Ghajini's new distinction

the fifth Apsara Film and TV Producers Guild Awards were presented recently amidst much fanfare at the Chitrakoot Grounds at Andheri. The Best Actor award went to Shah Rukh Khan for starring in the film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and the Best Actress award was bagged by Priyanka Chopra for the film Kaminey.

The director of Ghajini was adjudged the Best Director. The film’s screenplay also went on to win the Best Screenplay award.

Amitabh Bachchan was awarded with the Best Lifetime Achievement award.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Hrithik or Aamir in Telugu remake?

The producers of Hindi Ghajini – Allu Aravind and Madhu Mantena – are considering a remake of the Ram Charan Teja starrer Maghadeera in Hindi. The duo are reportedly working on it and trying to obtain the dates of Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan, sources say.


Speaking to the IANS, Mantena said, “Yes Allu Aravind and I are remaking Magadheera in Hindi. As for the cast, it’s too early to talk about it. But Magadheera is definitely being planned to be bigger than Ghajini”


It is worth a mention here that in the original, Ram Charan Teja played a dual role, while in the remake two different heroes are being roped in. Wonder what the producers have in mind.






Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Rajinikanth in Murugadoss’s movie?

Superstar Rajinikanth is busy with the shooting of mega budget “Enthiram”. He is also featuring in “Sultan – the warrior” which is an animated movie. Now the buzz in Kollywood is that Murugadoss is planning to cast Rajinikanth in his movie.

According to sources, Murugadoss has prepared a script especially for Rajini and even the superstar is impressed with it. Currently Murugadoss is busy with his Bollywood venture with Shah Rukh Khan. This is his second Hindi venture after the highly successful “Ghajini”.

If all goes well then it will definitely be a great movie for Rajni fans.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

Kamal and Murugadoss together!

This sounds like one combination that can’t fail. Arguably India’s finest actor is ready to join hands with the most promising of young directors, AR Murugadoss.

This doesn’t seem to be the dream of the film buffs alone. Director Murugadoss, who is yet to begin his next project after ‘Ghajini’, also shares this dream to work with the Universal Hero.

He announced this at an event held recently which was attended by Kamal Haasan himself. The director went on to publicly state that he was a big fan of Kamal, who’s experimentation with roles has fascinated him a lot. He also went on to state that he would like to do a project with Kamal as the hero.

AR Murugadoss has earlier directed ‘Dheena’, ‘Ramana’ and the Suriya-starrer ‘Ghajini’ that went on to be made in Bollywood with Aamir Khan reprising Suriya’s role. Murugadoss has been holding talks with Shah Rukh for his next film, even while he will be teaming up with Suriya for another film soon.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

Murugadoss inks a deal with Star Fox

Murugadoss shot to limelight with the Suriya starrer Ghajini in Tamil and went on to prove his mettle in Bollywood where he again wielded the megaphone to direct Aamir Khan for the Hindi version of the same film. Ever since then, there has been no looking back for the director. The latest buzz is that AR Murugadoss Productions have entered into an agreement with the Hollywood production house major, Star Fox to produce films in Tamil. Speaking about this latest development, Murugadoss said that though his production house would be producing the films, he would not don the director’s cap for all of it. Murugadoss plans to offer an opportunity to deserving directors, technicians and actors and actress in the new ventures.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Ghajini profits to be withheld?

The producer of the Tamil version Ghajini has once again filed a suit in the Madras High Court pleading for the deposit of Rs. 230 crores in a nationalized bank until the issue is resolved.
Earlier, Salem Chandrasekar filed a suit against Geetha Arts, the producers of the Hindi version Ghajini that the he holds the rights of the film and hence Geetha Arts should share the profits with him. Following this, the Madras High Court ruled that Geetha Arts must deposit Rs. 5 crores and release the film. After the film’s release the court ordered that Salem Chandrasekar can realize the amount. Geetha Arts appealed to the Supreme Court against this decision. While this suit is still pending at the SC, Salem Chandrasekar has once again filed a petition requesting the High Court to direct Geetha Arts to deposit the entire profits Rs. 230 crore until the issue is resolved. The case has been posted for hearing on July 2nd.

Ghajini to re-release

Aamir Khan fans need not wait an entire year for their favourite star's next film. Taking advantage of the deadlock between producers and multiplexes, the makers of Ghajini are all set to re-release the film.

At a time when marketing strategy often translates into ticket sales, this strategy is being seen as coup of sorts. This time around the film will feature new footage. And two, with the proposed ban on new releases from April 4, the producers of Ghajini are hoping their brainwave will prove a breath of fresh air.

And that might not be a bad idea. The film had already grossed Rs 75 crore in India and Rs 200 crore worldwide.

"I am really happy everyone's liking Ghajini, and people have made it such a huge hit," said Aamir Khan, actor.

Wrapped in the new avtaar of the film, there's an upside for the producers as well. Madhu Matenu of India Films told NDTV that re-releasing the film is a good way to work around recession. Why make a new film when you can simply tinker with an old one, right?

Well, not quite. Ghajini had run into trouble with the censors the first time around thanks to some heavy-duty action scenes. Now it will have to pass muster with the censor board once again.
If it does, remember to keep your date with Aamir Khan. Or you could tattoo it on just so you don't forget. 


Courtesy: ndtvmovies.com

Growing demand for Rahman’s tunes

The tunes of AR Rahman has been relished by music lovers from ‘Roja’, ‘Mumbai’, ‘Gentleman’, ‘Donga Donga’, ‘Rangeela’, ‘Indian’, ‘Prema Desam’, ‘Jeans’, ‘Taal’, ‘Sakhiya’, ‘Lagaan’, ‘Amrutha’, ‘Naani’, ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, ‘Yuvraaj’ to ‘Ghajini’ and the endless list goes on..

Rahman’s double Oscar glory is surging in the country and the demand for his albums in the market is now raging high with patrons thronging towards the stores.

Within this past two weeks, the sales have gone up by more than thirty percent. Store dealers have ordered extra copies of the albums ‘Bombay Dreams’, ‘Signature Collections’, ‘Vandematharam’, ‘Live in Dubai’ and ‘Between Heaven and Earth’. 

The signature tune of Airtel is on air all over India depicting Rahman’s stature and sale records are in a never-seen-before consign in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Along with movie albums, patriotic and international albums are emptying the stocks, as said by retailers.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

Two more awards for Oscar Rahman

Barely a week after the Oscar triumph, Rahman hit upon another double delight at the Filmfare Awards. As expected, he walked away with awards for the best music and best background score. The year 2008 was very special for Rahman in Bollywood with at least three superhit albums; Jodha Akbar, Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa and Ghajini, Yuvraj being the only album that failed to make a big impact. It seemed like a contest between the three Rahman

albums for the coveted Filmfare statuette and in the end it was the peppy and youthful Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa which took the award. One can easily guess that it was the hugely popular ‘Kabhi Kabhi Aditi’ that did the trick for Rahman this time. Jodha Akbar took the award for the best background score for the stirring sounds created by Rahman. While it is rather true that Rahman’s victory at the Oscars has almost wholly eclipsed his Filmfare triumph. It is not a surprise, as the man has got many of these before. But for all Rahman fans, this is yet another reason to celebrate none the less.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

After Aamir, it’s SRK with Murugadoss

It’s no more U-turn for Murugadoss. Sweeping success overnight with his ‘Ghajini’, the auteur happens to be the ducky lad for Superstars of Bollywood. Earlier, Murugadoss had stated about making couple of Tamil flicks and then getting back into the Hindi Film Industry.

Perhaps, the scenario is different now as King Khan doesn’t wanna let his best opportunity of teaming up with this stupendous filmmaker slip off. Sources from Red Chillies Entertainment have revealed that SRK and Murugadoss would be catching for their script discussions.

And if buzzes are believed to be true, one of the scripts that would be presented to SRK was actually penned for Surya. Well, Shah Rukh Khan and Murugadoss are so keen on gearing up for the genre of ‘Romance’. So, who’s gonna produce this film?

Would it Shah Rukh himself or Yash Raj Productions known for churning out best poignant love stories in the past?

Let’s wait and watch.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

“Ghajini collection report is false”

Following the orders of the Madras High Court, the producers of the Hindi Ghajini submitted the accounts of the film’s profits yesterday. When the matter was taken up for hearing, the producer of the Tamil version, Salem Chandrasekar, alleged that mere submission of accounts are not enough but should be in the form of documents.

The advocates on behalf of the petitioner (Salem Chandrasekar) brought to the court’s notice that newspaper reports suggest that the film has raked up over Rs. 200 crores from December 25th to January 15th but the defendants have shown a mere Rs. 104 crores profits in India and Rs. 7 crores from abroad. The case was posted for hearing on February 5th. The Judges also ordered the defendants to file the collection report from January 15 to February 15 on the 17th of February.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

'Ghajini' first Hindi movie to cross Rs 200cr mark

When booking for the movie opened at a theatre in the UK on Wednesday, the film became the first to gross Rs 200 crore at the worldwide box office. What's more, the mark has been achieved in little less than two weeks. It has grossed Rs 162 crore in the domestic market and Rs 39 crore has come from overseas till Thursday.

An ecstatic Madhu Mantena, the Ghajini producer, admits to being "overawed'' by the record but trade consultant Amod Mehra is apparently not surprised. "The film was very strong from Day 1. It has been galloping like a one-horse race and, in my estimate, it will cross the Rs-250-crore (gross) mark very easily,'' Mehra said.

Bollywood producer Punkej Kharbanda is also not surprised that a Hindi film has broken all previous box-office records. "In the last year alone, there has been a 40% increase in cinema screens and also a rise in the cinema-going population, especially in the age group of 18-35. With most of the theatres recording good numbers on Ghajini, the Rs-200-crore mark is hardly a surprise,'' Kharbanda said.

Ghajini released with the maximum number of prints in India (1,200 digital and analog versions) and it made inroads into even provincial towns where films never get released on the same day as the rest of the world. A trade source said, "The film is set to take over the mantle of the highest domestic Bollywood earner from Anil Sharma's Gadar-Ek Prem Katha.''

In the overseas market, the film is, till now, second only to Karan Johar's Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna.

Ghajini has also reportedly earned Rs 4 crore from gaming rights (a first for a Bollywood film), Rs 21 crore for satellite rights for India and overseas and something to the tune of Rs 10 crore for home video and music. 


Courtesy: indiatimes.com

Ghajini collections zoom to Rs 140 crore

Aamir Khan has given the biggest hit of Bollywood in the form of Ghajini. Its box office collections zoomed to Rs 140 crore before the end of two weeks.

The big hits of recent times like Singh is Kinng and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi pale in popularity and box office collections when compared to the Aamir Khan and Asin film.

In territory after territory, the film has established records of sorts in popularity and box office collection. Its overseas collection is one of the highest so far for any Aamir Khan film. Aamir Khan is not known to have a great fan following like Shah Rukh Khan when it comes to fans in hundreds of thousands in Europe, US and the Middle East. 


But this film has won accolades and has given him a good harvest in the form of god box office collections. Industry pundits say that the box office collection of the film has crossed US $ 6 million by the end of second week.

Though the film had some competition from Shah Rukh Khan starrer Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and also from Akshay Kumar’s last big release Singh is King when it came to box office collections, but Ghajini certainly has the last laugh.

Estimates say that the film is on its way to be the greatest hit of Bollywood in terms of money it may gross. The film is poised to become first rupees one billion movie. But many say it may gross a lot more than many had initially believed.

This is a turnaround of sorts for the Bollywood at the end of the year. None of the industry stalwarts had expected that the last week of 2008 would change the fortunes of the industry with two big hits being released very close to each other. 

Courtesy: khabrein.info

What's next after Ghajini?

After the smashing success of Ghajini, Director A R Murugadoss is all set to direct his second Hindi film. He says he's already decided on two stories but he's keeping the details firmly under wraps.

"I will definitely make more Hindi films. I have two stories in mind. Will work out the details in eight to ten days," said Murugadoss.

It was not the success of Ghajini that prompted him to pursue a Bollywood dream. He says Hindi movies were always on the cards.

"When I wrote Ghajini in Hindi, Aamir said he would act in it. It was a dream come true for me," he said.

But it's not only sucess that Murugadoss is relishing, he also savouring the experience of working with one of the best actors in Bollywood, Aamir Khan.

"At the start, Aamir told me, 'Just let me know if you need my help, with the language and dialogues'," he said.

The taste of sucess is sweet but it's only a lucky few who get to experience it. As for Murugadoss, he seems to have hit upon a winning formula.

Courtesy: ndtv.com

FXLabs, Eros Intl launch 3D game on Ghajini

FXLabs Studios, a Hyderabad-based game developer for PCs and video game consoles, has partnered Eros International Plc, a distributor of Bollywood film content in the UK, US and Europe, to launch the country’s first 3D PC action game based on a Bollywood movie.




Developed on the Bollywood film ‘Ghajini’ starring Aamir Khan, ‘Ghajini - The Game’ will be distributed by Eros International in both Indian and international markets.
‘Ghajini’, a third person action game, recreated movie locations and scenes in the 3D world so as to provide the gamers with the actual movie sets to make the game playing experience as authentic and adventurous as the movie. The players get a first hand experience of the main protagonist and character Sanjay, played by Aamir Khan, and experience the challenges and trails faced by him.
“Aamir Khan has taken a keen interest during the development of the game. The actor has lent his voice and has also enacted certain ‘moves’ to bring in authenticity for the action sequences in the game,” FXLabs stated in a press release on Monday.



Courtesy: business-standard.com

Ghajini collection report in trouble

A petition by the producer of the Tamil version of Ghajini, calling for the collection details of the Hindi Ghajini came up for hearing at the High Court yesterday (6th January). It may be recalled that producer Salem Chandrasekar filed a petition seeking a stay on the film, as he had the rights of the film with him. The local court issued a stay order on the release

of Ghajini but this was conditionally vacated by the High Court of Madras on appeal after the defendant deposited Rs. 5 crores. Hearing the petition, the Division Bench comprising Justice Dhanapalan and Sathyanarayana called the defendants, Geetha Arts to submit the collection report. The defendants pleaded that the film is being screened in several parts of the country and hence it would take time to get the report. The judges ordered Geetha Arts to submit in writing the reasons for the delay and the time needed to submit the report. The case is posted for hearing on January 27th.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Murugadoss to do a film with Aamir again

After the box office success of his debut Hindi film Ghajini, A R Murugadoss has become a celebrity in Bollywood.

After the release of Ghajini, most of the Hindi superstars have been requesting Murugadoss to do a film for them. But the director is now preparing a script to make it in Hindi.

According to Murugadoss, he will not return to Tamil immediately. His next project will also be with Aamir Khan and after the completion of this project he will return to Tamil. "I have two scripts and want to work with Aamir again. I'm his biggest fan," said Murugadass,

Regarding the remake of Ghajini, the director commented: 'Aamir is truly a perfectionist as he is known in Bollywood. He's brilliant and brings a different level of energy on to the sets. There's nobody like him."

Actually Murugadoss made changes in the film to suit the Hindi audience and of course, the censor board asked them to cut down certain violent scenes in the film.

"Scenes which were very gory were cut and we made changes in the climax since I wasn't happy with it. The characterization of the songs was also changed and certain fight sequences were removed. I actually got to improve my own mistakes by remaking my film," said the director.

Courtesy: oneindia.in

Ghajini takes lead on the internet too

This year's best kept secret just upped the suspense quotient on the web! The makers of Ghajini are capitalizing the potential of the web to create maximum visibility for the film. Hungama, the largest aggregator, developer and publisher of Indian entertainment content globally, has created a innovative website www.rememberghajini.com. However, in addition to this website are the two virals: www.findghajini.com and www.wallofsuspects.com that grip the user and give him an experience like the movie, over the Internet.

The official website of the movie is one of a kind. For the first time, a movie website does not talk about the movie. That's right! The website maintains the suspense of this movie and does not provide a synopsis, while keeping the user engaged in a multitude of videos and images. What even further differentiates the website is that true to the theme of the film, the website refreshes itself every fifteen minutes. No matter which section the user is accessing, every fifteen minutes you are driven back to the homepage. To support it, there is a timer that runs at the bottom of each page.

The producers of Ghajini and Hungama believe this initiative has all the elements that will attract the online audiences to the theatres. Exclusive videos of Aamir Khan have been shot and used for the viral www.findghajini.com. In this viral application, the user plays the role of Sanjay Singhania (character played by Aamir Khan) and tries to find Ghajini through the clues provided. After the user finds a clue, he/ she is given a hint about where one might find the next one. After one finds all the clues, the user needs to dial a phone number on which one can hear Aamir Khan talking to them.

Commenting on the new route explored for Ghajini, Madhu Mantena, producer of Ghajini says, "Ghajini is a film with tremendous potential, and therefore we felt we owed it to the film to invest time and creativity in the marketing program. We strongly believe in giving each and every film the maximum attention possible to create a space in the audience's minds that merely does not create awareness but instead goes a step further to ensure a 'buy-in' to the film by creating a sense of anticipation and excitement. To achieve this thrust, promoting the movie online was extremely important. And it is for all to see that the website has fabulously brought forth the interesting elements of the film, giving viewers a complete experience of the film without revealing the plot and simultaneously engaging the viewer."

Hungama has integrated elements in all the three initiatives. In the viral www.wallofsuspects.com, users can upload their own photograph or that of their friends, much like the Aamir Khan's wall of suspects in the film. Once they have done so, they receive a code which is required to view the entire wall of suspects. What does this wall have? Find out yourself at www.rememberghajini.com.

Courtesy: oneindia.in

Aamir wants to remake Forrest Gump

If things go Aamir Khan's way, his fans might have an opportunity to see him remake the Hollywood blockbuster Forrest Gump.

The movie has impressed Aamir so much that on being asked which film he would choose to do as a Hindi remake after Ghajini, he says, "It's Tom Hank's Forrest Gump. I have seen this film. It's a wonderful movie. Tom Hanks has done a fantastic job. If I get an opportunity to do a remake, it has to be Forrest Gump."

Forrest Gump is the story of a man with a low IQ. He has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historical events. But despite all that he has achieved, his one true love eludes him. The film is a 1994 comedy-drama. It is based on the 1986 novel by Winston Groom. According to an estimate, the film turned out to be a huge commercial success, earning US$677 million worldwide. It became the top grossing film in North America released that year. The film won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director, (Robert Zemeckis), and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).

Every bit of the film is shot with so much of precision that that Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan can't think of any other film for a perfect remake. Talking about the aspects of remakes, he feels that every film doesn't qualify for a good remake.

His currently running movie Ghajini is also a remake of the Tamil film of the same name and Aamir says that the concept of 15 minutes of memory loss impressed him very much. "This concept has not been used in any Bollywood film so far. So It impressed me very much and that's why I thought of working in it. From my point of view Forrest Gump is also a very good film for a Hindi-remake."

Courtesy: ndtv.com

Aamir Khan gives India its first Rs1 bn movie - Ghajini!

Mumbai, Dec 31: Aamir Khan’s ‘Ghajini’ will be written in golden words in the history of Indian cinema as it has brought India its first ever one billion bucks. Mr Perfectionist’s dedication and talent have finally paid off. Yes, the film that till yesterday was just a few bucks away from claiming the title of highest grosser this year has today not only become the biggest hit this year but also the most profitable film ever.With this, the much-anticipated flick not only cut its potential competitor ‘Singh Is Kinng’ to bits and pieces but has also defied the recession-hit economy.

And going by industry analysts, the whooping one billion bucks that the film has raked in is just the tip of the iceberg. After all, it’s only been a week since the film released. Observing the pace at which the cash registers are ringing, the film is touted to cross Rs 1.40 million mark by its second week.

According to reports, just five days after it’s release, the film’s collection passed the collection of the other mega hit ‘Singh Is Kinng’, which opened with Rs 900 million worldwide.

With such moolah coming his way, Aamir Khan is euphoric. Talking to a news daily, an overwhelmed Aamir said, "I'm very happy and thankful that the film is being appreciated by the audience so much. The hard work put in by the entire team is being appreciated by the people."

Well, looks like the year’s never over till the last day passes by, for Bollywood has just got its real King!

Courtesy: behindwoods.com