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Black Ops: flying off the shelves Call of Duty: Black Ops   isn't just   a hit with critics : it's a huge success with consumers too, according to preliminary sales figures from publisher Activision. And when they say huge, they mean huuuuuuge. The Cold War-themed shooter sold 5.6 million copies during its first 24 hours across North America and the UK, generating an estimated $360 million in sales. If Activision's projections prove accurate, it'll make Black Ops the biggest entertainment launch of all time, beating the record set by the previous Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 2, this same time last year. "There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year's five-day global sales record of $550 million," said Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.  "The game's success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand." , , , Thanks to that

Size, in and of itself, is no guarantee when it comes to trying to predict NBA stardom. Or even a chance at an NBA roster. Through the years, we've seen countless 7-footers from several countries fall short, so to speak, time and time again when it comes to trying to hold their own at the NBA level. The Americans clearly lead the league in failing at this aspect, but a dozen other countries have flubbed as well. One country that hasn't taken to the ring, or the court, yet? India. And though this massive nation hasn't had a player play or even be drafted by an NBA team, it's not easy to see why Satnam Singh Bhamara might not be the exception to the rule. After all, the 7-footer has scouts drooling over his skills. The catch? He's only 14. But he's also 7-feet tall. Once again, if you missed that: 7-feet tall, and 14 years of age. Tim Povtak of FanHouse has the story: "Satnam is on track to be a very, very good long-term basketball player,'' said Dan

Last time I wrote about the Kardashians was when sister Khloe had reportedly fallen behind on paying her taxes. Now the family is back in the financial headlines with the launch of the   Kardashian Prepaid Debit MasterCard , a partnership with Mobile Resource Card. Oh, and it's being marketed to teens I'll be the first to admit that I occasionally tune in to the family's reality show on E! — but their latest attempt to promote their brand and celebrity is unwatchable. Mixing pop celebrities with financial management is hardly ever a winning formula — particularly when celebs with zero financial credibility attach themselves to financial products. Selling perfume? OK. But pushing plastic? "There are no other better people to represent this card because of their significant fan base, especially to reach the younger audience," says spokeswoman Eve Sarkisyan. But that's mainly why I find the Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard so menacing. It targets teenagers, a hi

"Vidya Balan 'Back' in demand"... this is what the headline of the men's magazine FHM screams in its latest edition. Vidya Balan has been shot like never before for this issue. The conservative actress has dared to go backless for this month's edition of FHM. True to the saying, 'One star deserves another', the gorgeous Vidya Balan can be seen sexily donning an undraped saree. Not just that, she also shows the readers just how glamorous and oomphy she can be as she poses for a backless shot for the cameras. Besides this being FHM's third anniversary issue, Vidya also happens to be FHM's first cover girl to feature in a saree! Talking about the appeal of her favorite garment, says the stunning Vidya Balan, "I'm so glad people are getting bored of just seeing women in bikinis - we've become very parochial about sexiness. I think the sari is by far the sexiest garment - it covers the right amount, it exposes the rig

Action Replayy releases in a few hours from now and Vipul Shah is an anxious man. This is one film where he has spent maximum effort, right from pre-production to actual shooting and then post-production. As his retro outing gets readied for its theatrical release all over the globe, Vipul gets talking to Joginder Tuteja. Akshay Kumar repeats his comedy act? To be very honest, in Action Replayy there is ample dose of humour. It was a challenge for me as a writer and the director to give Akshay and Aishwarya a style of performance and material where humour is not a typical no-brainer. This was the discussion that we had before we started shooting. In fact the kind of moments that have been injected in the narrative of Action Replayy , audience will stand up, notice and comment that Akshay has never made them laugh like this ever before. He is generally associated with high energy humour. However, in case of Action Replayy , it will seem totally effortless. Those who

According to the audience reactions and director Rohit Shetty, there is only one man fit to play Lucky in the Gomaal franchise, that's Tusshar Kapoor. There are so many surprising things about Tusshar. I expect him to be impish. In fact, he's verging on the rugged. I met the actor at his Juhu residence where he was giving some interviews to the local print media. Seated relaxed in his denims and a brown polo neck tee, Tusshar comes across as an actor who isn't shy but somewhat reserved. You come to know that once you sit with him and talk. He gives you the perfect answers but yet they seem to be incomplete. Tusshar likes asking questions and wanting to know what his audiences feel about his character more than what they feel about him as a person. There's no denying he's earned his spurs. In person, Tusshar looks every inch the movie star; a toned, rangy alpha male who parries questions with an easy drawl that is one part good ol' boy, one part

What could be better than giving back something to your alma mater? Well, Rahul Bose is doing just that. The actor will be doing a voice over for a documentary based on his school, John Cannon Cathedral. The actor who is shooting on premises of the school certainly is in flashback mode with his latest tweet, "Anchoring docu on my school, cathedral. Shooting on premises. Serious nostalgia. Just saw school play photos. Full head of hair. Sigh." Further, he posted an image reminding him of his award winning days saying, "Winner of the inter-school extempore competition, 1983. Last award I ever one. Sniff." Well, we hope the good old days aren't gone forever Rahul.

When I speak to Faruk Kabir, the debutant director of Allah Ke Banday , he is still hard at work on the sound mix for the movie about to release in less than a month. He is, true to legend, a raspy-voiced blabbermouth, a torrent of ideas and insights, repetitive and riffling; just like some Indian cinema maestro who sounds like so many of his hallowed characters. Speaking of characters, he is also making his debut as an actor in his directorial venture. That's two for the price of one. And if you thought I was kidding, you're right. It's three for the price of one. Faruk has also written the film. Kabir has three aces up his sleeve. The question is, will he win the bet at the BO post the release? There's an understanding between filmmaker and subject. The result is a remarkable document, a living, breathing and breath-taking portrait of a bunch of bad boys taking up guns when they are meant to take up education, taking up hatred when they are meant to ta

It looks like the Latin American hottie Salma Hayek has decided to embrace India and Bollywood in a big way. Barely two weeks after the announcement that she would be playing the lead opposite Gulshan Grover in a crossover film, Salma and auteur director Bhavna Talwar (of Dharm fame) became such close friends that they've decided to work on a film together sometime next year. Both Salma and Bhavna were on the jury of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival last week along with English actor Nick Moran (of Lock Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels fame) and the Bosnian director Danis Tanovic of ( No Man's Land fame). It was the two girls on the jury who whooped it up to the hilt. Says a source, "Bhavna and Salma hit it off instantly. Salma has lately becoming very attached to India and Indian cinema. She bombarded Bhavna with questions on Bollywood and Indian spiritualism. Salma is insatiably curious. That's how their bonding began. For the next two days, Salma and

What do you get when you have the biggest superstar of the country and one of the best photographers come together for a campaign? Sheer Magic! Yes that's what happened when ace lensman Dabboo Ratnani captured 'Baadshah of Bollywood' Shah Rukh Khan in his many moods for a special campaign for Belmonte. King Khan is seen in as many as 8 different outfits ranging for business wear to party wear and needless to say, he looks super cool in each one of them. The campaign introduces Belmonte's 8 days a week concept which flaunts a fresh collection of 8 new looks, seven for each day of the week and one for that special Saturday night.

Week after week, different forms of media report about mighty strides that a recent film release has taken at the box office. One such claim caught my eye very recently when it was claimed that a film about an 'icchadhaari nagin' had actually taken the box office by storm. 'Hello? Really?' - I said to myself. Despite minimal footfalls on the opening weekend (and just being comparatively better than the other new releases), absolutely negative reviews, pathetic word of mouth, zero appreciation and 'let-me-wash-my-hands-off-this-film' stance taken by the director, the film is still a hit? A massive one at that? And do we really expect a reader to believe such claims? Is the audience foolish to believe such claims when the makers claim their films to be the biggest ever success on this side of the planet when reality is something totally different? Let's explore in this week's 'Reflections'. Bring in the audience All is fair t

Daayen Ya Baayen goes into one of those lived-in left-out spaces in the back of the beyond where you look forward to a brief visit. It's one of those quirky films you really, really want to like. It's got its heart, and to a large extent, art in the right place. But it misses out on a crucial point. It's not engaging enough to be considered an all-encompassing slice-of-life film about life away from the hustle bustle of the city in the way, say Peepli (Live) was recently. Like Anusha Rizvi who directed the far more successful Peepli (Live) , debutante director Bela Negi knows the world that she elects to enter in her first film. The tranquil Uttarkhand locales are captured by cameraperson Amlan Datta with the minimum of ostentation and optimum warmth and care. This is a world that the creator enters not with the bemused awe of a tourist, but with the tender knowingness of someone who has been away from home and is back now for good or bad. And so the fi

It's official now. If people are talking about Akshay Kumar's more sophisticated clothes these days it's his beautiful wife Twinkle Khanna's doing. Twinkle has apparently decided to take charge of Akshay Kumar's closet. So far she was discreetly guiding her husband from behind the scenes, letting him into her special skills at colour co-ordination and mixing 'n' matching in fits and starts. But lately, Akshay has been dressing up more by his wife code than his own. Says a source, "Akshay has been depending more and more on his wife's tastes in clothes. He seems to have realized that he looks better when his wife chooses his clothes. So nowadays, he has left the choice of his clothes to events, parties and even what to wear for day-to-day shooting to his better-half. Close friends say, this wardrobe- ravaiyya is a step away from Twinkle dressing up her husband on screen as well. When contacted, the media-shy (but certainly not sh

After making spooky flicks such as Raaz, 1920 and Shaapit , director Vikram Bhatt is back with his latest venture Haunted . The USP of the film is that it is India's first stereoscopic 3D Horror film. Haunted stars Mahakshay Chakraborty (earlier known as Mimoh) and newcomer Tia Bajpai in lead roles. The story has been penned by Vikram Bhatt himself, and revolves around certain happenings in a house with a secret past and a haunted present. The ace director has roped in Hollywood's leading 3D technicians and support staff from Canada who has earlier worked in the 3D genre. Bhatt claims that the film is his 'most expensive and ambitious project till date'. Haunted is in its post production stage and will hit the screen early next year.

Till yesterday, the very name of Bipasha Basu not just spelt style, class, and elan, but also an actress par excellence. Well, the equation is now all set to change with Bipasha being signed up for an international project! Yes... you heard it right! The sultry Bipasha Basu, after having conquered Bollywood, is now all set to conquer Hollywood with her gracious presence in the film titled Singularity , directed by renowned director Roland Joffe. The film will be an epic romance of an impossible love set across two time periods and continents. Reports have it that major portion of the film will be shot in India since the story revolves around Marathas in 1780s' India. Satish Sundaresan of Bollywood Hungama caught up with the sensuous Bipasha Basu for an exclusive interview regarding her film. Over to you, Bips... To start with, what was immediate feeling that came to your mind when you got to know that you have bagged an international film? It was very exciting as