School in Srilanka
Vivek Oberoi has just wrapped up a hectic schedule of Ram Gopal Varma's Hindi-Telugu bilingual, Rakta Charitra. And he is preparing to fly down to his school in Vrindavan that not only educates 1,500 girls from families below the poverty line, but even offers them free meals.
"We have also set up filteration plants in the villages so these children don't have to walk miles for a pot of undrinkable water," informs the actor, who hopes that the number of students will double by next year.
Oberoi, who was in Colombo for the IIFA gala earlier this month, is also building a school there for the children of ex-LTTE combatants. He saw 70-odd children, whose little village near the front line had been completely destroyed in the civil war, studying under a mango tree. And decided to give them a school.
The star has been actively canvassing for corporate support since and has managed to bring the UNICEF on board. "The school will stand for hope and peace, it will be a window to the future for these children," he says, adding that he hopes to have the first phase catering to 300-odd children, operational by the year-end. Eventually, the school will benefit around 1,000 students.
The actor was present at a mass wedding of Tamil rebels. Fifty-three couples were issued marriage certificates in the northern district of Vavuniya, where they are in military custody following the defeat of the Tamil Tiger separatist movement in May last year.
Oberoi was a witness for one of the couples, and says that for Viktalis and Rathi Devi, legalising their union after three years was a dream come true.
"The bride had tears in her eyes as she told me that earlier, combatants were not allowed to marry and peace was only a dream," informs Oberoi. When he asked her what was the first thing she'd do now, she blushed and blurted out, "Have babies."
Rain pain for Emraan
Emraan Hashmi, Gulshan Grover, Mohit Suri and Mahesh Bhatt are upset with the onset of the monsoon.
Just when I begin to wonder what kind of cynics they are, Holmes says that the league of extraordinary gentlemen were shooting for a crucial scene in Crook when the rains played havoc and disrupted their shoot. Now, they can't start work until it stops raining in the city.
Aamir skips 'Raavan' premiere for mother
New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) This could have been the Clash of the Titans with the presence of supposed rivals Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan at the London premiere of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai starrer "Raavan" Wednesday, if the latter had not missed the event for his mother.
While Shah Rukh got an invitation both from Abhishek and his megastar father Amitabh, Aamir was invited by the Big B himself.
"Amitji invited me for the premiere of 'Raavan' in London when I was there. But I had to come here for my mother's birthday on June 13 and go to Pune to be with her. However, I wish the movie gets success and all my best wishes to Abhishek and Aishwarya," said Aamir.
A bilingual, "Raavan" is releasing Friday worldwide. Makers of "Tere Bin Laden" receive threat letter
Walkwater Media, the makers of Bollywood spoof "Tere Bin Laden" have received an anonymous letter that threatens them with dire consequences if they release the film.
"The person who addressed the letter to us has got the theme of the film 'Tere Bin Laden' all wrong. It doesn’t deal with terrorism least of all support it. It’s a light comedy," said a source from the production house that remains unfazed by the threat.
The source also informed that the letter stated that the producers shouldn’t release the film since it was in support of Osama Bin Laden and terrorism.
A tongue-in-cheek comedy, the movie is about a reporter from Pakistan who is desperate to migrate to the US in pursuit of the American dream. His repeated attempts to migrate are shot down as his visa is always rejected. But when things couldn’t look worse, he comes across an Osama bin Laden look alike.
Directed by debutant Abhishek Sharma, it stars Ali Zafar.
My Hindi has improved after "Raavan": Vikram
Tamil superstar Vikram, who makes his Bollywood debut with Mani Ratnam's "Raavan", says he now speaks Hindi more fluently, thanks to the movie.
"This is one film where my Hindi has improved the maximum because I had an associate who would not speak to me in any other language other than Hindi. For one-and-a-half years, I have been speaking to him in broken, half-baked Hindi," Vikram told IANS.
Also starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, the bilingual in Hindi and Tamil, is releasing Friday worldwide.
Time to go regional!
New Delhi, June 18 -- After Paa, AB Corp produced a Marathi film, Vihir, and is now juggling with four scripts. "Two of the films will be made in Marathi and one in Bengali. We've just received another good script and the director is open to making the film in any language. Regional cinema has some wonderful talent and we want to give them a good platform," informs Abhishek Bachchan.
The actor-turned-producer insists that for his company, production is not just a money making venture. "Obviously, we're not producing films for charity, but I want everyone to earn from it. At the same time, I want to make films that we believe in, even if it means gambling Rs 14 crore on an unconventional subject like Paa," asserts Bachchan.
Encouraged by the success of Paa, he is prepared to go with a bigger budget the next time around, provided the film deserves it.
So, what's the next big project? Bachchan says that three to four scripts have been locked and are being developed. "We'll see how they turn out, we're in no hurry," he says.
Ready, steady, no go!
Mumbai, June 18 -- Salman Khan, who was in Colombo for the IIFA gala earlier this month, was reportedly bowled over by the picture postcard beauty of Sri Lanka. He convinced the producer and director of his forthcoming film, Ready, with Asin, to change the shoot location from the much-exploited Mauritius to the not-often-visited Sri Lanka.
The news reported by a Chennai daily has upset the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC). "We will directly approach the people concerned rather than rely on information from our friends in the media. If they confirm the news, we will announce a non-cooperation motion against the film," says L Suresh, general secretary of SIFCC.
In May, L Suresh, along with C Kalyan, president of SIFCC, and G Siva, general secretary of the Film Employees Federation of South India, had air-dashed to Mumbai to persuade Manmohan Shetty, president of the Film and Television Producers Guild, members of IFFA's advisory board, including Ramesh Sippy and Yash Chopra, and organisers Wizcraft to host the event in a country more sympathetic to the Tamilian cause.
Told that it was too late to shift the venue, L Suresh had announced SIFCC's decision "that films featuring personalities who participated in the IIFA will not be screened in South India."
That would include forthcoming films like Raavan, Lamhaa, Milenge Milenge, Knock Out and Rakta Charitra. L Suresh however denies an "unofficial ban" against any of these films. "We'll only take action against someone who wants to shoot his film in Sri Lanka," says L Suresh. "We don't want to inconvenience producers, distributors and exhibitors.
Ranbir’s special song
The title track of Wake Up Sid, produced by Dharma Productions, has been a hit with the junta and is rocking the music charts.
Now, besides being in the movie, a special video with the same track has been shot for the audience. The video that’s being aired on television these days will definitely have the audience on the dance floor. We hear, director Ayan Mukherjee had to wait for a few months till Ranbir Kapoor shaved off the beard he had grown for another film.
The song choreographed by Bosco-Ceaser was shot over three nights. “But it’s not like a regular number. It has been shot keeping the theme of the movie in mind. It’s a slightly energetic version of the song in the movie. This song has Sid at his best at a party,” says Ayan. When the song was being shot, Ranbir had to stay in the pool for nearly three hours and he was irritated by the end of it. Few people know that the actor is scared of deep water, but he was a sport and didn’t complain till the song was finished. Producer Karan Johar who was very keen on this video loved it so much that he called Ranbir to congratulate him the moment he saw the track.
Soha, Emraan lip-lock in Tum Mile
Soha Ali Khan is a bold actress but when it comes to kiss Emraan Hashmi in ‘Tum Mile’, she was little hesitant. After the director convinced her, she finally agreed to kiss Emraan not once but twice.
Says director Kunal Deshmukh, "I told Soha at the outset that the script demanded one kiss which was to be in a song. Though she had agreed to it, when it came to the shoot, she had second thoughts."
The director explains Soha that since they are playing a live-in couple, the kiss is a must for the film. "In stead of having the camera all over them, I thought a liplock would say it all. Soha was extremely reluctant but she agreed later."
Soha also kissed Emraan during a song sequence. The director felt for one more kiss but later dropped the idea. The film has been produced by Vishesh films, ‘Tum Mile’ is set against Mumbai floods in July 2005 and it is expected to hit the theatre in November.
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