Features

By far the biggest hit of the year is undoubtedly Rajkumar Hirani’s latest magnum opus ‘3 Idiots’. The film has witnessed unprecedented opening collections including the paid preview collections. Perhaps for the first time in the annals of the Hindi cinema, ‘3 Idiots’ had as many as 38 shows starting from the unearthly hour of 6 am. Besides ‘3 Idiots’, there were only ten out of the 240 plus films made in Hindi during the year, which proved to be hits. They were ‘Love Aaj Kal’, ‘Kaminey’, ‘All The Best’, ‘Wanted’, ‘De Dana Dan’, ‘New York’, ‘Wake Up Sid’, ‘Raaz- The Mystery Continues’, ‘Dev D’, ‘Paa’ and last but not the least ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’.

Skin show has always been a selling element for B-town filmmakers. Indian culture may boast of sati-savitri Bhartiya nari, or crib about the adaptation of western culture in recent times, but the truth is- our film fraternity has been modern and contemporary in its thoughts and ways since the 60’s. Remember the sensuous Sharmila Tagore of An evening in Paris in the 60’s. An icing on the cake was when she donned a bikini on the cover page of a renowned magazine. The unmatchable oomph-factor of another diva Parveen Babi ruled the roost in 70’s, with her amazing style quotient in bikini. Then, came the voluptuous, yet sexy, Bikini-clad Zeenat Aman in her films such as Qurbani, Pukaar and Dostana.

They say ‘Behind a successful man there is a woman’. Somehow our tinsel town cries out a different equation- in Bollywood ‘Behind a fashion-queen there is a Rich Sugar Daddy.’ Who effectively takes care of all her bills, and efficiently pays them all on time!

More than talent, it is the overall oomph factor of an actress that is responsible to make it big in Indian cinema. And to win this personality contests, Bollywood wannabe babes just need to pass 3 criteria- looks, looks and yes, looks!

Shilpa Shetty: “I still can’t believe Michael Jackson is gone.  When my Dad told me I thought he was joking. I has always been a huge fan of Michael. I’m shattered. I had booked tickets to watch his show at 02 in London.  They got cancelled and re-scheduled. To call him an icon would be an understatement. I still can’t believe it!

Mahesh Bhatt: “The news has shocked and shamed us. The Shiny we at Vishesh Films worked with in Gangter and Woh Lamhe is not the demon that surfaced in the media on Sunday night. If what is alleged is proved in the courts we must condemn the dastardly deed with all our might. Our outrage cannot be selective".

How many of us remember the memorable songs from “Kuchh Kuchh Hota hai”? Rani Mukherjee prancing around in short skirts and trendy bags..with moves ala Zeenat Aman. She had arrived. Guys wanted her, girls wanted to be like her. Just around the corner was a cute, effervescent girl…with a dimpled smile..no prizes for guessing that one. It was Preity Zinta. Whether it was her charm in Kal Ho Na Ho or her portrayal of a neurotic girl in Armaan, she charmed the hearts of millions of Indians…that alas was many moons ago.

It was one casting coup waiting to happen but that hasn't been the case to be. For the 'Vote Aapke Haath Mein Hai' campaign produced by Karan Johar for Dharma Productions, John Abraham, Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif were the chosen ones (amongst a dozen odd other youth icons) to participate in a specially created video. However, at the last moment, the trio couldn't be a part of the video for different reasons and director Tarun Mansukhani had to contend with other actors.

2008 saw debutants like Imran Khan, Hurman Baweja, Farhan Akhtar, Prachi Desai, Rajeev Khandelwal and Asin and now in the New year 2009 there are debutants who will try to make it big in Bollywood.

Stars come and go. There are many stars who made their big in their own way but now they are gone and its slightly a disappointment for their fans.

World Woman’s day is just round the corner so we ask some of the B-town celebs about their plans and which woman in their life has influenced them a lot in their life….

Film titles have gone from baffling to whacky to mindless and very articulate to extremely lengthy. Most titles are longer than the relationship that co-stars share! Every alternate film is known by a short form. If you don't know what RNBDJ is or if you are unsure about the full-form of CC2C, you are just not in the ring! You need to brush up. We pick the top actors of today to see how the film-title trend has got to them.