[ItzToday.com] Supermodel Campbell misses McQueen's advice

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• Supermodel Campbell misses McQueen's advice
• Shah Rukh Khan says I will never want my show to stoop down
• Fashion magazine in trouble after 'whitening' Aishwarya Rai
• Katrina Kaif 'Sheila Ki Jawani' brings crowds to TMK
• Dhobi Ghat to be released in two versions
• Aamir Khan says Kiran can't stop me from promoting 'Dhobi Ghat'
• Tees Maar Khan Movie Review
• Rani Mukerji says actors are like beggars
• 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' more relevant now than before

Supermodel Campbell misses McQueen's advice Posted: 24 Dec 2010 10:35 PM PST London, Dec 25 (IANS) Supermodel Naomi Campbell says she misses Alexander McQueen's advice, because the late fashion designer was "always right". The supermodel has paid further tribute to the late fashion designer and her friend, who sadly took his own life in February, reflecting on the great tips he gave her during their friendship. "While we worked together many times, ours was a true friendship. He was very sincere and supportive. He would always call me up and offer advice. And, you know what, he was always right," contactmusic.com quoted her as saying. She also spoke of the support she received from other models, in particular Kate Moss, in the wake of Alexander's death when she put together a series of his designs for her Fashion For Relief show, which raised money for the victims of this year's devastating Haiti earthquake. "I knew he would have wanted to do something for Haiti and there was no way that, just a few weeks after his death, I could not do a tribute to Alex. "Kate had never walked for one of my shows before but I didn't even get to finish the sentence before she was like, 'I'm there'. We all felt the same way."

Shah Rukh Khan says I will never want my show to stoop down Posted: 24 Dec 2010 10:29 PM PST Mumbai, Dec 24 (IANS) The TV industry today might be inundated with regular notifications, criticisms and controversies for its reality show content but Shah Rukh Khan, who is making his comeback on the small screen as the host of "Zor Ka Jhatka" on Imagine TV, says his will be a dignified show, just like the superstar himself. "I might joke around, fool around with my loved ones, entertain people at length. Sometimes they misinterpret it but I believe I am a dignified person. I am a dignified husband, a father, a brother, a son-in-law," Shah Rukh told IANS in an interview here. "I will never want my show to stoop down to a level where I feel ashamed of it. I will never do or let any kind of misbehaviour rule my show just for TRP ratings as people say." The 45-year-old has earlier hosted shows like "Kaun Banega Crorepati" (2007) and "Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?" (2008) and people loved him for his natural wit and humour that had audiences in splits. Last month, the information and broadcasting ministry cracked down on two shows - "Bigg Boss" and "Rakhi Ka Insaaf" - by issuing directives to change their telecast timings following viewers' complaints about vulgar content being proliferated through them. Shah Rukh's new show is the Indian edition of the internationally popular "Wipeout". "Zor Ka Jhatka" will see 28 TV stars battling it out in an obstacle course set in Argentina and the superstar also claimed he will stand as an apostle of love and peace to curb eventual male egoes on the show. "Fights on my show are a little dicey to see. I am a love maker and not a fight maker. And if they do, I will stand as a peacemaker then," he said in his trademark dimpled smile with visible ripples around his cheeks. Asked about his competitive strategy to tackle other celebrity hosts on the small screen, he said: "Till the time competition is healthy everything works perfect. Everybody is doing their job and are giving it their best shot." "My competition is with myself and not any celebrity. I truly believe that I do a good job, I work very hard and I will keep working hard. And that is what is of concern to me," he added in his nonchalant King Khan manner. So will the host perform any adventure sports too? "The first thing that I made clear to the channel was that please don't make me go there and do any of those sports. They want me to do a promo where I need to do some of the activities, but I'm not looking forward to it. Getting dipped in mud, drenched out in dirty water - I can't take that humiliation. But lets see," he quipped. The show will go on air in January next year.

Fashion magazine in trouble after 'whitening' Aishwarya Rai Posted: 24 Dec 2010 10:25 PM PST London, Dec 24 (IANS) Fashion magazine Elle is being accused of stirring up a race row following alleged digital lightening of Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai's skin for the glamourous cover page. The 37-year-old, who achieved global popularity after winning the Miss World crown in 1994 and following it up with films like "Bride & ­Prejudice" and "The Pink Panther 2", appears on the cover of this month's Indian edition of the magazine. Though Aishwarya looks picture perfect in a flowing gown and a stunning hairdo, readers started reacting with fury after it was suggested that the fashion magazine might have used digital technology to enhance her complexion, reports dailymail.co.uk. Inside the magazine, she is pictured in a series of shots with light skin. However, fans have been posting angry comments online about the latest cover. One comment read: "It's ­annoying because it seems like lighter skin is always in fashion as if darker skin is ­something to be frowned upon." Colour discrimination is quite a sensitive issue in India, and it is often percieved that those with a lighter complexion are more successful and wealthy. This isn't the first time that the magazine has been attacked for appearing to lighten the skin of its non-white models. In September this year, Afro-American actress Gabourey Sidibe appeared on the cover of the US magazine with a much paler complexion than her usual.

Katrina Kaif 'Sheila Ki Jawani' brings crowds to TMK Posted: 24 Dec 2010 10:18 PM PST New Delhi, Dec 24 (IANS) Katrina Kaif's sensuous 'Sheila Ki Jawani' number brought in the audiences in droves to watch Farah Khan's "Tees Maar Khan", with the movie garnering 90-95 percent occupancy on the day of its release Friday. With their curiosity whetted by Katrina's slithery moves in television promos of the film, the Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif starrer was a hit on its first day. However, industry insiders predict the huge turnout is mostly due to Katrina's dance number. "We are having good advance bookings for 'Tees Maar Khan' and the initial response is good, with almost 90 percent occupancy, but the content is not at all as per expectations," Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (cinemas) of Wave Cinemas, told IANS. "Audiences are mostly queuing up to watch Katrina Kaif in 'Sheila Ki Jawani', and that's about it," he added. Amit Awasthi, senior manager (programming and operations) of Spice Cinemas, said: "The movie has opened to a fantastic initial with over 95 percent occupancy and the audiences are coming in mostly due to the hot item number," said Awasthi. A source from PVR cinemas also said: "The initial for the movie is good at about 80-90 percent but the content is not getting appreciation. The audiences are only here for the item song and not for the movie per se." Co-produced by Three's Company, Hari Om Entertainment and UTV Motion Pictures, the previews for the movie held on Dec 21, Dec 22 and Dec 23 in select cities in Britain have, however, grossed over Rs.7.5 million. In the US, the previews grossed Rs.4 million on Wednesday alone, according to a statement by UTV. While in the Middle East, it has made around Rs.9.5 million on its opening day. Another movie that was released is Ajay Devgn-Kajol starrer live action animation "Toonpur Ka Superhero" that is still waiting to pick up with only 20-30 percent occupancy on an average.

Dhobi Ghat to be released in two versions Posted: 24 Dec 2010 10:00 PM PST Mumbai, Dec 24 (IANS) Aamir Khan's production venture "Dhobi Ghat", which is the directorial debut of his wife Kiran Rao, will be released in two versions - one completely in Hindi and the other with a few scenes in English. "The film has 8-10 scenes in English. But we realized that people who are not very comfortable with the language would be in a tough spot. So we dubbed those scenes in Hindi," Aamir told reporters here. "We will release the film in two versions. One will be completely in Hindi and the other will have the original English dialogues. People can choose the version they want to see," he said. The 45-year-old confirmed that both the versions will be released Jan 21. When asked the reason for two versions when he could have also gone in for subtitles, the actor-producer informed: "We didn't want to keep subtitles because a lot of people don't like reading while seeing the film and many people can't read, so dubbing was a better option." "Dhobi Ghat" that stars Aamir along with Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra, Kitu Gidwani and Nafisa Khan is a film about four characters from different classes of society and how their lives are interwined. "I'm very happy for the film. Kiran has beautifully implemented what she intended to make. It's a very different film, an arthouse film that we haven't seen for a while. "It's a film about moments. Kiran has shot at real locations with a small crew, so it has a real feel about it. She has brought about the vibrancy and colour of Mumbai very well," he added.

Aamir Khan says Kiran can't stop me from promoting 'Dhobi Ghat' Posted: 24 Dec 2010 09:55 PM PST Mumbai, Dec 24 (IANS) When the first look of "Dhobi Ghat" was revealed, director Kiran Rao did not want her husband and actor-producer Aamir Khan to attend the event so that the spotlight doesn't shift from the movie to him. But who can keep Aamir away! "I was never meant to be away from the promotions of the film. I'm very proud of the film and I'm part of it, since I'm the producer and have also acted in it. Even Kiran can't keep me away from it," Aamir told reporters here Friday. "I'm happy to be a part of it and I will be part of it till the end," he added. "Dhobi Ghat" that stars Aamir along with Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra, Kitu Gidwani and Nafisa Khan is a film about four characters from different classes of society and how their lives are intertwined. The film is Kiran's directorial debut. It is slated to hit the screens Jan 21. Asked if he helped Kiran in the filmmaking process, the 45-year-old actor promptly said: "If I had not helped her, she would have killed me. As her husband, it is my duty to help her always and as it is, as an actor, whatever film I'm connected to, I feel I'm a team player." Aamir is playing the role of a painter in the film but he revealed that initially he wanted to take up Prateik's role. "When I heard all the characters, I really liked Prateik's character and wanted to do that. But the character requires someone who looks 18-19 years old. So to prove it to Kiran that I can look that young, I did '3 Idiots'. But she still didn't agree. Thankfully she gave me some role in her film," he said.

Tees Maar Khan Movie Review Posted: 24 Dec 2010 09:45 PM PST Film: "Tees Maar Khan"; Starring: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Akshaye Khanna; Directed by: Farah Khan; Rating: *** You have to hand it to Farah Khan. The zany spirit never leaves her side. "Tees Maar Khan" (TMK) is a goofy oddball of a film, replete with the most outrageous takeoffs on the dreaded Hindi Film 'formula' seen in recent times. The film, we understand, is inspired by a 1966 Peter Sellers comedy "After The Fox". But the foxiness of this feisty farce comes entirely from Farah Khan's own sensibilities as a storyteller. The laughter never deserts the belly of the plot. In TMK she pulls out all stops to tell a tale that never grows pale under the gaze of the camera. The plot is the kind of kinky concoction that one associates with the literature of P.G Wodehouse and the drama of Sheridan. As hard to put down on paper as it is to pin down on camera, Farah Khan manages to just about hold the myriad madcap characters into a firm comic grip. The clasp of the comic is strong and engaging. The grin never slips off. The spirit of a spoofy satirical homage to the larger-than-life hero-giri of the Formula Fillum never slips up. Yes, some parts of the takeoff refuse to take off. At times the storytelling becomes a casualty of its own parodic intentions. You never know when the narration slips into a parody of its own parody. That, you realise, is a part of this film's chirpy chalu charm. The energy-driven narrative propels the parody from one gag to another. The gasbag narration is never short of tricks to seduce us into a state of helpless laughter. When the dialogues fail to lift the satire (and this fuel-shortage happens frequently), Akshay Kumar steps in to do his number. No stranger to comedy, Akshay turns in one of his zaniest performances since Priyadarshan's "Hera Pheri". To say his comic timing is impeccable would be stating the obvious. Akshay just blends into the no-man's-land ambience of the film with unquestioning sincerity. Akshaye Khanna as the Oscar-crazy superstar comes up with a comically compelling performance. We've never seen him having so much fun before. Maybe it's the company he 'quips'. Katrina Kaif's airheaded eyelash-batting makeup-splashing item-girl act gets its rippling rhythms from her lately-honed comic aptitudes. Her "Sheila ki jawani" item number which was the film's selling-point before release is performed with a gusto and elegance that could have easily overpowered the film. Happily TMK manages to hold its own right up to the crazy chaotic finale. The plot is crammed full with empty-headed and moronic characters. Farah Khan's vibrant vision encompasses the entire gamut of giggles, chuckles and guffaws in one swift confident sweep. You are hooked from the word go. The supporting actors too furnish the hectic hilarity with enormous zaniness. Particularly notable are Aarya Babbar (fully in form as a boorish slightly dimwitted cop), Apara Mehta (endearingly nutty as Akshay's filmy mother) and Ali Asgar (as one of Akshay's sidekicks). "Tees Maar Khan" is a kind of subverted homage to the cinema of Manmohan Desai. There are no lost-and-found kids in this 'ever-grin' film. But there's plenty of that spirit of daring destiny to do what it can. Go for "Tees Maar Khan". Ignore all the negative comments you've been hearing about it. It's great unpretentious fun. To actually put so many IQ-challenged characters into an intelligent piece of comedy couldn't be easy. So who said being the new-age Manmohan Desai was easy?

Rani Mukerji says actors are like beggars Posted: 24 Dec 2010 09:40 PM PST Mumbai, Dec 25 (IANS) Rani Mukerji says she wants to be seen more often on the big screen but describes actors as beggars waiting for good scripts to come their way, which is the reason for her long absence. "Actors are beggars! They wait for good scripts to come their way. It's always the makers who decide to make a film and then it's on the actors to choose what they want to do on the basis of what is being offered to them," Rani, who will feature in a never-before-seen avatar in "No One Killed Jessica", told IANS in an interview. "Honestly, the kind of roles that are being offered to me, I have to think hard before taking them. I have a responsibility towards my fans and I can't do random things. I have to do a role that catches people's attention. If my fans love me so much, the least I can do is to come out with a good film for them; that's why I do fewer films now," said the 32-year-old. The dusky damsel wants to be seen more, but somehow she is not so lucky. "I keep hoping and praying that I get scripts which are different so that I can take up those films. As an actor I want to be seen. "The constant reaction that I keep getting is that 'Rani, we want to see more of you', and I too want to do more films. In fact, I want to come out with two-three films every year, but I've not been really lucky that I could do that. I'm not getting the roles that I really want to do," she said. Rani, who used to do a couple of films a year earlier, has squeezed it down to just one project per year now. In the last three years, Rani was seen in just two films "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic" and "Dil Bole Hadippa", but both failed to spin any magic at the box office. She is, however, very optimistic about 2011 when her "No One Killed Jessica" will hit the screens. Slated for a Jan 7 release, the film, based on the murder of model Jessica Lall in 1999 by Manu Sharma, son of a Haryana politician, will see her as a gutsy, fearless and bold crime reporter Meera Gaitey. "When I was approached for this role, I was told that when the case was going on, there were a lot of reporters who pursued it actively. In a film, we obviously can't have all of them. So my character is an amalgamation of all of them," said Rani. "It would have been unfair to model the character on one person. So, I played it how I thought the character would be. Also I have taken bits from reporters I have met in so many years. I incorporated inputs from my observation," she added. It was a long battle for Sabrina Lall to fight for justice for her sister and finally Manu Sharma was awarded life imprisonment by the Supreme Court. The film, which has been produced by UTV Spotboy and directed by Rajkumar Gupta, also features Vidya Balan as Sabrina Lall. Throwing some light on her experience of working with Vidya, Rani said her co-star is very involved as an actor. "Vidya is a method actor, which is what I have seen during the shooting of the film. She gets very involved in her character. She is a kind of actor who prepares a lot before coming on the sets. When she has to do a serious scene, I have seen her being very quiet and serious," she said. "When she worked with me, she got a pleasant surprise because I'm fun on the sets and she didn't expect that. The minute she used to look at me, she used to start laughing because she finds me very naughty," she added.

'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' more relevant now than before Posted: 24 Dec 2010 09:23 PM PST New Delhi, Dec 25 (IANS) In 1983, a first time director made a film that introduced Indian audiences to the genre of absurdist, black comedy. Twenty-seven years later a young journalist-turned-writer sets out to tell what made "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro" a cult classic, which is more relevant now than ever before. Kundan Shah's film, which was at once a harrowing spoof on and serious indictment of corruption and the media's role as an enabler, has now found a passionate chronicler in Delhi-based journalist and reviewer Jai Arjun Singh. His monograph "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro - Seriously Funny Since 1983", published by HarperCollins India, has been described by the 33-year-old as "the story of the making of the film, starting with the unusual career trajectory of Kundan Shah and the writing of the original English script, on to the assembling of the crew, the shooting, post-production...with a bit of analysis thrown in here and there". Considering that Singh was barely six years old when the movie was released, he came to it first as a child and again nearly two decades later as a professional reviewer. The movie has grown for him from just being chuckle-worthy to a subject worth serious analysis. "There was actually quite a big gap between the 'before' and the 'after' - I watched it numerous times on TV as a child in the 80s, and then saw it as an adult 18-20 years later, in 2008," Singh told IANS in an interview. "I saw it as a very polemical, political film disguised as a comedy. As a child, one simply laughed a lot, though I should also say that my most vivid memory was of the startling final scene - the throat-cutting gesture, the association of a beloved inspirational song like 'Hum Honge Kaamyaab' with such a bleak ending," Singh said. Writing a structured book about a movie that broke all established Indian cinematic structures of its time was "a bit daunting at first" for Singh. "I was thinking readers will expect a book on 'Jaane Bhi...' to be as wacky as the film itself was but eventually I had to set those thoughts aside and work with my own strengths as a journalist. I decided to write this as a linear narrative with a beginning, a middle and an end." Singh distinguishes between content and execution while discussing whether, like many cult classics, the film acquired more artistic weight with time. "Well, it certainly seems more relevant than ever before. In post-liberalisation India, one takes corruption and inequality so much more for granted that if exactly the same film were made today, Vinod and Sudhir (the two protagonists played by Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Vaswani) would seem hopelessly naive - even stupid - standing about singing 'Hum Honge Kaamyaab'," he said. "But there are so many times when one reads newspapers and thinks instantly of 'Jaane Bhi...' - news about the bridge collapse just before the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, and the attendant fiascos that made it obvious that the bulk of the money was being siphoned away. Or even the controversies that media finds itself in - the collusion between journalists and fixers. A lot of the more loony things in 'Jaane Bhi...' don't even seem exaggerated now!" "In terms of its execution, the film hasn't gained artistic weight over time - a young viewer watching it today is likely to find it very raw and shoddy...That's inevitable, it was a very resource-strapped production. But I hope that contemporary directors with a Kundan Shah-like sensibility make more such films with similar content but are technically better made," he added. Singh says there are many ways to tackle the same subject of corruption, but absurdist comedy "when done well is a particularly effective tool for social commentary". "One reason that 'Jaane Bhi...' got away with so much (its skewering of corruption and its irreverence towards death) is that it wore the garb of an absurdist comedy. If it had treated the same subjects with a straight face or a pedantic tone, it might never have got produced, or might have faced censorship problems. It's unfortunate that many people don't take comedy as a medium too seriously...," he said. On why the 'Jaane Bhi..." kind of irreverent humour has not taken hold within the popular entertainment landscape in India, Singh said: "I can't tell you how long I've spent wrestling with this question, and I don't have a satisfactory answer to it. The only thing I can think of is that this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime, serendipitous moments when a group of struggling artistes, hungry to express their creativity, happened to come together to work with a script written by two men who had a genuine knack for exaggeration and zaniness." "Jaane Bhi..." was a sort of freakish coming together of a debut-making filmmaker and the government-funded National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). It was made for what was even then a modest sum of Rs.7 lakh. Singh agrees that such bootstrapping gave the movie its raw, experimental edge. Asked why Shah could never live up to the success of "Jaane Bhi..." in his follow-up films, Singh said: "There are many theories - my own feeling is that he essentially isn't the sort of person who fits into a commercial film industry. In 1982, he got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a low-profile movie in the company of friends who were at his beck and call day and night, and without much interference from producers... "I also get the impression that he's a very idealistic man - and idealism can of course make you inflexible when it comes to creating something in collaboration with many other people, with external constraints."

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