I can only describe the film in two words: Pure Trash!

Not interested
The trailers of films often indicate somekind of image of what the film is all about. When I saw the promos of Kambakkht Ishq, my mind started boggling and I was worn out when the promo was over. Why? There is so much of jumping around and yelling that you tend to wonder what the film will be like. Well, they always say, don’t judge a book by its cover, but unfortunately for this film the cover said just about enough.

The movie is about a battle of the sexes, but it to me the film is a battle about who appears more stupid.

Disrespectful Akshay
In the promos itself you see Akshay again being disrespectful to woman. He calls Kareena a ***** throughout the film. And this is not the first time he is doing this disrespectful thing.

In almost every film, we see Akshay being disrespectful to woman. A woman’s womb was called Tandoor in another movie of his. In the last 4 years I have been wondering if Akshay in real life has got any respect for woman at all? He says he does, but it certainly does not appear that way. Because if you do, why be so degrading towards woman in your films? Now you will say, well that is the character. Then arises another question, why only play those kinds of characters? I mean, he must get a lot of offers on a daily basis and this is what he picks out  from all the roles he is offered?
In a recent interview, he claimed that he didn’t know what he had learned from Katrina or Kareena in terms of acting, but that both of them have a great body. Come on, Akshay. Is that the only thing you pay attention towards?

Meant for everyone?
Coming back to the big release, Kareena told the press that the film is for every age group. I am wondering if she has really participated during filming, or maybe she was just watching and not hearing the dialogues? The dialogues are so cheap and vulgar. Who wrote them anyway? I don’t think it is very good to teach a 10 year old to be disrespectful towards woman and call her a *****.  What was Kareena thinking when she signed the film? After Tashan, this is again one of her worst films ever. She shouldn’t do this. She should concentrate on her career. A lot of people told me she doesn’t need this kind of cheap films in her career, she can easily do without. People are wondering if this is the same girl who did ‘Jab We Met’. Even I am.

I even read Akshay’s son saw the film. If he saw the film and heard this kind of language, I wonder what is next? Because you cannot tell me that it is allright to let your kids be exposed to this kind of language at this young age. 

Indian audience.. what is wrong with you?
Rajeev Masand has said a great thing in his review of this film: “How much you enjoy Kambakkht Ishq is directly proportionate to just how low your standards have fallen.” This sentence just sums it up.

I cannot understand why the Indian audience isn’t protesting against these cheap dialogues? For instance, when Billu Barber released, ‘Hungama’ was created around the word Barber, which is very common in the English language. It isn’t degrading towards the profession at all. And now Kambakkht Ishq, all the cheap and vulgar dialogues are all over the place and nobody, and not even one woman’s organization is complaining. I am shocked. Where are you people?
There is one thing for sure, if this would be a SRK or Hrithik Roshan film, people would be out on the streets protesting against it. And they wouldn’t have stopped until the film would have been taken out of the theatres or atleast wanted to see some changes.

Accepting the fact
I think, we have to accept the fact that the Indian audience has been starved to death by the strike so much that they have decided to watch anything that comes in the theatre. But then why is ShortKut doing not well? Or maybe we have just become blind and deaf, when it comes to films of Akshay and the audience accepts the most cheapest things from him. Every other film creates protests and people go to court with their complaint about the smallest thing, but maybe there is no expectation of ‘his kind of film’. He keeps telling us every other film, that we should leave our brains at home? Why? Everyone takes their brain along where they go so how can you even think of saying leave it home? Nobody in their right mind will leave their brain at home and definitely if this is the kind of movie they are going to see. Brain alert will go off, and people will just walk out of the theatre. But maybe that is why they have to leave their brains at home, so that they will stay seated… Is that what is meant here?

He even talks about people sabotaging his films. When his films are hits then it is because of the love of his fans, but when his films have no story or brain, then suddenly he is being sabotaged. It was the same case with CC2C. Just accept the fact that your film is good or bad, but don’t deny it. I don’t think it is fair towards his fans and towards the audience to say these things.

No more so called ‘Brainless Comedies’
The last few years Akshay has become repetitive in his acting, body language and he is even doing the same kind of films. I hope Akshay can again showcase his talent in other genres. People on the internet are already calling him the King of Garbage Comedies and in the end it is the public who matters, says Sabbir Khan in a recent interview. 

In the end, I just have one last message to the Indian Audience, Keep your eyes and ears  and brains open, because with these kinds of films becoming a hit you guys are giving the Indian filmindustry a bad name. Kambakkht Ishq is not a quality product, it is trash.

New York is the story of three friends, Omar, Samir and Maya. Omar has come to America for the first and sees America through the eyes of his new friends Omar and Maya. Life seems to be one big party, but than the most unimaginable thing happens. Two airplanes crash into the World Trade Centre. Everybody is shocked when CNN shows what has happened to the world’s most influential country. This is not an accident, but a terrorist attack against America. This event changes the life of these three youngsters. One fine day Sam gets arrested on accessory to the terrorist attack. He spends nine months in jail where he gets abused, while he is innocent. After his release he is scared of everything and people are scared of him, because he now has a criminal record.

Hardhitting facts
Director Kabir Khan got inspired by a true story. After the attacks of 9/11, 1200 people got arrested and were put in jail on suspicion that they had something to do with the attacks. 99% of them was Muslim. When there was lack of evidence they got released. After their release a lot of them had psychological problems and couldn’t function normally anymore. New York uses this as the backdrop of the story.

The movie shows an emotional and hardhitting fact. When you see and imagine that people were really treated and abused like that, without evidence, it hurts. The effect on their lives after the release is even harder to imagine. The film makes sure this emotion comes across. These people could not find a job, because of their criminal record. And if they did, they would struggle with concentration or psychological problems. Life was not as it used to be. Such incidents can either make your life miserable or it can turn your life 360 degrees into the wrong direction.

Religion should not be misused
One sentence that kept going through my mind was: “We all have one thing in common and that is our religion”. I feel that has been beautifully used, because religion is the reason why Sam got arrested, but before the attacks nobody was aware of their religion. They were just youngsters at school. And how did religion even got in between these happenings is beyond understanding.

Because, think of it for a moment, religion might not even be the real cause of all this. A government makes decisions on basis of political agenda’s and not because of their Christian or Islamic background. Somewhere down the line in the second half, you keep thinking that even though you are not a terrorist, the American government will treat you and make you one, but this does not give you the right to also become one. Evil cannot be fought with evil. Religion has nothing to do with it. Every religion teaches peace and when one uses religion to teach violence then that is just wrong.

B-Positive
A person who has been mistreated and abused for months, cannot just go on with his life after that. But we cannot make the same mistakes either. New York does not point the finger at anyone. The last dialogue of Irrfan says it all. People make mistakes, countries make mistakes, but you give each other a lot too. Now there is a new generation and it is time to move on and look positively towards the future. You cannot keep on blaming each and everyone. You have to make sure that you make the best of your life and the lives of your loved ones by not repeating mistakes others did. Love, respect and doing good is the new religion.

Hats off to Kabir Khan for making this film. I hope the film gets the attention it deserves. This film can be another Chak De! India at the awards next year!

The festival, Experience the Real Taste of India, is being organised by the Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IPCCI) along with Epelpol Entertainment.

The festival opened Monday with Deepa Mehta’s “Water”.

At least seven new Bollywood films will be shown in 12 towns during the next seven days. Apart from big towns like Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw and Gdansk, the films will be shown in some smaller towns like Koszlin, Lodz, Szezecin and Bydogosz.

“Let the mountain come to Mohammed is the main purpose. Normally people from the smaller cities are left out for the release of important Bollywood movies. This time we saw to it that we should encourage more and more people to watch our successful movies in the length and breadth of the Polish nation,” J.J. Singh, president of IPCCI, told IANS.

“Poland has become an important destination for Bollywood in eastern Europe. What the Soviet Union was for Raj Kapoor in the 1950s and 1960s, Poland is now for Shah Rukh Khan in the first decade of the 21st century. No wonder, the organisers have included Shah Rukh’s latest successful movie, ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’,” said Janusz Krzyzowski, president of the India-Polish Cultural Committee.

Shah Rukh Khan has become a household name in Poland. For the past four years his movies, such as “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham”, “Kal Ho Na Ho”, “Kabhi Alwida Na Kahna”, “Main Hoon Na”, “Dil Se” and many others, have been shown in Poland.

This time Aamir Khan’s “Taare Zameen Par” will be featured.

“The chances are that Aamir will leave a great impression on us. After all he commands a great respect everywhere. And why not in Poland!” said Anna Bem, an Indophile who has lived in India for many years.

Tarun Mansukhani’s “Dostana”, John Jeffcoat’s “Outsourced”, Atul Agnihori’s “Hello”, and Vijay Krishna Acharya’s “Tashan” will also be screened during the festival.

“The set of films will present the true and various colours of a contemporary India to a Polish audience. We await the verdict of Polish audience,” said Srikumar Menon, head of the commercial wing at the Indian embassy here.

And as the ‘tradition’ goes, we once again bring you one of the biggest news regarding this film. After having discovered that APKGK has Ranbir playing a depressed lover-boy hopelessly in love with his character inspired by the one played by his late grandfather Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker, Bollywood Hungama went one notch further and found out that the Salman Khan will be seen in a guest appearance in the film. The source also added that Sallu bhai comes only towards the end of the film.

In order to confirm the news, when we spoke to producer Ramesh Taurani of Tips, he was totally taken aback with this info. Initially he exclaimed, “Where did you guys get this information from?” On further probing, he confirmed the news by saying “Yes, Salman is indeed there in the film, but only as a cameo.”

Salman Khan had earlier worked with Rajkumar Santoshi in the cult comedy Andaaz Apna Apna which also starred Aamir Khan.

Now Sallu’s presence further adds to the anticipation of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.

It is also Sony’s first game based on Indian mythology and one that is playable in Hindi. The launch of the game is a culmination of a journey that was started by Sony when the first ever game developers’ conference (DevStation ’08 Mumbai) for Playstation platform was organized in Mumbai.

Atindriya Bose, Country Manager-PlayStation, Sony Computer Entertainment, said, “Hanuman is our very own classic hero and is ever-popular across India and with Indians abroad. The launch of Hanuman: Boy Warrior has marked a very significant milestone in the Indian game development industry and also signifies the importance we attach to the Indian market and the Indian Game development industry.”

Santosh Pillai, CEO of Aurona Technologies Limited, said, “We have created the console game to capture the hearts and minds of India’s current and aspiring game players and their families. Immersive game play is at the heart of this fascinating game. Using the PS2 console, the player helps the hero to fight evil-doers at several mystical landscapes of the epic period. We believe the game has the necessary ingredients to become a classic.”

The game is the journey of Hanuman across two phases of his life: childhood and young adulthood. He faces many obstacles and enemies on the way and uses his powers to overcome the same. Developed exclusively for PS2, Hanuman: Boy Warrior will be available in the Indian market at a suggested retail price of Rs 499.

“Priyanka Chopra is India’s Number One female star. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her outstanding work,” said Eric Mika, Publisher of ‘Hollywood Reporter’ and Vice President, Nielsen Media and Entertainment Group. He also added that “It is truly amazing to acknowledge the breadth of her success, and we are honoured to bestow the ‘Nielsen Box Office Award’ on someone who has done so incredibly much in so little time.”

For the uninitiated, Priyanka happens to be the second recipient to receive this prestigious Award. With this, she joins the ranks of Andy Lau, who received the inaugural award at the 2007 ceremony.

With the IPL fever catching up, a number of companies are targeting their products and marketing towards the baap of all gaming tournaments, the Indian Premier League. A recent innovation has seen two engineers come up with an arcade cricket game.

Vaibhav Goel and Puneet Kumar, former IIT Bombay students, have set-up GaMa Entertainment, attracting a funding of Rs 55 lakh from Sweat & Blood Venture Group headed by Indiagames Founder and CEO Vishal Gondal. GaMa will be manufacturing and selling the arcade gaming machines to the FECs (family entertainment centers) in malls and gaming zones across India.

Played on a 22” widescreen LCD monitor mounted on a theme based game cabinet and powered by high end processor, motherboard and an 8-way joystick controller, the arcade game uses a tweaked version of Indiagames’ proprietary cricket game licensed by GaMa Entertainment. The arcade version has a gameplay for an average of 3 minutes as opposed to an average of an hour for the PC. The gamer plays as a batsman for the Indian team against a selected opponent, with two overs left to achieve the target score. Players stand a chance to win redemption coupons based on the number of fours and sixers they score.

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Gama Entertainment Director Puneet Kumar said, “The response has been good so far. We feel that India is a big market for us, especially now that the IPL is coming. People are very excited about us since our launch in February at the IAAPI (Indian Association of Amusement Parks & Industries convention) Expo, where we were the runners-up for the most innovative product.”

The company, which has Vishal Gondal and Indiagames COO Samir Bangara as its advisors, is currently selling the machines under Rs 2 lakh per system and plans to develop into a revenue sharing model soon. Consumers can check out the game at Inorbit Mall, Nirmal Lifestyle and Oberoi Mall (coming shortly) in Mumbai.

The recent couple to be bitten by the tattoo bug is Hrithik Roshan and his wife Susanne Khan. The two got a tattoo done on their forearm. Thankfully, Hrithik and Susanne didn’t get each other’s names tattooed but instead opted for a six-point star. The six-point star, also known as Solomon’s Seal, The Star of David or Creator’s Star is symbolic of interaction of the divine with the mortal.

Sameer Patange, who tattooed Hrithik and Susanne, said, “They have got a six-point star tattoo with a red circle in the centre. The reason why they wanted the particular design was too personal for me to even ask them.”

It is learnt that the star couple decided during the shooting of Kites in New York that they would get the six-star tattoo done. Incidentally, Hrithik’s father Rakesh Roshan too has a similar tattoo on his arm.

Even Hrithik’s co-star and close friend Barbara Mori has got a tattoo done on her forearm. Patange said, “Barbara along with her brother got a word tattooed in Hindi, which stands for brotherhood and is symbolic of sibling love.”

Talking of tattoos, Sanjay Dutt not only has wife Manyata’s real name Dilnasheen tattooed on his arm, he also has the symbol of his star sign Leo tattooed on his biceps. Keeping with her image, Urmila Matondkar has a fairy tattoo.

Talking about some recent tattoo trends, Patange added, “The traditional clientele earlier used to be men and women between 18 and 32 but now, I also have older people who not only get their spouse’s name tattooed but also are more inclined towards religious and spiritual designs.’’

Shumone Chatterjee, Country Manager, Levi Strauss & Co India Pvt. Ltd, said, “Shahid is a youth icon and Levi Strauss Signature is an iconic youth apparel brand – it’s fitting that they both zip together. Shahid is a quintessential blend of youth and style, which is what the Levi Strauss Signature brand stands for. India is a strong growth market for the Levi Strauss Signature brand and signing on Shahid as its face will help us create a closer connection with our young audience.”

On his association with the brand, Shahid said, “I have always been a great admirer of the Levi Strauss Signature brand. It’s relaxed and on-trend styles reflect my personal style, and the sentiment of the youth whom I identify with so closely. It’s great to be associated with such an iconic brand.”

The company has planned an exciting media campaign and various interactive consumer related activities with Shahid in the coming months.

With such plum endorsement deals and some interesting films on hand, Shahid’s ‘Kismat’ is certainly getting ‘Konnected’ in the right way.