odadune
Star of the item number
 
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Jun 13, 2015 22:35:58 GMT
In early 2007, director-producer Vipul Shah released a film called Namastey London, which was a homage to/modernization of the old patriotic family drama/romance hybrids like Purab Aur Paschim. It was only modestly successful at the time, but it became a cult hit, and crystallized the naughty-but-nice, exotic-but-girl-next-door screen persona of its leading lady, Katrina Kaif, and helped catapult her to stardom. It also kicked off a year of hits for its leading man Akshay Kumar, pushing him from the upper B-list into the A-list of Bollywood. Vipul has been trying to put together a thematic sequel (ie, same type of story, different characters) for a number of years but this time it looks like it might finally happen: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Akshay-Kumar-to-be-directed-by-Vipul-Shah-in-Namastey-England/articleshow/47655625.cmswww.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/hindi/Sequel-to-Namastey-London-Soon/2015/06/13/article2864803.eceFor a while in 2013 they were toying with the idea of a love triangle with two heroines, with Vipul apparently fantasizing about casting Katrina and Deepika, but the news items above merely mention a "performance oriented" heroine role and seem to imply that they are in the advanced stages of casting the female lead. If it gets off the ground, it will begin shooting either 4Q2015 or 1Q2016, with location shoots in London, the Punjabi region of India, and parts of continental Europe. I found the first one to be a likable movie with some flaws (notably a slow first half, a hostile and cartoonish portrayal of Christians, and a hero who's initially pretty insensitive towards the heroine although he's much nicer in the second half), and since I'd like to see Akki in a reasonably good romance movie with modern production values before he turns fifty, I'm pleased with this development. I will be more pleased if the heroine turns out to be someone cool, and the director of photography knows his or her job. Edited to reflect latest news: Akshay bowed out, allegedly due to date issues, and Vipul Shah is instead making the film with Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra (and without whatever figleafs of plot justification he may have had planned for the version with the pushing-fifty-years-old male lead). There was some talk about making it as "Namastey Canada" because Akshay had the rights the Namastey England title but that has now been sorted out.
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sady
Hit playback singer
  
Posts: 1,876
Favorite actor: SRK, Prabhas, Naga Chaitanya, Nivin Pauly
Favorite actress: Kajol, Sonam, A. Shetty, Tamannaah, Kangana
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Simran, Rani of Jhansi, Veere Di Wedding, Padman, Saaho
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Post by sady on Jun 17, 2015 18:04:04 GMT
It would be nice to see Katrina alongside Akshay in a movie. They looked nice together.
It would be a casting coup to Deepika and Katrina in a movie together. What with their personnal equation. Also, they are the most popular actresses of their gen. Sadly, this will stay a fantasy for the director.
I wonder who thet'll take for the female lead... Parineeti? Sonakshi?
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odadune
Star of the item number
 
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Jul 1, 2015 1:53:46 GMT
News item claiming that a music/film outfit has acquired the distribution rights for around 75 crores. indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/world-wide-rights-of-akshay-kumars-namastey-england-sold-for-rs-75-crores/The company involved might be T-Series or, less likely, Sony, but either way those are companies that are likely to make sure the soundtrack is worth listening to. The price, though not cheap, is not quite as extravagant as the article makes it sound-this is in the same price range that Gabbar was sold to Viacom18 for, back when it was in production in 2014, and unlike the Gabbar deal it appears to include music rights. As to what this implies about the state of the heroine casting...I don't know. Feel free to speculate. ETA: This news item has the title as Namastey UK (so, they're planning on visiting Scotland this time? Or Wales?), confirms that it will only start after Before I Go To Sleep is completed, and is produced by T-Series (headed by Bhushan Kumar): supercinema.co.in/2015/07/18/and-more-on-vipul/
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sady
Hit playback singer
  
Posts: 1,876
Favorite actor: SRK, Prabhas, Naga Chaitanya, Nivin Pauly
Favorite actress: Kajol, Sonam, A. Shetty, Tamannaah, Kangana
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Simran, Rani of Jhansi, Veere Di Wedding, Padman, Saaho
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Post by sady on Aug 4, 2015 15:38:12 GMT
The makers seem to want Kangna on board. Apparently, the female lead will have a double role
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odadune
Star of the item number
 
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Aug 4, 2015 17:37:01 GMT
The makers seem to want Kangna on board. Apparently, the female lead will have a double role Well, the dual role as part of a love triangle as demonstrated by Tanu Weds Manu Returns has a few advantages-you only have one ego and one paycheck to deal with instead of two, for instance, and it gets you major brownie points with the critics. So long as they don't try to borrow any of TWMR's stupider ideas, like the male character being a jerk, they should be good. I don't feel strongly about seeing Kangna, who's talented but no particular favorite of mine, opposite Akki (whom the producers are supposedly in "advanced negotiations" with), but on paper she's consistent w/what they seem to want/need: a popular performance oriented heroine who is sort of borderline age-appropriate to the male lead* but brings some novelty value because she hasn't been paired with him before (she did have a bit part in Garam Masala though). I also have somewhat more faith in her script sense than in Vipul's or Akshay's. *Kangna claims to be 28, but there are news items going back to 2009 that claim a 1981 birthdate for her, which would put her in her mid-thirties.
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Post by dancelover on Aug 4, 2015 20:17:34 GMT
Perhaps they are re-making Sheridan's "The Rivals" with genders reversed. D. I was trying to snip Sady's post, and keep Odadune's reply which I was replying to.
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aspiringfilmmaker
Junior artiste

Posts: 87
Favorite actor: Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, SRK, Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra
Favorite actress: Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Shraddha Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Kriti Sanon
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Brothers, Dilwale, All is Well
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Post by aspiringfilmmaker on Aug 7, 2015 1:55:46 GMT
The makers seem to want Kangna on board. Apparently, the female lead will have a double role I sure hope not - as great of a performer as Kangana Ranaut is, I'm really getting tired of seeing her in these loud and hyperactive characters - Revolver Rani, TWMR (both roles), and Katti Batti. She could have easily done the same thing in Queen but underplayed her character beautifully. Hopefully she gets to play a much more mature, restrained character this time around, though I highly doubt it considering the theme of the first film, Namastey London.
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odadune
Star of the item number
 
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Aug 7, 2015 12:07:15 GMT
The makers seem to want Kangna on board. Apparently, the female lead will have a double role I sure hope not - as great of a performer as Kangana Ranaut is, I'm really getting tired of seeing her in these loud and hyperactive characters - Revolver Rani, TWMR (both roles), and Katti Batti. She could have easily done the same thing in Queen but underplayed her character beautifully. Hopefully she gets to play a much more mature, restrained character this time around, though I highly doubt it considering the theme of the first film, Namastey London. Well, I certainly hope they're not planning to make the heroine too far over the top, both because Jazz from Namastey London was one of the more nuanced and low-key of Katrina's bubbly girl-next-door roles, and because Vipul Shah proved with Action Replayy that he could not direct over-the-top sequences to save his life. I am not a fan of Kangna's work in Queen-I thought the character came off as priggish and dull, and I say that as someone who's a lot more like Queen's Rani than like Queen's Vijaylakshmi.
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Post by dancelover on Aug 7, 2015 17:07:17 GMT
My list shows KR as born in 1987, the same year as Sonakshi, Shraddha, Genelia, Ileana. Wikipedia & Internet Movie Database both show 1987. So does the old Bollywoodgate. (Trying to check Koimoi & TofI but their sites are slow.) Five minutes later, Koimoi agrees with 1987. Her first movie was in 2006, when she was either 19 or 25. I note that numerals 1 & 7 can be mistaken for each other. Dancelover *Kangna claims to be 28, but there are news items going back to 2009 that claim a 1981 birthdate for her, which would put her in her mid-thirties.
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Post by dancelover on Aug 7, 2015 17:31:24 GMT
Replying to my own post (instead of editing) to contradict it: Koimoi also says she "... left college ... halfway ... in 2003 ..." That is tough for a 16-year-old to do. Much easier for a 22-year-old, but easiest at 19 or 20. Of course her "success at such a young age" makes more sense if she is several years older. One possible test: if she has her first child ten years from now, then the earlier birthdate is much less likely. Dancelover, who recently discovered that Vera Ellen (White Christmas, etc.) was five years older than she claimed. My list shows KR as born in 1987, the same year as Sonakshi, Shraddha, Genelia, Ileana. Wikipedia & Internet Movie Database both show 1987. So does the old Bollywoodgate. (Trying to check Koimoi & TofI but their sites are slow.) Five minutes later, Koimoi agrees with 1987. Her first movie was in 2006, when she was either 19 or 25 (or somewhere in between). I note that numerals 1 & 7 can be mistaken for each other. Dancelover *Kangna claims to be 28, but there are news items going back to 2009 that claim a 1981 birthdate for her, which would put her in her mid-thirties.
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odadune
Star of the item number
 
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Aug 10, 2015 2:26:24 GMT
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odadune
Star of the item number
 
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Aug 15, 2015 11:52:55 GMT
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sady
Hit playback singer
  
Posts: 1,876
Favorite actor: SRK, Prabhas, Naga Chaitanya, Nivin Pauly
Favorite actress: Kajol, Sonam, A. Shetty, Tamannaah, Kangana
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Simran, Rani of Jhansi, Veere Di Wedding, Padman, Saaho
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Post by sady on Aug 15, 2015 16:46:29 GMT
It looks like they are taking names (katrina, Kangna, Sonakshi and now Anushka) to hype the project. For all we know, it'll end up in Kriti Sanon's laps...
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odadune
Star of the item number
 
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Aug 15, 2015 17:32:24 GMT
That or they are trying to distract from the lawsuit news....
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aspiringfilmmaker
Junior artiste

Posts: 87
Favorite actor: Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, SRK, Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra
Favorite actress: Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Shraddha Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Kriti Sanon
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Brothers, Dilwale, All is Well
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Post by aspiringfilmmaker on Aug 17, 2015 0:25:00 GMT
It looks like they are taking names (katrina, Kangna, Sonakshi and now Anushka) to hype the project. For all we know, it'll end up in Kriti Sanon's laps... I sure hope it's not Katrina or Sonakshi - there's been WAY too much of them with Akshay Kumar - it's time for a change. Kriti Sanon would be a good choice, but I'd recommend Parineeti Chopra for the role - she seems to have that Punjabi comic spunk that would match well with Akshay Kumar, and they seem like they would have an interesting chemistry despite the age gap - kind of like a Sridevi-Jeetendra scenario.
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