Indian megastar Bachchan to play Bangladesh founder

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his celebrity family members have all tentatively agreed to take part in a film based on the life of Bangladesh's founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, local media said on Thursday.

Amitabh will take the role of Mujib in the film, named "The Poet of Politics," while his son Abhishek Bachchan will act in the role of a young Mujib, Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, the producer of the film, told ANA, a U.S.-based Bangladeshi news agency.

The ANA report, published in several Dhaka dailies on Thursday, said Chowdhury, an expatriate Bangladeshi journalist and newspaper columnist, also told the news agency that Amitabh's daughter-in-law and former Miss Universe, Aishwarya Rai, and renowned actress Sabana Azmi will also act in two key roles.

Shyam Benegal, the only director to won India's National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi five times, will direct the movie.

"After getting the consent of Amitabh, I am now a relieved man. To project a person of the magnitude of Bangabandhu (Sheikh Mujib), I could not imagine no one other than him," Chowdhury was quoted as saying in New York.

"Now not only Amitabh, his other family members have also agreed to take up the challenge," added Chowdhury.

It was not clear when Chowdhury will start shooting the film, which will be made in English and dubbed into Bengali, Hindi and other languages.

Mujib led Bangalis to an independence struggle in 1971, which resulted in the independence of former East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.

Mujib was killed, along with most of his family, in a 1975 coup.


Thursday May 1 3:50 AM ET
(Reporting by Azad Majumder; Writing by Anis Ahmed)

Bollywood Film Review : Bhootnath

Cast:

Amitabh Bachchan, Aman Siddiqui, Juhi Chawla, Priyanshu Chatterjee,

Rajpal Yadav, Satish Shah

Director: Vivek Sharma

Ratings: ** 1/2

"Bhootnath" is that rare film set in Goa where you don't see a single bikini-clad woman. The songs are colourful, but they are done with the devilish delight of a rock concert rather than the calculated manoeuvres of choreographic manipulation.Indeed, debutant director Vivek Sharma harks back to an artless innocence to tell the tale of a benign ghost who comes to life.The film's most delectable aspect is the rapport that grows between the ghost (Amitabh Bachchan) and the fearless little boy (Aman Siddiqui) who comes to live in the dead man's mansion, takes on the ghost and even gets the better of him. Both Bachchan and the boy have a ball. So do we, in portions.The film's best scenes feature the Big B with the incredibly confident and polished Aman. The pair just takes over the screen and makes you forget the narrative's all-too-apparent flaws. There are plot-holes large enough to make "Bhootnath" an uneasy bumpy ride. But Amitabh and Aman make you smile as they frolic, sing, banter and deliver some really heartwarming homilies on the quality of existence. Of late, the Big B has been repeatedly seen in interactive situations with little kids. After Ayesha Kapoor in "Black", Rucha Vaidya in "Ek Ajnabee" and Sweeni Khare in "Cheeni Kum", he brings a sense of cross-generation harmony with another acutely cute and young co-star. While the kids in the other three films were traumatized to one degree or another, Aman plays a normal, bratty but sensitive kid, yet another addition to the growing brood of brilliant child actors in Bollywood after Darsheel Safary in "Taare Zameen Par".The director lets the child be. He imposes no adult perceptions on him. The narration consequently carries an air of old-world naivete to the end. There are no breaks for romantic songs, item numbers and other modern day quirks and compromises. "Bhootnath" glides forward with the unconscious skill of a little boat in a tranquil lake, which knows where it wants to go without creating any stress within the pace of the grace.And what would Bhootnath be without the Big B, sportingly sharing lines, visuals, songs and drama with a child who gives him tit for tat, and more?The rapport between the wandering spirit and the spirited kid could have fallen apart were it not for the cool camaraderie between them. While one is unschooled in acting therefore totally spontaneous, the other is so skilled and schooled that he readily redefines what is cool.The duo apart, the other characters are largely sketchy. Rajpal Yadav with shoe-polish on his face plays one of the stereotypical Goan drunkards.Priyanshu Chatterjee as the dead man's ungrateful son struggles to give substance to an under-written role. His character brings into play the age-old conflict between old-world values where a home was considered much more than financial asset, and the new generation which thinks property can be easily bought. Known for their movies that convey moral messages, producers B.R. and Ravi Chopra couldn't let go of the chance to make a social statement.Juhi Chawla as the flustered mom is sweet and angelic. But she is unable to add anything to the drama beyond a point.Interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan in a guest appearance clearly tries to improvise on the badly written dialogues mainly in scenes where he pokes fun at his wife's cooking.Shah Rukh and Juhi continue to share a quaint if not crackling chemistry. But the chemistry here is clearly between the ghost of a 65-year-old and a 10-year-old child who knows he's up against a formidable adversary.Or maybe he doesn't. Sometimes the motivations underlying spontaneity can be the very opposite of fear. "Bhootnath" tells us ghosts are not scary, they can be fun. At the end of the blithe film we believe the director even if we don't belive in ghosts at all.

Weekend Bollywood Box Office

May 2 - 8, 2008 Week

1 .Tashan
Collections (Rs) : 2,97,65,558
Total (Rs) : 11,62,53,295

2 .Mr. White Mr. Black
Collections (Rs) :1,38,50,652
Total (Rs) : 1,38,50,652

3 .U Me Aur Hum
Collections (Rs) :45,04,973
Total (Rs) : 12,47,17,657

4 .Race
Collections (Rs) :16,05,959
Total (Rs) : 34,44,03,238

5 .Khuda Kay Liye
Collections (Rs) :14,85,139
Total (Rs) : 1,48,36,788

(Figures in Indian Rupees)

Hollywood : Box Office Report

Box Office Report - May 9-11

Use any racing metaphor you want to describe Speed Racer's box office performance - sputtered, stalled, ran out of gas, whatever - the truth is, the $100 million movie simply failed to inspire moviegoers to fork over their cash. While Speed Racer's $20 million first weekend was way below estimates, What Happens in Vegas' $20 million opening weekend exceeded expectations. Meanwhile Iron Man continues to draw in audiences, raking in $177 million since May 2nd. Next up: Those Narnia kids are back in Prince Caspian.

Top 10 Films for the Weekend Ending 05/11/08

1. "Iron Man," $50.5 million.

2. "Speed Racer," $20.2 million.

3. "What Happens in Vegas," $20 million.

4. "Made of Honor," $7.6 million.

5. "Baby Mama," $5.8 million.

6. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," $3.8 million.

7. "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," $3.2 million.

8. "The Forbidden Kingdom," $1.9 million.

9. "Nim's Island," $1.3 million.

10. "Redbelt," $1.1 million.

Film : Get Smart

Steve Carell Gets Into the Action in Get Smart
 
While on the set of the Warner Bros Pictures’ action comedy Get Smart, The Office star Steve Carell admitted he’d never even dreamed of taking on a role like Maxwell Smart prior to being cast in the movie. “I never thought in a million years I’d be doing anything like this,” admitted Carell. “It’s crazy and just so much fun. I mean, I’m an action guy now so that’s going to be my new career path. I’m going to get really bulked up and just do action movies.”

(Photo © Warner Bros Pictures)

Bollywood Aword : IIFA 2008 Nominations

Best Actor:
Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) (Chak De India) and (Om Shanti Om), Abhishek Bachchan (Guru), Akshay Kumar (Namastey London), Amitabh Bachchan (Cheeni Kum), Shahid Kapoor (Jab We Met)

Best Actress:
Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, (Guru), Kareena Kapoor, (Jab We Met), Katrina Kaif (Namastey London), Tabu (Cheeni Kum), Vidya Balan (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)

Best Picture:
Guru (2007), Chak De India (2007), Jab We Met (2007), Om Shanti Om (2007), Metro (2007), Partner (2007), Taare Zameen Par (2007)

Best Direction:
Anurag Basu (Life In A… Metro (2007)), Imtiaz Ali (Jab We Met (2007)) , Mani Ratnam (Guru (2007)), Priyadarshan (Bhool Bhulaiya (2007)), Shimit Amin (Chak De India (2007)), David Dhawan (Partner (2007)), Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par (2007)), Farah Khan (Om Shanti Om (2007))

Performance in a Leading Role (Male):
Abhishek Bachchan (Guru (2007)), Akshay Kumar (Bhool Bhulaiya (2007)), Salman Khan (Partner (2007)), Shah Rukh Khan (Chak De India (2007)), Shahid Kapoor (Jab We Met (2007))
Performance in a Leading Role (Female): Aishwarya Rai (Guru (2007)), Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om (2007)), Kareena Kapoor (Jab We Met (2007)), Tabu (Cheeni Kum (2007)), Vidya Balan (Bhool Bhulaiya (2007))

Performance in a Supporting Role (Male):
Anil Kapoor (Welcome (2007)), Govinda (Partner), Irrfan Khan (Life In A... Metro), Mithun Chakraborty (Guru), Rajat Kapoor (Bheja Fry), Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par), Bobby Deol (Naqaab, Disguised Intentions (2007)), Shreyas Talpade (Om Shanti Om)

Performance in a Supporting Role (Female):
Chitrashi Rawat (Chak De India), Konkona Sen Sharma (Life In A... Metro), Rani Mukerji (Saawariya (2007)), Vidya Balan (Guru), Zohra Sehgal (Cheeni Kum (2007)), Lara Dutta (Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom (2007)), Shilpa Shetty (Life In A... Metro), Tisca Chopra (Taare Zameen Par)
Performance in a Negative Role: Arjun Rampal (Om Shanti Om), Kay Kay Menon (Life In A ... Metro), Shilpa Shukla (Chak De India), Vidya Balan (Bhool Bhulaiya (2007)), Viveik Oberoi (Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007))

Performance in a Comic Role:
Govinda (Partner), Irrfan Khan (Life In A... Metro), Paresh Rawal (Bhool Bhulaiyaa) , Rajpal Yadav (Bhool Bhulaiyaa), Vinay Pathak (Bheja Fry)

Music Direction:
A.R. Rahman (Barso Re Barso Re (Guru)), Mika Ganpat (Ganpat (Shootout At Lokhandwala)), Monty Sharma (Saawariya (Saawariya)), Pritam (Hare Ram Hare Ram (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)), Sajid (Wajid (Do U Wanna Partner (Partner)), Salim (Sulaiman (Chak De India (Chak De India))

Best Story:
Anurag Basu (Life In A… Metro), Feroz Abbas Khan (Gandhi My Father (2007)), Imtiaz Ali (Jab We Met), Jaideep Sahni (Chak De India), Mani Ratnam (Guru), R. Balki (Cheeni Kum)

Lyrics:
Gulzar (Tere Bina (Guru)), Jaideep Sahni (Chak De India (Chak De India)), Javed Akhtar (Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)), Sameer (Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)), Sayeed Quadri (In Dino Life In A… Metro In Dino)

Playback Singer (Male):
KK (Aankhon Mein Teri Om (Shanti Om)), Neeraj Shridhar (Hare Ram Hare Ram (Bhool Bhulaiya (2007))), Shaan (Jabse Tere Naina (Saawariya)), Sukhvinder Singh (Chak De India (Chak De India)), Wajid, Laabh Janjuwa (Soni De Nakhre (Partner))

Playback Singer (Female):
Shreya Ghoshal (Barso Re (Guru)), (Dholna (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)), (Thode Badmash (Saawariya)), (Ye Ishq Hai (Jab We Met)), Sunidhi Chauhan (Aaja Nachle (Aaja Nachle (2007)))

Bollywood News : Aamir Khan Hurt While Shooting For Ghajini

Aamir Khan Aamir Khan was hurt on the set of is upcoming movie Ghajini (2008) while shooting a fightling scene for the movie. The incident involved him lifting a person and throwing him into the wall, but when Aamir limited the person his hamstring muscle tore up. He was rushed to a local nursing home and received medication. Aamir will now be resting until going back to finish the shooting for Ghajini (2008) . Now Aamir will use the rest and maybe finish up on the post production of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008) Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

Date: 04/18/2008:

Bollywood News : Hrithik And Suzanne Roshan Parents Again

Date: 05/01/2008:
Suzanne Roshan , wife of Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan , gave birth to a baby boy at on Thursday at 11:30 AM at the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai , India. This is their second child, the first one is Hrehaan, who was born on March 28 2006.