After Phoonk, Ramu to direct Amitabh-Abhishek

As a filmmaker, Ram Gopal Varma is in the thick of giving finishing touches to his latest directorial venture, Phoonk. The brilliant publicity, banking on chilling promos and a superbly designed website have made Phoonk one of the most keenly awaited horror flicks of recent times.

A firm believer in moving on, the iconoclastic Ram Gopal Varma is already focusing on his next big venture that he intends to start. Contrary to concocted fall out stories, it will once again feature his favourite father-son duo of Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan.

While on the same project, Ramu informs that the untitled venture is all set to take off this December. And before the gossip gears get into overdrive, the project is not a sequel to Sarkar Raj.

Akshay v/s Shah Rukh - The war has just begun

Those who thought that Singh Is Kinng taking over an all time opening record set by Om Shanti Om was The war in the happening need to sit tight for some more time. And that's because this is just a beginning. Just a tip of the iceberg which could well be termed as a battle, the months to come would be a witness to a full blow war. And that's because between Akshay and Shah Rukh Khan, there are as many as four films lined up for release in next 6 months.

First to come is Billo Barber where Irrfan Khan is the central protagonist. In a role where his screen duration is believed to be lower than that of Irrfan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan could well call Billo Barber as a film where he is seen in a special appearance. However, Akshay wouldn't be letting off any steam in months to come since his Chandni Chowk To China is all set to arrive on full throttle before 2008 comes to an end.

Shah Rukh too would see some exciting months ahead since his much-in-news film Rab Ne Bana De Jodi would bring him back with Aditya Chopra, who is handling directorial reins once more after Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Mohabbatein. Of course, the project becomes a major biggie just with these two names involved which would ensure that Khan and Kumar would have a 'kaante ki takkar' with the release of their respective films.

However, Akshay is expected to continue his winning streak with Kambakth Ishq, a project which brings Bollywood closer to Hollywood. A lavish affair by Sajid Nadiadwala, the film's shooting is currently on in full swing with the release timeline being the first quarter of 2009. Again, that won't be an end to the war since Khan's Dulha Mil Gaya is all set to release in the same period as well.

No wonder, it is going to be one intensely fought war over the next 6 months.

Singh Is Kinng all set to break OSO record

Till earlier this week, it had seemed that Race and Welcome were the only two films which were under threat of their opening week record (35 crores) to be broken by the release of Singh Is Kinng. However, even though this Anees Bazmee directed film was hot and a sure shot success in the making, it was a wait and watch situation before coming to conclusion around Om Shanti Om record of 40 crores being broken.

However, the wait is over now and it is now going to be just a matter of days before Singh Is Kinng would be crowned as the biggest ever Bollywood openers of all times. All set to surpass the 40 crores and do even better, the film has been minting money by crores with every passing show.

As per sources, collections at the end of first day read a stupendous 8 crores which is the biggest ever for any film released in India. Going by the trend as witnessed for the opening weekends of successful films, 3 day collections should be nothing less than 26 crores. All of this means that getting 15 crores plus in the remaining 4 days of the week is going to be a matter of formality, hence ensuring that 40 crores first week record is broken by a wide margin.

A time-pass affair, the film may not be an exceptional piece of cinema but for those looking at some breezy entertainment, Singh Is Kinng packs in quite some fun for those 2 hours. With audience as well as critics response ranging from OK to decent to good, Singh Is Kinng is bound to go down as the biggest success ever till date for every name associated with it.

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