In India all said and done the hero will look like the boy next door but he will have super natural powers. Even if he is skinny and all alone he can beat up 20 people at a time. And because he is a hero doesn’t even need any weapons. If he has a weapon all the guys on the receiving hands have to be bleeding and of course the hero too will be bleeding from either a cup on his lip or his forehead.

Each action scene in bollywood is very well planned. It involves a lot of planning and precision and here come in the action directors with their team of stunt men. These stunt men are trained professionals who can jump in the sky, do cart wheels and use many weapons at the same time. They will fight with the hero and get hurt. Where the stunt is dangerous the hero will be replaced by a stunt man who will dress up just like the hero. It’s a tough job as these guys earn a living by taking risk daily. This is the same for all stunt stars all over the world. Only thing different is stunt stars around the world have insurance and in India they are not only far under paid they insurance is either as good as not being there or is not there at all.
Action in bollywood is such that there are many heroes who are known as action heroes and it is very difficult to break their image. Sunny Deol, Dharmendra, Sunil Shetty are few such stars. The new generation of heroes who are coming into the industry all come with great body and a lot of muscles to show. People too only want to watch heroes who look like they can beat up another person.

A lot of training goes into being a great action hero. You have to be able to fight, fly, jump as high as a building, ride horses, Zoom in cars past heavy traffic, ride bike through water, slush etc. If you go to the beaches early in the morning you will a lot of young boys training to do all sort of stunts. Some of the stunt masters have their own academies and heroes go there to train and keep their bodies in shape.
Some of the very popular action movies are listed below. If you are an action film buff then these are a must to have.

* Sholay starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan.
* Ghayal starring Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadiri, OmPuri and Amrish Puri.
* Mohra starring Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Paresh Rawal and Naseerudin Shah.
* Karma starring Dilip Kumar, Nutan, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Naseerudin Shah and Anupam Kher.
* Karan Arjun starring Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Kajol, Mamata Kulkarni and Amrish Puri.
* Vaastav starring Sanjay Dutt, Namrita Shirodkar and Reema Lagoo.
* Dharam Veer starring Dharmendra and Jeetendra.
* Aryan starring Sohail Khan and Sneha Ullal.
* Sabse Bada Khiladi starring Akshay Kumar, Rekha and Raveena Tandon.
* Shahensha starring Amitabh Bachchan and Meenakshi Sheshadiri.
* Dharam Shatru starring Shatrughan Sinha and Reena Roy.
* Bhai starring Sunil Shetty, Sonali Bendre and Pooja Batra.

Some of the Top Action movies of 2009 are listed below. If you are an action film buff then these are a must to have.

* Ek – The Power of One
* Blue
* Luck – Jee Le
* wanted
* Tapkey Masti
* Luck Aazma
* LUCK | JEE LE
* Jail
* Kurbaan

A lot of movies have been shot in Kashmir and have stories based on the Kashmir issue. Hritik Roshan Mission Kashmir was shot in Kashmir. Movies like LOC too had portions shot in different locations of Kashmir. Songs are often shot in Shikara’s too give it the Kashmiri feel. Hope the makers in this area just decide to not get stopped by the terrorism and make more movies in Kashmir so that the world can see the natural beauty of this place.
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 the Dal 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.

In movies like Hum Apke Hain Kaun, Gajgamini and Devdas the heroines have changed many outfits. It is believed the ghagara worn by Madhuri in Maar Daala weighed thirty kilos. Costume designing was not that important in the past but now every star has his/ her personal dress designer. They go shopping in foreign countries for top brands. Clothes can make or break somebody’s career. So, all stars take the time and effort to wear the best outfits.

Manish Malhotra is a dress designer who designs for all the big stars in Bollywood. Abu Jani, Neeta Lulla, Sandeep Khosla and Reza Shariff were the costume designers who did the designing for Devdas. The saree worn by Aishwarya in Devdas was 8-9 meters long as compared to the usual 6 meters. Costume designing is not only for the heroines. Each look of the heroes nowadays is also designed by costume designers. Hritik has 15 get ups in Dhoom 2 and each one has been well planned. The most difficult costume to wear was the mermaid outfit worn by Shilpa Shetty.
A star wears his make up first and then the costume. Makeup in bollywood is done for all the stars and there is no gender bias. Shah Rukh was the first to have a hair stylist all for himself for Mohabatein. Stars have been known for growing their hair long for some roles and to have chopped their hair for some roles. Salman went Bald for Tere Naam. Hritik grew his hair for Krrish and Dhoom 2. Aamir grew his hair and moustache for Mangal Pandey. Kajol supported short hair for Dushman where she played a double role. Most difficult and time consuming make up done in bollywood have been the tiger transformation make up done on Rahul Roy and the different get ups done for Hritik in Dhoom 2.
India has still not reached a stage where body wears make up. Women love make up but still prefer their natural looks. A lot of women just don’t wear any make up of any sought but then bollywood stars have their own charisma. Every individual is a fan of some star or the other and so as long as there is make up in bollywood there will be a big market for make up in the country too. India is an ever-growing country and the cosmetics industry is growing in full swing in India too.

Kaajal for the eyes and mehndi for the hands may be the Indian Look for women but hey nothing is only for the women these days. Men too wear a lot of kaajal and mehndi is no more restricted to the hands. Mehndi tattoos are made on the bellies, arms and the back. Again jewels are not only for the women. Men wear earrings too these days. Salman Khan looks cool with an earring on one of his ears. Piercing their belly buttons, eyes and chin used to be the fashion in the west but it has become such a craze in India too.

Urmila Matondkar brought in Hair colours when she did Rangeela. Still today hair coloring is a big thing and every body is doing it. Streaks to funky styles anything that’s different is in. Before Urmila it was Dimple Kapadia who brought in the fashion of wavy hair cut in steps. Akshay Khanna brought in the style of the short crop and Rahul Roy brought in the long haired look. Aamir brought in the Goat beard look and Abhishek the hair band look.
Make up and costumes are tools which these stars have in their hands which the use to mesmerize the crowd. Guess who benefits from all this copy cat business the garments and accessories businesses. Whether a big manufacturer or small each one brings out the ditto copy of what ever the hero or heroine wears and that too in different prize ranges. If the Dhoom 2 collection is on sale at the pantaloons, Sarees worn by Ash and Madhuri are available at every garment store in any bazaar in any city or town of the country. Accessories too are copied without any hesitation. A college bag carried by a heroine in one of the movies is a transparent bag. Next thing walk into any college and you will find similar bags every where. High heeled shoes in funky colours to pretty little hand bags which can only hold few credit cards, to neck long earrings everything is in. A star has it and is wearing it then I have to have it too is he style mantra of the latest generation.
Love make up costumes then just search a ladies hand bag and you will be surprised what all you can find in there??????

The kannada industry is the industry which has produced great actors like Raj Kumar and upendra. It’s this industry which is the main hub for original stories. A lot of Kannada movies are remade into Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu. Cheran made autograph and he introduced Gopika and Kamala to the Tamil Industry. Stars like Raj Kumar and Upendra have acted in many Tamil movies. Upendras biggest hits are Koo Koo, Okemata.

Asin was the face of the year in 2005 every movie which came around Diwali had her. She starred with Surya in Ghajini, Vikram in Majaa and with Vijay in Sivakasi. All the three movies were hits. Sandhya made her debut with the film kadal and walked off with the best actress award for the film. Gopika has impressed everybody with her simplicity and great eyes. This actress is going places without exposing anything at all. This year was a major year for Nayantara. This actress used act with the senior stars as she too was big built and looked good with them. Look at her this year she has shed off all the extra pounds and is looking sleek in Vallavan and E. Both the movies have been hits this year and she is riding high.

While the Ramsay movies and other lower budget movie makers’ movies are filled with a lot of blood shed and creatures without hands and heads. Their movies normally don’t have very big stars and there is a lot of skin show to increase the viewer ship of the movie. Now day’s horror movies are made with a lot of class. There are very good scripts that are written with multiple plots. A major star cast of famous and good actors are signed for these movies. Since these kind of movies don’t have much scope for song and dance sequences, special songs are shot only for the promotion of the film. Ramu was the first one to introduce this concept and this has changed the careers of many actresses. Sameera Reddy performed in one of the movies like this and it was instant fame for her.

The hype is certainly there, but the question remains, will “Kites” which is a dramatic departure from the usual Roshan FilmKraft Bollywood masala film, live up to audience’s expectations? Adding to expectations is the fact that this is Hrithik’s first appearance on the silver screen in two years.

For Hrithik and Rakesh Roshan, “Kites” is an interesting gamble as it’s a film that features a Mexican lead actress, is filmed with a lot of English and Spanish dialogue, is a FilmKraft production that has a director known for thinking outside the masala box (Anurag Basu), has a unique English version called, “Kites – The Remix” (directed by “Rush Hour” director Brett Ratner who cut the film down to ninety minutes and added a more westernized soundtrack), and is set/filmed entirely in/around Las Vegas and the Santa Fe area.

So on that Sunday evening, the lights dimmed, and the film’s first reel started playing…as the audience went into a cinematic trance….

“Holds the twine in his hands What has destiny planned Will the heart understand Kites in the sky Soaring together lovers forever Forever is a lie..”

The lyrics, “Lovers forever…. forever is a lie”, is a very telling statement about a film like “Kites” that is part romantic film, part chase/revenge film, and part mystery film. Director Anurag Basu’s screenplay (also co-written by Robin Bhatt, Akarsh Khanna, and Rakesh Roshan) is fairly straightforward and avoids the typical Bollywood masala situations. You won’t find clichéd storytelling (though the overall plot of the film is one that has been seen before in various Hollywood and Bollywood films in terms of lovers on the run), the screenplay’s strength is in how the characters J (Hrithik Roshan) and Linda/Natasha (Barbara Mori) are brought together in a clever and interesting way. From there it provides sufficient twists ‘n’ turns on the journey of these two lovers who come from totally different places. J is the scam artist who always misses the get rich quick boat due to bad luck, and Natasha is desperately trying to make some easy money in order to support her poor family back in Mexico. How these two meet, and are torn apart forms the crux of the film. The ending, which I won’t give away here, is one that is inevitable and a break from the Bollywood norm.

The dialogues deserve special mention, as it is always kept natural and does not at any point seem overly dramatic. The balancing between Hindi, English and Spanish could have been a disaster, but is handled well. It’s a credit to the screenplay that the love between Hrithik and Barbara is set up in a few very pivotal scenes that rely on actions other than dialogues to convey emotions of a burgeoning love (simmering glances, shadows against the wall). Humor comes out in the exchanges between the two star crossed lovers and it never seems forced.

Cinematography by Ayananka Bose is beautifully creative. The depravity of Las Vegas and scenic wonder of Santa Fe is captured perfectly by his lens. Of particular beauty are the scenes that take place in the rain, which holds a symbolic theme throughout the film and appears at critical points during the movie.

The stunts in the film are high caliber and also are choreographed realistically. You won’t find any super kung fu kicks or mind bogglingly gravity defying stunts. Rather, you’ll find that the action blends in organically with the story, and emphasizes the inherent threat of death for J (Hrithik) and Natasha (Barbara).

Rakesh Roshan is lucky for Hritik and any movie they work together in is a hit and they walk of with many awards. Karan Johars lucky mascot is Shah Rukh Khan. Shah Rukh Khan’s lucky mascot is his wife Gauri. The alphabet K is lucky for both Karan Johar and Rakesh Roshan and so all their movies come out with their first alphabet as K. Himesh Reshammiya’s lucky mascot is his cap and so he is seen with a cap always. Kajol is lucky for Karan and so even if she is not acting in the movie, she plays a small guest appearance at least.

Once somebody wins an award they want to repeat it again and again. A lot of preparation goes into all this. Pundits are consulted. Numerologists are consulted for the name and release of the movie. Some stars are so superstitious that they don’t work with a co star with whom they have given a flop. Then there are many stars that are doing everything possible to win an award but then somehow they have never been able to win an award. Salman is one actor who has given so many hits and blockbusters but still nobody has recognized his talent.

Talking about awards, if you have not been able to win awards then the next best option is to perform in these shows. A lot of stars perform in these shows. Salman and Akshay Kumar are regulars. Hritik dancing on stage is different in each show wonder how he and his choreographers manage to pull it off each time. Kareena Kapoor too is always there to perform in one show or the other. Karishma and Madhuri performing is a real treat pleasure. Aishwarya is a natural dancer who will make your heart skip a beat with ease. Shahid who is a student of Shaimak Davar is another great performer. This year Yester years dance goddess Helen did a small dance with Kareena on their common song Yeh Mera Dil Pyar Ka Deewana. An award function means you can see a lot of stars, their performances and the new clothes and fashions.

Another director whose music is a craze is A.R Rehman. His music is great to listen to and very difficult to sing. He has delivered major hits like Chaiya Chaiya, Hamma hamma, roja etc. But the current heart throb is Himesh Reshammiya. It’s not a coincidence but every track which has been a hit in 2006 has been his track. This director not only makes good music but he is an exceptional singer too. Himesh sings and has a voice which sounds like he is singing from his nose but the beauty is that every word he sings touches the heart. Top directors this year are annoyed with him. Reason being even when Himesh was not signed on for some movies the producers requested him to do a special song. To the woes of many other directors everything that Himesh did turned into a hit.

Play back singing used to be the forte of a select few singers but now a days there are many players. To make it big in bollywood you either need to be star kid or you must have a godfather in the industry. Of late there has been a new way to make it big in bollywood and that is by participating in one of the reality shows. There are many shows like Indian idol and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa which are providing raw talent with a platform to make it big. Some of the recent finds have been Debojit and Abhijeet Sawant. These singers not only sing for movies they also perform in shows.

music-in-bollywood

During the 80s and early 90s it was the time for stars like Govinda who made a fortune by doing only comedy movies. Now directors like Deepak Tijori tried their hands at comedy and made a remake of a Tamil film but that too bombed at the box office. Director Priya Darshan is the only one who is churning out comedy after comedy and that too all hits. The audience loves Shah Rukh for his comedy in movies like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge and Pardes. Salman Khan too did good to his sinking career with comedy film Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya.

• Aage Se Right Starring Shreyas Talpade, Shiv Pandit, Mahi Gill, Kay Kay Menon, Shruti Seth
• Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Upen Patel…
• All The Best: Fun Begins Starring Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Bipasha Basu
• Barah Aana Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Tannishtha Chatterjee
• Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge Starring Kunal Khemu, Paresh Rawal, Soha Ali Khan, Sonu Sood
• Dulha Mil Gaya Starring Ruk ruk Khan, Sushmita Sen, Fardeen Khan
• Do Knot Disturb starring Govinda, Ritesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta
• Daddy Cool Starring Suniel Shetty, Aftab Shivdasani, Aarti Chabria
• Ek Se Bure Do Starring Arshad Warsi, Rajpal Yadav, Govind Namdeo, Yashpal Sharma, Virendra Saxena