Vancouver is desperate to run one of the hottest shows of Bollywood, the IIFA 2013 Awards and Weekend in its abode.
Christy Clark from the British Columbia has made this request to Wizcraft International Entertainment to hold its 14th edition of the IIFA awards at Vancouver. It’s worth noting that the 12th edition was hosted at Toronto earlier this year.
“If you could put what happened in Toronto in Vancouver, it will be great. Vancouver has a vast Indian population and one of the youngest Indian populations in Canada. It is a place where IIFA will feel at home,” said Clark.
Clark had a meeting with the important members of the Hindi film fraternity that included the Board members of IIFA committee. Actor Anil Kapoor, a well known face in the Bollywood, Ramesh Sippy, the president of Television and the Film Producers Guild were present among the others.
Christy was quite good at communicating to everyone as to why the IIFA three day festival could turn out fantabulous when conducted at Vancouver. The event will include worldwide film premieres, film festival and a platform for some mind-blowing performances apart from being an awards presentation ceremony.
“We put up a great show for the Winter Olympics 2010 and we will put up a great show for IIFA. If we can bring IIFA to Vancouver, there are so many things we can communicate through this wonderful medium, the business of doing business. I promise you, we know we have to do a lot work to bring IIFA to Vancouver. It is the heart of creativity in Canada and it is also the gateway to North America in more ways than one. People will say, ‘Man, those Winter Olympics were good but IIFA was better!” added Christy.
Clark also invited the Bollywood directors, producers and actors to visit British Columbia for the purpose of shooting Indian films.
The director of the IIFA, Andre Timmins was of the opinion “We are in the process of finalizing the destination for IIFA 2012 and 2013. The remarkable success over the years and especially after its North American premiere in Toronto earlier this year, IIFA has sparked global interest and we have received several bids from countries vying to host the Weekend and Awards. We understand this as a sign of the growing importance of India in the world economy and how the Indian film industry has become an international phenomenon and we hope to further this endeavor.”
It’s also worth noting that the destination for IIFA 2012 remains undecided.

Image by jeffkarpala via Flickr

The Slumdog Millionaire fame Freida Pinto plays the role of a soothsayer in the movie ‘Immortals’. When asked about how she would use her supernatural powers in real life she said she would like to grant longevity to women’s career as she thinks women in filmdom do not have shelf life.

 “If I had Phaedra’s powers and if I could look into the future, I think I would want longevity in my career. I say from the point of view that women as such do not have greater shelf life in this industry,” says the Immortals

But she also accepts that there are exceptions to this case:

 “Some of them defy all odds like Helen Mirren or Meryl Streep, who can do exactly what a 20-year-old, can do. So I think I would wish for that”.

Her new movie Immortals has a fabulous cast of Mickey Rourke, Luke Evans, Henry Cavill and the Vampire Diaries fame Joseph Morgan playing the role of Lysander. It’s a tale of destiny, vengeance and treachery directed by Tarem Singh and she gives high praises to the director.

 “What is unique about this film is it is completely Tarsem’s take. He never puts you in a box tight room and wants you to repeat his vision word to word. He not only wants you to understand his vision but also bring in your own take to the film,” says Ms. Pinto who grabbed the limelight as a result of Danny Boyle’s blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire.

“I was to incorporate stillness in my character from the very beginning, which meant no twitching of the eyebrows or too many body movements. He felt that since Phaedra is so contained and internalized, everything had to come out through the eyes and her words rather than the body movement. Because he gave me the flexibility and chance to understand his vision and bring that into my character, I think we managed to pull it off.”

From the very beginning of her career the 27 year old actress has been a part of interesting movies like ‘Ris of the Planet of the apes’, ‘Miral’ and ‘You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger’, among other movies and she feels that every movie has taught her something.

 “Every director that I have worked with has had a USP. Danny sees how he keeps you sucked into the character throughout the film. With Woody Allen, it’s hands off but sometimes hands on, so you sometimes don’t know which way you are going. Every time you deliver a line and look at him for approval, which is quite rare to receive. He was interesting to work with as he lets you improvise and play with the lines,” says Freida

“Julian Schnabel of ‘Miral’ was very fatherly and kind and compassionate about the story he was filming. With Tarsem it was a completely different world. Nothing like what I had already experienced.”

Freida being an Indian by birth, one would expect her to experiment with Bollywood movies but she clearly rejected the possibility of any such plans.  However, she agrees that the style of Bollywood industry is changing as a result of modern technology.

 “They (Bollywood films) are an amazing celebration; we have enjoyed them for years. At the moment it is changing and with directors like Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banarjee…it’s a style that is slowly changing; something that we saw in the 1980s and it’s happening again with modern technology. I have already done ‘Trishna’, so when people see it, they’ll know I’ve already done a Hindi film,” she added.

“Even ‘Slumdog’ for me is an Indian film, it was directed by an English director but one cannot discredit the fact that there was Anil Kapoor or Irrfan Khan in the film,” she concluded.

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The much expected wax statue of Bollywood’s Bebo is soon to unveiled at the Wax Museum of Madame Tussauds museum. The unveiling event is set to take place in Blackpool, U.K. on October 27^th.

Madame Tussauds Museum is adding new attraction to its list. A launch of exclusive museum for Bollywood superstars is due this October. The new exhibition would then tour six other Madam Tussauds museums in different parts of the world.

Talking about unveiling of her statue Kareena said “The statue is ready and they have, in fact, mailed pictures of it to me. The unveiling comes around RA.ONE’s release, and I will be in London for its premiere (on October 25)”.

Marketing Manager Sarah Lundy of Madam Tussauds Blackpool said “We are very excited to have Kareena in Blackpool to launch our amazing Bollywood figures. It is a real honor to have her here and we know that the UK will be very excited to see her and her new wax figure.”

Another interesting news is that Kareena would be accompanied by her mother to Blackpool. “
My mother (Babita) and a close friend will be present. My mother has always encouraged me to take on different things. So, this one is for her,” Adds Kareena.

Kareena Thanks the Khans

The grand success of the movie ‘Bodyguard’ has worked wonders for Kareena Kapoor. She is now one of the highest paid actors in the Bollywood. She will soon be seen starring opposite Shah Rukh Khan in ‘RA.One’ which is to hit the theatres for Diwali. Having worked with all the Khans in the Bollywood, she is quite thankful to them for the opportunity and experience. When asked which one of them is her favorite, she is being quite diplomatic, “I think it’s very difficult and unfair on my part to pick one. They’ve all given me such special films. Aamir is my favourite because he’s such a wonderful actor. I’ve always been a huge Aamir fan since ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.’ With him I’m like always on guard. With Salman, it’s more like more masti and fun. Like his personality. I think ‘Golmaal 3’ and ‘Bodyguard’ have been the best films I’ve shot. I’ve had most cherished experiences. With Shah Rukh it’s like respect for what he is and what work he’s done. So I think I’m different with all three of them. I’m like a chameleon.”

When asked about her lover boy Saif, she said, “
Saifu is the best. That I should be allowed to say. He’s truly unique. He’s very, very, very unlike the three of them. He’s an actor, but the way he’s conducted his career and the choices he’s made have made him so unique. That’s what makes him the man of the world. He’s just so aware of everything around, and that’s what makes him such a strong personality. He has a mind of his own and once he makes his mind up, he’s sure.”

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Riya Sen is said to have created quite a scene on the sets of ‘Ek Bura Aadmi’ directed by Ishraq Shah, a new director. First, she refused to shoot for an item song in which she was to be paired with ‘Arunoday Singh’ and secondly she refused to interact with the media that was invited in order to cover the shooting.

The director says it was all a nightmare but Riya is of opinion that it’s a publicity gimmick. When questioned about this incident director Shah said :

“Riya Sen had signed on to do an item song . We had recorded a really zingy song ‘Uchal gayee chamiya kunwaron ke beech mein’. Jayesh Pradhan who did the choreography in ‘Aarakashan’ was supposed to choreograph Riya’s number. Everything was finalised, But then…

“She claimed she was unwell and could not rehearse for the item song. Then she showed up for just one shot. I agreed since Arunoday had to leave (for a family event in the US). But then she refused to talk to the media.”

The director became quite nervous due to this incident and said

“I’m a new director. This is all very new and embarrassing for me. My producer has suffered losses of at least 70-80 lakh because of this. I don’t know how I will shoot the song now.”

“Arunoday has gone for a month. When he returns he immediately starts shooting for Madhur Bhandarkar’s ‘Heroine’. My mentor Gulzar saab had worked with the great Suchitra Sen. Look at what I had to go through on my birthday with her granddaughter!”  He added.

But Riya who was upset by this incident and was also ill explains the other side of the story

“This is all a publicity gimmick, as far as I can see. Ishraq Shah is a new director. I helped him out by agreeing to do the song. Besides, I thought the song was nice and I could use it in my shows.”

“According to the contract, we were supposed to shoot on 4th and 5th October. He requested me to come for the shoot on the 3rd because he said Arunoday was leaving the same night for the US. I agreed out of kindness, although I’ve been unwell. But at the shoot there was pure chaos.”

“There was a very strange set of media persons at the shoot whom I had never seen before. They kept coming in front of the camera while we were shooting. The director asked me to speak to the media. I refused.”

“Please understand I wasn’t even supposed to shoot on Monday. Is this what I get for my kindness? Why use my name for publicity?”

Whether Riya is right or the director is we do not know but surely this incident seems to have gotten enough attention from the public.