Lick It Good

Monday, 26 November 2012

After `Dabangg`, Sonakshi Sinha more excited for `Dabangg 2`

She made her Bollywood debut with the blockbuster ‘Dabangg’ in 2010, and now actress Sonakshi Sinha, who is also a part of ‘Dabangg 2’, says she is upbeat about being a part of the franchise.

"I am very excited. When a film gets a good response, it feels good. I started with `Dabangg` and now doing `Dabangg 2` is very exciting for me," the 25-year-old said on the sidelines of an event here Sunday.

Sonakshi was joined at the event by director Milan Luthria, who is working with her in the sequel to ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai’.

In the movie, Sonakshi features opposite Akshay Kumar, who plays don Shoaib Khan. But she refuses to call her own part negative.

"It`s negative? No. It`s a very interesting character. For me, as an actor it is a very challenging role and the film is set in a very interesting premise. It is a great role, that`s all I can say now," Sonakshi said.

The film also features Imran Khan and Sonali Bendre. It is to release around Eid next year.

'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2' Review: Just be glad this is the last film!

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

Director: Bill Condon

How ironic that a film whose characters can zip across forests faster than deer should be so slow and laborious itself! Breaking Dawn - Part 2, fifth and final installment in the cheesy but immensely popular Twilight movie franchise, is a film unlikely to appeal to anyone but hardcore fans who've been consistently forgiving of its many shortcomings.

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has given birth to a daughter with husband Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). The film opens with Bella embracing and reveling in the new lifestyle...not motherhood, but vampirism! Converted into a bloodsucker after a rather brutal childbirth in the previous film, Bella is now faster, stronger and hungrier than she's ever been, and even Edward has to keep up with her.

No sooner than they've settled into their new home and enjoyed a few passionate moments, Edward and Bella learn that the Volturi, that feared clan of vampire law-keepers, is headed their way to pick a fight. Turns out the Volturi is convinced Bella's daughter, Renesmee, is an "immortal child" and therefore must be immediately killed. Truth is, since the girl was conceived and delivered while Bella was still human, she's very much a mortal. But because the Cullens aren't smart enough to figure out a way to clear the misunderstanding, they decide to gather their forces and fight the Volturi instead.

Good luck trying to keep awake as you're introduced one-by-one to the dozen-or-so friends, each with a special power or gift, that the Cullens call upon to help them in their stand-off against the Volturi. Of course wolf-boy Jacob (Taylor Lautner) is still around; he's now an ally of the Cullens, and he hangs around all the time like that pesky neighbor who can’t take a hint.

Creepiest of the lot is little Renesmee herself, the root cause of all the problems in this film. The kid (Mackenzie Foy) ages rapidly, and has this strange gift where she can touch your face with her palm and teleport her back-story to you. Her shameless parents encourage her to do this with pretty much everyone she meets...clearly they haven't heard of perverts and child molesters who might enjoy this kind of intimacy!

It's all deathly boring for anyone who's expecting an engaging story or even interesting characters. At best, the climatic battle scene delivers some thrills, but be warned, it's a surprisingly gory finale. The only other truly enjoyable thing in this film is the delicious overacting by its cast, particularly Michael Sheen as Aro, leader of the Volturi, who offers such a hammy performance, it’s hard not to laugh out loud.

Bella and Edward murmur most of their lines to each other softly; you’ll find yourself straining your ears to catch their words…can you really blame them for their embarrassment, given those corny lines! Kristen Stewart appears a little less morose in this film than she usually is – thanks to her new diet, maybe? Robert Pattinson, meanwhile, does much smiling and posturing, but Edward as a character is still such a stiff. Taylor Lautner, built like a Chippendales model, once again gets to take his shirt off, in what is perhaps the film’s most unintentionally funny scene.

Beautifully lit and lovingly filmed by director Bill Condon, Breaking Dawn – Part 2 looks like a 2 hour advertisement. It's hard to empathize with these characters, or fear for them when they’re in trouble, because they're so hollow, and because the actors can't even carry off the silliness of these stories with flair.

I’m going with a generous two out of five for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. For anyone who doesn’t worship the franchise, this is drivel. Just be glad this is the last film!

Kareena's pelvic thrust, Sonakshi's Kathakali moves steal Salman's thunder in Dabangg 2

It seems that female Bollywood actors are striving hard nowadays to experiment with something new in their every film. In the much-talked about upcoming movie "Dabangg 2" of Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha recently challenged herself with some Kathakali steps on the set of the movie.

Kareena Kapoor too canned an item number for "Dabangg 2" and said it was great fun shooting for the song as she tried something new for it.

Sonakshi, who matched tough dance steps with ace choreographer Prabhu Deva in "Oh My God!", tried some steps of the classical dance form while shooting for the song "Dagabaaz re" from the movie.

"There is a sequence in the song where there are Kathakali dancers and when Sonakshi came to know about this, she got really excited! She is an actor who loves learning new things and, in fact, has even learnt some Kathakali and requested the dancers to teach her a few more steps," said a source.

Kareena, who who did item number "Halkat jawani" in her film "Heroine", said: "It was great fun. I loved the song... for the first time I have done a pelvic thrust. I have never done that before and Farah Khan has shot it amazingly. I am looking forward to it because it's a fun song. I hope people love it."

Designer Manish Malhotra has styled Kareena's costumes for the item song and Farah has choreographed her moves.

There were reports that her sister Karisma was on the sets while she was giving shots for the song and Kareena said: "She came to meet Salman, Arbaaz, Malaika and all and that's it. She was not there to give any takes."

In "Dabangg", Malaika featured in the item song "Munni badnaam".

"Dabangg 2", also starring Sonakshi Sinha and Prakash Raj, is slated for release Dec 21.

Arbaaz Khan is making his directorial debut with "Dabangg 2", which stars his big brother Salman in the lead role. Sonakshi plays his wife.

Sunny Leone do an item number in 'Singh Sahib The Great'

Contrary to reports that Sunny Leone may not do an item number in 'Singh Sahib The Great', filmmaker Anil Sharma says he is keen to shoot the song with her and that they are working on her dates.

"Sunny Leone is a wonderful human being. She is a very good friend. We are trying to work on her dates. She is busy with her other projects. There are some date issues and nothing more than that. I want to work with her and we are trying to incorporate an item number with her," Anil Sharma told IANS.

There were rumours that the film's main lead Sunny Deol has refused to work with the Indo-Canadian porn star as he wasn't too pleased when the jokes about him and the actress started doing the rounds.

Sharma clarified it saying: "All these are just rumours. Sunny Deol is one actor in Bollywood who is least interested in getting into controversies. He only wants each and every actor to grow. He was very upset after he got to know about the rumours."

Shooting for 'Singh Sahib The Great' will start Dec 10 and Sharma said that it would be a 50 days schedule till January-end.

"During the same time, I am planning to shoot for the item number as well," added the director who has roped in Ameesha Patel for the female lead.

Bollywood Vintage Photoshoot : Anushka Sharma in vintage look

Booked by the biggest banners in the industry, and with an a-list line-up of films on the way, Anushka Sharma sets the screen ablaze as she charts her own course to super stardom.

Vintage Hollywood Glamour
This page: Blouse, Rs.61,100, and skirt, Rs.1,23,800, Salvatore Ferragamo. Bustier, Gaurav Gupta at Ensemble. Ring, Ganjam. Cuff, Anmol Jewellers. Shoes, Crisian & McCaffery. Creative director: Nupur Mehta Puri. Fashion director: Priyanka Misra.
PHOTO: Harper's Bazaar

Femme fatale
This page: Jacket,and skirt, Shahab Durazi. Ring, Gehna Jewellers
PHOTO: Harper's Bazaar

Gilded glory
Dress, Rs 36,000, Monisha Jaising. Shoes, Rs 52,500, Christian Louboutin.
PHOTO: Harper's Bazaar

Sequined glamour
Dress, Roberto Cavalli. Ring, DIA Jewellery. See Where to Buy for details. Make-up: Dimitra Altani (Anima Creatives); hair: Gabriel Georgiou (Anima Creatives). Fashion stylists: Krishna Mukhi and Hasnain Patel; fashion intern: Akanksha Shetty. Fashion bookings manger: Neha Agarwal.

PHOTO: Harper's Bazaar