VOTE: Is the spanking new Naino Mein Sapna better?

Legendary playback singer Kishore Kumar's son Amit has sung the iconic Naino Mein Sapna in the remake of Jeetendra-Sridevi starrer Himmatwala. 

Director Sajid Khan got Amit to re-record the chartbuster track in the new version of the film that was originally sung by his father alongside Lata Mangeshkar.

Choreographer Farah Khan and music directors Sajid-Wajid have recreated the 80s magic with Ajay Devgn and Tamannaah.

The song showcases a colorful kaleidoscope of pots, larger than life swans and dhols with many dancers in the background quite like the original. 

"We wanted to recreate the magic of Naino Mein Sapna song. The original was sung by a legend for the male version..so we wanted someone who can do justice to the iconic song," Sajid told PTI. 

"Amit's voice is too good. I feel no one except Amit could have sung 'Naino Mein Sapna'. He has sung exactly like Kishore Kumarji," he added.

Shreya Ghoshal was chosen for the female voice. As the makers already had the rights to the song, they have retained first few lines from the original. Sajid-Wajid have given the music. 

Himmatwala is the remake of the yesteryear's superhit film of the same name, starring Sridevi and Jeetendra. The new one stars southern star Tamanna Bhatia and Ajay Devgn.

Here is the new version of the classic song that many of us grew up with. Tell us which one's better! Vote here!

Abas-Mustan's Race 2 enters the 100 crore club?

Here's what your favourite Bollywood celebrities are tweeting.

Reports claim that Abbas-Mustan's multistarrer Race 2 has become the first film of 2013 to enter the Rs 100 crore club.

Producer Jay Shewakramani tweeted: '100 cr for #Race2 ..thank u all for the love and support..wouldn't have been possible without you'll..once again thank u all.'

Actor Riteish Deshmukh congratulated him: 'Maiden century mubaraak ho- Race 2 the next century soon- big hug my friend.'

Meanwhile, Ameesha Patel thanked her fans and wrote: 'Goodmorning my darling tweethearts..woke up to the good news that Race 2 has done 100crs all india..yippeeee ..thanks 4 all d luv n support.'

Review: ABCD is the Dabangg of dance!

ABCD (Any Body Can Dance) is a must watch not only for dance lovers but also for those who like good cinema, writes Prasanna D Zore.

To put it simply, ABCD or Any Body Can Dance, written and directed by choreographer Remo D'Souza is entertainment, entertainment and entertainment.

ABCD tugs at your emotional cords all the way as Prabhu Deva [ Images ] (Vishnu [ Images ] Sir) tries to convert a bunch of street ruffians into champions.

While you may have seen the same plot in Lagaan [ Images ] and Chak De India [ Images ]!, the canvas here has changed from the playing field to a dancing arena, with the protagonist endeavouring to polish rough cut dancing diamonds into winners by imbibing in them values like brotherhood, sportsperson-like spirit and loyalty.

Technically and production-wise, ABCD, howsoever the title may sound silly, punches you hard. Niftily edited dance sequences, a chase that is a mix of dancing and eye-popping jumps, make ABCD the Dabangg of dancing. The dance numbers are brilliantly executed and the thrill quotient is highly enhanced as you watch the movie in three dimensions.

While the film belongs to Prabhu Deva as a self-respecting dance teacher who parts ways with his manipulative friend Jehangir (Kay Kay Menon [ Images ]) for the love of dancing, it belongs as much to D, Rocky, Chandu, Ria, Biscuit among a score of other dancers with whom the nation will identify easily.

One wonders what took Indian filmmakers so long to risk their money on a film like ABCD. Perhaps, the boom and craze with which young Indians follow dancing shows on several TV channels must have made the producers and financiers believe that they had a winner in their hands, and hence the timing of ABCD. But that is beside the point.

The only fault one could find with the film is a contrived twist in the tale that leads to Chandu's sudden death. But the defection of one of the team members to a rival team sounds probable and real.

In about 143 minutes, ABCD tries to catch the emotions, aspirations, rebellions and values the contemporary Indian youth so cherishes.

Of the cast Prabhu Deva with his Mohanlal-like Hindi and Kay Kay as a manipulative owner of a dance company, play their bit with honesty.

Ganesh Acharya (Gopi) too shines in his role as a friend who helps Vishnu Sir build a brilliant dance team.

But all said and done the real heroines and heroes of ABCD are the dancers that make you cry, laugh, and dance with them.

DON'T MISS: The grand finale of the film and the number that follows in which Prabhu Deva, Ganesh Acharya and Remo shake a mean leg as credits scroll down in the end.

Rediff Rating:

Two requests to the producers

1. Why should the audience fork out Rs 20 as rent for the 3D glasses? If you have bet your money on an unusual film like ABCD why not make those 3D glasses free and let more Indians watch the thrill of watching the Dabangg of dancing in 3D. You can always take the deposit which could be returned to the patrons once the movies is over.

2. Help make this film tax-free. The purpose again is to help the film reach a wider audience.

Review: Special Chabbis is an exciting con caper

Special Chabbis is one of the finest films of the year so far, writes Sukanya Verma.

Old is gold AND exciting.

In his latest offering Special Chabbis -- based on true heist incidents -- director Neeraj Pandey highlights this likelihood with his tremendous mix of shrewd brainpower against obsolete technology.

And so we travel 26 (ahem) years back in time (January 26, 1987) to witness some documented footage of former President Giani Zail Singh and the late Prime Minister of India [ Images ], Rajiv Gandhi [ Images ] at the parade before a hand turns the knob, not a remote control, to switch off a bulky black and white television set.

The hand belongs to Ajay Singh (Akshay Kumar [ Images ]) who’s readying his team of three others (Anupam Kher [ Images ], Kishore Kadam, Rajesh Sharma) to carry out a raid at a politician’s house by flashing counterfeit documentation and Central Bureau of Investigation identities.

These crisply dressed gentlemen are professional conmen, of course, and Republic Day is just another day at work.

Not only do they ransack the man’s home with wealth hidden in temple drawers, concealed ceilings or behind secretly planted doors in broad day light but trick the cops (Jimmy Shergill [ Images ], Divya Dutta [ Images ] are efficient) also into assisting them at it.

This, of course, gets the goat of the authentic CBI officer (Manoj Bajpayee [ Images ]), now hot on the trail of these super sharp swindlers no one wants to report about since black money is involved.

It’s the late 1980s, India is yet to be hit by the globalisation wave and corruption is flourishing quietly without the influx of news channels to report or debate. Anil Kapoor [ Images ] is rocking Bollywood but Amitabh Bachchan [ Images ] continues to reign supreme. Even the auto rickshaw still flags its loyalty towards the Big B [ Images ] with a hand-painted Shakti poster adorning its interior.

Pandey not only creates a sense of 1987 with props and products but the inhabitants of Special Chabbis delicately convey the idealism and morality associated with that period.

Whether it’s the significance of a 100 rupee note (which held great value in 1987) or the concept of buying imported goods from Mumbai [ Images ] or the absolute lack of regret or embarrassment in Kher’s character for fathering more than half a dozen kids and another on the way at his age, it all effectually recreates the past .

At the same time, and this is interesting, there’s not any attempt to explain why these men do what they do. They are a bunch of regular people who rob after careful planning and ‘enjoy’ it.

No back story or pay-back triggered by humiliation here. A sly explanation is offered around pre-climax but it’s never revealed if genuine or phony like their paperwork. 

The narrative, which favours a warm, sepia visual scheme, travels back and forth between January and February leading to the events in March and numerous cities -- Delhi [ Images ], Mumbai, Kolkata [ Images ], Jaipur [ Images ] and Chandigarh but Pandey’s writing has its chronology so planned and in order, it’s neither confusing nor cumbersome to keep up.

Pandey’s filmmaking has always prioritised matter over cosmetics. Like A Wednesday, Special Chabbis isn’t exceptional in technique -- no fancy camera work or hip background score -- but practical enough to assemble a robust, taut film that gets over sooner than you think. His focus is on movement to imply a breathless pace. All his characters are constantly on the move with long-shots of their energetic march towards the camera.

But that doesn’t undermine his ambition or how effectively it achieves the same. Filming on New Delhi’s bustling Rajiv Chowk and transforming it into 1987’s Connaught Place is no easy task. Barring a fleeting shot of Peter England [ Images ]’s showroom, Pandey recreates an earlier time with old Only Vimal advertisement logs and outdated car models like ambassadors, Premiere Padminis and early Maruti [ Get Quote ] 800s forming the sparse traffic.

Detailed production design is one of the finest attributes of this con caper -- old currency notes, dial phones, cordless phones, hard-shell luggage, well-researched advertising placements (featuring almost forgotten beverages like Thrill) or discontinued magazines in their revived glory (Dharmyug, Illustrated Weekly of India). Even the wedding décor aesthetics are period-appropriate. There’s so much confidence at display here, it’s almost as though Pandey is challenging us to find flaws.

The ones I could find have more to do with the token romance track involving the pretty Kajal Aggarwal. Though her entry leads to some lilting M M Kreem creations, it’s completely needless in the middle of all the action (of wits) and chemistry generated by Kumar and Bajpai. That excellent bar scene (with the complimentary soda) is a testimony to their two-sides-of-the-same-coin camaraderie.

Also, the way Pandey treats the second rung of the con team; both Kishore Kadam and Rajesh Sharma are relegated to the sidelines. While Kadam at least gets one scene to describe his background of a henpecked hubby, Rajesh Sharma remains the most under developed of the four.

Despite being the senior-most member of the pack, Kher’s character doesn’t reek of patronising wisdom. In fact he’s the fun chap -- thoroughly nervous but happy-go-lucky whose light-weight panic and droopy spine provides Special Chabbissome of its more droll moments.

Speaking of which, Pandey’s script isn’t loaded with intended humour but is open to subtle strokes of unexpected hilarity. Like when an undercover officer clad in Lord Shiva [ Images ]’s avatar, suddenly walks past a serious discussion between Bajpai and Shergill, casually greeting them with a ‘Good Morning, Sir.’

The interview sequence, wherein the two AKs (Kumar and Kher) interact with a bunch of job candidates is typically entertaining with its range of loony responses, most peculiar being, ‘I want do my country.’

But what’s truly Special about this Chabbis is to see two such different actors, one reliably awesome and the other getting out of his comfort zone of mindless money-spinners to collaborate and credit a script that gives them something concrete and equivalent to work on.

There’s the smashing Bajpayee with his penetrating gaze and attractive dynamism who spells more than words with his sardonic laughter and request for ‘Chulloo bhar paani.’

On the other, Akshay Kumar comes up with a measured delivery, which both, intimidates and eases-up as per the the mood yet remains somewhat distant, mysterious and inscrutable till the end. 

This line sums him best, ‘Logon ke pairon mein chakra hota hai. Mere dimaag mein hai.’

Oh yes, Special Chabbis is my second favourite film of 2013 so far.

Sachin Tendulkar is available for IPL 5: Mumbai Indians

New Delhi: The Mumbai Indians have rubbished the reports that their skipper Sachin Tendulkar is doubtful for the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League.

"Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar will be joining the in-progress camp at Wankhede Stadium from 31st March 2012 and is fully available for the entire IPL season 5," Mumbai Indians said in its statement.

Reports had been doing the rounds that Sachin might have to give the tournament a miss due to an old toe injury, which has resurfaced and might need surgery.

But Sachin is in London for what is merely a routine check-up of an old toe injury. "Sachin is in UK to consult his doctor and will be back in India to join the camp from 31st March", Mumbai Indians said.

The IPL is all set to commence on April 4 in Chennai, where Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians, the last year's second runner-up will take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the M A Chidambaram Stadium.

Tendulkar, who notched up his 100th international ton in the recently-concluded Asia Cup, also did not attend the BCCI-organised felicitation function of the retired batsman Rahul Dravid last evening at a hotel near his residence here, as he had already left for England.

Sachin had suffered an injury to his toe almost a decade ago. It came back to haunt him last September and upset his plans to play the ODI series in England after a not-too-successful run in the four-Test series that preceded it.

He was withdrawn from the team sheet before the first ODI, which was washed out. And then the BCCI issued a statement, saying that Tendulkar had been ruled out of the series "due to a toe injury".

Tendulkar had consulted a specialist in London after suffering the injury and was advised four weeks' rest.

Tendulkar came back to play the Test rubber against the West Indies at home after missing the Champions League Twenty20, which was won by Mumbai Indians under the stand-in-skipper Harbhajan Singh.

But after playing the Test series against the Windies, Tendulkar again opted to rest for the ODI series.

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