Neetu Chandra all set for B'wood style 'Kill Bill'

Mumbai: Actress Neetu Chandra was surrounded by rumours of her wedding to Randeep Hooda, but she is ready to strike back on screen, this time in a desi avatar of Uma Thurman's role in 'Kill Bill'.

The stunts would be on a par with what our Bollywood he-men do in action scenes, says producer Siddhartha Jain. "Not like some actresses who did a few flips and somersaults and had everyone going wah-wah over their derring-do... Neetu will actually be performing all the stunts that are associated with the action genre," said Jain, who is working out the nitty-gritty of the series.

"She is as trained and equipped for the athletic stuff as Vidyut Jamwal who made such a terrific impact on 'Force'," added Jain. Neetu, a certified blackbelt holder in martial arts, will perform all stunts in the movie herself. She feels it's time Bollywood gets its very own female action star.

"With due respect to my female colleagues like Deepika Padukone in 'Chandni Chowk To China' or Priyanka Chopra in 'Don', who have thrashed around their limbs in so-called action scenes, I don't think we've had a genuine female action star since (late) Fearless Nadia," said Neetu.

So the 27-year-old is ready to take on the action genre. "I feel we're ready for some female action. I've trained in the martial arts for 11 years. So far none of my roles has been action-oriented. Of late I had begun to get very restless. There's a lot of pent-up energy within me," she added.

My focus is on quality, not quantity: Zarine Khan

Mumbai: Actress Zarine Khan has featured in just two films in her two-year-old career in Bollywood. She says it's because she is more focused on quality, rather that quantity.

"My life has been very unplanned, but as I have said this before that I plan to do only quality work than quantity work. So that's about it," the 27-year-old said here at a screening of her latest release 'Housefull 2'. The 27-year-old, who did a cameo as a runaway bride in 'Ready', and now plays a bride in 'Housefull 2' again, says one shouldn't take the plunge in real life unless he or she understands the responsibilities that come with married life.

"I am an Indian and I do believe in the institution of marriage. Every Indian girl dreams of getting married one day, but with marriage comes a lot of responsibility. So, I don't think you should take a plunge for the heck of it unless you are not ready for the responsibility," said Zarine.

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Zarine debuted in Bollywood with 'Veer' in 2010 and later did a cameo and an item song 'Character dheela' in Salman Khan's 2011 film 'Ready'. Currently, the actress also has 'Partner 2' in her kitty. It is a sequel to the 2007 film 'Partner'. Zarine is also shooting for a Tamil film 'Karikalan'.

'Ishaqzaade' vs 'Dangerous Ishq' on May 11

New Delhi: The release date of 'Ishaqzaade', starring Parineeti Chopra and newcomer Arjun Kapoor, has been advanced from May 18 to May 11, resulting in a clash with 'Dangerous Ishq'.

The decision to release the romance drama a week earlier came in after much thought by production company Yash Raj Films (YRF). "With 'Ferrari ki Sawaari' moving to a later date and the IPL (Indian Premier League) crunch matches starting from May 18, this shift will give 'Ishaqzaade' a better window for release," said a statement from YRF.

The movie tells the story of two fiery characters and their fight for power and supremacy. Written and directed by Habib Faisal of 'Do Dooni Chaar' fame, the film narrate how two people who are born to hate, and destined to love, come face-to-face with each other.

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With the shift in release date, 'Ishaqzaade' will clash with Vikram Bhatt's 'Dangerous Ishq', which marks the comeback of Karisma Kapoor to Bollywood after five years.

Amitabh Bachchan teams up with R Balki again

Singapore: After directing Amitabh Bachchan in 'Cheeni Kum' and 'Paa', director R Balki is working on another project which will star Bachchan. Balki said he is writing a story and will start working on the movie soon for a next year release.

"I am aiming to complete the script by August-September for which Amitabh Bachchan has been briefed," Balki told PTI on the sidelines of the Pan Indian Institute of Technology Asia Pacific conference. The director also said this would be his big project three years after 'Paa'. "But the story would be completely different and based on the acting skill of Bachchan," he added.

Shooting of the film would start early next year and Balki hopes to complete it in about 60-70 days. Other casts and participants in the film have not been selected yet. Balki said his wife, Gauri Shinde's, 'English Winglish' will be complete by July-August. The movie stars Sridevi in the lead role. The director spoke on his films and work at the conference which opened yesterday. Over 300 IIT graduates from the region are attending the three day conference which is being held for the first time outside India and the US.

Hemant Kumar Gaba: You've made your film. Now what?

When I finally managed to finish my first feature length film Shuttlecock Boys which took me a good 2.5 years to pull off (normally this period would vary between 1.5-2 years for first time filmmakers, mine was just a little longer), I wondered – What do I do now ? That was my thought process in January 2011 after the film got completed.

I was not wise or smart enough before making the film to chart out the strategy on how the film will be showcased after it was complete. That's because I was not even sure, if I will be able to make a full length feature film. I thought, let's try it; we will see what happens.

I started figuring out what normally happens after a film finishes. If it's a Bollywood film from a studio or with an experienced producer, the film will already have a release date and a publicity plan. But what happens to Independent Films? That was question to which I wanted to find an answer. There will be few of those Independent Films which are made on a decent budget say Rs 2 crore or above that might be released independently; some recent examples might be 'Love You to Death' or 'Tutiya Dil'.

In cases like these, the producer might find territory wise distributors who charge commission on every ticket or a flat fee plus the producer bears all advertising and publicity costs. And territory distributor also asks for no less than TV promotion these days besides the publicity and advertisements in Print and Hoardings. So, the producer releasing the film independently will have to shell out at least a crore which sometimes might be equal or more than the cost of his small film. There are also non-studio independent films which are made in crores. But I imagine if an independent producer can spend Rs 3 crore on a film; he can probably spend another one or two crore for the release as well.

Maharashtra government cheated me: Subhash Ghai

Mumbai: Filmmaker Subhash Ghai today said he felt 'cheated' by the Maharashtra government even as prominent Bollywood personalities expressed shock on the verdict of the Supreme Court upholding the Bombay High Court order quashing the 20 acre land allotted to his film school Whistling Woods International.

Ghai, who founded the school said, "We feel cheated by Government of Maharashtra when we are told after ten years of setting up Whistling Woods at a cost of Rs 75 crore that our joint venture agreement (signed between his Mukta Arts and the

Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation (MFSCDC) is not valid because of a government error that a board resolution was not passed and the land was undervalued."

"What is our fault? They gave the agreement to us signed by the then MD, Cultural Secretary and Minister of Culture to have a partnership in Whistling Woods Ltd with share equity and we invested Rs 20 crore to begin with," Ghai said in a statement issued here today.

The producer-director also said the change in the film school's legal status can never demoralise the faculty, staff and the students.

"We are proud that 500 Alumni have already been placed very well since 2006 and 400 are still studying and Whistling Woods has become an international name to reckon with," he said.