Ranbir teams up with Shammi; John in trouble, Aamir in Bombay Velvet?

The team of Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar is all ready to start shooting in July. Ranbir Kapoor, as always, is taking his role very seriously and has been prepping for months. So much so, he is even learning to play the guitar for the role. Grand uncle Shammi Kapoor will also be working in the project and but naturally Ranbir is super excited about it. In the past, Shammi has worked with Ranbir’s father Rishi Kapoor and now it’s the young scion’s chance to face the camera with the dancing star of yesteryears.

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John Abraham has been facing a lot of bad luck where his movies are concerned. Three of his completed films Hook Ya Crook, 1-800-Love and Aashayein are stuck with no sign of imminent release. What John is really banking on is Race 2 and Dostana 2 to resurrect his career. We know it won’t be long before the hunk bounces back.

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Aamir is sole lead in Bombay Velvet according to the latest from Anurag Kashyap in DNA!!!

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"We feel Aamir has the intensity and the depth to shoulder the movie all alone":Anurag Kashyap in 2day's DNA on Bombay Velvet 22 minutes ago via mobile web

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"Shahrukh is a nice actor but this film is tailormade for Aamir":Anurag on rumors of Aamir n SRK both being in Bombay Velvet. 19 minutes ago via mobile web

Anurag Kashyap to direct The Godfather Remake

Ek aur Godfather...

Anurag Kashyap's adaptation, Gangs of Wasseypur, based on the coal mine mafia, starts shooting next month

Every B-Town filmmaker has cherished a dream to make his own film adaptation of Mario Puzo's The Godfather.
Feroz Khan did it with Dharmatma, Ram Gopal Varma with Sarkar and Prakash Jha with Raajneeti. And now, it's Anurag Kashyap's turn. His film, titled Gangs Of Wasseypur (named after the Dhanbad area in Jharkhand) where the coalmine mafia exercises a stronghold.

Location change
While Ram Gopal Varma and Prakash Jha chose to set their adaptations in the political domain, Kashyap will shift Michael Corleone's parivaar to the coalmines of Dhanbad. Manoj Bajpayee will play a coalmine owner modelled on Marlon Brando's Don Corleone. The film will also star Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Piyush Mishra and a newbie, Raj Yadav. Shabana Azmi is being considered for a major role.
Produced by UTV, the film begins shooting in July.

Shooting elsewhere
Kashyap has been denied permission to shoot in Dhanbad and will shoot in Singhaul, Bihar instead. Gangs Of Wasseypur will be made in two parts as two separate feature films shot concurrently, just like Ram Gopal Varma's Rakta Charitra.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays a role inspired by Al Pacino's Michael Corleone in The Godfather, will pay Dhanbad a secret visit to research on Kashyap's most ambitious project to date. Says the excited actor, "It has been my secret desire to play Al Pacino's role someday. We start shooting July-end. It's a fantasy come true."

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Director Mani Ratnam - Mani Matters CNN IBN Interview

Udaan Theatrical Promo

Anurag Kashyap to direct Manoj Bajpai

Manoj Bajpai, Anurag Kashyap: Friends again

KUNAL M SHAH , MUMBAI MIRROR, May 28, 2010, 11.10am IST

Manoj Bajpai and Anurag Kashyap to work together again after falling out ten years ago

Manoj Bajpai and Anurag Kashyap had clicked when they were working with Ram Gopal Varma. Anurag wrote three films for Manoj - Satya, Shool and Kaun. They both quit working with Ram Gopal Varma after they aired their differences with their mentor. Both the friends also fell out over a misunderstanding, but now they are set to work together after almost ten years.


Our source said, “After they fell out, they didn’t speak to each other for almost eight-nine years. They were extremely close until then. They recently caught up and Anurag offered him not one, but two films. Manoj is quite kicked and is looking forward to acting in both.”

Manoj Bajpai said, “All I can say is that I am doing two films with Anurag but I can’t share details. I have had a long standing relationship with him and he gave me some of the best films of my career. Finally, he will be directing me.”

Anurag is just as happy with the reconciliation. He added, “When I was writing the script, the first person I thought of was Manoj and I just called him. He was very happy and I asked him if he could come over right away and he agreed. After that, I narrated the script, he said yes, we got drunk and became emotional. It is a gangster film set in Bihar, but I can’t give you other details of the second film. The misunderstandings are a thing of the past and I want to do justice to him after our three films together.”

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UDAAN poster

Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan to Cannes

Who is Vikramaditya Motwane? Everyone seems to be asking this question.

Someone, who has scored big time at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, his debut film Udaan, produced by Anuraag Kashyap - director of the cult hit Dev D, along with UTV productions, is selected to be screened in the Un Certain Regard category at the festival. Udaan is not only the sole Hindi film to be featured in this category; it is also the only Indian film to make it to the prominent list in the last 7 years. The last movie that made its presence felt in the category was Murali Nair’s Arimpara way back in 2003.

Vivek Bhatia

Udaan marks a prestigious moment in the history of Indian cinema and is surely a dream debut for Motwane as Bollywood movies showcased at Cannes have been few and far between.

According to the official synopsis released by UTV motion pictures, Udaan speaks about Rohan (played by Rajat Barmecha), belonging to a small industrial town of Jamshedpur, who is abandoned for eight years in boarding school. Rohan finds his life being closeted with an authoritarian father and a younger half brother who he didn’t even know existed. Rohan is forced to work against his dream of being a writer and is instead made to study engineering and work in his father’s steel factory. The movie showcases how Rohan tackles the innate struggle of handling family responsibilities or chasing one’s own passion. Would he give in to a future decided by his father? Or would he forge his own life out of given circumstances and pursue his dream of being a writer?

The cast also includes Ronit Roy, Aayan Boradia and Ram Kapoor. The film’s music is composed by Amit Trivedi (from the Dev D fame) and lyricist is Amitabh Bhattachharya.

Motwane has earlier assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali in his earlier projects such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002). He also has been the screenwriter for Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (2007) and Dev D (2009). Motwane has heavy experiential knowledge rolled up his sleeve. Undoubtedly his directorial debut film is already being spoken in high regard by the film critics and is enjoying rave reviews in its hometown. With an official screening at the international front, the team of Udaan can surely expect a grand homecoming. Most importantly, no one would now dare ask “Who is Vikramaditya Motwane?”

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'I AM' First Look

'FICCI Frames 2010' Day 2