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.

Aaamir Khan's Raakh movie poster

Raakh was released on the heels of Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla’s blockbuster flick, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.

The movie was largely ignored by most, except for really really die-hard fans with an appetite for off-beat films, a rarity in those days.

I have no doubt Raakh is being re-released because of the similarity of its storyline with Ghajini. Young man helpless to prevent a crime against his loved one, goes on a revenge spree after her death.

In Ghajini the love interest is murdered, and is lost to him, and in Raakh, she retreats from Aamir after a brutal gang rape.

Aamir Khan in a still from Raakh

The only difference in the characters is that the former is a hardened tycoon while the latter e is a vulnerable young man – practically a boy – with a fragile ego.

And why should Raakh not ride on the success of Ghajini? Those sold on Ghajini can get to see a lean, mean – and most importantly, young – Aamir Khan go after scum.

But whether a no-frills thriller like Raakh will find any takers today is questionable, especially those who liked Ghajini for its typical Tamil movie over-the-top drama.

But, such is Aamir Khan’s poularity right now that even his worst duds like Love Love Love or Tum Mere Ho, will do well if released now.

I do hope the movie is appreciated, if not for anything else, then for daring to try something different at a time when such a movie was doomed to fail at the box office.

Though I do not remember all the details of Raakh, I do remember that it hit the cinemas (and just a few of them) for a very short bit and disappeared before it even registered that it had been released.

Most of us watched Raakh on video, and were totally impressed by the performances and starkness of the film.

Perhaps if I watch it now, I may not feel the same, but then it was the kind of thriller you never saw in Hindi movies.

Raakh starred Supriya Pathak and Pankaj Kapur, Naina Balsawar, and Madhukar Toradmal.

The movie was produced by Asif Noor and directed by Aditya Bhattacharya. Raakh’s script was penned by Aditya Bhattacharya and Nuzhat Khan, Aamir Khan’s sister.

Aamir Khan was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor award for Raakh, and also got a Jury mention at the National awards.

Pankaj Kapur and A Sreekar Anand picked up National awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Editing, respectively.

Raakh will be re-released on June 12, 2009.

Imraan Khan photo

The movie will star Aamir Khan’s nephew Imran Khan, Shenaz Treasurywala, and stand-up comedian Vir Das. Imran Khan who cut quite a dash in his debut film, the 2008 Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, replaced original choice Ranbir Kapoor.

Imran Khan

He was not the only topline change in the movie. Previously, Delhi Belly was to be directed by Swedish director Robert Nylund, who opted out, apparently, due to creative differences with Aamir Khan. Delhi Belly will be directed by Abhinav Deo, son of yesteryear actor couple Ramesh and Seema Deo (think friends of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna in Anand).

Shenaz Treasurywala

The music  of Delhi Belly has been composed by Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, and Loy Mendonsa. UTV motion pictures has co-produced the movie with Aamir Khan Productions.

Earlier Aamir Khan was supposed to do a cameo in the movie, but reportedly he opted out because he was supposed to play the role of a fat guy, and there was no way he could put on weight so easily, since he was to shoot for 3 Idiots as well.

Delhi Belly is one in a recent spate of movies based in Delhi. Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye!, Jugaad, and the recent Delhi 6 have the capital as a background.

Aamir Khan Productions has a few movies on its plate this year. Apart from Delhi 6, Aamir Khan’s wife Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghaat is on the floors. Aamir is also planning to make a movie on the farmers’ situation in Bhopal. The movie is said to star Raghubir Yadav in a lead role.

Imraan Khan, whose second movie Kidnap was released in 2008, will be seen next in Luck, which is currently in production.

Shenaz Treasurywala made her Bollywood debut in 2003 with Ishq Vishk. She was  nominated for the Filmfare best supporting actress award for her role. Earlier, she was a VJ with MTV and has hosted  many programs on TV, such as The Great Indian Laughter Challenge 4 and Culture Shock on the Travel Channel.

3 Idiots poster

This is supposed to be a lucky omen for the movie because Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par and Ghajini were also released on December 25, 2007 and December 25, 2008, respectively.

3 Idiots, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, stars R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor, and Mona Singh.

The movie is based on the bestseller Chetan Bhagat’s 5 Point Someone – What not to do at IIT. The movie has been shot in Ladakh, Delhi, shimla, Bangalore and Mumbai. The 20-day first schedule of 3 Idiots was completed in Ladakh and Shimla, and the second schedule has commenced in Bangalore, in the first week of January 2009. The last schedule of 3 Idiots will be shot in Mumbai.

The music of 3 Idiots has been composed by Shantanu Moitra, and the lyrics have been penned by Swanand Kirkire. The screenplay of 3 Idiots has been written by Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani.

Aamir Khan

The movie is about three IIT students who cannot cope with a punishing grade system at IIT. They all have a 5-point grade they are constantly struggling to improve.

Kajol will appear in a cameo role in the movie. Both Shahrukh Khan and Kajol were supposed to play the leads in 3 Idiots. Both turned down the roles because of a conflict of dates with Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan, which will be released in November 2009.

Posters and photo stills of 3 Idiots had been released in November 2008. An intriguing poster, designed by Rahul Nanda, was a talking point for a bit. The tag line on the poster says Choose Excellence – Success will Follow.

Meanwhile, Aamir Khan is still riding the Ghajini wave. Ghajini’s produced Madhu Mantena has launched an Aamir Khan figurine modeled on his six-pack look in Ghajini.

Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan

In Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan play themselves. The other actors who have cameo roles in the movie are Shilpa Shetty, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Rani Mukherjee, Karan Johar, Kareena Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Vivek Oberoi, Boman Irani, Anurag Kashyap, and Rajkumar Hirani.

Luck By Chance poster

Luck By Chance stars Farhan Akhtar, Konkona Sen Sharma, Isha Sharvani, Dimple Kapadia, Juhi Chawla, Rishi Kapoor, and Sanjay Kapoor. Since Luck By Chance revolves around Bollywood actors, the movie has Hrithik Roshan playing a superstar.

The movie revolves around a Bollywood actor Vikram Jai Singh (Farhan Akhtar) who comes to Bombay from Delhi to try his luck at the movies, and a starlet (Konkona Sen Sharma) who also wants to make it big in Bollywood. The story is about their journey through Bollywood, and is an insider look at the Indian film industry, where self-aggrandisation is the norm and self-promotion is the only motive. Does success here depend on luck or hardwork and talent, and how does it change you?

Juhi Chawla in Luck By Chance

Luck By Chance has been scripted by Zoya Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar. The movie is director Zoya Akhtar’s first film.

The movie has been produced by Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, and executive produced by Zoya Akhtar.

Hrithik Roshan and Isha Sharvani in Luck By Chance

Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy has composed the original score for Luck By Chance.

The movie will be released on January 30, 2009.

Farhan Akhtar in Luck By Chance

While Luck By Chance boasts of a number of actors in cameo roles, it is Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan who will generate a lot of interest. The actors burst on the Bollywood scene, with spectacular success: Aamir in 1989 with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Shahrukh Khan with Deewana (1992) and his blockbuster hit Baazigar (1993).

Konkona Sen in Luck By Chance

In Bollywood’s history, movies with two reigning stars have always been a major draw. Many of these superstars acted in movie after movie together, the memorable ones being Dharamendra – Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna – Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor – Amitabh Bachchan. Shashi Kapoor – Vinod Khanna, Akshay Kumar – Saif Ali Khan, Shahrukh Khan – Saif Ali Khan, and more ecently Abhishek Bachchan-John Abraham.

Aamir Khan was first paired together another star, Salman Khan, in the 1994 hit Andaz Apna Apna, which for the first time aroused a lot of speculation about Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan working together. Shahrukh Khan, then, had expressed a lot of interest in working with Aamir Khan, but Aamir did not respond to the sallies.

In the past few months, the verbal sallies between the two have led to speculations (in the media, I might add) about a war between the two superstars. One of the reasons Luck By Chance will draw in the crowds will be the presence of these two stars. It is a poor substitute, though, for watching the two stars act together in full-fledged, meaty roles.

Aamir Khan's GQ cover photo. Pic credit: GQ

Timed perfectly with the release of his upcoming film, Ghajini, the December 2008 edition of GQ India carried an interview with Aamir Khan, conducted by contributing editor Karan Johar. The intro line on the cover says Aamir: On why divorce was good for him and why maybe he should keep his mouth shut.

Che Kurian, editor of GQ India, said, “Aamir Khan doesn’t appear on many magazine covers. The fact that he has chosen to work with GQ is a testament to the magazine’s 50-year old reputation as a publication featuring and read by intelligent, successful men.”

Meanwhile, the sexy Jiah Khan, who also stars in Ghajini along with Aamir Khan and Asin, has also appeared on the cover of Maxim India’s December 2008 edition.

Knowing Aamir Khan’s marketing skills, he must have given the association much thought, and a major reason for giving the interview would be publicity for his movie Ghajini. Not that he needs to do much for publicity.

There is nothing in terms of marketing initiatives that have not been covered for Ghajini, be it the teaser trailers, photos of his new look(s), and, of course, internet marketing. We were one of the first to do a story on Aamir’s marketing abilities just after he started his Lagaan blog.

Aamir has been sweetening the media for some time now. In 2007, Aamir apologized to the media and said that he would now be more amenable in the future. For a long time, Aamir Khan has been in a cold war with the media right after Rangeela, when the fall-out between Ram Gopal Varma and Aamir Khan became a source of intense media speculation. After the debacle of Mela, Aamir Khan was written off by the press. It was only after the success of Lagaan that Aamir’s relationship with the press improved.

For Ghajini, Aamir has added a section for the press where mediapersons can upload their photographs and details, which will help Aamir place the journalists when he meets them. Aamir Khan will also add personal notes to each journo, and provide an information kit to those who register on the official website of Ghajini.

With the kind of money ploughed into the movie’s publicity, Aamir Khan should be able to capture a remarkable opening for Ghajini, when it is released on December 25, 2008.

Ghajini is written and directed by AR Murugadass who also directed the Tamil remake of Memento. Asin, who starred in the Tamil movie,  is part of the Hindi version along with actress Jiah Khan.

Ghajini was initially scheduled to be released on Diwali, on October 28, 2008  but was postponed to December 25, 2008, due to Aamir’s leg injury.

Taare Zameen Par poster

Shakuntala Devi says her book revolves around a nine-year-old girl who hates Maths but ends up being brilliant at it. Huh?

Either Shakuntala Devi has not put across her point well or she is just talking through her hat.

Reports have said that the nine-year-old protagonist of her book, In the Wonderland of Numbers was dyslexic. If she was, then Shakuntala Devi forgot to mention it in interviews she gave in 2007.

Shakuntala Devi, author of In the Wonderland of Numbers

Shakuntala Devi was quoted as saying, “I have written a book called In the Wonderland of Numbers. It’s about a young girl, Neha, who is very poor in mathematics but in a series of illusory experiences, she becomes a great mathematician.”

Orient Paperbacks that published Shakuntala Devi’s book had described In the Wonderland of Numbers as “The adventures of an engaging and talented child, Neha, In the Wonderland of Numbers is a fine way to introduce children to the concept of maths as fun activity. The specialties of each individual number, from zero to nine, and the little mathematical tricks as shown by Shakuntala Devi, all combine to make the reader learn to befriend numbers and excel at maths. Numbers are not symbols to be written on the blackboard, They are the doorway to the world of intellectual adventure. My purpose of narrating his wonderful story is to take away any fear a child may have of numbers. Numbers are fun, numbers are magical. It is my hope that this story will inspire parents and teachers to enthuse children with a life-long love for numbers and maths.”

Anyway, the story of a teacher changing the life of a student has been depicted in god knows how many movies. Besides, Amol Gupte and his wife Deepa Bhatia had conceptualized Taare Zameen Par based on a short story written by them titled High Jump. The story was translated into a full-fledged movie screenplay seven years after the story written.

Shakuntala Devi had said in an interview after the launch of her book, that she would like to make a movie based on the book. She is now saying that she wrote the book as a movie script and is now hunting for a producer to make the movie.

So why is Shakuntala Devi raising the issue a year after the release of the movie? Either it’s pique that a movie, she thinks is a lot like her book, got made, or it is a move to get free publicity, or force Aamir Khan, who has produced and directed Taare Zameen Par, to cough up.

Shankutala Devi is a mathematical genius, who at the age of six had calculated the cube root of a 15-digit number in her head in a matter of seconds. Her father was a trapeze artist and a circus peformer. In  1980, Shakuntala Devi was able to multiply two 13-digit numbers in 28 seconds.

Taare Zameen Par is India’s official entry for the upcoming 2009 Oscar award for Best Foreign Film.

First it was the Ghajini six-pack look, and now it is Aamir Khan’s six looks in Ghajini’s Behka number.

Apparently, choreographer Ahmed Khan thought it would be cool to give the audience lots of Aamirs in one frame. If his fans are going crazy over his one look, imagine the mass hysteria when they get to see six Aamirs clad in six different styles, sporting six different hairstyles – that is if they are not cross-eyed by the end of it, with their eyeballs richocheting all over the place.

Aamir Khan’s six looks have been fashioned by Arjun Bhasin, the architect of Aamir’s look in Rang De Basanti, and Aamir’s fave hiar stylist, Avon Contractor. So here’s what you get:

1) Ashes ‘n Roses look: Aamir in as pink t-shirt and a tie, bursting out of a grey waistcoat that looks like a quilt.
Hair style: Good boy. Kind of.

Aamir Khan's look in the Behka song in Ghajini

2) Self-conscious punk meets Raj Kapoor look: Purple singlet, black overalls and matching accessories.

One of Aamir Khan's six looks in Ghajini

3) Aamir’s Kya Bolti Tu look: Swap the T-shirt with a singlet and you have Aamir’s look in Ghulam. Mostly.

Aamir Khan's Ghulam look in Ghajini

4) Hooded jacket in yellow, green, and red. Primary colors for primary class. Heck, even primary kids won’t touch it.

Aamir Khan's Ghajini look

5) Low-neck t-shirt with low-slung jeans, boots, and a hat that is, mercifully, not a cowboy.

Aamir Khan's low-neck look in Ghajini

6) Peach t-shirt rimmed with rolled-up sleeves and a severe mohawk.

Aamir Khan's severe mohawk in Ghajini's Behka song

Meanwhile, Aamir’s 3 Idiots poster is out, and he is also grappling with plagiarism charges against Taare Zameen Par that is India’s entry to the Oscars.

3 Idiots poster

The movie stars Madhavan, Kareena Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, and Mona Singh.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra will produce the flick.

The tagline of the 3 Idiots poster, drowned in calculus formulae, says Choose Excellence – Success will Follow. The poster has been designed by Rahul Nanda.

Aamir Khan and Sharman Joshi’s faces on the 3 Idiots poster look like they have been morphed onto the same body. I don’t know if the filmmakers are being secretive or cryptic or laughing themselves silly at us. Am I the idiot here or what? Or worse, is this poster a fake?

3 Idiots is based on Chetan Bhagat’s 5 Point Someone – What not to do at IIT. I haven’t read the book, despite people thrusting it under my nose, so I have no clue how the director may treat it. I do know that the book revolves around three students at IIT who find themselves snowed under academics at IIT and are constantly battling a merciless grade system. All three have a constant 5 point something grade that they cannot up whatever they do.

I am not sure how much Raj Kumar Hirani will borrow from the book, but knowing him, 3 Idiots will definitely have something meaningful to say, with gentle humor and zero pretension. Aamir Khan has been quoted as saying that 3 Idiots is very different from 5 Point Someone. I don’t know why, but that makes me very happy. Maybe because Bhagat’s One Night at a Call Centre bored me to death.

3 Idiots is currently in production and will be wrapped up sometime in December 2008. The movie has been shot in Ladakh, Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.

The music of 3 Idiots has been composed by Shantanu Moitra, and the lyrics have been written by Swanand Kirkire.

So far, so good.

Aamir Khan is currently heavily promoting Ghajini, which will be released on December 25, 2008. As of now, Aamir’s Ghajini look is here, there, everywhere on the net, including six new looks in one song Behka!

Asin Thottumkal

The buzz in the industry is that Asin has got too big for her boots. Apparently, she has been throwing tantrums on the sets of Vipul Shah’s London Dreams, but that has not stopped Kollywood and Bollywood from clamoring after her. Asin, though, has been turning down Bollywood offers till the release of Ghajini, in December 2008.

Salman Khan and Asin on the sets of London Dreams

Reportedly, Asin is been paid Rs 1.5 crores for London Dreams, and has been offered Rs 2 crores for Vettaikaran, opposite Vijay.

Asin

The 23-year old Asin made her debut in Sathyan Anthikkad’s Narendra Makan Jayakanthan Vaka in 2001. Then came the 2003 Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi, for which she won the Filmfare Best Telugu Actress award. In 2005, Asin won the South Filmfare best actress award for Ghajini.

Asin is now one of the hottest actresses in South India apart from Meera Jasmine and Nayanthara.

Before entering movies, Asin was a model and entrepreneur in Chennai.

Asin and Kamal Hassan in Dasavatharam

The year 2008 has been very lucky for the South Indian actress. Asin’s last movie, the Kamal Hassan starrer Dasavatharam, was one of the biggest hits in South Indian movies ever. In July 2008, Asin featured on the cover of Vogue India.

Asin on Vogue India cover

Rumors say that Asin will star with Kamal Hassan in a $50-million Walt Disney and Bharat Bala Productions flick 19 Steps. The movie will be based on Kerala’s traditional martial art Kalaripayattu.

19 Steps will revolve around a veteran Kalaripayattu expert (Kamal Hassan) who trains a young Japanese man (Tadanobu Asano) in the popular martial art form. Asin plays a Malayali princess who falls in love with the Japanese boy.

Her forthcoming movie Ghajini with Aamir Khan is one of the most anticipated movies of 2008.

Asin as Kalpana in Ghajini

The story of Ghajini revolves around a rich tycoon Sanjay (Aamir Khan) who is in love with a model and activist Kalpana (Asin Thottumkal). As part of her activist work, Asin comes across a child trafficking gang, and is bumped off by the gang because she knew too much about them. Sanjay is hit on the head in the scuffle when Asin is killed and subsequently, he suffers from short term memory loss.

He can remember events for only 15 minutes. Sanjay sets out to avenge Kalpana’s death. Ghajini also stars Jiah Khan as a psychology student and Riaz Khan as a cop.