Alia Bhatt Selects UDTA PUNJAB Over ROCK ON 2

After giving back-to-back hits in 2014, Alia Bhatt is surely in demand. The actress was offered two plump projects like ‘Udta Punjab’ and ‘Rock On 2’, but she opted to star in ‘UP’.

When Alia was asked why she selected ‘UP’ over ‘Rock On 2’, shedid not comment on ‘RO2’. Instead, she said, "Shall we just stick to ‘UdtaPunjab’? I said a big YES to that!" 

However, a source says that she opted for ‘UP’ as in the film she will be the female lead and ‘Rock On 2’ is a movie with an ensemble cast.

The source said, "‘Rock On 2’ is an ensemble cast and the girl's part is that of the band member who replaces Luke Kenny whose character died in ‘Rock On’. If you see her roles so far, Alia has done only solo-heroine films. This is not to say she won't work in films with an ensemble cast. But if she's offered something as challenging as ‘Udta Punjab’ which tests her abilities further and where she's the female lead opposite Shahid, then why not this?"

Arbaaz Khan To Play A Deaf Don In Abbas Mastan’s Next

Actor Arbaaz Khan, who will be seen in Abbas Mastan’s next directorial venture says he will be playing a deaf Don in the film.

Arbaaz Khan says, “Yes, I am doing Abbas Mastan’s film after 20 long years. I debuted in Bollywood with them and I am excited to work with them all over again. I have done a villainous role and got Filmfare award for my performance in Daraar but, this time they have given a different role! A don who is deaf, which is a very interesting character and different form what I have done in the past.”

Arbaaz Khan was launched by Abbas Mastan in the industry with the film ‘Daraar’ which was released in 1996. The actor who was cast opposite Juhi Chawla in the film had played a negative character in it.

He added further, “To get respect is important no matter in any field. I have worked for 20 years I have not met with the success what all other actors and my brother has met with. But, I am happy and as a producer and director, I have got respect on this field so I don’t feel bad.”

Rahul Bhat: Ugly Means Very Beautiful To Me

Rahul Bhat, who was last seen in Nayee Padosan, is back after over a decade of hiatus with Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly. In conversation with Koimoi, the actor reveals about his distance from silver screen, why Ugly got him back and future projects.

What kept you away from films for so long and why Ugly made for a comeback?
It was a conscious decision. I was not in the mood of doing films, because I thought that I am giving my hundred percent and people working with me are not giving their hundred percent; so I thought unless and until I don’t find a right person who doesn’t give his hundred percent I am not going to do films. And then suddenly Kashyap came and offered me Ugly.

So, would you say that the long wait is finally justified?
Yes, definitely the wait is justified. Well I would like to think so. And it could not have been better with such a great director, great script, film and getting to play a very complicated, interesting role. So in that way I am very satisfied, let’s see how it turns out to be.

How was the experience having directed by Anurag Kashyap?
Very interesting, he is a great director and is very good with his actors. The reason why Anurag’s actors excel in his films is because he gives them that kind of space to rise above the script.

Now that this has come to you after so long what does Ugly mean to you?
Ugly means very beautiful to me.

In the film you are in search of your kid, in life what was it that you have badly searched for?
We all lose something or the other in life, life is all about lost and found. In life sometimes I am looking for myself.

What is that particular element that you have taken from the character that you have portraed in Ugly?
It was just the frustration of not getting the kind of work I could have got, so that frustration is very evident in this character, because I am playing a struggling actor in the film. Although I never struggled in my life. Earlier when I was just 19, I got Heena which ran for five years on Sony, then I got Yeh Mohabbat Hai, Nayee Padosan and it was a conscious decision to stay at home and then when I wanted to come back, Anurag Kashyap came out of the blue and said you do Ugly. So I have not actually struggle struggled, but I have struggled in a very different way. My struggle is very conscious, me not getting work is very much upto me, because i was sitting home and didn’t go to meet any producers or directors.

So, it was like Anurag came to you with the film?
Yes, we just met and he offered me the script.

So you both knew each other from past?
Yes, long time back when I came to struggle in Mumbai,we stayed in the same locality, so we kind of knew each other.

What are the other projects you are doing and as Ugly has been screened across various international platforms, have you got any offfers from international directors?
I am currently shooting for Sudhir Mishra’s ‘Devdas‘ where I am playing Devdas. We still have a 15 days schedule, which will be shot in Delhi from 7th January. And yes, Bill Bennett – an Australian director has offered me a lead role in his film, but I have to look at the script first and if it excites me I will definitely do i

Surveen Chawla: No Erotic Films Please

Actress Surveen Chawla, who debuted in Bollywood with the film Hate Story 2, says she is not open to do films based on erotic genres.

Surveen Chawla says, “I want to do every kind of films but, except for doing an erotic genre. I’d love to do comedy; I want to do romantic films that’s my favorite genre. I want to do an authentic love story. I want to do a biopic, action I want to films in every genre. But, having said that erotic genre is something I don’t want to do and that’s my personal choice.”

However, the actress went all bold in ‘Hate Story 2’. The actress has also done an item song in ‘Welcome Back’ but says at the moment she doesn’t want to do item songs

She says, “As far as item songs are concerned I have done a special song in Welcome Back and it’s a family song which is picturized on me. I hope in every wedding season this song will be played. I think after this song I will not do item songs as of know but if its a great film I will.”

Surveen is currently busy promoting her film Ugly. Directed by Anurag Kashyap, Ugly features Rahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Girish Kulkarni, Siddhanth Kapoor, Tejaswini Kolhapure among others. The film is slated for 26th December release.

Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s First Look To Release On 23rd Jan

Salman Khan is currently busy shooting for his upcoming film Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The film, which brings together the Superhit director-actor duo Kabir Khan and Salman also stars Kareena Kapoor in the lead role. Ever since Salman booked the Eid 2015 slot for this film, there has been enough buzz about this project.

 We hear, the film’s first look will release with Salman’s brother Arbaaz Khan’s upcoming movie Dolly ki Doli which releases on 23rd January, 2015. Although, since the movie is still in its filming stage, releasing the first look six months prior to its release is a little dicey for the makers and thus, Salman and Kabir have been in talks about this.

PK Might Make The Highest First Week Collections Of All Time

Aamir Khan’s PK seems to be marching totally strong in just five days. The film opened excellently and became the highest non-holiday opening grosser of 2014. Interestingly, the film has so far kept up a good pace over the weekdays. PK has currently collected 136.11 crores in five days at the domestic box office.

PK made commendable business in the week days and it is higher than the likes of Happy New Year and Kick which are the Top Grossers of the year. With a Christmas holiday on Thursday, PK is expected to make a huge business and may be almost equivalent to its Sunday collections.

If PK makes a business in the range of 32-34 crores on Thursday, the film could make the highest first week business of all time as it will reach a total of 190 crores plus. This would be way higher than HNY, Kick, Bang Bang and in fact Aamir may break his own record of Dhoom 3 which had collected 185.50 crores in its first week.

Ayushmann Khurrana: Hawaizaada Will Be An Image Change By Default

Ayushmann Khurrana is all set to star in his first biopic as the dreamy Hawaizaada. After making a smashing debut with Vicky Donor, the actor did fumble a little with Nautanki Saala and Bewakoofiyaan but looks like he is now making an informed choice for his upcoming projects.

From playing a nerdy scientist in Hawaizaada to a UP wala in YRF’s next, Ayushmann Khurrana talks to Koimoi about his choice of films and why he needed a image change.

Was it a concious effort to have an image change?

After Vicky Donor, Vibhu Puri offered me this amazing story of an unsung hero. The way he has fictionalised it, the way he has taken the creative liberty and added his own flavour to the story of a guy who made world’s first aircraft is incredible. So I think there was no plan, but, yes, this will be an image change by default because I was playing quintessential North Indian guy till now and this time I am playing a Maharashtrian.

So, what kind of roles you are expecting to come your way after Hawaaizaada?
I think we should talk only about Hawaaizaada now, but I have done a film called Dum Lagaake Haisha, and I am playing a (UP waala) UP guy, so even that’s also way apart from the characters that I have played till now.

Directed by Vibhu Puri, the film is slated to release on 30th January, 2015.

PK: 1st Tuesday Box Office Collections

After having an excellent first Monday, PK has managed to remain steady over Tuesday too. The film showed a minimal drop of 20% and collected 18.50 crores over its fifth day. It now stands with a total collection of 136.11 crores approx at the domestic box office.

The Aamir Khan film has been receiving a strong positive word of mouth which is obviously working in favour of the film. Considering this is the Christmas week and with Thursday being a holiday, the film will certainly fetch good collections over the holiday.

Multiplexes are performing extremely well for this film and since there has been no good movie since last two weeks. the release of PK has been one of the most anticipated ones. Looking at the current pace of the film, Pk could certainly have its first week collections in the range of 180 crores.

Salman Khan Meets Special Fan Hemlata After Bajrangi Bhaijaan Shoot

Actor Salman Khan is known for his golden heart. The actor, who was currently shooting for his upcoming film ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan‘ in Jaipur,  visited Pegasus Foundation and met with one of his special fans, Hemlata. She suffers from cerebral palsy (athetosis) but after doing functional education and vocational training, she is working at the work training unit of Umang.

The actor is known for his social work and also supports special people with his NGO Being Human. He recently posted a picture with this special fan of his on his Facebook page.

Will Aamir Khan’s PK Go Tax Free?

The makers of Rajukumar Hirani’s PK, which opened to glowing reviews and immense love from all quarters, were very keen that the film gets a very wide reach. Not every film is considered for tax exemption, but the makers of this film have applied for it considering the social message that it has. Aamir Khan, Raju Hirani and Vinod Chopra have applied recently to make PK tax free in all the states of India.

Said an insider, “Rajkumar Hirani has the skill of putting across a social message in the most entertaining way as you are only laughing throughout the film and you only realize the message later. He doesn’t only have a 100% success rate with his films but all his films have a strong social relevance. Everyone who has seen this film has loved it. Top rank police officials who watched the film recently gave it critical acclaim and also feel it is an important film and is a must watch for all families.

Even Sachin Tendulkar called it the best film of Aamir Khan, while others in the industry too can’t stop raving about it.

When contacted Vinod Chopra, he shared, “PK is a very relevant film in today’s times. While it’s an entertainer, it also has a strong social message. A message that needs to reach the whole country. That’s why we have applied for the tax exemption.”

Is Adolf Hitler The Villain of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy?

Dibakar Banerjee’s next film starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is set against the backdrop of World War 2. And not many know that the significant trading port of India, Kolkatta (then Calcutta) became the battleground during WW 2 and Adolf Hitler was involved in the same.

We hear Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is set in the same environment and Hitler will be seen playing the antagonist. The entire team recently launched the first poster of the film in The Great Eastern Hotel in Kolkatta on December 20th, the day when Calcutta was bombed by Japan.

I Wish I Had Seen PK Before Munnabhai MBBS, Lage Raho & 3 Idiots

This is not a PK review. I am not a critic nor a filmmaker, so I cannot review a movie. Still I would like to point out some things that I felt while watching PK. Rajkumar Hirani is one of the finest directors of this generation. His ideas and visions inspire all age group. He knows pretty well how to blend his characters into Indian sentimentality. And it is a good thing because it works, every time he shows something on screen.

If you ask me, nobody understands Indian emotions better than Raju Hirani. That being said I did not like PK as much as I should have. Here are some reasons. Of course there will be comparisons. After all you are Raju Hirani. 

 To be honest it would be a delight to see Boman Irani as the antagonist. His and every other character other than Anushka Sharma is completely ignored. Actually there is nothing there for anybody in the movie other than Anushka Sharma and Aamir Khan. But that’s not the real problem. The real problem is it felt like there is a character missing. I really missed a ‘circuit’, a ‘Raju Rastogi’ or a ‘Farhan’. Where is the magic of unselfish, witty, heartfelt friendship? Where is that selfless, adorable funny guy who loves our hero unconditionally and never loses his side? Sanjay Dutt is not that character. Even Anushka Sharma is not. I really would not mind spending another thirty minutes of screen space watching that character.

 I am not going to debate about the whole GOD-MEN propaganda that is going on at present on every social platform because that would be a complete waste of time and space. But if I am not wrong, not long before, we saw a similar GOD-MEN themed movie named OMG Oh My God!, starring Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar. And that was one nice movie. The idea of showing the ‘GOD-MEN theme’ might be different but at the end of the day the essence is same. And most of the time while watching PK, my mind went back to Paresh Rawal arguing about god’s existence. So it did not actually do anything other than refreshing the memory of the other movie. Now GOD is not the real problem. It’s the presentation. As far as Raju Hirani’s abilities go I expected much more than this.

 Remember that epic vacuum cup delivery scene from ‘3 Idiots’ or the Jimmy Shergill dying scene followed by Sanjay Dutt’s breakdown from ‘Munnabhai MBBS’? Even the final wedding scene from ‘Lage Raho‘! I still find my heart racing when I see those scenes now. Those scenes were epic because they represent us, our culture not as Indians but as human beings. It is not about our love for a single person but our love for the society. They teach us that we can together make the world a better place. But sadly that scene is missing from PK. A final argument between the two main characters about GOD after the protagonist has a breakdown due to a huge loss and it ends up meeting two other people in love who lost each other due to their own mistakes which has really nothing to do with god. At a point when in ‘lage raho’, munna bhai taught life lessons on radio, I wanted to stand up and clap with every other person in the movie but not here on PK, where the anchor trying to make a phone call to her long lost lover all over the world live on national television. That is just not acceptable. It is off the subject of the whole argument in the first place. It should have stuck with GOD.

 Nonetheless PK is a good movie. I just hoped I had seen PK before Munnabhai MBBS, Lage Raho and 3 Idiots. Or may be its just me. I guess I need a jadu ki jhappi.