Movie Review for Akshay Kumar's Latest Film '8x10 Tasveer'

The Story:
This film is about a man named Jai (Akshay Kumar) who has the ability to stare at a photograph and see what happened either to the person in the picture (if they're already dead) or where they are (if they're alive). Within the first twenty minutes;Jai finds out his father has died. At first he doesn't assume that there's anything strange about his passing, but then he sends himself into the picture of his father and finds out he was murdered.


Akshay Kumar - Jai Puri: A strong, athletic man who has the ability to look at a picture and be transported into the body of the person he is looking at for a moment.

Ayesha Takia - Sheela Patel: Jai's girlfriend who seems to be very much in love with him and is ready to marry him. She wants him to stop looking for his father's murderer.

Javed Jaffrey - Hapibullah Pasha (Happi): A detective who has come to investigate the death of Jai's father. He was very close to him and wants to find out what happened. He is very methodical; has Obsessive Compulisve Disorder.

Cast:

Akshay Kumar - Jai Puri

Ayesha Takia - Sheela Patel

Sharmila Tagore - Savithri Puri

Girish Karnad - Anil Sharma

Javed Jaffrey - Hapibullah Pasha (Happi)

Anant Mahadevan - Sundar Puri

Rushaad Rana - Adit

Benjamin Gilani - Jatin Puri

Anurag Nagar - Akash Puri




Crew:
Distributor: Percept Picture Company & T-Series
Production House: Percept Picture Company & T-Series
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Story & Screenplay: Nagesh Kukunoor

Music: Salim-Sulaiman & Bohemia


What Works:
The movie immediately draws you in. There is a lot of action throughout the film that gets the attention of the audience. The suspense and mystery is interesting and definitely unexpected. There are no shy women hanging behind trees changing outfits every five minutes while their lover runs towards them. This is not a typical Indian movie by any stretch of the imagination. The Canadian back drop gives this family (despite the fact that they speak Hindi) a very North American sensibility which works.


What Doesn't Work:
This movie takes themes and ideas from American films like 'The Butterfly Effect'. The story gets to be very far fetched and implausible. But it's almost admissible because it's an action movie. There's so much going on; so much that the writer is trying to fit into one movie that it's almost laughable when something new comes out.


The Soundtrack:
The film's soundtrack doesn't have a ton to offer, but the songs that are in there are solid songs. The limited music doesn't mean that the soundtrack is lacking. It's actually nice to not be inundated with songs every five minutes.


Slated Or Rated?

Slated! This movie keeps people's attention, but isn't one that blows your mind away. It's not a terrible movie, but it's not great either. There's lots of action, mystery, and even some tender moments. But it's one that you won't be sad to miss.


3 out of 5

Critic: Phylis J. Iqbal

Asin Sets Her Sights Higher

The film 'Ghajini' was one of the hottest blockbusters at the end of 2008. It totally blew any other movie out of the water with how well it did in the box office. The cast was unbelievable, and people like Aamir Khan and Asin gave performances that were hard to forget.

That's why it's no surprise that Asin is quickly becoming an 'it' girl in Bollywood. Asin is so busy handling all the offers from Bollywood that she has started refusing offers from down south. She's rapidly becoming someone that will be as well known as people like Kareena Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Priyanka Chopra.

Asin has recently continued to do things like signing up for commercials for Tata Sky opposite her 'Ghajini' co-star Aamir Khan. But now Asin has also begun to set her sights on her upcoming film 'London Dreams'. "In 'London Dreams' she plays the role of a main dancer of a band called "London Dreams", according to a source close to Asin. The source also said that everyone 'was very pleased with her success as the whole cast and crew had seen 'Ghajini'.'

She has already started working on her next project which is Kamal Hassan's '19th Step'. And sources tell us that soon Asin will star opposite Akshay Kumar; as she has also signed on to do a Priyadarshan film. That's right; soon she and Akshay Kumar will be showing their on screen chemistry in a new movie.

Overall Asin seems to be taking the right steps to move her career forward. She is at a critical time in her career where she must make the right choices that will determine how hot she is in Bollywood. Asin has everything in place-she's beautiful, a great actress, and has already done some great work.

We want to know what you think about Asin being the next big Bollywood star. Give us your thoughts below.

Shilpa Shetty Learns from Jade Goody's Battle Over Cancer

Shilpa Shetty and Jade Goody may not have been on the best of terms when they were on the show 'Big Brother', but all of that changed shortly after the show ended. Shilpa Shetty and Jade Goody actually became very close friends. Shilpa Shetty even went to the U.K. in hopes of saying good-bye to her friend who was suffering from cervical cancer at the time.

Since her death, there have been many tributes paid to the ex-'Big Brother' star. But Shilpa Shetty says that her fallen friend has taught her a lot about life and about cancer. Shilpa Shetty recalled that just two short years ago they were bickering on television. She's glad that she patched up with Jade Goody and became good friends with her.

Jade Goody's untimely death taught Shilpa Shetty about how precious and unpredictable life really is. These are lessons that may have come in a difficult way, but Shilpa Shetty is grateful to her friend.

She recently wrote in her blog that "Jade put up a brave fight; lost her battle with cancer, but won many hearts with her courage and how she dealt with it. My heart sank on hearing the news, but in hindsight I was glad she wasn't in pain anymore and passed away peacefully in her sleep". Shilpa Shetty continued by saying "She truly has brought awareness for cervical cancer and I hope young women learn the importance of getting tests done regularly to diagnose any early symptoms."

It seems that out of this tragic death of a woman who had so much life left to live, that something good has come. Shilpa Shetty is forever grateful to Jade Goody for her friendship, the lessons she has taught her, and for the new awareness that she may not have had without her.

Jade Goody will truly be missed.

Tabla Girl Tina Sugandh New Single,

Tina Sugandh is not your typical one trick pony, she could quite possibly be the total package.
Her unique vocals are organic with a definite South Asian influence. Tina can also dance,
backing up her dance beats with rhythmic moves that would make even trained Bollywood
dancers green with envy. But her most famous skill is her tabla playing which has earned her
the nickname "Tabla Girl."

Her last remix, "Break Me" climbed to #4 on the Billboard Dance Charts giving Miss Sugandh
the recognition that she deserves. So will her new track do as well as "Break Me" did? Tina has
a new single and remix out for her song "You Without Me".
Hopefully Tina's streak of good luck will continue with her new single. The song is close to
Tina's heart as she wrote it about her best friend- her mother who passed away in December of
last year.

Tina Sugandh also has a new music manager, Jerry Blair, who in the past has been the
Executive Vice President of Columbia Records. He's worked with everyone at Columbia Records
from Marc Anthony, to Dido, to Mariah Carey. And as the Executive Vice President of Arista
Records; Jerry Blair also helped to launch the careers of Pink and Sarah McLachlan.
It's pretty cool that Tina Sugandh has a new single that's sure to be hot and also a new music
manager who will hopefully place her name amongst the greats in North American music. So
what do our readers think about Tina Sugandh. Do you think she has the potential to rise as a
relevant artist in the U.S.? Or do you see the position being better suited to someone else? Give
us your thoughts on "Tabla Girl."

Akshay Kumar 'Unbuttoned' at Lakme Fashion Week

India is one of those countries where religion and culture still mix and a lot of things are still considered taboo. But sometimes these things just go a little too far and get blown out of proportion. Maybe it's because people put movie stars on pedestals and expect them to follow rigid standards of what's proper or right. Most of the time they themselves don't even live up to these standards. Or maybe people just think that things are a certain way, when they really aren't.

Well this time the man affected is Akshay Kumar and his wife Twinkle Khanna. That's right-the mega star has had a case filed against him. Why? Because at Lakme Fashion Week when he was getting ready to walk the catwalk, he asked his wife Twinkle Khanna to unbutton his jeans. Seeing as how he's the brand ambassador of Levi's "Unbuttoned", it wasn't like he was being dirty.

Of course, someone out there had to get all bent out of shape and said he was "offended" by the action. The culprit who filed a case against the superstar is a social worker by the name of Anil P. Nayar and he thinks the act was "vulgar and indecent". SG Pandey, a lawyer of the man told Reuters that "After the preliminary inquiry, we will register a case against Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, the abettor of the Lakme Fashion Week show and the top management of the Grand Hyatt and we will take action against them." Do they really think that they'll actually win?

Seems like this guy's just after some money and probably just needs to get out more. If he's so offended by silly things like this, why was he at a fashion show where he would undoubtedly see scantily clad women? This is on par with people in the slums trying to sue Danny Boyle because his movie was titled 'Slumdog Millionaire', people forcing Shahrukh Khan to change his recent movie from 'Billu Barber' to just 'Billu', or my personal favorite the Richard Gere/Shilpa Shetty kiss of 2007.

These people just seem to come out of the woodwork and never seem to reflect the views of the majority. It's lucky for Akshay Kumar that he is a big star. He and his wife probably have their own set of lawyers to deal with this incident.

So what do our readers think about this latest case? Do you think that the social worker was going too far? Or do you think that it was "vulgar and indecent" for a husband to ask his wife to unbutton his jeans before he went on stage for a brand of jeans called "Unbuttoned"? Let us know your thoughts on this incident.