Filmfare is not 'fair' at all!

Nominations for the 52nd Filmfare awards are out and certainly purchased by big shots of the industry before hand. Filmfare in India is equivalent of Oscars in the US and BAFTA in the UK. I do not agree with the final contenders of the awards, hence, a review.

Best Film nominations:

Dhoom 2
Don
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Krrish
Lage Raho Munnabhai
Rang De Basanti

Apart from Krrish (Due to the concept and appeal and being the 1st true Superhero of Bollywood), Lage raho Munnabhai (No questions about it!) and Rang De Basanti (The best of the decade), no other movie which is nominated deserves to be in this category.

Answer this: WHY on earth 'Omkara' is not on the list? 'DOR', 'Khosla ka Ghosla', 'Woh Lamhe' or 'Gangster' seems to be avoided! One of a kind 'Vivah' which deserves a nomination is also forgotten completely.

Don is a remake, nothing original and was too long. Dhoom 2 had a wrong message integrated in it and if Yashraj were paying for the nominations, they should have chosen Fanna instead. Kabhi Alvida Na
Kehena (Are you kidding man!) was the most senseless film I have seen in recent times!

Best Director Nominations:

Karan Johar (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
Rakesh Roshan (Krrish)
Rakeysh Mehra (Rang De Basanti)
Rajkumar Hirani (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
Sanjay Gadhvi (Dhoom 2)
Vishal Bhardwaj (Omkara)

Disappointing! When Technology takes over the director's seat the nominations for humans can be avoided. Dhoom-2 and Krrish for the best direction is a hard candy to swallow! Where as without nomination, Mohit Suri's best work till date and maturity of handling the sensitive topic in 'Woh Lamhe' was the talk of the town and same goes for Anurag 'Gangster' Basu is left on the streets to die. Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Corporate' is another example and one is Dibakar Banerjee's 'Khosla ka Ghosla'.

For the first time we saw a new way of storytelling through Shirish Kunder in 'Jaan-e-mann', where he missed?

Let us not talk about 'Dor', 'Fanna', 'Vivah', 'Kabul Express' and 'Pyaar ke side effects'.

Karan Johar is okay for the nomination but should not win! The best options are Rakesh Mehera or Vishal Bharadwaj. Though, Rajkumar Hirani is giving them tough competition.

Best Actor in a leading role (Male) nominations:

Aamir Khan (Rang De Basanti)
Hrithik Roshan (Dhoom 2)
Hrithik Roshan (Krrish)
Sanjay Dutt (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
Shahrukh Khan (Don)
Shahrukh Khan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)

Did someone forget that Hritik was the negative lead in Dhoom-2? And SRK's was also the negative role in 'Don'? What was unique with SRK in 'KANK'? Aamir for RDB is a well deserved nomination, so is our Munnabhai as Sunjay Dutt or the other way around!

What about Aamir for 'Fanna'? Ajay for 'Omkara'? Salmaan in 'Jaan-e-Mann'? Shiney Ahuja in 'Gangster' and 'Woh Lamhe'?

Did someone see the movie 'PKSE'? It was a very good film.

Ajay or Salman are sure going to get the so called 'critics' award! Hell!

Best Actor in a leading role (Female) nominations:

Aishwarya Rai (Dhoom 2)
Bipasha Basu (Corporate)
Kajol (Fanaa)
Kareena Kapoor (Omkara)
Rani Mukerji (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)

Hold it man! Ash was the vamp in 'Dhoom 2'. Rani just cried her eyes out in 'KANK'. Rest nominations are Okay but again tell me where Alice Patten from 'RDB', Ayesha Takiya from 'Dor', Kangana Ranaut from 'Gangster'or 'Woh Lamhe' , and the one and only Urmila from 'Banaras' or even Mallika Sheravat for 'PKSE' missed the nomination?

Best Actor in a supporting role (Male) nominations:

Abhishek Bachchan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
Amitabh Bachchan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
John Abraham (Baabul)
Kunal Kapoor (Rang De Basanti)
Siddharth (Rang De Basanti)

Abhishek was never in form in 'KANK'. Amitabh's Sexy Sam was a comedy. John was wooden in 'Baabul'. Only the nominations from RDB are worthwhile. But tell me was the part played by Atul Kulkarni or Madhavan or Sharman Joshi in RDB doesn't well enough for nomination?

Let's say, The Gandhi from Munnabhai was convincing enough? Or Alok Nath from 'Vivah' was not netural enough to get water in your eyes? What about the Akshay of 'Jaan-e-Mann'?

Best Actor in a supporting role (Female) nominations:

Kirron Kher (Rang De Basanti)
Konkona Sen Sharma (Omkara)
Priety Zinta (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
Rekha (Krrish)
Soha Ali Khan (Rang De Basanti)

Agree to all but want to pay tribute to the rest deserving candidates. Masumeh for a chilling role in 'Woh Lamhe', Sima Biswaas for believable acting without dialogues in 'Vivah', Gul Panag for a solid performance in 'Dor', Juhi Chawala for 'Bas Ek Pal'.

Best Actor in a comic role nominations:

Arshad Warsi (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
Chunkey Pandey (Apna Sapna Money Money)
Paresh Rawal (Phir Hera Pheri)
Sharman Joshi (Golmaal)
Tusshar Kapoor (Golmaal)

They say comedy is a serious game! Circuit from Munnabhai is a cult character now but had a little to do when Mahatma Gandhi himself was starring in the same film. Not just Chunkey Pandey but all the characters were overshadowed by the one and only Ritesh Deshmukh in 'Apna Sapna Money Money'. Paresh from 'Phir hera Pheri' was run-of-the-mill and Golmaal was never meant to be for a healthy comedy.

So here are we left with some worst combination of nominees possible for the best award!

Her we go with Shreyas Talpade from 'Dor', Akshay and Govinda from 'Bhagambhag', Akshay from 'Jaan-e-Mann', Ranveer Shouri from 'PKSE' and 'Mixed Doubles', Uday Chopra from 'Dhoom 2', Amitabh Bachhan from 'KANK', Rietesh Deshmukh from 'ASMM', Deepak Dobrial from 'Omkara', Paresh Raval for 'Chup Chup Ke' and the one and only Rajpal Yadav for the same film 'Chup Chup Ke'.

Any complains?

Best Actor in a negative role nominations:

Boman Irani (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
Emraan Hashmi (Gangster)
John Abraham (Zinda)
Naseeruddin Shah (Krrish)
Saif Ali Khan (Omkara)

Saif is my all time favorite for this award. He is going to win this for sure. Rest all are just cancellations. Apart from Comedy, this is the only category without any nomination from 'Kabhi Alvida na kehna', isn't it saying something?

Best Music Nominations:

A R Rahman (Rang De Basanti)
Himesh Reshammiya (Aksar)
Jatin-Lalit (Fanaa)
Pritam (Dhoom 2)
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Don)
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)

'Don' is nominated but 2 of it's tracks were used same as were in the ol'70's film and title track was made-up from the background score or the theme music of the old film. So where is creativity? On the other hand, the Musical which was 'Jaan-e-Mann' needed the nomination for the first ever opera style execution for a motion picture in India with some good melodies inside too!

So are we really considering Himesh Reshamiya's 'Aksar' work as Ghost Raising? Was his album better then the soulful melodies and some chartbusters from 'Omkara' or 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' or of the folk-art of 'DOR'? Pritam's 'Ankahi' is his best till date but also has got no place on the list.

And finally...

WHO on earth in his true state of mind can nominate 'Dhoom 2' in the best music category over 'Bas Ek Pal', 'Gangster', 'Pyaar ke side effects' and 'Woh Lamhe'! These four albums rocked the sales and charts for months and still hot favorites and much better then Dhoom 2's non-melodic sounds. And did someone say 'Taxi no. 9211'?

From the rest of the lot, A R Rahman (Rang De Basanti) is a sure winner of the nominated lot. Jatin-Lalit's Fanaa is an interesting choice as the legendary duo had a last laugh with this score. And finally Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) had got a nomination which should remain a nomination because no great shakes for the score of KANK. They should win for 'Salaam-e-Ishq' next year!

Apart from these most popular categories, there are several more categories and everywhere you see the proofs of biased-ness of the Filmfare and the Times group can be seen.

Will they give ‘Jaan-e-Mann’ for best Background Score or Best Editing or Best Choreography?

This is the time when Filmfare should standup on its own feet and TOI should implement the 'India Poised' campaign here also.

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Why Big B should not be made President of India

News is pouring in about some political parties' intention to make Bollywood's First Superstar from the Hindi heartland Mr. Amitabh Bachchan the next President of India. The TDP, SP, AIADMK etc have already given their nod for Big B.

Hitherto, unlike in Lok Sabha or Assembly elections, the general public or common man has been indifferent about who gets elected to become the President of India, mainly because the President is elected by an electoral college and not directly by the public.

Also, the persons proposed by political parties for the high post have always been senior statesmen of high repute from the political, educational, art, or scientific firmament.

There is no precedent of a figure from the filmland, however respected he may be in the eyes of the people of India, having been brought into the reckoning for the Presidency.

Thus, the present scenario brings with it a rare touch, both for the common man and the Presidential post.

With Mr. Bachchan's proposed candidature the common man is faced with the prospect of getting emotionally involved in a presidential candidate's election. This will unleash a plethora of thoughts and counter thoughts on the pros and cons of having a Bollywood Superstar for president of this great democracy. Left to himself we all know where the common man's loyalties might tilt.

That is where the whole rub is. By proposing Big B's name the parties like TDP and AIADMK have shown little regard to the intrinsic complexities involved in the post of president. There are persons more qualified and famous and even intellectually gifted than Mr. Bachchan is, in this country; persons who can rise to any occasion that the nation might be called upon to face in these difficult times.

To make a filmstar the Head of State of a country like India at this juncture is as bad as belittling the task of supervising the constitutional duties of the executive.

I am an ardent Big B fan and admirer. But I do not think there is a dearth of better candidates for the post of President of India.

Original Post

A fan's open letter to Abhishek Bachchan

Guys you seriously need to do something about your dad. He has not only gone completely senile and berserk but now he does not even consider it mandatory to drape his disgusting and dishonorable acts but instead go about protecting and promoting them.

Unfortunately none of us knew Amitabh was so stupid or so arrogant that he would not only take up roles like he did in Bunty or Babli, KANK or Nishabd but also shamelessly promote and defend his actions. It seems Amitabh has promised himself that he must beat to pulp that image he had created once upon a time, and disown himself of the love, affection and admiration he was given by millions wordwide. It is not he who is so much to blame as much as us who showered our respect and admiration on him because it was we who erred in judgment. He most likely was just another ordinary man or maybe worse because even an ordinary man looks up in the mirror and faces his conscience once in a while. Even he lets go of a few bucks if it were to prevent moral decadence.

The argument that AB has consistently maintained is that he is only an actor or that he is not answerable to any moral values is as shallow and as hollow as his actions. Even a kid knows that media and movies have a wider reach and anyone who gets media attention becomes a role model of sorts. And which acting is he defending? Tell him that it is not hard to express lecherous behavior anytime, anywhere to anyone irrespective of age, relationship, gender, profession or anything else. What is hard is to keep such thoughts and fantasies in check because they have a treacherous impact on values, on way of life, on relationships, on everything that is wholesome ….or do you consider all this degradation as a norm or way of life in your society? On the one hand you guys go around temples and shrines praying and portraying a picture of a spiritually inclined, traditional family and on the other hand you let your dad take up roles that raise every hair in one's body.

Modernism is not defying all morals or all decorum. Modernism is maintaining all of that even in a world of material affluence.

Freedom is not realization of all fantasies however filthy but feeling for society and doing your duty as a good samaritan giving back to society what it has given you so far.

Amitabh’s words, “Senility does not signify end of desire” will haunt him for the rest of his life and I hope it does. He has succeeded in killing the pure and protective bonds of affection and love that existed between a grand father and a girl his grand daughter’s age and encouraged its transformation to something sick, repulsive and disgusting ....!!

After all they say man makes his own destiny…… Mr. Bachchan has carved out his grave well. A grave that will bury all that he was given for so many years by all of us. He does not consider it his moral responsibility to give back anything. Even dons and mafia men must be having some protocols but people like Bachchan who have thrived on what was given to him by the public show an audacity to not even be answerable to us and shirk off all moral or social responsibility.

Listen Abhishek, Shweta….tell your dad to pack up and retire. The time has come. Let him not murder himself; let him not commit this suicide, please….

As to Nishabd - take it from me, it will be a SUPER FLOP movie. People from all corners of the world will be offended by this movie. And that is the truth.

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Deepa Mehta's Water misses the Oscar

Deepa Mehta’s Water couldn’t win the Oscar. The award went to Germany’s The lives of Others which was also nominated in the Best Foreign film category. Water was Canada official entry to the Oscar this year, although the film is based on India.The entire star cast of the film, except Lisa Ray, was present at 79th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Monday.

India didn’t completely lose out at the Oscars though. Another film called West Bank Story made by an Indian producer Ravi Malhotra, won the Academy Award in the Best Short Film Live Action category at the Academy Awards.

Deepa’s forthcoming project is titled Exclusion which will star Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham and Seema Biswas.

Katrina's skirt scene to be re-shot at Ajmer Sharif

Filmmaker, Vipul Shah has decided to re-shoot the Dargah scene of Namastey London which has created a big controversy few weeks back. It was said that Katrina had worn a short skirt to Dargah which had irked the Dargah committee. Vipul however, does not wish to take anymore risk. He has decided to re-shoot the sequence with Katrina wearing a long skirt.

He informs that he is ready to show the whole scene to the Dargah committee. He will be shooting the entire sequence at Ajmer Sharif as he does not want to trouble the religious hostility.

Vipul Shah’s Namastey London is ready and will be releasing in March. Its star cast includes Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Upen Patel and Rishi Kapoor.

Full list of Oscar winners

Finally Martin Scorsese bags the Oscar! Well done Marty! The film legend picked up a golden statuette for his work on THE DEPARTED. Other big winners on the night were Forest Whitaker who nabbed best actor, and Dame Helen Mirren who scored best actress. I could go on and name every award individually, but I've literally just finished watching the five hour long ceremony (hence the lateness of me posting). THE DEPARTED won best picture though. Plaudits. Here's the rest.

Winners in bold.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Alejandro González Iñárritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed
Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Paul Greengrass - United 93

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Penélope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet - Little Children

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Djimon Hounsou - Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer - Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton & David Arata & Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby - Children of Men
William Monahan - The Departed
Todd Field & Tom Perrotta - Little Children
Patrick Marber - Notes on a Scandal

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Guillermo Arriaga - Babel
Iris Yamashita - Letters From Iwo Jima
Michael Arndt - Little Miss Sunshine
Guillermo del Toro - Pan's Labyrinth
Peter Morgan - The Queen

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
After the Wedding
Days of Glory (Indigenes)
The Lives of Others
Pan's Labyrinth
Water

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Dreamgirls
Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
The Good Shepherd
Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall; Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins
Pan's Labyrinth
Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs; Set Decoration: Cheryl A. Carasik
The Prestige
Art Direction: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Julie Ochipinti

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Vilmos Zsigmond - The Black Dahlia
Emmanuel Lubezki - Children of Men
Dick Pope - The Illusionist
Guillermo Navarro - Pan's Labyrinth
Wally Pfister - The Prestige

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Yee Chung Man - Curse of the Golden Flower
Patricia Field - The Devil Wears Prada
Sharen Davis - Dreamgirls
Milena Canonero - Marie Antoinette
Consolata Boyle - The Queen

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Deliver Us From Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise - Babel
Steven Rosenblum - Blood Diamond
Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón - Children of Men
Thelma Schoonmaker - The Departed
Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson - United 93

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Adlo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano - Apocalypto
Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso - Click
David Marti and Montse Ribe - Pan's Labyrinth

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SCORE)
Gustavo Santaolalla - Babel
Thomas Newman - The Good German
Philip Glass - Notes on a Scandal
Javier Navarrete - Pan's Labyrinth
Alexandre Desplat - The Queen


ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SONG)
“I Need to Wake Up” - An Inconvenient Truth
Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
“Listen” - Dreamgirls
Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler; Lyric by Anne Preven
“Love You I Do” - Dreamgirls
Music by Henry Krieger; Lyric by Siedah Garrett
“Our Town” - Cars
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Patience” - Dreamgirls
Music by Henry Krieger; Lyric by Willie Reale

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara - Apocalypto
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock - Blood Diamond
Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton - Dreamgirls
John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin - Flags of Our Fathers
Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar - Apocalypto
Lon Bender - Blood Diamond
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman - Flags of Our Fathers
Alan Robert Murray - Letters From Iwo Jima
Christopher Boyes and George Watters II - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier - Poseidon
Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum - Superman Returns

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Blood of Yingzhou District
Recycled Life
Rehearsing a Dream
Two Hands

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Danish Poet
Lifted
The Little Matchgirl
Maestro
No Time for Nuts

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)
Éramos Pocos (One Too Many)
Helmer & Son
The Saviour
West Bank Story

Interview: Sushmita Sen

Mumbai, Feb 5 (IANS) She has been quite open about her relationships in the past, but Sushmita Sen is, for the first time, tight-lipped about her latest boyfriend Manav.

"As you mature with time, you realise relationships aren't just about one person. The privacy of the other party in a relationship does matter. I may not be secretive about the relationship. The other person is. That's it.

"As long as I can answer without compromising the other person, I do it. I can't let other people suffer for the choices I make in life. People are most welcome to be inquisitive about my life. I do enjoy sharing it," Sushmita told IANS in an interview.

Career wise 2006 wasn't too encouraging for the actress. She had two releases, "Chingaari" and "Zindaggi Rocks" - both bombed at the box office but she is unfazed!

"By god's grace, every time a film of mine bombs, which is rather regularly, I've kept growing and diversifying into different areas of the entertainment business," she said.

She confesses that now she has actually started enjoying acting.

"Cinema allows me to exhale. It's no longer about impressing other people but expressing myself. That's what makes me feel so liberated."

Excerpts:

Q: How has life been treating you?

A: Fabulously! I'm 31 and rocking. And, though I do at times explore the possibility of other options, I wouldn't have my life any other way. 2006 has been personally tough. But I'm an eternal optimist. I say, 'All right god, you've chosen me for this tough test. But please don't make it into a habit.' I'm His favourite child. I wish the same for everyone.

Q: There's an insatiable appetite to know more about your current man Manav. Why are you, for once, so secretive about your relationship?

A: As you get acclimatised to the media, you adopt a less bindaas approach to the limelight. Right now I feel this is my life and I don't need to justify myself. As you mature with time, you realise relationships aren't just about one person. The privacy of the other party in a relationship does matter. I may not be secretive about the relationship. The other person is. That's it.

It isn't easy, specially, when pushed to a corner about being answerable about my relationship. As long as I can answer without compromising the other person, I do it. I can't let other people suffer for the choices I make in life. People are most welcome to be inquisitive about my life. I do enjoy sharing it.

Q: So, is this relationship more serious, therefore more private?

A: No the secrecy, as you call it, is purely because the person has asked me not to talk about it. I'd rather choose what my heart tells me to. I've a tremendously strong conscience. I'd never do something that makes me uncomfortable.

Q: Do you feel the need to find a man who loves you for what you are rather than for being 'The Sushmita Sen'?

A: God! You always did come up with wonderful questions. God knows the image is of no importance to me. And you can't go on looking for love. It would hardly depend on who I am. It'd greatly depend on who he is. I believe all these relationships that you go through in life are actually a part of that cosmic design where love and marriage finally finds you. I believe that will happen to me also.

Q: Madhuri Dixit finally settled down with a US-based doctor, who didn't watch her films.

A: That's tough to believe. But I'll take your word for it. God bless Madhuri's equation with her husband. I saw a picture of her and husband with their two sons. And my heart melted. Blissful relationships are still possible in today's world. As for me, I'd rather have a man see any and every thing I've ever done, and then be able to connect on a one-to-one level.

Q: Does your heart crave for marriage now?

A: It craved for marriage forever. I've always been a home-lover, in spite of living a very public life, which I enjoy in my own way. I'm a hundred-percent all there person. When I'm at a public event, I wouldn't want to be at home and vice versa.

Q: Your two bravura performances in 2006 in "Chingaari" and "Zindaggi Rocks" went unappreciated...

A: Sometimes I feel why do I put so much love, effort and passion in all my roles? Over the years I came in with no expectations from myself. It was more like... okay someone was offering me a chance to be in the movies with good money, so why not? I don't have that feeling of initial excitement any more.

Now, I've actually started enjoying acting. Cinema allows me to exhale. It's no longer about impressing other people but expressing myself. That's what makes me feel so liberated. That's why when I'm accused of living in an ivory tell, I've to say that whether it's life or cinema, one can't function in isolation. Having said that, I must say I love ivory (laughs).

Q: I feel Bollywood still has a problem finding the right place for you.

A: I've never looked at this from their perspective. Speaking from my own perspective, I do understand my audience. I know a "Main Hoon Na" thrills them. But they've to allow me to do the stuff I enjoy doing. Otherwise, I'll stagnate. By the way I love doing David Dhawan's films. And we'll be working together again.

Q: You can run around trees. But you've a problem running around the heroes, don't you?

A: Yeah, that's always been a problem. I'm accused of remaining in my shell. Salman Khan has always been a friend. But many other actors are disappointed because I don't socialise with them after-hours. I remember during "Main Hoon Na", I went around all over the place trying to help Shah Rukh Khan with his bad back. But when it came to chilling around with Farah Khan and company, I wasn't around.

Q: But you're yet to find a favourite hero to pair with.

A: What are you talking about? I've paired up with the greatest hero of them all... god!

Q: The image of the strong woman haunts you. Is it a curse?

A: Well, from the history of the heroine in Hindi films, I feel I've been a big sore-thumb. Having said that, I must tell you, I came here to make a place for myself, which no one else has. And that wasn't about a Friday-to-Friday equation.

By god's grace, every time a film of mine bombs, which is rather regularly, I've kept growing and diversifying into different areas of the entertainment business.

My last film has never determined my fate in the public eye. I got a "Main Hoon Na" after a line of duds. It's not as if I don't want my Fridays and big banners. It's just that a lot of people in the industry have very fixed ideas about how a working woman needs to conduct herself vis--vis the men. I can't stoop to that level to get work. I don't want to.

Original Post

Viacom demands YouTube pull 100K clips

Viacom is demanding that YouTube remove more than 100,000 unauthorized clips, disrupting months of negotiations between the companies.

The media conglomerate has contended that the Google-owned YouTube is unwilling to reach "a fair market agreement that would make Viacom content available to YouTube users." In addition, Viacom contends that filtering tools promised repeatedly by YouTube and Google have not been put in place, while unauthorized video has continued to be streamed.

"YouTube and Google retain all of the revenue generated from this practice, without extending fair compensation to the people who have expended all of the effort and cost to create it," an MTV spokesman said Friday, adding that virtually every other distributor has conceded the fair value of entertainment content and has taken deliberate steps to secure agreements with content providers. "The recent addition of YouTube-served content to Google Video Search simply compounds this issue."

Viacom has asked for the clips to be removed but stopped short of filing a lawsuit. Viacom estimates that its contribution to YouTube amounts to 1.2 billion streams, many of which are big draws on the site, including clips from Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" and VH1's "Flavor of Love."

In response to Viacom's call for removal, YouTube said that it will comply with the request, adding that the viral video site "cooperates with all copyright holders to identify and promptly remove infringing content as soon as we are officially notified."

Despite Viacom's differences with YouTube, the company's MTV Networks reached a licensing deal last year with Google allowing its video search component to use clips from MTV and its sibling networks under a revenue-sharing agreement.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ib7466fcf6c98ca567477aa5e7cdb7bd5

Scorsese named best director at DGA Awards

It looks like it really could be Marty's year.

In what might well finally signal an Oscar win for the oft-nominated director, Martin Scorsese copped the DGA feature film award Saturday for "The Departed."

The Irish mob film overcame competition from the helmers of "Dreamgirls," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Queen" and "Babel."

"Departed" represented Scorsese's seventh nomination for a DGA award, but he had never won previously. The guild gave him a lifetime achievement award in 2003.

A sixth loss at the Academy Awards on Feb. 25 would give Scorsese the record for most Oscar noms without winning.


"This picture, for me, started out as a genre film," Scorsese said in accepting the DGA Award.

As such, he said, his vision of success for the film was relatively modest. "I didn't think I'd be standing here today, I really didn't," he said.

In other awards, Walter Hill won in the DGA's telefilm category for the AMC Western "Broken Trail," and Arunas Natelis was honored for his documentary "Before Flying Back to the Earth."

The awards were presented at the guild's annual gala in Century City.

A complete list of awards follows:

Outstanding directorial achievement in feature film
Martin Scorsese, "The Departed" (Warner Bros. Pictures)


Outstanding directorial achievement in movies for television
Walter Hill, "Broken Trail" (AMC)


Outstanding directorial achievement in dramatic series night
Jon Cassar, "24" ("7:00am * 8:00am") (Fox)


Outstanding directorial achievement in comedy series
Richard Shepard, "Ugly Betty" (pilot) (ABC)


Outstanding directorial achievement in musical variety
Rob Marshall, "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" (NBC)


Outstanding directorial achievement in reality programs
Tony Sacco, "Treasure Hunters" (Episode #101) (NBC)


Outstanding directorial achievement in daytime serials
Jill Mitwell, "One Life To Live" (Episode #9779) (ABC)


Outstanding directorial achievement in children's programs
Kenny Ortega, "High School Musical" (Disney Channel)


Outstanding directorial achievement in commercials
Dante Ariola, "First Taste (Coca-Cola)", "Snowball (Traveller's Insurance)", "Human (Johnny Walker)"


Outstanding directorial achievement in documentary
Arunas Matelis, "Before Flying Back to the Earth" (Studio Nominum, Tag/Traum)


2007 DGA service and career achievement award recipients


DGA Honorary Life Membership Award
Carl Reiner


Robert B. Aldrich Service Awards
Paris Barclay, Taylor Hackford


Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award
Terry Benson


Lifetime Achievement Award in News Direction
George Paul

Traffic Signal exposes Mumbai's underbelly

'Traffic Signal', a hard-hitting Bollywood film about street life in Mumbai, the country's financial and entertainment hub, hit the screens on Friday.

The film has been directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, who is known for his depiction of real-life dramas and his unconventional storytelling method.

'Traffic signal' portrays 60 characters, all of them a take from the mean streets of the sprawling metropolis.

Moviegoers here said the film stood up to their expectations, and also raised queries about several burning issues.

"Yes, it's a Madhur Bhandarkar movie, and there were a lot of expectations from the movie and he lived up to it. A lot of sensitive issues have been addressed in the movie. It is entertaining and it is a good blend of entertainment and knowledge like Madhur Bhandarkar always puts through his movies. Yes, I liked his movie," said Devyani, a student.

Bhandarkar, who made his directorial debut in 1999 with a low-key film called "Trisakti" (Three Powers), tackled some of those themes in his earlier films like "Chandni Bar", which was about a bar dancer, "Page 3", about Mumbai's glitterati and 'Corporate' about the ins and outs of the corporate world.

The National Award winning director described 'Traffic Signal' as 'dark humour'.

"It's a dark humour, fast paced movie – two hours and five minutes. It's the perspective of both the worlds – people sitting in the car and people outside the car. What happens on the traffic signal, one traffic signal or junction called Khelkar Marg…how many people are there…60 people are there in the movie. It's like the trilogy of my earlier films," said Bhandarkar.

Actor Konkana Sen, who plays a sex worker in the film, said initially she had reservations about accepting the role.

"The language which I had to speak was something very alien to me. Language was very street-Mumbai. Body language was very aggressive, very unlike of what I am. The clothes and the whole get up, including the make-up… the whole get up was very different. So in that sense, I was a little apprehensive," said Sen, who has also acted in Bhandarkar's 'Page 3'.

Mumbai, a teeming city of 17 million people, is home to some of India's richest and most glamorous people as well as its poorest, including millions of migrants who come to the city chasing their rags-to-riches dreams.

Its underbelly is ruled by mafia dons, small-time thugs and a sleazy night-life that used to be dominated by beer bars where young women in traditional Indian costumes danced to Bollywood numbers before they were recently outlawed.

http://www.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=13267

Amrita to wed Pakistani cricketer

It looks like Amrita Arora's relationship with her Pakistani cricketer boyfriend Usman Afsal is going strong. The actress plans to tie the knot in a couple of years.

"I'm certain this is the man for me. We'll make it legal whenever it's the right time for both of us," Amrita told.

If Amrita marries Usmsan, she will be the second Bollywood actress after Reena Roy to marry a Pakistani cricketer.

Recently, the besotted cricketer not only flew to Mumbai to be with the actress but actually accompanied her to the set of STAR Plus' quiz show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" ("KBC") where she went to cheer her sister Malaika Arora Khan and brother-in-law Arbaaz Khan who were shooting for the friendship special episode.

"Not just Usman but also his brother from Pakistan. They were both down. So, when I decided to join my sister and Arbaaz on the sets of "KBC" Usman and his brother joined me there.

"Everyone else had their loved ones there - even Shah Rukh's wife Gauri had visited for this celebrity special. So why not me?"

Other celebrities to feature on the special episode are Karan Johar, Farah Khan, Farhan and Zoya Akhtar.

This was Amrita's first appearance on Indian television with her across-the-border beau.

The actress, who turned 27 on Jan 31, had to cancel her birthday party because of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections. But she promises she will soon throw a party.

"I was shooting for a new comedy 'Kuch Love Kuch Drama' with Rajpal Yadav and a whole ensemble cast. They brought in a cake at midnight. It was fun. I'll have my birthday bash as soon as my new home is ready in a couple of months."

http://www.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=13269

Ash's marriage in fresh row!

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Patna High Court against Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai for marrying trees to overcome astrological differences with her fiancé Abhishek Bachchan.

Lawyer Shruti Singh, who filed the PIL earlier this week, says the ritual promotes untouchability.

"I filed a PIL to stop such practices as reportedly conducted by actor Amitabh Bachchan for his future daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai. It is in violation of Article 17 of the Constitution, which prohibits untouchability. It also violates fundamental human rights," said Shruti.

Aishwarya is a Manglik (astrologically Mars-bearing), which is believed to have negative consequences for her impending marriage. The actress is said to have married a peepal tree at Benaras, a banana tree at a Bangalore temple and a god's idol in Ayodhya.

According to Shruti, the fact that Aishwarya had to marry the trees and the idol before marrying Abhishek, who is a non-Manglik, amounts to untouchability.

"The rituals performed by Aishwarya, Amitabh and Abhishek would only promote superstitions and blind faith among common people," Shruti, who is also a women's rights activist, told.

Her PIL requests the court to issue a directive to the state government and the Bihar State Religious Trust Board (BSRTB) to stop the practice of marrying a Manglik-born bride first with a tree, god or animal prior to her marrying a non- Manglik man.

She has sought a ban on the performance of such marriages at temples in Bihar including Shitla temple in Patna, Baikatpur temple near Fatuha and the Shiva temple at Deoghar.

The activist has also demanded a public apology from the Bachchan family for asking Aishwarya to enter into such false marriages.

"An FIR should be filed against Bachchan, his wife Jaya and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh for encouraging such practices," Shruti said.


http://www.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=13273