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Bollywood Top Ten Best - New TV series hosted by Lisa Ray

Bollywood Top Ten Best Premieres Sunday, March 27 on OMNI Television

Celebrate the very best of Indian cinema with Bollywood Top Ten Best, hosted by Canadian actress and Bollywood star, Lisa Ray. OMNI Television’s newest South Asian entertainment series premieres Sunday, March 27 at 3:30pm ET/MT on OMNI. 2 in Ontario.

“Bollywood Top Ten Best adds to our already strong line up of South Asian entertainment on OMNI Television, giving viewers even more access into the exciting world of Indian Cinema with exclusive Canadian content,” commented Alain Strati, Vice President, OMNI Station Group, Specialty and Development.

A brand new, 13-part original series, Bollywood Top Ten Best explores the best of Indian cinema by counting down a new top ten Bollywood theme each week.  From the best and the brightest, to the most outrageous and unexpected, Bollywood Top Ten Best reveals the biggest movies, stars, divas, unforgettable villains and more. Plus, host Lisa Ray, travels the world to catch up with some of the biggest names in Bollywood including, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar.

Toronto born Lisa Ray launched her career in India as a top model. She first caught the attention of audiences in Deepa Mehta’s hit comedy, Bollywood/Hollywood and has continued to have a successful career in film and television.  Internationally, Lisa gained critical acclaim in the Academy Award ® nominated film, Water, and appeared in a variety of television shows in the U.S. Bollywood Top Ten Best marks one of Lisa’s first on-screen credits since she made headlines in 2009 by revealing her battle with multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer. Now in remission, Lisa is ready to open a brand new career path as host of Canada’s hottest entertainment series.

Encore presentations of Bollywood Top Ten Best will air on Sunday nights starting March 27 at 8:30pm ET/PT on OMNI. 2 in Ontario.

Madhuri Dixit to appear on Nach Baliye this Saturday

This week's episode of Nach Baliye will feature Madhuri Dixit.  The NRI mother of two will dance her way onto television screens this Saturday, March 22nd at 9pm on Star Plus' top-rated show.  Madhuri will partner with celebrity judge choreographer Vaibhav Merchant to present a performance based on her film, Aaja Nachle.

 

The show, Nach Baliye, illustrates the journey of 10 celebrity couples from television and cinema through a highly competitive dance-off, where they compete to impress three A-list celebrity judges - the actress Isha Koppikar, director David Dhawan and choreographer Vaibhav Merchant. This year, the show also features special performances and appearances by Bollywood’s glitterati, such as this weekend’s appearance by Madhuri Dixit. 

The show will really put each celebrity couple to the test this season with the theme being "Yeh Nach Nahin Aasaan" (Dance is Far From Easy). With only four weeks left to the finale show, the remaining couples which include Raakhi Sawant (see below)and Kashmeera Shah with their partners, are battling it out for the grand prize.

Similar to American Idol, each week the couples have to perform according to specific themes, which test their dancing skills and their choreographer's imagination. The theme for this weekend’s show will see contestants perform their own renditions of some of Madhuri’s hit songs. 

Here's a video from Youtube of Madhuri's December appearance on Nach Baliye.

Filmfare Awards 2008: A Glamorous Night for Hindi Film

The Filmfare Awards took place last Sunday, the same day as Hollywood's Academy Awards. Sony TV should be broadcasting the show this weekend, and I'm looking forward to it. Till then, here's a list of the winners along with some photos.  I'm currently tabulating the results of our Filmfare contest and the winner will be announced in the next couple of days!

Winners of 53rd Annual Filmfare Awards

By Bollywood Hungama News Network, February 23, 2008 - 21:47 IST

Best Actor
Shahrukh Khan - Chak De India

Best Actress
Kareena Kapoor - Jab We Met

Best Film
Taare Zameen Par

Best Director
Aamir Khan - Taare Zameen Par

Critics' Award For Best Actor
Darsheel Safary - Taare Zameen Par

Critics' Award For Best Actress
Tabu - Cheeni Kum

Critics' Award For Best Film
Shimit Amin - Chak De India

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Irrfan Khan - Life in a... Metro

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)
Konkana Sen Sharma - Life in a... Metro

Best Lyrics
Prasoon Joshi - (Maa - Taare Zameen Par)

Best Playback Singer (Male)
Shaan - (Jab Se Tere Naina - Saawariya)

Best Playback Singer (Female)
Shreya Ghosal - (Barso Re - Guru)

Best Music
A. R. Rahman - Guru

Best Story
Amol Gupte - Taare Zameen Par

Best Screenplay
Anurag Basu - Life in a... Metro

Best Dialogue
Imtiaz Ali - Jab We Met

R. D. Burman Award
Monty Sharma (Saawariya)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Rishi Kapoor

Power Awards
Yash Chopra & Aditya Chopra

Best Debut (Male)
Ranbir Kapoor - Saawariya

Best Debut (Female)
Deepika Padukone - Om Shanti Om

Best Special Effects
Red Chillies Entertainment - Om Shanti Om

Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year Award
Deepika Padukone

Best Background Score
A. R. Rahman - Guru

Best Editing
Amitabh Shukla - Chak De India

Best Choreography
Saroj Khan (Barso Re Megha Re - Guru)

Best Action
Rob Miller - Chak De India

Best Art Direction
Samir Chanda - Guru

Best Sound
Leslie Fernandes - Johnny Gaddaar

Best Cinematography
Sudhip Chatterjee

Best Costumes
Sujata Sharma - Gandhi My Father

Deepika Padukone

Karishma Kapoor with husband, Sanjay, and Gauri Khan

Kareena Kapoor performing at the ceremony

SRK and Saif Ali Khan host the event

Saif and SRK chat with Vidya Balan

Rekha with two friends

My pic for most gorgeous couple of the evening - Saif and Kareena

Filmfare Awards - Enter our contest to win!

It's that season again:  red carpets, plunging necklines and emotional thank-you speeches.  I'm a big fan of the big awards ceremonies and can't wait for the Filmfare Awards and the Academy Awards, both of which are coming up this February 24th (what would I do without my PVR??!).

The Filmfare Awards, started by Filmfare Magazine in 1954, is the Hindi film industry's most prominent opportunity to dress up and strut their stuff.  It's always so much fun to see who's wearing what (even more exciting now as India's fashion industry has reached a whole new level with countless designers creating cutting edge fashion), who's sitting with whom, and even more interesting - who's avoiding whom (Amitabh and Rekha perhaps, or Kareena and Shahid?).

The Filmfare Awards have maintained a highly-respected reputation in an industry often fraught with scandal and intrigue.  Past awards have celebrated impressive efforts by directors, actors, playback singers and script-writers.  Past winners include stalwarts like Bimal Roy (for Do Bigha Zameen), Dilip Kumar (for Daag), Meena Kumari (for Baiju Bawra) and Naushad (for Baiju Bawra) as well as newcomers like Rakesh Omprakash Mehra (for Rang De Basanti, my favourite from last year) and Kunal Kohli (for Hum Tum).

There are number of highly talented performers nominated this year as well:  Darsheel Sarfary, the enigmatic little boy from Taare Zameen Par who played a dyslexic child with incredible believablity, has acquired a  milestone nomination for Best Actor.  This is the first time a child has been nominated in this category.  Competing for the award is Shah Rukh Khan for his performance as a determined hockey coach to a flailing womens' team in Chak De! India.  Aamir Khan is nominated for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor for TZP. 

This year, Mybindi.com is offering a prize to the reader who can most accurately predict this year's winners.  The person who gets the most right answers will win 2 movie passes to a Cineplex Odeon cinema along with vouchers for drinks and snacks!  The following is a list of nominees. Choose your favourites and email them to me at amreenomar@hotmail.com.  Can't wait to receive your responses!

Filmfare Best Film

Chak De! India

Guru

Jab We Met

Om Shanti Om

Taare Zameen Par

Filmfare Best Director

Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par)

Anurag Basu (Life… In A Metro)

Farah Khan (Om Shanti Om)

Imtiaz Ali (Jab We Met)

Mani Ratnam (Guru)

Shimit Amin (Chak De! India)

Filmfare Best actor in a leading role

Abhishek Bachchan (Guru)

Akshay Kumar (Namastey London)

Darsheel Safary (Taare Zameen Par)

Shahrukh Khan (Chak De India)

Shahrukh Khan (Om Shanti Om)

Shahid Kapoor (Jab We Met)

Filmfare Best Actress in a leading role

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Guru)

Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om)

Kareena Kapoor (Jab We Met)

Madhuri Dixit (Aaja Nachle)

Rani Mukerji (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag)

Vidya Balan (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)

Filmfare Best actor in a Supporting Role

Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par)

Anil Kapoor (Welcome)

Irrfan Khan (Life in a… Metro)

Mithun Chakraborty (Guru)

Shreyas Talpade (Om Shanti Om)

Filmfare Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Konkona Sen Sharma (Life in a… Metro)

Konkona Sen Sharma (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag)

Rani Mukerji (Saawariya)

Shilpa Shukla (Chak De! India)

Tisca Chopra (Taare Zameen Par)

Best Music

A R Rahman (Guru)

Monty Sharma (Saawariya)

Pritam (Jab We Met)

Pritam (Life in a… Metro)

Vishal-Shekhar (Om Shanti Om)

Best Lyrics

Gulzar (Tere Nina - Guru)

Javed Akhtar (Main Agar Kahoon - Om Shanti Om)

Prasoon Joshi (Maa - Taare Zameen Par)

Sameer (Jab Se Tere Naina - Saawariya)

Vishal Dadlani (Aankhon Mein Teri - Om Shanti Om)

Best Male Playback Singer

A R Rahman (Tere Bina - Guru)

K K (Aankhon Mein Teri - Om Shanti Om)

Shaan (Jab Se Tere Naina - Saawariya)

Sonu Nigam (Main Agar Kahoon - Om Shanti Om)

Sukhawinder Singh - (Chak De - Chak De India)

Best Female Playback Singer

Alisha Chinai (It’s Rocking - Kay Love Story Hai)

Shreya Ghosal (Barso Re - Guru)

Shreya Ghosal (Yeh Ishq Hai - Jab We Met)

Sunidhi Chauhan (Sajanaji Vari Vari - Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd.)

Sunidhi Chauhan (Aaja Nachle - Aaja Nachle)

Vogue goes to India

Don't call me biased, but I think the world's most beautiful women can be found on the subcontinent.  Seems like the international fashion scene is finally catching up with Condé Nast launching Vogue India this past September. 

Priya Tanna, editor of Vogue India comments that "Vogue's launch in India symbolizes India's arrival onto the global fashion scene.  India is ready for a magazine that is intelligent, sophisticated, and understands the stylish, modern woman.  Every issue will celebrate the somen who define and influence the new Indian modernity with grace, style and achievement."

The first-ever cover of the glossy monthly featured a gorgeous array of supermodels and Bollywood actresses including Bipasha Basu, Gemma Ward (an international Vogue staple), Priyanka Chopra, Moni Kangana, Preity Zinta and Laxmi Menon.  The issue was styled by British Vogue's Lucinda Chambers and shot by Patrick Demarchelier. 

Here's the cover of the first issue:

Here's the full pull-out version of the cover:

The first issue paid tribute to Bollywood:  Pulitzer Prize-winning author Suketu Mehta explores its impact; director Karan Johar and designer Rajesh Pratap Singh debate over whether film dictates fashion or vice versa; Bipasha, Priyanka and Preity reveal their style secrets and much more. 

The launch was celebrated in due style with an extravagant gala at Umaid Bhavan Palace in Jodhpur (this location may sound familiar as it was the site of Liz Hurley's super-hyped wedding to Arun Nayar), Rajasthan where a photo exhibit was debuted entitled Vogue:  A Love Affair with India.

The December issue of Vogue India features the Gauri Khan, the low-key wife of Shah Rukh Khan.  The issue places Gauri, usually in the background, in the spotlight.  I've always been intrigued by Mrs. Khan, in that she never seems as stylish or coiffed as she could be.  I kind of liked that about her.  What I love about this cover is that it doesn't seem contrived at all - she looks confident, regal and incredibly toned in this spectacular red dress:

An Interview with Mukesh Asopa

Mukesh Asopa is an actor living in Toronto who is working toward making it big in Bollywood. He's making a good start and has already acted in several films.

Mukesh spent his childhood in Kolkatta and Delhi where he acquired his acting training from Barry John, a renowned acting guru.   He is inspired by actors like Shah Rukh Khan who came from non-filmi backgrounds and struggled to make it big.

 

Mukesh got his first break in films with "No Place To Hide" , which had a controversial subject and was filmed in Toronto.  His debut film was selected to be in SAIFF (South Asian International Film Festival) in New York in 2006. From there, he's been working regularly on various television and film projects.  He recently completed the film, "Karim", directed by Yaz Rabadi.  His latest project is the film, "The Diamond", also shot in Canada, and directed by Vinodh Venkatraman.

I had a chance to chat with Mukesh recently:

How did you first get involved in Hindi films?

My childhood was in India, and Bollywood movies and songs were always the part of our day to day life. For me, films were even more important than my studies.  Acting and dance became part of my life at an early age and I started doing plays and dance functions when i was 8 years old.  At that time my favourite song was "Khaike Paan banaras wala" from "Don".  I then joined Mr. Barry John in New Delhi for further training on the profession of Acting.

What is your dream role in a movie? With whom?

I admire the roles of "King Asoka" "Gautam Buddha" "Mahavir Swami".   I would love to do the role of "Maharana Pratap", a legendary hero from Rajasthan, or a role for a film based on story of "Shravan Kumar".  After seeing "Chak de India" I would love to do a sports films on Kabbadi, Swimming, Football or even Rugby in India.

I liked the film "Babul" where Rajesh Khanna played the role of Rickshaw wala and struggled with his life, that character inspired me as it had a wide range of emotions.

Roles based on real stories or ones with a message always inspire me.

I dream about working with Shah Rukh Khan.  I have heard that he makes an effort to teach his co actors to perform better which is something great.

Among actresses, I admire Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Konkana Sengupta and Madhuri Dixit.

In Hollywood I admire Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Mike Myers and Leonardo Di Caprio.

What’s next on your agenda regarding films?

I am looking for a good script and a role where my work will be recognized by the audience.  I'm being very cautious in choosing my next film.

I am working on multiple scripts and studying the trends of  upcoming films and stories for their failures or successes.

Film Makers, Producers and Directors are most welcome to visit to my official website www.mukesh-asopa.com.

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Khoya Khoya Chand - a tribute to Hindi film's golden era

Director Sudhir Mishra has gone back in time in Khoya Khoya Chand, his new film, starring Soha Ali Khan (apparently Vidya Balan was the first choice, but back out), Shiney Ahuja, Rajat Kapoor and Vinay Pathak.   Originally titled Bahut Nikle Mere Armaan, it is based on the golden era of the Hindi film industry in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the film, Nikhat (Soha) wants to be an actress like her mother was before her.   Prem Kumar (Rajat Kapoor) -- an established actor -- helps her become a star, but in return has many expectations.  The film also stars Soniya Jehan (see second picture below), granddaughter of the late actress and singer, Noor Jehan. Soniya had made her debut in Akbar Khan's Taj Mahal, playing Mumtaz.

Zaffar, played by Shiney Ahuja (my favourite out of the new crop of actors) is a writer and director. He plays Soha's love interest.  Ahuja has a special history with the director as it was Sudhir Mishra who discovered him in his Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi. Rumour has it that, for the film, Waheeda Rehman gave Mishra special insight into Hindi cinema's golden era, when she was one of its biggest stars.

Here are some pics from the film.  I love Soha's look in this film - the sarees, jewellry and make-up all look very authentic and she carries the era's glamorous, yet simple look, with elegant grace.

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