International Dyslexia Association applauds Taare Zameen Par

For this golden-touch man, it was first wide appreciation from India and now the world. We are indeed talking about Aamir 'The Perfectionist' Khan and his masterwork, Taare Zameen Par. In his blog, he speaks about his 'date' on October 29, when he held a special screening of TZP in Seattle for the IDA (International Dyslexia Association). This was one mega event which was attended by more than 200 members who knew about Dyslexia and worked in the field of learning disabilities. And through this event, Aamir wanted to gauge the responses of the cinegoers from the foreign shores.

The 'screening' ('DVD projection', to be precise) was in a conference room and not in a cinema hall. Much to the surprise of Aamir, the film got itself an absolutely thunderous standing ovation, no sooner the lights were switched on! Not just that, after the screening there were many tear-filled eyes in the audiences. All this simply made Aamir glad that IDA had chosen to screen TZP at their annual conference. The ironical moment of the evening was the eagerness of the audience to know when the film would release in the US. And when they were told that the film has already seen a US release, they all insisted that the film be re-released in theatres, this time for the mainstream American audiences.

One of the important points that came out of the Q&A session was the request from the audience to dub the film in English when re-released in US, as they wanted their children to see the film, but were afraid that the smaller kids will not be able to read the subtitles. Aamir has taken keen interest into this matter with an assurance that 'at the very least, the DVD release in US can incorporate an English dubbed version'.

Aamir ends his blog saying that he didn't get much sleep that night (October 29), and that this time, it was him and not Tom Hanks, who was sleepless in Seattle! Well Aamir, with TZP being a front-runner at the Oscars, your fans (including us) will be totally sleepless till the results are announced!

Aamir Khan speaks about TZP being sent as India's entry to the Oscars

Taare Zameen Par is India's official entry to the Oscars

The verdict is finally out. Aamir Khan's directorial debut Taare Zameen Par, which won the hearts of audiences world over, has been selected as India's official entry to the Oscars.

The heartwarming story of a dyslexic child (portrayed by Darsheel Safary) and his supportive teacher (played by Aamir himself) was both a critical and commercial success. Taare Zameen Par edged out competition such as Jodhaa Akbar and A Wednesday to be chosen as India's official entry to the prestigious Academy awards.

Last time around Aamir Khan Productions' Lagaan made it to the Final 5 nominated films in the Best Foreign Film category. Now producer-director Aamir Khan would be hoping that Taare Zameen Par not just finds a nomination in the Top 5, but also bags the coveted trophy.

Here's wishing Aamir and the entire team of Taare Zameen Par heartiest congratulations and loads of luck for their Oscar campaign.

Winners of the Zee Cine Awards 2008

Best Film
Chak De! India - Aditya Chopra, Yash Raj Films

Best Director
Aamir Khan - Taare Zameen Par

Best Actor (Male)
Shah Rukh Khan - Chak De! India

Best Actor (Female)
Kareena Kapoor - Jab We Met

Most Popular Track Of The Year
Mauja Hi Mauja - Jab We Met

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male)
Govinda - Partner

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female)
Shilpa Shetty - Life In A.. Metro

Best Actor In A Comic Role (Male/Female)
Vinay Pathak - Bheja Fry

Best Actor In A Negative Role (Male/Female)
Arjun Rampal - Om Shanti Om

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

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

Best Lyrics
Prasoon Joshi - Maa (Taare Zameen Par)

Best Music
A R Rahman - Guru

Most Promising Debut Director
Aamir Khan - Taare Zameen Par

Most Promising Debut (Male)
Ranbir Kapoor - Saawariya

Most Promising Debut (Female)
Deepika Padukone - Om Shanti Om

Most Promising Debut (Child Artiste)
Darsheel Safary - Taare Zameen Par

Technical Awards
Best Choreographer - Farah Khan - Om Shanti Om
Best Costume – Manish Malhotra & Karan Johar - Om Shanti Om
Best Visual Effects - Red Chilli's Entertainment - Om Shanti Om
Best Editing – Amitabh Shukla - Chak de India
Best Cinematography - Sandip Chaterjee- Chak de India
Best Action - Parvez Khan - Jhonny Gaddar
Best Film Processing - ADLABS - Namastey London
Best Art Direction - Nitin Desai - Gandhi my Father
Best Sound recording – Baylon Ponseca - Shootout at lokhandwala
Best Background Music - AR Rahman - Guru
Best Screenplay - Imtiyaz Ali - Jab We Met
Best Dialogue - Jaideep Sahani - Chak De India
Best Story - Amol Gupte - Taare Zammen Par
Zee Icon award – Shah Rukh Khan
Zee Cinema Entertainer of the year – Ritesh Deshmukh
Lifetime Achievement – Zeenat Amaan
Lifetime Achievement – Feroz Khan
British Indian Actor Award – Katrina Kaif
Bollywod Queen Award - Gauri Khan

Critics Awards
Best Film – Gandhi My Father
Best Actress – Shifali Shah – Gandhi my Father
Best Actor – Darsheel Safary – Taare Zameen Par
Critics Special Awards - Neil Nitin Mukesh

IIFA nominations out, Taare Zameen... misses out

New Delhi: Just as most things come full circle, so did this – the brand ambassador of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), Amitabh Bachchan had set in motion the voting process for IDEA-IIFA Awards 2008 by casting the first vote a few weeks ago. And today, at the IIFA meet in the Capital, the Big B was present when the nominees were announced.

Abhishek Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Shahid Kapoor were nominated in the best actor category while Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Tabu and Vidya Balan were nominated in the best actress catagory.

Nominees for the best director included Anurag Basu, David Dhawan, Imtiaz Ali, Mani Ratnam, Priyadarshan and Shimit Amin.

And Guru, Chak De India, Jab We Met, Om Shanti Om, Partner and Life in a Metro were nominated in the category for the best film.

Surprisingly, Taare Zameen Par did not receive any nominations as only those producers who had submitted their films to the IIFA panel were considered.

With a viewership of almost 600 million, the IIFA awards are among the world's most-watched entertainment events.

This year the prestigious awards will be held in Bangkok in June.

Nominations for the Zee Cine Awards 2008

Best Film
Chak De India
Guru
Jab We Met
Life in a Metro
Om Shanti Om
Taare Zameen Par

Best Actor (Male)
Abhishek Bachchan - Guru
Akshay Kumar - Namastey London
Amitabh Bachchan - Cheeni Kum
Shah Rukh Khan - Chak De! India
Shah Rukh Khan - Om Shanti Om
Shahid Kapur - Jab We Met

Best Actor (Female)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan- Guru
Deepika Padukone - Om Shanti Om
Kareena Kapoor - Jab We Met
Katrina Kaif - Namastey London
Tabu - Cheeni Kum
Vidya Balan - Bhool Bhulaiyaa

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
Shamit Amin - Chak De! India

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male)
Aamir Khan - Taare Zameen Par
Bobby Deol - Naqaab
Irrfan Khan Life In A.. Metro
Mithun Chakraborty - Guru
Shreyas Talpade - Om Shanti Om

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female)
Chitrashi - Chak De! India
Konkona Sen Sharma - Life In A.. Metro
Lara Dutta - Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Shilpa Shetty - Life In A.. Metro
Tisca Chopra - Taare Zameen Par

Best Actor In A Negative Role (Male/Female)
Arjun Rampal - Om Shanti Om
Neil Nitin Mukesh - Johnny Gaddar
Pawan Malhotra - Black Friday
Shilpa Shukla - Chak De! India
Viveik Oberoi - Shootout At Lokhandwala

Best Actor In A Comic Role (Male/Female)
Anil Kapoor - Welcome
Nana Patekar - Welcome
Riteish Deshmukh - Heyy Baby
Tusshar Kapoor - Dhol
Vinay Pathak - Bheja Fry

Most Popular Track Of The Year
Barso Re - Guru
Dard-E-Disco- Om Shanti Om
Do You Wanna Partner - Partner
Hare Ram Hare Krishna - Bhool Bhulaiya
In Dino - Life In A Metro
Mauja Hi Mauja - Jab We Met

Best Playback Singer (Male)
KK - Aankhon Mein Teri (Om Shanti Om)
Shaan - Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)
Soham - In Dino (Life In A.. Metro)
Sukhwinder Singh, Salim Merchant & Marianna D'Cruz - Kuchh Kariye (Chak De India)
Sonu Nigam - Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)

Best Playback Singer (Female)
Mahalaxmi Iyer - Bolna Halke (Jhoom Barabar Jhoom)
Mahalaxmi Iyer - Salaam-e-Ishq (Salaam-e-Ishq)
Shreya Ghosal - Barso Re Megha (Guru)
Shreya Ghosal - Yeh Ishq Haaye (Jab We Met)
Sunidhi Chauhan - Sajnaji Vaari Vaari (Honeymoon Travels P Ltd)

Best Lyrics
Gulzar - Tere Bina (Guru)
Javed Akhtar - Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)
Prasoon Joshi - Maa (Taare Zameen Par)
Sameer - Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)
Sayeed Quadri - In Dino (Life In A.. Metro)

Best Music
A R Rahman - Guru
Pritam - Life in a Metro
Pritam, Sandesh Shandilya - Jab We Met
Sajid-Wajid - Partner
Vishal-Shekhar - Om Shanti Om

Most Promising Debut Director
Aamir Khan - Taare Zameen Par
Feroz Abbas Khan - Gandhi My Father
R Balakrishna - Cheeni Kum
Reema Kagti - Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd
Sajid Khan - Heyy Babyy

Most Promising Debut (Male)
Himesh Reshammiya - Aap Ka Suroor
Neil Nitin Mukesh - Johnny Gaddar
Ranbir Kapoor - Saawariya

Most Promising Debut (Female)
Deepika Padukone - Om Shanti Om
Jiah Khan - Nishabd
Sonam Kapoor - Saawariya

Most Promising Debut (Child Artiste)
Darsheel Safary - Taare Zameen Par
Druv Piyush Panjuani - Apna Aasmaan
Swini Khera - Cheeni Kum

Aamir Khan to attend an award function

Aamir Khan bagged the Gollapudi Srinivas Memorial foundation award as the Best Debut Director for Taare Zameen Par. The jury members included the likes of Kamal Hassan and director Singitam Srinivasa.

Despite being awarded as 'The Best Director' in almost all the popular award ceremonies, Aamir never showed up for any of them. Interestingly, this time he would be in Chennai on August 12 to receive the Gollapudi Srinivas Memorial foundation award along with a cash prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh. Kamal Hassan all praises for Aamir and TZP as he declared the award on Sunday (March 16).

Apparently, it's for the first time that a film from Bollywood has been chosen for the award in the past 11 years since the inception of the foundation. The Gollapudi foundation which recognizes the directorial talent in India was founded in 1998 by well-known Telugu-writer Gollapudi Maruthi Rao in the memory of his late son Srinivasa, who died in an accident while making a film.

Taare Zameen Par has been selected among the 19 nominations across the country.

Bollywood Hungama

Aamir’s dilemma on TZP continues

Aamir Khan just can’t get over with his directorial debut Taare Zameen Par. After the super success of his film Aamir is all set to release it on DVD. That’s not all... this talented director who believes in creativity has also been toying with the idea of having a director’s commentary to it.

It is believed that Aamir gets innumerable requests on his official blog about TZP’s DVD. Hence he has decided to release it and according to his fan’s request he is also contemplating with the thought of lending his voice for the feature of director’s commentary. Speaking about the same Aamir said, “Off late what has been really troubling me is the the director’s commentary that I need to record for the TZP DVD.”

Aamir is down with flu since the past 10 -12 days and feels that he has already conveyed what he wanted to. “Personally I feel that I have said what I had to through the film. Also, I think that films should be experienced; I shouldn’t need to explain stuff. So what I want to know from you all is do you all really want me to do a director’s commentary for the DVD release?”, he questions.

Aamir being very interactive with his fans asks for suggestion and sometimes provide guidelines too. He asks his fans “Is there something which you all would especially like in the DVD? I have already put in what I think will be great extras, but maybe I’ve missed out something.”

Let’s wait and watch if Aamir succumbs to his fans’ requests and lends his voice for the director’s commentary.

Reshma Kelkar, Indiatimes Movies

Rashtrapathi beckons Aamir!

Look who received a call from the Rashtrapathi Bhavan! Aamir Khan indeed. No Aamir is not going to support anyone in the political front or is he going to join any party. So what is the 'asli' reason?

Our first lady Ms. Prathiba Patil had expressed a desire to watch the film 'Taare Zameen Par' directed by the perfectionist actor Aamir Khan. It happened on Sunday when Aamir Khan along with Darsheel was present at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan for a special screening of this film for our President.

Reports indicate that Madam President who was very particular to watch this film was lacking the time to do so for all these days. When she called on Aamir the actor, who was busy with his shooting for the Hindi remake of 'Ghajini' despite his busy schedule took his time off to screen the film to the President.

Reports suggest that Aamir was immensely happy that the president had all good things to say about the film, and she has also urged him to come out with films having a good message for the society. The president also hosted a party in praise of the actors for their excellent performance in this film.

Darsheel Safrey for his performance in 'Taare Zameen Par' walked away with the critics' award for the best actor in the film and Aamir Khan walked away with the Filmfare award for the best director for this film which is his very first.

IndiaGlitz

Anil dines with Aamir

Anil Kapoor and his wife Sunita along with a few family members were guests of the reclusive Aamir Khan on Friday night. The evening began with a private screening of Taare Zameen Par at the Ketnav preview theatre, followed by dinner
at the Khan’s residence at Bandra.

Anil had been wanting to see Aamir’s directorial debut offering for a long time. More so, because whenever Khan invited him, he couldn’t go as he was shooting for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. Anil admits, “I even asked Aamir to hold a screening for the entire unit of Danny Boyle but that didn’t happen. Everything just kept getting postponed till my son Harsh saw the film and loved it.

He asked me, ‘what’s wrong with you dad? Why aren’t you watching the film’?” So last week, Anil called Aamir and requested him to hold a screening for him. Aamir did the needful and also extended a dinner invitation.

No tears

Anil adds that his daughter Sonal, too, hadn’t watched the film and was also present. Kapoor adds, “Sonal has just returned after the Jaipur schedule of Dilli 6 and she was also quite eager to see it. I was taken aback when I saw Taare Zameen Par.

I couldn’t believe Aamir could make such a beautiful film.” He says he didn’t shed tears during any scene. “I didn’t get emotional as I had already heard it was a very emotional film.”

Aamir has watched Anil’s first home production Gandhi My Father, which released last year and had called it ‘a perfect film’.

Tease him about the mutual admiration club he and Aamir have formed and the actor laughs, “It’s nothing like that. We’ve been in touch over the years. After the screening Aamir invited us all over to his home for dinner where we broke our diets and had lots of rice and dal.

Sunita kept on giving us dirty looks. We sat on the sofas gorging on the food discussing TZP. What Aamir and I didn’t realise that the next day we would both wake up with puffy faces. We have a problem if we eat too much rice our faces bloat due to water retention.”

Aamir’s wife Kiran couldn’t play hostess. “She didn’t join us as she wasn’t well and was sleeping inside,” informs Anil who is looking forward to his next, Subhash Ghai’s Black And White which releases this week.

Author: Upala KBR | Source: Mid-Day

Time to get the black lady!

Welcome to the 53rd Fair One Filmfare Awards 2007 tonight.

A black tie-and-gown evening where the glitz and gloss will be provided by Bollywood’s top stars as they walk down the red carpet of the Yash Raj Studios in Andheri from 7 pm onwards. Inside, and leading a selected and invited audience through the awards ceremony, will be Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan and Chhote Nawab Saif Ali Khan. Emcee entertainment, naturally, is guaranteed to take on a whole new bold and exciting meaning with these two gentlemen on stage.

The lovely Vidya Balan is the third emcee of the evening. Then, of course, the show belongs to the stars who have been nominated for the prestigious black statuette. What names of winners the envelope reveals, who takes home the prestigious award, will be known only later tonight.

Meanwhile, to give you a peep behind the curtain, the awards ceremony this year has some real winners entertaining on stage. Like the sexy Kareena Kapoor and dazzling Deepika Padukone, watch them dance, and Khiladi Akshay Kumar, who turns out an outstanding performance, while there’s also Himesh Reshammiya, Vivek Oberoi and Neil Nitin Mukesh, all taking the razzmatazz a notch higher.

BT was privy to the rehearsals over the past few days at Yash Raj Studios. So was Karisma Kapoor who sat with Saif and watched kid sis Kareena swish through numbers like It’s Rocking and Mauja Re Mauja. Watching also from the wings, and staying back till a late hour, was young Ranbir Kapoor. His whole attention was on the ravishing Deepika Padukone who will dance to Dhun Tana Nana Dhun and Aankho Mein Teri from her debut film Om Shanti Om.

Akshay Kumar, a veteran at such things, will perform to the superhit numbers of 2007 Hey Babby, Hare Ram, Hare Ram and the title track from Welcome.

Neil Nitin Mukesh, excited to be at his first Filmfare Awards function, is doing the title track of his Johnny Gaddar and Move The Body from the same film. "I have always watched the Filmfare Awards from afar, to be a part of it now is an honour for me," he said. And, finally, Vivek Oberoi, who will remind the audience of Aye Ganpat from Shootout at Lokhandwala. "I’m excited, the song’s one of my favourites, but it’s done here in a very different and fantastic way," he revealed. As for Himeshbhai, he will say Aasalum Waleum, so be sure to reply Walekaum Salam!

The dances have been choreographed by Shiamak Davar while Manish Malhotra has designed the costumes worn by Kareena and Deepika and Narendra Kumar those for Neil and Vivek. Sabina Khan has dressed up Akshay.

Aamir's virtual presence at Star Screen Awards

Aamir Khan is known for his firm beliefs as far as work is concerned and is also famous for not attending award functions because he feels that they're all rigged. At the recently held Nokia 14th Star Screen Awards, the organizers placed a huge cut-out of Aamir Khan's from his film, Taare Zameen Par, to make up for his absence at the function.

Host Sajid Khan also ended up making a dig at the actor's non-appearance during the award ceremony. In fact, when we spoke to Sajid about this, he said, "I only kept the cut-out of Aamir Khan amidst the audience" in his trademark humorous style. Aamir's latest release Taare Zameen Par bagged 17 nominations in the award function. Conspicuous by Aamir's absence, the organizers still wanted the audiences to feel his presence and hence each time his name was announced, the camera would move to Aamir's cut-out placed in the audience for his virtual presence.

The highlight of the evening was also the announcement of 'The Best Director Awards'. For the first time at an award function, 'The Best Director Award' went to not just one, but two well-deserving people, Aamir Khan for Taare Zameen Par and Shimit Amin for Chak De India. Well, one rare sight this must have been, what with a virtual Aamir Khan making his presence felt in the audience.

Bollywood Hungama

Nokia 14th Annual Star Screen Awards 2008 - Winners

Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par bagged six key awards at the Nokia 14th Annual Star Screen Awards on Thursday, January 10, Mumbai.

Aamir Khan shared the best director award for the film with Shimit Amin for Chak De! India. He additionally won awards as Best Supporting Actor and for Best Dialogs.

The three other awards won by Aamir’s film were - Best Story (Amol Gupte), Best Child Actor (Darsheel) and Best Lyricist (Prasoon Joshi).

Shah Rukh Khan was adjudged the best actor award for his performance in Chak De! India.

The best actress award went to Kareena Kapoor for her spirited performance as Geet in the Imtiaz Ali directed film Jab We Met.

AR Rahman's musical score for Guru earned him the award for the Best Music Director.

Shah Rukh and Deepika Padukone were named as the Best Pair onscreen in Om Shanti Om

Deepika was additionally adjudged the Best Newcomer (Female) beating Sonam Kapoor

More predictably Ranbir Kapoor walked away with the Best Newcomer (Male) Award.

Shah Rukh Khan performed the ‘Dard-e-Disco’ number from Om Shanti Om at the event.

Others who performed included Shahid Kapur, Katrina Kaif, Urmila Matondkar, Riteish Deshmukh and Dia Mirza.

Other winners at the awards were:
Irfan Khan Best Comedian Award for Life…In a Metro
Anurag Basu Best Screenplay Award for Life…In a Metro
Soham Best Playback Singer (Male) in the film Life…In a Metro
Priya Ghosal Best Playback Singer (female) for Guru
Pankaj Kapoor Best Negative Role
Chak De girls Best Supporting Role (female)
Manoj Kumar Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award

SRK and Aamir together!

Khans are well known for ruling the Tinsel-town since ages now. Any Bollywood celebration without their presence is incomplete. Of late, the three most celebrated Khans, Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman were seen at the lavish 15th anniversary celebration of the Zee Network at Taj Lands End on Saturday, January 5. Also, present at the occasion was the ever sizzling Rekha.

The above picture shows the two Khans- Aamir and Shah Rukh- in a very cheerful mood, probably congratulating each other for the success of their respective films released last year. Apparently, Aamir Khan had messaged SRK to fix a date to watch Taare Zameen Par. Nevertheless, Shah Rukh has promised to watch the film with his kids, now is he a true star or what! Appreciating other’s work was a quality he always possessed.

With the presence of the biggies of Bollywood, the Zee Networks party surely turned out to be a big event.

Image Courtesy: Daily News and Analysis

The best and worst of 2007

Rajiv Vijayakar does a recap of Bollywoods hits and flops and dazzling debuts by actors and directors in the year gone by.

Five biggest hits

Om Shanti Om- Director Farah Khan

Farah Khan set a world record of being the only woman director to have two global hits to her credit. OSO took the Indian filmgoers by storm, drove the NRIs crazy and proved that pure SRK entertainment with a dash of nostalgia was the best prescription for healthy revenues. It has netted over Rs 90 crore and still running.

Chak De! India- Director Shimit Amin

Shimit Amin made a film that transcended every kind of audience and made both India and the box-office counters proud. It was the biggest money-spinner at Rs 65-plus crore net profits till OSO took over, but may have bettered it if the overseas business had not been shockingly poor.

Partner- Director David Dhawan

Dhawan cast both his favourites Salman Khan and Govinda together and made his biggest hit since Aankhen 14 years earlier. At Rs 60-plus crore net it was Salman's saving grace and first hit after the 2005 No Entry.

Jab We Met- Director Imtiaz Ali

Whatever (low) expectations had been there had plunged after the Jab We Broke Up news of Shahid Kapoor-Kareena Kapoor. But the film, still running, has even surpassed OSO’s collections this week. Business-wise, it is at Rs 40-plus crore - and counting.

Heyy Babyy- Director Sajid Khan

It’s all in the family— Farah’s brother Sajid debuted as director with this not-so-impressive comedy, that closed its first run at a net Rs 55 crores, that JWM is expected to cross if it runs for a month more.

Important note: Welcome has taken a bigger opening than OSO and may make it to the Top Five. Bheja Fry in terms of the ratio (Rs 4 crore gross for a Rs 70 lakh film!) and Taare Zameen Par (which may end up with the same ratio as Jab We Met) might come in too!

Five biggest disasters

Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag- Director: Ram Gopal Varma

He remade, he bragged, he sank — this er..Sholay recycle is not the debacle of the year, but of the millennium.

Salaam-e-ishq- Director: Nikhil Advani

Seven stories, fourteen Indian stars and a firangi heroine - all for nothing in a blunder(buss) of a script, though Priyanka Chopra, Govinda and Ayesha Takia stood out.

Ekalavya-The Royal Guard- Director: Vinod Chopra

Before it was nominated for the Oscars, Vinod Chopra did not know what hit him. The taut thriller was not only a flop but critically ripped apart.

Cash- Director Anubhav Sinha
It was projected as Sinha’s superb Dus on steroids. Maybe that’s why it exited at top speed!

No Smoking- Director Anurag Kashyap

At a 18-crore budget, all profits were extinguished as the message spread: ‘No Smoking is injurious to health!’

Five most memorable films

Taare Zameen Par- Director: Aamir Khan

Simply it is the movie of the year. Indian cinema can hold its head high yet again.

Chak De! India- Director Shimit Amin

As an aspirational, inspirational movie, it involved you even more than Lagaan, Iqbal and Dor.

Johnny Gaddaar- Director Sriram Raghavan

Original, concise, with twists galore and the master-stroke at the end, Johnny Gaddaar combined the best of both contemporary and retro Indian cinema with James Hadley Chase.

Bheja Fry- Director Sagar Ballary

An adaptation of a French film, this was the most side-splitting comedy of the year - minus a multi-star cast or conventional masala.

Dus Kahaniyaan- Directors: Sanjay Gupta and others

The experiment that went right - six directors spun out ten stories from which six were better than good - check Strangers In The Night, Matrimony, Zahir and Lovedale in particular.

Five most forgettable films

Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag

No explanations needed.

Fool’n’final- Director: Ahmed Khan

Was this a film? Even Sunny Deol and Shahid Kapoor failed to salvage the complete full-and-final mess!

Cash- Director Anubhav Sinha

What a disastrous Anubhav (experience) - no story, weird action and weirder animation. Saving grace: A few songs.

Marigold- Director Willard Carroll

This one proved that while we can make decent or better Hollywood spin-offs, the filmmakers there (like the arty ones here) cannot cope with mainstream cinema. Cheers!

Kaafila- Director Ammtoje Mann

No film must have gripped completely in the first 20 minutes and lost it completely later. We too lost - count of the people butchered.

Five best performances:

Harsheel Safary (Taare Zameen Par)

Shah Rukh Khan (Chak De! India)

Neil Nitin Mukesh (Johnny Gaddaar)

Tabu (Cheeni Kum)

Vinay Pathak (Bheja Fry)

Five worst performances

Amitabh Bachchan (RGV Ki Aag)

He growled, he hammed, and he repulsed. What was the Big B thinking of when he accepted this one?

Shiney Ahuja (Khoya Khoya Chand)

Cast opposite Soha Ali Khan was a wooden block loaded with a narcotic! Was this the Shiney of Gangster and Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi?

Konkona Sensharma (Aaja Nachle)

Can Konkona stop being the monotonous Konkona please and get into the innards of her role?

Bobby Deol (Shakalaka Boom Boom)

Weird. We can't say more.

Juhi Chawla and Vidya Balan (Salaam-e-Ishq)

Bad though the film was, it could have done without their cloyingly irritant performances.

Five best things that happened in/to Hindi cinema

Aamir Khan debuted as director with Taare Zameen Par.

Om Shanti Om did better business than a Hollywood blockbuster in UK.

Sonu Niigaam was invited to sing Mahatma Gandhi’s Vaishnav jana to in Gujarati and English at the 28th Harvard Presidential Installation.

Shah Rukh Khan’s waxwork was installed in Madame Tussaud's, while Salman Khan was signed up.

Sonu Niigaam also recorded for a tribute project (by the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra!) for the latter’s 18-track album of songs by the legendary Mohammed Rafi.

Five hypes of the year

Dharm by Bhavna Talwar: Sure, a thought-provoking film, but no classic. And it could have been made mass-friendly.

Gandhi- My Father: Where was the emotional connect?

Saawariya: Why did Sanjay Leela Bhansali of all people choose form over content?

Aaja Nachle: Too much expectations from too little content, starting with the poor music. What could Madhuri do?
Himesh Reshammiya: He was hyped for his acting debut but in a twist this time the hype was justified - and worked!

Five Box Office toppers

Shah Rukh Khan (Om Shanti Om, Chak De! India - the two biggest hits of the year - and no flop)
Akshay Kumar (Namastey London, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Welcome and no flop)
Salman Khan (Partner and 3 flops)

Despite this record, Salman Khan has reportedly signed two films at Rs 24 crore and Rs 35 crore respectively.
Kareena Kapoor (Jab We Met)

This one hit and terrific performance has put her right at the top.

Katrina Kaif (Namastey London, Partner, Apne, Welcome and no flop) It's been a meteoric rise both as star and actress for someone who was largely known only as Salman Khan’s girl.

Five BO.bottom of the heap

Ajay Devgan: Ruled the flop roost with Cash and Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag

Rani Mukherji: Despite an average Ta Ra Rum Pum, Rani Mukerji, till last year the Numero Uno, has lost her position even in the Top Five!

Preity Zinta: Jhoom Barabar Jhoom was yet another downer for a star who was in the Top Three.

Esha Deol: Lost gained ground completely with Darling, Just Married and Cash.

Vidya Balan: Both her hits (Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa) are credited to other factors, including Akshay Kumar. The rest was a flop show in every way.

Best-selling music albums

Aap Kaa Surroor- The Moviee at no.1 has sold almost twice as much as Om Shanti Om at number two! Jab We Met (phenomenal in the North), Partner and Saawariya (the only non-T-Series album here) completed the top five selling soundtracks.

Directors pick the Best Films of 2007...

Karan Johar: "Undoubtedly Chak De India and Om Shanti Om. Chak De was entertaining at the same time deep and moving with a serious subtext. As for OSO it was Farah and fun all the way. Both the films reitereated Shah Rukh's star power.

Raj Kumar Santoshi: "I didn't see too many films in 2007. From the ones I saw I liked Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met. I liked the script and performances of all the artistes and the direction. The treatment was fresh and the presentation was very entertaining. I believe Chak De India is also very good.I plan to see it soon."

Madhur Bhandarkar: "My favourite films of the year 2007 are Taare Zameen Par and Chak De India. I wept like a baby in Aamir's film. Both are very simple sincere and moving films. The kind that I'd like to make."

Anurag Basu: "My favourite? I liked Taare Zameen Par, Chak De India, Jab We Met and Guru equally, for different reasons. So please don't ask me to choose one."

Sriram Raghavan: "My favourite films of 2007 are Chak De India and Taare Zameen Par. Both are superb unconventional subjects with leading stars. We need more stars doing more such films for sure.

Vipul Shah: "Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par is the best of 2007 without doubt, followed by Shimit Amin's Chak De India, Anurag Basu's Life In A Metro and Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday.

Satish Kaushik: "Chak De India for its directorial skills, on-the-dot energetic performance by Shah Rukh and the fresh talented cast and most important of all, the spirit of victory.

Bhavna Talwar: My favourite film of 2007 was Navdeep Singh's Manorama 6 Feet Under…finally film -noire from India! Chak De India…beautiful script and a fabulous take on the Islamic identity in India, and not just a sports film…Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met—honest refreshing straight from the heart.

Farhan Akhtar: "After much deliberation my favourite film of 2007 will have to be Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday. Great adaptation of the book. Relevant poignant issue. Tight and taught screenplay.

An amazing insight into the day of the Mumbai bomb blasts and what eventuated thereafter, and a powerful message. The performances were well-etched and the camerawork was absorbing.

Mira Nair: "My choice would be Julian Schnabel's Diving Bell & The Butterfly. It was deeply original, visually stunning and a remarkable story on the triumph of the spirit.Among desi flicks I'd go with Chak De India…it was huge fun and a great feelgood tale, brilliantly cast.

David Dhawan: Taare Zameen Par is undoubtedly the best film of 2007. Great performances, superb emotions, backed by a powerful script.Aamir Khan is outstanding as both director and actor.

Rakeysh Mehra: "Taare Zameen Par is my favourite film of 2007 for endless reasons, mainly because of the director Aamir and his passion.

Prakash Jha: "Chak De India would qualify as one of the year's best for its theme and treatment. It had the quality to move and entertain.

Sujoy Ghosh: Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om. It's just the kind of movie I'd want to make.

Imtiaz Ali: "Leaving aside my own Jab We Met it'd have to be Anurag Basu's Metro. Interesting characters.

Mahesh Bhatt: "Wrong number, dear. I don't watch movies. Why watch the reflection of life when you can lock eyes with life itself?

Subash K Jha, Santabanta

TZP runs into trouble in Gujarat

Aamir Khan seems to have become controversy’s favorite child these days. One day prior to the release of his maiden directorial venture Taare Zameen Par , comes this piece of news that the film has run into some kind of trouble in the state of Gujarat.

Apparently, around 50 members of the Sardar Patel group gathered at a cinema hall in Vadodara compelling the management to remove the posters of Taare Zameen Par. The group also went to some other theatres in the city like Chandan and Inox and submitted a memorandum to the management asking them not to screen the movie.

The group members said that they were still hurt by Aamir’s comments on the whole Narmada Bachao Andolan issue and that they wouldn’t allow the movie to be screened in the state of Gujarat unless the actor apologizes.

It may be recalled that Aamir’s previous two movies Fanaa and Rang De Basanti too ran into trouble during the release for the same reason.

Hope these issues settle down and Aamir’s directorial debut makes it to theatres in Gujarat.

IndiaFM

Industry hails Taare Zameen Par

"Taare Zameen Par is one of the best films that you would have ever seen", declares a prominent film personality who was invited for one of the two special screenings of Taare Zameen Par which were held in Mumbai on Monday night.

Truly emotionally charged long after the film's screening was through, he goes on to add, "If there is a film from India which truly stands a chance at the Oscars, it has to be Taare Zameen Par. What a fabulous performance by the kid Darsheel Safary."

Others who were invited for the screening were Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Shankar Mahadevan, Vishal Shekhar, Illa Arun, Prasoon Joshi and many more. Aamir Khan was the perfect host.

Says another invitee who doesn't wish to be named and wants the movie to do most of the talking, "Aamir has used his two decades of experience into creating a film which is nothing short of a masterpiece. The film is not one of those on-your-face emotional melodramas that arrive with a loud announcement. Instead, proceedings are kept subtle that add on to the beauty of the film."

There have been murmurs around the film's box office prospects getting hampered due to parallel release of Welcome. Akshay Kumar is on a roll and director Anees Bazmee is super charged with Welcome arriving two years after his last blockbuster No Entry.

"I am sure that Taare Zameen Par would stand on it's own in spite of Welcome. Yes, Welcome is going to be a 'masala' entertainer and even I am not going to miss it at the theaters. But then is it against the law to watch two films over the same weekend? Even if Welcome is as commercial as it gets, Taare Zameen Par also qualifies itself into 'don't miss it' category."

Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is still waiting to set the charts afire. What could be the prospects after the film's release? "I would want to ask you this question once you see the film", says a prominent composer, "The music was always meant to be the kind that makes an impact once heard in the film. Songs playing along with the narrative create a stunning impact and you realise this fact most once you watch the film."

A senior member from the film fraternity goes on to add, "Aamir Khan has come up with a brilliant effort that would shut up all his detractors who find it fashionable to label him as a perfectionist. Ok, so he may indeed be a perfectionist but if this is what a perfectionist gives to the industry and the audience, let's have more of such breed. He has made a flawless directorial debut."

Concludes the source, "The film doesn't make any pretensions. It is as pure as it gets. Taare Zameen Par should be made a compulsory viewing for not just students of cinema but also those who wish to see quality cinema with the right emotional quotient and commercial ingredients."

Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM

Aamir talks about Raju Hirani's film

There’s tremendous speculation vis-à-vis Aamir Khan’s new film. With Aamir’s directorial debut TAARE ZAMEEN PAR releasing this week, the actor can go back to studios and take instructions from other directors. “I need to complete work on the remake of GHAJINI first. We’re halfway through with this film. The makers have been kind enough to wait for me,” Aamir tells me.

There’s talk that the actor has agreed to work in Rajkumar Hirani’s new film, to be produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. “Yes, we’re in negotiations,” Aamir confirms the development. But what about the news that Vidhu requested Aamir to suggest [any] changes in the script, before they start shooting, not once the shooting begins. “What can I say about such absurd allegations? Vidhu never said anything to that effect. Raju is someone I really admire as a film-maker and Vidhu is a great person,” Aamir sets the record straight.

Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM

Abhishek Bachchan in Taare Zameen Par

Taare Zameen Par is a story of a kid suffering from dyslexia. To create awareness about this disorder an example of Abhishek Bachchan is used in the film, who also suffered from this disorder. Aamir Khan took prior permission from the Bachchans to make this reference and use Abhishek’s name and picture as an example of success in spite of suffering from dyslexia at a young age.

Abhishek is among the crème de la crème of Bollywood today. The disorder did not stop him from creating a place for himself in the film industry and become a successful star. That’s the message Aamir gives to the kids in the film. Like Abhishek, many known personalities fall in this category, which include the likes of Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Alva Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Winston Churchill, Keanu Reeves, Albert Einstein and Tom Cruise.

Taare Zameen Par is all set to release on December 21 and marks the directorial debut of Aamir Khan

IndiaF