Amithabs retirement

That’s the new sensation in Bollywood. Someone said that Amitabh Bachchan must contemplate retirement and that has kicked up a storm that is unlikely to die down until the person who started it comes out and offers an explanation or an apology.

Rajini in matrix style

'After the stupendous success of Sivaji, the Shankar–Rajini duo is back in action with their next project Robot. This Shankar’s brainchild was initially offered to Kamal Haasan and then to Shah Rukh Khan before it finally reached the superstar.With the shooting of Robot all set to commence on May 10, 2008, the frenzy is bound to get bigger and bigger with every passing day. And Action_Choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping even this time, as like his previous films, director Shankar will adhere strictly to his working style, which is 15-days shooting and 15-days discussion a month.

Another interesting piece of news is that the stunt master of the famous Hollywood film, Matrix, Yuen Woo-Ping has been roped in to direct the fight sequences in Robot. And naturally he has bagged the offer for a huge sum. Reckon how much? It is nothing less than Rs. 8 crores. But then, grandiose, thy name is Shankar right?

JodhaAkbar :A complete review

This Friday the wheel of time will be turned as we revisit, through Ashuthosh Gowariker’s Jodha Akbar, one of the most eventful and fascinating pre-independence eras of our country: the splendor of Rajasthan and the opulence and grandeur of the Mughals. The film will also celebrate a very unique marriage that was at first just a political truce and later, an epic romance. With this epic film, Ashuthosh Gowariker gets ready to unveil his yet most ambitious project to date. It is not often that filmmakers find history to be a very favorable premise to construct a story that is commercially viable, especially characters that are very well known, popular, respected and even revered. Any interpretation, however sincere or genuine, will be questioned at some stage. So, first let us applaud the tenacious Mr. Gowariker and UTV for going ahead with a subject that was not without its risks. Let’s also save some applause for Friday, because going by the director’s track record and the amount of time and work that have gone into this project, it will be worth it.

The makers have said that Jodha Akbar is an epic romance, the tale of a young Mughal king’s unexpected journey towards the discovery of true love. If the movie is indeed a love story then it surely takes the credit for having the largest ever canvas on which a romance has been painted. And along with this, the rise of a young Akbar becoming the greatest Mughal emperor to have ruled our land has also been charted. All of us know a thing or two about Akbar, such as his great conquests that earned him the title Shahenshah (king of kings), his multifaceted persona, taste for art and Din-e-Ilahi, and his idea of secularism that still finds admirers. He remains one of the few, maybe the only Mughal king to be remembered both as a fierce conqueror and a just emperor.

So what is Jodha Akbar going to tell us about this great emperor and his life? Surely, everything that happened in his life will be too much even for Ashuthosh’s three hour plus style of film making. So, we have until Friday to go about guessing. History tells us that Akbar, when a young conqueror, chose to befriend rather than oppose the Rajputs, known for their valiance. And it was out of this alliance that the marriage of Jodha and Akbar materialized. This is where some historians are up in arms against the authenticity of the facts being presented. History is less fact and more speculation, and it is more the rule than the exception that every story of the past has a conflicting version. Here, we are told that Akbar and Jodha never married; but in actual fact, Akbar was Jodha’s father-in-law. History also says that Akbar had three sons, though we tend to forget two of them. The one we remember is Jahangir or Salim (as he was named by his parents). We are not too sure about what historians have to say about this, but that great Hindi classic, Mughal-e-Azam (which you have surely heard of) revolves around the love story of Salim and Anarkali, a court dancer. Of course, it is widely believed that Anarkali is a case of creative liberty skewering historical perspectives.

Who was Jodha? There are people who say that she was the wife of Jehangir and there are people who believe that she was the wife of Akbar and there are also people who believe that such a person never existed. The consensus here seems to be something like this: Akbar did not want to fight the reputed and valiant Rajputs, seeing that a political truce -fortified by matrimonial alliance- is the most peaceful way to unify two empires, he proposed marriage with a Rajput princess and won her hand. Jahangir who also married a Rajput princess kept this tradition alive. It was this princess who gave birth to Shah Jahan. The only real issue here is the name Jodha which some people think is more likely to have been associated with Jahangir than Akbar. But what’s in a name? When one of the finest and most daring directors in India comes up with a movie after painstaking research, we have but one thing to do: sit back and enjoy. There’s also Rahman’s music and the star power of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya (for the first time as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) to look forward to. And what better day for an epic romance to open than Valentine’s weekend? The one thing that is hard to guess here is just how many of Akbar’s famous contemporaries will Ashuthosh actually show on screen. Will we have Birbal, Tansen and the other Navaratnas? We’ll know all this and more on Feb. 15th.

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No more Robo

In less than two weeks of its announcement, looks like superstar Rajnikanth’s next mammoth venture Robot could be renamed. Media insiders speculate that Robot might possibly be re-christened as Iyandira - its Tamil equivalent - in order to befit the Tamil Nadu government’s resolution to write off entertainment tax for movies with Tamil titles. The makers of Robot are likely to make an announcement soon confirming or denying this.

aishwariya rai joins hands with rajini for shanker

A couple of days back, we had mentioned that Shankar was in Mumbai to hold talks with Aishwarya Rai to cast her in his prestigious project Robot. Now it is confirmed that he has been successful with regard to roping in former Miss World in his mega budgeted film Robot. Ms Rai has signed on the dotted line for a jaw dropping sum of Rs 1.5 crore to play the lady lead for Super Star in the film. Insiders reveal that this could be the highest paid salary for any heroine in the South Indian film industry. This Science fiction film will be produced by London Karunas for Ayngaran International and is expected to be made simultaneously in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu.

aishwariya reaches new height

Former Miss World is all set to feature in one of the most expensive French films yet, where she plays a character etched out especially for her and will be the only female actor in the cast. This film, part of the Asterix series titled Asterix at The Olympic Games will have some of France and Hollywood’s biggies like Jean Claude Van Damme, Gerard Depardieu and French football legend Zenadine Zidane. Finally, a movie that will give her a chance to showcase her histrionics to a larger audience.

Aishwariyas next venture ready

Aishwarya Rai Bhachchan is eagerly anticipating the release of her next movie, the much-awaited Jodha Akbar opposite her Dhoom 2 pair Hrithik Roshan. This epic film, directed by Ahutosh Gowariker and touted to be the most expensive Indian film ever made in the recent times, is in the final stages of postproduction.

am i pregnant : aiswariya

New Delhi, Is there a Salim on the way? Actress Aishwarya Rai, Jodha Bai of the period epic "Jodhaa-Akbar", is "enjoying the speculation" about her pregnancy in the media. And she refuses to rise to the bait.

"If I walk too carefully or if I stand with dupatta draped on one side, the media will be rife with speculation the next day. So I am myself, going along with the flow," said the chirpy former Miss World-turned-actress shimmering in a cloud of green chiffon and diamonds.The actress have a huge grace on diamonds.