IBLOG SPACE

Though his sparkling ensemble piece hasn't done half as well as it should have, Loins Of Punjab Presents director Manish Acharya is happy that the audience, limited in number, has got the point. And for those who enjoyed every moment of the 90-minute satire, there's gladdening tidings. Manish has got nearly as much footage left behind on the editing table as he has put on camera. "We had elaborated introductory scenes for all the characters. But we found that these were taking up too much of the playing time and delaying the main event, namely the music contest. I wanted to focus on the contest and then maybe bring back the introductory scenes in flashbacks. But that didn't happen. I didn't want to take away from the contest." Among the many scenes that got sacrificed showed Shabana with her screen-husband. "He was played by a close friend of Shabana's. And the scene showed why her character had become the way it was. Another scene had Seema Rahman

Piracy has ruined the movie business in a big way. Even before the film is out in cinemas, people get it on the streets of Southall, Harrow Town centre and many such places in and around London. Pirated movies are sold after a day or two after the film's release. The group who carries out these illegal businesses have always got away. However, this time they were in for a disappointment. The Southall Broadway Ward Team carried out three search warrants at Uxbridge Road and at a private address in Heston. As many as 120,000 (approx) counterfeit DVDs and CDs were recovered along with two photocopiers and a burner, which records seven DVDs at a time. The total street value for these goods is in excess of £1 Million. So far, only one person has been arrested. This has been among the biggest and most path-breaking raids conducted in recent times by a police squad to stop piracy of Bollywood films.

Shimit Amin’s Chak De India has won the ‘Best Film Award’ while Akshaye Khanna received the ‘Best Performance Award’ for his sensitive role in Gandhi My Father 5th Australian Indian Film Festival. For starters, Chak De India , which was shot in Australia, is a feel good hockey film shot in Melbourne and Sydney starring 90 Australian hockey players and over 9000 Australian extras. While Akshaye’s role of Harilal (Gandhi’s son) in Gandhi My Father , has been recently been accepted into competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival and also finds itself in competition for Best Screenplay at the inaugural Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The awards function was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art and was attended by Chak De India ’s Shimit Amin, Sagarika Ghatge and Tanya Abrol, and also Gandhi My Father ’s team of director Feroz Khan and Akshaye Khanna. Australian film critic, Peter Thompson hosted the ceremony, with the Australian actress Isabel Lucas presenting the Best Perform

Eros International, the leading integrated company within the Indian media and entertainment sector announced the acquisition of the international rights of Rakesh Roshan’s Krazzy 4 produced by Film Kraft Productions and directed by Jaideep Sen. Krazzy 4 stars Juhi Chawla, Dia Mirza, Arshad Warsi, Irrfan Khan, Rajpal Yadav and Suresh Menon. Krazzy 4 is a comedy with a social message and is a wholesome commercial entertainer, which will appeal to every section of audiences. The film is based around the four characters played by Arshad Warsi, Irrfan Khan, Suresh Menon and Rajpal Yadav who form the crazy foursome with key supporting roles by Juhi Chawla and Dia Mirza. Following tradition of all Rakesh Roshan films, Krazzy 4 , currently under production, also begins with the letter K and will have music by Rajesh Roshan.

‘Brillstein-Grey’, Brad Pitt's management of over 20 years, has now signed Hrithik Roshan. In the past, there have been major Motion Picture Studios in Hollywood that have set their eyes on Hrithik. In addition, numerous A-list filmmakers too have offered him roles in their high profile Hollywood films. Now ‘Brillstein-Grey Entertainment’, #1 Management Firm in World, has managed to gain Hrithik's attention. Moreover, Hrithik has finally said yes to Hollywood and is taking serious steps in the direction, which leads him to being the first mainstream Hindi cinema actor to be aiming at a higher platform. Hrithik's new International manager, Jai Khanna from Brillstein-Grey confirms, "We are thrilled to be working with such an international star. Hrithik has a strong, authentic, and cool personality. As an icon of masculinity and powerful character, he truly embodies the star quality of cinema's great leading men." Jai further comments on Hrithik's star power

"It's very simple, really," explains Vipul Shah from the Gold Coast in Australia. "It was no longer feasible to keep my production house running with my own directorial inputs. So I invited Anees Bazmi to direct Singh Is Kinng for me. Now I'm ready to invite other directors to make film for my production house." Vipul has accompanied his director Anees Bazmi to Australia for a very special reason. "We're working with an entirely Australian crew. Though I've had experience with a foreign crew (in Namastey London ), Anees hasn't really had any experience in a foreign shoot. So I am here to guide him." Isn't there bound to be a clash when two directors work together as producer and director. "Not at all," protests Vipul. "I leave the execution entirely to Anees. I'm here only to help him in whatever capacity." Vipul says Singh Is Kinng would have the kind of budget that he has so far not been able to affo

At 65, Amitabh Bachchan remains indefatigable. Even as he continues to shoot for a number of films juggling dates among Mumbai, Goa and Delhi in the last one week, he also found the energy, breath and time to record three songs for Vishal-Shekhar for two different films. "That's not all. One more song remains to be recorded for Sujoy Ghosh's Alladin as soon as I return to Mumbai," the Big B said from Goa where he’s shooting for debutant director Vivek Sharma's Bhootnath . Big B plays a ghost in Sharma's film. "I've sung a rap song for Vishal-Shekhar for my ghost's character in Bhootnath and another rap song for my djinn's character in Alladdin . Plus I recorded a soft lyrical number for Bhootnath . As soon as I return I'll record one more song for Alladin ." Vishal-Shekhar who've composed this carnival of crooning for the Big B, have been working on a non-film album of Abhishek Bachchan's hip-hop for producer Rohan Sippy