Thursday, October 19, 2006

Himesh-Asha out, Ganesh-Sunidhi in for Sholay

Some more casting has been put to place for Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay. Choreographer turned singer Ganesh Hedge will compose and choreograph the song Mehbooba Mehbooba for the film. Earlier Himesh
was to compose the same track and like his numerous music video appearances, was also set to make
an appearance in the item song playing the role of Jalal Agha. However things seem to have changed now with RGV roping in Ganesh Hegde. Varma wanted Himesh to
do the film but the music director is quite busy with his international shows. Meanwhile Ganesh
Hegde composed his version of the song adding old elements and incorporating new portions to it
too, which Varma liked. Ganesh and RGV are now planning to shoot the song in five to six
different parts of the world. Ganesh Hegde had earlier choreographed songs like Khallas and
Kambakth Ishq for Ramu.
Meanwhile, Asha Bhosle, who was originally supposed to sing the song, has been replaced by
Sunidhi Chauhan now. Interestingly both the singers were unaware about the other’s involvement
with the song. Sukhwinder Singh is Sunidhi’s male counterpart.
Source:Indiafm

Shreyas Rejects Ramu´s ´Sholay´

Two film old , talented actor Shreyas Talpade ('Iqbal' & 'Dor') has rejected a role in Ramgopal Varma's 'Sholay' . According to the buzz , Ramu offered Shreyas the role essayed by Sachin in the original Sippy
classic . But when Talpade asked for a script narration Ramu refused and as a result Shreyas
refused the role !
Source:Planetbollywood

Sunday, October 15, 2006

From Jai to Gabbar; Big B setting new benchmarks at 64

NEW DELHI: For many Bollywood actors, 64 may be an age to hang in their boots and lead a secluded existence far from the glare of the arclights. However, for superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who turned 64 on Wednesday, it seems life in films has just begun.For, at a time when many of his contemporaries like Vinod Khanna, Dharmendra, Shatrughan Sinha or Shashi Kapoor have either gone into semi-retirement or confined themselves to playing the stereotyped grandfathers in Hindi films, big B, as Amitabh is known to legion of his fans, only gets better with age.Having dazzled many cinegoers with his flamboyant portrayal of 'sexy Sam' in Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, a 60 year-old who believes in living life to the fullest, Amitabh is set to appear in an array of characters in his forthcoming ventures, portrayals which reflect his amazing versatility as an actor.At 64, big B is all set to make what could easily be seen as one of the biggest makeovers by an actor in the history of Indian cinema- the 'charming' and 'witty' Jai of Ramesh Sippy's Sholay will now play the menacing Gabbar Singh in Ramgopal Verma's remake of the film, shooting for which began a few days ago.Further, the coming months will see the actor play an old man sexually attracted to an 18-year-old girl, played by newcomer Jiah Khan, in Ramgopal Verma's Nisshabd. Also, he will be seen in Ravi Chopra's Babul as a 60-year-old who gets his widowed daughter-in-law remarried amid opposition from society.The fact that at the age of 64, Amitabh continues to be offered central characters like that in Ravi Chopra's Baghban, Govind Nihalani's Dev, Mahesh Manjrekar's Viruddh, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, Ramgopal Verma's Nisshabd, Ravi Chopra's Babul and now, Verma's Sholay is undoubtedly a reflection of the actor's unfading charisma as his tremendous growth as an actor over the years.That roles are still being written keeping him in mind puts Amitabh in league with Hollywood greats like Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery and Richard Gere.For example, for Ramgopal Verma who has been getting flak from several quarters for his remake of the blockbuster Sholay including Lata Mangeshkar and Saira Banu, casting Amitabh as Gabbar seemed to be the only trump card that would ensure a draw for the film at the turnstiles. In fact, talking to UNI in an interview recently, Verma said that for the role of Gabbar, he could think of nobody else but Amitabh given his amazing range as an actor. Ramgopal is among the filmmakers smitten by the magic of Amitabh, having cast him earlier in films like Sarkar and Darna zaroori hai. Incidentally, big B also features in his forthcoming Nisshabd. “It was a complex role of an old man caught between his feelings of sexual attraction for an 18-year-old and his feelings of responsibility. I could see no one else but Amitabh do the role. In fact, his performance in the film has been simply amazing,” said Verma.Besides his never flagging popularity in India, Amitabh has, in the last few years, become India's best known face abroad. A host of international honours has come his way over the years - from installation of his wax statue in London's Madame Tassauds, French company Lomani naming its perfume after him, mayor of French town Deaville handing him over the key of the town, Britain's channel 4 naming him one of the top 100 film stars of all times, awards at the Marrakkesh film festival for two successive years and so on.For big B it has been a long journey from his debut in khwaja Ahmed Abbas' Saat Hindustani to Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. However, looking at the tremendous verve displayed by the actor in the role of 'sexy Sam' and his palpable feeling of excitement at playing Gabbar Singh it seems the actor still has a long innings to go.