Bollywood – Page 16

"Ishqedarriyaan is a complete family & romantic musical entertainer": Mahaakshay Chakraborty

May 18, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Mahaakshay Chakraborty aka Mimoh no doubt is a tall & handsome hunk. Besides he is the son of an illustriously talented parents namely Mithun Chakravorty & Yogita Bali. Mimoh had started off his filmic career in the year 2008 with film’s like ‘Jimmy’, ‘The Murderer’, ‘Haunted 3D’, ‘Hamilton Palace’, ‘Loot’, ‘Rocky’ ‘Enemy’ et al. But that magic word named “success” has kept eluding him till this date. But Mimoh is a determind & dedicated guy and just like his father he is also not the kind of guy to give up so easily. So this time round he is fully geared up for his 2nd smashing outing with his upcoming film ‘Ishqedarriyaan’.

First things first what is your upcoming film ‘Ishqedarryiaan’ all about?

Frankly speaking ‘Ishqedarriyaan is a story about love, sacrifice, family values & relationships. In fact rishteydarriyaan means relationships and ‘Ishqedarriyaan’ also signifies the relationship when you fall in love. In a way you can say that it is a triangular love story.

Please elaborate your role in ‘Ishqedarriyaan’?

Well! In ‘Ishqedarriyaan’ I am enacting the role of a richie rich businessman. My character’s name is Aagam Deewan. I am totally in love with my profession until a teacher named Luvleen comes in my life.

Please continue

Luvleen comes to meet me to collect donation for her grandfather’s school. It may not exactly be a love at first sight kind of a love story but when we keep meeting we eventually fall in love but then…….!’

What happens then?

Then the villian enters no jokes apart Arjun the singer enters their life. And then there are many turns & twists which are seen to believed & enjoyed. ‘Ishqedarriyaan’ is a complete family & romantic musical entertainer.

What are your expectations from ‘Ishqedarriyan’?

‘Ishqedarriyaan’ is all set for release very soon. I am very excited and I am keeping my fingers, toes and everything crossed for its grand success. I may sound selfish but I want each & every indian & international audience to see it.

You seem to have a vary snail’s pace filmic career so far. So now are you vary of your 2nd outing in Bollywood?

Yes! I had a very slow start in my filmic career so far. But I blame myself for it. Putting the blame on the wrong choice of films is also not fair. In fact success has kept elluding me and lady luck has still not bestowed its lucky smile on me. No problem I am more determind and fully geared up now for my 2nd outing. I may be immature earlier on but now I am fully matured and I will definitely achieve my stardom status in my 2nd outing in Bollywood.

You are a starson. So maybe if Mithun da had launched you it would have a different ball game altogether. Right.

No I think it would not have made any difference. As my father was not a starson, he had achieved everything on his own steam. He had struggled really hard to achieve his success. And he always advises me to do the same and always be patient.

So what next is lined up in your professional career after ‘Ishqedarriyaan’?

Honestly speaking nothing is lined up in my professional career as of now. Just as a débutante actor waits with batted breath for the reactionary response of the audience to his film. So in my 2nd outing I am also waiting with batted breath for the reactionary positive response of the audience. Wish me luck!

Movie Review: Bombay Velvet's boredom is at its peak of frustrating disappointment

May 18, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Banner: Phantom Films & Fox Star Studios
Producer: Vikas Bahl & Vikramaditya Motwane
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar, Kay Kay Menon, Manish Choudhary, Siddhartha Basu, Remo Fernandes, Satyadeep Misra, Vivaan Shah, Mukesh Chhanbra, Raveena Tandon, Mrinmoy Goldar & Varun Grover
Music: Amit Trivedi

Director Anurag Kashyap needs no special introduction in Bollywoodian arena. He has given offbeat films, some of his films have proved milestones in Indian Cinema while some of his films garnered enough critical acclaim & some have even won awards galore on the home front as well as the National as well as International festival circuits but…….perhaps all this success has gone to his head as he has gone totally bonkers in his latest directorial offering namely ‘Bombay Velvet’, need I say anything more.

Balraj (Ranbir Kapoor) is a petty thief in Bombay, in the 1950s. Rosie (Anushka Sharma) has escaped her abusive teacher (Remo Fernandes), left Goa and come to the city of dreams to make a new beginning. Balraj is picked up by a gravelly-voiced smuggler in a fedora. Rosie meets a chap called Jimmy Mistry (Manish Chaudhary) while singing at a seedy bar. He’s rich, she gets into his car. Meanwhile, Balraj decides to rob a bank with his friend Chimman (Satyadeep Mishra). The only problem is that Balraj is planning to pull this caper off with a finger gun. Balraj picks as his target a coiffed dandy, Kaizad Khambatta (Karan Johar). Khambatta may be wearing a yellow coat, but he’s not completely senseless. He realises Balraj’s ploy, but is impressed by his bravado. Or maybe he just thinks Balraj is cute. Whatever the reason, Khambatta invites Balraj & Chimman to his office, offers them a job, then stares at Balraj’s crotch (Is he gay?) for a moment before declaring that henceforth Balraj will be called “Johnny”. So why does Khambatta need henchmen? Because he wants to befriend the mayor of Bombay (Siddharth Basu). Apparently, the best way to do this is by killing the mayor’s coterie so that when the mayor finds himself in need of company, Khambatta will appear at the mayor’s service. It sounds extreme to us now, but perhaps in the lawless 1950s, this was how people networked. So Johnny & Chimman go around kidnapping & killing people for Khambatta. Khambatta, when he isn’t thinking up unimaginative names for cute boys, owns a newspaper called Torrent, writes Page 1 articles for it, pimps his wife out and is also an entrepreneur looking to get into the construction business. It turns out that Mistry & Khambatta are childhood friends and present-day rivals. Mistry runs a paper called Glitz, which carries exposés that are actually conjecture & gossip. When Mistry realises that Khambatta has put Johnny in charge of a gentleman’s club called Bombay Velvet, where Khambatta entertains his contacts, Mistry sends Rosie to Johnny as a spy. Somehow, Mistry also learns that Johnny has in his possession a set of negatives that are being used to blackmail an honest minister into participating in a real estate scam. Rosie’s task is to get the job at Bombay Velvet, seduce Johnny, get the negatives and give them to Mistry.

Perhaps the film’s director Anurag Kashyap has lost his marbles as he has created a spectacular mess, his more than 2 hours of torture is enough to give you an incurable headache. In short it is a periodic mess of a romance gone awry. Sorry guys sometimes it is hard to find a single flaw in a movie but in sharp contrast searching for one + point in ‘Bombay Velvet’ was like searching for a needle in a haystack and I failed in this mission too. Need I say anything more.

Performance wise Ranbir Kapoor is confusing, Anushka Sharma is intolerable, Karan Johar is irritatingly boring, Kay Kay Menon is looking lost in the entire milieu, Siddhartha Basu is over dramatic and as for the rest of the cast comprising of Manish Choudhary, Remo Fernandes, Satyadeep Misra, Vivaan Shah, Mukesh Chhabra, Raveena Tandon, Mrinmoy Goldar & Varun Grover have hammed their way throughout the film.

Tail Piece: Stay miles away from this ‘Bombay Velvet’ Club unless you wish to get lost in another boring time frame of 1950.

"Both my debut short films 'In Search Of An Answer' & 'Vo Ladki' have garnered critical acclaim & awards": Sandeep Chatterjee

May 15, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Sandeep Chatterjee aka Sandy happens to be the latest Bong entrant in the filmy horizon but in the directional arena, holding a Directorial Diploma from Moving Images. Besides he is also the proud possessor of full time training course in acting from Barry John’s Imago School of acting, as well as a Certificate Course in linear Editing from Astute Media Vision and last but not the least Sandy has also acquired a Professional Training in Camera from a veteran cinematographer namely S. N. Dubey. All this apart Sandy, as he is more popularly known as, has also picked up directional skills under the tutelage of small screen director Surendra Mohan for the serial ‘Draupadi’ & above all small screen editor Vinay Mallu for the serial ‘Koi Apna Sa’ (443 episodes).

Having reeled out his academic & professional qualification & work experience till date, Sandy further elaborated about his debut 2 short films which have already won critical appreciation & awards galore in the festival circuits. Over to him. “Of late I have made 2 short films under my own home production banner namely Point Of View Cinema. The names of the 2 short films are aptly titled ‘In Search Of An Answer’ & ‘Vo Ladki’. Incidentally speaking both my debut short films ‘In Search Of An Answer’ & ‘Vo Ladki’ have not only garnered lots of critical acclaim but also awards galore In most of the film festival circuits. The 1st film ‘In Search Of An Answer’, which has a duration of 27 minutes was first selected as an official entry for the 5th Dada Saheb Phalke International Film Festival 2015, in which it received a “Certificate Of Excellence”. It has also participated in other film festivals of 2015 like NMIFF, KISFF & RISFF. In RISFF it was nominated in 3 categories namely “Best Actor Male”, “Best Actor Female” & “Best Editing” where it bagged the trophy for “Best Actor Male”. My 2nd film ‘Vo Ladki’, which has a duration of 10 minutes, has got 11 thousand hits in just a span of a year.”

And then concluding the interactive session Sandy revealed his future big screen directorial plan, “Right now I am in the midst of penning the script of my debut big screen feature film titled ‘Deltaposs’. The title is derived from 2 words Delta, which stands for graph showing either up or down and Poss which means positive. Frankly speaking the script is almost complete. It is targeted at today’s youth. It is a comedy & drama oriented film. My next step is to garner adequate funds for my film. So wish me luck. Period!

An interactive session with 'Banno' (Tanu Weds Manu Returns) singer Swati Sharma

May 13, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Swati Sharma happens to be the latest singing sensation on the Bollywoodian musical arena. As her latest chartbursting number “Banno“ a typical Punjabi folk number from an upcoming film ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’, in which she has ended up giving playback for one of the Bollywoodian Diva namely Kangana Ranaut, has already become a hot favorite of music lovers. Incidentally speaking it has also garnered innumerable hits on YouTube even before the film or its promo has gone on air. Swati had made her humble crooning debut with her own single debut romantic album named ‘Kyun Kho Gaye’. In her recent interactive session with Nashman’s (website) Entertaiment Editor Shaheen Raaj, Swati Swarma talks about her crooning musical journey in Bollywood. Tune in.

You seem to have struck a goldmine with your latest crooning number “Banno” from ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’. How do you feel?

I feel like I am on Cloud 9. I feel great, I just can’t believe it that finally I have entered the big league. In fact I am not only excited with the stupendous success of my latest foot tapping & peppy number, “Banno” from ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ which took the listeners with a storm, but with the success of this number I am also proud to say that I have garnered tons & tons of appreciation as well as I have undisputedly reached the horizon of the Bollywood musical domain. Now I have to achieve my ultimate goal further on. Oh! By the way people have also started showering on me the best of compliments. Some have even gone to the extent of calling me a singing star who has become a sensation overnight. I am so happy that people are enjoying the “Banno” number.

How did you bag this “Banno” number’?

You see a débutante crooner has no choice but to sing scratch songs which is supposed to be just a rough cut. So that the main singer can come in and dub the song later on. So needless to add that even I have ended up singing innumerable scratch songs and one of them was this “Banno” number. This was almost 2 months ago and then just out of the blue I got a call that my so called scratch song “Banno” has been finalized and I have to dub it. And my joy knew no bounds when I was informed that the “Banno” number would be picturized on Bollywood diva Kangana Ranaut for her upcoming movie ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’.

How difficult was it to dub your own scratch song?

No doubt It wasn’t a cake walk to be able to pitch the exact note for the final track. It needed the high tone for this sexy peppy & foot tapping number which had also to match the Haryanvi character played by none other than Kangana. And for this I also want to thank director Aanand L Rai for giving me a big break with this song. The rage of “Banno” has proved one thing again that the songs which bring in the true feelings and the real depth of our Indian Culture surely allure the listeners’ ears.

So after “Banno” it seems that now you are here to stay and carve a niche for yourself with your folk – lore sort of a sexy peppy vocals. Right?

In a way you are right Shaheen Sir but I still beg to differ having been trained from a tender age, I can bet my last penny and proudly say that, I have sung a few romantic numbers too and have bagged a few more, which I can disclose only after everything gets finalized. Undeniably, I am not conceited about my vocals but yes! I credit myself for being able to complete my daily riyaz religiously. I have traveled all the way to Mumbai. Moreover my parents have extended their support in every manner whatsoever. Keeping this in mind and also my ambition to achieve success in the musical industry I conduct myself accordingly. I know my painstaking efforts will bear fruits sooner or later this is just the beginning.

Going slightly into a flashback mode would you like to reveal your background in a nutshell.

Basically I hail from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, I first got recognition amongst the youth brigade when my single song “Kyu Kho Gaye”, which was composed by Raeth the popular Pakistani Band, crossed a million views on Zee Music Company’s channel on you tube. That apart I would also like to state I have learnt music from Sangeet Visharad from Chandigarh University namely Pracheen Kala Kendra. Besides I also took training from my Guru Pankaj Maharaj. Undoubtedly, the intense & the devoted training from my Guru has enabled me to be able to rise to this position within a short span of my musical struggle. Already I have got the feed back that I am considered as a musical persona to be reckoned with in the Marathi musical domain too merely with the success of having lent my voice for 1 song in the film titled, ‘Yudh’, I think after all this, hereafter there’s no looking back for me at all with a few more songs in my kitty namely in films like ‘Ek Tera Saath”, ‘Direct Ishq’ & ‘Flame’ and many many more.

One last question would you also be interested in attempting the remix versions as well as the cover versions?

Of course why not! I am interested in attempting anything that is even remotely connected with music, but I will refrain from composing my own music at least not for a couple of years more. And lastly it is a strict no no to acting either on the small screen or on the big screen but of course I would not mind or rather I have to don the grease paint and face the arc lights for my own music videos. Period!

Movie Review: 'Piku' is a delightful journey of emotions via motions

May 11, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Banner: MSM Motion Pictures, Saraswati Entertainment Creations Limited & Rising Sun Films
Producer: N. P. Singh, Ronnie Lahiri & Sneha Rajani
Director: Shoojit Sircar
Cast: Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Moushumi Chatterjee, Raghuvir Yadav, Jishu Sengupta, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury & Akshay Oberoi
Music: Anupam Roy

Director Shoojit Sircar of ‘Vicky Donor’ fame is a good & powerful director no doubt and he raises earth shaking humor in most of his films with the aid of a substance then be it a “sperm” (‘Vicky Donor’) or a man’s absolute necessity “motion” (the film in question ‘Piku’). So ‘Piku’ is a delightful journey of emotions via motions
Interlaced with comic interludes.

The plot of ‘Piku’ entails the story of Piku. Deepika Padukone portrays the titular protagonist, a Bengali architect living in New Delhi and Amitabh Bachchan plays her hypochondriac father. Irrfan Khan, Moushumi Chatterjee & Jishu Sengupta portray supporting roles. Piku Bannerji (Deepika Padukone), a successful architect is struggling to manage both her career and the responsibility of her 70 year old father Bhashkor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan), who can be quite the handful. The cranky Bengali senior is a hypochondriac and also happens to be perpetually constipated. His motions, or lack thereof, are the subject of virtually every conversation in their Chittaranjan Park home. He’s obsessed with details of the color, the texture, the size, and the consistency of his poop, which he insists on sharing with his daughter even when she’s at work or out on a date. In the father – daughter’s constant petty squabbles there are other character’s like Bhashkor’s 3 times divorced sister – in -law (Maushami Chatterjee), Sayed Afroz (Jishu Sengupta) Piku’s prospective suitor who is also the victim of his own motion problem & completing the triangle with Piku & Bhaskor is Rana Chowdhary (Irrfan Khan), the owner of a private taxi company who volunteers to drive Piku and her father all the way from Delhi to Kolkata when the old man strongly insists on visiting his ancestral home. The film takes the shape of a road – trip movie from this point on and it’s Rana applying his trademark dry humor, who gets some of the best moments here. Amused by Bhaskor’s fixation on his tummy issues, Rana explains the merits of squatting on a Western style toilet, and in another hilarious scene draws out the entire digestive route of food for a fascinated Bhashkor.

Director Shoojit Sircar does not let even once the lead characters idiosyncrasies, turn into caricatures while all along delivering big laughs thanks to all the actor’s spot – on comic timing. Also bringing his best game to the film is Irrfan Khan. But it’s with the character of Piku that writer Juhi Chaturvedi pushes the envelope farthest, giving us a fully flesh & blood modern woman. Unembarrassed to admit she has sexual needs, unafraid to pursue a casual relationship with a colleague Sayed Afroz and never shy of snapping back at her patience – testing father. Shoojit Sircar and his entire team of the crew in lieu with the cast deserves a standing ovation for bringing such a marvellous film for the “meangful film” starved cinegoers. Shoojit Sircar keeps a breezy, light – hearted tone throughout, infusing a hint of humor even in the decidedly emotional or motion bits.

Performance wise Amitabh Bachchan towers above all with his towering performance. His mannerisms, his gait, his get up, his body language, his representation of a 70 year old man’s whimsical eccentrics in tandem with the finely tuned gamuts & nuances speaks volumes of his eternal histrionics skills. While the film also belongs to Deepika Padukone, she is just a bit too perfect as Piku. She has matched Sr. Bachchan step by step, scene by scene in fact in every single frame. Irrfan Khan, the 3rd angle of the eccentric triangle, is as usual too good to be true. In fact the trio of Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone & Irrfan Khan are simply outstanding. The rest of the cast comprising of Moushumi Chatterjee, Raghuvir Yadav, Jishu Sengupta, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury & Akshay Oberoi not only form a far from perfect foil to the lead actors but they are all just too superb in their “Brief” roles.

Tail Piece: Film’s like ‘Piku’ comes once in a while bringing along with it a whiff of fresh air. So go ahead partake of its aroma before it gets withered & weather beaten. Once again a cautionary advice “Don’t Miss ‘Piku’ At Any Cost”.

Movie Review: 'Kuch Kuch Locha Hai' is entertaining but hardly convincing

May 11, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Banner: Magic Picture & Entertainment & Maximus Multimedia Pvt Ltd.
Producer: Mukesh Purohit
Director: Devang Dholakia
Cast: Sunny Leone, Ram Kapoor, Evelyn Sharma, Suchita Trivedi & Navdeep Chabbra
Music: Dharam-Sandeep, Amjad-Nadeem, Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Ikka, Ali Quli Mirza & the Late R. D. Burman
Media Consultant: Infinite Expressions

Director Devang Dholakia is a veteran of sorts and he manages to pull off a comic spoof, of a Gujarati household stationed in Malaysia, in his latest offering ‘Kuch Kuch Locha Hai’. Besides he has followed the new trend of keeping a rhyming name as a film’s title so Karan Johar’s ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ becomes Devang Dholakia’s ‘Kuch Kuch Locha Hai’.

The plotted scenario of ‘Kuch Kuch Locha Hai’ kicks off with the introduction of Pravin Patel aka PP (Ram Kapoor), his family and the girl of his dreams Shanaya (Sunny Leone), who is a Bollywood actress. PP’s family consists of his ‘religiously religious’ wife Kokila aka ‘Krokodile’ (Suchita Trivedi) and his son Jigar aka ‘Jigolo’ (Navdeep Chabra), who is an aspiring rockstar who are happily settled in Malaysia. However, they are totally unaware of PP’s ‘feelings’ towards Shanaya. On the other hand PP’s love for Shanaya becomes an obsession so much so that he has a secret ‘worship chamber’ of hers in his video shop! PP’s luck hits a goldmine when he gets chosen as a winner in a contest whose bumper prize is a ‘date with Shanaya’. Amidst the ‘date’, Shanaya, impressed with PP’s Gujarati mannerisms, offers to stay with him as a part of her homework for the dream role of a Gujarati girl in her forthcoming film with a well-known director. PP, who just cannot believe his luck, lands up lying to her that he is unmarried and stays with his parents. On the other hand, PP sends his wife to India after making a fake call about his wife’s mother’s ill health. When Shanaya tells him that she would like to spend time in a close knit family, PP saves his skin and the situation yet again by convincing his rock star son to become his father and his son’s girlfriend Naina (Evelyn Sharma) to become his mother!

Devang Dholakia has indeed made an entertaining film but somewhere along the line the movie lacks conviction. Some parts of the film are really lively and quite amusing. Hats off to Devang for creating a perfect ambience of a richie rich Gujarati household in tandem with the whims, fancies and eccentrics of each and every character. A well deserving special mention also goes to Ikka, Arko, Intense, Amjad Nadeem, Dharam, Sandeep, Ali Quli Mirza, King & Color (Music), A.K.N. Sebastian (Cinematography) & Sanjay Ingle (Editing).

Performance wise ‘Kuch Kuch Locha Hai’ is a Ram Kapoor & Sunny Leone film all the way and they both complement each other with their picture perfect act. The small screen sensation Ram Kapoor has delivered a smashing performance in ‘Kuch Kuch Locha Hai’ compared to his extremely forgettable act in ‘Humshakals’. While Sunny Leone is improving her glamour quotient, sex appeal & of course her acting skills too in film after film. Suchita Trivedi is apt. Veteran Gujarati actor Mehul Buch hams his way to glory. Evelyn Sharma is another addition to the long list of glamour doll yet she acts well in her part as Ram Kapoor’s aged mother on screen. And last but not the least is débutante Navdeep Chabra another welcome addition to the long list of the handsome hunks of Bollywood. He is also perfect only as Ram Kapoor’s aged father on screen where his chemistry with the senior actor is seen to be believed.

Tail Piece: ‘Kuch Kuch Locha Hai’ is a light hearted entertainer for one & all.

Tragic end of Salman Khan's bodyguard who died alone

May 9, 2015 by Nasheman

Ravindra Patil, key witness of the 2002 hit-and-run case which involves Salman Khan, where one man was killed and four other injured.

Mumbai: Ravindra Patil was once superstar Salman Khan’s side-kick, a young police officer assigned to protect Bollywood’s heavy-weight.

But fate took a cruel turn after the actor’s infamous 2002 hit-and-run case.

Actor Salman Khan’s conviction is perhaps a posthumous vindication for Ravindra Patil, the former’s bodyguard who consistently maintained until his death that it was Khan behind the wheel that night.

The Mumbai sessions court on Wednesday convicted the actor of killing one person and injuring four others in the 2002 hit-and-run case.

Patil was a Mumbai police constable who had been assigned as Khan’s bodyguard and was sitting beside the actor when he ran over five sleeping pedestrians, one of whom succumbed to his injuries.

The landmark judgment is not just a victory for the victims, but also in a way for Patil, who many feel had been let down by the judiciary and the state.

It was Patil who lodged an FIR (first information report) against Khan, and in his statement to the earlier court which heard the case, said he had warned the actor to drive slowly since he was in an inebriated condition.

However, Khan did not heed the warning, Patil had said.

Although, Patil was the one to file the case against Khan he mysteriously went missing in 2006.

It has been reported that Patil was under tremendous pressure to change his statement.

He had gone into hiding in order to avoid Khan’s lawyers and also alleged harassment from within the police force.

But Patil did not change his statement till the last day.

Ironically, Patil was arrested in 2006 for failing to appear as a witness and sent to prison.

In November that year he was sacked from the police force.

A witness was suddenly at the receiving end of it all. Life was dealing this grand witness blows after blows while Salman Khan delivered hits after hits at the box office.

Less than a year later, in August 2007, Patil was found on the streets and admitted to hospital where he died in October.

He had been suffering from tuberculosis for two years, and his family had abandoned him.

Indian tabloid Mid-Day reported that Patil had told a friend two days before his death that he was saddened by the treatment he had been subjected to.

“I stood by my statement till the end, but my department did not stand by me. I want my job back, I want to survive. I want to meet the police commissioner once.”

As the bodyguard battled for life the actor and police department choose to look the other way.

(Agencies)

Salman Khan won't go to jail for now! 5-year sentence suspended by High Court

May 8, 2015 by Nasheman

Mumbai: In a huge relief to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, the Bombay High Court today suspended his 5-year sentence in the 2002 hit-and-run case and granted him bail pending his appeal against conviction. The term of interim bail was to expire today.

“He has been on bail for a long time and his liberty was not curtailed. Normally, in such cases, the appeal is admitted and an accused is granted bail,” Justice Abhay Thipsay said, while staying his conviction and granting him bail.

The judge directed him to surrender before the trial court and furnish a fresh bail bond of Rs 30,000.

Thipsay had on May 6 granted 48-hour interim bail to the actor, hours after he was convicted and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by the trial court on the ground that he had not been supplied with a detailed order explaining the reasons for his conviction.

Here are the latest developments:

The trial court had on Wednesday found Salman Khan guilty of drunkenly driving over a group of men sleeping on a pavement, killing one. It had sentenced him to five years in prison for culpable homicide.
The actor had been exempted from appearing in court today. He had broken down in the sessions court on Wednesday when the trial court sentenced him.
The 49-year-old actor had the same day moved the Bombay High Court, which had granted him interim or temporary bail till today.
Salman Khan’s appeals are being argued in the High Court by senior lawyers Amit Desai and Shrikant Shivade. Today is the final working day of the High Court before it begins annual summer vacations till June 8.
People protested outside the court, some in support of the actor, others holding up placards that said, “We are the city, we are not dogs,” a reference to tweets by Bollywood singer Abhijit and other members of the film fraternity that caused outrage.
On Wednesday, Additional Sessions Judge DW Deshpande held Salman Khan guilty on all the prosecution’s seven charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash and drunken driving and driving without a valid licence.
In a 240-page judgment, Judge Deshpande has said, “I find that it is established beyond reasonable doubt by prosecution that accused was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident,” rejecting the actor’s submission that his driver Ashok Singh was driving.
He has also observed that Salman Khan “did not wait for police on the spot… Instead of visiting police station, the accused went to his house and till 10.30 a.m. he hided himself… If really the accused did not commit any wrong, he could have visited the police station immediately. (sic)”
The judge has rebuked Salman Khan for not taking “any positive steps by visiting hospital to see the injured and provide medical aid to them” and said that the “well known cine actor” knew he must not drive without a license and after consuming liquor.
In the early hours of September 28, 2002, Salman’s Toyota Land Cruiser ran over a group of men sleeping on the pavement in front of a bakery not far from the actor’s sea-facing home in Galaxy Apartments in upscale Bandra (West). One man died, four were injured.

(Agencies)

"I am quite excited to be a part of Udanchoo": Rajneesh Duggal

May 7, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Rajneesh Duggal has proved time & again that he is an actor par excellence. Just recently fresh from the success of ‘Ek Paheli Leela’, the talented ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ Season 5 Winner will be seen in a brand new avatar in R – Vision’s edge – of – the – seat thriller ‘Udanchhoo’.

Ravindra Singh’s R – Vision India Pvt Ltd recently announced that they have signed on the ‘Ek Paheli Leela’ star and talented ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ Season 5 winner Rajneesh Duggal for their upcoming film ‘Udanchhoo’. The movie also marks the entry of Director Vipin Parashar, who has helmed ‘No Exit’ and ‘CM Saab’, into mainstream Hindi cinema and the debut of lead actress Saisha who will be seen romancing Rajneesh Duggal. Apart from the lead pair, other cast includes Prem Chopra, Bruna Abdullah, Ashutosh Rana & Bijendra Kala.

Speaking about signing the film Rajneesh Duggal averred, “I am quite excited to be a part of this film. After ‘Ek Paheli Leela’ I wanted to do something really interesting & exciting and ‘Udanchhoo’, being the captivating edge – of – the – seat thriller it fits perfectly.” The talented actor further added, “Vipin is a friend and when he narrated the film, I was instantly hooked onto the story and wanted to be a part of it.”

Commenting on the choice of Rajneesh Duggal as the main lead, Vipin said, “Udanchhoo for me is a very special film as it would be my 1st full – length Hindi commercial film. It was thus imperative for me to get every bit right. Given that the main lead would need to pull off a difficult action – thriller role with a significant emotional quotient, my brief for the casting agency was a difficult one. Then one day I just happened to meet Rajneesh Duggal casually and it immediately struck me that he was perfect for the role – tall, good looking, fresh from ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ and a talented actor all in one. I immediately made him the offer and he agreed. But then there were date issues and we had to go with Gautam Gulati. But destiny had its own strange way and Gautam then had date issues and Rajneesh Duggal had just these dates free. It was really awesome for me as he was my original choice for the role anyway.”

The film’s music has been composed by Avishek Majumder, a music composer who is trained in western classical music & Jazz from London College of Music. He has been working with various advertising agencies as a music composer and has worked in more than 100 advertising campaigns. He debuted as a music composer in a Hindi film with Jimmy Shergil starrer film “Four Two ka One’. Some of his upcoming films are ‘Gadaar’ & ‘Saddey CM Saab’ (Punjabi feature films, featuring Harbhajan Mann), “No Exit” (Hindi Feature Film).

Other credits include: Story & Screenplay: Vishal V. Patil, Dialogues: Vishal V. Patil, Vaibhav Bajpai & Vipin Parashar, Executive Producer: Sandeep Chandra, Costume: Fahad Khan & Swati Singh, Art Director: Pradeep Singh et al.

R – Vision India Pvt Ltd founded in 2000 by Ravindra Singh who is also the company’s Managing Director, R – Vision is one of the fastest growing production houses in the industry, producing at least 2 – 3 films each year, the company started off in New Delhi and with 15 years of persistent endeavor it has now over 2 dozen hit music albums & 5 commercial films to its credits. It was founded with the core objective of offering movies in genres like action, adventure, comedies to family dramas. R – Vision also has a 24×7 TV Channel R – Vision TV that provides the audience access to good entertaining films & music content.

R – Vision’s 1st home production was ’27_13.20 Nakshatra’, directed by Mohan Savalkar, starring Anupam Kher & Milind Soman. He added more feathers to his hat with the release of the romantic film ‘Pappu Can’t Dance Saala’, starring Vinay Pathak, Neha Dhupia & Rajat Kapoor. And family entertainer ‘I M 24′ directed by Suarabh Shukla, starring Rajat Kapoor, Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia & Manjari Fadnis. Besides, there are more movies in the pipeline to be released by 2015. R – Vision is currently working on a new project directed by Vipin Parashar, titled ‘Udanchhoo’ and is anticipated to release this year.

Bollywood Round Up

May 7, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Mukesh Khanna New Chairperson Of Children Film Society, India (CSFI)

Mukesh Khanna actor & producer became the new chairman of Children Film Society. Shravan Kumar,COO of the CFSI conformed the news, “It gives me immense pleasure to inform that the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has appointed Mukesh Khanna of ‘Shaktiman’ fame as the Chairman of Children’s Film Society, India.” Mukesh Khanna who is better known as Shaktiman is very happy and is flooded with sms and letters from his fans. Somebody told him that now something will happen as the seat is given now to the right candidate who truly belongs to children and who sincerely thinks for welfare of the children of the world.”

Swati Sharrma’s “Banno“ Number From ‘Tannu Weds Manu Returns’ Garners Innumerable Hits

Singer Swati Sharrma is not only excited with the stupendous success of her latest foot tapping & peppy number, “Banno” from ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns which took the listeners with a storm, but with the success of this number Swati has garnered tons & tons of appreciation as well she has undisputedly reached the horizon of the Bollywood musical domain. The singing star who has become a sensation overnight speaks elatedly, “I’m so happy that people are enjoying this number! It wasn’t a cake walk to be able to pitch the exact note, the high tone of this sexy peppy & foot tapping number had to match the Haryanvi character played by none other than Kangana. I also want to thank director Aanand L Rai for giving be break with this song. The rage of “Banno” has proved one thing again that the songs which bring in the true feelings and the real depth of our Indian Culture surely allure the listeners’ ears. Swati’s folk- lore sort of a sexy peppy vocals is a proven fact that she is here to stay. However, Swati begs to differ having been trained from a tender age, I can bet my last penny and proudly say that , I have sung a few romantic numbers too and have bagged a few more ,which I can disclose only after everything gets finalized. Undeniably, I am not conceited about my vocals but yes! I credit myself for being able to complete my daily riyaz religiously. I have traveled all the way to Mumbai moreover; my parents have extended their support in every manner whatsoever. Keeping this in mind and also my ambition to achieve success in the Musical industry I conduct myself accordingly. I know my painstaking efforts will bear fruits sooner or later this is just the beginning.” Hailing from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, Swati shot to fame amongst the youth when her single song “Kyu Kho Gaye”, which was composed by Raeth, the popular Pakistani Band which bears the credit of having crossed a million views on Zee Music Company’s channel on you tube. Swati has learnt music from Sangeet Visharad from Chandigarh University namely Pracheen Kala Kendra. The singer also took training from her guru Pankaj Maharaj. Undoubtedly, the intense & devoted training from her Guru has enabled her to be able to rise to this position within a short span of her musical struggle. Swati is already a personality to reckon with in the Marathi musical domain merely with the success of having lent her voice for 1 song in the film titled, ‘Yudh’, Hereafter there’s no looking back for Swati at all with few songs already in her kitty namely ‘Ek Tera Saath”, ‘Direct Ishq’ & ‘Flame’.

Ekaansh Bhaardwaaj & Leena Kapoor Launched Their Audio Of Film ‘Madmast Barkhaa’

TV news reporter turned actor Ekaansh Bhaardwaaj is making his debut with Leena Kapoor in Jaspal Singh produced & directed film Madmast Barkhaa. They released the audio at an event recently. Ekaansh & Leena performed on track from the film. The film is made under the banner of Singh Multimedia creation and the film is releasing on 15th May, 2015 all over. Raj Verma music director of the film gave inputs regarding the music of the film.

Hollywood Actress & Singer Sofia Hayat Wears 1 Crore’s Dress For Bridal Wear Shoot In London

Sofia Hayat recently wore 1 Crore’s dress made especially for her to model. The dress is covered in diamonds which have been hand stitched. The Italian designers Atelier Italia, made this for a photo shoot especially for the actress, singer & supermodel. The head piece by Louis Mariette, designer & judge of America’s Next top model, was also an unpriceable diamond piece. Security was provided throughout the shoot and the dress & head piece returned with the body guards.

Model & Actress Ekta Jain Got Her Photo Shoot Done For Her New Serial

Ekta jain who has done loads of anchoring, ramp shows,TV Serials, films, ad films et al is coming back after 6 years with a new serial for Doordarshan. She did the photo shoot recently for the show where she will play different characters. Vishal Saxena did the photo shoot. The show will be directed & produced by H Bharti.

Shreyas Talpade Receives “Dada Saheb Phalke Film Foundation” Award for ‘Baji’

Actor – Producer – Director Shreyas Talpade recently received the “Dada Saheb Phalke Film Foundation” Award for the 2nd time for his performance in Marathi film ‘Baji’. The film which was released on 6th Feb, 2015, saw the talented actor essay the role of Marathi cinema’s 1st ever vigilante superhero film. Shreyas had earlier won the “Dada Saheb Phalke Film Foundation” Award for his performance in his debut film ‘Iqbal’. An elated Shreyas said, “It’s an honour to receive this prestigious award, winning it again is like a pat on the back and is in a way a validation that I am on the right track and have done something to deserve it. It also drives me to push the boundaries of my art further and explore new depths.” The talented actor who has been in the industry for more than a decade made a mark with his debut film ‘Iqbal’ and since then there has been no looking back for him. The talented actor has been part of many successful films like ‘Om Shanti Om’, “Golmaal” series to name a few. The actor had also recently produced his 2nd Marathi film ‘Poshter Boyz’ which was a critically acclaimed as well as a blockbuster film and will also be directing the sequel. In the past he has won the Zee Cine Critics award for outstanding acting skills for his debut film ‘Iqbal’ in 2005. He also won the Best Comedian award for ‘Dor’ at the Star Screen Awards as well as Stardust Breakthrough Performance (Male) award in 2007 and the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor for ‘Om Shanti Om’ the same year.

Sanchiti Sakat Meets Padamshri Anup Jalota

Padamshri Anup Jalota always support new talent. He is doing a devotional musical show Shehar on Big FM every morning. Anup Jalota invites new talent in every morning show. Sanchiti Sakat who sings in 7 languages was excited when she sang a bhajan in front of Anup Jalota. Anup Jalota gave blessings to her and told her to do more riyaaz which will make her strong in classical & traditional music. Sanchiti Sakat recently released her album “Jazbaat” with Bhoomi Trivedi, Shahid Mallya, Vaishali Made et al.

Yogesh Lakhani of Bright Outdoor Meets Daler Mehndi & Irfan Khan

Yogesh Lakhani of Bright Outdoor Media Pvt Ltd is a very reputed name in outdoor publicity. He is part of 90% of events in India & Abroad. He was recently seen chatting with Daler Mehndi & Rajeev Thakur at event and next day he was with Shahrukh Khan at other event. He also met Irfan Khan at a event in Andheri.