Bollywood celebrates the spirit of Navratri





Nsimply means lots of song and dance, dhamaal and loads of fun mastiand festive fervor. While we all love to dance to the tunes of the dholi, Bollywood songs make their impact every season as well. And a number of Bollywood films have celebrated Navratri with memorable songs that just can't be missed while we lose ourselves in the spirit of raas. Here are a few of the most popular numbers: 

NAGADA SANG DHOL
RAM-LEELA GOLIYON KI RAAS LEELA
While the film itself was set in Gujarat, which also ensured that a Navratri song was a must in it and the film didn't disappoint fans. The dhamakedaar Nagada Sang Dhol number had the gorgeous Deepika Padukone groove to the dholi. 

SHUBHAARAMBH
KAI PO CHE (2013)
The film which was set in Ahmedabad, had Amdavadis singing along in theaters when Navratri sequences make their way in the film. And the film very aptly captures the mood and romance of the state's longest dance festival. 

ORE GORI
AAP MUJHE ACCHE LAGNE LAGE (2002)
The then hit Jodi of Hrithik Roshan and Amisha Patel came together yet again in this film just after the success of Kaho...Na Pyaar Hai. While the film didn't do well at the BO, the dandiya song sure made its impact. 

DOLA DOLA
BRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2004)
Bride and Prejudice might have been based in Amritsar, but the magic spell Navratri casts across India was very evident in the song sequence Dola Dola as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan does the dandiya with Martin Hendersen. 

RADHA KAISE NA JALE
LAGAAN (2001)
The historic film Lagaan celebrates Navratri with a rustic raas revelry with Aamir Khan and Gracy Singh doing a foot tapping dandiya dance. The song beautifully resonates the love of Radha and Krishna. 

CHAAND AYA HAI ZAMEEN PAR
DIL HI DIL MEIN (1999)
The film might have not done well at the BO, but the songs made it to the chartbusters' list and are still remembered for their beautiful compositions. Same is true with the dandiya song composed by the legendary A R Rahman. 

DHOLI TARO
HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM (1999)
Probably one of the most popular Navratri numbers Bollywood has produced, this one starred Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looking picture-perfect together as they made fans dance to their moves. 

HAI NAAM RE
SUHAAG (1979)
Yet another popular dance number, Hai Naam Re, from the Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha blockbuster made in the 80s, is a must play for all Navratri celebrations over the years and is considered a cult classic of sorts. 

SARASWATICHANDRA
MAIN TOH BHUL CHUKI BABUL KA DESH (1968)
One of the earliest songs that celebrated the spirit of Navratri from the film Saraswatichandra, had Nutan doing the garba in her backyard. This song still brings out the rustic flavor of the festival.

There's a reason why private life is called `private'

INFAMOUS CELEBRITY MELTDOWNS





There's a reason why private life is called `private'. However, this thought is inevitably overlooked when it comes to celebs. Since they work in the public domain, their personal lives arouse great curiosity among the masses and media alike.While most actors in the west are relatively outspoken, not all are as cool as a cucumber.There have been quite a few instances that go on to prove that certain actors are not to be trifled with. 

 

ROBERT DOWNEY JR

ROBERT DOWNEY JR
Act: Walks out of an interview with a TV journalist
What prompted the rage: Personal questions about the actor's infamous past and drug abuse
Incident: Known for his swag, the Iron Man was not amused when a British journalist showed doubt over the actor's claims that he is off drugs. He asked if Downey is now “free of taking drugs and drinking and all of that.“ RDJ retorted, “I'm sorry , I really don't... what are we doing?“ When the journo seemed persistent, the actor smiled, got up and waved goodbye. On taking the mic off, he told the interviewer, “It's just getting a little Diane Sawyer in here.“
Background: One of the highest paid actors in the world, RDJ is unapologetically snarky . While the actor has spoken about his troubled youth -drinks, drugs, debauchery , prison and rehab before, he didn't think it was right to rake that up, while promoting a superhero film (Avengers: Age of Ultron), which has a huge fan following among kids. He justified the decision, “I just wish I'd left sooner. I'm one of those guys where I'm always kind of assuming the social decorum is in play .“ 

RIHANNA

RIHANNA
Act: Calls a journalist `menopausal mess'
What prompted the rage: The reporter criticised Rihanna's bad-girl persona
Incident: Rihanna took revenge to another level, when she posted a picture of a journalist and captioned it as “sad sloppy menopausal mess.“
The journalist had criticised the singer, describing her as, “Pop's poisonous princess: Glorying in drugs, guns and sleaze, Rihanna's toxic role model for her army of young fans.“ In her statement, the singer said, “My money got a bad habit of pissing people off!! If you sincerely wanna help little girls more than their own parents do, here's a toxic tip: don't be amateur with your articles, you sound bitter! That's a sad sloppy menopausal mess!!! “Role Model“ is not a position or title that I have ever campaigned for, so chill wit dat!“ Background: Not the one to take things lying down, the singer who's no stranger to controversies, often hits back at those who put her down. 

TOM HARDY

TOM HARDY
Act: Shuts down a journalist at the Toronto Film Festival press conference
What prompted the rage: Journalist questions the actor's sexuality
Incident: Quite an eccentric personality , the talented Brit actor lashed out at a journalist, who asked him about his sexual orientation at a recent press conference, where the actor was promoting his forthcoming film Legend. “Do you feel celebrities find it hard to talk to the media about their sexuality?“ asked the reporter. “What on earth are you on about,“ replied Hardy . The reporter mentioned the actor's 2008 interview, and Hardy asked, “But what is your question?“ The reporter repeated his previous question and Hardy said, “I don't find it difficult for celebrities to talk about their sexuality . Are you asking about my sexuality?“ When the reporter nodded, the actor retorted “Why“ and quickly added “Thank you“ as a way to shut the topic.Background: Though the open forum may not have been the right place to ask that question, it was legit, given Hardy's 2008 interview, where his quotes implied that he may have had relationships with men when he was in his 20s. When asked if he'd ever had any sexual relations with other men, the actor had said in the magazine interview: ` As a boy? Of course I have. I'm an actor for ****'s sake. I'm an artist. I've played with everything and everyone. But I'm not into men sexually . I love the form and the physicality but the gay sex bit does nothing for me.“ 

CHRISTIAN BALE

CHRISTIAN BALE
Act: Unleashes verbal abuse upon a technician on the set of his film
What prompted the rage: The technician `disturbed' the actor while filming an intense scene
Incident: Known for his volcanic temperament, Bale's profanity-ridden rant on the set of Terminator Salvation directed at the film's director of photography went viral on the web, making it one of the most iconic celeb meltdowns of all time. Bale's abusive speech featured 39 F-words, where the actor also threatened to quit the film after the unit member accidentally wandered into the shot. Bale's rant was secretly recorded and leaked online, thus exposing his bad temper. The actor later said that he was, “embarrassed' by his meltdown, during which he threatened to kick the `f****** ass' of the unit member. He later confessed, “I went overboard. I did it.It's in public space. I take the consequences for it.“
Background: Though the English actor's `dark' reputation has never affected his shining Hollywood career, reports of his bad temper continue to make news.The reclusive actor was reportedly arrested on the grounds of allegedly assaulting his mother and sister a few years back. He was later released on bail. 


CATE BLANCHETT
Act: Shames a TV journalist during an interview
What prompted the rage: The journalist asked silly questions about beer and cats over movie related topics
Incident: During a one-on-one interview for her film Cinderella, when a TV reporter jokingly suggested that he should have brought beer to the junket --Blanchett sternly told him, “I do not drink beer.“ She then tried to steer the interview back to Cinderella. This didn't help much as the reporter went on to ask a `serious question' about “How were you able to get that cat to do what you wanted to on a leash,“ referring to Cate's character's pet. The actress lost her patience by then and curtly asked, “That's your question? That's your f****** question?“ She ended the interview saying, “Nice to meet you.“
Background: The much-accomplished actress, who has won several awards and critical acclaim over the years, cannot stand frivolous questions consuming her precious time strictly allocated for movie promotions.

Launch of Bajirao Mastani's Gajanana song enters Guinness World Records





The Gajanana song from International Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Eros and Bajirao Mastani, starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Milind Soman and Tanvi Azmi among others, and scheduled to release on December 18, was launched recently in Pune.Interestingly, the event was held at the same location where the Commonwealth Games were played -Shree Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex, Balewadi Stadium. Keeping in line with the film's massive scale, the makers launched the song with the biggest human formation of a mosaic image of Lord Ganesha curated from the Gajanana number. The first song from the magnum opus was given a fitting launch, with 5200 students gathering together to create it. This went down in the Guinness World Records as the biggest launch done for a song with a formation of such enormity , speaking volumes about the magnitude of the film's promotions.
While Sukhwinder Singh, who's sung Gajanana in the film's album, performed to a loud cheer from the audience, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone took the crowd by storm by playing dhol tasha and making the evening a memorable affair.

WHY BOLLYWOOD PREFERS VANITY VANS TO MAKEUP ROOMS

WHY BOLLYWOOD PREFERS VANITY VANS TO MAKEUP ROOMS 

 

VANITY VANS





Vanity vans have become a mandatory part of Bollywood's shooting amenities in the last two decades. And in the last 10 years, they have gained so much importance as superstar arsenal, that Shah Rukh Khan recently built yet another state-of-the-art van for himself, at a cost of a one-BHK in Bandra. While every star worth his pancake -from Salman Khan to Ajay Devgn -has a vanity van or even two of his own, others hire one for their shootings. A trade source estimates that at least 350 vanity vans are regularly booked for Bollywood and advertising shoots. Costing approximately `4,000 per shift plus `2,000 for the driver and cleaner, producers have no choice but to book makeup vans for the actors because it is a given that a star will not report on set till his vanity is pandered to.
So, what happened to the good-old makeup rooms you may ask? These come free or at nominal costs when producers shoot in studios. However, stars today do not want to even enter these rooms because most of them are in a dilapidated state.
Earlier, when there were no vanity vans, makeup rooms were legends in their own right. One recalls that in the early 80s, there were a couple of rooms in Filmcity , Mumbai, that were called the honeymoon rooms and reserved only for Hema Malini and Dharmendra.

There was one big makeup room at Filmistan Studios, which stars often fought wars over because it was the more spacious one. And there is anoth er one at Mehboob Studios that was always kept for Dev Anand. After him, other cinema legends like Amitabh Bachchan occupied this room. “But in the last two decades, the makeup van is ubiquitous at film shoots,“ says executive film producer Sanchita Chatterjee.
“We are so comfortable in our vans,“ says Kareena Kapoor Khan, adding, “It makes perfect sense for us to have one at our shoots.“ Bebo says that with the exception of the makeup room at one studio in Andheri, she cannot remember ever visiting such rooms on any of her other locations.
How did the makeup room lose out to the vanity? “For one, it gives us the privacy we need,“ says Ajay Devgn.
Parked right outside the set, it saves the star the effort of having to walk up to the makeup room. It also helps fans from crowding around them and in these days of selfies, it stops the selfie stampede.
Back in the day , when Filmcity did n't filter the crowds around the stu dios, actors have been harassed by fans. Superstar vanities provide cus tom-made facilities that a makeup room doesn't. There is everything from a kitchen, a seating area, a bed, vacuum toilets and bath to gaming sta tions, a huge television etc... all of which are maintained according to the star idiosyncrasies. “For example, Ajay's van is even fitted with a humid ifier because Ajay is a chain smoker and it can get claustrophobic in the van,“ says a production assistant.
Sanjay Dutt has a 50-foot long vanity van, while Anil Kapoor's personal makeup bus is approximately 42-foot long. Deepika Padukone's van is done in pastel colours to give it a fresh, fem inine touch and also made to the actress' specifications.
Fitness junkies even have small gym spaces allotted within their vans.
One or two of them have converted an entire vanity into a mobile gym. With such amenities at their finger tips, the makeup rooms, with their peeling paint, musky smell and weather-beat en carpets are used by the lesser stars.
Or they are being used as godowns, to store the costumes of junior artistes in huge aluminum trunks. Or even worse, there are tailors sitting around to make last-minute alterations to the stars' costumes.
P.S. Newer studios are taking trouble to design makeup rooms in a contem porary style, with good sanitary facili ties and security outside the door. But the lure of the vanity van is still too much for a star to resist.