Wazir mints Rs.44 crore in first week
Mumbai–Bejoy Nambiar’s “Wazir” has minted Rs.30.05 crore in its opening week in the domestic market, while internationally the movie has made Rs.14.22 crore.
Made at a budget of Rs.35 crore, “Wazir” has recovered its production cost, read a statement issued on behalf of the film’s makers.
The movie, co-produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani, features Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Aditi Rao Hydari and John Abraham.
A crime thriller, “Wazir” tells the story of two unusual friends, a wheelchair-bound chess grandmaster and a grief-stricken ATS officer, who are brought together by a peculiar twist of fate as part of a wider conspiracy that has cast a dark shadow over their lives.
Producers suggested making ‘Airlift’ as a documentary: Akshay Kumar
Mumbai– Bollywood star Akshay Kumar says there were producers who suggested that “Airlift” — his forthcoming action thriller based on evacuation of Indians from Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait war — should be made as a documentary.
“Director Raja Krishna Menon was working on this script for four years. He has been closely associated with many of those people who were stranded in that situation. It has been a tremendous effort of my director to present the facts onscreen.
“But let me tell you this… when he approached several producers with the script, they suggested him to make it into documentary,” Akshay said here.
Akshay said it was disappointing.
“This evacuation is such a big fact for our country, but the kind of response the director got of making a documentary, it was upsetting. I want that each and every Indian must watch this film ‘Airlift’, and feel proud of being an Indian,” said the actor.
The film, releasing on January 22, features Nimrat Kaur.
Styling Tabu for ‘Fitoor’ was great, says Manish Malhotra
New Delhi- Celebrated fashion designer Manish Malhotra, who has styled Tabu for the forthcoming film “Fitoor”, considers her a “fantastic” actress and found the experience of working with her “great”.
Malhotra was earlier supposed to style veteran diva Rekha for the film, but then Tabu stepped into the role.
The designer added that it was a “great experience” to work with Tabu.
“I was doing Rekhaji’s costume… we had many meetings and discussions over the clothes. Unfortunately, Rekhaji coudn’t do the film. Tabu is a fantastic actress. We reworked on Tabu’s look and it was a great experience,” Malhotra told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
Malhotra, whose creations have been donned by actresses Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone on and off screen, says he is glad he got to be a part of the Abhishek Kapoor directorial.
“I loved the trailer… It looks like a beautiful film. Abhishek is a very good director to work with, and I am so happy to be a part of it via Tabu for ‘Fitoor’,” added Malhotra, who’s popular as Bollywood’s favourite designer.
Asked if the “Maachis” actress give her inputs for her look for the film, Malhotra said: “Tabu’s body type is different from Rekhaji’s. We had a discussion. We kind of reworked on the look for Tabu. She is a fantastic actress and I think her looks worked out really well in the film.”
“Fitoor”, which stars actors Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur in key roles, is slated to hit the screens on February 12.
Ranveer ‘honoured’ to compete with Big B for award
Mumbai-Actor Ranveer Singh, who bagged the Best Actor in a Leading Role Award at the 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards ceremony here, says he felt honoured to have been nominated in the category with megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
Ranveer walked off with the black statuette for his role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial “Bajirao Mastani” wherein he portrays the role of Maratha warrior Peshwa Bajirao I.
Dedicating his award to his family, the actor said: “It is an honour to be nominated alongside my idol Mr. Amitabh Bachchan.”
But Big B didn’t go back home empty handed.
He won the Best Actor (Male) Award in the critics category for his work in “Piku”, while Deepika Padukone, his co-actor in the film bagged the Best Actress in a Leading Role Award at the event, held here on Friday.
Not expecting five stars for ‘Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3’: Aftab Shivdasani
Mumbai– Aftab Shivdasani has his expectations in place. The actor, whose next release is the adult comedy film “Kya Super Kool Hain Hum 3”, says the team is not expecting a five-star rating from critics, whose reviews he feels “don’t speak for the entire public”.
Asked to comment on the relevance of critics’ reviews, Aftab said: “It’s quite clear that we are not making a path-breaking film. It’s an entertaining film with a different story. We are not expecting five stars for our film.
“At the end of the day, box office numbers speak for itself. Whatever the critics’ reviews, it’s their individual opinion and they don’t speak for the entire public.”
Directed by Umesh Ghadge, “Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3” features Tusshar Kapoor and Mandana Karimi apart from Aftab.
’24’ most ambitious film of my career: Suriya
Chennai– Actor Suriya, who is currently shooting for “S3”, says upcoming Tamil sci-fi thriller “24” is the most ambitious film of his career.
“It’s a very special film. It’s the most ambitious film of my career. The vast canvas on which it’s made, makes it very ambitious,” Suriya told IANS.
Refusing to divulge more information about the project, he said: “It’s the script that caught my attention. We are trying something new and I don’t want to spoil the fun by talking about it now. I’m sure it will dazzle audiences”.
Rumoured to be based on the concept of time travel, the film features Suriya in a triple role. He will be playing an elder brother and younger brother. He will also be seen as the son of the elder brother.
Directed by Vikram Kumar, the film also stars Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nithya Menen in important roles.
“I really like Vikram’s work. With each project, he’s set the bar higher. We are going to push it further with ’24’,” he added.
‘Nannaku Prematho’ rakes in over Rs.30 crore in three days
Chennai– Actor Jr NTR’s Telugu drama “Nannaku Prematho”, an emotional drama between a father and son, has grossed over Rs.30 crore worldwide in the first three days since its release.
“Despite mixed reviews, the film managed to collect over Rs.30 crore in the first three days worldwide. It is expected to gross over Rs.50 crore in the opening weekend,” trade analyst Trinath told IANS.
Directed by Sukumar, the film, which released on Wednesday, also stars Rakul Preet Singh, Rajendra Prasad and Jagapathi Babu in important roles.
The film is inching close to the $1 million mark in the US.
“It has raked in over Rs.4 crore ($717,763) in just two days. It’s performing extremely well and is running to packed houses,” Sanjay of CineGalaxy Inc, the overseas distributor of the film, told IANS.
Geetu Mohandas announces new film ‘Insha Allah’
Chennai– Actress-turned-filmmaker Geetu Mohandas, popular for her National Award winning film “Liar’s Dice”, has announced her next project “Insha Allah”.
“Introducing the title and team of my next venture. Shoot will commence post monsoon,” Mohandas posted on her Facebook page along with the film’s poster.
The lead cast is yet to be revealed.
The film’s title has a tagline – In Pursuit of Akbar.
Alan McAlex and Ajay Rai, the producers of “Liar’s Dice”, are also bankrolling “Insha Allah”, while Mohandas’s husband Rajeev Ravi will crank the camera.
Kamal Haasan to team up with ‘Thoongaavanam’ director again
Chennai–Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan will reportedly join hands with his erstwhile assistant Rajesh M Selva, director of his last Tamil outing “Thoongaavanam”, for a yet untitled Tamil actioner.
“Kamal will team up with Rajesh for another project later this year. It will be an out-and-out action film that’s most likely going to be shot in Mauritius,” a source close to Haasan told IANS.
According to the source, this project was supposed to happen even before “Thoongaavanam”.
“Things didn’t work out back then. Hence, they’re reuniting now to work on it. It’s most likely to go on the floors later this year,” the source added.
Kamal, meanwhile, is busy putting together the cast for his next Tamil outing with filmmaker T.K. Rajeev Kumar. In this project, Shruti Haasan will team up with her father for the first time.
Sooraj Pancholi wins Best Debut Award, thanks fans for support
Mumbai– Sooraj Pancholi, who forayed into Bollywood with superstar Salman Khan’s production “Hero”, is elated about receiving the Filmfare Best Debut (Male) Award. He has thanked his fans for the “support”.
“I thank all the people who have supported me! Each and everyone of you! I coudn’t have done this without you,” tweeted Sooraj after winning the award on Friday night.
The event saw actress Bhumi Pednekar bag the Best Debut (Female) for her film “Dum Laga Ke Haisha”.
Ranveer Singh won the Best Actor Award for his role as 18th century Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I in “Bajirao Mastani”, while Deepika Padukone grabbed the Best Actress Award for her role of a doting daughter in “Piku”.
Kangana Ranaut won the Critics’ Choice Best Actor (Female) Award for “Tanu Weds Manu Returns”, and megastar Amitabh Bachchan won the Critics’ Choice Best Actor (Male) award for “Piku”.
“Time is short…so Best Actor Critics’ at Filmfare for ‘Piku’…happy and content,” tweeted Amitabh.
The Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) honour went to Priyanka Chopra for “Bajirao Mastani”, while Anil Kapoor took home the Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) Award for “Dil Dhadakne Do”.
The elegant and evergreen Moushumi Chatterjee was decorated with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the gala, where “Bajirao Mastani” was named the Best Film and Sanjay Leela Bhansali received the Best Director award for the historical period drama.
The Best Music Award went to Ankit Tiwari, Meet Bros Anjjan and Amaal Mallik for the film “Roy”, while Irshad Kamil bagged Best Lyrics Award for the track “Agar tum saath ho” from the film “Tamasha”.
Arijit Singh lifted the Best Playback Singer (Male) Award for his song “Sooraj dooba” in the film “Roy”, and the Best Playback Singer (Female) went to Shreya Ghoshal for the track “Deewani mastani” in the film “Bajirao Mastani”.
In the Critics’ Choice category, the Best Film award was received by “Piku”.
