Double Diesel take

It’s a Vin-Vin situation on the big and small screens. The man with the shaven head and the famous grunt stars in a new film on the silver screen while one of his best-known movies airs on TV.

Rev up with Van Diesel’s XXX on HBO on September 15 at 6.30 pm. That’s the movie that made the Diesel pate (arguably) shine brighter than Bruce Willis’. Diesel plays Xander XXX Cage, a fearless thrill-seeker yet untouched by law. Arguing that Cage will succeed where others have failed, a US government security agent (played by Samuel L Jackson) recruits him to infiltrate an underground Russian crime ring, the bait being a prison term waiver. Guns, gore and grunts follow.

Catch the action man on the big screen in The Chronicles of Riddick at INOX Forum till September 9. Chronicles is the sequel to Pitch Black, in which Diesel returns as anti-hero Richard B Riddick. Set in the distant future, Pitch Black was about a spaceship crash and how its survivors, including criminal Riddick, resist the attack of alien creatures.

In Chronicles, Riddick, on the run from mercenaries, finds himself on planet Helion. The planet is under attack from a zealot called Lord Marshal and his army of warriors. Riddick must save himself and the planet. Also starring Judi Dench.

Perizaad: Jogging ahead

Live from London

One star with a Calcutta connection (Jogger’s Park with Victor Banerjee, Devaki shot in the city and districts…) taking the world by storm is Perizaad Zorabian. Currently in London shooting for Laurens Postma’s Exits and Entrances, Perizaad is not only having an “absolute blast” on the sets, she is making friends and fans by the dozens.

“Things are going great,” she told Metro. “It feels great to be part of this very, very international team. The shoot has been light and easy so far and I am dying to start with my big scenes.”

Playing Miss India in the film, Perizaad is going through a whole lot of rehearsals prior to the shoots and is loving every moment. “I had the most fabulous of rehearsals with the rest of the cast and like all the great actors that I have worked with, they are all down to earth and really helpful. No starry tantrums, no one-upmanship... it’s just pure passion for the art.”

The bubbly actress, who recently finished shooting for Bengali boy Bappaditya Bandopadhyay’s bilingual film Devaki, is also ga-ga over her British director. “Laurens is a good man, who is full of fun and keeps it light. There is so much positive energy around him that it makes the whole process of developing a character exciting.”

Back on the Indian screen, Perizaad has done an item number for a film named Satya Bol. “I did it for my first director Sanjay Upadhyay. He had directed me in Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye, my only television soap and I consider him my greatest teacher. When he asked me to do this song for his debut film, I said yes straightaway. This is my way of giving back to him all that he’s given me.”

Xiaolin Showdown: New show on block

Comic capers

More good news for kids (and grown-ups, too!) as Cartoon Network and Pogo launch new shows.

Xiaolin Showdown premiered last Saturday on Cartoon Network and will be on every week at 1 pm. It’s a mystical, comical, adventure series that follows the global escapades of four young but wise monks trained in the art of kung-fu. Led by Omi, a gifted Xiaolin Dragon-in-training, they seek to protect sacred ancient power objects that hold the key to magical superpowers.

On Pogo Premieres, catch ALF (Monday to Friday at 7 pm). Gordan Shumway, the last-known survivor of planet Melmac, crash-lands his spaceship into the Tanner family’s suburban garage, who lovingly name him ALF (Alien Life Form). ALF’s antics include getting after the cat at home and calling up the President on Air Force One, as he adds zip to the lives of those around him.

More laughter follows on Pogo with Gilligan’s Island (Monday to Friday, 8 pm). It’s a show about a crazy group including Gilligan, the skipper of a ship, a millionaire and his wife, a movie star and a professor, stranded on an uncharted deserted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Watch the amusing antics of Gilligan as he foils every attempt of the castaways to get off the island.

Knowledge march

After shuttling around everywhere from Mumbai to Colombo, the popular telly quiz show The Cadbury Bournvita Quiz Contest marches into the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehra Dun this time. The all-Asia Finals of the “continent’s longest-running knowledge game show for children” will have the historic Chetwode Hall as backdrop.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be just quizzing at the Academy. From 5 am, bugle calls and morning drills to anti-tank vehicles at the rifle range and microlight flying, quiz master Derek O’Brien and the brainy battalion will dig into life in the army at India’s premier military training institute. They would also discover the serene beauty of the picturesque hills of north India — from the misty mountains of Mussoorie to the lush green basmati fields.

Of the 27 Asian schools participating in this year’s show, three are from Calcutta — Ashok Hall, Don Bosco (Bandel) and St Augustine’s. Apart from the quiz, the Cadbury Bournvita Confidence Champions will also showcase India’s bright young confident minds on the small screen. And here, too, there are two Calcuttans: Ameetosri Basu from Modern High School and Mayank Singhal from South Point High School.