FARDEEN KHAN

Ready for round two
There is hope, I say, in the new generation, yet. I met a symbol of hope, last week, at Feroz Khan’s palatial home. I see reason for hope in the dashing, debonair, handsome son of Feroz Khan, Fardeen. He’s educated and more than anything else, one of the most well-behaved stars of the new generation I’ve met in recent times. He speaks like a man way ahead of his times. He speaks about the significance of hard work and honesty, about competition as a positive challenge, and of what it means to be a celebrity’s son...

SARFAROSH IS MOST POPULAR FILM
National awards for Vanaprastham, Mohan Lal and Kiron Kher
The cup of joy brimmeth over yet again for Malayalam filmdom after the tiny landscape cornered as many as 14 feature and non-feature awards, the biggest haul for any language, at the national film awards announced last week.

ADLABS TO INTRODUCE IMAX
Cinema’s big brother is here
The bigger version of cinema is all set to arrive in India with IMAX. The 15/70 image Imax screen, which is ten times bigger than the conventional 35 mm frame and 5 times bigger than the 70 mm format is brought in India by Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs.

KODAK VS GEVAERT: It’s open war!
An open war appears to be on between Kodak and Gevaert even as producers vie with each other on who will take out the highest number of prints.

Media units must face the axe: ERC report
In a very important recommendation, the Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) headed by former finance secretary of Government of India, KP Geetakrishnan, has proposed closing down several media units in the ministry of Information and Broadcasting to rationalise staff strength.

GOAN STATE AWARDS PRESENTED
CM bemoans lack of entries
Goa, the state which is among the richest in terms of natural beauty, customs and traditions, is the poorest and most malnourished when it comes to cinema.

Celeb Chat
Urmila Matondkar -- Coming up: three more in a row
Flop, hit or in between, Urmila Matondkar has always been special. There’s a sense of supreme selfconfidence in her bearing that rivals interpret as arrogance and friends know to be self-esteem.

TVFI to hold Rendez-Vous to lure Indian TV industry
TV France International will be organising the sixth edition of their market named Rendez-Vous in Saint Tropez, one of the hottest places in French Riviera from the September 4 to 8, 2000.

Pakeezah has been raped: Tajdar Amrohi
Tajdar Amrohi is an angry man. Pakeezah, one of the landmark films in Indian film history, and a masterpiece made by his father, the legendary writer-director Kamal Amrohi, has been “raped” he says without mincing words.

Sahara to launch news channel
Subarata Roy, chairman of the Sahara group announced that they are embarking on a plan to start an academy of film and television arts which will be affiliated to a university of international repute.

Prasar Bharati acting CEO likely to get six-month extension
Prasar Bharati acting chief executive officer R.R. Shah is likely to get another extension for six months. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has recommended his continuation in the post of acting CEO of Prasar Bharati to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), senior ministry officials said.

Lara Fabian -- Show-stopper!
Lara Fabian has risen from being a club singer to international chart-topper in no time, sheerly on the strength of her talent. The French singing star has released her eponymously titled debut English album which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard New Artist Chart.

Now, the bhajan king croons qawwali
Anup Jalota is a familiar name in every Indian household. Be it a small puja in the house or a big religious ceremony, he has ruled it all.

Sound Waves -- Harry Anand - new singer on the block The Bichchoo songs have caught the fancy of the audience and are sure to ensure initial rush into theatres.

Can digital kill the radio star?
The first satellite for broadcasting coast-to-coast digital radio is now in space. Sirius Satellite Radio, which launched the orb the week before last..

When you send spam to yourself
A regular Internet surfer usually did not blink at unsolicited junk mail in his Hotmail account, but a piece of spam recently caught his eye.

DOLLAR DREAMS: East or West, India is the best!
Sekhar Kammula follows in the footsteps of fellow Hyderabadi Nagesh Kukunoor (of Hyderabad Blues fame) to write, direct and produce Dollar Dreams.


Vignettes
WINSLET LAUNCHES FILM COMPANY
Titanic star Kate Winslet has formed a film production company with her husband, and they aim to begin shooting their first film in 2001. Based at London’s Shepperton Studios.


ROMEO MUST DIE-- Jet-setting for a mission
After being noticed for his agility and fights in Lethal Weapon 4, Hong Kong actor Jet Li makes an impactful debut as a leading man in an English-language Hollywood flick, which combines romance with mind-boggling action..