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| Will Smith: Oscar turn |
It’s a shark’s life
Animation is the name of the Hollywood game these days, at least when it comes to raking it in at the box-office. Shrek 2 proved that, as did Shark Tale, and now The Incredibles is doing it again. But for us in India, after Shrek 2, it?s time for some underwater action with Shark Tale, releasing on the big screen next week.
The DreamWorks film seems to have lived up to all the hype and hoopla, having collected $ 115 million worldwide and $ 154 million in the US. It stayed number one for several weeks in quite a few countries. But there is a catch ? with animation ruling the roost, the adults as much as the children are the targets, so it?s not entirely a kiddie flick.
Smart-talking cartoon characters behaving like real people is the theme here, in Italian mafia style, the little fish versus big fish way. The star cast is headed by Will Smith as the hustler-turned-unlikely little hero Oscar and Jack Black as the gentle great white Lenny. When a lie makes Oscar popular and Lenny?s secret ? he?s a vegetarian shark ? comes out and he is shunned by the community, they become fast friends.
Robert De Niro is Don Lino, Lenny?s father, Renee Zellweger is Angie (an angel fish in love with Oscar), Angelina Jolie is Lola, the half-lionfish-half-dragonfish bar girl, the quintessential vamp that Oscar is mad about, Martin Scorsese is Sykes, the puffed-up puffer fish...
An added attraction is the soundtrack, with special appearances (in fish form) by Christina Aguilera and Ziggy Marley.
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| Divya Dutta: Back in business |
You can?t keep talent tucked away for too long. And that?s why Divya Dutta is back doing some plum projects after being derailed into doing a whole lot of B movies in the recent past. The actress has always shone on the big screen, whether it is in Pamela Rooks? Train To Pakistan or Mahesh Manjrekar?s Pran Jaaye Par Shaan Na Jaaye. And now she has a meaty role in the year?s biggest film Veer-Zaara.
Like most Yash Chopra films, this new love legend too has been totally kept away from the media. And while the film has released on Friday, it may take some time before you can actually watch the movie thanks to the unprecedented advance booking. But if the technicians of the film are anything to go by, Divya is one of the standout performances in the film.
With such big names like Shah Rukh, Preity, Rani, the Big B, Hema Malini, Manoj Bajpai around, to actually make an impression is an achievement in itself. Hopefully in the coming months the talented actress would not be relegated to just dubbing voices for leading stars like she did for Lisa Ray in Vikram Bhatt?s Kasoor.
Just watching news can now win you a European holiday. Unbelievable? You read it right. Watch Khaas Baat on STAR News, and you can actually be on your way to that most exotic of all destinations, Switzerland.
The contest simply titled Khaas Baat, Khaas Contest is all about applying your mind to winning. Just watch the STAR News prime-time special show at 9.30 pm from Monday (November 15) to Friday (November 19) and answer the five questions asked over the five episodes.
One lucky winner will win a six-night-seven-day trip for two people to Switzerland including a first-class Swiss Rail pass for eight days and two mountain excursions in Switzerland courtesy Switzerland Tourism & Swiss International Airlines.
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| Soumitra and Ronodeep: Bloodline |
If anyone was more nervous than little Ronodeep the day he faced the camera for his first telefilm, it was his maternal grandfather. For the 13-year-old has inherited the acting bug and a fondness for films from none other Soumitra Chatterjee. Anjan Dutt?s Amar Baba had Chatterjee and Ronodeep sharing some special moments as co-actors a few months ago.
?The telefilm was about three generations ? a father who brings up his son, and then the son becomes a father? But I came in flashbacks and didn?t get to mouth any lines,? says Ronodeep.
Facing the camera alongside his grandfather was special. ?He was very happy and helped me a lot,? adds Ronodeep, an ardent admirer of his granddad?s films, with Sonar Kella and Koni topping his list of favourites.
Though it his first screen appearance, the Class VIII student of La Martiniere has had a brush with the camera through a string of ad commercials like Horlicks and Vaidyanath Chawanprash.
Of late, he has also taken part in a 36-second spot on social awareness. ?Anjanda had also wanted him to act in Raja Opera a couple of years ago...? says Ronodeep?s mother Poulami, an Odissi dancer.
And though he loves acting and ?would like to pursue it later?, books top Ronodeep?s priority list right now.
