Ranbir plays peacemaker for 'Raajneeti' team

He's ended the cold war between Nana Patekar and Prakash Jha

Ranbir Kapoor, who was seen as a scheming politician in 'Raajneeti', brought Prakash Jha and Nana Patekar together after their public fallout.

Apparently Ranbir, who got along like a house on fire with Nana during the shooting of 'Raajneeti' in Bhopal, didn't relish the uneasy silence between the two veterans. He decided to end the cold war between them when on an impulse, he dialed Nana's number from Kong Kong where he had gone with Jha for a 'Raajneeti' event.

When Nana answered the phone, Ranbir quickly handed it over to Jha.

Confirming that the cold war between him and Nana is over, Jha said: "We are once again connected. Nana is delighted by the success of 'Raajneeti' and is keeping tabs on the film's progress. He didn't come for the 'Raajneeti' celebration. But he called to say he wouldn't come because he never attends functions."

And now Nana is in constant touch enjoying the success of 'Raajneeti'.

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'Raajneeti' hits jackpot at the box office

With 95 per cent occupancy in theatres, the movie's had a great opening weekend

Multiple controversies notwithstanding, Prakash Jha's much-awaited and much-hyped dark political thriller 'Raajneeti' has set the cash registers ringing - courtesy its widely-appreciated content.

"'Raajneeti' (released Friday) is a super-duper hit. The movie is being massively appreciated and will have a definite second weekend run. We have had an average occupancy of close to 95 percent for 26 shows per day and we sold off 4,200 tickets in advance till Sunday," Amit Awasthi, senior manager (programming and operations) of Spice Cinemas, said.

"We have collected a gross of Rs.28 lakh and all shows are full on Sunday (June 6)," he added.

Amit Shah, chief manager (programming) of DLF DT cinemas, echoed the view.

"'Raajneeti' is a must-watch film. The content of the movie is being highly appreciated and it is moving towards being the highest grosser over the weekend for this year till now," Shah said.

"We've had an average occupancy of close to 90 percent and we are running around 15-17 shows in prime properties and around 9-12 shows in other properties. The movie will bring a good second weekend," he added.

Produced by UTV with around Rs.45 crore, the movie has been distributed by Prakash Jha Productions, Walkwater Media and UTV Motion Pictures with over 2,100 prints worldwide.

Inspired by the Hindu epic Mahabharata, 'Raajneeti' takes a behind-the-scenes look at the working of Indian politics and features an ensemble line-up, including the likes of Nana Patekar and Naseeruddin Shah, Ajay Devgn and Manoj Bajpai.

Heartthrobs Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, along with model-turned-actor Arjun Rampal, also play pivotal roles in the movie.

The film was in trouble when it was first denied a certificate by the censor board for Katrina's character reportedly having a resemblance to Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi.

Jha, however, dismissed the allegation saying that the movie is actually a modern re-telling of the Mahabharata.

Some intimate scenes and excessive violence sequences were also removed before the movie was given a U/A censor certificate.

"We've had a very good response till now and most of the shows have been running housefull with an average occupancy of close to 85 percent over the weekend. Everyone has liked the movie and the storyline is pretty strong. Word of mouth publicity is very good," said Jayendra Banerji, vice president (operations) of Satyam Cineplexes.

Deepak Taluja, senior vice president (business and operations) of Fun Cinemas, added: "The movie is going very well and almost all the shows have been housefull with an occupancy of close to 80-90 percent. People are really praising the movie and we are hopeful that this one will have maximum shows in the second week too."

Fun Cinemas is running 11 and 13 shows of 'Raajneeti' for all three and four screen properties respectively.

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FIRST LOOK: Paathshaala

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Raajneeti - First Look

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First Look: Rajneeti

Katrina Kaif will be seen in a de-glam avatar for the first time in Prakash Jha’s political drama Rajneeti.

The film also stars Ajay Devgan, Nana Patekar, Ranbir Kapoor, Manoj Bajpai and Arjun Rampal and is an effort on Jha’s part to portray the present political scenario on the country. The story revolves around the present politicians in India. Katrina Kaif who is hailed as the world sexiest woman in 2008 will be seen in her most de-glammed avatar ever. The actress plays a simple minded woman in the black world of politics.

Katrina went through tedious voice modulation classes for the film and is sporting only cotton sarees, with no make-up whatsoever. Hence there was a lot of hullabaloo about Katrina’s character being inspired by Congress honcho Sonia Gandhi but Prakash Jha rubbished the rumours saying, “It’s not true, her character is not similar to Sonia Gandhi or any other politician in the country, once you see the film you will realize that such rumours are baseless.”

A source added, “The shooting of Rajneeti has just commenced in Bhopal as Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpai completed their scenes with Katrina. There are no songs in the film and Katrina’s character belongs from the JSP party. It’s based on the Bhenji politics in the north and could stir up quite a few controversies.”

But then which Prakash Jha film doesn’t create a ruckus? The most surprising aspect of the film will be Katrina being finally judged on her acting talent and that would definitely be worth a watch!

Reportedly the film also stars Vivek Oberoi in a small role, which Salman Khan might not be aware of, what happens once he learns of his arch rival's entry in lady love's film will lead to a chintan baithak.

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WELCOME breaks records in the UAE!

The first result is out!

The keenly awaited leave-your-brains-at-home comedy, WELCOME, appears to have stolen the march over competition, taking a rocket opening in the UAE.

On 29 prints, the big Indian Films-Studio 18 Eid release is said to have opened to an unprecedented AED 450,000 (approx) - implying that in just one day flat, it has done close to half the lifetime gross of a successful Akshay Kumar comedy in the UAE!

If the initial reports are anything to go by, the audience has most certainly "welcomed" the festive season with WELCOME!

Bollywood Trade News Network

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Nana and Anil impress Katrina

One of this Friday's upcoming release, WELCOME, has not only the hot pair of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif to boast of, but also master veterans like Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor.

The leading lady Katrina has only good things to say about these two topnotch actors. She says that she found Nana Patekar extremely affectionate, as he treated her just like his daughter.

However, it was the still young at heart Anil Kapoor who really impressed Katrina. And she spoke a lot about her co-star of HUMKO DEEWANA KAR GAYE (2006) and WELCOME. The successful model-turned-actress discloses that even at the present stage of his career, Anil is extremely hardworking and a thorough professional. She adds that during the shooting of WELCOME, Anil was always prepared beforehand and ready with his dialogues. In fact, he never gave up till the perfect shot was canned. Not only that, Katrina also got a lot of acting tips from the ever helpful Anil.

Here's hoping the best for WELCOME and seeing more of the sophisticated Katrina and the ageless Anil Kapoor together.

Abid, Bollywood Trade News Network

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Anil Kapoor will promote Welcome only with Nana

If you haven't been seeing much of Anil Kapoor in the promotional blitzkrieg of Anees Bazmee's Christ-massy comedy Welcome it's with good reason. The meticulous actor has decided to speak about his role in the film only in collaboration with Nana Patekar.

Says a source close to Anil, “Since Nana and Anil play brothers in the film and share equal space he only thinks it to be reasonable that they speak on behalf of their film together."

The inimitable Nana has been stationed in Pune for two weeks because of his foot injury. Anil plans to drive down to Pune to do a joint press conference with Nana. The two come together in Welcome 18 years after they starred in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parinda.

When asked about the year that was, Anil Kapoor says, "I'm very happy with the way my production Gandhi My Father was received all over the world. This isn’t one of those small films that come and go. I believe it has a fabulous shelf life. And the film’s impact will continue to be felt everywhere. "

Anil Kapoor promises several surprises as a producer in 2008.

Subash K Jha, IndiaFM

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Anil Kapoor - Nana Patekar after 19 years in WELCOME!

While WELCOME will be Akshay Kumar's fourth massive comedy in 2007, the film is important to Anil Kapoor for a number of reasons as well.

While it is common knowledge that Anil Kapoor and Feroz Khan have reunited on screen after 21 years in WELCOME (their last outing being JAANBAAZ), it is also true that this is also Anil's first film with Nana Patekar after 19 years!

The two powerhouse actors were last seen playing adversaries in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's critically acclaimed, PARINDA, which released in 1989. There was talk of a problem between the two on the sets of PARINDA after which they reportedly refused to feature together in a number of projects that were offered to them.

Producer Firoz Nadiadwala and director Aneez Bazmee brought the two together as brothers in WELCOME after a gap of two decades. Remarks a source, "It was hard to bring Anil & Nana back together for WELCOME but it's all happened for the good. Their brilliant screen chemistry in the film has to be seen to be believed."

WELCOME releases worldwide on December 20, 2007. It is an Indian Films Release through Studio 18.

Bollywood Trade News Network

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Entire team of WELCOME in promotional video

Taking a cue from Firoz Nadiadwala's last super hit PHIR HERA PHERI, WELCOME too sees a promotional video featuring the entire starcast of the film on one single frame!

Readers may remember that around a fortnight before the release of Neeraj Vora directed PHIR HERA PHERI, Nadiadwala had come up with a master stroke in the form of promotional video of Himesh Reshammiya's composed and crooned 'Ae Meri Zohrajabeen'. The song had featured everyone from Akshay Kumar, Suneil Shetty, Bipasha Basu and Rimi Sen to Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Suresh Menon and Sharat Saxena amongst others.

The same formula has been reused for promoting Anees Bazmee's WELCOME which arrives on 21st December. The song in picture is Sajid-Wajid composed title song 'Welcome' which all this while was used as a background piece for the first promo of the film.

Featuring the entire cast of the film which includes Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Mallika Sherawat, the song was premiered in the weekend gone by and is expected to bombard the music channels well into the release of the film.

Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

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Anil and Nana’s fight for Mallika

Can you imagine Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar fighting for on screen attention for a sexy maiden?

Welcome sees a rather unusual pairing of Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar vying for the attention of the sexy Mallika Sherawat.

In fact from the time that Mallika Sherawat’s character walks in to their life they both are constantly at loggerheads and doing various stunts to get her attention.

It was hilarious, since both Anil and Nana believe in getting into the skin of the character,” says a unit member. We just wonder who Mallika likes to bestow her attention on.

TNN

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WELCOME is the King of comedies! - Akshay Kumar

Having gone through a super successful year with three top-ranking comedies, NAMASTEY LONDON, HEYY BABYY and BHOOL BHULAIYAA, Akshay Kumar is gearing up for the release of WELCOME, his next big laugh-out-loud comedy, releasing on December 20 worldwide.

WELCOME, being touted as the biggest release of Eid and Christmas, marks the return of the Akshay-Katrina pairing for a third time, besides assembling the biggest ensemble cast comprising Paresh Rawal, Anil Kapoor, Feroz Khan, Nana Patekar & Mallika Sherawat under one roof.

Akshay, shooting for SINGH IS KING in Australia at present, laughs, "Earlier, everyone said I was synonymous with action. I bagged the Khiladi tag. Now with my last few films being successful comedies, I've become synonymous with comedy!"

Ask him about his hit run at the box-office this year, he smiles, "I'm happy that the three comedies I did this year had the box-office laughing. WELCOME is the king of them all! It's a laugh-riot from the word go and I hope everyone enjoys it during the festive season as it is my last major comedy of 2007!"

So is Akshay bidding adieu to comedy? "Not at all! Comedy comes as naturally to me as action! Next year I have a variety of films on the anvil. I am getting back to action with CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA and TASHAN. But for me now I want everyone to concentrate on WELCOME and welcome the New Year with a bang!" he signs off.

WELCOME is an Indian Films release through Studio 18.

Bollywood Trade News Network

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WELCOME music releasing on Friday!

After three consecutive smash hits, NAMASTEY LONDON, HEYY BABYY and BHOOL BHULAIYAA, Akshay Kumar's fourth release of 2007, WELCOME, is finally at the door.

Releasing theatrically on December 20, the club-thumping music of the eagerly awaited comedy, WELCOME, the most star-studded release of 2007, will release worldwide this weekend. The soundtrack features six commercial tracks shot in South Africa and Dubai, scored by three heavyweight music composers, Sajid-Wajid, Himesh Reshammiya and Anand Raj Anand.

Producer Firoz Nadiadwala, whose previous smash hits include HERA PHERI and PHIR HERA PHERI, wittily remarked, 'We were looking to have variety on the soundtrack. We opted for three composers because we couldn't get five!'

The audio release of WELCOME also marks the launch of the Times Group's brand, Junglee Music, the umbrella brand that will spearhead the group's entry into the music of Hindi language and regional feature films.

WELCOME stars Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Feroz Khan and Mallika Sherawat in lead roles.

Bollywood Trade News Network

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Nana-Anil shake a leg with Mallika

Call it the unlikeliest of combinations but the truth is that Nana Patekar can be seen grooving with Mallika Sherawat.

The film in question is WELCOME where Mallika, who could well be half the age of Nana, is seen in a 'masti-se-bharpoor' dance number with the senior actor.

Not just this, the song also sees Mallika getting into a full-on funky mode with Anil Kapoor who does well to remind a viewer about his 'Lakhan' days.

What turns out to be a total contrast is Akshay Kumar who instead acts sober when romancing Katrina Kaif on the same tune.

Composed by Anand Raaj Anand, the song is third in succession to be promoted after the title song by Sajid-Wajid and 'Tera Uncha Lamba Kad' by Anand Raaj Anand himself.

Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

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After Diwali, Xmas war in B'wood

If you thought the war at the box office was over with Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, think again. After Diwali, producers and distributors are now eyeing the Christmas weekend to rake in the green stuff. This year three big films are being released on December 21 – Taare Zameen Par, Halla Bol and Welcome. And all three, which star some of the biggest names in the film industry, have a lot riding on it.

According to journalist and film critic Abhijit Mhamunkar, "This year, filmmakers have discovered a new festive season to release their biggies. With Christmas falling on Tuesday, they get a longer weekend of 5 days to rake in the moolah by releasing their films on December 21."

Trade pundit Komal Nahata also seconds this opinion. "Christmas this year will be the second big celebration time. It is as if distributors have realised that there is another time besides the big Diwali weekend to release their films profitably," he says.

According to J Popat too this will set the trend for coming years when filmmakers wouldn't mind postponing their films and releasing them around Christmas if they cannot do so during Diwali.

However, even as industry insiders are hailing this 'second season' so to say, none is happy about the fact of three films releasing during the time.

Says Mhamunkar, "Unlike Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, these three will eat into each others' business. And that is not a good sign."

Nahata further suggests that ideally one of the films should be postponed because that's the most sensible thing to do. J Popat however has already passed his verdict on the impending war. "Welcome is a runaway winner," he insists adding, "Taare Zameen Par does not look like a commercial film. Besides, it is said that Aamir comes just before the interval. Halla Bol too is on a shaky wicket because Ajay Devgan does not have a good standing in the market with at least a couple of flops behind him. Welcome looks like a good comedy and has a lot of stars in it."

Mhamunkar is also of the opinion that while Welcome currently stands on firmer grounds. He says, "Welcome has everything going in its favour with comedy being the flavour of 2007. Besides, any Akshay Kumar release guarantees a great opening these days."

While Taare... still has the Aamir Khan tag behind it and may just manage to pull the whole thing off, Halla Bol has a lot of odds against it. It is said that Ajay Devgan's marketability has gone down especially with RGV Ki Aag. Further, as Popat suggests, "He does not even have an overseas market, which makes it worse."

While not many may be keen on showing off all their cards at this point, it seems quite clear that Halla Bol has the maximum to lose. With its very serious topic, and a star whose reputation has taken a beating, it might be slightly risky for it to enter into the fray. And the postponement, as Mhamunkar suggests, would 'at least would have only an animated film (Hanuman Returns) to compete with. After all it's far easier to fight the gods than fight the stars, even if it is at the box office.

Abhishek Mande | Buzz18

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Akshay's another rib-tickling comedy

What do you get when you put together five brilliant actors, snazzy car chases, the mafia, machine guns, exotic locales, club-thumping music along with the funniest wedding of the decade?

Well that’s what Welcome is all about. While the film promises to be a potential blockbuster this year, it also marks the launch of Times Group’s Brand, JUNGLEE MUSIC.

Junglee is the umbrella brand that will spearhead The Times Group’s entry into the music of commercial feature films in Hindi and regional languages.

Welcome is directed by ace film director, Anees Bazmee, the king of comedy films. The film is a rib-tickling comedy set against the backdrop of the underworld, filled with maha-confusion and maha-misunderstandings leading to hilarious situations.

The film promises a-laugh-a-minute and features Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Paresh Rawal and Nana Patekar, in avtaars, never seen before.

The music of Welcome has been composed by some of the biggest music directors of India, Himesh Reshammiya, Sajid-Wajid and Anand Raj Anand. The music, releasing on JUNGLEE is already making waves and is on its way to the charts.

Vineet Jain, Managing Director, The Times Group, believes the brand— JUNGLEE MUSIC is young, vibrant, wild and energetic. It symbolises the essence of youth. Elaborating on the strategy, A P Parigi, Director, The Times Group, commented, “The brand seeks to reflect the confidence and spirit of Young India. This new generation lives and breathes an entirely new attitude and this is apparent in the choice of their new cricket idols, their online personas or the new tastes in music and entertainment.”

The team at JUNGLEE MUSIC is excited about their new found identity. A team member commented, “JUNGLEE as a brand is a near perfect connect with the music world of main stream Hindi film and regional language film music.” Adarsh Gupta, COO of JUNGLEE, is all excited about the concept, the brand and the foray into this domain with the acquisition of the music rights for a potential block buster of 2007 — Welcome. He says, “JUNGLEE stands for everything crazy, big and blaring and I’m confident the music of Welcome will live upto it.”

TNN

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