'Dhobi Ghat' to be released in two versions

                                                            Aamir Khan's production venture "Dhobi Ghat", which is the directorial debut of his wife Kiran Rao, will be released in two versions - one completely in Hindi and the other with a few scenes in English.

"The film has 8-10 scenes in English. But we realized that people who are not very comfortable with the language would be in a tough spot. So we dubbed those scenes in Hindi," Aamir told reporters here.

"We will release the film in two versions. One will be completely in Hindi and the other will have the original English dialogues. People can choose the version they want to see," he said.

The 45-year-old confirmed that both the versions will be released Jan 21.

When asked the reason for two versions when he could have also gone in for subtitles, the actor-producer informed: "We didn't want to keep subtitles because a lot of people don't like reading while seeing the film and many people can't read, so dubbing was a better option."

"Dhobi Ghat" that stars Aamir along with Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra, Kitu Gidwani and Nafisa Khan is a film about four characters from different classes of society and how their lives are interwined.

"I'm very happy for the film. Kiran has beautifully implemented what she intended to make. It's a very different film, an arthouse film that we haven't seen for a while.

"It's a film about moments. Kiran has shot at real locations with a small crew, so it has a real feel about it. She has brought about the vibrancy and colour of Mumbai very well," he added.

Prakash Jha: Saif has universal face, no problems with Ajay

                                                               When the cast of Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan was officially introduced, one immediately noticed that his favorite Ajay Devgn’s absence in the line-up. But another National Award-winning actor, Saif Ali Khan, has been roped in for the movie revolving around reservations in education. Reportedly, the director was keen on roping in Devgn but he wasn’t too enthused by the role. It’s learnt that the actor didn’t want to take chances in another ensemble film after his role in Raajneeti was edited, resulting in the character suffering an inappropriate representation in the story.

Jha says, “Saif has a universal face. He has played a romantic character (Hum Tum, Love Aaj Kal), a prince (Eklavya), a terrorist (Kurbaan), a brilliant Langda Tyaagi in Omkara, very convincingly. He fits the role of the brilliant student from a backward caste in Aarakshan,” asserts the director. As for Devgn’s absence, he says, “Ajay is there in the film, lekin woh adrishya hai (but he will be invisible).” The film, produced in association with Firoz Nadiadwala, also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Prateik, Deepika Padukone and Manoj Bajpai.

Denying reports of friendship gone sour, Jha reiterates, “Ajay and I have always worked together on the right subject. And I’m certain we’ll team up again for another right movie in the future too.”

Saif denied that his winning the National Award or being a Padma Shri awardee influenced him to sign on the film. “When I like a script, I ask myself if I’d like to see the film even if I weren’t in it. If the answer is yes, then I do it,” he says the actor, who’s currently working on his production, Agent Vinod.

Ask if being a politician himself has had advantages and Jha admits, “I’m not a politician. But yes, I’m politically aware and I use that awareness in my scripts.” So, will his movie will suggest a solution or two? “When you make a film on a realistic issue, it’s natural to include possible solution to conflicts. But reservation is an issue to which there’s no end.”

TMK fails to impress critics

                                                                         When Sheila Ki Jawani first hit the small screen, the junta went berserk. Suddenly, Sheila was being touted as the next Munni and Tees Maar Khan as the next Dabangg. But, while Dabangg (with Munni intact) got rave reviews from the critics, Tees Maar Khan has failed to impress the critics. In fact, one reviewer has gone ahead and said that the film is not even worth a free ticket.

Nikhat Kazmi, film crictic, who gave the film 2.5 stars, wrote, " Sadly, Tees Maar Khan begins as a spoof and remains a spoof, till the very end. All the characters end up as mere caricatures and completely fail to build up an emotional quotient in the film." She feels that even though the film has colour, humour and pace but nothing seems to fall in place in terms of plot and character connect.

Tees Maar KhanIf you think that was ripping the film apart, wait till you read this one. Renuka Rao, film critic, Daily News Analysis, has termed the film a catastrophe. "Tees Maar Khan is a classic example of a cluttered film in which a hodgepodge of characters incoherently jabbers ludicrous dialogues building up an odd plot that just refuses to make any sense at any point of time," wrote Rao.

She did not even spare the superhit jodi of Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar. "The so-called superstar jodi of Hindi cinema - Kumar and Kaif - has hardly any moments together, and individually both deliver pathetic performances."

Even Taran Adarsh, who is known to support mainstream Bollywood films, has not spared Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan. " The film gets messy in the second half, especially since Farah and her team of writers attempt to pack just about everything in this hour. Also, a couple of scenes don't register well. The sequence involving the 'headless ghost' appears futile. The heist is plain ordinary and doesn't conjure up the magic on screen. The finale in the courtroom and the premiere of the film fall flat as well."

All in all, Tees Maar Khan has not lived up to critics' expectations and they have left no stones unturned to lash out at the two time hit director. Wonder if Sheila will manage to salvage the film at the box office.

Actors are like beggars: Rani Mukerji

                                                                              Rani Mukerji says she wants to be seen more often on the big screen but describes actors as beggars waiting for good scripts to come their way, which is the reason for her long absence.

"Actors are beggars! They wait for good scripts to come their way. It's always the makers who decide to make a film and then it's on the actors to choose what they want to do on the basis of what is being offered to them," Rani, who will feature in a never-before-seen avatar in "No One Killed Jessica", told IANS in an interview.

"Honestly, the kind of roles that are being offered to me, I have to think hard before taking them. I have a responsibility towards my fans and I can't do random things. I have to do a role that catches people's attention. If my fans love me so much, the least I can do is to come out with a good film for them; that's why I do fewer films now," said the 32-year-old.

The dusky damsel wants to be seen more, but somehow she is not so lucky.

"I keep hoping and praying that I get scripts which are different so that I can take up those films. As an actor I want to be seen.

"The constant reaction that I keep getting is that 'Rani, we want to see more of you', and I too want to do more films. In fact, I want to come out with two-three films every year, but I've not been really lucky that I could do that. I'm not getting the roles that I really want to do," she said.

Rani, who used to do a couple of films a year earlier, has squeezed it down to just one project per year now. In the last three years, Rani was seen in just two films "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic" and "Dil Bole Hadippa", but both failed to spin any magic at the box office.

She is, however, very optimistic about 2011 when her "No One Killed Jessica" will hit the screens. Slated for a Jan 7 release, the film, based on the murder of model Jessica Lall in 1999 by Manu Sharma, son of a Haryana politician, will see her as a gutsy, fearless and bold crime reporter Meera Gaitey.

"When I was approached for this role, I was told that when the case was going on, there were a lot of reporters who pursued it actively. In a film, we obviously can't have all of them. So my character is an amalgamation of all of them," said Rani.

"It would have been unfair to model the character on one person. So, I played it how I thought the character would be. Also I have taken bits from reporters I have met in so many years. I incorporated inputs from my observation," she added.

It was a long battle for Sabrina Lall to fight for justice for her sister and finally Manu Sharma was awarded life imprisonment by the Supreme Court. The film, which has been produced by UTV Spotboy and directed by Rajkumar Gupta, also features Vidya Balan as Sabrina Lall.

Throwing some light on her experience of working with Vidya, Rani said her co-star is very involved as an actor.

"Vidya is a method actor, which is what I have seen during the shooting of the film. She gets very involved in her character. She is a kind of actor who prepares a lot before coming on the sets. When she has to do a serious scene, I have seen her being very quiet and serious," she said.

"When she worked with me, she got a pleasant surprise because I'm fun on the sets and she didn't expect that. The minute she used to look at me, she used to start laughing because she finds me very naughty," she added.   

SRK chops Priyanka out of 2 States

                                                                      Priyanka Chopra who was earlier finalised as a lead in Chetan Bhagat's adaptation of 2 States, has now been chopped out of the film, thanks to her favourite star Shah Rukh Khan, who wanted a fresh face for the film. SRK conveyed the same to Vishal Bhardwaj, who is directing the film now.

And Vishal seemed to agree and is now looking for a fresh face. King Khan told him that Priyanka was one of his favourite heroines, but demands of the script could not be ignored.

SRK and Sajid Nadiadwala are co-producing the film. A source told Mumbai Mirror, "Initially when the film was solely produced by Priyanka ChopraNadiadwala, it was Siddharth Anand who was directing the film and Saif Ali Khan and Priyanka were to play the lead roles. Although Saif and Siddharth are no longer in the project, Priyanka still continued to be the choice for the leading lady. Until now that is."

The source continues, “Vishal flew down to Berlin, where SRK and Piggy were shooting for Don 2. He narrated the revised script to both the actors in the same room; sure enough they liked it. This was the second narration Piggy Chops was hearing, after the one from Siddharth.”

Well, hope Priyanka is convinced with SRK's logic.