All about Sonal Chauhan: Bollywood's latest addition

Sonal Chauhan is the latest talent introduced by the Bhatts. She is playing the lead female role opposite Emraan Hashmi, in Jannat. A successful model Sonal may be new as an actress but she is no less when it comes to turning the heads of the young boys. The 5 feet 8 inch Delhi girl, an ex-Miss India contestant and beauty pageant winner caused enough stir in the media before she stepped into the film world. In this entry, you will be reintroduced with the hot, young, rising talent.

Name: Sonal Chauhan

Height: 5’ 6.3"

Status: Single and enjoying.

Family: Sonal Chauhan comes from a Rajput family in Agra. Her father is a police inspector and mother is a house wife. She has two sisters and one older brother.

Academic qualification: Sonal Chauhan studied in Delhi Public School NOIDA. Now, she is doing her honors in Philosophy from Gargi College in New Delhi.

Modeling experience:
Before films Sonal Chauhan already made it big in the modeling world. She did both print ads and television ads and ramp shows. Her print campaign includes LG, Reliance CDMA, Hero Honda Passion, Nokia, No marks, Bombay Selections, Electrolux, Hindustan Times, Delhi Times, etc.

She appeared in Lays Potato Chips ad with Saif Ali khan and it made her quite famous. Her other major television ad campaign includes Ponds. Her other ad campaigns include Diet Pepsi, Hero Honda Passion and Nokia.

Trivia:

• Sonal Chauhan participated in Femina Miss India 2005. She made it to the semi-finals (top ten). Though she did not win the contest, she went on to participate in Miss Tourism Intercontinental held at Miri, Sarawak state in Malaysia and won the title beating 33 contestants. She was the first Indian girl to win the contest. She received cash award equivalent to Rs. 200,000.
  
• Sonal Chauhan has been modeling for the last two years. Before coming to Mumbai, she was a well established model in Delhi.
• Though she is born and brought up in Delhi, Sonal Chauhan is originally from UP.
  
• All the people who made it big from humble beginning are her role models.
  
• To Sonal Chauhan, beauty is not only good looks but a combination of an intelligent mind and appealing personality.
  
• According to various news reports, Esha Deol was the first choice of the Bhatt for Sonal Chauhan’s role in Jannat.
  
• Though she has got big break and very smooth shift in terms of her film career, Sonal Chauhan is determined to finish her study. In a recent interview with Daily News & Analysis (DNA), Sonal said that she wants to be a graduate first. She also said that she might have shifted to movies but she is still very much interested in modeling. She described herself as a greedy person who wants to excel in both.
  
• In Jannat, Sonal is playing this character named Zoya, who is a very simple girl with a strong conscience and principles. This character has many similarities with Sonal Chauhan. In real life Sonal Chauhan is a strong minded girl. She will never do any thing that her conscience does not support. She does what she wants.
  
• Like Hansika Motwani, Sonal Chauhan is also an animal lover.
  
• Sonal Chauhan loves to listen to music, eating, shopping and perfumes.
  
• Sonal Chauhan prefers Indian man as her life partner.
  
• In Raaz 2, Sonal Chauhan will play the character played by Bipasha Basu in Raaz.
  
• Because of her upbringing in Agra, Sonal Chauhan can speak in Hindi fluently.
  
• In June 2006, Sonal Chauhan made another splash in the media when her name was related to the death incident of Rahul Mahajan, son of Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Promod Mahajan. It was mentioned that Sonal Chauhan was having a relationship with Sahil Zarro, who supplied drugs to Rahul Mahajan. Sahi Zarro is the son of a carpet dealer. On the day, when Rahul died of drug overdose, Zarro called Sonal Chauhan several times. Sonal and Sahil’s relationship started in Gargi college. Sahil’s residence was close to it. However, Sonal Chauhan denied of having any relationship with Sahil. It was her parents whose continuous support helped her to deal with the situation. At that time, she was staying in Mumbai and her parents were in Delhi.
  
• Shah Rukh Khan is Sonal Chauhan’s favorite actor and she would love to do a movie like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
• Karan Johar is also Sonal Chauhan’s favorite director.
  
• Sonal Chauhan’s family was not happy with her modeling career but this could not stop her.
• It was Mahesh Bhatt who spotted Sonal Chauhan in one of her ads and approached her. Earlier, Sonal Chauhan also received offers to do movies but she refused. This time she did not. She liked the script very much.

Quotation:

“But it’s hardly the kissing scene you’d expect from the Bhatt camp. It’s not like a hot steamy kiss; it’s a sweet simple kiss. It got over even before I realised it.” (while asked about his kissing in Jannat.)

Filmography:

• Jannat: The movie will be released in Pakistan on May 2^nd and India on May 16^th.
• Raaz 2: The next Bhatt production but it has not been finalized yet.
• Rainbow: Now, in post production phase, this is a Telugu film which will be released … The movie is directed by V.N. Aditya who earlier gave successful movies like Manasantha Nuvve, Boss, Aata. Rainbow is a comedy movie. Along with Sonal Chauhan, there are Rahul and Sindhu Menon.

Tashan : Movie review

Title: Tashan

Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya

Production: Yash Raj Films

Music: Vishal - Shekhar

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor

Synopsis: Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan) is a call center executive who gets the opportunity to teach English to a gangster named, Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor). Bhaiyyaji’s beautiful secretary, Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) uses Jimmy to steal Rs. 25 crore from Bhaiyyaji. Now, Bhaiyyaji wants his money back and their lives. Enter, hit man Bachchan Pandey (Akshay Kumar). Now what happens to Pooja and Jimmy? Will they return the money. The answer is, ‘I do not know.’ For that you have to watch the movie. If you are still confused whether you should watch the movie or not, here is a collection of various reviews about the movie. Go through it and decide.
Glamsham fan review dubbed Tashan “all style and no substance.” If further says:

The script lacks punch, and the direction lacks... well, direction. The fabulous four are doing their best, but they have little to do it with. A striking example of this is the lengthy speech in Hinglish that Anil Kapoor's character is saddled with. It adds nothing to proceedings, at an early stage in the film, and triggers the first in a series of lame references to Hindi film titles, songs and heroes. If I told you that Akshay Kumar's character in the film is called Bachchan, and that he ends up involved in a misunderstanding on a film set, I might have spoiled the most elaborate of these gags.

I love India praised the movie. It says that the movie is an all-in-all entertainer. The twisted plots will keep you engaged except few loop holes here and there.

Coming down to performances, Anil Kapoor is at his very best. His character as the don, who is dangerous, yet manages to tickle your funny bone, is flawless. Akshay Kumar again manages to take most of your applause. He plays his part to perfection and totally gets into the character. Kareena Kapoor is doing what she was supposed to do, look sexy. Nevertheless, she manages to deliver a good performance. After Omkara and Race, much more was expected from Saif. However, the role failed to do justice to him. All in all, if you are in for some entertainment, Tashan is a movie worth spending those bucks!

Bollywood Hungama review says that Tashan is one of the weakest movies to come out of Yash Raj films. It is just the disastrous repetition of history like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom,LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG,AAJA NACHLE. The main problem with the movie is that it tries to pull the crowd with its star cast. Movie goers taste has changed a lot. Big stars does not mean that people will run to the theatres. More over, the music was not very good quality. Vishal-Shekhar did injustice to their names and reputation. However, location, cinematography and script was good. The first half of the movie was really good but in the second half, the director lost his focus. In terms of performance, Akshay Kumar is the best. He is the USP of the movie. Karina’s role was FIDA type and she carried out well with skimpy outfits. However, Anil and Saif’s characters does not have much weight.

Feel the difference gives a positive review. Like Bollywood Hungama, it also praised Akshay Kumar and Anil Kapoor’s performance.

The script was tight and though there were some flaws, the brilliant screenplay kind of made up for the drawbacks. Music was excellent in terms of the background score and two numbers but nothing worthwhile to take home. The editing desk could have been a bit more crisp, full marks to the camera and the costume departments which have come up with a master's job and skillful capturing of the moment. Coming to the cast, Kareena Kapoor was more of a glam doll and did her bit while Saif Ali Khan could not come out with his usual charms and presence.

Saturday Movie Show dubbed Tashan as a light entertainer. The movie is just a time pass. There is nothing very serious. Director, Vijay Krishna Acharya, lacks perfection but one good thing he knows is how to keep the audience engaged in the movie. The performance of the actors were average. It further says:

The movie can be labeled as a cartoon style film as well at times. Akshay Kumar Magic during the fighting, which overtakes spiderman, superman and all other cartoon characters. This Khilladi fights 100s at a time - Throw down at least 15 with his one push – Climb big walls and fight from middle when 50 people fire with machine guns - kill 100s and come out as unhurt. He can run like a cheetah and escape thousands of gun shots. It is hilarious as it intended that way. When the Killadi was doing all these, Saif tried a boat flight as well where he simply fly from the sea with a boat and fire just turning down the boat. The cartoon style was a matter of good laugh.

Though I have not watched the movie, I watched Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and in a way I feel that Tashan is a repetition of JBJ; very glamorous, very glossy but do not have a good story or good song. Still, I will go to watch the movie. Why? JUST FOR FUN!!

Jannat: Emraan proposes the Bhatts disposes

Emraan Hashmi wants his picture to be shown on the poster but Mahesh Bhatt and Kunal opposed his idea. Emraan thinks that now he has the capability to pull the crowd but Mahesh Bhatt and Kunal thinks otherwise. They want the story of the movie to be highlighted on the poster. One India reports:

Emraan says, "Yes, Bhattsaab and I did have an argument over the posters but such things happen in every organisation. I had an idea of what I wanted for the first poster and Bhattsaab wanted a particular feel of the film, so we had entirely different ideas. Finally all of us came around and we are all happy with the final product."

Kunal admits, "Jannat is my first film. I am giving it my all, but I got caught in the crossfire between the Bhatts and their blue-eyed boy Emraan. Emraan wants only himself on the posters as he looks at himself as a solo hero, but I want the story to come across in the posters. Jannat is not a sports film but deals with cricket-betting and match-fixing in the backdrop of a love story. These kind of creative arguments will always happen.

Two posters were designed by Atmanand for Jannat. In one poster, Emraan Hashmi, the hero, is sitting against the stadium and the other was Emraan standing wearing a black leather coat and money is raining from the sky. Emraan liked the first one but the Bhatt brothers and Kunal went for the other one because the strength of the movie of the Bhatt films is not the characters but the story. Finally, both the posters are used for promoting the film.

Related article:

One India

Jannat shows glamorized betting office

In Jannat, the betting has been glamorized. Betting is illegal in the sub-continent, and the whole betting process is controlled by the underworld. So it is natural to guess that this whole thing is conducted in a secret place. Naturally, the office from which this whole thing is controlled would not have big lights or display boards or held in an open space. In Jannat, the betting office where the bookies sit and contact are glamorized but this is done for the sake of the movie. Glamsham reports:

So how do these 'addas' come across on the big screen? Are they in the same mould as the shady underworld centers where a few TV screens have the match on while dozens of phones keep ringing in unison?

Reveals Emraan, "Well yes, the 'addas' play an integral part in the film's narrative and it is quite obvious that quite a few TVs are on display with the match on. Also, landlines as well as mobile phones are constantly engaged with number of bookies continuously engaged in placing bets. It is a mad world out there."

The films directed or produced by Bhatts always have strong story and authentic characters. In order to infuse reality in Jannat the producer and director worked very hard. Jannat deals with betting and match fixing. It was very important to show the characters as much real as possible. Even Emraan Hashmi had to do a lot of homework to prepare for his character. This is director Kunal Deshmukh’s first film. According to him, this film is something very new, one that is made for the first time in India and for this reason, he and Emraan worked very hard to make every thing look 100% convincing.

Related article:

Glamsham

Jannat: Bookie demands Rs. 5000 from Kunal

In order to get a better understanding of the character of a bookie, Jannat director Kunal Deshmukh invited one of his bookie friends on the set. The bookie spent a whole day on the set. Before leaving, he asked for Rs. 5000. At first, Kunal thought that his friend was kitting but it turned out to be real. This was a big shock for director Kunal Deshmukh. Planet Bollywood reports:

As every one knows Emraan Haashmi is playing a bookie's role in this film. Director Kunal invited his bookie friend to the actual 'Jannat' shooting spot in Mumbai for Emraan Hashmi to get an idea of the body language and typical words used by bookies usually. The bookie spent almost his entire day on location. When he was leaving the spot, simply he asked Kunal for Rs. 5000. Initially Kunal thought, his bookie friend might be joking with him, it was almost a shock treatment to Kunal, when he realised that he is serious. It took a while for poor Kunal to understand that 'No one is a friend, when it comes to 'M' factor –the money'.

Well, I do not think this is unfair. It is not like he demanded the money for nothing. He spent a whole day and gave valuable information. So, in a way he deserves the money. Besides, I do not see any reason for Deshmukh to be upset. It was very small amount. His friend did not ask for Rs. 100,000 or 1 million. I think the problem with people is they want everything for free; that is so unfair.

Related article:

Planet Bollywood

Jannat: Does Emraan love cricket?

In Jannat, Emraan Hashmi played a cricket bookie but does he love cricket? Well, the answer is no. In real life, Emraan Hashmi does not like cricket. Hindustan Times reports:

Though real life cricketers play in the field in "Jannat", they do not represent any individual cricketer. Does Emraan get on the field at all?

"Actually, I don't like cricket at all. I don't play it and hardly ever watch it. Fortunately, I play a bookie. So, I don't have to play in Jannat," he mumbled sheepishly like a brat, who has not done his homework.

In Jannat, Emraan plays the central character, Arjun, who is addicted to gambling. In the beginning, he used to make money playing card games but then he becomes a bookie and starts to work as a match-fixer under a mafia boss. Sonal Chauhan, the female lead of the movie is a debutant actress. Emraan is very happy to work with her. According to Emraan, she is the 14^th girl to be launched with him. Rishi Kapoor in his heydays launched many actresses and now Emraan on the same path. So next time, you see any girl kissing Emraan, it is not just kissing but also LAUNCHING!!

Related article:

Hindustan Times

Jannat: Emraan breaks his vow for Kunal Deshmukh

Emraan Hashmi’s own image has become a major problem for him. In Bollywood, he is known as the ‘serial kisser’. After his marriage, he pledged not to do any kissing on the screen but he had to break his pledge at last. In Jannat, he did two kissing scenes with Sonal. According to Emraan, director Kunal Deshmukh persuaded him to do one kissing scene but after doing the first one he became greedy and told him to do another one. Hindustan Times reports:

"But then my director Kunal Singh got greedy. He first persuaded me to do one kiss, then another," Emraan, whose kissing scenes in movies like Murder and Gangster - A Love Story made headlines, told IANS.

The actor, who turned 29 on March 24, was quite tired of kissing and cutting cakes.

"I had already cut four cakes post-midnight, the first one of course with my wife," he rattled off dutifully. "Then my friends had dropped in and we had a private get-together. The next morning, I was on the sets and doing it all over again."

"I can't say I did not enjoy all the attention on my birthday. But if I really had one wish granted on my birthday, it would have to be no shooting! Sadly, that is what I did," Emran good-humouredly complained.

Producer Mukesh Bhatt said that Emraan is a professional actor and he may have vowed not to do intimate scenes but when the script demands it he would never shirk away but he would never do something just for the sake of doing it either. Mukesh is very happy with Emraan’s performance in Jannat. He said that after this movie Emraan will become one of top actors in Bollywood.

Related articles:

Sify

Hindustan Times

Jannat: Official website review

In the background, there is the picture of a cricket field and pavilion filled with spectators. Money is falling from the sky and Emraan Hashmi spreading his hands moving side by side. Looking at the homepage you will understand that Jannat is a movie about betting and match-fixing. The title song ‘Zara Sa’ has been used as the background sound. On the lower left corner of the homepage, you will see an offer from Cricket.com. Jannat Le Chalo contest. The winners will watch the IPL finals and meet Emraan Hashmi.

Address: http://jannat.visheshfilms.com/

Stills: There are 19 movie stills. All you have to do is click and the slide show will start.

The making: Here you will see 15 pictures from the shooting of Jannat. The pictures are arranged like pages in the book. Clicking on the left corner of the picture will turn over the pages.

Synopsis: Tells you about the story of the movie.

Trailer: This section has not been updated yet.

In the news: It contains a link to 107 the bee.

Download: This section contains two movie posters of Jannat.

Corporate: Contains the link to the official website of Vishesh films.

The major problem of the website is that some of the pages load slowly on my computer. I think it is related to the internet speed. The background sound has some problem. After few minutes the homepage is loaded, the background song starts.

Jannat's new release date

Producer Mukesh Bhatt has decided to push the release date of Jannat further forward. Earlier, the movie was supposed to be released on May 2; now, its release date has been moved to May 16. Mukesh Bhatt does not want his movie to clash with the release of other big budget movies. Last year, Awarapan did not do well at the box office because of Apne and Aap Kaa Surroor - The Real Luv Story.Apun Ka Choice reports:

But now producer Mukesh Bhatt and presenter Mahesh Bhatt have decided to postpone the film by two weeks.

The Bhatts haven’t yet forgotten what happened to their film Awarapan which released alongside two big films, Aap Ka Suroor and Apne , both of which went on to do good business at the box-office, leaving ‘Awarapan’ sandwiched.

In Jannat, Emraan Hashmi will be seen with Sonal Chauhan, a debutant actress. Emraan has an impressive ‘KISSING’ reputation in Bollywood and in this movie, the viewers will not be disappointed. There are two kisses.

Related article:

Apun Ka Choice

Jannat in search of Heaven

Title: Jannat in search of heaven

Producer: Mukesh Bhatt

Director: Kunal Deshmukh

Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Samir Kochhar, Sonal Chauhan, Vishal Malhotra, Javed Sheikh (Pakistan)

Synopsis: The story is losely based on Pakistan’s coach Bob Woolmer’s death but it does not directly depict the coach or any other cricketer. Cricket is the most popular game in the Indian subcontinent. Indians are crazy about cricket. Betting and match fixing is an open secret now. Jannat deals with this subject. The movie’s central character, played by Emraan Hashmi, is an ambitious young man who wants to make money as quickly as possible. He is addicted to making money in card games. His ordinary life turns topsy-turvy after he meets Zoya. Now, more ambitious, Arjun becomes a bookie and then starts to work as a match fixer under a mafia boss. Arjun finally gets what he wants but it comes at a price. Now, he has to chose between his love and money.

Prakash Jha’s ‘Rajniti’ A Political Thriller based on Epic Mahabharat

Prolific director Prakash Jha is going to make a movie based on some of the central characters of religious epic Mahabharat in a political ambiance of present day. Popular actor Ajay Devgan has singed for playing the role of Karna in the movie, while Nana Patekar will be seen in the role of Lord Krishna along with Manoj Bajpai sporting Duryodhana in the movie. The movie titled ‘Rajniti’ (politics) also features some of the famous episodes of the epic in the contemporary setting.

Apunkachoice reported:

However, the director has yet to finalize the actor who will play the most important character, that of Arjuna.
Jha says he has a very suitable actor in mind for the role. But the actor has not been finalized yet.
‘Rajniti’ will not just take characters from Mahabharat. The movie also incorporates some famous episodes of the epic into the contemporary setting.

Well, it seems that director Jha is going to sport someone special in the role of Arjuna, the central character of the movie. Politics was a big part of epic Mahabharat besides religious advice and activities. Now, let us see how Prakash Jha presents the tale of Mahabharat into the political set up of present day.

Most of the Bollywood Cine Viewers are from the Age Group of 10-24

You might have seen that action and comedy are doing better in Bollywood box office over the last couple of years. Well, neither does that mean that no comedy or action film did fare well earlier, nor that means that films from other genres could not do well in the last couple of years in the box office. Actually, comedy or action films are attracting more and more viewers compared to the films of other genres. Then what is the reason behind it? Is it that the taste of Bollywood cine viewers has been changed?

Well, according to a recent survey conducted by some of the leading production houses including Yashraj Films, UTV, Big Entertainment and Indian Film Company, the reason behind the overly success of action and comedy films is that 35% of the cinema goers are aged between 10-24 years old. So, no surprise, the people of this age group would definitely love to see action and comedy flicks. Some also think that this age group was instrumental in the growth of Bollywood over the last 10 years. Cinema fans of this age group go to the cinemas knowing the big stars. Some commented that because of the immature fan, the films like Race got becomes huge box office hit.

Indiatimes reported:

"Cinema is another consumer product for this age group and the primary attraction for them are stars and entertainment value. It’s evident from the emerging box-office patterns that the films high on entertainment quotient are getting better initials. But this does not mean that the young are cinematically immature. If this segment flocked to see Welcome, it also did that to make Taare Zameen Par a hit."
That Abbas-Mustan’s Race was ripped off from the 1998 Hollywood film, Good-Bye Lover, was something every film critic in Bollywood noticed. But did the audience care? It appears not. Not only did this thriller — high on action and low on morals — capture the imagination of the Bollywood cine-goer, it even grossed something to the tune of Rs 100 crore.

Well, it has happened many times in the past that a movie did not do well in the box office but had critics’ favor, or some movies did extremely well in terms of grossing, but failed to attract the critics. Now, it seems that most of the Bollywood movie goers are now from this immature age group and comedy and action films are of their top priorities. This is surely a positive side because these movie goers would turn into mature viewers one day.

South Indian Actress Samvritha Sunil to Debut in Bollywood

South Indian actress Samvritha Sunil is going to make he debut in Bollywood soon with an unnamed movie to be directed by Isaj Khan. Reports have it that the will go on floor on 4 May 2008. Produced by National Film Development Corporation and NDTV, the movie features Samvritha Sunil as a teacher, which is the female lead role of the movie.

Samvritha Sunil started her career in Malayalam film industry through the 2004 super hit Rasikan. Since then this beautiful Kerala girl has acted in a number of Malayalam films besides a Tamil and Telegu film so far. Now, the gorgeously looking Samvritha will make a shot in Bollywood industry.

MSN reported:

She played a mature character role in ‘Vasthavam’ as Prithviraj’s wife. Her acting in 'Vasthavam' is believed to have played a major in her bagging the Hindi movie. She is also playing an important role in ‘Minnaminni Koottam’, directed by ace director Kamal.

Well, so it is almost clear that Bollywood fans would be happy to see Samvritha Sunil in Bollywood films. Though the movie is not yet named and the story and her co-stars are yet to be revealed, it is apparent that the movie is going to gain some instant ground because of this South Indian glamorous actress.

Brett Lee Acts in Bollywood Movie ‘Victory’

Australian pace bowler Brett Lee will be seen in a new role very soon. Australia’s world cup winning cricketer has acted in an upcoming film titled ‘Victory’, directed by Ajit Pal. Brett Lee said that he had an intention to act in Bollywood movie and he was now proud to get a chance in the movie.

Besides Lee, the movie features some other Australian cricketers in the movie. According to the director Ajit Pal, the movie revolves around the story of a small town boy who carries a dream to play for Indian national team and finally he gets into the Indian team in Twenty20 format. Mr. Pal termed the story as of a modern day cricketer. Harman Baweja plays the lead role of the movie.

Indiatimes reported:

"I wanted to do a Bollywood movie. I am very proud to say that I had a chance. I got amazing people to work with who helped me day-to-day. It's been an awesome experience," Lee said of his role in the film "Victory".

"It's a film on the life of any modern day cricketer who plays for the national side. It's a story of a small town boy from Jaisalmer who has nurtured the dream of playing for India. How he finally succeeds in making it to the Indian team," said Pal.

I think, Brett Lee is the biggest attraction of the movie. People will be interested to the movie initially for this mega star of today’s cricket. However, the story of the movie seems to be strong as well. India is a cricket crazy nation. That means, Victory could be a box office hit in India. The movie could be a potential market in Australia as well because of the presence of Brett Lee and some other Australian cricketers in the movie. So, I would not be surprised if Victory becomes one of the most successful movies of this year in Bollywood industry.

Jannat: Music review

Title: Jannat

Music: Pritam

Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri & Neelesh Mishra

Singers: K.K., Richa Sharma, Kamran Ahmed, Rana Mazumder, and Rupam Islam

Audio: Sony BMG

The music of Jannat is composed by Pritam, one of the top music directors of Bollywood. Although he is accused of copying music from others, when it comes to composing music that will dominate the top of the chart, he is the man. Jannat is produced by the Bhatts. Some of Pritam’s best works are with the Bhatt productions and this time there is no exception. The talented music direction of Pritam coupled with KK’s talented singing have brought some songs that will remain with you for a long time.

Zara Sa

Singer: KK

Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri

This is a beautiful romantic song. You will hear it, you will love it, and you will hear it over and over again and you will never get bored. The music will intoxicate you and make you feel like you have fallen in love with someone for the first time. This is not the first time Krishna Kumar (KK) has showcased his singing talent with Pritam. Earlier, he sang in ‘Gangster’ and his song became one of the best songs of 2006. Krishna Kumar is a great singer and once again he proved it.

Lambi Judai

Singer: Kamran Ahmed

For quite some time, Bhatts are using Pakistani singers in their movie. Atif got his big break with Zeher. This time it is Kamran Ahmed. An all rounder, Kamran wrote the song, composed the music and sang it as well and how did he do? He is well in all the department.

Haa Tu Hain

Singer: KK

The music will remind of songs of yester years Bollywood. Pritam used traditional instruments like guitar, tabla. Overall, the song sounds like a sad romantic Kawwali.

Door Na Ja

Singer: Rana Majumdar

Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri

This is a rock song like ‘Alvida’ Not so impressive but not so bad to hear either. In the beginning, the acoustic guitar prelude would make you feel like that this is a slow and sad song. Suddenly comes the electric guitar riff followed by drums. Rana Majumdar did a good job.

Jannat Jahan

Singer: Rupam Islam

Lyrics: Neelesh Mishra

It is a high energy rock song that describes the theme of the movie; love for money and gambling.

Lambi Judai

Singer: Richa Sharma

Richar Sharma is good at song with lots of classical tunes. She mainly sings in Punjabi. This version is tailored according to her style. Richa Sharma’s version contains lots of Punjabi words.

Zara Sa (power ballad)

Singer: KK

This is the slow and sad version. The interesting thing is the music. It is done in slow rock style just like ‘Haan tu Hain.’ That is why I think it is called the power version. The two versions are like two entirely different songs but the music is good. If you like the regular version, then you will also like it.

Lambi Judai (kilogram mix)

I have heard of club mix, lounge mix, but kilogram mix?! never. Well, this is more like club mix. The music is fast paced with lots of techno bits but good to hear.

Revenues of Indian Railways from Films Got Doubled Last Year

Shooting in a railway station has or in the train has become a current trend recently. Following the success of Jab We Met and Life In a Metro, now the Bollywood filmmakers might be more interested to shot in railway station in their movies in the future. Actually, featuring a real station or train in a movie is less costly than making a set. Revenue of Indian Railways from films has been doubled within a year, as Indian railways earned Rs 82 lakh in 2007, compared to Rs 33 lakh in 2006.

Ndtvmovies reported:

Increasingly a significant part of films across a range of products the industry delivers annually, the trend of using trains and shooting in stations is catching up and the central railway board is certainly not complaining.
That's because their revenue from films has more than doubled in a year from Rs 33 lakh in 2006 to Rs 82 lakh this year………
Filmmakers say its cheaper to rent Railway properties than to build a set. But the process is not that simple.

It is definitely a positive side for Indian railways as films could be a potential source of revenue. However, reports have it that getting permission for shooting in railway station or using the properties of Indian Railways is still very hectic and it needs to go though a long process which is very time consuming as well. So, Indian Railways can make the process easier so that filmmakers get inspired to come to Indian Railways seeking permission for shooting of their movies.

Indian Sports Minister MS Gill Urged Bollywood Stars to Sponsor Sportsperson

Indian Sports minister MS Gill has recently called on Bollywood stars to sponsor sportsperson of different sports in India. He thinks that this will help Indian sportsperson to perform better at International level. The Minister also added that except Cricket, there is no money in any other sports in India. He particularly urged Shah Rukh Khan to sponsor some potential sportsperson or a team in any Indian sports as he did in his movie Chak De India. He said that other than cricketers, sportsperson in any other sports have financial constant and need resources to perform better in their respective sports.

Hindustan Times reported:

“He can begin with sponsoring four women athletes of the Indian relay team. Only Rs 5-10 lakh would be required. I think he can spare that much money for Indian sports.”

The minister said Shah Rukh bought a cricket team at the IPL — the Kolkata Knightriders for a staggering $75.09 million — and though it’s a commercial venture, the star can give something back to the country by sponsoring needy sportsperson.

Yes, that would be very good for Indian sports if the Bollywood stars come forward with their help. However, the Minister could also urge other professionals to sponsor in different sports in India. Businessmen can easily spend a few lakhs for the sportspersons.

It is true that cricketers have money compared to the sportspersons of other sports, but it does not mean that all the cricketers have that facility. There are many Ranji trophy players who are struggling to earn their bread. Besides Bollywood stars, I think there are some star cricketers in India who have the ability to sponsor other sports.

Above all, government should also focus on all of the sports other than cricket. Sportsperson can bring success and honor for the country; be it Olympic medal or ICC World Cup trophy or World Cup Hockey trophy.

Tashan: A Welcome Back of Akshay Kumar in Action Genre

Akshay Kumar is going to make a come back to action movie with his upcoming release Tashan. The Bollywood super star started his career as an action hero and his initial success in Bollywood came through action flicks. Once he was popular as an action hero and he could hardly get any role beyond action movies. However, over the last few years, Akshay Kumar has proved his versatility as an actor and churned out many box office hit movies. In fact, most of his box office success over the last couple of years came though comedy or romantic films. It seemed Bollywood fans were going to forget his action skill as success was coming under his cap through the movies of other genres. So, Tashan is a welcome back of Akshay Kumar to his root. Akshay Kumar himself is pretty much hopeful about the success of Tashan in the box office.

Planetbollywood reported:

While commenting about the release of ‘Tashan’, Akshay says, “I’m really excited about this film. It celebrates a return to the action genre for me and has given me the opportunity to showcase my physical and technical skills which, for me, are my art.

“ ‘Tashan’ marks a whole new concept in Bollywood action filmmaking which will certainly take the audiences by surprise, if not shock, as they will have seen nothing like this before. This is a film that will have universal appeal, not only for action film enthusiasts, but for anyone who appreciates top quality cinema with a real edge. ”

Tashan is an action packed thriller from Yash Raj banner and is expected to be one of the biggest hits of this year. The star studded film features Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Anil Kapoor in the lead roles besides Akshay Kumar. Akshay plays the role of gangster Bachchan Pande in the movie. Now, let us see if the movie makes a successful come back for Akshay Kumar in action movie.

Bollywood Fans Accepting Grey Characters Positively

It seems that taste of Bollywood fans have changed now. If you are regular movie freak of Bollywood then you must know about the success of Abbas-Mustan duo’s latest flick RACE. The surprising thing is that the movie has been received positively by the movie buffs, even though the fact that the movie sports some negative characters (Grey characters) in the central role. No doubt, the movie has all the in gradients to be claimed as a Masala movie, but box office hit was unlikely for it taking its negative characters into account. However, the reality is totally different. In fact, the movie has done very well both in India and abroad.

Glamsham reported:

Though this is not for the first time that director duo Abbas-Mustan have attempted something as radical as RACE. They did it with the Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu starrer, AJNABEE. The film too was accepted in a small way but the holier -than -thou critics were aghast at the suggestion of wife swapping (which was the basic plot) in the film. And went out of their way to undermine its success. Maybe, had AJNABEE released today, it would have been as big or even a bigger success than RACE!

Well, it does not mean that Bollywood fans are being moved by the negative characters more than the positive one. Actually, fans are just enjoying the characters in the cinemas without letting these affect on them in reality. It seems that Bollywood fans are much more realistic than ever! What do you think about it?

Salman Khan Trying Best to Launch Brazilian Model Bruna Abdullah in Bollywood

It has been reported a few weeks ago that Bollywood’s lover boy Salman Khan was seeing a Brazilian model Bruna Abdullah. However, the news remained as a mere rumor until recently when the report came out that the actor is trying his best to train the model to launch in a Bollywood movie. Everything was right at that point, but reports also read that Salman Khan had asked her to stay at his farmhouse at Panvel for the most part of the week.

Now, Salman Khan is shooting for Wanted – Dead and Alive in Turbhe and after the pack, according to reports, he drives to his farmhouse and spends some quality time with Bruna Abdullah. Reports also have it that Salman Khan arranged tutors for this model to teach her acting, diction and dancing.

Well, it should not be fair to take something granted just after reading these reports. Actually, taking reference to his past love relationships with many models and actresses, it has been a trend among the reporters to find something juicy whenever it comes to Salman Khan. May be he is just trying to help Bruna to gain some ground in the industry and the others are taking it different. However, report also has it that Salman’s love relationship with Katrina Kaif is not going well. Actually, Salman Khan is a person who always hits the headlines, mostly because of wrong reasons.

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U, Me aur Hum: Music review

Movie: U Me aur Hum

Lyricist: Munna Dhiman

Music Director: Vishal Bharadwaj

Singers:
Adnan Sami
Shreya Ghosal
Sunidhi Chauhan
Vishal Bharadwaj

Music review:
The music album of U, Me, aur Hum contains six songs. The interesting thing about the album is that it does not have any remix versions but not all the songs are equally enjoyable.

Jee Le:
Latino prelude with flamenco guitar sets the mood. Adnan Sami starts the song softly and then picks up the tempo and suddenly you hear the drumbeats and a host of other instruments used in latino music. Imagine a salsa dancer starting slowly and then with a twist starts to dance around. Shreya Ghosal’s soft romantic voice just infuses more romantic feeling into the song. Adnan and Shreya sound great. This is the song worth hearing a thousand times.

U, Me, aur Hum:
This is a soft romantic song. Upon hearing this song, Ajay Devgan could not hold his tears. He requested director Vishal Bharadwaj to include the regular and unplugged version in the album. Shreya Ghoshal sung the regular version. Slow jazz type music, interspersed English rap make it a bit different to hear. Asif Ali beg wrote the English lyrics. Many complained that without the English rap, the song would have been better.

U, Me, aur Hum (unplugged version):
This unplugged version is sung by Vishal Bharadwaj. The interesting thing is Vishal’s voice gives you a feeling that a young man is singing the song.

Saiyaan:
Remember “Arey Hai Hai Yeh Majboori” from Roti Kapda aur makan? This song is more or less that type? A song where a wife is complaining about her husband not paying attention to her. Sunidhi sounds just ok.

Phatte:
A bhangra song mixed with techno bits. It is a typical dance floor song. I did not find it very enjoyable. If you are Punjabi song fan then you might like this song.

Dil Dhakda Hai:
It is the dance floor song where you see Ajay Devgan getting drunk and dance around the bar. It is just another fast track peppy song.

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Miss India 2008 and Media promotion

Yesterday I wanted to write about Femina Miss India 2008 because today was the grand finale. This is perhaps the most important event for Indian beauty industry because it will select the beautiful girl that will represent India in miss universe and miss world. Femina Miss India winners have gone to big places indeed. Aishwayra Rai and Sushmita Sen have become big Bollywood celebrities and they are still doing very well. There are some others too like Diana Hayden, Lisa Ray.

I was searching internet websites for news and information about Miss India 2008 and one of the places that I thought was important was Google News. However, I was disappointed to see that there were very few news items on this beauty pageant despite the fact that tomorrow is the grand finale. Of course, you know that Miss India 2008 will be shown in Sony TV channel tomorrow and Sony is going some promotion to this event. However, except from Sony no other TV channel is giving any importance to this event. I think that the organizers of Miss India should become more concerned about the media promotion from next year. The organizers must reach out to other TV channels and it needed buy some air time from them so that they broadcast some programs on the beauty pageant.

Beauty has become a very important industry in India and it is not only Bollywood but TV industry and modeling is also flourishing in the country.

Parvathy Omanakuttam Crowned Miss India World 2008

A beautiful girl from Kerala, Parvathy Omanakuttam has become the Miss India World 2008. The grand finale of Femina Miss India 2008 was held today in the presence of guests and stars of showbiz world of India. All the 29 contestants showed their best to win the coveted crown of Miss India 2008 in a glittering evening.

Parvathy Omanakuttam
Image source: feminamissindia

Parvathy Omanakuttam entered directly in the top ten finalists of Femina Miss India 2008 as the stunning girl earlier had won the Pantaloons Femina Miss India South 2008 title last month. With 5' 8.5" of height and stats of 32-27-36, Parvathy Omanakuttam has got a gorgeous look and now you have to admit that this Kerala girl has something in her brain as well.

Today, in the star-studded ceremony, Parvathy Omanakuttam has proven her worth as a beauty with brain and ended up winning the entry to the Miss World 2008 pageant to represent India. Mumbai girl Simran Kaur has won the Miss India Universe 2008 crown becoming the 1^st runner up of Femina Miss India 2008 beauty pageant, while 2^nd runner up title has gone to Harshita Saxena, a 20-year-old girl from Goa, who will represent India in Miss Earth 2008 beauty contest.

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U, Me aur Hum: Official website review

Website address:

http://umeaurhum.erosentertainment.com/

Review:
The website first shows a time scale. It is actually how the story is told; the story of a couple, 25 years before and after. The intro gives you a bird’s eye view of the movie as the title music plays in the background.

Our Journey, Love, Forever and ever:
Just like intro, all these three sections give one-liner description of what the movie is all about.

The Making:
This section contains some photos of the shooting.

Director’s note:
U, Me, aur Hum is Ajay Devgan’s debut movie as a director. In this section, he talks about how he got the idea of the movie.

Media:
This section contains four video clips of the promotional videos of the movie. You will also get to listen to the demo-version of the tracks of the music album. The music review link has a collection of citations from various music reviews.

Download:
Contains ten posters of the movie.

Press Kit:
It is actually contains thirty pictures from the movie.

Femina Miss India 2008 Finalists Spent Time with Street Children

The grand evening of Femina Miss India 2008 will be held tomorrow. No doubt, there will be lots onlookers looking at the beautiful contestants of the beauty pageant. All of the 29 participants will be eager to know who are going to win the competition. The talented and beautiful girls from different parts of India have gone though a busy schedule for the last couple of months working on their skills and talent. However, despite a busy schedule, recently the participants of Femina Miss India 2008 visited a NGO, Vatsya Foundation, where they spent some time with the street children.

Times Now reported:

On the other hand the Femina Miss India finalists, not only know how to paint the town red, but also managed to spend some time visiting the Vatsya Foundation; a home for street children and spent some quality time with the kids there. While at the Vatsya Foundation, the girls were also given a run for their money by the kids, who showed them some groovy dance moves and proved that the girls are not the only ones who know how to dance.
When quizzed about the experience with the kids at the Vatsya Foundation, Femina MIss India finalist Tanvi Vyas said, "I feel very nice. We didnt really expect this. This is the first time that I have been to an NGO and I love it. I love the immesne talent present here and I definitely want to come back and have a meet with the kids again."

Femina Miss India 2008 final participants recently went to a discotheque to have some fun and all of them met Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal. The actor appreciated Miss India 2008 beauty pageant.

Now, time has come to know who are going to become Miss India World, Miss India Universe and Miss India Earth in 2008. To know you have to just wait till tomorrow night.

Femina Miss World 2008: A Glittering Evening Waiting

The most coveted beauty pageant of India, Femina Miss India 2008 is now on its last lap. Among the 29 contestants of Femina Miss India 2008, three winners will be crowned tomorrow in the grand evening. All the contestants will walk the ramp. After the end of all elimination rounds, the judges will select the winners based on the performance of the contestants. Bollywood stars Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy will perform on the glittering evening.

There will be some popular faces of India’s showbiz world and the former winners of Miss India. Sameera Reddy will perform with some of the movie songs of Bollywood’s yesteryear glamorous actress and former Miss India Asia-Pacific winner Zeenat Aman.

Times of India reported:

The nail-biting elimination rounds that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats will be interspersed with scintillating performances by Bollywood divas Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy.

The contestants will walk the ramp, choreographed by Hemant Trevedi, the official contestant director and choreographer of PFMI 2008 and will dazzle in sensational creations by Pantaloons (designed by Remanika), Ritu Kumar, Shantanu and Nikhil and Shaina NC. R Madhavan and Dia Mirza will take the audience through this entertaining evening, as the two will compere the show.

No doubt, Miss India pageant is most prestigious beauty pageant in India. The three winners of Miss India would represent India in Miss World, Miss Universe and Miss Earth.

Besides all the 29 beautiful and talented girls, the showbiz and Bollywood stars would add some more glitter to the evening So, can you afford to miss the glimmering evening of this year. For your concern, Femina Miss India 2008 final competition will be telecast on Sony Television on 6 April.

Contestants of Femina Miss India 2008

The final competition of Femina Miss India 2008 is set to be held on April 5 2008. The three much-awaited crowns: Miss India World, Miss India Universe and Miss India Earth- are now up for grab for the 29 aspiring contestants of the pageant. Femina Miss India is the most highlighted beauty contest held in India by which India select three winners to be representing India in three most prestigious International beauty contests. Sony Television will air the final competition live at 8 pm. on 6 April.

All these 29 contestants have won the tickets of final competition though auditions. Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2008 auditions of North, West & East India were held in 12 cities including Agra, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Goa, Guwahati, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Nasik, and Pune. The short listed participants participated in regional competitions were held in Delhi and Mumbai on 25^th and 27^th February respectively this year.

Akshamma Bais (one of the participants)
Image Courtesy: Setindia

Audition for the girls from South India was conducted in a separately held competition titled FEMINA Miss India South 2008. The winner of this competition would directly get into the top ten finalists of final pageant. The 1^st runner up and 2^nd runner up took part in the regional competition. Girls selected in the regional competitions got the ticket of final competition of Femina Miss India 2008.

Parvathy Omanakuttan (winner of Femina Miss India South 2008)
Image Courtesy: Setindia

Here, I am giving the name of the 20 contestants of Femina Miss India 2008 beauty pageant:

Harshita Saxena, Alisha Pekha, Aakanksha Mansukhani, Karishma Gupte, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Akshamma Bais, Lekha Anatharaman, Manisha Yadav, Pragya Jaiswal, Rupali Khandare, Sangeeta Chauhan, Shruti Dilip, Tapasee Pannu, Sujata Das, Tanvi Vyas, Aditi Singh, Esha Sinha, Kajal Jain, Parvathy Omanakuttam, Kavya Barli, Farah R. Parvaresh, Malavika Rane, Nupur Sharma, Radha Bhrahmbhatt, Sangeeta Bora, Shireen Farooq, Simran Kaur Mundi, Sonia Aiyappa, Sweety Chaturvedi.

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Femina Miss India 2008: Meet the contestants

Once again, India's most prestigious beauty pageant, Pantaloons Femina Miss India is here. This year, 28 contestants are participating in the final. Let's meet the girls.

Harshita Saxena
Age: 20 yrs
Height: 5' 9.12"
Stats: 34-25.5-37.5
She looks a bit like Jeenat Aman.
Harshita enjoys dancing, reading, playing basketball and listening to music

Kajal Jain
Age: 23 yrs
Height: 5' 6.8"
Stats: 32-26-36.5
Kajal loves modeling, dancing, acting and playing basket ball.

Karishma Gupte
Age: 21 yrs
Height: 5' 7”
Stats: 32.5-24-35
Karishma loves reading books, watching films and playing basketball

Kavya Barli
Age: 20 yrs
Height: 5'5.5"
Stats: 32-25.75-35.5
There is something about her look that makes her different from other girls.
Kavya loves singing, writing poems, and anything to do with creativity.

Lekha Anatharaman
Age: 21 yrs
Height: 5' 10.8"
Stats: 32.25-25-35.5
She has that innocent girl look.
Lekha loves dancing , reading, travelling, listening to different genres of music, playing Badminton, netball , volley ball and swimming.

Malavika Rane
Age: 21 yrs
Height: 5' 8.12"
Stats: 34-25-37.5
Malavika enjoys writing, travelling, reading, watching movies.

Manisha Yadav
Age: 20 yrs
Height: 5' 8.08"
Stats: 32-24-36.5
Manisha loves reading, writing, travelling, teaching, playing badminton and table tennis and swimming.

Parvathy Omanakuttan
Age: 20 yrs
Height: 5' 8.5"
Stats: 32-27-36
The winner of Miss India South 2008, Parvathy looks stunning. Win or not win the contest, I think, she should try the cinema. Her hobbies include listening to music, dancing, glass painting, reading, playing basketball and badminton.

Pragya Jaiswal
Age: 20 yrs
Height: 5' 8"
Stats: 32-25-34
Pragya loves dancing, eating, travelling and listening to music.

Radha Bhrahmbhatt
Age: 18 yrs
Height: 5' 8.7"
Stats: 30.5-23.5-36.5
Hobbies: Dancing, singing, dramatics, swimming and jogging.

Rupali Khandare
Age: 23 yrs
Height: 5' 10.4"
Stats: 32.5-26-36
Rupali enjoys singing and painting.

Sangeeta Bora
Age: 23 yrs
Height: 5' 7.2"
Stats: 32.5-25.5-33.5
Another face that stands out of the crowd. Sangeeta’s hobbies include reading, and writing for school magazine.

Sangeeta Chauhan
Age: 23 yrs
Height: 5' 9.64"
Stats: 33.5-28-36.5
I liked her the moment her picture appeared in front of me on the webpage. Her hobbies include travelling, reading, cooking and listening to music.

Shireen Farooq
Age: 21 yrs
Height: 5' 6.8"
Stats: 31.5-24-35
This lady may not stand out for her look but definitely for her hobby; studying body language. For the first time, I am hearing about such a hobbie. How about you people? Shireen loves shopping, travelling for the former, dancing, studying body language, meditation and yoga.

Shreya Dhanwanthary
Age: 20 yrs
Height: 5'8"
Stats: 33-27-37
In Bangla language, “Dhanwanthary” refers to the god of physicians. I do not know whether Sherya is a physician but she is definitely good looking. Her hobbies are- dancing, reading books, debating, organising events, choreography, symposiums and extempore, philately, photography, watching movies, playing video games, parasailing, swimming, trekking, chess, caroms, pool, and bowling.

Shruti Dilip
Age: 22 yrs
Height: 5' 7.5"
Stats: 35.5-28.5-37
Another good looking girl with lots of hope. Shruti enjoys listening to western music and fast tracks, watching English movies and serials, reading and swimming.

Simran Kaur Mundi
Age: 22 yrs
Height: 5' 10"
Stats: 34-25.5-35
This gorgeous girl will definitely turn your MUNDI (head). Her hobbies include listening to music, reading, writing poems, sketching and playing basketball.

Sonia Aiyappa
Age: 21 yrs
Height: 5' 7"
Stats: 32.5-25.5-36.5
Sonia loves to travel, listening to music, and watching movies.

Sujata Das
Age: 22 yrs
Height: 5' 7.56"
Stats: 33-25.5-35.5
Sujata enjoys travelling, watching movies, listening to music, surfing net, dancing and playing badminton.

Sweety Chaturvedi
Age: 22 yrs
Height: 5' 9"
Stats: 34-27-40
Sweety’s hobby includes reading books, and mountain climbing.

Femina Miss India 2008 Final to be Held on April 5 in the Presence of Stars of Showbiz World

It is time to look at the glittering final evening of Femina Miss India 2008 set to be held on next Saturday. From the short list of 29 beautiful girls across India, three girls will be crowned at the ceremony, who will represent India international beauty pageants Miss World, Miss Universe and Miss Earth. The winner of the competition will take part in Miss World beauty contest, while 1^st runner-up and 2^nd runner-up will be crowed Miss India Universe and Miss India Earth title respectively.

Some of the popular stars of India’s showbiz world will be seen in the ceremony. The guest will be entertained by the sizzling performance of Bollywood stars like Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy. The former winners of Miss India beauty contest are expected to be present on this grand occasion. Sarah-Jane Dias is the reigning Miss India World and Puja Gupta holds Miss India Universe and the Miss Earth title is occupied by Pooja Chitgopekar. Now, let us see who are going to win these prestigious crowns this year and get the ticket of three widely known beauty pageant.

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