Stories

Ten years ago, a multi-starrer thriller hit the screens. Directed by the duo Abbas-Mustan, Race was a carnival of conspiracy and plot-twists.

Still from Race (2008)

The film explored themes of sibling rivalry, betrayal, greed, revenge and passion. Starring Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor and Sameera Reddy, Race gave Bollywood thrillers a whole new persona. Set in South Africa, the story revolved around two brothers who lived on the edge with a high-profile business in horse racing.

The makers also jumped on the “Atif Aslam” bandwagon with a romantic number, i.e. Pehli Nazar Mein. And who can forget the party songs Zara Zara Touch Me and the famous title track Race Saason Ki – Allah Duhai Hai.

The action-packed-suspense-thriller genre of Race and its music soon became a brand, turning it into a franchise.

Poster of Race 2 (2013)

Race 2 released in 2013 with the same directors, similar storyline of high-profiled protagonists with multi-faceted personalities, a slightly altered cast, and a bigger budget. There was no surprise that this installment would have more plot-twists with betrayals, raging cars, bomb squads, exotic locations, and even more item songs. Race 2 may not have been as popular as its prequel, but it certainly was good enough to deserve a part 3.

Earlier this week the world saw the trailer of the much-awaited Race 3, with only Anil Kapoor as a returning cast member; Saif Ali Khan has been replaced with Salman Khan. The film also stars Bobby Deol, Jacqueline Fernandez, Saqib Saleem, Daisy Shah, and Freddy Daruwala.

A decade later, the director of the series has changed, a multi-starrer is now known as an ensemble cast with higher-octane action sequences, slightly better computer graphics, fancy cars being blown up in fancier locations.

The trailer opens with Salman Khan standing on the terrace of a skyscraper, setting the premise for … well “zindagi ki race.”

Few things that caught our attention – the makers have upped the glamor quotient with actors in extremely chiseled bodies (don’t miss Bobby Deol), tightly choreographed songs (thanks for director-choreographer Remo D’Souza), covering more locations, and definitely more twists and turns.

Watch the trailer here:

Needless to say, the plot revolves around betrayal of family for power, and a whole lot of cheesy one-liners about “business.” It’s no doubt that the film will be a box-office success with its release on Eid and the superstar presence, but let’s hope it’s more than just some cheap thrills and car chases.

Cannes Film Festival keeps getting bigger and better every year, especially for artists looking for a huge platform to showcase their work to a diverse audience.

Tamil star Dhanush made his debut at 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where he unveiled the first look of his international film The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir.

Directed by Ken Scott, the film is inspired by a 2014 novel The Extraordinary Journey of The Fakir who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe. Dhanush plays a character of Ajatashatru Lavash Patel, a young man from Mumbai who sets on a mission to go to Paris. In a mischievous turn of events, the ‘fakir’ finds himself trapped in a wardrobe at an IKEA store and is shipped to London.

Ajatashatru embarks on an adventurous and extraordinary journey to find his way back to Paris with the belief that “chance is everything…you play the hand you’re dealt.”

Watch the trailer:

The film will hit the screens on 30^th May 2018. It also stars Bérénice Bejo, Barkhad Abdi and Erin Moriarty in prominent roles.

Image source: Dhanush (Twitter)

A Michelin star chef, a restaurateur, humanitarian, a cookbook as well as fiction writer, and now a filmmaker – Vikas Khanna is a man of many talents.

Khanna has written a fiction “The Last Color,” based on the age-old tradition of banning widows to play the festival of Holi in Vrindavan. The book will be published on 18^th May 2018, but what’s even more amazing is that it’s been adapted to a film directed by the man himself starring Neena Gupta.

The National Award winning actress made the announcement of the project on her Instagram account, describing it as “one of the most fulfilling experiences as an actor, a movie where I didn’t have to slip into the role, the minute I put on my whites…. I became Noor.”

Vikas Khanna with the cast of The Last Color

The Last Color is about a friendship between a young tightrope walker and a widow named Noor in Vrindavan, who yearns to play the festival of colors, but is forbidden by tradition.

Calling the project his “most organic work,” Khanna discussed why he was compelled to share this story saying, “Imagine being denied the right to touch color. My life is all about color in the form of spices and vegetables; the thought that if someone took that privilege away from me, drove me crazy.”

The first look of the film was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival 2018. Khanna shared the powerful teaser on his Instagram account as well.

You can watch it here:

It’s not surprising to hear a remix of an old Bollywood song these days. The promotions of almost every movie brings a new remix of a classic, and it’s become such a norm that we’re obligated to think, “Which song will they ruin now?”

Not just in films, some music companies are re-releasing old songs to bring back the trend of music videos. This trend, however, is not new!

90’s kids would remember watching remixes of even older Bollywood songs on music channels. Everything from “Kehdoon Tumhe” by DJ Aqeel to the super-controversial “Kaanta Laga – Baby Doll” version; that was quite a phase.

T-series, one of the largest music labels and movie studios in India, has been at the forefront of bringing music videos back in fashion. Recently, they released some videos re-launching their old creations, and one of them has definitely caught our attention – “Ghar Se Nikalte Hi”

The song has been re-composed and reprised by Amaal Mallik and sung by Armaan Malik. Unlike most remixes that are tagged as “item numbers” in films, this version is a refreshing change. There’s no rap, no hip-hop beats, and no auto-tune; just sweet music and a soulful voice worth listening to on loop. In case you haven’t heard it yet, here’s the video:

The original song was penned by lyricist Javed Akhtar, composed by Rajesh Roshan and sung by Udit Narayan. It featured in the film Papa Kehte Hain in 1996.

Featured Image Source: T-series

Aamir Khan is known to raise the bar and create new benchmarks for himself as well as Bollywood, in general. He has managed to do it again with his film Secret Superstar which has started on a positive note in Hong Kong.

The film released yesterday after being previewed in Hong Kong for over 2 weeks, and has reported to collect over HK $600,000 (approximately ₹ 55 lakhs)  in preview screenings. Aamir Khan will be visiting Hong Kong next week to promote the film.

Still from Secret Superstar

Secret Superstar saw massive success with its first overseas release in China earlier this year. Commenting on the film’s global success, Vibha Chopra, Head of Zee Studios International (Film Marketing, Distribution, and Acquisition) said, “Secret Superstar is a film that is bound to connect with many hearts… It was amongst the top four in Turkey and amongst the top 10 in the UK, and we are going to continue putting all our strengths together to get more eyeballs to this film in the coming weeks. This is definitely a story that must be told.”

News Source: Taran Adarsh (Twitter)