No title trouble for 'Dhobi Ghaat'

The Delhi High Court today (September 22) dismissed a plea against the title of Aamir Khan's forthcoming film 'Dhobi Ghat' that had been entered because it apparently offended the Dalit dhobi (washermen) community. The petitioner was also penalised for a frivolous lawsuit.

The court rejected the petition, saying that 'Dhobi Ghat' is a geographical description of a place and is not offensive.

The high court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Nisra and Justice Manmohan found no merit in the petition and also imposed a cost of Rs.25,000 on the petitioner and asked him to deposit the amount with the National Blind Relief Association.

Produced by Aamir and directed by his wife Kiran Rao, 'Dhobi Ghat' is about four people who are separated by class and language but are drawn into compelling relationships. Aamir plays a painter in the movie.

Vinod Kumar Kanojia, who heads the Hindustan Kanojia Organisation of dhobis, in his petition claimed that the title of the film may lead to caste division.

He sought from the court change of the film's title before it was released to theatres. He also requested the censor board to assess the film’s title in order to avoid caste division.

Kanojia stated that the makers of the movie could have opted for some other title, but chose 'Dhobi Ghat' to hurt the feelings of the dhobi community.

He added that the community was a notified Scheduled Caste in the constitution and it is a punishable offence to call any person by their community name. The fundamental right of his community was violated by the film’s title and the court must restrain it.

'Dhobi Ghat' got an overwhelming response when screened at the recent Toronto International Film festival in Canada.

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Aamir Khan & Kiran Rao arrive at the Earth Awards at Marlboro House - Photos

Aamir Khan (R) with his wife Kiran Rao (L) arrive at the Earth Awards at Marlboro House on September 16, 2010 in London, England. The Earth Awards recognise achievements and new ideas in the field of eco-friendly design and innovation.

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Aamir, Kiran Rao get rocking at the Toronto Film Fest

Some of the world's biggest film stars, directors and producers were already in town and others were pouring in for galas and premieres of their films as the 35th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) got under way here.

Over 300 films from more than 60 countries will be screened during the 10-day festival that ends Sep 19. As many as 31 films were screened on the opening day of the festival on September 9.

Aamir Khan and wife Kiran Rao are there for the premiere of the latter's directorial debut 'Dhobi Ghat'. The Bollywood couple were spotted dining at the city's much fabled Opus Restaurant. They also attended the Opening Night party of the festival.

Lisa Ray is also back on the festival circuit after winning her battle with blood cancer.

The star of Deepa Mehta's 'Water' says, "My life is unfolding in completely new and unanticipated ways...I am doing everything I did before, but now I always stop and make sure I am not taking on too much."

From Hollywood, Martin Sheen, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck and Ed Norton have already descended on the city, and many more are on the way.

Robert De Niro, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, Michael Moore, Kevin Spacey, Megan Fox, Jennifer Connelly, Steve Nash, Liv Tyler and Bruce Springsteen are among the other top stars coming to the world's biggest audience-based film show.

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At the Dhobi Ghaat

We take a sneak peek

Kiran Rao's directorial debut Dhobi Ghat is premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Even though the film's plot has been closely guarded, it recently made its way to the Internet. Here's what to expect from the film.

Character: Arun

Played by: Aamir Khan

Profile: A brooding painter who loves to lose himself in his world of art.

Character: Shai

Played by: Monica Dogra

Profile: An Indian American woman visiting her family in the city. Shai and Arun meet at his exhibition and strike a conversation. She's an affluent investment banker on a sabbatica

Character: Munna

Played by: Pratik Babbar

Profile: He's a young laundry boy with ambitions of being a Bollywood actor. Shai happens to meet Munna and befriend him as he takes her on a journey through his Dhobhi Ghaat. She soon starts photographing him at work and they become closer.

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Kiran Rao's 'Dhobi Ghat' to be premiered at Toronto film fest

'Dhobi Ghat', directed and produced by Aamir Khan's wife Kiran Rao, will have its world premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), organisers announced here Tuesday.

Aamir Khan, who plays the lead role of a painter in his wife's directorial debut, and Om Puri will also be featured in galas and special presentations at the festival.

Set in Mumbai, 'Dhobi Ghat' revolves around four people who are separated by class and language but drawn together in compelling relationships.

Shai, an affluent investment banker on holiday, strikes up an unusual friendship with Munna, a young and beautiful laundry boy with ambitions of being a Bollywood actor, and also has a brief dalliance with Arun. As they come closer together, their complicated relationship no more remains a secret.

The 35th film festival, which runs from Sep 9 to 19, will have 15 galas and 35 special presentations this year.

Apart from Kiran Rao, films by Robert Redford, Michael Winterbottom, Guillaume Canet, John Cameron Mitchell, Mike Mills and Andrucha Waddington will have their world premiere here.

Top filmmakers like Woody Allen, Sylvain Chomet, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Tran Anh Hung, Mike Leigh, Julian Schnabel and Im Sang-Soo will also make their North American premieres here this year.

Apart from Aamir Khan and Om Puri, galas and special presentations will also feature performances by Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Marion Cotillard, Clive Owen, Colin Firth, Juliette Lewis, James McAvoy, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Edward Norton, Christopher Plummer, Natalie Portman, Ryan Reynolds, Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan and Hilary Swank.

"On the occasion of our 35th anniversary, we are thrilled to announce this selection of important and notable films," said Piers Handling, director and CEO of TIFF, at a press conference in Toronto today (July 27).

"The richness and diversity of this year's galas and special presentations programmes reflect the abundance of exciting works from established and emerging filmmakers in the world of cinema."

Added Cameron Bailey, festival co-director: "We are honoured that filmmakers choose our Festival to premiere their films to the world."

The world's top audience-driven film festival features about 300 films from more than 60 countries each year.

The festival will move into its new headquarters - Bell Lightbox - in the heart of Toronto this year.

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Aamir ghost-directing Dhobi Ghaat

The actor has been calling the shots in wife Kiran Rao’s directorial debut Dhobi Ghaat.

After Kiran suffered a miscarriage just a couple of days back, Aamir has taken over the reins of the film. He doesn’t want her to spend time worrying about the film and has advised her to take rest while he handles the post-production work of the film.

But sources from the film say that Aamir has been pretty much ghost - directing Dhobi Ghaat well before Rao’s incident. “Aamir isn’t a perfectionist for nothing; he’s pretty much calling all the shots in Dhobi Ghaat. He’ll take around 200 retakes and will shoot from morning to night to get a shot right. Kiran can do nothing but go along with him as she trusts his instinct blindly,” said a member of the cast.

The accusation of ghost-directing is not new for Aamir. Too much interference has cost Aamir a project in the past. The last one being Mani Ratnam's Lajjo, which Mani later shelved apparently because he could not take orders from Aamir.

How far this is true, we cannot say, but at one time the project was still very much on, with Rahman also having composed tracks for the film.

In the past Mahesh Bhatt has admitted that Aamir's foray into the director's department has caused him heart burn too. We all know how Taare Zameen Par happened, the ouster of Amole Gupte meant the debut of Aamir Khan as actor cum director.

With Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 idiots on hand and Delhi Belly, Aamir is also producing Naseerudin Shah starrer The Falling. Insiders worry that the actor won't be able to handle all the stress himself. “Post-production isn't as easy as some might think, from recordings, to dubbing to promotion, Aamir surely has his work cut out for him.”

We wishes Aamir all the luck indeed.

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Aamir loses baby

Aamir Khan is devastated, his wife Kiran Rao who was two months pregnant has suffered a miscarriage.

The actor who hasn't been blogging for a while put up this post confirming the sad news, 'I have bad news folks. Kiran and I lost our baby. Despite our best efforts we were unable to avert a miscarriage. The last 2 months have been a struggle for us and that is one of the reasons I was absent from the blog in more ways than one. K and I need time to heal. I will be away for a while.'

Kiran had been visiting Breach Candy hospital from where sources had confirmed her pregnancy a month ago. Aamir Khan has always been secretive about his private life and its surprising to know that the actor would give out the sad news on his blog. Maybe he is just trying to save the media frenzy that would have been created once the news would have reached them first.

Our condolences with Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao and we hope they can pass through these trying times as soon as possible.

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Aamir Khan to be a father again

Aamir Khan’s wife Kiran Rao is three months pregnant, a Mumbai newspaper has reported.

Kiran, who is currently busy with her directorial debut film “Dhobi Ghaat”, was apparently admitted to a hospital in Mumbai on May 31 for fever. Her pregnancy was discovered in course of the treatment.

Kiran is said to have been in the hospital for a week and Aamir was a daily visitor.

The newspaper mentions hospital insiders as the source for its story.

The Khans have not denied or accepted the report. But we expect Aamir to come up with the truth on his blog.

Aamir and Kiran got married in December 2005. The actor has a son, Junaid, and daughter, Ira, from his first marriage to childhood sweetheart Reena Dutta, which ended in a divorce in 2002.

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