Mumbai Heroes poster resembling Chak De India’s promotional poster

Salman Khan’s publicity poster for his team, Mumbai Heroes, bears striking resemblance to actor Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster Chak De India’s promotional poster. Salman’s Heroes did not perform well during the last Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) matches so this time he promise to bounce came with innovative marketing option, that doesn't look more than a copy paste.

Film expert Atul Mohan however feels otherwise. he said 

I would say it’s nothing but a coincidence as you can’t think of much creative designs with 11 team members and one face who is the captain or the brand ambassador. The creative has to look serious and one can’t afford to have funny creative in the name of being different

In the past, the actors seem to have become each other’s inspiration a number of times. The last coincidence was the train sequence in Salman’s film Bodyguard that looked like an exact replica of SRK’s famous train sequence in the climax from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, reported HindustanTimes.

Does Salman copy Shah Rukh?

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CCL Season 2 Calendar 2012 Actress Bikini Photo Shoot

The second season of Celebrity Cricket League will start on 13 January 2012. The event curtain raiser has kick started with sizzling photo shoot of heroines for a special calendar. Shriya, Charmee, Priyamani, Genelia D’Souza, Kajal, Sameera Reddy, Riya Sen, Lakshmi Rai, Kangana Ranaut, Deeksha Seth etc have given some stunning poses for a photo shoot in relation to the event. This photo shoot happened at Goa.


Exclusive CCL Calendar Photo Shoot Video

Photo Gallery

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Bollywood trend: Videsi girls in Desi movies

The trend of casting a foreigner girl in their desi movies as heroines seems on a rise amongst the Indian film makers. Every other director/producer wants to attract audience by casting a fresh new face imported from abroad. We are in doubt is it because the Indian audience is bored with the regular Indian face or is it that the film industry is hit by a terrible drought in acting skill and beautiful girls eager to act which thus requires us to import new faces from a foreign land.

We now have so many heroines that have been brought from abroad that you you cant count on fingure. Be it Barbara in Kites or Jacqueline in Aladdin, the desi stories have been spiced up by the videsi masalas. One such movie, lined up for release, 'Jeet lengey Jahaan' has two heroines from two very diverse countries. Neelambari Perumal comes from Sri Lanka while the other heroine Anna comes from Georgia. This film will be a Bollywood debut for Neelambari, she has already done a Malayalam Film 'Bombay Mittai'. Anna also has done two-three hindi films prior to this one.

When the director of the movie Lalit was asked the reason for taking two Foreign girls as the heroines in the movie, he replied, "No, there is no special reason for this. It is a mere co-incident. Though Neelambari is a Sri Lankan but she has stayed in India for quiet sometime now and has taken her education in India itself while Anna’s character was the need of the movie. Both, Neelambari and Anna have done a great job in the movie.”

More to it we all knows Mahesh Bhatt has selected adult entertainment actress Sunny Leone as lead girl in his new movie 'Jism 2', which will be made under Pooja Bhatt's banner, Fish Eye Network. Mahesh Bhatt told after his brief visit into the Bigg Boss 5 house."She is well aware that language could act as barrier, but is ready to put in that extra effort. She has agreed to do 'Jism 2' Now they will work out things with Sunny's agent and work out the nitty-gritties,"

Its seems many more new videsi faces are to be surfaced in Desi movies.

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Don 2 television premiere

Now many of us filmbuffs are having a common question "why so many new movies are on television?"

Its not like movies are failed to attract crowd in cinema halls and multiplexes. The twist in this tale is that the films are not only fetching good money for the satellite rights but also in some cases, the entire cost of production is recovered. At the same time many television channels are rushing to grab the satellite rights for the latest Bollywood movies and even some under-production films since they have realised that the weekend movies can actually spike their TRPs.

Farhan Akhtar directed motion picture DON 2 has sold its satellite rights even before its release for a whopping 37 crores. It's Zee TV who has bought the satellite rights for this movie.

Result?

Rates of Satellite TV Rights of Bollywood Films are soaring high. Films like Raajneeti and Kites have been lapped up by TV channels for Rs 20 crore, Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots sold its TV rights for a whopping Rs 38 crore. Recently Ra One has smashed the record of 3 Idiots. Ra One tv legal rights sold for Rs 40 crores till now its the biggest satellite deals to take place in the history of Indian cinema.

Where TV Channels are heading?

In last six month We have seen Star India  to spent the highest to bag any big-ticket bollywood movies that in result make its close contenders such as Zee Cinema and Max stay behind in TRP game.  Star India got a spike in viewership with 150 GRPs (gross rating points, a measure of audience size) in the past six months. Not only that TV channels are making huge profit from air time selling on television premiere. 

Mr Hemal Jhaveri, Vice-President, Star Gold, said: 

Today the minimum amount to bag a blockbuster is almost Rs 20 crore after factoring in inflation, while in the past the rights were as low as Rs 7 crore. There is an element of risk as in any other business but there are syndication and advertising revenues which compensate for it.

Highest rates for a Hindi film channel (a Saturday/Sunday movie) are between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 per ten-seconds. A normal blockbuster non-premiere would be between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000 while a premiere such as the recent blockbuster Singham which is being premiered on Star Gold would command between Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakhs for a ten-second spot.

© photos courtesy of INKCINCT

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Don 2 review

Don 2: The Chase Continues is an action thriller film directed by Farhan Akhtar. It is the sequel to the 2006 film, Don: The Chase Begins Again, which itself is a remake of the 1978 film Don.  Don 2  stars Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Boman Irani, Om Puri and Kunal Kapoor.


Produced by Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Shahrukh Khan
Screenplay by Farhan Akhtar, Ameet Mehta, Amrish Shah
Story by Farhan Akhtar, Ameet Mehta, Amrish Shah
Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Cinematography Jason West
Editing by Anand Subaya, Ritesh Soni
Studio Excel Entertainment
Distributed by Reliance Entertainment, Excel Entertainment
Release date 23 December 2011
Budget 75 crore

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Don 2 song and script copyright violation

Nariman Films and Irani family, the makers of original 1978 film 'Don', had complained that the new 'Don 2' had violated copyrights by adopting the 'Don' songs, signature tune of the original movie and also copying its script, characters and music. Irani family asked for stay order on the release of the movie and also compensation Rs 200 crore.

Hearing the plaintiffs and defendants, Justice S F Vajifdar said, he could not grant a stay on the release of 'Don 2' as bookings had already been undertaking in theatres across the globe. The movie is scheduled to be released on December 21 overseas and December 23 in India. However, the judge today ordered the makers of 'Don 2' (the film is jointly produced by Akhtar, Shahrukh and Sidhwani) to maintain and preserve all the accounts relating to the film till the matter was finally disposed of, as the court is yet to decide on the damages.

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Veena Malik Missing Scandal

After last weeks Veena Malik photo scandal that seems to have settled down a bit, the latest news involves the pak actress and model is "missing in Mumbai". It was reported missing by various media sources just days ago. Some were concerned about her, while others dismissed it as Veena's publicity stunt. There were also reports that she had left for Pakistan as her father had disowned her after her nude picture and that her visa was to expire.

Veena, who went missing since December 16 from the sets of her upcoming film 'Mumbai 125 kilometres', was found yesterday at a suburban hotel in Mumbai yesterday. Everyone felt as if they had been scammed by another Veena publicity stunt. Media reports surfaced that she was just hiding out at a hotel in Mumbai, because all of the stress from the media frenzy had overwhelmed her for FHM photo.

However, it's being reported by Geo News that Veena Malik had other motives for staying locked in a hotel room. She had broken up with her boyfriend Ashmit Patel, and told  this via BlackBerry. Malik said after they broke up, she left Patel's home, went to the hotel and hid from the public.

Either way, the good news is Veena Malik is back.

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Buy AAKASH Tablet in India Online Rs. 2500

The much-awaited ultra low-cost Aakash tablet is now up for sell. India's Telecom and Education Minister, Kapil Sibbal stated that "The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide". Aakash tablet to be counted as the world's cheapest tablet. The tablet is now available only through online portal for an unbelievably low price of Rs. 2,500 (less than $50). An upgraded version of the tablet dubbed as UbiSlate PC which has been priced at Rs. 2,999 is also available for pre-booking.

Technical Specifications

7-inch resistive display; 366 MHz processor, in addition to Graphics Accelerator and HD Video Co-processor; 256 MB RAM; 2 GB Flash Memory with 2 GB Micro SD card, expandable to 32 GB; Android 2.1 operating system; Wi-Fi, GPRS; 2 USB ports; 2100 mAh battery.

About the developer of AAKASH

Datawind Ltd. is a leading developer of wireless web access products and services. DataWind has developed and offers a series of wireless web access devices and the related web delivery platform.

Flashback

The Aakash tablet was announced in October this year. Previously nicknamed as Sakshat, Government aimed to connect rural India with the ongoing technology boom in the country. The susbsidised Aakash tablet is suppose to cost Rs. 1,750

Nearest Alternative

BEETEL MAGIQ - Android v2.2; 7-inch resistive display; 1 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; 3G, Wi-Fi; 2200 mAh battery. Price Rs 9,999 

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Golden Globe Nominations 2012

 

 The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards Nominations 2012 Announced today, Dec 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Gerard Butler, Woody Harrelson, Rashida Jones, and Sofia Vergara announced the nominations in all 25 categories for movies and television.

The awards will be televised by NBC live on January 15, 2012 at a star-studded ceremony hosted by comedian Ricky Gervais. The winners are chosen by the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Here's the full list of nominees:

Best Motion Picture – Drama
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical
50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
My Week With Marilyn

Best Director – Motion Picture
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy Musical
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson The Guard
Joseph Gordon Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy Stupid Love
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Kate Winslet, Carnage

Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Midnight in Paris
The Ides of March
The Artist
The Descendants
Moneyball

Best Animated Feature Film
The Adventures of Tin-Tin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss N Boots
Rango

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
The Artist
W.E.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
War Horse

Best TV Series – Drama
American Horror Story
Boardwalk Empire
Boss
Game of Thrones
Homeland

Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Hugh Bonnevile, Downton Abbey
Idris Elba, Luther
William Hurt, Too Big to Fail
Bill Nighy, Page Eight
Dominic West, The Hour

Best Actor in a TV Series – Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Kelsey Grammer, Boss
Jeremy Irons, The Borgias
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Romola Garai, The Hour
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern, Downtown Abbey
Emily Watson, Appropriate Adult
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Best Foreign Language Film
Flowers of War
In the Land of Blood and Honey
The Kid With the Bike
The Skin I Live In
A Separation

Best TV Series – Comedy
Enlightened
Episodes
Glee
Modern Family
New Girl

Best Actor in a TV Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
David Duchovny, Californication
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Best Actress in a TV Series Comedy or Musical
Laura Dern, Enlightened
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Best Actress in a TV Drama Series
Claire Dane, Homeland
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Madeline Stowe, Revenge
Callie Thorne, Necessary Roughness

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins, Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best TV Movie or Miniseries
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey
The Hour
Mildred Pierce
Too Big to Fail

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Charmee in Celebrity Cricket League Calendar

Times of India - Hyderabad Times today 15-Dec-11, published an exclusive sneak peek of the much-hyped Celebrity Cricket League Calendar that will be unveiled on December 19 at the CCL Season II curtain raiser. 

Brand ambassador for the Telugu team - Telugu Warrior, Charmee, poses for the calendar.  

Charmee Kaur (born May 17, 1987) is a Tollywood actress. Charmi was only 14 years old when she acted in her first film, Nee Thodu Kaavali (Telugu, 2002). This film was a big flop, but helped Charmi get noticed by the south Indian film industry. Charmi's most notable and critically acclaimed film so far is Anukokunda Oka Roju. She own Santosham Best Actress Award for the portrayal of Sahasra in Anukokunda Oka Roju.

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