Akshay Dampingi Kylie Minogue

KYLIE MINOGUE (kiri) bersama pelakon Bollywood, Akshay Kumar.

KYLIE MINOGUE kini berada di India untuk mendampingi pelakon popular Bollywood, Akshay Kumar.

Mereka bukanlah bercinta tetapi bakal bergandingan untuk satu babak lagu filem berjudul, Blue arahan Antony Dsouza.

Kylie telah tiba di Mumbai pada 26 Februari lalu dan dijadualkan berada di situ selama lapan hari.

Dia bakal berlatih selama dua hari sebelum masuk ke set penggambaran filem tersebut.

Skor muzik Blue merupakan hasil karya A R Rahman yang baru meraih dua Oscar termasuk kategori Skor Muzik Terbaik menerusi filem Slumdog Millionaire.

Selain Akshay, turut sama bakal terbabit dengan Kylie dalam penggambaran lagu tersebut ialah beberapa pelakon lain filem tersebut yang termasuklah Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta dan Zayed Khan.

Kosmo

Bollywood Returns To Kashmir As Violence Falls

SRINAGAR, India: It had all the hustle and bustle of a typical Bollywood movie set but with one big difference — the flick was being made in Indian Kashmir, usually more in the news for shoot-outs than for film shoots.

For onlookers, the rolling cameras were another sign violence is declining in Muslim-majority Kashmir, beset by a deadly separatist revolt since 1989.

The film, “Lamhaa”, or “Moment”, has top Bollywood box office draws Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu playing lead roles.

“Kashmir is a paradise on earth. It’s wonderful to be here,” said Dutt, 49, after a scene on a bridge over the fast-flowing Jehlum river, the site of many clashes between soldiers and Islamist rebels.

“I’ve a special emotional attachment to the land and the people here as my father and mother both shot films in Kashmir,” said Dutt, whose parents were Bollywood legends.

Before the revolt erupted, the picturesque Kashmir valley was often used by directors to shoot song-and dance-sequences against the backdrop of the shimmering Dal lake in the summer capital Srinagar.

But as the insurgency gained momentum, film-makers shunned the region for security reasons, fearing attacks by militants.

They turned to the Alps in Switzerland as a substitute romantic backdrop for the frothy musical numbers that are staple of the Hindi-language movie industry.

However, violence has declined sharply since nuclear-armed India and Pakistan began a slow-moving peace process in January 2004 to settle their conflicting claims to the region.

The talks were put on hold after the Mumbai attacks, which killed 165 people and which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic militants but violence has remained low in Kashmir.

In 2007, tourist officials launched a campaign appealing to film-makers to head to the valley, promising heavily-armed escorts and access to any site.

There have been a few small-budget Bollywood movies shot here since, but “Lamhaa” is the first featuring top actors.

“The place is beautiful. The people are beautiful. So anyone who wants to make films in Kashmir should go for it,” said director Rahul Dholakia, who declined to reveal details of the movie’s plot.

“Our policy of promoting Kashmir seems to be working,” said the region’s tourism chief Farooq Shah.

“As peace is fast returning, we hope more producers will return to their favourite haunts in Kashmir,” he said.

And Shah said he hoped if Bollywood film-makers come back to Kashmir, tourists will follow.

The number of visitors to Kashmir — once known as the Switzerland of the East because of its snow-capped mountain vistas — plunged after the outbreak of the revolt.

“I hope that where actors go, tourists will follow,” Shah said.

The return of film crews was greeted with enthusiasm by war-weary Kashmiris.

Young people came in droves to watch the crew scurry in different directions to erect sets.

“It’s great to see the movie-makers back. This kind of ‘peaceful shooting’ will send a very positive signal to the outside world and boost tourism,” said tourist houseboat owner Habib Ullah.

– AFP/yt

Channel News Asia

Bollywood Star Dutt To Contest India Polls

NEW DELHI: Following in the footsteps of his father and sister, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is set to make his political debut with the socialist Samajwadi Party.

The 49-year-old will be contesting a key constituency in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted party leader Amar Singh saying.

Uttar Pradesh is regarded as politically crucial as it is India’s most populous state and sends 80 MPs to the 545-member national parliament.

Sanjay’s late father Sunil Dutt, who was also a major star in Hindi films during the 1960s and 1970s was a five-time Congress MP and served as federal sports minister.

His sister Priya was elected to the Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket in a by-election after Dutt’s death.

The actor who has found fame playing gangsters and anti-heroes is currently on bail for possessing illegal weapons that he bought from men accused of plotting the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, which killed more than 250 people.

In India, convicted criminals are not barred from standing for office.

A study by an Indian watchdog found that nearly a quarter of the 542 people elected to the federal parliament in 2004 had faced criminal charges, including murder and rape.

– CNA/jk

Channel News Asia

Bollywood's Boys Bulk Up

MUMBAI – Bollywood’s leading actors are hitting the gym as never before, adding brawn and biceps to their on-screen repertoires and winning a legion of new fans in the process — including other men.

The latest weight-training convert is Aamir Khan, who enlisted the help of physical trainer Satyajit Chourasia two years ago to get in shape for the film “Ghajini”, which is released on December 25.

His daily four-hour regime appears to have paid off.

Giant advertising hoardings show a shaven-headed Khan, who plays a man with memory loss who tattoos himself and takes Polaroid pictures to remember people and places, stripped to the waist, exposing a finely-ripped torso.

The 43-year-old said the film’s director A. Murgadoss told him to bulk up because it was essential for the character.

“I too felt that I will not be able to do justice to my role if I am not in this shape,” he said this week.

Asked whether his new look could help boost box office takings, he said it was creating “a lot of buzz among viewers, which is good for the film.”

Historically, the muscle-bound macho hero has never been in vogue in Bollywood.

Instead, leading men were as likely to be measured by the manly thickness of their chest hair or how they carried a tune or moved in the set-piece song and dance routines.

Eyeing the success of Hollywood’s Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1980s, Bollywood’s Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt began working out, winning accolades and a dedicated fanbase.

But it was not until megastar Shah Rukh Khan got a “six pack” for his 2007 blockbuster “Om Shanti Om” that muscle tone became a must for aspiring Bollywood actors.

Actor John Abraham enlisted the help of Hollywood personal trainer Mike Ryan to prepare for appearing on camera in only a pair of swimming trunks on Miami beach in the film “Dostana”, which was released in October.

“I went on high protein and vigorous training to get that kind of look,” he said.

“It was essential to work out more because I had little time on my hands and had to get that kind of muscular look to complete the film on time.”

His new look has won him a legion of new fans, including in the gay community, he added.

“Earlier some women used to make a pass on me but now even men make passes at me,” said Abraham, who has been nicknamed “The Hunk.”

Satyajit Chourasia is full of praise for actors he has worked with, from Aamir Khan to Saif Ali Khan and Zayed Khan, as well as Hrithik Roshan and Ajay Devgan.

“All the actors are very dedicated. They don’t skip their exercises and maintain themselves which you can see with their looks on the big screen,” he said.

Demand is now so high that Chourasia said he has had to open a second gym in Mumbai, two in his home town of Nagpur, some 900 kilometres (560 miles) east of Mumbai, and two in the Indian capital New Delhi.

But having a perfect physique can have its disadvantages.

British director Danny Boyle has said that casting a Bollywood beefcake as the lead in his hit film “Slumdog Millionaire” would not have worked, even though Indian actors had the talent.

Instead he cast a skinny British Asian actor, Dev Patel. The film is now a hot favourite at next year’s Oscars.

“You know when guys can’t put their arms down cause they have all this muscle mass? They’re 18; they’re only just beyond kids — and their heads are really small,” Boyle told The Huffington Post on November 25.

“They haven’t put any weight on their heads. So you’ve got these tiny little heads and big bodies; that was just wrong for the film.” – CNA/vm

Channel News Asia

Kylie Goes To Bollywood

MUMBAI : Madonna did not respond because she was going through a bitter divorce while R&B star Rihanna wanted too much money. Finally Bollywood managed to snag Kylie Minogue for an upcoming film soundtrack.

The pint-sized Australian pop princess will travel to India next month to record the soundtrack of Bollywood movie “Blue”.

Although she was not the first choice for music director AR Rahman, the disco diva would become the “first international A-list star” to sing for a mainstream Bollywood music director, said DNA newspaper.

Minogue who was recently nominated a Grammy award for the fifth time in the Best Dance Album category, would be paid US$1 million, as well as make a music video.

“Blue” is a big budget Bollywood movie about a sunken treasure ship, said to have been inspired by the Hollywood production “The Deep”. Starring Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and Laura Dutta, it is due for release next year.

DNA said the movie is close to being the most expensive Bollywood movie ever made, with the production costs amounting to about US$28 million.

– CNA/jk

Channel News Asia

Sanjay Dutt Duta Tinju

AKTOR Bollywood, Sanjay Dutt yang popular dengan lakonannya sebagai gangster dalam filem Munnabhai diumumkan sebagai duta tinju bagi Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF).

Dalam pengumuman Sanjay sebagai duta, Presiden IABF, Abhey Singh Chautala, memberitahu, tinju telah memberi kemenangan kepada India dalam Sukan Olimpik di Beijing baru-baru ini. Ekoran itu, IABF ingin mempromosikan sukan ini dengan mengambil selebriti sebagai duta.

Dalam pada itu, peninju India, Vijender Kumar yang berasal dari Bhiwani telah memenangi pingat emas dalam sukan tinju di Olimpik Beijing baru-baru ini.

Utusan Malaysia

Celebrate Mooncake Festival With Stars

Yoon will be among the 8TV hosts who will be performing at the 8TV Chinese Carnival 2008 Mini Concert, airing live on 8TV tomorrow at 5pm.

THE 8TV Chinese Carnival 2008 Mini Concert will be aired live from Berjaya Times Square Boulevard, Kuala Lumpur, tomorrow at 5pm. Join your favourite Chinese celebrities and 8TV hosts in the hour-long concert as they celebrate the Mooncake Festival.

Among them are John, Henley, Danny Wan, Orange, Wu Jia Hui, Jet Yi, popular 8TV hosts Gary Yap (8 E-News), Natalie (8 E-News & Go Travel), Ping Ping & Jeffrey (8 Style), Dylan (Double, Triple or Nothing), Rickman, MeiSim, Ken, Orange (Go-Go-Go!), Yoon & Phirence (Ho Chak!) and Desmond (Unveil The Truth). Madonna Hard Candy TV Special (8TV, tomorrow, 10.30am) will feature snippets of interviews with and video clips of the popular diva. Sports fans can catch the delayed telecast of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix race over RTM2 on Sunday at 12.30am. A new programme on parenting – Headstart – debuts tomorrow over ntv7 at 2pm. Those who didn’t have the chance to watch Ramadan special cookshow The 30-Minute Chef and also Hell’s Kitchen Served Raw can watch the programmes over ntv7 on Sunday at 4.30pm and 10.45pm respectively. Local teen movie Kami, will hit the cinemas nationwide on the first day of Hari Raya. Catch The Making of … Kami on Sunday over ntv7 (1.35pm) for a look behind-the-scenes. Full of retro songs by some of the nation’s talented indie bands, the film features Syarul Ezany and Liyana Jasmay as the main cast.

TOMORROW

Bollygood Time On 2 (RTM2, 12.30pm) – Speed

Sanjay, an undercover MI5 agent, receives a CD which contains the recording of his kidnapped wife, Urmila, and is asked to follow instructions to ensure his wife’s safety. He realises that he is being used as a weapon to assassinate the Prime Minister of India who is visiting London. Starring Zayed Khan, Urmila Matondkar and Aashish Chaudhary.

Saturday Nite Special (RTM2, 9pm) – Die Hard 2

In their bid to rescue a drug lord, a team of terrorists have seized control of an airport. They have jammed all electrical equipment even the runway lights. The only one who can solve this is in the airport. John McClane, has to act fast as the planes are running low on fuel. Starring Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia and William Atherton.

Panggung Sabtu (TV3, 2pm) – Eklavaya

For nine generations, Eklavaya’s family has protected Devigarh, a centuries-old citadel in Rajasthan. But there’s unrest as peasants are coming under attack because of the king’s brother. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff.

TV3 Cinema (TV3, 12.30am) – The Rocketeer

Young pilot Cliff Secord stumbles on a top secret rocket-pack and with the help of his mechanic and mentor, Peevee, he attempts to save his girlfriend and stop the Nazis as The Rocketeer. Straight from the pages of a pulp comic, this film recreates Hollywood in the 1930s, complete with gangsters, Nazi spies at the height of the Age of Aviation. Starring Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton and Paul Sorvino.

Hong Movie Saturday (ntv7, 11.50pm) – Sad Movie

Ha-Seok has been unemployed for three years and his girlfriend wants to break off with him. To win her back, Ha-Seok sets up a “separation agency”. Can he save his own relationship by advising other people on how to prevent break-ups? Starring Tae Hyun Cha and Woo Sung Jung.

Chinese Movie (8TV, 8.30pm) – The Lion Roars

The story, set in the Sung Dynasty, is about Liu, a skilled, strong-willed woman and her chance encounter with Chen, a smart and handsome poet. Liu and Chen fall in love but they encounter many obstacles. Starring Cecilia Cheung and Louis Koo.

SUNDAY

Sunday Day Time Special (RTM2, 3pm) – Baltic Storm

A journalist with a leading German television magazine in Berlin is trying to get a scoop on a military black market arms deal. Starring Greta Scacchi, Jurgen Prochnow and Donald Sutherland.

New Straits Times