with male directors as well, but definitely, it's nice working with a female director. The vibe is different and definitely there is a different way that you would bond or gel with a woman director," Katrina told IANS in an interview.

The actress is all praises for Farah, who has given blockbusters like "Main Hoon Naa" and "Om Shanti Om" in the past.

"She is so clear about what she wants to do and is not a hard taskmaster on the sets at all. She never wastes a minute of your time and will never call you earlier. She is a phenomenal director and I think she is fantastic," she gushed.

Releasing Dec 24, "Tees Maar Khan", an action-comedy, stars Akshay Kumar opposite Katrina. Akshaye Khanna too has a pivotal role in the film.

Throwing light on her role, the 26-year-old said: "I play a wannabe actress in the film, who is a very innocent girl."

"She doesn't see any possibility that a person might be doing something wrong or doing something bad. So Akshay is forever running after her to save her from situations that she gets herself into because she is too trusting.

"She is very ambitious too, but in a simple way, not in a very intelligent way. It was fun to play this character. I just kind of went with the flow," added Katrina.

Her well-toned look has also caught attention, particularly in the item song "Shiela ki jawaani", already something of a hit.

"It's not that I had to lose weight, it's just that I wanted to set a different kind of target for myself in terms of fitness. Also, the clothes I'm wearing in the song demanded a more toned up look. So that's why I worked towards that," she explained.

Doesn't the title of the song sound suggestive?

"Lyrics are lyrics. No one should take them literally and seriously and analyse them in songs like these. If you believe that you are doing something clean and keeping yourself in the boundaries of dignity, then the lyrics and mood of the song don't matter and you feel comfortable while performing it," she said.

"I enjoy my dancing. I don't know how technically good I am, but I like doing it and I enjoyed it," she added.

Speaking about the film's leading man, Katrina said even though she had done a couple of films with Akshay in the past, including "Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye", "Welcome", "Namastey London" and "Singh Is Kinng", audiences will still get to see something new in the movie.

"I think it's a new approach that we take in each film. You have never seen me and Akshay in this kind of space and this zone. That is something we always look for because when you do so many films together, it's important that we don't do the same things," she said.

Saif Ali Khan to star in Siddharth Anand's '2 States'

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:15 AM PST

Saif Ali Khan is all set to play his first biographical character in Siddharth Anand's "2 States", a film adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's book, based on his own real-life experience, of a Punjabi boy who wants to marry his Tamil sweetheart but only with the consent of both their parents.

Saif is expected to spend time with Chetan Bhagat to understand his character, Krish, and get into Krish's mind. In real life too, Saif is all set to get into a cross-cultural marriage and "2 States" will be quite a learning curve for him.

Bhagat would like to exercise a more close vigil over the casting of the protagonists than he did in his novels' other movie adaptations like "Hello" ("One Night At The Call Centre") and "3 Idiots" ("5 Point Someone"). In both these cases Bhagat had no say. And he liked it that way.

But in "2 States", the personal element is extremely pronounced. For better or for worse, Saif came to the storyboard from the outset as part of the project.

And Bhagat is okay with that. Says the best-selling author: "It is not important for Krish to be played by a Punjabi or Ananya to be played by a Tamilian. I'm aware Saif is not a Punjabi. To me that serves the story's purpose even better. The whole idea of '2 States' is to convey a pan-India appeal. The novel is about an inter-state union. What better way to show this than to have a non-Punjabi actor playing my Punjabi protagonist?"

However, if Saif thinks he can just walk into the role of the Punjabi guy and claim it to be his own, as he did in Imtiaz Ali's "Love Aaj Kal", then he has another thought coming. Bhagat would like the Punjabi protagonist's projection to be free of stereotypes and external trappings.

"We're always showing Punjabis and Tamils in a culture-specific light. I wouldn't want my protagonists to be portrayed with regional eccentricities."

In brief, Saif has a lot of preparation to do this time. Unlike the Sardarji in "Love Aaj Kal", the Punjabi boy in "2 States" would have to be played as a product of a pan-Indian sensibility. It would require a personality transformation far more subtle than Saif's Langda Tyagi in Omkara with a very little physical prop.

Director Siddharth Anand, who is the star's old friend, is looking at a large stretch of preparation time for his hero which Saif would be able to give only after he completes his home production "Agent Vinod".

Bhagat admits that "2 States" is his most personal novel to date and the screen adaptation most precious to him.

"Like Krish in my novel I fell in love with a Tamil girl and we decided to marry only with the parents' consent. In the film 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye' when the Tamil boy decides to marry the Punjabi girl, their parents slap and beat up their respective offsprings. Aaj ke din kaun bachche maar khayenge? (Which children will submit to that today?) So you could say '2 States' is like 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye' meeting 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'."

Aishwarya Rai has a desire to work again with Rituparno Ghosh

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:05 AM PST

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai has said she is looking forward to working again with national award winning director Rituparno Ghosh.

"I loved working with Rituda. It was a wonderful experience. I loved being Binodini in his 'Chokher Bali'. Even working with him in 'Raincoat' was a brilliant experience. I am looking forward to experiencing it again. So far my schedules have not permitted," Aishwarya told reporters while addressing a promotional of 'Guzaarish' here Sunday.

In Ghosh's "Chokher Bali", Aishwarya played a young beautiful widow Binodini who falls in love with a married man Mahendra, played by Prosenjit Chatterjee.

The film revolved around the characters of Binodini, Mahendra, Mahendra's wife Ashalata (Raima Sen). The film received the 2004 National Film Award for best feature film in Bengali.

"Raincoat" was a story of two lovers Neeru, played by Aishwarya, and Manu, played by Ajay Devgan, who were separated by fate. The film won the National Film Award for best feature film in Hindi in 2005.

"Rituda is also a very dear friend. He has discussed a lot of subjects with me. Recently we met at the national awards ceremony. He was asking me when we can work together again. I told him 'you tell me, Rituda'," she said.

"I was very busy for the last two years. I am looking forward to working with him. So let's see what lies in store," Aishwarya said.

12 Worst Bollywood Movies of This Decade

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:31 AM PST

Lets have a look at some of the worst bollywood hindi movies made in past ten years. According to a latest survey, these bollywood movies were neither interesting nor entertaining. These movies proved to be the biggest flops at the box office. Most of the movies were of big budget and a lot was being hope from them, but they were rejected by the public. The starcast of the movies was talented but they were not able to capture the hearts of public. Here is the list of worst bollywood movies in the descending order.

RAAVAN(2010)