Posts for 'Interviews ' Category

He adds, "This was followed by an on-stage interview at the BAFTA, a life in pictures as it were, with Abhishek Bachchan, conducted by the peerless Francine Stock.

Given that previous such honourees include James Cameron, Meryl Streep, Guillermo del Toro and our own Deepa Mehta and Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek was indeed in exalted company.

What caused more than a ripple of excitement when Abhishek walked into the BAFTA's packed-to-the-rafters Princess Anne Theatre was who accompanied him, couple of whom you may just have heard of - the aforementioned Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan."

Amitabh Bachchan may be the busiest star in Bollywood but the screen legend says that he can barely act and would not pursue direction ever as he doesn't have the "acumen" for it. The megastar wrote on his blog, "I am often asked when I would direct a film and my standard answer to that has always been that I can barely act, where am I going to get the acumen to direct.

"To me it has been an enormous task that can only be fulfilled by those that have passion and desire to want to tell a story. I guess sometime or the other we have all wanted to do that - to narrate a credible story. But to convert it into film is indeed another matter," Bachchan added.

She’s a former Miss Universe, and one of the most popular Bollywood stars in India these days. She’s also one of the busiest, and often has to turn down western productions because of her hectic schedule. But one opportunity Aishwarya Rai wasn’t about to pass up was ''Pink Panther 2''.

The 35-year-old beauty plays the romantic interest in the film, but of course, she’s not all that she seems. The film recently screened Out of Competition at the Berlin Film Festival. Rai along with Steve Martin and Jean Reno were in town to present the film. Gaynor Flynn reports.

You’re the beautiful bad girl in this film, how does it feel? Well bad has never been so good. What was your reaction when you first heard about the Pink Panther 2 role? I smiled because that’s what the film evokes. They sent me the offer, but for me to work outside of India my schedule is always a huge deciding factor and back home I’m spoiled for choice and its very easy in India to commit yourself for the next two years.

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Aadesh's first international track 'Bollywood Meets Hollywood' with American rapper Wyclef Jean and Abhishek Bachchan hits stores in the India in July. To be released under the Sony –BMG label, the song is expected to be a big hit.

To promote the song Aadesh has tied up for a commercial with Motorola, which will feature Abhishek, Aadesh and Wyclef Jean. Says Aadesh, "The track is part of my album with Wyclef entitled Carnival 2. As you know Wyclef and I flew down to Miami to record the number with Abhishek who was shooting there for Karan Johar's film. 'Bollywood Meets Hollywood' is already a craze abroad. Youtube is filled with the song. We've big plans for the song in India. I hope it would be like a singing launch for Abhishek."

Aadesh plans to tie up with other international super-artistes like Justin Timberlake in the near future. "I missed the chance recently because I was busy judging a reality show in India. Never mind. Justin's company is very keen to tie up with us."

Jaya Bachchan’s membership of the Rajya Sabha has come under a cloud following a representation made by the Principal Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, R.P. Pandey, to the SSP of Lucknow to file a criminal case against her for allegedly concealing information in the affidavit submitted by her at the time of nomination on June 1, 2006.

The Samajwadi Party MP has been charged with mentioning only one of the three plots of land owned by her husband and film actor, Amitabh Bachchan, at Daulatpur village, Fatehpur tehsil in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh.

The inquiry, on a complaint lodged by an advocate of Barabanki, Amir Haider, with the Election Commission of India on June 28, 2006, was conducted by Mr. Pandey who was the Returning Officer of the Rajya Sabha by-election. .

State Additional Director-General of Police, Law and Order, Brij Lal, told journalists that legal opinion was being sought by the Lucknow SSP on the plea made by the Principal Secretary of the Vidhan Sabha. He denied that an FIR had been lodged against Ms. Bachchan.

Ms. Bachchan was elected unopposed in the Rajya Sabha by-election held in June 2006.

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Blogging is just a baby in India, with people learning to show their true personality to those who matter the most, be it friends, family or colleagues.

What evolved as a means to communicate with fellow net surfers has been given a new definition by Bollywood. From Amitabh Bachchan to Amir Khan to Ram Gopal Verma to Tom Dick and Harry, everybody is expressing their opinions through blogs.

Whatever is in the blog is national news be it Amitabh Bachchan's criticism of other game shows or Amir Khan calling his dog Shah Rukh.

Looks like they are completely fascinated with this latest sensation of personal writing as they rightly get the response they might have expected.

The current trend indicates that the list of Bollywood bloggers might go up soon.

Blogs are seen as a means to express opinion and not to take it as an opportunity to bring down others. It's absolutely fine as long as the content is of national, social or human interest. But here dirty linen is being washed in public and the whole purpose of blogging is getting lost.

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At the IIFA awards in Bangkok, Abhi Ash went out of their way to woo Kareena and Vivek. It has been a Bachchans vs The Rest Of The Stars (read Aamir, Shatru, SRK, Kareena Kapoor etc) scenario for quite some time now. It now appears that they want to make peace with as many as they could, as was evident at the recently held IIFA awards in Bangkok.

Says a source, "Ever since Karisma Kapoor broke off with Abhishek Bachchan, the Kapoors and Bachchans haven't been on talking terms. In fact, Abhishek kept refusing films with Kareena. But this time at Bangkok, a change was noticed in the Bachchans attitudes.
Kareena was shocked when she found herself being invited to an informal get-together in Abhishek and Ash's room at 3am! Abhishek was very warm and gracious in his invite. It was as if nothing had happened. But Bebo is still smarting from the Bachchans' rebuffs and rejected their olive branch and hung out with Saif and her friends like Manish Malhotra, Karan Johar and Shabina Khan."

Kareena was not the only person the Bachchans wooed in Bangkok. When Aishwarya Bachchan broke off with Vivek Oberoi he became persona non grata for the Bachchans. But Vivek broke the ice when he attended Teji Bachchan"s funeral.

This time, at the IIFA, where VO behaved discreetly, and shied away from the TV media who quizzed him about his ex. He stayed in his room rather than answer uncomfortable questions and whip up more publicity. Adds a source, "Abhishek personally invited Vivek to the party in his room. But Vivek didn't take up the offer. He hung out in Zayed Khan's room with Fardeen Khan and Apoorva Lakhia and gang instead."

Not very long ago a young director had advised Amitabh Bachchan to retire from Bollywood. If his performance in Sarkar Raj was anything to go by the director should think about his own retirement instead. His critics have always criticised his item boy like characters in recent times, but Big B has time and again silenced these people by delivering stunning performances like Sarkar Raj.

It was being predicted that Abhishek Bachchan would take lead from Amitabh in Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar Raj and the flow of the story at the initial stage made us feel so. But the last 25 minutes proved Abhishek has a long way to go before he steps on to his father's shoes and become the numero uno star in the industry.

With his comeback movie Mohabbatein, Big B redefined how older characters can draw audience to the theatres and not be treated as furnitures in the movie. His return to Bollywood inspired many stars of his era like Dharmendra and Hema Malini to make a comeback and play roles of older people once considered to be the speciality of little known actors.

Baghban was a shining example how Amitabh can have a script written on him even when he is on the wrong side of 60. Baghban not only appealed to the older generation but also attracted the young audience many of whom were not even born when he was churning blockbusters in the 70s and 80s. Producers running after him is a testimony to his success.

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Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan:
If it is Big B’s charisma, it’s Abhishek’s charm. While Amitabh seems to be getting younger with every new film, Abhishek is climbing the ladder of success in a consistent fashion. He followed his father’s footsteps in yet another aspect when he married co-actor Aishwarya Rai!

After playing Hrithik Roshan`s princess in `Jodha Akbar` and sharing the same frame with husband Abhishek and father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Sarkar Raj’, Aishwarya is all set take charge and fly solo again as she has been offered to play one of the most controversial and influential character that the world of politics has ever seen, i.e. Benazir Bhutto.

Married into the first family of Bollywood, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been often touted as the most influential celebrity wife. Coupled with this, Ash’s awe-inspiring beauty makes this former Miss World a top contender for the most sought after role.

According to our sources, the project will be produced by UTV. Prominent lyricist Neelesh Misra of ‘Johnny Gaddaar’ and ‘Jannat’ fame has been approached to pen down the script.

Speaking to reporters, Misra maintained that though he had been offered the project he is yet to give his final nod. Reports also confirmed that the producers are holding talks with the Bhutto’s family and the Pakistan government for their consent.

If things go as planned Ash will once again prove that there is much more to her onscreen presence and her acting skills than just her overpowering good looks.