Saif Becomes Nawab

Saif's quote.. I'm overwhelmed with the kindness and simplicity the village heads have shown me and my family today..and the respect  to my late father..this is a huge responsibility for me.. to take my fathers legacy forward in whatever way I can..this is a deeply personal part of my life and I will do my best to honour my fathers memory always.princely titles no longer exist..but family values and tradition do..I shall be conscious of this always and do the best I can for pataudi.

Boys will be Boys

Abhishek Bachchan , Sikander Kher and Neil Nitin Mukesh had a blast shooting for their forthcoming film,the action thriller -Players.While shooting in New Zealand for a scene that required them to be racing in their mini coopers within the confines of the Wellington Airport ,the trio decided to have a little fun of their own and have a friendly race in between shots ,with the 3 of them reachingthe finish line at the same time. 

Says a source “Abhishek,Sikander and Neil got along like a house on fire while shooting for Players and while permissions for shooting within Wellington were hard to acquire ,Abhishek spoke to the authorities and it was smooth sailing from thereon. In between shots the guys decided to have a race of their own with the mini coopers and surprisingly touched the finish line at the same time”
Presented by Viacom 18,Abbas-Mastan’s Players starring Abhishek Bachchan,Sonam Kapoor,Neil Nitin Mukesh ,Bipasha Basu,Bobby Deol,Sikander Kher and Omi Vaidya races to a theatre near you 6th January,2012.
That do you get when you put fast moving cars and a group of adrenaline junkies together? One hell of a riveting time ! And that is exactly what happened on the sets of Abbas Mastan’s Players !

Rockstar Rahman Mumbai concert a smash success!!

Mumbaikars were treated to a musical extravaganza as Team Rockstar set the stage on fire at their Mumbai concert at Bhavan’s College grounds on November 1st!
Music maestro A R Rahman performed live, an unprecedented treat for fans on the songs of his upcoming Ranbir Kapoor starrer Rockstar to a crowd frenzy of thousands who kept cheering the genius and singing along!
Rockstar Ranbir showed why he is the heartthrob of millions as his first stage performance left no stone unturned, with guitar playing, dancing and some special stunts played out for the screaming crowds!
Hosted by Chang, the concert had a special introduction by Director Imtiaz Ali who spoke about the film to the audiences. Joining them were Mohit Chauhan- the voice of Ranbir in Rockstar, singers Harshdeep Kaur and Monica Dogra along with percussion guru Sivamani and Rahman’s key associate Ranjit Barod.
The crowds specially went crazy when the rage of the year Saadda Haq was performed on stage, but the number Nadaan Parinde was what got the fans grooving. Ranbir and Nargis Fakhri performed on a sweet romantic number, enthralling the fans with their chemistry.
Videos of the making of the film and a special tribute to the late Shammi Kapoor were also shown, with some sweet behind the scenes footage of the late actor.
A. R Rahman performed live concert for the first time for any of his films and had specially flown down his talented band to be a part of this concert. Producers Shree Ashtavinayak CineVision Ltd have left no stone unturned to turn the concert into a success.
The event was organized by Deepak Gattani of Rapport, who coordinates all concerts of A R Rahman, with special choreography by Ashley Lobo. A grand set in tune with the Rockstar theme was created at Bhavan’s college grounds, Andheri west, Mumbai where the concert took place. The lavish set was in the unique shape of a cross with hydraulic lift and a ramp, creating a great platform for Rahman’s troupe and the other host of musicians to have a free rein! 
‘Saadda Haq’, the song that has become a rage with the youth was the highlight of the concert. Other songs performed from Rockstar included: Jo Bhi Main, Kun Faaya Kun (with the original Qawwali singers also performing live at the concert), Katiyan Karun, Nadaan Parinde and Tum Ho.

Ka​vita Seth performanc​e gets an outstandin​g standing ovation for her album "Khuda Wohi Hia"

Singer Kavita Seth, released her Sufi Rock Album--Khuda Wohi Hai with a outstanding performance at Rangsharda where aarti chabria,vivek sharma ,Tarak Mehta gave an standing ovation on her performance. The album has been released by Maharaja Gajraj in jaipur earlier this month .
The album is indeed a masterpiece Kavita Seth, the renowned singer who can be responsible to bring Sufi songs to a new level, has also composed song 'Intezaar' for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'My Friend Pinto'.
 Kavita has had many solo album recorded which were well received by the audience,  one of her latest album  Khuda Wohi Hai ( Sufi Rock ) recently  released by Times Music, at her Sufi Fusion Concert at Jodhpur Rajasthan International Folk Festival by Shri Jag Singh, Maharaja, Jodhpur   and will surely rule the chart busters. Video of Khuda Wohi is available at www.kavitaseth.com
 It has been my dream to follow my passion of music in several forms. After singing so many songs, composing song for film felt really like an achievement, says Kavita.
 The singer with soulful voice, Kavita, has  recorded  total 7 Live Sufi fusion with 3 Famous Band for Music Ka Tadka, a musical programme in the new UTV- Star Channel and  earlier also 2 compositions live for Coke Studio @ MTV and Kavita's talents has been internationally recognised, as she has recorded  few songs for a Hollywood Film.
 Kavita has given her voice to many memorable advertisements like Women’s' Horlicks, Tata nano, Kent water Purifier, etc and also sung a promotional song for ZEE TV Channels.
As Kavita believes this is just another beginning, she is sure to contribute in many other forms to Indian and International music industry!

Bollywood’s woman directors

Bollywood, for long considered a male-centric industry, is no more an alien world for women directors - if the success of Anusha Rizvi’s “Peepli Live” and Rajshree Ojha’s “Aisha” is any indication. Women are confidently going behind the camera to call the shots.
“It is not about being a woman director but about directing your thoughts. Look at me, I didn’t come with anything (in the industry). It was a challenge to prove yourself. But I actually never had any issues. I faced the usual trouble any director would face,” Ojha told IANS.
“I had already worked so much in America so the issue for me was understanding how to go about it (in India). But that’s all a part of the industry. It is not gender-centric,” added the one-film old Ojha who idolises Satyajit Ray and Ang Lee.
Her “Aisha”, a modern-day adaptation of Jane Austen’s British novel “Emma”, starred Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol.
“Earlier women were not venturing out behind the camera; so it was thought to be male territory. But now more of them are learning the technicalities and it is a very good thing for the industry,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh told IANS.
“A lot of movies are being planned out by a lot of women directors in Bollywood. They are in fact venturing into all aspects of cinema today.”
“At the end of the day, it is not about being a man or woman but about telling a good story. If they have one, nothing else matters,” he added.
Looking back there have been only a handful of them in India like Sai Paranjpaye, Kalpana Lazmi, Aparna Sen and Tanuja Chandra and some based abroad like Deepa Mehta, Mira Nair and Gurinder Chadha.
However, the new wave has seen emerging endeavours from women directors like Meghna Gulzar, Farah Khan, Reema Kagti, Sooni Taraporewala, Leena Yadav, Pooja Bhatt, Bhavna Talwar and Zoya Akhtar.
Actress Revathy is lauded for making the first Bollywood film on AIDS, “Phir Milenge”, starring Shilpa Shetty, Salman Khan and Abhishek Bachchan.
Actress Nandita Das, who won laurels for her directorial debut “Firaaq”, told IANS: “When you are directing, you don’t see yourself as a woman. You are just directing. Women face challenges in any profession. There are things like people using bad language, etc., but when one is working on a film, one does not concentrate on other aspects.”
Nandita is now going to wield the megaphone for a movie on human trafficking.
Earlier producers were reportedly reluctant to hand over the reins to them. But these days a female director finds support from big names.
Journalist-turned-director Anusha Rizvi recently set the box office on fire with Aamir Khan produced “Peepli Live”, a political satire about farmer suicides in India.
“The thing is that women suffer in any industry. This may not happen consciously or unconsciously, but you have to accept that and fight it. It is a social problem. It is not a problem of the industry per se. But when you are being targeted like that, it is purely a power equation,” Rizvi told IANS.
“(As for me) I haven’t gone through the regular grind that a lot of people go through in the industry. It has been a different kind of structure that I’ve been through which has no particular consideration about a woman. I only approached one producer (unlike others). So it was very different for me. There is no gender- centric thing in this case,” she added.
Nandita is, however, hopeful more women will don the director’s hat in time to come.
“Finally, there are visibly more women who are coming into direction. Many doors have opened. It will slowly grow. It is definitely more than before, but not enough,” she said.
Aamir Khan’s wife, Kiran Rao, has also gone behind the camera to make “Dhobhi Ghat” and then there is S. Manasvi, who will make her directorial debut with Rajshri Productions’ “Love U…Mr. Kalakaar!”.
Avant-garde actress Deepti Naval has also turned director with her poetic debut, “Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish”.