Father Geek here with a loaded Asia-AICN Column for this week. Darius25 has his regular reporters AccSpy and pigmon on board, but there's a handfull of new spies in the mix too, soooooo I'll step aside and let you get right to this week's edition...

Asia-AICN

Hey all. After a slight mishap at our Asian News Headquarters last week, we’re back with even more cool news for you. We have a fully loaded column for you this week, including news on “Abhay”, “Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham (Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Sad)”, “The Last Revolutionary”, “Paanch (Five)”, Donnie Yen’s upcoming films, “Running Out of Time 2”, director Andrew Lau’s next films, “Onmiyoji”, and “Pistol Opera”.

We also have some pics from “Asoka”, “Lajja (Shame)”, “Running Out of Time 2”, and “The Highbinders”.

Now here’s the latest from Asia.

INDIA

“Moviemaniac” sent in some tidbits on Kamal Haasan’s “Abhay” and Karan Johar’s “Kabhi Khushi, Kabhie Gham (Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Sad)” and “Lagaan (The Tax), here it is:

Kamal Hasan's Abhay is prepping for release soon, supposedly on September 28. Its music just released and broke records when 200,000 copies of its music album sold out within 8 hours of its release in Chennai alone.

Another piece of news is about KKKG or Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. The promo is doing the rounds of theatres (just saw one yesterday on my second look at Dil Chahta Hai) and Sony Music just released a special single cassete of the Title track in 4 versions. The promo looked good, although not really exciting, but judging from the reactions in the theatre its probably gonna do well. I'm really looking forward to Karan Johar's next after KKHH (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai – Something is Happening) and I hope the sophomore efforts outdoes the first, especially after such a casting coup. There was a website mentioned in the promo, but I forgot what it was :( (It’s actually http://www.k3gthefilm.com)

This truly looks like the year of Indian Cinema! The Wisden cricket magazine, supposedly the world’s foremost magazine on cricket, reviewed Lagaan in its last issue, "Cricket goes to Bollywood", and the reviewer gave it 4 stars saying it was a lot of fun and engrossing throughout, despite the long length.

Thats all for now,

Moviemaniac

“Dilwale” has some more news for you, so here it is:

** Rajshri Films are all set to start a film with Mohan Singh Rathod, director of the Rajasthani blockbuster BAI CHALI SASARIYE. They’ll be starting one more project, which will be directed by Sooraj Barjatya’s assistant Rajat.

** Romesh Sharma, who made HUM (Us) with Amitabh, Govinda and Rajnikant, is back in action. He will soon launch his second Hindi project, which will be produced and directed by him.

** The failure of CHAMPION has not disheartened Sujeet Kumar and he is planning to make not one, but two films this time. A London-based director will direct one of them, while Priyadarshan will direct the other.

** Padmalaya, who are currently making two films — KYA DIL NE KAHA (What the Heart Says) and AAMDANNI ATTHANNI KHARCHA RUPAIYA (Money Spent) — are all set to start two more films.

** Despite the fact the audience did not fall in love with Shyam Bajaj’s KAHIN PYAAR NA HO JAAYE (What if there is Love), he is all set to start his next project, which will be launched shortly.

** Prasan Kapoor, Jeetendra’s brother, is all set to jump back in the production arena. He is planning a big film now.

It’s a known fact that J.P. Dutta is all set to start his next project, titled TIGER HILLS, which will star as many as eleven heroes in pivotal roles. There has been a lot of speculation as to who will star in the film. Only four names have been confirmed so far — Sunil Shetty, Akshaye Khanna, Arbaaz Khan and Saif Ali Khan — while negotiations are in progress with several big names.

Jackie, who has been a part of J.P. Dutta’s last two films, BORDER and REFUGEE, has not signed the project yet. “No one has approached me for the film, so the question of signing the project does not arise at all,” confirms Jackie.

Now here is this week’s regular scoops:

- Rumours indicate that Shahrukh Khan is really, REALLY satisfied with his home production, “Asoka”. SRK is apparently raving about the finished product and the brilliance of director Santosh Sivan (who made “The Terrorist). He really wants this film to get a mainstream international release and is apparently screening the film to Steven Spielberg (!) in hopes of acquiring a domestic distribution here in North America. We also have a set of new pics for you, enjoy.

Shahrukh Khan IS Ashoka the Great: Just Click Here

A really, really STUNNING Kareena Kapoor: Check This One Now

Another pic of SRK as Ashoka: Click Now

And another one of Kareena Kapoor, this time during battle: Click

- Director Priyadarshan’s “The Last Revolutionary” is finally moving towards the production stage. The English-language film, based on the life of freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azaad, will be backed by a major Hollywood studio and is rumoured to feature many famous actors. Abhishek Bachchan has been signed for the title role while Sunil Shetty and Kareena Kapoor are also rumoured to be in the film. The producers have confirmed that the script is pretty much finished and principal photography will begin in March. Since it is a US-India production, an international release is almost guaranteed and the film is rumoured to get a wide theatrical release sometime late next year or early 2003.

- Acting legends Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan will team up after 15 years in a new film, titled “Ada (Style)”, by producer-director Tanwar Ahmed. The rest of the casting is not yet complete as the producers are hoping to rope in Aamir Khan as well. A.R. Rahman has been signed to compose the music. It will go into production sometime next spring.

- Actor Kabir Bedi has joined the cast of Director Sohail Khan’s “Maine Dil Tujhko Diya (I have Given my Heart to You)”. The film marks the launch of Sohail as an actor and also introduces another newcomer, Sameera. Sanjay Dutt is also slated to make a special appearance in the film, which is currently shooting in Scotland. It will be released next summer.

- Jackie Shroff has announced two more films which will be produced under his banner. The first film is a horror story set in an asylum, “Sandhya”, and will star Raveena Tandon as the titular character. The second film will be directed by S. S. Rao and is rumoured to feature Rekha in the lead. No word on whether Jackie will appear in either of these films.

- Writer Anurag Kashyap (“Satya)’s directorial debut, “Paanch (Five)”, is currently facing many problems with the censors over its disturbing subject matter and “crude” content. The film marks the debut of actress Padmini Kolhapure’s sister, Tejaswini, and is the tale of five friends who agree to kidnap a rich relative for a large ransom. The film is supposed to be downright gritty and supposedly features really harsh language (a rare thing in Bollywood), lots of drug use, and tonnes of brutal violence (sounds good to me). “Paanch” is scheduled for a November release but not before its cleared from the censor, who are asking for deletion/alterations to several key sequences. For a more detailed article on the film, click here: Check It Out

- Ajay Devgan’s production company, Devgan Films, have signed director Suneel Darshan (“Ek Rishta – The Bond of Love”) for an upcoming project. The film will star Devgan himself along with Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar. The heroines have yet to be cast but you can probably bet on Karisma Kapoor to appear as she’s in all of Darshan’s films so far.

- Last week’s new release was director Rajkumar Santoshi’s mega-starrer art film, “Lajja (Shame)”. The film boasts an all-star cast of Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff, Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, Mahima Choudhary and Ajay Devgan and believe it or not, they each play a vital role to the film’s plot. Lajja attempts to raise an awareness of the many gender-biased crimes that occur in India every day and how does this effect the status of females in the Indian society, which is considerably lower than anything any Westerner could imagine. The director, a male, does a very well job in telling the tale from the female point of view and the message does get across to the audience. The main story revolves around Vaidehi (Manisha) who undergoes an incredible journey to “enlightenment” when she takes off on her abusive and obnoxious husband, Raghu (Jackie). Vaidehi pretty much falls into 3 different stories each featuring a different cast of actors while Raghu follows every step of the way. The first segment deals revolves around a wedding ceremony plagued with financial woes and the effect this has on the bride-to-be. Anil Kapoor shines in this segment here as a thief who crashes the party and it is the light tone of his character keeps this part from being all grim and serious. Mahima Choudhary is pretty decent as the bride and her main moment, an outburst in front of everyone, displays here best performance to date.

The second segment revolves around the trouble of a free-spirited actress, Jaanki (Madhuri Dixit), who wants to be completely independent and do things the way she wants to do. Well, of course the backwards society will not leave her be, and things ultimately result in tragedy which proves that females are still nowhere near the equal of males. From here on things take a turn for the worse when the plot (and Vaidehi) ends up in a rural village – the most backwards parts of India – and gets entagled into the lives of a poor woman (Rekha), who attempts to rise above her status and improve the conditions of her fellow villagers by educating them and teaching them to stand up to the atrocities committed by the local landlords. Ajay Devgan makes a dashing entry here as a Robin Hood-type bandit who literally cuts down hundreds of villains. Santoshi is well known for his action films, and he does not disappoint in this segment which features many epic battle sequences full of great fight choreography and just AWESOME music. Devgan, stuck in romantic roles for a while, returns to the action genre with ease and this is easily his best role in years. His introduction comes as a fresh breath of air and he really gets the audience rooting for him in every single scene. The way in which he gets his revenge just has to be seen!! Gulshan Grover and Danny Denzongpa as the villains of this segment don’t disappoint and act just as well in the familiar roles they’ve grown accustomed to over the years. Rekha is also very good in this segment, but one wishes she had a larger role which would take advantage of her acting abilities. This segment is followed by a downright terrible ending which ends up being the film’s one MAJOR fault – one sequence is shown which neatly wraps up the loose ends of the individual segments without any explanation. I won’t give away any spoilers but let’s just say that it leaves the viewer completely unsatisfied with the way all the characters ended up. It has all the markings of a commercial film, and I wish Santoshi hadn’t gone the safe way and somehow ended with a more darker (and unconventional) ending. That said, the film is still very good for the most parts and I would recommend it for the cast alone. Manisha Koirala has made somewhat of a comeback in this film and she manages to perform equally with Madhuri Dixit and Rekha in certain scenes. Madhuri is just amazing, and we all know that she can act – let’s just say that you would be more than pleased with her performance. Jackie Shroff is ok – he’s not a complete bad guy here, but his character is not really developed enough for us to analyze his every single action.

The script for the film is very tight and the film runs fine without any large potholes or distractions (except for the ending). The songs are stylishly picturized and offer a variety of music that ranges from upbeat foot-tapping numbers to downright depressing tunes that just sets the tone for the darker moments to come. The direction is fine and the film is adequately paced – it didn’t seem to drag but I couldn’t have sat still for another 10 minutes. Some problems with the ending aside, “Lajja” is a yet another fine effort from Rajkumar Santoshi and the cast is alone worth the price of admission. Don’t miss it.

Jackie Shroff on the prowl: Just Click Here

Mahima Choudhary (center) looks all geared up for a wedding that isn’t going to happen: Click Here

Manisha Koirala (left) and Madhuri Dixit discuss a few vital issues: Check This Now

Bad ass Ajay Devgan (center) and his “merry” men: Click Here

HK/CHINA

“Jotarou” sent in some more Donnie Yen news, here it is:

Hey Darius,

Its Jotarou again with more Donnie Yen news. It turns out, now that Mr. Yen is done with action choreography on "Blade 2: Bloodhunt" he has now moved on to a Japanese project entitled "Shurayuki-Hime"(literally meaning, "Bloody Snow White")which is currently shooting in Tokyo. It is based on a classic Manga and will star teen idol Yumiko Sharku. Yen will serve as action director. The film is produced by Takeshige Ichise who produced the hit series "The Ring" and the Hong Kong/Japan co-production "Moonlight Express"(which Yen also served as action director). The film should be released in Japan around Christmas time. For those who don't know, Donnie has a cult following in Japan ever since his directorial debut, "Legend of the Wolf" was shown at Japanese film festivals to rave reviews. He even plans to shoot some scenes of his long awaited "Fist of Fury" film project in Japan (No word on when shooting begins on this project).

Due to such a good working relationship with Ichise, Yen has been proposed to work in a US/Japan co-production that would begin shooting next year, no word on what his role would be. He is also working(in front and behind the camera) on a tv series entitled "Sinner" that is being produced by John Woo. Also of note, Yen's personal favorite "Iron Monkey" will be released in US theatres on September 14 so everyone who loves Kung-Fu flicks should check this out!!!! It's Donnie Yen and Yuen Woo-Ping at their best!!! Thanks for reading!!!

In Christ,

Jotarou

Here’s the weekly report from “AccSpy”:

- "Running out of Time 2" has officially started shooting last week. This time around, Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fei will only be the producers of the movie with Dante Lam ("Hit Team", "Jiang Hu: The Triad Zone") coming on board as the director of the sequel. Lau Ching Wan and Ruby Wong are coming back from the original, while Ekin Cheng and Kelly Lin will join as the new cast members. Both of the new stars need to shorten their symbolic long hair for the characters.

Ekin Cheng lands his hands on a villain role in this sequel: Click

Kelly Lin and Lau Ching Wan work together for the first time: Click Now

Ruby Wong's character was under-developed in the original but the sequel will more focus on her relationship with Lau Ching Wan: Just Click

- Jackie Chan's shooting of "The Highbinders" in Ireland is going so well that they might not need to wait until Christmas for the rest of the shooting after "The Tuxedo" shoot as planned. The finale stunt piece (which has Jackie climbing outside the 7th floor of a building) has been finished in just one single take!! To sum up Jackie's latest role in one sentence, action director Sammo Hung said, "He's the Tarzan of the modern world."

Jackie, Christy Chung and director Gordan Chan: Go Here

Jackie and the crew on the roof: Click Here

- Director Andrew Lau has left BOB studios and has joined Andy Lau's Teamwork Production as the movie department supervisor. Lau brought "Stormriders 2" along with him and will hopefully start shooting it next year with Ekin Cheng and Andy Lau. His next two projects as planned would be the futuristic action film titled "Black Leopard" and a period action film titled "The Sword of Arbi". Both films had been promoted at Cannes this year.

- "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" debuted at the top of the box office with an unexpectedly strong $7 million HKD in 4 days. " Rush Hours 2" was down one to no.2 with $3 million grossing, Nicholas Tse and Stephen Fung's "My School Mate, The Barbarian" debuted at no.3 with $2.6 million from the Friday-to-Sunday period while "JP3” was down to no.4 and the unstoppable "Shaolin Soccer" was back in the top 5 with $59.5 million so far. "Shaolin Soccer" also conquered Taiwan the same weekend, debuting with $18 millions TWD (about $6 million HKD), already becoming the most successful HK film in Taiwan since the last 5 years. This is the place where even "Needing You..." and "Stormriders" bombed (but not CTHD). [This box office report was for the weekend ending on August 25, 2001 – D25]

JAPAN

Here’s the latest report from “Pigmon”:

- Disney's "Atlantis" has been chosen as the closing film for this year's Tokyo International Film Festival. Japanese pop star Drem Come True will sing the theme song for the movie after the screening.

- Shinya Tsukamoto ("Tetsuo") is looking for a large number of male extras who are over 30 years old and daring enough to work with him! His new movie to start shooting next month will be titled "Rokugatsu No Hebi (translation-June's Sneak)". Nobody knows anything about this movie but Shinya told one of reporters that he is worried about loosing his hair. So this movie will feature something dangerous for sure…

- Miyazaki's Ghibli Museum will be opening on October 1st. Located in West Tokyo (next to Inogashira Park), the Ghibli Museum is nearly complete and offers an entrance to Miyazaki’s anime world featuring all types of mystical creatures and stunning images. At the entrance, Totoro will welcome all the guests!! There will be 3 new short films from Miyazaki showing only at a special theater in this museum. These titles are "Korota No Dai Sanpo", "Kujira Tori", and "May And Koneko Bus". I will go on opening day and write up a report for everyone.

- I just saw “Onmiyoji", directed by Yojiro Takita (Toho released), and found it to be a boring big budget period film. Toho wants to make this movie like "CTHD" but it’s far from being anything near that film. It also features horrible acting by its lead actor, Kiyogen (a Japanese traditional dance) star Mansai Nomura, with equally poor VFX and direction. Not worth mentioning.

- I also saw "Pistol Opera", directed by Seijun Suzuki (Shochiku released). For the first time in 8 years, Suzuki is back in strong mode and he’s made a GREAT film. The VFX makers, "Gamera" series' Higuchi” have done a superb job. The film follows a contest which decides who is going to be NO.1 killer in the world. It’s also very beautiful to look at, with tones of vibrant colours and gorgeous cinematography. Kudos also goes to the set designer and the costume designer for the fabulous artwork – lead actress Makiko Esumi looks DROP DEAD gorgeous in a black kimono and western boots. “Pistol Opera” will be showing all over the world and all moviegoers in the world should wait to see it a theatre near them. Click here to visit the film’s website: www.shochiku.co.jp/pistolopera/

Here is the latest list of American/European stars on Japanese TV commercials.

• 01. Jennifer Lopez - Subaru car (Legacy) www.3keys-LEGACY.com
• 02. Bruce Wills - Eneos Gas Station - He plays a superhero!
• 03. Brat Pit - Edwin Jeans
• 04. Charlize Theron - Honda car (Life) www.honda.co.jp/auto
• 05. Penelope Cruz - Lux shampoo
• 06. George Clooney - Toyota car (Mark II) www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/frame.html
• 07. Jean Reno-Pokari Sweat drinks www.otsuka-adview.ne.jp
• 08. Ewan McGregor - Aeon English School www.aeonet.co.jp
• 09. Kevin Costner - Roots coffee
• 10. Ben Stiller - Kirin Fruity sake
• 11. Winona Ryder - Morinaga coffee

We have now reached the end of this week's column. Remember, if you have information regarding any film industry in Asia, please contact our Asia-AICN offices at atshrivas@home.com. See you all next week.

Darius25