First Look : Paa’s first song promo (Mudhi mudhi ittefaq se)

The first song promo of Paa is out. The song is mudhi mudhi ittefaq se, in the voice of Shilpa Rao. Music is by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics by Swanand Kirkire. Paa is directed by R Balki and stars Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan & Paresh Rawal. 

After all the focus on Amitabh’s new look in the first promo of the film, the song promo is all about Abhishek Bachchan-Vidya Balan. The names in the credit list are quite big but the first song sounds quite unimpressive. Check it out.

 

First Look : The trailer of Amitabh Bachchan starrer Paa is here!

Ok, make that “almost” here! Because someone decided to have some fun by editing out just the last few seconds. Though the audio is very much there. Anyway, if you have been following Amitabh Bachchan’s blog and the wah-wahs that everyone is saying after watching the trailer, then you know why we are so curious! We might have to wait for one more day till we get to see the full trailer, till then have a look.

Paa is directed by R Balki and stars Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan & Paresh Rawal. Music is by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics by Swanand Kirkire. 

UPADTED – The full trailer of PAA is out today. Have a look.

Here’s one more tariler. Slightly different version of the first one.

And when Amitabh said Paa!

And as a friend said, Balki’s fascination with age factor continues. In Cheeni Kum, it was father-daughter-son-in-law mess with age. Here its father-son-son! Paresh Rawal is back again as the father!

In the film Paa, Amitabh Bachchan (Auro) suffers from a disease called Progeria, a rare genetic disorder in which a person ages three times faster than a normal person. Its a family drama in which Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan are parents to Amitabh Bachchan, their 13 year old son who looks 39, and its all about how they try to deal with it. The look has been designed after much research and the make up used to take almost 4-5 hours everyday. Strangely, the basic premise of Paa sounds similar to Francis Ford Coppola’s film Jack starring Robin Williams. Inspiration, plagiarism or just coincidence ?

First Look : Amitabh Bachchan starrer Paa (poster) & its all covered up!

Amitabh Bachchan starrer new film Paa is ready for release on Dec 4th. Its directed by R Balki and also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan & Paresh Rawal. Music is by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics by Swanand Kirkire. The first trailer of the film will be out on 6th November 2009. Till then its all covered up! Here is the first official poster of Paa!

Btw, click here for the official website address of the film. So far not much there but just a bit of Ilaiyaraaja’s music.

And if you are too curious to remove the carton from the pic and see how Bachchan looks as a 13 year old in 39 years body, click here.

In the film Paa, Amitabh Bachchan (Auro) suffers from a disease called Progeria, a rare genetic disorder in which a person ages three times faster than a normal person. Its a family drama in which Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan are parents to Amitabh Bachchan, their 13 year old son who looks 39, and its all about how they try to deal with it. The look has been designed after much research and the make up used to take almost 4-5 hours everyday.

Strangely, the basic premise of Paa sounds similar to Francis Ford Coppola’s film Jack starring Robin Williams. To quote from IMDB….

The movie is about a boy with a unique aging disorder: one that makes him age 4 times faster than normal. Movie picks up when Jack (Robin Williams) is 10 years old, but looks 40. He tries to go to public school for the first time, and tries to become friends with kids his own age. His physical appearance causes him lots of problems, however.

So, is Paa really Jack ? Inspiration, plagiarism or just coincidence ? Few more days and we will have the answer.

Vishal Dadlani will refund your ticket money if you dont like Aladin!

For the first hundred people!! Yes, thats what he tweeted on monday late night after watching Aladin! And like us, if you are following his tweets, its difficult to say how many times he has already seen the film. He saw the film during edit - alone, with Sujoy, with Shekhar, on big screen - with Ritesh, with Sujoy and again and again! Have lost the count. To quote his tweet …

you know what? after tonight, i’ll stick my neck out. i’ve rarely seen a film as big as ALADIN, yet so complete as an emotional journey. 

And the ticket refund one….

 loved ALADIN so much tonight, that if you go, and don’t like it, i’ll refund your ticket-price, for the first hundred people! there!

Woohoo! So, BIG is the key word here. The film is directed by Sujoy Ghosh and stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Ritesh Deshmukh and Jacqeline Fernandez. The cast and the crew have been tweeting non-stop about the film since last few weeks forming a mutual admiration club. Here’s what Ritesh tweeted after the screening last night….

saw Aladin @sujoy_g extremely proud of you and the film. You delivered more than u promised me. BIG THANK U for my BIGGEST FILM

“Big” is again the key word. It becomes bigger to BIGGEST! Big B also blogged about it. To quote from his blog….

I live with the images that last night’s trial of ‘Aladin’ have impressed upon me. I am proud to have been a part of this venture, that has certainly created a finesse and grandeur in fantasy film making much much more than what I had expected from it. It is smooth and vibrant and not in your face yet effective enough to know that it is. The characters , the settings, the music and the situations all have been blended in a most ingenious manner. For the first time in my entire career of film trial history, the audience that habitually consists of trade people, applauded after a song sequence came to an end. We in the business have become accustomed to watching films with the patent ingredients that help us assess the potential of a film. It was and is difficult for me to state whether I found those ingredients last night in ‘Aladin’ and therefore a prediction is difficult to come by. But then some of the last few releases had drummed up sufficient passion in their patent ingredients, but did not come up winners. The unpredictability of this business is the only predictability.

Well, unlike Vishal, Bachchna is not willing to stick his neck out but wraps it up on a slightly skeptical note. So, what do we know ? Here is what our spies told us.

OK. Its BIG in scale. Big is surely the key word! And better. Much better than anything you have seen in a hindi film. Unlike other hindi films, the special effects are damn smooth. But its a children’s film, as in, its a complete masala entertainer for family. With a hero, heroine, villain, love story and a Genie – what else can you deliver!

So, you going for Aladin or London Dreams this friday ?

Amitabh Bachchan’s Paa – new poster!

A new poster of Paa is floating in the blogosphere. A reader mailed it to us. Though it doesnt say much, but this is the one which they put out as full page ads recently on Bachchan’s birthday.

The film is directed by Balki and stars  Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan.

Amitabh Bachchan VS Mid-Day – we are loving it!

One is growing insane with every passing day. Blame it on old age! The other is nasty and mean like any other tabloid. Whom to trust, thats difficult to judge, but we are loving it!

To celebrate Amitabh Bachchan’s birthday, Mid Day’s editor Abhijit Majumder did an interview with him and it was carried as the cover story on Sunday Mid Day (Oct 11). As expected, Bachchan’s interview was boring as always. Who’s the best director you’ve worked with? All. What are your favourite Bachchan films? Very, very tough. I like different films from my different phases. Women the world over have chased you. Have you chased any woman? No. And I don’t believe women chase me. Well, I did chase my wife and married her. Of all your female leads, was Rekha special? They’ve all been special. But people remember Rekha and your screen chemistry. I don’t know what screen chemistry is.

Huh! Boring as hell! Nothing new, nothing interesting! Only if it were all true. You can read the full interview here. The interview might be boring but post-interview it got interesting.

Later on, Bachchan got to know that the interview was recorded on a video camera too and he wasnt told about it. Bachchan felt it was a sting operation (see the pic. courtesy Mid Day)! On his blog, he attacked Abhijit Majumder and how! To quote from his blog…..

Two days later an FmXt member draws my attention to a video clip of my interview with the paper. I am surprised to hear it because I had never expected either the paper or any one else to have posted something which I would be unaware of. I saw the interview that has been put on air through a MidDay enterprise which works as a electronic news maker and now realize why Mr Majumdar wanted a personal meeting. He had placed a small ’sting’ camera on the table in front of me, without informing me that the interview was being video taped as well. He never told me that they had a video net facility in operation and that the recorded interview would find a place there.

Mr Majumdar, you were dishonest with me ! You insisted on a one to one interview not because you were being deprived of the opportunity of your ‘first’ with me, but because you had malefide intent of recording the interview to be used as a live input on a video electronic facility medium that your paper runs. Had you told me that you were recording this for a net broadcast I would never have minded. I was doing several electronic interviews every minute and another would have not made any difference. But by lying to me, the integrity that I had associated with you as an Editor for the paper you work for, has been damaged. Your entire effort, now that I look back, in assuring me of wanting to bring in change, of giving me the impression of an upright and erudite journalist has unfortunately been destroyed by this one incident. You have proven to me, yet again, that you or your tribe cannot be trusted.

Woohoo! You can read the full post by Amitabh Bachchan here.

In today’s edition of the paper, Abhijit Majumder has issued his clarification through a column and claims that he had not only told Bachchan about it but had even asked the same to his secretary. To quote Majumder…

Either you are lying or I am. I would like to believe it is neither; it’s just your memory playing tricks at twilight.

Which is acceptable.

What is not acceptable is loosely accusing a journalist who has learnt journalism the hard way and prides in his integrity of mala fide intention, lying and suchlike. If my intention were to malign you, I wouldn’t have spent a considerable amount of my time and energy trying to build bridges with you ignoring your past rants against MiD DAY in your blog, sought an interview and played it up on the front page.

Also, your accusation that what you said was misrepresented is facile because the interview in a pretty straightforward question -and-answer format and all that you said is recorded.

Click here to read the full column by Abhijit Majumder. He has also been tweeting about it. Check http://twitter.com/abhijitmajumder .

Next, its  Bachchan’s turn! Will he respond to Majumder’s letter ? Lets see. BTW, surprisingly we cant trace the Mid-Day video interview on youtube. It was online till yesterday! Or is youtube playing hide and seek with us ? You can search for Mid-Day’s video channel on youtube here.

UPDATE (17th Oct) – On his blog, Bachchan has responded to Majumder’s open letter. And this is getting better. To quote from his blog…

Mr Majumdar you say that you ‘had mentioned that both audio and video would be recorded’. That is undiluted garbage stinking rubbish. Every sms of yours seeking my interview is saved on my mobile. Every telephone conversation that you had with my office in this regard has been recorded. And, as you have yourself accepted, every move, action and word that you spoke on the day from the moment you entered my office to the time you left, is on video tape with me. No where, and I repeat, no where have you mentioned, that you would be doing a video recording. If you say your photographer Pradeep Dhiver was there, may I also inform you that my photographer Paresh Mehta and his two assistants were also there. You are not going to beat me by throwing names. These videos can be put up on my blog at the press of a button. Wanna’ see ?

And dear Sir, its not about your ‘word versus mine’, its about your video tape versus mine. And mine says that your conscience is not ‘clear’ at all. It is as densely clouded as the monsoon sky, so ironically visible on the day you came to take my interview.

If you were to look me straight in the eye and challenge me, I would not hesitate to look you straight back and justify. Put this cap of self righteous zeal over your own head and then come riding with me. I’ll whip your horse and you mine and lets see who rides the furthest and the longest.

You can read the full post here or in the comments section, as Ajay has put it there. 

Film Aladin’s story

Aladin is Sujoy Ghosh’s new film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Ritesh Deshmukh and Jacqueline Fernandes. In an interview to CNN IBN’s Rajeev Masand, Amitabh Bachchan has spoken about the story of Aladin where the lead character is called Aladin Chatterjee (Ritesh Deshmukh). And here is the story according to Big B…..

I must say that the facts of the old story are just there in few places — there is the lamp, there is Aladin and there is the genie, and that’s it. The location is interesting because it’s a make believe though it is contemporary.  

The lamp has been integrated in a peculiar way. Aladin’s parents were looking out for something, which would bring world peace and then it gets lost and they get demolished. He (Aladin) is a weak and timid person in college. He keeps getting bullied by his seniors who are tougher and stronger than him.

He has always led a very reticent and reserved, exclusive life. And he sees a girl in college whom he falls in love with at first sight and needs to communicate with her but he doesn’t have enough courage and energy. The gang that teases him in college is always teasing him because his name is ‘Aladin’and they keep referring to the lamp in a sort of funny and sarcastic manner.

Every opportunity that they get, they either bring a lamp in his face and say, ‘Come on rub it, some genie will come’ or make fun of him. And they (the gang) convince the girl to give him a lamp as a present albeit in a joke but it turns out that the lamp indeed is the ‘magic lamp’and he has to rub it in front of them because they are making fun of him and suddenly a man appears who is a genie and says — I am genie and I have three wishes and I am 5000 years old and due for retirement and these are my last three wishes, so would you hurry and ask them because I need to get back.

And he can’t believe what’s happening to him because all kinds of strange magical things start happening. And eventually he confides that he loves the girl and that he wants her.

The genie says — Ah! that’s the wish. So very tactfully all these two wishes come true and Aladin being sort of a moral person says that he didn’t want it this way and says that if he wanted to win this girl, he would win her through what he was and asks the genie could he make that wish come true for him.

So the genie does that. And through the last wish, Aladin becomes a normal person and through normal means he is able to pursue the girl that he is in love with and how they come together. There is the villianous angle of Sanjay Dutt, who is an ex-genie who is desparate to get the lamp and he knows where it is.

 But he also knows that the genie that has come out, who is oddly named ‘Genious’ is protecting Aladin. There is a little twist there where Sanjay Dutt, who is playing as a ringmaster of a circus has a small element of the lamp with him which is almost like the Superman’s kryptonic, where he would lose all his powers once he sees that. And he (Sanjay Dutt) uses that very tactfully to get to the lamp and steal it and then the climax of how Aladin and genie saves it and eliminates the other.

Hmm. So , its a romantic film with a hero, heroine and villain. The new addition is the Genie! BTW, you can read the full interview here. 

Hamare Paas Ma Hai : Bigg Boss’ big surprise but where is the dude ?

We waited and finally watched it. Complete 2:30 hours! The first episode of Bigg Boss Season 3. And here is what we think about it. Some random thoughts.

Bet you didnt know! Bet we had no clue! Bet nobody guessed it! Is this a last minute replacement for Navjot Singh Sidhu ? Looks like. And it looks like a smart strategy too. Bigg Boss’ big surprise of the day!

NDTV Imagine -  Hamare paas Rakhi Sawant hai. Uska swayamvar hai. Tumhara wala Rahul Mahajan bhi hai. Uska swayamvar bhi hai! Tumhare paas kya hai ?

Colors : Hamare paas Ma hai! Naam toh suna hoga ?

NDTV Imagine – Naahi!

Colors – Naam nahi, surname hi kafi hai!

She is Sawant. Jaya Sawant. Rakhi Sawant’s mother. Dhen Tedaaan! Nobody has much clue about her. Even google doesnt have much to offer. Beti Rakhi Sawant bought the much needed TRP for rival channel NDTV Imagine through her swayamvar and now mummyji is here to compete. Expect some spicy confessions. But we wonder if it will bring a class divide in the house. Will the likes of Sherlyn Chopra, Aditi Govitrikar, Shamita Shetty and Poonam Dhiloon gel well with her. We doubt!

Inmates : The names are more or less the same as we put out in the post here. Except one or two. And thank god, Loveleen Misra is not in the house!

Finally, the inmates are Sherlyn Chopra, Poonam Dhiloon, Aditi Govitrikar, Shamita Shetty, Jaya Sawant, Claudia Ciesla, Tanaaz Irani, Ismail Darbar, Raju Shrivastav, Kamaal R Khan, Vindu Dara Singh, Rohit Verma, Bakhtiyaar Irani.

Whats missing ? A dude in the house. And thats a big miss! Considering they have people like Shamita Shetty, Sherlyn Chopra and Claudia Ciesla, a dude who can flirt with them is damn important!

Not-so-dudes includes Ismail Darbar, Raju Shrivasatav, Kamaal R Khan, Vindu Dara Singh, Rohit Verma, Bakhtiyaar Irani. We dont see anyone of them in the DUDE’s role. Remember Aryan Vaid!

Amitabh Bachchan  – Will get the family audience! The smame baritone voice and the same attitude. Dignified! He has a new name for the show too. Its called Bigg Boss TRITIYA! Rest as expected! We think he should have been inside the house. Has more skeletons in his closet than anyone can ever imagine! Thats for a different day. 

Moment of the day  : When Amitabh Bachchan asked Shelyn Chopra about her role in the house, she answered that she will be like a sexy bai in the house! Bachchan had no clue how to react.

Inmate of the day – Rohit Verma. Inside the house, his first question was – Should I sleep in men’s room or women’s room ? Perfecto! He is in the house exactly for the same reason.

Let the game begin! We will follow!

Bigg Boss music video featuring Amitabh Bachchan

They got money. They even got Big B for Bigg Boss. If rumour mills are to be believed, its for some 100 crore! But where is the Big Idea dude ? A new music video featuring Amitabh Bachchan for the new season of Bigg Boss is out. But what a fuckall video! Its F in capital and bold!

Its easy to spot an  idea there but the execution is of nursery standard! Tacky to say the least. Can someone from Colors enlighten us who shot this video ? Dont follow tv too much but have seen some of the best music montage/videos on Sony TV. Their shows may not get TRP’s but have seen some great work as far as promotional videos are concerned.

Take a look at the video. The song is in Amitabh Bachchan’s voice. Even though that doesnt help much.

Aladin’s music is out & listen to the promo songs!

Director Sujoy Ghosh and music directors Vishal-Shekhar have been twittering for a long time that their new release Aladin has one of the best musical score they have ever done. The music of Aladin is finally out. There are eight tracks in the album, including one by Sanjay Dutt and (Giri giri) Amitabh Bachchan’s name features in the credit list of two songs.

Havent heard the album yet but you can listen to the promo songs of the film here and select “Audios” option at the top panel.

The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Ritesh Deshmukh and Jacqueline Fernandes.