Abhishek in Bangalore

thanks to Tyler..
VIDEO
LINK

Amidst incessant flashes of the camera and numerous whispers emerged an extremely good-looking Abhishek Bachchan, looking like a true blue Bachchan in full black. AB Baby who was in town to promote Omega’s new watch played the perfect brand ambassador. Ask him about Mani Ratnam’s much-talked about mega movie Raavan in which he stars opposite his wife Aishwarya and he says, “The experience of shooting with Mani Ratnam is great. We’re still shooting for it and in fact I’m going straight back to shoot for the movie now. We will finish shooting for the film by the end of October and it will be ready for release sometime next year. I’m very excited about it. It’s been a difficult film as it’s a demanding film for any actor. But that’s something you expect from Mani whenever you work with him.”

Shahrukh interview

The Rajni bang at the Shanthi theater in Madras

Madras is the name I grew up with much like ‘Bombay’ and hence I have always offered my own private (or not so private here!) resistance to these name changes..

Ghajini & Delhi 6 at Calcutta’s Paradise Cinema

Bangalore’s ‘ancient’ Elgin Talkies.. as old as the Luimeres in India (1896)

thanks to Aajkaarjun..
a theater Guru Dutt might have loved..

Click on either picture and enlarge for real ‘widescreen’!

Kamal’s 50 and the breeze of Southern film history

Tamil cinema’s biggest superstars and top guns of the southern film industry arrived dot on time for Vijay TV’s Ulaganayagan Kamal 50, held to celebrate Kamal Hassan’s 50 years in cinema.

Welcome to the last show — the view from Calcutta

LINK

Should the single-screen theatre mutate into something else to survive? asks Uddalak Mukherjee

As a child, I lived in a house next to a cinema hall. The single-screen theatre, a box-like building, with stained yellow walls, screened popular Hindi and Bengali films. Rather than the pictures, I remember the sounds that came from inside the building: the whirring ceiling fans, the low hum of the projector, soft murmurs of the hero and his lover, the sudden, piercing shriek of the heroine escaping the growling villain, the thud of the hero’s knock-out punch were interspersed with catcalls, the tinkling noise of soft drink bottles and the occasional loud snores of a bored viewer. The noises made me think that the cinema hall had a life of its own.

Fritz Lang’s ‘M’

one of the great movie posters for one of the great films..

Dadasaheb Phalke for Manna Dey

LINK

STELLAR ROLE: Legendary playback singer Manna Dey gets country’s highest cinema award.

New Delhi: Ninety-year-old playback legend Manna Dey – who belted out evergreen songs like Ae mere pyaare watan and Zindagi kaisi hai paheli – is being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest honour in Indian cinema, his family said on Wednesday.

“We got a call from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Tuesday to inform us about the award (for 2007). He is right now in New York for some cultural programe. He will return to Bangalore on Thursday. We are very happy for him,” said his family member Anuradha Dey.

Bachchan — 527 & 527 (i)

LINK
“Shobha De, the eminent columnist and I were talking at the GQ Awards function and comparing notes on our respective ‘blog passion’ and we discovered that there was so much in common about our views on this new obsession of ours. She said the blog had changed her life almost and that connecting on it to her readers was such a delight that she earnestly looked forward to it almost every day. I could not have agreed with her more. This passion of wanting to be back with you, to share, to express, to receive is by far the most rewarding activity, ever. There is a constant machinery that works in the mind which is ‘blog centric’. Wherever you go, whatever you do this little mental machine works overtime to gather and observe what it can possibly collect for the columns of the post. It is much like the sub conscious computer that works in our brain in registering events in every day life.”

Mysore’s Opera Cinema

apparently this has an unusual ventilation system.. no windows for the air to travel through..

Abhishek’s busy schedule

thanks to Tyler..
LINK

Times are changing and so is Abhishek Bachchan. The actor who has been managing the offices of AB Corp for some time now is ready to release his first film as a co producer. Paa will release on 4 December.

Santosh Sivan’s Varanasi ka Chokra with Ravi Kishan

LINK

While shooting Ravi Kishan through the lens of his camera in the wilderness of Chalakudy in Kerala for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, Santosh Sivan decided to cast Ravi, who plays Abhishek’s brother in Mani’s film, as Varanasi Ka Chokra who falls in love with a visiting Italian girl.

Indian movies dominate Lahore cinemas

LINK

While the Pakistani films have vanished from the cinema, the screening of foreign movies is in full swing these days. Almost every cinema in the City including those located in the Northern Lahore and Walled City known for displaying Punjabi movies, has switched over to either Indian or English film. The cinema-owners are going for the foreign flicks after the Pakistani films failed to attract viewers in a sizable number to sustain the cinema industry.

Qalandar’s Movie Poster Yatra [UPDATED 9/29/09]

[I had omitted the Eros cinema shots in the Mumbai section yesterday. In general, for all the Mumbai theaters I am deeply indebted to Abzee and his father for taking me there -- Qalandar]

In honor of movie poster/theater day on Satyamshot, some shots from trips to India over the last 3-4 years…

In Delhi (February 2006) (“Suhaagan Banaa Das Sajnaa Hamaar”):

Khote Sikkey at Naz Cinema, Lucknow

Feroz Khan’s campy Magnificent Seven inspiration is a fit for the theater if ever there was one! this theater only screens classic films..
real ‘widescreen’ pic here

Bikes and Motor Bikes in Bollywood Movies

I remember the following scenes involving bikes- please feel free to add more

1. Manoj Kumar in Shor- Himmat Na haaar , Chal Chal Chal
2. Aamir and his brother in JJWS
3.Amitabh and Dharmendra in Sholay
4. Rishi kapoor and Rakesh Roshn0 Ram kare- Allah Kare from aap ke Deewne
5 Rajesh Khanna – Zindagai Ek safar- Andaaz( this is the song that gave me the idea for this post)

Sunset Drive-in.. Ahmedabad

Firstly thnks to everyone who has started such a beautiful and romantic nostalgic discussion on theaters but in all post till now drive in was missing and without discussion or knowing it the whole discussion i assume not organic whole or complete.
(below image shows the gigantic screen)

The best movie experience one can have… under the natural enviorment ..observing sunset ..and slowly the screen lighting up..it always magical for me.. Nowhere in India i suppose the same exist as of now (in mumabi it was there earlier but it was flop).. bringing the carpet and pillows and home made food and farsan and water and relaxing under the nature. The walks before the movie starts. its size and lenght always amazes it me. its located at prime place in ahmedabad where if u sell this plot it will be amonmg costliest place in ahmedabad i guess and i was always worried that one day it will be sold after emergence of multiplex culture but it survived and how.

Dutt in Kaushik’s Pithamagan remake?

LINK

Known to make successful Bollywood films from South Indian films over the years, Satish Kaushik has now set his eyes on the 2003 Tamil super hit film, Pithamagan, which he has been wanting to make since a long time.
The original Pithamagan was directed by Bala and starred Vikram who had also won a National award for his performance in the film.

Aishwarya-Abhishek on Oprah (images and video) (updated)

thanks to Tyler..