Turban saves Amitabh's Life !

Bollywood's iconic actor Amitabh Bachchan is thanking an elaborate Indian headgear for saving his life after he was kicked on the head by a camel while shooting for a film, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

The 64-year-old actor, playing a royal guard in Eklavya, a period film about palace intrigue, was shooting a scene in which he had to pass through a herd of 400 camels.

The Mumbai Mirror newspaper said one of the camels suddenly landed a kick on Bachchan's head, leaving him dizzy for a few minutes.

"Mr Bachchan kept saying, 'The turban saved my life'," director Vidhu Vinod Chopra was quoted as saying by the daily.

"I would have never believed it happened, but then we spotted the camel in action on the monitor."

The headgear that Bachchan wore for the film is a traditional colourful turban worn by villagers in the western desert state of Rajasthan.Running into several metres, it takes a professional up to an hour to tie a Rajasthani turban, the newspaper said.

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' in Bollywood !

Singer Michael Jackson's hit music video "Thriller" will make its way to Bollywood with an adapted version called "Golimaar".

The original 14-minute video released in 1984 has been replicated with the Hindi version featuring an Indian actor dressed in a red leather-vinyl ensemble similar to Jackson's trademark outfit

Jackson's zombie love story will be interpreted with the help of the song and dance culture, a characteristic of the Indian film industry.

The name of the actor who will play Jackson`s role is being kept a closely guarded secret,though the name of dancer Prabhudeva is being circulated by the rumour mills.

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Actress Kangana’s sister hurt in acid attack !

Two girls, including the sister of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, were injured when an unidentified man threw acid on them here today, a police official said.

Rangoli, the sister of Ranaut, and Vijaya Chublani were taken to a hospital after the attack, the SSP said.

While Rangoli received serious burns on her face and body, Vijaya received minor burns.

The attacker knocked on the door of the rented house of Rangoli, saying that he had brought a draft for her. Vijaya, who shares the room with Rangoli, called her and the man immediately threw acid on her face and ran away.

On hearing the cries of the girls, neighbours brought the duo to the Government Hospital from where they were referred to a private medical college.

“We cannot rule out any love angle in the matter at this juncture,” the SSP added. Tribune

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Bollywood beats UK at Box-Office !

Bollywood makes more money in UK than home-grown British productions.

Bollywood films are grossing more money in Britain than UK-made productions and many movies are being shot in this country as also in US to make them more relevant to South Asians living there, a report said today.

According to 'The Times' daily, 69 Bollywood films have been released in the UK and 14 productions financed by Indian film industry are being shot here. In the five weeks since its UK release, 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' has grossed more than 2 million pounds - the same as 'Vera Drake,' the British film showered with Bafta awards and Oscar nominations, since it appeared 14 months ago. Indian producers now regard overseas sales as more lucrative than their home market, the report said.

The three largest multiplex chains - Odeon, Vue Cinemas and Cineworld -routinely screen Hindi films that appear in the UK's top 15 films lists. In contrast, hardly any Bollywood films were released in Britain ten years ago. Lucy Jones of Nielsen EDI, which measures box office performance in 14 countries, told the daily: "It's a recent development. Bollywood is not just a specialist cinema any more."

Until recently, India was regarded as the prime market, with overseas takings as the icing on the cake. Now that position has been reversed. Productions are increasingly being filmed in Britain and America to make them more relevant to South Asians who live there.

Pranab Kapadia, UK head of Adlabs Films, said: "More and more Indian producers are looking at the potential of this market. They are gearing the productions to suit the South Asian international palette - films which people living here can relate to." Hindu

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Cool Swiss are hot for Bollywood !

Switzerland has long been a preferred overseas destination for Bollywood, primarily because of its picturesque locale.

But now with other fast-emerging destinations like New Zealand, Austria or even Croatia, serious efforts are being made by that country to venture into a niché area, that of Bollywood merchandising.

"And why not, particularly when the film industry here has emerged as one of India's biggest exports and producers trying to go global in all aspects of film-making," said Marc Rudolf, director (high technology) of Greater Zurich Area (GZA), who is on a visit to Pune.

On Switzerland's growing interest to invest in Bollywood, Rudolf said, "We would definitely like to cash in on this and be part of the Indian film industry for merchandising rights overseas. With American movies in Europe somewhat losing sheen, Bollywood is going to be the next big trend."

As a beginning to connect people to Bollywood, radio and TV stations in Zurich and other cities in Switzerland have started playing Indian films and songs.

What's more, the Swiss national channel during July-August this year showed Hindi films, including some of the popular Shah Rukh Khan starrers on four consecutive Friday evenings.

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TOI

Suniel Shetty escapes unhurt in car crash.

Top Bollywood action hero Suniel Shetty had a miraculous escape when his car skidded and slammed into a roadside railing on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, leaving him with just a minor neck injury.

Suneil was being driven to a religious ceremony on the outskirts of Mumbai on Sunday when his luxury sedan skidded after driving over oil.

"It was scary as it was all normal one moment and the next we were taking a turn and suddenly we are careening about madly," Shetty was quoted as saying by the Mumbai Mirror. "God only knows how I was saved."

The car was badly smashed but, like Shetty, the driver escaped with minor injuries.

'Krrish' challenges Superman !

'Krrish' is the sequel to superhit 'Koi Mil Gaya'

Washington, Bollywood's first superhero "Krrish" has made it to two major American publications in one great leap across the seas to pose a challenge to America's own favourite Superman.

"Superman may have returned, but if he doesn't perform up to snuff his jobcould soon be outsourced to India," said Newsweek, but the Los Angeles Times was more direct: "Move over Superman, make room for Krrish.

"The film that became a cultural phenomenon in India long before its worldwide June 23 release, has done well in Indian communities in the United States too, the Times noted.

In its first three days in North America, "Krrish" brought in $643,000 in 59 locations or just less than $11,000 per theatre.

Worldwide, the box office haul was reported to be a record $15 million in its first week, almost double the $8 million raked in by the previous Indian record holder "Fanaa".

"Krrish" has turned out to have crossover appeal and has drawn a culturally diverse crowd, the daily said citing Dylan Marchetti, head of operations for the ImaginAsian theater in New York, part of the ImaginAsian Entertainment Inc., which brings pan-Asian programming to the United States. "It's played to crowds that were 50 percent non-Asian," he said.

Indian epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharat are brimming with outsize figures, but up to now Indians have seen very few homegrown celluloid superheroes, said Newsweek in its piece on the movie that drew the biggest advance opening in the history of Hindi cinema.

Its $10 million budget is one of the biggest ever for a Hindi film, but still paltry compared with the $200 million reportedly spent on "Superman Returns", it noted and asked: "Is this the beginning of a new genre for Hindi Films?"

"It lays the foundation of the superhero concept in Bollywood," Newsweek quoted the film's star and director Rakesh Roshan's son Hrithik Roshan as saying.

As Asian consumers flex their financial muscles, they will demand Hollywood-type products that are more in line with their own cultural identities, the news magazine cited renowned director Shekhar Kapur as arguing. With its lavish special effects and dramatic stunts, "Krrish" could easily bridge that gap, it suggests.

Roshan himself acknowledges that he made his film primarily for an Indian audience, but said he kept in mind the bigger international one. "You never know; it could catch on, like it happened for 'Crouching Tiger'," he says. Already the director is ready for a sequel with an "even bigger budget" - if the register tills continue to ring.



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Neha Dhupia`s wardrobe malfunction !

From the recent Lakme India Fashion Week to the Nigar Khan ramp walk in Norway, wardrobe malfunctions have been an integral part of the glamour world. Whether accidental or intentional is debatable! The recent in the series comes from a small-time flick titled Utthaan.

Not many might be aware of this movie produced by popular singer Kumar Sanu that stars the lead pair of Neha Dhupia and Priyanshu Chatterjee who were last seen together in Julie. If you look closely to the poster (circled in red), you might see a bit more of Neha than you asked for.

Whether an overlook in filming or a morphing of image, the wardrobe malfunction seems distinctly visible!

When we recently spoke to Neha, she said she had disassociated herself from the film and its publicity. Though she didn’t cite any reasons for this, we wonder if this malfunction had something to do with it. Or could there be more to it?

In 2004, the producers of Julie had signed a pact with Dhupia which stated that Neha who played the role of a prostitute in the film had no objection in shooting for the bold scenes and won’t back off from the film at the last moment.

(According to the director Deepak Shivdasani, of the three bold scenes, the first scene is where Neha is shown in a bra, the second has Neha going topless and the third one is a long smooch between Neha and Sanjay Kapoor. What is not told yet is that the uncut full version has Neha completely nude.)

Only if the makers of Utthaan would have thought of something likewise, it could have benefited both the parties.

Ironically one of the taglines of the film says, “Ambition, compromise, games… he will do anything to reach the destination.” Does this apply to the filmmakers? Another tagline of the film reads “Upliftment of a common man”. With no pun intended towards the poster in question, the poster does UPLIFT some questions…

- Is it a wardrobe malfunction or a publicity stunt or imaging effects by the publicity designers to make the film hot in trade circuits?

- Has it got anything to do with Neha’s dissociation from the film? Or rather should we ask

- Is Neha Dhupia, in the first place, aware of this stint, what with the movie poster being openly circulated as publicity stills?


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Bipasha "just couldn`t stop laughing" !

Bipasha Basu, one of Bollywood's best-known sex symbols, enjoys acting in comedies so much that her own laughter sometimes interrupts filming, she says.

Basu has just completed shooting her third comedy in two years.

"Now film-makers are beginning to trust me with comedy," she said, adding that her "inhibitions about doing comedy have dissolved"."The fact that I have a sense of humour helps me to do funny scenes on screen".

Bipasha with Anil Kapoor in biggest hit of 2005 'No Entry'

She said she had had a great time shooting her most recent comedy, with Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan, in London. "There were times when the energy level between Sanju , Ajay and me was so high that we'd often be rolling with laughter," said Basu

"The lines were so funny that I just couldn't stop laughing while shooting."

She didn't say what role she plays in the movie, or what it is about. It has no formal title yet

Bipasha with Akshay and Rimi in 'Phir Hera Pheri'

Basu said co-star Devgan finally warned her that they wouldn't complete filming unless they got a bit serious. "Ajay on his part kept admonishing me, saying: 'If you go on like this, we'll never be able to pack up today.' But I just couldn't control my laughter.

Bipasha is also staring in Omkara, a Bollywood version of Shakespeare's Othello, along with Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor. The film will be released in July.

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