Kismat Konnection

Singers: Neeraj Sridhar, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam, Hard Kaur, Atif Aslam, Shreya Ghoshal, Suheil, Adeel, Akriti Kakkar, Alka Yagnik, Mohit Chauhan, Shaan
Lyricist: Shabbir Ahmed
Music Composer: Pritam Chakraborty
Rating: ***

Composer Pritam Chakraborty almost always ensures that his music hits the top 10 lists - if not the entire album then at least a few tracks. And he has succeeded in churning out some chartbusters for Aziz Mirza's 'Kismat Konnection' too.

'Aye Paapi (Tu Hai Meri Soniye)' will definitely click with audiences. Not just because of Neeraj Sridhar's vocals, but also due to the unconventional and sprightly music composed. There's rap, hip-hop, dance and Bollywood mix in this song, making it a perfect dance number.

Current flavour Atif Aslam renders 'Bakhuda tumhi ho' along with Alka Yagnik. This one is a romantic piece and Pritam has kept it sweet and subtle. It is a pleasure to listen to this romantic song and Shabbir Ahmed's lyrics are great.

The choice of good singers continues with Mohit Chauhan, who renders 'Is this love (Kahin na laage)'. Shreya Ghoshal joins him in the rendition of the song. It has been composed well, but might not last too long on the charts as it gets a bit too mushy at certain places.

Pritam tries to be different in 'Move your body now' by mixing western arrangements with Punjabi influences. Shaan, Akriti Kakkar and Suheil provide vocals for this number and are joined by Hard Kaur, who contributes with her rap.

But the song doesn't boast of great lyrics and Akriti's rendition doesn't really gel with the overall piece.

Sonu Nigam, who returns to the scene after a long time, sings 'Soniye ve' along with Sunidhi Chauhan. The song doesn't really impress. It has a Punjabi flavour and clearly belongs to the 'heard-it-before' genre.

The last track apart, the other songs of the album are good. And 'Aye paapi' and 'Bakhuda...' remain favourites

Bachna Ae Haseeno

Why do girls always fall for the wrong guy? Their mothers warn them about him.

Their friends shake their heads disapprovingly. Their minds tell them to escape while the going is good. But no! Oh no! Their hearts are another story altogether.

You see, they are always sending all the wrong signals. His name alone is enough to scramble their brains and set their hearts racing.

Meet Raj (Ranbir Kapoor). He is the stuff of dreams, with the looks of a 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' good boy.

Who can blame him for falling in love as many times as love is fortunate enough to find him. It's not his fault that he's a heartbreaker, its in his DNA.

Come… discover his three love stories; Raj and Mahi (Minissha Lamba), Raj and Radhika (Bipasha Basu), Raj and Gayatri (Deepika Padukone).

Different ladyloves at different times in his life. And each one of them teach him a little bit about love and a little bit about life, in their own sweet, sexy or sassy way.

Come fall in love... three times over!

Ugly Aur Pagli

Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Ranvir Shorey, Tinu Anand, Sushmita Mukherjee & Payal Rohatgi
Directed by: Sachin Khot

The film focuses on Kabir alias Ugly (Ranvir Shorey), a happy-go-lucky guy who has been study engineering for the last 10 years.

His mundane life is turned upside down when he meets the quirky and kinky Kuhu, alias Pagli (Mallika Sherawat).

Ugly always wanted a girlfriend but he never in his wildest dreams thought he would encounter a girl who could make him dance around in circles, run semi-naked, ride bicycles without seats, or wear high-heel shoes.

Pagli, an obnoxious, strong and witty character is totally out of control. She has a knack of disrupting your life in a way you never knew possible.

Recently, Pagli has been going through a personal crisis. She feels the only way she can overcome it is to put someone else through her experiences.

To achieve her aims, she targets a helpless nerd and makes him fall in love with her. Then the fun begins as his life is turned upside down!

Call her simply irresistible, or devil in disguise, Pagli sure has a way of getting around difficult situations.

So when the devil is after you, all you can do is run because if you are caught in her web then all hell will break loose! But as Ugly tries hard to escape Pagli's clutches, he falls more miserably in love with her.

Will Ugly survive Pagli's insane demands and tantrums, or will he run away screaming?

Love Story 2050

Starring: Harman Baweja, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, Dalip Tahil, Archana Puran Singh, Harsh Varisth, Mehzabin Sarela and others
Screenplay: Harry Baweja, Rowena Baweja
Music: Annu Malik
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Director: Harry Baweja
Ratings: **1/2

It’s a beautiful dream for those who love living in the dreamlands only; but what about the audience who are quite bored with repetitive Bollywoody love stories!

Karan Oberoi (Harman Baweja) is the only son of famed businessman Mr. Oberoi (Dalip Tahil). Karan is not happy with his father as because his father is more interested in cars, business and achievement than his only son.

Being very lonely and having the thought in mind that his unfortunate accidents would bring no loss to anyone, Karan always prefers to play with danger.

In the course of the mundane story, Karan meets Sana (Priyanka Chorpa) and for obvious reasons (love, I mean to say) they decide on getting married. And here comes the twist. Sana meets an accident and she dies leaving Karan all alone.

On the other hand the Love Story has Karan’s uncle, Dr. Yatinder Khanna (Boman Irani), who by profession is a scientist. Dr. Khanna has been working on a time machine for last fifteen years so that he can poke into the future to how the things will change (obviously).

Karan meets Dr. Khanna and recapping Sana’s dream about entering the year 2050, they go to the year 2050 with the time machine.

Entering the future Karan comes to know that Sana is now the best rock-star of the world living in Mumbai and is named as Zaisha. Ultimately Karan succeeds in getting his love, Sana alias Zaisha, back to the present with the help of QUTY and BOO, two robotic dolls taking care of Zaisha.

Harry Baweja has beautifully taken care of direction as well as the story but at some places the story becomes little slow.

Music and lyrics of the film looks nice but at the same time it appears little difficult to say that songs will look something like that with flying cars in the year 2050. Priyanka has worked well in accordance with her character.

Whether Harman’s resemblance with Hrithik is a bane or boon is a quiz immaterial but his impact on the screen is quite impressive. Boman Irani has depicted his character quite well. Archana Puran Singh looks good in her character of Priyanka’s mother.

The first part of the film is based on the love story between Priyanka and Harman and the funny thing is the second part of the film is also based on their love story. The only difference is the second part happens in the year 2050.

Coming to the much hyped special effects, Harry has proved it a mark in Indian film history but it’s quite difficult to say whether the world, especially Mumbai, will look somewhat like that in the year 2050.

This possibly is the first Indian film that marvels in special effects and people seem really amazed but at the same time few people are inclined to believe it a copy of some Hollywood flick.

Being neutral it’s better to buy both the opinions. One funny thing is, even in 2050, corruption remain our inseparable characteristic. On the other hand the robot snake shows the fatal future of today’s reptiles (?).

QUTY and BOO show the great creative status of the director but the size of BOO is little small than what people have expected it to be.

The film, flaunting a budget of fifty crore, must have earned a cool amount from Lux and Lawman. At the same time, the brand owners must be feeling good thinking about how their brands will be famous among stars even in 2050.

Well, it’s time to say adieu to you all but before signing off it’s better to say that you must watch the film once to witness Harman’s acting, special effects and not to forget, Mumbai in 2050.

Mehbooba

By Subhash K Jha

Starring Manisha Koirala, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan
Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali….oops, Afzal Khan
Rating: * ½

Manisha Koirala is the one reason why one would want to brave this prolonged homage to the cinema of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

This one is a 3-hour long rag-carpet welcome to Sanjay Leela Bhansali Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam. The plot, ambience, characters, music and even the interactive interludes between the main protagonists are all derived with lipsmacking relish from Bhansali's film.

Why, Mehbooba (no relation to Shakti Samanta's Mehbooba in 1977) even goes to Budapest where Bhansali shot the second-half of Hum….

Except, that Mehbooba goes to Budapest in the first-half and to the bustling screechy noisy food-laden haveli from the first-half of Bhansali's Hum… in the second-half.

Ho hum…. The melodies (if one may call them that) flit in and out like unwanted guests after every ten minutes of dialogue.

If the songs were sacrificed on the editing table, maybe—just maybe—Mehbooba would be more bearable in its old-world love triangle ambience of two brothers (one idealistic and lovelorn, the other unscrupulous and ever-libidinous) who fall for the same girl.

The meat of the métier goes to the majestic Manisha…Still resplendent and lovely no matter where and in what they put her, Manisha never fails to infuse a poetic aura to her character.

Fetchingly photographed by that wunder-lensman Ashok Mehta at times Manisha looks as incandescent as she did in Bhansali's Khamoshi: The Musical.

Alas, like this long-delayed film, Manisha too has gone through innumerable ups and downs in her career.

The inconsistencies in the narration are covered up with a lot of exterior gloss. To the director Afzal Khan's credit the film's scattered pastiche is woven into what can pretty much be described as a seamless 'yawn' about two men and a woman who should know better.

The sets and locations are opulent flamboyant and eye-catching. No subtlety is applied in the visuals or emotions. The song-and-dance numbers that come along with alarming rapidity are shot with an eye for unhampered opulence.

So who gets the girl at the end? That's a question which must remain in the audiences' mind in any love triangle.

Beyond a point we stop caring completely about these three compulsively conflicted characters, even though one of them is played by a star who brings in an element of the tragic and classic grandeur from an era gone-by.

And one isn't referring to either of the two male leads. Devgan and Dutt behave like Devgan and Salman Khan from Bhansali's Hum Dil… discussing the same woman with each other ad nauseam as though she were two different entities.

A case of a split personality? By the time the triangle is resolved (with one of heroes coming to a suitably stickly nemesis) the only 'split' personality is the audience.

Most of them have fled the dread of watching a film that goes back the oldest traditions of Hindi cinema and emerges with a product that substitutes genuine emotions with elaborate props borrowed from a master storyteller's creative godown.

Money Hai To Honey Hai

Cast: Govinda, Aftab Shivdasani, Upen Patel, Ravi Kishan, Celina Jaitley, Kim Sharma, Hansika Motwani, Isha Koppikar
Directed by: Ganesh Acharya

Money Hai To Honey Hai revolves around six characters. Happy-go- lucky guy, Bobby (Govinda) lives for today. He neither thinks nor bothers about tomorrow.

His father thinks he's good for nothing. So he challenges his dad to prove him wrong by leaving home.

Then there is Lala bhai (Manoj Bajpai), who suddenly becomes wealthy by winning million pounds on the lottery. Emotional and kind hearted, he loses all his winnings and is penniless within months.

Writer Gaurav (Aftab Shivdasani) works in an advertising agency. His honesty and sincerity shows in his advertising campaign. Always misunderstood by his colleagues, Gaurav eventually gets fired. Even his girlfriend dumps him and marries another guy.

Manik (Upen Patel) is a struggling model whose endorsement is limited to cheap under garments. He comes across Dolly Kumari, a successful and single middle aged fashion designer (Archana Puran Singh).

Hoping to make it big in the advertising world, he has a relationship with her against his wishes.

Successful television actress Ashima Kapoor is unhappy with her career and desperate to star in films. She finally gives up television and waits for that elusive break.

Shruti (Celina Jeitely) is a struggling dress designer, who sells her designs on the cheap to Dolly Kumari. Meanwhile Dolly adds her own tag and sells the same merchandise for double the price.

One day, they all receive a message on their mobiles from a Mr Jaiswal informing them they have become the owner of his group of companies worth 1,000 million rupees.

As instructed by Mr Jaiswal, they reluctantly arrive at a resort. With formalities of transferring the ownership complete, they celebrate their good fortune. But this does not last long.

A lawyer reveals there's a loan of 1,200 million rupees which is outstanding and must be repayed. Until then they will be put under house arrest.

A Korean company now proposes to buy the companies but these six characters choose to decline the offer. They put all their ideas together and come up with a clever plan to make garments on the cheap.

But will they be successful in their new business venture? Will they make enough money to pay up their debts?

Akshay Kumar's 'Sardar' look in Singh Is Kinng



Akshay Kumar's 'Sardar' look in Singh Is Kinng



Akshay Kumar had a fantastic last year with some big hits like Namastey London, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Welcome. While 2008 many not have begun on the right note for the 'Khiladi' Kumar, with Tashan failing at the B.O., Akki is not one to be worried. In fact, he is all set to prove that he is indeed the King of the B.O. with his next release Singh is Kinng. The film is produced by Vipul Shah and directed by Anees Bazmee.




Akshay Kumar's 'Sardar' look in Singh Is Kinng




The film is being eagerly anticipated because Akki would be seen as a Sardar (with Pagdi, beard et al) for the first time in his career. If that's not enough reason to watch the film, Akshay would be seen sizzling the screen with one of his favorite co-stars Katrina Kaif and if the promos of the film are anything to go by, this one promises to be a sure-shot winner.




Akshay Kumar's 'Sardar' look in Singh Is Kinng




While there was a lot of talk about some members of the Sikh community having an objection with the way Sikhs were portrayed in the film, all seems to have sorted out after Akshay along with his producer and director arranged a special screening of the film for the Sikh authorities so that they get a clear idea of what's there in the film. Akki is seen sporting a white pagdi, with a white shirt and a pink lungi. Quite an interesting combination must say! From the looks of it, the 'Punjab Da Puttar' seems to be having a ball of a time shooting in the green fields of his home town Punjab.




Akshay Kumar's 'Sardar' look in Singh Is Kinng




At the recently held IIFA Awards in Bangkok, Akshay Kumar did a special Singh is Kinng act in which he performed a deadly stunt and ended up spraining his leg .However, even after that, he continued with his act and was soon joined by a pack of dancers, dressed as sardars, roaring the name of his upcoming release. Among others, he danced to both the title tracks from Singh Is Kinng, leaving the Thai, Bollywood struck audiences, absolutely bedazzled. Well, he surely has increased his fan following even in Thailand.




Akshay Kumar's 'Sardar' look in Singh Is Kinng




Akki's character in the film is called Happy Singh. However, the Khiladi doesn't look happy in this picture as he tries to catch a Hen on top of a roof. Whether, he finally manages to do so is something you will have to wait and watch when Singh Is Kinng opens across cinema halls.


All you wanted to know about Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na



Aamir Khan Productions' latest venture Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na marks the launch of Aamir's nephew Imran Khan as an actor. This sugar-sweet romantic comedy, which also stars Genelia D' Souza opposite Imran has been directed by Abbas Tyrewala. While the music of the film given by A.R Rahman is already a rage (especially the Kabhi Kabhi Aditi track) one is looking forward to seeing if Aamir Khan Productions delivers yet another quality product. We at bollywoodnewsonline bring you all that you wanted to know about Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na in this exclusive section which will leave you asking for more.

Aamir does a mock rehearsal with Salman for '10 Ka Dum'


They say 'practice makes a man perfect'. And it's obviously understood that Aamir Khan hates flaws when it comes to work. His perfectionist nature is not unknown to anyone be it when he is acting, producing or directing films! Recently when he shot for game show '10 Ka Dum' with his bhanja Imran, he requested Salman Khan for a mock rehearsal before playing the final game.

Busy with the promotions of Imran's debut film Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, the duo (Aamir and Imran) turned up on the sets of '10 Ka Dum' and came in straight for a rehearsal. Like a true host, Salman explained the format of the game and how it is played! In the knock out round (2 contestants play against each other for 5 questions, the contestant that gives the maximum right answer plays the game for 10 crores) Aamir and Imran were pitted against each other, as expected, Aamir would think through his answer well before finally pulling the trigger (a knob next to their screens). However, the young lad Imran won against Mamu Aamir and excitedly played the game.



During the rehearsals, Salman asked Imran, "Aap Aamir ko kya bulate ho? " Imran said, "Aamir mamu" Salman asked, "Toh aap mujhe kya bulaoge? " Imran said, "Chachu" Salman immediately asked, "Toh aap shaadi ke maamlein mein apne mamujaan par jayenge ya phir aapke chacha pe" (pointing to himself) all of them broke into a laugh riot and the game continued!

Watching them interact, it was obvious that Aamir and Salman got along well and this will sure put to rest all rumors on the Khans being at loggerheads!

Witness the action of the Khans, Salman, Aamir, and Imran this Friday, July 4 on '10 Ka Dum' on Sony. Watch out for the real game between the men!

Battlefield ready for Imran and Harman

Bollywood is a competitive world and to survive in it you need to be the fittest, the Best. Debuting this week is ‘Two Boys of One City’; Imran Khan and Harman Baweja. With their movies ready to hit the theatres in just two days, they both are ready for some serious action and thorough competition.

We all know Aamir Khan hardly socializes and likes maintaining a low profile all the while

. But this time around he, too, is leaving no stone untouched for his nephew Imran’s debut film Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na. He’s promoting this movie big time by at

tending parties, conferencing with press, participating in reality shows and even inaugurating shops. Aamir even agreed to become the first guest in item girl Rakhi Sawant’s show. Speaking about some serious rivalry, the actor even went ahead and out-threw Harman and instead, he and Imran became the guest for Salman’s Dus Ka Dum.

Harman, on the other hand, is not elbowing anyone but is concentrating on his movie’s promotion. His girlfriend (and also the leading lady in the film), Priyanka Chopra is with him to do the same for round the clock.

They have been promoting their movie in Pantaloons, Fame and even have launched an all new Aura diamond collection labeled with the name of Love Story 2050.

While the Harman starrer is expecting a dawn of a new sci-fi world with the robots and the best animation the country has seen till now, the Imran starrer is based on the same age old concept of young generation trying to understand love and its reality. But not to forget Priyanka’s words that despite being a sci-fi film, Love Story 2050 is basically a love story.

Having both the love stories on each of our hands, now we all have to wait till the Friday dawn hits the theaters to see who between Harman and Imran battles well on the field of love game. Not to forget the game of currency at the BO!

Vidya may consider Shahid’s proposal

Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan fall in that league of Bollywood celebs who like to hide their romantic affair. But in reality the duo just doesn’t seem to get enough of each other. The two maybe trying their level best to hide their inner feelings but it’s not such an easy task to hide it from the eyes of the media personals.

Where few days ago, Vidya had uttered in a press conference that Shahid is just a very good friend to her but in another press conference, held few days later, the same actress took her relationship with Shahid a little further saying that she may consider Shahid’s proposal.

Vidya may have started expressing her true feelings but Shahid still seems to maintain a low profile.

Now this is not fare. We have been waiting and waiting and waiting and what the stars are doing for their die-hard fans? They are just hiding and hiding their connection. Well, after all it’s their personal matter.

We may have to wait a bit and see how soon the couple shares their true konnection with us. Meanwhile, we would just like to inform our hotties that “Pyaar aur Pimple kabhi chupaye nahi chupte”. True, isn’t it?

I am not marrying Mr Aditya Chopra: Rani Mukherjee



Rani on her Rishta with Yashraj...

Rumours insist you're marrying Mr Aditya Chopra.
Rumours can insist what they want. To me they're baseless and stupid rumours. I'm waiting for them to die a natural death. These kinds of speculations come with the territory of my work.

They're nothing but efforts to pull me down. And I can see every effort is made to downsize me. But fortunately I know the difference between constructive and destructive criticism.

Have you become wiser now?
Of course. I joined this industry when I was 17. Naturally I've grown wiser. I can see through people's motives. I'd rather work quietly and wait for my movies to release. But I can't say such rumours don't harm me. What can I do?

There was a death in your family recently?
Yes my cousin Kajol's father. Shomu Kaka was very close to my family. He was very close to my parents.

I was one of his favourite nieces. Both families were very close until my dad stopped making films and I started working.

Then a little distance came between the two families because I got busy with my own career. But at a time like this that distance dissolved. I kept remembering my childhood days with Shomu Kaka.

You play an angel in only one costume throughout Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic?
Actually it was several dresses looking identical. I couldn't possibly wear the same dress throughout.

You love working with new directors.
Oh yes! Karan Johar, Shaad Ali and Kunal Kohli, they all did their first films with me.Now I'm doing a film with another new director Anurag Singh for Yashraj Films.

You've become a resident Yashraj heroine.
I resent that observation. I go only by the script.

If Yashraj are doing so many films that I enjoy why should I avoid them only because people might put two-and-two together and add up to five. It's wrong to say that I'm doing only Yashraj films.

Lately I did Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna, Babul and Saawariya which are not Yashraj films. And in fact my latest film Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is entirely a Kunal Kohli Production.

They've just given him their banner's name. There was no one from the Yashraj team involved at all in either Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic or for that matter Pradeep Sarkar's Laga Chunri Mein Daag.

What's your criteria for accepting films?
I've to be excited by what I'm offered. In Kunal's film I play an angel. I've never seen anyone play an angel before. There has to be something new for me to do.

How was it working with Saif?
We may not be close friends. I can't compare my relationship with him to Shah Rukh or Aamir. With them I share a deeper bond. Saif and I share a lovely working relationship. Over the three films that we've done we've both grown as actors. We both inspire one another to give our best.

How is life treating you?
If you mean my career then unfortunately last year Laga Chunri Mein Daag, Saawariya and Tara Rum Pum didn't do as well as expected. I'm very proud of Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic.