Director Mani Ratnam - Mani Matters CNN IBN Interview

Ash, Preity, Kareena to star together?

Will Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Kareena Kapoor come together for a film? If the buzz is to be believed, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is keen to cast the three ladies in his most ambitious venture till date — Heera Mandi.

Our sources reveal that Bhansali is keen to cast Ash, Preity and Kareena in the lead roles for his magnum opus based on the famous red light area in the walled city of Lahore.

But will his dream come true? It may be known that Bhansali had announced Heera Mandi but later gave up the idea of making it. The director reportedly said that he could not think of starting this film for another three years and began working on the Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer Guzaarish. But with Guzaarish being nearly complete, Sanjay has already started work on Heera Mandi.

There were rumours that the director wanted Madhuri Dixit, Rani Mukherjee and Sonam Kapoor initially. He has also denied rumours that Pakistani actors had been flown down for the film.

LINK

Now we just need Rani in the film to complete the happy family!!!

Raavan (Trailer) unveiled at Cannes

A trailer of Mani Ratnam’s bilingual Raavan/Raavanan was screened to the media here today. Timed to coincide with the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, when journalists from the world over assemble here, the event was attended by the lead stars of the movie, Vikram, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.

Amit Khanna of Reliance Big Pictures, which has produced the films, described Mani Ratnam as arguably the best Indian director living today, and said that he and the rest believed in taking such rare movies as Raavan/Raavanan across the globe. Both the Hindi and Tamil versions will open in 58 countries in mid-June. He hoped that this world would help transcend barriers.

Suhasini, Mani Ratnam’s wife and the film’s co-producer and dialogue writer for the Tamil edition, said that it would help “us understand the grey parts that all of us have in us…None of us is completely white or black”. She was all praise for A.R. Rahman’s music, and said that it merged beautifully with the story. In fact, the music accentuated picture. Songs have a great role to play. They do take the plot forward.

Most Indian movies and stories can trace their origins to the two great epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and Raavan/Raavanan was not different. It has been inspired by the Ramayana, though it really is not a take-off on that.
............

Raavan/Ravanan is the story of Dev and his wife, Ragini, a classical dancer, whose trials begin when he takes up a new posting in a small north Indian town. There the police do not execute the law, but Beera, who has changed the power equation.

More HERE

Raavan - Thok De Killi promo!

Abhishek looks and acts like a borderline maniac, and I like it better that Ek Lo Ek Muft from Guru! As is being pointed out in the blogosphere, this (and indeed all of the face painting seen in Raavan) seems to be inspired by Apocalypse Now - see images below:

Aishwarya Rai press conference at the Raavan music launch

Aish was the most relaxed I have ever seen. The way she describes the film, more than Ramayana it seems like a Stockholm Syndrome type film.