News4u – Entertainment Desk : (PTI) Karan Johar is known for his tear-jerkers like ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ but the producer says his upcoming film ‘We Are Family’ is not a melodramatic film.

“The film is not melodramatic. There are emotions but there light moments too,” Johar told PTI.

Directed by debutant Siddharth Malhotra, the film is a Hindi adaptation of Julia Roberts starrer 1998 hit film ‘Stepmom’ and stars Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal in the lead roles. The film releases this Friday.

Johar said he decided to rope in Malhotra for the ambitious project because the young director brought sensitivity to the story.

“Siddharth has brought in an inherent sensitivity to the story, which is an insight into the life of a modern Indian family,” Johar added.

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News4u – Entertainment Desk : After the encouraging and positive response to his latest release ‘I Hate Luv Storys’ , Imran Khan is back in business. The actor has finally found that one hit that was eluding him for a while now and it has come courtesy this rom-com from the Dharma Productions banner.

Even as ‘I Hate Luv Storys’ continues to run to packed houses, Karan Johar has already gone ahead and signed Imran for yet another film. The film in question will be directed by debutant director Shakun Batra who has worked as an assistant director on films like ‘Rock On’ and ‘Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na’. Meanwhile, the buzz is that Kareena Kapoor may come on board as the female lead for this project. If that happens then it will indeed be a casting coup of sorts.

Imran, who has always confessed to being a huge fan of Bebo, will surely be super excited at the prospect of working with her that too in a Karan Johar production. Let’s hope this one gets rolling soon. Screen

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News4u-Entertainment Desk-courtsey TOI– Jay Dhingra (Imran Khan) is an aaj ka chokra. He turns up his nose at anything that remotely resembles soppy sentimentality, even though he works as an assistant to a film maker (Samir Soni) who peddles the most improbable mush on screen.

Inspiration: All of Karan Johar films!

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Filmmaker Karan Johar, who has taken the responsibility of remaking his father YashJohar’s 1990 film Agneepath, says the new version will be tweaked a bit to make it suitable for the modern audience.

The producer-director has roped in newcomer Karan Malhotra to helm the remake that starred Amitabh Bachchan in the lead.

Johar, who is currently busy promoting home production ‘I Hate Luv Storys, is yet to announced a release date for the movie. “The current status around Agneepath is that the film’s screenplay has been finalised. I am mighty excited about the work that has gone in because it is beyond anything that I have done in the past,” Johar said.

“Keeping today’s sensibilities in mind, we are tweaking it appropriately as well. Karan Malhotra is looking at the film differently and hence we wanted to invest a good amount of time in getting the screenplay perfect,” he added.

Speculation is rife that either Hrithik Roshan or Abhishek Bachchan will play the role, immortalised by Amitabh. But Johar says he is yet to decide on the star cast. “No one has been finalised yet for ‘Agneepath’. When an announcement has to happen, it will be official,” Johar said.

The filmmaker says his father was disheartened by the box-office failure of the movie that has now acquired a cult status thanks to Amitabh’s ‘Angry Youngman’ persona. “My father was quite attached to the film and he was truly disheartened when the film didn’t work at the box office. It is such an irony that though it didn’t connect with the audience then, today it is being hailed as a classic,” Johar said.

“It is my ambition and dream to fulfil my father’s dream to ensure that the story reaches out to the widest possible audience through theaters.”

After the release of Imran Khan-Sonam Kapoor starrer I Hate Luv Storys, Johar will get busy with the sequel toDostana, shooting of which is beginning soon. ”Dostana 2 rolls in July this year and releases in the summer of 2011″, said Johar who has entrusted Tarun Mansukhani to hold the megaphone once again for the sequel.

“Abhishek (Bachchan) and John (Abraham) are the leading men while Katrina Kaif would be the female attraction,” he added.

What is the status of ‘Koochie Koochie Hota Hai’, an animation remake of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ that was also to be directed by Tarun Mansukhani? “We would have to wait a while for that. It is tough to project the exact timelines for it as of now,” he said.

Filmmaker Karan Johar

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Director Ram Gopal Varma has infuriated Karan Johar again by expressing a desire to remake Raavan as My Name Is Raavan. The two filmmakers, who make no secret of their dislike, used twitter to hit back at each other.

“I want to remake Raavan and I want to request Mani to remake Aag,” Varma wrote about Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. “I got a better idea.. I will make My name is Raavan and Mani should make Raavan ki Kurbaan,” said Varma, taking a pot shot at Karan Johar’s recently released films My Name Is Khan and Kurbaan.

Varma also commented on Shah Rukh Khan’supcoming superhero film Raa.1. “Let’s all hope and pray that Raa.1 does not become SRK ki Baarish,” he added.

To which, Johar tweeted: “@RGVzoomin…you have an amazing sense of humour ramu!! Never shows up in your films though.”

Not the one to be left behind, Varma shot back, “@kjohar25 ha ha karan because of the constant bashing I receive I developed my sense of humour as a defense mechanism (sic).”

The whole argument started when Varma commented on the unfavourable reactions to Ratnam’s latest film. “I have to bear with my flops and then also with everyones flops because whenever whoever’s flop comes they invariably compare it with Aag. For Tashan they said it’s Aditya ki Aag. For Chandni Chowk… they said Akshay ki Aag. For Kites they said Hritik ki Aag and now its Mani (Ratnam) ki Aag,” the director said.

“Well am happy that if not for anything else I at least set a bench mark for flops. Also I realised that now Aag has become more popular then Sholay…that is because a hit like Sholay comes once in a life time and a flop like Aag comes every few months,” he added.

The war-of-words between Varma and Johar is not new. It all started when Varma remarked that the scariest film he had ever seen was Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. The comment didn’t go down well with Johar.

Filmmaker Karan Johar

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News4u-Entertainment Desk-Ayesha Takia Azmi, who is married to well-known entrepreneur Farhan Azmi, is planning to open a chain of cafes called ‘Chai Coffee’. The first outlet is expected to open in Versova, Mumbai.

ANJAANA ANJAANI, starring Ranbir Kapoorand Priyanka Chopra and directed by Siddharth Raj Anand, is almost complete, except for a 3-day shooting. Since the makers couldn’t get permissions to shoot on a bridge in U.S.A., the portions are currently being shot in Malaysia.

While on ANJAANA ANJAANI, although the release of the film has been fixed for 1st October, Siddharth is keen to bring it in July, almost three months before its scheduled date.

Karan Johar and debutante director Siddharth Malhotra are still searching for the right title for their film, starring Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. In fact, both Karan and Siddharth have asked netizens on Twitter to come up with an apt title, but haven’t found one yet.

Ayesha Takia, Ranbir Kapoor and Karan Johar

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News4u-Entertainment Desk-Best buddies Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar have co-hosted many Bollywood award functions in the past and now for the first time ever the duo will be seen hosting the grand IPL Awards scheduled to take place on April 23rd in Mumbai this year. The announcement was made by IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi at a function in Mumbai on Wednesday.

With the whole nation being gripped by the IPL frenzy, the organizers have decided to come up with the first ever IPL Awards which will recognize the best performances and honour the best players of the IPL. Some of the categories are Best Batsman, Best Bowler, Best Fielder, Best IPL Debutante, Most Consistent Performer, Most Dramatic Performance and Breakthrough Performance. The winners in these categories will be selected by an esteemed jury comprising of Lalit Modi, Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Harsha Bhogle, Javagal Srinath and umpire Simon Taufel. Apart from the jury awards there is also a separate section for the Viewers’ Choice Awards where cricket fans will get to vote for their favorite performers from the IPL.

In true IPL style, the evening will be a fusion of cricketing and entertainment excellence, with some of India’s biggest names, including AR Rahman, Shilpa Shetty, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Hrithik Roshan, set to deliver their trademark energy and style. Besides, the event will also feature performances by some leading cricketers, who will show they are equally talented off the field too.

With the who’s who of the cricketing and entertainment world in attendance, this high profile event surely seems like the perfect finish to what has been a fantastic 45 days of non-stop entertainment.

SRK and Karan Johar to host first ever IPL Awards

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News4u-Entertainment Desk-My Name Is Khan is just a few hours away from release and the obvious question that comes to mind is around the box office outcome of the film. With 3 Idiots setting such high standards at the box office and breaking the ceiling, doesn’t it put an additional pressure on MNIK to perform further well?

It seems like this was the only ammunition that was waiting to find a way on the battlefield because Karan gets all fired up at this juncture. “I don’t know why write-ups around one film taking a bigger opening than another or whether MNIK would be able to reach the highest slot when it comes box office openings keep appearing without any rhyme or reason. The kind of films that we are seeing today are all different from each other. Veer was different from 3 Idiots, just like My Name Is Khan is different from Veer. You can’t be comparing a Guzaarish with a Kites. Or you can’t be picking up a Raajneeti and start drawing comparisons with 3 Idiots. This is why I don’t like the entire comparing business because all films are different from each other.”

Calming down, he further goes on to extend his logic around difference in expectations that one must have when looking at two major films, “First and foremost we should be cognizant of the fact that comparing two entities never helps. A film should be allowed to breathe in the way it deserves to. Yes, now if only I would have made a film in a campus with students as my heroes then perhaps I may have compared it with 3 Idiots. But then just like you could never compare a Lagaan with a Dil Chahta Hai, similarly you can’t ever compare MNIK with 3 Idiots or any other film.”

Meanwhile, Karan is happy to be following the ‘mantra’ of making quality films without worrying much about their blockbuster fate.

“At Dharma Productions, we have great vibes amongst us”, says Karan, “Everyone is quite passionate about filmmaking and we believe that we should always make films that we are proud of. Commercial success is important but not at the expense of something that would make us cringe later.”

No wonder, most of the first time filmmakers working with Karan are happy to be working in an environment that challenges as well as motivates them to make something worth remembering.

“I never ask my directors to give me a film that would fetch me 80, 100 or 120 crores. Once you do that, you only end up putting pressure on the poor guy. Instead, I want them to focus entirely on the subject in front of them and leave the box office in the hands of audiences. This is what Ayan Mukerjee did with Wake Up Sid and look how he passed with flying colours both critically and commercially. Similar was the case with Rensil D’Souza who ensured that there is definite quality component to Kurbaan”, concludes Karan with a tone of appreciation.

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News4u-Entertainment Desk-agencies-Facing Shiv Sena threat ahead of the release of ‘My Name Is Khan’, filmmaker Karan Johar met Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandan, who assured him that adequate security will be provided.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan also promised a smooth release of the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer, set to hit theatres this Friday.

Notwithstanding Sena supremo Bal Thackeray stating that the film’s release will not be disrupted, movie posters were removed at some places in the city.

The Sena had earlier threatened to stall the screening of the film, protesting Khan’s support for inclusion of Pakistani players in the upcoming IPL.

Chavan said he had told the Police Commissioner to ensure full proof security arrangements. “The distributors and exhibitors are also in touch with me. We will see that the film runs smoothly. There should not be any law and order problem.”

Johar, who has directed and co-produced the film with Khan, met Sivanandan along with film’s distributor, FOX Searchlight and multiplex owners, to seek protection for the audience and theatres screening the movie.

“Adequate security personnel will be deployed at theatres where the film will be screened in the city. We have assured full protection to the distributors, exhibitors and to film maker Karan Johar,” Joint Commissioner of Police Himanshu Roy said.

“Their concern was that there were some moves by some political parties suggesting ban on the film. They told us that they have received some calls (threatening) in this regard,” Roy said.

If required, viewers might be asked to produce their identity cards before entering the theatre, Roy said adding that a final call in this regard will be taken later.

The 37-year-old Johar said he met the police chief to get a personal assurance on the smooth release of his film.

“We came here to get a personal assurance on the security concerns regarding the screening of the movie and the police have assured us full security. The movie will be released on the scheduled date and advance bookings are open nationwide,” he told reporters after the meeting.

‘My Name Is Khan’ centres around a Muslim man from India with Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism). He falls for Mandira (Kajol), a successful Hindu single mother but the lives of this couple get impacted in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US.

Khan and Kajol, one of Bollywood’s most successful onscreen pair, have come together after a gap of eight years in the film. They were last seen together in ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’, also directed by Johar.

Karan Johar has sought police security ahead of the film's release

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News4u-Entertainment Desk-agencies-Director Karan Johar will release his much awaited film ‘My Name Is Khan’ across the globe in a phased manner.

Phased releases, where a film is not released simultaneously in all countries but instead travels in a planned manner over a period of time, is an established norm in the west and now Johar too is following the same strategy for his ambitious project which has been made keeping in mind a global audience.

“‘My Name Is Khan’ will have a two phase release. To begin with, we would have a mainstream release in India coupled with a regular Diaspora release in UK, US, Gulf, Australia etc.

“After that in the months of April and May, we would be looking at a mainstream theatrical release in countries like Germany, Poland and other parts of North America,” details Johar who has massive plans in place for further promotion of this Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol starrer en route it’s release.

Ever since its announcement, there has been a huge amount of curiosity building around ‘My Name Is Khan’, courtesy the coming together of Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.

The film fetched some great deals with none less than Fox Searchlight Pictures picking up the rights for its worldwide marketing and distribution.

A co-production of Johar and Gauri Khan, ‘My Name Is Khan’ releases all over India on 12th February.

Director Karan Johar

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