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starbytes |
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King
Khan aims for king size SFX
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| Now
that younger actors have come in to take the mantle of Bollywood heartthrob,
Shah Rukh is reinventing himself. First it was Kaun Banega Crorepati
and now instead of signing films left right and centre, Shah Rukh
is choosing to concentrate more on his production house Red Chillies
and of course on taking Bollywood to the next level. It was his film
Dilwale Dulhania Lejayenge that found an incredible audience overseas.
He followed that with a string of contemporary, very urban love stories
that created Bollywood history and indeed changed the face of the
Indian hero. Now that he has crossed 40, Shah Rukh Khan wants Bollywood
to improve its special effects. The actor is taking a three-month
break to make his production company more technology savvy. India's
booming movie industry is the world's most prolific but it has often
lagged behind Hollywood - and even Asian neighbors Japan and China
- in the use of technology. 'I want our F-X to be comparable with
the best in the world," he said referring to a technical term
for describing special effects. "Have you seen films like '300'?
That's the level of special effects we should be aiming at."
The good become great by aiming for the ultimate. |
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| The
post-Big Brother Shilpa |
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| Having
wowed global audiences with her anti-racism stand on Britain's Celebrity
Big Brother, Shilpa Shetty is all set to hit higher notes with an
Indian musical in the UK. "I'm going to be in an Indian musical
on the lines of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bollywood Dreams. Though it
will be Bollywood in spirit, it will completely cater to Western sensibilities.
It's a hugely ambitious musical and I'm very excited" Shilpa
said adding that one of her ambitions is to do something like Moulin
Rouge or Chicago. It will be interesting to see what comes out of
it because this won't be Andrew Lloyd Webber, instead this musical
is being put together by Farhat Hussein, who organises Bollywood concerts
in Britain. "Farhat has very big ambitions for the musical. And
if it all goes well, it will be the biggest staged extravaganza ever
featuring someone from the Mumbai film industry. My schedules are
being worked out. But I plan to do it for three months in England,
and may be then take it to the US and Australia," said Shilpa.
The actress certainly is broadening her horizons and films don't seem
to picture anywhere. After meeting the Queen in Wembley, Shilpa also
made an appearance at the |
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| Liz
Hurley-Arun Nayar wedding in Jaipur. She claims she has film offers
from Britain and India but which ones will actually see the box office,
only time will tell. "There's the question of whether I'd want
to do such a role or not," is her side of the story. "There're
certain compromises I'd never make. So whether it's Hollywood or British
films, they have to fit into my scheme of morality. It's very easy
for me to sign lucrative deals out here. But I want to make money
on my own terms." Meanwhile, jet setting more than ever during
her Bollywood career, one does wonder which direction Shilpa will
swing next? |
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| Ashley
Judd spends time with India's masses |
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As Shilpa moves emergency
measures to salvage her crumbling career that has been resurrected
through controversy only, other more conscientious people from the
actors fraternity are set towards social work. After visiting sex
workers and slum dwellers in Mumbai to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS,
Hollywood actress Ashley Judd has launched an emergency contraceptive
(EC) programme in Jaipur, India in the presence of actor Akshay
Kumar. The award winning Hollywood star has been invited to India
by Population Services International (PSI), a global initiative
that generates funding for grassroot-level programmes. She is the
youth aids global ambassador and is a board member of the organisation.
Ashley and Akshay have been promoting the importance of birth control
in the state of Rajasthan that has one of the highest maternal mortality
rates in India.
"I know Rajasthan has geographical problems, still I hope,
with the help of government of Rajasthan, PSI would be able to promote
its emergency contraceptive programmes to cut down the maternal
mortality rates," she said. Ashey Judd will probably be remembered
by Rajasthan with more fondness than they will ever remember Liz
Hurley with. After all, it's not the money but love and sincerity
that win hearts.
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| Kate
and Leo reunite |
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| Fans
have waited ten years for Kate Winslet and Leonardo Decaprio's chemistry
to reincarnate after the lovers faced a tragic separation in Hollywood's
most lucrative film to date, Titanic. Well the wait is over because
they have finally been cast opposite each other for a second time
in Revolutionary Road, a film based on the 1961 book by Richard Yates.
It's about a couple facing the traumas of a crumbling marriage and
is as much a real life saga as Titanic was a tragic fairy tale. The
project has been brought together by BBC Films and Neal Street Productions
(owned by Kate's husband, the Oscar winning director, Sam Mendes who
will also be directing the film). It is also being backed by Steven
Spielberg's Dreamworks. David Thompson, the head of BBC Films, said:
"You dream about these things and occasionally they all come
good. It's fantastic about the casting. We've assembled a team beyond
our wildest dreams. There's an enormous excitement because Kate and
Leo haven't worked together since Titanic and they're both at the
top of their game." So for all you romantics out there, it's
just a matter of time... |
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| Mel
gets angry... again |
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| Mel
Gibson exchanged angry words with a university professor who challenged
the accuracy of his film Apocalypto at an on-campus screening. Gibson
was answering questions from the crowd at California State University,
Northridge, Thursday night when Alicia Estrada, an assistant professor
of Central American studies, accused the actor-director of misrepresenting
the Mayan culture in the movie. Gibson directed an expletive at the
woman, who was removed from the crowd. "In no way was my question
aggressive in the way that he responded to it," Estrada said.
"These are questions that my peers, my colleagues, ask me every
time I make a presentation. These are questions I pose to my students
in the classroom." Gibson's publicist, Alan Nierob, characterized
the professor as "a heckler." Lauren Robeson, editor-in-chief
of the campus newspaper, the Daily Sundial, said Gibson denounced
Estrada as a troublemaker. "It was a brief disruption to an otherwise
interesting, stimulating event from our students' perspectives,"
said university spokesman John Chandler. "The students were very
appreciative of Mr. Gibson being there. He spent a lot of time answering
questions about moviemaking." |
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Before the 3-hour program ended, Gibson "expressed regret that
things had gotten out of hand," Chandler said.
Estrada is demanding an apology, "not only to me but to the Central
American program at CSUN, to the university and most importantly to
the Mayan people and Mayan community." About 130 students attended
the screening, part of a series sponsored by the school's Cinema and
Television Arts Department. The interruption occurred about 20 minutes
into Thursday's program, when two audience members refused to relinquish
the microphone after asking their questions, Chandler said. They were
escorted out by campus security, he said, and Gibson continued answering
questions for another 40 minutes. Apocalypto was released in December,
less than six months after Gibson's drunken driving arrest and subsequent
anti-Semitic ramblings made international headlines. The R-rated epic
about the decline of Mayan civilization shows Mayan rulers slitting
throats and beheading and ripping the beating hearts from the chests
of their enemies. Human sacrifice among the Mayans has been well-documented
in recent years and is accepted as fact by most anthropologists, knocking
down a previous theory that the culture did not take part in such
bloody rituals. However, there are some scholars and Indian activists
who still believe the human sacrifice accounts are false or overblown,
and an attempt by racist scientists to paint the culture as violent.
"This isn't the Mayan culture," Juan Tiney, leader of the
National Indian and Farmer Committee, Guatemala's biggest Mayan organization,
told the AP. "Although it might be part of it, there was also
culture, economics, astronomical wealth and language. ... It discredits
a people to present them in this manner." "Gibson did his
homework and consulted with world authorities on this matter,"
Nierob said. Apocalypto has grossed more than 100 million dollars
worldwide, and it earned three Academy Award nominations. Anger management
might be the order of the day for Mel! |
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