National Archive

Kareena and I were depressed during ‘Kurbaan’ shoot: Saif Khan

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: Entertainment, NationalTags:

Mumbai, Nov 4 – Bollywood actors often describe their shooting schedule as a picnic. But ‘cold and depressing’ is what Saif Ali Khan has to say about the US shoot of ‘Kurbaan’, speaking for not just himself but also girlfriend and co-star Kareena Kapoor.

‘ ‘Kurbaan’ was hard work. Period. In fact, the Philadelphia schedule was plain hell. It wasn’t anything like a picnic shooting for the film,’ shudders Saif, who is glad that the film is complete and ready for release.

Saif says, ‘It gets dark there at 4 p.m. itself. Moreover, it’s so cold and at minus 10 degrees it can actually get really depressing. Since we were shooting in sync sound, it was extremely difficult to get the pitch and tone right while delivering our dialogues.’

The film by Rensil D’Souza also stars Vivek Oberoi, Dia Mirza, Om Puri and Kirron Kher and will be released Nov 20.

It was during the shoot of the film that Saif and Kareena got news of the terror attack in Mumbai last year. ‘Because of that, it was so difficult to concentrate on the film’s shoot. Thankfully, Bebo (Kareena Kapoor) was there with me at that time but still both of us were very depressed,’ says Saif.

As it was quite cold in Philadelphia, Saif and Kareena were required to wear layers of clothing. Later, for continuity purpose, they had to wear the same clothes in the summer of Mumbai.

Saif and others also had a hard time adjusting to the locations chosen for the film’s shoot.

‘We were shooting in a tube and that’s anything but fun,’ he remembers. ‘We had to shoot a subway sequence but being in a tube for hours at a stretch is like being in an underground prison. Really, it is very disorienting. Who says shooting for a film is like being in a picnic? ‘Kurbaan’ certainly wasn’t one.’

When asked to name one film which was fun to shoot, Saif talks of Abbas-Mustan-directed ‘Race’.

‘Now that’s what I call as a real picnic’, he says. ‘Doing the film was quite easy since the working hours were quite comfortable while locations were nice, easy and comfortable. It was really simple work and I enjoyed a lot. It was really entertaining to drive fast cars, saying cool lines, be a hero and stuff alike.

‘On the other hand, ‘Kurbaan’ has me playing this complicated character which only makes it further difficult for an actor.’

‘New York’ to open Cairo film fest

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Entertainment, Hollywood, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – Yash Raj Films’ ‘New York’ has been selected as the opening film at the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) 2009.

The film will also compete in the ‘In Competition’ section at the fest, to be held Nov 10-Nov 20.

Directed by Kabir Khan who will also attend the event, the film stars John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh in the lead apart from Irrfan Khan in a pivotal role.

Recently screened at the Pusan International Film Festival, ‘New York’ released over 900 screens worldwide on June 26 this year. It is a contemporary story of three young friends whose lives are turned upside down by post-9/11 prejudices.

Also attending the festival will be Hollywood stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Lucy Liu and Tom Berenger.

‘London Dreams’, ‘Aladin’ don’t cast spell over box office

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Entertainment, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – The Ajay Devgn-Salman Khan starrer ‘London Dreams’ and Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Aladin’ have failed to send the cash registers ringing in the first week of their release.

Despite being big budget outings, both movies have failed to bring in footfalls. This is the third week in succession post Diwali that saw the release of disappointing content after movies like ‘Blue’, ‘All The Best – Fun Begins’ and ‘Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna’.

”London Dreams’ and ‘Aladin’ both have been losers in terms of recovering production costs. They don’t seem to be recovering even half of the costs. It is again a bad phase for Bollywood – this time post-Diwali, as no movie is able to perform on merit,’ Joginder Mahajan, a Delhi-based distributor told IANS.

‘Even forthcoming movies ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani’ and ‘Jail’ that release this Friday, are only limited for multiplexes and have not generated any buzz,’ he added.

Amit Shah, chief manager (programming) of DLF DT cinemas was also of the same opinion.

”Aladin’ has been a disaster both content and collections wise while the maximum response has been for ‘London Dreams’ though even it has been only average and not as expected. Both movies are over now in terms of business, as they have brought in whatever they could over an extended weekend,’ said Shah.

‘Now, much is expected from ‘Ajab Prem Ki…’ though ‘Jail’ will start slow but considering it’s a Madhur Bhandarkar film, it just might pick up,’ he added.

Produced and directed by Vipul Shah, ‘London Dreams’ stars Asin Thottumkal as the female lead. Rannvijay Singh and Om Puri too feature in pivotal roles about the story of friendship with a musical background.

On the other hand, ‘Aladin’, a contemporary take on the classic fairy tale has been directed by Sujoy Ghosh and produced by Sunil Lulla and Ghosh himself.

It stars Riteish Deshmukh in the lead opposite debutante Jacqueline Fernandez. Amitabh Bachchan stars as a genie in the movie while Sanjay Dutt essays a negative role.

”Aladin’ is a flop film and ‘London Dreams’ has done just average business… We are hoping ‘Ajab Prem…’ should open well, as it is a family oriented comedy while ‘Jail’ has its own audience,’ said a source from PVR cinemas.

‘From Blighty With Love’ Fest to start Feb 26

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Entertainment, NationalTags:

Mumbai, Nov 3 – The ‘From Blighty with Love’ Festival to showcase recent independent British films across Indian screens will commence Feb 26 next year.

Announced at the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival (MFF), which runs Oct 29-Nov 5, the British-Indian film distribution initiative will be held simultaneously across Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune till March 11, 2010.

The gala will also see a ‘virtual’ in-conversation with key talents from each film via the Skype technology.

”From Blighty with Love’ is an exciting example of the UK Film Council’s drive to open up UK film to international markets and audiences. It will showcase some of the best UK independent features of the last 18 months none of which have ever been seen on the big screen before in India,’ Sarah McKenzie, senior executive for export development of the UK Film Council, said in a statement.

Some of the movies that will be screened at the event include ‘Easy Virtue’, ‘Brideshead Revisited’, ‘Man On Wire’ and ‘In the Loop’, etc apart from those of renowned filmmakers like Michael Winterbottom, Sally Potter and Danny Boyle.

‘From Blighty with Love’ will be delivered by the UK Film Council with the help of project partners, UK Trade and Investment, MFF, Book My Show and Reliance Media Works. Property partners for the same include Big and Fame Cinemas.

‘Blighty’ is an English term for Britain, deriving from the Hindustani word vilayati.

Munna Bajrangi’s accomplice arrested in Varanasi

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

Varanasi, Nov 3- An accomplice of gangster Munna Bajrangi was arrested by a team of Delhi Police here Tuesday evening, police sources said.

Meraj Ahmed was picked up from his house in Jaitpura area of the city by a team of Delhi Police’s special cell.

A special team of Delhi police, in co-ordination with their Mumbai counterparts, nabbed Bajrangi from near Siddhivinayak Tower in suburban Malad area of Mumbai Oct 30. Bajrangi has over 50 cases against him, including those of murder, kidnapping and extortion and carried a cash reward of Rs.11 lakh (Rs.1.1 million) on his head.

However, police officials refused to comment on Ahmed’s arrest.

‘He (Ahmed) is a close aide of jailed don (and legislator from Mau district Mukhtar Ansari) and equally close to Bajrangi. He has also contested the last assembly elections as an Independent candidate from Varanasi and has nearly a dozen criminal cases lodged against him in various police stations of the city,’ an inspector of the Jaitpura police station told IANS, declining to be named.

A cop, Home Guard arrested for taking bribe

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

Lucknow, Nov 3- A police constable and a Home Guard were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district Tuesday on charges of extorting money from three-wheeler drivers, police said.

Constable Dharmendra Dubey and Home Guard A.K. Rai were arrested after a three-wheeler driver lodged a complaint with the Kotwali police station.

‘The complainant, Shamsher, approached the Kotwali police station and informed that the two have taken Rs.400 as bribe to let him operate his three wheeler in the city. He also provided us the number of the currency notes he gave and these were recovered from the possession of the accused after their arrest,’ Additional Superintendent of police (City) Nivesh Katiyar told IANS over phone.

Rs.80 crore aid to Madhya Pradesh to fight malnutrition: envoy

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Health, NationalTags:

Bhopal, Nov 3 – British High Commissioner Richard Stagg Tuesday said that of the Rs.300 crore provided to Madhya Pradesh for development programmes from his country’s Department for International Development (DFID), Rs.80 crore were to tackle malnutrition.

Addressing a joint press conference with DFID head Michael Anderson, Stagg said the quality of life in slums has improved in Madhya Pradesh with the aid.

The two said that though the state government has not been as strong as it should have been in tackling malnutrition, it should also be kept in mind that malnutrition is not the problem of lack of food alone but a more complex problem.

‘Only supplementary feeding among the children in the age group of 3 to 6 years is not enough to tackle malnutrition. It should be taken to the household level among the children of 0 to 2 years age group’, they said.

The duo also visited the slum areas in Bhopal where the DFID assisted programmes are being implemented and expressed satisfaction over the pace of works.

Man dies during PM’s PGIMER visit, police shrug off blame

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Health, NationalTags: ,

Chandigarh/New Delhi, Nov 3 – The Chandigarh police Tuesday sought to clarify that they had no responsibility for the death of a kidney patient who allegedly died outside Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here because the security measures for the prime minister’s visit barred the entry to the hospital.

‘After getting the information, an executive magistrate was deputed to conduct an enquiry. As per the findings, there was no lapse on the part of security personnel. In fact, the patient was attended to by doctors and he died during the treatment,’ according to a police statement, issued here late Tuesday evening.

‘Tight security arrangements were made for the visiting VVIP but the normal traffic was not at all disturbed. Traffic was stopped only for a few minutes at only one gate,’ the statement added.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Tuesday sought a report from PGIMER on the death of this patient, who could not enter the hospital because of security measures in place for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit.

‘The PMO is saddened at the death of a patient at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research today during the visit of the prime minister. A full report has been asked for,’ said a senior official Tuesday.

Sumit Prakash Verma, 32, died after the vehicle carrying him could not enter the emergency area of the PGIMER in time for treatment, his relatives said.

They alleged that their vehicle carrying Verma from Ambala, 45 km from Chandigarh, was stopped at different gates of the institute, due to which crucial time was wasted.

‘We came near the PGIMER when the prime minister’s motorcade was entering. The road near the emergency was sealed by police and we were told to use another gate. At that gate, we were told to go to a third place and then directed to go to the original gate. This delayed our reaching the hospital and he died,’ Richa Verma, a relative, told reporters.

Sources in the PMO told IANS that security personnel could not gauge how critical Verma was as he was not travelling in an ambulance.

Verma was suffering from a major kidney ailment and had breathing trouble. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Manmohan Singh was here for the 30th convocation of the PGIMER.

However, the hospital’s security officials maintained that they did not stop any vehicle from entering the premises.

‘We did not stop any person or any vehicle from entering PGIMER. Heavy security was deployed, but our officials did not harass anybody unnecessarily,’ P.C. Sharma, PGIMER’s in-charge, told IANS Tuesday evening.

Archery: modest show by Indians in qualifying rounds

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: National, SportsTags:

Kolkata, Nov 3 – Indian archers had mixed luck at the opening day of the four-day 3rd Asian Indoor Games archery competition at Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday.

Maisnam Chinglensana Luwang and Sakro Besra were third overall in the qualifying rounds of men’s and women’s compound events respectively at the Haiphong Youth Gymnasium, according to information received here. Luwang’s total of 575 fetched him the joint third position while Sakro had a total of 567 for her sole third place.

However, the Indians finished lower down in the day’s two other qualifying events in men’s and women’s recurve.

Rajib Basumatary was the best among Indian recurve men with a two-round total of 577 out of 600 points which got him an overall joint ninth position. Gurucharan Besra and Nanavath Ravinder were placed joint 12th with totals of 575 each. Waikhom Ranjan Singh was 17th overall with a total of 571 in a field of 45. Korea swept all the four top places.

In men’s compound, Abhishek Verma was eighth with 571, Laishangbam Haridas Singh finished joint ninth with 569 and Jayantilal Nanoma stood 15th with 564 in a field of 24.

Vrushali Gorle was fifth in women’s compound totalling 563 points. Sweety Kumari was ninth with 558 and veteran Bheigyabati Chanu 12th with 553 in a field of 20.

India’s lone entry in women’s recurve, Punyaprabha Kumari was ninth with 566 points in a field of 27.

Individual and team elimination round will be gone through in the next two days with the finals coming up Nov 6.

India has sent sent its second string archers for the Asian Indoor Games. The top archers are preparing for the 16th Asian Archery Championship beginning at Bali (Indonesia) from Nov 16.

Uttar Pradesh chief secretary apologises to apex court

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

Lucknow, Nov 3 – Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Atul Gupta Tuesday tendered an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court for allegedly violating its specific orders not to go ahead with the construction of memorials and statues of Dalit icons, including that of Chief Minister Mayawati, in Lucknow.

Admitting that construction work worth Rs.2,600 crore was undertaken at different ‘dream projects’ of the chief minister in Lucknow, Gupta – in his 51-page affidavit – said that he had no intention of defying the court’s orders.

Stressing his ‘highest regard’ for the orders passed by the apex court, he contended he had acted in compliance of its orders, but tendered his ‘sincere and unqualified apology for any kind of disobedience or deviation, aberration or misconstruction, if any, which might have happened,’ and said it was ‘inadvertent’ .

The court had Oct 6 served a contempt notice on the state chief secretary for allegedly violating the undertaking given by the state government to suspend all construction work at various project sites.

The undertakings were given before the court on Sep 8 and 11 by Mayawati’s close confidante and party general secretary Satish Chandra Misra, who was representing the state government in his capacity as a senior counsel.

Misra was stated to have told the court that the undertaking, given orally by him before the judges, was conveyed to the chief secretary, following which the contempt notice was slapped on the latter.

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