Tag Archive 'Amitabh Bachchan'

Dec 03 2008

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Alok Vats

Top 5 Movies of India!

Filed under Entertainment

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I am a big lover of the Hindi Movies. My favorite time pass is to watch movies with friends, either in home or in theater. One day one of my friends asked me about the top five movies of India which any how played major role in changing the theme of the movies. We discussed a lot on this and finally I came up with these five big Indian movies:

1> Mother India: The biggest hit of 1957. A movie directed by Mehboob Khan. Lead role was played by Nargis with Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar and Rajendra Kumar. This movie left a big impact on the society. The movie goes ahead in the flash back of the Radha, played by Nargis. The film did the business of over INR. 40 million. After this movie Sunil Dutt married to Nargis.

2> Mughal-E-Azam: One bigger success of Bollywood, just after three years of Mother India. Mughal-E-Azam came in 1960. This movie actually took 9 years to finish. It was a super duper hit. It broke the record of Mother India, which was later broken by Sholay. The movie was the love story of the Mughal prince Salim, who later became Jahangir. This movie was directed by K. Asif. and the lead roles are played by Dilip Kumar, Prithviraj Kapoor, and Madhubala.

3> Sholay: The movie which has changed the mainstream cinema of India, later it was recognised as the “Film of the Millennium” by BBC India in 1999. This movie has earned around US $ 60 million. The film was produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. Lead roles are played by Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, and Amjad Khan. Gabbar Singh became the well known name in each and every house of India.

4> Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: DDLJ was one of the bigger hits of 1995. The movie was directed by Aditya Chopra. Lead roles are played by Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri and Anupam Kher. It is one of my all time favorite movie. I watched this movie 23 times in theater so far and will again go to watch it if I found it playing in any of my near by theaters. The story of the movie was the love story of two NRI’s which was liked by every one.

5> Lagaan: The first major hit of the 21st century in Bollywood. It was released on 15th June 2001. It was the third Hindi language film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie was directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, and the lead role was played by Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, and Paul Blackthorne. The film was the story of the 19th century. Director of the movie Lagaan, Ashutosh Gowariker, once said that it was almost impossible to make Lagaan. This movie Lagaan was the India’s official nomination for the 2002 Oscars.

Although there are so many films made in Mumbai in Hindi, but I decided to make this list based on the discussion with my friends. I hope you would love this post and I will be waiting for your comment on this.

5 responses so far

Oct 28 2008

Profile Image of Alok Vats
Alok Vats

10 Sexiest Eyes of India!

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Today is the Diwali, the festival of lights and I thought to create a list of 10 most beautiful or sexiest eyes of India. There are so many beautiful actresses in India and few of them are even recognized through out the world too.

10. Bipasha Basu:

Bipasha Basu

Bipasha Basu

One of the sexiest heroine of Bollywood. She was born on January 7, 1979, in New Delhi. She is often considered as one of Asia’s sexiest celebrity women.

9. Kareena Kapoor:

Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor

Her nick name is Bebo. She was born on September 21, 1980, in Mumbai. She was the grand-daughter of the biggest show men of India Raj Kapoor.

8. Celina Jaitley:

Celina Jaitley

Celina Jaitley

Former Miss India Celina Jaitley was born on June 9, 1981. She was a finalist in the Miss Universe contest, and the winner of Miss India, Miss Margo Beautiful Skin, Indiatimes Surfer’s Choice, and MTV’s Most Wanted awards.

7. Shilpa Shetty:

Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty was born on June 8, 1975. She was the winner of the British Celebrity Big Brother TV show in 2007, with 63% of finals vote. This has turned her global image.

6. Deepika Padukone:

Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone

She was the fire-crackers of last year Diwali. She was born on January 5, 1986. With her debut in Bollywood (the Indian film industry), she became the hot cake.

5. Priyanka Chopra:

Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra

One of the former Miss World, and Miss India World too. She was born on July 18, 1982, in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Andaaz was one of her biggest blockbuster.

4. Preity Zinta:

Preity Zinta

Preity Zinta

I am the fan of her characteristic dimple. She was born on January 31, 1975. Last year she joined IPL (Indian Premiere League) too, which gave the glamorous look to the Cricket.

3: Katrina Kaif:

Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif

I placed her at number three, cause I love the natural looking eyes of Katrina Kaif. She was born on July 16, 1984. She was earlier considered as the girlfriend of the dashing actor Salman Khan, but now she has made her mark in the Bollywood with the movies like Welcome, Namastey London and Singh is King.

2: Genelia Desouza:

Genelia Desouza

Genelia Desouza

This is the surprised name in this list, as I love her from her very first film, Tujhe Meri Kasam. She was born on August 5, 1987. She was even recognized as the Fair and Lovely girl. Her recent flickers like Mere Baap Pehle Aap, and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na are the biggest hit.

1: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan:

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Here comes the number one, and she is the Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, former Miss World. She was born on November 1, 1973. She married to Abhishek Bachchan, son of the star of the millenium Amitabh Bachchan. She was often acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in the world.

Preparing a list of 10 eyes of India was not an easy task. Please do provide us your feedback on this, we would love to hear from you about this.

14 responses so far

Sep 12 2008

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divya

Freedom of Expression in Democracy!

Filed under India

Some days back Jaya Bachchan took the liberty of expressing her desire to speak in her mother tongue (Hindi) at a film function. Little had she known the repercussions of such a move in a highly parochial country like India. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) protested against Jaya Bachchan’s “anti Marathi” utterances and asked her to apologize. MNS chief Raj Thackeray said, “If Jaya Bachchan wants to speak in Hindi, she better shift to Uttar Pradesh. In Maharashtra, she must learn Marathi. She should also learn to respect the sentiments of Maharashtra. I dare her to go to West Bengal and say that she loves Hindi.”

My only question for such sentiments is that isn’t Hindi supposed to be our national language? Is regional language superior to the national language? And more importantly doesn’t a person have the right to even choose a language to speak in, if he or she is in a state of some other regional language? Is our periphery of modernization and liberalization limited to just the blocks of concrete we are erecting in every part of the country? Will our thoughts and actions never rise above regionalism and individualism?

India is the largest democracy in the world. Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, gives us the right to freedom of speech and expression. The existence of this freedom is the cornerstone of a democracy, especially in a highly mixed society like India. How can we think of progressing into the league of developed countries when people are deprived of their basic constitutional rights?

The biggest problem lurking underneath the façade of “patriotism towards regionalism” is the hunger for publicity and ignorance of people. Interestingly, around 30% of the world’s illiterate population comes from India. The literacy rate in India is around 60% of which the majority of the literates residue in urban areas (which does not account for more than 10% of the inhabited land). The poor and ignorant are an easy target of exploitation and socialism. They just need to be brain washed and you can have an army of people ready to kill and die. And all these politicians need is such an army and one such remark which can provide fresh fodder to feed their “anti-human” campaign.

Ask yourself how justified is a person to be able to exercise the right to express himself or herself as he or she desires and then raise your opinion against what is unfair.

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Aug 25 2008

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pooja

Amitabh Bachchan remarked India as a developed country!

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The Bollywood most popular super star Amitabh Bachchan remarked India as a developed country. While in a press conference promoting the latest leg of his “The Unforgettable Tour” in London Amitabh Bachchab said : India should no longer be dismissed as a “Third World” country but should henceforth be given due respect as a “developed nation”.

He made this statement replying the question - what it meant to be an Indian today and about the nature of the relationship between India and the diaspora, increasingly third or even fourth generation, scattered across the world?

Bachchan stated: “India today is a recognized force and I hope to see that India is no longer referred to as a Third World country or a developing nation – it should be referred to as a developed nation and a first (world country).”

He said: “Primarily we are very proud of our country, we are proud of our history, we are proud of our culture – it goes back thousands and thousands of years. We are proud that we fought for our independence, we are proud that we are the largest democracy in the world and we are very proud now of the way India is progressing after the economic liberalization.”

Bachchan is on world tour with his wife, Jaya, his son, Abhishek, and daughter-in-law, Aishwarya Rai. With other stars, including Preity Zinta and Riteish Deshmukh, have entertained Indian audiences in Toronto on July 18, Port of Spain in Trinidad on July 20, Los Angeles, on July 26, San Francisco on July 27, Houston on August 2, Atlantic City on August 9, Chicago on August 10, and New York on August 15. Shilpa Shetty is going to join the latest leg of “The Unforgettable Tour” by Bollywood actors which is to take place on Sunday at the 14,000-seat O2 Arena in London.

The current reports said that the tour will end after concerts in Amsterdam on August 29 and in Oberhausen in Germany on August 30.

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Jun 30 2008

Profile Image of Alok Vats
Alok Vats

Bachchan issued legal notice for violating Anti-Tobacco Act!

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Amitabh Bachchan

The Bollywood big star Amitabh Bachchan is issued a notice from Goa Bench of Mumbai High Court on Monday for allegedly violating the Anti-Tobacco Act after National Organization for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) had filed the case against Bachchan and others.

Along with Big B, Anchor Electric appliances, Keshu Ramsay and others were also issued the notice followed by a hearing of the case on Monday after billboards showing the megastar smoking a cigar were raised on the Goa highway.

The notices have been issued before admission and the respondents will have to appear in person or through lawyers, court officials said.

NOTE had taken strong objection to Bachchan’s still from a film Family which was displayed on the billboards raised along the Panaji-Margao highway depicting Big B smoking a cigar. The organization had contended the billboards violated anti-tobacco laws applicable in the state.

Earlier, the lower court had refused to entertain the case stating that there is no substance in it. Bachchan had apologized to NOTE but the organization than challenged the case in high court who issued the notice against them.

“I am deeply apologetic of the advertisement that has hurt the sentiments of the people at large and organizations such as yours,” Bachchan had said in a letter to NOTE India general secretary Shekhar Salkar.

Bachchan tried to make the things clear by saying in the letter that: The publicity banner carrying my photograph was a still from my film Family in which I am portraying the character of an underworld don.

“While I was not instrumental in designing the publicity campaign, I find from the photograph of the billboard stated to be put out on NH 17 in Goa that the manufacturers of Anchor electric switches are seeking to promote their own products. Neither B Corp Limited nor I have promoted Anchor products or tobacco products.” He added

“I have made a note of anti-tobacco legislation and informed my producers and told them to take immediate steps so that no such violation takes place as far as I am concerned,” he said.

“I am a teetotaler, I do not drink nor smoke and I have not indulged in these activities for almost 30 years and have no intentions of indulging in them in the future,” Bachchan had said in his letter.

NOTE had issued legal notice to Bachchan on January five for violating Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.

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Jun 23 2008

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Prachi Mehta

Shilpa to rock the world tour with the Bachchans!

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After winning Big Brother show in the United Kingdom, Shilpa Shetty has made her place in the A- list of the bollywood stars. The small Britain stint has brought not only an inflow of cash and movie offers but has added her name in the most talked about people of the tinsel town.

After her recent success of Life… in a metro and being in the news for her relationship with a certain Mr. Kundar, Shilpa had recently come out with a yoga cd of hers in which she has revealed her yoga knowledge for a toned up body like hers. But most recently she has made news for herself by committing her dancing skills to be showed off at the ‘unforgettable’ world tour being organized by the Bachchan family.

Confirming the news of her being a part of the world tour Shilpa informs that she would be dancing in two acts sharing the stage with the very new bahu of the bachchan parivar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She explains her excitement to be working with Aish by stating that as both of them belong to Mangalore, she hopes that they would get along very well. Adding to this she claims that Preity, who is also a part of the show, is a hassle free person and would be good to work with. With this she recalls that it isn’t the first time she would be doing a stage show with Amitji but her excitement is at a different level when she has to work with the whole family.

When enquired about the sudden entry of her in the show, she replied that it wasn’t a sudden decision, they were planning it out and when it got finalized, it was announced. An all charged up Shilpa would be a part of the show throughout whereas Madhuri would perform in the United States and Canada and Akshay Kumar would be present at the inaugural show at Toronto.

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Jun 07 2008

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Alok Vats

Sarkar Raj: Bachchan’s at a stake!

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Abhishek Aishwarya

The much talked film of the Bachchan’s family has hit the theatres across the country. The much acclaimed trio from the Bachchan’s family: Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya are coming together on screen for the first time in this highly anticipated film. The entire fortune of the family is at stake.

With son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya, Amitabh Bachchan is all set to pull in crowds for Sarkar Raj, a sequel to Ram Gopal Verma’s Sarkar which focused on one powerful family of Nagres in the politician-underworld nexus in Mumbai. Although Amitabh Bachchan is always saying that Sarkar Raj is not the sequel of Sarkar. The movie was a big hit with wonderful direction, brilliant performances and most importantly, excellent climax.

‘Sarkar Raj,’ directed by maverick Ram Gopal Varma extends the storyline of Sarkar. Two years later Sarkar- Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan) inherits most of his power to the son Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan) who is happily married to Avantika (Tanishaa).

Then comes Anita Rajan (Aishwarya Rai - Bachchan), CEO of Sheppard power plant, an International company, who brings a power plant proposal to set up in rural Maharashtra before the Nagres. After convincing Sarkar (Amitabh Bachchan) who is initially against it for various reasons, Shankar undertakes a journey along with Anita to the villages of Maharashtra to mobilize support of the masses. Trouble as expected comes when millions of people stand against the highly controversial project in a state that is witnessing the worst of coalition politics. Shankar’s dream project gradually becomes a political minefield and the evil forces mightier than ever mushroom and gang up to bring down the regime of Sarkar and obliterate Shankar’s name from the political horizon.

Prashant Pandey’s story was primarily good but he disappoints in the later part of the story. The first half of the story is convincing and interesting but the same is missing in the later part. Sequences in second half are unacceptable. However climax is strong and superb.

Villains give a cool feeling to the story. All the baddies-Govind Namdeo, Siyaji Shinde, Upendra Limaye and Rajesh Shringapure stand out because of the coolness of their characters.

Abhishek Bachchan has done a wonderful job. The movie can said to be belonged to Abhishek. Amitabh Bachchan gave a superb climax while Aishwarya gave brilliant performance. Her expressions, performance and dressing sense, all are appreciable. Tanisha’s work is also satisfactory.

Music is given by Bapi-Tutul. The song ‘Jalwa Re Jalwa’ is appreciable. Cinematographer Amit Roy was very unusual and better than in Sarkar. Dialogues are quite sharp.

Ram Gopal Verma who got a lot of criticism by his previous movie- Ram Gopal Verma ki Aag, can regain the lost prestige of him by this movie. Though his direction is as usual great but it seems hard if he could do this. Once again the second half part of the movie regrets the expectations of the viewers.

Bachchan’s family respect and prestige is also at stake on the movie as the trio is coming together first time on the screen after Abhi-Ash marriage. Earlier they have been seen in Bunty and Bubbly’s very famous item song- “Kajrare- Kajrare”. This is the first time the three are acting in a movie. But it seems hard to crack the nut by Bachchan family!

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May 29 2008

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Alok Vats

Amitabh Vs. Shahrukh and Now Shahrukh Vs. Salman!

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Hosting Television shows seems to be the rage for every Bollywood star. After Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, its turn to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan to shine on the small screen. He will host a reality show ‘Dus ka Dum-Ab India Sochega Percentage Mein” on Sony Entertainment Television starting from June 6. It is reported that Salman will receive a handsome amount of Rs 89 crores for 104 episodes.

There are far too many channels and far too many reality shows going on for now. One after another, the Bollywood top stars are coming towards hosting reality shows and enetertaining the public by their gesture and presence of mind. The fashion to lure the viewres by their charm towards reality shows started with the super hit game show Kaun Banega Crorepati(KBC) hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. After that a series of reality shows hosted by top Bollywood icons started on the small screen and this give rise to a tough competition between the stars as well as the channels.

Dus ka Dum Hosted by Salman Khan

KBC was a new concept and highly appreciated by the viewers. It is successful in over 80 countries, so India moved with some degree of advantage, Star TV having tested the waters so to speak, before its launch. It was fun with knowledge. Above all it was the first time the big star came on silver screen to interact with the public directly. Hence the show rocked. Followed by Amitabh Bachchan who initially excelled the show, sequel of the show was hosted by Shahrukh Khan. Of course, people compared the two hosts of the same game show.

Big B in KBC

Recently Shahrukh Khan’s show Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain? is aired on star plus getting appreciation from the public. Compared to KBC which had questions on General and day to day topics with 4 options panchvi paas is a tough nut to crack. In KBC, each correct answer moves the contestant higher up the ladder of money values which ended with Rs. 1 Crore for the last right answer. SRK’s new show is based on the international Mark Burnett format Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader‘in which grade-school level questions are put to adults. Similar ladder is their in this show. If a contestant answers all 10 questions correctly, he is given the chance to answer an 11th question which on answering correctly will get him Rupees 5 Crore.

SRK in KBC

Though shahrukh is quite sincere in his efforts but the show has low TV ratings comparitive to KBC and Salman’s new show is going to start will give a tough answer to this show. The Sony show is expected to kick off the show on an around the same time as King Khan will come on Star Plus.

Shah Rukh Khan

The biggest factor of low TRP of “Panchvi pass…” can be credited to ongoing IPL matches also. The show is aired at 8 pm, the same time when the match is stars. IPL is getting very popular in India as it is cricket mixed with entertainment. It’s tough to lure the eyeballs away from this extravaganza.

Salman is all set to host his show to give a tough competition to King Khan. ‘Dus Ka Dum’ is based on an American game show Power of 10 hosted by Drew Carey. The contestants will have to ’think’ like India. A question would be asked, the answer to which would be the average percentage of a mass opinion poll conducted across India. The correct guess of the answer in accordance with the collective opinion of India, they would start winning from a starting amount of ten thousand rupees. Answering five questions correctly would get the contestant to the magical figure of 10 crores.

Talking about Salman for his upcoming show, a source told Mumbai Mirror, “Although many people consider him rude and eccentric, Salman has often revealed the compassionate side of his personality without making a song and dance about it. Apart from the content which promises to be mind-blowing, this kind-hearted quality of Salman is what is expected to see the show through.”

The three stars are fighting for the small screen viewers. What you people think? Who will win the small screen fight? Which one would you like…? Amitabh, Shahrukh or Salman?

33 responses so far

May 19 2008

Profile Image of Alok Vats
Alok Vats

Mahesh Bhatt finds Ramadoss remarks juvenile!

Filed under Entertainment

Noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has told the comments by Union Health Minister Ramadoss as ‘juvenile’ that asks film stars to refrain from smoking and drinking in films.

Bhatt has followed superstar Amitabh Bachchan, in criticicing the minister for his comments and joined the protests by various Bollywood bigwigs against Ramadoss.

“I find his comments juvenile. People do not even have basic health facilities in villages, rural health sector is in such a mess but his concern is limited to film industry,” Bhatt says.

Recently Bachchan also sharply criticized Ramadoss suggestions that when popular film stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan are seen smoking and drinking on screen it encourages youngsters to follow suit.

Many times earlier, Ramadoss commented on smoking scenes in movies and subjected to anger by film fraternity for the same.

“How can they talk of censoring people in 21st century? All you can do is to sensitize people about these things, but censor is impossible,” said Bhatt.

Bhatt is an outspoken critic of such bans in Hindi films. Known for his strong stand against censorship, Bhatt had also filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court in 2005, challenging the legislative amendments to ban smoking and drinking scenes in films and television serials.

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Apr 26 2008

Profile Image of Alok Vats
Alok Vats

Shatrughan Sinha’s reply to Amitabh Bachchan!

Filed under Entertainment

Shatrughan SinhaWith the start of a new blog of Super star Amitabh Bachchan, a hot debate between him and Shatrughan Sinha is started. (Also see Amitabh targets Shatrughan Sinha in his blog!)

Replying to the recent statements of Big B regarding the IIFA awards in his blog, Shatrughan said, “I don’t know why Bachchan is taking these things personally.”

Recently Sinha has said that the nominations list of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards was fixed and Amitabh talk about it in his blog taking this comment on him.

While talking to a channel Sinha said, “I am not talking about fixing of IIFA awards only but I am saying about every award.”

He blamed that there is no fairness in any award because it is emphasized to any particular person or organization or politics.

Sinha said that it is conflict of interest because Amitabh is brand Ambassador of IIFA. Hence it is natural that he will favor IIFA awards.

Amitabh said that IIFA awards are based on voting and computerization.

Replying to this statement Sinha said,” Amitabh is bigger than me in film industry and he knows the truth. I am in film industry for last 35 years and I don’t have to tell how the awards are given.”

He also questioned that Aamir Khan’s movie ‘Taare Zameen Par’ is highly appreciated by the public but why it was not nominated for awards? It is done to benefit some special persons. Sinha tells Big B’s comment unimportant.

Sinah said, “Amitabh is my good friend and I have done many hit films with him. But I couldn’t understand Amitabh’s rage. I didn’t specify any name. I only said that IIFA awards are only the function of a Bollywood family. Bollywood includes Khan family, Kapoor and Roshan family too but how Amitabh thought that I am talking about his family.”

However Amitabh said, “I believe that these types of gossips are trying to make the public think that there is some fixing in IIFA awards. There is only one family which is pointed for this and it is not hard to guess it.”

IIFA will be held in Bangkok this year from June 6-8.

4 responses so far

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