Bhatt: Anti-piracy ordinance is a wake-up call Film industry hails Maharashtra government's decision

The Maharashtra government has notified an ordinance to curb audio-video piracy, prescribing preventive detention and equating the pirates with drug offenders. The entertainment industry hailed the measure as a landmark that other states should emulate.

The ordinance was notified after a plea by the entertainment industry to Chief Minister Ashok Chavan that it was losing an estimated 8,20,000 jobs and $4 billion anually in potential revenue due to piracy.

"I am glad cynicism and despair have given way to idealism and hope. It clearly demonstrates a signal from the government that piracy is not just a copyrights issue but an economic offence," said noted filmmaker and activist Mahesh Bhatt.

"The Indian film industry will turn a century old in 2013. Piracy has been like a kiss of death for us. The ordinance is a wake up call. This vibrant industry, an important component of India's soft power, won't be left to die," Bhatt said.

The ordinance, signed by Governor SC Jamir, has included audio-video piracy in the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, which has provisions for preventive detention of likely perpetrators. It also categorises audio-video pirates with slumlords, bootleggers, drug offenders and dangerous persons, besides calling for the imprisonment of offenders for up to 12 months.

"The ordinance is a landmark in that it reflects the government's resolve to fight piracy on a war footing. We either celebrate our industry's 100 glorious years or write its obituary," said another noted filmmaker, Mukesh Bhatt.

"Every morning when I wake up, I start with a feeling that I am going to work for a pirate. I am sure this is not the kind of feeling with which any professional would like to start his or her day," he added.

Film industry stalwarts like Amit Khanna, Manmohan Shetty and the Bhatts have also been seeking to sensitise the central government to act fast to curb piracy and even got an assurance to this effect from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The prime minister, during a meeting last month, promised protection against piracy and expressed surprise that not much had been done on the suggestions of the information, communications and entertainment committee he had set up in 2006.

"I asked him what his message to the film industry was. The prime minister's exact words were, and I quote: 'Think big. I want Indian cinema to flourish'," Mahesh Bhatt said, adding: "We came back very happy."

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that the ministry has taken a slew of steps to curb the menace, including a reduction in the entertainment tax and promotion of digital theatres.

The state governments have lowered Entertainment Tax rates consistently from a peak rate of 70 per cent to 50 per cent over the years to help attract viewers to cinema theatres and reduce the market for pirated videos, Soni said.

"The information and broadcasting ministry has formed a core group to suggest measures to combat piracy of films. Action on the recommendations of the core group is being taken to curb piracy."

Additionally, Soni said, the ministry has requested chief secretaries of all states to advise the district magistrates and superintendents of police to include anti-piracy measures in their monthly activity reports.

The Cable Television Network Regulation Act has also been amended to prohibit a cable operator from transmitting or re-transmitting any programme or channel for which the copyright holder has not granted him a licence, she added.

Shemaroo's Akira Kurosawa fest in Kolkata It will kickstart on July 24, 2009

The year 2009 is the centenary birth anniversary of the renowned Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, and Shemaroo World Cinema is celebrating him, his persona, his being and his spirit by organising an extravagant festival in four cities.

Shemaroo World Cinema's Kurosawa Film Festival will be held with as much magnificence in - Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi – as the film maker himself.

The festival will kickstart on July 24, 2009 in Kolkata and will continue till September 2009 in the other cities.

Shemaroo World Cinema will launch four Kurosawa titles on DVD – Rashomon, Ran, Madadayo and Quiet Duel. These titles will now be available to Kurosawa fans across India, with bonus features and Hindi sub-titles.

A three-day, back-to-back screening on weekends – Friday, Saturday, Sunday – is going to be the order of the day, at this splendid festival.

Akira Kurosawa Profile

After training as a painter, Kurosawa entered the film industry in 1936 as an assistant director, making his directorial debut in 1943. After working in a wide range of genres, he made his breakthrough film Rashomon in 1950. It won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, and first revealed the richness of Japanese cinema to the West.

Kurosawa's films have always been more popular in the West than in his native Japan, where critics have viewed his adaptations of Western genres and authors (William Shakespeare, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Maxim Gorky and Evan Hunter) with suspicion – but he's revered by American and European filmmakers, who remade Shichinin no samurai (1954), as The Magnificent Seven (1960), Yojimbo (1961), as Per un pugno di dollari (1964) and Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (1958), as Star Wars (1977).

Salman NOT in Yash Raj film The prestigious banner denied any such story as 'completely baseless'

Bollywood's prestigious banner Yash Raj Films has denied reports that it has signed Salman Khan for a movie, saying they are "completely baseless".

It was reported that writer-turned-director Vijay Krishna Acharya, whose directorial debut Tashan was produced by the banner, is directing his second film for Yash Raj Films and that Salman would star in it.

"We would like to clarify that this is a completely baseless and incorrect story. Vijay is still in the process of writing his next script for Yash Raj Films. No casting has therefore been done nor has anyone been considered for the same," stated the banner.

"As and when we do finalise the script and the casting is complete, a suitable announcement will be made," it added.

Salman, who has worked with almost all the filmmakers in the industry, is yet to be seen in a Yash Raj Films production.

Radcliffe: Girls are heavenly! The Harry Potter star speaks up about romance in real life

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe says though he "loves girls" and enjoys their company, they don't find him attractive because he is "nerdy and geeky".

"I'm not particularly a Lothario with women at all, really. I mean, I love women's company and I love talking to girls. I've always had more friends who are girls than guys because I've always found them more interesting, for obvious reasons.

"I love girls, I really do. They're just sort of heavenly creatures. They're wonderful. But I don't know, it's umm... I mean I don't find it hard to talk to girls," thesun.co.uk quoted him as saying.

Radcliffe starrer Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, the sixth instalment of the wizard franchise, hit the screens worldwide Friday.

"I'm not one of these guys who freezes up with girls. I like having conversations with them, but I don't think they probably like having conversations with me. I'm quite nerdy and geeky and I'm not particularly cool," Radcliffe confessed.

Jackson's autopsy report delayed It is an important part of the investigation that can help indicate foul play

The result of Michael Jackson's full autopsy report has been delayed; it is expected to be out in another two weeks.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office said that it would take a little longer than first expected to complete the report, the China Daily reports.

Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said that the result should be out in a couple of weeks.

However, he refused to provide the reason for the delay.

The toxicology report aims at finding out what drugs were inside Jackson's body when he died and whether it was the reason behind his death.

It is an important part of the investigation that can help indicate foul play.

Harry Potter 6 breaks US advance booking records It rakes in $22 million in less than 24 hours

The sixth installment of Harry Potter has smashed US box office records by raking in a whopping $22.2 million in less than 24 hours and it is said to be the best midnight opening of all times. The booking for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opened Wednesday.

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, the film hit the screens worldwide Thursday. It has topped The Dark Knight midnight earnings of $18 million when it was released last summer and the $17 million earnings grossed by Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith in 2005, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The latest Harry Potter movie has even cast its spell over a record number of Potter fans – the new film drew more devotees in its first few hours on show than 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which took $12 million on its first day of release.

...Half-Blood Prince will topple the Transformers action sequel as the world's most popular film of the year, if opening figures are anything to go by – Revenge of the Fallen 12-day total stood at $600 million, say experts.

'Dad's beatings made MJ 'sterile' Check out the latest revelation about the King Of Pop

Michael Jackson was sterile because his father Joe had hit him twice in the groin area, a former gay lover of the King of Pop's skin doctor has revealed.

Paul Gohranson, a masseur by profession, who used to be in a live-in relationship with Dr Arnold Klein, said that the doctor had confessed Jackson's secret to him.

"Arnold told me of two occasions that Michael Jackson said he was hit in his private area," the Sun quoted Gohranson as telling in an interview with a US website.

He said, "Once, when he was very young and Joe picked him up by one leg and started hitting him.

"Dr Klein said that Michael said that he didn't mean to hit him in that area at that time - but he did and it hurt bad.

"The second time was when he had put out a solo album and it didn't do very well and they rowed that Michael was losing his voice, losing his looks and was gonna shame the Jackson family.

"Apparently Michael started to cry when he was saying that and he said something like, ''You're a sissy and if you're a sissy then you don't need balls'' and proceeded to hit him.

"Dr Klein said that was when the damage was done."

Paul also claimed that Klein allegedly donated his sperm so that the icon could fulfill his wish of having a child.

He added, "So that's why Dr Klein said he donated sperm because Michael didn't even have the ability to donate sperm - he wasn't producing it anymore."

Gohranson also said that Dr Klein had told him that Jacko did try to have children naturally before he realised he had become sterile.

He alleged, "Apparently Michael had tried to have kids back in '89 or '90 - and when it didn't happen I guess he visited a urologist and they told him that he wasn't able to have a child."

However, the King of Pop's father had earlier denied beating him up as a child.

He had said, "Michael was never beat as they call it. And everyone spanked their kids when they did wrong. But not beat."

Bipasha-Mugdha refuse to shoot! Apparently the two ladies aren't even talking to each other

If rumours are to be believed, Bipasha Basu and Fashion star Mugdha Godse are not seeing eye-to-eye.

Mumbai Mirror reports that two ladies simply couldn't stand each other while shooting for All the Best in Goa.

It seems that both the actresses were rather concerned about the length of their roles in the film. And things came to a head when Bipasha Basu decided to teach Mugdha Godse a few dance steps.


The paper quotes a source saying that the problems between the two actresses 'escalated during the second song which also has them sharing screen space. They refused to speak to each other even when it was absolutely necessary and director Rohit Shetty and choreographers Bosco-Caesar found it difficult to handle the situation'.

While Bipasha Basu flatly denied the rumour, the paper quoted Mugdha Godse saying, "Bipasha and I were cordial with each other."

Director Rohit Shetty however chose to be diplomatic and told the paper that during the shoot 'some people became friends some didn't'.

GOSS: Vidya facing identity crisis? Apparently the Kismet Konnection star wasn't recognised recently

Just got to know that some Londoners failed to recognise Vidya Balan recently.

It seems the poor girl just got off a roller coaster and was apparently looked 'flustered and unkempt'.

Now I can understand if a bunch of foreigners don't know who Vidya is. But I also heard that the actress was asked who she was very much in India!

Apparently the star was attending a show for which she was to collect tickets at the auditorium.

As it seemed, the person who was supposed to handover the tickets sauntered into the cafeteria and asked who Vidya Balan was. She obviously didn't know who the star was because when the actress walked up to her, she asked, "Are you Vidya Balan?"

Vidya only nodded and moved on! Must say Vidya, you really are humble, girl!

Photos of Mallika Sherawat At twitter Office

Mallika Sherawat was at the Twitter office the other day and boy did she dazzle the firangs there! Surely seems like the office staff was having one helluva time! Check out the pictures



Mallika Sherawat with the CEO of Twitter, Evan Williams.

Namitha to email her 2 lakh fans The actress is going all out to promote her forthcoming flick Indira Vizha

Multilingual actress Namitha is leaving no stones unturned to create a buzz about her forthcoming Tamil film Indira Vizha. She will send two lakh email messages to fans requesting them to watch the film in theatres.

Directed by K Rajeshwar, Indira Vizha also stars Srikanth and newcomer Hemamalini, and is touted to be one of the much-awaited movies in recent times.

HOT: Namitha's deepest desires! The southern sex siren tells just what will make her happy

She is possibly one of the most popular sex sirens in South Indian cinema. And now Namitha has revealed her most cherished desire.

Give your overworked minds some rest. The actress simply wants to act opposite the Southern Superstar Rajinikanth.

Namitha, who sets many pulses racing, is apparently eyeing a film opposite Rajinikanth.

The actress was recently quoted on indiaglitz.com that it would be 'nothing short of a blessing to work with him (Rajinikanth)'. And she couldn't be more correct.

Careers of actresses such as Gautami and Nayantara have made it big only after a role in a Rajinikanth film.

"If I act with (Superstar Rajinikanth), I know I have achieved the pinnacle in my career," she was quoted as saying.

Namitha has delivered some very prominent hit films in Tamil such as Engal Anna and Arjuna Arjuna. The actress is also one of the topmost googled star in India and even has a temple dedicated to her.

The star was recently in the news when it was reported that she would send over 200,000 emails to her fans requesting them to watch her film Indira Vizha in the theatres.

Namitha who is in her late 20s was born in the Western Indian state of Gujarat and has appeared in 35 movies across three south Indian languages – Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. The actress has also played a role in an English film called Maya.

It remains to be seen if Rajinikanth, who is in his late 50s, agrees to work with the young star.

'Emraan's role is different!' Director Kunal Deshmukh clears the air about his next film

Director Kunal Deshmukh's latest outing Tum Mile will show Emraan Hashmi portraying the role of a painter once again after Raaz...The Mystery Continues, but he denies any similarities in his role.

"Emraan's role in Raaz and the one in Tum Mile are completely different. The painter in my film is more real considering its backdrop (Mumbai floods) and for that Emraan got into the skin of the character," Deshmukh told IANS.

"He trained and learned all the required techniques and mediums from artiste Sailesh Achrekar. We also met a lot of upcoming painters and spoke to them about the style, etc, which came in very handy," he added.

Also starring Soha Ali Khan, Tum Mile is slated to release November 13.

Kunal Deshmukh has earlier directed Emraan Hashmi in Jannat, which turned out to be an unexpected hit last year.

Emraan's Raaz, which released not so long ago also did decent business and garnered favourable box office returns.

Stage for French Madonna show collapses The concert has been called off

The roof of a stage being built for a Madonna concert in the French port city of Marseille collapsed on Thursday, leaving one worker dead and nine injured, city officials said.

The roof at the Stade Velodrome stadium fell apart on top of several workers.


One worker was killed and two of the injured were seriously hurt, said Maurice Di Nocera, Marseille city councilor in charge of major events, said on France-Info radio. The seriously injured were an American and a Briton, said the Marseille central fire department. The killed worker was French. No identities were released.

Four other people had multiple injuries, including fractured bones, and three others suffered light injuries, the fire department said. All of the injured were taken to local hospitals.

Di Nocera said the roof had been about two-thirds complete when it collapsed gradually on top of several workers.

"Since it did not collapse right away, that allowed several people to get out, to avoid being hit," he said.

The cause of the roof collapse was not clear. Police and emergency officials cordoned off the area.

Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour was due to arrive in Marseille on Sunday, but the concert was canceled because "rebuilding a stage, it's not possible," Di Nocera said.

Marseille prosecutors asked the regional safety agency to investigate the cause of the accident.

Pam Anderson poses with Playboy! The actress posed with the Serbian edition of the mag recently

Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson posed with a copy of the Playboy magazine that was published 20 years ago and featured her on the cover.

Dailymail.co.uk reports that Anderson posed with the Serbian edition of the magazine when she was handed the magazine while on a trip to Montenegro.

Anderson was in the coastal town of Budva as a part of her trip to Montenegro. There are reports that she wants to invest some money to build eco-friendly hotels on Podgorica and Meljine.

She was accompanied on the trip by her boyfriend Jamie Padgett, who is a surfer.

Second man dies after Madonna show stage collapse The mishap happened in Marseille

A British worker died in hospital after he was injured in the collapse of a stage that was being built for a Madonna concert in the southern French city of Marseille, authorities said on Friday. A French worker was killed on the spot when the stage collapsed on Thursday. Eight other workers were injured, of whom five are in a serious condition.

US popstar Madonna had been scheduled to give a concert in Marseille on July 19, 2009, but the show was cancelled immediately after the collapse.

Madonna, who was in Italy at the time, issued a statement saying she was devastated by the news. Marseille city authorities said all the victims worked for a company called Live Nation, which was preparing the show.

Bangladeshi film bags top honour at London fest Murad Parvez's 'Chandragrahan' got the best film award

Bangladeshi filmmaker Murad Parvez's directorial debut Chandragrahan won the top award at the Rainbow Film Festival held in London.

An adaptation of Syed Mustafa Siraj's literary work Ranighater Brittanto, the movie that highlights life at a river bank received the best film award. It stars Riaz, Sohana Saba, Champa and Shahiduzzaman Selim in lead roles.

Mostafa Sarwar Farooki's Emon Deshti Kothao Khujey Pabey Nako Tumi got a special mention, The Daily Star said.

Film on Charles Darwin to open Toronto festival 'Creation' will be the first British film to inaugurate the event

Making a break with the past when a Canadian film inaugurated the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the organisers have announced they will open the mega-show with a British film this year.

Running September 10–19, 2009, the festival will be launched with the world premiere of Creation, a film about the life of Charles Darwin.

Announcing this here, festival co-director Cameron Bailey said they have decided to take "a different route" this year by giving the opening slot to a foreign film. The last time the Toronto film festival was opened with a foreign film was in 1996 when the American Fly Away Home opened the film show.

Creation is directed by Jon Amiel and features real-life couple Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly as Darwin and his wife Emma. A mixture of ghost story, psychological thriller and love story, the film delves into Darwin's scientific beliefs and his wife's religion.

Bettany has starred in hits such as The Da Vinci Code, Wimbledon, and A Beautiful Mind, while Connelly has featured in He's Just Not That Into You, The Day the Earth Stood Still and A Beautiful Mind.

"We are honoured to open the festival with Jon Amiel's latest feature," said Bailey.

"By telling a story on many levels, weaving scenes from past and present, this depiction of Darwin promises to deeply move audiences by drawing them into the conflicted mind of a man who presented a concept that changed the world. This was the one we felt really sets the tone for the kind of conversation we hope will happen around the film festival.," he added.

Piers Handling, CEO of the festival, said, "The tension between faith and reason is prominent in contemporary culture and this intimate look at Darwin puts a human face on a man whose theory remains controversial to this day. We are pleased to open the festival with such an impassioned look at Charles Darwin, especially on the year marking the 200th anniversary of his birth."

Two US films – Get Low by Aaron Schneider and The Invention of Lying by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson – will also have their world premiere at the festival.

Started in 1976, the Toronto film festival has become the biggest audience-based film show in the world.

GOSS: Shah Rukh's Dulha is sold! Sushmita Sen-starrer Dulha Mil Gaya gets a hefty price

Whoever said there's recession going on should meet a certain someone in Dubai who has bought Dulha Mil Gaya for Rs 25 cr. Yup you heard me!

I am told that the film that stars Sushmita Sen and Fardeen Khan and has Shah Rukh Khan in what they call 'extended special appearance',

Apparently for the longest time producer Viveck Vaswani had been seeking buyers for the film. Hope came in the form of this unnamed Shah Rukh Khan fan who decided to buy the film from Viveck.

I am told that the Dubai-based entrepreneur has nothing to do with Bollywood but plans to use this film as a stepping-stone. What can I say? Congrats Viveck for finally managing to sell off your Dulha.

Shahid to receive Rajiv Gandhi Award The function will be held in August

After eminent personalities like Sachin Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani, Sunita Williams and Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor becomes the latest recipient of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Award.

The 28-year-old is going to be presented with the 12th Rajiv Gandhi Award in the best actor category. The award function will be held in the second week of August.

"I was pleasantly surprised to get the news about my being chosen for the prestigious award. I am only 28 years old and it's really early in my career. I feel humbled and honoured to be chosen by the jury," said Shahid.

This year, Shahid will be seen in three films, Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey opposite Priyanka Chopra, Aditya Chopra's Dil Bole Hadippa opposite Rani Mukherjee and a Ken Ghosh movie opposite Genelia D'Souza.

Movie Review :jashnn

No filmmaker sets out to make a lousy film, that much I'm willing to believe. But if your film doesn't have one single merit, how dare you expect it to work?

Jashnn, which releases at cinemas this weekend, is a film with no perceivable merit. It has a silly excuse for a plot, some of the poorest actors you could possibly assemble, and just about average music. No wonder it's such a punishment to endure.

Adhyayan Suman, the most stiff young newcomer since Harman Baweja, stars as a wannabe musician who's waiting for his big break, but bides his time arguing with girls in coffee shops meanwhile. His sister, played by Rock On's Shahana Goswami is the stay-at-home mistress of a married businessman (played by one Humayun Saeed) who pays the bills for the fancy house that Shahana and Adhyayan live in. When Adhyayan starts dating Anjana Sukhani, a Boston-returned bimbo who happens to be the sister of Shahana's boyfriend, all hell breaks loose.



An old-fashioned morality tale with stereotypes for characters, Jashnn fails miserably because the drama's so predictable and most of the performances so embarrassing. Adhyayan Suman, looking silly with that frizzy mop of hair, can't pull off the simplest of scenes without breaking into hysteria, and Anjana Sukhani has precisely one expression. Humayun Saeed, the villain of this piece, yells most of the time but he's got a blank look plastered across his face.

A one-line premise that's reluctantly stretched into an unconvincing screenplay, Jashnn belongs to that pantheon of bad '80s melodramas where characters say horrible things to each other and then spend the rest of the movie regretting it.

Directed by Raksha Mistry and Hasnain Hyderabadwala, the pair who helmed such previous duds as The Killer and The Train, both starring Emraan Hashmi by the way, Jashnn is a fiasco of the highest order. Judged purely by what you see on screen, it's evident the director-duo doesn't have a fingernail's worth of skill at telling a credible story. The film collapses like a house of cards; it's only strength being a reasonably convincing performance by Shahana Goswami who comes off as gifted as Shabana Azmi when compared to the rest of these jokers.



Because the zero rating is reserved for objectionable films, I'm going with a generous one out of five for Jashnn. The film's title means celebration. I can safely say that was wishful thinking on the part of its makers.

Movie Review :Harry Potter 6

A thrilling cocktail of gloomy mystery and comical growing pains, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is easily the best of the six films in the series so far, even if it's the one in which very little happens in terms of actual plot development and crucial incidents.

Setting the mood with that terrific opening scene in which evil swoops and soars into the normal world with explosive black trails of smoke destroying London's monuments, the film remains fiercely faithful to the book, and makes no attempts to woo Harry Potter virgins who will struggle to appreciate this as a stand-alone picture.

Starting off at the point where the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc in London, The Half-Blood Prince follows Dumbeldore as he asks Harry to help persuade retired Potions Master Horace Slughorn to return to Hogwarts, with the aim of retreiving a buried memory from Slughorn's past that will prove crucial in the upcoming fight against Voldemort.

Meanwhile, Hogwarts has been hit by a flood of raging hormones. While Harry struggles with his feelings for Ginny Weasley, Ron starts going out with Lavender Brown, which upsets a jealous Hermione. Draco Malfoy is behaving suspiciously too, but he seems preoccupied with a mysterious vanishing cabinet.

Imaginatively visualised and stylishly filmed, The Half-Blood Prince is packed with stunning sequences like the suspenseful chase between Bellatrix and Harry in a wheat field, and a breathless conflict between Draco and Harry in a Hogwarts bathroom.

The film's one sole flaw is that at two-and-a-half-hours it's way too long and unforgivably slow in some stretches.



The genius, yet again, lies in the endearing performances and the lighter moments. Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley, steals the film with his comic delivery, especially that scene he performs under the influence of the love potion; and Brit thespian Jim Broadbent is ace as the bumbling Professor Slughorn.

There is a sense of comfort and familiarity each time you settle down to watch a new Harry Potter film because you know the characters, you care for them now, and you want them to be safe. The relationship between Harry, Ron and Hermione remains the lifeblood of these stories, and it's to the credit of the three actors who play these parts that they bring a degree of warmth and affection to their scenes together.



In a sense, The Half-Blood Prince is really the set-up story for the next instalment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which will be split into two films. It lays the groundwork for what will happen next and succeeds in leaving you with a foreboding sense of doom.

Complaints against the plot and against the omission of several incidents from the book feel redundant when you look the film as a whole. For followers of the franchise, this is potent stuff and a very worthy companion piece to the rest. I'm going with two thumbs up and four out of five for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Directed remarkably by David Yates, this is exactly what fans have been waiting for.

Movie Review :Mister Lonely

Cast: Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant

Director: Harmony Korine

It's release timed shrewdly to coincide with all the hysteria around Jacko's death, Mister Lonely is an intriguing, fascinating film in which a Michael Jackson impersonator (played by Diego Luna) meets a Marilyn Monroe clone in Paris, and follows her to a Scottish commune of celebrity imitators including Charlie Chaplin, Abraham Lincoln, James Dean, Madonna, The Pope and Sammy Davis Jr among others.

The beauty of this film lies in the dichotomy of its very premise - these quietly obsessive souls grapple with who they are and how they can find their own way of life away from the real world, even as they spend the most part of their lives imitating celebrities from this very world.


There's more than a hint of sadness brimming beneath the surface of this film, and it rears its head occasionally to cause a lump in your throat.

But there's also a bizarre parallel track about a priest and some skydiving nuns who work on an aid mission in South America that is hard to put your finger on. Despite some fine performances, this film is no easy watch because it's often abstract, and expects you to decipher and interpret much for yourself. There's also no apparent link between both narrative tracks, making it hard to understand where it's all leading to.



Still, give it a chance if you have a taste for experimental cinema. I'm going with two out of five and an average rating for Mister Lonely. It's not conventional entertainment, but there is an interesting idea somewhere there.

Katrina Kaif may not marry salman khan?

Well, there's some bad news for those of you who to want to see Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan tie the knot. The gorgeous Katrina Kaif won't be able to marry her present love interest superstar Salman Khan and even if she does it won't last long. Apparently astrologers are strongly against this marriage.

If predictions are to be believed, Katrina will not marry Salman as they both are completely different people.

We also hear there is no great compatibility between the two and Katrina should avoid taking Salman too seriously.

Moving on to films, astrologers maintain that Katrina's upcoming film Blue will make her position strong while Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani won't do well.

Saif A master Manipulator

Deepika Padukone doesn’t hesitate to call Saif a ‘showoff’ when it comes to him showing off his love for Kareena through his half English half Devnagiri tattoo on forehand reading ‘Kareena’. Deepika too has engraved her beau’s initials in the form of a tattoo at the back of her neck reading ‘RK’ but has never talked about it or flaunted it unlike Saif.

When probed about the secrecy of the tattoo, Deepika light-heartedly said, “Saif is a showoff while I feel these things are more personal and should be kept to yourself.” The actress who is way younger than her Love Aaj Kal co-star Saif also added, “Women are more mature when it comes to dealing with relationships than men.” Now Deeps if that was pointed towards Saif or Ranbir is something only you can answer, all we would want to see is how does your tattoo look!

Priyanka gets her entry in yash raj camp

Priyanka Chopra has signed her first Yash Raj film and says she was completely bowled over by the script of "Pyaar Impossible", penned by Uday Chopra, who also plays male lead in the love story.

"It's the only script I've liked in recent months. I can't tell you much about the film's plot. But when I heard the script, I jumped.

I've been hearing a lot of scripts because I've really not been sure about what to do after Ashutosh Gowariker's 'What's Your Raashee?'.

"When I heard the script for Uday's film, I got so excited. It was....so beautiful! Any actress' dream role.

I reacted as a member of the audience," Priyanka told IANS. Uday was last seen in the 2006 movie "Dhoom 2" and is now back in action with "Hook Ya Crook" and "Pyaar Impossible".

Uday, who forayed into films with his 2000 home production "Mohabbatein", worked on the script for nearly a year before asking pal Jugal Hansraj to direct it. "Pyaar Impossible" apparently has a plotline echoing "Notting Hill" about the relationship that grows between a star, played by Julia Roberts, and her fan Hugh Grant.

Priyanka and Uday are not exactly friends. "Uday and I have bumped into each other socially. I know him. But not well enough to call him a friend," said Priyanka. It's rumoured that before "Pyaar Impossible" Priyanka was offered the chance to do a cameo in a song with Shah Rukh Khan in Yash Raj Films' "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi". An offer she declined since she had to share the song with three other leading ladies.

"Not true," corrected Priyanka. "I've done a song with Shah Rukh in 'Billu Barber'. And there're two other songs with other actresses (Deepika Padukone and Kareena Kapoor). I was never offered 'Rab Ne...' So this film with Uday will be my first Yash Raj movie. So it's special on many counts," said the actress. Most Yash Raj watchers also feel screenwriting is a giant step for Uday towards turning director. In David Dhawan's "Hook Ya Crook", Uday teams up with his "Dhoom" co-star John Abraham.

U.P. New Text Book Icon

Bollywood superstars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan made a hit jodi in the Bollywood flick Jodha Akbar and now it seems they are planning to step into a new profession together. They are the new icons used to inspire budding Sanskrit language students to learn this dying language.

Students in Lucknow are learning Sanskrit the Bollywood way… but this method has raised eyebrows with teachers and educationists across the country. Film stars are being used, as illustrations in textbooks to help students learn alphabets and children are liking the new method.

However, educationists are thinking to revise concept, “We have to think whether we want students to remember national heroes or film stars. In UP, Bollywood and learning go hand in hand, first Mulayam Singh dedicated a school to Amitabh Bacchan, and last year, Amar Singh opened another school in Aishwarya’s name in Barabanki, " quips Prof.Rooprekha Verma, Former Vice Chancellor, Lucknow University.

Kareena in Bipash out

Despite giving a power packed performance in Abbas-Mustan’s ‘Race’, Bipasha Basu was ousted from the Race sequel and the mastermind behind the in and out game is learnt to be none other than the man madly in love, Saif Ali Khan.

He is desperate to have Kareena Kapoor instead of Bipasha Basu in the Race 2 and therefore convinced the director duo to rope in Kareena.

Overjoyed Saif revealed that the new Race would be much bigger than the earlier one and he even convinced the producer to sign up Abbas-Mustan again. Some changes are made on the script to make way for Kareena.

Confirming Kareena’s presence, Saif said, "Yes, Kareena will be part of Race 2. We're yet to flesh out the details.

But Race 2 has to be bigger and larger than Race. Otherwise no point in making it". Saif has again miffed his actress, first it was Deepika and now Bipasha. If he keeps on discarding his actress to make way for Bebo, we wonder in future he may not be facing hard time in convincing his heroines.

Salman khan Lion Fight Will be seen in VEER

Salman Khan, the macho man of bollywood who has thrashed baddies and goons on the celluloid for umpteenth time, is all set to wrestle with a real lion for the first time in his upcoming mega- budget flick ‘Veer.’

Salman Khan plays a nineteenth century warrior in the film and this particular scene has him protecting a British beauty, who is in the jungle on a hunting mission.

The character of British beauty is being essayed by Liza Lazarus, Miss UK Universe 2008. Salman Khan comes to Liza’s rescue in the film when she is attacked by a lion during this hunting sequence.

Salman not only fights with the lion but also successfully saves the gorgeous beauty, which ultimately gives a new twist to the whole story of the film. The whole shooting of this sequence is likely to take around three days of time from Salman Khan and Liza Lazarus.

However, the location to shoot such a scene with Salman Khan and the lion is yet to be finalized. Till now, producer Vijay Galani has not been able to pin point the location for the shoot, as it requires a state-of-the-art facilities as well as a trained lion to fight the macho Khan.

But producer Vijay Galani is clear about one thing that it will not be shot in India and the whole unit will travel to some exotic location for the shoot. On the question of Safety of lead players Salman Khan and Liza, the producer reveals that rather than dreading the prospect of facing a lion, Sallubhai is excited about the shoot and wants the day to come sooner than later. The shooting is likely to take place next month.

It may be recalled that before Salman Khan fighting a lion in VEER, it was the original He-man of bollywoodSalman Khan to Fight a Lion in VEER!! Dharmendra, who had treaded this path in his films ‘Maa’ in 1976 and ‘Kartavya’ in 1979. In fact, Dharmendra, too, saved the damsel in distress in his film ‘Kartavya’, and the damsel was none other than gorgeous bollywood actress Rekha.

Salman Khan has been deeply involved with every aspect of the film and it is said that even the script had been written by him.

The story is very close to Sallubhai’s heart and he wants the film to succeed at all cost. As the film belongs to British era of India, a big portion of the film has been shot around Buckingham palace in London.

Besides Salman Khan and Liza Lazarus playing lead in ‘Veer’, the film also has Mithun Chakraborty, Sohail Khan, Jackie Shroff, Aryan Vaid and Neena Gupta playing important roles. The film is being directed by Anil Sharma of Sunny Deol’s ‘Gadar’ fame.

It seems Sallubhai is on an experimentation spree with his looks. For example, while Salman Khan will be seen in a nineteenth century warrior avatar in ‘Veer’, he is going to sport a thick moustache for his upcoming flick ‘Dabang’, wherein he plays a negative character for the first time.

The film is being produced by Arbaaz Khan and directed by Abhinav Kashyap. The film will also see the debut of Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter Sonakshi Sinha opposite Salman Khan.

Diya Mirza at the cover of Jade magazine

t’s time to see Diya Mirza at the cover of Jade magazine. Diya is completely rocking this one.Dia Mirza graces the cover of Jade Magazine in pink. She is giving tips to women in the magazine. It’s an old style, when Bollywood babes find no luck and all the tricks of her seems to getting failed. Better go for final shootout and start giving hot scene, atleast will get some movie as she has one of best figure.