Remo's outburst came during a press conference held at a city hotel to announce the launch of a new Konkani film "O Maria", for which the popular musician has composed music and sung a few tracks. ]]> Panaji, Aug 10 (IANS) Noted musician and singer Remo Fernandes did a Vidhu Vinod Chopra at a press conference in Panaji Tuesday, when the Padma Shri awardee flew off the handle and rudely told reporters that he “did not care” about which of his songs they liked or they did not.

Remo’s outburst came during a press conference held at a city hotel to announce the launch of a new Konkani film “O Maria”, for which the popular musician has composed music and sung a few tracks.

After playing three tracks at the press conference, Remo, who had earlier been questioned by reporters for his alleged turnaround on his statements vis-a-vis several social issues, was riled when the producer of the film Rajendra Talak asked the media to comment on Remo’s songs.

Snatching the mike from the producer’s hands, Remo said: “I don’t want you to answer that question. It is nobody’s business but mine. I don’t care which songs you like or you don’t like.”

Earlier, when Remo was questioned by the media about his sudden change of heart towards the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) — the musician had vehemently opposed IFFI when it was first shifted to Goa permanently in 2004 but later changed his stand — he said he opposed the IFFI as he felt that a film festival should not be a priority for any government, when sectors like health and education were in an utter state of neglect.

“Patients are being given bloodstained bedsheets in hospitals. First, we should take care of our children’s health, education and then give them movie tickets,” Remo said.

When reporters probed him further asking him categorically to explain his change of heart towards IFFI, Remo blamed the media for being spineless and ignoring social ills.

“Why should only I speak up? Other individuals should do it too. The media should also take up these issues,” Remo said.

Remo’s outburst against the media, was similar to that of “3 Idiots” producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who during one of the film’s promotion events in January, asked a reporter to “shut up” after the latter asked if “3 Idiots” was lifted from author Chetan Bhagat’s book “Five Point Someone”.

While Remo is best known throughout India for several foot-tapping Bollywood numbers, he is a cult figure in Goa. He first rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s by lending his music and songs to several popular movements which dealt with social issues like making Konkani Goa’s official language.

]]> By Arun Kumar

Washington, Aug 2 (IANS) To celebrate the Indian Independence Day, BIG Cinemas is screening free several popular Bollywood movies at a ‘Spirit of my Tiranga’ festival across 11 theatres in USA from Aug 7-15.

A division of Reliance MediaWorks and member of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, BIG Cinemas’ independence lineup of memorable movies includes “Rang De Basanti”, “Lage Raho Munnabhai”, “3 Idiots”, “Chak De India”, “Namaste London”, “Rock On”, “Sivaji”, “Dasavatharam”, and “Indian”.

To get free tickets for these hit films during the ‘Spirit of My Tiranga’ festival, guests need to make reservations online on the BIG Cinemas website.

With every reservation made, BIG Cinemas guests enter automatically into ‘Win Free weekend tickets for 1 year’ Sweepstakes.

To further enhance the audience experience during the ‘Spirit of My Tiranga’ festival, BIG Cinemas would also be playing the national anthem in auditoriums before the movie screenings and the lobby would be full of saffron, white and green decorations and showing patriotic Indian songs and videos.

In addition, BIG Cinemas has organized live flute and sitar recitals in the evenings as well.

“The Indian Diaspora in USA has strong linkages with their origins and they like to celebrate occasions which bind them to their community,” Reliance MediaWorks CEO, Anil Arjun said.

“BIG Cinemas’ ‘Spirit of My Tiranga’ festival is our attempt to organise a memorable event where the Indian community can come together to not just enjoy some of their all time favourite movies but also feel a part of the Indian Independence Day festivities,” he said.

BIG Cinemas US has 190 screens across 20 cities and has successfully created a pan US footprint and the circuit accounts for 20-35 percent of Hindi features box office collections and over 70 percent of Tamil and Telegu box office collections from the US.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)

The movie, which was recently shown at I View New York Film Festival, will be screened along with Aamir Khan's "Peepli Live" and Vishal Bharadwaj's "Ishqiya" at Riverside Studios. ]]> New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) Sanjay Sharma’s “Dunno Y….Na Jane Kyun”, a film about homosexuality, has been chosen for screening at the Indian Film Festival of London (IFFL) in August.

The movie, which was recently shown at I View New York Film Festival, will be screened along with Aamir Khan’s “Peepli Live” and Vishal Bharadwaj’s “Ishqiya” at Riverside Studios.

The film marks the comeback of veteran actresses Zeenat Aman and Helen. The cast also includes Kapil Sharma, Yuvraaj Parashar, Maradona Rebello, Rituparna Sengupta.

A retrospective honouring the work of filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra will also be organised at the event. His movies “Parinda”, “1942: A Love Story”, “Eklavya: The Royal Guard” and “3 Idiots” are lined up for screening there.

"I am very choosy when it comes to projects and offers I get. I just want to do good roles which have some message to them. Good stories with good message draw me to them," Omi said in an email interview. ]]> New Delhi, July 21 (IANS) He is a busy guy – taking diction classes everyday to improve his Hindi, gearing up to host a reality show and, of course, going through movie offers. Indian-American Omi Vaidya, Chatur Ramalingam from “3 Idiots”, is in no hurry to do films and says he will select his offers carefully.

“I am very choosy when it comes to projects and offers I get. I just want to do good roles which have some message to them. Good stories with good message draw me to them,” Omi said in an email interview.

He has only two films in his kitty – Madhur Bhandarkar’s romantic comedy “Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji” and an Abbas-Mustan film.

Omi, who was brought up in in Joshua Tree in Yucca Valley, California, started acting when he was six. After finishing his studies and doing a course from New York University, he featured in American shows like “Arrested Development”, “E-mail Surveillance” and “Fun Run”.

But his big break came with Bollywood director Rajkumar Hirani’s super hit movie “3 Idiots”. After the success of the movie, Omi’s career seems to be touching new heights.

Omi says he is happy both the Hindi film industry and the audiences have recognised his talent.

“It feels nice when people recognise your talent. It’s a great thing because you work so hard in life. I’m sure all of you work so hard in life but when someone says, ‘I read your column and I really liked it.’ It brings a lot of joy to you. So in that way, it is extremely gratifying.

“And now the expectations are riding high on me. This means double the hard work and responsibility as the expectations have doubled from the viewers.”

Omi is excited about hosting Star Plus’ singing reality show “Chhote Ustad”, going on air Saturday. He says the show will give him a chance to reveal his real self.

“You will see more of the real Omi. I will bring my chaste Hindi along with me. I will be impromptu on stage. I am going to have fun with the judges. That’s my promise,” added Omi, who is taking diction classes for two hours everyday to improve his Hindi accent.

Bollywood playback singer Sonu Niigaam and Pakistani Sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will judge the show.

“I enjoy hosting a lot because you have immediate gratification when you have an audience laughing at your jokes and feeling a connection with you. You don’t have to wait for their response. So there’s a lot of fun with that. There is a lot of electricity in the air, a lot of anxiety coupled with fun and it brings out a lot of entertainment,” he said.

"I cannot really say if Aamir Khan has been my lucky mascot. That’s not appropriate to say. But I have been privileged to work with him both in ‘Rang De Basanti’ and ‘3 Idiots’," Sharman told IANS. ]]> New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) He has given the two biggest hits of his career, “Rang De Basanti” and “3 Idiots”, starring alongside superstar Aamir Khan but Sharman Joshi wouldn’t agree that the former is his lucky mascot.

“I cannot really say if Aamir Khan has been my lucky mascot. That’s not appropriate to say. But I have been privileged to work with him both in ‘Rang De Basanti’ and ‘3 Idiots’,” Sharman told IANS.

“I had a great experience working with Aamir. I got to learn so much for him. I really respect him and admire him as a person and for his acting,” he added.

Asked if he would like to re-team with the perfectionist, Sharman said: “I’d love to… If I get that honour, why not? But there’s nothing in the pipeline of that sort as of now.”

-*-

Don’t call my toned muscles six-pack abs: Emraan Hashmi

When many actors would take pride in tomtoming their six-pack abs, Emraan Hashmi would take offence. He would much rather call his newly-acquired chiseled torso for forthcoming movie “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai” toned and fit.

“I actually have an aversion to calling it a six-pack. I was told to be physically fit for the film. So I put on some muscles and gained some weight as the role demanded that. But I would still say instead of six pack, it was a slightly more toned physique that was required for the role,” Emraan told IANS.

“It was kind of an unreasonable task that I set for my trainer. I asked him to help me tone down in two to three months which was a very small time. The film was shot over a year and for the entire year, I kept training. In fact I am still training. I continued that,” he added.

Considering that the movie is set primarily in the 1970s, toned bodies were not a regular at that time.

Asked about this, he said: “You had body building as a sport since in the 1930s. They might not have the gym and the equipments like today but they still did push ups and crunches the athletic way.”

Directed by Milan Luthri, the movie releases July 30. It also stars Ajay Devgn, Kangana Ranaut and Prachi Desai.

-*-

Nikhil Dwivedi’s funny experience at Mumbai dance bars

These used to be one of the buzzing entertainment hubs but after the government clamped down on the homegrown pubs on moral grounds, Mumbai’s dance bars now only have an orchestra, discovered actor Nikhil Dwivedi on a recce for his role in “Shor”.

“I have finished shooting for ‘Shor’ with Tusshar Kapoor. It is a very edgy film with three parallel stories. It is a great concept and a film to watch out for,” Nikhil told IANS.

“I went to three or four dance bars to get the feel of the role. It was funny actually as dance bars (in Mumbai) just have an orchestra now and nothing of the sort these bars were famous for,” added the actor while not revealing much about his character in the movie.

Produced by Balaji Motion Pictures and directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, “Shor” also stars Indian origin Hollywood actor Sendhil Ramamurthy.

The film is slated for an August release.

Co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, Sanjay Singh and UTV Motion Pictures, the small budget drama features 17-year-old Rajat Barmecha along with popular TV stars Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor. ]]> New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Like “3 Idiots”, debutant director Vikramaditya Motwane’s “Udaan” that releases Friday also tells a story about charting one’s own course but through a tumultuous father-son relationship.

Co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, Sanjay Singh and UTV Motion Pictures, the small budget drama features 17-year-old Rajat Barmecha along with popular TV stars Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor.

“What ‘3 Idiots’ has said, this film will take that forward. The perception of people is changing in society. ‘Udaan’ has a good story to tell,” Kashyap had said.

Kashyap’s first independent production, “Udaan” was selected for the Un Certain Regard category at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival this year.

Set in Jamshedpur, “Udaan” is the story of Rohan (Rajat), a teenage boy, who returns home after being abandoned for eight years in a boarding school. He finds himself closeted with an authoritarian father and a younger half brother, who he didn’t even know existed.

A story about a father-son relationship, “Udaan” is Rohan’s journey, who is forced to work in his father’s steel factory and study engineering against his wishes, as he strives to forge his own life out of his given circumstances to pursue his dream of becoming a writer and leaves his house to chart his own course.

Motwane describes his directorial venture as “a very simple, straightforward film… more than that it’s a very emotional film. It’s about a boy’s journey”.

“The father wants the son to do something and the son wants something different and what happens at the end of the film is the culmination of that relationship.”

Not many know that the movie also has elements of Kashyap’s life, who left his parent’s home in 1993 to pursue his dreams.

Adding a rebellious zing to the movie is its soundtrack by Amit Trivedi which is already a hit among the youth.

“Udaan” might have got international acclaim post Cannes, but Motwane had to wait for over five years to get a producer.

“My script was ready in 2003. It took five years to take the picture off the ground. It took so long to get producers, as no one was ready to take the film. It might be because in 2003, multiplexes were not in existence. Today it has become easier…,” he said.

And that is when Kashyap stepped in. Motwane had hired him to write the dialogues for the movie in 2003, but when he failed to find a producer, Kashyap decided to take charge.

Considering Kashyap’s penchant for contemporary stories rooted in an individual’s consciousness, it seems like he has just another hit to add to his credits.

"'Matric Pass' is a light-hearted film with a very deep message. It is a hilarious take on our education system and is being directed by Shashank Shah," Nikhil told IANS. ]]> New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Aamir Khan has done it in “Taare Zameen Par” and “3 Idiots”. So has Shahid Kapoor in “Paathshaala” and now actor Nikhil Dwivedi will present his take on the Indian education system in a light-hearted way in “Matric Pass”.

“‘Matric Pass’ is a light-hearted film with a very deep message. It is a hilarious take on our education system and is being directed by Shashank Shah,” Nikhil told IANS.

“It’s about an auto driver, who has to go back to school and clear his 10th class because of circumstances in his life. He cannot move ahead and do what he really wants to do until he clears that,” added the actor, last seen in “Raavan”.

*-*-*

Amitabh, Aamir watch ‘Paa’ together

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan seems to be bonding big time.

Aamir was invited at the Bachchan’s house where they sat together and watched Amitabh-Abhishek starrer “Paa”.

Aamir wrote on microblogging site Twitter, “Just got back home after watching Paa. Had a good cry. Lovely film. Amith-ji is outstanding. Watching him is a learning experience.”

“Had been wanting to watch Paa since before its release. Really loved Abhishek, he hit just the right note, very moving. Vidya has given one more outstanding performance,” he added.

Amitabh tweeted back: “Thank you Aamir .. So happy you liked the film and the performances ..Balki (director) was thrilled. Lovely evening, must do more of these.”

Abhishek also thanked Aamir saying, “Thank you very much Aamir. Was wonderful to see you after so long. Take care.”

*-*-*

Rahul Bose’s luggage tale

Bollywood actor-turned-activist Rahul Bose lost his baggage while flying from Chandigarh to Mumbai Saturday.

However, his luggage, which contained a Cargo squash racket, was later recovered in Delhi.

Rahul wrote on microblogging site Twitter, “JetAirways continues to delight. Lost all my bags. No, not international flight – Chandigarh-Mumbai! Bags in Delhi!! Precious cargo-squash racket.”

After getting back his bags, Rahul wrote, “Finally jet returns my bag. Reena, at jet, blames me for not having given my phone number. I give up. They’ve had my cell phone number since 5 yrs!!”

Directed by Abhishek Chaubey, co-produced by Shemaroo Entertainment and Vishal Bharadwaj, "Ishqiya" stars Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan in the main leads. ]]> New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Vishal Bharadwaj’s critically acclaimed crime caper “Ishqiya” will be screened at the inaugural edition of the Indian Film Festival of London (IFFL) from Aug 25-29.

Directed by Abhishek Chaubey, co-produced by Shemaroo Entertainment and Vishal Bharadwaj, “Ishqiya” stars Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan in the main leads.

“It feels proud to know that ‘Ishqiya’ is going to be screened at IFFL. It seems that ‘Ishqiya’ has made place in every heart worldwide and hope people’s love for the film continues even in days to come,” Hiren Gada, director of Shemaroo Entertainment, said in a press statement.

Popular as well as offbeat Bollywood along with regional movies will be screened at the event. The festival aims to strengthen cultural and commercial bridges between British and Indian film industries.

A retrospective honouring the work of filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra will also be organised. It will include his films like “Parinda”, “1942: A Love Story”, “Eklavya: The Royal Guard” and his super hit production venture “3 Idiots”.

"Not very often you have shows where the host has to interact with the whole family. It is quite difficult to deal with four different personalities on one show. It is mentally draining because you are constantly on your feet," Madhavan told IANS in an interview. ]]> Mumbai, June 18 (IANS) Multilingual actor R. Madhavan has hosted game shows before, but he finds hosting “Big Money” exhausting because he has to interact with the whole family on the sets.

“Not very often you have shows where the host has to interact with the whole family. It is quite difficult to deal with four different personalities on one show. It is mentally draining because you are constantly on your feet,” Madhavan told IANS in an interview.

“You have to keep the show interesting, you have to keep it under control, you have to keep that in mind that people are not bored and most importantly you have to keep following the format of the show. So mentally it is quite exhausting.”

“Big Money” will go on air July 10 and it offers a prize money of Rs.10 million and is played with four family members. The show will have questions related to everything shown on TV.

Madhavan had earlier been associated with game shows like “Tol Mol Ke Bol” and “Deal Ya No Deal”.

Asked whether it is different from his previous shows, the actor said: “It’s never the same, it’s a vastly different world altogether. When first time I did a show, there were no screens, no wires, you just started the show. With the second one, there were wires going into my ears and all that and now with there is the whole tablet form, which is unnerving but exciting.”

So what does he enjoy most – acting or hosting.

“I can’t choose from one. As an actor, you always play a character in the film and then you have the pleasure to see how people react to your film. But when you are hosting a show like this, you can’t act. You have to be yourself completely, otherwise you won’t be able to reach out to people at all,” said the 40-year-old.

“I’ve been in the industry for many years and usually meet people from the industry, there is no contact with the common people. For me, it is an opportunity to reach out to my audience and connect with them.”

Also throwing light on the reason why many actors, big or small, are making their presence felt on the small screen, Madhavan said: “TV is a non risky affair for film actors. It doesn’t have a great impact on our film career. If it works, it is good. If it doesn’t work, that doesn’t harm the actor in any way.”

Apart from his TV stint, the actor, who is riding high on the success of “3 Idiots”, has completed “Tanu Weds Manu” that also stars Kangana Ranaut. He will start a Tamil film in a few months.