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Some Love Stories…Live Forever… Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein is set in the artificial environ of a Gurukul (in an English castle!) droning on for over three-and-a-half hours over a conflict between discipline and love. Here you know the Mohabbatein Movie Review.

Narayan Shanker, the 55-year-old patriarch of the Gurukul believes in tradition and discipline and not in Mohabbat. Whoever said they couldn’t coexist, and did nobody inform him that love is a part of Indian tradition! His daughter Megha (Aishwarya Rai) had given up her life for love, but that hadn’t softened the man.

One doesn’t know what exactly is taught in this Gurukul, and why 20-somethings come to a place that is more as penitentiary than a college. Into this waltzes Raj Aryan (Shah Rukh Khan) with his violin and teaches the boys – three in particular – to rebel against the rules and go fall in love. So the three (Uday Chopra, Jugal Hansraj, Jimmy Shergill) chase their girls (Shamita Shetty, Kim Sharma, Preeti Jhangiani), while Narayan Shanker fumes. Frankly, one doesn’t know what the fuss is all about: what is wrong with discipline in an educational institution? And shouldn’t 20-year-olds be encouraged to study and build their careers instead of marrying the first person of the opposite sex they encounter! It’s all incredibly ridiculous, but to the writer-directors credit, some scenes are quite moving – like the Holi scene between Shanker and Aryan, the one in which a woman (Shefali) makes a plea on behalf for her young widowed sister-in-law.

Raj Aryan’s monologue towards the end in which he tells Narayan Shanker why he has lost also packs a powerful punch and Shah Rukh performs brilliantly in that scene. Amitabh Bachchan, though dressed in absurd black garb, simply towers above the rest. Without so much a twitching a muscle, with just the right look in his eyes, he walks off with the film.

The youngsters have a lot to learn from him and Shah Rukh Khan. Neither has to take his shirt off and flex his muscles to get attention!

More On Mohabbatein 

It’s time for the romance Moguls, Yash Chopra, and family to give Bollywood a new Romantic love tale. But this time Aditya Chopra who is making a comeback to the silver screen after five years has a romantic with a twist!

The difference that Mohabbatein will make to the Chopras’ long list of love stories is the introduction of Shahrukh and Amitabh at the focal point of the film. The former believes in love and the latter who does not caught in a tussle between a three-in-one love story. Mohabbatein introduces Yash Chopra’s youngest son, Uday Chopra, besides being a celluloid host to a host of newcomers including Jugal Hansraj, Jimmy Shergill, Shamita Shetty, Kim Sharma, and Preeti Jhangiani.

Apparently, after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was released, Aditya Chopra started work on Dil to Pagal Hai on papa’s adesh. Bored of loves stories, Aditya decided to work on a thriller but could not keep his mind off his ten-year-old Mohabbatein file. So he’s found the perfect compromise: no mushy tale of boy-meets-girl but a love story with a twist! All for the pyar of Mohabbatein!

Four years after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Aditya Chopra is back with his new venture setting the screen ablaze, with the fiery combination of Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan. Aditya’s debut film was a long time ago, but Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge is still fresh in our memory. And now Aditya Chopra is all set for a Diwali dhamaka with a movie with a self-explanatory title and a formidable cast. Those who’ve heard snatches of the music by Jatin-Lalit are ecstatic. The film is complete and ready for Diwali 2000 release and has generated a lot of interest as it has Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai as the romantic lead. According to the trade, this is a safer and predictable casting than the one in Mansoor Khan’s Josh where the two played twins. However, the clash between Big B and King Khan is the highlight of Mohabbatein. Shefali Chaya also has a decent role in Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein, and that too as Amitabh Bachchan’s heroine in the film.

Mohabbatein has a campus backdrop and the film is set in a hostel in London. Narayan Shanker (Amitabh Bachchan), is a strict principal who will not tolerate any nonsense (read flirting, dating or romance) within the campus. Raj Aryan ( Shah Rukh Khan) is a young lecturer in the college, who’s immensely popular among the students, and who’s in love with Narayan’s daughter in the film, Aishwarya Rai. Aishwarya is dead and appears only in flashback sequences, we are made to believe. Enter six young students played by Jugal Hansraj, Jimmy Shergil, Shamita Shetty, Preeti Jhangiani, Uday Chopra and Kimi Sharma who are in love with each other. Till Shah Rukh Khan helps Amitabh Bachchan to realize what is love about and how he could see his lost daughter by believing in love and helps him forget his past agonies and in the process. This, along with the endeavors of his own daughter and her lover will finally melt the heart of the elderly principal. Running concurrent to this basic theme is also the story of three young couples in the college, whom Shah Rukh help in realizing their love by telling them about his past stories and about Aishwarya. The conflict of values amongst the three generations makes an interesting movie. And then, Narayan Shanker and Raj Aryan join hands together. Aditya Chopra is wrapping up Mohabbatein in at a breakneck speed. A very well-made film with emotions at a very high standard and outstanding performances such as Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan makes the film so extraordinary.

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Aamir, Rajeev Khandelwal’s debut film, has already run into problems. According to recent Vikas Bahl News, Aamir is said to be a copy of the Hollywood film titled Cavite. Bollywood Hungama decided to have a clarified version and spoke to Vikas Bahl, Head of UTV Spotboy.

Basically, Aamir is written and directed by Rajkumar Gupta and he wrote the story even before the English film, Cavite was released. We had registered it at the Writers’ Association. But then after some time, we realized that the story of Cavite was very similar to Aamir hence we approached the writers and makers of Cavite and bought the adaptation rights as that’s the right thing to do,” says Vikas.

So how much of the story is actually different? “Although it’s a universal story, we have treated it differently; the screenplay runs pretty much similar to Cavite but our take on the story is different, so is our climax. Anurag Kashyap who is the creative director of Aamir was the first to realize the similarities in the story and notified us. We immediately decided to do the right thing by buying the adaptation rights.”

The makers of Cavite were perfectly fine with it since it is a universal idea. But unfortunately, the media did not cross-check with any of us and published the wrong thing. No one bothers to confirm news,  signs off Vikas Bahl.

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If you thought that there is no connection between football and sweets, then, it only means that the name Vivek Agnihotri will surely not ring a bell to you. For starters, Vivek is one of the few intellectual directors who has made it all on his own without having any proverbial Godfathers in Bollywood.

He is also the man who gave the cine-goers its very own sweet treat in the form of Chocolate and who also scored an ace with his Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal. The news is that this man is back with a biggie. Informs a reliable source, Viveka’s next will be of a biopic genre, which means it will be a biography and an epic combined together. The film will deal in tracing India’s journey in the last 30 years.

It is also learned that this film is being produced by one of the biggest corporate houses in the industry today. He will be making it official soon.

Vivek is currently busy with the casting of the film. The ensemble of the film will not only be from Bollywood but will also have the best of the talents from all across the country.

So what happens to the film that Vivek Agnihotri had planned on the issue of Global Warming? Well, that film is on the backburner for now and will happen only after this project.”

After Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, Vivek is surely planning to return with a bang.

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Akshay Kumar Doctorate

Akshay Kumar has many reasons to celebrate. The man had four releases last year and all the films were superhit at the Box Office. This year, his first release Tashan failed to create the same magic but Akshay did walk away with loads of praises for his performance. The actor will soon be making his appearance on the small screen as well by hosting a reality show called Fear Factor- Khatron Ke Khiladi. And if this was not enough, Akki will now be receiving an honorary doctorate from a Canadian University.

“The University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, will bestow Akshay with an honorary doctorate on May 9. It’s basically for all the social work that he has done in Canada. The University called him up to present him the doctorate,” says Akshay’s spokesperson.

In the recent past, such kind of honorary doctorates from foreign Universities were given to film personalities like Yash Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan, Shabana Azmi and Shilpa Shetty.

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The Sen girls in Bollywood are really something. How else would you explain their presence in practically in every aspect of glamour in Bollywood? The latest one on the ‘Sensational circuit is actress Riya Sen, who has been recently appointed as the Brand Ambassador for Indian Premier League’s (IPL) official website www.iplt20.com.

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Riya says, “I was present as a guest in the IPL’s inaugural match. And I know all of the organizers of IPL very well, including Lalit Modi. It was our mutual love for cricket that got us together. As a Brand Ambassador of the website, I am supposed to attend at least 5 matches, but I am planning to attend much more than 12 matches, subject to I am not working (shooting) at that time.” When asked about her role as a Brand Ambassador of the website, she explains, “My role requires me to be present at the IPL matches, interact with the cricketer’s Team, and post my reactions and views on the site.

Lastly, when we quizzed her about which team she supported, without battling an eyelid, she says, “Since I am from Kolkatta, it is but natural that I will be rooting for the Kolkatta Knight Riders!”

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Prakash Jha’s next directorial venture Rajniti is going to be the most expensive film he as ever produced. In it he blends contemporary Indian politics with chapters from the Mahabharat in a mix that promises to be the avant-garde director’s headiest yet.

And Prakash has accumulated a formidable cast of actors. “There’s Ajay Devgan who will play a modern-day Karn. And believe it or not, Nana Patekar who was fantastic as the corrupt politician in Apharan, has been cast as Krishna!”

Also in the cast are Viveik Oberoi and Manoj Bajpai in pivotal roles. “These are actors I’ve not worked with before. I’m looking forward to directing them. Ajay and Nana are old friends. We share a fantastic comfort level.” In fact recently, Marathi Manoos Nana and Bihari Bhai Prakash took part in a passionate debate on the oust-Biharis-from-Maharashtra campaign on NDTV.

After the debate Raj Thackeray apparently rang up Prakash for presenting a balanced view. Says Prakash, “Raj is a friend and an intelligent educated man. I truly believe artistes need to rise above politics. I make cinema on politics. But I’d never be part of it. Likewise, Nana who was so stunning as a wily politician in Apharan, will I’m sure be equally adept playing Krishna in my Rajniti”

The character of Arjun as conceived by Prakash Jha’s, modernizes the mythological elements from the Mahabharat to include elements from Rajiv Gandhi’s life. For this role, Prakash has already zeroed down on the latest Bollywood heartthrob, Ranbir Kapoor.

Rajiniti won’t be the first contemporary take on the Mahabharat. Three decades ago Shyam Benegal attempted to incorporate elements from the Mahabharat into contemporary entrepreneurship in the film Kalyug. Now, Prakash Jha will blend mythology into Indian politics.

Interestingly, earlier he wanted to film just the Draupadi section of the Mahabharat with Madhuri Dixit in the lead. He shelved the idea when he heard other filmmakers were barking up the same tree.

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Neil Nitin Mukesh is going places. Apart from the handpicked films that he is doing he’s also done his first ad.

“It’s for a sports brand called Sparks . And boy, did the sparks fly during the shoot! We shot almost non-stop for three days. At the end of it, I was completely exhausted. Since it was an ad for sports shoes, we wanted to make it as outdoor and sporty as possible. So we shot with me doing the most serious hi-jinks possible. To be sure it was my first brush with big-time stunts. And I enjoyed myself.”

There was just one hitch. “Those three days were really taxing on my energy. So at the end of each day the last thing I wanted to hear was my trainer telling me to do my cardio exercises. I begged and pleaded to be let off. But there was no respite. I think I must’ve lost quite a bit of weight during that ad.”

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Bangalore model, 19-year-old Anushka Sharma has been identified to play the female lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Aditya Chopra’s third film as director RAB NE BANA DI JODI.

Said Yash Chopra, “We were looking first and foremost for someone who could truly embody the spirit of small-town Punjab and we know we have found her in Anushka. And while she has no previous acting experience, we have seen that unique spark in her that makes us confident that she will be a standout even opposite Shah Rukh.”

RAB NE BANA DI JODI will go on floors on 16th May and will hit theatres worldwide on 12th December.

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It’s a universal fact that the name ‘Anupam Kher’ is synonymous with the versatility to the core. Not just that, it’s also a common fact that he is not just an actor par excellence but also an excellent human being, who is now all set to take ‘humanity’ to a different level altogether with the orphanage that he is planning to start under the flagship of ‘Anupam Kher Foundation’.
There’s a famous English that “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” But the Master Blaster Anupam Kher is all set to redefine the term ‘orphan’ and make a winner out of it.

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Anupam Kher said, Many years back, I used to do a show on Doordarshan channel called as ‘Ariel Mr. Gold’. As a part of this show, I travelled by metro trains, aeroplane, and Bikes…Etc, the lengths and the breadths of the country. And wherever I went, I used to donate Rs. 5000 to the orphanages out there. That’s where I saw the pathetic state of the orphanages in this country, which was very much contradictory to the orphanages aboard (in London and America). That’s the time when I started to cherish the dream of building an orphanage which will serve as a ‘Model Orphanage’ to others. The said orphanage will also have a Counselling Centre for the children in slums who have given up studies to earn a living and also for the children who are victims of abuse. With ‘Honesty’ as the USP of this orphanage, we are looking at helping the destitute and the slum children. We will be starting with 50-60 children, which will eventually increase. We have already requested the government to allot land in the Bandra-Kurla Complex area and are quite optimistic of the fact that the government will surely extend their support in this noble cause.â€

Anupam Kher has also appointed the bright spark Ujjwal Banerjee, (a front runner contestant in the ‘Lead India’ TV show) as the CEO of the Foundation. Talking about Ujjwal, Anupam said, “I was very disappointed that Ujjwal did not make it as a grand winner. As they say that God shuts one window to open a big other. I spotted the potential of this man on the ‘Lead India’ show, which I was hosting.â€

Here’s wishing you oodles of luck and best wishes for your dream venture, Anupamji.

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Female power is in. Deepika Padukone is busy matching Akshay Kumar’s kicks and somersaults in Bangkok for Nikhil Advani’s Chandni Chowk To China. Nearer home in Hyderabad, Jiah joins Aamir Khan matched stunt strides with Aamir Khan.

Though thankfully, she hasn’t had any mishaps yet. Jiah’s lithe stunts in Murugadoss’ Ghajini are every bit as heart-in-the-mouth as Aamir Khan’s. The only reason Jiah’s action scenes aren’t being talked about is that she isn’t talking about it. “I can’t! I’m not allowed to,” she quakes with contractual terror. “But yes, I’ve done a lot of action scenes in Ghajini. They’ve been extremely unnerving.”

The action sequences require Jiah to match Aamir kick for kick. “And they are one reason I had to lose so weight,” she admits, having returned from Hyderabad where the Ghajini shooting was wrapped up earlier this week. “The schedules don’t suffer because of Aamir’s accident at all. We resume in the middle of May as per schedule.”

On Tuesday Jiah started shooting in Mumbai for Ken Ghosh’s film with Shahid Kapoor.
“That’s the film I’m not supposed to do,” she jokes. “It’s so cheap to send compromising messages in someone else’s name,” Jiah suggests that the sms messages that embarrassed Shahid Kapoor and almost had her out of the project were sent off by someone else in her name.

“I’ve never sent sms to people in the industry beyond work. I’m so new to all this manipulation scheming and negativity. I’m just so happy to be doing two films like Ghajini and Ken Ghosh’s film where I’ve completely different roles.”

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