AishwaryaRai Tagged Articles at Cinematical

A confession: I have a downright unnatural willingness to laugh at a) people falling down, and b) people being hit by things. I think it's among the highest forms of humor. So it shouldn't surprise you to learn that I consider The Pink Panther -- the Peter Sellers version -- a national treasure. It may surprise you a bit more to learn that I thought the 2006 Steve Martin/Shawn Levy version was reasonably watchable. But, I mean, what did you expect from someone who adores a well-timed pratfall?

Sony has posted a teaser for the sequel here. The Pink Panther 2 is directed by Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks and the underrated One Night at McCool's), and has Steve Martin's Inspector Clouseau team up with a bunch of similarly bumbling international detectives to track down a thief of historical artifacts. In addition to the first film's Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer, it will also co-star Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Aishwarya Rai, and John Cleese (who's taking over for Kevin Kline). I don't know how I feel about Clouseau being placed among similar nincompoops -- part of the franchise's appeal is the way its protagonist is sort of an island of incompetence. But the teaser did get a chuckle out of me, if only for the look on Martin's face after pronouncing "Well then, I'll just go back home."

Did I mention that I also find bad French accents very funny?

Mike Myers' The Love Guru isn't the only film Ben Kingsley is cooking up, but this time around, it's a little more serious. Just a smidge. Reuters has reported that the actor talked with the Times of India about his new movie, and how he will star as the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. Little was said about the project, such as its name or director, but he does have his co-star -- Aishwarya Rai. The Bollywood actress, who is a former Miss World and the star of The Mistress of Spices, will play the Shah's wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Kingsley said: "I had spoken to Aishwarya last year while we were working on The Last Legion, and she very generously agreed to do the movie with me."

It's a pretty sad story. The emperor's third wife, Mumtaz, died during childbirth. Granted, it was their 14th child (no, that isn't a typo), so there's only so much one body can take. Soon after the loss, the Taj Mahal started construction, and it was completed in 1648. Some years after its completion, he fell ill. His son, Aurangzeb led a deathly rebellion, imprisoned him, and it's said that he spent the rest of his life looking at the Taj from his cell. Now we'll have to wait and see if his stint as this Indian figure can rival his work on Gandhi,* which nabbed 8 Oscars.

*Thanks for the catch, scudie!

Growing up, Steve Martin was my favorite comedic actor, no contest. The Jerk, All of Me, The Man With Two Brains, Three Amigos!, Little Shop of Horrors, Roxanne, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Parenthood, LA Story, Father of the Bride, Bowfinger...you'd be hard pressed to find someone who's appeared in as many modern classic comedies. And he's obviously still a hilarious man (anyone see him on Letterman last night?). That is why his recent career path is so troubling to me. I can't fault the guy for wanting to make big lazy blockbuster family movies, and obviously there are people who enjoy them. I just wish that one of the greatest comedic minds in film history would take some more chances in his twilight years. I love his novels (read The Pleasure of My Company ASAP), and I adored the film version of Shopgirl, I sincerely hope he can bring us more interesting material like that.

But for right now, we're stuck with Pink Panther 2. Variety has announced the supporting cast, and I must say, it's pretty impressive. The great John Cleese is playing Inspector Dreyfus (perfect casting), memorably brought to life by Herbert Lom in the Peter Sellers films. Also on board are Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, and "The Queen of Bollywood" Aishwarya Rai, often referred to as "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World." The three will play "detectives and experts who join forces with Clouseau to catch the thief who has been stealing artifacts around the world." In addition to the new gang, Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer are returning to their roles. Pink Panther 2 was written by no less than five screenwriters: first-timers Scott Neustadter and Mike Weber, big-time comedy scribes Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (Splash, Parenthood, City Slickers), and Martin himself. Shawn Levy directed the 2006 Pink Panther, Harald Zwart (One Night at McCool's, Agent Cody Banks) will helm this one. Look for Pink Panther 2 just in time for Valentine's Day -- February 13, 2009.

Maybe it's just me, but Colin Firth seems like he could play a lot of different roles, but a battle hardened Roman Legionnaire wouldn't necessarily be one of them. Movieweb is now hosting the full-length trailer for the fantasy epic, The Last Legion. The marketing machine for the movie must be kicking into gear, since it was just last week that we got an exclusive look at the new poster for the film. The cast includes Firth, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, Ben Kingsley, and Thomas Sangster as the young emperor Romulus. The story centers on a Roman soldier (Firth), sworn to protect the boy-emperor Romulus as the empire is crumbling. While they are on the run, they join with a mysterious Byzantine warrior (Rai), and in the midst of all the adventure is an origin story of the legendary blade Excalibur. Legion was directed by Doug Lefler, who seems to have a thing for fantasy tales, as he was a regular writer for Xena, Hercules, and was unfortunately also responsible for the direct-to-video sequel to Dragonheart.

So while his role in Legion might be a little out of character, Firth has been keeping busy with some more "traditional" choices. First up is his role in the adaptation of the books of poet Blake Morrison, And When Did You Last See Your Father? But, Firth is also signed for a big-screen version of the hit stage musical Mamma Mia! -- forever solidifying his reputation as a go-to guy for romantic comedy, and the family-fantasy The Moon Princess. Legion will premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival this September, but no North American release date has been confirmed. Maybe the Weinstein Co. are looking to gauge some audience reactions first.

At long last, the Colin Firth historical fantasy epic The Last Legion will be hitting theaters on August 24, and The Weinstein Co. has just released to Cinematical a new theatrical poster for the film. The film takes place during the break-up of the Roman Empire, with Firth starring as a Roman legionnaire who must act as a guard for the Emperor's children as the barbarian hordes are closing in. An epic battle ensues, the Roman forces are overwhelmed and scattered, and the boy Emperor Romulus is taken prisoner by the invading Goths. Colin Firth must forge an alliance with representatives of the nearby Byzantine Empire -- specifically a mysterious warrior, played by Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai -- in order to get the boy out of danger. Also coming into play during the story will be a secret sword that comes with its own prophecy: "One edge to defend, one to defeat; In Britannia was I forged to fit the hand of he who is destined to rule." Hmm ... no points for guessing which sword that is. Click on the image above to get the full-sized poster.

I have no problem admitting that I like cheesy pop music. I don't even have a problem admitting to seeing Spice World in the theater -- twice! -- and loving every minute of it. Now I'll admit another gem: I really like the song "Not Gonna Get Us" by t.A.T.u., particularly the Russian-language version. You probably remember t.A.T.u. more for their controversial image, that of two underage lesbian schoolgirls. Well, after a little hiatus the duo has returned, now perfectly legal and admittedly heterosexual (one of them even has a kid courtesy of an ex-boyfriend), and in addition to recording their third album they have plans for a movie.

Based on the novel "t.A.T.u. Come Back" by Russian Parliament deputy Aleksey Mitrofanov, the movie will follow the stories of two girls who meet and fall in love during a t.A.T.u. concert. According to Moviehole, the title has been changed to Finding t.A.T.u. and is being directed by two-time Oscar-nominee Roland Joffé. I'm not sure where it has actually been confirmed that Joffé has sunk so low -- aside from Moviehole's mention, he is also credited on the movie's Wikipedia page -- but according to the IMDb his next project, following the upcoming Captivity, is Singularity, featuring the strange pairing of Brendan Fraser and Aishwarya Rai. Personally, I would prefer it if the t.A.T.u. movie was a campy musical focusing more on the madcap adventures of the two singers, Lena Katina and Julia Volkova (a la the unnecessary guilty pleasures of Head, The Ghost Goes Gear, and of course Spice World), and I also think the once-proposed t.A.T.u. anime made even more sense, but if the director of The Killing Fields and The Mission is actually attached to this, I am very intrigued to see how the thing turns out.

In a collaboration between the British film industry and Bollywood, Provoked: A True Story has just been released in the UK, and was screened today at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. It follows the true story of a Sikh housewife in London who killed her husband in 1989 after years of abuse. After an arranged marriage, Kiranjit Ahluwalia moved to Britain with her husband, Deepak. Over the next ten years, she was raped, beaten with everything from belts to furniture, secluded and even banned from certain foods like chillies and black coffee. After so many years of terrible abuse, she snapped and had some pretty terrible revenge -- she doused her husband in gas and set fire to him as he slept.

Her husband died in the hospital ten days later, and she was charged with murder. The prosecution said that the crimes acted against her were "not serious," and she was found guilty. Ultimately, she received a new trial, had her charge reduced to manslaughter and now lives in Slough with her children. I wonder when/if the film will receive wide, or even limited, release in the U.S., since it has a pretty notable cast. Aishwarya Rai (Bride & Prejudice) plays Kiranjit, Lost star Naveen Andrews plays Deepak, her husband, Miranda Richardson plays a woman who befriends the wife in prison and Rubeus Hagrid -aka- Robbie Coltrane is the QC who fights on Kiranjit's behalf in her retrial. While we wait to see if the film makes its way to local screens, you can check out a trailer here.

Bollywood is no longer something to be ignored. It was understandable in 2001, when Ghost World hit screens, that many people had never heard of legend Mohammed Radi or seen him sing Jan Pehechan-Ho -- let alone seen ladies and gents go dance crazy without surf boards and bikinis. However, the power of Indian film cannot be ignored -- its volume and ticket sales are the largest in the world and the sensation is sliding out of India bit by bit.

Tonight, the legions of Bollywood fans in Toronto are in for a special treat, and not some quarter-costing sweet from a gumball machine. Tonight, Mani Ratnam's new Indian romantic drama Guru will have its world premiere at the Elgin Theatre. For any of you who think that $10, $15 or even $20 is too much to shell out for a film, try a top price tag of $500 -- and this isn't because the film won't come out for a while. It opens in Canada on Friday. Yes, Bollywood has gotten big enough in the multicultural city of Toronto that they'll charge upwards of 10 times what a premiere sells for at TIFF. And money isn't the only thing to hit high numbers -- city officials are expecting up to 10,000 people to hit Yonge Street in hopes to see one of the film's stars, Abhishek Bachchan or Aishwarya Rai. And they're probably not exaggerating too much. When Babel and the Indian film Never Say Goodbye premiered on the same day, Bollywood fans dwarfed those anxious to see Brad Pitt. Watch out, Hollywood! The Bollywood craze is hitting North America.