‘MAJAZ’ IS THE 1ST FILM AS A MUSIC DIRECTOR – TALAT AZIZ

Talat Aziz makes his debut as a music director in films with MAJAZ, after having composed for a few TV serials. MAJAZ which is releasing on 25th Aug, 2016 is a biopic of Majaz. Asrar ul Haq Majaz commonly known as Majaz Lakhawi who was an Indian Urdu poet known for his romantic & revolutionary poetry. He composed ghazals & nazms in Urdu; Majaz was the maternal uncle of popular Poet & lyricist Javed Akhtar. MAJAZ has 12 songs, including ghazals & nazams sung by Talat, Sonu Nigam & Alka Yagnik. Talat has not only played with the strings to pour the soul but also given his voice to the songs in the film. Director of the movie is Ravinder Singh Priyanshu
Chatterjee & Rashmi Sharma are in the main lead with Neelima Azeem, Shahab
Khan & Anas Khan.

MUSIC RELEASE OF FILM ‘YEA TOH TWO MUCH HO GAYAA’

The music release of YEA TOH TWO MUCH HO GAYAA was held at Grand Imperial Banquet, Andheri. The film is directed by director Anwer Khan & produced by Ali Unwala. Present were Jimmy Shergill, Pooja Chopra, Bruna Abdullah, Vijay Patkar, Rajiv Surti, Ayub Khan of E4U Enterprises, Yogesh Lakhani of Bright Outdoor Media. Aftab Ahmed Khan, a former Indian Police Service
office & politician noted for his encounter killings of gangsters came specially to launch the audio. The film is made under the banner of M A Entertainment & Trinity Films. Dialogues of the film is written by Bholu Khan, cinematography done by Rajiv Srivastav, Lyrics by Anwer Khan, Jairaj Selvan & Vishal B. Patil, Music by Avishek Majumdar. The film stars Jimmy Shergill, Arbaaz Khan, Pooja Chopra, Murali Sharma, Bruna Abdullah, Zarina Wahab & Vijay Patkar. E4U Enterprises is releasing the film on 2nd Sept, 2016 all over. Zee Music has music rights of the film.

ARBAAZ KHAN & SUNNY LEONE TEAMED IN ‘TERA INTEZAAR’

Mrs. Aman Mehta & Bijal Mehta of Bagashree Films mark their debut as producers with TERA INTEZAAR. It is a romantic thriller with Arbaaz Khan & Sunny Leone being directed by Raajeev Walia. The mahurat was held recently in presence of choreographer Mudassar,
Arbaaz Khan, Sunny Leone, Arya Babbar, Sudha Chandran, Salil Ankola, Hanif Noyda, Gowhar Khan, Bani Singh & Reicha Sharma, besides the music director Raaj Ashoo & singer Swati Sharma. Raajev Walia said, “While we were outlining the characters for TERA INTEZAAR the 1st name that popped in our head was Sunny Leone. Arbaaz Khan has been in the industry for 2 decades now and he has been successful in the work he has done be it in the form of a leading actor, a host, or in establishing his own production house and directing super hit films.” Music is by Raaj Ashoo, lyrics by Shabbir Ahmed and singers are Armaan Malik, Sherya Ghoshal et al. T -Series is releasing the music for this movie. The movie will showcase some of the best special effects and it is shot at exotic locales of India & abroad.

MUSIC LAUNCH OF ‘MY FATHER IQBAL’

Yash Corporation unveiled music of its debut project MY FATHER IQBAL by singer Arvinder Singh and lead actor Narendra Jha. Producer Paresh Mehta and the director Suzad Iqbal Khan were present with entire cast & crew, besides Hon Ex – minister of J & K (Power) Babu Singh. Narendra Jha, who played the protagonist Iqbal in the film, said that this film is made on a real incident. Singers Uvie & Asa Singh sang live at the media gathering. MY FATHER IQBAL is based on a real life incident of an engineer from J & K’s PWD Department who fulfils multiple responsibilities in his life. The film captures the struggle of a father who’d go to any length to achieve the dreams of his child while maintaining his duty towards the country. The film has music by Biswajit Bhattacharjee & Varun Agarwal and stars Narendra Jha, Komal Thackar, Paresh Mehta, Raj Sharma, Amit Lekhwani, Sagar Nath Jha, Sudam Aftab Khan & Kumar Vaibhav. It is slated for release in the month of Sept, 2016

STAR STUDDED MAHURAT OF HINDI FEATURE FILM ‘DARTA HAI KYU’

The mahurat of DARTA HAI KYU directed by debutant Rajesh Bhardwaj was held in the presence of the Chief Guest – Arbaaz Khan. Rati Agnihotri, Alok Nath, Raajpal Yadav, Rajendra Gupta, Navni Parihar, Avtar Gill & Rajesh Bhardwaj were present. The brief scene shot captured a dialogue between Avtar Gill and the lead cast. The title DARTA HAI KYU is a
comedy about hair loss and how this little problem has taken the men’s world by a storm, across section. The film tries to address the issues & the insecurities related to this widely prevalent and commonplace problem of hair loss through a witty narrative. “I wanted to start my journey in Bollywood with a genuine unique idea, not just recycle what is already been done. That is how the idea of DARTA HAI KYU came to me. This film addresses the problem we all observe but are scared to speak about – the issue of hair loss in a lighter note.” Rajesh Bhardwaj has directed numerous ad films till date, with Sanjay Dutt, Priyanka Chopra, Juhi Chawla, Raveena Tandon, Arbaaz Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Amrita Rao, Tina Dutta, Gurmeet Choudhary, Shweta Tiwari & even Brett Lee. DARTA HAI KYU will hit the floors in Sept, 2016 and the principal photography will be done in Mumbai, Delhi & Vadodara.

SHAHID MALLYA LENDS HIS VOICE FOR HINDI FILM ‘JACQUELINE I AM COMING’

Shahid Mallya recently sang “Shikwa Na Shikayat” for the film JACQUELINE I AM COMING. The song is composed by Sukumar Dutta. The song was the muhurat song for the film which was recorded in the studio of T – Series. Shahid Mallya said, “I hope people will like the song which has loads of emotions & feelings. Apart from the song, the subject of the film is extremely interesting.” Director Pinku Dubey added, “JACQUELINE I AM COMING is a mature love story and I am sure that everyone will relate to the true love shown in the film. It’s an old age love story which has been seen in very few fims in Indian Cinema.” Writer – director Pinku Dubey & Producer Manish Giri were present at the occasion. This film is a sweet love story which will surely touch everyone’s hearts. The film will begin to shoot in Madhya Pradesh soon.

POSTER LAUNCH OF ‘UMFORMUNG – THE TRANSFORMATION’

Criminal psychologist – filmmaker Sudeep Ranjan Sarkar’s Hindi feature film UMFORMUNG – THE TRANSFORMATION made news when monks & sex workers came together under one roof at Kolkata to watch the film. Now, the poster launch of the film, that speaks of equality among all of God’s creations, was held in Mumbai. Besides Sudeep Ranjan Sarkar & producers Rita Jhawar & Saharsh Khaitan, music director Sanjib Sarkar, actors Sushil Bhosale, Neha Kapoor, Parijat Chakraborty, were present at the do at Bora Bora Club in Andheri West. Along with them were present chief guest Bappi Lahiri and Shaleen Bhanot, Mudasir Ali, Gaurav Chopra, Aamir Dalvi, K. K. Goswami et al. The story of intense dimensions, two parallel stories juxtaposed in one world UMFORMUNG – THE TRANSFORMATION is about a Buddhistmonk in search of the ultimate truth on one hand, and a ruthless entrepreneur who knows that power is the ultimate truth on the other. Languid & unbiased, the film unfolds as Karma unfolds. The journey of the monk from the idyllic monastery set in the mountains to prostitutes at a city brothel and his movement into the path of self – actualisation, alongside the transformation of the builder when life comes half way to meet her on her path of self – destruction, forms the crux of UMFORMUNG – THE TRANSFORMATION.

FINALLY KRITI GETS HER OWN VOICE!

Vikram Bhatt’s RAAZ REBOOT is rather special for it’s heroine Kriti Kharbanda for more reasons than one. Not only does the film marks the South star’s Bollywood debut, but this is also her 1st ever horror film and the 1st film that she has dubbed for! Yes, the actress with several superhits down South to her credit had never dubbed for her own voice before RAAZ REBOOT and Kriti shares that it is more difficult than acting! Kriti says, “Dubbing for RAAZ REBOOT was my 1st ever dubbing experience as all of my films in South were dubbed since I don’t speak those languages. And I really think that dubbing is more difficult than acting. While acting, you just go with the flow of what you are feeling & emoting, but dubbing requires recreating & reliving every emotion again. So, it better match up to the performance or up it.”

KANGANA RANAUT WANTS AN INTERNATIONAL DRIVING LICENSE

Kangana Ranaut, will soon be travelling to the US to shoot for Hanasal Mehta’s SIMRAN. Kangana enjoys driving and on her days off plans to drive around the countryside and explore the local sights. She has applied for an international driving license for the same.

AJAY DEVGN INVITED TO INDORE BY HIS FAN CLUBS FOR ‘SHIVAAY’S TRAILER LAUNCH!!

Ajay Devgn has numerous fan clubs across India and they are all eagerly waiting to see a glimpse of Ajay Devgn’s magnamopus SHIVAAY. The constant insistence of the fan clubs compelled Ajay Devgn to agree to launch the trailer in one of the Hindi strongholds of Bollywood cinema. Fans from several parts of the country will be congregating in the heartland of India, Indore, to show their love for Ajay Devgn. In a unique gesture for the fan groups, the star launched the trailer of his directorial SHIVAAY in their midst on 7th Aug, 2016. The star felt it was the most apt way to share his creation with his ardent supporters. The Indore based fan group which is one of the largest & extremely active made a special request for a meet & greet. The actor – director decided to launch the trailer in their city. The trailer was available for all to see as it went live from the event on all official SHIVAAY and Ajay Devgn Social Media handles. The theatre going audience watching Akshay Kumar’s RUSTOM starting 12th Aug, 2016 across the globe, will be especially treated as SHIVAAY’s trailer will be attached to the film.

‘DELHI MERE BAAP KI’ TO BE CENSORED

Shashi Raaj Films’ DELHI MERE BAAP KI will be shown to the censors shortly. The film is being presented by Mike Verma of Canan Movie Productions and is produced & directed by Shashi Pal (Shashi Raaj) from his own story & screenplay. Dialogues: Balwinder Singh. Cast: Vikram Thakur, Gurutej Tejji, Komal Dhillon, Tina, Amrit Pal Kaur, Dinesh Hingoo & Shakti Kapoor. Cinematography: Rajesh Kanojia. Lyrics & Music: Karan Raanjha. The 1st digital print of the film is out.

MUSICAL DRAMA ‘BHAIRAVI’ RELEASES EXCLUSIVELY ON MUVIZZ.COM

BHAIRAVI a musical drama film has been released for the 1st time exclusively on muvizz.com. The film which was shot in the year 2008 was never ever before released because of the movie’s post production issues. The film stars Sandeep Kulkarni, Priya Gill, Deepak Qazir, Subrat Dutta & Shabnam Vadhera. The story follows the life of Bhairavi, a passionate Sitar Player. The film celebrates music along with portraying the shades of feelings & insecurities of an unsung musician. Sandeep Kulkarni says, “The film is very dear to me as an actor and also as a person, because the story is loosely based on one of our country’s sitar maestro who’s also acclaimed internationally. The story has layers of music gharana, passion & politics with interrelated love.” Suhail Tatari, director of Bhairavi says, “BHAIRAVI has taken me into a world of Indian classical music. For several years the papers lay in my files and it rolled a few years later. One of the major challenges was the music, since the film being a musical drama, I was trying to learn the nuances of music from musicians and the music director. Both lead actors were put under training to learn sitar. Music had indeed become a character in the film.”

ZEEL TO SHOWCASE 4 FILMS FROM THEIR INDO – PAK PEACE INITIATIVE AT MOSAIC INTERNATIONAL SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2016

ZEEL’s peace initiative continues its global reach, this time heading to Ontario, Canada where 4 of its films were screened at the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF) 2016 recently. With an aim to spread the message of peace & harmony, ZEEL brought together cultural thought leader in the form of 12 film makers from both the countries for the 1st time to showcase their work on a single platform and facilitate an apolitical exchange environment. Out of 12 films, 2 Indian & 2 Pakistani films were screened at MISAFF. The 4 films are Aparna Sen’s SAARI RAAT, Meenu – Farjad’s JEEWAN HAATHI, Ketan Mehta’s TOBA TEK SINGH & Mehreen Jabbar’s LAALA BEGUM. Meenu – Farjad who’s JEEVAN HAATHI is a satire on the media business and its manufactured reality which generates & creates conflict in society, said, “JEEVAN HAATHI (the elephant in the room) is part of a unique initiative between Indian & Pakistani filmmakers called Zeal for Unity.” Ketan Mehta’s TOBA TEK SINGH based on Saadat Hasan Manto’s story by the same name. The story of LAALA BEGUM, directed by Mehreen Jabbar is about 2 estranged sisters and what happens when, after 20 odd years of estrangement, they are forced to have a face – to – face confrontation about their issues. Aparna Sen’s SAARI RAAT, based on Badal Sarkar’s writing, starring Konkana Sen, is a story about a couple who find themselves taking shelter in a dilapidated warehouse and as the night progresses the couple finds themselves in the midst of an unforgettable night that changes their life forever. The Indo -Pak initiative that was kick – started with one of its kind’s historic launch Wagah -Attari Border earlier this year, is a momentous step towards changing the way people across both the countries see, feel & think about each other. The film makers who have come together for this initiative are Aparna Sen, Bejoy Nambiar, Ketan Mehta, Nikkhil Advani, Tanuja Chandra & Tigmanshu Dhulia from India and Khalid Ahmed, Mehreen Jabbar, Meenu – Farjad, Sabiha Sumar, Siraj Ul Haque & Shahbaz Sumar from Pakistan.

PRITAM TO RECREATE ‘BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN’ MAGIC ONCE AGAIN WITH SALMAN’S ‘TUBELIGHT’

Preetam has been roped in for Kabir Khan’s next film. The hit trio of BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN is back! Pritam Chakraborty’s compositions topped the charts last year when he joined hands with director Kabir Khan for the Salman Khan magnum opus BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN. The 3 have now come together once again to try and recreate the magic of last year’s blockbuster with TUBELIGHT, which is Kabir Khan’s next starring Salman. The ace music – composer recently met Kabir to try & understand the music that would best suit the script of TUBELIGHT. Since the film is an Indo – Sino period drama, buzz is that it is expected to have Indian music with a Chinese touch. With Pritam in full form, music & films – lovers are now waiting to see what does the much -in – demand musician, pull out from his sleeve this time around!

EVELYN SHARMA FLAUNTS HER BIKINI BODY ON A BEACH IN BALI

The gorgeous actress Evelyn Sharma is holidaying in Bali. Evelyn Sharma flaunts her bikini body on a beach. She looks very hot in blue bikini. Evelyn says that she likes to be under the sun and on the beaches. She loves to pose in bikinis and thankfully she doesn’t need to do special work outs to look perfect in a bikini.
Evelyn is blessed with a bikini body and the lady loves to put it on display for the pleasure of her fans. Evelyn Sharma has now bagged a role with Amit Sadh in an upcoming film.

Producer & Director: Ashutosh Gowarikar
Star Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pooja Hegde, Manish Chaudhary, Kabir Bedi, Arunoday Singh, Suhasini Mulay, Nitish Bharadwaj et al.
Music: Allah Rakha Rehman

Ashutosh Gowariker, an actor turned director, needs no special introduction. He is known more for his historically oriented period films. He has so much passion & fascination for such films that he comes with this kind of films only once in 3 or 5 years. He has won a lot critical acclaim & awards galore for Swades, Lagaan & Jodha Akbar. But in his latest outing Mohenjo Daro, he has put a totally wrong foot by making an absolutely boring to death film.

The scripted scenario kick starts with the era of 2016 BC in the North West region, which happens to be the pre – historic India. This gradually leads to the introduction of Sarman (Hrithik Roshan) and his victorious fight with a predator crocodile. While on one hand the villagers felicitate him for the victory, on the other hand, Sarman is adamant to visit the city of Mohenjo Daro, something that his uncle & aunt are not too keen on, for reasons best known (only) to them. One day, after much reluctance, Sarman’s uncle & aunt give in to his demands of visiting Mohenjo Daro, but, not without handing him over an “identity coin”. When Sarman reaches Mohenjo Daro, amongst the many other things, he sees the beautiful “Sindhu Putri” Chaani (Pooja Hegde), the daughter of a religious pandit (Manish Choudhary). Both, for Sarman & Chaani, it turns out to be unspoken love at 1st sight. One day, the curious Sarman happens to visit the “upper city” in search of Chaani. It is here, that Sarman, besides being stunned by the visuals & locales, witnesses the disparity that prevails under the rule of the evil ruler Maham (Kabir Bedi), who had once been earlier exiled from Harappa. In no time, Sarman becomes the people’s representative and raises his voice against Maham’s atrocities. Amidst all this, the pandit reveals a secret to Sarman that not just shocks Sarman, but also, sweeps him off his feet.

Director Ashutosh has seriously erred this time round and it seems he has carried his passionate fascination for historically oriented period films a little bit too far. As apart from Greek God Hrithik Roshan none of the actors and above all the entire technical team have failed to live up to cine goers expectations and salvage Mohenjo Daro.

Performance wise it is a Hrithik Roshan film all the way and he has indeed delivered an outstanding performance. Even in his earlier such films he has always given a good account of himself. But only Duggu nay Hrithik Roshan cannot guarantee success for such historically oriented period films. Debutant Pooja Hegde, the Southern sensation, has not delivered any earth shaking performance. Kabir Bedi is excellent. The other actors comprising of Arunoday Singh, Suhasini Mulay, Nitish Bharadwaj et al are adequate in their respective roles.

Tail Piece: Mohenjo Daro, with a three and half hours longest duration, is another totally disappointing fare of the year 2016.

Director: Manish Jha
Star Cast: Arshad Warsi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kyroze Irani & Boman Irani
Music: Meet Bros Anjjan, Som – Raul, Abhinav Bansal, Rishi – Siddharth & Ujjwal – Nikhil

Director Manish Jha in his hat trick outing, his earlier 2 films were Matrubhoomi & Anwar, The Legend of Michael Mishra can easily be termed as the most unforgettable film of this year. So much so that one can’t even pin point one plus point of the film. Right from the captain of the ship with his behind – the – scenes technical team to the on screen actors, including the lead actor Arshad Warsi, have just sleep walked throughout the film. Need I say anything more on this front.

The scripted scenario of The Legend Of Michael Mishra kick starts with FP aka Full Pant (Boman Irani), the owner of Michael Mishra Dhaba, telling a bunch of tourists about the “legendary” greatness of Michael Mishra (Arshad Warsi). FP then, recalls the entire flashback incidents that transformed a simple tailor Michael Mishra into a “tailor – made” Michael Mishra. FP states that, Michael Mishra, when on duty as a tailor, accidentally killed his customer. What follows after that are a series of incidents that transforms the simple Michael Mishra into a dreaded don, who becomes a self confessed “kidnapping specialist”. But when Michael Mishra ultimately finds his lady love Varsha ‘Hello’ Shukla (Aditi Rao Hydari) after years of incessant searching, he plans to change himself into a better human being, at her “insistence”. The very moment he decides to change himself, he surrenders himself before the law, which then, punishes him with an imprisonment of a whopping 500 years, which, later, gets changed to lifetime imprisonment in a ruthless jail. Amidst all this, Michael Mishra’s sidekick Half Pant (Kyroze Irani) stands by him like a rock.

Director Manish Jha has spoilt every thing by displaying his shabby & sloppy directorial treatment as well as scripting the most hackeneyed plot in lieu with his hand in glove partners namely Radhakrishnan & Sneha Nihalani. That apart Manish Jha has seriously failed to extract any noteworthy performance from his artistes. And pray what were a dozen music composers doing in a single film like The Legend of Michael Mishra?

Performance wise even a good actor like Arshad Warsi proves himself as a total failure as the main protagonist of The Legend of Michael Mishra. Oh! What a yawn inducing act he has delivered!!! Aditi Rao Hydari appears to be a total misfit in her role, so how can one expect her to deliver even an iota of a decent act. And the same holds true for Kyroze Irani & Boman Irani.

Tail Piece: The Legend of Michael Mishra is the most boring & the most disappointing film of the year 2016. So a piece de resistence advise to one & all, don’t waste your time, energy & money.

Director: Soumendra Padhi
Star Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, debutant actor Master Mayur Patole, Tillotama Shome, Shruti Marathe & Chhaya Kadam
Music: Sidhant Mathur & Ishaan Chhabra

Debutant director Soumendra Padhi has really tackled the sports genre oriented movie Budhia Singh – Born To Run with finesse. In fact Budhia Singh – Born To Run is an inspirational tale of human spirit, endurance & sacrifice. And giving the director a perfect support are his cast & crew. Hats off to all of them.

The scripted scenario of Budhia Singh – Born To Run kick – starts with a set up of the divine Puri in Bhubaneswar. It is here that the 5 year old Budhia Singh (Mayur Patole) is introduced. He gets sold off to a local merchant by his impoverished mother, for a mere Rs. 650. There enters the “social entrepreneur” Biranchi Das (Manoj Bajpayee), who runs a judo coaching classes for the young albeit orphaned children. When he gets to know about Budhia Singh has been sold off to a man, he rescues Budhia Singh and convinces Budhia Singh’s mother to allow him to be kept with him, while he gets her a job. Delivering a chance punishment to Budhia Singh, makes Biranchi Das discover the former’s “God – gifted” talent to run relentlessly without even an ounce of tiredness. There after he starts coaching Budhia, with a sole aim of creating a world record. And when the news of Budhia’s athletic talents reaches the media, he, not only becomes an overnight sensation, but also the toast of the entire Bhubaneswar state. Biranchi Das gets so very involved in coaching Budhia to become an international marathon star, that he, unintentionally, starts overlooking his own family. And when the non – stop achievements & the records created by the 5 year old Budhia reaches its pinnacle, the Child Welfare Board’s committee members try to bring down Biranchi Das as well as Budhia Singh.

Writer – director Soumendra Padhi really deserves a special mention for his excellent directorial treatment of this real life story in tandem with Manoj Kumar Khatoi as the cinematographer, Sidhant Mathur & Ishaan Chhabra as the music composers & Shivkumar V. Panicker as the editors. The extra special highlight of the film is the picturisation of the marathon run sequences from Puri to Bhabuneshwar.

Performance wise the 2 pillars of the film are Manoj Bajpayee as the coach Biranchi Das & debutant Master Mayur Patole as the main protagonist Buddhia Singh. Both of them are simply outstanding. In fact Master Mayur Patole really steals the hearts of the cinegoers. He literally lives the role by getting into the skin of his character Buddia Singh. Manoj Bajpayee the seasoned actor has once again proves that he can sink his teeth into any character than be it a homosexual or a coach. No doubt that both Manoj & Mayur complement each other with a perfect & bang on chemistry. And lending the duo an adequate support are the other actors like Tillotama Shome, Shruti Marathe, Chhaya Kadam et al.

Tail Piece: Budhia Singh – Born To Run is a realistic, heart warming & heart touching movie. But this National Award film will surely score on the Box Office turnstiles in the long run.

T Nillay Pande had started his career a decade ago as a line producer & executive producer for many film projects. And now he has also turned a co – producer with director Anwer Khan’s soon to be released film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya.

Kindly give us a brief introduction of your film making career.

I had started my film making career that too a decade ago, 1st as a line producer then as an executive producer and finally as a co – producer. And as a line producer & executive producer I have been associated with projects like scores of music videos & TV commercials featuring the likes of actresses like Hema Malini, Madhuri Dixit and many others and even a film like Department. Then as a co – producer with director Anwer Khan’s debut film Four Two Ka One, not to be confused with Shah Rukh Khan’s film One Two Ka Four. That was 3 years ago. And now I am associated again as a co – producer with Anwer Khan’s 2nd film namely Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya.

What made you to co – produce another film with director Anwer Khan?

Actually speaking Anwer Khan is a dear friend of mine. I really enjoyed working with him as a co – producer in his debut directorial film Four Two Ka One. So once again when he came up with his latest project Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya I instantly gave him a go ahead signal as a co – producer once again.

So what is the film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya all about?

Frankly speaking Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya is a complete family entertainer. And I am sure Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya will definitely prove to be an out & out commercially oriented masala film with Anwer Khan at the helm of affairs inspired by his Manmohan Desai style of film making. In fact I believe that Anwer Khan is the only actively involved independent director hailing from the Manmohan Desai camp. The film is all about identical twin brothers with one settled in Mumbai and the other one settled in Bangkok and then the switch over takes place and the fun oriented laughriot begins.

So what according to you are the highlights of the film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya?

Of course there are many highlights of the film but I will give you the hint of a few of them. First & foremost highlight of the movie is Arbaaz Khan in the role of a Don in a foriegn land, the beautiful & soothing albeit never before seen locales of Thailand & Pataya in Bangkok, the 1st ever double role of Marathi comedian Vijay Patkar and above all the 1st ever double role of Jimmy Shergill and so on & so forth.

Ok so what are your expectations from the film?

First of all we wish that our film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya should garner a decent collections at the Box Office turnstiles all over, so that we can start the production of our next project smoothly. Money wise the film should end up doing a decent business. The film’s digital promo launch has already created ripples of successful wave and I wish the film also does well. Besides I wish that each & every family member all over should go to see Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya.

As a parting shot give us a little information about the cast & crew of the film.

Ok! Badshah Khan presents a film by Anwer Khan, produced by Ali Unwala, co – produced by T Nillay Pande, music by Avishek Majmudar & Badri Lacewala, lyrics by Badri Lacewala, Vishal V. Patil, Jairaj Selwan & Anwer Khan, cinematography by Rajeev Srivastava, action by Mahendra Verma, choreography by Rajeev Surti, P&A partner Ayub Khan & media coordination by Himanshu Jhunjhunwala. The film stars Arbaaz Khan, Jimmy Shergill, Pooja Chopra, Bruna Abdullah, Vijay Patkar et al.

Anwer Khan happens to be an erstwhile assistant director of Manmohan Desai, of the lost & found syndrome, which had become so popular in the bygone millenium. 3 years ago, to be precise in the year 2013, he had made his debut as an independent director with Four Two Ka One, not to be confused with SRK’s One Two Ka Four. And now he is ready with his upcoming directorial venture Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya which is on the verge of releasing very soon.

How about giving us your brief introduction?

I am a total Bombaiyya man. I was born in Kalyan. And all my life I have been living in Thane. After finishing my studies I started hunting for work and ended up being the assistant director with Manmohanji and my height of foolishness was when I had left Manji in between and after realising my own folly I went back to him requesting him to take me back. And hats off to him that he graciously accepted me back in his fold and then I ended up assisting him in scores of films till the end.

So how much of Manmohan Desai style can one see in your upcoming film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya?

I have made my entire film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya totally inspired by Manmohan Desai school of film making. The stamp of his film making will be seen in most of the frames, especially in the intermission point.

You made your debut as an independent director in the year 2013 with a film called Four Two Ka one and now your upcoming directorial venture is Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya in 2016. Why this long gap?

The main reason is that I am very choosy. Being a trained director of Manmohan Desai camp, I did not wish to tarnish his name by doing any & every film. In fact I heard many stories in between but none of them touched my heart. So I was waiting for the right kind of film to come my way. But ultimately after waiting for almost 3 years I decided to pen down my own script and the end result was Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya and this time around I have also penned down 3 beautiful lyrics for the same.

Really Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya I mean what is your upcoming film all about?

Well! Nice way of putting up your query. So Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya is all about an identical twin named Man & Mohan. Man has gone to Thailand in search of a job and out there he has an altercation with a younger brother of a don named Mack and to top it he takes a selfie of the altercation and sends it to the don. But then his friends advise him to go back to Mumbai to avoid the wrath of the dreaded don. While Manmohan also has a showdown with a big wig person and he in turn rushes to Thailand to avoid his wrath. And then starts the rollercoaster comic ride. Which will definitely leave the audiences in splits in the darkened aisle of the cinema halls.

What according to you are the highlights of your upcoming film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya?

I would say that the 1st & foremost highlight of Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya is Arbaaz Khan as the most dreaded don Mack. In fact he has been most gracious enough to shower me with my career’s best compliment as a director. He has gone on record to state, “None of the directors of Bollywood has given me a role like Anwer Khan in his film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya, in fact none of them have succeeded in tapping my right potential as far as my acting skills are concerned. I would really like to say that Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya can be termed as the best comeback film of my career as an actor.” And coming from Arbaaz Khan an accomplished actor, producer & director, of Dabangg 2, in his own right, really Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya.

Banner: Raghujan Films – Roaring Goat Media – NMR Movies
Producer: Sudarshan Laxman Ingle, Sanjay Mulay, Jayaditya Giri & Nitin Rokade
Director: Nitin Madhukar Rokade
Star Cast: Abhijit Shwetchandra, Prashant Mohite, Vaishali Dabhade, Vishnu Joshilkar, Mitali Jagtap, Arjun & Yashpal
Music: Prafulla Karlekar

Editor turned debutant director Nitin Madhukar Rokade has been editing all the films of Bollywood director David Dhawan till this date. Yet in his debut directorial Marathi film Taleem the signature stamp of David Dhawan brand of film making is missing. Which is good in a way as Nitin has been able to leave the stamp of his own directorial identity in Taleem.

Taleem’s scripted scenario unfolds with Bhau (Abhijeet Shwetchandra) who is highly obsessed with the idea of winning the title of the Maharashta Kesari in wrestling and he training for it all his life, but just when he is ready for duelling in the wrestling ground to match his strength with the real champions, he falls in love with a lavni dancer named Laxmi (Vaishali Dhabade). On the other hand his rival Jaisingh (Prashant Mohite) takes advantage of the situation and the tables turn.

Director Nitin Madhukar Rokade has displayed finesse in his directorial treatment yet what really goes against Taleem is that it has been heavily inspired by V. Shantaram’s classic cult film Pinjra, in which a school teacher is totally infatuated by a lavani dancer. Not to speak of the fact about its odd comparison with both V. Shantaram’s Pinjra in the past and the recently released Yashraj Films Sultan.

Performance wise debutant actors Abhijit Shwetchandra has delivered a fairly good performance while Prashant Mohite has given a fairly good account of himself, amongst the debutant actresses Vaishali Dhabade is quite expressive while Mitali Jagtap is too loud and the rest of the actors like Vishnu Joshilkar, Arjun, Yashpal et al are adequate and help in carrying the film forward.

Tail Piece: Taleem is an interesting fare for both the classes as well as the masses.

Bollywood Film makers have always been very patriotic to the core and to commemorate each Independence Day they have been making films based on patriotic themes. In fact since the indian film makers too wanted to be free from the Britishers rule they had already started making patriotic films much before our country gained independence in the year 1947. And if we can recollect correctly the 1st ever patriotic film made in India was in the year 1931 and the patriotic films made in the those period were films like The Sword of Allah, Azaad Hindustan, Tiranga Jhenda, Swatantra Bharat et al to be followed by scores of such films but obviously one can’t recollect all the names of patriotic films made in those times. But of course some of the best films were Shaheed, Pukar, Purab Aur Paschim, The Making Of Mahatma Gandhi made by Shyam Benegal if we can recollect it correctly. But the best of film made during that period was made by a foriegn director named Richard Attenborough who gave a gem of film to the Indians namely Gandhi starring a foreign actor namely Ben Kingsley who had enacted the role of Mahatma Gandhi – the father of the nation perfectly. And all such films were instrumental in stirring the patriotic feelings of the Indians of those times.

And to stir the patriotic feelings of the Indians once again we have put together a list of the Best Patriotic Movies in Bollywood. In fact Bollywood has a very strong sense of patriotism. And so, every year the Indian film industry sees at least a couple of movies dedicated to India and her freedom fighters as well as the ones that instill a sense of pride in viewers through patriotism.

While some of these films actually portray the freedom struggle of India and it’s freedom fighters, others are set in the post-Independence era and simmer with a patriotic zeal and pride for the country.

Here’s a list of the Bollywood’s Best Patriotic Movies, Shaheed, the name of which was already mentioned above. So Shaheed was a patriotic film about the Indian independence movement. This was one the of many nationalist films made during this period which depicted the struggle for Independence. The next in line was Mother India. In 1947 India gained independence from the British rule. The country was caught between the need to modernise and continue the technological advances of the last two decades, and the need to maintain traditional moral values and avoid cultural decline. Moreover this movie was nominated in the “Best Foreign Film” category of the Oscars. And how can one forget one more film, yet again by director Mehboob Khan namely Son Of India. One more films of those times was Haqeeqat directed by Chetan Anand. It was about how Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru saw China as India’s best friend after independence propagated the Indo – Chin Bhai Bhai. Then the Indo – China war happened in 1962 and an unprepared India was devastated.

One more important film of that time was Border directed by J P Dutta which was an epic tale about young men & his war to set every Indian free from their own shackles of slavery. The movie was an adaptation from real life events that happened at the Battle of Longewala fought in Rajasthan (Western Theatre) during the Indo – Pakistani War of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War.

And the next patriotic films to follow were Aamir Khan (producer) & Ashutosh Gowarikar’s (Director) Lagaan which was a deadly combination of cricket and the rebellion against the British Empire. This one even made it all the way to the Oscars and lost out to No Mans Land.

Once again it was Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film Swades. Which was all about a successful Indian scientist working at NASA who returns to an Indian village to take his nanny to America with him and in the process rediscovers his roots. Director Ashutosh’s masterpiece had all the elements of a patriotic film without resorting to jingoism.

Then how can one forget about Rakeyesh Om Prakash Mehra’s Rang de Basanti a youthful drama about some youthful people gripped by a feeling of patriotism.

And last but not the least was Chak De India, which used a hockey field in India and the Indian women’s national field hockey team as metaphors to explore larger than life’s themes relating to sexism, ethnic & regional prejudice, and religious prejudice under the larger umbrella of Indian nationalism. It also referred to the legacy of partition.

Banner: Zee Studio, KriArj Entertainment, Cape Of Good Films & Plan C Studios
Producer: Neeraj Pandey, Aruna Bhatia,
Nittin Keni, Akash Chawla, Virender Arora,
Ishwar Kapoor & Shital Bhatia
Director: Tinu Suresh Desai
Star Cast: Akshay Kumar, Ileana D’Cruz,
Esha Gupta, Arjan Bajwa, Pawan Malhotra, Usha Nadkarni, Sachin Khedekar, Kumud Mishra, Anang Desai, Parmeet Sethi, Kanwaljit Singh et al
Music: Ankit Tiwari, Jeet Ganguly, Raghav Sachar & Arko Pravo Mukherjee

Of late there is a strongest trend of making a biopic movie on legendary figures and also movies based on true stories of real people mirroring their down to earth real lives. And religiously following this trend is none other than the Producer – Actor team of Neeraj Pandey – Akshay Kumar. And their latest outing Rustom is based on the real life incident of a famed Naval Officer named K. M. Nanavati. And both Neeraj Pandey & Akshay Kumar deserve a standing ovation for brilliantly presenting or rather re – presenting the courtroom battle of K. M. Nanavati. Which had earlier appeared in the form of 2 movies namely Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke & Achanak. So once again Hats off to Neeraj Pandey & Akshay Kumar.

The scripted scenario of Rustom kick starts with a periodic era of 1959, when Mumbai was still “Bombay” and the times when justice was done by the jury members and not by the judge. This is followed by the introduction of the “habituated to his uniform” Commander Rustom Pavri (Akshay Kumar) and his lovely wife Cynthia Pavri (Ileana D’Cruz). One day, when Rustom Pavri comes back home from the sea, earlier than his scheduled date, he is shocked when he gets to know that his wife Cynthia has gone out with the “filthy” rich Vikram Makhija (Arjan Bajwa) and has not been home since the last 2 days. Rustom Pavri, then, starts breathing fire and reaches Vikram’s house, only to find Vikram & Cynthia together in an uncompromising situation. Unable to bear the sight of his wife’s deceit, Rustom Pavri loads his official gun and shoots the evil minded Vikram, killing him on the spot. Being the ever righteous man, Rustom Pavri then goes to the police station and surrenders himself. When the news of Vikram’s death reaches the ears of his “well connected” sister Preethi Makhija (Esha Gupta), she vows to revenge her brother’s death. As the case goes to the court however, Rustom pleads not guilty. What follows after that is a heated court room drama, mudslinging & the role of the media in the case… all eventually leading to one common thing.

Director Tinu Suresh Desai in his 1st ever outing in 1920 London had displayed his directorial sparks. But in his 2nd outing Rustom he is in complete command and displays that he is just not the flash in the pan kind of director. But of course he appears a little weak in the courtroom drama but that is because of the poor writing skills of Vipul K. Rawal. Yet Tinu Suresh Desai has given a new life to this predictable courtroom fare. Another weak link of the movie is its technical crew like the film’s music by Ankit Tiwari, Jeet Ganguly, Raghav Sachar & Arko Pravo Mukherje, cinematography by Santosh Thundiyil & editing by Shree Narayan Singh. So on the whole it is only Akshay Kumar’s sterling act that holds the film and the cine goers interest together especially of those who are totally unaware of the most talked about case of Nanavati.

Performance wise no doubt that it is Akshay Kumar who rules the roost. He has totally blended himself into the character of Nanavati and delivered a towering albeit a powerhouse performance. On the other hand Ileana D’Cruz is too perfect to be true, in fact she matches Akshay Kumar step by step in the histrionics department. Esha Gupta is excellent. Arjan Bajwa has delivered a par excellence act in his “Brief” role. While the other seasoned actors like Kumud Mishra, Usha Nadkarni, Sachin Khedekar, Anang Desai, Parmeet Sethi, Kanwaljit Singh & above all Pawan Malhotra too have ended up giving a convincing & believable performance.

Tail Piece: Rustom is a perfect crime drama that has hit the marquee after ages.

Akshay Kumar is one of the most humble actor of Bollywood. He is so modest about his super stardom, that when he is addressed as a super star, his grin becomes wider and he just smiles. His rise to super stardom has been so phenomenal, en route all the highs & lows and ups & downs included. He has done films of varied genres albeit comedy is his forte. No doubt he has traversed miles & miles to finally prove his worth from his debut film Saugandh to his latest release Rustom.

What was the main reason for accepting Rustom?

First of all I found the concept interestingly gripping. But one never knows how the world will react to what I personally feel is intriguing & interesting.

Are you happy with the over all response to Rustom right from the promo launch?

So far the response has been mirrored to my own emotions and that is one of the greatest feelings an actor can experience, a shared passion about one’s choices of projects is just so humbling that it makes you want to hug all your fans and thank them for sharing their eagerness in your work.

While the trailer was released, you were away on a holiday. Do you regret missing out on the excitement for your film back home?

I would have regretted not being on holiday with my kids. I’ve made over 130 films, and luckily still counting. But I only get so many years to throw my kids in the pool and watch them marvel at the world before they become too big & too distant for me to impress.

But didn’t you feel cut off from the pre -release excitement back home?

Thanks to Steve Jobs & Mark Zuckerberg’s greatest inventions, they kept me connected to the world which made me feel like I was at home feeling the love & support as if I was only inches away from everyone’s excitement.

Rustom is your 1st ever film on a crime of passion… It’s about a loving husband who murders his wife’s lover. How difficult was it for you to portray this man who loves his country & his wife too but is accused of murder by the law?

It was so thrilling for me to portray such a character, one who has nothing but love & patriotism in his heart. But a crime is a crime… This film will leave you thinking twice about the legal system, the action of mankind and the ability to do the right thing at the right time.

The year has so far been extremely kind to you. Your reaction to Airlift & Housefull 3 being big hits?

You make it out like I wasn’t deserving enough to have a kind year. I personally couldn’t have wished for a better response to one of the most patriotic films I’ve ever made.

You mean Housefull 3?

I see my comedies have helped critics loosen up. But jokes aside, Airlift made me feel proud to be an Indian. As for Housefull 3, I love the fact that one of my favourite franchises can still bring so much laughter to the crowds, people let their hair down and let out whoops of laughter in the theatres. It’s the heartiest feeling in the world. What better feeling than to make people happy?

You have always preferred to work with a new director. Comment!

Yeah! You can say that I like to work with newer directors. Anyone who makes the grade with Neeraj Pandey is all good by me. Neeraj Pandey’s standards of film making and his script sense are irreproachable. So in Rustom Tinu Suresh Desai had my full faith from day one. I’ve not regretted my instincts for a second.

Isn’t it difficult for a new director to guide you?

Tinu Suresh Desai has pulled all of us together into one creative vision so fast & so well that I take my hat off to him. He’s a producer’s director and he doesn’t mess around for a moment. He would forget to say hello to you as he had to be so engrossed with his work. But his practicality always brings him back to reality. Speedy man, fast paced, exactly what I like in my directors when they know what they want and get it come hook or by crook, they get their shot.
What impels me is that they bring about a change in me. Keeping my audiences intrigued is a very important part in keeping them interested in my career. When I star opposite a fresh face, the audience has no idea what kind of connection we will have.

To round it off tell us something about your co – star Ileana?

What can I say about her? Ileana is a pleasure to work with of course. She has a competitive edge about her but laced with a charming exterior. She likes to push herself in her scenes and takes a demanding day on the chin. Rustom may not be a physically taxing movie but it was certainly emotionally draining for all of us.