"People who've seen Fashion have told me that it's my best work till now" - Madhur Bhandarkar

After making films for nearly a decade, Madhur Bhandarkar shows no sign of losing any of the raw intelligence, energy and vitality that have made him a continuing force in the Indian cinema. He has achieved notable success in all his films because he knew what he wanted and showed an adventurous spirit in going out and getting it. For the majority of his films, he lets the simple, resonant situations play out, eliciting excellent performances from his actors, right from Chandni Bar to Satta to Page 3 and Corporate. Picking a favourite Madhur Bhandarkar film can be a tough challenge. They are all so uniformly excellent, moving, hard hitting and honest. As a director he has the confidence, generosity, and intelligence to allow his actor and the characters they play, the freedom to truly reveal themselves on screen. With his new film Fashion, he reveals the entire Fashion Industry in front of you, right from what the models go through, their turmoil, their morals, their aspirations and their sacrifices. And of course, with Madhur behind the camera, you can expect much more. In this Bollywood Hungama exclusive, the director talks to our London correspondent Devansh Patel and gets Fashion-conscious.

Ajay, Arshad, Tusshar and Shreyas turn cross-dressers in Golmaal Returns

Govinda started it; Aamir Khan and Riteish Deshmukh followed it and now its latest 'followers' are Shreyas, Tusshar, Ajay and Arshad! Before you start 'cult'ivating any sorts of ideas, let us clarify that we are indeed not talking of any cult, but the trend of 'cross dressing'.

The four leading actors of the Golmaal Returns will now bee seen cross dressing as women folks! The reason? Well, there's a scene in the film that required these guys to dress up like women only in order to gain an entry in an 'only women' mall, since the eve was Women's Day! Recalling this scene, Rohit Shetty said, "I was quite taken aback when Ajay Devgan agreed to this scene in particular. He was very gung-ho to go ahead with the scene!! In fact, none of the guys had any reservations, which made it one of the best scenes in the film." 

As such, Golmaal Returns is carrying positive pre-release reports. If that was not enough, director Rohit Shetty is 'releasing' his trump cards one after the other, which only makes us further more curious to see the film. Way to go, Rohit!

"Fashion is one of the most glamorous films made in Bollywood" - Kangna Ranaut

Kangna Ranaut, for me, is an overnight sensation. Many were jealous to the point of fury when she made her film debut in the Mahesh Bhatt camp, Gangster. Here's another good-looking bit of fluff stealing another prime role. But Kangna proved everyone wrong with her sheer talent. Hers is an extraordinary success story. Has any actor ever been as famous or desired without ever headlining a major picture? Just five films old, she has taken the world of Bollywood by storm. The woman's rise has been meteoric, to say the least. And, given the projects she has in the pipeline, it will only continue. She has not only impressed her director Madhur Bhandarkar but also her senior co-star Priyanka Chopra who says, "I had to prepare a lot physically to look like a model even though I am one but Kangna just slipped into it perfectly. She is the one to look out for in Fashion because it's her best performance to date". Going by the quote, it can be confidently said that this overnight sensation must be in the making over a decade. Bollywood Hungama's London correspondent Devansh Patel gets to know Kangna like she is - moody, confident and straight up in this quick haute couture interview.

We've never seen Kangna Ranaut so glamorous before. What say?
It's not about me being glamorous. Tomorrow I might play a de-glam girl, then what? But Fashion as a film is so glamorous that you mustn't have seen anything like this before in Bollywood.

'Mohandas' for New York

Director Mazhar Kamran's film MOHANDAS has been invited by South Asian International Film Festival in New York for a special screening on 26th October. It stars Sonali Kulkarni, Nakul Vaid, Sushant Singh, Sharbani Mukherjee, Aditya Srivastava, Govind Namdeo and Akhilendra Mishra. FASHION is another Hindi film that has been invited for the same.

BIG Home video to distribute, market ray's movies

Close on the heels of its recent appointment as the exclusive home video licensee for Warner Home Video, Universal Pictures International and Paramount Home Entertainment, BIG Home Entertainment has announced another landmark acquisition. Reliance Big Entertainment's BIG Home Video is all set to market and distribute 10 movies made by the legendary film-maker Satyajit Ray. 

Memorable films like TEEN KANYA, KAPURUSH O MAHAPURUSH, NAYAK etc. will now be readily available through the BIG Home Video label. The other titles include GOOPY GYNE BAGHA BYNE, JAI BABA FELUNATH, DEBI, CHARULATA, SAKHA PRASAKHA, KOILASHE KELENKARI and BAKSHYA RAHASHYA. 

With this acquisition, Big Home Video makes its significant presence in the premium segment of Bengali Home Video market. This announcement comes soon after the company's recent acquisition of a Bengali music company.

Yash Chopra honoured by The Hollywood Reporter

Yash Chopra was honoured by the renowned 'Hollywood Reporter' magazine at a function held on October 14, 2008 at Taj Land's End, Mumbai. He was felicitated for his invaluable contribution to Indian Cinema and the impact created by Yash Raj Films in business in the US.

This reception was held to celebrate The Nielsen Impact Awards, an international recognition of individuals who have significantly influenced the global media landscape. Katherine Oliver, the Commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting was also present to honour this event, along with leading luminaries from the Indian film fraternity. 

In 2004, Hollywood Reporter had carried a survey on the "Biggest Film Distribution Houses" in the world in which Yash Raj Films was listed as the 27th in the world, making it thereby, the No.1 Film Distribution House in India. 

The Hollywood Reporter is Hollywood's first daily entertainment trade paper and is relied by entertainment executives around the world for the most comprehensive and up-to-the-minute analysis of the entertainment business.

Acid test for Ajay, Kareena, Priyanka

All eyes are on the two films slated for release this Diwali -- GOLMAAL RETURNS and FASHION. And those associated with the two films would be hoping that the festival of lights spreads light in their lives.

GOLMAAL RETURNS is crucial for Ajay Devgan. The talented actor has had a spate of flops [CASH, RAMGOPAL VARMA KI AAG, HALLA BOL, MEHBOOBA; SUNDAY was ordinary in some circuits, while U ME AUR HUM did well at big city plexes] and GOLMAAL RETURNS could prove to be the turning point in his career. 

Kareena Kapoor too is hoping to cement her status with GOLMAAL RETURNS. Her sole release this year [TASHAN] sank at the box-office and though she's riding high on popularity charts, she needs a solid Hit to stay put on the throne. Her rival and contender to the throne, Katrina Kaif, has already had a great innings. 

The worst affected is Priyanka Chopra. The industry labels anyone a jinxed actor/actress if you have a spate of flops to your credit. And Priyanka has had flops, flops and more flops than any actress this year. In 2006 it was AAP KI KHATIR, in 2007 SALAAM-E-ISHQ and BIG BROTHER and in 2008, as many as four flops in a row -- LOVE STORY 2050, GOD TUSSI GREAT HO, CHAMKU and DRONA. Will FASHION change her fortunes? Or will Kangana Ranaut walk away with accolades? We will know on October 29. Till then Ms. Chopra can chew her nails in anxiety!

Saibaba Telefilms ventures into movies

Known for producing music reality shows, Saibaba Telefilms has announced its foray into movies. Its first movie, YAARI MOTOR COMPANY, will be directed by Shivaji Satam's son Abhijeet Satam. It's a story about four final year students, their geniuses, friendship, aspirations and the motorcycle.

The second project GULNAR, to be directed by Gajendrra Siingh, talks about the Indo-Pak relationship and will take off by the end of next year. The company has also revealed the new logo and website. Gajendrra Siingh is also set to launch his own blog on the new website of Saibaba Telefilms.

Madhur Bhandarkar elated over his biggest film fashion release

Bhandarkar is turning out to be a landmark film as far as the release strategy is concerned. It is not only the highest budgeted film that he has been involved with but the most widely released film across the globe. Naturally he is on the top of the world!

Madhur sharing his excitement states, “My Fashion is being released in India in more than 630 screens with an additional 120 screens abroad. My last big budget film was Aan - Men At Work starring Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Lara Dutta and Paresh Rawal but even that film had not got such a wide release. I am happy that my film will be opening to such a wide range of audience especially in abroad countries where even big Bollywood films had not been released yet. It is a tremendous high and I am very excited.”

All eyes on 'Heroes'

Most directors fall in love with their films. Tell them to trim some sequences or reduce the length by a few minutes and they refuse all suggestions outright. In fact, most directors tend to lose objectivity when they complete the film and expect no suggestions from any quarters. But Samir Karnik is an exception. 

While screening the film for the armed forces -- producers have to get a clearance from them if they depict armed forces in a film, prior to getting the censor clearance -- Samir decided to watch his film objectively and see where it slows. The moment he watched the film, as a viewer, he decided to delete 12 minutes' footage pronto. 

"I felt the film was losing its grip at a few places, which is why I decided to trim the film myself. Instead of trimming the film later, it makes sense to trim it yourself, much before the final print is ready," Samir states. Meanwhile, the hype for the film is increasing by the day and one expects this multi-starrer to change the tide for better.