I posted BollySpice's sexiest men list a couple of months ago.

I thought someone might appreciate the sexiest women, according to IndiaTimes. OP commentary about how you might know these actresses in italics. NON-ITALICIZED COMMENTARY BELONGS TO INDIATIMES.



Kareena Kapoor (You know her because... she looks like Paris Hilton and is Bollywood's highest paid actress.)
Kareena has been the size zero queen ever since she became size zero for her forgettable movie ‘Tashan’. She looks like a million bucks... Quite a surprise why Saif wants Bebo to become more thin than this?





Sonam Kapoor (You know her because... she's the daughter of Slumdog Millionaire actor Anil Kapoor, currently on 24 as the leader of some country.)
This lady has some very exciting wardrobe it seems. She has a very a good dressing sense and it looks that she can carry of anything with ease.



Katrina Kaif (You know her because... she's the most popular actress in Hindi cinema who can't speak Hindi. Also, she recently emerged from a years long relationship with superstar Salman Khan, 19 years her senior.)
This leggy beauty has been the queen of million hearts. She looks good like a diva both in Indian and western wear. It is not surprising to know that why people wanted a Katrina Barbie.



Kangana Ranaut (You know her because... I don't have anything for this one. I don't know her.)
This gangster beauty has been the most different actress in terms of her looks and also films. She has won the national award for supporting actress for the much acclaimed ‘Fashion’.



Deepika Padukone (You know her because... she's really, really tall.)
Deepika has been a popular figure since her modeling days. With her transit into Bollywood it surly seem that this ‘Shantipriya’ is here to stay.



Genelia D’souza (You know her because... she's a rare Goan female acting in Bollywood.)
Her first film got unnoticed but then she came up with a bang. Her girl next door looks have always made her look cute and at the same time sexy.



Bipasha Basu (You know her because... she often takes racy roles, and has been in years long relationship with John Abraham.)
The jodidar of John, Bips was the best model in her modeling days. Her figure has always been the talk of the town. She recently launched her own fitness DVD.



Priyanka Chopra (You know her because... she's a former Miss World.)
Her ‘Miami‘ looks for ‘Dostana‘ did wonders for this lady. She was seen in this shimmering gold bikini in the same film...



Neetu Chandra (You know her because... of this faux-lesbian photoshoot. I don't know who she is apart from this.)
Her lesbian act for a photo shoot landed her in trouble, but surely had many jaws dropping down. She has films like ‘Oye lucky lucky oye’ to her credit.



Neha Dhupia (You know her because... she will be featured on Jessica Simpson's new show about the world's perception of beauty.)
She was an ex- miss India...She did a film called ‘Girlfriend’ which was out an out different film for her. Her last film was ‘Raat Gayi Baat Gayi’ a movie on one-night stands.



Celina Jaitley (You know her because... you probably don't. She's completely B-list.)
Her supportive act for the transgenders, for PETA was in the limelight. Her cat like eyes and a sexy figure makes her one of the most desirable Bollywood star.



Malika Sherawat (You know her because... she made out 14 times in the movie "Murder.")
This lady no doubt has to be in the list of most desirable women. Her kissing scenes, bikini acts have always made her the most sext and hot babe in Bollywood.


Malaika Arora Khan (You know her because... she's mad hot and did a cameo in the song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the movie Dil Se, featuring Shahrukh Khan.)
Mrs. Arbaaz Khan to be more precise, is a leggy beauty for she has a great figure, dances very well and to top it she has a very charming smile with those luscious lips.



Lara Dutta (You know her because... she's a former Miss Universe.)
Her bikini act didn’t help her film ‘Blue’ , but Lara has been the hot and sensational babe of bollywood. She is an ex- Miss Universe. Her bikini body makes her look sexy in any of the outfits that she flaunts.



Jiah Khan (You know her because... she was in the original Tamil version of "Ghajini," a remake of Guy Pearce's "Memento.")
Her first film was ‘Nishabd’ , which has her playing this 18 year old beauty falling in love with a 62 year old man. Her garden shot in the film where she deliberately gets wet makes her look sexy as ever.



Obv, some Bollywood beauties didn't make this list... Post pictures of your favorite leading ladies in the comments.
Source

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: bollywood, list

Stallone, Denise Richards up for Bollywood Razzies



Sylvester Stallone and former Bond girl Denise Richards' Bollywood debuts have been panned by critics - they have both received nominations for worst movie performance at India's annual Golden Kela Awards. (OP's note: kela means banana.)

The American stars appear together in Kambakkht Ishq (Incredible Love), alongside Superman Returns actor Brandon Routh and Bollywood regulars Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor.

But their performances have failed to wow Hindu movie critics and the 2009 romantic comedy has landed them dishonours for the Bollywood equivalent of the Razzies.

Stallone and Richards will compete for the Have you gone crazy? category, while the movie itself, directed by Sabir Khan, is up for a total of eight awards, including Worst Film.

Meanwhile, Aussie singer/actress Kylie Minogue has been mauled for her performance of Chiggy Wiggy, which she sang in the movie Blue. The track, written by Abbas Tyrewala, has been named in the Most Atrocious Lyrics category.

The stars' nominations have prompted religious scholar Rajan Zed to call for movie executives to concentrate on producing "quality" films, instead of just attaching big names to the projects to pull in big bucks at the box office.

Zed, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, says, "Both Hollywood and Bollywood should focus on quality rather than quantity. Quantity, mixed with mercantile greed, resulted in them ending up in Razzies and Golden Kelas."

The Golden Kelas will be handed out in Delhi on March 12.

Source

If you want to vote for the Golden Kela Awards, go to http://www.goldenkela.com













The first award is tongue-in-cheek. Each of these movies has been "appropriated" and re-purposed by Bollywood (meaning, they completely stole their plots and there ain't an original thing about them.)The second award's title translates to, "What were you thinking?!"

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: award show nominees / winners, bollywood

James Bond... oh, wait, Shahrukh Khan - Filmfare co-host

Things to note:
-> The Filmfare Awards are the Oscars of Bollywood.
-> No bad-ass motherf'ng Bachchans (Amitabh, Abhishek, Aishwarya, or Jaya) were present in protest of their ongoing slander issue with the newspaper The Mumbai Mirror (they said that Aishwarya has stomach tuberculosis, which has made her infertile)
-> I don't know why the men behind the cut have chicken suits or why they are standing in their boxers. (It's also a HUGE deal that Shahrukh and Saif Ali Khan [no relation] have made a return to hosting as they together are the Billy Crystal of the Oscars).
-> These awards will be broadcast on Sunday, March 7th.




Saif Ali Khan in a bird suit - Filmfare co-host


Saif Ali Khan and Shahrukh Khan in their skivvies


Arjun Rampal and his wife


Ol' Three-Thumbs McHottie (aka Hrithik Roshan) and his wife Sussanne


Katrina Kaif


Deepika Padukone (...and some random aunty?)


Kunal Kapoor


Genelia D'Souza


@bomanirani, winner of Best Supporting Actor


Vidya Balan, winner of Best Lead Actress


HBIC Kajol

Award winners:

Best Actor In A Leading Role (Male)
Amitabh Bachchan - Paa

Best Actor In A Leading Role (Female)
Vidya Balan - Paa

Best Film
3 Idiots

Best Director
Rajkumar Hirani - 3 Idiots

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Boman Irani - 3 Idiots

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)
Kalki Koechlin - Dev D

Best Actor (Male) Critics
Ranbir Kapoor

Best Actor (Female) Critics
Mahie Gill - Dev D

Best Film (Critics)
Firaaq

Best Debut Director (Male)
Ayan Mukherjee - Wake Up Sid

Best Debut Director (Female)
Zoya Akhtar - Luck By Chance

Best Music
A R Rahman - Delhi-6

Best Playback Singer (Male)
Mohit Chauhan - Masakalli - Delhi-6

Best Playback Singer (Female)
Rekha Bharadwaj - Genda Phool - Delhi-6
Kavita Seth - Iktara - Wake Up Sid

Best Lyrics
Irshad Kamil - Aaj Din Chadiya - Love Aaj Kal

Best Story
Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani - 3 Idiots

Best Screenplay
Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Abhijat Joshi - 3 Idiots

Best Dialogue
Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra - 3 idiots

Best Editing
Sreekar Prasad - Firaaq

Best Choreography
Bosco - Caesar - Chor Bazaari - Love Aaj Kal

Best Visual Effect Award
Kaminey

Best Sound Design
Manas Chaudhury - Firaaq

Best Production Design
Helen & Sukant - Dev D

Best Cinematography
Rajeev Rai - Dev D

Best Action
Vijayan Master - Wanted

Best Costume
Vaishali Menon - Firaaq

Best Background Score
Amit Trivedi - Dev D

Special Award
Nandita Das - Firaaq

Lifetime Achievement Award
Shashi Kapoor - Khayyam

R D Burman Music Award
Amit Tivedi


Photo Source 1
Photo Source 2
Photo Source 3 (Saif Ali Khan photos)
Source: Winners



Did your favorite movies win anything? Who was robbed? Who didn't deserve their Filmfare?

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: award show nominees / winners, bollywood

I thought this was an interesting list of some of Bollywood's most "graphic" love scenes. Considering some of the lists we post here on ONTD, I hope this is accepted. They say that Americans are repressed sexually - try South Asia on for size.


Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
Unlike those in Silsila the protaganists in Kabhi Alvida… don’t cop out in the end and return to their respective spouses. Instead they pick up the pieces and eventually get together. It was probably a first in our films. And while their first sexual encounter was a tad apologetic and guilt ridden, atleast director Karan Johar didn’t pretend it didn’t exist in their scheme of things.

Yes, I know they are disco-ing in this song, but the love scene is intercut with the disco-ing.





Hum Tum (2004)
They make slow languorous love on the beach at midnight. The next day she is content, fulfilled and happy. He is apologetic. It was a first in Hindi movies. Rani Mukerji’s character doesn’t dwell upon the one night stand or make a big deal of it. It was refreshing.




Murder (2004)
Mallika Sherawat said she was box office Viagra. She was onscreen Viagra too, taking not just male testosterone levels sky high but also female sexuality in our films. The lovemaking scenes were unabashed and in your face and she along with Emraan Hashmi created history of sorts.




Paa (2009)
After a poetic meet-cute in London Vidya Balan and Abhishek Bachchan waste no time in making out wherever and whenever they can. The highlight was when she asks without hesitation, “Do you have a condom.” He didn’t. And she gets knocked up. But the lead up to it was straight-laced and no nonsense.



Kaminey (2009)
She isn’t a seductress in sexy lingerie. She is wearing a very gharelu salwar kameez but Priyanka Chopra wants the sex as much as Shahid Kapoor does. So much so that she implies it is one of her ‘safe days’ and that there is no need for him to wear a condom.The sequence is urgent, raw and steamy. Not to mention seamless in the screenplay.

Sorry for the quality. Best I could find.




Dev D (2009)
Mahi Gill’s Paro bundles up a mattress and cycles to the mustard fields (a veritable bastion for a roll in the hay in Hindi movies) and proceeds to seduce Dev (Abhay Deol). Previously Dev asks her over the phone, ‘‘Do you touch yourself.’’ Following which, she strips, photographs herself nude and sends it to her beau. He sees the picture and tells her, ‘‘Paro Main aa raha hoon.’’ Pun intended sexuality in Hindi films has finally come of age.



Jism (2003)
Bipasha Basu is on top of John Abraham at the beach while eager waves lovingly caress their bodies. It was a stunning visual and a shocking one for some. Bipasha Basu tells John in her honeyed voice, ‘‘Jism sirf bhoonk jaanta hai, pyaar nahi’’ The film changed the myth that people in Hindi movies don’t make love openly. Yes they do, and this is probably how it should be done.





Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008)
While it is nothing novel to showcase a Casanova hero on his sexcapdes, Bachna... also had Bipasha playing a woman of today. By that we mean she was alright with the idea of living in and pre-marital sex. Without much ado.



Parineeta (2005)
In Pradeep Sarkar’s interpretation of the Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s classic, the female protagonist Lalitha indulges in a no holds barred night of passion with her longtime love. The depiction was intimate, letting the viewer into the act and you could feel the passion. Again there is no trace of the quintessential Hindi film heroine guilt.





Astitva (2000)
While there is not a single lovemaking sequence in Astitva, the film made a thumping case for female sexuality. Tabu’s character pays the price for her infidelity but remains unapologetic. She throws up arguments like, ‘‘Aurat ka man mard ka man se alag hota hai?’’ (Is a woman’s desire different from a man’s?) and ‘‘Aur kya main intezar karoon ki kab tum mujhpar meherbaan ho jaao.’’ ( Am I supposed to wait till you get into the mood?). Finally she walks out on her unhappy marriage and chauvinistic spouse.



Aitraaz (2004)
She wants him and she will have him. Her wispy lace thong peeking out of her slate grey trousers, Priyanka Chopra crawls and writhes her way towards a slightly bemused Akshay Kumar. You could feel her raw unapologetic sensuality. It was as hot as it could get.





Ishqiya (2010)
A nubile widow uses her bucolic sexual charms to win over two rogues. She plays them like a pair of fiddles. Vidya Balan’s Krishna uses her sexuality as a tool and a means to her end. And then there's the gem from Arshad Warsi who says,"Tumhara ishq ishq aur humara ishq sex?" (You love is love and my love is just sex?



Love Aaj Kal (2009)
Imtiaz Ali managed to depict the progressiveness of youth today with alarming clarity. Deepika Padukone’s Meera has no qualms about being hit on, necking in car basements or making out in general. In fact, it’s just treated as a normal part of being in a relationship.



Salaam Namaste (2005)
Oh there was sex. Loads of it. Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan move in together and indulge in pre-marital sex like never seen before in Hindi films. No surprises when she gets pregnant. They have a violent argument as she berates him for not wearing a condom.While the rest of the film is pretty average, it stood out for its bold expression of sexuality.





Source

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: bollywood, list, nudes / nfsw / nip slips

Bollywood stars Katrina Kaif and Hrithik Roshan (YES, HE HAS 2 THUMBS ON ONE HAND) make a sizzling duo in their first ever shoot together for the cover page of fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar India for the month of March 2010. Despite their carefree attitude to fashion, actors Hrithik Roshan is true style icon, and Katrina Kaif is the sexiest woman in Bollywood.

---

Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone is the girl hanging with Farhan Akhtar on the cover page of showbiz magazine Filmfare India for the month of March 2010. She back in news and awaiting her latest release “Karthik Calling Karthik” Starring opposite Farhan Akhter.

---

Bollywood actress and model Deepika Padukone is the cover girl of the men’s magazine Maxim India for the month of February 2010. The tall and beautiful Deepika Padukone is playing the central character of a uber cool chick in the film Karthik Calling Karthik.

---

Indian businesswoman Ayesha Thapar design the pages of men’s magazine Maxim India for the month of February 2010. Ayesha Thapar is well know personality in fashion world and known for her style and sense of designing.

---

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra graces the cover page of fashion magazine Femina India for the month of February 2010. The still single Priyanka tops the B-Town with her performance and wins many fans.

---

Bollywood actress Freida Pinto is the million dollar baby on the cover page of Elle India for the month of February 2010. With her unconventional good looks and a career graph that sky-rocketed overnight, Freida Pinto was the toast of 2009.

---

Bollywood actress Nandana Sen appears fully featured on the cover page of men’s magazine FHM India for the month of February 2010. She is known to be bold and this has never work for her as she is almost unnoticed in Bollywood.

---

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan graces the cover page of beauty magazine Verve India for the month of February 2010. Vidya looks fabulous without revealing much in a classy coat teamed with a white flared top.

---

The fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar India showcases the Mumbai-born model Lisa Haydon on the cover page of it’s January/February 2010 issue. Haydon appears in a red Valentino trench against a simple silver background with gorgeous jewels.

---

Bollywood handsome actor Akshay Kumar pose with three female models for the cover page of fashion magazine L’Officiel India for the month of January 2010.

---

Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor is the featured star on the cover page of showbiz magazine Filmfare India for the month of January 2010. The industry’s hottest singleton Ranbir Kapoor comes clean on his split with Deepika Padukone and clarifies those Katrina Kiaf rumors.

---

Bollywood actress and singer Shruti Hassan is the princess on the cover page of fashion magazine Elle India for the month of January 2010. The gorgeous starlet is looking forward to B-town, going through film scripts in Mumbai.

---

Bollywood super slim actress Kareena Kapoor is the new year beauty on the cover page of men’s magazine GQ India for the month of January 2010. Kareena said, she may marry boyfriend with Saif Ali Khan in 2012 and her family planning want to have two girls.

---

Indian fashion magazine Femina released it’s annual issue which features 50 most beautiful women, and celebrating beauty on it’s January 2010 issue cover page are five Indian faces Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Tamara Moss all going white. If Katrina looks sensuous, Kareena looks enticing and speaks through her eyes. However, Priyanka and Deepika gives side look and smiles.

source

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: bollywood, magazine covers and articles

If Bollywood stars want a foothold in Hollywood, vice versa also holds true. International pop stars doing numbers for desi films started as far back as Samantha Fox in Rock Dancer (1995).

More recently, there was Snoop Dog in Singh is Kingg, followed by Kylie Minogue in Blue and now Akon will be seen in Anubhav Sinha’s Ra.One starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor, which has music by Vishal and Shekhar.

A source reveals, “Ra.One is a SFX movie and director Anubhav Sinha wants to achieve Hollywood standards.

Shah Rukh and Anubhav spoke about having an international pop singer in the movie, and SRK opted for Akon, who is popular with the youth.”

The source continues, “During a recent visit to Los Angeles, Shah Rukh met Akon and they had a long conversation on Indian and Western music.

Akon will sing in Ra.One and this will be his debut in Bollywood. He has been signed for a whopping amount.

Akon had performed last year at the closing ceremony of the IPL.”



Source


Kylie Minogue, "Chiggy Wiggy" from Blue


Snoop Dogg, "Singh is King" from Singh is Kinng


Samantha Fox, "Rock Dancer"

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: bollywood

Vidhu Vinod Chopra straddles Bollywood, Hollywood



His India-made '3 Idiots' is a smash. Now the filmmaker is leasing in Beverly Hills. Next up: his first movie in English.

James Cameron's "Avatar" may have recently become the biggest moneymaker in movie history, but there's another film that's quietly been breaking box-office records. That would be Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "3 Idiots," which now tops the list of highest-grossing Bollywood films, bringing in more than $80 million worldwide.

Despite his film's success, Chopra, a writer-director-producer, says he feels like "a kid out of film school." Granted, few kids out of film school would be able to lease a large house in Beverly Hills, score representation with ICM's Jeff Berg or greenlight projects in India over a cup of tea, as Chopra is inclined to do. But now, the man who sits atop a filmmaking empire based on the outskirts of Mumbai is looking to replicate some of that success stateside.

In India, Chopra, 53, wields the clout of a Steven Spielberg. He has written and/or directed about a dozen since his 1981 feature film debut, "Sazaye Maut" ("Death Penalty"), a crime thriller. His films have focused on terrorism ("Mission Kashmir") and the turbulence of British-run India ("1942: A Love Story"). But he has also done successful comedic dramas, such as "Munna Bhai MBBS," about a thief pretending to be a doctor to please his father. Whatever the genre, Chopra is known for bringing a sophisticated sentimental sensibility to his films, with a focus on family, honor and tradition -- elements that have historically resonated with Indian audiences.

"3 Idiots," which was released internationally through Reliance Big Pictures on Christmas Day, earned more than $52 million during its first 10 days in theaters. Outside of India, the movie, which was made for $8 million, has brought in about $16 million, with a record-setting $6.5 million coming from the U.S., where it is currently playing in about 50 cinemas, including the Culver Plaza Theatres in Culver City.



Bollywood films have had patchy success in the U.S.; the 2009 broad comedy "Chandni Chowk to China," the first Bollywood film to score major U.S. distribution through a major studio (Warner Bros.), made less than $1 million. Conversely, "Om Shanti Om," the reincarnation comedy released in 2007, took in a respectable $3.5 million at the box office, about half of what "3 Idiots" has scored so far.

And now, a new release, "My Name is Khan," could soon rival "3 Idiots' " domination for the stateside box-office record; since it was released Friday, it has brought in $2.2 million.

Nevertheless, "3 Idiots," is holding its own. Audiences have connected with the story of three friends, students at a rigorous engineering college in India, who are forced to deal with academic pressures and familial obligations. The romantic dramedy is also something of a Bollywood bromance-road trip hybrid, set in the most scenic parts of the country and offering up concepts of ambition, desperation and family conflict in a satirical yet ultimately warm-hearted tone. The cast is anchored by Aamir Khan, one of Bollywood's most bankable stars. (OP's note: AAMIR, I LOVE YOU!)

Chopra has since opted to make Los Angeles something of a second home, spending two weeks here every month. Now that "3 Idiots" -- which was inspired by the book "Five Point Someone" by Chetan Bhagat -- has found success, he has turned his attentions to his next project, "Broken Horses," his English-language directorial debut about two brothers, one a violinist in New York, the other a hired gun, set against the drug war on the U.S.-Mexico border.

As Chopra points out, "there is nothing Indian about the movie except the director. The heart of the movie is the relationship between these two brothers, but within that is a story about how we destroy what we love. It's about the choices we make in life."

Embarking on his first film in a language that's not his native tongue feels somewhat daunting, says Chopra. Raised in the valleys of Srinagar in Kashmir, he didn't speak English until he was 16, learning it by watching Hollywood films. He says he "was thrown out" of every class at the Film and Television Institute of India and walked away without a diploma.

But a short documentary he made shortly after leaving film school, "An Encounter with Faces," about impoverished children in India, was nominated for an Oscar in 1979. He didn't win, but says that his film school finally gave him his diploma.

"If I wasn't nominated for an Oscar at that very young age, I wouldn't be doing ['Broken Horses']," he says. "I want to reach out to more audiences. It's that dream that remains unfulfilled. All my dreams in India are more than fulfilled. . . . This is the last dream that was left, so I thought, 'I might as well chase it.' "



Source

Short of Yash Raj Films, there's no other Indian production company whose movies I enjoy more. I'm excited for Broken Horses. Not so much for Mickey Rourke, but I'll work with it.

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: bollywood

Bollywood’s ’My Name Is Khan’ Makes $18 Million in Three Days



“My Name is Khan,” a Bollywood love story set against contemporary U.S. history starting with the Sept. 11 attacks, grossed $18 million over the weekend, financier and distributor Fox Star Studios said in a statement today.

The film, which opened Feb. 12, became the biggest three- day grosser in Indian cinema history, Fox Star Studios, a part of News Corp., said in the statement. “My Name is Khan” recorded double the worldwide revenue of its nearest competitor, 2009’s “Three Idiots,” the statement said.

Audiences in India flocked to watch “My Name is Khan” defying the Shiv Sena, a Mumbai-based political party, which threatened to prevent the screening of the movie over a comment made by the movie’s star Shah Rukh Khan. The Sena targeted Khan after he publicly regretted the absence of players from Pakistan in the Indian Premier League, the world’s richest cricket competition, which starts March 12.

Khan owns the Kolkata Knight Riders, an IPL team, which did not bid for any Pakistani players.

“Valentine’s Day” was the top film in U.S. and Canadian theaters this weekend with sales of $52.4 million. “My Name is Khan” beat “Valentine’s Day” with a per screen average of $15,500, in North America during the weekend, Fox Star Studios said. Fox Searchlight Pictures distributed the Bollywood movie in the U.S.

In “My Name is Khan,” Shah Rukh Khan plays an Indian Muslim with Asperger’s Syndrome living in the U.S. whose life changes after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“Three Idiots,” released by billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Big Pictures on Christmas eve, made $70 million worldwide in 19 days.

Chaiyya, Chaiyya

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: bollywood

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: bollywood

Hindu nationalists held after protests at 'pro-Pakistani' Bollywood star


Picture of a vandalized movie poster; a throwback to Paheli? [Hey, it was a good look for him.] Courtesy of wsj.com.

Its plot is a classic love story, set in the US after the 11 September 2001 attacks. And though a mainstream Bollywood production it explores such gritty themes as life for Indians overseas, Islam, terrorism, disability and prejudice. The lead actors, though unknown to most western audiences, are megastars for hundreds of millions globally.

My Name is Khan, which critics say looks set to become one of the most successful Indian films ever made, is scheduled to premiere tonight in Abu Dhabi and Friday. Ahead of its release the plot-lines have been carefully leaked, trailers have been pirated and the film's two main stars, Shahrukh Khan and Kajol Devgan, have embarked on a global promotion tour. But even greater publicity has been generated by a homegrown controversy in the Indian commercial capital of Mumbai.

Today police in the city arrested more than 1,600 activists reportedly from the hardline Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena, which has vowed to disrupt the launch of the movie after Khan allegedly made "pro-Pakistani statements".

The row followed the star's recent criticism of cricket teams playing in next month's Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament for failing to hire players from neighbouring Pakistan as they are allowed to do. His comments provoked street protests earlier this week by Shiv Sena activists who tried to force cinemas in Mumbai – the home of the Indian film industry and one of its biggest markets – to refuse advance bookings for the film. More than 50 people were arrested in widespread disturbances.



"We have nothing against Shah Rukh Khan as a person but he has to retract his statement," said Mohan Rawale, a veteran Shiv Sena politician. "He is Indian and should be protecting our India and our Indian players, not talking about Pakistan, which has attacked us and caused terrorism in our city and in our country and caused deaths and injuries for which families and children are still weeping."

The film tells the story of Rizwan, an autistic boy born in the Muslim community of Mumbai who is taught that people can be divided into "good and bad" but that the good always win in the end. After migrating to America he falls in love with an Indian-born Hindu single mother living in San Francisco, and marries her despite family opposition. Days after the 9/11 attacks, Rizwan is detained at Los Angeles airport. He then sets out on a long journey to clear his name. Karan Johar, the director, has described Khan's on-screen role as similar to that of the autistic character played by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.


Source

Hey, Shiv Sena...

posted by GossipGander \\ tags: bollywood