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No doubt the queen of divas, Mariah Carey, doesn’t like everyone proclaiming that hot young upstart Leona Lewis is on the verge of knocking her off her music superstar throne.
Ms. Lewis, on the other hand, definitely doesn’t mind being compared to greats like Carey and Whitney Houston.
“It’s amazing,” the “Bleeding Love” hitmaker tells James Brady in Sunday’s Parade magazine. “It’s exceedingly gratifying, because they’re so great.”
Not so great, however, are the possible pitfalls of celebrity…
Lewis, 23, is doing her best not to cross over to the dark side à la Amy Winehouse.
“You can’t make your mistakes in private,” Lewis says of the fame game. “I have the advantage of a great support structure. I get honest opinions from my family and friends. They aren’t always telling me what I want to hear, but the truth helps keep my head straight.”
And for all you die-hard Lewis fans out there, you’ll be happy to know, Lewis has written more that 100 songs. She says, “I may sing some of them on a future release.”
Sorry, guys. Your favorite virgin supermodel is off the market.
Victoria’s Secret catwalker Adriana Lima has officially gotten engaged to NBA hoops man Marko Jaric, starting shooting guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves, his rep confirms.
Jaric, 29, popped the question on the voluptuous brunette beauty’s 27th birthday Thursday and presented her with a ring. The couple have been dating for about nine months.
“He asked, and she said yes. They are both incredibly happy and couldn’t be more in love,” the Serbian-born basketball star’s publicist James Weir told People.
Lima, touted in the media as one of the sexiest women in the world, has previously stated her intention to wait until after marriage before having sex for the first time, despite having famously dated rocker Lenny Kravitz and Yankees MVP Derek Jeter.
Reese Witherspoon is finally a single girl. Aside from that whole dating Jake Gyllenhaal thing.
Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s divorce was finalized in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, with court papers obtained by E! News indicating that financial and custodial settlements between the ex-couple have been reached.
The no-frills—and sadly, no details—document simply reads: “[The court finds] the parties have settled all their remaining issues in these proceedings.”
While the parsing of their shared possessions, including 8-year-old daughter Ava and 4-year-old son Deacon, are being kept confidential, the duo has previously sought to maintain a joint custody arrangement.
As it is, the formerly golden couple’s union was officially terminated last October, paving the way for them to remarry. The dissolution of marriage all but formally separated the couple, only requiring them to hammer out the finer points of their money—Phillippe did not seek spousal support from his higher-earning ex—and offspring matters.
The 32-year-old actress first filed for divorce from her 33-year-old hubby of seven years back in November 2006, citing the ever-popular irreconcilable differences.
Witherspoon has since stepped out with her Rendition costar Gyllenhaal, while just last week Phillippe went public with his relationship with his own war-themed movie costar, Stop Loss‘ Abbie Cornish.
The doctor is in.
Not quite convinced that she’s fit to stand trial, a judge has ordered that the woman accused of stalking John Cusack be examined by a psychiatrist before the case proceeds.
Emily Leatherman was charged with felony stalking and two misdemeanor counts of disobeying a restraining order and petty theft after being arrested March 30 when police found her too close to Cusack’s Malibu home for comfort.
The complaint against her alleges she has been making untoward attempts to contact the High Fidelity star since February 2007.
L.A. Superior Court Judge Susan M. Speer ordered both sides back in court July 11.
Leatherman, who has pleaded not guilty to all of the above and has been behind bars since her arrest, is facing up to four years in prison if convicted.
Mariah Carey is in a great place and she wants everyone to smell like it.
The platinum-selling diva has spilled the details on Luscious Pink, the second scent for her signature Elizabeth Arden fragrance line. It’s inspired by her whirlwind romance with hubby Nick Cannon and her recent success on the charts, as well as the other sweet things in life.
“This scent is feminine, flirtatious and fun, and truly reflects where I am in my life now, after an incredible year,” Carey said earlier this week
“Elizabeth Arden has been a fantastic partner and the end creation of Luscious Pink is beyond my expectations,” the “One Sweet Day” singer continued. “The response from my fans with my debut scent was overwhelming, and I can’t wait to see what happens with my second Luscious fragrance.”
Luscious Pink, which is being touted as a “floral melody that is as enveloping as Mariah’s voice,” will join Carey’s first scent, M, in department stores nationwide in August.
Quite often, a burning issue that hits front-page news makes it on the Hindi screen as well. SUMMER 2007, directed by Suhail Tatari, also projects a disturbing issue:
Farmers committing suicides. The intentions of the film-makers should be lauded. But there’s a hitch… The film does highlight the issue quite effectively [albeit, in patches], but offers no solution to the crisis. Instead, this film focuses on the ‘awakening’ of the careless and carefree youth, a la RANG DE BASANTI.
Besides, Tatari seems to have got swayed by the script, so much so that he doesn’t know when to apply brakes. The film goes on and on and on and on… there’s hardly any respite in the second hour and you actually want to scream, ‘Ab bas bhi karo yaar’. This one’s the lonnnnnnnnnngest 3-hour movie, which tries to pack in so many sub-plots at one go.
But, most importantly, why a title like SUMMER 2007? How does it convey what the film is all about? What is the relevance with the issue it raises?
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In a nutshell, SUMMER 2007 has an engaging first half, but goes haywire in the second [marathon] hour. At best it would appeal to a tiny section of intellectuals. There’s no hope otherwise!
Five medical students [Sikander, Gul Panag, Arjan Bajwa, Alekh Sangal, Uvika] represent the urban youth of today. Their lives take a turn when they land up in one of the most deprived villages of Maharashtra. Their rural posting turns into a soul-searching journey where they are forced to confront their own apathy, their own fears.
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Before they can flee from there, they get sucked into the whirlpool of currents. Each of the five undergo different kinds of catharsis and in the end, they have to make a choice. Do they leave the mess just as they had found it and get away from there? Or do they choose to get involved?
As mentioned at the very outset, the intentions are right, but the scripting isn’t. The director succeeds in involving the viewer into the lives of the oh-so-cool urban kids, who are far removed from the harsh realities of life. The scenes at the medical college, their tryst with politics, their decision to spend a month in a village in Vidarbha… everything’s going fine in the first hour.
But problems begin to surface in the post-interval portions. The focus shifts from lack of medical facilities in rural India, to the power games money lenders play, to the main protagonist finally proving to be a conscientious citizen. Wait, there’s more! A love story has been woven in the plot and a couple of songs do show up as well, including a nautanki number. And also naxalites!
Director Suhail Tatari should’ve focused on the core issue and in turn, controlled the running time to approx. 2 hours. Also, he could’ve done with a better [and tighter] script. Take these instances: Everyone’s out to save the life of Sachin Khedekar in the end, but what happens to him [when the boat catches fire] is just not revealed. A dying Ashutosh Rana does mention that he’s safe… but how? What happens to the corrupt money lender [Vikram Gokhale] eventually? And why does Sikander surrender to the cops, when the lady cop [Shweta Menon] had already given him a clean chit?
Music is another sore point. Ideally, it should’ve been a songless film. Editing is loose. Either the editor had no say in the matter or he lost all objectivity while editing the film.
To give the credit where’s it’s due, the performances by the entire cast is the saving grace. Sikander is evolving into a fine actor. He’s a complete natural and handles the most complex of scenes with remarkable ease. Gul Panag is efficient. This is one talent who hasn’t got her due in Hindi films. Alekh Sangal springs a pleasant surprise. He’s excellent. Arjan Bajwa enacts his part very well. In fact, he’s so well restrained. Uvika looks photogenic and does a decent job as an actor.
Ashutosh Rana is in top form yet again. Why don’t we see more of you these days, Ashutosh? Vikram Gokhale never gets it wrong and he’s perfect here as well. But a topnotch actor like Prashant Narayanan deserved more footage for sure. Sachin Khedekar is competent. Shweta Menon leaves a strong impression.
On the whole, SUMMER 2007 is a good concept gone wrong thanks to too many sub-plots and a really lonnnnnnng running time [close to almost 3 hours]. At the box-office, it has no chances whatsoever!
Cast & Crew
Banner
Atul Productions
Adlabs Films Ltd
Status
Completed
Color
C
Release Date
June 13, 2008
Language
Hindi
Genre
Producer
Atul Pandey
Director
Suhail Tatari
Star Cast
Sikander Kher
Gul Panag
Ashutosh Rana
Sachin Khedekar
Divya Dutta
Uvika Chaudhary
Arjan Bajwa
Vikram Gokhale
Prashant Narayanan
Shweta Menon
Ashutosh Rana
Neetu Chandra…… Special Appearance
Alekh Sangal
Cassettes and CD’s on
Big Music
Singers
Ujjaini
Sharib
Toshi
Aanchal
Bonnie Chakraborty
Gourov Dasgupta
Sunidhi Chauhan
Shweta Vijay
Lyricist
Ujjaini
Vibha Singh
Gourov Dasgupta
Music Director
Gourov Dasgupta
Cinematography
Atarsingh Saini
Action
Javed Eijaz
Art
Chokas Bharadwaj
Editor
Bobby Bose
Screenplay
Ritesh Shah
Bijesh J
Dialogue
Ritesh Shah
Costume
Lovleen Bains
Story / Writer
Bijesh Jayarajan
WATCH ONLINE
PART-1
PART-2
PART-3
PART-$
The name Priyadarshan is synonymous with comic fares. It instantaneously conjures up images of several entertaining films he has attempted over the years. Naturally, you expect his new outing MERE BAAP PEHLE AAP to be a joyride as well. Even the promos of the film, beamed round the clock on TV, give an impression that it’s a laugh-riot.
Sure, MERE BAAP PEHLE AAP has its share of light moments that make you chuckle, even break into laughter, but it’s not a laughathon from start to end. From the interval point onwards, right till the finale, the focus shifts to drama, making the goings-on serious at times.
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One factor that goes against the film is its length. The concept is truly novel — for the Hindi screen at least — but how one wishes Priyan would’ve controlled its length. Movies of 2 to 2.15 hours duration are fine, but 2.40 hours [add to it the promos of new films, plus interval makes it a 3-hour outing] is strictly no-no in today’s times. Priyan should’ve brought down the length for sure!
Despite hiccups, MERE BAAP PEHLE AAP has endearing moments that work to its advantage. In a nutshell, it had the potential to rise to the level of GARAM MASALA, BHAGAM BHAG and BHOOL BHULAIYA, but it eventually ends up being an average fare!
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Janaradhan [Paresh Rawal] has spent his life bringing up his two kids, Chirag [Manoj Joshi] and Gaurav [Akshaye Khanna]. Now when the duo has grown up, Gaurav takes up the responsibility of his father. They both manage the household chores and their business to the best of their abilities. Though he is the younger son, he treats his father like his son. Gaurav shouts, threatens, fights, even locks up his father occasionally so that his prankster-friend Madhav [Om Puri], who is desperate to get married, does not spoil him.
Madhav and Janaradhan, who are always in search of a bride for Madhav, forever land up in trouble and every time Gaurav has to bail them out and face the embarrassment.
Gaurav starts getting prank calls from a girl who turns out to be his old college friend Shikha [Genelia D'Souza]. Shikha is staying with her guardian Anuradha [Shobhana], who happens to be Janardhan’s first love.
Gaurav and Shikha notice changes in Janaradhan and Anuradha’s behaviors when they come face to face after many years. They come to know about their past. Now Gaurav wants his father to get married to his lost love. Of course, the path is not so smooth, there are obstacles.
MERE BAAP PEHLE AAP begins really well. Om Puri’s roving eye, Paresh Rawal’s timid nature, Om and Paresh’s encounter with lady cop Archana Puransingh — the sequences are truly very enjoyable. But Genelia’s constant calls to Akshaye, though meant to be equally interesting, fall flat; they hardly evoke any mirth.
The twist in the tale — when Paresh spots Shobhana — increases your anxiety and you look forward to a gripping tale in the second hour. But it’s a mixed bag again. Agreed, people may scoff at the idea of a 60 + man wanting to get married, even though his son [of marriageable age] is a bachelor, but it could’ve been presented more convincingly. Here, the writer is at fault. The Naseeruddin Shah track in the finale is fine, but his bowing down to Akshaye in a fraction of a minute is difficult to digest.
Directorially, Priyan knows the craft well, no two opinions on that, but he needs to judiciously trim the film by at least 30 minutes for a stronger impact. Vidyasagar’s music is a major disappointment. Barring the title track, which runs on the end credits, the other tracks are strictly okay. Piyush Shah’s cinematography is excellent and the stunning locales of Kerala act as icing on the cake. Dialogues deserve special mention. Some of the lines are truly well penned. Editing is the weakest link of the enterprise.
Both Akshaye and Paresh live their roles, though there’s a possibility that a section of the audience may not really like the son bossing over his father. Acting-wise, Akshaye is, as always, very much with the character, essaying his part with incredible ease. Paresh gets a solid role yet again and he sinks his teeth into it. Again, a job well done!
Genelia looks fresh and pairs off well with Akshaye. She leaves a mark. Om Puri is lovable and a major asset for this movie. Archana Puransingh is excellent. Rajpal Yadav is wasted. Ditto for the powerhouse of talent, Shobhana. She deserved a better deal. Manoj Joshi is fair. Naseeruddin Shah is effective, as always.
On the whole, MERE BAAP PEHLE AAP is enjoyable in parts — an entertaining first hour, a not-too-entertaining second hour. At the box-office, it’s at best an average fare. However, the prospects should improve if the makers trim the film from 2.40 hours to 2.10 hours.
Cast & Crew
Banner
Shemaroo Entertainment
Status
Completed
Release Date
June 13, 2008
Language
Hindi
Genre
Comedy
Shooting Studios
Filmcity
Mehboob Studio
Producer
Raman Maroo
Ketan Maroo
Mansi Maroo
Director
Priyadarshan
Star Cast
Akshaye Khanna…… Gaurav
Naseruddin Shah
Shobhana…… Anuradha
Paresh Rawal…… Janaradhan Wishvanbhar Rane
Om Puri…… Madhav Mathur
Rajpal Yadav
Manoj Joshi…… Chirag
Genelia Dsouza…… Sheekha Kapoor
Archana Puran Singh
Cassettes and CD’s on
T-Series
Singers
Sangeet Haldipur
Alisha Chinoy
Neeraj Shridhar
Bob
Sunidhi Chauhan
Udit Narayan
Shreya Ghosal
Alka Yagnik
Shaan
Lyricist
Sameer
Music Director
Vidyasagar
Tauseef Akhtar
Background Music
Ranjit Barot
Cinematography
Piyush Shah
Choreography
Bosco Martis
Caesar Gonsalves
M Prasad
Pony Verma
Art
Sabu Cyril
Editor
Arun Kumar
Screenplay
Priyadarshan
Manisha Korde
Sound
Raja Krishnan
Dialogue
Manisha Korde
Costume
Neeta Lulla
Shefali Gupta
Rahul Agasti
Farzeen
Media Relations
Parull Gossain
Promos
Ravi Padda
Binni Padda
Publicity Designs
Himanshu Nanda
Rahul Nanda
Story / Writer
Priyadarshan
Kalavoor Ravikumar
Some Wallpapers
WATCH ONLINE
PART -1
PART -2
PART -3
PART -4
Karachi
19°
Lahore
10°
Quetta
14°
