Spielberg unveils new War Horse film as Oscars buzz grows

An eagerly anticipated film version of the theatrical hit War Horse, directed by Steven Spielberg, is galloping towards its release in America on Christmas Day and in Britain on Jan 13.

It began as an extraordinary children's book about the brutality of the First World War, seen not through the eyes of a combatant but of a horse.

A quarter of a century later, it was adapted for the stage in a production that took puppetry to a new level, and is still playing to packed houses in London and – since earlier this year – on Broadway, where it won several Tony awards.

Now it looks as if War Horse, originally a novel by Michael Morpurgo, has successfully made the final transformation – to the big screen.

An eagerly anticipated film version, directed by Steven Spielberg, is galloping towards its release in America on Christmas Day and in Britain on Jan 13. Its makers have begun showing it to select audiences in the US – including some film critics – and praise from members of the public is pouring in.

'When the credits rolled, everyone began to clap,' Janet Till, a 51-year-old schoolteacher who attended a recent screening in Florida, told The Sunday Telegraph. 'It is a tremendous film, extremely moving, and great cinematography.

IMDb rates ’DAM999’ among top films

Multilingual movie "DAM999", the tale of a dam built during colonial rule cracking, has got a good rating from IMDb, the award winning movie website.
The $10-million film directed by Sohan Roy has received huge popularity on IMDb and is rated among the 5,000 best movies of the week worldwide at 737th, a press statement said.
At present, according to the IMDb ratings, Roy is the most popular Malayalam director of the week.
"DAMM999" was released end of last month in 550 theatres across the country and got a huge boost on account of the ongoing dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the leaking Mullaperiyar Dam in Kerala.
Tamil Nadu banned the film,saying it portrays the collapse of the dam and this had hurt the sentiments of the Tamil community.
Also, there were allegations that the movie was funded by the Kerala government for political reasons.
Roy has now approached the apex court against the banning of his film by the Tamil Nadu government.
The film revolves around nine characters and their emotions which revolve around the central edifice of a dam.
Produced by Dubai-based BizTV Network, the movie with a social cause highlights hazards a dam can cause. It creates awareness about the impending dangers of a dam collapse, if not attended on time.
The unique subject motivated the audience to watch the movie and it was housefull in Kerala for a week.

AAA Never expected 'Kolaveri di' to become such a rage: Dhanush

Tamil actor-singer Dhanush says he is overwhelmed by the response to his song 'Kolaveri di', which has become a rage online, attracting fans like Amitabh Bachchan. The Tanglish (Tamil and English) song, a funny take on a heartbreak, is from the Dhanush's upcoming Tamil movie '3'. It has already become a craze on internet with over 14 lakh views on YouTube.'I am overwhelmed by the response. When we were recording the song, we never thought it would become such a rage. We didn't have any plans, any marketing strategy to make the song a hit. It just happened. My voice is full of mistakes and that's why it suits the song. I guess that worked for the song because it can be easily hummed,' Dhanush told PTI over phone from Chennai.
'Kolaveri di' (why this murderous rage), which is being shared by the online community rapidly, was released digitally on November 16 by Sony Music. The video shows Dhanush, the son-in-law of superstar Rajinikanth, singing the song in a studio and composer Anirudh Ravichander on the keyboard while director Aishwarya R Dhanush and co-star Shruti Hassan watch along and give suggestions. 'When I was writing down the lyrics, I kept in mind all the English words that are used in the Tamil vocabulary. Words like I, you, me, how, why, cow.. I just framed them into sentences and thats how I came up with the song,' said Dhanush, who also penned down the lyrics of the song. Debutant music-director Anirudh Ravichander said they wanted to do something new with the song and it was Aishwarya who came up with the concept.
'Aishwarya maam gave me the situation and asked me to weave around it. The concept of heartbreak is very common and happens all the time. We wanted to try a new concept with (Tamil–English) lyrics and surprisingly it worked,' Anirudh told PTI. 'We have used different instruments from all over the world. Shehnai, strings, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass. I have kept the keyboard sound minimal,' he added.
Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan is the latest to be smitten by the quirky lyrics and foot-tapping music of the song. 'Just heard 'Kolaveri di' after much talk on it ... its so original and catchy ..congrats Dhanush and Aishwarya Rajni's daughter) .. love,' Bachchan posted on Twitter. Dhanush replied, saying, 'It's a great honour to get a tweet from Big B, very kind of him. I dedicate the tweet to all you guys who made kolaveri this big. Love you guys. God bless,' he posted.'Kolaveri' appeared as the number one Indian trend on Twitter on November 21.The lyrics of the song go like 'yo boys I am singing song, soup song, flop song. Why this kolaveri kolaveri kolaveri di why this kolaveri kolaveri kolaveri di rhythm correct why this kolaveri kolaveri kolaveri di maintain this why this kolaveri..di.' PTI

AAA Dhanush 'in love' with Neevan Niigaam's 'Kolaveri' version

Tamil star Dhanush's chartbuster 'Kolaveri Di' is being loved by all, but he is highly impressed with the version sung by Sonu Niigaam's four-year-old son, Neevan.

'Oh my god I'm in love with Nevaan's version of 'Kolaveri'. Great idea Sonu Niigaamji. It's very touching and endearing. Hi 5 nevaan. God bless,' Dhanush posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Neevan's version of the song has some different lyrics, but his innocence in the video has been winning hearts ever since it went online. If Dhanush's song was called 'Soup Song', Neevan calls his version 'Milk Song'.

After recieving Dhanush's compliments, Sonu tweeted: 'Thank u @dhanushkraja ji... He so loved the song that we thought we should do this for him... And now he thinks you'll meet him :) More Power!'

Dhanush, son-in-law of superstar Rajnikanth, more than welcomed the idea.

'@sonuniigaam he is a Rockstarji. Would love to meet him and also make a video with him. I know he will steal the show. Still... God bless,' he responded.

Sonu seemed excited at the prospect of getting his son to meet Dhanush.

'@dhanushkraja He'll be so happy to meet u... He has emulated ur style so enthusiastically afterall... @dhanushkraja Thank u for giving our nation such an endearing treat of a song... God bless,' tweeted Sonu.

'Kolaveri di' has received over 17 million hits on YouTube so far since its release Nov 16.

The number has been composed by 18-year-old Anirudh Ravichander for Dhanush-starrer '3', which is being directed by his wife Aishwarya. The film also stars Shruthi Haasan.

John is ready for marriage

Photo courtesy:urbanasian.com

Amid rumours of his link-up with investment banker Priya Marwah, Bollywood actor John Abraham has said that he is finally ready to tie the knot. 'Its my wish to get married soon. I would love to settle down in life. It is human nature. There was a time when I did not want to get settled down but today I want to. It is a normal... natural thing,' John told PTI. John's love life has been constantly in news post his break-up with Bipasha Basu. The end of his eight-year relation with the actress recently, led to several speculations with both of them getting linked with their co-stars. While Bipasha was said to be seeing Shahid Kapoor, Josh Harnett and Rana Duggabati, John has been linked to Genelia D'souza and Deepika Padukone.





B-town is also abuzz about John dating Marwah and his plans to wed next year. But the 38-year-old actor wishes to keep his personal life away from media glare and chooses to remain mum about the special person in his life. 'Today, I will fiercely protect my personal life. Like I will never comment on my personal life in public...saying it is this.. it is that. Today, if anybody comes in way of my personal life, I will react... probably like how a tiger reacts,' John said. 'In the past I had this gestation period where ..my personal life was out in open. But today I will not allow it to go out there. I will hold it close to me I will not let


anybody come close to it and cover it. I am at a stage where I probably want to do good films and have a good life,' he said. PTI

Kerala kids to get new pentavalent vaccine shots

As part of the Universal Immunisation Programme of the Indian government, Kerala will Dec 14 introduce the pentavalent vaccine which provides protection to a child from five life-threatening diseases.
'In a year, 5.5 lakh kids in the state would have received a shot of this vaccine,' Rajiv Sadanandan, principal secretary in the state's health department, told reporters here Tuesday at an interaction with the media ahead of the launch of the vaccine in the state.
The vaccine provides protection from diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type B (HiB).
The pentavalent vaccine will replace the current hepatitis B and DPT primary vaccines schedule in the immunisation programme.
'I am not worried of the price of this new vaccine in the open market because I am getting it free,' said Sadanandan when asked if the price of the vaccines would be a burden on the state.
This new vaccine is being launched at the grassroots level in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the first phase because of the hugely successful immunisation coverage these states have.
The health official pointed out that the vaccine has been used in the private sector for many years and it has been found to be the safest.
'If this is good for the elite, then it is going to be good for all,' he added.
About complaints on the safety of the vaccine after deaths occurred in Uttar Pradesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bhutan, Satish Gupta, health specialist with UNICEF, said investigations have made it clear that the deaths were not caused by pentavalent vaccine.
'In Uttar Pradesh, it has now been found that pentavalent vaccine was not given,' Gupta said.
'Likewise, in neighbouring countries also deaths were reported but it was found that they did not occur due to the new vaccine. Now it has been re-introduced in these countries also,' he added.
In reply to a question if children need to be protected against haemophilus influenza type B as it is reported to be found more in very cold countries, Sadanandan said it was a wrong statement because studies from the premier state government-run children's hospital here showed new-born baby deaths occurred on account of neo-natal pneumonia.
'The government of Kerala is seriously concerned about how to bring down the infant mortality in the state from the present 12 (per 1,000 births) to six in the next five years,' he said.
The infant mortality in the country currently stands at 53 per 1,000 births and in the US it stands at seven.

Tom Cruise wows Mumbai fans

Signaling a new era of co-operation between Bollywood and Hollywood, Hollywood star Tom Cruise was Sunday accorded a red carpet treatment at a special pre-release screening of his forthcoming movie "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol", over a fortnight before its global release Dec 21.

Wearing a blue shirt and jeans, keeping in mind Mumbai's warm weather, Cruise, 49, was at his charismatic best, even as his host and co-star, Anil Kapoor, beamed with pride at the Imax Cinema in Wadala in central Mumbai.

When Cruise, Patton and Kapoor - who plays telecom tycoon Brij Nath in the film arrived, they were throatily cheered by the gathering.

Many carried posters with "We Love You, Tom Cruise," and "Welcome to Mumbai, Tom Cruise," which Cruise happily signed.

Cruise and co-star Paula Patton spent nearly two hours wowing and directly interacting with their fans, happily signing autographs, accepting their good wishes for the movie, which nearly 1,500 of them watched.

"I have wanted to come here all my life. I kept telling Anil, a great actor and an incredible host, 'I promise you I will come to India'. Yesterday when we were at the Taj Mahal, I told him 'You have to pinch me. I can't believe I am here'," said a smiling Cruise.

Besides Budapest, Moscow and Dubai, Mumbai is one of the cities where parts of the film have been shot, though much of the location has been recreated in Dubai and Vancouver.

Asked about his experience in India, Cruise said he met Kapoor and became friends with him when he gave away the Golden Globe Award to the "Slumdog Millionaire" team, which included the Indian actor.

At the time, Kapoor invited him to India, and Cruise accepted it, promising to visit at some point.

Asked Whether he was familiar with Indian cinema, Cruise said: "Yes, I know some of them. You make so many movies. I don't know all of them. But, you have made many great films, and have great film-makers and actors here."

Co-star Patton appeared sharper when she quickly named 'Aishwarya Rai' when asked what stars she was familiar with, and mentioned "Monsoon Wedding" as her favourite Indian movie.

"This is the first time a top Hollywood star and producer not only screened his forthcoming movie for an Indian audience pre-release, but remained personally present to interact with his fans," said an official from the host team.

Referring to the film in whih he plays an IMF agent Ethan Hunt accused of a terrorist bombing in the Kremlin, leading to US-Russia tension, Cruise said he was excited working the movie's director, Brad Bird.

In the traditional hallmark of the MI franchise, the latest one provides ultra-high adrenaline action supported by a racy script that keeps the viewer on the edge of the seat.

Among the highlights in MIGP is a breath-taking stunt by Hunt (Cruise) atop the Burj al-Khalifa, the world's tallest building in Dubai.

Asked to comment what went through his mind while doing the stunt, Cruise laughed: "I am not afraid of heights... I am scared of falling."

Whether his family - actress Katie Holmes and daughter Suri - are concerned about the intense action in all the MI films, Cruise said: "They know who I am and what I do. I have always done things like these my whole life. They know I want to entertain an audience. I call them and say - 'Do not worry' - They know, understand and appreciate my dedication, and they understand."

"I always feel that what I can do that I would be excited, and the my audience would be excited," Cruise said, asked what kind of challenges a top Hollywood star like him encountered.

Also present on the red carpet was Kapoor's vivacious daughter, actress Sonam, accompanied by actor Neil Nitin Mukesh and Indian film director duo Abbas-Mustan Burmawallah, for promoting their new film "Players," due for release early next January.

King Khan enthralls Kerala fans

Enthralling his fans in Kerala, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, went footloose to the tunes of popular number 'Chammak Challo' from his recently released science fiction thriller 'Ra One' at a function here Sunday.

Khan also sang few lyrics from 'Thuje Dekha to Jana Sanam..' from his popular film 'Dilwale Dulahnia Le Jaiyange' as thousands of his fans gathered at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. Addressing his fans, Khan said he would like to spend more time in "God's Own country" during festival time and also expressed regret for not being able to speak in the local language Malayalam.