"I hear that some music companies spend as much as Rs.150 to Rs.200 million (Rs.15 to Rs.20 crores) to promote the music of a film today. Which only means that marketing has taken precedence over creation," Khayyam, whose tunes in the film "Umrao Jaan" mesmerise people even today, told IANS in an interview.

The composer, who has virtually been in retirement since 1990, is overwhelmed that the Lucknow-based Naushad Sangeet Kendra has chosen him for its first Naushad Samman, an award instituted in memory of the late ...

Javed paid a surprise visit on Farhan's show "Oye! It's Friday!" and spoke about his son's growing days. He even shared some secrets about Farhan before the father-son duo broke into a 'bhangra' jig.

The special episode, to be aired on NDTV Imagine Friday, will also have actress Deepika Padukone as a guest.

'Victory' is about India's obsession for cricket: Director

Director Ajitpal Mangat says his forthcoming film "Victory", starring Harman Baweja, Amrita Rao and over 30 cricketers, is an attempt to showcase India's obsession for ...

In Bollywood, skin show is in - and it's not causing a scandal.

Actress Minissha Lamba, who abandoned her plain Jane act with a white bikini in "Kidnap", says skin show in Bollywood has now assumed a larger meaning than just its literal sense.

"I wouldn't call it skin show. For me, it means women exercising their right to be beautiful. We have fashion designers all over the world and now in India, who are catering to women mainly to make them look beautiful and feel beautiful. And now, clothes are a very important extension to that," Minissha ...

"The theatres are coming up in Gurgaon, two each in Chennai and Bangalore. For the Chennai and Bangalore theatres we have tied up with Sathyam Cinemas. The Kolkata and the Gurgaon ones are developed by Aeren-R," John M. Schreiner, director of the Imax Corporation told reporters on the sidelines of the launching of its first screen in the city.

There are three Imax theatres operational in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, with the fourth, in Kolkata, being built on an investment of Rs.180 million (Rs.18 crore).

Maintaining that entertainment is a "recession-proof business", Schreiner said: ...

Rahman, who turned 43 Tuesday, is an inspiration for many. For instance, acclaimed singer Sukhwinder Singh gives the credit of his success to the composer.

“Rahman has been a catalyst in my success because when everyone turned me down and ridiculed my song 'Thaiyan thaiyan', he was the only one to believe in me. With a few changes in lyrics, he gave me my first big success in the form of 'Chaiyyan chaiyyan'," Sukhwinder told IANS in an interview.

With 11 Filmfare Awards to his credit, Rahman has achieved ...

Shabana, who had first come to Nepal in 1974 to take part in the filming of Dev Anand's "Ishq Ishq Ishq", Monday returned on a three-day visit to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

Shabana, who is also a former member of parliament and social activist, is in Nepal as the SAARC Goodwill Amabassador for Uniting against HIV/AIDS and TB, an honour she shares with renowned Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya.

"I feel fully committed," she told the media Tuesday.

"The human rights aspects of living with ...

"It was never Govinda's fault that the shooting had halted. We had some production problems which have now been sorted out. Govinda has never been troublesome. For a 3 p.m. shift he arrives at 2.30 p.m," Mundhra said.

He said it is time the industry realised that they are in the throes of a recession. "Actors within the industry have realised it and are working accordingly. There are reports of how Govinda has been troubling my project 'Naughty At 40'. But the truth is that the project being in trouble has nothing to do with Govinda. On the contrary, he has been unfailingly disciplined and ...

Girish Kasaravalli, acclaimed filmmaker and festival director, told IANS that great care has been taken in selecting films to be screened at the week-long fest starting Jan 15.

"All the films selected for the festival deals with broad range of cinematic expressions and varied issues have been explored in the films by the filmmakers," said Kasaravalli.

According to N. Shashidhara, festival coordinator, the format of the festival has been designed to make it viewer friendly.

"The third edition of ...

Voted the Sexiest Asian woman in 2007 by the British weekly newspaper Eastern Eye, the starlet of films like "Rudraksh", "No Entry", "Omkara" and "Dhoom 2" is taking steps towards signing on for serious roles.

"If I don't like what's being offered, I won't sign anything (any more)," Bipasha had earlier told IANS in an interview.

Her stint with arthouse movie started with Prakash Jha's 2005 political drama "Apaharan". He presented her in a deglamourised role, but it was Ajay ...

Coming a day after the film jumped back into the North American Top 10 with total gross earnings of $28.78 million in eight weeks, the PGA nomination is considered particularly important since generally most of the five nominated films go on to also earn an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Last year, 4 of the 5 PGA nominees also scored Academy Award nods for Best Picture. The PGA will announce its winner Jan 24.

Shot in Mumbai, the film tells the heart warming story of an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who goes on to ...

Although they claim to have avoided sibling rivalry, comparisons have been inevitable.

Ever since Amrita stepped into Bollywood in 2002 with "Kitne Door Kitne Paas" opposite Fardeen Khan, parallels have been drawn with her elder sibling Malaika Arora Khan. And every time, she has fallen short of matching the latter in terms of sensuality, looks, physique, dancing ability as well as her overall on screen persona.

But Amrita says this has not affected their relationship.

"I am extremely close ...

"One is an item song for Ranbir (Kapoor) and the other is a romantic song featuring Ranbir and Katrina Kaif. I've requested producer Ramesh Taurani-ji to not film those songs. He has agreed, as long as I deliver the substitutes immediately. I'm now working on the alternative tunes literally overnight," Pritam told IANS.

This isn't the first time Pritam has changed his mind about his songs.

"In 'Jab We Met', I sent Imtiaz Ali a substitute tune for the hit 'Yeh ishq' at the last minute. And I never liked ...

She has left behind Sanjay to spend time with his three best friends, who live in different parts of the world. They were in Mumbai for the New Year and Sanjay was keen to spend some more time with them.

"Manyata left for Vaishno Devi after their New Year's party with some girl pals for three days. Initially, Sanjay, who never says no to his wife, agreed to come along. But then she saw his heart was set on enjoying the time he had with his buddies whom he rarely gets to see because of his schedules," said a source close to the couple told IANS.

"These guys have been his closest friends from childhood and are no part of ...

Former Indian defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was also chief minister of Uttar Pradesh - once one of India's biggest states - and heads the powerful Samajwadi Party, told Nepal's media the Big B, as the veteran actor is popularly known, and billionaire industrialist Anil Ambani were to have accompanied him during his two-day visit to Nepal.

However, the two celebrities decided not to come after a political row and violence erupted in the 17th century temple that is revered by billions of ...

"He would give me numbers that used to have a lot of screaming notes like 'Piya tu ab tu aaja' and 'Aaja aaja mein hoon pyaar tera'. One day I confronted him with that. And he said that if I will refuse to sing those songs, then he will never compose such tunes ever. According to him, only I could do justice to those songs. So I had to give in," Asha said at function organised for naming a road after the legendary composer, also known as Pancham.

The road in R.D. Burman's name is located in front of the house he lived in North Avenue, Santacruz here.

Going ...

The star will pick six cheerleaders for his Kolkata Knight Riders for the upcoming second season through his TV show "Knights & Angels". The show is being produced by Shah Rukh's Red Chillies Entertainment and will air on NDTV Imagine, a source from the channel told IANS.

“Knights & Angels” will be the first ever-televised hunt for cheerleaders and have other popular stars on board as well.

The details of the show are yet to be announced by Shah Rukh.

Its per-theatre average of $7,794 over the Jan 2-4 weekend was the best among all films in the Top 10. Now in its eighth weekend of release, the award-winning film has seen its weekend gross increase every single week.

Running in 612 theatres across US, the film registered a weekend gross of $4,770,000 taking its total gross to $28.78 million.

Shot in Mumbai, the film tells the heart-warming story of an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who goes on to win a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" game ...

"I'm not looking at 'Luck By Chance' as an opportunity to further my career as an actor. It is my sister's film and I am the producer. So it is very important for me to see 'Luck By Chance' work in totality," Farhan told IANS.

Directed by Zoya Akhtar, the film also stars Hrithik Roshan and Konkana Sen Sharma and is scheduled for release in January-end.

The success of "Rock On!" has made Farhan the most promising debutant actor of 2008. As the encomiums flow in, he tries hard not to get affected by the ...

"Shah Rukh is a truly brilliant actor. When he comes on the screen, you hardly look anywhere else but at him - he is that kind of an actor," Benegal told IANS over telephone from Mumbai.

Asked if he would like to cast the King Khan in any of his films, a disappointed Benegal said: "How can I cast him? I don't have a subject that might even interest him."

After the successful comedy "Welcome To Sajjanpur", which featured Shreyas Talpade and Amrita Rao, the director is set to make a political satire, but refused to divulge any details.

"I am very superstitious, so I won't ...

Bollywood films usually have an upper hand over international films in India, but there was no Hindi release in the first week of 2009. Interestingly, the year began with Baz Luhrmann's period drama "Australia" followed by Colin Farrel-starrer "In Bruges", Australian dance musical "Razzle Dazzle" and director John Jeffcoat's "Outsourced" - all four opened to mixed reviews.

Last year wasn't too exciting for the Hindi film industry, but it ended on a good note thanks to "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" and ...

Aamir, who is riding on the success of his latest film "Ghajini," made this disclosure at the unveiling of the latest book on the megastar titled "Bachchanalia" here Saturday evening.

Aamir said that since he was born into a family of filmmakers, talks at home were mostly about films and film stars of those days.

"So, we kids at home would also discuss films and even our housemaids would put in their 'knowledgeable' remarks," he said.

He recalled that in 1970 Filmfare magazine had devoted an entire page on those who were struggling to make it ...

"I have done offbeat films like 'Maachis', 'Haasil', 'Mumbai Meri Jaan', 'Yahaan' and 'A Wednesday' in my career. These appeal to me as an actor because, apart from delivering a social message, they are entertaining as well. That is the crux of any good film," Jimmy told IANS.

"If the audience spends two hours and nearly Rs.200 to go and watch a film, it is important for us to provide them wholesome entertainment," he added.

The actor, who has also starred in conventional flicks like "Mohabbatein", "Dil Vil Pyar Vyar" and ...

Aslam Ansari, 31, and Phool Singh, 25, were demanding Rs.5 million from the south Delhi garment exporter, and were arrested Thursday, the police said.

The businessman complained to the Delhi Police Anti-Extortion Cell saying "he has been receiving several threatening calls from a person identifying himself as Badshah, a henchman of Chhotta Shakeel", deputy commissioner of police (crime) Neeraj Thakur told reporters.

The police didn't reveal the name of the businessman.

According to Thakur, the extortionists ...

"Suniel calls me the Goldie Hawn of India. He says, like her, even I am very sexy, cute and funny," Sophie told IANS in an interview.

Sophie, who was recently in the capital to perform at a New Year's Eve function, started her career as a pop singer with the girl band "Sansara", but gained popularity as an MTV VJ.

After her stint on television, Sophie moved to the big screen and featured in films like "Pyaar Ke Side Effects" and "Aggar".

"Singing is my biggest passion, but being a VJ gave me a big name in India when I shifted base to Mumbai from London. ...

Hailing from Bangalore, both the model-turned-actresses have been self-proclaimed Shah Rukh fans since childhood and have grown up watching almost all his films.

Deepika's and Anushka's entry into Bollywood came as a pleasant surprise and pushed their big-screen careers on a high as their debut films - "Om Shanti Om" (2007) and "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" (2008) respectively - hit the bull's eye, courtesy their co-star Shah Rukh Khan.

"Initially, I was very ...

A PC game, named Ghajini The Game, featuring Aamir Khan, is ready to hit the market this week.

Earlier the video game was scheduled to hit the market a month before the "Ghajini" release.

"But we wanted to polish it up more, and use it as a USP after the film's release when audiences are really interested in the chase aspect of the plot that manoeuvres the game," says "Ghajini" producer Madhu Mantena.

Designed by Shashi Reddy, chairperson of FX Labs and Ghajini's co-producer Madhu Mantena, Ghajini The Game was executed at a cost approximately Rs.30 ...

The 73-year-old star was invited as a special guest for the show, said a press release.

Dharmendra, who starred in hit films like “Sholay”, “The Burning Train”, “Seeta Aur Geeta” and “Chupke Chupke” apart from many others in his career spanning over four decades, was given a red carpet welcome amid loud Punjabi tom-toms and a crowd that showered him with flowers.

Much to everyone's surprise, the actor broke into a jig and even recited Urdu couplets.

For the episode, all contestants and mentors paid a tribute to his films and some of his unforgettable songs. He even joined a contestant on stage to ...

"I kept coming to Mumbai for modelling assignments. I decided to move into Mumbai a year ago with my mom, since my dad is posted out. I haven't bought my place. Right now I'm very comfortable in the army quarters. I don't feel the need to move from where I am," Anushka told IANS.

The actress, who has signed one more film with Yash Raj Films, says she was lucky to be brought up in Bangalore.

"Otherwise army officers, who give their lives for the country, could be posted anywhere in the back of ...

"I would really want to work with Shah Rukh Khan because I want to beat his energy. Everyone keeps raving about his energy level and I want to show people that I can beat him on that," Shweta told IANS on telephone from Mumbai.

The model-turned-actress, who made her Bollywood debut with Apoorva Lakhia's film on global terrorism, "Mission Istaanbul", also did the Telugu movie "Indumathi".

Her first Hindi film was not very well received at the box-office, but Shweta is unperturbed.

"I was not disappointed with the bad performance of 'Mission Istaanbul'. If a film doesn't do well, that doesn't mean it's not a good film. It's ...

"I never knew I could do these things. And this Smita Patil comparison is getting uncanny. It was Buddhadeb Dasgputa who first compared me with her," Sameera told IANS.

But Sameera, who has featured in films like "Musafir" and "Taxi No. 911", is satisfied with the experience.

"I feel I'm now born as an actor. When people see me in 'Yeh Hausla', I hope they see me and not just Smita Patil.

"While doing 'Yeh Hausla', I felt I was connecting with ...

Azaan, who is currently visiting his father in Mumbai, attended Salman's birthday celebration on his farm at Panvel Saturday. Salman took to Azaan in a big way and made sure the boy felt comfortable in the new environment. In fact, all the guests including Adnan were agog when Azaan and Salman disappeared for almost an hour.

"Later I came to know that Salman took Azaan for a ride on his buggy scooter on the beach. My boy was simply blown way. He says it was one of the best experiences of his life," Adnan told IANS.

Azaan is the son of Adnan and actress Zeba Bakhtiar, to whom Adnan was married for a ...

Celina Jaitley: My New Year resolution is to work on my shortcomings as a human being. And the one gift that I'd want from my countrymen is not to forget 26/11.

Raveena Tandon: My resolution is not to get complacent but to work towards making a difference to our lives. The gift I want is from everyone to work as one community.

Dia Mirza: I don't save resolutions for the New Year. I believe if there's a need to do something, it should be done immediately. ...

From small-budget endeavours and a horror sequel to a period drama and several big-budget potboilers, India's Hindi film industry has an assorted platter on offer this year.

The fiery initials from the December releases by the two Khan biggies - Shah Rukh Khan with "Rab Ne Bana De Jodi" and Aamir Khan with "Ghajini" - have put Bollywood on the revival path. And filmmakers are hoping to put the trauma of the global meltdown and the Mumbai terror attack behind with a package of almost 30 films in just the ...

"I think I have yet to do a great comic role. I have done a lot of comedy films but I don't think I have done an out and out comic role," she told IANS.

According to Katrina, her character in "Namastey London" was kind of funny but not a real comic role. "I still haven't really done a comedy yet," she said.

Soha is not a party animal

Soha Ali Khan says she prefers going out for a peaceful dinner with friends rather than attending a party at a club.

"I am not a huge party animal. I like going out for dinner and having interesting ...

The third important female discovery was Mugdha Godse. Bold and uninhibited, she stood her ground in "Fashion" in spite of an author-backed part for Priyanka Chopra.

Prachi Desai, a fourth fabulous female debutante came earlier during the year. With her sweet and tender big-screen debut in "Rock On", she proved that television stars do shine in cinema.

The myth that television actors falter and fall while making that transition was broken twice over in 2008. Not just Prachi but also Rajeev Khandelwal, who made a powerful debut ...