I feel lucky in life! – Sanjay Dutt

Here is another ‘Luck’ star who is happy to be the part of the adventure flick. Along with others, Sanjay Dutt was equally thrilled in doing all the action sequences, mindless about his age. He is also pleased with his young co-actors and feels good to see such talent on this big a scale.

Soon going to be 50, Sanjay is glad that he can still act in movies and get offers that suit him. “This is one of the best phases in my life. I have my work, I have my family, friends, well-wishers and I have Maana. I feel lucky in life!” says the composed actor.

In ‘Luck’, Sanjay plays a baddie, Moussa, who keeps hurdle after hurdle in the player's path in the life and death game of gamble. One can see hues of ‘Musafir’ shades in this character; one who enjoyThe actor will soon be celebrating his fiftieth birthday on 29 July. One can feel the undertones when he talks about his birthday wish. He says, “My only birthday wish is that I want to be a free man. I have put it all behind me, but I still do get nightmares. Waking up next to a loved one helps, but I still want my freedom back.”

We say - Phikar na kar, Munnabai! Forget the past and live in future.s seeing the plight of others.

PPC Horrortainment’s ‘8’

Boo! The horror is coming! Percept Picture Company, in association with Glorious Entertainment, had launched a separate production house for horror movies called PPC Horrortainment. Says Navin Shah, CEO of Percept Picture Company, “PPC Horrortainment will specialise in horror films. The idea is to identify gaps in the space and explore it to the full potential. We are also producing ‘Grrrr…’ directed by Priyadarshan.”Percept Picture Company is one that was behind the supernatural thriller movie of Akshay Kumar, ‘8X10’. And now their PPC Horrortainment is going to release its first horror movie, yet another project to use a numeric title, called ‘8’. The movie will launch debut heroine Sheena Nayar who is said to be playing a very prominent character along with the hero of the movie Sameer Dattani. The actress said, “Nowadays, when trends and clichés no longer work in the film industry, I thought picking up horror as my first film will create intrigue and interest not only in the film but also in me.” While Navin said, “The idea of choosing a new face came from the script requirement. Our understanding is that a fresh face has no baggage and hence is more believable.”

The movie is said to be entirely shot in Rajasthan. According to the director Wilson Louis ‘8’ is a very mysterious number and if one tries to draw the number, they will end up to the same place from where they started it. So he feels the title is apt for this horror movie.

The production house that was launched earlier this year has planned to bring out minimum 3 movies in a year. Besides ‘8’, PPC Horrortainment has ‘Grrr!’, ‘888’, ‘13’, ‘Mumbai’ and ‘Vehem’.

Chewing the fact with Adhayayan

Adhyayan Suman son of Shekhar Suman entered Bollywood through ‘Haal-e-dil’ directed by Anil Devgan. His second movies Raaz - The Mystery Continues with Emraan Hashmi& Kangana Ranaut made him a bankable star of bollywood .After the thriller flick Adhyayan’s third movie ‘Jashnn’ released and we caught him for you all fresh after the movie release. Q. 1) So you have finally got the chance to play a good guy in ‘Jashnn’. What exactly is your role in the film?

A) Well…I play Akash Verma, a twenty year old boy, who thirsts to become a singing icon and blaze a trail for himself among the galaxy of existing stars. But he has not been able to find that distinctive voice that he can call his own, that will propel him to the top. Only when he’s shattered by life and unflinchingly looks the sordid truth in the face – that he is freeloading off his elder sister Nisha played by Shahana, who, in order to offer him a decent life style, has become the mistress of a rich businessman, Aman Bajaj. Aman’s sister Sara, played by Anjana, is the one who pulls Akash out of his misery and gives him the strength and moral support he needs. The story is basically about how he over-comes all his obstacles and rises to the top.

Q.2) You play a very intense character in this film, how was that for you? Was it something that came naturally considering your recent personal dramas?

A) Hey I’m just 21. I have my entire life to have personal dramas and will deal with it in the most dignified way I know. But yes, my character goes through some intense drama in the movie. I am just 1 film old and frankly I tried to do full justice to my character by digging deep into myself and feeling emotions which I have never felt before. Though I could relate to the struggle Akash had to go through because even I went through the same as I was an extremely obese kid and have always been subjected to a lot of rebuke by people around me. It’s the quintessential story of a nobody who becomes a somebody. I feel the same way except I am yet to actually make my mark. Hopefully ‘Jashnn’ will be as successful, if not more, then Raaz-The Mystery Continues (smiles). Catch Adhyayan right her and get to know more about his plans!

‘Fast Forward’ to sway Bollywood!

Well here’s some good news for all those dance lovers. This august will witness India’s first full fledged and hardcore dance based movie ‘Fast Forward’, produced by Anjum Rizvi of 'A Wednesday' fame.

Under the banner of Y.T Entertainment Ltd. & Anjum Rizvi Film Co., the movie stars Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar and a team of dynamic youngsters like Akshay Kapoor (of Alag fame), Bhavna Pani, Rehan Khan, Sabina Sheema and Siddhanth Karnick who are at the core of the film.‘Fast Forward’ is a story of people sharing a common passion – Dance. This riveting drama about simple people and their struggle against time and against the odds is replete with conflict, emotions, romance and thrills.

Directed by Zaigham Ali Sayed, the movie is primarily choreographed by this season’s Jhalak Dikhlaja winner Sonia Jaffer Fraser along with Seema Desai and Vishnu Deva.

‘Fast Forward’ will showcase the most explosive dance sequences that are packed with high energy. The movie will be the first of its kind to reveal some professional hip hop moves and B Boying stunts unseen in their original form in Hindi Cinema till date.

But that’s not it, the movie also offers some sweltering Latin-American forms like the Salsa, Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba and even House.

Releasing this August, ‘Fast Forward’ promises to be the ultimate adrenaline rush for cine goers, set against a backdrop of high energy and explosive dances and drama!

Asia watches long solar eclipse

People in Asia are watching what will be the longest total solar eclipse this century, with swathes of India and China to be plunged into darkness.

Amateur stargazers and scientists have travelled far to see the eclipse, which will last for about five minutes.

The eclipse could first be seen early on Wednesday in eastern India, though in some regions there was thick cloud.

The eclipse is moving east across India, Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and the Pacific.

The eclipse first became total over India at 0053GMT. It will cross some southern Japanese islands and will last be visible from land at Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati. It will end at 0418GMT.

Elsewhere, a partial eclipse is visible across much of Asia.

Taking shelter

In India the village of Taregna, near Patna, has been swamped by researchers expecting a particularly clear view of the eclipse.

"We are hoping to make some valuable observations on the formation of asteroids around the sun," scientist Pankaj Bhama told the Associated Press news agency.



In eastern China, heavy cloud or rain was expected to make it virtually impossible to see the eclipse.

The previous total eclipse, in August 2008, lasted two minutes and 27 seconds.

This one will last six minutes and 39 seconds at its maximum point.

'Special opportunity'

Alphonse Sterling, a Nasa astrophysicist who will be following the eclipse from China, scientists are hoping data from the eclipse will help explain solar flares and other structures of the sun and why they erupt.

"We'll have to wait a few hundred years for another opportunity to observe a solar eclipse that lasts this long, so it's a very special opportunity," Shao Zhenyi, an astronomer at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory in China told the Associated Press.

Solar scientist Lucie Green, from University College London, is aboard an American cruise ship heading for that point near the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, where the axis of the Moon's shadow will pass closest to Earth.

"The [Sun's] corona has a temperature of 2 million degrees but we don't know why it is so hot," she said.

"What we are going to look for are waves in the corona. ... The waves might be producing the energy that heats the corona. That would mean we understand another piece of the science of the Sun."

The next total solar eclipse will occur on 11 July next year. It will be visible in a narrow corridor over the southern hemisphere, from the southern Pacific Ocean to Argentina.

Nayantara for Prabhudeva’s next

The film industry is rife with rumours that Prabhudeva, who has directed the Hindi remake of ‘Pokkiri’, ‘Wanted’, is all set with the story for his second directorial venture. And the heroine for this will be no other than his sweetheart Nayantara herself!

Following the lines of Trisha, Asin and Genelia, it is said that Nayantara had been secretively eyeing a career in Bollywood, though she never openly disclosed it. And now, with her boy friend Prabhudeva making waves there, she is said to be a Bollywood heroine soon.

The actress, remarkably, has signed no Tamil film now, apart from ‘Aadhavan’ with Suriya, which is already underway. She is doing a couple of Telugu and Malayalam projects, but it is said that she hasn’t taken up more offers to keep herself available for a Bollywood project, which may be confirmed anytime soon.

Watch this space for more dough on that!

Harry Potter sets awesome records

‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ has swished its magic wand to receive an overwhelming response as well as whopping Box Office collections. The movie became an instant hit since its worldwide release. The sixth sequel of the magical genre, ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ is said to have set a fabulous record with grossing exceeding its previous series. Not only that, the movie has cast spell on other movies that released in the same month - by affecting their collections and attracting more audience on its side.

According to a Warner Bros distributor, the latest Harry Potter movie produced $159.7 million in the United States and Canada, the sixth-biggest opening for a five-day period. It earned $237 million overseas since Wednesday in 54 countries, bringing its worldwide total to $396.7 million. The movie collections even exceeded to an unexpected amount when compared to other children’s movies during preceding years.

The three wizard friends played by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have shown to be grown tremendously in appearance and wisdom. The actors have impeccably evolved since their introduction movie. The movie is more real, more appealing and more of technical mix, in terms of picturization.

In the coming days ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ is expected to generate more response and is hoped to be the first movie to hit the target of $1 billion. ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone’ of 2001 is said to be the highest grosser with $975 million, the fifth-biggest movie of all time.

Looks like it is going to be a party time for Potter fans!