After a strike between Hindi-language movie producers and multiplex owners, Indians are returning to the cinema. But some new Bollywood releases are being anticipated for a different reason -- nudity.
"New York ," charting the reactions of international students in the city on September 11, 2001, opened on Friday and features actor John Abraham in the nude. Abraham's bare buttocks were seen -- briefly -- in last year's "Dostana".
Neil Nitin Mukesh, meanwhile, has stripped for the forthcoming "Jail," as has Maradona Rebello in "Pankh," causing tongues to wag, particularly in the newspaper gossip columns, despite the scenes being tame by Hollywood standards.
Add to that kissing scenes between Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor in "Kambakht Ishq " and Deepika Padukone with Saif Ali Khan in "Love Aaj Kal" and Bollywood would appear to have become as steamy as the monsoon humidity.
But actors and filmmakers say that more graphic "lip-lock" scenes are simply a reflection of changing times, just as Bollywood is branching out from traditional "masala" song and dance movies to tackle more contemporary themes.
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Veteran filmmakers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt on Thursday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to appraise them of the problem of piracy plaguing the Indian film industry and sought urgent intervention of the government.
Singh promised to take "immediate action" to help protect and promote the industry which serves as "India's cultural ambassador", Mukesh told here.
"A committee looking after information, communication and entertainment
will be established and it will be headed by me and include government representatives," Mukesh, chairman of the United Forum for Bollywood Producers and Distributors, said.
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Millions of moviegoers in India recognize the neon signs of Times Square as easily as the Taj Mahal, due to the growing popularity of "Bollywood" movies shot in the United States, particularly in New York.
By making movies in one of the world's most expensive cities, producers risk big losses but can score big rewards by appealing to India's fascination with foreign worlds.
Despite its high costs, New York, more than any city outside India, offers easy access to resources such as Indian extras, trained Indian dancers and Indian production teams, say experts on Bollywood, the $2 billion-a-year industry known for movies featuring elaborate music, costumes and sets.
The term Bollywood combines the names of India's commercial and Hindi film capital Bombay, now renamed Mumbai, and Hollywood, the global center of commercial movie production.
Such films have occasionally been made in cities such as Miami, Johannesburg and Sydney, but nine mainstream Bollywood movies have been shot in New York since 2003, eight of them since 2006 alone. Two more are in the offing.
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It takes a lot to be recognized as a villain capable of acting, and actor Kishore has sure made it to the list. Think ‘Polladhavan ’, ‘Jayam Kondaan’ and more recently, ‘Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu’, as the lanky actor strikes you as an able actor. Apart from being launched as the hero in a film, ‘Porkalam’, Kishore is all set to foray into Bollywood.
The film, yet to be titled, will have Abhay Deol and Shruthi Haasan in the lead, and Kishore has been approached to play the baddie in it. Apart from this, the actor also has an small, yet, important role to act in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavana’ and Vetrimaran’s ‘Aadukalam’.
Besides these, Kishore is also keeping himself busy in Kannada, where he is doing ‘Kallara Santhe’ and ‘Kabadi’, in which he plays a coach.
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