Priyanka Chopra And Shahrukh Khan Together At 'Zor Ka Jhatka' Pics

SRK shows Ashutosh the door!

After burning his hands with Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades (2004) which flopped at the box-office, Shah Rukh has flatly refused to work with the director for his next venture. Ashutosh offered SRK a role in a period film with Rani Mukerji as his screen partner, but after Swades, Shah Rukh isn't taking any chances.
Apparently, working with Gowariker on Swades wasn't one of the highlights of Shah Rukh's life, but Ashutosh asked him to forget the past and start afresh. Ashutosh also offered him incentives to make up for the experience.

Our source said, "Ashutosh even told Shah Rukh that they could co-produce the film and he had no issues with Shah Rukh's style of working on commission basis. But even this did not evoke a favourable response."

Meanwhile, Rani Mukerji is finally over her Yash Raj hangover. Her previous three films under the YRF banner: Laaga Chunri Mein Daag, Ta Ra Rum Pum and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic tanked at the box-office.

While Shah Rukh Khan remained unavailable for comment, Ashutosh Gowariker chose not to speak.

Shahrukh Khan apologizes to Aishwarya Rai

Karan Johar’s birthday party puts an end to Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s dushmani. They came, attended the party and became friends thereby putting an end to the year’s long rivalry. The two has been sharing a bitter relationship from the days of ‘Chalte Chalte’ after King Khan dropped Ash and signed Rani Mukherjee. Their relationship further damaged when SRK and his family were not invited to Ash-Abhi’s wedding.

Their relationship finally came to an end after SRK passed unceremonious comment against Aishwarya during Katrina’s birthday bash. After that very event, the Bachchan family had almost cut ties with Shahrukh. On Monday night, when Shahrukh with family and Ash with hubby Abhishek came across, SRK extended olive branch to Ash and apologized to her for the wrong.

A source gives an inside details of the happening, “A few minutes into the conversation with Ash, SRK apologized to her.” He said, ‘I think I owe you an apology because in some way I have wronged you.” Then what after the patch-up, the Bachchans and the Khans set the dance floor on fire, they danced, chatted and had fun the entire night.

Shah Rukh Khan names his sci-fi thriller

It was widely reported by the media that Shah Rukh Khan will don the greasepaint for a super hero role in his next film. Incidentally, this film is to be directed by the King Khan’s production house Red Chillies Entertainment.

The creative actor has named this science fiction film as RA-1. Sources close to the actor-producer say that it means - The Egyptian Sun God. RA-1 will be directed by Anubhav Sinha. Shah Rukh has also roped in cameraman Manikandan to handle the camera. The man behind the camera, Manikandan said that he will do a thorough research before starting this venture as he wants to bring out the best for this sci-fi thriller.

Bollywood's Three Khans Together?

Director Sanjay Chhel could pull off a coup of sorts if all the three Khans of Bollywood – Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan agree to star in his forthcoming film. The three will be approached for a cameo in the film.

Whatever it may be, getting all the three Khans in a single movie is something that no one has been able to achieve so far. The director is also looking to sign up other top heroes of Bollywood to play cameo roles in this flick.

Meanwhile, the production house that is producing this venture, Percept, has decided to reduce the film’s budget by 30 per cent due to recession.

Let's wait and watch!

Shah Rukh Khan is proud of his Mughal-e-Azam camera

When SRK is showing you his palacial house Mannat the one thing he is quite excited to show you is his antique camera placed near the entrance of Mannat’s second floor.

The camera is the same one used to shoot the legendary flick Mughal-e-Azam starring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala.

A source says, “SRK is very fond of this camera and loves to show it off to his guests. It is more special to him as the actor is a big fan of Dilip Kumar and loves his movies. Having possessed the camera which shot Dilip sir makes him feel ecstatic.”
The camera was gifted to SRK by IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s wife Mrinalini.

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Top Bollywood Movie Hits of 2008

All ye' Bollywood fans and Bollywood lovers are interested in knowing which indeed was the most successful Bollywood movie of 2008. Is it Ghajini or Jodhaa Akbar? Or is there other clear winner? What do trade guides show? Which Bollywood movie truly rocked 2008? Is the most successful Bollywood movie of 2008, also your favorite movie?

Presenting here are the hits, superhits and blockbusters Bollywood movies of 2008, including a brief review. The movies are arranged according to their time of release.

1. Jodhaa Akbar : Released on February 15' 2008, Jodhaa Akbar, directed by Bollywood most prolific director Ashutosh Gowariker, was a semi hit. It went on to do a business of Rs. 62 crores. Hrithik Roshan was the USP of the film, he played Akbar so well that the historic figure is now synonymous with the actor.

2. Race: Released on March 21' 2008, Race was the first big hit of 2008. An edge of the seat thriller, the movie directed by Abbas-Mustan was full of twists and turns. As of May 30, it grossed Rs.63,67,00,000 ($14,886,600) in India, and $9,505,321 in other parts bringing a worldwide total of $24,391,921. Race is actually the fifth biggest hit of 2008.

3. Jannat: Jannat, directed by Kunal Deshmukh, was a Mukesh Bhatt film, released on May 16. Based on cricket betting, the movie extracted the career best performance of Emran Hashmi. Debutante Sonal Chauhan made a pretty picture in the movie. Jannat grossed 32,47,00,000 in 5 weeks, quite higher than its cost of production.

4. Aamir: One of the dark horse hits of 2008, Aamir directed by Raj Kumar Gupta released on June 6. The movie starring Rajeev Khandelwal was a story about how an innocent man gets trapped in the hands of religious extremists who want to bomb the city. An interesting premise, the movie did good business.

5. Sarkar Raj: Sarkar Raj, directed by Ram Gopal Verma released on June 6 2008. The movie was a semi-hit; people compared Sarkar Raj to its prequel Sarkar, and found that the sequel was not as effective as the first one. Nevertheless, it grossed 34 crores in India in its first two weeks and over $1 million in the USA.

6. Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na: Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, released on July 4 2008; directed by Abbas Tyrewala and produced by Aamir Khan, was the iconic movie of 2008. The movie was a blazing hit and it is still the favorites of the youth segment, which forms a major part of the movie going audience. The youthful movie had a cliched but entertaining story with fantastic music by A.R.Rahman. in 5 weeks, it earned approximately 52.96 crores.

7. Singh is Kinng: Singh is Kinng was a movie, all Akshay Kumar fans were waiting for. Released on August 8, 2008; the movie recorded the biggest advance booking in the history of Bollywood, second only to Ghajini. With a fantastic figure of Rs.44 crores in the first week, Singh is Kinng was the fourth biggest hit of Bollywood 2008. By September, it had already earned Rs.73 crores.

8. Bachna Ae Haseeno: Released on August 15, 2008, Bachna Ae Haseeno proved to be a solace for Yash Raj films which had only given flops before this, in 2008 like Tashan and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. Made on a budget of Rs.18 crores, this Ranbir Kapoor earned Rs.31.20 crores in its second week, and was declared a semi hit.

9. Phoonk: Phoonk directed by Ram Gopal Verma was probably the least expensive movie, which did good business. The movie based on black magic was a success because of the subject.

10. Mumbai Meri Jaan: Mumbai Meri Jaan, released on August 22' 2008 was a movie based on 7/11 bomb blasts. A slightly documentary style film, it focussed on the repercussions of the bomb blasts. The movie was an an above average hit. The USP of the film was a power packed performance by Paresh Rawal and Irrfan Khan.

11. Rock On!!: Rock On (released August 29' 2008) , directed by Abhishek Kapoor and produced by Farhan Akhtar, was another youth favorite, like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Based on friendship and rock music, Rock On was treated like a sequel to the cult movie Dil Chahta Hai. It made singer-actor-producer-director (phew!) Farhan Akhtar, a household name.

12. A Wednesday: A Wednesday, released on September 5 2008, is the dark horse success of 2008. A powerful script, impeccable dialogues and a unique treatment by director Neeraj Pandey, made this probably the most watchable movie of 2008. Naseerudin Shah proved that he is inimitable when it comes to stellar performance.

13. 1920: A spooky movie directed by Vikram Bhatt (released Sep 12' 08) was high on horror around a haunted palatial house. Newbies Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma gave a spirited (no pun intended!) performance. The fantastic English locales and visual effects proved to be the USP of the film.

14. Welcome to Sajjanpur: Welcome to Sajjanpur, released on September 19 2008 was director Shyam Benegal's entry to commercial cinema. The movie shot in rural set-up brought back memories of Malgudy Days and fared well at the box office.

15. Fashion: Fashion directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, gave a push to Priyanka Chopra who went down-slide with four back to back flops in 2008. It appealed to the youth and the upper crust and did good business.

16. Golmaal Returns: Released on the same date as Fashion (October 29' 2008) , Golmaal Returns was a run-away super hit. Though marred by critics, it was declared a huge success by the masses. It surpassed the first day totals of Om Shanti Om, last year, by collecting 22.03 lakhs on day one. This Rohit Shetty venture earned Rs.48 crores in the first week, making it the third biggest hit of 2008.

17. Dostana: Dostana directed by Tarun Mansukhani for Karan Johar released on November 14' 2008. The story of two men Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham, who pretend to be gays, and fall in love with eye-candy Priyanka Chopra made the box office smile. By December 12, it had already earned Rs.80 crores.

18. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi: One of the much awaited movies, the Shahrukh Khan starrer Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, released on December 12'08. Made on a modest budget of Rs.22 crores by Yash Raj standards, Aditya Chopra directed this movie to success. The movie also featured debutante Anushka Sharma. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi earned 7.5 crore net all over India and by day 1, and earned Rs.44.5 crores by week 1. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is the second biggest hit of 2008.

19. Ghajini: The most awaited movie Ghajini, proved to be a record breaking success. The most successful movie of the year and perhaps one of the all time big hits, this Aamir Khan movie directed by A.Murgadoss proved recession cannot beat quality. Released on December 25, 2008, this remake of the Southern movie of the same name is running quite strong, thanks to the Aamir Khan brand power. On Day 1, Ghajini earned Rs.33 crores, (compared to Rs.18 crore of Rab Ne) worldwide, something which is unheard off. Ghajini is all set to pass Rs.100 crores in three weeks, overtaking the lines of previous two years biggies Om Shanti Om (Rs.80 crores) and Dhoom 2 (Rs.85 crores).

Conclusion 2008: Ghajini has proved to be a big money spinner for Bollywood. The year 2008 has pooled in 15 percent or Rs.900 crore more than last year. Call it the Pareto Principal, if you will but Rab Ne and Ghajini have added another 20 percent more to the box office collection of movies preceding them. Masala films and movies based on 'terror issues' dominated 2008.

So, here is the countdown of the top 5 films of Bollywood 2008:
5. Race
4. Singh is Kinng
3. Golmaal Returns
2. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
1. Ghajini

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Subhash K Jha: Billu Barber is not the film that you wanted it to be

Let's be clear on one thing. Billu Barber is not the film that you wanted it to be. A bitter-sweet portrait of the chequered and troubled star-fan relationship, it falls short of expectations mainly because the prolific Priyadarshan fills up the spaces occupying the star Shah Rukh and the commoner Irrfan Khan's tale with a hefty load of humbug. The village where the star descends to shoot his latest potboiler with three smouldering item girls in tow (couldn't the unit have shot with Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra far away from the madding crowd in the city studios?) looks too chaotic to be real.

Priyadarshan saturates the filmy village with his characteristically caricatural actors who have been filling up his villages from the time he made the memorable Viraasat. Mohan Joshi (broad and brilliant as a boorish politician trying to act impudently nonchalant before the superstar), Om Puri (cracking one of the most vulgar jokes ever heard in mainstream cinema) Rasika Joshi, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav. . . you've seen them all doing their rustic satire for Priyan before. They've been there, done it all before.

You wish Priyan had brought in a fresh cast to bolster the film's fresh look and texture. For all said (and how much they talk!) and done(the narrative is kept crisp) Billu is by far the director's most sensitive and gentle work since Kala Pani and Viraasat. . . and that holds true in spite of the film's extravagant excesses, like the three scorching item songs put into the film to counter the rural characters and ambience with dollops of urbane octane . The garnishing revs up the proceedings but slackens the subliminal sensitivity by over-punctuating the narrative.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is Shah Rukh’s biggest film ever

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, which released worldwide five weeks ago on December 12th 2008, has grossed a phenomenal Rs. 180 crores worldwide till date and has broken all previous box office records for Yash Raj Films, as well as become the highest-grossing Shahrukh Khan film till date. The film was released at an extremely precarious time, just after the terror attacks in Mumbai on 26th November 2008. Amidst uncertain consumer sentiments and apprehensions from the trade regarding market conditions at the time, the film has achieved an unparalleled box office run against all odds. Moreover, the film had to further contend with the record-breaking onslaught of Ghajini on December 26th 2008, despite which it has continued unabated and endured a hugely successful run in its third, fourth and fifth weeks, and promises to carry on in the same vein going forward.

The total collections of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi for the first five weeks in India are Rs. 83 crores net (i.e. gross collections of close to Rs. 140 crores). The film has thus surpassed Yash Raj Films’ previous highest grosser, Dhoom: 2, which collected Rs. 80.6 crores net across its entire run in India and is considered as one of the highest grossing films of all-time. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has also comfortably surpassed the collections of two of the biggest hits of the last 2 years, Singh is King and Om Shanti Om, and is now second only to Ghajini as regards all-time India net collections.

“RAB NE BANA DI JODI” IS THE HIGHEST GROSSING FILM OF THE YEAR IN THE OVERSEAS

The total gross collections for all overseas markets are $8 Million (i.e. around Rs. 40 crores), making Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi the highest grossing film of the year in the overseas, ahead of both Ghajini and Singh is King. In the UK, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has grossed close to £1.5 million till date, which makes it the biggest hit of the last 2 years in this market. In the Middle East, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has grossed a staggering $2.25 million till date, making it the highest grossing film of all-time in this region by a huge margin. The film has also achieved a fabulous box office gross of $2.1 million till date in the USA. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has also enjoyed a grand box office performance across all other overseas markets, such as Australia, Europe, Africa, and Asia, and ranks as the highest grosser of the year across these regions.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has evoked a sensational response from audiences all over the world, which is clearly reflected in its record-breaking collections, and continues to win hearts across the globe as it goes forward from strength to strength.

Mannat under attack: Shah Rukh is scared

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan said Friday he was worried for the safety of his wife and two children after his house Mannat was attacked by unknown people who had apparently misinterpreted the lyrics of a song in just-released "Billu" and reacted.

"I got scared. I got worried about my children and wife, but they are fine. I don't think there is any place safer than my home. I'm in London for a check up. I will be back home the day after tomorrow," Shah Rukh told a TV channel over phone from London.

Clarifying the confusion about the lyrics, the actor said: "They thought we are referring to the Prophet in the song. But it has been sorted out. They have seen the film and now its clear to them that the lyrics weren't referring to the Prophet."

A burning kerosene bottle had been thrown in the premises of his sea facing house Mannat early in the morning.

According to an officer of Bandra Police station, two men came to Shah Rukh's bungalow, at Bandra Bandstand around 2.30 a.m. They lit a bottle full of kerosene and flung it over the gates before fleeing. The security guards were caught unawares, the police said.

The police said a case was registered and they are searching for the culprits.

There was no damage to property as the flaming missile landed in the garden.

Friday releases: SRK collides with Billu Barber

This Friday Shah Rukh Khan's larger than life world will collide with that of Billu, the barber, in Billu and with Valentine's day just a day away revel in the mush fest that is 'He is not just that into you'

We give the lowdown on all the films set to hit the silver screen on Friday.

Billu Barber

Spewing much controversy, SRK starrer Billu Barber will finally make its silverscreen debut this Friday. Another south flick remake by Priyadarshan, the film is the story of friendship between a small town barber and a glamarous filmstar. Produced by Gauri Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment, the film stars Irfan Khan, Lara Dutta, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

Jugaad

After a disastrous 'Delhi Heights' director R. Anand Kumar is back with his next film, 'Jugaad'. Inspired by sealing drives in delhi, this comic caper starring Manoj Bajpai, follows the struggle of a successful CEO to survive and restart his life from scratch after his office gets sealed. Jugaad also stars Hrishitaa Bhatt.

Stoneman Murderer

Debutant director Manish Gupta unravels the mystery behind the series of murders of pavement dwellers in Mumbai back in 1983 with 'The Stoneman Murderer. The thriller stars Kay Kay Menon, Arbaaz Khan and Rukshar.

He's not just that into you

Coming right in time for the Valentine's day is He's just not that into you Starring, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly and
Jennifer Aniston, this rom com revolves around relationship dilemmas of a bunch of 20 and 30 year olds.