Director Samir Karnik abuses critics

By Hindustan Times

Samir Karnik, the director of Chaar Din Ki Chandni has lashed out at critics in a recent press conference. He not only abused the "critics who are not qualified to write reviews," but also threatened to beat them up.

The director, who was seen in a visibly bad mood, wonders who gives critics the permission to write when they don't have knowledge about films. "They are brainwashing people's mind and they should not be allowed to do so. They have got some personal vendetta and they should be banned."

"Saale pata nahi kaun inko critic bana deta hai. In kutton ko to likne ki ijaazat bhi nahi deni chahiye. Mere saamne aa gaye to thok dalungo saalon ko," (I don't know who authorises them to be critics. These people should not be allowed to write), he says.

He goes on to add, "We conduct press shows in a hope that critics would say nice things about our film, but it's only a false hope."

The director is also upset about the fact that some critics watch free shows of the film and still write unpleasant things about him. "From now on, I won't conduct press shows. If they want to watch, they can spend their own money. Popcorn bhi mera khaate hai, aur likhte bhi mere baare mein hain. Sharam nahi aati," (They eat my popcorn, and write against me. Aren't they ashamed?), says a fuming Karnik.

Samir Karnik has also directed Kyun! Ho Gaya Na..., Nanhe Jaisalmer, Heroes, Vaada Raha and Yamla Pagla Deewana.

Samir Karnik also doubts the veracity of award functions. He says that while Yamla Pagla Deewana was a success at box office, he didn't get a single nomination for the film. "My film was not nominated because I didn't pay money to them. Are kisko doon ye to batao. Ajeeb Ajeeb nomination hain. Kuch to de dete, ek audiography ka nomination to de dete. I swear, mujhe pata chale kisko paise dene hai, to main de daloon. Poora system, poora desh bika hua hai. (Somebody should tell me who should I give money to. They did not give me a single nomination)."

Tweeple react to Samir Karnik's comments
@pvijay: Samir Karnik wonderfully epitomises the Indian mainstream film industry of today. Take a bow, dude! :)

@AnOddYellow: Did Samir Karnik even watch his own film... stop abusing critics for doing their job !

@AniGuha: Interesting point Samir Karnik makes in that video. "There is Jeeturaaj." I have been wondering too: Who is Jeeturaaj?

@MaaNey: How can someone invest money into a script like Char din ki Chandni? I can do better jokes in my sleep. Shame on you Samir Karnik!!

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Akshay Kumar teams up with Ghajini director!

By Hindustan Times

Just two-and-a-half months into the New Year, actor Akshay Kumar’s plate is brimming with fresh projects. Come May-June, and he will turn into a gangster for the Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai sequel. He also has films like Oh My God!, Khiladi 786, Rowdy Rathore and A Wednesday director
Neeraj Pandey’s next, lined up. In the midst of all these, he has just taken up the Hindi remake of Mammootty’s Pokkiri Brothers, and a film by former Balaji associate Ashwin Varde.

And if all this wasn’t enough, the action hero has been signed on to fill south star Vijay’s shoes in the Hindi remake of Thupaki, directed by A R Murugadoss. The Tamil movie, revolving around a man’s journey from a small town to Mumbai, where he becomes a don, is still under production. But once the shooting wraps up, it will be remade in Hindi with Akshay in the lead and Murugadoss as the director again.

This is the filmmaker’s second Bollywood movie to be remade from his own Tamil repertoire. Back in 2007-08, he worked with perfectionist actor-producer Aamir Khan on the Hindi remake of his Tamil hit, Ghajini. Vijay and Murugadoss were recently in the city to film a host of crucial scenes. Akshay is understandably happy to associate with another maverick filmmaker.

“Murugadoss is a genius. He did a fabulous job with Ghajini and I’m extremely happy that we’ve managed to sneak in time to work together,” he says, adding, “I’m sure you’re wondering with so many films, and other assignments, how I am going to manage this project. Let me tell you that if I can’t deliver, I won’t commit. And instead of taking it negatively, people should take the gesture positively, because the more the stars work, the more employment is generated for spot boys and other workers on the sets who run their kitchens on daily wages even today.”

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John to turn producer, director, maybe writer!

By Hindustan Times

It’s been nine years since John Abraham made a sizzling debut in Jism (2003). And now the model-turned-actor, who has an MBA degree, is keen to build himself as an “honest, credible, commercially viable” brand with three verticals: actor, producer and director.

And, maybe even scriptwriter. His role model is Farhan Akhtar who started out as a writer-lyricist, before moving to producing, directing, acting and singing in movies. Today, he balances all his roles.

“Acting will always be my focus, and the big-budget films that define John Abraham such as Housefull 2, Race 2 and Dostana 2 will keep coming. But I also want to make commercial, entertaining movies that reflect my ideology. I want all the verticals to co-exist in a revenue model that benefits my studio and the paying public, ” he says.

John’s been working closely with Sanjay Gupta on Shootout At Wadala, which went on the floors on Thursday. For now, the actor has been reading up on Manya Surve and meeting those who knew the late gangster.

He’s also been brainstorming with Shoojit Sircar on Vicky Donor, JA Entertainment Pvt Ltd’s maiden production that opens on May 11. In September, his second production, Jaffna will kick off.

“Shoojit was surprised I knew so much about Sri Lanka and its history. I’m very socially and politically aware and know more about the world than what’s happening in Bollywood. I have been writing a lot recently, mostly fiction. Maybe one of the stories could turn into a screenplay and I could turn director,” he says, adding, “If the idea is good, I could fly with it next year or in two years or maximum five years.”

After almost a decade, actor John has turned the corner. And the buzz is that post his break-up with Bipasha Basu, he’s found the perfect match in Priya Marwah with whom he secretly tied the knot in Los Angeles earlier this year.

He laughs off the rumours, “Married? Thank God there aren’t any children yet. I’ve always been fiercely guarded about my personal life, so all I’ll say is that there’s a lot happening in my life now. It’s a new beginning.”

Jaffna in Sri Lanka
“George Clooney’s geopolitical thriller, Syriana (2005) ranks amongst my favourite films and I want to enter the same space with Jaffna,” says John, who’s gearing up to go shoot his second production in Sri Lanka with local artistes.Previously, his film Water (2005), which was nominated for the Oscars,was filmed in Sri Lanka. Refusing to divulge more, John insists that Jaffna will go beyond the LTTE and the contentious Tamil issue and surprise people with a well-researched story about what actually happened in Sri Lanka.

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