Filmfare Awards winners 2009, Jodhaa Akbar and Rock On win big time at 54 Idea Filmfare Awards

54 Idea Filmfare Awards 2009 drew to a close with Jodhaa Akbar winning 5 Filmfare Awards, including Best Actor, Best Director, Best Lyrics, Best Background Score and Best Movie. Priyanka Chopra won the Best Actress Filmfare Award.

Here is the list of 54 Idea Filmfare Awards 2009:


Best Movie: Jodha Akbar

Best Director: Ashutosh Gowarikar for Jodha Akbar

Best Actor in a Leading role (Male): Hrithik Roshan for Jodha Akbar

Best Actor in a Leading role (Female): Priyanka Chopra for Fashion

Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male): Arjun Rampal for Rock On!

Best Actor in Supporting Role (Female): Kangana Ranaut for Fashion



Critic Awards

Best Actress: Sahana Goswami for Rock On!

Best Actor: Manjit Singh for Oye Lucky! Lucy Oye!

Best Jury Award: Nishikant Kamat for Mumbai Meri Jaan

Special jury mention to Prateik Babbar and Purab Kohli for Jaane tu ... and Rock on! respectively



Music

Best Music Director: A R Rahman for Jaane tu ya Jaane Na)

Best Lyrics: Javed Akhtar for Jashn-e-Bahara (Jodha Akbar )

Best Playback Singer (Male): Sukhwinder Singh for Haule haule (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)

Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal for Teri ore... (Singh is Kinng)

R D Burman Upcoming Talent: Benny Dayal for Ghajini



Best Story: Abhishek Kapoor for Rock On!

Best Screenplay: Yogendra Vinayak Joshi, Upendra Sidhaye for Mumbai Meri Jaan

Best Dialogue: Manu Rishi for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!



Technical awards

Best Background Score: A R Rahman for Jodha Akbar

Best Costume : Manoshi Nath for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Best Cinematography: Jason West for Rock On!

Best Sound Design: Vinod Subramanyam for Rock On!

Best Choreography : Longines for Pappu Can’t Dance Sala . ( Jaane Tu...)

Best Editing: Amit Pawar for Mumbai Meri Jaan

Best Production Design: Vandan Kataria and Monica Angelica Bhowmick for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Best Action: Peter Hein for Ghajini

Best Visual Effects Award: John Deitz for Love Story 2050



Best Sensational Debut (Male): Farhan Akhtar and Imraan Khan

Best Sensational Debut (Female): Asin Thottumkal for Ghajini


Sony Filmfare Best Scene Award: Rab Ne Bana di Jodi


Lifetime Achievement Award :Bhanu Athaiya, Om Puri


Things that we do not agree with Filmfare Awards 2009:
1. A Wednesday did not get a single award at Filmfare Awards 2009, in spite of being the most under-rated movie that stood out all guns. Most would agree that A Wednesday deserved awards for the best script(this was really an original story), best dialogue and best actor in a critics's role to Naseeruddin Shah.

2. Paresh Rawal has arguably given his career best performance in Mumbai Meri Jaan. Sad that he was even nominated!

3. Why has Filmfare scrapped the 'Best Actor/Actress in Comic Role'? What if you have someone excelling in a tragic or serious role, and the other doing absolutely amazing in a comic role? Shoudn't the actor playing comedy deserve better? People like Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal will be side-lined if they scrape the comic role awards. This year, Abhishek Bachchan had a chance to win for his funny act in Dostana.

4. The best male singer awards which went to Sukhvinder for 'Haule Haule' is a suspect. Songs like 'Zara Si" from K.K for Jannat, Pehli Nazar from Atif Aslam for Race and 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi' from Rashid Ali for Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na were far more popular in terms of music and singing. May be Sukhvinder won it as a consolation because he missed going to the Oscars. Let us honor him here instead, if he couldn't go to Hollywood,isn't it?

5. Hrithik Roshan's was a critically acclaimed role, not a popular one. He should have got the Best Actor critics award. In the popularity polls for best actor of 2008, 44 percent voted for Shahrukh Khan, 41 percent for Aamir Khan and just 8 percent for Hrithik Roshan. It goes without question that popular performances were of SRK(Rab Ne) and Aamir Khan(Ghajini). Both of them saved the industry from incurring huge losses at recession. It is useless giving awards to Aamir Khan because he cares a fig for these awards. You can't give it to SRK every year, so it is better to give Hrithik the best actor (popular) award.

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A.R.Rahman a bigger global star than SRK or Aamir Khan?

A.R.Rahman has won two Oscar awards for Slumdog Millionaire for Best Original Score and Best Original Song-Jai Ho. A.R.Rahman. A.R.Rahman is now the proud two time Academy Award winner for 2009. Apart from the Oscar awards, A.R.Rahman has won Four National film awards, seven Filmfare Awards, twelve Tamil Filmfare Awards, a Critic's Choice Award, a Satellite Award, a BAFTA award and a Golden Globe; the last four for the super successful Slumdog Millionaire.

A.R.Rahman had won National Awards for Roja, Minsara Kanavu, Lagaan and Kannathil Muthamittal. A.R.Rahman's Filmfare Awards for Bollywood include gems like Rangeela, Dil Se, Taal Lagaan, Saathiya, Swades (Background Score), Rang De Basanti and Guru. There is a sure shot chance of A.R.Rahman to win Filmfare Awards 2009 for Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

This shows that A.R.Rahman is as a big a star like SRK or Aamir Khan if not bigger. Post oscar, A.R.Rahman has become a name to reckon with. It is also truethat a movie often garners a fabulous initial because of Rahman's music as was evident in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Unlike the Khans who were not successful, the soft-spoken A.R.Rahman quietly climbed up the ladder of determination and got home the much elusive Oscar for India. We sincerely feel that A.R.Rahman should have been given his due for Lagaan at the Oscars. The music was completely ignored though it was a handiwork of a genius. But then Slumdog Millionaire's music was endorsed well by the director and makers of Slumdog Millionaire.

Do you really think A.R.Rahman's best work is the Oscar adorned Slumdog Millionaire or has he given better music? Which according to you is A.R.Rahman's best music album and song? Do write in or fill the poll to the left of the blog

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A R Rahman and Gulzar win Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, A.R.Rahman wins 81st Academy award for Music, Jai Ho A.R.Rahman Oscar winner for India

A R Rahman has won Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire(Best Original Music Score). A.R.Rahman has also won Oscar for best original sound track or song Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire. Lyricist Gulzar has also won Oscar for best lyrics for the song 'Jai Ho'.

History has been created on 22 February 2009, when India has won two Oscars both by A.R.Rahman(and for lyricist Gulzar) for Slumdog Millionaire. A.R.Rahman even sang the song 'Oh Sayon' in front of an august audience. A.R Rahman credited India for his success. He thanked his mother for inspiration. At his acceptance speech for Slumdog Millionaire's Jai Ho song, A.R.Rahman said that he too came from a humble background and had to choose betwen love and hate.“I chose love and so I am in front of you tonight!.” he said as he signed off.

Slumdog Millionaire has incidentally went 8 oscars including Best film, Best director Danny Boyle, Best original Music Score, Best Original Song, best sound mixing and best editing.
A.R. Rahman, the Oscar winner for India has contributed tremendously for Bollywood film industry and the Tamil film industry. A.R.Rahman has won Oscars for scintillating music score in Slumdog Millionaire especially Jai Ho, Oh Saya and Lathika’s theme. It is a well-deserved achievement for A.R.Rahman to win an Oscar for India at such a grand, internationally renowned platform. A.R.Rahman has won original music score for Slumdog Millionaire. A.R.Rahman had earlier won Golden Globe Award (see the video) and BAFTA award for Slumdog Millionaire as well.

A.R.Rahman has won Filmfare Awards(India’s Oscar equivalent) virtually every year he has been nominated. This year also, A.R.Rahman is poised to win the Best Music Filmfare Award for Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. The only two Indians apart from A.R.Rahman to win an Oscar were the legendary Satyajit Ray who won Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1991. Bhanu Athaiya, the costume designer of Mumbai is an another India Oscar award winner for the ‘Best Costume’ award for Richard Attenborough’s "Gandhi" (1982). Congrats to Oscar award winner A.R.Rahman for composing Oscar worthy music in Slumdog Millionaire. Megan Milan has also won Oscar for best documentary short film ‘Smile Pinki’ featuring an eight-year-old girl from the rural part of Mirzapur.

Also read about if Slumdog Millionaire better than Taare Zameen Par?

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Delhi 6 movie review, Delhi 6 fails to impress

Many had high expectations from Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who had made the trend-setting Rang De Basanti. His latest offering Delhi 6 is unadulterated boredom. Delhi 6 has a plot similar to Ashutosh Gowariker’s charming movie Swades. While Swades was cute and progressive to an extent, Delhi 6 chugs along slowly and is sadly regressive. Also the director in Delhi 6 deals with a lot of things, which is why he loses track most of the time.

Story of Delhi 6: There are quite a few stories running parallel as the movie takes you on a documentary style tour through the bylanes of Delhi. There are two warring brothers Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra who are at loggerheads with each other. Ompuri has a daughter Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) whom he wants to marry off at the earliest. Sonam Kapoor however nurses an ambition to go to Mumbai to participate in Indian Idol. We have Abhishek Bachchan playing Roshan who has come from the US to take his terminally ill mother back to the States.

There is also an untouchable played by Divya Dutta who has an opinion on all and sundry. There is plot of the money lender(Prem Chopra)’s wife who is sleeping around with a debtor played by Cyrus Sahukar. There is Rishi Kapoor who gives preachy sermons on how to love and lead life. He is a failed lover who still pins for Tanvi Azmi. In the midst of all this, there is a fictitious monkey-man(Kaala Bandhar) who is creating havoc in the town. Roshan is exposed to a lot of customs, orthodox conventions and superstitions during his stay. He has to take the decision to really take his mother to the US or stay home with his beloved Sonam Kapoor. Meanwhile, the so called kaala bandhar has created so much tension in Delhi 6 (Chandni Chowk) that there is a near riot between Hindus and Muslims. Do you really think, you can do justice to all these stories in a matter of 2 hour and 20 minutes. ?

Technicalities of Delhi 6: With all three talented people Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Prasoon Joshi, Kamlesh Pandey at the helm, it was expected the writing would be great. But sadly, with probably all three giving inputs, the screenplay falls flat and becomes really boring and complicated. Rang De Basanti, the director’s previous outing had one of the best screenplays ever in Bollywood history. Delhi 6 is a huge let down as far as editing and screenplay is concerned.

There are some scenes which just stop abruptly and there are some which drag unnecessarily Rakheysh Omprakash Mehra appears to be a confused director in Delhi 6. The whole deal about the monkey-man as a metaphor seems far-fetched out of place. Chandni Chowk is a town, not some conservative, orthodox village. You can't expect Abhishek Bachchan to be the only broadminded person there.

Plus points of Delhi 6:
1. Beautiful screen presence of Sonam Kapoor. She really looks cute and her costume designer deserves a thumbs-up.
2. The ‘masakali’ and the ‘Dil Mera’ picturization has been creatively shot
3. Absorbing post interval only to fizzle out in the end.

Minus points of Delhi 6
1. Absolutely slow and sluggish plot development in the beginning, and a weak, stupid end
2. The director takes on more than he can chew.
3. The Ram Leela sequences, which are one too many; infused with regularity only to slow down the already lethargic pace.
4. The end makes you scream at the writers. Abhishek Bachchan dies and goes to heaven where he meets papa(Amitabh Bachchan of course). Big B sends him back to earth and Abhishek Bachchan is saved. Oh my! Lord of Lords. You cannot make a bigger blunder than that! In fact, frankly when Abhishek Bachchan is mistakenly killed, it created some sort of impact. But then the next thing, you know he is resurrected!
5. Distinct similarity to Swades. There are a couple of scenes, especially when Sonam Kapoor is supposed to meet her prospective bridegroom and also towards the end when Abhishek has to take his mother back to the US, that give you a feeling of déjà vu.
6. The title song of Delhi 6 is curtailed. There could be other parts snipped instead.

Performances of Delhi 6:
Abhishek Bachchan does not get in right for Delhi 6, his accent sounds made-up. Sonam Kapoor is the most endearing part of Delhi 6. Her enthusiasm in ‘masaakali’ song is laudable. However, she could have done better. In the climax scene, when she breaks down, the entire theatre broke into laughter. Rishi Kapoor’s character is poorly developed. Atul Kulkarni should not have done the role, the movie reduces him to nothing.Vijay Raaz, Divya Dutta, and Om Puri are the only ones who impress. Delhi 6 has Amitabh Bachchan’s career-worst special appearance.

Final conclusion: Delhi 6 puts you to sleep. By the time, we left the movie theatre, two people were already catching their 40 winks.

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Pepsi burps as Shahrukh Khan goes for Coke, Sprite

Shahrukh Khan had stated in media that Pepsi had kicked him out because he was too old for the brand. Looks like Pepsi has taken its brand image of 'youngistaan' too seriously and sacrificed the king for a pawn(read Ranbir Kapoor). Coke jumped at the opportunity and signed Shahrukh Khan for their popular brand Sprite.

Shahrukh Khan will now have Coca-Cola's Sprite has the official sponsor for his IPL team Kolkata Knight Readers. Coke is now in high fizz because all the three popular film stars, Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan and now SRK will be endorsing Coke. Shahrukh Khan is certainly make Pepsi C(h)oke!

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Billu movie review, Billu is a 'cut' above the rest!

Billu is yet another brilliant work from Priyadarshan. He has set his tale on fictionalized village of Budbudha. Director Priyadarshan has proved his mettle on making movies based on fictitious villages like Malamaal Weekly and he does not disappoint this time with Billu. The best part about Billu is that the movie looks straight out from a Balbharti school text book. A very pleasing tale of friendship, the movie is inspired by the mythical tale of Krishna and Sudama.

Story of Billu: Billu(Irrfan Khan) is an extremely poor barber who is trying hard to make ends meet. People in the village choose to be aloof from his family. Even Billu’s children are removed from the school due to his inability to pay fees. Enters in the village, the biggest superstar of the country Saahir Khan(Shahrukh Khan). Billu’s family including his wife(Lara Dutta) and the kids sort of know that Billu has had close friendship with Saahir. But when they know that the star is in their village, they begin to spread news about the friendship between Billu and Saahir Khan. The whole village comes to know about this and they begin to bribe, pamper, cajole and persuade Billu to make them meet Saahir.

Billu who has his own reasons not to meet Saahir, tries his best to dissociate himself from the star and the set-up. So much, that the villagers smell a rat and abuse Billu for spreading falsehood. It is only in the climax, which is sensitively handled, that we know about the deep, underlying relationship between Billu and Saahir Khan

Best points of Billu:
1. Deft direction by Priyadarshan who develops the plot in an interesting manner
2. The characterization of Irrfan Khan.
3. Manisha Korde comes up with some smarty, witty dialogues.

Performances in Billu:
Irrfan Khan has given an applause-worthy performance. Catch him at his best in the scene when he calls Saahir Khan’s guest house from a public phone. Shahrukh Khan is brilliant as usual, though he does not have much to do, except in the last few scenes. He even indulges in self-deprecatory humor where he talks about his fight with another popular Khan.

Final point: Billu is one of the finest works of director Priyadarshan. The best part about Billu is its simplicity. Billu is a nice, feel-good film. And yes, you can take your kids along! For barbers(oops!), Billu should be a ‘cut’ above the rest.

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Why Slumdog Millionaire is just another mediocre film, Errors, mistakes and clichés of Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a bad film, an actor once said in a public platform. He had his reasons and most of them are not far from the truth. Slumdog Millionaire has won an ensemble of Oscars and it is a thing of pride for Bollywood’s best music director A.R.Rahman , lyricist Gulzaar and sound-mixer Resul Pookutty for having won home the glory But let us ask ourselves is is Slumdog Millionaire really a good movie from Bollywood standards? If yes, then how come Slumdog Millionaire has flopped or been rejected by Indian audiences?

Slumdog Millionaire is just another average wanna-be Bollywood film. We are not talking about the poverty aspect which was highlighted by Amitabh Bachchan. We are talking about the movie content purely, which is notches below the standard of what can be called quality film-making. Slumdog Milionaire has the same lost and found formula done to death by Indian film-makers. Haven’t we seen an street urchin becoming a ganglord, in the 70s Bollywood flicks?

What is Slumdog Millionaire trying to say? That it is okay to steal shoes from the Taj Mahal? Is this the message that the movie portrays to young children? Also, how comes Anil Kapoor who plays the quiz master so quietly sneak in Jamal(Dev) to the police? How come there is no uproar? How come the media is never interested? And why will the police unnecessarily grill the boy, give third degree treatment to a someone who has won public adulation and one crore rupees? Not only is the plot far-fetched, there are also clichés galore: Salim and Jamal are muslims, the other musketeer Lathika HAS to be from the other caste, otherwise the plot will not move ahead. When the two boys are separated from Lathika, she HAS to turn into a prostitute. The director is clearly going the clichéd way which has ever been experimented so many times by our Bollywood film-makers. Where is the creativity? If an Indian film-maker had the same film, I seriously doubt the critics would have given the film four or five stars.

Jamal grows up to be a ‘chai-wallah’ in a call center. But he answers questions in the ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ in the finest UK accent, akin to an MBA grad from UK? I have yet to see a chaiwallah from a call center who speaks such eloquent English. Let’s look at the performances. Anil Kapoor has clearly over-acted in his wanna-be Clint Eastwood accent. Praises and award nominations are being heaped on the dusky Freida Pinto who played Lathika in Slumdog Millionaire. But is it really an engrossing performance? Far from it. Looking above from the platform and giving a model pose does not call for an arresting performance. Her real test will lie when she gets to do performance driven roles.

A.R.Rahman has given far better music in his previous albums and one rues the fact that the Oscar fraternity completely ignored him for a much superior score in Lagaan. One can sense that the honor is primarily because of a white connection (read Danny Boyle). Though the plot is not really convincing, the treatment of Slumdog Millionaire and the screenplay is admittedly good enough. But that does not mean Bollywood has been bad in screenplays of late. Movies like Rang De Basanti, Dil Chahta Hai, Ghajini and even Gangster were also better if not equal in terms screenplay treatment. So there is nothing in Slumdog Millionaire to feel ‘wow’ about, at least to the people who have grown up on Bollywood films. Also let’s not forget that Slumdog Millionare is essentially an English film, the artistes and some of the crew is Indians.

Dyslexia is a major concern in the US, and the truth is the best movie on dyslexia in the world was made by an Indian- Taare Zameen Par. Isn’t it a shame that we are unnecessarily heaping praises on a mediocre film Slumdog Millionaire when a masterpiece like Taare Zameen Par was ignored by the Oscar jury. Let us be practical and assess the quality of movies with a sense of discern. Something which Indians actually did-Slumdog Millionaire is a flop in India.

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Shahrukh Khan likes to go after Aamir Khan!!

Shahrukh Khan is in talks with the most successful director of the present-day Bollywood, A.R.Murugadoss. After Ghajini became superhit, we would have expected Murugadoss to repeat Aamir Khan. But no, Shahrukh Khan is now in talks with A.R.Murugadoss for the director's second hindi film.

It is believed that Shahrukh Khan has liked Murugadoss' script and has even expressed his interest to do the film, days before he left for the shoulder surgery. The Murugadoss film will be produced by Shahrukh Khan. It will be a totally romantic film and it is believed either Priyanka Chopra or Katrina Kaif will do the film. Unlike Ghajini, this SRK film will not be a remake.

Shahrukh Khan had done a similar thing like this before, when he did Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades. Ashutosh had earlier directed Lagaan with Aamir which went on to become a cult film. Shahrukh Khan on seeing the rushes, decided to do Ashutosh's next film. Aamir Khan had to make way for Shahrukh Khan for Swades Something on the similar lines has happened again after Ghajini

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The Stoneman Murders Movie Review: Keeps on the edge!

The Stoneman Murders is a fantastic movie which deserves full marks for authentic treatment, sound script and fantastic performance especially by Kay Kay Menon. The Stoneman Murders is gripping and keeps the viewers riveted to the end. Though the climax is predictable, the buildup to the climax is terrific. The writer-director Manish Gupta needs to be given a round of applause for making a terrific murder mystery, and creating the eerie feel, without resorting to too much blood or gore.

Story of The Stoneman Murders: The story of The Stoneman Murders takes us back to the year 1983 where Mumbai shivered in the chilling deaths of sleeping pavements dwellers and beggars who were killed by a huge stone. These deaths often happened on Tuesdays and Saturdays and between 1 am to 3 pm, between the streets of Sion and Matunga. The huge stone would be left behind after every serial killing as the killer’s signature mark of death. But the irony is that these killings which happened all of a sudden, disappeared quickly as well. So was the case really solved? Was there a cover-up involved? And how did these murders resurface in Calcutta years later? You will get the possible answers to these questions in The Stoneman Murders.

Kay Kay Menon plays Sanjay Shelaar, a hot tempered policeman who flies off the handle when it comes to treating criminals. He does not get along with Kedaar(Arbaaz Khan) another policeman. One such third-degree treatment given by Kay Kay to a criminal result in his death, and Kay Kay is suspended. The incomplete ‘Stoneman murders’ or the ‘patthar-maar’ case is given to Kedaar. However Satam(Vikram Gokhale) unofficially lets Sanjay continue with his investigation in order to save his job. It is now up to Kay Kay to crack the case in his own way, without the police having a whiff of his investigation.

Technicalities of The Stoneman Murders: Full marks to Bobby Bedi for making another gripping, experimental film. He has sought to expose the biggest cover-up of investigating agencies through The Stoneman Murders. Since the director and writer are the same person(Manish Gupta), what has been researched and written, translates brilliantly on the screen. The movie is in control right from the first frame but things begin to get really interesting after the second half. Since most of the film has been shot in pitch darkness, the camera work is first-rate. The eerie atmosphere is well thought of and most of the time, the fear is real because we are dealing with a serial killer, not an imaginary ghost. The only minus point of the film is an item number which was not necessary.

Best scenes in The Stoneman Murders: 1. The railway station scene where Kay Kay almost nabs the stoneman but gets involved in a scuffle with the policemen. The daring scene in which Kay Kay Menon jumps aboard a running train and jumps down at the killer as the train is in motion, has been done without a body double.
2. The build-up to the climax, especially when Vikram Ghokhale tells Kay Kay Menon to leave Bombay secretly

Performances of The Stoneman Murders: Kay Kay Menon has given his career-best performance in The Stoneman Murders. Virendra Saxena, Vikram Gokhale and Rukhsar who plays Kay Kay Menon’s neglected wife put in watchable performances. The only let-down is Arbaaz Khan who is not impressive at all.

Conclusion: Easily, the best film of 2009 so far, The Stoneman Murders is rock-solid in every way. And yes, Rukhsar does have a sexy back!

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Why Slumdog Millionaire does not work in India and Anaconda did!

We Indians are hell bent on showing the world that we can produce modern, contemporary films, and we no longer are the land of snake charmers and camels, as perceived by the west. The last eight years, we have tried to change the global outlook about India with technologically sound 'modern' films like Dhoom 2, Don-The Chase Begins, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti and Rock On among many. Just as Ghajini made us all proud, by becoming the biggest money-spinner in India and abroad, in came an English film about Mumbai slums- Slumdog Millionaire.

Slumdog Millionaire which has won appreciation from all parts of the world, for glorifying the spirit of winning against all odds, raked in moolah by the hordes. The entire Bollywood fraternity and critics are proud about the movie and are even calling it an 'Indian film'. But the jubilant feeling of film critics and Bollywood is not echoed by sections of Indian society who are protesting against the film on many grounds, from depiction of abject poverty to usage of the word 'slumdog'. Also the movie Slumdog Millionaire has not exactly set the cash registers ringing in India, because the audiences here still warm upto the likes of Raaz 2 and Ghajini.

Does the Indian audience not want to own up to the fact that 80 percent of India still live in abject poverty? Do they not want to get real about reality? Are movies here just a route to escapism and living in a fantasy world, full of entertainment and dreamy romance, peppered by sizzling, cleavage revealing item girl?

The irony is that Slumdog Millionaire, a film about Indian slums recognized appreciation all over except India. In the similar vein, a movie called Anaconda which was marred by the US, was a big hit in India. Snakes, reincarnation and evil spirits have always been a fascination with Indians, which is why a movie made on anything that defines horror garners a good response in India. But this again is a fantasy thing, of a negative kind. Indians will lap anything contemporary and cool, but shy away from crude and cynical. So are we really opening up to new, age modern cinema?

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No Six Packs for the Kissing King Emraan Hashmi

Emraan Hashmi gave the sleeper hit of 2008 Jannat, without much noise. This year too, he has opened his account well with Raaz 2 doing decent business. Emraan Hashmi does not believing in toeing the line. He does not flaunt a six pack, nor does he make appearances in star-studded films. He has grown in terms of performances with every film and usually likes his films to do the talking. Ask him about six packs and Emraan has this to say

"I find this six-pack craze absurd. In our industry, if one person does it, everyone apes it. I'd rather walk around with a paunch rather than flaunt a six-pack. I dont like the herd mentality, it makes me throw up. When you do something like a mindless robot, it shatters your individual personality. That's the reason I dont have a role model. I've never looked upto anyone."

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