Monday 28 February 2011

Ranveer, Anushka smooch!

The actors engaged in a passionate liplock at Shahid Kapoor's birthday bash

Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma, who are basking the the success of 'Band Baaja Baaraat' and were touted to be a couple, have at last come out in the open about their relationship, which they kept denying until now.

It all happened at Shahid Kapoor's birthday bash. Ranveer and Aushka's actions were louder than words. For starters, they entered together arm-in-arm, and Ranveer took care of the girl like every boyfriend should, walking around with his hands around her waist.

They took to the dance floor together, drank a bit, partied a lot, and suddenly the guests were wide-eyed and open-mouthed as Ranveer and Anushka engaged in a passionate liplock. Inconspicuous by the people around, Ranveer and Anushka smooched at the Saturday night bash, and really didn't care that they would be the topic of conversation over breakfast and brunches the next morning. 

Saturday 26 February 2011

Priyanka Chopra defends 7 Khoon Maaf

Her dark comedy 7 Khoon Maaf has under-performed at the box office, but Priyanka Chopra is confident it won`t lose money as it was not a big budget film.

"We haven`t really spent that much on it. No, it isn`t an expensive film," said the 28-year-old who enjoys being one of the top
 
actresses in Bollywood.

It wasn`t easy for Priyanka to go through seven different looks and emotions in 7 Khoon Maaf, which is directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. On top of it there were all those stories about the intimate scenes with her leading men.

"After seeing the film, I`ve had people ask, `Where is the kissing scene with John (Abraham), the love scene with Neil (Nitin Mukesh)?` Did I say there were love-making scenes? The one really lengthy bedroom sequence I have was with Irrfan (Khan) and that was done in a salwar-kameez. It was hardly pleasant. For the love-making sequence with Anu Kapoor, I wasn`t even present on the sets," she said.

The near-seduction sequence with Vivaan Shah was also done with a body-double. And Priyanka selected the body! "The bare back had to be that of a 50-year old woman. My back just wouldn`t have worked. I was shown dozens of backs. I finally chose one that I thought would pass off one which I thought could be my back when I am 50. The hardest part of 7 Khoon Maaf was ageing in front of the camera without props."

Friday 25 February 2011

Yamla Pagla Deewana - Tinku Jiya Official Song Promo - HD version

Priyanka to miss Shahid's b'day!

Shahid Kapoor may end up spending his 30th birthday today without his soul-mate Priyanka Chopra singing happy birthday to him. The actor, who is throwing a close door bash has reportedly 'split' with PC. 

PC, according to rumours, is in the US. Some say the actress is reportedly shaken up by the lukewarm box office reports of her latest release and she planned a quick getaway to America. She is expected to join the Don-2 schedule in Malaysia shortly. Though PC may not end up going to the bash, Shahid who was a regular at her home till a few days ago, has invited Priyanka's parents to attend his party. When they were seeing each other Shahid and PC were inseparable. From their New Year getaway in Goa to Priyanka landing up on Mausum's sets in Punjab, we have seen the two head-over-heels in love. Now rumours (sometimes these seem engineered) say PC will not be there at Sasha's do.

Though Priyanka could not be contacted, her manager confirmed that PC will not attend Shahid's bash that is happening in a suburban Italian joint. Knowing how fickle these two are, who knows?

CALL DHOOM

 So after half a decade since their debut and a long 9 years since the revival of quality Popular music in Pakistan, Lahore’s Call are back with the their second album titled “Dhoom”. The album was reportedly on Fire Records’ list of upcoming albums for a long time and finally sees the daylight at the beginning of 2011.

The distance between “Jilawatan” (Call’s first record) and “Dhoom” serves the band well as they opted to shift gears and swerve considerably away from their original sound. Where “Jilawatan” was a dark and melancholic album, “Dhoom” is an uplifting record. Not surprisingly, the initial reaction from listeners does not go in favor of the band.

“Jilawatan” scored a respectable fan base with hard, riff-based songs and grit filled performances that were perfect for listeners who wanted their Rock to be more “headbangable”. Pakistani music was going through a revolution and Call’s entry was seen as an echo of another successful band from Lahore called Entity Paradigm. The progression was more calculated with the mastermind behind both bands being songwriter, guitarist and producer Zulfiqar Khan aka Xulfi. Few years later, Xulfi secured a deal in Bollywood producing songs for Hindi movies. The result was a massive success with Xulfi’s Bollywood tracks receiving heavy airplay on music channels as well as being popular with mainstream audience.

With “Dhoom” Call attempt to balance the duality of their identity; they pull it off to a great extent. The sound is bright, modern and vibrant. Stronger emphasis on the melody is seen and the choruses are layered with intricate use of harmonies.

The title track opens the record with intense drumming and pounding Rock riffs, it is an aggressive song but still has its uplifting moments. Junaid delivers a strong vocal performance with ease; a nice surprise for people who expected Call to abandon their original Hard Rock edge. Next up, the album’s lead single “Mein Aisa Hee Hoon”, a veracious Pop Punk track featuring the album’s most jaw dropping and infectious melodic hook, the beauty of Call’s new found Pop sensibilities shine here showcasing clever song writing and performance.

Rung Do” brings the excitement down a notch with its tender melodies and emotional vocal performance. It’s a mid tempo ballad featuring a very memorable chorus with lots of strings and shimmering acoustic guitars.

Yeh Pal” begins the set of more Pop sounding tracks, leading to the oh-so-familiar “Ho Jaane De” ending with “Dharkay Jiya”. These are very Bollywood friendly compositions and should bring in newer fans but could also prove a bit traumatic for the dedicated followers. The relief comes with “Hum Say Hay Zamana”, a powerful song again showcasing great song writing skills, It switches between ecstatic verse sections to a strong power chord laden chorus the roaring backing vocals of which turn this song into an epic anthem.

A reminder of the original Call sound is presented in form of “Kyun”, a slower song with distorted electric guitar chords and a towering powerful chorus. This is followed by another soft ballad called “Abhi Dair Hai”.

The album nears conclusion with “Teri Haar Hum”, Call’s answer to EP’s “Humain Azma”. The saccharin softness of immensely successful “Laree Chootee” brings forward the album’s problematic contrast issue. It is a catchy little tune with good depth and structure but feels out of place. The closing track “Aasman” is a tribute to the country’s Air-force. Its message of strength and courage is the same as that of “Pukaar”, the band’s first released single. The lyrics are matched with intoxicating melodies and perfect harmonies bringing the album to an end on a positive note.

Overall, “Dhoom” is a treat to listen to. Every song is carefully written, produced and performed and all are potential hits. Many of the songs have already garnered attention being featured in various TV commercials and Hindi films. Tremendous improvements in the production and direction of the album are prominent, most songs feature real drums with great playing and large powerful sound. The only problem is that the record lacks the consistency of its predecessor. The Bollywood flavored weak Pop tracks don’t really strengthen the musical experience of the album and prove to be distraction from the real Call. They fail to harmonize with the more acoustic, edgy Rock tracks which suit more to a progressing and evolving band.

Call’s great song writing and performance demand respect but their ambitious approach of interlacing the disc with Rock and extremely Pop songs creates a problem, people who prefer to listen to albums without interruption will have to keep skipping tracks to enjoy the music they like, they will have to choose between songs from the heart and songs crafted to fulfill contracts.

Thursday 24 February 2011

Tanu Weds Manu - First Look

More from Tanu Weds Manu

Story: Manu (R Madhavan) is a sad and serious NRI doctor in London who comes looking for a bride in India. He flips for a sozzled small town girl, Tanu (Kangna Ranaut) who lives with her extended family in Kanpur. But there's a hitch. Tanu loves a goonda from Lucknow and threatens Manu with dire consequences if he doesn't say No to the wedding. Poor Manu! He not only says No but tries his best to get his dream girl marry her boyfriend. 

She had around 50-60 big red ants crawling on her back for almost half a day while shooting for the item song Dum Maaro Dum.

 

Ever since Deepika Padukone was signed on for an item number for Rohan Sippy's film Dum Maaro Dum , she has been making news. Now that the song has been shot, industry insiders who have had a sneak peek of it claim it to be the item number of the year. Deepika Padukone is looking red hot in the song and we tell you why.

Deepika had some very tough scenes to do in the song. There was this one scene where she was required to have around 50-60 big, red ants crawling on her back. Though the scene was a very crucial one, director Rohan Sippy was not keen on having Deepika do the scene, as it would be a very risky one.

However, Deepika being the thorough professional that she is refused to use a body double, even though Rohan Sippy insisted on using one for the scene, as she felt that would not look authentic. She chose to do the scene herself.

"Deepika had to have the crawlies on her back for almost half a day, as the scene had to be shot from various angles. Many times Deepika would be bitten by the ants, but not once did she complain. In fact, when the shot was over, Deepika's back was completely red due to the ant bites", informs a unit-hand present at the closely guarded song shoot.

Deepika also worked very hard to look her sexiest best for the item number. She worked out rigorously and trained hard for the dance. The number which is one of the most awaited songs of the season will see Deepika in her sexiest avatar till date.

"She was going to wear the shortest skirt, ever to be worn  by a Bollywood actress, however, when she started doing her dance movements, she realized that her movements became awkward due the short skirt, and since Dum Maaro Dum song has some great dance movements", adds the unit-hand.

"That's when Deepika called director Rohan Sippy, and requested him to change her outfit a bit, as otherwise she was not being able to do justice to the sensuous dance movements. Rohan immediately complied, and asked designer Anahita Adajania Shroff to change the outfit a bit. The short skirt was finally changed to hot shorts with tassels over it to give the look of a skirt. However the new outfit is no less sexy. In fact, the shorts are too short and barely cover Deepika's derriere!"

So smoking hot is Deepika looking in the song that she has become the first item girl ever to make it to the poster of a film, that too solo. 

Wednesday 23 February 2011

SRK’s ‘D’ stands for Deepika Padukone???


The ‘D’ tattoo on Shahrukh Khan’s arm is making quite a lot of buzz in and around Bollywood. SRK who is not fond of tattoos is more than happy to flaunt it, but what does ‘D’ stands for? Ask SRK, and he will show his wit.
Known for his sense of humour, Khan loves to give witty replies to the questioned tossed at him. The star is constantly being asked what the tattoo ‘D’ stands for, and he replies, “It’s for Deepika Padukone!” His wonderful Om Shanti Om co-star.
However, this ‘D’ is a mehendi tattoo which looks like a permanent one and it is for his upcoming action thriller Don 2. So ‘D’ stands for Don, once the star is done with the film, the tattoo will be gone.
Guess, Deepika is enjoying all the attention.

John’s new love…


John Abraham’s passion for bikes is well known. But lately the actor seems to have developed a thing for cars. Though he already owns an Audi Q7, he has acquired another pair of wheels. These days Johnny is seen zooming in his black Audi R8 that is a sports car.
By the way, Ranbir Kapoor also owns the same car. :)