Page 663 - Entertainment Culture

First thought of Jack White for 'Slumdog Millionaire' music: Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle says he first thought about asking Jack White to compose the music for "Slumdog Millionaire" but on the recommendation of a crew film member met A R Rahman and the rest is history. The ace filmmaker also says he "couldn't see or hear how we could use" the hit song 'Jai ho' in the movie. "I first thought about asking Jack White to write the music for 'Slumdog Millionaire', but I was already in India preparing the film and a member of the crew kept saying, 'You really must meet Mr A.R. Rahman - he truly is the Mozart of Madras, and he will change your life," says Boyle, who won the Oscar for best director for the film in 2009. After that "titanic recommendation", Boyle met "this gentle, unassuming man and my life did indeed change". According to the British filmmaker, Rahman brought all the driving sensibility of a brilliant rock, pop and blues guitarist, with the tenderness and originality of great love songs from Bollywood and India beyond, "like a calm hub around which ...

SRK's fans make his 53rd birthday special

The fandom outside Shah Rukh Khan's house Mannat here on his 53rd birthday on Friday was reminiscent of a scene straight out of his movie "Fan". The superstar, from atop his bungalow, acknowledged a sea of people, some of whom flaunted "Happy Birthday" posters and t-shirts with their idol's face printed on it.

Adah Sharma to star in Telugu thriller

Actress Adah Sharma has been roped in to play the leading lady in the Telugu investigative thriller "Kalki".

Quality of technicals, skill in India as good as anywhere in world: BLOT!

Electronic music producer Gaurav Malaker, better known as BLOT!, has performed at legendary venues and festivals across the world. He says despite some shortcomings, the quality of productions and events in India is at par with global standards.

SRK is a runaway groom in new 'Zero' poster?

The makers of the upcoming film 'Zero' have shared an exciting new poster of the film, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, on the occasion of the superstar's 53rd birthday.In the image, King Khan can be seen wearing a white vest, blue striped boxers and a garland of notes. Besides him lies a wedding sherwani and in his neck, he carries a kirpan.Filmmaker Aanand L. Rai shared the poster on Twitter and in the caption, wished 'Khaan saab' on his special day.He wrote, "Duaaon ki agar shakl hoti to uske gaalon pe bhi kya aise hi dimple padte? uss hasi ke naam jiski hasi se laakhon ke chehron pe hasi aajaati hai! Janamdin mubarak Khan Saab @iamsrk"The trailer of the film will be released at a grand event today, which will be attended by SRK and the leading ladies of the film - Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.In the film, the 'Badshaah' of Bollywood plays the role of a vertically challenged man, Bauua Singh, who falls in love with a superstar, played by Katrina, while Anushka will also play a pivotal .

Making a short film is a huge challenge, says Sujoy Ghosh

Director Sujoy Ghosh believes that though the short films format has been there in the industry for long, no effort has been made to commercialise it and make it mainstream. With this intent, the ace director has partnered with Sriram Raghavan and film critics Anupama Chopra and Rajeev Masand to present the Critics Choice Short Film Awards (CCSFA) that seeks to recognise the talent behind short films. "Short films are not mainstream because we are still to work out how to commercialise them but nevertheless they are great learning platform for people who want to get into filmmaking," Ghosh told PTI in an interview. "It's a great challenge to make a film in this format. It's a new format where you have to learn everything from scratch, be it the scripting, the acting, the cinematography. All faculties of filmmaking, you have to revisit because your presentation window is different, because it's not being made for the big screen but the small screen," he added. Ghosh, who has worked in .

SRK greets hundreds of fans outside Mannat on 53rd birthday

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who turned 53 on Friday, greeted thousands of his fans outside his residence at midnight and thanked them for their wishes."We have been waiting here since a long time to get a glimpse of Shah Rukh. He is my favourite superstar," said one of the fans, who via different antics wished Shah Rukh outside Mannat here.Shah Rukh came outside for a few minutes to thank his enthusiastic fans and greeted them with folded hands.Looking at the situation, security was beefed up well in advance outside Shah Rukh's residence.Meanwhile, the 'Badshaah' of Bollywood will be releasing the much-anticipated trailer of his upcoming movie 'Zero' later today.The trailer will be released at a grand event which will be attended by SRK and the leading ladies of the film - Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif. The makers of the film have planned on taking the event a notch higher by recreating Meerut city and establishing Ghanta Ghar along with the colourful mela-like set up which .

Booker Prize designed to reflect the experience of the British reader: Literary Director Gaby Wood (Part 2 of 2)

The Man Booker Prize "cares very much about diversity" and the Literary Director of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gaby Wood, is confident that the Prize is selecting the best fiction from what is submitted to it every year. But the submissions, in the first place, are imperiled by the restriction of being published in the UK. Can a truly global literary award, as it is regarded, ignore all the novels not published in the UK and yet claim to recognise "the finest in fiction"?

Siddhant Karnick performs water scene for TV show

Actor Siddhant Karnick shot a scene in water for television show "Kaal Bhairav Rahasya 2", and says it was a new experience for him.

Simon Pegg, Kate Mara to star in 'Inheritance'

Actors Simon Pegg and Kate Mara will headline the cast of Vaughn Stein's thriller "Inheritance". Stein, who most recently helmed neo-noir thriller "Terminal", is directing the project from a script by Matthew Kennedy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film explores what happens to a family when its patriarch suddenly passes away, leaving his wife and daughter with a shocking secret inheritance that threatens to unravel and destroy their lives. Richard B Lewis is producing through his Southpaw Entertainment banner alongside David Wulf, Dan Reardon and Santosh Govindaraju. Pegg most recently featured in "Mission: Impossible - Fallout", where he reprised his role of Benji Dunn. Mara was last seen in drama "Chappaquidick", alongside Jason Clarke.

Actresses perceived by reel image in real life: Chitrangda

Chitrangda Singh, whose latest film to release is "Baazaar", says actresses get stereotyped by the film fraternity and audience alike based on their on-screen image, and this is "scary" at times.

Rana Daggubati joins 'Housefull 4' cast

Actor Rana Daggubati has joined the cast of Akshay Kumar-starrer "Housefull 4". The "Baahubali" star shared the news on Twitter and said he will be starting shoot for the project soon. "Heading to the sets of Housefull 4. Shooting in Mumbai after a very long time!!" Daggubati wrote. His casting comes weeks after veteran actor Nana Patekar stepped aside from the project in wake of allegations of harassment against him by actor Tanushree Dutta. Earlier, director Sajid Khan, who had started shooting the film, quit after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct. Besides Akshay, "Housefull 4" cast also includes Riteish Deshmukh, Bobby Deol, Kriti Sanon, Kriti Kharbanda and Pooja Hegde. Farhad Samji is directing the film, which is expected to hit the screens next year.

Reynolds jokes Lively is cheating on him

Actor Ryan Reynolds has jokingly claimed that his wife Blake Lively is cheating on him with a ghost.

Ewan McGregor to star as villain Black Mask in 'Birds of Prey'

"Fargo" star Ewan McGregor will be playing the antagonist in Harley Quinn spin-off, "Birds of Prey". According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 47-year-old actor will portray Gotham City mob boss Black Mask. The character, also known as Roman Sionis, is the head of the False Face Society gang and is said to be obsessed with masks. McGregor joins Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Rosie Perez in the film which is being directed by Cathy Yan. Robbie is all set to reprise her "Suicide Squad" role of Harley Quinn. Winstead will play Huntress and Smollett-Bell will portray Black Canary in the DC comic book-inspired film. Robbie will also co-produce the project with Sue Kroll and Bryan Unkeless. "Birds of Prey" will open in the theatres on February 7, 2020.

Recce for 'Sadak 2' begins

The recce for the upcoming film "Sadak 2", to be directed by Mahesh Bhatt, has begun.

Daniel Kaluuya, Rosamund Pike join voice cast of BBC's 'Watership Down'

Daniel Kaluuya, Rosamund Pike, Taron Egerton and Peter Capaldi have boarded the star-studded voice cast of television series "Watership Down". The miniseries, being directed by Noam Murro, is based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Richard Adams and adapted by Tom Bidwell, BBC said in a press release. The four actors join previously announced cast members John Boyega, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Gemma Arterton, Olivia Coman and Ben Kingsley. The story, set in the idyllic rural landscape of southern England, follows a band of rabbits on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Kaluuya will voice Bluebell; Pike will voice The Black Rabbit of Inle; Egerton will voice El-Ahrairah; and Capaldi will voice the seagull Kehaar. Also joining the voice cast are actors Gemma Chan as Dewdrop, Tom Wilkinson as Threarah and Rory Kinnear as Cowslip. The producers also announced that Grammy-winning artiste Sam Smith has recorded the original theme song, ..

Guides on entrepreneurship, teaching, and making the 50s fabulous (IANS Books This Weekend)

Enter a world of technology breakthroughs, with the real story of starting up and unadulterated entrepreneurship; get an enormous amount of practical advice, tips and ideas to make a student brilliant; flick through a moving personal story and the ultimate guide to making the 50s the most fabulous decade of your life yet.

Ridley Scott working on 'Gladiator' sequel

Veteran director Ridley Scott is planning a sequel to his multiple Oscar-winning film "Gladiator". The original, released in 2000, featured actors Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and Conie Nielsen in the lead. According to Deadline, the director is set to take on the project for Paramount with a script to be written by Peter Craig. Craig is best known for penning the scripts of Ben Affleck's "The Town" and "Hunger Games: Mockingjay". He is currently working on Tom Cruise-starrer "Top Gun: Maverick". The "Gladiator" sequel is in early stages of development, with Paramount currently in negotiations to land the project. The story will reportedly focus on Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Nielsen) and the nephew of Commodus (Phoenix). "Gladiator" had won five Oscars at the 2001 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe. Scott, 80, most recently helmed "All the Money in the World", starring Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg, and is currently working on his first TV series,

Kate Mara, Simon Pegg to star in thriller

Actors Kate Mara and Simon Pegg are in negotiations to star in the independent thriller "Inheritance" with British director Vaughn Stein.

Oprah Winfrey campaigns for Democrat candidate for midterms

Talk show host-producer-philanthropist Oprah Winfrey returned to the campaign trail for Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who is running for Governor of Georgia in the upcoming midterm polls, saying "all the noise", "crazy talk" and "vitriol" was now part of political discourse.