Ever since she made her debut with the film Slumdog Millionaire, Freida has been creating waves from the film’s victory at the Oscars, to her being signed on for Woody Allen’s next. She is certainly going places. However, the latest news is that Freida has been signed on for yet another Hollywood film War of The Gods.

While Freida has completed her shooting Woody Allen’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger opposite Josh Brolin and Naomi Watts, and Israeli film Miral, which has been directed by Julian Schnabel, she will be working in War of The Gods which is based on Greek mythology and will be directed by Tarsem Singh. It begins production in April.

The story revolves around the warrior Theseus, who leads his men into battle with the Greek gods to defeat evil and the other elder gods in order to save mankind.

Freida who plays a Greek priestess in the film, portrays Phaedra, an oracle priestess who joins Theseus, to prevent the cataclysmic war from erupting.

The film which is scheduled to go on floors this April is being produced by Gianni Nunnari of Hollywood Gang Prods, Mark Canton of Atmosphere Entertainment and Relativity topper Ryan Kavanaugh.

Shah Rukh Khan doesn’t sleep. Or so it seems. He landed in Mumbai on Thursday from Dubai after a show, but shows no sign of strain or jetlag. Just before Dubai the mega-star was in Berlin for the film festival negotiating the attention of hundreds of screaming fans.

What we don’t know is that Shah Rukh met and bonded in Berlin with American auteur director Martin Scorsese and his favourite actor Leonardo Di Caprio.

Says Shah Rukh, “Leonardo, Martin and I spent some time together. Martin was gracious enough to remember that he had met me in Cannes way back in 2002 when I was there for Devdas. He wants to watch Devdas and I’ve promised to send it to him. I’ll do so right way.”

After the glorious performance in My Name Is Khan as a physically-disabled underdog journeying across America on a whimsical mission, Shah Rukh Khan is all set to play the super-hero flying across the sky to save humanity.

True to its mythological title, Ra.1 which starts shooting next month in Mumbai followed by Goa and London, will have Shah Rukh combating 10 villains. Raavan according to Hindu mythology, was a ten-headed demon whom Ram vanquished single-handedly.

In Ra.1, the modern day Raavan has been turned into ten different villains whom super-hero Shah Rukh, the modern day Ram will annihilate one after another.

Shah Rukh Khan seemed remarkably relaxed in Berlin on the day after his film My Name Is Khan opened in Mumbai accompanied by violent protests by the Shiv Sena.

Said Shah Rukh from Berlin, “I missed the opening in Mumbai. But I believe people have liked the film. I’m being told I’m in character. That’s good to hear. Give me a character to be in, and I’m right there.”

The SRK brand of humour was intact when told that My Name Is Khan doesn’t look like a Karan Johar film. At his deadliest deadpan best SRK retorted, “Yeah, even I felt like that when I first saw it. I told Karan, ‘Arrey yaar yeh tum ne kaisi picture banayee hai?’ Actually the three ladies in our lives Hiroo Aunty (Karan’s mother Hiroo Johar), Kajol and Gauri have made this film.”

Getting serious SRK said, “I thought it would take audiences a little time to come to terms with the film. But I am glad it was well-received.”

After playing the under-dog in two successive films Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and My Name Is Khan (we aren’t counting his guest appearance in Dulha Mil Gaya) Shah Rukh will be flying across the sky in Ra.1. The estimated budget of the film to be produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies, is Rs 100 crores. And no Kareena Kapoor won’t be joining him in midair. She plays Shah Rukh’s grounded wife and not a super-woman.

Says a source close to Ra.1, “Kareena was keen to attempt the hi-jinks with Shah Rukh, especially since Agent Vinod where she has a lot of stunts has again been postponed But in Ra.1 all the conflict involves Shah Rukh and the ten villains.”

Shah Rukh along with the film’s director Anubhav Sinha and journalist-writer Mushtaq Sheikh, has co-written Ra.1 and will be credited as one of the writers.

The film will be in Hindi. Says the source, “He was advised to make the film in English. But Shah Rukh decided to make it in Hindi. Why should he pitch his super-hero film to the Western audience when they already have their Superman and Spiderman? Shah Rukh has no aspirations of cracking Hollywood on their terms.”

The film requires the star to perform never-before heart-in-the-mouth stunts, which he’s gearing up to do.

Star-Fox, the American co-producers of Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan are mighty pleased with the outcome of their first international collaboration.

Interestingly, the music in MNIK is not being seen as a hindrance for the international market.

Says Vijay Singh, CEO Star-Fox, “The songs are not lip-sync and they do not hamper the flow of the narrative. The myth that the songs must be lip-sync has been broken. The idea is to push the boundaries and see how far we can take Bollywood. MNIK has raised the bar for Indian cinema. Abroad, my colleagues in LA are surprised by the kind of numbers we’re getting in the US. Khan has performed 2 1/2 times better overseas than any other Indian film. It’s a great moment for Bollywood. Nobody knew what the upper limit for profits was for Bollywood internationally. People leave the theatre with a message in their heart. We all went through some difficult times initially. But that’s all behind us now.”

Singh says the Star-Fox headquarter in LA were watching the progression of MNIK very carefully. “We always believed in the film. Right from Day 1, they were looking at Khan not as a film on issues but an epic love story. That’s what attracted us to the project in the first place. We’ve put the film in different countries keeping in mind the different audiences. In the UK we’ve given it the highest number of prints possible. We worked very closely with Karan Johar and then marketed the film according the cultural requirements of the specific countries. Our colleagues all over the world were taken into confidence. We don’t see the international market as a spill over of the Indian market. We spent money in every market to set up the film keeping in mind the specifics.”

Says Vijay, “Audiences for Indian cinema are changing all over the world. MNIK had the biggest and the best talent in Hindi cinema.”

And now Star-Fox will produce another Hindi film. “This time more of an entertainer on a far less lavish budget but with an underlying message,” promises Vijay Singh.
Tags:My Name Is Khan,Star Fox,Shahrukh Khan,Kajol,MNIK,MNIK pics,MNIK images,MNIK photos,MNIK wallpapers,MNIKnews,MNIK gossips

While animation movies are hugely popular Overseas, they have, with the exception of one or two movies, never really found their niche in the Indian market. But Hollywood giant Warner Bros. and veteran Jyotin Goel hope to bring animation movies in the spotlight with BIRD IDOL, their first collaboration.

Coming from a background of working with big-name stars such as Sanjay Dutt and Juhi Chawla, some might believe that Jyotin took a risk by entering an unproven medium in India. But Jyotin is quick to refute such claims. He believes that there is a huge, untapped market for animation movies in India, as seen by the success of foreign animation films that release here. BIRD IDOL, he promises, will prove to be a game-changer and will open up a new market for Indian films.

Says Jyotin, “BIRD IDOL is a laugh-out-loud riot, combining international quality animation with pure, unadulterated comedy. It creates a fantasy world where the birds of Mumbai are as human as the people who inhabit it. They go to school, watch TV, go out on dates and yes, even watch reality shows, especially the musical show known for making stars overnight - ‘Bird Idol’.”

A collaboration between Warner Bros. and Goel Screencraft, BIRD IDOL reinforces a trend that has taken place in recent years, that of Hollywood and Bollywood coming together. However, this particular collaboration is even more significant as it marks the coming together of one of the oldest banners in Hollywood with one of the oldest banners in Bollywood. The Goel banner was established in 1948 and has innumerable hits to its credit, with movies such as DUS LAKH, EK PHOOL DO MALI and INAAM DUS HAZAAR that are still appreciated today.

Another feature of interest is that, after Devendra Goel and Jyotin Goel, BIRD IDOL also introduces a third generation of the Goel family to the industry. Dev Goel, son of Jyotin Goel, assisted and co-wrote the film with his father. The animation is by Interactive Entertainment P. Ltd., while Sangeet and Siddharth Haldipur provide music.

This summer, rediscover your inner child with BIRD IDOL.
Tags:Warner Bros,Jyotin Goel,Animation,Bird Idol,Goel