Father Geek here with this Thursday's edition of our regular Asian Film Industry Report. Buuuut before I turn you over to Darius25 and his Ballywood News, Pics, and Reviews I have a few bits of my own from around the far east...

Call me 'Ralphie Dexter.' I attended the licensing show in NYC yesterday. At the MGM booth, they were running footage of the upcoming movie "Bulletproof Monk," starring Chow Yun-Fat and Seann William Scott ("American Pie"). What I saw was not quite a trailer, but more like a clips reel (although there was a long montage set to the tune of "Paradise City" by Guns N Roses). Anyway, some of the highlights:

- There is a ceremony at a Tibetan monastery. Chow kneels in front of his master, who puts his hand on Chow's head. Reels of sacred parchments spin on the walls. An Asian boy with a monkey on his shoulder watches all of this happen.

- A scene where Chow trains Seann in an apartment. Think "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" meets "Remo Williams." At one point, Chow does a very cool, spinning, 360-degree 'sweep kick.'

- James King appears, looking vampish. She is at a party that takes place on a subway car and makes out with some grungy guy.

- A scene where Seann (wearing a black leather jacket) constantly bumps into people at a subway station. By doing this, he is somehow able to handcuff a guy, who gets pretty pissed about it. This leads to a big chase sequence in the subway station and tunnel, featuring both Seann and Chow.

- A scene where Seann runs away from a helicopter firing machine guns at him. Chow has a fight with the helicopter's pilot.

- I'm not sure what the tone of this movie will be, but there was one moment of comedy (if you want to call it that). Seann gets his leg caught in the helicopter's mooring cable, and it drags him along the rooftop as he yells, "SH**!" But he prevents himself from the cable pulling him over the ledge.

- The footage reel ended with the now-obligatory "Matrix" scene - Chow watches in slo-mo as a bullet whizzes past him.

I was told that this film just went into post-production and will be out in 2003. That's all for now - Ralphie Dexter

Father Geek back, this time with a little KILL BILL info from China...

As you probably know, Tarantino is in Beijing right now filming some scenes for Kill Bill. Uma, Carradine, and the rest of the bunch have been spotted around town, especially at Sanlitun (the bar street in Beijing). A few of my Japanese friends are going to be extras in a bar fight scene that will be set in Japan, but filmed here. The crew is filming at the Beijing Film Studio. A Chinese friend of mine interviewed the director three months ago, and he said that Kill Bill will be the largest jump in action movies since The Birth of a Nation. Also expect Gordon Liu to appear somewhere in the film, as the director also flew down to Shanghai in March to sign him up. Sorry if this is all old news.

Regards, ¹Ã…´ÃºÃ€ÃÃ·

And here's another hot spy report right off the set of this "Killer" flick...

This has to do with Kill Bill's House of Blue Leaves segment. Filming overall is set to begin June 15th and the Blue Leaves sequence is scheduled to begin lensing on the 19th and last for 5 days. While on set today for costume fittings I was able to see Quentin, Darryl Hannah and Yuen Woo Ping. The extras for the HoBL scenes consist of a few (3) westerners and about 15 Japanese, both men and women. The western men are being dressed in shirts and ties, and paired with a woman (Japanese and Western) each, while the Japanese men are being dressed in T-Shirts and chains, kinda youth-gang yakuza it seems. Some extras (Guys) were stashed in the dressing room assigned to Darryl Hannah, (all the dressing rooms are assigned to the character's names, not the actor's, so they were in Elle Driver's room, but the babes, including myself, were in rooms either for Bill, Pai Mei, O'Ren Ishii, or The Bride). We were told that our scenes will feature alot of fighting and that Darryl and Uma are currently training hard with Yuen for a real kick ass fight, while Michael Madsen and Lucy Liu are scheduled to arrive about 3-4 days before cameras actually roll. The casting director was interested in weather any of us had martial arts backgrounds, so we will have a small part in the melee. We have to go back either tomorrow, or the next day to sign our extra's releases (broken bone waivers), and I will try to score a look at the HoBL set at that time which a couple PA's told us is quite impressive and then I'll get back to you with a report on it asap.

That's all for now...

TigerGirl of the East

Father Geek again... COOOOOOOOOOL!!! Looks like we've landed a couple of spies where it will do the most good. Now, here's Darius25 from Bollywood...

Asia-AICN

Hey all, hope you’ve had a great week. There’s no HK news for this edition, but we some great Bollywood scoops including my reviews from three big blockbusters released last week – “23rd March 1931 Shaheed”, “The Legend of Bhagat Singh”, and “Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (My Best Friend’s Wedding)”. We also have some pics from the three films and also from tomorrow’s release, “Badhai Ho Badhai (Congratulations)”. And before I go, don’t forget that Takashi Miike’s “Dead or Alive” is screening tomorrow night at the Royal in Toronto.

INDIA

- After breaking new grounds with “Company”, director Ramgopal Verma has decided to direct two projects in the coming months. He was initially set to direct “Bhoot (Ghost)”, a horror story with Abhishek Bachchan, Urmila Matondkar, and Rekha in the lead. However, Bachchan had to opt out due to a scheduling conflict with J.P. Dutta’s “Line of Control” and the actor was replaced with Ajay Devgan (who’s also in Dutta’s war epic). Varma is now considering shelving the project for a while until Devgan finishes the promotional duties for “The Legend of Bhagat Singh” and his work on “Line of Control”.

- While waiting for Ajay Devgan, Ramgopal Verma is rumoured to direct a quick musical comedy with Uday Chopra in the lead (!). This story isn’t really finalized yet so Verma may end up shooting “Bhoot” as soon as possible.

- Subhash Ghai’s next production, “Majnu (Romantic)” has now been renamed “Jab Dil Miley (When Hearts Meet)”. The film, being directed by Anubhav Sinha, stars Arjun Rampal and Aishwarya Rai. It will start shooting in August and will be released early next year.

- Producer Babloo Pasichia has announced his next film, titled “Zameen (Ground), to be directed by newcomer Rohit Shetty. It will be a multi-starrer with Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Bipasha Basu in the lead. The film will start shooting from late July.

- Producer Rikku Rakesh Nath has launched a yet another production, this time directed by Anees Bazmee. Titled “Dil Dhadhke Baar Baar (The Heart Beats Repeatedly)”, the film will star Karan Nath, Amisha Patel, and Gracy Singh (of Lagaan).

- Some new stills were released from Satish Kaushik’s “Badhai Ho Badhai (Congratulations)”. The film stars Anil Kapoor (who also produced), Keerti Reddy, Shilpa Shetty, and Amrish Puri. It comes out tomorrow.

Anil Kapoor:

Keerti Reddy: Click

Anil Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty: They're Here 23RD MARCH 1931 SHAHEED

Last week was an event week for Bollywood as there was a clash between three major films at the box office. While the third film was a more humble production, the major showdown was between two films focusing on the same real life hero, the late revolutionary Bhagat Singh. The more lavish of the two films was “March 23 1931 Shaheed”, directed by Guddu Dhanoa, produced by Sunny Deol, and starring Bobby Deol, Amrita Singh, Rahul Dev, Suresh Oberoi, Aishwarya Rai (in a cameo), and Sunny himself. Ok, so where do I begin – the film’s basically a popcorn version of the real life story of Bhagat Singh, and is practically a more lavish remake of the 1950s film also titled “Shaheed (The Martyr)”. We see Bhagat Singh growing up as child in the 1920s with an enormous hatred for the British rulers. This is followed by his encounters with another legendary revolutionary, Chandrashekhar Azaad (Sunny Deol), who encourages him to rebel against the British by any means possible. Bhagat eventually surrenders himself to the British willingly. He then rises to a hero’s status while in prison, fighting for the prisoners’ right of nutritious food and decent living standards, and is eventually given the death sentence for killing a British soldier.

The story is kind of faithful to real-life events but then sacrifices realism for escapist entertainment and a lot of unnecessary action. The film plays out more like a Rambo version of the story than a well-researched political epic. Instead of Bhagat Singh preaching about the atrocities of the British Raj, we see him evading soldiers left and right and Azaad going gung-ho psycho on a whole lot of people. Azaad’s presence needs to be felt in the story, but the film goes way too over the top with Sunny practically dominating every scene he’s in (and it’s not even his film!). However, it must be noted that Guddu Dhanoa IS excellent for action films and as such, the more violent sequences (including Azaad’s death scene) are brilliantly executed. Another plus point is that the film effectively captures the mood of 1920s rural India, and we get to see every penny of the film’s high budget right there on the screen. From the busy foggy nights to the dark brown dirt-splattered villages and the authentic period details, the atmosphere was just great. If even half the attention given to cinematography and art design was given to the script, then this would have been a perfect film!

The acting is not too bad….. for an action film. Ok, right away, Bobby Deol is not a dramatic actor and he has a long way to go before he even begins to take on such legendary roles. He’s good in action films, and makes for a somewhat decent romantic lead, but isn’t very convincing at all as Bhagat Singh. It’s like saying that let’s make Jason Lee or even Bruce Campbell into Abraham Lincoln or Alexander the Great. Sorry folks, it just doesn’t work. The same goes (to an extent) for Sunny Deol’s take on Chandrashekhar Azaad. Sunny does get the violent nature of Azaad down to a hilt, but I still felt like I was watching a Sunny Deol movie rather than Azaad. He acts the same here, constantly yelling for most of the scenes while remaining quiet for only a few brief moments. However he is a good actor who should have changed his persona a little bit more to become the legendary patriot. His best moment (action and dramatic wise) is the Alfred Park sequence where he kills atleast 20 police officers before succumbing a to a barrage of gunfire. His last moment on screen is truly effective and shows what’s really needed in this film. Perhaps the best acting is done by Amrita Singh, who makes her comeback after nearly a decade to take on the character of Bhagat’s mother. Even though the role is too mature for her age (Both Amrita and Sunny made their debuts in the same film from the 1980s), she totally immerses herself in the character. Her makeup is dead on and she is extremely believable in the role of a concerned mother. The lady was strong enough to sacrifice her son without crying and pouting and firmly believed in her son’s revolution. She responded to the tragic events with determination and was proud to be the mother of a martyr.

Overall, the film was noteworthy if only due to a different take on a legendary person. As a bio-pic, it is pretty bad, but if taken as a period action film, it doesn’t disappoint. The atmosphere and set designs are the real highlight of the film and it is definitely not as bad as it was pointed out to be. However, for the ultimate take on the life of Bhagat Singh, just read on below.

Bobby Deol as Bhagat Singh, in the famous pose of the real-life hero: See Him Here

Sunny Deol, who completely steals the show from his brother Bobby: Go Here

Amrita Singh also steals the show from Bobby: Click Now

Aishwarya Rai could have acted better than Bobby if she were given a larger role: Too Yummy

THE LEGEND OF BHAGAT SINGH

This version of the Bhagat Singh story was directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, a former regular in the Deol family camp. The director practically made Sunny into an action star with the gritty action film “Ghayal (Injured)”, and then got the actor to give an intense and hard-hitting performance in a serious drama titled “Damini”. After that he resurrected Sunny as an action superstar with “Ghatak (Destroyer)” before directing the Deol production that launched Bobby Deol, “Barsaat (Rain)”. The former collaborators have now turned into bitter rivals, that finally culminated in this other version of the Bharat Singh saga. The rivalry started when Sunny asked for a higher fee for a minor role in Santoshi’s long-delayed “Lajja (Shame)”. The actor was finally replaced with Ajay Devgan, and the director liked Devgan’s work so much, he decided to cast him in a film that was on his mind for such a long time. At the same time, Sunny decided to make a Bhagat Singh movie on his own, with his own brother in the lead. Santoshi even approached the actor in hopes of combining the two projects, but both partiers were really stubborn on their choice for the leading role. As a result, we have two films on the same topic, opening on the same day. This of course is a recipe for disaster and yes, the more unlikely (or likely depending on your view) film emerged as the victor.

So is this film a real winner?? In short, yes it is – it is exactly what you want in a celluloid version of a legendary hero. What you have here is a well-researched, finely acted film which uses its lower budget to boost the realism of the era and to shade a greater light on the life of Bhagat Singh. While the overall story is the same, things will seem a lot more clear if you watch this version over the popcorn action film reviewed above. His revolutionary tactics and his atheist beliefs are more on display here, along with a greater political context of the times. You’ll know how and when Bhagat started to rebel, and see more of his actions then putting up posters and shooting soldiers. You’ll see why he was let down by his own people, particularly one Mohandas K.Gandhi, and felt the need to join Azaad’s violent methods to create a revolution. And after he goes to prison, you’ll see hear more of his ideology and beliefs rather than watching Chandreshekar Azaad shooting soldiers with his eyes closed. And while you won’t see much of Azaad in this film, you’ll even learn more about Bhagat’s two famous friends, fellow rebels Sukhdev and Rajguru, who were also hung with Bhagat at the same time on March 23, 1931.

The acting here is just superb!! Ajay Devgan, while being older than the real life hero (who was in his early 20s when he died), has practically become Bhagat Singh. You’ll practically travel with Devgan as he turns from a student to an activist to a prisoner and then to a martyr. The guy’s acting is just friggin’ incredible and is VERY VERY convincing. We feel the rage burning inside his brain before he finally erupts and just as quickly you’ll see him finally calming down and accepting his fate. Bhagat’s more played like a common man here than the superhero status given to him in the Bobby Deol version and Devgan is very capable of pulling off the role. The actors portraying Sukhdev and Rajguru, particularly Sushant Singh as Sukhdev, are also effective in their supporting roles and are atleast treated with some respect here rather than their sidekick-like appearances in the other version. Veteran actress Farida Jalaal is as effective as Amrita Singh in this version, and since she’s older than Singh, is more convincing aswell. Finally, Amrita Rao is impressive in a minor role as Bhagat’s fiancée and atleast given some dialogue as opposed to Aishwarya Rai’s cameo appearance in the other version.

While the script and acting is solid, the production values aren’t half bad either. The filmmakers decided to spend less on the cast and more on the film’s execution and it shows. The authentic period settings and the awesome music (thanks to A.R. Rehman’s magical score) combined with some great camera work make for a slick and stylish production. And yes the action scenes here are more subtle and realistic as opposed to the cartoonish over-the-top sequences in “Shaheed”.

All in all, this is the Bhagat Singh bio-pic to watch! Filled with great performances, good direction, and an extremely more detailed story, this totally KO’s the other version. If you want an extremely detailed film on the life of one of India’s beloved heroes, don’t miss this film. If you want a simple version with more action, watch the Bobby Deol version.

Ajay Devgan in prison, with one of his many different looks in the film: The Misery is Here

Another pic of Devgan as Bhagat: Just Click Now

The beautiful Amrita Rao, in her second film:

Farida Jalaal (left) as Bhagat’s mother and Amrita Rao: Click !

Bhagat, along with Rajguru (left) and Sukhdev (right) during the final moment of their lives: It's Happening Right Here

MERE YAAR KI SHAADI HAI (My Best Friend’s Wedding)

Last but not least is the third film from last week. This new film from producer Yash Chopra follows his successful formula to a hilt – take a sappy love story, boost it with a great production values amongst a rich, lavish setting, add in some great songs, and end it with a happy ending. One thing though, neither Shahrukh Khan or Salman Khan are anywhere near this film, instead we get Uday Chopra, Jimmy Shergill, and a new actress named Sanjana. Oh and did I mention this was directed by Sanjay Gadhvi, not Karan Johar, Suraj Barjatya or any of the Chopra clan! WTF?

Let me just say that despite the odds, the producers have made a completely wholesome and entertaining film, which doesn’t add anything new but manages to keep you occupied during its nearly 3 hours running time. Infact, it’s so entertaining that I would even place it on my top 5 films of the year, and is highly more watchable than any of the Bhagat Singh films.

No, I’m not on crack!! It’s just that I’m a sucker for these sappy lavish musicals, and this one fits the bill completely. The story is slightly reminiscent of “My Best Friend’s Wedding” but the actual similarities are very little. We get Uday Chopra as an irresponsible guy, Sanjay, who sets off to break off his friend’s wedding and marry her instead. Getting there, he finds that the groom, Rohit, is a much better candidate than him. Nonetheless, he tries a variety of tricks (including using his other best friend, Ria) to get the bride’s attention and break up the wedding. The climax is actually suspenseful as the story could end either way – both of our leading men are likeable and either one are truly capable of getting the girl. Let’s just say that while the ending was somewhat surprising, it is totally acceptable and convincing (in a fake Bollywood kind of way).

The acting here is subpar for a lavish family comedy and but that is pretty much expected when you look at the cast. Uday Chopra is extremely annoying and while he doesn’t make a decent romantic lead, he does get some decent laughs (mostly at his expense). Jimmy Shergill, who was much better in “Mohabbatein (Love Affairs)”, is ok at best while overacting during most of his scenes. Both actors seem to have a Shahrukh fixation and it looks like we had to pale SRK imitators instead of actual leading men. The leading actress, Sanjana, was much more convincing but you could tell this is her first film. She was quirky and cute in her own way though and she’s quite a looker. Her dramatic talents were only needed for the climax and she managed to come out somewhat alive. Of course she isn’t Kajol or even Rani Mukherjee, but she was decent for the role. And let’s not forget Bipasha Basu, who looked extremely hot and even gave us some great laughs in her brief role. It’s a pity she wasn’t given a larger amount of screen-time.

The real highlight of the film is the lavish atmosphere and the extremely melodious songs. While sounding very familiar to other Yash Raj productions (don’t they all sound the same), the songs are hummable and just add to the film’s charm. The settings and atmosphere provide us a look into a rich and glossy lifestyle which most of us will not achieve. Think of it as having the charm of “Monsoon Wedding” set in the house of one of India’s richest families. Unrealistic yes, but a good fantasy nonetheless.

All in all, “Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai” is a real charmer and will stay with you long after the lights come on. While not being overly artistic, or even having anything important to say, it is a light and totally commercial entertainer which I’m sure most of you will enjoy. If you’re looking for a light popcorn film that the whole family can enjoy, then this is definitely it. It is definitely the most entertaining of the three films released last week.

Uday Chopra acting like an idiot, while Sanjana looks on: Join in the Fun Here

Jimmy Shergill and Sanjana, match made in heaven?: Check them out Here

Uday Chopra and Sanjana, match made in heaven?: Just Click Here

The entire family in a song-and-dance number – one of the charms of the film: They're All Here

Uday Chopra and Jimmy Shergill, copying Amitabh Bachchan and SRK in “Mohabbatein”: See It Here

And yes, the beautiful Bipasha Basu has a role here aswell: WOW!!!

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 AICN's plush penthouse Palace. See you all next week.

Darius25