Jashnn has impressive VFX to look for!

‘Jashnn’ from Vishesh Films, have fused talents with technology in their two promotional song videos. They have made used of VFX with the help of Mumbai based Post Production house called FutureWorks. The brain behind is the director of the movie Mohit Suri who along with VFX supervisor, Abhishek De, and Canadian Freelance Colourist, Catherine Pantazopoulos, brought out the fabulous song tracks. Take an exclusive look at their impressive work behind the songs.

Darde Tanhai – This romantic sad song is composed of multi layers on which the artists have worked to bring out the final product and it involved lots of planning beforehand. The team has artistically played around with the speed levels and colour saturation in both the front and background scenes. The red colour in the background is highlighted but at the same time maintained it from being too prominent while other colours have been de-saturated to avoid a black-white background.

Nazare Karam – This is meant to be a colourful peppy song in which the actor is shown singing on a stage in front of a large audience. So the production team has worked around with two colours – red on left side and green on the right - and merged the audience effect through crowd multiplication techniques. The song involved lot of work to bring the desired colourful effect and for this the team used the white lights of the real scene and mixed it with colours later.

Watch out for these songs soon!

Kambakkht Ishq Review

The much-awaited biggie KAMBAKKHT ISHQ started with a bang last night. The film grossed 100% collections in paid previews on Thursday night. In Mumbai alone, the paid previews were held at 62 screens and the film garnered 100% collections. On Friday morning, the early morning shows, i.e. 9.30 am / 10 am shows opened to 90% - 95% occupancy. Places like Rohtak [East Punjab circuit] collected Rs. 55,000 nett against Rs. 60,000 house full capacity. Amritsar will be collecting Rs. 1 lac, which is over-capacity by 200/250 audience. Lucknow was 90% - 95% in morning shows. The audience report is very positive.

KAMBAKKHT ISHQ works in most parts thanks to the kind of star power and energy that the two actors pack in -- Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor. It would've been difficult to hold the film from falling apart had the two actors not been competent enough to carry off their respective parts. Also, the presence of Hollywood stars -- Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards -- the first on the Hindi screen, is an added bonus. 1 pe 2 ka offer; Bollywood stars ke saath Hollywood free!

The focus is on the entertainment quotient. There are moments when you laugh so uncontrollably that it gets embarrassing and there are times when you continue smiling, even during the most ordinary scenes.

But KAMBAKKHT ISHQ dips in its second hour because you expect it to be as frivolous as the first hour, but it changes tracks and gets emotional. Things would've gone wrong had the end stumbled and fumbled, but it doesn't. The finale, in fact, takes the film back to the level that one expects from a film of this magnitude.

To sum up, KAMBAKKHT ISHQ offers you value for time and also, value for money. It offers loads of entertainment in those 2 + hours, loads of glamour in those 130 odd minutes, from start to end. Sure, there are blemishes, but they're trivial when you look at the larger picture.

KAMBAKKHT ISHQ explores the relationship between two individuals who are as different as chalk and cheese. Viraj [Akshay Kumar] is a stuntman in Hollywood, who lives by the mantra 'women are only good for two things'. Simrita [Kareena Kapoor] is a firebrand who is more than able to stare down the most arrogant male with her caustic wit and sardonic tongue.

So what happens when the two people who hate each other the most meet at Simrita's best friend Kamini's [Amrita Arora] and Viraj's brother Lucky's [Aftab Shivdasani] wedding? A wedding that both Viraj and Simrita are violently opposed to and desperate to stop. Sparks fly... the battle of the sexes in on.

Director Sabbir Khan's motive is simple: Entertain for the next 2 hours. The entire first hour moves at a lightening speed, making you enjoy the war of words between Akshay and Kareena at regular intervals.

The first half abounds in terrific moments, but I'd like to single out at least three...

One, the church wedding of Aftab and Amrita. When the battle lines are drawn.

Two, the sequence at the operation table, when Akshay spots Kareena.

Three, the interval point. The pendant connection. Howlarious sequences all!

The post-interval starts with a bang, with Akshay hearing the 'Om Mangalam' chant just about everywhere -- while sleeping, in the shower, in the rest room, even at an award function. The award function sequence is a double whammy. You get to watch Stallone and also the scene is superbly structured, executed and enacted.

Things are smooth sailing till the emotional angle comes up. The narrative dips in those 20 odd minutes. The mood suddenly shifts from laughter to sadness. The makers may argue that a twist in the tale is justified from the writing point of view, since the emotional track is vital for any love story, but the fact remains that one does miss the entertainment quotient here. In fact, the dip in the second hour erodes, to a large extent, the impression that the first half had built so magnificently.

Director Sabbir Khan picks up a theme that may catch you by complete surprise, but marinates it in entertainment, garnishes it well and presents it like never before. The review would be incomplete if we failed to highlight the grandiose look and the lavish production values thanks to the no-holds-barred expenses by producer Sajid Nadiadwala. Each frame looks ostentatious and glitzy.

Music is up to the mark, with three interesting tracks -- 'Om Mangalam' [RDB], 'Lakh Lakh' and 'Bebo' [Anu Malik]. Cinematography [Vikas Sivaraman] is magnificent, with the DoP doing complete justice to the production values.

KAMBAKKHT ISHQ belongs to both, Akshay and Kareena. Akshay is dynamic this time. He received a lot of flak for CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA and there was this nagging feeling that the negativity would spill over to KAMBAKKHT ISHQ. But Akshay is in terrific form here and delivers, without a shred of doubt, a bravura performance. If you loved him in NAMASTEY LONDON and SINGH IS KINNG, you'd fall in love with Akki and his comic timing all over again this time.

Kareena left an indelible impression in JAB WE MET and creates a similar impact, albeit in a different role. Her role has shades of 'Poo' in K3G, but the glam looks combined with that rare confidence takes this performance to dizzy heights. Clearly, Kareena is miles ahead of her contemporaries as far as talent goes and this film proves it yet again.

Aftab and Amrita are perfect for their parts. Vindu Singh supports well. Javed Jaffrey doesn't make a mark because the role has no connection with the main plot. Kirron Kher is getting typecast. Boman Irani is hilarious in that lone sequence. Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards are well integrated in the narrative.

On the whole, KAMBAKKHT ISHQ will strike a chord with the youth and those who relish zany and madcap entertainers. The first half is tremendous, while the second half takes a dip, with the film picking up towards the climax. At the box-office, the film will see an earth-shattering opening weekend and a historic Week 1. It remains to be seen how this film fares in its second weekend/week, given the massive number of screens it has opened globally [2,000 +]. However, the timing is most appropriate [the viewer is thirsting for a biggie] and the hype is tremendous, which should prove very advantageous for the film.

Katrina has security issues!!

Katrina who lives alone in Mumbai suburbs has too many intruders at her residence due to lack of security. And since the lady lives alone in her abode bought few years ago with her hard earned money, may just have to look for a safer place.

Katrina now wants to urgently shift into a place with better security however problem seems to follow her there too. She has been house hunting but her star status is the big problem. When the flat owners learn of Katrina’s identity the price is hiked immediately.

The actress is now looking forward to putting an end to her lonely life, and not by getting married and settled with beau Salman Khan, but plans to invite her little sister Isabel to join her in Mumbai

Jiah Khan stars in PETA campaign

Bollywood starlet Jiah Khan is the latest celebrity for PETA's campaign against glass-coated kite strings, which are injurious to birds.

The actress, who recently starred in blockbuster 'Ghajini', is dressed as a wounded bird wrapped in kite string and next to the tagline 'Cut the Glass-Coated Manja, Not Birds' in the new advertisement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Chandni Chowk To China

Chandni Chowk To China, the first ever Bollywood Kungfu comedy takes you on a madcap Journey from the by-lanes of Chandni Chowk in Delhi, to Shanghai, the Great Wall and rural China, marrying in its wake hilarious gags, breathtaking action, spectacular locations, and heart stirring emotions.


Our protagonist Sidhu (Akshay Kumar) is the lowest on the totem pole, cutting vegetables at a roadside food stall in Chandni Chowk in Delhi. He longs to escape his dreary existence and looks for shortcuts- with astrologers, tarot readers and fake fakirs - believing anything except himself, despite his father figure Dada's (Mithun Chakraborty) best efforts. His redeeming moment arrives when two strangers from China claim him as a reincarnation of a war hero in the past and takes him to China. Sidhu now dreams of wine, women, and a princely existence in foreign lands. Thanks to the devious translator, a conman by the name Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey), little does he know that he is being taken to the Promised Land to rid the Chinese village of the vicious smuggler Hojo (Gordon Liu)!

Ghajini Marketing Employees of multiplexes go bald

Ghajini has done is far more catchy and really unique in terms of promotion strategy. Ghajini promoters have tied up with leading multiplexes in Mumbai where multiplex staffs have volunteered to sport the famous Ghajini hairstyle from 9^th Dec - 25^th
More

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi review

The film is long but it doesn’t drag and make you yawn. SRK is welcomed with open arms in a different get up, new comer Anushka Sharma is the best find of 2008 so far and apna Vinay Pathak as usual is versatile. So how did I come up with the above conclusions? This is how:

Cut to Amritsar. With a yellow suitcase, wearing a checkered shirt with grey trousers, in walks speccy Surinder Sahni (Shahrukh Khan) with his beautiful wife Tanni (Anushka Sharma) in a red chudidar kurta.

The film opens with the couple not talking to each other due to the unforeseen circumstances which got them married. Surinder and Tanni live under the same roof but seems miles apart. Surinder works in Punjab Power but is powerless when it comes to making his married life bliss. Surinder’s good friend Bobby (Vinay Pathak), who owns a hair salon, comes knocking on his door in anger because Surinder did not tell him how and why he got married.

But after listening to Sahni’s side of the story he gets emotional. Then again comes knocking on the door self-invited guests and colleagues of Surinder from Punjab Power for free chicken and whiskey.

And then the first of many beautiful scenes in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi arrives after the guests leave – the confrontation scene between husband and wife where Tanni very bravely tells Surinder that she won’t be able to love him but promises to be a good wife.

Our common man has no option but to leave everything to Rab (God) to change his married life for good. Trying to get the smile back on her face, Tanni enrols herself in Amritsar’s one and only dance contest, entitled ‘Dancing Jodi competition’.

Then a transformation of character takes place. Surinder, desperate to find love from his wife, goes to Bobby’s salon for a makeover – asking Bobby change to his dull appearance to impress his gloomy wife, which becomes his only mantra in life, and to become a hip and happening dance partner for Tanni.

In the meantime, the makeover gets completed. Surinder turns into Raj, ‘naam toh suna hi hoga?’ He becomes Tanni’s dancing jodi and both bring back some love and laughter into one another’s lives.

Aware of the fact that Tanni doesn’t recognise him, Raj aka Surinder tries to keep her happy but for how long is the question.

The fun-filled ordinary first half gives way to the emotional and extraordinary second half and the movie climbs higher and higher.

Films are a work of fiction and make believe. So if a Krissh jumps across sky scrapers, no reviewer will question: “This is stupid, how can a human fly?”

But when Rab Ne releases, even more astonishing comments start coming in, such as: “How is it possible for Tanni not to recognise her husband even after the makeover. I’m sure she can recognise his voice.”

Fiction...make believe....rings a bell? Open your eyes!

You will walk out of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi not talking about its blown-out budget or its lengthy running time, but of its enormous emotive power, as big as the banner Yash Raj Films. You may think of it at first as a good old disaster movie (many critics thought the same way) but there is no terrorist threatening with bombs, nor a natural disaster to wreak havoc.

The baddie here is our own arrogance, shortsightedness and frailty. Aditya Chopra has written a warm and turbulent romance that is flung on to the dance floor, into the salon, and back again.

The film is dramatically well balanced so that our anticipations are held in check with surprises and an engaging story, while Adi fastidiously builds up the background.

This is how the film delivers its punch; we don’t just see the setting and the people, we can feel the environment, we can feel how each person would feel, we can feel the whole damn drama and the poetic, lyrical love story.

This is emotive cinema, a film that carries you (unless you are a die hard cynic with a heart that’s switched off) and involves you.

So if DDLJ created history and Mohabbatein broke box office records, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi will do what both these films could not do – it will reinforce the notion that an exemplary marriage of superb writing and masterful cinematic artistry is more than a real possibility in today’s Bollywood.

Performances are unbelievable. SRK and Anushka Sharma are terrific, though Anushka shines, giving a haunting, eloquent performance as a young woman who fights free of the shackles of class to a more unconstrained relationship with the free-spirited Raj.

Shahrukh has this bouncing back ability. Everytime the critics try to write him down, this King writes his own destiny which changes the way people think about him. He is a joker in a pack of cards, more powerful than the ace.

Look out, too, for the spiky Vinay Pathak who is in his element.

Salim Sulaiman’s music is pleasing to the ears, especially the background score which cuts your heart and pierces right through, aided by some sharp cinematography by Ravi K Chandran, taut editing and some good special effects (especially the one where SRK shows Anushka the I Love You lighting).

In times when our India is grieving, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi brings resilience back to the film halls.

So tuck your shirt, wear your spectacles and if needed, spike your hair in your nearby salon and go to the nearest cinema to catch this light romantic entertainer with your favourite jodi.

more