Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor in YRF's next Gunday

(Press release)

Fresh from its success of Ek Tha Tiger, Yash Raj Films has announced its next project Gunday that will star Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor in lead roles.

The film is based amidst the most turbulent times in the history of Kolkata, then Calcutta, from 1971 to1988, where Bikram and Bala rose from being small time wagon breakers and coal thieves to becoming the biggest and most powerful black marketing mafia-men.

A rare combination of vigour and wit, the two were inseparable and the city of Calcutta swore by their friendship then. As their notoriety became the stuff of legends, the people of the sprawling city started calling these two carefree rebels as Gunday.

Hunt is on for the leading lady who would play a stellar role in the film, while the cast will be announced shortly.

Incidentally, the film would be both Ranveer and Arjun's third film with YRF and the first time when these two have been featured together.

The film, which goes on floor this December, will be directed by Ali Abbas Zafar who had earlier directed Meri Brother Ki Dulhan.

Uday Chopra to remake 'Bunty Aur Babli' for global audience

Bunty and Babli, the teenaged con artists of the 2005 Bollywood hit Bunty Aur Babli are headed to Hollywood, with filmmaker Uday Chopra planning to remake the film in Hollywood for a global audience with a re-written script.

Chopra, the youngest son of the renowned Bollywood producer-director Yash Chopra, has recently launched his family's film company Yash Raj Films in the US, with plans to produce Hollywood movies. He has already aligned himself as producer with two projects-Peter Glanz'sThe Longest Weekand Olivier Dahan'sGrace of Monaco. But he says he has also begun work on a Hollywood version of Bunty.

This will be the first time an intellectual property of a Bollywood film would be extended to Hollywood and be made into a global film after re-purposing the script. While another successful Bollywood producer, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, has sold the rights of his hugely popular Munnabhai films to Hollywood studios, he will not be remaking the films himself. He has, however, retained the right to clear the re-purposed script.
If this model becomes successful, it could open the floodgates for Chopra who has a bouquet of IPRs of Yash Raj films, right from his father Yash Chopra's classics such as Kabhie, Kabhie, Kaala Patthar, Silsila, Chandni to Mashaal, Dil Toh Pagal Hai and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge to several modern day hits that include films made by his brothers and other directors under the Yash Raj banners, like Chak De India, Dhoom and Band Baaja, Baaraat.

YRF today operates in several verticals of the entertainment space-from film production, studios, digital space, music records and film distribution. Film industry sources, who did not want to be named, pegged YRF's turnover of around Rs 200 crore-Rs 250 crore, depending on the year's slate of films, as they form the largest chunk of the revenue flow. This year, since they have still not had a big film, the figure seems lower, next year with three big films--Salaman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger, SRK and Yash Chopra's next as well as Aamir Khan in Dhoom3, YRF's turnver could be much higher.
Filmed entertainment in India is expected to sustain the growth momentum witnessed in 2011 according to the KPMG Ficci Frames report of 2012 and the Indian film industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.1% to touch Rs 15,000 crore in 2016.

Many Indian filmmakers have grown in size over the past few years and are now becoming ambitious enough to enter Hollywood. Apart from Chopra, a few privately held companies in production as well as post-production have launched themselves in the US, while big companies have forged joint ventures like Reliance Entertainment has with Steven Spielberg.

Chopra says he has much to gain because of the low cost model he can employ in the business. His idea right now is to make three films a year with an equity investment of $5-7 million (Rs 28 crore-Rs 39 crore, at Rs 56 to a $) in each project. "A small amount goes a long way in the US. It is all so structured and pre-sales can be encashed at banks to get you money. With $4-5 million, you can make a $25 million movie, if you got a good agent and a good script," he says.

He has employed a bunch of writers in Beverly Hills, who will re-purpose the script to suit Hollywood sensibilities. If he were to employ Writers Guild of America scriptwriters for a new script, he would have to shell out at least $70,000-$80,000 on each script. Re-purposing of course can come at a considerably lower cost, Chopra says.

Dhoom 3 To Start In May 2012

(Press Release)

A Statement from YRF Films is as follows



".. It is unfortunate that without checking, a leading morning broadsheet irresponsibly declared that the shooting of DHOOM:3 had been indefinitely postponed and that it would be shot after Aamir Khan completes certain other future commitments.



This is absolutely baseless.



DHOOM:3 starts shooting in May 2012 and Aamir Khan joins the schedule in June as per plan".




Produced by Aditya Chopra, DHOOM:3 is written and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, who had also written DHOOM & DHOOM:2.



Apart from Aamir Khan, who plays the anti-hero in the film, and Katrina Kaif, both Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra will continue in their now iconic roles of Jai Dixit and Ali.



The film is slated for a 2013 release.

Big screen fun for SRK-Kat?

(DNA)

Actors Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif, who are currently in London shooting for Yash Chopra’s romantic flick, apparently made the most of their free time in between shoots over the weekend, by catching a Bollywood film in a theatre there.

Some fans who apparently spotted the two stars catching the latest Saif Ali Khan spy thriller, accompanied by Katrina’s sister, and a few crew members, even posted pictures of the actors’ outing online. Reports claimed that the two along with some members of the cast and crew saw Agent Vinod in a theatre with the aam junta there.

According to the buzz online, apparently their shoot was wrapped early in the day and since they were in the vicinity of a theatre where the Bollywood film was playing, they decided to check it out. The cine-goers apparently were unaware of their presence in their midst and it was only when Katrina stepped out in the arcade that some managed to spot them and even clicked their photographs while in the theatre.

Meanwhile, Katrina was expected to also attend a special screening of her own film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara at a university there. It will now be close to a month that she and Shah Rukh have been shooting in London for their first film together.

According to a source, the two will be wrapping up the shoot there by the month end before heading back home. And while SRK is said to be maha-excited about getting back home to family, Kat’s going to be missing her own friends and family there.

YRF digs into its past trove, to remake Daag

(indiantelevision.com)

Going back to its early days, Yash Raj Films (YRF) has decided to remake hit films made under its banner.

Aditya Chopra has employed a special creative team to look into the past YRF hits and devise a way to remake the films in a new format.

The first film to be remade is the 1973 hit, Daag. The film was the story of a widowed mother who discovers that her husband, a fugitive presumed dead, is actually alive and married to another woman.

While the original version of Daag had Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore and Rakhee in the lead, the rehashed version will have Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma.

Dhoom 3', 'Dhoom 4', 'Dhoom 5'

(bollywoodhungama)

DHOOM 3, with Aamir Khan, hasn't gone on floors yet, but the media has gone ahead and announced DHOOM 4 with Salman Khan and DHOOM 5 with Shah Rukh Khan. Yes, you read it right! A section of the media has proclaimed that Yash Raj has already locked the scripts and cast of the DHOOM series. While DHOOM 3 will feature Aamir, DHOOM 4 [with Salman playing a baddie] will release in Eid 2014 and DHOOM 5 [starring SRK] is slated for release in 2015-16.

However, the news seems more like a bluff, since the gap between DHOOM 2 [with Hrithik Roshan] and DHOOM 3 [with Aamir Khan] will be more than seven years, since DHOOM 3 is expected to release in 2013. Hence, expecting DHOOM 4 to release a year after DHOOM 3's release, in 2014, seems ludicrous. Ditto for DHOOM 5, which, reportedly, is expected to release in the following year [2015-2016]. "It's ridiculous! The writer [Vijay Krishna Acharya] hasn't even thought of DHOOM 4 or DHOOM 5," a source close to the Chopras informs me.

Another story doing the rounds is that Aditya Chopra has cast Ranbir Kapoor for his next venture. It is, well, a rumor, with no truth to it. The fact is, Adi is busy with Yash-ji's [Chopra] film, being shot in London currently, and hasn't even thought of what he plans to make next. That's the right status!

Shaad Ali returns to direction

(Mumbai Mirror)

After his last directorial debacle Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Shaad Ali had stuck to assisting other filmmakers in their projects.

But now, the filmmaker has decided to give it another shot. His next venture, after Saathiya, Bunty Aur Babli and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom will star Ranveer Singh in the lead role. The film will go on floors later this year.

The development was confirmed by Ranveer's close friend, who responded on the actor's behalf.

Mumbai Mirror has learnt that the film will be produced by Yash Raj Films. This will also mark YRF's third project with Ranveer completing their three-film-deal with the actor. The heroine is still to be decided.

Earlier, Shaad had planned to cast Shahid in his next but the actor didn't show much interest in the filmmaker's offer. In fact, a source close to the production house revealed that even Ranveer wasn't too inclined towards Shaad's film initially. However, now the two of them have sorted out their issues.

"Ranveer and Shaad are now on the same page and ready to work together. They go back a long way. He assisted Shaad in Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom and the two have been close friends since then. It was Shaad who showed Ranveer around in the industry and introduced him to important filmmakers," added the source.

According to the source, Shaad had asked Ranveer to star in his film even before Band Baja Baarat went on floors. Said the source, "Anyway, all's well that ends well. The two of them met recently, had a long chat and decided to go with Shaad's idea."

Hollywood action director trains Katrina Kaif

(Mumbai Mirror)

Under the tutelage of Transformers action director Conrad Palmisano, the actress is busy doing some daredevil stunts

He directed Sheila LeBeouf's stunts in Transformers. Nicolas Cage, too, is busy learning his action sequences from him for his forthcoming film Seeking Justice. But currently, Hollywood action director Conrad Palmisano is busy helping Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan perform some daredevil stunts on the sets of Kabir Khan's Ek Tha Tiger in Cuba. And Mumbai Mirror has learnt that Katrina under the tutelage of Conrad is busy performing what a member of the Cuban unit describes as the 'real thing'.

The real thing is 'scary' but Katrina isn't afraid. Talking about her stunts, Katrina said, "It's scary. But it is also great fun. I've only done very delicate feminine roles till now. This is a new challenge for me. I guess that's what I'm looking for at this stage of my career."

A unit member informed Mumbai Mirror, "Katrina is really pushing herself to perform stunts that are generally done by male actors. She has been doing free-falls and midair fights with Salman."

Apparently, action director Conrad had initially suggested something 'softer' for Katrina. "Two very different sets of stunts were planned for Katrina and Salman. But Kat was too excited and wanted to do whatever Salman was doing. Conrad finally gave in to her wishes," added the unit member.

Katrina in fact has been getting up really early to practice her stunts under the Cuban sun. "She wakes up at the crack of dawn. And she gets down to serious business. She practices every sequence."

Yash Raj Films Presents The YRF Daily

(Press release)

Come February 2012, Yash Raj Films is all set to introduce ‘The YRF Daily’ to their fans. As a part of their ‘Valentine Fest’, YRF has come up with this unique initiative of giving their fans the best love songs from their movies.

Yash Raj Films will upload a love song every day on their official Dailymotion channel. Fans will not only get to listen to their favourite songs online, but also dedicate and share it with their loved ones through Facebook. Yash Raj has taken this special initiative to break the customary norm of using Facebook and YouTube as the usual social media platform and give way to newer and alternate ones.

So come this Valentine, get set to dedicate the love songs that mean the most to you and tell your loved ones how much they mean to you.

Watch your favourite love songs on the official Yash Raj Daily Motions channel from February 1st, only on: http://www.dailymotion.com/yrf

SRK's new YRF film with Katrina on floors today

(NDTVMovies.Com)



On Friday, Shah Rukh Khan said he felt happy to start work with veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra. He was referring to the new film from Yash Raj Films which pairs him opposite Katrina Kaif for the first time.

The film will go on the floors today.

"Feel extremely happy when I start work with yashji...from the inside. Easy...smiles...happiness...purity of storytelling," SRK posted on Twitter on Friday.

Yesterday, Uday Chopra, Yash Chopra's son who often assists on his movies, confirmed the launch of the film. "Launching my dad's film today with a little pooja at YRF... shoot starts tomorrow with @ iamsrk and Katrina Kaif.. Dad directing after Veer- Zaara (sic)," Uday tweeted.

Yash Chopra returns to direction after seven years - after the cross-border love story Veer Zaara in 2004, with Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta. No title has been decided as yet for the new film.

The film also stars Anushka Sharma, a Yash Raj favourite who made her debut with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in 2008 opposite SRK.

The music of the new film will be composed by A R Rahman and Gulzar will pen the lyrics.

SRK's earlier films with Yash Raj include blockbusters like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil to Pagal Hai and Mohabattein. It remains to be seen what Katrina can add to the SRK-Yash Raj hit formula.

The film is scheduled to release on Diwali 2012.

Yash Raj Films Launches YRF ENTERTAINMENT

Uday Chopra has announced the formation of YRF Entertainment, a Hollywood-based production and financing company focused on developing and producing feature films for the U.S. and international marketplace.



The company is launched and funded by Yash Raj Films, (yashrajfilms.com) the 41-year old studio that was founded by Yash Chopra, and continues to be one of India’s most prolific film producers and distributors. Uday Chopra will serve as CEO of YRF Entertainment and has hired Jonathan Reiman to head development and production under him.




Uday Chopra commented, “My family has a deep commitment to making and distributing quality films that entertain and enlighten audiences. I share that passion, as well as a love for American films that I have had since childhood. It is that enthusiasm and my love of the creative process of filmmaking that drove me to start this new venture.”



YRF Entertainment (yrfentertainment.com) is currently producing and financing “The Longest Week,” which began shooting last week in New York City. Written and directed by Peter Glanz, the movie stars Jason Bateman, Olivia Wilde, and Billy Crudup. Uday Chopra is producing with Neda Armian. Exec Producers are, Jonathan Reiman, Chris Marsh, Stone Douglass, Taylor Materne.



The comedy tells the story of a bratty “man-child” (Bateman) who still lives with his parents in a chic Manhattan hotel but suddenly finds himself evicted, disinherited and hopelessly in love with his best friend’s heartthrob (Wilde).



Uday tracked down the project after the original financier had to abandon the film and immediately fell in love with the material. He quickly arranged a creative and physical production meeting with Glanz and Armian in Mumbai. After the lengthy meeting, he committed to making the movie, with his business and legal team closing the deal in less than two weeks.



YRF Entertainment is also building a slate of projects that it will actively develop and produce from the ground up. The first project the company will develop is an untitled action/comedy by Dan Ewen (“Opposites Attract”) about two twenty-something’s who run away from their podunk towns to pursue big dreams and become an unlikely but seemingly unstoppable duo after meeting serendipitously.

(YRF)

Secret behind Ranveer Singh's six-pack

(IANS | TOI )

After the Khans and Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh of "Band Baaja Baaraat" famehas toned himself with six-pack abs for his next release "Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl".

The 26-year-old actor went on a strict 48-hour diet regime and stayed hungry for nearly two days to get the perfect look, according to a source from production company, Yash Raj Films.

In "Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl", Ranveer will once again be seen with his "Band Baaja Baaraat" co-star Anushka Sharma. Directed by Maneesh Sharma, the film will release Dec 9.

Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan flaunted six-pack abs in "Om Shanti Om", "Bodyguard" and "Ghajini" respectively.

Is Ricky Bahl under pressure?

(Deccan Chronicle )

In the film, it’s Ricky Bahl who troubles the ladies, but in real life, Ranveer Singh seems to be in trouble himself. The promos of his film Ladies vs Ricky Bahl have just gone on air and the Yash Raj project is set to release on December 8. In fact the unit had already begun preparing for the promotional tours but all plans went haywire when some top YRF officials saw the film.

Buzz is that Yash Chopra himself isn’t too pleased with certain romantic scenes featuring Ranveer and Anushka Sharma. “Yash ji is a stickler for perfection and he has asked his team to re-shoot some portions of the film shot in Goa. A last minute meeting was held at the studios and Aditya Chopra has been asked to look into the changes. He is a filmmaker with a vision, his suggestions can never be ignored,” says a source.

However, that’s easier said than done. Ranveer had to cancel his Delhi tour to promote the film and prepare for the role all over again. “He’s flying to Goa tomorrow. We are way behind schedule; now the promotional activities around the film will only commence after November 22,” says Ranveer’s spokesperson. Looks like the team could do with some superpowers to put things back in place now.

YRF Announce ISHAQZAADE - May 2012 Release

(YRF)

Rising from the ashes of hooliganism and small town clan wars, comes the love story of a passion ignited by hatred.




Two people. Born to hate. Destined to love.



Yash Raj Films next project, "ISHAQZAADE", written and directed by Habib Faisal and produced by Aditya Chopra, will now see the launch of Arjun Kapoor along with Parineeti Chopra, in lead roles. Shooting has started from today and the movie is scheduled for a May 2012 release.


Follow the story of the Ishaqzaade’s as their turbulent journey unfolds in the often unrealistic and daunting political confines of rural India.



The Team



Habib Faisal, the award winning director of Do Dooni Chaar and an award winning writer (Band Baaja Baaraat), has also put together a team of immensely talented people, all with tremendous critical acclaim:



· Hemant Chaturvedi (Company - 2002, Maqbool - 2004 & Kurbaan - 2009) is the DOP.

· Amit Trivedi (National & Filmfare Award for Dev:D and Filmfare Award for Udaan - 2010 & acclaimed musical score for No One Killed Jessica - 2011) is composing the music with lyrics by Kausar Munir (Tashan - 2008).

· Mukund Gupta, who won the award for best Production Designer for Do Dooni Chaar, is doing the production design.

· Aarti Bajaj (Do Dooni Chaar - 2010, Jab We Met - 2007, Dev:D - 2009, No One Killed Jessica - 2011, Rockstar – 2011, apart from several others) will be editing the film.

· Rekha ; Chinni Prakash, National Award winners for Jodhaa Akbar and with a long list of outstanding achievements credited to their names over the years, will be choreographing the film.

· And Sham Kaushal, greatly respected and much awarded for Krrish and Kaminey, is the action director.



Ishaqzaade hain jitne fasano mein, milte hain kahan ab jahanon mein

\

Ek Tha Tiger Is 2012 Eid Release For Salman Khan

(YRF Press Release)

Yash Raj Films’ romantic thriller, Ek tha Tiger, which was scheduled for a 1st June release will now release in theatres worldwide on EID 2012.

Since Aamir Khan wanted to release his next film, directed by Reema Kagti, on 1st June, he requested Salman Khan & Aditya Chopra to shift Ek tha Tiger to accommodate this release. Given the close relationship and mutual respect they share for one another, both Adi and Salman were happy to oblige and shift the release to Eid.

Directed by Kabir Khan and Produced by Aditya Chopra, the film stars Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif in the lead roles.

The film is based on a story by Aditya Chopra and the Screenplay & Dialogues have been written by Kabir Khan and Neelesh Misra. Aseem Mishra, who has worked with Kabir on New York, is the DOP. The music will be scored by Suhail Sen.

The film is currently shooting in Dublin from where it moves on to Turkey for its next schedule.

Aamir Khan building body

(Meena Iyer, TNN)

Aamir Khan is in his recreation home in Panchgani. His sprawling bungalow, one of the most envious addresses in the hill station is the perfect hideout for Aamir who is on a diet and who is building his body for the role of the villain in Aditya Chopra's Dhoom-3.

The film is scheduled to go on floors in January 2012 and release around Christmas 2012.

Aamir has obviously carried a personal trainer with him and from what one hears the fastiduous actor is doing strenuous exercises to get those perfect abs.

A source says, He is also looking at the edit of Reema Kagti's next film. However his agenda in Panchgani right now is to get that perfect body.''

Salman's next film to be shot in five countries

(Caroline D'Cruz, TNN )

If you are a die hard Salman Khan fan then here's a piece of Sallu news for you to wrap yourself around. Salman Khan starrer, " Ek Tha Tiger" will be shot in five countries, according to the director of the film, Kabir Khan.

Kabir recently tweeted, "For all those asking... Im sorry I cant reveal all the countries at this stage... all I can say is that Tiger is being shot in 5 countries.

" The film will pair Salman opposite alleged former flame Katrina Kaif and is due to release early next year. The under-production film will see Salman, who is on a hit streak with back-to-back successful films, paired opposite Katrina Kaif, the blue-eyed B-wood girl who can do no wrong. Together, let's hope this explosive jodi makes a film to remember!

Katrina Kaif turns singer for Dhoom 3

(Subhash K Jha)

Katrina Kaif's dream of taking her mother, brother and sisters on a long vacation has to be put on hold for the time being.

After completing the current schedule of Ek Tha Tiger in Dublin, the actress will have to start preparing for her character in Dhoom 3 in the month that she had kept aside for her family holiday.

According to sources, Katrina has received an urgent return-to-duty call from Yashraj Films to not just learn some heavy-duty stunts but also exercise her vocal cords for her role in the sequel to Dhoom.

The actress will need to undertake para gliding lessons and a full-fledged singing course for the project. "Katrina has to go one up on the last Dhoom heroine Aishwarya Rai. That's a tall order in itself," informed a source.

Katrina, who had been planning to sing for Ali Zaqfar's album has yet been uninitiated into the realm of music. This will be the first time Katrina will sing for herself in a film.

Apart from the singing, Katrina it seems has a lot of pending work for the same film. She will need to discuss with Aditya Chopra and director Vijay Krishna Acharya about the look, body language, spoken language and attitude of her character in the project.

In fact, the singing portions of her character are now being worked out, waiting for Katrina to come down and lend her voice. Katrina remained unavailable for comment.

Rani Mukherji may tie the knot next year

(HT)

Actor Rani Mukerji, 33, who is known to be dating filmmaker Aditya Chopra, may get married next year.

The actor’s father, Ram Mukerji, said that his daughter has promised him that she will do so by 2012.

“Rani is so busy that she has not been able to find time for her personal
priorities like marriage,” he added.

Rani Mukherji was last seen in No One Killed Jessica. Aditya Chopra is all set for Dhoom 3 starring Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif.

AR Rahman talks nothing, but music: Yash Chopra

(IANS)

Oscar winning composer AR Rahman`s dedication to work has left filmmaker Yash Chopra amazed.

The veteran filmmaker, who has signed up Rahman for the first time for his next directorial, is wonderstruck at his genius.

"Rahman is a genius. I am working on a film with him, and his way of working is fantastic... he`s amazing. He doesn`t talk anything but music, and he says he knows nothing but music," Chopra said at an event here Tuesday.

Chopra has roped in Rahman to compose melodies for his yet-to-be-titled film starring Shah Rukh Khan.

"Rahman just makes his own music. He says - `Yashji, I make music... you like it, you take it; you don`t like it, don`t take it. I keep making music and I like doing it`. Such is the dedication of that man," added the 79-year-old, whose last directorial venture was the cross-border love story ‘Veer-Zaara’, released in 2004.