IBLOG SPACE

He made a splash with his debut film Ishq Vishk, and the impact of this splash was soooo huge and magnanimous, that his fans started calling him ‘Sha-Hit’ Kapoor. We are indeed talking about the ‘baby-faced mature’ hero whom we better know as Shahid Kapoor, the son of the legendary actor par excellence Pankaj Kapoor. Shahids may forget to wear his cap or any other accessories, but he never forgets to wear his trademark smile, something that makes his fans simply go Fida over him. His fans from all over are unanimously and eagerly awaiting his latest movie Jab We Met , a film that is carrying oodles of good news, even before its release. And the good news is that, you can get up close and personal with the man himself, exclusively on IndiaFM , as we bring to you the man Shahid, live in flesh. Please tell us something about the film Jab We Met is very contemporary film. It's about two strangers, completely opposite each other in terms of temperament, behavior and how they

Evergreen villains tell Sunday MiD DAY how they lived the good life 'Now there's always a how and why attached to the bad guy' - Prem Chopra The meanest role I ever did When I played villain, the roles were totally black. So to create more interest, I put in comical elements or sadism. My meanest roles were in Kaala Sona, Phool Bane Angare and Purab Paschim. The character's name that I really liked was Shambu in Kranti. My family's reactions My family always knew that I was just doing my job as an actor. I was a normal guy. Audiences reacting to me showed their acceptance of the actor. There's a lot of difference today - the public is more emancipated and see roles as performances. How the villain has changed Now heroes are playing negative roles and there's always a how and why attached to the bad guy. There were no reasons given before. But ever since Shah Rukh, Amitabh Bachchan or other heroes started playing bad characters, there are justifications

The happy dancers at the famous Sankalp grounds in Mumbai had another reason to celebrate last night- the presence of the dashing Shahid Kapoor!! There to promote his upcoming and much anticipated film Jab We Met, Shahid danced the night away with none other than Dandiya queen Falguni Pathak and had a blast with everyone present. Jab We Met is produced by Shree Ashtavinayak cine Vision Ltd and directed by Imtiaz Ali. It releases this Friday, October 26th, 2007.

Phoonk De seems like another Beedi in your career. Did you expect it to turn out like this? See, Beedi wasn't an instant hit. I had no inkling that it'll become so huge. In contrast Phoonk De in No Smoking is more of a mood song. It is not a dance number like Beedi. It's more sensual and dulcet. I like to listen to it when I'm driving. But the response for this song has been more immediate. I can sense that from the number of messages on my phone. And what's interesting is that it's not even my film. I think the combined talents of John and me, Vishal Bharadwaj's music, Rekha Bharadwaj's voice and Gulzar saab's lyrics has made the song a great package. And I'm very glad for it. For someone who was termed as a non- dancer you've managed quite a few dancing hits to your name right from Mehbooba Mehbooba, No Entry, Beedi to now Phoonk De . Interesting? It's fascinating actually. I've always maintained that I'm not a trained dancer.

When the sound of Gabbar Singh's boots echoed across the valley, children all over the country sat up in fear. To me, though, it was a different set of boots that were menacing. Black, high boots, they paced with a quiet animal energy. Up and down, trailed by an even more threatening whip. The boots stopped and stood apart, with a shivering Dilip Kumar cowered in between. We paused in that electrifying silent moment, grimacing as Kumar faced the first stinging lashes. This was a terrifying Pran as Gajendra in Ram Aur Shyam, cracking the whip over his meek brother-in-law Ram. So when Shyam traded places, grabbed the whip and gave Gajendra the walloping of his life, you had to cheer. What Ranjeet said during his interview was correct: "Villains were obstacles in those days. They were the way for the hero to win over the confidence of the audience." Sample how villains have turned through the ages. The sneering moneylender, the shrill mother-in-law (who can forget Lalitha Pa

Corporates, Multiplexes and other sources of finance have dwindled the career of a film distributor in India There was this time when distributors dictated the contents of films; an 'item' song here, a rape there, or some more action in the climax. Each territory had its own distributor who imparted his own sensibilities. The distributor was the conduit for taking a producer’s film across India. Up to a couple of years ago, the distributor took up the film at an MG (Minimum Guarantee) from the producer. For e.g.. lets assume the distributor took a film for an MG of Rs. 1 crore. He spent another crore on prints and publicity. The film totally earned Rs. 3 crore. The profit of Rs 1 crore would be about shared equally between the producer and the distributor. Now if the film were to make a loss then the loss too would be shared equally between the two parties. More often than not producers had a regular set of distributors. Losses of one movie would be offset from the profits of t

Bollywood has always stayed away from films based on kids with very few exceptions . Those who dared to go into this lane got lost somewhere and ended up at a dead-end . I looked back in Film history & I could not find many good films whose central theme was based on kids . The number of such films is so less that it can be counted on fingers . Whereas on the contrary in Hollywood there have been numerous films that are made just for kids . In India some of the kids movies which have been made are just so pathetic and are so much inspired from Hollywood that it is even hard to watch them once . Indian film makers don't give any importance to such cinema whereas greats like Steven Spielberg have also made it . I am glad that Aamir has ventured into this stream that too in his debut movie as a director . I would like to appeal to all the biggies who make so many melodramatic films but don't even think about Indian kids and just work for Money . They can risk a little bit mon

PVR Ltd., through its 100% subsidiary PVR Pictures is strengthening its content creation space as a part of its backward integration in the film entertainment space. The company has teamed up with director Rajkumar Santoshi for two-films and is planning to make a historic epic Ashoka- The Great with Ajay Devgan. The other film will mark the return of Rajkumar Santoshi into comedy, post 13 years since the cult classic Andaz Apna Apna , and will have Shahid Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in lead roles. Both these films are slated for release by August 2008 and March 2009 respectively . The company had earlier ventured into film production with a two-film deal with Aamir Khan, out of which Taare Zameen Par , which also marks the directorial debut of Aamir Khan, is slated for release, this year during Christmas. The other film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is scheduled for release in February 2009. PVR Pictures, which was established to cater to film distribution business of PVR Ltd. has been acknowl

Bhool Bhulaiyaa has sure worked wonders for Akshay’s filmy career. Now Ratan Jain of Venus Records and Tapes Pvt Ltd. has signed Akshay for his forthcoming film, which will also be directed by Priyadarshan. The actor-director will team up again for this film. Akshay’s market price surely has reached the skies and with Bhool Bhulaiyaa , Akshay undoubtedly one of the hottest stars in Bollywood. Talking about the film Ratan Jain said, “Priyadarshan has been roped in to direct the film. The film would go on floor by mid 2008 and be released by end of the year.” However, except Akshay, no other actors have been signed for the film as yet. Another film of Venus, Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam directed by Sanjay Chhel will complete its shooting schedule by end of 2007. “The film stars Mallika Sherawat and Rahul Bose as the lead along with Paresh Rawal and K.K. Menon. The story revolves around the theatre group which performs a play titled ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, which has nothing to do with the epic.

Outwardly there's no real love lost between the two enduring divas of the silver screen. Many years ago Shabana had been openly critical of Rekha's dialogues and performances. More recently Shabana's husband Javed Akhtar had opined that he didn't think too highly of Rekha. "I've never been a fan of Rekha. Mujhe uski performance dil mein nahin lagi. Unka rona hasna sab heroine ka hota hai . The first time I really liked her was in Krissh." But now, 30 years after they played Sahelis fighting over Jeetendra in Raaste Pyar Ke , Rekha and Shabana may be brought together in a film called Sadiyaan . And the ambitious director who may pull off this casting coup is Raj Kanwar who has so far been known mainly for his male-oriented subjects. Reluctant to reveal too many details at the moment Raj Kanwar says, " Sadiyaan which means centuries would be an entirely new territory for me. Yes I do want to cast Rekha and Shabanaji together. Work is on for the s

David Dhawan is having the time of his laugh. Fans of David Dhawan's cinema are bound to get withdrawal symptoms. But the King Of Comedy is taking a long break from filmmaking. "It's been a while since I've been making films back-to-back. I need to rejuvenate my energies. When Nach Baliye was offered to me I just grabbed it as a chance to move away from direction for a while. This is my first television assignment and my first acting assignment. And I was introduced by Salman Khan and Govinda on Nach Baliye . What better beginning to my acting career could I hope for? Now I'm completely consumed by the whole process of watching these young people dancing .We've all become like an extended family. When a couple leaves the show it's heartbreaking for me." David won’t direct another film probably until June 2008. "I'll continue to do my scripting. But no direction for a while. I've been working very hard." His next feature film wil

Now this is official news coming to you live from London's Odeon cinema in Leicester Square. Yesterday, (21st October, Sunday) at the Times BFI 51st London Film Festival, Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear was screened to packed audiences including the media, and it was none other than super star, Amitabh Bachchan who graced the occasion along with his producer. Rituparno Ghosh, the director of The Last Lear could not attend the screening because his father was not keeping well in India. Firstly, Big B answered the questions asked by the media and then saw his first English film from start to finish only coming on the stage for the one last time to reveal an answer of a question asked by one of the members sitting in the audience. In front of hundreds of people Amitabh Bachchan said that he will be a part of Vishal Bhardwaj's trilogy of Shakespearean inspired film and this time the maverick director is to cast Big B in the lead role from an adaptation of William Shakespeare

Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear received a rapturous response at the London Film Festival where it was playing alongside the best of world cinema and was showcased to some of the movers and shakers from Hollywood, British and European cinema. Amitabh Bachchan mesmerises as an aged thespian that spends his life looking back on his stage career and trying to better his last performance. His portrayed execution of Harish, an actor smothered by his own confidence and self-worth to the extreme that his greatest competition is himself, has drawn rave reviews from critics and fans alike. He has been compared with and referenced in the same breath as British Shakespearean stalwarts such as Sir Ian Mckellen and Patrick Stewart, both of which are currently in London’s Theatreland portraying King Lear and Macbeth respectively to excellent reviews. A feat previously unheard of and one that has left an indelible mark on the heart of London’s West End causing a stir among actors and directors ali