The 10 WORST remakes in Bollywood

The 10 WORST remakes in Bollywood

Like it or not, remakes have existed for a long time.
Earlier filmmakers would quietly adapt films like Shree 420, Jab Jab Phool Khile or Khel Khel Mein into Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Raja Hindustani and Khiladi, to name a few.

Others blatantly ripped-off their overseas source. Like Ghost (Pyaar Ka Saaya), I Am Sam (Main Aisa Hi Hoon) whereas Heyy Babby borrowed liberally from Three Men and a Baby even as Zinda and Naina looked at South East Asian features like Old Boy and The Eye for scene-to-scene inspiration.

Again, our fetish for South Indian cinema is well-known. Mani Ratnam's Tamil classic Nayagan was the flash behind Feroz Khan's limp Dayavan whilst Priyadarshan has remade several Malayalam films in Hindi.

But with the world becoming a smaller place and copyright laws getting stringent by the day, buying rights to helm an official remake is the brand new trend.

Purists hate it, of course. In an industry dictated by box office numbers, however, this is of little consequence. And so no matter how much one condemns Bol Bachchan, Rohit Shetty's kitschy retelling of Hrishikesh Mukerjee acclaimed comedy Gol Maal, there will be more remakes.

Here's a look at 10 of the worst official remakes to precede the Ajay Devgn-Abhishek Bachchan starrer.

Priyanka Chopra to replace Kareena Kapoor in 'Ram Leela'?

Priyanka Chopra to replace Kareena Kapoor in 'Ram Leela'?

Mumbai: Kareena Kapoor may have marched out of Sanjay Leela Bhansali upcoming romance film, but the filmmaker is yet not ready to hang his head in disappointment.

In fact, according to sources, he has bigger plans in place, the first step of which is to take lead actor Ranveer Singh on a trip to Gujarat to prep him for his role. Our source from the film says, "Bhansali is planning to take Ranveer to Gujarat in order to make him familiar with the place, where the film is set, apart from introducing him to the crew members."

With Bebo exiting the project, buzz is that Bhansali could be looking for a fresh face. And in case, the filmmaker decides to go with a tried and tested actress to cast as his Gujarati heroine, here’s looking at the timetables of some of our Bollywood actresses who could suit the part. But it looks like all of them have a rather choc-o-bloc schedule to start shooting next month.

Deepika Padukone: Deepika has the sequel of 'Race' in her kitty. She is currently shooting for her film opposite Ranbir Kapoor. And then she will start working on Chennai Express.

Anushka Sharma: Right now, she is shooting for her Yash Chopra project, post which she will do Raju Hirani’s next.

Sonam Kapoor: Sonam is currently working on Rakeysh Mehra next and will start work on 'Ranjhana'.

Katrina Kaif: The actress is shooting for Yash Chopra’s film opposite SRK. And then there is Dhoom 3 opposite Aamir Khan, apart from promotional activities around her spy thriller opposite Salman Khan.

Vidya Balan: Vids has 'Ghanchakkar' and 'Shaadi Ke Side Effects'.

Priyanka Chopra: PC could be Bhansali's only hope among A-list actresses. She has no other film apart from the remake of 'Zanjeer'.

Bhumika Chawla all set to start her second innings in Bollywood

Mumbai: Bhumika Chawla has been on a break from Bollywood since her marriage to yoga expert Bharat Thakur. After moving to Hyderabad post her marriage, she got busy with South projects. However now, she is all set to make a Bollywood comeback.

The actress says, “For the first two years of married life, I was in Hyderabd. Post that we moved to Dubai and I kept working on Tamil and Telugu films. Now, I have shifted base to Mumbai and plan to travel between Bangalore, Mumbai and Dubai.”

Bhumika last Bollywood appearance was in Gandhi My Father, back in 2007. The actress adds, “I will be starting a Telugu film next and a Tamil film after that. As for Hindi films, I’m reading a couple of scripts and nothing is finalised yet. I’m just hoping that the audience still want to see me again.”

Savour a mix of friendship, fashion, love in Cocktail

 Savour a mix of friendship, fashion, love in Cocktail

If you've loved films like Dil Chahta Hai and Dostana, chances are you would want to taste Cocktail too! With a heady mix of friendship, love, oodles of trendsetting fashion statements, and topped with a soundtrack of chartbusters like Tum hi ho bandhu and Daaru desi, the film has a great buzz among youngsters ahead of its release Friday.

Directed by Being Cyrus director Homi Adajania, Cocktail features actors Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and newcomer Diana Penty, in lead roles.

Co-produced by Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan of Illuminati films, the story is centred around Gautam (Saif), Meera (Diana) and Veronica (Deepika). Gautam is an incorrigible flirt, while Meera, a pretty girl who wears Indian clothes and exudes Indian values, comes to London from Delhi for a fresh start, and Veronica is a party animal.

As three people living together, they all have a blast- until love happens! The perfect friendship turns confusing, and love becomes complicated.

Adajania says Imran Khan was his first choice for the film. "Saif was not the first choice. Imran was supposed to do it but he was not sure if he wanted to do it at that point of a time," Adajania told IANS.

Actors Dimple Kapadia and Boman Irani feature in supporting roles. Explaining their presence in the cast, he said: "Dimple and Boman are also there in the film and it is not like they were in Being Cyrus so are part of this film as well. It is not a matter of familiarity but using talented actors who fit the bill."

Actor Randeep Hooda will be seen in a cameo. The film has already grabbed eyeballs for its ultra-modern styling by designer Anaita Shroff Adajania, and bagged a thumbs-up for its music, composed by Pritam Chakraborty.

Quirky song Second hand jawaani, with Saif, Deepika and Diana grooving together, has also gained popularity among music lovers.

'Bol Bachchan' among Top 20 films in North America

'Bol Bachchan' among Top 20 films in North America 

  New York: Indian comedy adventure 'Bol Bachchan' starring Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan scored a terrific opening in North America generating the best debut this summer for any Bollywood film

 Released by Fox International Productions, Rohit Shetty comic hit grossed $562,000 in its first three days beating the opening of Akshay Kumar 'Rowdy Rathore' by a remarkable 47 percent despite playing in fewer theatres, according to Boxofficeguru.com.

It also debuted bigger than 'Teri Meri Kahaani' starring Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. In addition, 'Bol Bachchan' more than tripled the opening weekend of the last Rohit Shetty-Ajay Devgn project 'Singham' which released in July of last summer.

The Hollywood Reporter remarked that Abhishek Bachchan gives 'one of his best performances to date' and that the film is filled with 'engaging performances and ever-spiraling hysteria.'

'Bol Bachchan' landed in the Top 20 at the North American box office and also scored a huge number one opening in India.

Ranbir Kapoor not in vampire movie 'Bloody Veer'

  Ranbir Kapoor not in vampire movie 'Bloody Veer'

 Mumbai: There were reports that Ranbir Kapoor will play a vampire in 'Bloody Veer', but the film's producer Siddharth Jain denies this saying they have not zeroed on anyone yet for the main lead.

"Bloody Veer is a vampire film. The leading actor is not yet finalised. Ranbir Kapoor is not in the film, it was all media speculation," Jain told IANS.

'Bloody Veer' will be directed by Heeraz Marfatia and the shooting will start next year

Thanks to the changing scenario and flexibility, Jain claims he is not facing any problems in casting department.

"We are in talks with various actors and many of them have loved the script. I am glad that now stars are open to do Vampire films. I am not facing any hurdle to cast actors as I had to face during the casting of my zoombie film 'Rock The Shaadi'," he said and added: "I believe the stars have more faith in our creativity."

Describing 'Bloody Veer' a 'Twilight' kind of genre, Jain said that he is looking for fresh faces who will become India's first vampire actor.

"We are looking for young stars that are ideal for the role and they will be the first vampire in our Indian cinema. It is a 'Twilight' kind of genre.

Abhishek`s comedy in `Bol Bachchan

Abhishek`s comedy in `Bol Bachchan

 Rohit Shetty`s `Bol Bachchan` was screened for Bollywood Thursday. The guest liked the slapstick comedy as well as Ajay Devgn and others performances, but Abhishek impressed them the most. The film has hit screens Friday.
This is what they have to say:

Kunal Kohli: It was absolutely hilarious. I think Rohit Shetty and team have done an outstanding job. Abhishek is phenomenal, Ajay is also fantastic. Everyone has done a great job. I was laughing so much, my jaws are still hurting.

Ashutosh Gowariker: Very good, a riotous film, very funny. I think Ajay and Abhishek are brilliant in the film. The entire cast is brilliant but I found Abhishek outstanding.

Suniel Shetty: Mind blowing! Abhishek`s best performance. Abhishek at his best and I was reminded of Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) in his young days. Ajay is also fantastic. The whole film is outstanding and according to me, it should be the year`s biggest grosser. I don`t believe in Rs.100 crore or Rs.200 crore, but it is a true entertainer.
Prakash Jha: It`s sheer madness, lovely, brilliant film. He (Rohit Shetty) has surpassed his `Golmaal`.
Meanwhile, Abhishek is overwhelmed with the response.
"So far the response has been fantastic. You can see I am smiling. I am very, very happy that initial screenings have gone well. The audience will watch it now and fingers crossed," the 36-year-old said at the screening.

When told that his work is being appreciated the most, Abhishek said: "Thank you for saying this. I hope the audience also loves it. Everyone has worked hard and it feels great when you ask such questions."
The film also stars Asin Thottumkal and Prachi Desai.