Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor to get married tomorrow

Mumbai,Oct 16, 2012 - Another pre-wedding related event ofBollywood star couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor was held at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Colaba, Mumbaion Wednesday.

There was a family dinner at Taj Mahal Hotel on Monday evening attended only by members of both the families.

A registered marriage will be held on Tuesday at Saif’s residence in suburban Bandra, which will be a quiet affair.

"The marriage registration will happen tomorrow between 11.30 am and 12pm at Fortune Heights in Bandra," marriage registrar Surekha Rameshsaid.

"The notice had been submitted on September 12 and that they had requested that the registry be held at their residence. For the formalities, we will charge Rs1,000," she said.

After the marriage registration is over, there is a buzz that a reception will be held tomorrow at the Taj Mahal hotel in the evening. This will be followed by another reception in Delhi on October 18. There will be yet another ceremony happening at the Pataudi Palace in Haryana.

Saif and Kareena have been going steady for five years.

The 42-year-old actor has two children — son Ibrahim and daughter Sara — from his previous marriage to actress Amrita Singh.

OMG Oh My God! Movie Review

OMG is a rare kind of Hindi comedy

OMG! official poster

Cast:Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Mithun Chakraborty
Director: Ashvini Yardi
Producer: Akshay Kumar, Ashvini Yardi, Paresh Rawal 

Based on the successful Gujarati play Kanji Viruddh Kanji, also adapted in Hindi as Krishan vs Kanhaiya, which itself drew inspiration from The Man Who Sued God, Oh My God, co-written (with Bhavesh Mandalia) and directed by Umesh Shukla, is a brave and absorbing blend of satire, fable and fantasy that brings our attention to the misuse and commercialisation of religion.

OMG - OH MY GOD! carries a social message, a significant one, but the best part is, it does so without losing the wit and humor. Most importantly, it doesn't get preachy, nor does it deviate into the sermonizing mode. The film demonstrates Kanji as a nastik or a non-believer in God at the very outset, who, paradoxically, uses religion to run his business. The episodes in the first hour raise a chuckle, in fact you wear a smile ceaselessly. The turn of events in the latter part gives the film that extra sheen, thus raising the bar. The courtroom drama is transfixing and the underlying message that God dwells within us is profoundly heartwarming.

Director Umesh Shukla keeps you involved in the on-screen happenings, courtesy an absorbing screenplay. Also, Umesh's choice of actors for supporting roles adds a lot of sparkle to various sequences. On the flipside, the film is stretched in the second half [more towards the final stages]. Also, the execution of a few sequences is plain ordinary. To cite an instance, the introduction of Akshay could've been more dramatic and spectacular.

OMG - OH MY GOD! is the cinematic adaptation of a play, but in keeping with the splendor of Hindi movies and the requirement of the script, the sets/production values [right from Kanji's shop to his Bhuleshwar home to the courtroom] are most appropriate. There's not much scope for songs in the movie, but the 'Go Govinda' song is full-on energetic. 

OMG Oh My God! Review: Star Performances
Paresh Rawal gives a stellar performance as Kanji. He delivers his dialogues so effortlessly and casually that you really cheer for this twisted hero. Akshay Kumar does well as Bhagwan/Krishna but sometimes the writers seem to try too hard to rub it in that he’s the Dark Cowherd. Mithun Chakraborty is a gem as one of the God-men but his stereotypical “broken-wrist” act can make you wince. Govind Namdeo goes a bit over the top as the saffron clad Siddheshwar Maharaj but suits his role. Though Poonam Jhawer doesn’t get much to do as Gopi Maiyya, her very presence will make you grin. Mithun, Govind and Poonam’s characters have some very real life inspirations which makes them all the more fun on screen.
Mahesh Manjrekar is good as the lawyer. Sonakshi Sinha and Prabhu Deva are fun in their guest appearances.

OMG Oh My God! Review: Direction, Music & Technical Aspects

Umesh Shukla does justice to the script with his direction. Amar Mohile’s background music is good. Songs by Himesh Reshammiya, Anjjan – Meet Bros, Sachin and Jigar are alright with Go Go Govinda and Mere Nishaan the only ones that deserve mention. Sethu Sriram’s cinematography is nice. Editing is alright. The special effects are a bit clunky.

OMG Oh My God! Review: The Last Word

For once, there’s a movie that wants you to use your brains instead of just clapping and whistling away at the mindless action/sex scenes. Watch OMG Oh My God also because it has good performances and an interesting concept.

On the whole, OMG - OH MY GOD! is a thought-provoking adaptation of a massively successful play. A movie tackling a sensitive and an untouched subject matter, it will find its share of advocates and adversaries, but the social message the movie conveys comes across loud and clear and that's one of the prime reasons why OMG - OH MY GOD! becomes a deserving watch.

OMG Oh My God! Trailer

OMG Oh My God! releases on 28th September, 2012

Barfi! Movie Review : Barfi! is the most deserving film to go for Oscars,

Romance is never easy. Neither is bringing it to the big screen, though Anurag Basu -- a filmmaker inherently gifted when it comes to visual imagery and metaphor -- is a fine man for the job. 

He can roll up his sleeves and whip out one peachy moment after another, keeping things wonderfully endearing while poking the audience ever so forcefully in the gut with a monkey-wrench.

He is then to be commended for his latest, Barfi!, a film that admirably refuses to yank the sympathy cord. Instead, it creates genuine characters and a truly charming relationship before, alas, one of his lead characters chooses not to follow the director's example and instead mistakes sympathy for love, making for a lesser film than it deserved to be.
Barfi! might have started off a certain way, but pulls up well short and -- as we were told before the beginning of (500) Days Of Summer -- "this is not a love story."

A well-crafted script with an intriguing back-and-forth narrative -- set in the present day, 1978 and 1972 -- Barfi! intrigues, right to the point somewhere down the middle, when it becomes more than apparent exactly what the film's story is, after which all goes south. The film's naïveté starts to wear thin, previously cast spells now appearing repetitive as the movie tragically falls into the very traps of mawkishness and manipulation it avoids so, so adroitly through the start. 


Basu has always been a very solid storyteller, but here the germ of the story -- the very chunk of plot the film is woven around -- is what lets him down, proving to be predictable and ineffective, paling in comparison to the dreamy dalliance he forges so smoothly early on.

And yet so impressive and earnest are most parts of Barfi! that one is inclined even to forgive its flawed centre; we want badly to overlook the film's peach-seed heart, and concentrate on the rest of its juicy joys. And these it provides in abundance.

Named after the once-ubiquitous old-timey Murphy Radio sets, the deaf-mute Murphy is born in Darjeeling to a chauffeur and his wife who dies moments after childbirth. An exceedingly sprightly fellow -- the sort who would constantly whistle if only he could hear himself do so -- the film's leading man has much silent-movie charisma as he, goofily and gorgeously, wins over everyone from townspeople to audience members. He introduces himself with an eventually shrill but sweet "brrpheee" sound, and thus the world calls him Barfi. And one fine, bracing afternoon, this Barfi falls quite madly in love, hook, line and sinker.

The object of his affections is a young Bengali girl new to Darjeeling, and from what we see and the loving way Basu and his superbly fluid cinematographer Ravi Varman capture their actress, we can't blame the boy an ounce. Shruti Ghosh -- a striking girl with disarming, Bambi-sized eyes -- is soon grateful for Barfi's magic touch, and the chord the two strike, as they share bicycle seats and horse-saddles, is one of rare tenderness. Yet all is never as idyllic, and there is much concern, involving engagement rings to the kidnapping of an autistic young woman called Jhilmil (which is that central plot, fashioned purely out of hokum.) And things change gears faster than Barfi or those of us rooting for him would like.And Barfi's as irresistible as they come. Played by Ranbir Kapoor [ Images ] with that marvellous abandon which is increasingly marking him out to be a truly special leading man -- his shoulders well outgrowing those of (all) his A-list peers and rubbing now alongside actual acting heavyweights -- his Barfi is a treat, a bushy-tailed hero with a highly infectious spring in his step. There is a natural grace to his klutziness, and he does very strongly indeed with this Chaplin-tribute role, bestowing his character with heart every step of the way. To paraphrase the radio hoarding seen in nostalgia-tinted Darjeeling, Kapoor's Barfi "sets the standard."

It is a bravura performance, highlighted by a particularly vulnerable outburst where Barfi momentarily drops the smile and would really, really like to yell.

Ileana D'Cruz, as the pretty Ghoshling narrating the film, does brilliantly. Her character is a trickily nuanced one, simple yet committed, indecisive yet brave, and the most real of the bunch, and she makes it work, using the silences expressively, heartbreakingly well, and really making her romance with Kapoor magical. A scene where the two kiss, as wordless as the rest of the film, is a moment of absolute perfection.

Rupa Ganguly does well as Shruti's mother -- even though I personally suspect her one dramatic line is a convenient fib --and Saurabh Shukla [ Images ] is great as a heavy, harrowed cop.

As Jhilmil, Priyanka Chopra [ Images ], god bless her soul, does indeed try valiantly to play autistic, but -- trapped not just by the film's most flawed character and plotline -- makes that cardinal mistake expressed so unforgettably in Tropic Thunder: she goes full retard. She's not bad, even very effective in a couple of scenes, but her character belongs to a different film. (Ideally a shorter one, because it does drag this one down.)

Barfi, Shruti, Jhilmil… The warmth doesn't stop there. A police station is called Sleep, a shelter is called Smile. And as we see a fugitive hero hijack a crucial ride almost as an afterthought, it's hard not to get swayed.

Two of my favourite moments in Barfi! involve deft cinematic sleight of hand: we see a hand painting a canvas, and, as the camera pulls out, realise its not the one we assume; much later, another hand tugs on a shirt, and here too we are fooled by it belonging to another. The misdirection is skilful and pleasing, but I do wish the beautifully beguiling beginning hadn't turned out to be an example of the same.

Opened: Sept. 14, 2012
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz, Priyanka Chopra, Saurabh Shukla
Director: Anuraj Basu
Screenwriters: Anurag Basu, Sanjeev Datta
Producers: Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur
Director of photography: Ravi Varman
Costume designers: Aki Narula and Shefalina
VFX: Pixion
Sound designer: Shajith Koyeri
Editor: Akiv Ali
Music: Pritam Chakraborty
Not rated, 120 minutes

Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha commits suicide

Mumbai: Legendary singer Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha who was suffering from depression, committed suicide on Monday. 

She shot herself in the head, police said. The incident occurred around 12.30 p.m.

A singer and columnist, Varsha, 56, shot herself in the temple with a pistol of Belgian make at her residence in 'Prabhu Kunj' apartments on posh Peddar Road in South Mumbai.

She has not left behind any suicide note, Additional Commissioner of Police (South) Krishna Prakash said, adding police are trying to find out in whose name the pistol was registered.

She was alone in the house at the time of the incident, police said.

Prakash said Varsha's maid servant Deepali Mane knocked on the door of Bhosle's house around 10 am but no one answered.

Worried, she contacted Asha Bhosle's driver who told her that Varsha might be sleeping. After some time the maid went to the flat again but nobody opened the door.

The driver then entered the flat through Asha's elder sister Lata Mangeshkar's adjacent flat and found Varsha lying in a pool of blood on a sofa. Police were called in and Varsha was taken to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead, the officer said.

Varsha had married a sports writer and public relations professional but the couple divorced in 1998, sources close to the family said.

Prakash said police had learnt that Varsha wanted to start an orphanage with famous fashion photographer Gautam Rajadakshya, who passed away last year.

Varsha, who was said to be very close to Rajadhyaksha, was distraught after his death and was under medication for depression.

Asha Bhosle, who is away in Singapore, has cut shot her stay and taken a flight back, sources close to the family said.

Meanwhile, the body has been taken to J J Hospital for post mortem, police said. 

Varsha had attempted suicide in September 2008 by consuming a dangerously high dose of sleeping pills.

The Bhosle family had kept mum on the reason behind the suicide attempt then. But it is being believed that a private problem had been troubling Varsha for long.