Shahid Kapoor's Padmavat had done business of 235 crores.

Padmavat had done business of 235 crores. Inspite of Padmavat not being released in 5 states in India, in its 3rd week it has already done business of 235 crores. Shahid Kapoor had acted excellently in the film. In the role of Rana Ratan Singh he was calm, quite, royal and fought with grace. He infact defeated Alauddin Khilji in the battlefield while the soldiers from the back killed him with arrows. Acting of Deepika Padukone was also good. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali gave too much footage to Alauddin Khilji who was a cruel ruler, he could have reduced his history and increased the part of Queen Padmavat and Rana Ratan Singh. The music was good. Although the film will not match the blockbuster status of Salman Khan’s Tiger Zinda Hai which did business of 339 crores through the last month, it will cross 250 crores business. In the film it is shown that Padmavati journeys to Mewar with Ratan Singh, but is lusted for by Singh's royal priest, Raghav Chetan. Chetan is caught watching Ratan and Padmavati when they kiss and is thrown out of the kingdom. The first wife of Ratan is also jealous of Padmavati. Chetan travels to Delhi and informs Khilji of Padmavati's beauty. Alauddin, who wants to own every unusual thing in the world, invites the Rajputs to Delhi. Upon learning of their rejection, he orders an attack on Chittor. After many unsuccessful attempts in seizing Chittor, Khilji feigns peace and is allowed to enter Chittor where he meets Ratan. He asks to see Padmavati. The Rajputs, knowing his intentions, threaten him and tell him that he is alive only because he is a guest. He is allowed to see Padmavati momentarily after he insists. Ratan Singh is taken prisoner by Alauddin, who demands to see Padmavati. Upon being insisted by the chief queen, she agrees, and travels to Delhi to meet Khilji. Meanwhile, Alaluddin's nephew attempts to assassinate him. Alauddin is wounded but defends himself. While on the Sultanante's frontiers, the Rajputs plan to ambush the Khilji soldiers in the morning which is the time for namāz. Padmavati frees Ratan with the help of Mehrunisa. The Khilji soldiers who are praying are alerted and attack, but are ambushed by the Rajputs disguised as women. The Rajput attack is repulsed, with the ambushing Rajputs killed. In Chittor, Padmavati is hailed for saving Ratan and compared to a goddess. Alauddin imprisons Mehrunisa for helping the Rajputs and marches to Chittor. He and Ratan engage in a single duel; Alauddin is nearly defeated by Ratan who is dishonorably killed by Khilji's forces by being shot with arrows, but berates Alauddin for fighting dishonorably before dying. The Khilji army succeeds in defeating the Rajputs and capturing Chittor, but is unable to capture the Rajput women who commit jauhar with Padmavati.

Happy birthday to Shreya Ghoshal.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to sweet singer Shreya Ghoshal on 12th March, 2013. From national awards, Zee Cine Awards, Starscreen awards and filmfare awards, she had remained a frequent recipient of the awards due to her sheer brilliance. Bollywood films in the 50s, 60s and 70s were dominated by Lata, Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, Sudha Malhotra, Suman Kalyanpur, etc. In the 80s and 90s Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurty made a very notable contribution in bollywood films. Shreya Ghoshal had established herself the future singer of bollywood cinema for the last few years. Born in a Bengali family in Rawatbhata, in Kota district of Rajasthan, Shreya Ghoshal learnt classical music from Mahesh Chandra Sharma. She participated in the musical competition in the TV Channel titled Saregamapa, and when she reached the finals after defeating renowned female singers, the producers, directors and composers were moved by her performance. She made her presence felt with her song in the film Devdas, directed by Sanjay Leela Banshali, with the song “bairi piya” and after that she never had to look back. Just like Sonu Nigam had created a gharana by himself and composers agree about his versatility, similarly Shreya Ghoshal is undoubtedly the future of Indian playback singing. She received the filmfare award for the best female singer along with Kavita Krishnamurty for the song “dola re” from the film Devdas, picturised on Madhuri Dixit and Aiswariya Rai. Her other hits songs include “jadu hai nasha hai” from the film Jism. She also amazed the listeners with the song “piyu bole, piya bole” picturised on Vidya Balan, from the film Parineeta, where Sonu Nigam sang it for Saif Ali Khan. The sweetness of her voice matched the period (late 19th century) when singers of the Bengali traditional families used to present their talent in soft style She also the song “apne aansoo peene ke liye” from the film Paheli, very well, along with powerful performance from Rani Mukherjee and Shahrukh Khan in the film. She also received filmfare award for the best singer for her song in the film Guru, titled “barsdo re” composed by AR Rehman. She had song notable Bengali songs like “pagla hawa” in The Bong Connection, “mon diye mon niye” in Agnipath, etc. In 2010, her song “bahara bahara” in the film I Hate Luv Stories was striking. She was extremely sweet in the duet song “tu ne to palbhar me chori kiya re jiya” with Sonu Nigam, in the film Dabanng, which went to do a business worth 150 crores. She sang brilliant songs in 2012 in different films like Agneepath, Jab Tak Hai Jaan. With a number of songs which are going to be released in different films in 2013, she is expected to continue her good work and the viewers and listeners expect her best in the years to come.

Udit Narayan was amazing in the X Factor Show.

Udit Narayan was amazing in the X Factor Show in Sony TV.

Veteran singer Udit Narayan had glorified the X Factor Show, by his brilliant singing and presence. Being a great singer who had sung almost 15000 songs in his illustrious career which had spanned over 25 years, he had not shown any pride.

Sonu Nigam showed huge respect for Udit Narayan in the show. He said that there are few voices which glorifed Indian Playback Singing with the sweetness of the voice. If Mohammad Rafi was one of the greatest singers, then after him it was Udit Narayan. The singers of the new generation should learn from Sonu Nigam how to address the other singers. Udit Narayan gave a brilliant reply. He said that when he heard Sonu Nigam in a program in New Delhi in the early days, he understood that when Sonu Nigam came to Mumbai from New Delhi, he would dominate the world of bollywood singing which eventually happened.

The judges Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam and Sanjay Leela Bansali used their veto power to save Seema Jha and Diwana Group who were at the bottom two on the 12th August, 2011. No one was eliminated.

As far as performance on the night, Sajda Sisters were the best with the brilliant song “pal do pal ka saath hamaara” sung by Rafi and Asha Bhosle in the film Burning Train. It was one of the brilliant compositions of RD Burman and difficult to sing. The Sajda Sisters kept the qawalli andaz in the song intact and sang brilliantly. Udit Narayan praised them a lot.

Deewana Group sang the song “dharak dharak dyun uraye re” from the film Bunty Aur Babli. The song was originally sung by Udit Narayan. It was composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. They sang well. Seema Jha sang the song “ruki ruki yeh zindagi” from the film Mast. It was originally sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Sonu Nigam. Nirmeeti Group sang the song “chal chaiya chaiya” which was originally sung by Sukhwinder Singh in the film Dil Se which was composed by AR Rehman.

Aditya Narayan sang with his father Udit Narayan, “do you wanna partner o partner” and mentioned that he was the most lovable father. Singers like Udit Narayan should regularly be invited in the X Factor and other shows.

In X Factor the participants and judges praised their idols on 30th July, 2011.

In X Factor the participants and judges praised their idols on 30th July, 2011.

On 30th July, 2011, the participants and judges praised their idols. Sonu Nigam sung a song to dedicate it to his idol Mohammad Rafi. Incidentally it was the birthday of Sonu Nigam on 30th July, 2011. Sonu Nigam’s mother appeared in the program and praised her son for the achievements till now.

After Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal said that her idol was Lata Mangeshkar. Everyday she had learned something new from Lataji. Judge Sanjay Leela Bhansali said his idol was Lataji and amongst composers he was a big admirer of Jaidev and RD Burman.

The performers dedicated their songs to their idols. Nirmeeti Group said that they were followers of composer AR Rehman. They sang the song “humma humma” to dedicate it to AR Rehman. Sajda Sisters sang a song to dedicate it to their idol composer RD Burman. Diwana Group sang a song to dedicate it to their idol Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. They did a great job with the qawalli.

Singer Seema Jha dedicated her song to Lataji who was her idol. Kartar Singh sang the song “ek haseen sham ko dil mera kho gaya” to dedicate it to his idol Mohammad Rafi Sahab. Geet Sagar sang the song “tera jadu chal gaya” to dedicate it to his idol Sonu Nigam.

Diwana Group got the best performer recognition for the week according to the judgement of Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. One day before Gulshan Grover came to the program and commented on the performance of the singers who dedicated the songs to the villains in the bollywood industry.

The viewers expect that the performers are going to perform even better in the weeks to come.

Irresponsible voting had led to end of Sayiti in X Factor.

Irresponsible voting had led to end of Sayiti in X Factor.

Irresponsible voting had led to end of Sayiti in X Factor. The music competition in X Factor had very tough completion in the recent week. But to the astonishment of the judges Sajda Sisters and Sayita were at the bottom two.

In the knock out round Sayita sung the song “yeh haseen wadiyan” from the film Roja and got eliminated. It is at least good that the Sajda sisters were not eliminated. They had been the most cultured singers in the entire group of singers. While Sonu Nigam shed tears for Sayiti, Sanjay Leela Bhansali asked the voters to be much more responsible.

Megastar Amitabh Bacchan came to the show on 23rd July, 2011. He briefed everyone about his new film Aarakshan. It is a Prakash Jha film. He had played the role of the Principal of Private College. He tried to explain that India lives in two ways. One includes the solvent group who can afford higher education. The other section includes the talented students who cannot afford higher education due to lack of funds.

Most of the singers dedicated their songs to megastar Amitabh Bacchan. Kartar Singh sang Mukesh’s romantic song “kabhi kabhi mere dil me” from the film Kabhi Kabhi. Geet Sagar sang Kishore Kumar’s song “jahan teri yeh nazar hai” from the film Kaalia. Nirmeeti group sang the song “jhuma chuma de de” from the film Hum. Amitabh Bacchan appreciated all of them and blessed them for their honest efforts.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s candidates that is the Diwana group, Nirmeeti Group and Sajda Sisters had faced the stiff competition and fighting for the higher achievements. Shreya Ghoshal’s candidates like Kartar Singh, Geet Sagar and Amit Jadav had also survived the elimination. Sonu Nigam’s group only has Seema Jha left.

The listeners expect even better performances from all the surviving contestants in the coming rounds.

Shreya Ghoshal sang "lag ja gale" song in Sony TV X Factor Program on 16th August.

Shreya Ghoshal sang “lag ja gale” song in Sony TV X Factor Program on 16th August.

Popular singer Shreya Ghoshal, being one of the judges and mentors of Sony TV X Factor Program, sang the immortal song “lag ja gale ke phir yeh hasin raat ho na ho” from the film Wo Kaun Thi on 16th August, 2011.

She had been one of the judges along with classical singer Sonu Nigam and creative director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. On 16th August, 2011, the judges kept the theme of lovers day special.

Every participant in the program like Amit Jadav, Kartar Singh, Deewana Group, Nirmeeti Group, Sajda Sisters, and others sang songs keeping in mind the romantic theme of the day. Shreya Ghoshal sang the brilliant song “lagja gale” so well that Sanjay Leela Bhansali hugged her and he too sang one line from the song. Shreya Ghoshal confessed that she had been great admirer of composer Madanmohan and the combination of Madanmohan and Lata Mangeshkar. So she sang one of the songs to show her respect towards both of them.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali had guided the singing groups Nirmeeti, Sajda Sisters and Deewana Group very well from the beginning. Nirmeeti Group had been the most innovative group of the lot and even mesmerized composer Pritam with their innovative performance in the song “haal kaisa hai janab ka”. Deewana Group had been masters of sufiana songs. Sajda Sisters had been a very polite and cultured group and always sang the songs with dignity.

At times Sonu Nigam had been harsh at the participants like Amit Jadav. But by pointing out the mistakes Sonu Nigam had trained the singers like Seema Jha very well who did a good job with the song “tere bina jiya jayena” composed by RD Burman and sung by Lataji in the film Ghar. At times Sonu Nigam had sung the song himself like “kabhi alvida na kehna” in his classical andaz.

Shreya Ghoshal is probably one of the most soft spoken, polite singers of Indian industry. She had showed utmost respect to old singers like Kartar Singh. She had trained Radio Jockey Geet Sagar also very well.

The participants should do even better in the forthcoming rounds.

Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are having challening job in X Factor.

Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are having challenging job in X Factor.

Renowned singer Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and powerful Sanjay Leela Bhansali are having challenging job in judging the contestants in the program X factor in Sony Television channel. The program is a music competition where new talents are judged by the renowned judges.

The entire team had travelled to different parts of country including New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Indore, etc., and selected the best 24 candidates. Every day a fresh session begins and fresh list of candidates are judged.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali had taken the help of Kunal Ganjawala for judging the groups. The sajda group from Gujarat consisting of three women candidates and a diwana group consisting of talented men had sung the songs in the preliminary rounds very well. Sonu Nigam used the assistance of singer Anushka Mulchandani to judge the candidates in the Goa round. Some of the candidates sang extremely but could not be shortlisted. Shreya Ghoshal used the help of Salim Merchant to judge the candidates. The best 12 candidates had been selected.

The impressive part of the judges is that while dealing with the contestants Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Sanjay Leela Bhansali never offended any candidate, or spoken rudely with the contestants. Actually creating a yardstick to judge a solo singer with a group singer is very difficult. There can be many criticisms about the final 12 because the fight or the competition had been very close. But having said that the judges had no other way but to make their decisions on the basis of the performance of the candidate in the respective round, whether recording round, or track round, etc. If at that point the candidate had underperformed then the judges can do nothing. Another impressive part of the program is the success of lower middleclass people in the program, including some autorickshaw driver and fruit-seller. They could not make it to the top but had been partially successful in crossing the preliminary rounds.

The big challenge of these music competitions is to groom the best candidates and absorb them in the industry. Previous experience shows that candidates in the Indian idol show like Rahul Vaidya or Imon Chatterjee were so much obsessed about the style of Sonu Nigam that composers started identifying them as clones of Sonu Nigam. Besides the way Zee TV Saregamapa program had shaped the destiny of eminent singers like Shreya Ghoshal, Kunal Ganjawala, no other music competition could do the same.

If X factor succeeds in bringing out new talents, it will be a revolution. Viewers should watch the program.

Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are having challening job in X Factor.

Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are having challenging job in X Factor.

Renowned singer Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and powerful Sanjay Leela Bhansali are having challenging job in judging the contestants in the program X factor in Sony Television channel. The program is a music competition where new talents are judged by the renowned judges.

The entire team had travelled to different parts of country including New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Indore, etc., and selected the best 24 candidates. Every day a fresh session begins and fresh list of candidates are judged.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali had taken the help of Kunal Ganjawala for judging the groups. The sajda group from Gujarat consisting of three women candidates and a diwana group consisting of talented men had sung the songs in the preliminary rounds very well. Sonu Nigam used the assistance of singer Anushka Mulchandani to judge the candidates in the Goa round. Some of the candidates sang extremely but could not be shortlisted. Shreya Ghoshal used the help of Salim Merchant to judge the candidates. The best 12 candidates had been selected.

The impressive part of the judges is that while dealing with the contestants Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Sanjay Leela Bhansali never offended any candidate, or spoken rudely with the contestants. Actually creating a yardstick to judge a solo singer with a group singer is very difficult. There can be many criticisms about the final 12 because the fight or the competition had been very close. But having said that the judges had no other way but to make their decisions on the basis of the performance of the candidate in the respective round, whether recording round, or track round, etc. If at that point the candidate had underperformed then the judges can do nothing. Another impressive part of the program is the success of lower middleclass people in the program, including some autorickshaw driver and fruit-seller. They could not make it to the top but had been partially successful in crossing the preliminary rounds.

The big challenge of these music competitions is to groom the best candidates and absorb them in the industry. Previous experience shows that candidates in the Indian idol show like Rahul Vaidya or Imon Chatterjee were so much obsessed about the style of Sonu Nigam that composers started identifying them as clones of Sonu Nigam. Besides the way Zee TV Saregamapa program had shaped the destiny of eminent singers like Shreya Ghoshal, Kunal Ganjawala, no other music competition could do the same.

If X factor succeeds in bringing out new talents, it will be a revolution. Viewers should watch the program.

Guzaarish will storm bollywood in 2010.

Guzaarish will storm bollywood in 2010.

The film Guzaarish will storm bollywood films in 2010. Sanjay Leela Banshali had come again with a novel project. The main characters in the film had been played by Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai.

Previously Sanjay Leela Banshali had worked with Aishwarya Rai in the films Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. Both those films ended up being blockbusters. Hrithik Roshan had previously worked with Aishwarya Rai in the films Dhoom 2 and Jodha Akbar which had appealed to the masses. In that respect Sanjay Leela Banshali had worked with a safe pair in bollywood films.

The film Guzaarish revolved around the story of a married nurse played by Aishwarya Rai and a paraplegic wheel-chair using patient played by Hrithik Roshan. Hrithik Roshan was suffering from the impairment of the motor and sensory functions of the lower limbs. He loved Aishwarya Rai and a relationship developed in the past.

The film as similarity with the film Who’s life is it anyway. Both Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan had learned Portuguese for the film. They had also sung songs for the film composed by AR Rehman who is the composer for the film. Hrithik Roshan had sung a song for the first time in this film.

He was also not allowed to cut his beard for indefinite period by Sanjay Leela Banshali till the shooting was going on. The viewers can watch the movie by middle of 2010, which is the date for scheduled release. The other artists like Adity Roy Kapoor, Monikangana Dutta also played their roles very well. With the amount of devotion shown by both Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan for putting blood and flesh in their respective roles, the film is destined to do great business.