Ayodhya verdict: Hindus get temple, Muslims get mosque, and a ground to wrestle in between

In an historic judgement Allahbad high court delivered the biggest verdict in the history of India. Ram Janmabhoomi, Ayodhya, the land of Babri mosque, was always a political issue. Today after countless dates, 8,500 pages of the high court bench said that the site belongs to all 3 parties involved. With Waqf board, Nirmohi Akhada, and Ram himself getting 1/3rd land each. 

Endhiran updated with Shankar video interview

interview is behind the cut

Dabangg 81.50 cr. first week; beats 3 Idiots - updated week 3 numbers!

taran_adarsh taran adarsh

Top 5: 'Dabangg' collects Rs 16 cr in Week 3, total: Rs 131.5 cr nett http://bit.ly/bbkhW4

5 hours ago

 

Dabangg opened this morning to an earth shattering start all over despite bad weather in the North trying to play spoil sport. The first shows opened at around 9.00 am and as expected the response was simply mindboggling. Last year Three Idiots started shows as early as 6.30 am in the morning but this was not the case with Dabangg as very early morning shows have a limited turnout. The ticket rates of Dabangg have also not been hiked like for Three Idiots. Some collections from major theatres for first show are as follows.

Peepli Live to Oscars updated Udaan producer furious

Udaan producer rips apart Peepli Live

Play it as it lays, they say. Here is a no holds barred, angry response on his film being sidelined in the official entry race for the Oscars

Sanjay Singh, producer of Udaan is mighty upset as his film is not the official entry to the Oscars while Aamir Khan’s Peepli Live is. Singh feels that the film has only been selected because of the mighty star power of Khan.

Sanjay Singh said, “Aamir Khan is a very talented and respected actor. His film Peepli Live is good but

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey new poster

SUPERSTAR Rajinikanth! SLATE Magazine

Jackie Chan is the highest-paid actor in Asia, and that makes sense. Besides producing, directing, and starring in his own action movies since 1980, he's earned millions in Hollywood with blockbusters like Rush Hour and The Karate Kid. But the No. 2 spot goes to someone who doesn't make any sense at all. The second-highest-paid actor in Asia is a balding, middle-aged man with a paunch, hailing from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and sporting the kind of moustache that went out of style in 1986. This is Rajinikanth, and he is no mere actor—he is a force of nature. If a tiger had sex with a tornado and then their tiger-nado baby got married to an earthquake, their offspring would be Rajinikanth. Or, as his films are contractually obligated to credit him, "SUPERSTAR Rajinikanth!"

A. R. Rahman’s marvel of light and sound – but where’s the music? (part 2)

I have so much to say about the AR Rahman Bay Area concert, a show that was stunning as a spectacle, but thin on the ground as far as music went.  You cannot have Benny Dayal, Neeti Mohan, Javed Ali, Shweta Pandit, and Blazee as showcased singers and get a good music program.  OK there was Hariharan, but he sang maybe three songs and was hardly present.  The one exception, and possible late addition, was Shaan.  But Shaan has not sung much for ARR so we did not hear any of his signature songs!

Missing were the whirling dervishes, and the feeling of being in the presence of something unknowable.  Kudos to Mr. Rahman for not introducing that element in a loud and crowded concert, no matter how missed it was.  But then just three days later I got to see the real thing! In Istanbul there is a Cultural Center called Hodja Pasha with a half hour every evening of the whirling dervishes.  We decided to go and see them live.  This entailed getting into a taxi and giving directions to the cabbie.  Telling us he understood perfectly and negotiating a fixed price with us (we thought it was a deal!), he left us near the Spice Bazaar and told us it was simply a couple of blocks inside there but it would take much longer to drive than to walk.

Salman & Govinda at WAR!

I broke this news ageees ago HERE.  Finally Mid-day joins the party and arrives as late as Desi cops to crime scenes in our fillums.

According to the rag, Govinda is apparently pissed at Salman for not promoting his daughter Narmada while Salman is angry about Govinda turning down a film role in a movie titled Shikshanacha Aicha Gho.  Now who would accept a role in a movie they can neither pronounce nor spell? Be reasonable, Salman. 

For a change, they actually managed to get a quote from one party this time signaling that this story isn't totally fake and invented to fill space.  Govinda says, "I wasn't invited to the Dabangg party. It was a Dabangg party so why should I be invited?"  Midday added ghee to the fire and told him Midget Khan and Subhash Ghai were present without having any involvement in Dabangg.  We get another fine quote from Chi Chi, "David [Dhawan] has told me he's finalizing the script. When that's ready, I will do it. Friendship and work should be kept separately. Jo kho gaya hai woh rishte se talukat nahi rakhna chahiye."

Good to see a new brawl in town. I was getting bored of SRK vs. Salman anyway.

This Year's Oscar bait

Oscar season is about to begin in Hollywood.  With that comes the Oscar bait films ready for release.  Here are some likely contenders and their trailers.  Will keep adding more as they come. Scroll down below for all promos.

As far as Bollywood/India is concerned, they have submitted Peepli Live.  We'll see if it makes it to the nominations.

Mahendra Kapoor, gone for two years today – 1934-2008

The man with the unique voice is no longer with us – now gone for two years. He provided the playback for such greats as Shashi Kapoor, Manoj Kumar and was known for the mellow and smooth voice and a hatke kind of choice in songs. He won the National award for best playback for Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugley, but I will remember him for ever for numbers like:
Laakhon hain yahan dilwale aur pyaar nahin milta – a peppy number full of that road song beat.

Dabangg success party disappoints!

Right off the bat, I have to say I am highly disappointed in the Khan brothers for not finally taking advantage of the moment and having a 200 Crores cake for Aamir Khan to cut for them.  WHAT IS THE POINT OF BEATING 3 IDIOTS IF YOU CANNOT GLOAT IN FRONT OF AAMIR KHAN?? Sorry for the caps but this deserves the right amount of passion! Not just Aamir but someone should line up Vidhu Vinod Chopra and make him blow out the candles on the cake and then make him re-watch himself screaming "shut up shut up shut up!!" at the media. 

Salman Khan arrives his usual 80's look, big heavy boots, big belt and a girl in a bikini on his shirt.  His date is the miniature actor Aamir Khan.  Katrina Kaif is once again a no-show giving more confirmation of their split.

Emotional Atyachar review *ing Ranbir Kapoor

Frequently Asked Questions:

First up, what is Emotional Atyachar?  It's not just a song from an Anurag Kashyap film anymore.  It is one of the staples of trashy guilty pleasure television made famous by channels like Bindass and MTV.  For similarly satisfying American trash, refer to The Jersey Shore, one notch above the now defunct Jerry Springer Show.  Think about it this way: if Mad Men is gourmet, Emotional Atyachar is buying a 25 cent bag of Cheetos from a gas station while wearing flip flops.

The premise of the show? A person comes on the show to do a "loyalty test" on their partner.  The show sends their own crew members to flirt with the suspected person and then record it all on hidden cameras. The footage is then shown to the world and a showdown usually occurs at the end. This could be comprised of sobbing, fighting, hitting, spitting, and traditional beat-downs.  This is what we call the "pay-off"- the reason that the audience watches the show. Who doesn't want to see people getting their asses kicked.  I'm in.

Why Ranbir Kapoor you ask? Emotional Atyachar is so popular and famous now that all celebrities make their rounds of it, watch the cheating action, dole out some advice (and secretly enjoy the beat-downs like the rest of India) and promote their films.

Deepika tested Ranbir's loyalty?!  All of us wish this to be true but alas that was not to be. A truly golden opportunity missed. Please send all future suggestions to Deepika Padukone's PR agents. They are slacking.  I don't think the daily interviews dumping on Ranbir are quite doing the trick. They need to try for something more effective and entertaining.  Deepika owes us big time after Housefull as it is. We might begin to forgive her if she pulls off this coup.

Now on to the show.

After the requisite song snippets from Anjaana Anjaani (really? A cheating show to promote a love story? Marketing FAIL), Ranbir appears looking to be a wearing a thick toupee with long sideburns.  He immediately suggests making a film based on this tv show (Picture Amitabh Bachchan doing his trademark "Hain"?) because people need to be made aware these things happen in real life.  Who would know better than Ranbir.  Smirk.

A. R. Rahman’s marvel of light and sound – but where’s the music? (part 1)

AR Rahman was supposed to be in the Bay Area in early summer and with great difficulty seats were procured.  Then there was an accident with some props and the tour was postponed.  We had a group made up of various visitors from all over and they went  their way.  Of course it would make sense that concert tickets should be fully refundable if the event was delayed.  So we went to Indian Store where they tickets were bought only to be told “Ji we know nothing about these tickets, please to contact the organizers!”. A phone call to the organizers and we were told “of course we can refund money if you show us the plane tickets of those in the party who have now left” !!!  I could imagine a phone call to India, and then a courier-ing of tickets, so it seemed like giving tickets away to friends might be a cheaper option.  But these tickets became surprisingly hard to give away.  Then I discovered that it is not easy to convince people to come for a FREE ARRahman concert if it is being held on Sunday night!  The 7:00 pm concert will begin at 8:00 pm and likely be a mismanaged affair that will go on forever with long breaks filled with random stuff.  Or it could go the way of the recent Sukhvinder concert where he arrived 2-3 hours late, sang 5 songs and hurriedly left while the crowd pelted the stage with whatever they had on hand!  The reluctance was understandable.

Commonwealth Advisory

Ministry of Shame Games have issued the following advisory for our esteemed guests coming (if they are) for the biggest games organized in the city. Hope it will help them to have fun in the city...

1) Its perfectly fine to call each other "Oye bhen####" in Delhi.  Drop the same word in your conversation, these are like helping verbs, makes you one of our own.

2) After turning on headlights of your car, its perfectly fine to drive wherever you want, right side, wrong side, on road, on people... all good.

Outsourced sneak peek

Featuring mostly Indian actors and writers

Premieres this Thursday after The Office on NBC

Salman's Big Boss song video

Kind of a hangover of SRK's KBC video, IMO, but doesn't match up to the epically awesome cheese that was Karle Karle....  What do you guys thing? Which one of the frenemies has the cooler video? Yeah, yeah, SRK vs. Salman again.  Still better than counting crores. :P

Hrithik confirmed in Agneepath remake

 Yash Johar's "Agneepath", directed by Mukul Anand in 1990 with Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, was one of India's earliest cult classics.

"It wasn't a Box Office hit, but not a day goes by when this film is not spoken about in superlatives," says Karan Johar, who will make his version of this film with the very handsome Hrithik Roshan.

Salman & Kareena in Bodyguard

By Taran Adarsh, September 20, 2010 - 08:40 IST

It's confirmed! Kareena Kapoor will star opposite Salman Khan in brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri's next project, a remake of the Malayalam hit BODYGUARD. There was speculation that Katrina Kaif would essay the lead role, but Atul clarifies, "See, we have already decided to release our film during the Eid week next year. Since Katrina has committed her dates to other projects, we decided to cast an actor whose dates would match with Salman's and would facilitate the release of the film during the festive week next year."

However, this combo - Salman and Kareena - hasn't delivered a Hit in the past. "It all depends on the film and how the audience takes to it. Why blame a pair for its failure? Besides, they may be third time lucky with my film," Atul smiles. Meanwhile, Atul is keen on calling his film BODYGUARD, not MY LOVE STORY or MERI LOVE STORY. Directed by Siddique, the film has music by Pritam.

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news...633/index.html

Khatron Ke Khiladi Reloaded: Ep. 2

*Episode 2 review*

I never expected to be writing another recap of KKK, no relation to the Ku Klux Klan thankfully. However, by popular demand (that's right, all TWO of you!) I am back to watching so you don't have to.

We begin with a disclaimer that folks watching at home should not replicate the stunts. All ho hum, right? The next line made my eyes nearly pop out. "THE CHANNEL WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE." So if you go jump out of a helicopter and break a leg you can now sue Colors and make some money. Eat some slugs and get food poisoning? Sue the bastards. Not a bad money-making scheme in this economy. So all you unemployed slobs sitting on your couches drooling over Priyanka, chop chop, get to work. The only people who *don't* deserve work? The morons at Colors who can't even write proper disclaimers. I suppose they would be the same retards green-lighting remakes of horrid American reality shows. They must have been multitasking.

Piggy Chops arrives wearing shorts so short her butt cheeks are nearly hanging out. Eh, same thing she does in the movies or award shows or well, anywhere. She is, after all, using her best ASSet. She announces the stunt which happens to be transferring worms, beetles, cockroaches and other creepy crawlies from a honey-covered rope to a bowl a few feet away. Since I had to been dying to see Rahul Bose eat gross insects, it's no surprise that the universe once again denies me this pleasure. Mr. Bose, oh so manly and muscular, volunteers his cheerleader girl to do the stunt for him!!

Making of SRK and Gauri's new TV ad

For the first time ever.... Oops. Second time ever, SRK and Gauri do an ad together. The ad isn't out yet but the making is. They did the first one some 15-20 years ago, which you can also view here.

The Tourist trailer: *ing Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie

Changed promo to the official full version

Anjaana Anjaani updated with new promo

Click to listen to FULL SOUNDTRACK of Anjaana Anjaani

 

National Award results (2009)

New Delhi: Malayalam film "Kutty Srank" has got the National Award for best film while Amitabh Bachchan bags his third National Award for his performance in "Paa", it was announced in new Delhi on Wednesday.

Rituparno Ghosh got the National Award for best director for the film "Abohoman", filmmaker Ramesh Sippy told journalists while announcing the 57th National Film Awards. The film also got Ananya Chatterjee the best actress award.

The blockbuster hit "3 Idiots", starring Aamir Khan, has been declared the most popular film providing wholesome entertainment.

Amitabh Bachchan has earlier won National Awards for "Agneepath" and "Black".

Winners at 57th National Film Awards:

Best Film Award: Malayalam film 'Kutty Srank'

Best Hindi Film Award: 'Paa'

Best Popular Film Award: '3 Idiots'

Best Director Award: Rituparno Ghosh for 'Abohoman'

Best Actor Award: Amitabh Bachchan for 'Paa'

Best Actress Award: Ananya Chatterjee for 'Abohoman'

Best Supporting Actor Award: Farooq Sheikh for 'Lahore'

Best Supporting Actress Award: Arundhuti Nag for 'Paa'

Nargis Dutt Award for Best Film with Social Message: 'Delhi-6'

Best Lyrics Award: Swanand Kirkere for 'Behti hawa sa' in '3 Idiots'

Best Music Director Award: Amit Trivedi for 'Dev-D'

Best Playback Singer (Male) Award: Rupam Islam for 'Mahanagar'

Best Playback Singer (Female): Nilanjana Sarkar for 'Houseful'

Stars attack: Promos of latest TV shows with BW stars

So, stars are back on TV, I mean the stars who probably pissed us off enough on silver screens coming once every month, will now be coming in our homes. With Priyanka already having made her debut, which you can read about here, its the turn of Master Chef Khiladi Kumar:

Banderas, like Freida, seems cast for his smoldering looks - You will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger -- Film Review
By Kirk Honeycutt, May 15, 2010 09:26 ET
"You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger"
Bottom Line: A serviceable Woody Allen comedy that trifles with its characters rather than engaging with them.
CANNES -- The grass is always greener in "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," Woody Allen's roundelay of perplexed characters chasing illusions rather than reality. As a film from Allen's ongoing British/European period, where he spins out comic trifles or morality plays that drift seemingly free of national context, the comedy is more amusing than most, though it lacks the vibrant spirit of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." This is Woody in a bemused mood, devilishly complicating his characters' lives with follies and foibles of their own making until he ties each protagonist into a comic pretzel. Then he takes a tea break.

That’s the spirit for me!

I was in Dundee, Scotland and seized the opportunity to taste some fine single malts.  While imbibing, the question came up – is Scotland the place where whisky originated?  Turns out  that the credit for discovering whiskey goes to the Irish, and Irish priests brought the brew to Scotland (thank you Irish priests!!!).  But now Scotland is the home of whisky, with a population of about 5 million Scotsmen and approximately 18 million barrels of whisky being aged at any given time!  One can imagine that the drink quickly took hold and no doubt made the Scottish weather, particularly in the long winter months, more bearable.  Ask a Scotsman about the weather and he will say it is “fresh” – that translates to cold and windy; if he says “quite fresh” then the temperature has dropped quite a bit and it is blowing like anything; and when he upgrades it to “verra fresh” expect gale force winds and heavy rain!

Khatron Ke Khiladi dangerous for your brain

*my review*

Bollywood stars begin their annual jaunts to TV and first up on the tube is Priyanka Chopra. In the first of a series of mind-numbing television misadventures still to come (Salman with Big Boss, Akki Kumar with Masterchef, Amitabh Bachchan on KBC.... ), we begin with Khatron Ke Khiladi, the desi version of the slightly less awful Fear Factor. Here a femme fatale replaces the dumb oaf of a comedian otherwise known as Joe Rogan. Yes guys, someone did it before Akshay Kumar, as if you were surprised anyway.

We commence with Priyanka Chopra talking as a quote filched from Franklin D. Roosevelt flashes on the screen - the "only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Well played, Mr. Director. A sprinkling of intellectualism to decorate what is likely to be a pile of garbage, a technique otherwise "perfected" (geddit?) by a certain Aamir Khan.

Off we begin with glamorous shots of Priyanka Chopra walking sexily wearing leather, riding a motorcyle, and shot from far enough away for a stuntwoman to replace her. She then again poses sexily in front of yellow helicopter (!!!) while taking 5.4 seconds to introduce 13 D-listers consisting of television celebs and players of sports nobody cares about like rugby and squash. Next up, 13 random girls are brought on as individual cheerleaders for the men. Way to be sexist, Colors. Eyeroll.

Hereafter trailer

Directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Matt Damon

Son of a Devgan

Kajol gives birth to a baby boy

Look who is Bollywood's new mommy, second time on though...it's the lady who was marketing her film We Are Family till sometime back and has now added a new addition to her own.

Kajol gave birth to a baby boy at 0920 hrs IST today morning. It's a joyous moment for the Devgn family as both the baby and mother are doing fine. The family of three, Ajay, Kajol and their daughter Nysa have a welcome addition of a third family member.

SOURCE

Stole SRK's joke for the title. :P

Salman Khan from 26/11 to I quit twitter

Salman Khan in yet another controversy... not exactly news, right?

Salman Khan spoke about 26/11, again not a news, since almost every star spoke about it. But why did it cause such a political turmoil in our natioin? Is it because after Dabangg Salman is a big star he should say things in a better way, or is it because we are still deeply affected by 26/11, and mere mention of the fateful day, kind of bring back the nightmares? Its tough to answer the question, but I will try to.

Dhobi Ghat Review

ALL LATEST REVIEWS AND NEWS HERE!!!! 

Dhobi Ghat is the story of 4 characters: Arun, the famous lonely painter (Aamir), Munna, the dhobi who wants to be a star (Prateik), Shai, the banker on a sabbatical in India (Monica) and Yasmin, the recently married Muslim girl who records her life in Mumbai for her brother back home (Kriti). They say that Mumbai is the fifth character in the movie, and if so, I found it to be a silent character, an immovable witness to the harmony and turmoil in which the characters function simultaneously. Much like the aunty in Arun's neighbouring apartment: always there, always seeing everything, but always silent. Not sure if that was a parallel that Kiran had in mind, but it seemed relevant to me.

What is Hit?

The box office verdict of a film on this website is based on theatrical business. There are two verdicts, one for the domestic market and one for the international market because this is where the public is paying to watch a film and a film has to be watched to be a hit. Business of different revenue sectors is not put together to give verdict.

I Watched Dabangg So You Don't Have To

Live PDVD post-midnight watch

*spoiler warning*

Instant Replay:

0:39: Movie opens on two kids. One named Chulbul and one Makkhi.  Chulbul (Junior Salman) thinks he's hated by his stepfather while the other one is loved for being the "real" son. No honey, I'm pretty sure he hates Makkhi too. You don't name your kid a pesky fly for any other reason.

0:41: Dimple appears with blondish-brownish dyed hair in a village, covered with a pallu. 1 point for realism, yo.  She gossips with Chulbul that Makkhi is a retarded kid.

1:18: Continuing the parade of washed-up actors, Vinod Khanna comes on the scene to slap Chulbul for saying he has money to get the retarded Makkhi's kundli read but not his.  This is a step above Rajesh Khanna making a semi-porn film Wafa but I bet Rajesh K. had more fun in his role.  Next time, go for the semi-porn Vinod K.

1:45: Chulbul threatens Makkhi that when he's older, he will beat the shit out of Makkhi and his dad Vinod Khanna, kicks him in the stomach, and then proceeds immediately to shred up the unread kundli. Sentimental music plays.

2:25: A header reads "21 years later." AWW. I was really hoping they should show little Chulbul running and running and aging as he runs. Boo, Kashyap sahab. How can you leave out the trusted 'running kid turning into an adult' scene?  Chulbul is now a moochied-Salman Khan in a khadi cop uniform beating up people. In the midst of a fight, he begins dancing to a song from Wanted and kicks people as he dances. To show us how inventive his imagination is, he also shoots a stream of water from a hose while saying "Ab dho dalunga." Curiously, then comes oil. Oil everywhere, gushing, again used in a genius way. Salman-Chubul uses it as weapon to slip and slide on as he beats up people.  Epic fail, Mr. Director.  The water should have come after the oil, dude.  You could have used it as a way to clean up Salman-Chubul before he emerges.  These things don't matter to our great director. So after the dancing, water hosing, oil gushing fight, Salman-Chulbul comes outside dry and gleaming with a perfect corrupt cop uniform! Point no. 2 for realism.

TweedleJi and TweedleD view Dabangg

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Pardesi | Edit

Tweedle Twins view Dabangg

TweedleJi and TweedleD rarely watch movies together – their tastes are as different as chalk and cheese. The last time they had bumped into each other while watching Dev D.  And then suddenly here they were in a line buying popcorn for the showing of Dabangg.

TweedleD: Hi Ji – I thought this would not be your kind of film, strange to see you here.  Galat film mein aa gaye kya? (Are you in the wrong movie?)

TweedleJi: Arre D, I heard a lot about this Chulbul Pandey – the fellow who is a small town corrupt cop, wears Ray Bans and dances like a male stripper.  I am here to see what it is that attracts men and women to a persona like that.   So I thought a single screen would be the best place to experience this first hand.

Dabangg reviews

Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama: 4.5 stars "full on entertainer"
Abhishek Mande, Rediff: 3 stars "for Salman fans"
Mihir Fadnavis, India.com: 2.5 stars "loudest" "obnoxious" "sexist"
Komal Nahta, Koimoi:  4 stars "routine subject but other plus points"
Gaurav Malani, Indiatimes:  3 stars "no novel storyline"
Aniruddha Guha, DNA:  4 stars "palatable and scrumptious khichdi"
Spice Zee:  4 stars "complete family entertainer"
Anupama Chopra, NDTV:  3 stars "structural mess"
Kaveree Bamzai, India Today:  4 stars "Zandu Balm of a movie"
Sukanya Venkatgharvahan, Filmfare:  3 stars "watch only if you're a Salman fan"
K.K. Rai, Stardust: 3 stars "paisa vasool for the masses"
Blessy Chettiar, DNA: 3.5 stars "clean humor, fab action sequences, innocent love stories, superb dialogue"
Pankaj Shabnani, Glamsham: 2.5 stars "Film disappoints, flimsy and exaggerated" 
Shubhra Gupta, Indian Express:  2.5 stars "cliched"
Anupreet Kaur, Total Filmy: 4 stars "paisa-vasool"
Naresh Kumar Deoshi, Apun Ka Choice: 3.5 stars "watch for Salman"
Mayank Shekhar, Hindustan Times:  3 stars "mad stuff!"
Karthik Pasupulate, Full Hyderabad:  3.75 stars "defying logic"
Khalid Mohammed, PFC:  2 stars "To see? Nahin nahin, kabhi nahin"
Rajeev Masand/IBN: 2.5 stars "Ordinary at best"
Sarita Tanwar, Mid-day: 3 stars "made for Salman Khan fans"
IANS: 2.5 stars "old fashioned vendetta saga"
Sanjukta Sharma/livemint: "Robinhood can't save this" 

Avg. rating - 3.21 stars (70.75/22)

The sexiest geek?

Hedy Lamarr for sexiest geek

by Emily Shurr

In response to last week's Crave UK's "Top ten girl geeks" feature, and inspired by Wired's invitation this week to submit nominees for the Sexiest Geek of 2006, I propose someone who'd be a shoo-in, if only they'd extend the list to include non-2006 players.

Credit: IEEE

Hedy Lamarr

How much sexier can you get than a woman who started her professional life in a minor, scandalous film and eventually went on to invent the technology that enables modern encrypted satellite communications and cell phone operations, stopping along the way to escape Nazis and engineer a hugely successful Hollywood career?
Hedy Lamarr. Stunning good looks and the classic come-hither bedroom gaze were just the beginning of her story. First, after beginning her acting career in a vaguely naughty Czech film, she became an influential Viennese socialite, hobnobbing and listening closely to heads of state and military officials. Said to have smuggled herself out of Austria and a bad marriage to a Nazi munitions dealer, Lamarr then negotiated a contract with Louis B. Mayer and launched a gigantic career in Hollywood films.

Credit: Inventions.org

"Frequency hopping"
patent

Prioritizing intelligence over looks, but obviously unafraid of using either asset to her advantage, she famously advised: "Any girl can be glamorous--All she has to do is stand still and look stupid."
She and composer-filmmaker George Antheil later patented the radio "frequency hopping" torpedo guidance technology that would later play a role in our modern cell phone revolution and encrypted defense-satellite control system. Toward the end of her life, Electronic Frontier Foundation gave her an award for the invention.
Amazing brains, persistent beauty, incredible chutzpah and astonishing courage. Who wouldn't rank her among the top?

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-6138928-7.html#ixzz0zHE5hRfG

Revenge of Salman

mic

* Story, concept, dialogues, direction, production, background music, play back... all credited to Nia

Sallu Boti, Anyone? Namrata Joshi explains the mystique of Salman Khan

Bollywood’s Bhai returns with a new look and a masala punch

Namrata Joshi on Salman Khan

This weekend he is set to swagger on to the big screen in a never-before-sported moustache, khaki uniform and kitschy glares, swinging his hips, wooing his woman, bashing up the goons and saying with a touch of desi James Bond: “Hum yahan ke Robinhood hain, Robinhood Pandey”. Catcalls and wolf-whistles are expected by the millions to greet the crazy cop Chulbul Pandey and Bollywood, in turn, is hoping to celebrate its best Id ever, all thanks to the man who puts on the role, the enigmatic bad boy, Salman Khan.

Crook trailers and other promotional stuff

Terrorists in Mumbai

Mumbai Police has released these 2 pics of the terrorists, Kalimuddin Khan alias Rameshwar Pundit and Hafiz Sareef, who are lose in the city, and can destroy the peace of the nation in the festive season. one is suspected to be resident of Pakistan, other might be from Bangladesh.

Their motive appears to trigger a car bomb or something like that in crowded places of Mumbai or some other parts of the nation. Believed to enter the city some 3-4 days ago are now somewhere lose in the city. Officials have requested people to be on watch of any suspected activity, since there can be more. Watch out for any abandoned vehicle, bag, or even a lunch box. Anything can be armed with a high power explosive. People are requested to tell Police if they have any information about their whereabouts or any suspicious activity in general, by the announcements going on national news channels.

Review: Hudd Hudd Dabangg

Thank you Dim for writing such a brilliant review :D

The movie started and I thought it was going to be Ishqiya meets Peepli-concocted-live. They show behinds of two young boys in the morning in a khet, sitting with their bare behinds with their backs to each other and talking about the sweetest thing in the world. Makkhi-the-dimwit says Mangoes, Chulbul-the-musclewit says Sugarcane and thats what he is going to grow on all the land that his father owns in the village when he grows up. But the sad reality is explained to him by his overacting-dimply-why-are-you-in-this-movie-mother that he can't enjoy all the rights and love of his dad because he is his step-son. The ever-frowning-hating-on-his-son Pandeyji senior treats him like a servant and refuses to get his kundali read by a pandit and the Rockstar Pandey decides to put the kundali through the desi paper shredder out of anger :

Happy Eid and Ganesh Chaturthi to all

Star Vs Genre

A comment From KB made me think about this question, how important is star and how important is the genre of the movie? In times where uto 50 of the earnings of a movie are made in its opening week, ex:

Movie--------Opening---Final-----Opening %
MNIK--------29.5-------73-------42
MP-----------10.5-------28-------35
Wanted-------17.0-------61-------28
Love Aaj Kal-28---------67-------42
Raajneeti-----34---------93-------36
Ghajini-------30--------115-------26

Do duni char promo

Amidst the huge fanfare of Dabangg this small movie's promo came out, its really endearing to say the least. Looks like middle class India has finally found some representation in BW, enough of huge mansions with chopper parking lots.

Top Ten Salman Khan films of all time!

There's nothing anyone loves more than lists. So here is my entirely subjective list of the best of Salman Khan.  Generally, this Khan doesn't usually get chosen for retrospectives. Those honors are given to the other stars.  Despite having fun and doing whatever the hell he wanted, Salman still has given some unforgettable movies. My list will obviously skew to a more girly side but hey, it's my list!

Dabangg premiere!

Ahh, I love premieres. A time for film watching. A time for celebrating the industry. A time for every C and D-lister to make his presence felt. Dabangg also didn't disappoint!

First up is of course Salman Khan who still dresses the way we did in the 80s. Very modest, you see. Along with Junior Shotgun, Sonakshi Sinha.  After the premiere, she is heading straight to perform in a Medieval Times dinner and tournament show.

If the Bachchans can parade around, why not the Sinhas? Daddy and Mommy Sinha in attendance-

Real reel: The other India

Thanks to Babua for the article :D

The several small-budget films released in recent years have explored real life incidents by fictionalizing them through a story extending from fact. Some of them have done very well, some have done just about average business while some have fallen by the wayside. The USP of these films is not the small budget but the truth behind the fiction – the ‘other India’ that is cleverly hidden behind India Shining. Shoma A. Chatterji analyses...

Let us take a few steps backwards into time and consider Matrubhoomi, a futuristic look at a small pocket in India that thrives on female foeticide and infanticide. Directed by Manish Jha, Matrubhoomi – a Nation without Women opens with the shocking shot of a newborn female infant ritually drowned in a cauldron of milk. The director takes a time leap into a future in the same village, now devoid of a single female member. Men are forced to hang on not only to homosexual relationships but also to perverse forms of bestial behaviour to gratify their physical desire.

The Also rans

These are not the actors movies revolves around, but they sure are better than most of the stars around. Their job is to be the loser guys, the most important part of the movies, the ones who make heroes look even more heroic. Sometimes when by mistake they get hero type role in the movie, the product is no doubt better, though not as successful. 

Hisss Trailer: Mallika as icchhadhari naagin

Final Solution - A documentary on the Gujarat riots

Spine chilling documentary on the Gujarat riots. Final Solution was banned in India but its a must watch for every Indian.

Landmark movies completing 50 years this year! How many have you seen?

Landmark movies completing 50 years this year

Psycho
Golden Celebrations. Mughal-e-Azam, released in 1960 redefined the genre of historical epics in Indian cinema. The revised interest in the historical classic on the completion of 50 years has brought cheers among film lovers. But Mughal-e-Azam is not the only one. This was the year when filmmakers around the world started changing the cinematic language, for better of course. Technical wizardry, poetic touch, cynical finesse and exploration of the unknown, filmmakers challenged the conventional moviemaking. Looking back at those cinematic wonders.

Who killed the mystery movie?

A stills from Teesri Manzil, a timeless Bollywood thriller

A classic whodunnit returns to theatres while we steer frustratingly clear of fresh kills

Raja sen

Posted On Wednesday, September 08, 2010 at 02:06:33 AM

Vijay Anand’s rollicking 1966 murder mystery, Teesri Manzil, returns to selected theatres this Friday, and the Shammi Kapoor-Asha Parekh-Helen starrer is a timeless piece of Bollywood history, a taut, engaging thriller with a gorgeous soundtrack, a film that stays entertaining even decades after the curtains fell open on who actually dun it. And while it’s all very well to look nostalgically at Shammi twisting those effeminate lips into a screen-conquering pout, goddess Helen in full, peacocked groove, R D Burman’s killer songs and Nassir Hussain’s wonderfully plotted script, it seems equally apt to lament the death of the thriller in Hindi cinema. They don’t make ‘em like they used to, true, but they don’t even seem to really try anymore. We haven’t had a serviceable whodunnit in ages. The murder mystery has always been a genre that has enjoyed immediate appeal, so it isn’t as if box office prospects are limited. Tell a story right, hinge it all on a final reveal, and audiences go back gleeful, knowing they have been asked to think, to wonder, to decipher, and are eventually going home with the best kind of bang for their buck, the unexpected kind.

Story of a meltdown or a hoax?

I'm Still Here (Unrated)

Ebert:         

Joaquin Phoenix, still here.

I'm Still Here

BY ROGER EBERT / September 7, 2010

A mind is a terrible thing to waste. The tragedy of Joaquin Phoenix's self-destruction has been made into "I'm Still Here," a sad and painful documentary that serves little useful purpose other than to pound another nail into the coffin. Here is a gifted actor who apparently by his own decision has brought desolation upon his head. He was serious when he said he would never act again. He was serious when he announced a career as a hip hop artist. He wasn't goofing when he was on the Letterman show. He was flying into pieces.

Khichdi the movie

We Are Generation Y

Where are they now?

Sorry for the ominous title. It's usually reserved for finding celebs who've disappeared for the last 20-30 years. It's equally apt, however, for what's happening to some of the biggest female stars of recent times.

On the heels of Aishwarya Rai announcing that she is on the verge of signing films with Shyam Benegal and Raj Kumar Santoshi, one wonders what's happening to the actresses who once used to go toe to toe with Aishwarya. (or beat her, for that matter)

At nearly 40, Aishwarya is going from strength to strength. Most of her movies may flop but then so do the current hotties' films like Kareena Kapoor. Hits and flops have never been a big deal for actresses. Career prospects are determined by the level of films you get and which big directors and male actors are connected to them. With the likes of Mani Rathnam, Ashutosh Gowariker, Sanjay Leela Bhansali all working with her in recent times, she is on a career high.