Sukhwinder makes it to Hollywood!
Bollywood actors making their way to Hollywood is a thing of the past now. The latest dope that is now catching the trend is the singers newly formed association with wild wild west. And the latest singer to have clinched a prestigious Hollywood offer is none other than our ‘Chhaiya Chhaiya’ man Sukhwinder Singh. Reportedly, the singer will be composing the soundtrack for a Steven Spielberg flick.
Apparently, after impressing the crowd with his mind-blowing vocals in Spike Lee’s Denzel Washington starrer ‘Inside Man’, Sukhwinder Singh has now been signed by Universal Pictures for yet another Denzel Washington starrer to be directed by Steven Spielberg.
Confirming the news of his glorious project, Sukhwinder Singh said, “It is true that I have been signed by Universal Pictures for the film. The ‘Chhaiya Chhaiya’ number became immensely popular with Hollywood filmmakers in a big way and they want to recreate the magic. But unlike ‘Chhaiya Chhaiya’ that was lifted directly from ‘Dil Se’, there will be an original composition for this film. The song will be a traditional folk Kutchi song. It is going to be an important part of the Spielberg film.”
Making Jodhaa-Akbar dance
To get the dance moves in his period epic Jodhaa Akbar right, director Ashutosh Gowarikar roped in as many as four choreographers — Raju Khan, Ash Kumar, Chinni Prakash and Rekha Prakash.
Chinni Prakash has been a part of the film industry for years. He also trained his niece Vaibhavi Merchant, who gave us the moves in Kajra Re, among many other filmi songs.
Chinni Prakash has worked in films like Saajan, Khuda Gawah, Thakshak and Tere Naam. Over to him as he takes us behind the scenes of Jodhaa Akbar.
Chinnu said “I have choreographed the song, Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah.I knew Ashu (Gowarikar) was doing a period drama because I had met him a year before the shooting started to wish him luck. We did not talk about the film’s choreography then. About three or four months after that meeting, he asked me to come down to Karjat (about 100 km from Mumbai), where the shooting was on.”
The inspiration behind Jodhaa Akbar
Haidar Ali for the last 50 years, best known for playing Raja in the 1980s television series Nukkad, has struggled to find a foothold in showbusiness. At 60, he appears to be on the cusp of success with the much-awaited Jodhaa Akbar, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai.
Sitting in his home in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park area, Haidar Ali appears relaxed as he speaks about the film of which has written the story and collaborated on the screenplay with director Ashutosh Gowarikar.
“Jodhaa Akbar began after the success of Lagaan,” he says. “Ashutosh was looking for a story on the scale of Lagaan. One day we were talking and I told him that the only film he could make after Lagaan would be Mughal-E-Azam.”
For a moment Gowariker wondered if his friend was talking about remaking Mughal-E-Azam or directing a sequel to K Asif’s epic. But Haidar Ali floated the idea of doing a prequel to Mughal-E-Azam.
“Ashutosh is the only director who could do justice to a film of such a level. In Lagaan, he touched on the issue of casteism, the oppressed class, Hindu-Muslim unity, communal harmony, team spirit, management and nationalism,” says Haidar Ali. “He weaved all this beautifully to make a hit film without preaching or lecturing. In the same way, I told him he could make a beautiful film by touching on such issues without preaching.”
Hrithik speaks about JA
How was working with Ashutosh Gowarikar?
He’s one of the most evolved directors I’ve worked with. My primary reason for doing Jodhaa Akbar was that I wanted to work with him.
Your personal inputs to the role of Akbar?
I wanted Akbar to be my interpretation within the realm of the screenplay. I didn’t want to imitate or mimic what I might have seen.
Any difficulties you faced while shooting?
Hmm. There weren’t any particular difficulties that demarcated this one as more difficult than the other films I have done.
Is Akbar a complex character?
Very much so. In fact, that is what intrigued me and propelled me towards him.
Does a costume drama limit you?
On the contrary, it adds to the character. Costumes, jewellery…anything that makes the character more convincing is welcome.
Your first reaction to playing the role…
I did not look at Akbar from a historical viewpoint. I’m a believer in films and films are meant to entertain. I reacted purely to the drama and the emotions of the story. It could’ve been anyone’s story.
Have you succeeded in doing that?
You’ll find out once the audience sees it.
Does it hold promise, will it become a classic like Mughal-e-Azam?
We can only work within the boundaries, make sure it’s good, honest work. The rest is a consequence of that. It could become a classic, it could win the Oscars—you never know.
What is your take on the music?
When it’s A.R. Rahman, you don’t need to say much. It’s fantastic, magical, ethereal.
Your chemistry with Ash in Dhoom 2 has raised expectations….
We were coming from Dhoom and immediately got into Jodhaa Akbar—it was something we found very comfortable to do.
Republic Day Special
This Republic Day Bollywood chooses favourite patriotic song, film & national figure.
Malaika Arora: “Sare jahan se achcha….I don’t know what happens to me when I hear that song. It fills with pride for being Indian. My favourite national figure: all the freedom fighters who brought us where we are today. No doubt they’re the true heroes.
J.P Dutta: “My favourite patriotic song is Hum laayen hain toofan se kashti nikalke iss desh ko rakhna mere bachcho sambhal ke from the film Jagriti. My favourite patriotic film will have to be my own Border. And I’d say the true national figure is the The Soldier of the armed forces. He represents the true spirit of India.
Shabana Azmi: “Favourite song has to be Kar chale hum fida from Haqeeqat…Jiyo Kaifi Azmi. Jiyo Madan Mohan. Jiyo Mohd Rafi! Favourite national figure? Undoubtedly Mahatma Gandhi, though Nehruji was also a remarkable visionary.
Hema Malini: “My favourite patriotic songs are the antional anthem and Lataji’s Ae mere watan ke logon. And Bapuji is my favourite national figure.”
Himesh Reshammiya: “Favourite patriotic film Upkar and song Ae mere wanr ke logon. National figure? Gandhiji of course
Manoj Bajpai: “Song is Kar chale hum fida jaan-o-tan saathiyon from Haqeeqat and my favourite patriotic film is my own 1971 directed by Amrit Sagar. National figure? Bhagat Singh!
Rahul Khanna: “I thought Chak De India was incredibly patriotic. My favourite song is predictably our national anthem. It’s a truly beautiful piece of music and verse. My favourite national figure is the Indian soldier who toils selflessly at the border to protect our country.
Amrita Arora: “Favourite patriotic film Mother India, favourite patriotic song Mere desh ki dharti from Upkar. And favourite national figure? That’s easy. Mahatma Gandhi.
Diya Mirza: “My favourite song is Hemant Kumar’s Insaaf ki dagar pe from Ganga Jumna because it addresses itself to children and tells them their responsibility as Indian citizens.
I also love Vande mataram. Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi is my favourite patriotic film. I watched it when I was very young.
I realized for the first time what love for the country Bhavna Talwar: My favourite song is Ae mere pyare watan from Kabuliwala. Though many great patriotic films have been made I’d choose my own Dharm for its message of national integration at a time when rappers are singing about hatred. My favourite national figure is APJ Abdul Kalam.
Dino Morea: “Favourite patriotic film and song is Border and A R Rahman’s Ma tujhe salaam. Favourite national figure? Ummmm. Subhas Chandra Bose.Don’t ask me why.The national figure who evokes a deep sense of patriotism in me is Mahatma Gandhi.
Ravi Kissan: “My favourite song is Mera rang de basanti chola from Shaheed. And my favourite national personalities are Anna Hazare and Sunil Dutt.
Suneel Darshan: “I’m a big Manoj Kumar fan and my favourite film is Upkar, favourite song is Hai preet jahan ki reet sadaa main geet wahan ke gata hoon from Purab Aur Pachchim.
Mahesh Bhatt: “Favourite patriotic song would have to be Kar chalehum fida by Kaifi Azmi. And favourite film is Chetan Anand’s Haqeeqat. My favourite national figure? Rabindranath Tagore
Satish Kaushik: “Manoj Kumar’s Upkar….and favourite patriotic song is Kar chale hum fida. National figure is Shah Rukh Khan in Chak De India.
Anant Mahadevan: “Kar chale hum fida from the film Haqeeqat which is also my favourite patriotic film on the Indo-China war. Very relevant to today’s politics.Will China pull the rug on us again?
Favourite national figures are Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, our first president who was a true statesman and understood the spirit of India,And C V Raman whose Raman Effect was a pathbreaking find.
Aftab Shivdasani; “My favourite patriotic song is Ae mere pyare watan. Film is Chak De India. And Shah Rukh Khan is my choice for the national figure.”
Anubhav Sinha: “Chetan Anand’s Haqeeqat. And the personality would have to be Mahatma Gandhi
Apoorva Lakhia: “Favourite patriotic film is Border and song Mera rang de basanti chola. My favourite patriotic character is Ben Kingsley as Gandhi fighting against all odds and sacrificing himself for the greater cause that is the country.”
Priyanka Chopra: “My favourite patriotic song will have to be Mile sur ter
a hamara.Ever time I’d see all the stalwarts of the country from Lataji to Pandit Ravi Shankar to Shabana Azmi come together on television to sing that song, I’d get goose bumps.
In fact I get that goosebumpy feeling even now I speak to you about that song. My favourite national figure is Rajiv Gandhi. He was a lovely man and a truly remarkable visionary. He dreamt of taking India into the new millennium but couldn’t live to see that dream come true.
Believe me, we haven’t even realized ten percent of our full potential as yet.”
Raveena Tandon: “I love Bharat (Manoj Kumar) in Purab Aur Pachchim and that song in the film Hai pree jahan ki reet, specially the line Jab zero diya mere bharat ne.
Imtiaz Ali: “Favourite patriotic film Rang De Basanti, favourite song Rahman’s Vande mataram. And national figure? Dhoni.
Boman Irani: “Without doubt my favourite patriotic song is Ae mere pyare watan by Manna Dey. I sing it all the time. It just makes me cry.It’s a song dedicated to the country. To HOME.”
Divya Dutta: “Favourite song Kar chale hum fida. Favourite film is Haqeeqat. My national hero would be Manoj Kumar for acting in and making films that represent the true spirit of India.
Alka Yagnik: Lataji’s Ae mere watan ke logon is my all-time favourite song.
Aamir Khan lines up 3 productions for 2008
Still reveling in the success of his directorial debut Taare Zameen Par, actor – producer Aamir Khan is all set to begin shooting for the Hindi remake of Tamil film Ghajini. According to Khan, the collections of Taare Zameen Par have surpassed those of Rang De Basanti, which was released in 2006.
Apart from this, the actor’s production house is also buzzing with work. As many as three films are being worked upon this year at Aamir Khan Productions. The shooting for the next film under his banner – Jaane Tu… is now complete. The film, which is being directed by Abbas Tyrewala, will see the debut of Khan’s nephew Imran Khan. Telugu actress Genelia has been cast opposite Imran.
Khan is also in the process of supervising the preparations on his other home production called Delhi Belly, which will be an action comedy. The shooting for the same starts in March.
What’s more, Khan has also signed up on yet another film that he will be producing later this year. The film is not yet titled.
As for the Ghajini remake, the title for the Hindi version is not yet decided. The film also stars Asin, Mohit Alawat and Jiah Khan and is directed by A.R. Murugadoss, who recently directed the Tamil version.
The movie is being produced by Allu Arvind and Madhu Varma. The film’s music is by AR Rahman and lyrics are by Prasoon Joshi. Cinematography is by Ravi Chandran and choreography by Ahmed Khan.
Ash in ROBOT
Ash replaces Deepika in Robot. If my sources are to be believed, this could well be the casting coup of the decade. It seems Deepika Padukone has been replaced in Shankar’s magnum opus, Robot. And the coveted role is all set to go to Aishwarya. It happened like this. Shankar, did consider Ash for the part, but since Shah Rukh Khan was in the picture, Aishwarya was indecisive.
News about Deepika Padukone being seriously considered for the same have been doing the rounds for some time. But it seems that after Shah Rukh opted out of the project, Deepika’s name dropped out too.
So Rajni stepped in. And being a good friend of the Bachchans, he approached Amitabh all over again. And a few meetings later, Ash was finally convinced.
As for Rajini and Ash fans, if this actually works out, Robot will definitely be the film to watch out for. For Ash, this heralds a homecoming of sorts of the actress post-Iruvar. And now, let’s wait and watch for the real story and all the spicy details of this coup to emerge.
Jodha Akbar SOLD!!!
If rumours are to be believed, Anil Ambani’s Reliance is buying Jodhaa Akbar for Rs 90 cr from UTV. Reliance is planning to distribute the film, which has been delayed for the longest time.
Though no one is ready to confirm the development, trade circles are buzzing with this news. Insiders are even going to the extent of saying that the deal has already been inked. And it seems like UTV is heaving a sigh of relief, as the film is not carrying favourable reports within the trade circuit.
As for Reliance, it is said that they have been meaning to make a foray into Bollywood for a long time now. And Jodhaa Akbar, with its impressive star cast looks like a perfect film to start with.
Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, Jodhaa Akbar is set to release on February 15 and stars Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai among others.
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