Dadasaheb Phalke awards 2009

An award function to commemorate the 104th birth anniversary of legendary filmmaker Dadasaheb Phalke was held at the Bhaidas Auditorium in Mumbai.

Bollywood stars of today and yesteryears packed the auditorium. Mahesh Bhatt was the chief guest.

Many artists were recognized for their contributions. Veteran actor Prithviraj Kapoor was posthumously honored with Phalke Kalpataru Award and the entire Kapoor clan was present to receive this honor.

Randhir Kapoor also collected the Phalke Legend Actor Award on behalf of his uncle Shammi Kapoor who could not make it because of ill health.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

At least 5 South Asian films screened at Toronto festival

The ninth Annual Filmi South Asian Film Festival was held in Toronto from August 13 to 17.

According to the festival's website, the vision of the festival is to promote, discover, introduce and celebrate cinematic endeavors by talented South Asian filmmakers, and highlight works with South Asian themes that can be brought to a mainstream audience.

The opening ceremony was held at the Foundation Room on Aug. 13. Highlights of the films to be screened at the festival were shown.

This year's lineup at the festival includes:

• ‘Yeh Mera India', Director. N. Chandra .
• ‘When Kiran met Karen', Director Manan Katohora .

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

Bollywood stars kick off world tour with show in Toronto

T he A-list of Bollywood is on a mission -- to take the glitz and glamor of Indian cinema to the rest of the world.

The ‘Unforgettable Tour', which opened in Toronto on July 18, is billed as the biggest live Bollywood performance outside the subcontinent, featuring Bollywood's star couple, actress and former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her husband, Abhishek Bachchan, father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan and a host of other superstars.

The three-hour singing and dancing extravaganza is to be performed in 11 cities across North America, Europe and the Caribbean between July 18 and August 29 with a cast of 150.

Actress Shilpa Shetty, known to British audiences for her controversial appearance on the reality TV show ‘Celebrity Big Brother,' is set to join the London leg of the tour.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

Film lifts veil on issue that has remained shrouded in private pain

A recent Bollywood film about a dreamy 8-year old boy had all the ingredients of an Indian blockbuster - six songs, tearful ups and downs and a happy ending. But the film has also planted the seeds of a movement to raise public awareness about dyslexia in India.

A run away hit, the film is about a bucktoothed, wide-eyed boy who is scolded and punished by teachers and parents for poor test scores, and repeatedly called an "idiot" and "duffer." He retreats into a shell of silence and tears - until a new, messiah-like arts teacher discovers the boy has dyslexia and encourages him to paint.

The film has lifted the veil on an issue that has remained shrouded in private pain for many families in India. Parents, schools, activists and policy makers have held conferences and public meetings to talk openly about dyslexia since the film was released in December. Though a handful of groups have addressed the issue of dyslexia in India's big cities for more than a decade, public awareness and acceptance have been woefully low.

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability among children, and it affects a person's ability to process the written word, symbols and numbers. Most Indian schools do not have programs to help children with learning disabilities, and teachers are generally not trained to deal with the issue, if not completely ignorant of it. The few private schools that offer special education charge extra fees.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

Frenzied welcome for wrestler - ‘We want Khali - We want Khali'

After two hours of swaying to thumping Bollywood neo-folk music and listening to stock stage jokes, the fans grew impatient and began chanting for the star of the evening to show up. "We want Khali! We want Khali!"

And when the Goliath-size professional wrestler of that name appeared on stage in a blue cotton shirt, jeans and ponytail, thousands of hands thrust cellphone cameras into the air to capture the image.

"Khali, we love you," screamed men and women alike. "The Khali bomb!" yelled a male voice. Little boys tried to climb over barricades to get closer to the stage, on a college campus.

In India, public adulation and hysteria like this is usually reserved for stars of cricket or Bollywood. But Khali has earned his frenzied fame by becoming the Indian icon of American TV wrestling.

He is the first man from this country to rise high in the American gladiatorial adventure of World Wrestling Entertainment, winning the world heavy weight championship in July 2007.

The square-jawed wrestler weighs 420 pounds, is 7 feet 3 inches tall and measures 63 inches around the chest. He also goes by the names the Great Khali and Mahabali-Khali Khali Who Has Great Strength. The Mahabali title is often applied to the Hindu monkey headed god Hanuman.

Last month, Khali returned to India for a month long vacation. Thousands of fans were waiting with marigold garlands at the New Delhi airport when he landed. Since then, it's been one fanatical welcome/near-stampede after another.

Khali has kept a back-to-back schedule, meeting reporters, schoolchildren, slum-dwellers, politicians, and some of those Bollywood stars and cricketers.

"He is our own Rocky Balboa. From zero to hero," said Darshan Rewar, a 22-year-old engi neering graduate who arrived with his family three hours before the scheduled time of Khali's public appearance at the Mumbai college campus.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the wPaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

Salman Khan to host Sony Entertainment Television reality game show

B ollywood actor Salman Khan, who is to anchor Sony TV's new reality game show ‘Dus Ka Dum', has turned a blogger and writes in his first entry that he takes all his decisions on instincts rather than calculations.

"All my decisions are based on my instincts and some people think that I am too moody and cynical," Khan writes in his blog.

"Believe me, I have been guided by my instincts and my heart all my life! I do not depend too much on intelligence, analysis and calculations."

Khan, who has often been in the news for wrong reasons, says that earlier he had his own reservations about anchoring a show.

"I still remember the day when my brother Sohail Khan brought the proposal to anchor a show for Sony Entertainment Television. I had my reservations. The idea sounded so impractical that I rejected it even without giving it much thought," he wrote.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

For 50 years, we had very close, intense and inspiring relationship

For 50 years, we had a very close, intense and inspiring relationship.

Shri Khwaja Ahmed Abbas and V.P Sathe, immediately after their great success with Raj Kapoor's ‘Bobby', spent some months with me and Dutt Saheb on the script of ‘Man From India'. It was a story of an Indian family settled in Canada and Dutt Saheb and Premnath were to play the lead roles. We all traveled to Toronto together to finalize locations etc.

That movie did not take off, so I went on to my home turf, West Indies, and made ‘Girl from India'.

When I was his manager he treated me like a younger brother. Even if I was to fly out on an assignment, Dutt Saheb would be at the airport to see me off.

A few months before he died he was at my house in New York. He enjoyed playing with my pet parakeet named Tiska.

Dutt Saheb loved Tiska so much that when I visted him in Mumbai after he became minister ... it was only he, myself and Vidhu Vinod Chopra at that meeting. Dutt Saheb kept telling Vidhu Vinod Chopra about how my Tiska would jump on his head, say "Hello", and "I love you" etc.

To read the full article, click here....
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

Iam confident by nature - I have never been through identity crisis

Though outwardly Kajol remains calm and continues with her work, the actress is actually hurt badly over her father Shomu Mukherjee's death.

"Kajol has taken the death really badly. Her parents being separated, she didn't see as much of him during his lifetime as she would have liked to. I think there's a sense of guilt over his going. That perhaps she could have spent more time with him. Though she doesn't show it in public, Kajol is deeply wounded by the bereavement," said a close friend.

Youngest son of Filmistan Studios founder Sashadhar Mukherjee, Kajol's father died on the eve of her ‘U, Me Aur Hum' premiere.

However, when asked about her father's demise, Kajol was a picture of strength.

Kajol told IANS, "I'm coping well enough. The best way to deal with it is your work. Then there's my daughter and husband who need constant attention. Plus, I'm required at a dozen places at the same time. There is no time to think about anything.

"My father was suffering for so long. It was more a freedom from pain than anything else. I'm sure he is happy wherever he is."

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

I hope to look back 20 years from now and make my daughter proud

Actor-director Ajay Devgan says his career is like an investment as he would like his daughter to be proud of his work when she grows up.

From his first film, ‘Phool Aur Kaante', to his recent releases, including ‘Company', ‘GangaaJal' and ‘Omkara', the actor has always impressed audiences with his versatility.

However, he is not comfortable talking about his achievements.

"This is the way I am and I don't want to change myself. I've tried to get media-savvy, but it makes me uncomfortable. I'm a happy man the way I am. As long as I can look back on my career and say I did everything on my own terms, I've no reason to regret," says Devgan, whose directorial debut ‘U Me Aur Hum' came out last month.

I look at my career as an investment. I hope to look back 20 years from now and make my daughter proud of what I've done. I really believe there's no point in talking about yourself. As long as you know about my achievements, there's really very little point proclaiming them from rooftops," Devgan told IANS.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

'Bhoothnath' is my gift to young fans: Bachchan

Bollywood-icon Amitabh Bachchan, who sang Mere paas aao in the 1979 hit ‘Mr Natwarlal' for children, feels it is time he reconnected with his young fans.

After doing two adult romances ‘Nishabd' and ‘Cheeni Kum', Bachchan is all set to woo his little fans in a big way with ‘Bhoothnath' and ‘Alladdin'.

In ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom', where his Jack Sparrow get-up was inspired by Johnny Depp's act in ‘Pirates of The Caribbean', the kids loved Bachchan.

"I am delighted to hear that," said the Big B."What you call the Jack Sparrow get-up in ‘Jhoom...' just happened. I made no special efforts."

"The beard was my own. And that hat just happened at the last minute before the shooting. When I was going to face the camera, I saw the hat lying around and asked my director Shaad Ali if I can wear it for my song. That is it. But I am glad kids liked the look. I am, in fact, doing two films this year that are specially aimed at younger audiences," Bachchan told IANS.

To read the full article, click here....
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

Shah Rukh Khan wax statue unveiled at Paris museum

Paris has a new tourist attraction: a life size wax statue of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has been unveiled at the the Grévin Wax Museum, indicating the popularity of Indian cinema and the superstar in continental Europe.

As Khan, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black leather jacket, stepped out of a limousine in front of the museum, he was welcomed by African and Indian dancers outside the museum amid cheers from a crowd of fans on April 28.

Accompanied by wife Gauri and close buddy film maker Karan Johar, Khan signed autographs for the fans but when some of them tried to embrace him, the matinee idol was whisked away by security guards.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com

India's Premier League, Delhi Daredevils, withdraw cheerleaders

The Delhi Daredevils, a team of the Indian Premier League, has withdrawn cheer leaders from matches while others are being told to cover up, after protests that their dances and skimpy outfits were offensive to conservative Indians.

Cheerleaders, many imported from abroad, were hired to liven up India's new $900 million domestic cricket league in which eight teams play a shortened version of the traditional game.

But while drum players, blaring music and the presence of Bollywood stars cheering among spectators may have livened up stadia, cheerleaders may be one spectacle too far.

"At the right time of course we will be open to this," Vijay Vancheswar, vice-president of GMR group that owns the Delhi Daredevils, told local media on April 30.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.desitalk.com