Andhranews

Aap ki khatir

Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Priyanka Chopra, Amisha Patel, Dino Morea, Suniel Shetty
Director: Dharmesh Darshan
Rating:**

So far, Dharmesh Darshan had been ripping off old Hindi films, at least he knew where he was coming from. But when it comes to lifting an inane Hollywood rom-com almost frame by frame, he gets lost in scene one — when the character played by Priyanka Chopra has these ‘life-altering’ thoughts while brushing her teeth.

Anu (Chopra) is supposed to be a rich girl from London, nursing her broken heart in Mumbai, but she looks like a bird-brained flake dressed in candy floss colours. Aman (Akshaye Khanna) is an accountant, doubling up as professional escort, who accompanies Anu to her sister’s wedding in London, so that she can make her former boyfriend Danny (Dino Morea) jealous.

Which is such a juvenile ambition anyway — it’s not hard to see why Danny dumped this immature gal. She is the kind of idiot who takes a fake boyfriend with her to a family function, gets drunk, falls all over him, and in the tradition of a long line of Hindi film heroines before her, is worried that “something” happened when they spent the night together.

Her sister Shirani (Amisha Patel) is to marry a Gujarati (Sunil Shetty) from New York, and in the three-day period leading up to the wedding, some dreary humour involving the army of relatives is packed in. There’s this skeleton about to tumble out too, but from the glum face of the bride-to-be, anyone can guess what, or who, is the unpleasant secret.

As can be expected, Aman is a charmer, he can dance as well as he can play chess and hold his drink — so Anu’s parents (Anupam Kher and Lillete Dubey overacting) approve of him. And of course the “Dilwala from Lokhandwala” as he describes himself, gets the girl. But what’s with the Lokhandwala jibes? Who but a few Mumbai suburbanites would get the joke?

Most characters are underdeveloped and remain that way, for instance, why does Aman work as an escort? Why did Danny dump Anu “at the altar” and why does she want the cad back? Why did Shirani hook up with the same creep and then with his best friend? Akshaye Khanna is not the best comic actor around, but has a easy, pleasant, presence, that makes up for the shrieky hysterics of the leading ladies. Himesh Reshammiya’s music is alright, but at least two songs come at a time when the pace of the film had already flagged to yawning point. Comedy is evidently not Dharmesh Darshan’s forte, maybe this genre is best left to the other DD.

World trade center

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Brad William Henke, Patti D'Arbanville, Donna Murphy, William Mapother, Michael Shannon, Stephen Dorff
Director: Oliver Stone
rating:*

How will Hollywood respond? This question began to surface not long after the Sept. 11 attacks. It was impossible to banish the thought, even in the midst of that day’s horror and confusion, that the attacks themselves represented a movie scenario made grotesquely literal.

And now, as the fifth anniversary approaches, it is. Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, rather than digging for meanings and metaphors, represents a return to the literal.
Ms. Berloff’s script is composed in the key of strong, simple feeling, and brought to life with vivid clarity by Seamus McGarvey’s cinematography. World Trade Center is, from the first frame to last, almost unbearably moving. It could hardly be otherwise, given the facts of the story and the memories it will stir up.

The movie concentrates on two Port Authority police officers, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, who were trapped deep in the rubble of the collapsed towers, where they had gone to help with the evacuation after the first plane hit. Starting before dawn on Sept. 11 and covering roughly the next 24 hours, the narrative switches back and forth from the men to their families, in particular the wives, who spend agonized hours waiting for news of their husbands’ fates.

Sergeant McLoughlin, played by Nicolas Cage, has a quiet, watchful air. A veteran of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, he rushes into the breach on 9/11 knowing that no adequate plan exists to deal with a catastrophe of this magnitude. Jimeno (Michael Peña), a rookie, is eager and a little anxious; his face registers his desire to prove himself on the job and also distinct shadings of fear — both worry that he’ll mess up and, as the hours go by, a much deeper terror.

Pinned under tons of smashed masonry, they keep talking to each other to keep despair at bay, and you get the sense that it’s their first real conversation, an exchange of commonplaces in the face of death.

Sandwich – double trouble

Cast: Govinda, Raveena Tandon, Mahima Chaudhary
Director: Anees Bazmee
Rating:*

There was a time when the Govinda-David Dhawan combo had captured the comedy market. Even now, on a good day, very few actors can beat Govinda at comedy. But Anees Bazmee’s Sandwich was clearly not made during those good days. Long in the making, full of continuity glitches and looking somewhat incomplete, it’s a miracle that Sandwich got released, though it hasn’t a chance in hell of making a dent at the box-office.

Just how long it took to reach the screen is evident from the changing appearance of the stars, and the fact that both Shammi Kapoor and Raveena Tandon have retired from films.
The character played by Govinda, is forced to marry two women (Mahima Chaudhary-Raveena Tandon). With some clever time management he keeps the secret from both of them, till his lookalike sons by the two wives meet in school, and catch on that they have the same father. But when it’s time for the wives to find out, another Govinda arrives to claim the richer wife as his own. Now when the bigamous husband screams and shouts that the other man is an imposter, nobody believes him.

If anyone has the patience to stay till the end, they will know what happened and how — it’s not as if the film has you dying of curiosity. But what is really puzzling is why Govinda speaks in a parody of Dharmendra’s voice!

Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z are reportedly set to marry in a lavish $3 million ceremony in late November. The wedding will allegedly take place on the Caribbean island of Anguilla. A source is quoted on website MSNBC as saying, “Beyoncé has been telling friends it will be ‘the wedding to end all weddings.’ She feels like she’s living a fairy tale so why shouldn’t her wedding be equally magical?”

One tenth of the massive cost will be spent on $300,000 worth of Beluga caviar alone. Beyoncé, who went on a liquid-only diet for her latest film role, also plans to feast on lobster. The bride and groom and their guests will only drink Dom Perignon champagne, as rapper Jay-Z has boycotted Cristal because of remarks made against the hip-hop community by the company’s managing director Federic Rouzard.

Oprah Winfrey and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan are said to be among the stars on the guest list. However, it is rumoured that Beyoncé’s father and manager, Matthew Knowles, has not given his blessing to the wedding. He allegedly does not approve of his daughter’s relationship with the rap mogul and does not think it is good for her image. (Bang Showbiz)

Lindsay Lohan has been blasted by actor William H. Macy for turning up late for work. The actor, who co-stars with the 20-year-old in upcoming movie Bobby, says her lax attitude is disrespectful. He fumed, “You can’t show up late. I think what an actor has to realise is that when you show up an hour late, 150 people have been scrambling to cover for you. There is not an apology big enough in the world to have to make 150 people scramble. It’s nothing but disrespect.”

Lindsay was recently branded “irresponsible and unprofessional” by James G. Robinson, the CEO of Morgan Creek Productions, after she didn’t turn up for work on her new movie Georgia Rule. However, 56-year-old Macy, who is married to Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman, says Lindsay is not the only star who takes liberties on set. He revealed, “A lot of actors show up late as if they’re God’s gift to the film. It’s inexcusable, and they should have their butts kicked. I worry about these young kids who in the span of one year become millionaires and powerhouses. It’s too much power for a kid that age to handle.”

Bruce Springsteen has separated from his wife. According to reports, the rocker’s marriage to his wife of 15 years, Patti Scialfa, collapsed after he developed a close friendship with a widow he met while organising a 9/11 charity event. Friends of the singer, known in the music industry as The Boss, claim the couple’s relationship has become so bad, Bruce has partially moved into the guest house on his nearby farm.

A source said, “Bruce and Patti are separated, but everyone has been sworn to secrecy.” Rumours of the couple’s marriage crisis surfaced after Bruce, who has three children with Patti, was spotted in the company of the flame-haired widow on several occasions. Patti is Bruce’s second wife. Their marriage shocked the showbiz world, after the singer famously vowed to never walk down the aisle again after his marriage to first wife Julianne Philips collapsed in 1989.

Cindy Crawford has confessed to having Botox and collagen injections. The model, who turned 40 this year, has admitted she owes her flawless skin to a cosmetic surgeon she has been seeing since she was 29. Crawford told Gala magazine, “I owe the quality of my skin to my cosmetic surgeon. I’m not going to lie to myself, past a certain age, creams work on the texture of your skin but, in order to restore elasticity, all I can really count on is vitamin injections, Botox and collagen.”

The supermodel once claimed she kept her skin in good condition with a “miracle mixture” of ground coffee and olive oil. She now claims that she has a different beauty regime. She revealed, “I have a very simple, healthy life, which works miracles. I drink a lot of water, watch what I eat and exercise.”