Photo: Mel Gibson's Edge of Darkness poster

The movie is an adaptation of a BBC TV series of the same name, that was aired in 1985.

Edge of Darkness stars Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, and Bojana Novakovic.

The movie is about a homicide detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) who sets out to investigate the death of his activist daughter, Emma Craven (Bojana Novakovic), and unearths a plot to hush up the murder.

Ray Winstone plays Matt Jedburgh, an agent sent to destroy all evidence of the crime.

Edge of Darkness has been produced by Graham King, Tim Headington, and Michael Wearing.

The movie will be released on January 29, 2010.

It has been a long time since Gibson has appeared on screen. He will also be seen in The Beaver in 2010.

Farhan Akhtar in Luck By Chance

The movie is written and directed by debutant Vijay Lalwani, and produced by Excel Entertainment (Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar). Karthik Calling Karthik will be exec produced by Miriam Joseph.

The movie will star Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Ram Kapoor and Shefali Shah.

Frankly, there is not much to tell about the movie or its storyline. Some reports claim that Karthik Calling Karthik is a pyschological thriller. Others say that the movie is about a broody man who gets “phone calls from himself.”

Farhan Akhtar has described his role in the movie as that of of an average Joe trying to make his way through life. The thriller comes with dash of humor and an interesting romance angle, Akhtar added.

Apparently, to get into the character he plays in Karthik Calling Karthik, that of a lonely brooder, Farhan Akhtar cut himself off from people around him during the filming of the movie.

Method acting and all that. Pity there is no Laurence Olivier around to tell him, “Try acting, son,” the way he said, famously, to Dustin Hoffman.

Phot: Shiney Ahuja

In June 2009, Shiney Ahuja was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting his housemaid. He was granted bail by the Mumbai High Court, on October 1, 2009, and is now staying in Delhi.

The hearing of the case has been adjourned to October 16, 2009, after the prosecution sought time to reply to the petition filed by Shiney seeking forensic and medical reports.

Shiney’s debut movie was Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi, which won him the 2005 Filmfare award for Best Male debut.

Shiney also starred in Sudhir Mishra’s 2007 flick Khoya Khoya Chand, with Soha Ali Khan, that was not a commercial success but won critical acclaim.

Shiney has essayed an eclectic roster of performances in movies like Gangster, Sins, Karam, Woh Lamhe, Life in a Metro, and Zindaggi Rocks.

The actor will be next seen in Har Pall, costarring Preity Zinta, Isha Koppikar, and Dino Morea, later in 2009.

Hitman will go into production in 2010.

Irrfan Khan photo

With the principal casting more or less complete – we are not sure if Hugh Grant will play the role of Lord Mountbatten, though – what we have is a sterling crew.

Indian Summer will be directed by Atonement director, Joe Wright, and penned by Gladiator writer William Nicholson.

Now that the Indian government has cleared the script of the film, on the condition that it is subject to approval, the movie is likely to go into production in early 2010.

Indian Summer will be produced by Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan with Hilary Bevan Jones.

Indian Summer is based on Alex von Tunzelmann’s book Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire.

The movie will revolve around the relationship between Lady Mountbatten, wife of the last governor general of India, and Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister.

Jawaharlal Nehru’s niece Nayantara Sehgal and the Mountbatten family have denied that the Nehru and Lady Mountbatten had an affair, in 1947.

Irrfan Khan was last seen in the 2009 Billu and New York. The actor has an impressive bibliography with movies like The Warrior, Namesake, Slumdog Millionaire, Maqbool, and Haasil.

The actor’s next release is Acid Factory, in October 2009, followed by Hisss with Mallika Sherawat in 2010.

Photo: Prateik Babbar at the Lakme Fashion Week

My Friend Pinto will be directed by Raghav Dar, who was the assistant director of Guru and associate director of Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na.

The story of My Friend Pinto will be penned by Raghav Dar and Arun Sukumar.

Raghav Dar is also the writer of the upcoming Lamha, that will be released sometime in 2009. The movie stars Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, and Anupam Kher.

My Friend Pinto will be released in 2011.

Sanjay Leela  Bhansali’s next is Guzarish, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. The movie will be released in 2010.

Bhansali is also working on Chenab Gandhi, starring Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham and Vidya Balan.

Prateik Babbar was last seen in a cameo role in the 2008 hit, Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na. His performance drew gushing reviews, which is a bit surprising considering his performance, while good, was hardly earth-shattering.

I don’t know how much of it was because Prateik is Smita Patil’s son, a wonderful actress who passed away when he was born. Maybe I am being unkind here, but in India, any public figure who dies, gets practically canonized, and his offspring is honorarily adopted by the whole country.

Of course, it doesn’t take away from the fact that Prateik Babbar definitely has screen presence but he has a long way to go.

He will be next seen in Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat with Aamir Khan.

Photo: Shahid Kapoor and Pankaj Kapoor via santabanta.com

Buzz is that Shahid Kapoor will take time off from November 2009 to prepare for the movie. He will not take on any other roles till the time Mausam is wrapped up, in July 2010.

Mausam will be shot extensively in India, UK, Italy, Spain, and Austria.

An out-and-out romance, Mausam will be written by Pankaj Kapoor himself.

The female lead has not been finalized as yet. A nationwide talent hunt will start soon. Reportedly, Pankaj Kapoor wants a fresh face for the movie.

Pankaj Kapoor is one of the finest actors India has ever produced, but, sadly, has not received his due.

Kapoor started as a stage actor; he made his film debut in Shyam Benegal’s 1982 film Arohan. What followed was an eclectic mix of roles, that included his unforgettable turn as Tarneja in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983), Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984), Chameli Ki Shaadi (1986), Ek Ruka Hua Faisla (1986), Raakh (1989), and Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1991).

His recent movies include Vishal Bharadwaj’s Maqbool (2003) and Blue Umbrella (2007) in which he has given finely nuanced performances.

Pankaj Kapoor has won the National Award thrice in his career, Best Supporting Actor, Raakh (1989), Special Jury Award for Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1991), and again for Best Supporting Actor for Maqbool.

Ludicrously, he also won the Best Actor in a Negative Role Fiimfare award for Blue Umbrella, in 2008.

I remember Pankaj Kapoor saying at the award ceremony that what did the poor guy do? He just stole an umbrella! It would have been much better if they hadn’t given him any award than insulting his fine performance as a man who covets and steals a shiny umbrella from a little girl and pays a heavy price for it. I bet the guys at Filmfare didn’t even see the movie.

Pankaj Kapoor will be next seen in Awasthi, directed by Bhavna Talwar (director of the controversial Dharm, also starring Pankaj Kapoor).

Kapoor has also written the story of Awasthi, that will be released in 2009.

Fresh from the success of Jab We Met and Kaminey, Shahid Kapoor will be next seen in Chance Pe Dance, costarring Genelia D’Souza, that will be released later in 2009.

Photo: Main Aur Mrs. Khanna poster

The movie, that stars Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Sohail Khan, will be released on October 16, 2009.

Preity Zinta will do a cameo in Main Aur Mrs. Khanna.

UTV’s website has described  Main Aur Mrs. Khanna as the story of three people, Raina, Samir an Akash, whose lives intertwine at an international airport. Each has to make a decision that will change their lives.

Samir Khanna (Salman Khan) has to decide if he is ready to walk away from a city (Melbourne) that gave him so much and then took everything away.

Raina Khanna (Kareena Kapoor), his wife, has to choose between her love and loyalty for a husband who has no time for her or her faith in her new friend Akash
(Sohail Khan).

Akash has to figure out if wants to make a play for a married woman or not, at the risk of destroying her marriage.

Main Aur Mrs. Khanna is helmed by first-time director Prem Soni, produced by Sohail Khan and Ronnie Screwvala, and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures.

Salman Khan was last seen in Wanted in the second week of September 2009.

The movie has had a good opening at the box office and is expected to be a hit.

After Main Aur Mrs Khanna, Kareena Kapoor will be seen in Rensil D’Silva’s Kurbaan starring Saif Ali Khan, Om Puri, Vivek Oberoi, Diya Mirza and Kiron Kher.

The movie will be released on November 27, 2009.

Photo: Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan in Kurbaan poster

In the poster a grim and bare chested Saif Ali Khan, six pack and all, looks at Kareena Kapoor, rather intensely, with what seems to be a bullet hole in his chest.

The movie that stars Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri, Vivek Oberoi, Diya Mirza, and Kiron Kher will be released on November 27, 2009.

Rensil D’silva has described Kurbaan as a romantic thriller set against the backdrop of terrorism.

Recently, Om Puri had revealed that he plays the role of a terrorist mastermind in the movie.

Photo: Saif Ali Khan in Kurbaan

Bollywood Hungama quoted the actor as saying, “I’m aware of the repercussions. I’m also aware other actors turn down parts of terrorists. But I’ve no such reservations. We cannot be moral and judgmental about the characters we play.”

He said that the plays fully committed jehaadi who does not stop short of even sacrifiing his wife ( played by Kiron Kher) for the cause.

Rensil D’Silva has written the screen play of Kurbaan. Karan Johar has been credited with the story.

Rensil is the scriptwriter of Rang De Basanti (2006), Luck (2009), and the upcoming Raavan (2010).

As we had reported earlier, Dharma Productions has entered into a tie-up with UTV for the distribution of Kurbaan and Wake Up Sid (October 2, 2009).

Dharma Productions’ forthcoming releases include Shahrukh Khan’s My Name is Khan (February 2010), and the animated flick Koochie Koochie Hota Hai (2010).

John Abraham will star in Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet

Now, reports say that John Abraham too will come onboard. But, the funny thing is that long back John Abraham had announced that he is part of Bombay Velvet along with Naseeruddin Shah and Kay Kay Menon. We had carried the report in March 2009.

Old hat, this.

In fact, I would take the news that Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan are part of Bombay Velvet with a huge pinch of salt, until the news in confirmed by Anurag Kashyap, Aamir Khan or Shahrukh Khan themselves.

Though, long back Anurag Kashyap has said in an interview that he wanted Aamir Khan to be part of Bombay Velvet.

Bombay Velvet is set in the 1960s and revolves around the crime scene in Mumbai then. Anurag Kashyap was quoted as saying that Bombay Velvet will be like the LA Confidential of India.

LA Confidential is a fantastic flick. It would be interesting to see if Kashyap can pull off a thriller on the same level.

Bombay Velvet, reportedly, will have three segments, with John Abraham, Aamir Khan, and Shahrukh, featured in each of them.

Anurag Kashap had said in an interview that he brought two writers on board, for Bombay Velvet, who criticised him most for No Smoking.

If Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan are indeed part of Bombay Velvet, then they probably have cameo roles in the movie.

It’s not clear what Danny Boyle’s role is in this production, but some reports say that Boyle will present the movie to further its chances in the international market.

UPDATE: As expected Bryan Cranston has won the 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Breaking Bad.

But it is very likely that Hugh either Laurie or Michael C. Hall will walk away with the honors this year.

Here are the nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the 2009 Emmy Awards.

1)  Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad, AMC, produced by High Bridge, Gran Via Productions, Sony Pictures Television

Bryan Cranston, winner of the 2008 Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama series

Bryan Cranston plays Walter White in the drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan, that debuted in 2008.

Bryan Cranston won the 2008 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Breaking Bad.

2) Hugh Laurie, House, produced by FOX Universal Media Studios in association with Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions and Bad Hat Harry Productions

Photo: Hugh Laurie in House

Hugh Laurie appears as Dr. Gregory House, in the medical mystery TV series House. Co-stars include Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Jennifer Morrison, Jesse Spencer, Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn, and Olivia Wilde.

Hugh Laurie has been nominated consecutively for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama series from 2005 to 2009. Will this be his big year?

3) Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment, HBO, produced by Leverage, Closest To The Hole Productions and Sheleg in association with HBO Entertainment

Gabriel Byrne in In Treatment

Gabriel Byrne plays Paul Weston in In Treatment.

He has already won the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama, for In Treatment.

4) Michael C. Hall, Dexter, produced by Showtime Showtime Presents in association with John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company, Clyde Phillips Productions

Michael C. Hall plays Dexter Morgan, in the TV series Dexter, that premiered in 2006 with its fourth series slated to go on air on September 27, 2009.

Hall was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in Drama Series and the 2008 Golden Globe awardfo  Best Actor in a TV Drama, for Dexter.

5) Simon Baker, The Mentalist, CBS, produced by Warner Bros. Television

Simon Baker has been nominated for a 2009 Emmy award for Outstanding Actor in a drama series for his role as Patrick Jane in The Mentalist.

6) Jon Hamm, Mad Men, AMC, produced by Lionsgate Television

Jon Hamm plays Don Draper in the drama TV series Mad Men, which debuted in July 2007.

He is the winner of the 2008 Golden Globe award for his role in Mad Men.

The 2009 Emmy Awards will be held on September 20, 2009, at the Nokia theatre in Los Angeles, and will be aired live on CBS at 8 PM.