Saturday, May 17, 2008

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at Cannes Film Festival

The relationship between Cannes film festival and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is nothing new. In fact, Bollywood’s one of the most glamorous actress has been a regular face in this festival for the last few years. Since her blockbuster hit Devdas was screened at Cannes, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been attending the festival every year now. The year after Devdas was screened in the festival, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan attended Cannes Film Festival as one of the jury members. The actress is now at the Cannes Film Festival and this is the fourth time she is attending the festival.

Last year, after her marriage with Abhishek Bachchan, the couple appeared in the Cannes Film Festival. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s first movie opposite hubby Abhishek Bachchan after their marriage is going to be upcoming Sarkar Raj. Aishwarya’s next English movie Pink Panther 2 will hit the screen in February next year.

Related article:

NDTV Movies

Friday, May 16, 2008

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25 Things about the Movie ‘Jannat’

Jannat is the latest flick from Bhatt camp and is expected to do well both in India and Pakistan. The movie has already impressed the Bollywood fans by its music. Now, it is time to look at its story and the performance of the actors. The movie has released today both in India and Pakistan. Here, I am giving 25 things about the movie:

  1. Jannat has hit the big screen on 16 May, Friday.
  2. The movie Jannat is produced by Mukesh Bhatt and it is a Vishesh Films production.
  3. Jannat is the debut movie for 24-year old director Kunal Deshmukh, who had experience of working with director Mohit Suri in making 2005 movie Zeher.
  4. Winner of Miss World Tourism 2005, Sonal Chauhan, makes her Bollywood debut with the movie Jannat.
  5. Sonal Chauhan plays the female lead role, Zoya, opposite Emraan Hashmi.
  6. Emraan Hashmi appears in the male lead role of the movie. He plays the character of Arjun Dikshit, a cricket bookie.
  7. The music of the movie is done by Pritam Chakraborty and Kamran Ahmed from Pakistan.
  8. Sameer Kochhar plays an important role of a police inspector in the movie.
  9. The story of the movie revolves around Arjun Dikshit who wants to make money quickly and eventually takes the illegal way of making money by fixing cricket matches.
  10. He falls for a girl Joya and at the end, he has got to choose either his love for Joya or stick to his money making ambition through illegal ways.
  11. So, Jannat can be termed as a romantic movie too from this point of view.
  12. Jannat is the first movie to have been premiered both in India and Pakistan.
  13. The premier show of Jannat was held at Gulistan cinema, Lahore in the presence of 2000 people.
  14. Emraan Hashmi, Sonal Chauhan and Mahesh Bhatt got a warm reception in Pakistan and they were impressed by the presence of a huge crowd at the premier of the movie.
  15. Pakistan film industry is demanding to put a ban on Jannat in Pakistan, claiming that the movie treats Pakistani cricketers negatively and it is against Muslims.
  16. However, Jannat has been cleared by the censor board of Pakistan.
  17. The music of Jannat is rocking the chart in India since its launch.
  18. Jannat provides an inside view of match fixing and its process.
  19. The dialogs of the movie have been rated well.
  20. Emraan Hashmi already has enough popularity in Pakistan and now the actor has recently said that it is his time to shine in Pakistan.
  21. In a scene, Emraan Hashmi being a cricket bookie says there is not that much difference between cricketers and prostitutes because the end of youth means end of everything for both cricketers and prostitutes.
  22. Newcomer Sonal Chauhan will not be seen in any intimate love making scene in the movie.
  23. Sonal Chauhan was asked to shot a bed scene with Emraan Hashmi, which she turned down without thinking much about it.
  24. Though there is speculation that Jannat is copy of Hollywood movie Two For The Money, both actor Emraan Hashmi and director Kunal Deshmukh denied it.
  25. Jannat as a movie is expected to face an unconventional competitor and that is IPL. The movie may not have to face any big threat from any big budget movie except Tashan, but it must impress the cricket crazy fans diverting their interest for IPL.

Jannat Review

After postponing and re-postponing, finally Jannat has been released. The movie that has cricket every where but deals with the ugly world of betting and match fixing. Mahesh Bhatt stands out from other Bollywood film makers because he makes movies on serious subjects. For example, Footpath, Murder, Gangster, Kalyug, Zeher, The Killer, Awarapan and now, Jannat. The first significant thing about the movie is its title. Till now, all the movie titles of Bhatt production revealed the dark subject the movie is dealing with(Footpath, Murder, Gangster, Kalyug, Zeher, The Killer, Awarapan). For the first time, he has chosen an exceptional title Jannat. It is like a pseudo title.

Alright, by this time you all have come to know about the story of the movie; the story of Arjun Dikshit (Emraan Hashmi) and Zoya (Sonal Chauhan). They meet, they fall in love, and then the lady comes to know the ugly side of her lover and delivers him to justice. So far, Jannat is an okay movie but not so good.

Taran Adarsh is very much impressed with Jannat. In terms of story telling, the first half is ordinary “Chalta hai” staff. Boy meets girl, go crazy and does crazy things and stuff. Things start to become serious after intermission. India FM reports:

Honestly, you don't take to JANNAT instantly. The initial portions - the love story - are strictly chalta hai stuff. But the best part is, JANNAT takes a step forward every 10 minutes. The film actually takes off when the characters reach Cape Town, South Africa. The portions thereafter are akin to a roller coater ride.

Right from the interval point to a hair-raising, pulse-pounding climax, JANNAT is another journey altogether. The end, especially, hits you like a ton of bricks [it wouldn't be right to reveal what happens to the characters].

The strong point of Jannat is the making of the movie, the story and script. The script is written by Kunal Deshmukh and Vishesh Bhatt and directed by Kunal Deshmukh who showed great maturity as a debutante director. Though Emraan Hashmi is famous as a kisser this film will change his image. He played the character of Arjun very well. He is the heart of the movie.

Since Mahesh Bhatt is highly influenced by Hollywood movies, rumor came out that Jannat is a rip off of Two for the Money, a 2005 movie by Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey but it is not true; rather, it has a shadow of Mahesh Bhatt’s early movie Naam where the central character was played by Sanjay Dutt. Naam comes with the ultimate message that once you get into crime there is no way out. Jannat has a similar message. In an interview, Mahesh said that Jannat is Emraan Hashmi’s coming of age movie. It is the Naam of Emraan Hashmi.

The movies story telling style is not liked by all. The first part of the movie is fine and shows that the story is movie to the right direction but then in the second part the story loses its focus and becomes abrupt. Ravimoosad writes:

The love at first sight of the lead pair and Arjun’s quick success is not taken convincingly. Also it is unbelievable that Zoya was completely unaware of Arjun’s real business. The first half of the movie is good and the audience will get a feeling that movie is going in the right direction. But the second half disappoints and leads finally to a weak and oft-repeated climax. Imran is very good as Arjun and has done well especially in song sequences. Sonal as Zoya has given convincing performance and so is Javed Sheikh and Samir Kochchar. Like any other Imran Hashmi movie from Bhatt camp, this movie too has good music which is a great relief.

The second interesting thing about Jannat is ring significance. The story starts with a diamond ring and ends with a diamond ring. Buzz 18 reports:

At its very heart, Jannat is a story that begins and ends with a ring. Arjun and Zoya meet because of the ring. They fall in love and Arjun goes all lengths to make sure that the ring finds its rightful place.

But with each passing moment the weight of ring starts bearing upon his conscience (yes, our very own Frodo from Lord of The Rings!). The ring continues to be a major part of the film, till even the climax scene where by its very being it shapes the future of our lovebirds.

The story telling of Jannat some how resembles with children’s story. What seems to be great story turns out to be the same old boring thing repeated time and time again. Although Jannat does not directly mention the name of any cricketer it gives many indirect references. The movie already started a serious controversy. Some Pakistani showbiz personalities are saying that the movie showed Pakistani and Pakistani players as corrupt people. Buzz 18 further says:

If the gem on the ring does not impress you, the ones in the dialogues will. Zoya is justifying her handing Arjun over to the police. In a fit of desperation she yells out – "I love you, so I got you arrested." Now, that's unconditional!

Then there's another where Arjun catches one of his players eyeing a good looking girl. Cheekily he says, "I know on the ground you like fielding at fine leg and off it you like looking at fine legs. But let me take you to a place where you will not only find fine legs but also gullies, slips and deep cover." Profound.

There are some very clear references to certain cricketers and real-life incidents. Those who follow the game would probably find many parallels between this movie and real life. There are clear references to Azharuddin, Shahid Afridi and of course Bob Woolmer throughout the 140-odd-minute long movie.

By itself, a film on cricket would have made for great viewing. But as the narrative unfolds, the movie loses its focus – after the girlfriend comes in, there's the father and finally also a child.

Cricket used to be a family game, but not any more. And as far as we know neither is betting or fixing. So the whole family connection somehow is lost on us.

The Economic Times review says that Mahesh Bhatt could not depict the match-fixing or betting in detail. It says:

The Bhatts have as much (or rather as minuscule) knowledge about match-fixing and cricket-betting as much as any average audience. So do not expect a fine-tuned screenplay detailing the intricacies on the misconduct of cricket or revealing the modus operandi of the sport malpractice. The Bhatts are no Bhandarkar. Rather be prepared for a superannuated story sketched not even around but on the external periphery of the theme of match-fixing.
In the end, I would like to say that Jannat is a movie worth watching. May be the story is not well organized, may be the film skips many details, may be the dialogues are cliché but compared to big production movie like Tashan that has no substance but masala, Jannat is far better. It does not matter whether you are a fan of Emraan Hashmi or not you should see the movie.

Related articles:

India FM (1)

India FM (2)

Ravimoosad

Buzz 18

Without giving the movie way

Economic Times


Jannat: A Typical Bhatt Production

If you are an avid fan of the movies released from the Bhatt camp then you might know Bhatts are well known for dealing with new talents, uncommon stories and often with controversial ideas. Well, the upcoming movie Jannat is no change. The movie is due to hit the screen today and this is the first movie premiered both in India and Pakistan.

As a Vishesh Films production, Jannat seems to be a typical Bhatt production with some new talents. Jannat features new face- Sonal Chauhan, for the female lead role against Emraan Hashmi in the mail lead role. Sonal Chauhan was the winner of the Miss India Tourism 2005 title and she is one of the popular model of India’s showbiz world. More than that, Jannat is the directorial debut for 24-year old Kunal Deshmukh, who helped director Mohit Suri in 2005 Bhatt production, Zeher.

Jannat deals with a story revolved around a cricket bookie who is aiming to make money quickly and eventually gets involved in fixing cricket matches. I do not know if there is any other movie released from Bollywood on a cricket bookie earlier. Now, so more or less you can say that the story of the movie Jannat is a bit different. Now, come to controversy. Yes, Jannat is involved in some controversies as well. First of all, the movie deals with cricket match fixing which itself is a very controversial issue in Cricket. Pakistan film industry blamed the movie for treating the Pakistani cricketers badly and claimed for a fan on the movie in Pakistan. There is a dialogue in the movie that says Cricketers and prostitutes are similar. It is quite enough to spark rage among the cricket crazy fans of India, though nothing happened so far in India.

So, Jannat carries out all the characteristics of Bhatt films. Produced by Mukesh Bhatt, the movie ropes in Pritam Chakraborty for the music scores and you already know that the audio album of Jannat remains in the top chart since its launch in India. Now, let us see if Jannat turns out to be another hit flick from Bhatt camp and makes some quick cash for the Bhatts.

Related article:

India Times

Pakistan Film Industry Claiming Ban on ‘Jannat’

Bollywood movie Jannat has seen a successful premier in Pakistan. However, Pakistani film industry is claiming to put a ban on the movie in Pakistan as it tells a story that is against Muslims and Pakistani cricketers. Here, it is noteworthy that Emraan Hashmi starrer Jannat depicts the life of a max fixer who is involved in fixing cricket matches to become rich quickly.

The Post reported:

They claim that this movie is against Muslims and Pakistani cricketers. Director Pervaiz Rana said he would soon approach the court against the release of Indian movie. He denounced those who released films like “Jannat” in Pakistan as Indian agents.

Besides Pervaiz Rana, some other personalities from Pakistani film industry have raised their voice against Jannat being released in Pakistan. They are also blaming those agents who are organizing the releases of Bollywood films in Pakistan. However, the good thing is that Bollywood movies are very popular in Pakistan and actor Emraan Hashmi has immense popularity among the movie buffs of Pakistan.

Well, it is not yet clear if the movie treats Pakistani cricketers badly. India’s cricket crazy fans are now in a cricket fever thanks to Indian Premier League (IPL) and the movie has been released today amid this cricket excitement. Now, Pakistan film industry is against Jannat. So, it seems that Jannat is going to face some strong challenges both in India and Pakistan.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Cricketers are PROSTITUTES!

Before you get too excited about the title let me make it clear it is not what I meant. In Mahesh Bhatt’s upcoming production Jannat Emraan Hashmi played the character of a match fixer who says in the film that there is no difference between prostitutes and cricketers; they are same. One India reports:

What's more, the censor board saw nothing objectionable on the world's poshest profession being compared with the oldest. Says a character in Jannat, "Dekhiye Sir. Cricketers aur prostitutes ke beech zyada farq nahin hota. Donon ki jawani khatm to kahani khatm."

In fact producer Mahesh Bhatt is supremely gung-ho about this latest eyebrow-raising tryst with controversy."Yes, those are the exact words in Jannat.

Cricket is THE MOST popular game in India. People are crazy about cricket and the cricketers are revered more or less like gods. Top cricketers make millions of Rupees from ad campaigns and various other activities. In such a country, comment like this could create lots of controversies but Bhatt is known for making films that deals with uncommon subjects. In Jannat, he sheds light on betting and match fixing in cricket . Jannat tells the story of an ambitious person who wants to make fast money and eventually takes the illegal path. In the process, he ends up becoming a match fixer.

Related article:

One India

Jannat observed a successful premiere in Pakistan


Emraan Hashmi’s Jannat is the first movie to be premiered in both India and Pakistan. So far, the Pakistan premiere had been very successful. In Pakistan, the premiere was held at Gulistan cinema, Lahore. Almost 2,000 people came to see the movie. Along with Emraan Hashmi, Sonal Chauhan, Mahesh Bhatt, Mukesh Bhatt, and Kunal Deshmukh attended the premiere. Apun Ka Choice reports:

"I will never forget the love I got from the people at the Lahore airport," Hashmi is quoted as saying.

During his stay in Lahore, many things caught the attention of Emraan’s roving eye, particularly the "beautiful buildings and the stunning girls" of Lahore.

The incorrigible serial kisser of Bollywood also witnessed immense fan adulation at the premiere of ‘Jannat’ at the famous Gulistan cinema hall on Tuesday. The number of fans was so large that it caused a traffic jam on a nearby road.

The premiere itself was a star-studded gala attended by many Lollywood celebrities.

Two major Pakistani cricketers: Imran Khan and Wasim Akram also came to the premiere. Emraan received a royal treatment during his stay. The actor is quite popular in Pakistan. He even appeared in a cellphone ad.

Related articles:

Rediff

NDTV

Jannat is not a Hollywood rip off

Mahesh Bhatt and Pritam have something in common; both of them are good in copying. The way, Pritam takes music from different songs, Mahesh Bhatt also takes his stories from different western movies. Mahesh Bhatt himself admitted that he is heavily influenced by Western films. Jannat is the next movie from Mahesh Bhatt's production.Before the shooting started, rumors spread out that Jannat was a rip off of Two for the Money. Upon hearing this, Emraan Hashmi, the lead actor of the movie was very surprised. Sify.com reports:

"Which is this movie Two For The Money?” asks Emraan Hashmi. “Isn't it a film about a bookie and his mentor, and the conflicts they face in their business? Sorry to disappoint those who believe they have managed to crack the code, but Jannat in not even remotely similar to the Hollywood film."

"Jannat deals with a different aspect altogether. We have tried telling everyone, time and again, through the promos that the film is not just about bookies and betting. It is a story about a young couple—the guy is a go-getter and wants to give his girl everything she desires. For that he is even willing to take an illegal route."

This time, I also agree with Hashmi that Jannat is not a rip off of Two for the Money. I watched Two for the Money and true that it deals with the subject of betting but in a different manner. In USA, betting is legal and there are many companies that make money on gamblers. These companies hire specialists in particular games to make predictions who would win. Matthew McConaughey played such a character. It is totally different from what Jannat is all about.

Related article:

Sify.com

India FM

Bollywood Movie ‘Jannat’ vs IPL: Who Will Win?

In English, ‘Jannat’ means ‘Heaven’. In true sense, Indian cricket fans are now at their seventh heaven thanks to the exciting Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. Fans have found a new means of entertainment and IPL tournament has taken a heavy toll from Indian television program and movie industry. Many hit and highlighted television shows are losing viewers, while the evening and night shows of cinema halls are going without much fan presence. So, for the movie Jannat, due to get release tomorrow, is expected to face some challenges from IPL now. Much anticipated Yash Raj Films production ‘Tashan’ failed to do well expectedly, mainly because of IPL matches.

Glamsham reported:

Mahesh Bhatt, for the first time is having his take on the sport of cricket and he would have his own interpretation about the way the things operate in the cricketing world. Clashing with the peak time of IPL, the film would have to be really captivating to wean away the audience from the television sets, and this would be the real challenge that Mahesh Bhatt could be facing for the first time in his life. If the audience leaves IPL and goes for JANNAT then it would be 'Jannat’ for Bhatt, or else…

Jannat is a movie revolved around the story of a bookie who eventually gets involved in match fixing in Cricket. So, it has some links to cricket here too. Known as serial kisser, Emraan Hashmi plays the male lead role of the movie. Female lead role of Jannat features newcomer Sonal Chauhan, who won the 2005 Miss World Tourism title.

No doubt, Jannat has to distract the attraction of cricket crazy Indian fans from IPL to cinema halls, in order to have a successful opening. Here, comes the question- Jannat or IPL, which one is going to win the battle.

Sonal Chauhan Refused to Make Intimate Scene in ‘Jannat’

You already know that popular model Sonal Chauhan is going to have her Bollywood debut with the movie Jannat. Emraan Hashmi starred Jannat hits the screen tomorrow with a lots of excitement among the Bollywood. However, there will be no intimate love making scene between Hashmi and Sonal, a unique thing considering Hashmi’s reputation (both positive and negative) for on-screen love making scenes.

Well, Sonal was initially asked to shot wearing a bikini and do a bed scene with male lead Hashmi in the movie. However, Sonal Chauhan turned in down.

Apunkachoice reported:

For starters, she is not game for posing in revealing clothes. She is also not open to doing intimate scenes with her co-stars. Sonal has revealed in an interview that she was asked to wear a bikini and do a bed scene with Emraan Hashmi in ‘Jannat’, but she refused to do them.
“I have not shot a single scene where I am in bikini or in such a condition that I cannot watch with my family,” says Sonal and goes on to claim that ‘Jannat’ doesn’t even have a kissing scene between Emraan and her.

That was obviously a bold decision for any newcomer in the industry. I think, Sonal has done the right thing by not doing those scenes. She has become a successful model, now it seems she is due to make it big in the big screen. Let us see, if Bollywood fans take her positively and find something attractive in her performance.

Emraan Hashmi Says, ‘Jannat’ deals with a different aspect altogether

Emraan Hashmi’s upcoming flick Jannat is going to hit the screen tomorrow. With music of the movie winning the heart of many Bollywood fans, now it is time to check if the movie itself can bring out a box office success. However, there are reports and speculations out in the media that read, the story of Jannat is a copy-cut of Al Pacino starred Hollywood movie Two For The Money (2005).

However, director Kunal Deshmukh and leading male actor Emraan Hashmi do not agree with this kind of remarks. Emraan Hashmi thinks, Jannat is a movie connected to different aspect. To him, it is not only a movie about a bookie and betting, rather it is also a movie about a young couple. This is the debut film for director Kunal Deshmukh, who also denied the speculation that Jannar resembles the Hollywood movie Two For The Money, saying that he did not want to start his directorial career with a copied screenplays.

Sify reported:

"Which is this movie Two For The Money?” asks Emraan Hashmi. “Isn't it a film about a bookie and his mentor, and the conflicts they face in their business? Sorry to disappoint those who believe they have managed to crack the code, but Jannat in not even remotely similar to the Hollywood film."

"Jannat deals with a different aspect altogether. We have tried telling everyone, time and again, through the promos that the film is not just about bookies and betting. It is a story about a young couple—the guy is a go-getter and wants to give his girl everything she desires. For that he is even willing to take an illegal route."

Jannat also stars Sonal Chauhan, the leading female role in the movie. For Sonal Chauhan, this is the debut film. So, the Bollywood fans will be curious to see the performance of Bollywood’s new addition Sonal Chauhan. Produced by Mukesh Bhatt, the movie Jannat is expected to do well in the box office.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Amitabh Bachchan Surprised at the Falling Down of TRP Rating of ‘Panchvi Pass’

Amitabh Bachchan has been surprised to know that TRP rating of ‘Panchvi Pass’ is decreasing. The veteran star actor Amitabh, who brought a revolution in TV game show though hosting ‘Kaun Banega Karodpathi,’ is keen to find out the reasons behind such falling in TRP ratings of Panchvi Pass even though the show is hosted by Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan. Mr. Bachchan also raised question if TRP rating reflects the current picture of popularity of a television program.

Hindu reported:

The Bollywood icon was also skeptical of the format of question-answer game shows. "Why is there a depleted performance despite the presence of the biggest name in the business?" he asked. The actor also wanted to know if TV ratings are a correct indicator of the popularity of a particular show.

Amitabh Bachchan also said that TV viewership had been increased then what is the reason behind the falling of a television program of this kind. He at last said that he was unable to find out any specific reason behind such falling interest of this game show.

Well, I think, Indian television viewers are now more interested to the ongoing IPl Twenty20 tournament. Normally cricket is a long time game, but as IPL is being held on Twenty20 format of Cricket, television viewers found the three-hour long match much more interesting and entertaining than game shows or reality talent hunt programs. Moreover, the timing of IPL is also good for the working class people as the matches start from 8:00 pm. So, I think, once the tournament ends up, the other television programs will get back the expected TRP ratings on the board.