Kites, New Bollywood Look:

The desi version of kites doesn’t flaunt a topless Barbara Mori. While the international promos of the movie are raunchier. It shows Barbara Mori topless in a sizzling lip lock with Hrithik. The Indian audience gets a censored version of the promo as well as the movie.

So, why is India being denied the topless, sexy lip-lock? Doesn’t Nandana Sen’s movie Rang Rasiya, shows her topless and has been cleared by the censor board.

So, is the Indian audience not mature enough? Payal Rohatgi, who has done ‘bold’ movies like Tauba Tauba agrees, “I think the Indian audience is not mature enough. Men download images to gratify themselves but movies are a different genre. Movies are meant for family watching and a raunchy promo will insure that family audiences don’t pull in. So movie makers are also vary,” says Payal Rohatgi.

Television star Sambhavana Seth feels the audience is not ready for such nudity. “For a Hollywood actress like Barbara Mori going topless may not be a big deal but for the Indian audience it is. It’s a shock for me, if such bold scenes are shown people would stop watching movies with their children,” says Sambhavana

But yesteryear movies like Ram Teri Ganga Maili had covered frontal nudity which was shot aesthetically and accepted by the movie goers. However, actor Koena Mitra feels the audience is getting mature, “The audiences has accepted bold scenes in many films. Though our culture doesn’t support it, there have been films in the past that have had such bold scenes but they have been aesthetically shot. Though we may not be up for it, but if the same is shot gracefully and is in context with Kites, I am sure it would go down well with the audience.”

Is the Indian audience still prudish? “The view that the Indian audience is not mature, doesn’t make sense. The audience we are talking about is net-savvy and can access the same online. The industry is living in dark ages. There isn’t any audience profiling to prove the level of maturity,” says Vinta Nanda, filmmaker.

Film critic Taran Adarsh says, “At the click of the button you can access information. Technology cannot be curtailed. Anything can be seen online even if you try to keep it away from film prints.”

                          

Salman’s call to Katrina:

Everybody knows that Katrina is Salman’s girlfriend. But Katrina has never accepted such things in public. But finally she says that what Salman says is his own call. On the other hand she is going to tour the whole country with Ranbir Kapoor to promote their upcoming flick.

This is Katrina’s second flick opposite Ranbir Kapoor after Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. In Rajneeti, Katrina plays a widowed politician which is more or less based on Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s life.

Ranbir and Katrina’s pairing has been appreciated earlier also, let’s see what magic they create in Rajneeti.

                          

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning:

LOS ANGELES:

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning share a smooch in their new rock ‘n’ roll movie, “The Runaways,” but Kristen said one thing got in the way – the law.

“She was 15, and I wasn’t allowed to grope her,” Kristen, 19, told Access Hollywood on Wednesday at the press junket for her new rocker film. “I’m actually not kidding, there are major restrictions that I don’t remember [from] when I was younger.

“I don’t want to give anything way. It’s a really passionate, hardcore scene,” she continued. “No, it’s just a kiss. It’s not really a big deal.”

“It’s just something that happened in their lives,” Dakota told Access of the kissing scene. “In the script, it’s not like a big build up or something that they talk about afterwards.”

The two play teenage members of ‘70s all-girl rock act The Runaways, starring as the iconic Joan Jett (Kristen) and Cherie Currie (Dakota).

“It looks great in the movie, but we are not close to the musicians that they are,” Kristen said.

But the two loved looking like rock stars – and plan to share their outfits with the women who inspired the film.

“I loved the outfits, I kept most all of them,” Dakota said. “Cherie gave her corsets away and we had them remade for the movie, [so] I’m going to give her one and I think that will be really cool.”

“I gave Joan a leather jacket,” Kristen said. “I wrote all over the back of it.”

                          

American Idol’s Top Eight Guys Finally Join the Competition!

After a mostly lovely, yet still partly lame, ladies’ night, it was the guys’ turn to sing it out for a spot in American Idol’s top 12.

Only a couple had performed with any consistency up to this point, so our hopes weren’t high as we tuned in Wednesday to listen to the top eight gents.

Were our suspicions correct, or have we all been a bit hasty in judging the guys to be finished before they even really began?

Lee Dewyze: The fan favorite who redeemed guys’ night last week kicked off the show with a slightly grittier version of the oh-so-contemporary “Fireflies.” And Lee managed to make the song more appealing, with the tone of his husky voice proving a better fit than Owl City frontman Adam Young’s nasal twang. “I think you actually made the song a better song,” Kara DioGuardi said. “A strange song choice,” Randy Jackson agreed, “but you kinda made it your own.” Simon Cowell thought there was “nothing to rave about,” but he wasn’t too worried about Lee’s future on the show.

Alex Lambert: Ah, nothing like a 19-year-old singing the blues. Or a Ray LaMontagne song. But Alex actually seemed to benefit from the weary yet hopeful tone of LaMontagne’s “Trouble” and sang the tune with a maturity previously unseen in the lad. “You are becoming a mushy banana, you’re ripening so fast,” Ellen DeGeneres said, keeping the banana metaphor going for the third straight week. Simon encouraged him to “picture Randy in a bikini or something” if it will help him loosen up onstage.

Tim Urban: The second banana is all grown up! The last-moment replacement was a different man out there tonight, benefiting from the nowhere-to-hide honesty and bewitching simplicity of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” via Jeff Buckley. It wasn’t quite Jason Castro a couple of years ago, but Tim certainly gave his best performance of the competition. Ellen, so hard on him week after week, ran over and gave the wide-eyed 20-year-old a hug. “I kind of feel responsible for you doing well tonight because I gave you a compliment,” Simon smirked, referring to last week when he was really the only judge in Tim’s court. “For you, it was terrific.”

Andrew Garcia: So long as he only sings lady songs, Andrew’s good to go. Tonight it was an acoustic “Genie in a Bottle” that boosted him back into the better half of the male competitors—though it didn’t really rub the judges the right way. Randy missed Christina Aguilera’s range, saying Andrew made it feel “like the whole song was three notes.” “It was a little bit desperate,” Simon observed, a common reaction for the Brit, and probably never more appropriate than it was here.

                          

Jessica Simpson at The Late Show:

Jessica Simpson pays a visit to the The Late Show with David Letterman in New York Wednesday, where the Price of Beauty star dished on former flames John Mayer and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. “I still look at his cute butt,” she spilled.

Simpson heads into the Late Show with David Letterman in New York. Plus: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler and more…

                          

Lindsay Lohan Sues E-Trade Over Super Bowl Commercial:

LOS ANGELES, Calif. –
Lindsay Lohan is suing E-Trade over a Super Bowl commercial, which features a “milkaholic” boyfriend-stealing baby named Lindsay.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in Nassau County Supreme Court in New York and obtained by Access Hollywood, claims that Lohan’s rights under the New York state civil-rights law were violated when E-Trade used the “likeness of the plaintiff’s name, characterization, and personality” in the commercial.

The suit claims that E-Trade “committed tortuous acts” and “are causing injury to” Lohan with the commercial.

The suit goes on to claim that the commercial, which features stock trading babies talking to each via a video chat “violated the plaintiff’s right of privacy.”

When contacted by Access, an E-Trade spokesperson said, “We have not yet reviewed the action and so we don’t have a comment.”

In the ad, a baby boy is apologizing to a baby girl for not calling her.

“And that milkaholic Lindsay wasn’t over?” the baby girl asks.

According to the suit, Lohan is asking for $50 million in exemplary damages and another $50 million in compensatory damages.

When contacted by Access Hollywood, Lohan’s attorney, Anand Ahuja, said it was obvious that Lohan’s likeness has been used and denied it was a publicity stunt.

“It’s very much a legitimate case because if anybody looks at it they know her name and characterization have been used,” he told Access. “Everybody has a right to have one’s own perception, all that matters is that the truth will come out in court.”

In addition to $100 million in damages, the suit is asking for the E-Trade commercial be removed from the air and wants the financial company to turn over all copies of the spot to Lohan.

Access caught up with attorney Mark Geragos – who has defended Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder and Chris Brown – on Tuesday, who said the case would be difficult for Lohan’s legal team.

“It’s a very tough lawsuit to prevail on cause you run into a very meddlesome barrier which is the First Amendment,” he told Access. “I don’t think this is going to pass a pleading stage or motion to dismiss.”

He added that Lohan might walk away with more money if she decided to use E-Trade rather than sue the company, saying, “The average price for an E-Trade is probably more than they’ll ever get for this lawsuit.”

                          

Glam Slam: Oscar Beauty 2010:

LOS ANGELES, Calif. –
The gowns always get 99.9% of the attention at the Oscars, but let’s not overlook the beauty trends! There were some gorgeous ladies working several trends on the carpet… luminous skin, shimmer and sparkle, bright lips and smokey eyes, among them.

I particularly liked Jennifer Lopez and Zoe Saldana’s makeup and both looks were created using NARS cosmetics. Here is the step-by-step “how to” from their makeup artists.

JENNIFER LOPEZ
Makeup by Matthew Vanleeuwen for NARS Cosmetics.

THE INSPIRATION
The look is ethereal movie star. There is a focus on the eyes, while keeping the cheekbones high and highlighted.

EYES
The eyes were prepped with Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base to create a smooth canvas before applying the eyeshadow. This also prevented the eyeshadow from creasing and to keep the color strong all night long. D. Gorgeous Single Eyeshadow was used as a base over the entire lid and up to the brow. The purple side of Brousse Duo Eyeshadow was then applied onto each lid. Nuits Blanches Eyeliner Stylo was applied on the top and bottom lash lines to define the eyes. Lashes were curled and finished with two coats of Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara.

CHEEKS
Desire Blush was applied to both cheeks, followed by Orgasm Illuminator on top for a light shimmer and finished with a layer of Enchanted Cream Blush.

LIPS
For a natural look, Cruising Lipstick was applied on lips and finished with Sweet Dreams Lip Gloss to add a beautiful shimmer.

BODY
Orgasm Illuminator was also lightly applied to décolletage, arms and legs for a light finished glow.

ZOE SALDANA
Makeup by Vera Steimberg for NARS Cosmetics.

THE INSPIRATION
The look is balanced with heavy eyes, soft lips and a lot of shimmer.

EYES
Vera used the purple side of Brousse Duo Eyeshadow and blended with Zardoz Cream Eyeshadow in the crease for a deep-set look. She used the Nuits Blanches Eyeliner Stylo to line the top and bottom lash lines. The most important part of the eyes was the line drawn up to bring the eyes “upward”. Zoe has almond-shaped eyes so she wanted to create the effect of her eyes moving up and did this with the Eyeliner Stylo.

CHEEKS
For the cheeks, she contoured with Lamu Multiple to add depth and then added Enchanted Cream Blush to the apples (to highlight). For an overall shimmering effect, she blended Orgasm Illuminator on cheeks, forehead and nose.

LIPS
On the lips, to keep them from overpowering the rest of the look, she went with neutral-toned hues. Love Devotion was used as a base to brighten the lips and then Ophelia was layered over it to give a glossy, polished finish.

FASHION FYI
CLICK HERE to check out Access Hollywood and On 3 Productions’ great giveaways of celeb swag from The Official Gift Lounge backstage at The 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards. Now you can get some of the fabulous items from The Body Shop, Nautica, Leigh & Luca NY, Dooney & Bourke, Blessed & Cursed and more.

                          

The best Khan: Shahrukh Khan

Suffering from Asperger’s syndrome, Rizvan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) is detained at the San Francisco airport due to his suspicious co-passengers. We then learn that Rizvan is on journey to meet the US President. As the story unfolds, we get a peek in Rizvan’s life. He was married to Mandira (Kajol) a Hindu single mother. But post 9/11 as the way Americans started looking at Muslims changes, Mandira’s son from first marriage Sam falls victim to a racist attack.

Shocked after hearing the reason for his son’s murder, Mandira blames it on Rizvan and his religion. In a fit of anger she yells at Rizvan to go away from her and only come back after telling the US President that, “My Name Is Khan and I am not a Terrorist.” Thus begins Rizvan’s epic journey to meet the US President Obama to clear his name. What encounters he has in his journey and how he finally ends up making the Americans change their outlook towards Muslims forms the rest of the film.

The film opening with an extremely powerful scene of Shah Rukh being pulled up for his suspicious behaviour and strip searched by rude security officers, sets up the tone for what is in store ahead. The first half concentrates more on the romance between Khan and Mandira and some really heartwarming moments like Rizvan taking Mandira to a place she has never been before in her city or childhood sequences of Rizvan and his mother. The second half packs in a bigger punch as the film diversifies into severe sub plots as Khan’s journey comes closer to meeting the newly elected American President. It would spoil the fun if we reveal more of it all here. Shibani Bathija’s script is extremely mature and dialogues by her and Niranjan Iyengar are first rate and applause worthy at many places. However, the last 20 minutes or so the pace drops drastically and the film loses its grip. But nonetheless what keeps you hooked is SRK’s act.

MNIK has been amongst the most awaited films of the year as amongst many reasons the film has been important for being one in which Karan Johar has discarded his usual candy floss treatment. Karan has succeeded in his attempt and given us a film that shall remain memorable forever for Shah Rukh Khan’s extremely endearing act. The King Khan has successfully carried out the difficult part of enacting an Autistic patient suffering from the Asperger’s syndrome. Completely getting under the skin of the character, Shah Rukh has picked up every single nuance of an Asperger’s syndrome patient without making it appeared laboured. Matching him step by step in the acting department is Kajol. Coming together after over 9 years the on screen star couple proves they have no match. Kajol is nothing short of excellent in the film. Her reaction on seeing her son’s dead body will give you goose bumps. Jimmy Shergill and Sonia Jehan playing SRK’s brother and bhabhi are perfectly cast. Tanay Chedda remembered for his roles in Taare Zameen Par and Slumdog Millionaire is outstanding playing the young Rizvan. Zareena Wahab in a short part leaves a very strong impression. All the American actors are just perfect for their parts. Arif Zakaria, Sumeet Raghavan, Anuj Mathur, Parveen Dabas, Navneet Nishan and Sugandha Garg have small but significant roles and they don’t disappoint. The two boys playing Sam are very good.

Technically the film is completely on par with any ‘A grade Hollywood product’ with outstanding camerawork by Ravi K Chandran and editing by Deepa Bhatia. Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music elevates the film to a completely new level. With no lip sync numbers, the songs don’t act as speed breakers but carry the story forward.

My Name Is Khan will prove to be a landmark film in the careers of Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan and of course Kajol. It’s a film with a strong message and is yet very entertaining at the same time. The film actually delivers more than one expected it to. Protests or no protests you will be a fool to miss this one. Go watch it!!

                          

My Name Is Khan Disturb to 3 idiots???

my name is khan - myfxblogs.com

The unprecedented success of Aamir Khan starrer “3 Idiots” has set a tough challenge for new releases by grossing Rs.315 crore in just 19 days. But bosses of Fox STAR studios, distributors of Shah Rukh Khan’s forthcoming film “My Name Is Khan”, are undeterred and hope to hit the bull’s eye with the movie.

“We’ve always been hugely excited about ‘My Name Is Khan’ and we remain excited. It is fair to say that ’3 Idiots’ has had great success but as far as ‘My Name…’ is concerned, we believe that it’s a film to cut across all demographics,” Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star said.

“It has a wide appeal. It also has a very strong talent base which is coming together after eight years. It’s a very powerful, emotionally engaging film,” he added. Directed by Karan Johar, “My Name is Khan” features Shah Rukh as an unconventional hero Rizvan Khan, who embarks on a journey across America to win back the love of his life, played by Kajol. It shows how, along the way, his personality touches the lives of many and inspires a nation.

The film marks the coming together of Johar, Shah Rukh and Kajol after nine years after their last outing “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham” (2001). The movie has also been in news for Fox Star’s acquisition of its global rights reportedly for $20 million. The movie will be marketed and distributed by Fox Star in India, in the US by its sister company Fox Searchlight and in the rest of the world by parent group 20th Century Fox International.

Throwing more light on “My Name…”, Singh said: “‘My Name Is Khan’ is an amazing love story which has a very epic sweep to it. And of course it’s got an amazing cast and crew. “We are hugely excited and we are going to have a worldwide release on Feb 12. It will be the widest Bollywood release ever out of India.”

Asked about the number of the prints, Singh said: “It’s too early (for figures) as the release is in February. But rest assured given the working progress, it will be the widest release across the widest number of countries and prints.” The movie will open in theatres in India and over 40 countries including the US, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, according to Johar’ Dharma Productions. Asked about the budget of the venture, Singh promptly replied: “No. We don’t go down there… We don’t give our numbers.”

He also refused to divulge details on the marketing strategies for the movie saying, “it’s probably too early on giving out some of the information.” The movie is coming a few days before Valentine’s Day. Asked why, Singh said: “The very fact that Shah Rukh and Kajol are almost like the jodi of the decade. They represent the best of love pairs in Bollywood. So here’s a love story set against such a big canvas which is coming out very appropriately timed for Valentine’s. It’s almost like how far will you go for your love.

                          

Amitabh stole Shah Rukh’s lunch!

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has proven he is no less than his “Paa” character Auro in real life. The sexagenarian was at his impish best at a recent awards ceremony when he went and “stole” food from superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s vanity van.

“I came in early and went straight to the back into the vanity van, to get ready and be made up for the presentation of the ‘Teen Patti’ promotion skit we were doing,” Amitabh posted on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com Sunday night.

“Hunger pangs almost ripped my stomach apart and I stepped out and into Shah Rukh’s vanity (van) opposite mine and stole some of his salad that he was gorging into – he having missed his lunch as well,” added the 67-year-old.

Big B, as he is fondly called, bagged the best actor award for his performance in “Paa” at the 16th Annual STAR Screen Awards that was held Jan 9 in Mumbai.