Amitabh Bachchan to Sign for his First International Film by Oscar Winning Director

Bollywood’s legendary figure Amitabh Bachchan is reportedly going to sign in for an international film project. Amitabh Bachchan recently wrote in his blog that he might feature in the English language film which will be made by the French filmmakers of 2006 Oscar winning documentary "March of the Penguin".

Amitabh Bachchan also wrote that the film is set in India as well as France and the shooting might roll on at the end of next year. "March of the Penguin" was directed by French filmmaker Luc Jacquet and the documentary earned a fabulous sum of $77 million in the U.S.

Amitabh Bachchan also stated that he had received an offer from Hollywood script writer Taxi Driver and Raging Bull for a Hollywood project. However, Big B will take the final decision after going through the script.

Related article:

India Times

Naseeruddin Shah Replaced Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Maharathi’

Naseeruddin Shah has taken up the role that was initially offered to Amitabh Bachchan in the movie Maharathi, which is a big-screen adaptation of a popular Gujarati comic play starring Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal. Amitabh Bachchan turned down the offer, citing that the role had shades of grey, told Paresh Rawal who directed the play in Gujarati.

Naseeruddin Shah was supposed play another role in the movie Maharathi, but after the opting out of Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah took up the role. Amitabh Bachchan earlier rejected another movie titled Shoot On Sight, based on a story related to July 2007 London bombings. Considering the controversial issue, Mr. Bachchan turned down the offer. The movie has recently been banned in Pakistan as the movie addresses a controversial issue.

The movie Maharathi was initially expected to be directed by Vikram Bhatt, but he was later replaced by Shivum Nair. Paresh Rawal explained that he did not take the director’s role as he thought that a fresh cinematic vision was needed on the play. The shooting of the movie is about to end and Paresh Rawal is happy to be working with actors like Om Puri, Boman Irani.

About the movie, Paresh Rawal said that Maharathi is a classic comic thriller. He plays the role of a driver, the same role he played in the play. Terming the script watertight, Mr. Rawal said everything and everyone in the film is in right place.

Related article:

Sify

Salman Khan to Write Tribute to his Father Salim Khan, If He Turns Actor

In response to a question whether he will turn into an author, Bollywood super star Salman Khan said that his first writing will be tribute to his father Salim Khan, famous screenwriter, if he really turns to writing in future. The Bollywood actor has good hand at painting and received accolades for his painting skill.

Salman Khan is currently shooting for his next film Hello which is the on-screen adaptation of popular novel 'One night @ the Call Centre' by Chetan Bhagat. The writer himself takes up the job of a narrator in the movie. Salman Khan plays the role of Chetan Bhagat in the movie.

Directed by Atul Agnihotri, the story of the movie tells events that six persons in a call centre encounter with one night. The movie also stars Katrina Kaif, Sharman Joshi, Gul Panag, Sohail Khan, Eesha Koppikar, Amrita Arora and Arbaz Khan. Hello is salted for release on October 10. Salman Khan has two more movies coming to hit the screens this year including Subhash Ghai's ‘Yuvraaj’ and Samir Karnik's 'Heroes'.

Related article:

Indian Express

Vidya Balan Learning UP Dialect for her Next Film “Ishkiyaan”

For the forthcoming film Ishkiyaan, Bollywood actress Vidya Balan is now learning a UP dialect. Directed by Abhishek Chaubey, the Vishal Bharadwaj production features Naseeruddin Shah alongside Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan. The scrip is written by Vishal and Abhishek and the film features the same language that is heard in Omkara, directed by Vishal.

Khabrein reported:

A unit source informs, "Vishal and Abhishek have written the script of Ishkiyaan. The film has the same lingo that one hears in Vishal’s Omkara. When Vishal narrated the script to Vidya, she was apprehensive about her ability to deliver the dialogues fluently in this dialect. Being a South Indian, she was not very comfortable with the rural dialect. Though Vidya is fluent in Hindi, she insisted on learning the language before taking on the role."

It seems pretty good that Vidya is taking professional training before turning to camera. With her fluency in Hindi, the actress could have gone to deliver the dialogues without taking any lesion on the dialect. However, known as a perfectionist, Vidya Balan, went through the classes on that dialect to deliver the perfect diction in the movie.

The actress said that Ishkiyaan emerges with an unusual concept and she is happy to share screen space with Naseeruddin Shah in the movie. She portrays the character that fools her uncle and her nephew, portrayed by Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi respectively.

Honda Motor announced to develop Multi-View Camera System

On September 18, 2008, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (TYO: 7267), the second largest Japanese auto-maker, announced to develop a multi-view camera system that enables the driver to view from multiple-wide-angle CCD cameras. This will help to reduce blind spots, enable smooth parallel or garage parking and enhance safe driving in intersections with limited visibility. The new multi-view camera system will be applied to Honda Odyssey which will be launched in October in Japan. JCN Network reports:

The multi-view camera system includes four wide-angle CCD cameras located in the front and rear of the vehicle and on the right and left door mirrors. The new system synthesizes images from these cameras and displays the synthesized image on the navigation screen with additional information including a projection line, which shows the vehicle's projected trajectory calculated based on steering angle information, and a reference line, which provides a reference for the distance between the vehicle and approaching obstacles. This provides support to the driver in parking, enhancing visibility, and avoiding contact in narrow driving conditions.

In order to enhance vehicle safety, in 2001, Honda first introduced a rear view camera system in its vehicles which enables rear visibility while backing up. This was followed by the development of Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) to improve nighttime visibility during turning in 2003. In 2004, Honda developed Intelligent Night Vision System which would detect pedestrians and provide warnings to the driver.

Related articles:

JCN Network

Katrina Kaif and Shah Rukh Khan to be Directed by Yash Chopra

Katrina Kaif’s acting career seems to have taken a new turn following her back to back hit movies in Bollywood. The Bollywood actress is now being flooded with loads of offers from big banners after presenting six blockbusters in the industry in the last couple of years.

Rumors out in the media suggest that the Katrina is going to sign for the next film of Yash Raj Films opposite Shah Rukh Khan. If it is not enough to keep your eyes wide open then note that the movie will be directed by legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra himself. Known for his romantic flicks, Yash Chopra will make a comeback in direction after four years and the movie features another legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan. No doubt, the movie could take Katrina Kaif’s acting career to a new high.

Related article:

Indiatarget

Indian Billionaire Anil Ambani to Invest in Steven Spielberg Studio

Indian billionaire Anil Ambani will invest $550m in Hollywood director Steven Spielberg’s big-budget studio. Ambani, the sixth richest man in the world according to Forbes, owns Bollywood production house, Reliance Big Entertainment. Known as India’s media mogul, Anil Ambani has earlier indicated that he is interested to invest in Hollywood.

Steven Spielberg, on the other hand, has already become a legendary figure in Hollywood, presenting some of Hollywood’s highest grossing movies of all time. With three Oscars under his belt, Steven Spielberg is known for some of the big hits of the industry including Jurassic Park, ET etc. Aside from the $550m investment of Anil Ambani, the studio will start with $750m debt.

Guardian reported:

Reliance, which is also picking up cinema chains in the US, is attempting to build a global movie company. "The venture will reflect the new reality in today's world of cinema, where box-office collections for Hollywood movies are much larger outside than in the US," a source was quoted as saying in the Indian press.

The deal is not officially announced yet, but reports have it that the work of Dream Works will begin in January with the initial aim of producing six films per year. However, it is not yet confirmed if Steven Spielberg’s next project Tintin will be produced from his own studio.