Britney grooves to Ice Ice Baby on The X Factor USA!

Everybody who missed Britney’s fabulous dancing all this while was in for a treat this Friday. The X Factor judge couldn’t help but bust a move as soon as 20 year old contestant Nick Youngerman performed his version of Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby for his audition on Friday’s episode of The X Factor which airs in India, every Friday and Saturday at 10PM on BIG CBS Prime, Love and Spark.

 The young aspiring singer-cum-janitor’s catchy rendition of one of the most foot tapping tracks got the audience moving as soon as he began his performance. And what would you know, a few seconds into the song, Britney stood up like she can’t help it and started dancing and clapping along with the audience! And that’s not all. After Nick’s performance came to an end, Britney, who has thoroughly enjoyed herself, tells the 20 year old that he is ‘absolutely adorable’ and blows him a kiss. Now that’s called a performance! And Britney surely know how to take the entertainment quotient of this performance several notches higher.

But what was the reaction of the other three judges? Catch Britney’s moves and the other judges reactions on The X Factor, Friday and Saturday at 10 pm only on BIG CBS Prime, Love and Spark.

Ganpati Bappa Morya.. Agle baras tu jaldi aa...

Is Looper bringing Bruce Willis to India?

It’s common knowledge that Bruce Willis is set to visit India in the end of September. But what is bringing him here is still unknown to all. Sources revealed that the planned visit might as well be for his upcoming flick “Looper” which is releasing in India on October 12.

Apparently, Bruce Willis is kicked after the Rian Johnson directed film got rave reviews at its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was revealed earlier that the actor will be here to shoot a few scenes of his movie.  Multivision Multimedia, the distributor of ‘Looper’ in India chose to stay mum and haven’t confirmed OR denied the news.  He co-stars along with ‘Inception’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ fame Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film is a futuristic action thriller based on the subject of time-travel. It is set in 2070s where time-travelling is illegal and only available on the black market. Bruce is playing the future version of Joseph Gordon.  The film also has Emily Blunt as the female lead who was seen in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’.

Last year, Tom Cruise also made an India trip for promoting his movie Mission Impossible 4. Guess Bruce is taking a leaf out of Tom’s book…

COVER STORY : A continuation of "Heroine" and the film industry expose?

The film industry and with the Heroine as a protagonist seems to be the flavor of the season. Yes, quite a few films with the world of glamour as the central element are releasing in quick succession. If right now any film is making waves, it is Kareena Kapoor in Heroine. Then we also had Raaz 3 where Bipasha Basu played one and the film centred around a Heroine whose career was fast coming down.

This Friday will see one more movie in the same bracket. Its Jackie Shroff starrer COVER STORY that has Sheena Nayar playing a heroine.  While Jackie Shroff is returning as main lead in a film after years, he clarifies that Cover Story is not exactly about an expose on the film industry. Rather more about getting into the life of an actress with deeper secrets revealed about her. However, the film also touches some gray areas like 'casting couch' albeit in a different manner. Hope this one too with the 'casting couch' doesn’t dwell too close to Kareena's HEROINE.

Starring Jackie Shroff and Sheena Nayar, Cover Story - The Ultimate Interview is produced under the banner of Glorious Entertainment and will be releasing on 28th September. 

Over 200 films from over 65 countries to be screened at the 14th MIFF : Poster unveiled today

The 14th edition of the premier event of Mumbai’s culture calendar, the Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) presented by Reliance Entertainment and American Express and organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image, will be held from the 18th – 25th October, 2012 at National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) & Inox, Nariman Point, Liberty Cinemas, Marine Lines as the main festival venues and Cinemax, Andheri and Cinemax Sion as the satellite venues.

The 14th Mumbai Film Festival’s stellar line up of over 200 movies and other highlights were revealed today at the curtain raiser press conference held at the NCPA in the presence of Mr. Shyam Benegal, Filmmaker and Chairman, MAMI, Mr. Amit Khanna, Chairman, Reliance Entertainment and Trustee, MAMI, Mr. Sudhir Mishra, and Mr. Ramesh Sippy, Filmmakers & Trustees, MAMI, Mr. Srinivasan Narayanan, Director, Mumbai Film Festival, Mr. Sanjeev Lamba, CEO, Reliance Entertainment, Mr. Sanjay Rishi, President, American Express India along with representatives from various consulates and dignitaries from the Indian Entertainment industry.

This year the festival will introduce a new competition section for Indian films called ‘India Gold 2012’, which will see 13 Indian language films of debut directors compete for prize money of approx USD 31,000. This is in addition to the other competition sections such as the ‘International Competition’, ‘Celebrate Age’ and ‘Dimensions Mumbai’. The total prize money at this year’s festival is USD 220,000.

To mark the centenary celebration of Indian cinema the Festival will screen a package of restored Indian silent films accompanied by live orchestra. These films include classics such as Kaliya Mardan, Raja Harishchandra, Marthand Varma, Throw of Dice, Sati Savitri, Jamai Babu, Galliant Heart and few others. 

For the second consecutive year, the best of contemporary French cinema will be presented as part of ‘Rendezvous with French Cinema’ section in association with the Embassy of France in India and Unifrance. Other highlights include a special package tracing the history of Italian cinema that is being organised in association with the Embassy of Italy in India and the Italian film director and film academician Mr Italo Spinelli, a special section on restored classics from around the world, a package of films from Afghanistan Kabul Fresh- New Voices in Afghan Cinema recognizing the blossoming film movement in the country. The Festival will also witness the country’s first ever panel discussion on restoration and preservation of films with the attendance of eminent guests from the World Cinema foundation, Film foundation, Twentieth Century Fox Archives and Academy Film Archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

At the same time, MFF will pay homage to Rajesh Khanna, Dara Singh and A.K. Hangal while actress Waheeda Rehman will be conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Shyam Benegal, Filmmaker and Chairman of MAMI, said, “This is the best festival yet and this has been possible due to the support we have been receiving from our sponsors, Government of Maharashtra, the industry and most importantly the media. The eight days will be marked with screenings of some of the most awaited films, academic initiatives and discussions on topics governing the film industry and audience at large.”

Commenting on the line up of films, Mr Srinivasan Narayanan, Director, MFF, said “We continue to have a grand repertoire of films and are pleased to screen the likes of ‘Amour’,’ Antiviral’, ‘Blancanieves’,’ Holy Motors’, ‘On the Road’, ‘Cosmopolis’, ‘Beyond the Hills’ and ‘The Taste of Money’ among the numerous other award-winning films, all of which are Indian premieres. All this has been possible with the support of Mrs. Tina Ambani, Reliance Entertainment team and American Express being committed to the growth of the Festival.”

The 14th Mumbai Film Festival, presented by Reliance Entertainment and American Express, is organized by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) - a body comprised of Indian film industry stalwarts, which was founded in 1997 by late filmmaker Shri Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Noted filmmaker Shri Shyam Benegal heads the body that consists of film directors including: Yash Chopra, Sudhir Mishra, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, renowned actresses Shabana Azmi and Jaya Bachchan, actor-director Amol Palekar and Farhan Akhtar and the chairman of Reliance Big Entertainment Amit Khanna as Trustees. 

Simon Cowell moved to tears!

Who said it’s only our judges who do rona dhona and dramebaazi on reality shows? Perhaps they learnt that art from the west as this weekend the judges on X Factor USA got emotional as 20 year old Jillian Jensen poured her soul out during her performance

Singing is a talent that takes over the mind and wins over the heart. And 20-year-old Jillian Jensen’s performance did just that when she moved The X Factor judges, especially Simon Cowell to tears with her rendition of ‘Who You Are’. When young Jillian stepped onto stage, the emotions on the set were thick with anticipation on what a girl so young could possibly present to the judges. However, Jillian moved the crowds to a frenzy as she brought out buried emotions with her performance that was seen on the weekend’s episode of The X Factor which airs in India, concurrent to the US, every Friday and Saturday at 10PM on BIG CBS Prime, Love and Spark.

The petite singer who hails from Massachusetts struck a special chord with Demi Lovato, who stepped on-stage and embraced Jillian after her heartwarming rendition as she shared the tragic story of her bullied past with the judges. Her singing was so touching that it made the usually grim L. A. Reid exclaim, “I have never ever heard anybody take their insecurities and take their pain and put it into a song the way you have!” The other two judges were equally impressed by Jillian’s singing with Simon calling it “incredible” as he wiped off his tears, and Britney telling Jillian that she has no reason to cry because she is an amazing singer. Jillian Jensen’s performance surely touched the judges’ hearts. Did it touch yours too? Stay tuned for more such mind blowing performances and find out who’s the best amongst all.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all our readers

"Phataphati" : Ranbir croons in Barfi..

Now this is some "Phataphati" News.. Kolkata and Bangla is gonna get its attention once again after Amitabh’s song in Kahaani as Anurag Basu unmuted Ranbir Kapoor and mad him sing in Bangla & Hindi for Barfi.. The promotional song titled Phataphati or Awesome in Bangla, starts off in Bangla and continues in Hindi.

All set to become the Kolaveri di, the song is being unveiled today on youtube as part of its internet campaign and will be as well on television from Saturday onwards. Since Ranbir plays the title role of a deaf and dumb boy  Barfi in the film, it will be interesting to see how it is placed in the film. However, director Anurag Basu has made it clear that it wont be played during the end credits as its not a viable option. 

The song which has turned to be awesome (phataphati) also has Anurag and music composer Pritam contributing to the vocals.

Anurag Basu who is known for his multilayered characterization as seen in ‘Life in a Metro’, ‘Gangster’ and ‘Kites’ demonstrates his hold on the subtleties of a character in this film. After all, ‘Barfi’ is very important for himto defend his place among today’s sought after directors. The trailer that was released earlier does suggest the presence of dark traits in Barfi’s character. Thus all this added expressions are being pumped in Ranbir’s character with well defined nuances to give it that extra edge and not fall flat in the expectations of the viewers. But all said so, Barfi is sure going to be a cult film - massively different from the deaf mute Koshish or Khamoshi for sure.

Celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema: FILMALANI 100

Though thousands of films are made every year in Indian cinema and especially in Hindi and various regional languages, it was in 1913 that a silent Indian film Raja Harishchandra directed and produced by Marathi icon Dadasaheb Phalke breathed life into this industry. Now, 100 years later, journalist turned filmmaker, Sandeep Malani pays an ode to the Indian film industry by recreating on the silver screen various historic moments of Hindi films in the form of a film titled Filmalani100.

Sandeep who is also an ardent devotee of the actress Sridevi and considers her to be the greatest actress ever born is all set to enthrall you soon with his Hindi film, Janleva 555 - a musical thriller with a difference. The songs and promos of his latest venture, Janleva 555 have already become a rage in cyber space.

So, what is his next film, Filmalani 100 all about? It is a movie extravaganza through which Sandeep is paying his tribute to 100 years of Indian Cinema. He is all set to recreate legendary and memorable 100 most popular scenes of all times albeit with a new generation of promising actors. The film will be a perfect amalgamation of the classic scenes from various films over the century. Recently, Sandeep even organized an audition of 500 plus characters at a studio in Mumbai to select the star cast.

A filmmaker known for giving the first major break to talented new comers whom the industry labels as strugglers, he has introduced 10 newcomers in Janleva 555 and now will introduce 100s of newcomers in this latest venture. Ranjeet Jha, Anant Joshi and Kamal Lokhandwala from the J555 team were also a part of the audition to promote the upcoming film.

The team also included Jitin Kapoor, Tehseen Thakran and Lalit Kumar as they call Filmalani Team. Co-produced by Eon Films and Bless Films & PR, Filmalani 100 is a concept, scripted and would be directed by Sandeep Malani and will have a mammoth star cast of new comers to star in it, thus calling it a multi-starrer film.

Filmalani 100 will go on floors soon and is expected to hit the screens by April 21st, 2013 - the day Indian Cinema celebrates its completion of the film industry centenary. Sandeep Malani also has his own blog and page titled Filmalani. His production company has in the past produced short films Shaayad and Jo Jo Darling!

Britney all set to give Simon a run for his money!

Looks like the singer with the super sweet voice can be quite spicy when it comes to speaking her mind! That’s what you are going to find out starting September 14 as BIG CBS Networks brings to India the latest season of the singing reality show, The X Factor USA. The singer follows sharp tongued co-judge, Simon Cowell’s footsteps while judging contestants on The X Factor USA on BIG CBS Prime. The show will air in India across all 3 BIG CBS channels - Prime, Love and Spark, concurrent to the United States. The X Factor will air every Friday at 9 pm beginning from September 14.

While talking about what her judging style on The X Factor is going to be like, Britney Spears said that her judging style would be subtle and that she wants to give constructive criticism. However, at the end of one of the performances on the show, the ‘toxic’ singer, who has herself been a singing superstar since her teenage, asks the contestant, "I want to know who let you on stage." This comment even caused co-judge Simon Cowell, who is known for his infamous comments, to raise his eyebrows! It seems Simon knew what he was talking about when he said, "Britney's quite mean, as you'll discover." Looks like Simon has some competition!

Britney, who is a superstar in her own right with scores of fans all over the world and numerous awards in her kitty, sure knows what she is talking about when it comes to judging The X Factor contestants. And the contestants would be right not to take Britney with her twinkling eyes and beguiling smile too lightly because she is definitely taking her gig as a judge on The X Factor seriously. But one thing is for sure, the contestants certainly wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Miss Britney Spears!

Watch out for the sizzling judge, Britney Spears on the latest season of The X Factor, starting September 14 at 9 pm only on BIG CBS Prime, Love and Spark.

PVR Pictures to release Tom Hanks starrer Cloud Atlas in theatres in October

PVR Limited, one of India’s leading integrated media & entertainment players with a significant presence in film entertainment (film exhibition, distribution and production) is all set to bring the epic adventure-drama ‘Cloud Atlas’ to the big screen in India. Cloud Atlas is a multi-genre, multi-starrer film with award winning actors Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in the lead. Also starring in the movie are Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy, Zhou Xun, Keith David and David Gyasi. Cloud Atlas releases in India and the U. S. in October 2012.

Cloud Atlas is an adaptation of the eponymous 2004 novel that was written by David Mitchell. The movie has been written and directed by the renowned The Wachowskis - Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski (Matrix trilogy) along with Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). Cloud Atlas is a story of humankind in which the actions and consequences of everyone’s lives impact one another throughout the past, present and future. Staying true to its caption, “Everything is connected”, the film shows how one soul is shaped, across lifetimes, from a murderer into a saviour and a single act of kindness ripples out for centuries to inspire a revolution. Each member of the ensemble appears in multiple roles as the story moves through time.

Speaking on bringing Cloud Atlas to India, Kamal Gianchandani, President, PVR Pictures said, “Cloud Atlas boasts of a great ensemble cast consisting of Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, Hugo Weaving and many others which almost guarantees a great experience in itself. This is one of the most awaited Hollywood movies of this year and PVR is proud to be at the forefront in bringing great cinema, much like Cloud Atlas, from the world over to India. We are positive the Indian audience will appreciate this offering as they have done in the past.”

Cloud Atlas will also be shown at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival which is set to commence next week.

PVR Pictures is the flagship film production and distribution arm of PVR Limited and has built an impressive slate in Hindi & English films which it markets and distributes. Established in 2001, PVR Pictures is the No. 1 independent Hollywood Film Distributor in India. Since then, the company has distributed more than 250 plus titles. PVR Pictures releases nearly 20 films theatrically every year. Led by its passionate promoters Ajay Bijli and Sanjeev K Bijli, PVR Pictures has distributed award-winning films like The Iron Lady, My Week with Marilyn, Ides of March, The Tree of Life, Biutiful, Drive and popular titles like Step Up 3D, Haywire, Breaking Dawn, New Moon, Red and The Rum Diary.