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SRK ranked among 50 most powerful people

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has been ranked among the 50 most powerful people in the world by the prestigious Newsweek magazine.
 
Shah Rukh Khan, who occupies 41st spot in the magazine’s 50 most powerful people, was described as the “King of Bollywood.”
 
“It’s not just that his ( Shah Rukh Khan’s) romantic flicks make gazillions, it’s where those gazillions come from. Khan is huge in the Muslim world, even in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the mullahs ban his films. (The movies thrive on the black market.,” the newsweekly said.
 
“Their main appeal is certainly the song-and-dance numbers, but Khan (a Muslim married to a Hindu) makes devoutly secular films where love trounces bigotry.”
 
Among others on the list include Sonia Gandhi, Barack Obama, Osama Bin Laden, Dalai Lama, former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, Iranian strongman Ayatollah Ali Khemenei, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, American General David Petraeus, Iraqi leader Nuri al-Maliki, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Pope Benedict XVI, Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and popular show host Oprah Winfrey.

‘Ghajini’: Revenge becomes Him!

 

Aamir Khan's 'Ghajini'
His only aim is the pursuit of vengeance: tracking and punishing the man who murdered his girlfriend. His life becomes a quest for justice. To locate his girlfriend’s killer, he has to overcome a hurdle. He suffers from a rare case of memory loss.
 
He can’t remember what happened 15 minutes ago, where he is, where he’s going or why. Haunted by the memory of his lover, he re-builds his life out of photographs, charts, tattoos and obsessive habits that stand in for memory.
 
‘Ghajini’ is a physiological thriller where allies, enemies, victims and victimizers keep changing constantly. The movie is directed by A.R. Murugadoss and is a remake of the Tamil super hit by the same name.
Director - A.R. Murugadoss
 
Music Director - AR Rahman
 
Cinematography - Ravi K. Chandran
 
Release Date - December 25, 2008
 

First Look: Aamir Khan’s ‘Ghajini’

His only aim is the pursuit of vengeance: tracking and punishing the man who murdered his girlfriend. His life becomes a quest for justice. To locate his girlfriend’s killer, he has to overcome a hurdle. He suffers from a rare case of memory loss.
 
He can’t remember what happened 15 minutes ago, where he is, where he’s going or why. Haunted by the memory of his lover, he re-builds his life out of photographs, charts, tattoos and obsessive habits that stand in for memory.
 
‘Ghajini’ is a physiological thriller where allies, enemies, victims and victimizers keep changing constantly. The movie is directed by A.R. Murugadoss and is a remake of the Tamil super hit by the same name.

Rajni shows the way, cuts down his fee

Once again, Rajnikanth has shown the way. To help the producers hit by recession, the superstar has decided to cut down his remuneration for Shankar’s ‘Endhiran’ by 30 percent, it is learnt. The ‘Thalaivar’ has also requested Aishwarya Rai, his heroine in the film, to do the same.

 

Sources reveal that Rajni has discussed the issue with Aishwarya Rai in detail. The arrangement is that this loss in remuneration would be compensated from the profits later.

 

Well, while everyone is busy doing the talks, Rajni, arguably the highest paid actor in India, goes one step ahead and implements it.

Salman Khan’s ‘Yuvvraaj’

A cellist with the Prague Orchestra, lives in Vienna and has a novice Indian classical singer join the clearly Western musical team, while women in Follies Bergere costumes prance around on stage.
 
This almost surreal world can only come from the mind of a filmmaker who has either lagged behind while the world of cinema has surged ahead, or stubbornly refuses to recognize that his films are getting to be increasingly outdated. That Subhash Ghai has given mainstream cinema some of its biggest and best films cannot be denied—after all two filmmakers paid tribute to his ‘Karz’ in recent times.
 
His latest ‘Yuvvraaj’ is, sadly, the work of a filmmaker who has lost the pulse of the audience. In the past, he never shot abroad, unless the story (’Pardes’) demanded it; he never needed to rely on stars, he created them; his music and song picturisations are still memorable. He never needed to go with the numerology fad and give his films oddly-spelt titles.
 
In ‘Yuvvraaj’, he has shot in beautiful locations in Prague, Vienna and London (where, of course, even the Czechs and Austrians speak Hindi!) when there was no need for them. His song picturisations, maybe grand, but completely out of synch with the situations. The idea of ‘Family First’, is hardly original to begin with, but when the foundation of the script is taken from ‘Rain Man’ (Barry Levinson, 1988), and the treatment is right out of Balaji serials, with a slapdash handling of actors, not expected of a filmmaker of Ghai’s calibre, one is understandably disappointed…dismayed even. Even his ending, with the entire team joining the song-and-dance is taken from Farah Khan’s films!

‘Vaaranam Aayiram’: Suriya evolves!

In ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’, Gautham Menon depicts the journey of a man, in a fascinating and intuitive manner. Captivating is the word for this movie.
 
‘Vaaranam Aayiram’ takes you through the various stages in the life of a man called Surya (played by Suriya): his childhood, his teenage, his youth, his romance, his battles, his marriage, and finally, his self-discovery.
 
Beautifully told and intricately woven, ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’ impresses visually. The characterisation is flawless, and narrative flow is almost seamless.
 
Suriya, Simran, Sameera and Divya Spandana have put forth good performances. Harris Jayaraj’s scores rise up to the occasion and complements the movie.
 
The only drawback of ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’ is its length. At 3 hours, it’s a daunting task even to think about watching a movie as deeply introverted as this. However, once the tale begins, there is no letting down. It gives one the feeling of coming a little closer to the stars and seeing them for their fallibility as clearly as their sparkle.
 
‘Vaaranam Aayiram’ combines reality and fantasy, and succeeds in capturing the essence of human life.

Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan together?

Madras Archdiocese is producing a film on the life of St. Thomas, an apostle of Jesus Christ. St. Thomas came to India to spread God’s message after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his tomb is located at the Santhome Basilica in Chennai. Plans were made to make a spectacular film along the lines of ‘Benhur’ and ‘The Ten Commandments’ showcasing the life and times of St. Thomas.

It has been confirmed that Ajith and wife Shalini will be part of the project. According to unconfirmed sources, superstar Rajinikanth will be playing the role of legendary Tamil littérateur Thiruvalluvar in the film. The sources also add that Kamal Haasan will play a prominent role and actors Vijay and Vikram will also feature in the film.

Rajni upset with ‘Kuselan’ results?

The lacklustre response that ‘Kuselan’ has drawn so far has sent shock waves in Tamil film industry. Some unconfirmed reports say that Pramid Saimira, who acquired the worldwide rights of the film, is likely to incur a loss of about 15 crores.
Normally, Rajni has the habit of going off to the Himalayas after the release of his films; this time, he has flown to the United States to commence shooting of his ‘Robot’, directed by Shankar.
 
According to the sources, Rajni is shocked to see the trade reports of ‘Kuselan’. He is said to be in a tense mood following the lukewarm response to ‘Kuselan’ from the audience.
 
Meanwhile, the high profile distributor organization has reportedly decided not to approach Rajni seeking compensation, just like many distributors did following the debacle of Rajni’s ‘Baba’.

RS-150 crore budget for ‘Marmayogi’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Kamal Haasan, fresh from the success of his ‘Dasavatharam’, has already started working for his next project ‘Marmayogi’.  Initial reports suggested the film, said to be Kamal Haasan’s answer to Hollywood movies like ‘Gladiator’ and ‘Braveheart’ in terms of sheer grandeur, is estimated to cost around Rs.100-crore.  Now, it’s official that the budget has been finalised at Rs.150-crore.

 

The latest camera called ‘Red Eye’ camera would be used for shooting.  Since the camera’s daily rent is around Rs.30,000, the producer is planning to purchase a brand new one.  The film is set against the backdrop of seventh century B.C., for which Kamal is planning to use up the video footage he had shot for his shelved project ‘Maruthanayagam’.

 

The latest news is that Hemamalini, Bollywood’s ‘dreamgirl’ of yesteryears and who played a brief role in Kamal’s ‘Hey Ram’, has been roped in to play a negative role.  In her illustrious career, this will be the first film where she will be playing a role with gray shades.

‘The Mummy 3′: Mummy-fied!

MOVIE REVIEW

‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’, finds Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) and wife Evelyn (Maria Bello taking over for Rachel Weisz) heading East in hopes of recapturing the adrenaline of adventure.
 
They’re retired following World War II, apparently living richly off of the $800 million worldwide box office of the first two Mummy films. The O’Connells are British aristocrat-adventurers who have retired too young and are begging to get back in the mummy-slaying game.
 
The film, directed by Rob Cohen (’The Fast and the Furious’) who takes the franchise’s reins from Stephen Sommers, opens with our historical backdrop: a ludicrously extravagant tale of “a mythic battle between good and evil played out in ancient China,” as a narrator informs.
 
Egypt, it appears, no longer has the trademark on mummies.
 
Jet Li plays the Dragon Emperor, an emphatically bad dude who in 200 B.C. — as this film tells it — built the Great Wall of China on top of thousands of servants worked to death. In his search for immortality, he’s tricked and he and his army are mummified in a giant tomb.
 
A few thousands years later, enter the O’Connell’s grown son Alex (Luke Ford). It’s been seven years since ‘The Mummy Returns’ and fans will surely be surprised that their hero (Fraser, who’s 39 in real life) has already ceded ground to a younger actor. (Harrison Ford’s archaeologist action star has yet to cede to this progeny.)
 
Alex is just as intrepid as his parents. He uncovers the tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which has been styled on a real archaeological find: China’s Teracotta Army, the thousands of clay soldiers found in 1974. They’ve here been re-imagined as mummies frozen in time, complete with mummy horses.
 
If this sounds absurd, it is. Like recent films such as ‘300′ or the new Indiana Jones, ‘Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’ uses history like a prop — a loose costume for ludicrous plot lines.
 
These movies revel in telling “ancient” tales, but dodgy history doesn’t lead to anything but myths. Younger generations are going to have some funky ideas about the past.
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