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Saawariya, the first Bollywood film co-produced and distributed by a major Hollywood studio, has opened in 85 theatres in the US and Canada, with press reviews calling it a visually enchanting extravaganza. The New York Times led its movie reviews section Friday with Saawariya, produced in collaboration between acclaimed director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Eye and ear candy for fans of Indian musical cinema, it is 2 hours 11 minutes - bracingly compact by Bollywood standards - of wide-screen close-ups, fanciful sets, colorful costumes, bellybuttons, almost-kisses and 10 pumped-up, achingly sweet songs," writes A.O. Scott, the Times' well-regarded film critic. In conclusion, Scott finds the film, released here Friday and starring newcomers Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor "visually enchanting, cloyingly sweet, at once utterly chaste and insanely erotic, and finally exhausting". Scott also notes that the film is rated PG (Parental guidance sug...

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's latest movie Om Shanti Om had its gala world premiere in London on Thursday with the actor saying he hoped it would help bring Hindi films to the doorsteps of the West. "It's a beginning. Every new film helps us to mount the steps," he said after a screening for the press at the downtown Empire Leicester cinema. In London for the gala red-carpet premiere, besides Khan, is the film's debutante female lead Deepika Padukone, co-stars Arjun Rampal and Shreyas Talpade and distributor and Eros International chairman Kishore Lulla. This was the first time an Indian film had premiered at the Empire at Leicester Square - home of all London movie premieres, Khan said. He said London was the perfect launching pad for the film because of the history of "cultural cross-pollination" between India and Britain. "I have always thought that we should be taking the first steps to bring out India's economy and culture to the wor...

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's family and his former wife Reena have come out in his support, saying his brother Faisal Khan's allegations that he had been held captive by the actor are baseless. Faisal claims he was held captive at Aamir's Bandra home between February 2005 to January 2006, and in a Bandra clinic where he was forced to consume medicines. Aamir's father Tahir Hussain has supported Faisal's version."We strongly condemn the comments and allegations made by Tahir Hussain and Faisal Khan against Aamir and our family. Faisal is unwell and is in need of urgent medical attention. Aamir's attempt to take custody of Faisal was so that he could help him and take care of him," said Aamir's family in a press statement. "However, seeing that all Aamir's efforts have been met with such hostility, we think it's all for the best that Tahir Hussain has been given custody of Faisal Khan. He should now take complete responsibility of Fa...

Diwali is round the corner but the box office is yet to see any fireworks. Bollywood churned out a mixed bouquet this year but the majority flopped with Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De! Indiabeing the only super hit so far. Special: Diwali dhamaka from Sify Movies Around 90 films - experimental films, movies with high budgets, comedies and love stories et al - have released in the last 10 months. The year started with the disastrous Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamana, which promoted Rekha as its high point. This was followed by Mani Ratnam's Guru, loosely based on the life of late business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani. The Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai starrer brought temporary respite and plunging movie ticket sales went up. But it was not enough to compensate the losses. Then came an array of flops, though offbeat offerings like Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday, Rahul Dholakia's Parzania and Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic Signal pepped up the box office. It was Reema Kagti's feel-good ...

TOI finds out if it’s a key ingredient to survival in the industry. SO what if Shilpa Shetty had a nose job, Sushmita Sen had silicone implants and Rakhi Sawant went a step further and took hers out? Women in Bollywood going under the knife is old news. But the now the guys seem to be following suit with face jobs. Think Shah Rukh Khan, Govinda, Shekhar Suman and Kumar Gaurav. But while it might do something for their vanity, does it help them as actors? Cory Walia, make-up artist, says, “It’s about making use of the technology available. Today, the perception is when we have facilities, then why not use them?” At the same time, Cory says things should not be overdone. “We know that stars like Shah Rukh are exposed to high work pressure and need work more often, but he takes it slow and makes it subtle. But somebody like Shekhar Suman makes the changes quite obvious. He shouldn’t have done so many things at the same time. Small doses of plastic surgery are okay,” he explains. On the ot...