Mumbai, April 26: Subhash Ghai's Kaanchi hit theatres this Friday. The film stars newcomer Mishti in the title role.Let's hear what the audience has to say about the film.

The audience has liked Ghai's comeback effort and the story of the film is what grips them. Kaanchi talks about the struggle of a small town girl against corruption and how she fights the wrongs in the system. It also stars Kartik Aaryan. Our rating for Kaanchi 4 stars.

I didn’t and I ended up wasting up two hours of my life which I will never get back. Samrat & Co is a poor man’s version of Sherlock, and Robert Downey Jr’s eponymous films. There are also nods to Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton and other brilliant authors. There’s nothing brilliant about this Rajshri Production, what you have is Rajeev Khandelwal as detective Samrat Tilakdhari, or STD (I kid you not) as he is lovingly called by his trusted sidekick ‘What son’ (their joke, not mine). 

Just so that you don’t miss the similarities, he also wears a trenchcoat and delivers deductions about people he has just met in true Benedict Cumberbatch fashion. Only in Khandelwal’s case, they are said so fast that you can’t catch half of them (you mostly do not care also). The brilliant Khandelwal of Shaitan and Aamir is missing in action and the actor here will make you cringe with his performance. Probably he knew what he had signed in for and just went with the spirit of things! And he is not the only actor sleepwalking, veteran actor Girish Karnad looks like he had something really bad for lunch and is now suffering from acidity. Or maybe it had to do with the utterly stupid dialogues they were made to spout. Here are a few gems: ‘heart is fragile, handle it with care’, ‘come and get ready for dilchasp rehasya’, ‘here’s a mistress in distress (mistress, really?)’, ‘sach woh roshni hai jo subah hone se pehle hi ho jaati hai’.

 These are a very few examples, the film is up to its ears in them. Now let’s take a stab at the story: STD is a star detective who has boxing bouts when he is not solving cases which make it to the front page. He is waiting for an interesting case when in walks a pretty lady (Madalsa Sharma, utterly underwhelming) whose father’s garden is dying because of a maali’s shraap. 

That is making her dad scared and unwell. He and Watson (Gopal Dutt as Chakradher who is a Sansani-type of anchor in his free time) head off to Shimla and people start dying. The first one to go is the girl’s dad (Karnad). The screenplay leaves a lot to be desired and the pace is excruciatingly slow. The look reminds you of 70s films where the stars danced in front of the camera and scenery made up the backdrop. The music is utterly forgettable and the placement of songs is forced. The film, directed by Kaushik Ghatak, looks like amateur dramatics where the operative word is amateur. 

You start sensing something is very wrong when Ganesh Acharya fills in for the item number slot. By the time you meet a baba who seems to spend a lot of time in Belgium (he likes chocolates? he wants to flee from this hilarious whodunnit?) you are focusing on your mobile and when they are playing Planchette to solve the murders, you wish you had walked out when you still had chance. You may laugh at the unintentional gaffes during the film but after the climax, you are afraid. STD says he’ll be back with a sequel. When that happens, I will be watching the re-runs of Sherlock. I advice you to do the same. - See more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/reviews/movie-review-samrat-amp-co-is-poor-man-s-sherlock/article1-1212291.aspx#sthash.1dTKdsmc.dpuf

Kangana Ranaut's comic timing and her attitude: Till now, we knew her as tragedy queen but we didn't know she has a knack for comedy. She surprises with her perfect comic timing and leaves us in splits when she says - Hume nahi jaana jail mein, Chamcham (her boyfriend played by Vir Das) aaya hua hai or Hum kahin nahi jaa rahe hai, murga pel liya hai, neend aa rahi hai.

Her English interview for a news channel reminds us of Amitabh's "walk, talk in English". She is as comfortable in the imported metallic bra, as she's with the nuances of her character, which makes Revolver Rani extremely endearing. Also, her stunts remind us of angry young men of 60 and 70s (read Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra etc). Breaking of sterotypes, quite literally: It's not the first time a Bollywood heroine has stepped into the zone of a Bollywood hero.

Rekha in Bhrashtachar is the hero of the movie. Vidya Balan in Kahaani carries the film on her shoulders and performs stunts with aplomb. And if you go further in the past, Fearless Nadia's stunts are still unmatched. Revolver Rani completely upturns the gender roles. It's interesting to watch Revolver Rani barging into the scene with two guns to rescue her boytoy (Vir Das) or for that matter Alka telling her boy that he should forget about his career and focus on the baby. It is something we haven't experienced in Indian cinema.

The climax: It's the strongest point of the film. It shows the real mettle of its lead protagonist. At this point in the film, Alka is not in her best of health. Yet, when she's surrounded by her enemies, she pounces on them like a tigress and survives even a blast. Salute to her spirit! - See more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/reviews/movie-review-film-will-die-revolver-rani-will-live-on/article1-1212124.aspx#sthash.PLz546Yc.dpuf

Actress Parineeti Chopra is eagerly waiting to watch her elder sister Priyanka Chopra's forthcoming movie Gunday that will hit theatres on February 14, 2014.

The 25-year-old, whose rom-com Hasee Toh Phasee will hit theatres on Friday, February 7, 2014 says there is no competition with Priyanka.

While, this time their films have a gap of a week, in 2013, Parineeti's Shuddh Desi Romance and Priyanka's Zanjeer released on the same date, September 6, 2014.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was found dead in his New York apartment on Sunday, was hailed as the finest character actor of his generation but struggled with fame and addiction.

For more than 20 years, Hoffman mesmerized and entertained filmgoers with his portrayal of some of the most repellent and yet electrifying characters of the silver screen.

He transformed movies through calculatingly understated performances and his daring choice of roles, quietly stealing scenes from much bigger stars with his portrayals of misfits in films as diverse as "Boogie Nights" and "The Talented Mr Ripley."

In 2006, he won an Oscar for his chilling turn as the brilliant but self-absorbed US author Truman Capote and was immediately flung into the A-list world of instantly recognized celebrities.

In the song Shake it like Shammi in Hasee Toh Phasee, we see you dancing alongside Siddharth Malhotra. You think this will be your breakthrough?

It's a fun film for everyone... I can't reveal much about my character but I can tell you that it's the first time I am getting to dance on screen.

You are a trained classical dancer. Were you upset you didn't get to showcase your dancing skills earlier?
I had once joked that I can't dance. Maybe that's why I couldn't dance in any of my movies. But I wasn't disappointed. I think getting to dance is easier than getting a great role. I got the chance to start off with a good role in 1920 — there is nothing more an actor can ask for.

Ahana Deol-Varun Vora's wedding ceremony turned out to be a star-studded affair with all Bollywood bigwigs in attendance. Apart from the entire Bachchan clan, popular stars Rekha, Shah Rukh Khan were also spotted. If sources are anything to go by, Ahana met Vaibhav at the wedding of Esha Deol and Mumbai-based businessman Bharat Takhtani in 2012. Since the two were serious about their commitment to each other, their families gave their consent.

Mumbai: ‘Jackpot’ may have failed to impress the critics and audiences alike, but ‘Ragini MMS 2’ may help Sunny Leone make an impact on the Bollywood Box Office.

After a much hyped debut with Pooja Bhatt’s ‘Jism 2’, Sunny has been working really hard to build a solid ground for herself in the Tinsel Town.

The trailer of Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Ragini MMS 2’ is out.

The trailer shows a glimpse of what the audiences can expect from the film - some really hot and steamy scenes, some fine performances (hopefully) and of course, some moments that can send shivers down the spine!

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been voted the world's fourth most beautiful woman in a recent poll conducted by online magazine 'Hollywood Buzz'.

Rai ranked fourth on the list of 'Top 30' Most Beautiful Women after Italian actress Monica Belluci, American model-actress Kate Upton and Hollywood star Angelina Jolie.

The poll conducted in December 2013 saw more than four million people send in their votes selecting the most intelligent, desirable and successful women in 2013-14.

The Indian model-actress, who recently turned 40, thanked her fans and admirers across the globe for the honour.

Mumbai: Actress-singer Priyanka Chopra is happy to be a part of crime thriller `Gunday` where she is sharing the screen space with Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor.

Set in 1970s Bengal, the film, which is currently in its final post-production stage, is story about two boys who turn into coal bandits and fall for the same girl.

"Just got done watching the first copy of Gunday! I`m so proud of everyone who made this film possible.. Yay! Pat on the back @aliabbaszafar," Priyanka tweeted.

Student of the Year star Sidharth Malhotra, who features on the cover of men's magazine GQ India's February 2014 issue, says alcohol is a stress buster for many but he likes to stay away from it.

When asked how the one-film old actor deals with it at Bollywood parties, he said: "By making polite conversation."

"Drinking is a stress reliever for a lot of people (but) I just don't like alcohol," GQ India quoted Sidharth. He will next be seen playing a nice boy looking for love in Hasee Toh Phasee which is set to release on February 7. The film also features Parineeti Chopra.

It's a mix of big city romance and American subaltern history at the box office today.

Bollywood offers the romantic comedy One By Two, directed by Devika Bhagat and featuring real life couple Abhay Deol and Preeti Desai as Mumbaikars who meet and fall in love. One By Two has already made news for a battle of wills between Abhay Deol, who produces the film, and music giants T-Series over a copyright issue that saw Mr Deol show up at an awards ceremony with a 'black eye' that was meant to signify the hit his film had taken. Mr Deol eventually came out tops.

From Hollywood, comes a movie that many believe already has its Best Film Oscar sewn up. 12 Years A Slave, based on the real life account of a free black man kidnapped and sold into slavery, stars Oscar nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o and Michael Fassbender. The cast also features Brad Pitt, a producer on the movie, and Sherlock star Bendeict Cumberbatch.

Also up today is Australian-American fantasy action film written and directed by Stuart Beattie, based on the graphic novel and original screenplay by Kevin Grevioux - I, Frankenstein. It stars Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy and Miranda Otto. The story deals with Frankenstein's monster being promised a wife by his creator and, when that doesn't happen, taking the doctor's wife herself resulting in a battle between gargoyles and demons, evil and humanity, and the dilemma of having a soul or not having a soul.

Three movies, three different genres. The audiences have a plateful of entertainment.

New Delhi: Shotgun Junior aka Sonakshi Sinha`s weight has been in the news every since the babe started her stint in Bollywood. While, her contemporaries like Ranveer Singh and Parineeti Chopra have stood by her unconditionally and have refused to accept what the gossip mills say about her extra weight.

Sonakshi, on her part, remains to stay unperturbed on her weighty matters and continues to smile and shine on the big screen. The actress is rather proud of her womanly curves. Yesterday, the pretty-faced Sona even took to Twitter to show-off her fit body after a long workout session. She poster a picture of hers in black tights and noodle strap top, and boy, she did look hot!

 It's been a busy week for Farhan Akhtar. Akhtar performed with his band Farhan Live at a Mumbai college festival, attended by close to 10,000 students! Needless to say, the audience just couldn't get enough! The actor was also spotted promoted his upcoming flick, 'Shaadi Ke Side Effects' at the Radio Mirchi station. When asked about his first comic outing, the actor had a lot to share! Meanwhile PeeCee was spotted a popular eatery in the company of director Tarun Mansukhani. What we can't understand? Why was she sporting gym wear? And finally Aditi Rao Hydari and Huma Qureshi were spotted at Sudhir Mishra's surprise birthday party. His muse Chitrangada however was Missing in Action!

Movie Review: 12 Years a Slave

Director: Steve McQueen

Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson

Rating:

12 Years a Slave is one of the best movies ever made on American slavery. British director Steve McQueen has succeeded in bringing on celluloid the pain of slavery in every single scene of the film. It's an adaptation of the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup. Must I add that it's very brave of Brad Pitt to produce this one.

It's a story of someone who was not known at all and slavery was something that was not known to him till he was picked up. This is the story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free citizen of the United States who lived a normal life in New York with his wife and children.

Director Steve McQueen poses with the award for Best Motion Picture, Drama for his film 12 Years a Slave backstage at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California on January 12, 2014.

Reuters

He receives a two-week music job offer from two unknown men. Next we see that Northup is captured, chained in a prison cell and sold by slave-trader Theophilus Freeman (Paul Giamatti) to the plantation owner William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch). He is named Platt and thus begins his journey as a slave-he will live in the worst conditions and will be tortured and humiliated each time he protests.

Now he has to not just get out of there but also get rid of the identity as he is renamed Platt, a runaway slave from Georgia. The path is as tough as one could imagine. The fact that such practices existed in a democratic nation is proof of how the power has been misused time and again.

British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor gets into the skin of the character and delivers an outstanding performance. There aren't that many dialogues for him but his expressions do most of the talking.

Backed by a good producer like Pitt, Steve McQueen delivers a masterpiece. 12 Years a Slave deserves every bit of praise that it has got so far.

Read more : http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/12-years-a-slave-hollywood-steve-mcqueen-american-slaver/1/340851.html

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/12-years-a-slave-hollywood-steve-mcqueen-american-slaver/1/340851.html

Actress Parineeti Chopra has said that good sense of humour in men matters a lot to her. “For me, I think humour is something important. He needs to be born with good humour. Whether he has good looks or not, is not always so relevant. When it comes to money, I can earn it,” Parineeti Chopra said at the promotional event of her forthcoming movie ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’.

Parineeti Chopra also spoke about how she is happy after losing weight and being called “thin”, after being known as “overweight”. “My endeavour is to lose weight. I was always put in the overweight category. Earlier, I ignored it and thought I should focus more on acting than all these things. But, it was stupid on my part to think that way, because one has to look good,” she said.

“I want to wear good clothes and look good on screen. Now I don’t think anyone would have complaint about my dressing,” she said.

There is a perception about our Bollywood divas that they look gorgeous only when they are decked up. But it seems like the actresses have decided to change this perception of people. Now many Bollywood A-listers prefer to step out of their homes without make-up.

Recently, Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty and Daisy Shah were spotted in public without make-up. All divas managed to look gorgeous even without make-up. Shilpa and Daisy were out to watch Jai Ho, while Priyanka was spotted at a restaurant in Mumbai.

It seems like our divas have decided to change the perception of people about them, and they have been successful so far.

Hrithik Roshan took a long break from acting after his head injury, followed by a surgery and a headline grabbing separation from his wife Sussanne Roshan. But yesterday, the actor flew out to Shimla for a fresh schedule of Siddharth Anand's Bang Bang during which he is expected to perform some action sequences.

Earlier, this shoot was to happen in Kashmir but was later shifted to Shimla. Says Siddharth, "Kashmir was an ideal location for my film. But the shoot had to be cancelled after infiltrators attacked a CRPF camp. Also, Hrithik had some health issues. This time, I don't want to take any chances. I want to complete the major chunk of the shoot during this schedule. I want to ensure that Hrithik is absolutely comfortable."

A source added, "When Hrithik reached the hotel, he got a warm reception from the staff. He looked a little tired after a long flight but a day's rest was all he needed to get all charged up. He will start filming from today."

Model turned actor, Preeti Desai is not the insecure girlfriend and is not jealous of any female actor that her boyfriend, Abhay Deol romances on screen. She was seen in ‘Shor In The City’ which helped her cope up things on the being jealous front. “Maybe if I wasn’t an actress and if I hadn’t done that I would have been insecure. But since I have done an intimate scene in my first film, I know it is part of the job. I think it is nice to admire other people. Why would you get jealous?” said Preeti.

Abhay and Preeti would be seen together in their upcoming film ‘One By Two’ and this would be the first time that they would share screen space. We all know how brilliant of an actor is Abhay . Having carved a niche for himself, he is all set to enter a slightly commercial zone with this romantic comedy.

On asking how things were while shooting Preeti said, “I think one can’t presume how it is going to be… I went with the flow. Initially, he was just producing it and then he came on board as an actor. From day one we decided to keep this professional because at the end of the day it’s a big thing to make a movie. The first shot we did together, there was nervousness in me because I wanted to impress him, I wanted his approval. That was initial, but then it was comfortable once I switched into the character… I think you are constantly learning things, I feel I have lots to learn,” - See more at: http://freepressjournal.in/jealous-no-way/#sthash.95oXLwbx.dpuf

With the film ready to release, Hooda, 37, looks back with joy on their road adventure which took the cast and crew through six different states of India.

"It was very nice working with Imtiaz. He guided us beautifully in the film. He is a Sufi artist kind of fellow but has the diligence of a school boy so you always feel safe. He really participates and helps you with what you are going through as an actor without interfering much.

"Sajid Nadiadwala and I used to joke that he is such a nice guy that it can`t be true. He must turn out a villain in the end but that did not happen," Randeep told PTI over phone from Kolkata.

Produced by Imtiaz`s Window Seat Films and presented by Nadiadwala, the film will be released worldwide by UTV Motion Pictures on February 21.