AskMen.com announced there list of world’s top 99 most desirable women and it included some of Indian film industry. The list contains celebriteis from all over the world and they are voted for my the readers of AskMen.com. This year list has many new faces and many that have been on the list in the previous years. 
Britney Spears made a reappearance on the list at position 90. While Grey’s Anatomy Katherine Heigl dropped from number one in 2008 to number 81 for 2009, while Anne Hathaway jumped 58 to no. 5. Eva Mendes won the honors of being number 01, with Megan Fox taking the second stop folloed by Marisa Miller in third. From Bollywood it was first timer Katrina Kaif at number 48 while Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ended up at 60th place in 2009, but was no. 27 in 2008.
In an recent survey by Hansa Research, Indian film actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan came out to be most powerful female actor in India, ahead of Priyanka Chopra , Katrina Kaif and even Madhuri Dixit . 
Aishwarya was at par with cinematic legends like Amitabh Bachchan and cricketing star Sachin Tendulkar and was the only female who is part of the top 10 recognized celebrities from all walks of life. The survey also pointed out that Aishwarya is one of the most popular faces among classes as well as the masses.
What do you do when you, accidentally, bang into someone on the road? Flee from the spot? Call for help? Dial the cops? Rush the victim to the hospital?
Pick up a newspaper and chances are you might glance upon a hit-and-run case only too often. ACCIDENT ON HILL ROAD, a remake of STUCK [Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea], raises a few questions in its own way. Perhaps, the intentions were right, but what eventually unfolds on screen isn’t.
The problem with ACCIDENT ON HILL ROAD is that it loses focus after a point and that takes away the seriousness from the issue.
Sonam [Celina Jaitly] is a nurse who accidentally steers her car into the harmless Prakash [Farooque Shaikh], sending him flying through the windshield. Not wanting to jeopardize her future, Sonam, along with her drug-peddling boyfriend Sid [Abhimanyu Singh], chooses not to get him medical help, leaving him clinging to life in her garage.
But soon her psyche begins to unravel as the captor and captive are pitted against each other in a battle for survival.
ACCIDENT ON HILL ROAD had the potential to be a thought-provoking film that pricks your conscience, but what comes across is a half-baked attempt that runs out of steam soon after the intermission. In fact, the film begins quite well and a few moments as well as the twists and turns in the first half do keep you on the edge.
But the writing [screenplay adapted by Mahesh Nair and Siddharth Parmar] is shoddy in the second part and does not yield the desired outcome. The sequences prior to the climax are a complete downer, while the climax is the worst part of the film. The drama fails to become the nail-biting one that it ought to be.
Also, the assorted people that flit in and out of the story [the kid and his mom, the cabbie and the nosey neighbour with a dog] are half-baked characters as well. Pray, why were they included in the first place?
Mahesh Nair’s direction is a shade better than the poor and sketchy script. Also, he is unable to involve the audience in the drama. Ravi Walia’s cinematography is ordinary. The film has just one song [music: Raju Singh] – ‘Nasha Nasha’ – which is quite erotic.
Farooque Shaikh doesn’t get any scope, frankly. One definitely expected more, since the veteran returns to the big screen after a hiatus. Abhimanyu Singh enacts his part well. But it is Celina Jaitly who pitches in a commendable act and catches you by complete surprise.
Mumbai, Jan 1 (IANS) She is overwhelmed by the response to “3 Idiots” and has no regrets about the size of her role in the hit comedy drama. Kareena Kapoor says she is happy to work with Aamir Khan and pleased by the compliments she has received for their pairing.
“Everyone in one voice thinks we look good together. I think Aamir and I make a fantastic pair. I’d love to do another film with him immediately, this time I don’t want share him with other pivotal characters,” Kareena told IANS.
Reacting to the opinion that she hardly has anything to do in ’3 Idiots’, Kareena said: “Who says I’ve nothing to do? I’m very much part of the main drama. Would the story move forward if you remove my character?
“Everywhere I go, I am swamped by compliments for the role. The length of the role didn’t matter. I’m just glad to be part of a historic happening,” she said.
“When Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir asked me to be part of their film, I jumped at it. I knew the film would be special because of Raju and Aamir, and I was right. As far as our cinema is concerned, Aamir is god.”
In fact, talks are on with two leading filmmakers including Mani Ratnam who is apparently set to revive his Aamir-Kareena project “Lajjo”. A.R. Rahman and Gulzar have even recorded the songs.
Looking back on last year Kareena feels happy by the response to her performances in “Kurbaan” and “3 Idiots”.
“Both films are very precious to me. ‘Kurbaan’ was intense, ’3 Idiots’ was more fun. In 2009, I did films with all the Khans…. Salman, Aamir and Shah Rukh – I had a song with him in ‘Billu’ – and of course Saif.”
This time Kareena managed to ring in New Year with her family.
“I’ve been running around frantically promoting my film. And then I was ailing for a week. I decided I had to be well for the festive season. Christmas was a very, very special occasion for my mom and sister. But we never get to be together for the occasion.
“This time I was adamant. I made sure I took time off from work so all us girls could spend time together. My mom and I were here in Delhi to spend time with my sister and niece.
“Karisma and I don’t get to spend that much time together. She has her home and husband in Delhi. My career takes me all over the place. Mom cribs we’re never together. This year-end reunion was something we had promised ourselves from long before,” she said.
Mumbai, After emerging as one of the leading actresses in Bollywood, Priyanka Chopra has been declared India’s top brand endorser in 2009, says a report.
According to the report by TAM AdEX, a division of TAM Media Research, Priyanka, 27, has edged past endorsement giants like skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and actors Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.
Priyanka, who is awaiting the release of her next movie “Pyaar Impossible”, is all smiles.
“I have always strived to give my very best. It has been very fulfilling experience to be the face of some of the best brands. In my mind, the findings of the survey endorse the equal opportunity country that we are emerging. Being a woman is no longer a disadvantage,” Priyanka told IANS.
“It is a humbling recognition and I am grateful for the adulation and unconditional support of millions across the world which is most integral constituent all the successes in every phase of my life,” she added.
Currently, Priyanka endorses a variety of brands including Nokia, Lux, Sunsilk, Levi’s, Hero Honda and Asmi.
These days the former Miss World is busy promoting her romantic-comedy “Pyaar Impossible”, the story of a beauty and a geek. She has teamed up with Uday Chopra in it.
Apart from making her mark in ad world, she has also delivered hit film “Kaminey” and won critical appreciation for her performance in “What’s Your Raashee?”. She bagged a few awards as well.
When Raju Hirani came to me to offer me the role Rancho in ‘3 Idiots’, to tell you the truth, I was scared and petrified to take it up. I instantly told both Raju and Vidhu Vinod Chopra that it was a dangerous decision on their part to have thought of me to play the young college boy in the film, because I was not at all sure whether I would be able to pull off as a college boy.
How were you then convinced to take up the role?
Raju brainwashed me into saying yes to the offer because he felt that I was the real life Rancho in any way and I could bring out the truth in the way the character had been conceived.
Can you elucidate?
Raju told me that I could very successfully pull off as the character of the Assistant Police Commissioner for director John Mathew Matthan in ‘Sarfarosh’, though people were very skeptical about it. Raju also told me that I could pull off as a gaon ka chora in ‘Lagaan’ and shock every one. Raju goaded me to take up the challenge and rise up to the occasion in ‘3 Idiots’ too, like I had done the role oftapori in ‘Rangeela’ after having emerged as a romantic hero with ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’. I had to work a lot physically, because the first and foremost condition laid down by Raju was that I should concentrate a lot on my looks to suit the role.
Is it true that just two days before the shooting started, you asked Rajuto replace you with some other actor?
Yes. Just two days before the shooting was slated to begin, I even rang up Rajuand told him that if only he wanted, he could change his decision and cast a younger actor in the role that he had marked for me, but he did not listen to meand just stuck to his gun.
How was the experience of acting in ‘3 Idiots’?
I would say that I have surprised myself a lot by challenging against the norms as far as I am concerned as an actor in ‘3 Idiots’, thanks to Raju Hirani. In real life, I do not do mimicry so well but Raju asked me to ape Boman Irani for the song ‘Zoobi Doobi’ by studying Boman’s body language. To what extent I have succeeded in mimicking him, you have to tell me after you watch ‘3 Idiots’.
How confident are you of your capability in ‘3 Idiots’?
I did the role of a sensitive professor in ‘Taare Zameen Par’. Then I played a killer in ‘Ghajini’ and now I am playing the role of a college student in ‘3 Idiots’. I hope that I have been able to pull it off too and end up having an encore.
How tough was it for you to market ‘3 Idiots’?
I am of the opinion that every film has its own requirement of marketing. The way I set out to market ‘Taare Zameen Par’ was entirely different from the way I marketed ‘Ghajini’. ‘3 Idiots’ required a different kind of strategy as far as its marketing was concerned.
How would you rate Kareena Kapoor as your co-actor?
Kareena is a wonderful actress. I would unhesitatingly even go to the extent of saying that she is not only very good to look at, but also warm and friendly and spontaneous and fun to work with. Though I had earlier worked with Karisma Kapoor in ‘Raja Hindustani’, I think after working with her in ‘3 Idiots’ I am a li’l pallier with Kareena. In fact, though I was busy with the promotional activities of my own film ‘3 Idiots’, I keenly looked forward to watch ‘Kurbaan’ because I wanted her and Saif to do well, both personally as well as professionally.
How did you achieve the feat of shedding your eight-pack abs for your role in ‘3 Idiots’ after having built your body for ‘Ghajini’?
When I do a film, I go by its requirement. In fact, I wondered how I could succeed in making a body with eight-pack abs like in ‘Ghajini’, in a span of just one year but I transformed myself, thanks to my will power. We have absolutely no idea of human brain. I feel that if you focus your energy at one point, you can succeed in doing whatever you want to do.
Your brother Hyder Ali Khan’s film ‘Trump Card’ is clashing with your film ‘3 Idiots’ on Christmas Day. What do you have to say?
Any one can claim that he is my brother, but the fact is that Faisal Khan is my onlybrother. I do not have any other brother.
Kareena Kapoor tells Jyothi Venkatesh on the eve of the release of her latest film ‘3 idiots’, that Aamir Khanis the Emperor of Bollywood. Kareena Kapoor 
plays a very strong role in ‘3 idiots’. As she puts it succinctly, it isdynamically different from what she had played in ‘Kurbaan’.
“I play the role of Piya, a headstrong girl, who trains to be a doctor. In fact, I’d go even to the extent of stating that Piya of ‘3 idiots’ is more real than even Geet of ‘Jab We Met’ and when you set out to watch Piya in ‘3 idiots’ you will even forget that it is Kareena Kapoor that you are watching on the screen. The father-daughter relationship in ‘3 idiots’ is seen to be believed. Boman Irani plays my father.”
Kareena admits that she has not read the book ‘Five Point Someone’ written by Chetan Bhagat. “In any case, though Vidhu Vinod Chopra has officially bought the right to the book, Raju has written quite a different script for the film and ‘3 idiots’ is not entirely based on the book but a take off from that in Raju Hirani style. Yes. The basic premise has of course been maintained but the characters, the situations and the end are quite different. In fact, there is just a five per cent similarity between the book and what you see on the screen”.
According to Kareena, the campus and the classroom setting for ‘3 idiots’ are the only things that remain true to the book and everything else is entirely different, because the film has a very original plot, which is inspired from the book and not based on the book.
Kareena adds, “What is interesting about ‘3 idiots’ is that I am the only girl in the film though there are three boys - Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi and R.Madhavan. ‘3 idiots’ is like ‘Inglourious Basterds’ or for that matter ‘The Bell’. Every actor wants to be a part of good cinema. I do not think that a film like ‘3 idiots’, in which Aamir Khan and Raju Hirani are together, is something which one can get to see every now and then because it is a very rare film and I am happy that I am a part of it”.
Kareena says that she met Aamir for the first time when she went with Karisma to the location shooting of ‘Raja Hindustani’. “What can I possibly say about an actor like Aamir? Aamir is a cinematic genius and a one man University as far as acting is concerned. I feel that every actor’s journey is incomplete without working with an actor of the caliber of Aamir Khan. Aamir Khan is the emperor of Bollywood and without any hesitation, I would even go to the extent of stating that ‘3 idiots’ is a milestone in my career as an actress”.
Kareena feels that like ‘Kurbaan’, ‘3 idiots’ also will definitely change the face of Indian Cinema to a large extent, because both ‘Kurbaan’ and ‘3 idiots’ have soul in them.
“Unlike ‘Kurbaan’ where the character of Avantika that I played had to relate to her pain in a subdued way, since it was very subtle, Piya of ‘3 idiots’ is dynamicallydifferent”, Kareena quips, as a matter of fact.
Kareena also gushes about her director Rajkumar Hirani. “Raju is such a great man. He is even a greater writer and director. After my grand father who used to show simplicity in all his films it is now only Raju Hirani who is somewhere nearer his league. There’s a smile and tear when Raju sets out to tell his story. I feel blessed and lucky that I have had good directors all through my career, whether it be Imtiaz Ali in ‘Jab We Met’ or Rensil D’Silva in ‘Kurbaan’ or for that matter RajuHirani in ‘3 idiots’. I am now quite excited to be working with Kajol in Karan Johar’s next film directed by Siddharth Malhotra, which is an official remake of ‘Stepmom’ with Arjun Rampal.”
According to Kareena, the five best films of her career are ‘Refugee’, ‘Chameli’, ‘Omkara’, ‘Jab We Met’ and last but not the least ‘Kurbaan’.
“I am happy with whatever growth that I have achieved over the years in the filmindustry from the time that I had made my debut as an actress with ‘Refugee’ but I have always felt that I should keep on growing more and more. We actors are like scientists, who keep on working with different experiments. Some experiments work while some do not. Some times I do a film for the sake of emotion or relationship like I did ‘Main Aurr Mrs Khanna’ but I do not regret a decision of mine even if the film flops, like ‘Main Aurr Mrs Khanna’ or for that matter ‘Kurbaan’ did.”
Sampurn Media
Very few filmmakers break the banalities of usual trite and spell awe-inspiring flicks. If at all, you hankered to experience and feel what a real cinema is, call off your day’s plans and book your tickets for ‘Jail’. Don’t ever presume this flick to be a usual prison drama of protagonist thrown behind the bars, fight against the odd things and finally head for the hills.
Of course, there are certain elements that turn to be already experienced… Nonetheless, asunder in many terms, ‘Jail’ takes us through an unflinching gaze into the melancholic niches of physical and emotional cruelty. In simple terms Madhur Bandharkar stuns us with a riveting testimony of Jailhouse’s enigmatic day-to-day life.
Parag Dixit (Neil Nithin Mukesh) is living a dream life with a great job and his loving girlfriend Maansi (Mugdha Godse)! However things take an ugly turn when after a series of unfortunate events he suddenly wakes up in Jail; handcuffed and randomly beaten up by the cops.
Parag is perplexed and in a place far from his utopian life. He tries hard to face away from the ugly truth and wish it’s all a bad dream but soon succumbs to the prison anarchy. The only salvation he finds is in Nawab, a convict and a warder who believes that Parag is innocent.
Soon, Parag discovers the inner mechanism and the science responsible for the wretched status inside the prison and hordes of broken hearts and shattered souls which grappled to find comfort amidst the four prison walls.
He is left with a choice, to either live a life that controlled and exploited or fight against the system!
Neil Nithin Mukesh throws a performance of ne plus ultra and let himself jumped into the main league of Khans and Kumars now. Naturally, the young actor has been laying his hands over exceptional flicks from his very beginning of career. Be it ‘Johnny Gaddar’ or his previous flick ‘New York’, the young lad is exalting with his overpowering performance. Be the situations when he thirsts for freedom or the emotional outburst in hard times is fantabulous… Mugdha spells a splendid show as she projects at a wider space away from a red-hot model in ‘Fashion’. Finally, we have Manoj Bhajpayee outperforming his very own showcase in Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Sathya’. Delineated as Nawab, he strikes with a Herculean task while Arya Babbar is a best actor to watch out in town.
Madhur Bhandarkar brings you the clear-cut picture about how goons operate their sources outside and how things get worsened for an innocent guy, who never had an idea about what a prison life could be.
Technically, the film lacks the rich musical fiesta that was very much prevalent in Madhur’s ‘Fashion’. No wonder! Things have to suit the drama – that’s a strict order that a filmmaker must follow. Indeed, Madhur has given up his trait by inserting an item song to the drama. Maybe, it’s an order by producers and perhaps, the song is quite impressive.
Marking our verdicts – ‘Jail’ has got more interesting elements that’ll keep arrested your senses. Indeed, it’s a must watch movie for those fed up with commercial films that tends to be beating the same bush.
I cannot wait. How am I to deny myself a summer of following her around the country? Does it make sense not to? I refuse to let my rational brain weigh in on this one.
Here’s a peek at the cover of her new album. Perez was nice enough to post it on his ever popular site.
Recently I’ve been pretty darn inspired to give word burning a go. At some of my more recent art shows I’ve seen a lot of stunning work that combines wood burning and paints. I can’t imagine this being any kind of profitable endevour for me personally, but I am thinking I have a chance at making something beautiful.
I picked up my first wood burning kit yesterday at Michaels (gasp – the horror of it all). I was fortunate enough to get a gift certificate so I didn’t feel all that guilty paying their ridiculously high prices for my newest tool. It sure looks an awful lot like my soldering iron, but a hell of a lot less grungy and beat up.
Stay tuned. More details as this craft develops.
