Ranbir, Vidya named best actors at Apsara Awards
Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor and Vidya Balan picked the best actors’ trophies at the star-studded seventh edition of Chevrolet Apsara Awards here Wednesday night for their performance in ” Rockstar” and “The Dirty Picture” respectively.
The best film award went to ” Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”, and Zoya Akhtar won the best director for the movie. Her actor-filmmaker brother Farhan took home the best supporting actor award for the movie too.
The best supporting actress award went to Priyanka Chopra’s cousin Parineeti, for her portrayal of a bubbly, rich, spoilt Delhi girl in “Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl”. The act also bagged the best debutant (female) award for her.
The best debutant (male) honour went to southern actor Rana Daggubati for his first Bollywood project “Dum Maro Dum”.
The best choreography trophy was picked by Bosco-Caesar for the peppy title track of “Desi Boyz”.
Irshad Kamil picked the best lyrics award for “Naadaan parindey” from the film “Rockstar”, while the best music award went to Oscar winning composer A.R.Rahman for the same film.
Mohit Chauhan, who became the voice of Ranbir’s character in “Rockstar” walked away with the best singer (male) award for the cult song “Sadda haq”. Among the females, Shreya Ghoshal took the honour for her rendition of romantic number “Teri meri” from the movie “Bodyguard”.
A special award was bestowed upon megastar Amitabh Bachchan for the last season of “Kaun Banega Crorepati”, which proved to be a worthy platform for the common man.
The Apsara Awards, organised by the Film and Television Producers Guild of India in association with Wizcraft International Entertainment and channel Colors, was hosted by witty filmmakers Farah Khan and Karan Johar. It had a line-up of entertaining acts.
A highlight was the kickstarting of the celebrations of 100 years of Indian cinema . As… Continue reading
Bollywood blesses Riteish and Genelia
Mumbai: Bollywood actors Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza, who are all set to tie the knot next month, have been showered with blessings by their industry friends.
Riteish and Genelia have been dating for eight years, and are all set to enter the wedlock on February 3.
A pre-wedding bash for Riteish and Genelia was organized by filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala and actor Fardeen Khan in suburban Bandra last night.
“They are the sweetest couple and I wish them a long and successful married life. I am very happy for them. They deserve all the happiness,” actor Tusshar Kapoor told reporters here last night.
Tusshar and Riteish have worked together in Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Kya Kool hai Hum’, which was a hit. The duo will be seen creating the same magic in the sequel of the same movie.
“I wish for all happiness and success to them,” actor Boman Irani said.
“They have been together for quite a long time and it is such a great thing. It is such a wonderful thing that they are getting married. I wish them all happiness and good luck,” actor Zayed Khan said.
“They are a perfect couple. I have known Genelia for quite some time. She has unbelievable energy and enthusiasm.. it would be difficult for Riteish to match up to her,” actor Suniel Shetty said.
Others guests at the party included Arbaaz Khan, Deepika Padukone, Ameesha Patel, Arjun Rampal, Farah Khan, Manoj Bajpai, Raveena Tandon, Shrish Kunder, Sajid Khan, Jia Khan, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Sohail Khan among others.
Bollywood Journal: Harinam Singh’s Hair-Raising Horrors
The fates have conspired. First I read a great article in Open about “The Cult of C-grade Movies” and the appeal of their shoestring sincerity, and then I discovered a podcast by two world cinema fans about the worst films they’d ever seen. It was time to dive into the darkest, strangest corner of Hindi cinema that I’ve ever laid eyes on: the low-budget fright films of director (and often producer, writer and/or star) Harinam Singh.
- If you’ve never heard of Mr. Singh or his work, you’re not alone. Even a complete list of the films he’s been involved in is hard to pin down. Using a handful of sources, I’ve come up with the following, spanning from 1992 to 2006: “Gumnaam Qatil,” “Jeb Katari,” “Khooni Dracula,” “Ramgarh Ka Daku,” “Shaitani Aatma,” “Shaitani Badla,” “Shaitani Darinda” and “Shaitani Dracula.”
Are you sensing a theme? After watching five of these films, I’m tempted to think that his love of the devilish and fiendish might be the only thing viewers really need to know about Mr. Singh. He has a clear concept of evil that repeats across many of his films: young women in skimpy clothes are raped and killed by men in rubber monster masks who pant and grunt, and a group of friends tries to catch the monster. In between essentially identical scenes of crimes and investigations are plenty of muttering police officers, monsters walking back and forth in the dark, and sound effects made by crew imitating very ill cats. In “Ramgarh Ka Daku,” Mr. Singh replaces the literal monsters with a take on “Sholay” villain Gabbar Singh, who terrorizes the village with his Amjad Khan impression.
It’s easy to assume that financial constraints prompt Mr. Singh to re-use components of his films, and their basic look changes little:… Continue reading
Will Ajay surpass Saif?
First theatrical promo of Tezz is out while Agent Vinod too has released a smart poster that gives more than just a hint of what the film could well be. Even though the much hyped clash between these films has been averted, with Tezz moving ahead to allow Agent Vinod a solo release, comparisons are bound to be made.
Says a source, “Both films have been much more than just ‘inspired’ from their Hollywood counterparts. So while it is a known fact that Agent Vinod is based on the James Bond flicks, even Ajay’s character inTezz is based on Jason Bourne of the Bourne trilogy.
Moreover those who have worked in Tezz vouch for the fact that it’s action has been conceptualised, designed and executed in a manner similar to that of James Bond franchise.
Says a senior actor attached to the film, “We aren’t allowed to say much as of now but Tezz is turning out brilliantly. Yes, it has taken some time to reach the finishing line but every additional week spent on the making or post production of the film has been worth it. The film indeed boasts of some heavy duty action and I am amazed with the way (producer) Ratan Jain has gone out of his way to get the best guys in the business for the film. In fact the man behind the action here is the same guy who has handled Bournemovies.”
Though the likes of Dabangg and Singham have stuck to the ‘desi’ roots, Agent Vinod as well as Tezz is expected to bring a new dimension to action.
“You don’t know how crazy and excited Priyadarshan has been for Tezz. He seldom dedicates one full year for a film but he has done that in case of Tezz… Continue reading
Modern cinema
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, romance movies and action films starred actors like Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar and Shashi Kapoor and actresses like Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz and Asha Parekh. In the mid-1970s, romantic confections made way for gritty, violent films about gangsters (see Indian mafia) and bandits. Amitabh Bachchan, the star known for his “angry young man” roles, rode the crest of this trend with actors like Mithun Chakraborty and Anil Kapoor, which lasted into the early 1990s. Actresses from this era included Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha.[21]
Some Hindi filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal continued to produce realistic Parallel Cinema throughout the 1970s,[30] alongside Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani and Vijaya Mehta.[17] However, the ‘art film’ bent of the Film Finance Corporation came under criticism during a Committee on Public Undertakings investigation in 1976, which accused the body of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema. The 1970s thus saw the rise of commercial cinema in the form of enduring films such as Sholay (1975), which solidified Amitabh Bachchan’s position as a lead actor. The devotional classic Jai Santoshi Ma was also released in 1975.[31] Another important film from 1975 was Deewar, directed by Yash Chopra and written by Salim-Javed. A crime film pitting “a policeman against his brother, a gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan“, portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan, it was described as being “absolutely key to Indian cinema” by Danny Boyle.[32] The most internationally acclaimed Hindi film of the 1980s was Mira Nair‘s Salaam Bombay! (1988), which won the Camera d’Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the pendulum swung back toward family-centric… Continue reading
Cast and crew
- for further details see Indian movie actors, Indian movie actresses, Indian film directors, Indian film music directors and Indian playback singers
Bollywood employs people from all parts of India. It attracts thousands of aspiring actors and actresses, all hoping for a break in the industry. Models and beauty contestants, television actors, theatre actors and even common people come to Mumbai with the hope and dream of becoming a star. Just as in Hollywood, very few succeed. Since many Bollywood films are shot abroad, many foreign extras are employed too.
Stardom in the entertainment industry is very fickle, and Bollywood is no exception. The popularity of the stars can rise and fall rapidly. Directors compete to hire the most popular stars of the day, who are believed to guarantee the success of a movie (though this belief is not always supported by box-office results). Hence many stars make the most of their fame, once they become popular, by making several movies simultaneously.
Only a very few non-Indian actors are able to make a mark in Bollywood, though many have tried from time to time. There have been some exceptions, one recent example is the hit film Rang De Basanti, where the lead actress is Alice Patten, an Englishwoman. Kisna, Lagaan, and The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey also featured foreign actors. There is also Emma Brown Garett, an Australian born actress, who is starring in a few Indian films.
Bollywood can be very clannish, and the relatives of film-industry insiders have an edge in getting coveted roles in films or being part of a film’s crew. Industry connections are no guarantee of a long career: competition is fierce and if film industry scions do not succeed at the box office, their careers will falter. Some… Continue reading
List of Hindi film clans
The Akhtar-Azmi family
Lyricist Javed Akhtar married script writer Honey Irani. His second wife is actress Shabana Azmi. Azmi’s nieces are actresses Farah Naaz and Tabu. Their cousins are Farah and Sajid Khan.
- Jan Nisar Akhtar(Father of Javed Akhtar)
- Javed Akhtar
- Honey Irani(first wife of Javed Akhtar)
- Farhan Akhtar(Son of Javed and Honey)
- Zoya Akhtar (daughter of Javed and Honey)
- Kaifi Azmi(father of Shabana and Baba Azmi)
- Shaukat Azmi(wife of Kaifi Azmi)
- Baba Azmi(brother of Shabana Azmi)
- Shabana Azmi (second wife of Javed Akhtar)
- Tanvi Azmi(wife of Baba Azmi)
- Usha Kiran(mother of Tanvi Azmi)
- Daisy Irani(sister of Honey Irani)
- Tabu(niece of Shabana Azmi)
- Farah(sister of Tabu)
- Farah Khan(niece of Honey Irani & Daisy Irani)
- Sajid Khan (nephew of Honey Irani & Daisy Irani)
The Anand family
The most prominent member of the family is actor Dev Anand, who has starred in over a hundred films. Another member of the family is internationally known director Shekhar Kapur, he is known for directing the film Elizabeth. He was married to actress Suchitra Krishnamurthy.
- Dev Anand
- Kalpana Kartik(Wife of Dev Anand)
- Suneil Anand (Son of Dev Anand)
- Kalpana Kartik(Wife of Dev Anand)
- Chetan Anand(Elder Brother of Dev Anand)
- Vijay Anand(Younger Brother of Dev Anand)
- Shekhar Kapur(Nephew of Dev Anand, son of Sheel Kanta Kapur- sister)
- Suchitra Krishnamurthy (ex-Wife of Shekar)
- Purab Kohli (Nephew of Shekhar Kapur)
The Babbar family
Raj Babbar is an Indian actor and has been married twice. His first wife is Nadira Babbar, who became known with her appearance in Bride and Prejudice (2004) with Aishwarya Rai. Their children are Arya Babbar and Juhi Babbar. Both have ventured into the film industry. Raj’s second wife was actress Smita Patil, she died giving birth to their child in 1986. Her son Prateek made his acting debut in 2008 film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
- Raj… Continue reading