36 China Town: Movie Review

Rating: 2/5

First thing First; ‘36 China Town’ is no way comparable to 1974 cult classic suspense potboiler ‘Chinatown’ starring Jack Nicholson. 36 China Town isn’t even a thriller. 36 China Town is at best a moderate masala film with a medley of songs, comedy, romance, murder, suspense, bikinis and bums.

Abbas-Mastan who gave us hit like Khiladi, Baazigar, Soldier, Humraaz have a strange habit of dishing out half hearted attempts like Daraar, Baadshah and more recently Taarzan: The Wonder Car. At 36 China Town, loaded with an atrocious script they again find the going tough, try too hard and eventually mess it all up. (more…)

Movie Review: Shaadi Se Pehle

What happens in the mind of most of the couples before marriage (Shaadi Se Pehle)? Confusion, fright, panic and misunderstandings. And this is what director Satish Kaushik wanted to reflect through this light entertainer. But don’t pull your hopes too high because apart from the top star cast (Akshaye Khanna, Ayesha Takia, Aftab Shivdasani, Mallika Sherawat, Rajpal Yadav, Boman Irani, Anupam Kher and Sunil Shetty) and interesting story, the movie is like a luke-warm shower which you might not find too alluring.

Story:
Ashish Kapoor (Akshay Khanna) and Rani (Ayesha Takia) is a couple who are pretty much in love with each other. Ashish has a problem. He tries to stop even the slightest level of tension, by popping a pill to control his shaken nerves. This comes to the notice of Rani’s family members who in turn try to separate them. And if that was not enough for Ashish, there is his friend Rohit (Aftab Shivdasani) who wants Rani to be his, so keep trying to create confusion between lovers. Despite all this, Rani genuinely loves Ashish and sticks to him.

However, when Ashish goes to visit his doctor, he misunderstands the doctor’s diagnosis of hypertension to cancer and thinks that he has only one year to live. (more…)

Unlike other actors, Akshaye Khanna understands his co-star of ‘Shaadi Se Pehle’, Mallika Sherawat very well and finds that the sizzling actress gets misunderstood by many. Besides that he talks about his forthcoming films.

You’re known to be choosy, so how come you’re going to be seen in five films now?

It's not a question of being choosy. It's about finding roles that excite me. This time I liked all the five scripts. There's so much work happening in our film industry. Just how much of that work is worth doing depends entirely on an individual actor. I was suddenly offered stuff that I found terribly exciting.

And you are doing a comedy with Mallika Sherawat!

Why not? I think Mallika Sherawat is misunderstood. I'm not saying her image is entirely misleading. There's never any fire without smoke. But just because she has done certain films in the past of a particular kind, it doesn't mean that everything she does now will be of the same quality. She wants to move away from her image and this film is a good starting point. (more…)

Model-actor Upen Patel’s popularity is growing so much so that he already bagged six prestigious projects even before his debut release - Abbas Mastan’s thriller ‘36 China Town’ also starring Akshaye Khanna, Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor.

Apparently Patel has been getting plenty of offers but has been cautious in his selection. The actor said, “Yes I’ve been meeting a lot of people but it’s too early to confirm details. I’m all set for my debut with 36 China Town, and looking forward to its release. I’m glad that the industry seems to be accepting me.”

So far he has been signed by Subhash Ghai, Ashtavinayak films, Sunil Darshan, Tips, Shyam Bajaj’s next and Vipul Shah. (more…)

Akshay Khanna says that Shaadi Se Pehle is one of the best comedies of Indian cinema.

A long gap after Hulchul

I didn’t take a break. I was doing a film, produced by Anil Kapoor (Gandhi, My Father). That film took exactly a year to complete. After Hulchul I did that film and I signed Shaadi Se Pehle after that. But this movie got over fast and is releasing first.

Reunion with Mukta Arts

I have a special relationship with Mukta. Subhash Ghai is like my father. Whenever he thinks that I am suitable for any role or I can justify with the character, he signs me. I have worked with him earlier and I would like to continue to work with Subhashji in future.

Shaadi Se Pehle experience

I would not like to reveal much about his film but I can assure you that it’s one of the best comedies of Indian cinema. (more…)

Rumors were rife that the two actresses Priyanka Chopra and Ameesha Patel were spitting cold vibes while shooting for Dharmesh Darshan’s ‘Aap Ki Khatir’ in London. Some said that the actresses who were supposed to be playing sisters in the film were more bitter than strangers in real life. But now Priyanka Chopra begs to differ.

How was the experience of working with Dharmesh Darshan?
It was good. All of us had a great time, except that it was minus 5 degrees Celsius where we were shooting in Ludlow (on the outskirts of London). The climactic conditions were unbearable. To top it, I had to wear chiffons and skirts for my scenes. I’d do the shots in the freezing cold, rush to the car and turn on the heater on full blast. A month of blowing cold and blowing hot has taken its toll on my health. Now I’m down with fever. But there was a lot of warmth among us actors - Akshaye Khanna, Dino, Ameesha, Anupam, Lilette, Suniel Shetty - despite the fact that I hadn’t worked with them before. I love the outdoors. But I also love to come home.

Some on the sets Aap Ki Khatir pics where Ameesha, Priyanka and Sunil Shetty are having fun (more…)

After giving pounding performances in ‘Satya’ and ‘Monsoon Wedding’ Shefali Shah is back with a terrific performance in Mahatma Versus Gandhi. She talks about the film and describe it as a role that any actor would die for.

The talented but underused actor has been swimming against the tide, preferring marriage and motherhood to the solid career that awaited her.

I never thought of a career as a burning desire at that time. Marriage and babies are what I wanted at that time. Now I am just getting back to work. And don’t you think ‘Waqt’ and ‘15 Park Avenue’ are an incredible way to re-start?

Now I’m awaiting my third film ‘Mahatma Versus Gandhi’ where I have a role that any actor would die for. I am lucky to be offered such roles after my comeback. The industry is showing me respect as an actor. After ‘Waqt’, I was terrified I’d be offered all the mummy roles. But I didn’t. It made me feel very special. It was Amitji (Bachchan) who suggested I do his wife’s role in ‘Waqt’. There were others who thought I would look too young. We did a lot of deliberation before I was in. (more…)