Slumdog wins three awards at BIFAS

London (PTI): Slumdog Millionaire, an English movie based on the award-winning novel of Indian Diplomat Vikas Swarup, won three awards at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAS) ceremony here.

The story of the Danny Boyle's film featuring Anil Kapoor revolves around a Mumbai teenage boy who astounds all by doing well on 'Kaun Banega Karorpati', Indian version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire quiz show.

The film won the award in the category of best film, best director and best newcomer (for its British lead actor).

The former artistic director of the Royal Court theatre, Boyle, was talk of the night and is already on many pundits' Oscar prediction lists.

Earlier, he has directed films like Trainspotting showing Edinburgh heroin addicts and The Beach in which Leonardo DiCaprio played the main role.

The young lead actor of Slumdog Millionaire, Harrow-born Dev Patel, best known to British audiences as Anwar in E4's Skins, won the best newcomer award.

The film tells the story of a Mumbai street child. As he does well on the quiz show, flashbacks chronicle his life, the realities of which Danny Boyle does not flinch from showing.

Boyle's film, a third of which is spoken in Hindi opens in the UK on January 9 but has already down well on the festival circuit and opened to fantastic reviews in the US.
Source: http://www.hindu.com/

Big B's first international film

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has said that he is likely to sign an international film project which will be made by makers of the Oscar winning documentary March of the Penguin.

Big B wrote on his blog that he might give consent to this project to be made in English. The project will be produced and directed by the French makers and the film will be set in India and France.

"That is all that one can talk of right now," he wrote on his blog.

March of the Penguin directed by Luc Jacquet is about Antartica's emperor Penguins which earned $77 million at the US box office.

Big B has also hinted that he had got a Hollywood offer. "There is another project from the writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull from Hollywood and I shall need to see the script before I consider any further," he said.

Amitabh Bachchan has recently wound up his Unforgettable tour with wife, son and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai. Bachchan Sr is currently in Paris.
Source: http://movies.ndtv.com

'Hari Puttar' gets green signal from Delhi HC :

Lucky Kohli, the director of Hari Puttar-The Comedy of Terrors was a worried man. Although he is of Punjabi origin he's been born and brought up in the UK. And his first film ran into major controversies with Warner Brothers having taken Mirchi Movies to court. But Lucky Kohli is not a man to be easily deterred. He went ahead and now finally four days before the release of the film the court has ruled in his favour.

Tell us something about yourself. This is your first film in Bollywood…

My family settled in the UK. But I am originally a Sikh. My name is Harinder but my pet name was Lucky and the name just sort of stuck over the years. I am very fluent in Hindi though. I would say I'm more fluent in Hindi even as compared to Punjabi.

How is that?

When my sister and me were really young my mother could not afford a baby sitter for us. And minors below a certain age cannot be left unattended at home. So she used to buy a cinema ticket and leave us in the theatre for about five hours while she went off to work. And my sister and me saw many Hindi films over and over again.

Which ones do you remember?

Ask me which ones I don't remember. Seeta Aur Geeta for one, Mr Natwarlal... they are all my favourite films.

Any particular film, which you would call your favourite?

It would have to be Sholay. I remember every scene, every line almost verbatim.

But your first film belongs to a completely different genre.

There's a reason for that. When my daughter was younger I saw a lot of kiddie films (Shrek, Monsters Inc,) with her. Initially I thought I was being a good parent. But later I found at the end of the film that I had enjoyed myself as much as she had. So I had this dream of making a film, which would be a complete 'family' entertainer.

Have you succeeded?

Yes, but of course the final verdict is yours. But I sincerely feel from the bottom of my heart that I have succeeded.

Why Hari Puttar as a title? Didn't you anticipate the backlash? Or was it a calculated decision to cash in on a highly popular series.

As I told you earlier my full name was Harinder. But I was often called Harry. Our protagonist in the film is Hari Prasad. So he is called Hari. And puttar is a suffix every Punjabi boy is familiar with. So it is nothing but an unfortunate co-incidence.
Source: http://www.buzz18.com

Saas Bahu aur Sensex: Movie Review

Indiafm: One catches Tanushree Dutta in a chirpy mood as she talks about her latest arrival Saas Bahu Aur Sensex. She exclaims that this film directed by Shona Urvashi may end up disappointing a few. Reason being that from a title comprising of the word 'Sensex', some may expect a bit of sex element in the film as well. "I am considered to be a sex symbol and I take pride in the fact that audience does expect me to be seen in particular kind of roles where I bring on the oomph. However, I am sorry to say that Saas Bahu Aur Sensex doesn't have any sex in it even though the word 'sex' does come into picture", winks Tanushree who came with quite a bang with films like Aashiq Banaya Aapne and Chocolate. "However, I am quite a different individual in Saas Bahu Aur Sensex and truly enjoyed being a part of this cinema," says Tanushree who has for the first time worked with a woman director, Shona Urvashi, in the film. "From the entire look to make up to general appearance, I have gone through a change. Unlike majority of my films which have featured me as an 'ultra oomphy' Diva-ish kind of a character, Saas Bahu Aur Sensex has me in a contrasting avatar altogether." "It was fun to be playing someone who you could meet while walking on a street rather than someone who is larger than life,” says Tanushree. She also reveals that the humor in this latest film of hers is on the same lines as that of Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na. "I play a young girl who belongs to an Indian metro and share a normal relationship with her mother (played by Kirron Kher). The best part about the film is that neither is it women-centric, nor does it get its drive from a hero-heroine angle per se." Confident that the film would strike gold with the urban audience, Tanushree declares, "Saas Bahu Aur Sensex is for those who want to watch something that isn't run of the mill. It is meant for an urban audience and its light hearted narrative would ensure that college students as well as adults get an ample share of laugh."

Nokia's N96 to take on competition:

With the much awaited launch of the Nokia N96 mobile in India, users will have a hard time deciding between the Apple iPhone and the Nokia N96. Priced at Rs. 35,000 the N96 mobile is here to compete with the iPhone.

The Nokia N96 to compete with the Apple iPhone

The Nokia N96 has much more advanced features than the Apple iPhone. The already launched Apple iPhone has got a lukewarm response.

Nokia N96 definitely has an edge over the Apple iPhone in terms of cost and features. Though both the phones are 3G enabled, the Nokia N96 has a 5 MP camera and Bluetooth option, an advantage over the iPhone.

The main highlights of the N96 mobile phone are the 5 mega pixel camera, 2.8 inch TFT display with 16 M colors, Navigation via joystick and touch screen, connectivity options such as EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth, and HSDPA. N96 runs on the Symbian OS version 9.3, has integrated hands-free speakers, Stereo FM radio, 16 GB of internal memory, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connectivity, Support for standard 3.5mm headphones.

Nokia N96... Impressive!!!

Approx 18,000 songs and 20,000 images of 5 mega pixel resolution can be stored on the N96 mobile phone. The N96 also has a microSD card slot that the user can use to increase the storage up to 24GB.

The N96 would definitely bring about a tough competition between Nokia and the Apple mobile phone, but for now advantage Nokia.

Nokia launched its best handset N 96 two days ago in India. Priced at Rs 34999, the gadget aims to counter the Apple iPhone launched mid last month in the country.

Though the much-touted Apple iPhone has failed to do any magic for its vendors Vodafone and Bharti Airtel due to prohibitory costs Nokia aims to do better given better features of its most advanced mobile handset. Nokia N 96 has several advantages over iPhone. It is 3 G phone like Nokia, but its bluetooth options and 6 mega pixel camera make it a steal compared to Apple iPhne.

Nokia N96 features a 6 megapixel camera. The device has a 3.2 inch, 16 M colours TFT display. It has 10 GB of internal memory. The device weighs 115 gm and measures 102.5 x 56 x 17.6 mm. The handset has support for touchscreen and joystick navigation. Its integrated GPS displays maps of more than 100 countries. The device also has support for EDGE, Bluetooth and HSDPA connectivity.

The Nokia N96 slider phone has a unique design. It has two keypads that open up on opposite sides of the handset. The device can be slide opened either in upward or downward direction. One can gain access to its QWERTY keyboard by slide opening the handset in upward direction. When one moves its display downwards, it reveals another keypad that features a set of multimedia controls. One can also gain access to its navigation and shortcut keys even when the device lies in its slide closed position.

Source: http://www.littleabout.com and http://www.khabrein.info