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bollywoodhungama
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Dharmendra hospitalised in Chandigarh
The eternal superstar of Bollywood, Dharmendra, was hospitalized yesterday after he complained of chest pain. The actor was shooting for Samir Karnik's Yamla Pagla Deewana which also features Sunny and Bobby Deol.
The actor who was admitted and kept under close observation has been recovering since, while the hospital authorities have said that he will soon be discharged following the results of tests conducted to ascertain his health and well being.
Bollywood Hungama wishes the star a speedy recovery.
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Ranbir Kapoor signed up as brand ambassador for John Players
If there's someone in Bollywood, who is on a roll, thanks to his array of roles, then, it's none other than Ranbir Kapoor. After having endorsed a million products in such a short duration of time, this man is yet again in the news. This time round, he gets chosen as the brand ambassador for ITC's John Players range of clothing. With this association, ITC is aiming to add freshness, dynamism and energy to the men's apparel brand.
Sources close to Bollywood Hungama have confirmed that this news will be made official in a mega media meet that's to be held tomorrow. The source adds, the reason why they chose Ranbir is because, the ITC officials felt that Ranbir was the perfect fit for the brand as he personifies the youthfulness, vibrancy and panache that the brand stands for.
With this endorsement, it looks like Ranbir is all set to give a marathon run to all the other superstars, who were till now, the 'market leaders' when it came to brands endorsements.
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FICCI Frames Diary, Day 1 - High on Glam & Content
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Touted as Asia's largest global convention on the business of entertainment for the past decade, FICCI FRAMES has returned in its 11th edition this year. It is being held over three days, from March 16 - 18. Here is an overview of the turn of events on Day 1.
An illustrious inaugural session was held in the presence of high-profile dignitaries like - Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Bollywood filmmaker Yash Chopra, Shahrukh Khan, Karan Johar, Katrina Kaif, Harsh Mariwala and Louise Sams. The ceremony was followed by keynote addresses by Shah Rukh Khan and James Nicholas Gianopulos (Chairman and CEO, Fox Filmed Entertainment Ltd). While James shed light on the emerging scope of 3D technology and the importance of Fox's expertise in film distribution, Shahrukh stressed that Bollywood has a lot to learn from its 'experienced cousin - Hollywood' in order to bloom as a film industry.
- Â The inaugural session was also the platform for two book launches, The FICCI-KPMG Industry Report and the other on Entertainment Law.
- Â Issues raised on the dias by other dignitaries included the need to curb piracy and to gear up to celebrate the hundred years of Indian cinema in 2013.
The inaugural session was followed by the following seminars, panel discussions and master class. Here's a list of the highlights:
A keynote by Sir Martin Sorell (Chief Executive, WPP Group) on the changing trends of the advertising industry. Followed by a keynote by Nikesh Arora (President of Global Sales Operations and Business Development, Google Inc., USA), who spoke about the impact Google's Android and Nexus One will have on consumer behavior, tele communication and mobile content.
A panel discussion on 'How real is Reality TV? How can one create winning content?' was moderated by Sidhharth Basu. The panel, consisting of television programming heads, managing directors and CEO's, shed light on the emerging trends in reality shows. The discussion drew comparisons between fiction and non-fiction content that lead to a debate whether soap operas are going to be a thing of past.
The panel discussion 'Indian films going global: Can our films really crossover?' was thronged by a lot of delegates and lead to interesting discussions and revelations. Moderated by Karan Johar, the panel consisted of noted actors Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Irrfan Khan, Vijay Singh (CEO, Fox Star Studios India Pvt Ltd.) and Franck Priot (Deputy Director, Film France, The French Film Commission). While Rahul Bose was believed "Indian films will never crossover as the decision was always dictated by the producer's interests", Vijay was more optimistic, citing the success of My Name is Khan. Franck shared the tactics used by the French film industry to get their films noticed and also stressed on the importance of support from the government to get films to crossover.
A highly specialized and rather serious discussion on the 'Innovations & growth in M&E sector: Digital and others' took place within a panel comprising of leaders of the digital media. The discussion was moderated by Marco Vernocchi (Global Managing Director, Media & Entertainment Practice, Accenture). The discussion brought forth the latest strategies being employed to generate content for the changing digital media platforms - particularly mobile devices and also efforts to contain piracy. The experts shared examples of recent success stories to paint an optimistic picture of the digital platform.
A screenplay writing master class was conducted by renowned Hollywood screenwriter Stephen de Souza who shared a few tips that would help a writer refine his script. The session lead to a fairly long and interesting Q&A session, which many attendees found to be one of the most satisfactory sessions throughout the day.
The evening concluded with a Networking Cocktails & Dinner event accompanied by entertainment that included a couple of fashion shows and dance performances.
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Boman Irani on his experience of working with Shyam Benegal
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If you enjoy working in a film, the experience lingers in your memory for years and years. Boman Irani cherishes every moment he spent on the sets of WELL DONE ABBA, so much so that when Shyam Benegal concluded the shooting and threw a farewell party for the cast and technicians on the sets of the film, Boman couldn't help but get moist-eyed.
Boman says, he doesn't prefer outdoor shoots, since he misses his family the most. "But I thoroughly enjoyed working on this film. It's a dream to work with Shyam Babu [Benegal] at least once and I was genuinely awaiting that opportunity. And one fine day he called and said something very nice. He said, 'Boman, I have finally found something befitting your calibre'," Boman recalls.
Before working with the veteran film-maker, Boman was under the impression that Shyam Babu was a strict disciplinarian. "But he was from being a dictator on the sets. On the contrary, he kept us smiling all through the making of the film. It was like one big picnic," Boman states.
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Arshad Warsi throws light on differences with director Kabeer Kaushik
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Arshad Warsi is ready to face the biggest examination of his professional life. His debut film as producer, HUM TUM AUR GHOST, is scheduled for release next Friday. "I am excited and confident. I've made this film with a lot of passion and I sincerely hope the audience likes the effort," Arshad informs me.
Meanwhile, the industry is abuzz with the speculation that Arshad had problems with the director of the film, Kabeer Kaushik. That explains why Arshad decided to take matters in his hand. "Well, we never got into fights. I am not the violent kind," Arshad states on record, "But it's true that Kabeer and I had differences."
The differences stemmed from the fact that Kabeer wanted to make HUM TUM AUR GHOST into a serious film, while Arshad wanted it to be a light entertainer. "That's true," Arshad doesn't deny the industry talk, "Kabeer's interpretation was tilting more towards serious, while I wanted it to be a light entertainer. So we decided that let the editor [Steven] decide what's best for the film. We decided to step out of the editing suite and let him take the decision."
So, whose interpretation is HUM TUM AUR GHOST eventually? "It's Arshad Warsi's vision. It has its serious moments, but you'd come out smiling in the end," Arshad smiles.