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This post is about two things: a July 16 story from WardsAuto.com that claims Toyota will come out in 2015 with a “shockingly” low-priced hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) vehicle and the eternal debate about paid versus free content. Unrelated, you say? Not in this instance. A tweet about the Wardsauto.com story from a blogger instantly grabbed my attention. If a Toyota “official” is saying it’s coming out with a low-cost HFC vehicle even as far off as 2015, that’s news. Toyota has a splendid track record of delivering on innovation. And Wardsauto.com is a credible automotive news site. Problem is I can only get one line of the story unless I am a paid subscriber. That “economies of scale brought by mass-production” is central to that line (see below) may mean the story is nothing more than such a generalization would indicate. But when I see “shockingly” in the headline, I take notice. What makes the story more interesting is that it flies in the face of the many hydrogen naysayers. You can

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Superstar of the Millennium Amitabh Bachchan never fails to surprise us with his on-screen get-ups in film after film. While he keeps re-inventing his look as per the need of the character, if need arises he may even repeat some of his popular and classic characters' looks. Case in point: Amitabh Bachchan's celebrated look in the evergreen number ' Ke Pag Ghunghroo Bandh Meera ' from the film Namak Halal is still fresh in our minds and guess what Big B will be seen once again in a similar avatar in Eros International's Aladin . Mr. Bachchan will be seen grooving to a peppy number called ' O Re Sawariya ' in Aladin in a similar kind of white kurta and pink pagadi which he once donned in the cult classic Namak Halal . In this sequence, Jacqueline's character (Jasmine) is trying to woo Riteish (Aladin) while Amitabh Bachchan (Genius- The Genie) keeps popping into the scene at various points. Says director Sujoy Ghosh, "We had no intentions of re

New York: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, Chairman of Reliance ADAG and DreamWorks Studios' Steven Spielberg inked a deal of $825 million for film production under the joint company formed between Reliance BIG Entertainment and DreamWorks in November 2008. The initial phase of funding will include an equity investment from Reliance ADA Group, debt financing from a syndication of banks, as well as funding from Disney. As per plans, DreamWorks will eventually make 5-6 films per year. The Walt Disney Company will handle marketing and distribution of the studio's films around the world, except for India where Reliance BIG Entertainment will retain distribution rights. DreamWorks anticipates starting its first film for the new studio later this year. They have been actively acquiring properties and developing projects for release in 2010, an official release said. "This venture with Reliance opens a new door to our future," said Steven Spielberg. "Their visionary step has giv

Anurag Kashyap has developed quite a taste for acting. After playing a director in Zoya Akhtar's Luck By Chance , he's back in Sudhir Mishra's Tera Kya Hoga Johnny . And Sudhir is so impressed by Anurag's acting abilities that he has already signed the Dev D director for a pivotal role in Mishra's next project later this year. And Anurag isn't the only filmmaker playing a part in Mishra's film. " Tera Kya Hoga Johnny stars four directors, Anurag Kashyap, Aditya Bhattacharya, Ashok Pandit and of course me. I am not seen on screen though," informs Mishra. Sudhir is not too pleased with his own acting skills. "I saw what I was capable of in Traffic Signal . Madhur Bhandarkar insisted on having me play the Don. I didn't like my performance at all. In Tera Kya Hoga Johnny only my back appears on screen." Anurag Kashyap, however, has a full-fledged role. Informs Sudhir, "Audiences will get to see Anurag as a full actor, close-u

Only a handful of years ago, exactly on this day, a phenomenon called Katrina Kaif was born to a Kashmiri Muslim father and a British Christian mother. Much before her graduation from the prestigious Harvard University, life gave her a lifetime opportunity to graduate from being a mere Katrina Kaif to THE Katrina Kaif! This opportunity came in the form of a casting agent, who, we are sure was far more farsighted than even Nostradamus, since he spotted Kats' futuristic full fledged romance with name, fame and fortune at the very moment he saw her! Katrina, like any wise girl, traced her way to Bollywood, courtesy, the Boom-bastic director Kaizad Gustad. Boom, which happened to be her debut film, showed the world the 'face of the future Superstar'. What followed after Boom were an array of films like Sarkar, Namaste London, Singh Is Kinng, New York ... a few of the many names that gave Katrina her much deserving position that she was simply destined for: Numero Uno! Folks,

Test screenings of unreleased films is a rarity in Bollywood. Test screenings are basically held to gauge the audience feedback prior to a film's release. Aamir Khan does it for all his films. He did it for TAARE ZAMEEN PAR and also JAANE TU... YA JAANE NA. A few days back, Imran Khan did it for LUCK . "The Ashtavinayak people are very conservative that way. They don't believe in screening their films prior to their release. But I wanted to gauge the feedback to LUCK and we did hold one screening," Imran tells me. He, of course, is ecstatic since "the feedback was tremendous." Just recently, Warner Bros. also initiated a test screening of producers Nikhil Advani and Mukesh Talreja's JAANE KAHAN SE AAYI HAIN, directed by debutante Milap Zaveri. "We held the test screening at two venues [Roxy and Fame Adlabs]. The audience for the screenings were picked up from malls and coffee shops. People who've no connection with the film industry whatsoever.

It was a proud moment for director Satish Kaushik as political bigwigs came together yesterday to support his film on teen pregnancy - Teree Sang. Most prominent personality to grace the occasion was Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit who unveiled the film's music at Constitution Club, New Delhi. Says Satish Kaushik who has worked with Ruslaan Mumtaz and debutant heroine Sheena Shahabadi in Teree Sang, "We were quite tensed if she would be able to come for the event because of the 'Metro' tragedy in the capital. Still, she did fulfill her promise in spite of the fact that she was hard-pressed for time." The music launch, which also saw good attendance from media, showcased promos and songs from the film. "Sheilaji loved the fact that the film deals with the issue of teen pregnancy", informs Satish Kaushik, "She had good words to speak about Teree Sang since we are bringing to fore a sensitive subject. She saw the promos and admitted that the kids wer

Kareena has never been net savvy. But thanks to the clamor for her glamour on social-networking sites, she has decided to get on the net. But just for a bit. This week Kareena plans to give her fans on a hugely popular social-networking website (Facebook) a big surprise. Kareena plans to get on the networking site for about 30 minutes "to say hello" to her fans. She may even break her resolve not to become a member of the networking site. And who knows, she may even get over her reservations about starting her own website. Says Kareena, "I've been repeatedly told that I've the maximum number of fans and well-wishers on Facebook. I could never find the time to connect with them. More importantly, I was too shy. I can't bring myself to answer over-specific questions on my activities, where I am, what I do, eat, etc." It was Saif Ali Khan and director Imtiaz Ali who informed Kareena of the massive fan following she has on Facebook and how imperative it was

On Friday Akshay left for Malaysia. "I'm shooting an ad for a cola in Malaysia. It's very different from all the ads that I've done so far. No action this time. It's a nice soft and gentle ad. I hope my critics will like me at least in this ad," chuckled Akshay wryly before taking off for Malaysia. After a two day shoot in Malaysia, he flies straight to London and will be back only in September. Ideally Akshay would've returned home after shooting the ad in Malaysia and proceeded to London later. But the critical response to his new film has been a complete downer. "The same aggressive tu tu main main in Hangover got 4 and 5 star rating while my film was treated so shabbily," Akshay observed unhappily. Disgusted, appalled and disillusioned by what he sees as a clear case of jealous rivals trying to rain down on his parade, Akshay Kumar has left the country ahead of schedule. Akshay was supposed to leave for London later during the month for

TwitMedia: Penelope and Monica Cruz in bikini at St. Barts Beach

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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is many things, but one thing it will never be accused of is being perfect. Or even close to being perfect. Maybe we're asking for too much from a series that asks us to believe the government can cover up the existence of city-destroying robots after their presence is announced to the world via press conference. Maybe we're hoping for more than we should when the movie gives more time to mourn Sam's "death" than Optimus Prime's. But we have to look forward to something come the third movie. Since Fallen had literally everything but the kitchen sink transform this time around, what could Michael Bay and company bring for a three-peat? We have a few suggestions for what we want to see a few summers from now, and, thankfully, robot scrotums, tube socks containing Matrix of Leadership glitter and the Twins, Skids and Mudflap, are not included. Fallen Fallout At the end of TF1 , thanks to Prime's spelunking down an office