WORLD CELEBRITY

Everyday at traffic lights, beaming bazaars and urban slums in India, scores of urchins like Jamal Malik cross our eyes. But seldom does one try to get behind the life of a slumdog or his aspirations.

But Danny Boyle
, Hollywood director, and maker of flicks like Trainspotting, Sunshine and The Beach did just that. And Slumdog Millionaire won four Golden Globes and 10 Oscar nominations for that.

SlumD is the story of a wannabe millionaire. It's the story of the love life of an underdog, an orphaned beggar. And it's also the story of the scathing poverty and hunger that prevails in the urban slums in India, in this case Dharavi, the largest slum colony in Asia.

Jamal and Salim, are two brothers living in a Mumbai slum, when an anti-Muslim riot breaks out. Their mother is bludgeoned by the rioteers, leaving the two kids to fend for themselves. The metro city's garbage dumps becomes their living ground, also their livelihood. Till one day they are spotted by a beggary racketeer.

They move in his dwelling. But shortly flee from it, on discovering that kids are blinded to make them more suitable to beggary.

They flee to Agra, and start living a comfortable lifestyle, posing as guides, conning foreign tourists visiting The Taj Mahal, for their top dollar.

The director tries to incorporate each and every mileu of the wonder that is India, in the film - The harsh life of a slum orphan. The familiar site of corrupt Indian policeman scrubbing his pot bellies. The pseudo-American lives of call centre workers. The traffic. The underworld. The prostitutes. The Gods and religious riots. The Bollywood. The revolution of cable TV and mobile phone. And alongwith it the dreams of aspiring one billion Indians.

The film breaks open with the famous reality TV show - Who wants to be a millionaire? And the contestant is none other than Jamal Malik, who has graduated to become a tea vendor in a call centre.

Quizzing him in the hot seat is Anil Kapoor, the show host. Kapoor gives a brilliant performance in the film, even surpassing the real host Amitabh Bachchan of the show Kaun Banega Crorepati?

The movie, thereafter pans between the show, a police station and Jamal's life. In the cast are Freida Pinto, Mumbai based model known for her De Beers and Skoda ads. Pinto is cast as Latika, another orphan and love life of Dev Patel aka Jamal Malik, the slumdog protagonist.

As an 18-year old actor and ex-world Taekwando champion, British born Patel gives a gripping performance, the heart of the film.

Simon Beaufoy beautifully adapts Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup's novel Q&A on the screen. While co-director Lavleen Tandan, fills the dialogues with choicest Hindi words to give a real life colour.

Overall, Slumdog Millionaire is a brilliant and entertaining portrayal of a urban slum urchin, who is on the way to bag a jackpot in the TV show.

Considering the fact that over 250 million in India still live below poverty line, the film also gives a shots of urban Indian slum life, which is especially appealing to western audiences. Made with a budget of just $15 million, not even half of Bollywood blockbusters, SlumD, succeeds in strongly conveying its message - no dream is too big.

Source: Economictimes

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, has received 10 nominations for Oscars this year.

The film has been nominated in the following categories:
Achievement in Cinematography - Anthony Dod Mantle
Achievement in Direction - Danny Boyle
Achievement in Film Editing - Chris Dickens
Achievement in Music (Original Score) - A R Rahman
Achievement in Music (Original Song) (Two Nominations) - A R Rahman
Best Motion Picture - Christian Colson
Achievement in Sound Editing - Tom Sayers
Achievement in Sound Mixing - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty
Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy

Indian music composer AR Rahman has bagged three nominations for the Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire; one for Best Original Score and two for Best Song.

Slumdog Millionaire will be competing with the likes The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Reader that are vying for the Best Motion Picture award.

The cast and crew of Slumdog Millionaire were in Mumbai for the premiere of the film. They caught the nomination announcement at the premiere venue via a live video feed to LA. On hearing the announcement the cast and crew present including Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy were overjoyed.

Anil Kapoor, who plays game show host Prem Kumar in the film said, "It is unbelievable. We are so happy it feels like the entire country has been nominated. The film gave India the platform to show the kind of talent India has. Now we must grab the opportunity instead of getting petty and narrow minded."

According to Frieda Pinto, who plays the love interest of the lead protagonist in the film, "The feeling is beyond words. 10 Oscar nominations! It's unbelievable."

"It's unbeleivable...the result, 10 nominations for the film and specially the three for Rahman. He is not here because he is finishing work on his other film, he is working right now," said director Danny Boyle.

Co-director Loveleen Tandon said, "It has really opened new doors for us and I am happy that Slumdog... became the vehicle for it. It is high time that the West woke up to Indian talent."

Irrfan Khan, who plays a police inspector in the film, feels the 10 Oscar nominations the film earned were a like a lottery and exudes confidence in A R Rahman in notching a coveted Academy award. "I am elated. It is unbelievable. I don't know how to react. It is like we have won a lottery," he said.

Diplomat-turned-writer Vikas Swarup said, "I think my book which was adapted into screenplay was nominated for the Oscar because Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy had heightened sensibility as people who loved India and Mumbai and that sensibility also came to the project. Even if they viewed it through the eyes of a 'foreigner', if I may use that word they also viewed us as people who felt greatly connected to Mumbai, the great city and its people."

The film tells the story of a slum kid who participates in popular reality game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who Wants to be a Millionaire?) and wins Rs two crore in a bid to win his love interest back.

Slumdog... is based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikash Swarup and stars Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan in lead among others.

Recently, the film's protagonist Dev Patel won the most promising newcomer award at the British Independent Film Awards as well as the Best Young Actor Award at the Critics' Choice Awards.

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards were announced by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and actor Forest Whitaker.

The 81st Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on 22 February, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Hugh Jackman will be seen hosting the awards and the same will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Source: NDTV

A painter has haunting premonitions about a girl he’s never met. A girl whose hidden insecurities come to surface when she is faced with a deadly truth. And a lover who won’t let go of the woman he loves. A mysterious story unravels among these three characters in Raaz - The Mystery Continues . The movie, a Vishesh Films presentation, is not a sequel to Raaz but an entirely new suspense thriller directed by Mohit Suri.

Emraan Hashmi as Prithvi.
A silent brooding artist who expresses all his feelings through what he paints. He has a unique gift that goes beyond his talent as a painter. He can see future. And now he sees Nandita’s future – fearsome and deadly. Can he save her soul?

Kangana Ranaut as Nandita
She is a young, accomplished and independent model. She has found her life in Yash. Behind her self-confident façade lies a woman vulnerable to fear and insecurities. She is about to witness a terrifying struggle for survival. What will survive – she or her fear?

Adhyayan as Yash
Yash is a charismatic and extremely ambitious man. A documentary filmmaker, he aims at dispelling and debunking religious superstitions and paranormal beliefs. His strong commitment to rationality and logic sometimes results in him challenging and taking a stand against existing age-old traditions and myths.

And yet when Nandita, who is closest to his heart, claims to be traumatized by supernatural occurrences, will his belief still hold true?

Synopsis:
A brooding artist Prithvi (Emraan) experiences mysterious and distressing visions about Nandita (Kangana), a woman he has never met, which he paints on a canvas. Intrigued by these visions, Prithvi tracks her down and warns her that these are not merely paintings of her, but accidents waiting to happen.

At first Nandita refuses to believe him and dismisses him as an eccentric stalker. However, the striking resemblance between Prithvi’s paintings and the near-death incidents in her life is hard to ignore. Haunted by a series of deadly and paranormal experiences, her reason crumbles in the face of fear.

Now, one of Prithvi’s paintings has revealed her as dead. The only way she can change her fate is to unravel this mystery with his help, at the risk of alienating herself from her boyfriend, Yash (Adhyayan), a rational and logical man who refuses to believe in Prithvi’s premonitions.

Will Natasha risk her love and her life to unravel this mystery? Is there no escape? Are some mysteries better left unsolved, some secrets left uncovered, and some questions left unanswered?

‘Raaz – The Mystery Continues’ is produced by Mukesh Bhatt . The film is set to hit the theatres on January 23, 2009.

A Krishna-Sudama story in modern setting, ‘Billu Barber’ tells the tale of a village barber and his childhood friend, a superstar. Directed by Priyadarshan , the movie stars Irrfan Khan , Lara Dutta , Asrani , Rajpal Yadav , Om Puri supported by Shahrukh Khan in a brief role.

‘Billu Barber’ is a story of a simple ordinary man who led an extraordinary life. It’s a story set in today's day and age. Bilas Rao Pardesi was living in his village with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and two great kids. He is known as Billu (Irrfan Khan), a village barber. Life was bitter sweet...we can say more sweet than bitter.

But his business is running low because he has not been able to upgrade himself according to the changing trends. One day a superstar came into their lives and everything changed. A film unit visits his village to shoot a movie. It stars a superstar Sahir Khan (Shahrukh Khan), who was once Billu's school friend.

All at once, Billu's status in the village changes, and he becomes highly respected. Everyone wants him to meet the superstar. But Billu is unsure, as he feels he cannot match the superstar's status. Besides, he fears that the star may not recognize him. He makes many attempts to meet the star, but fails. After all these hardships, he gives up.

But people think that Billu lied about the relationship with the star and start insulting him. His family and children also gets upset.

Life changed, people changed, friends changed, the village changed but one man did not.... Billu Barber. Will this ordinary man redefine the word ordinary? Will the world see the greatness behind his small existence? And most of all, will life ever be the same for ‘Billu Barber’ again?

The movie has cameo appearances by Kareena Kapoor , Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. ‘Billu Barber’ has music by Pritam and lyrics by Gulzar and Sayeed Quadri. A remake of the Malayalam film ‘Kadha Parayumbol’, this comic movie has been produced by SRK’s Red Chillies Entertainment.

The movie is set to release on 13th February.