Madhuri praises Shah Rukh, Salman for their devotion to work  

Mumbai: Actress Madhuri Dixit, who has shared the screen space with both superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, says she admires the passion both the actors have for their work.

Madhuri, who worked with Shah Rukh in hit films like 'Dil To Pagal Hai' and 'Devdas', also performed with him during a recent tour 'Temptations Reloaded' in Malaysia.

"I really had a great time working with Shah Rukh Khan. He recently got his leg injured but still he has so much strength in him. I don't know from where he gets the strength and energy. He is always on fire and goes all out to be the best for his fans. He is very passionate and dedicated about his work even today," Madhuri told PTI.

She is also amazed with the work that her other co-star Salman is doing these days.

"I loved Salman in his earlier films like 'Saajan', 'Andaz Apna Apna', 'Hum Apke Hai Koun!' I see a completely different Salman now. Earlier, he was very mischievous but today he is more relaxed and wants to do good work. I find he is a lot more committed," Madhuri said.

"When you see him doing a character of Chulbul Pandey, there is a different maturity that he brings into it. I love his dancing too. Earlier, he would just dance but now he has got his own style and a swagger, which is really wonderful," she said, adding that she wants to do a masala entertainer film with Salman, provided she is offered one.

Surprisingly, Madhuri has no friends in Bollywood. "Everybody is so busy with his or her work. I am sure other actors must be having friends. Back in the 90s when I was completely into films, I hardly went for any parties. I would feel uncomfortable and completely out of place," she said.

Besides her acting abilities, Madhuri, who is known as a great dancer, likes the dancing skills of Deepika Padukone.

"I enjoyed watching Deepika Padukone's dance in 'Nagada Sang Dhol Baje' from 'Ram-Leela'. She is very graceful. I like Katrina Kaif too. She works really hard. I also like Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma," she said.

Madhuri is quite happy the way her online dance academy is shaping up.

"It is coming along really very well. We have more than 88,000 students and we are planning to expand it. We want to introduce different dance forms. There are some minor problems as everything is on the internet, but otherwise we have got a very good response," she added.

Madhuri will be seen next in 'Gulaab Gang' alongside Juhi Chawla. The film is set to release on March 7 

Bollywood celebrities excited over IIFA 2014  

Mumbai: The film fraternity is ecstatic about the upcoming 15th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards to be held in the US, which they feel will provide a great opportunity for Hollywood and Bollywood to come together and put the Indian cinema on the global level.

"The IIFA awards is a great platform for us to showcase our work to the world. We will bring the magic of Indian cinema to America. I have not been to Tampa Bay and I am looking forward to entertain my fans there," Kareena said at the IIFA press conference at the US Consulate here.

Kareena was accompanied by her actor-husband Saif Ali Khan.

Saif said "cinema brings us together. It is a chance to give Indian and international audience opportunity to witness celebration of Indian cinema and culture".

Saif would host technical awards.

Actor Anil Kapoor said IIFA awards will create a merger between Hollywood and Bollywood.

"In my days as a teenager, I used to travel by bus and used to get fascinated seeing the US consulate in Breach Candy. I always wanted to go there and get a visa for the US. I got chance to go there while doing films and I am happy about it," Anil said.

Actors Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Bipasha Basu and music director Pritam were present today, along with the US Consul General in Mumbai Peter Haas, and others to show their support for the 15th IIFA at the consulate in Mumbai.

The IIFA will be held from April 23 to 26.

"I am excited by IIFA`s decision to hold this year`s awards ceremony in Tampa, Florida. Bollywood fans across the US will be thrilled that India`s biggest film stars are coming. We look forward to other Indian companies choosing the US as their travel destination and stand ready to assist," Haas said.

Film review: Gunday

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Film: Gunday Cast: Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan, Saurabh Shukla, Pankaj Tripathi, Manu Rishi; Director : Ali Abbas Zafar Rating: ** 

Gunday, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, begins on a visually intriguing note. 
Two kids, Bikram and Bala, struggle through the muck of the newly-formed Geneva Refugee camp in the aftermath of the 1971 Bangladesh-liberation War. The production design is outstanding here; the denatured palette coupled with the sheer ferocity of desperate partition victims makes you forget that this isn't a genuine war drama. It is understood that if these two oversmart kids are going to grow up to be famous bandits of Calcutta, they must become last-gasp refugees first. The journey sounds promising. You can even tell which one Ranveer is. Attention to detail (hairstyles). 

And then, that background music kicks in. The film slows down- literally. 
Already former gun carriers, the kids run in slowmo- inexplicably slow slowmo- with a coal train. This is to be repeated several times later on, even if they're two feet away from their destination. An authentic-looking 115 minute period film becomes a 153 minute no-holds-barred shirt-ripper of an action drama. 

This is also where they choose to become coal bandits- a decision that is supposed to fundamentally define their being. How, you ask? By being goons and Deol-ing entire gangs that dare to interrupt their ambition. 

They were honest helpers at a restaurant, but a demanding boss- so rare these days- forces them to reconsider their options. Transition to: Gangsters with a single cleavage (heart, too) of gold. So single that they fall for the same cabaret dancer, knowing that it will eventually tear them apart. Self-aware bad guys are a rarity, but you can never underestimate them in this post-Joker cinematic era. 

They're not the villains though; the cops headed by ACP Sarkar (Irrfan, on a stroll) are the real villains, because they want to stop our heroic bad boys. This can be done legally, but Sarkar thinks he's Moriarty to B&B's Sherlock. Or the other way around. The con is on. All too con-fusing. It's easy to see where most YRF productions slide off the rails. There is no precise moment. As soon as an electric guitar joins the orchestra and bronze oiled bodies begin to tangle in bazaars and coal mines, the actors spout lines like 'Rum? Ab dekh Dum!' 
This is not entirely implausible, but only if the actor already has a legion of diehard fans willing to watch anything he does. Arjun Kapoor isn't quite there yet, neither is Ranveer Singh, who seems to have stepped in from the neighboring Ram Leela set. Singh's greatest strength- his infectious energy- is fast becoming a jarring weakness. Their 'Dostana' moments don't fit in at all, as admirable as their choice of heart-stamped attire is. Going by Kapoor's scowls, giggles and snarls, the shooting schedule looked like a lot of fun, but there was arguably more chemistry when they recently appeared on a talkshow together. Unfortunately, they weren't acting then. Priyanka Chopra is equipped with a poorly written role, one that she primarily manages to pull off when she's dancing to Sohail Sen's OTT chartbusters. 

Most landmarks of Hindi cinema have invariably been buddy flicks. Though not always blessed with technical bravado, their hearts have been in the right place. Gunday fails to fulfill that basic aspect- leaving you mildly enraged with the hope of what could have been, especially given the inexhaustible resources at hand.                                                                   

Must know facts about Harman and Shilpa’s new song from Dishkiyaaoon!

The first look of Shilpa Shetty and Harman Baweja in the upcoming movie Dishkiyaaoon song Tu Mere Type Ka Nahi Hai has not just kept us hooked for the track but also the entire social media is going crazy about it.

So we decided to dig out some interesting facts about the song which will be featuring Shilpa and Harman;

1. Apparently the entire set was lit up with almost one lakh bulbs which were put up overnight, wondering how? Well.. over 200 workers were involved in the process!

2. If what we have heard is right, the cost of making the song alone is quoted to be almost at par with the budget of Dishkiyaaoon

3. The sets show as if a lot of inspiration was taken from Brooklyn, New York and London Broadway. Reportedly, art directors themselves visited Chicago and New York themselves to create and add relevant inputs and details into the sets!

Co-producer Shilpa Shetty-Kundra expressed her excitement on a microblogging site stating, “Check out the EXCLUSIVE teaser of my song Tu Mere Type Ka Nahi Hai.”

Review: Lone Survivor is Hollywood's Lakshya

Lone Survivor not only fails to engage the audience but it also seems conflicted about whether it wishes to honour the immense bravery of four individuals or whether it wishes to prove the US’s decision of interfering in Afghanistan correct, writes Paloma Sharma.

Peter Berg’s latest film Lone Survivor is based on Marcus Luttrell’s ghost written, eponymous memoirs of the same name that chronicle US Navy SEAL Team 10’s journey into the Afghan province of Kunar, where they are to carry out Operation Redwings, which was a mission designed to eliminate the notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. 

Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) is part of a four-man reconnaissance and surveillance team -- the other members of which are Lieutenant Michael P Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) and Matt Axelson (Ben Foster).

Marcus and his team are hiding in the mountains, waiting for a clear shot at Ahmad Shah (Yousuf Azami) when a group of goat herders discover them -- two boys and an old man. The Marines find a phone with the old man and suspect him, along with the boys, of being Talibani spies.

While the Rules of Engagement forbid them from killing unarmed civilians without proof of their complicity, letting them go might mean risking the success of a mission that will forever put to rest a merciless man who is responsible for the death of at least 20 US Marines.

As far as being a war film goes, Lone Survivor proves to be more war and less film.

Berg’s glorified version of war worships machismo and puts blood-soaked sacrifice up on a high pedestal. Lone Survivor looks at the US’s involvement in the Afghan civil war from a perspective so narrow that you’d think it was a propaganda film from the George W Bush camp. 

The politics of the film aside, it seems that Berg’s idea of an action sequence is limited to Taliban mujahideen falling back after taking a single shot in the head and the Marines tumbling down ravines, bullets grazing their limbs and their faces being torn open. 

Lone Survivor will surely be remembered for its bone-crunching, blood soaked scenes of war and it is here that Berg excels. He makes you feel the impact of every single bullet and piece of shrapnel that tears open a piece of human flesh and he does it so much, so often that you become immune to violence. 

You stop wincing after the first few times. 

It just doesn’t matter to you anymore. 

As Carl Denham said in King Kong (2005), 'There is still some mystery left in this world, and we can all have a piece of it for the price of an admission ticket.'

Unfortunately, even though you may pay for an admission ticket, you will find very little mystery here. 

Lone Survivor’s title pretty much gives away what the film is about and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which one will survive. (Hint: read the opening credits, one of the producers and lead actors have the same name). 

Despite some fairly amazing performances by the leads, not only does Lone Survivor fail to engage the audience but it also seems conflicted about whether it wishes to honour the immense bravery of four individuals or whether it wishes to prove the US’s decision of interfering in Afghanistan correct.

Lone Survivor is no Saving Private Ryan. It chooses to concentrate on gore rather than on bringing any depth to the story. The characters are 2D individuals. Nobody bothered to portray each soldier as an individual and instead, chose to lump them up as a group. Their stories are pretty much uniform -- loving family men, on the job, away from home, will do anything to protect their country.

That Berg decides to spend a whole of about 10-15 minutes in the beginning showing footage from the Navy training sessions and a discussion among the group about marriage and home, is quite generous of him. A majority of this 121 minute yawn-worthy saga centres around the four men hiking up mountains, hiding and blowing holes in the enemy’s heads.

It becomes quite difficult to connect with the characters or even feel the slightest touch of emotion for them.

Why Berg chose to make a film about one in a hundred more strategically important battles of a war that is not doing America any good, I will never figure out. It will take a particular fetish for war to be able to sit through Lone Survivor. You will find yourself struggling to make it to the interval.

Lone Survivor is Hollywood’s Lakshya -- except, without the spunk, the entertainment factor and Hrithik Roshan.

This is not a film.

This is a test;

And of all the people I sat in the theatre with, I think I have emerged the lone survivor. 

Review: Hasee Toh Phasee wins you over

Hasee Toh Phasee takes a familiar premise -- two people on the brink of tying the knot and introduces a third party to cause expected stir. Only it doesn’t happen like it used to, writes Sukanya Verma.

Socho mein idea hoti aur tum technology, humari patang kya mast udti na?” coos Parineeti Chopra in one of Hasee Toh Phasee’s *many* winning scenes. She could well be speculating about the outcome of a collaboration between Karan Johar’s spunk and Anurag Kashyap’s ingenuity.

These two prolific filmmakers with diametrically dissimilar body of work, along with co-producers, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl jointly spearhead what I found to be a delightful romance comedy.

Directed by Vinil Mathew and based on Harshavardhan Kulkarni’s story/screenplay,Hasee Toh Phasee takes a familiar premise -- two people on the brink of tying the knot and introduces a third party to cause expected stir. Only it doesn’t happen like it used to. Instead how everything transpires is Hasee Toh Phasee in a nutshell.

Even though there’s a brief backstory to brief us about the temperament of sensitive Nikhil (Siddharth Malhotra) and peculiar Meeta (Parineeti Chopra), Hasee Toh Phasee doesn’t move cut to cut, it progresses gradually without letting us feel how time flies by. Like it usually happens when you’re in fascinating company.

Hasee Toh Phasee is that rare film that allows you to know the two people you’re investing in. And the closer you get, the more they win you over.

Meeta is... well, a lot of things. She’s a problem child for her traditional Gujarati household that doesn’t know how to handle her restless brilliance.She’s her daddy’s girl (played with rare grace by Manoj Joshi) who smilingly overlooks her many mischiefs because he appreciates her extraordinary intellect.

She’s a scientist whose invention mirrors her own unstoppable, bouncing impulses.

She’s also an oddball, an eloper and a drifter who’s developed seriously unhealthy habits. The last bit is treated a tad too simplistically and mysteriously so as to not disrupt the rosy picture.

Playing the Yin to her Yang is Nikhil. He’s not as many things as Meeta. He’s just a simple, spirited, conscientious guy unable to fulfill people’s expectations of him but never, ever stops trying.

Whenever they’re together in a frame, the silver screen becomes cosy. Nikhil and Meeta’s conversations -- “do half main ek full se zyada milta hai”--wear a seamless and soothing air, a quality sorely missing from their individual lives.  

None of their chemistry would dazzle as brightly if Kulkarni’s nuanced script wasn’t as well written as it is. Writing is one of the greatest joys about Hasee Toh Phasee.

It documents the ambiance around its central protagonists with such delicacy and deftness; the getting to know stage feels more personal than ever. 

Also, these bright, brimming, quirky faces, mostly family members or colleagues of Nikhil and Meeta, contribute a memorable punch to every single scene while remaining at the periphery.

Mathew’s ad filmmaking aesthetics and its well-timed hilarity (the mobile-obsessed uncle inquiring “Aur baaki? Aur baaki? Android?”/”Dengue ke machar raat ko nahi kaat te sir,” points out a correcting voice on the phone/The Legend of ACP Pradyuman/The antics of an Anu Malik enthusiast) ensures its ensemble cast of characters; their mini sub-plots and moments don’t drown in the wedding mob even as the viewer cracks up at regular intervals. 

Shaadi as a backdrop is a done to death plot device but Hasee Toh Phasee resists using it in the conventional sense for manufactured flirtations. Instead it chooses to concentrate on overbearing relatives and domestic troubles like water shortage/insufficient toilets in a house crammed with guests.

And that’s why the Punjabi Wedding Song (scored by Vishal-Shekhar) in the later second half strikes as a terrible, terrible miscalculation. After ignoring its soundtrack like plague for three fourth of its running time, the final quarter goes wild squeezing in the remaining album with disappointing desperation.

While on the negatives, one wonders about the raw deal Karishma (Adah Sharma) gets. Given she’s the girl Nikhil is about to marry and Meeta’s very own sister, why is she kept out from all the action? One never really hears her point of view. To Adah’s credit, she doesn’t emerge like the nagging stuck-up Hasee Toh Phasee would like her to be.

Her suitor in the movie -- Siddharth Malhotra may have let her down but he’s immensely likeable as the nervous, sweet, sweaty and disarming Nikhil. His endearing smile and awkwardness works perfectly for a role that relies on him to stay warm, generous and compliment his unusual heroine. 

Speaking of her, not even the finest actress in this country today may be able carry off this role without appearing affected or jarring.

Meeta is a hyper, complex creature but all her turbulence happens in her mind. She may flicker her eyelashes faster than those twinkling LED Diwali lights, make a creepy face or two, attach a Magsafe onto a bus stop’s power source to generate charge in a car battery and spew scientific metaphors in the vein of Sheldon Cooper but she’s comfortably nonchalant. 

And Parineeti sinks her teeth into this misunderstood kook without a trace of self-consciousness or exaggeration.

It’s love at first sight the moment she appears on screen, caught between a complex wire fence, in short hair and glasses, as though she was returning from some dress-up-like-Harry Potter cult. 

If that’s not magical enough, what Hasee Toh Phasee celebrates certainly is. That the only high you need is life, love and smiles. 

The Untold Truth: Is Sunny just an 'Erotic Showpiece'?

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Well it's been almost two years since Sunny has debuted in the Bollywood. And ever-since then this gorgeous stunner is trying very hard to establish herself as a mainstream actress. But all her efforts seem to be going in vein straightaway. And that's because, be it `Jism 2", "Jackpot" or her ad stints, every time we have seen, Sunny being casted as more of a prurient doll by the makers.


When Sunny was presented by Bhatts in "Jism 2", at that time it looked quite conspicuous by the character description of, Sunny that makers are more concerned about cashing upon her porn star image.


Post that Sunny appeared in "Jackpot", but even there she looked more of like a sensual showpiece implanted to add to the erotic coefficient of the movie. And now it's horror erotica, `Ragini MMS 2" making its way to the big screen.


But if we go by the first trailer of "Ragini MMS 2" which is touted to be the first horror-erotica of Indian cinema, it looks like nothing has changed for Sunny.

After seeing the trailer of this Balaji cine venture, it becomes quite ostensible, that by decorating "Ragini MMS 2" with a heavy dose of lewd content despite tagging it as horror flick, movie's producer, Ekta Kapoor has thoroughly tried to cash upon the globally talked about sex appeal of Sunny.


So after witnessing so many instances of Sunny's being projected as a sexy seductress in various cine flicks, one thing seems to be for sure that our Bollywooders are least concerned about her acting prowess and are somewhere down the line madly hooked to the habit of cashing upon porn star image of, Sunny.

Now after seeing this huge fixation of Bollywooders to the prurient image of, Sunny, and her another action thriller "Tina and Lolo" in the offing, let's just keep our fingers crossed in the hope that in the days ahead, let this fascination of our cine literati for Sunny's porn star persona ends, and fans get a chance to see this voluptuous beauty in more meaningful roles than just being a carnal delight.

By Ankur Karan Singh, Santa Banta News Network

Kangana Ranaut 'Queen' to the core..

Kangana Ranaut has amazed the audience with her de-glam look, donning simple salwar-suits to portray the role of 'Rani', in Viacom 18 Motion Pictures' upcoming film, 'Queen'. The actor helped the makers in shaping up the character of 'Rani'. Her look in the film is similar to her real-life look, when she used to live in Manali.

Director Vikas Bahl said, `I wanted to make a film on a simple character. I think simple characters have bigger journeys.` Rani's journey takes her to Paris on her honeymoon, all alone. On this solo trip, as she meets new people, she rediscovers life. Designers Manoshi & Rushi were responsible for the styling of the characters in the film.


Being from a small-town herself, Kangana could easily relate to her character. Designer Rushi says, `Kangana comes from a small town. So, when we gave her the salwar-kameez and churidars. She said 'Oh! I use to wear this when I was in 11th and 12th standard!` Talking about Kangana's look, Designer Manoshi said `Clothes are specially designed and styled to make her look like 'Rani'. This is where Kangana really helped us out, and she looks beautiful in everything that you make her wear.`

Kangana's involvement played a vital role in evolving the character of 'Rani'. As Rushi rightly points out `Kangana is 'Queen'. She is Rani to the core.`


Presented by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Queen is a Phantom Production. The Kangana Ranaut starrer is directed by Vikas Bahl, and produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap. Queen is scheduled for release on March 7, 2014.By Santa Banta News Network

Sona to work with Remo D'Souza..

Actress Sonakshi Sinha is teaming up with choreographer Remo D'Souza for the first time in Amit Sharma's 'Tevar'. 

The 26-year-old actress, who shook her leg with Prabhudeva in her previous films, said the new song is "killer and crazy". "On my way to rehearse for a song in Tevar. Killer crazy song!! My first time working with Remo... Looking forward!," tweeted Sonakshi.


Remake of 2003 Telugu film 'Okkadu', the film also stars Arjun Kapoor in the lead. The film is producing by Arjun's father Boney Kapoor.By Santa Banta News Network

Just In: Sunny Leone's sensuous 'Ragini MMS 2' trailer out, watch it..

Although ever since her debut in Bollywood, porn-star turned mainstream actress, Sunny Leone has not yet attained much in her cine jaunt in tinsel town. But in-spite of that, her charm seems to be everlasting among tinsel town natives as well as millions of her fans, who simply love to watch this gorgeous stunner sizzle on the silver screen.


Touted to be first horror-erotica of Indian cine history is "Ragini MMS 2" is primarily the sequel of horror thriller "Ragini MMS" which released in 2011. But if we go by the trailer of the movie then it seems to be more of a prurient delight, where the entire focus of the makers is uni-directed towards cashing upon the sex appeal of Sunny.
Produced by Balaji Motion Pictures, 'Ragini MMS 2' is scheduled to release on on March 21.

Work comes first for Akki?

Despite his wife's medical emergency, actor Akshay Kumar chose to stick to his professional commitments

Akshay Kumar's wife, Twinkle Khanna, has been admitted in Breach Candy Hospital. The former actress and mother of two has been apparently diagnosed with kidney stone.

A source says that Twinkle, who was in pain all of Sunday morning, had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment. This development then threatened to jeopardise Akki's appearance at a derby event at Mahalaxmi Race Course. First, there was word that Akshay, who was scheduled to attend a fashion show at the derby on Sunday, had cancelled his appearance as he wished to be with Twinkle at the hospital.


But later it emerged that the actor had decided to honour his commitment to the brand he is an ambassador for (the brand is the title sponsor of the event).

Meanwhile, hospital sources say that it was Akshay who accompanied Twinkle to the hospital earlier on Sunday. Preliminary tests allegedly revealed that she had kidney stone and she has now been advised to go for surgery.
By arrangement with Mid-Day.com

Now Kareena turns Paro?

Avant-garde director Sudhir Mishra is about to start his dream project. For years he has nurtured the dream of doing his own take on Saratchandra Chatterjee's classic Bengali novel Devdas, the agless tale of love loyalty and betrayal and self-destruction that has been treated in various eras by directors ad diverse as Bimal Roy,Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Anurag Kashyap.

Sudhir's take on Devdas has been ready for 8 years. He has now re-written the script and the film which goes on the floors shortly would be titled Har Khwahish Pe Dum Nikle.

Interestingly Sudhir intends to cast Kareena Kapoor in his film.Kareena and Sudhir Mishra had generated a sterling synthesis in Chameli. They were all set to come together again two years ago in Dhruv, the project to be produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhavani with Farhan and Kareena in the lead.

But the film got shelved.


When contacted Sudhir said, `Yes ,I am making Har Khwahish Pe Dum Nikle next. I was actually finalizing another script as my next film. But I got stuck in it mid-way.So I looked at this other script which I had been nurturing for years. The time for doing my Devdas is now.As for the cast, it's too early to talk about whom I am will cast.`

Sudhir says his take on Devdas would be distinctly Shakespearean.

`In fact it would be more Shakespeare than Saratchandra,` admits Sudhir.

Har Khwahish Pe Dum Nikle has an interesting history. Sudhir Mishra initially planned to direct it for producer Pritish Nandy with Shiney Ahuja, Chitrangda and Lara Dutta vast as Devdas,Chandramukhi and Paro. The project later moved to Farhan under the title Dhruv with Farhan and Kareena in the lead.

Now Sudhir says he is all set to finally make the film .

`I have to get it out of my system. It's been swimming in my subconscious for too long,` says Sudhir.

Incidentally Kareena was at one point, to be cast as Paro in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas.byy santa banta news network..