Freida Pinto is not the next Bond Girl?

freida-pinto, originally uploaded by primecrime.

The mainstream press in India reported that Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has signed up to appear in the next James Bond film opposite Daniel Craig, who plays the role of James Bond. But the website Breaking News Online reports that Pinto has denied ‘reports that she has signed a multi-million pound deal to be the next Bond Girl’. The site also reports that her ‘official spokesperson said that she has not been approached to be part of the next James Bond film’.

Freida Pinto’s films in post production stage are ‘Miral’ and the tentatively titled ‘You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger’. ‘Miral’, directed by Julian Schnabel, features Willem Dafoe, Freida Pinto and Hiam Abbass. ‘You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger’ is written and directed by Woody Allen featuring Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Freida Pinto and Naomi Watts. Both the films are tentatively scheduled for release in 2010.

She has reportedly signed up also for 'Dawn of War', a Greek mythological film, produced by Mark Canton and directed by Tarsem Singh, starring Henry Cavill opposite her. The film is tentatively scheduled for 2011.

Singer Nicole Scherzinger in Jai Ho 2.0

Nicole Scherzinger - Jai Ho 2.0, originally uploaded by @PauloKea.

Nicole Scherzinger: Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)

Nicole Scherzinger - Jai Ho!, originally uploaded by @PauloKea.

This photo shows Nicole Scherzinger in an entirely Indian makeover for her song ‘Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)’, the fifth single from the Pussycat Dolls' studio album Doll Domination 2.0, released on February 23, 2009. It was a hit reaching number 1 in Finland, Ireland, Australia, Greece and Turkey, according to reports. The new version based on the song from Slumdog millionaire, is called "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)". The English lyrics do not translate directly from the Hindi lyrics, and it is written by a host of writers including A. R. Rahman, Gulzar, Nicole Scherzinger, Tanvi Shah, Evan Bogart, Esther Dean, Ron Fair, E. Nuri, D. Quinones and N. Thorbourne. Also the song was produced in collaboration with A. R. Rahman and Ron Fair, and mixed by Peter Mokran.

In an interview with HitQuarters co-writer Evan Bogart described the unusual writing process for the Pussycat Dolls' version of the song, "Ron Fair ... and Jimmy Iovine had a list of writers that they wanted to send a pop version of the ‘Jai Ho!’ song to. They wanted to get a bunch of different versions to see who could nail a version for the Pussycat Dolls. In the end they took parts of The Writing Camp version, parts of Ester Dean’s version, and parts of another version, and they put them together, and then Nicole Scherzinger and Ron filled in the blanks that they thought were missing. It’s a very unique and awkward way of writing a song.”

The ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ star Dev and Freida screening in London

The ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ star Dev patel and Freida screening in London.They might be denying the rumors of their romantic linkup, but just one look at the glowing couple exuding warmth and joy in each other’s company and there is no doubt about the fact that they do share something special between them. Still basking in the success of their Oscar-winning debut venture, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, Dev Patel and Freida Pinto made an appearance on the stage before the Film4 Summer Screen screening of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ at Somerset House in London.
The couple were so glued to each other all night that it seemed that they no longer cared anymore for keeping their romance under wraps. Insiders also have it that Dev has been paying visits to Freida’s London hotel. Freida is staying at The May Fair Hotel and, even though Dev doesn’t have a room there, he has been there constantly.
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Slumdog star Rubina and Rafiq Quereshi

India Slumdog Children, originally uploaded by Current News Stories.

This Sunday, April 19, 2009 photo shows 'Slumdog Millionaire' child star Rubina Ali, left, leaving the police station along with her father Rafiq Quereshi, right, in Mumbai, India. Rubina and Rafiq Quereshi were taken to the police station and questioned by the police on Monday regarding allegations that he tried to sell his daughter Rubina for 200,000 UK pounds.

Slumdog Millionaire Team to donate 500,000 pounds for Charity

Slumdog Millionaire Team at The Oscars, originally uploaded by NGallery.

The cast and crew of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, including Producer Christian Colson and Director Danny Boyle, have put together £500,000 for the welfare of the underprivileged children of Mumbai. The fund will be donated to Plan India, an organization working for the welfare of underprivileged children in India.

Set and filmed in India, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of the struggles of the a young man, named Jamal of a Mumbai slum, looking for his lost love in the dark underbelly of the city, and his appearance in the Indian version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ (Kaun Banega Crorepati?).

The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. Subsequently it was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival, followed by its release worldwide.

Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 2009 and won eight, the most for any film of 2008. It also won five Critics' Choice Awards, four Golden Globes and seven BAFTA Awards. It is the eighth film ever to win eight Academy Awards and the eleventh Best Picture Oscar Award winner without a single acting nomination. As of 31 March 2009, the film has grossed $292,232,507 worldwide.

Anil Kapoor, who performed the role of the quizmaster in the film, said about the film, "Slumdog Millionaire is a film which epitomizes the positive spirit of children and the film's success is an inspiration and a way forward to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children of Mumbai."

Oscar dream comes true

Dream Comes True, originally uploaded by Akhilesh S Joshi.

The 81st Academy Awards will forever remain in the History of Indian cinema. It is a turning point not only for A.R. Rahman, but almost all of the talents that are almost unrecognized by the international community of film lovers, fans, critics, and all others having something to do with movies, music and all other mediums of entertainment.

A R Rahman (Allah Rakha Rahman) won two Oscars for the Best Original Song “Jai Ho” and the Best Original Score. Rahman played many instruments and he joined accomplished performers like Zakir Hussain, M.S. Vishwanathan, Ramesh Naidu, etc. in his early career.

Rahman shot into fame in 1992 by providing music score and sound track to Mani Ratnam’s Roja. It was followed by some of the spectacular scores for Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movies before he shot into international fame.

“Rahman is the first one who has broken the cliched form of Indian songs”, said Slumdog lyricist Gulzar, who wrote the lyrics of Jai Ho and shared the Oscar with A R Rahman.

Dedicated to Rasool Pookutty and A.R.Rahman

Hurray...!!! Dedicated to Rasool Pookutty and A.R.Rahman, who raised the credit of India with Oscar Awards..., originally uploaded by ArunaR.

The original author of this picture notes dedicated this to "Rasool Pookutty and A.R.Rahman, who raised the credit of India with Oscar Awards". He says, "Rasool Pookutty, a Mumbai based sound engineer ( hails from a small village called Vilakkupaara in Quilon district, Kerala) has proved his ability in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and has got the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Sound mixing for his work in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Music maestro A.R.Rahman, one of the most prolific and successful film composers in India has bagged the Oscar for Music composing..."

A R Rahman: India at the Oscars 2009

India at the Oscars 2009, originally uploaded by KaushiK™.

Slumdog Millionaire sweeps 8 Oscars

Oscars 2009: A R Rahman

India at the Oscars 2009, originally uploaded by KaushiK™.

Indian composer A R Rahman, who received two Oscars, for the Best Song and the Best Original Score, praised the city of Mumbai which inspired the book "Q&A", and subsequently the film. He praised all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives.

Slumdog Millionaire creates history winning 8 Oscars

India at the Oscars 2009, originally uploaded by KaushiK™.

The underdog Slumdog Millionaire, produced at a cost of only $14 million, bagged 8 Oscars out of the 10 nominations. The Slumdog won Oscars for the Best Picture (producer Christian Colson), Best Director (Danny Boyle) Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), Best Original Score (A R Rahman), Best Song (Jai Ho, A R Rahman), Best Sound Mixing (Resul Pookutty and his team), Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which led with 13 nominations and produced at a cost of $150 million, had three wins, for Visual Effects, Art Direction and Makeup.

Slumdog beats Benjamin Button, others at BAFTA

Slumdog Millionaire won 7 awards from the 11 categories it was nominated for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards 2009, various agencies reported. BAFTA is often called the British Oscars.

In the red-carpet ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House, the Mumbai’s rags-to-riches story of an 18-year-old orphan, “Slumdog Millionaire” based on the original novel “Q&A” written by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup, carried the top trophy, beating four other contestants: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk” and “The Reader”. The televised award ceremony was beamed to 200 territories around the world.

Slumdog Millionaire won awards for Best Film, Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), Best Music (A R Rahman), Best Editing (Chris Dickens), Best Sound and Best Cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle). Apart from A R Rahman, Resul Pookutty, the Indian film sound designer and mixer who hails from Kollam, Kerala was the other Indian to win a BAFTA Award for Best Sound editing for Slumdog Millionaire.

The other winners of BAFTA are Best Actor Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Best Actress Kate Winslet (The Reader), Best Supporting Actor Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Best Supporting Actress Penelope Cruz (Vicki Cristina Barcelona), and three awards (for Best Production Design, Best Make-Up & Hair and Best Visual Effects) for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Best Original Screenplay for In Bruges.

“Nominated for 11 British Film Academy Awards (BAFTA), a record by itself, Slumdog Millionaire created sensation at the star-studded awards ceremony by winning seven honours”, Hindustan Times reported.

BAFTA Awards are now held before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards, generally known as Oscars. This years' BAFTA are viewed with more importance than before because this year films nominated for BAFTA are also running for Oscars, Hollywood’s most prestigious awards to be presented in Los Angeles on February 22.

Slumdog Millionaire: A R Rahman

a r rahman, originally uploaded by romeoaziz.

The “Mozart of Madras” (as TIME Magazine called him), music composing genius A R Rahman who composed the music for Slumdog Millionaire and playback singer Sukhwinder Singh have been invited to perform at the 81st Annual Academy Awards, as newspapers reported. Rahman and Sukhwinder Singh will perform the song ‘Jai Ho’ at the Oscar Evening.

Rahman received the three Oscar nominations for the music he composed for British filmmaker Danny Boyle’s rags-to-riches Bollywood style musical Slumdog Millionaire. While one nomination is for best original score, two are for the best original songs “Jai Ho” and “O Saya”.

The honor of being the first Indian music director to be nominated for three Oscars is the rare recognition of A R Rahman, who attributes his success and fame to divinity.

In line for Slumdog Millionaire

In Line for Slumdog Millionaire, originally uploaded by j.r.mchale.

The photo shows people waiting in line for tickets of Slumdog Millionaire that was the Best Film of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor in Slumdog Millionaire

Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor in "Slumdog Millionaire", originally uploaded by beastandbean.

Freida Pinto, Danny Boyle and Dev Patel

Freida Pinto, Danny Boyle, and Dev Patel, originally uploaded by braimondi.

Dev Patel, Freida Pinto - Slumdog Millionaire

Dev Patel & Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), originally uploaded by Capital M.

Dev Patel and Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire photographed at the Golden Globes, on January 11, 2009, Beverly Hills, CA, USA.

Slumdog Millionaire 2401091

Slumdog Millionaire Photos, originally uploaded by mirchiaish.

Dev Patel and his "Slumdog Millionaire" co-star Freida Pinto are in this beautiful computer desktop wallpaper.

According to contactmusic.com, the 18-year-old Dev Patel has shot to fame with his first ever movie role and is grateful to Pinto for helping him deal with the whirlwind attention that he has suddenly received from worldwide.

Dev Patel is reported to have said, "We're soulmates because we're both in this surreal situation. She is very beautiful. I haven't got a girlfriend but Freida, my co-star, is gorgeous," but he clarified that they are not romantically involved at all.

According to reports, 400 prints of the film are released in India and the opening box office collections were a huge success. The entire cast and crew, including the director and producer were present in India during the premiere of the film. Providentially, the film got 10 Oscar nominations which were announced on the day the film premiered in India.

The 52-crore film has already done business worth more than Rs 200 in USA and UK where it was a huge hit.

Out of the 10 Oscar nominations the film received, 4 are for Indians, 3 for A R Rahman and one for sound re-mixing team that includes Resul Pookutty.

Resul Pookutty, the Indian film sound designer and mixer, hails from Kollam, Kerala. He is a 1995 graduate from Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He also designed sound for the 2008 blockbuster Ghajini, starring Aamir Khan and directed by Murugadoss. Slumdog Millionaire is his first major international project that won him an Academy award nomination for Best Sound Mixing, along with Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke.

The Indian premiere of Slumdog Millionaire in Mumbai on 22 January 2009 was attended by major personalities of the Indian film industry. The dubbed Hindi version, Slumdog Crorepati, was also released in India in addition to the original film.

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire, the most-talked about British-made film in years and which is set in Mumbai, won four Golden Globe awards. Slumdog Millionaire won all four nominations awarded at the Golden Globes including picture, best director (Danny Boyle), screenplay (Simon Beaufoy) and score (A.R. Rahman). The film also won five of the six awards it was nominated for at the Critics Choice Awards. It is now expected it will be the movie to beat at the forthcoming Academy Awards.

The biggest cheer is for A.R. Rahman, who became the first Indian to win a Golden Globe, for the best original score. The film has a very good crop of Bollywood/Indian/Asian origin artists. Some of them (apart from the cast) are Alka Yagnik, Ila Arun, Palakkad Sriram, Madhumitha, Suzanne D'Mello, Sonu Nigam, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Alisha Chinai, Tanvi Shah, Sukhwinder Singh, etc. Cast includes Dev Patel (Jamal Malik), Freida Pinto (Latika), Anil Kapoor (Prem Kumar, the game show host), Irrfan Khan (Police Inspector), Saurabh Shukla (Constable Srinivas), Mahesh Manjrekar (Javed / Raja), Ankur Vikal (Maman), Madhur Mittal (Salim, Jamal's brother), and a host of child stars.

The story, based on the best-selling novel “Q&A” by Vikas Swarup, is of Jamal Malik, a dirt-poor orphan from Mumbai who stuns India when he reaps success on the country's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati?). Jamal, played by the British actor Dev Patel, draws on his life experiences, many of them shockingly brutal, to answer the game show's questions, aiming to stay on air for as long as possible in a bid to win back the love of his life.

As in Indian films there is a song-and-dance routine. Also about one-third of the dialogue is in Hindi with English subtitles. It is reported in terms of revenue per screen Slumdog Millionaire broke all records when it was released in the US in November 2008.

It is expected that Slumdog Millionaire will prove a massive popular success when it will be released in India on January 23.