‘Dhobi Ghat’ to premiere at Toronto International Film Festival
July 30, 2010
Dhobi Ghat, the directorial debut of Bollywood superstar
Aamir Khan’s wife Kiran Rao, will have its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from September 9-19. In the film, Khan plays the lead role of a painter. His character and several disparate others—including an affluent investment banker on vacation and a laundry boy who dreams of becoming an actor—are drawn into unlikely relationships with one other. It is set in Mumbai. Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla, who won Academy Awards for best original score for
Brokeback Mountain (2005) and
Babel (2006), has reportedly scored
Dhobi Ghat. Top filmmakers such as Robert Redford, Woody Allen, and Julian Schnabel will also be premiering their films at Toronto this year. The Toronto International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the world in terms of attendance (300,000 tickets are sold). It features about 300 films from more than 60 countries each year.
Dhobi Ghat is expected to release worldwide later this year.
‘Merchants of Bollywood’ to make U.S. premiere in Chicago
July 28, 2010
The Merchants of Bollywood, a musical about the Hindi film industry, will make its North American debut in Chicago, Illinois in October as part of its worldwide tour this year. Tickets for the Chicago performances go on sale July 30. The musical was first produced in Sydney, Australia in 2005 and has since had successful runs in Europe and Asia. It has been seen by more than two million people worldwide. It is set to music by the Bollywood brother-duo known as Salim-Sulaiman, who have composed for such films as
Aaja Nachle (2007),
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), and
Kurbaan (2009). The story is inspired by the life of Vaibhavi Merchant, the musical’s choreographer, using her conflict with her grandfather as the basis for the plot, which also relates the history of the Hindi film industry.
The Merchants of Bollywood will make its U.S. premiere on October 1 at Roosevelt University's Auditorium Theater in Chicago, with a second show there on October 2. The production then moves to Newark, New Jersey for performances on October 14 and 15 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Prudential Hall.
Yash Chopra receives University of London honorary degree
July 27, 2010
Veteran Bollywood filmmaker Yash Chopra received an honorary doctorate Friday from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies for his contribution to cinema over the last 60 years. Chopra, 77, best known for his melodramatic romances, began directing in the 1950s. He started his own production company, Yash Raj Films, in 1973 and it is today one of the largest in Bollywood. He was instrumental in the making of two of Bollywood's biggest stars ever,
Amitabh Bachchan—with
Deewaar (1975),
Kabhi Kabhie (1976), and
Silsila (1981)—and
Shahrukh Khan—whom Chopra launched in
Darr (1993) and who starred in the last film Chopra directed,
Veer-Zaara (2004). This is Chopra's second honorary degree from a UK university—the first was from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2007. He was similarly honored by India's Punjab University in 2008 and Guru Nanak University in 2004. Chopra was a recipient of France's Legion of Honour, the country's highest civilian award, in 2008. Other Bollywood notables who have received honorary degrees from UK universities include Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. The School of Oriental and African Studies was one of the first Western universities to offer courses in Indian film; it plans to start a degree program in South Asian cinema in 2011.
Bollywood takes stage at Melbourne International Film Festival
July 24, 2010
Three Hindi films—
Peepli Live,
Ishqiya, and
Love Sex Aur Dhokha—will be screened this year at Australia's Melbourne International Film Festival, which runs from July 22 to August 8. Bollywood actor
Aamir Khan, the producer of
Peepli Live, will personally present the film at the festival on August 6.
Peepli Live, directed by debutante Anusha Rizvi, got a strong reception at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival last January. The film is a black comedy about a debt-ridden farmer who creates a media frenzy when he announces that he will commit suicide so that his family can receive government assistance.
Peepli Live releases worldwide on August 13.
Ishqiya, starring
Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi, and Naseeruddin Shah, released in January, and
Love Sex Aur Dhokha released in March—both were critically acclaimed. Australia's high commissioner to India, Lachlan Strahan, said in a statement about the Melbourne festival: “Australian audiences have embraced Bollywood and Indian cinema in recent years. With the growing Indian diaspora in Australia, and the growing profile of India internationally, Australians are hungry to learn more about India and its diverse cultures.” The Melbourne International Film Festival is the largest film festival in Australia, with nearly 200,000 attendees, and it features films from more than 50 countries. The annual event was started in 1951, making it one of the oldest film festivals in the world.
Aamir Khan enlisting Oscar-winning composer for ‘Dhobi Ghaat’
July 17, 2010
Bollywood superstar
Aamir Khan, the producer of his wife Kiran Rao’s upcoming directorial debut
Dhobi Ghaat, is reportedly courting Oscar-winning Argentine musician Gustavo Santaolalla to compose songs for the movie. Santaolalla won Academy Awards for best original score for
Brokeback Mountain (2005) and
Babel (2006). In June, Khan hosted a star-studded party in Mumbai with Santaolalla as the guest of honor. Khan has also reportedly convinced the family of the late acclaimed filmmaker Bimal Roy to lend him a song from Roy's 1958 classic
Madhumati, which starred Bollywood great Dilip Kumar. According to news reports, Khan has acquired the rights to use the hit song, "Dil Tadap Tadap Ke Kaha Raha Hai Aa Bhi Jaa," in
Dhobi Ghaat.
Stuttgart film festival to screen ‘Lamhaa,’ ‘Ishqiya’
July 12, 2010
Stuttgart, Germany's 7th annual "Bollywood and Beyond" film festival—one of Europe's major Indian film festivals—will screen 50 films, including commercial blockbusters, arthouse cinema, and documentaries, from July 21-25. Bollywood films to be featured include
Lamhaa (2010), starring
Sanjay Dutt,
Bipasha Basu, and Kunal Kapoor;
Ishqiya (2010), starring Arshad Warsi,
Vidya Balan, and Naseeruddin Shah;
Karthik Calling Karthik (2010), starring Farhan Akhtar and
Deepika Padukone;
Right Yaa Wrong (2010), starring Sunny Deol,
Irrfan Khan, and
Konkona Sen Sharma;
3 Idiots (2009), starring
Aamir Khan and
Kareena Kapoor; and
Road to Sangam (2009), starring Paresh Rawal and Om Puri. Event attendance has grown from 3,500 in 2004 to 13,000 last year. The festival gives awards for best feature film, best short film, and best documentary, as well as a "Directors' Vision Award" and an "Audience Award."
Akshay Kumar to promote Indian tourism to Canada
June 26, 2010
Bollywood star
Akshay Kumar was named Canada’s tourism ambassador to India. The actor will be promoting Canada as a tourist destination for Indians. The Canadian Tourism Commission recently opened a promotional office in Mumbai. Kumar has ties to Canada. He was India’s ambassador to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and he carried the Olympic Torch in Toronto as part of the torch relay. In 2008, Kumar received an honorary degree from the University of Windsor for his contribution to the global growth of Indian cinema. Several of his films—including
Bewafaa (2005),
Humko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006),
8x10 Tasveer (2009), and his upcoming picture
Thank You—were shot in Canada. Vancouver and Toronto have large South Asian communities. Toronto is set to become the first North American city to host one of Bollywood’s major awards ceremonies, the International Indian Film Academy Awards, from June 16-19, 2011. Canada isn’t the first country to try to attract Indian Bollywood fans. Foreign locations are a staple of Indian cinema and growing numbers of Indians—more than 12 million in 2009—take foreign vacations, often venturing to the places seen in their favorite movies. Switzerland—long featured in Hindi films—has been appealing to Indian travelers with ad campaigns and Bollywood-themed tours that visit the shooting locations of films such as
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and
Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008). Switzerland also encourages the Hindi film industry to shoot movies there by offering filmmakers expense-paid scouting trips. Over the last several decades, more than 200 Bollywood films have been shot, at least in part, in Switzerland.
‘Raajneeti’ opens Ireland’s first Indian film festival
June 26, 2010
Bollywood director Prakash Jha’s recent hit
Raajneeti opened the Indian Film Festival of Ireland—the first of its kind—in Dublin on June 25.
Raajneeti, a thriller about down-and-dirty regional Indian politics, is based on the Hindu epic
Mahabharata and the American film classic
The Godfather—both gripping stories about family dynasties and the power struggles within them. The film has an all-star cast, including
Katrina Kaif,
Ranbir Kapoor,
Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai, and Nana Patekar. Other films to be screened at the festival include
Devdas—both Bimal Roy’s 1955 version and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2002 version—and
Umrao Jaan—both Muzaffar Ali’s 1981 version and J.P. Dutta’s 2006 version—as well as
Mother India (1957),
Mangal Pandey (2005),
Black (2005),
Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003),
Paa (2009),
The Blue Umbrella (2007), and
Harishchandrachi Factory (2009). The festival will close with Jha’s film
Gangaajal (2003). Jha attended the opening screening at Dublin’s Swan Cinemas. The festival, which runs through June 28, includes discussion forums, seminars, and cultural events. For more information about the Indian Film Festival of Ireland, visit
www.bollywoodireland.com.
Aamir Khan seeking foreign distributors for upcoming films
June 10, 2010
Bollywood superstar
Aamir Khan is reportedly meeting with international film distribution companies, such as 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., to discuss his next three productions,
Peepli Live,
Dhobi Ghaat, and
Delhi Belly. The actor is said to be seeking a broader global audience for his films that includes non-Hindi-speaking moviegoers in the West, and sources say he hopes to get his productions screened in Western art-house theaters that don’t normally release Hindi films.
Peepli Live got a strong reception at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival last January. The film is a black comedy about a debt-ridden farmer who creates a media frenzy when he announces that he will commit suicide so that his family can receive government assistance. Khan is producing the film but does not appear in it. Khan’s production company is also making
Dhobi Ghaat, in which Khan plays the lead role of a painter. The film is the directorial debut of Khan's wife Kiran Rao.
Delhi Belly is a comedy produced by Khan and starring his nephew, up-and-coming Bollywood actor
Imran Khan. All three films are expected to release later this year.
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‘3 Idiots’ cleans up at IIFA awards
June 6, 2010
Coming-of-age comedy
3 Idiots won in nearly every top category, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress, at this year’s International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony, held Saturday in Sri Lanka. The blockbuster, starring
Aamir Khan and
Kareena Kapoor, is the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time. It released last December. Many big stars stayed away from the event—one of Bollywood’s major awards ceremonies—including Aamir Khan,
Shahrukh Khan, and
Amitabh Bachchan, who is the brand ambassador for IIFA. Tamil groups in India protested the ceremony because of Sri Lanka’s treatment of the Tamil minority in that country. Bachchan’s son and daughter-in-law
Abhishek and
Aishwarya Rai, whose upcoming film
Raavan releases in Hindi and Tamil on June 18, also did not attend. Best Actress winner Kareena Kapoor was present to accept her award, which she shared with
Vidya Balan for her performance in
Paa. Amitabh Bachchan won Best Actor for his role in
Paa. Toronto, Canada will become the first North American city to host the IIFA awards ceremony in June 2011. The event takes place in a different city outside of India every year in an effort to promote Hindi cinema around the world. In past years, it has been held in London, Dubai, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, and Bangkok.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra to be honored at London film festival
June 2, 2010
Bollywood blockbuster
3 Idiots will be featured at the Indian Film Festival of London in August as part of a retrospective of acclaimed Indian filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The festival will kick off its inaugural event—the first of its kind in the city—on August 25 and will close on August 29 with a screening of Chopra’s most recent production
3 Idiots—the proceeds of which will be donated to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Other Chopra films to be included in the retrospective are
An Encounter With Faces (1978),
Parinda (1989),
1942: A Love Story (1994), and
Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007). Chopra will be presented with an award at the festival for his contribution to cinema, and he will participate in a question-and-answer session.
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Mani Ratnam to be honored at Venice Film Festival
May 26, 2010
Venice Film Festival organizers announced that its Glory to the Filmmaker prize will be given this year to Indian director Mani Ratnam. The Venice Film Festival, the oldest film festival in the world, will be held this year from September 1-11 and will include a screening of Ratnam’s upcoming film,
Raavan, starring husband and wife
Abhishek and
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film is being released in Hindi and Tamil and both versions will be screened at the festival.
Raavan releases in theaters worldwide on June 18. Ratnam has been making films in various Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, since 1983, including two acclaimed Bollywood pictures,
Yuva (2004) and
Guru (2007), both starring Abhishek Bachchan.
Raavan is said to be an adaptation of the
Ramayana, a Hindu epic about the god Rama and his wife Sita, who is kidnapped by a demon king. Oscar and Grammy winner A.R. Rahman composed the film’s soundtrack. Past winners of the Glory to the Filmmaker prize have gone to American actor and filmmaker Sylvester Stallone, French director Agnes Varda, Italian director and screenwriter Abbas Kiarostami, and Japanese filmmaker and actor Takeshi Kitano. The prize honors those who have significantly impacted contemporary cinema. Last year, three Indian movies were screened at the Venice Film Festival: Anurag Kashyap's
Dev D and
Gulaal and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's
Delhi 6.
‘Kites’ cracks North American box office top 10
May 23, 2010
Bollywood action-romance
Kites, starring Indian actor
Hrithik Roshan and Mexican actress Barbara Mori, took the No. 10 spot at the North American box office during its opening weekend, making it the first Bollywood film ever to debut in the top 10 here.
Kites, which released last Friday, opened at No. 5 at the UK box office, and in India, it had the second-biggest opening day ever (behind
3 Idiots, the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time, which released last December). The film—an intercultural love story about two hustlers on the run in the U.S. Southwest—has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from American critics.
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Anurag Basu: “We are not in our comfort zone” with ‘Kites’
Bollywood director Anurag Basu is no beginner—he started directing TV shows in 1993 and films in 2003—but when veteran filmmaker Rakesh Roshan came calling with an offer for Basu to direct Roshan’s next production, Basu was disbelieving at first. He explained at a media event on May 14 in New York City how he ended up behind the camera of the upcoming film Kites, starring Rakesh’s son, superstar Hrithik Roshan, and Mexican actress Barbara Mori. (more)
Rakesh Roshan: With ‘Kites’ “I don’t have to prove anything now”
May 19, 2010
Bollywood director and producer Rakesh Roshan helmed some of the films that made his son
Hrithik Roshan a star—Hrithik’s debut
Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai (2000) as well as the superhero sci-fi
Koi…Mil Gaya (2003) and its hit sequel
Krrish (2006). But for the film that may be his son’s most important project ever, Rakesh relinquished the director’s chair to Anurag Basu, known for his award-winning films
Gangster (2006) and
Life In A…Metro (2007). Roshan addressed a group of reporters at a roundtable interview on May 14 at The Four Seasons in New York City about his upcoming production,
Kites, releasing worldwide May 21 on more than 2,300 screens—and explained why he decided to take a backseat strictly as the film’s producer.
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Expectations high for Bollywood’s ‘Kites’ in the West
May 17, 2010
According to Bollywood superstar
Hrithik Roshan, his upcoming film
Kites is the culmination of his career. “I think whatever I did in the past 10 years was preparation to get me ready for a role like this,” Roshan said at last Friday’s media event at The Four Seasons in New York City. Actors always say that kind of thing when promoting a new film, but in this case, it might not be an overstatement because
Kites is being positioned to become the first Bollywood film to crossover to the West—and if successful, Roshan may catapult into Hollywood.
(more)
Bollywood remix master DJ Aqeel at Chicago’s Sound-Bar
May 11, 2010
DJ Aqeel—Indian DJ, singer, and composer famous for his Bollywood remixes—will headline “
The White Out Party” at Chicago nightclub
Sound-Bar on Sunday, May 30. Dress code: all white attire. Aqeel is best known for his “Shake It Daddy Mix,” “Tu Hai Wahi,” and “Fanaa For You,” a remix from the hit movie album
Fanaa (2006). The latter film starred
Aamir Khan and
Kajol. DJ Aqeel is the owner of the exclusive Mumbai nightclub, Hype. He is married to the niece of Bollywood actor Zayed Khan. Sound-Bar is located at 226 W. Ontario in downtown Chicago. “The White Out Party” starts at 10 pm and lasts until 4 am. General admission tickets are $15. VIP Room tickets are $35. To purchase,
click here. For group deals, call (773) 490-0975.
‘Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema’ film series in NYC
May 5, 2010
The
Film Society of Lincoln Center will host a film series called “Social Dramas and Shimmering Spectacles: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema” from May 19-27 at the Walter Reade Theatre, 165 W. 65th St., New York City. According to promoters, the 14 films to be shown “explore the rich influence of Muslim cultural and social traditions on Bombay cinema. Drawing on the music, poetry, and pure feeling of these traditions, these outstanding examples of three genres (the Historical, the Muslim Social, and the Courtesan Film) show a range of artistic accomplishments from magnificence and melodrama to New Wave reinvention.” The films to be screened include
Jodhaa Akbar (2008),
Mughal-E-Azam (1960), and
Umrao Jaan (2006). For more information and to purchase tickets, visit
www.filmlinc.com. The
Indo-American Arts Council is throwing a launch party for the film series on Saturday, May 15 from 7 pm to midnight at K Lounge, 30 W. 52nd St., New York City. The event includes dinner, open bar, and entertainment, as well as a book sale and signing with Richard Allen, co-author of
Islamicate Cultures of Bombay Cinema. Dress code: Mughal Court attire. Tickets for the launch party cost $75 for IAAC members—who can call (212) 594-3685 or email
admin@iaac.us to register—and $100 for non-members—who can
click here to register.
Hindi and English versions of ‘Kites’ to release in May
April 30, 2010
The long-awaited release of the Bollywood film
Kites, starring Indian superstar
Hrithik Roshan and Mexican actress Barbara Mori, is finally near. The Hindi version will release worldwide, including in 200 U.S. theaters, on May 21, and the English version will release in international markets only, including select cities in the U.S., on May 28. The Hindi version has a running time of two hours, while the English version is 90 minutes long. The film is an intercultural love story, directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Hrithik’s father, Rakesh Roshan, who made the unusual decision to release the film in two languages in order to broaden its global reach. American filmmaker Brett Ratner—best-known for his films
Red Dragon, the
Rush Hour series, and
X-Men: The Last Stand—edited the English version to appeal to Western audiences. Ratner reportedly removed all of the songs.
Kites was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2009 and its release has been repeatedly postponed. The film was shot in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Los Angeles.
Bachchans’ ‘Raavan’ to premiere at Cannes Film Festival
April 21, 2010
Director Mani Ratnam’s upcoming film
Raavan, starring husband and wife
Abhishek and
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, will reportedly premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14.
Raavan is said to be an adaptation of the
Ramayana, a Hindu epic about the god Rama and his wife Sita, who is kidnapped by a demon king. Oscar and Grammy winner A.R. Rahman composed the film’s soundtrack.
Raavan is expected to release in theaters worldwide on June 18. Ratnam, a distinguished director of Hindi and Tamil films, previously directed Abhishek in
Yuva (2004) and both the Bachchans in
Guru (2007). Ratnam and the Bachchans are expected to attend
Raavan’s screening in France. Another Indian star—who has never worked in Indian cinema—will also grace the red carpet at Cannes this year—
Slumdog Millionaire’s Freida Pinto. Pinto is expected to attend with the cast of the upcoming Woody Allen film
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, in which she co-stars with Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, and Bollywood actor Anupam Kher. The film is premiering at the festival. Pinto’s name was recently floated as a possible Bond girl for the next installment of the 007 franchise, which prompted a flurry of discussion as to why Bollywood’s leading lady, Aishwarya Rai, wasn’t in contention. The as-yet-untitled Bond film, to be directed by Sam Mendes, is rumored to be set in Afghanistan, and the word is the film’s producers have been scouting locations in geographically similar parts of India. (The last Bond film shot in India was
Octopussy in 1983.) Pinto has denied that she’s been offered the role. The 63rd Cannes Film Festival runs from May 12 to May 23.
Bollywood boosts Twitter growth abroad
April 16, 2010
According to U.S.-based social-networking site Twitter, more than 60% of its users reside outside the U.S., and the company attributes its strong foreign growth partly to Bollywood stars who actively use Twitter to connect with their legions of fans. In fact, the size of their Twitter followings is regarded as a barometer of popularity and a matter of competition. Since June of last year, Twitter users outside the U.S. have grown from less than 45% of all accounts to 63%. The number of new Twitter accounts in India has nearly doubled since the beginning of this year. This month on Twitter’s official blog, the company’s lead engineer Matt Sanford credited Bollywood actors—and avid Twitterers—
Priyanka Chopra (277,000 followers),
Shahrukh Khan (273,000), and
Abhishek Bachchan (139,000) with attracting new people to the site. Superstar
Salman Khan joined in April and enlisted more than 18,000 followers within 24 hours of his first post. Filmmaker Karan Johar recently asked his Twitter followers—all 158,000 of them—to help him choose a name for his upcoming movie, a remake of the Hollywood film
Stepmom (1998), which starred Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris. The Bollywood version stars
Kareena Kapoor,
Kajol, and Arjun Rampal. Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat visited Twitter’s California headquarters last summer as she was one of the first Indian stars to garner a large following (currently more than 55,000). She has since been eclipsed, though, by the likes of
Shahid Kapoor (139,000 followers) and
Deepika Padukone (117,000).
South Asian comedians to take stage in Chicago
April 9, 2010
You love Indian comedy on the big screen—here’s your chance to see it live. South Asian comedians Vidur Kapur, Shazia Mirza, and Dan Nainan will take the stage at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago on Sunday, April 18 at 5 pm. Kapur is a top act on U.S. college campuses. He has performed at the New York Comedy Festival and Montreal’s “Just for Laughs” Comedy Festival. Mirza is an award-winning British Muslim stand-up comedian. She has been profiled on
60 Minutes and
Oxygen, and she was a semi-finalist on NBC’s
Last Comic Standing. Dan Nainan is an American comedian of Indian and Japanese origin. He performed at the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and at three subsequent presidential inaugural events. The show, “Spring into Comedy,” will take place on IIT’s campus at Hermann Hall, 3241 S. Federal St., Chicago. Tickets are $40 to $95 and $25 for students. To purchase, visit
www.brownpapertickets.com. The event is hosted by Chicago’s Indo-American Heritage Museum and all proceeds will benefit the organization. To learn more about it, visit
www.iahmuseum.org or email
events@iahmuseum.org.
‘3 Idiots,’ ‘Kaminey’ to be screened at LA film festival
April 3, 2010
Two of the most critically acclaimed Bollywood films of 2009—
3 Idiots and
Kaminey—will be featured at the 8th annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) in April. The festival, which showcases Indian-related films from around the world, runs from April 20 to April 25 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. This year, the festival will screen 33 films from 5 countries, including 4 world premieres and 7 U.S. premieres. “This is a true celebration of the art and business of Indian film and culture as well as an opportunity to connect with the game changers and emerging filmmakers of Indian-themed content,” said Christina Marouda, IFFLA’s executive director.
3 Idiots, a coming-of-age comedy directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and starring
Aamir Khan,
Kareena Kapoor, R. Madhavan, and Sharman Joshi, is the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, collecting more than $80 million worldwide, including a decent take from the U.S. market—$6.5 million—also a box-office record. The screening will be held Friday, April 23.
Kaminey’s director Vishal Bhardwaj—best known for his electrifying film adaptations of Shakespeare’s
Macbeth (
Maqbool) and
Othello (
Omkara)—broke new ground in Bollywood with his latest creation: a violent, convoluted, Tarantino-esque trip through the mean streets of Mumbai. The Bard’s influence is apparent in
Kaminey, particularly in the double role played by
Shahid Kapoor, that of twins—a symbol of fragmented identity as common in Indian cinema as it is in Shakespeare’s plays. The film will be screened Thursday, April 22. Kicking off the festival is debutante director Dilip Mehta’s
Cooking With Stella, a comedy starring Seema Biswas, Lisa Ray, and Don McKellar. The red carpet event will be held on Tuesday, April 20. The festival’s venue, ArcLight Hollywood, is located at 6360 W. Sunset Blvd., between Vine and Ivar. Tickets can be purchased at
www.arclightcinemas.com and at the ArcLight Hollywood Box Office. For more information, visit
www.indianfilmfestival.org.
Rahman’s world tour to hit 10 North American cities
March 16, 2010
Indian film composer, musician, and singer A.R. Rahman—known as the “Mozart of Madras”—will embark on a world concert tour this summer to more than 20 major cities, including 10 in North America. “The Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour" kicks off June 11 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Other stops include Atlantic City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Houston. Rahman has helped introduce Indian music to mainstream Western audiences with his work for the film
Slumdog Millionaire. He won two Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for his song “Jai Ho” and other contributions to the soundtrack. He has been composing for Indian films since 1992. Concert performances on the upcoming tour will include songs from
Slumdog Millionaire as well as the Indian films
Lagaan,
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na,
Dil Se,
Rang De Basanti, and
Roja. For the tour, Rahman is collaborating with creative director Amy Tinkman, who has worked on concerts for Britney Spears and Mariah Carey. The shows will include Indian dance arrangements and acrobatics. For ticket information, visit
www.arrahman.com.
Disney boosts investment in Indian films
March 13, 2010
The Walt Disney Company is increasing its Indian film production. According to news reports, Disney plans to make 14 new films in India for the Indian market, and it’s branching out beyond Bollywood with its next release—a Telugu-language fantasy-adventure film, scheduled to hit theaters early next year. Disney is one of several Hollywood studios trying to tap the enormous Indian movie market. About four billion movie tickets are sold annually in India, a country of 1.2 billion people. Since Hollywood films capture as small a market share in India as foreign films do in the U.S., American studios have tried beating Bollywood at its own game by opening production houses in India and making their own Hindi-language films with local directors and actors. Those efforts have largely failed, critically and commercially, including Disney’s animated
Roadside Romeo (2008), Sony’s
Saawariya (2007), and Warner Brothers’
Chandni Chowk to China (2009). Disney’s foray into Telugu-language cinema—based in southern India and known as Tollywood—will be the first Hollywood undertaking of its kind. Tollywood is distinct from Bollywood, the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai. Unlike the U.S., India has a number of film industries that are regionally and linguistically specific.
U.S. movie theater chain to show Indian cricket matches
March 10, 2010
It’s often said there are two religions in India: movies and cricket. During the professional cricket season, movies take a back seat. The Indian Premier League (IPL) season is held in March and April, and it’s typically a slow time for Indian movie releases because Bollywood doesn’t want to compete with the wildly popular sport. It’s hard to find places to watch IPL matches in the U.S., but BIG Cinemas, a U.S. theater chain that primarily screens Bollywood movies, will show IPL matches at its theaters in select American cities from March 12 to April 25. Cricket is somewhat similar to American baseball. The IPL plays a form of cricket called Twenty20, in which there are two innings that last about 75 minutes each—it’s the shortest version of the game and comparable to other professional sports competitions.
American music star Akon in Bollywood’s Ra.One
February 28, 2010
Senegalese-American musician Akon is reportedly recording a song for the soundtrack of the upcoming Bollywood superhero action film
Ra.One, starring
Shahrukh Khan. It’s rumored that Akon will also make an appearance in the film. The Grammy-nominated singer will join the ranks of other Western music artists who’ve contributed to Bollywood films in recent years. American rapper Snoop Dogg performed on the title track of
Singh is Kinng in 2008 and Australian pop star Kylie Minogue performed a song in
Blue in 2009. In
Ra.One, Khan plays a software engineer who becomes a video-game hero and combats a virtual monster he created. Indian actors
Kareena Kapoor and
Vivek Oberoi also star in the film.
Bollywood acting program offered at Toronto college
February 28, 2010
Wanna learn how to be a Bollywood actor without moving to India? North Americans, here’s your chance. The Canadian Institute of Management and Technology near Toronto now offers a Bollywood acting diploma program. Students must audition for the 16-week program, which costs C$9,000 for Canadians and C$13,000 for international students. The program is approved by Ontario's Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities, and its first students will graduate in April. Graduates are guaranteed membership in the Senior Artists Association, a film trade union in Mumbai. The program director, Lucky Sanda, is a former child actor who appeared in several Bollywood films, including
Do Anjaane (1976) and
Mein Tulsi Tere Angan Ki (1978), before moving to Canada in 1992. The Canadian Institute of Management and Technology also offers diplomas in business and technology programs. The college is located in Mississauga, part of the greater Toronto area. About 300,000 Indians live in Toronto—about 12 percent of the population—making them the largest minority ethnic group in the city. Toronto is set to become the first North American city to host one of Bollywood’s major awards ceremonies, the International Indian Film Academy Awards, from June 16-19, 2011. The event, which honors artistic and technical achievement in the Hindi film industry, takes place in a different city outside of India every year in an effort to promote Hindi cinema around the world. For more information about CIMT’s Bollywood acting program, visit
www.bollywoodacting.com or email
bollywoodacting@cimtcollege.com.
Bollywood director to make English-language film debut
February 22, 2010
Acclaimed Indian director Vidhu Vinod Chopra is reportedly splitting his time between Los Angeles and Mumbai as he begins work on his next project,
Broken Horses, an English-language film—his first—about two brothers embroiled in the drug trade on the U.S.-Mexico border. Chopra has said there’s nothing Indian about the movie and he will cast Western actors in it. The film is being shot in New Mexico and New York and is expected to release later this year. Chopra’s most recent production,
3 Idiots, a coming-of-age comedy starring
Aamir Khan that released last December, is the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, collecting more than $80 million worldwide, including a decent take from the U.S. market—$6.5 million—also a box-office record. Chopra, 53, said he learned English as a teenager by watching Hollywood films. Shortly after leaving film school, he made a short documentary,
An Encounter with Faces, about impoverished children in India, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1979. He made his first feature film in 1981,
Sazaye Maut, a crime thriller. His most lauded films include
1942: A Love Story (1993),
Mission Kashmir (2000), and
Munna Bhai MBBS (2003).
India’s Eros and UK’s EMI forge music pact
February 21, 2010
The cross-pollination of Indian and Western pop culture continues—this time, with music. Indian movie distributor Eros International and British music company EMI Group have agreed to distribute each other’s music catalogs. Eros is a dominant player in the Indian entertainment market, and EMI has top Western artists such as Beyonce, Alicia Keys, and Pink recording under its labels. Under the deal, Eros will market EMI’s catalog of 1.3 million songs in India, while EMI will market Eros’ catalog of Bollywood and South Asian music worldwide, except in India. The companies first worked together last year to obtain a license for “Beedi,” a song from the Bollywood film
Omkara (2006), as the theme song for the hit Brazilian television show,
Caminho das Indias, a program that has touched off a craze in Brazil for everything Indian, including Bollywood. Western music captures as small a market share in India as Indian music does in the West. The same is true of film—India and the West have yet to significantly penetrate each other’s movie markets. Indian composer A.R. Rahman has helped introduce Indian music to mainstream Western audiences with his Oscar- and Grammy-winning soundtrack for the film
Slumdog Millionaire. The Indian music and movie industries are highly intertwined—about 70% of music sales come from movie soundtracks.
‘Bollywood by the Bay’ at Supperclub San Francisco
February 20, 2010
Trikone and Asha for Education will host “Bollywood by the Bay” at Supperclub San Francisco on Friday, March 5 at 10 pm. The event will feature music by DJ Precaution and DJ Calvin Prasad and dance performances. Supperclub San Francisco is located at 657 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA; (415) 348-0900;
www.supperclub.com. Tickets are $15 if purchased online at
www.trikone.org and $20 at the door. Trikone is a support and advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender South Asians (
www.trikone.org). Asha for Education is a nonprofit that helps provide education to underprivileged children in India (
www.ashanet.org).
‘My Name Is Khan’ breaks U.S. opening-weekend record
February 16, 2010
My Name Is Khan, a Bollywood love story set in the U.S. with a 9/11 backdrop, grossed more than $18 million worldwide during its opening weekend, according to distributor Fox Star Studios, including $2.3 million in the U.S., setting an American box-office record for a Bollywood film. Starring
Shahrukh Khan and
Kajol, the movie is about a Muslim Indian with Asperger syndrome who moves to San Francisco and marries a Hindu, but after the World Trade Center is attacked and his family becomes the victim of religious bigotry and violence, his marriage falls apart, and he embarks on a cross-country journey to meet the U.S. president and win back his wife. The film, which released February 12, breaks the previous U.S. opening-weekend record for a Bollywood film set by the coming-of-age comedy,
3 Idiots, starring
Aamir Khan, which collected nearly $2.2 million in the U.S. during its opening weekend last December.
3 Idiots went on to make $70 million worldwide—also a box-office record for an Indian movie and one that
My Name Is Khan could break.
My Name Is Khan was reportedly sold to Fox Star Studios last July for $21 million—the highest price ever paid by a distributor for a Bollywood film. Under the deal, Fox Star Studios—a joint venture between American film studio 20th Century Fox and India’s Star Group—acquired the worldwide marketing and distribution rights to the film. It was released in North America by Fox Searchlight Pictures, a division of 20th Century Fox.
Louisiana Bollywood Film Festival to roll in Shreveport
February 11, 2010
The Louisiana Bollywood Film Festival—the first of its kind—will be held at The Robinson Film Center in Shreveport, Louisiana from Saturday, February 13 to Sunday, February 21. Film selections include:
A Wednesday! (2008,
The Namesake (2006),
Devdas (2002),
Sholay (1975), and
Water (2005). The festival is organized by Friends of the Louisiana State University in Shreveport India Studies Program, the India Association of Shreveport-Bossier, and the Centenary Film Society. The program is intended to introduce the area to Bollywood films and generate interest in future monthly screenings. The opening night reception on Saturday, February 13 at 7 pm will include Indian cuisine, Bollywood music by DJ Abid Nazeer, and clips from the festival films. Dress is evening casual or Indian attire. Reception tickets are $50 each and can be purchased at The Robinson Film Center or by calling (318) 797-5179. For more information about the festival, visit
The Robinson Film Center.
Mallika Sherawat to star in ‘Love, Barack’
February 4, 2010
Bollywood babe Mallika Sherawat will star opposite
Avatar hunk Laz Alonso in the Hollywood political comedy,
Love, Barack, according to
Variety. Sherawat will play a volunteer coordinator on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, who falls in love with her counterpart on John McCain’s campaign, played by Alonso. Sherawat is appearing in another Hollywood film,
Hisss, along with Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan. The movie, directed by Jennifer Lynch, is in post-production. While working on
Hisss last summer, the actress made the rounds in Los Angeles. She was seen hanging out with the likes of Usher and Ozzy Ozbourne, visited Twitter’s L.A. headquarters (she’s one of the most followed Bollywood stars on the social-networking site), was made an honorary citizen by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and got a milkshake named after her at the famous West Hollywood ice-cream parlor, Millions of Milkshakes.
Shahrukh Khan, Kajol ring NASDAQ opening bell
February 1, 2010
Legendary screen pair
Shahrukh Khan and
Kajol became the first Bollywood stars to ring the opening bell of the NASDAQ stock exchange on Monday. The actors are in the U.S. to promote their upcoming film,
My Name Is Khan, to release on February 12. In the film, Khan plays a Muslim Indian with Asperger syndrome (a form of autism) who lives the U.S. and marries a Hindu single mother, played by Kajol, but their marriage crumbles post-9/11 and he sets out to meet the U.S. president for help in getting her back. The highly awaited picture reunites Khan and Kajol, who haven’t appeared in a film together since
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in 2001. The film was shot in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Mumbai. It was directed by famous filmmaker Karan Johar and produced by his company, Dharma Productions.
My Name Is Khan was reportedly sold to Fox Star Studios last July for a record Rs. 100 crore ($21 million)—the highest price ever paid by a distributor for a Bollywood film. Under the deal, Fox Star Studios—a joint venture between American film studio 20th Century Fox and India’s Star Group—acquired the worldwide marketing and distribution rights to the film. It will be released in North America by Fox Searchlight Pictures, a division of 20th Century Fox, which has previously distributed many notable films about Indians, such as
Bend It Like Beckham (2002),
Water (2005),
The Namesake (2006), and
Slumdog Millionaire (2008). In a case of life imitating art, Khan, who is Muslim, was detained and questioned by immigration officials last August at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey while he was en route to an Indian independence celebration in Chicago. The incident made headlines worldwide and outraged many Indians.
My Name Is Khan will be screened at the 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival the week of its release.
Bollywood’s A.R. Rahman wins two Grammy Awards
February 1, 2010
Indian composer A.R. Rahman, known as the “Mozart of Madras” and renowned for his work in Hindi film, won two Grammy Awards Sunday in Los Angeles. For his song “Jai Ho” from the movie
Slumdog Millionaire and for his contributions to the film’s soundtrack, Rahman won in the “Best motion picture song” and “Best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture” categories. “This is insane, God is great again,” Rahman said as he accepted his second Grammy. The
Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack has earned Rahman two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award. At the 81st Academy Awards ceremony in 2009,
Slumdog Millionaire won in eight categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. Three of the awards went to Indians, including Rahman.
Bollywood stars up for film adaptation of Rushdie novel
January 18, 2010
Canadian director Deepa Mehta is helming a film adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s 1981 novel,
Midnight’s Children, and Bollywood stars
Amitabh Bachchan,
Rani Mukerji, and Irrfan Khan are reportedly considering roles in the film. Mehta said she recently finished the screenplay, which she co-wrote with Rushdie, and will begin shooting the film in India in September. Confirmed cast members include Indian actors Shabana Azmi, Seema Biswas, and Nandita Das.
Midnight’s Children is about a baby born at midnight on August 15, 1947, the moment of India’s independence from Britain. The boy has magical powers that connect him with 1,000 other “midnight’s children,” who were born at the same time. The book won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction, a literary award given each year to an English-language novel. The Indian-born Mehta previously directed a controversial trilogy of films set in her native country:
Fire (1996),
Earth (1998), and
Water (2005).
Water received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, making it the first non-French-language Canadian film ever to be nominated in that category. Several Bollywood stars, including
Aamir Khan and
John Abraham, appeared in the trilogy. Her 2008 film,
Heaven on Earth, was set in Canada and starred Bollywood actress
Preity Zinta.
India’s Reliance Entertainment may acquire MGM
January 18, 2010
Indian media and movie conglomerate Reliance Entertainment, owned by billionaire Anil Ambani, is bidding for Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., according to the
Financial Times. About a dozen groups—Time Warner, News Corp., and Lions Gate Entertainment rumored among them—were reportedly considering bids for the debt-ridden MGM. Reliance is said to be one of the frontrunners. MGM, which made such classic films as
Gone With The Wind and
The Wizard of Oz and currently owns the rights to the James Bond franchise, has about $3.7 billion in debt. The famed studio faces a key repayment deadline on January 31. The bids are expected to be in the range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. MGM generates about $300 million a year in revenue. Reliance already has a growing position in Hollywood—it owns a controlling stake in filmmaker Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks and has struck production deals with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Jim Carrey. Reliance produced the current Bollywood blockbuster
3 Idiots, which released at the end of December and
broke U.S. box-office records.
Ben Kingsley to make Bollywood debut in ‘Teen Patti’
January 18, 2010
British actor Sir Ben Kingsley—best-known for his Oscar-winning performance as the famous Indian independence leader in
Gandhi (1982)—will appear in his first Bollywood film,
Teen Patti, set to release on February 26. Kingsley, 65, is part of a star-studded cast that includes Bollywood legend
Amitabh Bachchan as well as such prominent Indian actors as Irrfan Khan, Boman Irani, R. Madhavan, and Sushmita Sen.
Ajay Devgan makes a special appearance. In the thriller, Kingsley plays a world-famous mathematician who meets Bachchan’s character, an obscure Indian math genius, at a casino in London, and the two scholars of probability become embroiled in Mumbai’s underground poker scene.
View the trailer. Kingsley is also set to play the emperor who built the Taj Mahal opposite Bollywood actress
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who will play the emperor’s beloved wife, in
Taj, a film about the legendary lovers. Shooting for the film is scheduled to start in July, primarily in the Indian city of Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located.
Taj is expected to release in 2011.
‘Delhi-6’ first Bollywood film available on iTunes
January 14, 2010
Delhi-6, starring
Abhishek Bachchan and
Sonam Kapoor, has become the first Bollywood film available for purchase from the Apple iTunes online store. It can be downloaded for $9.99. The film, which released worldwide in February 2009, is about a New Yorker of Indian origin who brings his sick grandmother back to her hometown of Delhi. Filled with gorgeous urban footage, the film captures the wonder of seeing India for the first time.
Delhi-6 was co-produced by UTV Motion Pictures and the film’s director, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The Hindi-language film,
Saawariya (2007), starring Bollywood actors
Ranbir Kapoor,
Sonam Kapoor,
Rani Mukerji, and
Salman Khan, is also available on iTunes, but it’s technically not a Bollywood film because it was produced and released by a Hollywood studio, Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Preity Zinta moving to Hollywood?
January 11, 2010
Bollywood star
Preity Zinta is reportedly taking up residence in Los Angeles. Rumor has it that the actress is planning to hire an agent in the U.S. and wants to try her hand at Hollywood projects. On the heels of ending a four-year relationship with Indian businessman Ness Wadia, Zinta kept a low profile throughout most of 2009 and was visiting the U.S.—where her brother’s family lives—during much of last year. She appeared in only one film in 2009—a musical-number cameo in the box-office flop
Main Aur Mrs. Khanna, which starred
Salman Khan and
Kareena Kapoor. The word is that Zinta has not agreed to any new Bollywood projects so she can shift to her recently purchased home in LA and keep her calendar clear. The 34-year-old actress recently completed a short executive course on negotiating and deal-making at Harvard Business School in order to sharpen her business acumen as she’s been working to diversify her career. In 2008, she purchased an ownership stake in the professional Indian cricket team, the Kings XI Punjab. Zinta made her acting debut in
Dil Se in 1998 and won a Filmfare Best Actress Award for
Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003. Her other commercial hits include
Koi...Mil Gaya (2003),
Salaam Namaste (2005), and
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). Recently, she has ventured into art film, appearing with Amitabh Bachchan in
The Last Lear, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007. She won the Best Actress award at the 2008 Chicago International Film Festival for her role in the Canadian film,
Heaven on Earth, which was based on the true story of a battered wife in Canada’s Punjabi community. Zinta is not the first Bollywood star to put down roots in American soil. Actress
Madhuri Dixit lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two sons. The 42-year-old star of such films as
Dil and
Devdas has called the U.S. home since her marriage in 1999.
‘Kings of Bollywood’ film series at University of Wisconsin
January 8, 2010
The University of Wisconsin is hosting a “Kings of Bollywood” film series—a tribute to two of India’s biggest movie stars,
Shahrukh Khan and
Amitabh Bachchan—at its Madison campus in February and March. The series begins February 6 at 7:30 pm with a screening of
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), starring Shahrukh Khan and
Kajol. DDLJ, as the film is known, shot Khan to superstardom and is still showing in theaters in Mumbai, making it the longest-running movie in history. Khan’s character in DDLJ became the archetype for the modern romantic Bollywood hero—brash, hip, and Westernized, but Indian at heart. Often referred to as “King Khan,” the actor has a fanatical following and outdraws Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt combined. Khan’s 2004 film,
Swades: We the People, will be shown on February 26 at 7:30 pm. If Khan is king, then Amitabh Bachchan is god. His 1975 film,
Sholay, the first “Curry Western” (the Indian version of the Spaghetti Western), is one of the most beloved Bollywood films ever. That same year, he appeared in
Deewaar, a groundbreaking film that established him as the “angry young man,” a character type that reflected the frustration and disillusionment of the times. Bachchan went on to excel in drama, action, romance, and comedy, making him the quintessential “masala” actor. The “Kings of Bollywood” series will show his 1976 film
Kabhi Kabhie on March 20 and his 1979 film
Kaala Pathar on March 27. The “Kings of Bollywood” series is part of the University of Wisconsin’s Cinematheque program, a coalition of academic departments and student film groups that showcases films which would otherwise never reach Madison theaters. The Cinematheque is the screening facility of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research and a member of the International Federation of Film Archives. Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public. The Cinematheque is located at 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin; (608) 262-3627;
cinema.wisc.edu.
Honolulu Academy of Arts to host Bollywood film festival
January 5, 2010
Hawaii’s third annual Bollywood Film Festival will be held at the Honolulu Academy of Arts from January 23 to March 2 and will feature 10 of the best Hindi films of the last decade. The festival will showcase the thematic and stylistic diversity of Bollywood with romantic comedies, Shakespearean tragedy, Mumbai noir, socially-conscious cinema, and an indie production. The festival will include a tribute to celebrated Indian filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj with selections that show the director’s impressive range:
The Blue Umbrella (2007), an award-winnning children’s film;
Maqbool (2004), an astounding adaptation of Shakespeare’s
Macbeth; and
Kaminey (2009), a Tarantino-esque trip through the mean streets of Mumbai. Bhardwaj’s electrifying version of
Othello—
Omkara (2006)—was screened at the festival in 2008. Other films to be shown this year include
Dil Bole Hadippa (2009), about a Punjabi village girl who dresses as man in order to play big-league cricket, starring
Rani Mukerji and
Shahid Kapoor; the coming-of-age drama
Wake Up Sid (2009), starring
Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma;
Devdas (2002), an adaptation of a beloved Bengali novel, starring
Shahrukh Khan and
Aishwarya Rai;
Dev.D (2009), a modernized version of the classic
Devdas, starring Abhay Deol;
Jodhaa Akbar (2008), an historical epic about the Mughal emperor Akbar and his queen Jodhaa, starring
Hrithik Roshan and
Aishwarya Rai;
Swades (2004), a social commentary on Indian (and American) life, starring
Shahrukh Khan; and
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008), a black comedy, starring Abhay Deol, Paresh Rawal, and Neetu Chandra. The festival will be held in the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 South Beretania Street, Honolulu, Hawaii; (808) 532-8700. For more information and to purchase tickets online, visit the
Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Aamir Khan’s ‘3 Idiots’ breaks U.S. box-office record
January 4, 2010
The coming-of-age comedy,
3 Idiots, starring
Aamir Khan, has set a U.S. box-office record for Bollywood films. Since its December 23rd release, it has earned $4.8 million from nearly 120 American theaters. The film collected $2.2 million during its opening weekend here and ranked 12th at the American box office that week. Worldwide, it has earned $52 million so far—also a box-office record for Indian movies—and it’s still showing to packed theaters in its domestic market. Indian films gross considerably less than American films because ticket prices in India are much cheaper.
3 Idiots, which tells the story of three friends struggling at a competitive university, breaks the previous Bollywood records of $49 million in worldwide revenue—also set by an Aamir Khan-starrer, the psychological thriller
Ghajini, which released in December 2008—and $3.7 million in U.S. revenue—set in 2007 by
Om Shanti Om, a campy spoof about the Indian film industry, starring
Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh Khan’s films have historically dominated the U.S. market—and he may reclaim the top spot here soon. His upcoming film,
My Name Is Khan, which is set in the U.S. and was filmed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, is expected to release on February 12. The film—about a man with Asperger syndrome who is wrongly accused of terrorism—is being distributed in North America by Fox Searchlight Pictures, which distributed the Oscar-winning
Slumdog Millionaire.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) and
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001), both starring Shahrukh Khan, are among the all-time highest-grossing Bollywood films in the U.S. Actor
Salman Khan, the third of the “big Khans,” as the trio is called, is also poised to take a crack at the record. His upcoming film,
Veer, an epic love story about a legendary Indian warrior, is set to release on January 22.
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