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The music launch of the costliest film ROBOT starring the 2 biggest stars of the country, Rajnikanth & Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, couldn't have asked for more. What with two icons of the Indian film industry - Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikant sharing the dais after a long long time.
The best of the best came to mark the grand affair held at a suburban five star in Mumbai. The entire Bachchan family - Amitabh, Jaya, Abhishek and Aishwarya, Media magnate & Producer Kalanithi Maran of Sun TV Network, Hansraj Saxena, COO, of Sun Pictures (a division of Sun TV Network) along with the lead cast & crew of the film consisting of Superstar Rajnikanth, Oscar winners - music maestro A R Rahman & sound engineer Resul Pookutty, Music moghuls Ganesh Jain, Ratan Jain, Champak Jain of Venus Records & Tapes, director Shankar, Sabu Cyril, legendary Danny Denzongpa, were present on the occasion. Several other filmmakers had been seen gracing the affair.
Amitabh Bachchan, who was the chief guest, unveiled the music of ROBOT, distributed by Venus.
The high point of the event was Big B & Rajnikanth's acknowledgement for each other and Rajni's candid speech, which had everyone in splits. Rajnikanth said, 'Amitabh is my inspiration, role model and guru. I have always valued his advice while taking important decisions. We have done so many films together like ANDHA KANOON, HUM, GIRAFTAR, and I can never forget the love, affection and care he showered on me'
To which Amitabh Bachchan replied, 'Rajnikanth is truly a son-of-the soil who is admired and loved by every Indian. I am just so honoured and happy that I met a personality like Rajnikanth. And I am so happy that I was able to spend some time of my life with him and learn so much from him. His simplicity, honesty, and down-to-the-earth nature has always impressed me. I admire him because of his tender heart and humility. He is so grounded despite the adulation and fame he has enjoyed throughout his career.'
'Many a times there were some very tough decisions to be taken, at that point I always remembered him as a colleague and a very dear friend and tried to think what Rajni would have done if he had been in this particular situation and I've always found a capable answer, despite of the tumult circumstances & stressful situations,' he further added.
Co-star Aishwraya Rai Bachchan, who looked pristine & breathtakingly beautiful in her kundan and jadau work Anarkali dress, said, 'ROBOT (ENDHIRAN) is a sincere effort. It is a landmark film in cinematic experience. Rajni sir is a legend. He is just an incredible artist, so dedicated, so committed and above all a wonderful human being. It's truly humbling to be working with such a phenomena and I am grateful. I had the privilege of working with director Shankar very early in my career for the film JEANS. Though it was ahead of its time but I felt enriched as an artist.'
The film originally made in Tamil, called ENDHIRAN, will also be released in Hindi and Telugu.
Amitabh Bachchan, who was the chief guest, unveiled the music of ROBOT, distributed by Venus.
The high point of the event was Big B & Rajnikanth's acknowledgement for each other and Rajni's candid speech, which had everyone in splits. Rajnikanth said, 'Amitabh is my inspiration, role model and guru. I have always valued his advice while taking important decisions. We have done so many films together like ANDHA KANOON, HUM, GIRAFTAR, and I can never forget the love, affection and care he showered on me'
To which Amitabh Bachchan replied, 'Rajnikanth is truly a son-of-the soil who is admired and loved by every Indian. I am just so honoured and happy that I met a personality like Rajnikanth. And I am so happy that I was able to spend some time of my life with him and learn so much from him. His simplicity, honesty, and down-to-the-earth nature has always impressed me. I admire him because of his tender heart and humility. He is so grounded despite the adulation and fame he has enjoyed throughout his career.'
'Many a times there were some very tough decisions to be taken, at that point I always remembered him as a colleague and a very dear friend and tried to think what Rajni would have done if he had been in this particular situation and I've always found a capable answer, despite of the tumult circumstances & stressful situations,' he further added.
Co-star Aishwraya Rai Bachchan, who looked pristine & breathtakingly beautiful in her kundan and jadau work Anarkali dress, said, 'ROBOT (ENDHIRAN) is a sincere effort. It is a landmark film in cinematic experience. Rajni sir is a legend. He is just an incredible artist, so dedicated, so committed and above all a wonderful human being. It's truly humbling to be working with such a phenomena and I am grateful. I had the privilege of working with director Shankar very early in my career for the film JEANS. Though it was ahead of its time but I felt enriched as an artist.'
The film originally made in Tamil, called ENDHIRAN, will also be released in Hindi and Telugu.
According to sources, Kareena Kapoor is giving preference to Karan Johar's next film and has told Madhur Bhandarkar that she can't shoot for his film before March next year. On the other hand, Madhur wants his film HEROINE to start by December this year.
This clash of interest has damaged the chemistry between Madhur and Kareena. Sources reveal that Madhur might shelve the project or change his leading lady if Kareena refuses to give him dates soon.
Now, Aditya Chopra is planning to do as many as three more films with Katrina Kaif. The filmmaker is quite excited about this new chemistry and has also been spending more time with Kats these days.
So, our sources add that not only do the two discuss films but much more. Reportedly, Aditya has become Katrina's mentor and has been advising her on her career and life as well.
WE ARE FAMILY is an official adaptation of Hollywood flick STEPMOM. In the times when number of film makers lift a film and name it as a reference point or mere inspiration, producer Karan Johar was adamant that he won't allow the film to move beyond the written material till adequate rights for an adaptation were brought.
"At Dharma Productions, we have a company reputation to maintain," says the proud film maker, "By no means would we have adapted a film without taking an official route. We wanted to secure ourselves on that front and get all legalities drafted to the T before taking any further next step."
The first step was for debutant Siddharth Malhotra to get the screen adaptation on print before moving ahead with any filming. Once he approached Karan, he gave a go ahead but only with the condition that all formalities had to be taken care of before the film was commissioned.
I liked the way STEPMOM was re-written to further suit Indian sensibilities. However, I first wanted the rights before any further proceedings," says Karan, "We went through this entire process with Sony Pictures where they also came in as co-producers. They went through the entire screenplay written by us, approved it, did all the paperwork and once that happened, the actual shoot began."
With such effort that has gone into the making of this Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal, one does hope that it is worth it after all!
"At Dharma Productions, we have a company reputation to maintain," says the proud film maker, "By no means would we have adapted a film without taking an official route. We wanted to secure ourselves on that front and get all legalities drafted to the T before taking any further next step."
I liked the way STEPMOM was re-written to further suit Indian sensibilities. However, I first wanted the rights before any further proceedings," says Karan, "We went through this entire process with Sony Pictures where they also came in as co-producers. They went through the entire screenplay written by us, approved it, did all the paperwork and once that happened, the actual shoot began."
With such effort that has gone into the making of this Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal, one does hope that it is worth it after all!
Rahul gives out a hearty laugh here, "You know whenever I spoke about SOCIETY, people used to ask me if this was a serious film. I can't blame them because I have made two back to back issue based films - PARZANIA and now LAMHAA. Naturally, people felt that I was making a trilogy of sorts. Also, many felt that as a title, SOCIETY sounded like the name of a Madhur Bhandarkar. Obviously since my film has a different subject, theme and texture to it, I felt it was best to rename the film before it gets slotted in a particular genre."
Starring veteran actors like Dimple Kapadia, Sarika, Paresh Rawal and Om Puri, SOCIETY KAAM SE GAYI is almost ready and looking for a release before end of year.
"It was a relief to make this film because I wanted to do something which was light and stress free," smiles Rahul who had to go through quite some ordeal in the process of making LAMHAA, "I was fortunate to get these actors who are my friends and also great actors. The film is currently in its last stages of making and we should be ready with plans for release soon."
Though Rajnikanth is one of the most sought after stars of the country and every other filmmaker looks forward to work with him yet he wasn't the first choice for the much touted sci-fi film ROBOT.
Reveals the south megastar in his witty style, 'Initially Shankar approached Kamal Hassan & Shahrukh Khan for this film. They were the first choice for it. However it eventually came to me. As they say Daane Daane pe likha hai Khaane waale ka naam (it was destined for me)'
ROBOT is Rajnikanth's second consecutive film with Shankar, with whom he did his previous blockbuster SIVAJI - THE BOSS. And it is because of this trust which made him take up this role. 'Shankar is an excellent technician and one of the best directors of India who can mix the class and commercial elements very well. I did SIVAJI with him and I trust him completely, so I agreed to do the film - else I would have not done the film as it is a very tough and challenging role,' said Rajni.
Further Rajni compared ROBOT to the cult Hindi film SHOLAY, which is still fondly remembered. 'Around Rs 160 crore has been invested to make the film. SHOLAY made history not because of the money or budget involved, not because it was a multi-starrer, not because of the technicalities, but because of its subject, superb characterization. So like SHOLAY, in ROBOT too there is an excellent storyline, excellent character sketches. This is the first Indian story of its type. It's science fiction and excellently made. And I am guaranteeing it.'
Well after coming from Rajni we are all the more eager to check out his sci-fi extravaganza ROBOT.
Reveals the south megastar in his witty style, 'Initially Shankar approached Kamal Hassan & Shahrukh Khan for this film. They were the first choice for it. However it eventually came to me. As they say Daane Daane pe likha hai Khaane waale ka naam (it was destined for me)'
Further Rajni compared ROBOT to the cult Hindi film SHOLAY, which is still fondly remembered. 'Around Rs 160 crore has been invested to make the film. SHOLAY made history not because of the money or budget involved, not because it was a multi-starrer, not because of the technicalities, but because of its subject, superb characterization. So like SHOLAY, in ROBOT too there is an excellent storyline, excellent character sketches. This is the first Indian story of its type. It's science fiction and excellently made. And I am guaranteeing it.'
Well after coming from Rajni we are all the more eager to check out his sci-fi extravaganza ROBOT.
Mr. Jha would visit Fiji & present six of his films. The Festival will open with his latest hit RAAJNEETI which has been the third highest grossing film of Indian cinema across the world. The other films being showcased are GANGAJAL, APAHARAN, MRITYUDAND PARINATI AND DAMUL.
RAAJNEETI and DAMUL will also be played at the Bollywood FEST at Norway which will be held between the 10th -16th of September 2010.
Prakash Jha's RAAJNEETI has not only got him many accolades worldwide but is also being screened along with his other hits in many international film festivals. A retrospective of Prakash Jha's films was held at the Nehru Center in London from 30th June 2010 - 2nd July 2010. Among the films shown were MRITYUDAND, APAHARAN, GANGAAJAL and RAAJNEETI. The retro also featured Prakash Jha in conversation with Sangeeta Datta.
Also IFFI, the first Indian film festival of Ireland opened with RAAJNEETI. Mr. Jha was himself present to open the Film and at the inaugural ceremony. The festival was from 25th June'2010 to 28th June'2010 and the closing film for the festival was Praksh Jha's Gangaajal.