'Slumdog Millionaire' jumps into North American Top 10 at 6:18 AM

Washington, British director Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire", based on a book by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup, has jumped into the North American Top 10 and also taken home more awards as well as several nominations for British Indian actor Dev Patel.

Patel gets a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a male actor in a supporting role from the Screen Actors Guild Awards along with nominations for Outstanding Performance by a cast in a motion picture.

Shot in Mumbai, the film that also stars Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor tells the heart warming story of an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai who goes on to win a staggering Rs.20 million on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" game show. Dev Patel plays the protagonist Jamal as a teenager.

It has earned six nominations including British Film, Director, British Director, British Actor (Patel), Young British Performer (Patel), and Screenwriter from the London Critics' Circle Film Awards.

The film has won the Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Most Promising Performer (Patel) award from the Chicago Film Critics Association.

It has also won Best Picture and Best Director awards from the Detroit Film Critics Society and Florida Film Critics Circle. The latter has also given it an award for Best Screenplay.

After five strong weeks in limited release, "Slumdog Millionaire" expanded to more than 500 theatres all over the US and jumped into the North American Top 10 for the first time, finishing number eight for the weekend. 

With its weekend gross rising to $3.15 million, up 45 percent from last weekend, the film has to date earned a total gross of $12 million

Scripted the next Bollywood hit? Now wait for a contact at 6:17 AM

Mumbai, "I'm very busy now", "Call me after three years" or "Who are your references?" - these are some of the common replies that budding scriptwriters get from filmmakers when they attempt to gain an entry into Bollywood.

Those looking for a launch platform accuse producers and directors of double standards when they complain about the dearth of new talent.

"They say one thing in public and say something else when we approach them. They are no better than politicians," Rajesh Kumar, a budding scriptwriter, told IANS.

Kumar said he had approached various directors, but none of them even agreed to listen to his script's synopsis.

At a recent conference organised by the Screenwriters' Association and attended by many wannabe writers, one of the main topics for discussion was the dearth of good writers and original scripts. But many delegates who attended the conference complained that the biggies who spoke of originality and providing a platform to newcomers, were not open to giving fresh talent a chance.

The meet was attended by established directors, producers and writers including Kamal Haasan, Govind Nihalani, Rajkumar Hirani, Abbas Tyrewala, Amol Palekar and Sriram Raghavan. 

When this IANS correspondent pretended to be a writer and approached directors at the meet with a script, there was not a single positive response. Some of the replies were:

Tyrewala: "Oh! not now. I was looking for scripts some time back, but now I have 22 scripts and there is no chance of getting something more for at least a couple of years."

Bharadwaj: "I'm very busy with my film now. So please call me at my office some time after February."

Hirani: "I can't think of anything beyond my film 'Three Idiots'. Once I'm through with my film, I can give you time. Call my office after two-three months."

Sanjay Gadhvi: "I am not doing anything now. But I have my scripts. So I don't think there is a fair chance. We entertain new writers if there is some sort of reference. It's very difficult to entertain one and all and so if there is any writer who comes with a reference we take him seriously."

Palekar: "I am so busy with my work that I cannot look right or left for at least three years. Please call me after three years."

Prathamesh Sharma, who has just started his career in scriptwriting and has written a few short plays, got similar replies from filmmakers.

"It's very difficult to make them hear our concepts and ideas as they don't know us personally. I have tried to explain my concept to them, but they cite different excuses and avoid me."

Pradtyoth Pandit had the same experience.

"I have many original ideas and concepts, which I am confident they will like if they listen. But I don't know how to make them listen," Pandit said.

"They always ask me to e-mail my concept, which I did several times, but there was no response from their end. I'm really frustrated by their double standards," he added.

Abhijaat Joshi, who writes for Raj Kumar Hirani, suggested at the conference: "The best way to make an entry for a budding writer is to take part in contests which provide a decent platform."

But one of the delegates dismissed his suggestion. "I have participated in several contests and won a few too. But nothing really happened. It's all about the contacts one has in the industry," he remarked.

'De Dhana Dhan' cast ill after shooting underwater at 6:14 AM

Mumbai, The entire cast of director Priyadarshan's forthcoming comedy "De Dhana Dhan" had been shooting non-stop underwater at Film City here for two weeks and most of them are unwell.

"Though the water is clean, it isn't exactly the aqua-blue swimming pool water. And it's taking its toll on all of us. We're coughing, huffing and wheezing," said a member of the cast on condition of anonymity.

Katrina Kaif, who left the shooting for two days to be in Singapore, rejoined the unit recently. She has been down with a severe cold and cough for a fortnight now and has been on antibiotics.

Suniel Shetty, who is cast opposite Sameera Reddy in the film, admits the cast has been shooting underwater for two weeks.

"But the water is clean. It's been disinfected every day. Priyan is very clear about that. But it isn't easy. I mean I love the water and swimming. But this is tough. These underwater sequences being shot at Film City are supposed to be part of the sequences in Singapore. We'll be shooting the rest of the sequences there," Suniel told IANS.

Added another cast member: "Though it is very difficult being underwater for hours, we have a lot of fun. It's Priyan's film and nobody questions his vision, but we could do with a break."

'Jism 2' will launch three new faces with great bodies: screenwriter at 6:10 AM

New Delhi, Five years after Bipasha Basu and John Abraham scorched the screen in "Jism", Shagufta Rafique, screenwriter for the much-hyped sequel to the film, says part two will be about infidelity and will launch three new faces with great bodies.

"Since 'Jism' was all about the human body and keeping up with the tradition of Vishesh Films' launching new talent, we'll take a completely new and absolutely raw cast for 'Jism 2'. We'll launch three new faces and three great bodies in three newcomers in the film," Rafique told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

Released in 2003, "Jism" was an unexpected box office success and the launch vehicle of Bollywood heartthrob John. The film gave a boost to John and Bipasha's careers and both got tagged as sex symbols. 

While the first was written by Mahesh Bhatt, "Jism 2" is being written by Rafique, who holds to her credit films like "Woh Lamhe", "Awarapan" and box office dud "Dhokha".

Asked about the plot of "Jism 2", she said: "Like the previous 'Jism', part two will concentrate on the issue of infidelity and it will be a murder mystery. I have already started working on the film and Pooja (Bhatt) will be directing it."

Loosely based on Lawrence Kasdan's "Body Heat" (1981), "Jism" was directed by Amit Saxena and also starred Gulshan Grover, Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey.

Rafique added that Pooja Bhatt and Sujit Kumar, who produced "Jism", would soon be starting a "Jism" franchise. 

"The franchise will be a series of erotic and passionate films, but with different stories. We in fact have 10 scripts ready on the same with us.

"'Jism' was a big success as a brand. Pooja opened a Pandora's box with the film in the industry. Soon everyone started making films on the body. But the film's got to do with passion, love and lust and to live up with its brand, we'll come out with a 'Jism' franchise altogether," Rafique said.

Apart from "Jism 2", she has also penned the scripts for upcoming films like "Raaz - The Mystery Continues", "Sincity" and "Jashnn".

She is also set to wield the megaphone for "Cabaret", which she has scripted

Film promotion comes of age in Bollywood at 6:07 AM

New Delhi, With superstars Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar turning a barber and undergoing tattooing, respectively, to promote their upcoming films, marketing and publicity campaigns have come of age in tinsel-town.

Not content with the massive buzz that "Ghajini" already enjoys, Aamir Khan set up shop in the heart of the capital city and personally gave the now-famous buzz cut which he sports in the latter half of the film to scores of his fans. 

"Ghajini"-makers have also collaborated with multiplexes and food chains across the nation to give all waiters, ushers and ticket-sellers the popular cut. Speculators are betting heavily on the movie that is being promoted as Aamir's first action film to register record openings. 

Akshay, the reigning darling of the box-office, may be merely lending his voice to Hindi dubbing of hit Korean film - "Jumbo" - but that has not limited him from going all out to promote the film while at the same time sending a message of hope for the martyrs of the Mumbai terror attacks.

But, perhaps, the biggest sign that Hindi film publicity has come of age is the fact that the country's biggest production house under-promoted "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi", a tribute to the common-man, given the sombre atmosphere existing in the subcontinent on account of the terror attacks and economic slowdown.

"Bollywood publicists are clearly putting a whole lot of thought in to how to spread the word of mouth. We are seeing more and more meaningful promotional campaigns that not just spread the word about the films but also attempting to give the film a longer shelf-life and emotional connect with audiences," says a trade observer. 

The success of films like "Welcome To Sajjanpur", "Aamir" and others have shown that a good film coupled with targeted and sound marketing campaign can give goliath-budget films a run for their money.

"Our marketing costs are very close to our production costs, which means that if we make a movie for five crores (Rs.50 million), often on prints and publicity we might spend another five crores (Rs.50 million)," says Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures. 

Gone are the days when a filmmaker thought twice before setting aside more than five percent of the film's budget for the promotion of the film. 

Theme parties, blogs, online fan clubs, female leads selling tickets, entertaining winners of film contests in mid-air and/or making appearances in reality shows, soap operas and cricket have been done to death. 

Film publicists are looking for ways to connect audiences at a more personal level and hence the emphasis of pegging the movie on a hip concept.

"The audiences of today have a limited attention span. A movie has to make an impact on the first day of release. Its fortune is decided in three-four days," says film marketer Tarun Tripathi.

Public relations specialist Dale Bhagwagar believes that public relation campaigns will soon be the way that many clients will go instead of marketing and advertising, especially in the financial climate today. "As more and more people realise the cost-effectiveness of PR campaigns, their attention will shift from the expensive ad campaigns to PR strategies and placements."

But film publicists are a mysterious and dark breed of fixers, stuntsters and arch media manipulators, as exemplified by publicity guru Mark Borkowski in his new book 'The Fame Formula'. Whether that's true or not, for years PRs have been fundamental to the tinsel-town fantasy. 

They are, according to Borkowski, the hidden gatekeepers of the Hollywood dream machine "who guard its formula, often to the death". As recounted in his detailed analysis of publicity through the ages, they are an invisible army of Machiavellian schemers who were ferociously protective of their clients. 

The sordid tales within the pages of 'The Fame Formula' say that one arranged a hasty abortion for Joan Crawford when she became pregnant from an affair with Clark Gable. Publicists also covered up the fact that the sexually rapacious Gable had apparently attended orgies with underage girls, organised by the English actor Lionel Atwill. They hid Spencer Tracy's alcoholism and his alleged affair with Judy Garland when she was only 14. 

Back home, film publicists have coined terms like showman, superstar and even dream-girl. Dale agrees that his job is "equally about concealment of stories, protection and crisis management, than imaging and branding".

"A complete PR package is about moulding outlooks of people to suit the client's requirements. It's about imaging, branding and executing makeovers. PR is an intriguing mind game in a media minefield," he adds.

But no amount of good marketing or concept pitching, however, can replace the importance of content. "Often marketing and publicity campaigns backfire as the success of a film depends on how the audience accepts it," maintain trade analysts.

Goa beach party ban casts uncertainty over music festival at 6:06 AM

Panaji, The ban on beach parties in Goa has put a question mark over the Sunburn music festival, featuring top disk jockeys (DJs) from the world, scheduled to be held at the popular Candolim beach Dec 26-28.

Organisers of Sunburn 2008, billed as Asia's biggest music festival, which attracts thousands of music lovers, are not sure if the festival will be held at all. 

When asked if Sunburn 2008 would be called off, in view of the ban on parties on the beaches and open spaces from Dec 23 to Jan 5, Manoj Aggarwal, the chief executive officer of Percept D'Mark, the organisers of the music fest,said while all the necessary permission has been already taken, things would be clearer on Monday. 

"The festival is not held at the beach. It is held in a private property in an enclosed area and entry is by tickets only. So it is not exactly a party on the beach," Aggarwal said. 

A notice on the festival website: www.sunburn-festival.com said: "Conflicting reports in Goa newspapers cast doubt on post-10 p.m. parties on public beaches, but Sunburn runs from 12 noon to 10 p.m. on private property and has the full backing of the Goa government and local authorities." 

When contacted, North Goa District Collector Mihir Vardhan, whose office issued the order banning beach parties, said the ban applies throughout the day. "It is not a night ban alone. There is a ban on all beach parties throughout the day from Dec 23 to Jan 5," Vardhan said.

Vardhan denied the district administration had exempted Sunburn 2008 from the ban. "No exceptions have been made," he said, adding that the district administration has been asked not to speak to the media on the issue. 

Sources in the state government said the festival was being backed by Congress legislator Agnelo Fernandes as it was being organised in his constituency, Calangute. 

"The police and the district administration are being asked to allow the event, a virtually impossible thing to do considering the specific nature of inputs received by the Goa government about a potential terror threat," the sources said. 

Fernandes could not be contacted for comment

2008: Bollywood's year of 'wreckoning' at 3:45 PM

Mumbai, Big banners flopped, the global meltdown spelt a cash crunch, the Mumbai terror attack kept audiences away for a while and even the small-budget wonders weren't that wonderful. Bollywood, a part of India's Rs.513 billion ($10.8 billion) entertainment and media industry, tried very hard to rock on in 2008 but had very little to cheer about.

About 125 films hit the screens this year, but except for "Race", "Jannat" and "Rock On", most movies bombed, especially the big-budget, mega starrer ones.

That's not surprising. The ratio of success and failure in Bollywood has for the past many years been 5/6:100 - that is, of 100 movies released in a given year only five or six manage to hit the jackpot.

The year began with the lavish period film "Jodhaa-Akbar", which had big stars like Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. Though it accounted for the major business in the first quarter of this year, the Rs.450-million movie was a costly production and it took a long time for UTV to recover the cost.

But Abbas-Mustan's thriller "Race" and Kunal Deshmukh's film about match fixing, "Jannat", were declared genuine hits.

Later in the year, director Farhan Akhtar's acting debut, "Rock On", broke the dry spell. The film not only redefined the parameters of mainstream Hindi cinema, it also brought some respite to the box office - but only in metros.

Much of the year saw the industry suffer a crippling blow with big films like "Sarkar 2", "Drona", "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic", "Tashan", "Krazzy 4" and "Love Story 2050" falling flat at the box office.

Apart from flops, the industry was hit by the global meltdown and skyrocketing star prices.

Notwithstanding recession that led to cost-cutting becoming the buzzword of the world's biggest film factory, stars continued to charge hefty fees for a movie. Shah Rukh Khan, for instance, charged Rs.150 million plus percentage of profits, while Saif Ali Khan demanded Rs.200 million.

Imran Khan, who was the discovery of the year after "Jaane Tu....Ya Jaane Na", confessed he was being paid an "obscene" amount of money to appear at private functions. His second film "Kidnap" tanked. But there was no rethink on star prices, not even when one of the biggest hits of the year "Singh Is Kinng" failed to rake in the moolah for distributors and exhibitors.

Distributors said the film was so overpriced on the table that no amount of profits could bring back the investments.

By the end of the year, when 26/11 had served a numbing blow to the entertainment industry, stars were still charging many times the amount they deserved.

Akshay Kumar was paid a hefty amount just to lend his voice and presence to a dubbed Korean animation film called "Jumbo".

Does that make any business sense?

Salman Khan had three major flops - "God Tussi Great Ho", "Hello" and "Yuvvraaj". He was still paid what rock stars generally get in their prime, and not just for taking off their shirt.

The year also witnessed skin show from male actors - Zayed Khan and Vivek Oberoi did it in "Mission Istaanbul", but it was John Abraham who made beefcake a fashion statement after the successful "Dostana" where he flaunted his body generously.

Also, myths were being broken in 2008.

It was said female-oriented films don't do well. And yet "Jodhaa Akbar" and "Fashion" did good business. Costume dramas and dramas about costumes, they said, didn't work. So why did "Jodhaa-Akbar" and "Fashion" click?

The box office failure of small budget films like "Sorry Bhai!", "Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye", "Maharathi" and "Dil Kabaddi" has broken another myth that small is successful.

It was also the year of terrorism.

Filmmakers of all ilk and hue - from Neeraj Pandey's "Wednesday" and Nishikant Kamat's "Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan" to Jagmohan Mundhra's "Shoot On Sight" and Rajkumar Gupta's "Aamir" - pulled out all stops to explore the anatomy of terror.

Terror far more real awaited round the corner. And when, after the Nov 26-29 Mumbai terror strike, Ram Gopal Varma paid a fleeting visit to the Taj Mahal and Tower Hotel , he was accused of "cannibalising carnage".

The biggest scandal of the year was not Varma's Taj tour, but Shah Rukh and Salman Khan battling it out at Katrina Kaif's birthday party.

Parties and film premieres ceased to be the venue for scandals long ago. Or so we thought. Until the two superstars showed us otherwise.

Hrithik Roshan had his second son this year, while Viveik Oberoi's sister and John Abraham's brother got married.

But no star marriages. None of the high-profile celebrity couples from Preity Zinta-Ness Wadia to Kareena Kapoor-Saif were in a hurry to tie the knot.

Bollwyood also lost two legends this year - B.R. Chopra and Begum Para.

This was the year the blog became a vogue. Amitabh Bachchan showed the way... and before him Shekhar Kapur and Aamir Khan. By the year end, everyone, from Varma to Shilpa Shetty to Karan Johar, was blogging his or her heart out, prompting a section of the industry to wonder when do these guys get a chance to make movies?

Towards the end of the year, Shah Rukh, who was busy with Indian Premier League, made an impressive entry with "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" and it has changed the mood at the box office. He has given both the filmmakers and the audiences something to smile about.

Now trade circles have their hopes pinned on on Aamir Khan's "Ghajini".

'Slumdog Millionaire' wins 20 more awards at 3:13 PM

Washington, British director Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" has picked up 20 more awards this week, including those for Indian music director A.R. Rahman, British Indian actor Dev Patel and child artiste Ayush Mahesh Khedekar.

The uplifting underdog tale, a Fox Searchlight release, won six awards - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Score (Rahman) - from the San Diego Film Critics Society.

Shot in Mumbai, the film tells the heart warming story of an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai who goes on to win a staggering Rs.20 million ($420,000) on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" game show.

It won six other awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Breakout on Camera (Dev), and Best Performance by a Youth - Male (Ayush) from the Phoenix Film Critics Society.

Dev plays the protagonist Jamal as a teenager, while Ayush plays Jamal in his childhood.

The film, which has been named in Time magazine's list of Top Ten Films of 2008, won Best Picture and Best Director awards from the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association as well as Best Director and Best Screenplay from the Houston Film Critics Society.

The St. Louis Film Critics Association gave it the Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film awards, while the Southeastern Film Critics Association chose it for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

It has also earned six nominations for the Chicago Film Critics Awards, including Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Score, and Most Promising Performer (Dev)

Why have ghazals faded out in Bollywood? at 3:10 PM

New Delhi, The lilting melodies of "Jhuki jhuki si nazar" and "Chupke chupke raat din" never fail to impress music buffs even today, but the popular ghazal genre seems to have taken a backseat in Bollywood.

While the older generation blames the young brigade of composers, the latter says it is the script that determines a movie's music.

"The new filmmakers are more inspired by Western culture. They copy Western music and feel that they have made a song. Such people don't know what ghazals are all about," ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

Music director Shekhar Ravjiani of the duo Vishal and Shekhar -they have composed music for films like "Om Shanti Om", "Tashan" and "Dostana" among others - has a different take on the issue. He says the script is the main determinant of the genre of music to be used in a particular film.

"As a music director, we have to keep in mind the sound that is required by the script and the film. If a ghazal is required, then we would love to use it. It actually depends on what kind of film the director is making," Shekhar said.

Bollywood has been providing soulful renditions in the form of ghazals since the time of legendary K.L. Saigal. Later it was popularised by singers like Talat Mahmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Jagjit Singh, Talat Aziz and Pankaj Udhas among others.

With hits like "Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho" ("Arth"), "Tumko dekha toh yeh khayal aaya" ("Saath Saath"), "Dil cheez kya hai" ("Umrao Jaan") and "Chupke chupke raat din" ("Nikaah"), the genre that entails the combination of soothing lyrics and dulcet voices received a huge impetus and left an indelible mark on listeners everywhere.

However, there has been a marked decline in the number of ghazals in Hindi movies and the trend has moved towards creating fast, rhythmic songs in place of the traditional melodic, sentimental styles.

"Ghazal is soft music; it is not making noises like most of the songs today. Of 100 songs that are churned out, only two-three are worth listening. The rest are mere shouting, which is not music," Singh said.

Added Shekhar: "It's true that we have not heard ghazals in films for quite some time now and I hope that it comes back."

Although the ghazal's versatile formal structure could conceivably have been modified to suit the taste of the Gen-Y, the genre has remained too closely associated with its traditional subject matter of broken hearts, weepy lovers and the stylised refinement of Urdu culture in general.

"People feel that a ghazal cannot be a commercial hit in today's time. But this is actually a myth. If it is composed well, it can rule the charts. But people in the industry today don't have that kind of taste," Singh said.

The theme of most films churned out today is more fast-paced and inclined towards action, and ghazals don't fit in their scheme of things, say music directors.

One of the last memorable ghazals used in a Bollywood film was "Hoshwaalon ko khabar" in John Mathew Mathan's 1999 hit "Sarfarosh". He too could fit in a ghazal mainly because he had Naseeruddin Shah play a ghazal singer in the movie. J.P. Dutta used ghazals in the remake of "Umrao Jaan", but they failed to click with audiences.

"Songs are made to suit the need of a particular scene. Ghazals have taken a backseat because the kind of films and the kind of scenes today don't demand a ghazal," said composer Sachin Gupta of "Dil Kabaddi" fame.

However, the industry maintains that people's preferences have not changed.

"It's not that people's preference of music has changed. If we give them a soulful ghazal that suits the film, they will certainly appreciate it," said Kaushik Ghatak, who debuted as a director with "Ek Vivaah... Aisa Bhi".

Ravjiani shared his view and said: "People still love ghazals, they still go for concerts and appreciate them; so it's not true that people don't prefer ghazals any more."