Picture from the Song "Pyar ki Pungi" from movie "Agent Vinod"

Makers of the upcoming Agent Vinod refuted the claim made by an Iranian music band, which said that there are similarities between film’s Pungi Baja De and their number Soosan Khanoom.

Barobax Corp, a music company, founded by three Iranian nationals, has slapped a legal notice against the makers of the soon-to-be-released Bollywood action-spy movie, Agent Vinod, for allegedly infringing their copyright over the prelude used in the catchy Pungi Baja de track from the film.

The music band has alleged that the initial portion of the song Pungi from Agent Vinod, which has become a rage now, has been “lifted without any change” from the title song — Soosan Khanoom of their album.

However, in an interview, producer of Agent Vinod, Dinesh Vijan denied this claim.

“There is no similarity between the two tracks. It’s just that for the first, three-four seconds of the groove cannot be patented anywhere else. For once, Pritam’s melody is original,” Vijan said.

“If you listen to both the tracks, you will come to know there is no similarity, except for the first three-four seconds,” he said.

The Iranian music band, in a notice, had demanded the music director, producers and directors to refrain from releasing the song in the movie. The band had said they would be compelled to initiate proceedings to seek a restraining order and necessary compensation.

“There are two versions of the song, the one that will be there in the film, has nothing to do with the song of the singing group so they cannot do anything about it. We will reply in the right manner,” Vijan said.

Agent Vinod, starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in lead roles, releases on March 23.

The Hangover Part II

“The Hangover Part II” is director Todd Phillips’ follow-up to 2009’s smash hit “The Hangover,” which became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all-time and also won the Golden Globe for Best Film – Comedy or Musical.

Reprising their roles from “The Hangover,” Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, and Justin Bartha star in the film. Jeffrey Tambor, Ken Jeong and Mike Tyson also rejoin the cast.

In “The Hangover Part II,” Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) travel to exotic Thailand for Stu’s wedding. After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu is taking no chances and has opted for a safe, subdued pre-wedding brunch. However, things don’t always go as planned. What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in Bangkok can’t even be imagined.

Phillips once again directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scot Armstrong (“Starsky & Hutch”) and Craig Mazin (“Scary Movie 4”). Phillips is also producing the film under his Green Hat Films banner, together with Dan Goldberg (“The Hangover,” “Due Date”). Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, William Fay, Scott Budnick, Chris Bender and J.C. Spink are the executive producers, with David A. Siegel and Jeffrey Wetzel serving as co-producers.

Collaborating with Phillips behind the scenes are director of photography Lawrence Sher, production designer Bill Brzeski, editor Debra Neil-Fisher and costume designer Louise Mingenbach, all of whom previously teamed with the director on “The Hangover.”
“The Hangover Part II” is being filmed in Los Angeles, and on location in Thailand.

Slated for worldwide release beginning May 2011, “The Hangover Part II” is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures, and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Director- Todd Phillips

Mercedes-Benz launches City Bus

After its successful entry into long-distance inter-city bus segment with its 2-axle and 3-axle coaches, Mercedes-Benz on Friday announced its entry into the city bus segment in India by launching the City Bus. Mercedes-Benz India (MBIL) also inaugurated its City Bus manufacturing facility at Chakan in Pune. The low-entry City Bus is powered by OM 926 diesel engine with 252 hp of power. The base version is priced at Rs.90 lakh, ex-factory Pune.

The company had announced a capital investment programme of Rs.600 crore at its Chakan facility to house its passenger car, commercial vehicle production and paint shop. The passenger car line has a capacity of 10,000 units per annum while the commercial vehicle line can make 1,200 trucks / buses per annum. The paint shop would be completed this year.

Mercedes has tied up with its global body-building partner MCV to jointly build the City Buses. MCV will build the bus bodies at the new facility, set up next to MBIL’s Chakan plant. The bus body building plant has an annual capacity of 900 units.

Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses, said, “Our entry into city buses will enable more and more people to ‘Travel with the Star’. We will participate in the Indian market growth by expanding our bus business with a superior-quality low-entry city bus for the Indian market.”

Daimler also announced the appointment of Markus Villinger as the head of Buses for India. According to Mr. Villinger, “India is a fascinating market and there is a rising demand for robust, reliable and efficient city bus transportation. Our production line at the Pune plant combined with body-building from our captive partner, MCV, will ensure our uncompromising standards of quality are maintained in India.”

Saif Ali Khan's muse goes topless

South African model cum actress Ann Lee Roberts, who debuts in Saif Ali Khan’s upcoming second home production ‘Agent Vinod’ with Kareena Kapoor, has gone topless to attract eye balls.

The film, which is slated to release next month, has already created a lot of buzz after Saif’s brawl with South African citizen Iqbal Meer Shara at Mumbai pub. And, with Ann Lee posing topless on social networking sites, the flick and this new hottie is surely creating a lot of anticipation and excitement amongst the Indian fans, who will surely knock the Box Office window to buy the tickets of the film, in the hope of some sizzling scenes between the model and Saif.
Ann Lee has been a model for a leading denim brand and has even won an international beauty pageant in Johannesburg.

VJ-anchor Ayushman Khurana will debut with Vicky Donor.

John Abraham’s maiden home production, Vicky Donor is a romantic comedy between a Punjabi boy and a Bengali girl, set against the background of sperm donation.

The film stars video jockey and television host Ayushmann Khurrana and TV actress Yami Gautam. Annu Kapoor will also be seen in the movie.

The theatrical trailer is crass but funny. The comic caper suggests that Vir Das and Anu Kapoor might have some tricks up their sleeves.

“It is not a social film. It is a commercial film. It is a fun film and we have touched upon the topic of sperm donation in a most respectful manner,” John said at the first look launch of Vicky Donor.

“The concept of sperm donation in a film is first of its kind. It is very unique and it has to be treated with lot of care,” the actor added.

Directed by Shoojit Sircar, the film is a humorous take on the subject.

Vicky Donoris set to release on May 11, 2012.

Sonakshi 'can't wait' to join Dabangg 2

Actress Sonakshi Sinha says she is looking forward to join the star-cast of Dabangg 2 and hopes that the film does better than the first part.

“Dabangg 2 shoot starts today (Friday). I join them on the 18th… Can’t wait to get back to where it all started! All the best to Arbaaz Khan,

 Salman Khan and the entire team! Abhi tak sabko nehlaya tha, chalo ab sabko dho daale dabangg ho (sic),” she tweeted. Dabangg 2 marks the directorial debut of actor Arbaaz Khan. Starring Salman and Sonakshi, the movie is slated for release at the end of the year.

Well, unlike the “here-and-gone-again” Samsung Galaxy S II Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) update, this one looks like it’s here to stay. GSM Arena is reporting that HTC Sensation XE units in Germany and other Nordic countries are currently receiving the long-awaited OS upgrade.

Besides bringing Android 4.0 to the handsets, HTC has also updated its Sense UI to version 3.6, which brings some Sense 4.0 features to the Sensation XE. The update is likely to be pushed to the rest of Europe shortly, with a global availability expected to happen very soon.

We have contacted HTC for more information.

Via GSM Arena

Dravid to act as captain, coach, mentor for Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai: Rahul Dravid, who retired from international and domestic cricket, will be Rajasthan Royals’ captain-cum-coach-cum mentor in the Indian Premier League, team’s co-owner Raj Kundra said today.

“Rahul Dravid will be the coach and the mentor as far as the team is concerned,” Kundra told PTI today.

Spin wizard Warne, who led the Royals in the first four editions of the IPL, was also the mentor and coach of the team and Dravid would fill in these positions.

Dravid was the natural choice to lead the Jaipur franchise in IPL 5 commencing on April 4, after the retirement of Australian great Shane Warne from the T20 League, according to Kundra.

“He was my first choice when the board sat down and said who do you want as captain. We had to make the decision. I had only one name and that was Rahul Dravid,” Kundra said.

“He is someone the Indian players look up to and the international players respect. He is a role model. He is very calm and collected,” Kundra said in praise of “The Wall” who scored over 24,000 runs in Tests and ODIs combined with 48 hundreds to add lustre to the figures.

The Royals had bought Dravid in the 2011 IPL auction for $500,000. He was with Vijay Mallya‘s Royal Challengers Bangalore for the first three years of the cash-rich T20 League.

Kundra expects the new skipper to recreate the same magic in the upcoming edition commencing on 4 April that the Jaipur franchise had sprung up while clinching the title at the inaugural season of IPL in 2008.

“This year we have given him a decent team as per his requirements. We have some great players. I hope he gives us the result we had in season one,” he said.

Dravid scored 343 runs in 12 matches in his first season with the Royals in 2011 even as the team ended up at the sixth position.

PTI

Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu

Well, wedding season in Bollywood continues. Another big fat royal wedding is soon going to take place. Any guesses, no it’s not of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor which all are assuming but another wedding at the Nawab’s residence will take place and that is of Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu.

Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu are getting married before Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Kunal in an interview said that he doesn’t want to waste anymore time and wants to settle down with his ladylove very soon. Soha and Kunal won’t be waiting for Saif and Kareena’s wedding as Saifeena are busy with their respective films.

Speculations were rife that Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor will announce their wedding date during the press conference of ‘Agent Vinod’ but things were not confirmed yet. It was also heard that the couple might push back their wedding date due to prior commitments.

Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu are in love for quite sometime and they want to settle down soon.

‘Salmon Fishing’ is harmless, flavorless

For anyone who wishes the movies could be more like 1985 or 1958, there’s Lasse Hallström. The man who brought us “Chocolat,’’ “The Cider House Rules,’’ and “The Shipping News’’ now brings glad tidings from the Middle East, where his smoothness and stultifying good taste abet the story of a handsome Yemeni sheik who would like a dry riverbed hydrated and populated with fish for his leisure.

OK, OK. You caught me. The movie’s not about the sheik at all. It’s about Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor), a Scottish scientist who reluctantly supervises the transfer of the fish, the sheik’s British investment strategist, Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt), who recruits the scientist into going along with this folly, and the big vat of “I think you’re swell’’ they both fall into. It’s all been called “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,’’ just like Paul Torday’s 2007 novel, and, except for some despicable behavior in the later going, it couldn’t be more harmless.

Once Alfred meets Harriet in the lobby of her company, there’s almost nowhere else for this movie to go but cute. That should suffice. Right now, there’s really no resisting Blunt, who keeps applying alchemy to nothingness. I don’t believe she’s a Harriet, but part of her allure comes from turning weeds into roses. She’s as much a gardener as she is an actor. It’s obvious why Alfred is drawn to her. He’s in a sleepy marriage to a workaholic (Rachael Stirling) too busy to notice him, and Harriet is comically, snortingly alive. So much so that when the British soldier (Tom Mison) she’s been dating is called to fight in Afghanistan, he asks her to wait for him.

Current events and one event involving a massive current interfere with everyone’s plans. You can see what Hallström and the screenwriter Simon Beaufoy might have been hoping to pull off. The movie has the makings of a decent screwball comedy. Alfred is an intelligent drip. Harriet is a spark of sorts. And they have professional, domestic, and natural obstacles to work out. There’s even some good support. Kristin Scott Thomas power-talks through her role as the prime minister’s press officer, who suspects the sheik and his new river would provide a feel-good photo op for Anglo-Arab relations.

You welcome Thomas’s enthusiasm, but the film is so mellow that her scenes actually feel over-caffeinated. Better is Amr Waked as the sheik. He’s so easily charismatic that, at times, you don’t know why anyone bothered with the rest of the movie. Putting his native Scottish accent to rare use in a movie, McGregor delivers a good line or two, but when is he going to get his mood back up? Feeling glum, he observes: “I don’t know anyone who goes to church anymore. We go to Target on Sunday.’’

That line says it all. There’s no passion or determination or lust in this movie. After a while even Blunt appears to be sleepwalking from aisle to aisle. Everything here happens – simply because it must. It’s a movie, and if something has to happen it might as well be this. When people say that Hollywood no longer makes anything for them, they are wishing they could have more of a movie like this. Hallström makes handsome films, often from good or popular books, films in which all the edges and angles have been shaved away and the problems presented without stress.

This is a director who’s come to the conclusion that people need a break from their troubles, from Michael Bay and Lisbeth Salander, that we’d like to feel good even amid clear and present danger, despite the realities of the fictional world in which he’s working. His movies are old-fashioned in that sense. They’re escapist. “The Cider House Rules’’ was subversively so: an abortion drama done up as a Hallmark card. “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’’ has war and cursing and passable sex. But, proudly, it has no conviction to offer, just the comforts of its genericness. Hallström knows where some of us want to live. Target is church.