Gearing for a large release, TMK plans against piracy

Tees Maar Khan, that has Akshay Kumar pull off a heist, has all the trappings of an entertainer.

Tees Maar Khan (TMK), 2010's much awaited movie, is all set to take on movie pirates just before its release. Bollywood wants to end the year on a good note and all hopes are on Farah Khan's next release Tees Maar Khan. This is also the reason why the producers are putting immense pressure on the pirates this week. Alliance Against Copyright Theft (AACT) has rendered its full support to the producers of the film. Anybody seen in possession of a TMK pirated CD/DVD will be booked under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957. AACT's enforcement consultants have planned raids at various locations across India to seize pirated goods like inlay cards, DVD writers and other equipment.
Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO, UTV Motion Pictures, who are also the producers of the movie, said, "The entire team of TMK is working hard to curb piracy. We are working closely with the authorities to intercept attempts to copy or distribute pirated versions of the movie. It is important for our industry to collaborate with AACT against piracy. We will continue putting pressure on the pirates till the release and post release as well."
Farah said, "In the last three years the biggest hits have released on Christmas, and with TMK we are confident of continuing the trend. Over the last month we have been appealing to the audiences to refrain from buying pirated copies of the movie. Our enforcement team is keeping a close eye on pirates across India. We seek support from the public as well and request them to call on the toll free 1800-103-1919 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting
While AA Khan, the former ATS Chief & enforcement consultant, says, "Tees Maar Khan is a big budget film. We are estimating a strong, widespread network of pirates working towards this movie's piracy. The first week for any new release is crucial for collections and hence, our team has strategically planned its counter attack during this period to curb piracy of the movie."
AACT has seized pirated goods worth Rs. 2 crore over the past month and a half. Nearly 100 people have also been arrested in connection with video piracy. The seizures worth Rs. 2 crore included 1,66,114 CDs and DVDs, 3,700 inlay cards and 35 DVD writers.
Meanwhile, Tees Maar Khan movie reviews are generating a lot of interest among the audience, with the film already touting up a large pre-show booking figure.

Cameron's Avatar becomes most pirated film of 2010

The sci-fi epic Avatar grossed over $2 billion.

While Director James Cameron is immensely proud of his 3D labour of love, Avatar, this is one place of pride he could have done without. The 3D sci-fi epic ‘Avatar’, has just been named the most pirated movie of 2010. ‘Avatar’, which became the highest-grossing film of all time in 2010, was illegally downloaded from BitTorrent websites 16,580,000 times, according to the blog TorrentFreak. That figure represents a 33 per cent increase in downloads from last year's most pirated film, Star Trek, which had just under 11 million downloads, as per a report featured in The Hollywood Reporter.
The sci-fi saga about Pandora, had made the entire world sit up and take notice of it's revolutionary 3D technology, grossing over $2 billion. The critical and commercial success was in the running for Best Picture and Best Director Oscars in 2009, but lost out to The Hurt Locker.
Meanwhile, superhero satire ‘Kick Ass’ came second on the list with 11,400,000 downloads, despite making just 48 million dollars at the box office.
The other top names in this infamous list include Leonardo DiCaprio's ‘Inception’ and ‘Shutter Island’, apart from the 2010 sequel ‘Iron Man 2’

Surya ensures Tamil Rakht Charitra a single part release

Surya is only introduced in the first part of Rakht Charitra.

Vivek Oberoi would be a part of the history with him being the first mainstream hero ever to have a two-part release of his film. Rakht Charitra would be arriving in its first part this Friday while the second part would come exactly a month later. However, this is for the Hindi and the Telugu version. When it comes to the Tamil version, which is expected to be spearheaded entirely by Surya due to his immense popularity down South, Rakht Charitra would release in a single, albeit a longer version.
Confirms Ramu, "In the Hindi version, Vivek (Oberoi) features in both the parts of the film though Surya is only introduced in the first part while he becomes far more prominent in the second version. Hence, it was a given that the Hindi version of the film would release in both the parts. Telugu version too made sense to come in two distinct parts since the audience out there in Andhra Pradesh and adjoining regions are pretty much aware about the core story and the exploits of Paritala Ravi (played by Vivek) and Suryanarayan Reddy (Surya). Hence, for them it's the story that would matter most, more than the actors playing the part."
However, what tilted the balance in favour of a single part release of the Tamil version of Rakht Charitra was the bigger presence of Surya in it. It was apparent that since Vivek comes primarily from the B-town, the audience may have gone a little restless to see only him in the first part of the film and then wait for their local hero Surya to arrive only in the second part.
"Not that you would see only Surya in the single part Tamil version", reassures Ramu, "Vivek is an integral part of the film and while he anyways had an equal role to play along with Surya in the second part, there are scenes of his from the first part that have been integrated with the second part here. So now we will have a full length feature film with both the actors."
While both parts of the Hindi and Telugu versions would be a little over two hours each, the Tamil version is expected to be released with a three hours running length. Moreover, the editing of each of the three versions - whether Hindi, Telugu or Tamil, would differ as well so as to bring to fore the local flavour of the territories. This means that the trilingual features all the actors enacting their scenes little differently in each of the versions.
"I spoke in all the three languages - Tamil, Telugu as well as Hindi - but enacted the scenes differently", says Surya who is not quite looking at Rakht Charitra as his big Bollywood launch but is instead treating it as just another exciting film of his, "Yes, I know that in Tamil, the film is coming in only one part."
Though he stays on to be quite modest about his popularity in South being the sole reason for the decision being made, he humbly attributes the decision making to his director Ram Gopal Varma.
"Since the first part doesn't feature me for most of its duration, Ramu felt it would make sense to wait for some time and then club both parts together", says Surya, "Ramu feels that the film would find more patronage in Tamil version if crowds come in because of me.

Kareena Kapoor fumes on 'nude' query

Kareena Kapoor was in Delhi to promote her upcoming film ‘Kambakht Ishq’.

New Delhi media was in for a shock as Kareena Kapoor staged a walk out of a press conference in the city where she was present to promote her upcoming film ‘Kambakht Ishq’. Visibly upset and fuming with anger, she marched towards her suite when a female reporter questioned her if she would be willing to go totally nude for camera if the script demanded so. Informs an onlooker who was present at the venue, "The question shocked her. Just a few minutes back, she had patiently handled queries regarding her professional life. She had also commented around wearing a bikini in ‘Tashan’ and now ‘Kambakht Ishq’ mainly because the 'script demanded it'. Though averse to doing so in future projects, she admitted that she would keep the subject and story in mind and would do 'anything' that is required by the script."
Though it was a diplomatic stand on affairs, things went a little too far when an over zealous reporter popped the question - 'Would you mind going nude for a role?' "This was it", adds the source, "Kareena lost her cool at that very moment and rather than choosing to blast the reporter and create a scene, she simply aborted her stay at the press conference. The flabbergasted reporter didn't know what hit her. The event coordinator too felt disgusted about the entire incident and found himself in trouble as this situation was totally unforeseen."
The source continues, "There were problems for Kareena from the very beginning of the event. First and foremost the chosen venue itself wasn't conducive enough to handle a large media that had assembled. Around 100 odd reporters and journalists had gathered in a room that wasn't large enough to host a mega celebrity press conference like this. With the claustrophobic venue not helping the cause enough, queries like these were enough for Kareena to blow her fuse."
For media and the film, director Sabbir Khan came to rescue though. He handled the situation well by staying on at the venue and continued to interact with the reporters. "Yes, Kareena was justified in walking out but Sabbir too did all to ensure that promotion of ‘Kambakkht Ishq’ didn't get impacted", says a fellow reporter, "He realises that the film is just a few days away and didn't want any bad blood to spoil the show. He had a thin rope to walk on and did pretty well in rescuing the event from turning into a complete disaster

Katrina Kaif hugs 'saviour' Ali Zafar

Katrina Kaif is currently shooting for Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.

Pakistani popstar Ali Zafar got a fitting reward for a daring rescue act on the sets of the film 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan' when he stepped into save leading lady Katrina Kaif from a mishap. The 'Prince of Pop' jumped in to rescue the Bollywood head-turner when her hair got stuck in a pedestal fan on the sets of the Yash Raj movie which is being shot at Nabha near here.
According to eyewitnesses, Zafar suffered minor bruises on his arm while Kaif who was terrified after the incident expressed her gratitude by giving the 'Tere Bin Laden' actor a big hug.
However, a spot boy who was also injured in the incident was not so lucky.
In the past, similar rescues on film sets have proved to be typically 'filmi', with the saviour and victim falling for each other. A case in point being Sunil Dutt's courageous act to save Nargis from raging fire on the sets of 'Mother India'. The couple had soon tied the knot.
But the 'Sajaniya' hitmaker is already married and is the father of a young child, while Kaif has been linked to Ranbir Kapoor after she reportedly split from Salman Khan.
The actress' first meeting with her co-star had turned uncomfortable after Zafar failed to recognise her when she went up to him at a party

I was misquoted on Salman-Katrina marriage: Salim Khan

A Marathi daily news report that matinee idol Salman Khan was married to actress Katrina Kaif created a flutter but it was quickly refuted by Kaif and Salman's father Salim Khan to whom it was attributed. During the course of his conversation with "Saamna" reporter on secular values of his family and how religion was not a bar with them, Salim was quoted as saying, "I mentioned how Arbaaz was married to Malaika, a Christian, Sohail to Seema, a Hindu, and Salman's girlfriend Katrina being a Muslim."
"The reporter has translated my comment into Marathi saying that Salman was married to Katrina," Salim said adding he was misquoted by the newspaper.
He said the paper wanted his comments for its special supplement to commemorate Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's birthday Friday.
"The Marathi word "jar" (if) was missing in the operative sentence which wrongly gave the impression that the two are married, " a senior journalist with the newspaper, who did not want to be named, said adding it was a "printing mistake".
Terming the report as "baseless", Katrina's spokesperson said the actress will be sending a notice to the newspaper demanding an apology.

Toonpur is a very hectic place to live in: Kajol

Kajol and Ajay will be seen together in Toonpur Ka Superrhero.

The name Kajol brings out a lot of synonyms - beautiful, grace, poise, elegance, intelligence, talent and experience. But what if all the above would one day get replaced with - fun, crazy, humorous, unpredictable and a little bit silly? There is such a glut of films about superheroes and good triumphing over evil, that all the sugar coated one liner and happy endings has created an epidemic of nausea. Move on Superman, Spiderman, Batman because we have the Toon's from Toonpur, India's original super-heroes. What's more, we have Kajol and Ajay Devgn as well. That means 'live' super-heroes too.
The star wife is an ultimate 'toon' too. She not only gets to do a live action film, but makes people fall in love with her too. Here, the actor, wife, mother and a child at heart chats about the Toonpur experience, her favourite toons and why she took the project up in the first place.
"Toonpur is a very busy and a hectic place to live in"
I can't fully agree to the fact that Toonpur is a far better place to live than Mumbai (laughs). Toonpur is a very hectic place. They have their own problems, issues and interesting moments.
"I should thank my director Kireet Khurana for making this animation world come to life"
This is my second animation film after Kuchi Kuchi Hota Hai. Though it's not released yet but I have lent my voice to that film. In Toonpur Ka Superrhero, I'm playing a live character. The film is a combination of live action and 2-D. It's a really interesting film to watch. It's a great technique and I should thank my director Kireet Khurana for making this animation world come to life. It's a film for all ages. I play a star wife in the film who is obsessed by all sorts of things such as 'vaastu', etc. It is a funny character which I haven't played since a long time.
"I loved Tom and Jerry, Superman, Batman, Spiderman and the whole fantasy world"
When I was in my teens and even younger, I used to love comic books and all my super heroes. I loved Tom and Jerry, Superman, Batman, Spiderman and the whole fantasy world. There is always a child within you and even today and that's why Toonpur Ka Superrhero is an attempt to re-live that childhood in us.
"Nysa is really looking forward to watching the movie"
The fact that each of the toons from Toonpur are identifiable is what makes this animation film interesting. They are the same funny people who may be living in and around your area. Each one of them is different and their parameters are very clear. Nysa is really looking forward to watching the movie.
"To shoot for an animation film is tougher than shooting for a live action film"
To shoot for an animation film is tougher than shooting for a live action film. A normal scene becomes so tough that it all depends on the technical nuances and how you get that right. It really is difficult to work without anything in front of you. You can't predict anything because you don't know what that invisible character is behaving like in front of you.
"The kid inside Ajay rarely comes out"
My husband didn't try to become any one of the toon's (laughs) but he tried very hard to distract me (laughs). Ajay has a kid in him somewhere. The difference is that the kid within him doesn't very often come outside (laughs). We were all really having a lot of fun doing it. On the sets, everywhere I looked was green. So when I came out of the sets, I felt a little bit of vertigo.
"We underestimate our kids today"
We underestimate our kids today. More importantly, we underestimate their intelligence today a lot too. Toonpur Ka Superrhero isn't a kiddie film. The humour isn't restricted only for a three year old kids. This film isn't targeting one age group. It's a complete, overall entertaining film. It's meant for any age.
"People will try and want to experiment with new stuff if Toonpur works"
Animation future in India depends a lot on how this film does. It depends on what the economics of the film are. If Toonpur does well, it will create so many jobs in this country. The software industry will itself be booming. It's got to do with a lot of things. People will try and want to experiment with new stuff if Toonpur works.
"I guess it's time we at least start to respect directors who try and make animation films"
Recently I saw Despicable Me and it was so much fun. My kids enjoyed it too. We laughed not on the Tom and Jerry humour but on the humour which is shown in today's type of animation films. Teenagers and even adults have loved watching animation films made down the West. I guess it's time we at least start to respect directors who try and make animation films in India.
"I supported the film, Ajay supported it too and now we need your support"
I support change and anything new. If animation industry booms in our country, I'd definitely want to contribute whatever little or more I can towards supporting a thought like this, the director included (laughs). Kireet had everything ready and that's what impressed us. He had the story boarding ready, bound script and we were seeing the film in front of our eyes. So yes, I supported. Ajay supported and now we need your support. Kireet deserves a standing ovatio

Kidman, Eckhart fought during shoot

Nicole Kidman plays a greiving mother in Rabbit Hole.

Actor Aaron Eckhart, who plays Nicole Kidman's husband in 'Rabbit Hole', says that they did not share an easy equation on the movie set and "irritated" each other. Eckhart blames their irritability to the disturbing subject of the movie, about grieving parents of a dead child.
The film is being named as one of the Oscar contenders next year but Eckhart says he had a difficult time grappling with the story. The actor says he prepared for the role by taking part in a group counselling session with real life victims of family tragedies, Contactmusic reported.
The 'Dark Knight' star admits the sad story made life on set "uncomfortable" and he fell out with Kidman as they worked on their parts. "She was irritated with me and I was irritated with her but that's the way movie-making is. For one day, are we not allowed (to fall out)? For half a day even?... It's so surprising to me when people are surprised that movie-making is sometimes tense and uncomfortable because inherently it's going to be.
"You're around tens of people or hundreds of people working on things that are imaginary and that come from the soul. You could be dealing with subject matter like prostitution, death, drugs, blah, blah, blah. How could you expect that not to be uncomfortable?," said the actor

Hendricks wants to be 'Wonder Woman'

Christina Hendricks says that even women are in awe of her voluptous figure.

Hollywood beauty Christina Hendricks dreams of pouring her famous curves into the red and blue leotard worn by comic book heroine Wonder Woman. The 'Mad Men' star says that it is her childhood dream to play the heroine but quashed speculation that she has been offered the role, reported Daily Mail online. "I heard that rumour too. I don't know where it got started but I love it. I've been wanting to wear that outfit my whole life! I'd love to do it. That would be such fun! Let's put it out there," said the 35-year-old.
The famously voluptuous redhead says that her figure is down to her love of food. "My salad dressing was loaded with cheese and eggs and my soup is so good because it contains the tasty bacon meat," said Hendricks who is married to actor Geoffrey Arend

Bullock denies romance with Reynolds

Posted: Dec 23, 2010 at 0919 hrs IST

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Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds became close while shooting for The Proposal.

Hollywood star Sandra Bullock has shot down rumours that she has been enjoying "date nights" with actor Ryan Reynolds following his split from wife Scarlett Johansson. Reynolds and Johansson called time on their two-year union earlier this month and a report published in Star magazine suggested the actor turned to Bullock in the wake of his marriage breakdown, after they became close on the set of their 2009 romantic comedy 'The Proposal'.
A source told the publication, "Ryan turned more and more to his close friend Sandra... There were phone calls, date nights and even a secret getaway!"
But the 46-year-old actress' representative has dismissed the reports, insisting that they are "literally nothing except friends", reported celebrity website Gossip Cop.