Anees Bazmi Biography

Anees Bazmi is a famous writer-director of Bollywood film industry.

Bazmee started his career in 1988, as a dialogue writer for the film Hum Farishte Nahin. He then took a one year break, and returned in 1990 as a writer for the film Swarg, which was directed by David Dhawan and starred Rajesh Khanna and Govinda.

He remained associated with David Dhawan for several years.

In 1995, after having written over ten scripts for ten films, including hits such as Aankhen, Bazmi made his directorial debut with the film Hulchul. Starring Ajay Devgan and Kajol, the film went unnoticed critically and commercially as well. However, his attempt to cast Devgan and Kajol once again in 1998 for his second directorial venture, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, proved successful. The film was both a major critical and commercial success, and turned out as one of the industry's biggest hits that year.

After the success of Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Bazmi took a five years break from directing. He returned in 2002, with the thriller Deewangee, which performed poorly at the box office.

In 2005, Bazmi directed the multi-starrer comedy film, No Entry. The film became the biggest hit of the year, earning over Rs 744 million in its domestic box office.It was a hilarious ride liked by one and all.

Although his two subsequent directorial releases failed commercially, he had a great success with Welcome. Starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in lead roles, the film, which released in the end of 2007, grossed over Rs 760 million.

The chronological description of Anees Bazmi films is given here.
1995 Hulchul 1998 Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha 2002 Deewangee 2005 No Entry 2006 Sandwich 2007 Welcome 2008 Singh Is Kinng 2009 Naam 2009 It's My Life

The shooting of all the latest film “It’s My Life” of Bazmi will soon enter its last leg with the final schedule in Delhi, which is expected to take place soon. Bazmee is confident that this film, which stars Hurman Baweja and Nana Patekar in key roles, would be ready for release in June-July.The film is being produced by Sanjay Kapoor.

David Dhawan Judge on Reality Comic Show on

David Dhawan is the King of Comedy when it comes to directing Comic Flicks.

He has delivered numerous comic hits, to name a few, “Jodi No.1″,
“Haseena Maan Jaayegi” and “Biwi No.1″ and last was Partner.

His favorite actress, Karisma Kapoor, who has starred in many of his
films is teaming up after nine years with him to judge a new comedy
reality show “Hans Baliye” that will be aired on Star One and will
debut May 30 at 8.30 p.m They had last worked together in 2000 in
“Chal Mere Bhai”, which also starred Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan.

In their new role on television, they would judge eight real-life
celebrity couples who will vie with each other by cracking jokes and
enacting spoofs to win the “Hans Baliye” trophy. According to Dhawan,
it was “the uniqueness and of course the comic aspect” of the show
that made him agree to become a judge.

“Comedy is something I personally enjoy and watching these couples
showcasing their humorous side will surely be a treat to watch. The
show promises to be interesting and engaging,” Dhawan said in a press
release from Star One.

'“On Indian television, we have a plethora of reality shows such as
talent shows for dancing, singing, etc. but ‘Hans Baliye’ gives a
platform to real life couples to showcase their talent to a wider
audience. Making people laugh is not an easy job. It requires a whole
lot of dedication and hard work. I am looking forward to having a good
time on the show,” Karisma said.

Among the participants on the show are television actors Tanaaz and
Bakhtyaar Irani, Delnaaz and Rajiv Paul, newly-wed Juhi Parmaar with
husband Sachin and Sara Khan with beau Ali Merchant.

Karan Johar turns 37

Karan Johar turned 37 this year on May 25, 2009.

On the auspicious occasion, we will trace back his cinematic journey talking elaborately about his current work and projects.

The son of acclaimed producer Yash Johar, Karan, under his home banner Dharma Productions, has given the industry some of the top grossing romantic films of all time.

These days Karan is all set to bring back the hit jodi of all time SRK and Kajol after a span of 8 years in his upcoming directorial venture My Name is Khan. The director is also producing some much anticipated films such as Saif Ali Khan and Kareena starrer Qurbaan and Konkona
Sen’s and Ranbir Kapoor’s Wake Up Sid.

Karan belongs to commercial stream of cinema. As a kid also, Karan was influenced by commercial Indian cinema, and he cites Raj Kapoor, Yash Chopra and Sooraj R. Barjatya as his inspirations.

He made his acting debut in Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) in an inconspicious role. He soon realized that his true talent lay behind the camera and made his directorial debut with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani
Mukjerjee. The film became a cult classic among the masses and went on to bag 8 Filmfare awards, including Best Movie, Best Director, Best Actors and Supporting cast.

Karan has all the biggest hit films in his kitty like Kabhie Khushi Khabhi Gham (2001), Kal Ho Na Ho (2003) and Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna (2006) followed, all of which made a mighty presence at the box office. He banked on his two favourite actors and close friends Shah Rukh and Kajol as his lucky charms, but still managed to bring out great performances from actors such as Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan.

For a long time, Karan was fixated with the letter ‘K’ due to his numerlogical beliefs, but after watching Lage Raho Munnabhai, Johar decided to stop this practice. He also successfully dabbled in TV, with his show Koffee with Karan, where he interviewed the biggest stars in the Industry in his very own style.

Here’s wishing the Karan Johar A Rocking birthday!

Kundan Shah

Kundan Shah was born in 1947. Kundan is an Indian film director and writer. He is most known for his comedy classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and his 1985-1986, TV series Nukkad with Saeed Akhtar Mirza.
Kundan Shah started to work in television too. Kundan became a partner of Iskra, a company founded by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Aziz Mirza and others. In 1985-1986 he directed the TV series Nukkad (street) along with Saeed Akhtar Mirza. The serial was another folk comedy dealing with the routine life of street youngsters.

After directing several serials, Shah took a long break of 7 years from cinema. Kundan Shah made his comeback to cinema in 1993. He directed the famous Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and wrote the screenplay for the film. The film was another comic love story but it also displayed new aspects to its credit. It was the first time that the hero in the film was an absolute loser.

The film starred Shahrukh Khan in one of his first roles. The film was much acclaimed and both Shah and Khan were appreciated for their work. In 1994, Shah won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie for the film. He was the first filmmaker to win this award.

In 1998, Kundan Shah directed another acclaimed film, Kya Kehna. Due to delay, the film released in 2000 and became the surprise hit of the year. The film dealt with a social controversial issue - single parenthood. Actress Preity Zinta debuted in this film and enacted the lead role of a teenage single-mother who tries to overcome the wrong values of her society. The actress was acclaimed for her performance.
Awards

Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie - Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa
National Film Award - Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director - Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

Shah's next releases were Hum To Mohabbat Karega (2000) starring Bobby Deol and Karisma Kapoor, Dil Hai Tumhara (2002) with Rekha and Preity Zinta, and the last one, Ek Se Badhkar Ek in 2004.

A.R. Rahman To use Farhan's voice

Farhan Akhtar's movies are known for their fresh, vibrant visuals in the middle of things as they are today. Farhan's talents work in multiples as he shifts from the roles of writer, producer, director, actor and singer.

Who wouldn't want to sing for A.R. Rahman. It is a well-known fact that the music icon likes to experiment with new voices and brings out hidden talent. A.R. Rahman has introduced more than a dozen playback singers in the industry, and he contniues to search for more voices.

The latest entrant to the list of people whose voice Rahman wants to try out is Farhan Akhtar. Farhan has been roped in to croon a peppy number for the album Blue, and the director is unable to control his excitement these days.

Immediately, the two met and discussions are said to be going on as the recording may happen any time soon. The 'Mozart of Madras' has completed the composition for several long-pending films, and by end of this year, we can hope to hear more chartbusters from his studio.
A.R. Rahman is very much impressed and inspired after he heard Farhan Akhtar's voice in Rock On.

Bollywood Director Prakash Mehra Passes Away

Bollywood producer and director Prakash Mehra has died of pneumonia and organ failure. Prakash Mehra was 69 years old. Prakash Mehra who launched the career of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan died in hospital in Mumbai, India on Sunday (17May09).

The pair first collaborated on 1973 film Zanjeer, which made Bachchan an overnight success and fame. They continued to enjoy a long working relationship with Mehra at the helm, with 1970s and 80s films including Herapheri, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Lawaaris, Namak Halal and Sharabi.

In a tribute to his mentor, Amitabh Bachchan told the Bombay Times newspaper on Monday that Prakash Mehra Prakash Mehra was an all-rounder in his craft. He was first a writer and coming from the north had great sense of the language and its temperament.

He was a simple man who had come from very humble beginnings. His commercial successes never ever betrayed his respect for the people that he grew up with or with those that remained with him during his phenomenal journey. We have lost a great filmmaker and a wonderful human.

Director Abbas Tyrewala launches Wife

After director Sam Mandes’ spectacular success directing his wife Kate Winslet in the richly resonant Revolutionary Road, second in row back home is bollywood director Abbas Tyrewala.

Abbas who is known for the cutest romantic comedy of 2008 Jaane Tu is coming up with his next film in 1: 800. In the film he is launching his wife Pakhi opposite hottest hunk of the tinseltown John Abraham. The star will be romancing director Abbas Tyrewala’s wife in the film.

And John is cool about it. “I know Abbas and Pakhi well. They make a beautiful couple.There’s absolutely no awkwardness about doing a love story with the director’s wife."

Pakhi has also co-written the script of the film and knows her character and that of John too, in and out. Pakhi has an unknown face and an extremely pretty one too. These are her biggest advantages. A beautiful woman whom the audience hasn’t seen.

John is damn serious about this project. “I’m going to sit on script readings with Abbas, do workshops and rehearsals with Pakhi, just like Abbas did with the cast in Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na.

John is hungry for acting challenges. But most of the time his physicality comes on much too strongly on screen. People haven’t really seen the performances he himself really proud of, like No Smoking, Kabul Express , Zinda and Aashayein.

In a foray to bring a change in image, give his physicality a setback and his acting a precedence, he is trying different genres. People have started looking differently at him after Dostana. The body was talked about. But then he was even praised for her performance.

Nagesh Kukunoor’s Aashayein and Kabir Khan’s New York are John's ongoing projects.

John describes himself as an off-roader. “I travel my own road. Like I’m doing Abbas Tyrewala’s 1:800 Love. When he offered me that film he was directing Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na. The film’s producer Madhu Mantena had Ghajini in the making and I was doing Dostana. By God’s grace we all have a success on hand.

Abbas Tyrewala when questioned whether he would feel any awkwardness directing love scenes between his wife and John, said, “I hope not! If I can’t remember they’re acting then I lose the moral ground to ever a direct a girl in a love scene.Luckily I’ve never written explicit love scenes in my film.The only explicit love-making scene I’ve conceived was for Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool . That apart I like my writing to be benign. It doesn’t matter whether my wife is acting or not. I can’t forget my parents will be watching my film.”

'A Taste Of Life' will outlive all my movies - Mahesh Bhatt

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has managed to surprise his fans by showing slices of his life in his narratives like “Arth” that was about his personal relationship.
Now once again Mahesh Bhatt is ready with his latest shocker. This time it isn't a film.

Bhatt says he will never return to direction. "It's something far more vital. It's his book 'A Taste Of Life'. It will outlive all Mahesh's movies. It's his diary of his last days with the breath of my life U.G. Krishnamurthy.

"It tears down the sacred ideas of the human race. It stares unflinching into the face of death. And it celebrates life."

Speaking on the end of his career as a director Bhatt says, "I now want to watch the young directors in our production house make films. When you teach the young you touch the future. Some people have said I ghost-directed our latest production Jashn".

Excited about the release of his book Bhatt concludes, "It's not as thought I've given up on creativity. I'm now more vigorously engaged with the stream of life than ever before. Like the flower that blooms, gives its fragrance and then fades away, I'm also moving on".

Right now Mahesh Bhatt is excited about the release of his book. The book hits stores at the end of May. This is by far the best work Bhatt had ever done in his life. It's the most naked expression of his heart. It's going to be a shocker.

G.P.Sippy

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Born into an aristocratic Sindhi family, Sippy began his professional career as a lawyer in the Sindh province of undivided India. Before Sippy was sucked in by the glamour of the tinsel town, Sippy was a builder in Mumbai for a while.

Sippy claimed to have pioneered the concept of co-operative housing in India. sippy produced his first venture, "Sazaa" in 1951. He turned a director and made "Marine Drive". The same year, he followed it up with "Adil-E-Jehangir" in which he also played a brief role.

The Asha Parekh-Biswajeet musical starrer "Mere Sanam" released in 1965 was his first early major hit. It was followed by the 1968 musical hit "Brahmachari" starring Shammi Kapoor and Rajshri

The turning point in G.P. Sippy's production banner, Sippy Films, came when his son, Ramesh Sippy, debuted as director with "Andaz" in 1971 and made his second film "Seeta Aur Geeta" the next year.

He then planned his next film - "Sholay". The film was planned as a dacoit film and few could imagine the cult status that it would attain.

Sippy once told this correspondent that when Salim-Javed were writing the script for the film, he declared he wanted the film's principal character - Gabbar Singh - to be a jeans-clad dacoit to give him a different image from that of the typical dacoits of Hindi films.

Sippy was not only a filmmaker but also a crusader, he not only wanted to make good films but also wanted to change the way films are made.

Sippy was the first to raise the demand of 'industry' status to the films so that producers could avail of institutional finance for filmmaking, a demand that the government conceded much later.

He was fearless and had tremendous self-confidence. His leadership ventures extended even beyond Bollywood. After the collapse of the Janata Party in 1979, Sippy took the lead along with Dev Anand and Sanjeev Kumar to float an all-India political party called National Party.

G.P.Sippy produced or directed a score of other motion pictures, and in 2000 he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Film Festival, Mumbai. As a director G.P.Sippy directed Mr. India in 1961, Bhai-Bahen in 1959, Shrimati 420 in 1956, Marine Drive in 1955 and Adil-E-Jahangir in 1955. Sippy died at the age of 93. But he would be most remembered as the author of a new Bollywood chapter - as producer of "Sholay".

Subhash Ghai to Produce a Comedy Now

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He is an ace director but unfortunately his last directorial venture ‘Yuvvraaj’ crashed badly at the box office, Subhash Ghai in now all set for his first production of the year ‘Paying Guest’, which he says is based on a humorous play that ran for two years in the US, Britain and the UAE.

The multi-starrer revolves around five close friends who stay together in Dubai and is set to hit screens next month.In a comedy film like this, you really need genuinely talented actors rather than only a star who has a sale value. So we decided on Shreyas (Talpade), Javed Jaffery, Ashish Chowdhary, Celina (Jaitley), Neha Dhupia and so on,’ he said.

Ghai, whose production house Mukta Arts Pvt Ltd has produced successful films like ‘Aitraaz’ and ‘Iqbal’ among others, says his banner believes in churning out films of all budgets and genres. Ghai has planned five more productions this year including ‘Right Yaa Wrong’, ‘Hello Darling’ and three new projects are to be launched soon.

Asked about the ongoing tussle between the producers and multiplexes over sharing of revenue, Ghai said the root of the problem is that both the sides are not considering the other’s grievances.

Aneez Bazmi Going Places

Riding high on the success of SINGH IS KINNG, ace director Anees
Bazmee was rumored to have been offered as much as 51 crores for a
three film deal by a top corporate house even in recessionary times.



Though the director of blockbuster hits like NO ENTRY, WELCOME and
SINGH IS KINNG hadn’t confirmed on the exact figure, he had admitted
that he was indeed being approached with a very tempestuous offer.

He had stated, ”Yes, there have been huge offers after SINGH IS KIING
as well and I am certainly considering a few of them. In any case,
temptations like these aren’t new to me because ever since NO ENTRY
became a super-hit, mega bucks have been offered to me. Still, I don’t
want to rush up on my films and go for quantity while compromising on
the quality.”

However, less than a year after the release of SINGH IS KINNG, the
industry scenario has changed. So how much of the ‘temptation’ still
exists?

Of course huge numbers like the ones being quoted earlier would be
very unreasonable. In fact, during that time when the industry was at
its peak, some people were willing to offer even more.

But current situation is different and fully understandable. "Now is
the time to face reality”, says Anees Bazmee while being honest enough
to state that correction was bound to happen.


He is currently working on a film titled IT’S MY LIFE, which stars
Harman Baweja, Genelia D’Souza and Nana Patekar. He saw its last leg
coming to a conclusion in New Delhi last month. The film was earlier
being planned for an August release but looking at the stand off
between producers and multiplexes, it would most likely see a delayed
release now.

Karan Buys Rights of Stepmom

It seems like Bollywood is always ripping off Hollywood film ideas.

Whether it's a small subplot or the entire thing-there are always

elements from films that seem to be eerily similar to their Hollywood

counterparts.

Director Karan Johar has reportedly bought the rights to the Hollywood

movie 'Stepmom' which starred Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts. The

movie follows the life of one woman who marries a man with children

and must deal with the ex-wife who is very much a part of the kids'

lives.

It is reported that Karan Johar will being filming the 'Stepmom'

remake after he is done with 'My Name is Khan'. The movie will be

directed by Siddharth Malhotra. The film is also going to bring Kajol

and Kareena Kapoor team up for a second time since their sisterly act

in 2001's 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'.

Many Bollywood films that have been exact copies or very comparable to

Hollywood movies include, 'Meri Yaar Ki Shaadi' ('My Best Friend's

Wedding'), 'Ghajini' ('Memento'), 'Raaz' ('Ring 1' and 'Ring 2').

The Indian audiences accepted these films, will they do the same for

the Bollywood remake of "Stepmom"? I guess we will just have to wait

to find out.

So we want to know what our readers to think about Karan Johar

officially buying the rights to the Hollywood movie 'Stepmom'.Send in

your comments to us and let us know!!!

Karan Buys Rights of Stepmom

It seems like Bollywood is always ripping off Hollywood film ideas.

Whether it's a small subplot or the entire thing-there are always elements from films that seem to be eerily similar to their Hollywood counterparts.

Director Karan Johar has reportedly bought the rights to the Hollywood movie 'Stepmom' which starred Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts. The movie follows the life of one woman who marries a man with children
and must deal with the ex-wife who is very much a part of the kids'
lives.



It is reported that Karan Johar will being filming the 'Stepmom'remake after he is done with 'My Name is Khan'. The movie will be directed by Siddharth Malhotra. The film is also going to bring Kajol and Kareena Kapoor team up for a second time since their sisterly act in 2001's 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'.

Many Bollywood films that have been exact copies or very comparable to Hollywood movies include, 'Meri Yaar Ki Shaadi' ('My Best Friend's Wedding'), 'Ghajini' ('Memento'), 'Raaz' ('Ring 1' and 'Ring 2').

The Indian audiences accepted these films, will they do the same for the Bollywood remake of "Stepmom"? I guess we will just have to wait to find out.

So we want to know what our readers to think about Karan Johar officially buying the rights to the Hollywood movie 'Stepmom'.Send in your comments to us and let us know!!!

Karan Johar's Public Awareness Video

Image via Wikipedia

For the ‘Vote Aapke Haath Mein Hai’ campaign produced by Karan Johar
for Dharma Productions, John Abraham, Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif
were chosen , amongst a dozen odd other youth icons.

This specially created video couldn't be shot later with them due to
some unforeseen circumstances.

The director Tarun Mansukhani had to contend with other actors.This is
certainly Tarun Mansukhani's drastic shift from a colourful ‘Dostana’
to his recent campaign that has been shot in all Black & White.

The video now stars Abhishek Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor,
Imran Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Asin, Ritiesh Deshmukh,
Farhan Akhtar, Sonam Kapoor and Karan Johar himself.

So what really went wrong? What was the real reason behind John,
Bipasha and Katrina opting out of ‘Vote Aapke Haath Mein Hai’ which is
written by Niranjan Iyengar, the man who has written dialogues Karan
Johar films like ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ and ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’?

Nothing controversial actually, it was just that on the day of the
shoot, John and Katrina were not in the town due to which we had to go
ahead without them and Bipasha's 'Aa Dekhen Zara’ was being released
on the same day when we had to shoot for the video.

Though there have been accusations that his video, which carries the
punch line of ‘Kuch Nahi Ho Sakta’, is an out-and-out copy of
Hollywood’s ‘Don’t Vote’ commercial featuring Leonardo DiCaprio,
Forest Whitaker, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Aniston,
Ashton Kutcher, but Tarun refuses to agree.

The point at the end of the day is that the video has been liked and
more than that the message is being rightly passed on to the youth.
All celebrities coming together for this cause has helped create a
great awareness around our right to vote and that’s what that matters
at the end of the day.