Posts tagged jazz
Akshay Kumar has managed to convince Vipul Shah for a sequel to Namastey London. But they are keeping it a secret from Katrina Kaif
Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 10, 2011)
Vipul Shah, who has steered clear of sequels to his own hits, has now been persuaded by Akshay Kumar to make Namastey London II.
Though the filmmaker is ready with the script, co-written with Suresh Nair, the actor and director are still keeping it a secret from Katrina Kaif.
Reveals Vipul, “Doing sequels are not my cup of tea but they seem to be a trend now. More than me Akshay was keen to do a sequel to Namastey London. He felt the story had the potential to be carried forward. I couldn’t disagree with him beyond a point.”
And we hear, even Katz was constantly pushing Vipul to plan a sequel of Namastey London and apparently she is the one who would be taken by surprise with a ready script. “Would you believe it, I still haven’t told her about the sequel to Namastey London? She has been urging me to do the sequel for the longest time.
When she hears that we’ve been secretly working on the script for the past three months, she will come down to my house and kill me. Please don’t tell. I want to surprise her,” requests an excited Vipul as he wanted to make sure that the script works out before taking Katz into confidence.
The 2007 box-office hit Namastey London was a drama about a Punjabi munda, Akki, wooing and winning over a stuck-up British-Asian lass, Katz.
The More >
They will perform at the Indian Music Awards on March 11
Bina Trivedi (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 10, 2011) Abhishek Bachchan and Katrina Kaif will come together for the first time. The actors will perform at the BIG STAR IMA Awards 2011 (presented by Reliance Broadcast Network Limited and Star Network along with the Indian Music Academy) to be held at Film City tomorrow. The event, which will be aired on Star Plus shortly, will recognise the best of the music industry across various genres. The gurus of music from Bollywood to Pop, Jazz to Ghazals and Folk to New Age music will be present at this event. Hindi film music is undoubtedly the most popular genre in the country.
Bachchan Jr will perform to a medley of his hit songs like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Beera Beera, Right Here Right Now, Dus Bahane and more, while Kat will deliver an act inspired by Moulin Rouge, upping the glam factor of the evening.
There is a lot of curiosity surrounding their acts, as Akshay Kumar performed breathtaking stunts at The BIG STAR Entertainer award last year.
And by the way, her name is Rose Dawn. Here’s the full lowdown for those who wanted more juice on Sallu’s latest squeeze
Sonal Chawla (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 02, 2011)
While the British might be busy scrutinizing Kate Middleton, we in Mumbai have our own, on-going investigations of a London belle who seems to have made her entry into the Khan dynasty.
On February 26, Mumbai Mirror broke the news about Sallu and his new friend Hazel. So for all the curious cats out there, here’s the juice on Hazel Keech.
For starters, Hazel was actually christened Rose Dawn. No, she is not an undercover cop, just a 24-year old of Indian-British parentage hailing from London and currently pursuing a career in acting and modelling.
Born in Essex, north-east London, Hazel took inspiration from her Indian mother’s roots and enrolled into a local Bollywood dance academy.
Rose Dawn, aka Hazel, was an extra on Harry Potter’s second, third and fourth series of films. Probably that’s where she learnt how to cast her spell on Bollywood’s most eligible bachelor, Sallu!
While holidaying in Mumbai six years ago, she chanced upon several opportunities to pursue her acting career. Ever since then she has appeared in the Tamil film, Billa (2007) and in some of the top commercials on air, garnering a lot of popularity in the ad-film circuit.
Our Londoner has also trained in kathak, bharatanatyam, jazz, tap dance, ballet, hip-hop and the basics of belly dancing More >
Prithwish Ganguly (BOMBAY TIMES; February 2, 2011)
Ustad Nishat Khan has brought his wealth of knowledge of music to Bollywood for Sudhir Mishra’s Yeh Saali Zindagi. The melodious music is certain to touch hearts. Nishat, who has globally worked with B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana, has created interesting fusion pieces for the movie that only accentuates the feeling that Sudhir is trying to convey through his script.
Nishat, undeniably the foremost virtuoso of the sitar, tells BT, “When I was invited by Sudhir to compose for YSZ I took it up because I liked what Sudhir was trying to create. We have made some good fusion music for the film and I’m glad that the people are liking it.”
Nishat tells us that globally Bollywood music is appealing to the youth. “It is upbeat and has good melody which the youth of the world is certainly lapping it up. Bollywood music is quite a rage,” he says. Nishat is excited about his foray into Bollywood music. “It is great to get opportunities to compose different music for films that like the idea of fusion. So, I’m loving the experience,” the maestro, who has worked on jazz, flamenco and classical music adds.
Kiran and Aamir talk about intellectual snobbery, and how he made his way into his wife’s film despite her misgivings
Namrata Bhawnani (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 12, 2011)
Through the interview, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao share much playful eye contact. It’s almost like he’s seeking a mental pat on the back when he says something funny or clever, and she’s a sounding board for his constantly ticking mind.
They complete each other’s sentences and as he teases her for her intellectual leanings, she shrugs off the jokes good-humouredly. Excerpts from an interview:
Why cast Aamir as Arun when your vision was to make a small, indie film with Dhobi Ghat?
Aamir: Actually, she didn’t even want me in the film. I was very crafty about it, though…
Kiran: Yeah, I didn’t want him. I didn’t want a known actor with baggage. I was testing theatre people and non-actors. Arun’s character is attractive, complex and restrained. He spends a lot of time alone, watching video tapes. It’s all in the reaction. Aamir said, ‘Why don’t I audition and show you how I can play it?’ And he did.
Of course, the economical dynamics of the film change when you cast Aamir…
Kiran: It added pressure, as it’s a small film. There is no way this film will be a blockbuster. People have certain expectations from Aamir. But we became a little more relaxed about the budget, it was Rs 2 crore and went up to Rs 5 crore.
Aamir: And you would’ve never got (Spanish guitarist) Gustavo More >
Sometimes writers come up with really very brilliant ideas but the director fail to do justice. It’s A Wonderful Afterlife falls in this category. The issue and idea that the film dealt with could have made it one of the rocking entertainers of the year. Just think, a widow killing all those who have been bad to her daughter…thrilling! The spirits of the victims come back to the killer and helping instead of haunting her…amusing! A mother worrying about her oversized daughter and wants to marry her off as soon as possible…relatable! A plot surrounding such circumstances but the direction fails to do justice…in short, a golden chance missed!
The story of the movie: Mrs Sethi (Shabana Azmi) is a Punjabi widow living in Southall along with her daughter Roopi (Goldy Notay) and Jazz (Ray Panthaki). Mrs Sethi’s only aim remaining in life is to see her daughter happily married. However, the plump and fat Roopi fails to get a suitable groom as all guys reject her. Mrs Sethi takes revenge by murdering all those who have humiliated or been bad to Roopi. In this way, she ends up killing 4 victims (Sanjeev Bhaskar, Shaheen Khan, Adlyn Ross, Ash Varrez). Their spirits return to Mrs Sethi as they are unable to get reincarnated. They realize that in order to do so, their murderer (Mrs Sethi) should die. But there’s no chance that she’ll pass away before her daughter is settled. So the spirits also join Mrs Sethi in her hunt for the perfect son-in-law. Meanwhile, More >
NIMISHA TIWARI Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; April 24, 2010)
So what if it’s her first film. Former Miss India and debutant actress Sarah Jane Dias is leaving no stone unturned to seduce Abhishek Bachchan in Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s Game. The dusky beauty has learned realistic moves of exotic dancing from a Thailand-based choreographer in Bangkok. That’s not all, to master the art, she along with director Abhinay Deo went to almost every bar and club in Bangkok to get the feel of the nightlife there. Excited to the hilt, Sarah Jane said, “I had a blast learning this new style of dancing. I am already a trained dancer in HipHop and Jazz, so that helped me immensely in mastering the exotic swaying moves.” Her character in this film is very intense and goes through three different stages, one of which is that of an exotic dancer. “But I must confess that I was nervous in the beginning. I’ve never done anything close to exotic dancing in my real life. But the Thai choreographer complimented me saying that I’ve got rhythm in my body. So, guess I was lucky to get it just right,” said Sarah with a broad grin. The film will soon have a European outdoor schedule. And the crew will then be shooting in Samos, Greece and later in Istanbul in Turkey.
The soprano-ish voice behind Coke’s ‘bus’ TVC tells Malay Desai why there would always be listeners for edgy music, which is good news for her band Sridhar/ThayilBy Malay Desai (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 21, 2010)
‘I want to be a mean and lean blow-up doll to grace us and stay for an unfashionably long time… so say all you want ‘coz baby it’s showbiz!’
… sang a voice at Blue Frog last night, leaving the club’s audience amused with the theatrics of the spoken word. The voice has also created a buzz on primetime TV across the nation, in a cola commercial featuring actors Imran Khan and Kalki Koechlin.
The TVC has become a talking point, thanks to singer Suman Sridhar rendering Mohammad Rafi’s Tum jo mil gaye ho. It’s also a debut endorsement for the 27-year-old, who has created a popular niche in the indie music industry through her band Sridhar/Thayil. The ad is just an offshoot of her works, which include much more, she tells us over lunch at a Bandra café.
The female half of Sridhar/Thayil looks like a shy monk who’s just given into funky indulgences. Now sporting super-short hair (after carrying off a tonsured look for long) and wearing punk accessories, Sridhar is often eccentric, much like her music. “The TVC happened purely by chance. Mikey (Mike McCleary, composer, best known for his works with Lucky Ali) called me one evening to his Bandra pad; we Youtube-d the old version (featuring Navin Nishchol) and I recorded a scratch,” she More >