*Latest LOLLYWOOD News-Showbiz, Articles* - Page 3

Pakistan among top 5 in British student visas


ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is among the top five countries to receive the most number of student visas issued by Britain during 2004-05, according to a report.

In the five countries India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey and Ghana, visa numbers have soared from 17,723 in 2000 to over 40,000 in 2004-05, according to Kim Howells, British Foreign Office minister. Howells said that Nigeria showed the largest increase in visas – from 1,516 in 2000 to 8,045 in 2004-05 Telugu Portal reported. In India, last year's figure was 15,283, up three-fold from 4,790, while student visa numbers for Pakistan rose from 2,421 to 10,859. Turkey's student visa numbers fell during the five-year period from 7,208 to 4,234, while Ghana's remained relatively stable at a little over 1,700. app

Pakistani actor enjoys Bollywood experience


Islamabad: Pakistani actor Moammar Rana, currently shooting in India for a film, says he enjoys working in Bollywood as Indian producers have lots of resources and facilities.
'For an actor, money, quality and facilities count much. We need results in all sectors and Bollywood has the resources,' Rana told IANS on telephone from India.
The Pakistani actor is shooting for 'Kabhi Pyar Na Karna' opposite Indian actress Neha Dhupia. Javed Raza is the director of the film.
Rana said: 'There is a lot in common in our (Pakistani and Indian) cultures. I feel at home whenever I am in India.'
According to Rana, the Indian film industry has made much progress in recent years but 'Lollywood (the Pakistani film industry) is far behind and has to go a long way'.

Taj Mahal flops all over Pakistan !!!

The lukewarm response to Taj Mahal and Mughal e Azam has left the Pakistani audience cold. Here's why…

The only films to release in Pakistan after a ban of almost 41 years are Mughal e Azam and Taj Mahal. Both films are based on the Mughal era. Why is it that no one has talked about or planned to bring a film like Bluffmaster or Rang De Basanti to local cinemas? Despite the fact that Indian actors like Fardeen, Feroz Khan, Manisha Koirala, Kabir Bedi amongst others brought the film to Pakistan, it hasn't managed to rake in the hordes like King Kong did recently. The film's success is because of the fact that it was released weeks after it's premiere in the West. The hype around it was hot and with the plethora of film channels like HBO, Star Movies, et al we got the full blast of that hype. On the contrary, the promos of Taj Mahal are a distant memory and one remembers the bad reviews it got from everywhere. As a result, even the star power of the Khan khandaan wasn't enough to give it a good run.

It was hard to get tickets unless one arrived at least half an hour before the given time when King Kong arrived in Pakistan. Taj Mahal, however, is just not the same. With not enough entertainment avenues, people have gone to see the film. But this film has not brought that upper middle class crowd to the cinemas. The reason is that they have already seen the film. Ditto with Mughal-e-Azam. The audience verdict is clear. India cannot market their old films here. We've already seen them. Even if Rang De Basanti were to come, it wouldn't run because Worldcall and other smaller cable networks have been running it every other day and a master print at that. Ditto for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. If it comes on the big screen, it will not do well, because all of Shahrukh Khan's diehard fans already know the film by heart. However, if Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna is released here simultaneously or even a week or two after it's Indian premiere, it will do great business. If they wait for six months, chances are, it will be a damp squib.

Will we ever have such an experience or will we have to wait another year before Cinepax, Nadeem Mandviwalla and Satish Anand shake the myopic system and fight for the only logical way to release films in Pakistan

Amir Khan open for Pakistani Movie

Aamir might just be doing a foreign film soon.
No, Khan isn't going back on his anti-Hollywood stance, but says he'd love to do a Pakistani film.
In a new show on the BBC Asian Network, Gagan Grewal, Aamir revealed that he would be very keen to act in Pakistani films -- provided he was offered the right script.

'There's a lot of talent both in India and Pakistan,' said Aamir. I think the talent in both these two countries should come together and entertain the world audience.'

'If the right offer and opportunity comes my way, I'd love to do a movie in Pakistan.'


Indian films have been banned in Pakistan since 1965, but recently a few Bollywood films have been released in theatres there.

Pakistan's famous pop singer Faakhir, performed live in a fundraiser in Geneva, Switzerland

The concert was organized by the Swiss Pakistan Society (www.swisspak.com) to generate funds for the Pakistan earthquake reconstruction aid. The Swiss Pakistan Society is an organization of Pakistani nationals living in Switzerland, and their Swiss friends. The concert took place in Grand Casino concert hall of Noga Hilton Geneva. The large sized audience included a mix of Pakistani, Indians, Swiss and other westerners living in Switzerland including diplomats. The show also included a Bhangra dance group, Ballet dancers, Spanish Flamenco dancers and a Bollywood dance group.

The audience's great response to the performances was indicative of the success of the show. Fakhir kept the audience involved and excited till the end, and there was a time when Fakhir was off the stage in the hall and the stage was full of young audience dancing dhamal on dholak's beat. "This was a great audience and I really enjoyed performing for them" said Sajid Ali whose flute gave the mystical touch to the songs of the group.

Zoheb to launch new album

KARACHI: Zoheb Hassan will launch his new album 'Kismet' by end of the current month.

"This album is my life experience embodied into sound dedicated to the memory of my beloved sister, Nazia," Zoheb said in a statement Wednesday. The album has been recorded in Pakistan and the United Kingdom and took almost two years to complete. It has ten tracks, two of which are duets with Sehr, a completely new entrant in the music industry.

The soundtrack of Kismet has also been lent to a drama serial to be launched shortly by a television channel. Zoheb is also playing the lead role in this play. Zoheb had decided to stop singing after the death of his sister, Nazia and an album, which was under production at that time, was also shelved. "I have put my heart and soul into the album so I hope that people would like it," he said.

Manisha for joint Pakistan, India film ventures
By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala has called for joint ventures between the Pakistani and Indian film industries.

"I am working on just such a project with my Pakistani colleagues," she said while talking to reporters on Sunday at Akram Zaki's residence. "There was a need for more films that promote friendship between the two neighboring countries and I strongly opposed films that promoted hatred," Manisha, who was in Pakistan for the premiere of Akbar Khan's Taj Mahal, said. Manisha has already learned the ropes of filmmaking in New York and plans to direct her first film soon. "As an actress and a director, I would love to produce a film in collaboration with the Pakistani film industry, and am already in negotiation with some concerned people here," she said.

However, she refusing to name who she was negotiating with Manisha, who has worked in over 60 films, has been lying low, as far as films are concerned, in Bollywood for the last few years. Her venture into production with 'Paisa Vasool' two years ago turned out to be a box-office disaster. She was last seen playing a small part in Akbar Khan's Taj Mahal, which was also a flop across the border, but has now become the second Indian movie to be screened in Pakistan in the last forty years.

Terming the screening of Indian films in Pakistan as a "first step in the right direction," she said that there was still a long way to go. She said that Pakistani films being screened in Indian cinemas would not only bring the people of the two countries closer together, but would also help the industry financially and would curb the menace of piracy.

She said that it would be impossible to reverse the ongoing people-to-people contact because the people of the subcontinent backed it. "Nusrat Fateh Ali, Khan, Ghulam Ali, and Mehdi Hassan are my favorite singers," she said, adding that she had been watching the Pakistani drama serials for a long time. However, she never had a chance to see a Pakistani film even though she had met some of the Pakistani film stars in person. Manisha also thanked the people of Pakistan for the hospitality they had shown her.

Amitabh hails Pakistan screening of Indian films


Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday welcomed the rare screening of Indian films in Pakistan, saying increased contacts could lead to a "healthy camaraderie" between the two nations.
Pakistan eased its ban on Indian movies this month, allowing just two films – the classic Mughal-e-Azam and Taj Mahal, a new epic from Bollywood – to be released in Pakistani cinemas.
"We do believe that we are the same culture, the same people. We are divided by a line that has put us into two different nations that cannot be removed and it should not be," Bachchan said during a visit to Dubai.
"But if they are appreciative of our work we are also appreciative of theirs and there should be healthy camaraderie and exchange of ideas and creativity amongst the two nations," Bachchan said in an interview.
The 63-year-old film legend returned to work recently, after being discharged from a Mumbai hospital in December following stomach surgery that doctors said could have been life-threatening if left untreated.
The "Big B", as he is known, was voted in a 2002 BBC Online survey as the most popular screen and stage icon of all time, ahead of Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness.
Bachchan said fans' adulation had little to do with reality but that he enjoyed it as an appreciation of his work.
"They get attracted to the image, to what they see on the screen. They have nothing whatsoever to do with me as a person. Most of the time they get very disappointed because we can't possibly live up to this fantasy that has been created for us...
"... we enjoy that, yes we love it, I would be lying if I said that (we don't)," he said.
Bachchan has acted in over 150 films, playing rebels, smugglers and vigilantes in a series of anti-establishment roles in the 1970s and 1980s. He now plays more mature roles, many of which are specifically written for him.
"How to handle it (adulation) is a totally different thing: Yes, if somebody asks me for an autograph, I will happily give it to him, if someone wants to break into my house and sleep in the same bed as me, I will say no."
There have been reports that Bachchan disapproved of a possible marriage between his son, rising actor Abhishek Bachchan, and former Miss World and Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, because their star signs do not match. But he said: "This is media-built. I don't know anything about it."
Dubai, a regional tourism hub in the United Arab Emirates with a large Indian expatriate community, will host the International Indian Film Academy Awards in June.

Aishwarya Rai to enchant Pakistani audiences

Pakistani audiences can feast their eyes over the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai , as Bride and Prejudice may be screened there.

Reports are that the British Council is planning to bring in Gurinder Chadha 's Anglo-Asian, Jane Austen-inspired blockbuster to Pakistan.

"We are still in the middle of our negotiations," said Naheed Malik, communications manager for the British Council in Karachi, adding that the council was prompted by the recent change in the attitude of the Pakistan government to allow Indian movies and joint productions in the country.

Malik said another reason "Bride and Prejudice" was selected was because it was a joint Indo-British production.

"The movie will be opened to the general public and not only to members of the British Council," informed Malik.

This move is considered important, as it would be the first time that a recent Indian movie will be shown in Pakistan. So far, only classics have been shown. Cinema owners have also started revamping their theatres to attract more business.

The newspaper said that the British Council's involvement in the distribution and exhibition of an Indian-influenced movie could help the exhibitor's cause as well. They have been asking the government to either grant them rights to screen Indian movies or eradicate piracy altogether.

Pakistani films to be shown in India soon


LAHORE: Pakistani films will be shown in Indian cinemas soon, said Jamshed Zafar, vice president of Pakistan Film Producers Association on his return from Mumbai on Wednesday. Zafar led a 20-member delegation to India and said that Indian film producers like Mahesh Bhatt had assured him that they would encourage Pakistani movies in Indian cinema houses, especially in Mumbai. "We will soon hold a film festival in Mumbai while the Indians are planning a similar event in Lahore," he said. He said that Pakistani cinemas needed to be equipped with the latest cine technology gadgets, as the Indians were. About the recently released blockbuster movie Majajan, he said that Majajan brought movie enthusiasts back to cinema houses in Lahore and other parts of the country. "There should be more films like Majajan," he added.