In South Africa, Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt has woven a hypnotic web among the natives, says a business honcho from the country who is visiting India’s commercial capital.

“He is bigger than any icon there. He has girls swooning over him and his fan following is bigger than any Hollywood megastar. South Africans just love him,” Themba Ngcobo, president, Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told IANS.

“In fact, I am one of his fans myself and I have never missed any of his films, even though I usually see it with subtitles,” Ngcobo said.

“Indian film stars have a huge fan following and the Hindi film market is also huge because the demographic concentration of Indians is extremely high,” Ngcobo said.

Ngcobo is one of the leaders of the high-powered delegation from South Africa on a visit to India to attract investment and expertise.

The heavy presence of Indian residents in South Africa certainly boosted the Hindi film market, but the “recently-introduced sops and incentives to the Indian film industry have also taken the ties further,” Ngcobo said.

According to Ngcobo, though the Indian film industry in the late 1990s had started looking at South Africa for shooting, the hosting of the International Indian Film Academy Awards in 2001 and 2003 helped make the Indian film industry aware of its potential.

Everybody’s talking about Bipasha Basu and her hot looks in RACE is a turn on! Especially the eyes! The smoky look of the extended eyeliner a la Sophia Loren has sparked off a trend not only in the film industry but also in the modeling circle.

Sharmila Tagore was the first actress to have started that trend.

Bipasha has always been open to experiments. The actress has always wanted to try out something new when it comes to her looks and character in films. Race gave her a chance to experiment with different looks importantly playing with her eyes.

Bipasha said, “Eyes speak volumes! You don’t have to say anything at that point of time! It is the eyes that talk! They say, ‘Samjhnewale ko ishara kafi hai’! Anaita has done a great job of styling me in RACE and trying to new make up trend by extending my eye liner.”

Yester years star Waheeda Rehmann visited Kashmir after 26 years and this is what she had to say ” Kashmir used to be the favorite shooting spot for all Indian filmmakers in 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and we’ve always loved to be here. I’m a little disheartened to see the condition of theDal Lake, whose waters used to be crystal clear. Encroachments all along Dal, too many people and lack of hygiene among the people have spoiled my mood. The silver lining, however, is that normalcy is returning to Kashmir, which could be a harbinger of a new era for the people of the valley”. Kashmir has given Bollywood stars like Kiran Kumar, Anupam Kher, Sanjay Suri, Jeevan and a new star Rahul Bhatt. Onkar Aima is another famous personality from Kashmir. Child artist turned hero Kunal Khemu too is a Kashmiri gift to Bollywood.

Marathi Film Industry
This industry has its base both in Mumbai and Pune. This is an industry which is being supported by the Maharashtrian government. Due to Bollywood this state had ignored their own regional industry and so now the government has made it a rule that all multiplexes and theatres have to show Marathi movies. These multiplexes which show Marathi movies are given many subsidies. It’s a nice way to motivate the theatre owners to show regional movies.

Marathi movies are made with a lot of reality and their song and dance sequences are very lively. A lot of Marathi stars make it big in bollywood too. One theatre owner screened the movie Shwaas for an entire week without charging a single penny because it was such a meaningful movie.

If you missed Jodhaa Akbar in Hindi, you could still watch it in Tamil and Telugu!

UTV Motion Pictures’ and Ashutosh Gowariker Production’s epic romance ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ starring Hrithik Roshan & Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will now be released in Tamil and Telugu on 7^th March, at a grand event specially planned for the occasion in Hyderabad. The lead stars, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be attending the star-studded event.

A grand star-studded premiere is planned at PVR in Hyderabad, for which the lead cast and crew including Ronnie Screwvala, Ashutosh Gowariker, Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Haider Ali, Kiiran Deohans, Nitin Desai and of course music maestro A. R. Rahman, will be attending.

Jodhaa Akbar has created history at the box office and is on a record-breaking spree; when one looks at the fact the film’s length restricts it to three shows a day vis-a-vis the standard four shows, as well as the fact that the film has not been screened in Rajasthan, the box office collections are the highest ever, with phenomenal overseas collections as well. Not only has the film garnered one of the biggest openings all across but has managed to sustain its top spot even as it enters its third week.

UTV Motion Pictures and Ashutosh Gowariker Productions are releasing this magnum opus in Tamil and Telugu with 65 prints in Telugu and 60 prints in Tamil. This marks the first time for a Hindi film to host a premier for a dubbed version, and that too on such a grand scale.

Jodhaa Akbar is a sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance between the greatest Mughal emperor that ruled Hindustan, Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, and the fiery young Rajput princess, Jodhaa.

Winners of 53rd Fair One Filmfare Awards
The 53rd Fair One Filmfare Awards night was a shimmering night with almost all prominent celebrities of Bollywood gracing the occasion.

BEST FILM
Chak De! India
Guru
Jab We Met
Om Shanti Om
Winner: Taare Zameen Par

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par)
Anurag Basu (Life… In A Metro)
Farah Khan (Om Shanti Om)
Imtiaz Ali (Jab We Met)
Mani Ratnam (Guru)
Shimit Amin (Chak De! India)

BEST ACTOR
Abhishek Bachchan (Guru)
Akshay Kumar (Namastey London)
Darsheel Safary (Taare Zameen Par)
Winner: Shahrukh Khan (Chak De! India)
Shahrukh Khan (Om Shanti Om)
Shahid Kapoor (Jab We Met)

BEST ACTRESS
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Guru)
Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om)
Winner: Kareena Kapoor (Jab We Met)
Madhuri Dixit (Aaja Nachle)
Rani Mukerji (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag)
Vidya Balan (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)

Critics’ Award For Best Actor
Darsheel Safary - Taare Zameen Par

Critics’ Award For Best Actress
Tabu - Cheeni Kum

Critics’ Award For Best Film
Shimit Amin - Chak De India

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Irrfan Khan - Life in a… Metro

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)
Konkana Sen Sharma - Life in a… Metro

Best Lyrics
Prasoon Joshi - (Maa - Taare Zameen Par)

Best Playback Singer (Male)
Shaan - (Jab Se Tere Naina - Saawariya)

Best Playback Singer (Female)
Shreya Ghosal - (Barso Re - Guru)

Best Music
A. R. Rahman - Guru

Best Story
Amol Gupte - Taare Zameen Par

Best Screenplay
Anurag Basu - Life in a… Metro

Best Dialogue
Imtiaz Ali - Jab We Met

R. D. Burman Award
Monty Sharma (Saawariya)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Rishi Kapoor

Power Awards
Yash Chopra & Aditya Chopra

Best Debut (Male)
Ranbir Kapoor - Saawariya

Best Debut (Female)
Deepika Padukone - Om Shanti Om

Best Special Effects
Red Chillies Entertainment - Om Shanti Om

Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year Award
Deepika Padukone

Best Background Score
A. R. Rahman - Guru

Best Editing
Amitabh Shukla - Chak De India

Best Choreography
Saroj Khan (Barso Re Megha Re - Guru)

Best Action
Rob Miller - Chak De India

Best Art Direction
Samir Chanda - Guru

Best Sound
Leslie Fernandes - Johnny Gaddaar

Best Cinematography
Sudhip Chatterjee

Best Costumes
Sujata Sharma - Gandhi My Father

Los Angeles, April 17 (DPA) It could be the plot of a particularly unlikely Bollywood movie. A young Greek girl grows up on the Mediterranean island of Crete and falls in love with movies from faraway India.

Every weekend she sits glued to the screen to watch her idols like Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and others. She later moves to America, but never forgets her Indian connection.

She decides to start an Indian Film Festival in the world capital of cinema, Los Angeles. After a few years the festival becomes a major cultural event and a focus of collaboration between Hollywood and Bollywood. The End.

That, in a nutshell, is the story of Christina Marouda, who founded The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) in 2002, as a non-profit organisation devoted to promoting a greater appreciation of Indian culture.

The fifth festival opens Tuesday night with the LA premiere of Jag Mundhra’s “Provoked” and closes with Rajnesh Domalpalli’s “Vanaja” on Sunday.

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles is a nonprofit organization devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and diverse culture by providing the public with a selection of films from and about the Indian diaspora by Indian and International filmmakers.

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting a greater appreciation of Indian cinema by showcasing films about India and the diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora.

The festival will run from April 22-27, 2008 at ArcLight Hollywood, a state-of-the-art facility located in the heart of Los Angeles. Jury and Audience Choice Prizes will be awarded for Best Feature, Documentary and Short film.

The wedding took place at Dutt’s friend, Pradeep’s residence at Versova Badrinath Tower, and was attended by close friends Sunil Shetty, Dharam Oberoi and Jatin.

Putting all rumours to rest, film actor Sanjay Dutt on Monday got married to his girlfriend of two years, Manyata, according to Hindu rituals in a simple wedding ceremony here.

Dutt was wearing a golden hued kurta-pyjama with a red embroidered ‘chunri’, while Manyata was wearing a red and gold coloured lahenga with golden embroidery.

Manyata was looking like the typical Indian bride with her forehead and her hair parting full of sindoor.

I have no words to express my feelings,” Manyata said after the rituals got over and the couple met the media. Dutt said that he was very happy and he loved all his fans.

When asked, what gift did he give to his new wife, Dutt answered, ‘myself’, ending all the speculations that were raised about their relationship in the last few months.

Dutt thanked the media for being supportive during his testing times.

Dutt had got married to Manyata, alias Dilnawaz Sheikh, on February 7 at a registrar’s office in Madgaon, Goa.

Dutt seemed very happy at the turn of events and was seen joking with his friends and mediapersons.

Dutt’s sisters Priya Dutt Roncon and Namrata Gaurav, were not present. Other family members also did not attend the wedding.

Congress MP from the Western suburbs, Priya Dutt said that she got the news of the marriage from the media. It is reported that daughter Trishala Dutt is happy with the marriage.

It may recalled that Dutt was recently granted bail by the Apex Court for his involvement in the 1992 Mumbai serial blasts case for possessing deadly weapons in the notified area of the city.

Following the conviction awarded to them, both of them, who were on bail at the time of sentence, were taken into custody and were lodged in the Yerwada jail in Pune.

Manyata and Dutt had met at the fag end of the final verdict of the lengthiest trial of the Indian judiciary and since then she has been Dutt’s constant companion whether it were his court trials or the lavish Abhishek Aishwarya wedding.

Dutt has earlier been married to model Richa Sharma and Rhea Pillai and has a daughter Trishala from Sharma, who is studying in USA.

 

 

Bollywood actors are like demi-gods in India. They have millions of fans and many people in India consider Bollywood like religion. Here, I have made a list of the top ten Bollywood actors. They are all acting now. I have mainly focused on their popularity. All of them are the leading actors of Bollywood at this moment.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s official entry for the Oscars in the best foreign film category is a flop film featuring grand palaces, camels and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

“Eklavya: The Royal Guard”, which was selected from among five films, is about palace intrigue and the loyalty of an old guard who carries a secret about a royal family.Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra says he was trying to increase his chances of winning by screening the film to as many people as possible.“Many of our films have not done well because not many people have seen it. The real battle is to get people to watch the entire movie,” he told Reuters.Chopra said he had hired a publicist to promote the film and he was also travelling to the United States next month to screen it at various venues.“I don’t care if the film wins or loses, all that I care is people should enjoy an Indian film at the Oscars,” said the filmmaker, whose short, non-fiction film “An Encounter with Faces”, was also nominated for an Oscar in 1979.“If people don’t see the film, they won’t be able to vote for it and I believe Western minds can relate to my film because the title of my film is from the Mahabharata, which many know of.”

“Welcome to Movies 2006 as it is a Jungle out there…” is remarked by a Movie Critic. The year 2006 has added a lot to the Film industry. The movies cannot be listed at one hit but can be zeroed down to a list of some top Bollywood Movies. So Hello and welcome to our review of the movies that were popular with fiction and reality fused as never before, some good comedies, a reinvigorated James Bond in

Hollywood. The remakes of some of the old classic movies, the making of Dhoom 2 and other successful films have hit the screens in the year 2006.

We come to our very own Bollywood Movies. There were innumerable movies that got released during the year 2006. But here are a few top films of 2006 enlisted to reshuffle your memory.

Lage Raho Munnabhai

I am sure this is the top movie in the lists of all the movie aficionados. A simple, humble, believable yet heartwarming and meaningful movie. There is seldom a movie like this, portraying the inherent goodness and nobility of humans, that makes the audience smile and cry aplenty. A timeless and ageless movie, which can be watched with the same fervor and smile always. Munna & Circuit topped with Gandhiji, what more can you ask for??

Rang De Basanti

Path breaking concept and novel execution, topped with rocking music and awesome performances, sums up the crux of the movie. Flawed at places, at times boring too, but overall gut wrenching and touching at the same time. It is a masterpiece from Rakesh Mehra and definitely another feather in Amir’s cap.

Fanaa

How can I forget a movie like this where we have the pair like never before- Kajol and Aamir Khan and melodious songs. The movie has an ordinary storyline but the actors and the making of the movie created an all time favourite for all. The movie features a wonderful cinematography but ends with a sad note. A well made movie which did quite well in the box office. 

Dhoom 2

Whilst Hrithik and Aishwarya joined forces to concentrate on the tension-filled portion of the thriller the Uday/ Bipasha pair provided lighter moments. With its high-powered action sequences matching
standards, Dhoom 2 is a winner all the way at the box office!

Omkara

You can either love this movie or hate it. I love it for the sheer intensity and honesty of it. Dark and brooding setting, intensely human characters and jaw-dropping realism mark the positive aspects of the film. A gritty movie with a lifetime performance from Saif, ably supported by the ever-reliable Ajay Devgan. This movie ultimately breaks your heart, but registers itself nonetheless strongly.

 

Aishwarya Bacchan will be celebrating her birthday in Agra. She is busy shooting in Agra for the shooting of her movie Taj Mahal. She is playing the role of Mumtaz Mahal in the movie. She also has her real life Shah Jahan with her in Agra and will be soon be joined by the Bacchan family.

Here is all what Aishwarya said about her life and her birthday celebrations:
On Her family joining her for her birthday:
It sounds so dramatic and romantic, “It’s nothing like that. I’m bringing it in with Abhishek, Ma and Pa. Abhishek was shooting an ad in Agra on Wednesday. So I joined him with Ma (mom-in-law Jaya Bachchan) and now Pa (father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan) has also joined us. So you could say it’s a perfect birthday by the Taj Mahal, though not quite at the Taj Mahal. Have you seen the crowds over there? We can’t risk going to the Taj Mahal, but it’s just a stone’s throw away. It’s a pity my parents couldn’t join us here in Agra.
About Her First Karva Chauth:
I came back from the
US from shooting Pink Panther in time for Karwa Chauth. God knows how the cameras got our shots, probably from neighbour’s premise. We’re just leading our lives normally. I don’t know why or how the press has this hunger to know about us.

About Her Birthday:

This is my first birthday after marriage and therefore a very special occasion. Spending time with the people I love is my greatest joy. I’m in a very happy place. And I don’t mean Agra. Just being with three people who mean so much to me makes my life complete. God has been kind. There’s great fulfillment in love and in being loved, by not just my husband but his parents who are now my parents. We’re one family and we all love one another.