John loves both Bipasha and bikes

Dostana, New York, Jhootha Hi Sahi etc. He is also known for his love for bikes and his penchant for collecting the fastest bike. In fact recently there were reports about him owning a bike which was specially made for him. The bike is exactly styled and design as he wanted by assembling all the parts.

He even recently in a tele-show confessed his love for bike and narrated an incident to the viewers. He said that once when he was giving his girl friend Bipasha Basu a lift on his bike he had asked her to be careful with her heels lest they would make scratches on his bike. After when she was getting close to him while the ride he told her to sit back lest the helmet would get scratched. Bips got very offended and got off the bike and asked him to leave saying that she would manage home on her own! However, his passion for his bikes has never come on the way of John and Bipasha relationship. The two are still one of the greatest couples in Bollywood.

In fact, Bipasha on his birthday posted a very rare and cute picture of little John on twitter with a message reading this cute kid’s birthday is on the 17th of December and he has grown up to be a very handsome man. As John has not opened his own twitter handle, Bipasha has even thanked everyone on John’s behalf for wishing him on his birthday.

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'My Name is Khan' makes record $1.86 million in US

WASHINGTON: Grossing an estimated $1.86 million at the box office in its first weekend, Shah Rukh Khan starrer "My Name Is Khan" has broken the SRK and Kajol record for the largest opening weekend ever for a Hindi film in North America.

The Fox Searchlight release directed by Karan Johar averaged $15,500 from 120 theatres across the United States and Canada over Feb 12-14 weekend. The previous record was held by Shah Rukh's musical extravaganza "Om Shanti Om" which grossed $1.76 million from 114 theatres when it was released over the Diwali holiday weekend in 2007.

"My Name Is Khan" opened Friday with $444,000, rose 65 percent to $734,000 Saturday, and is estimated to dip 7 percent to $682,000 on Sunday, Valentine's Day.

Monday's Presidents' Day holiday in the US will lead to a four-day debut of more than $2 million. MNIK also generated the highest per-theatre average of any film in the Top 20 over the weekend.

Meanwhile "My Name Is Khan" is getting good reviews from US critics with variety.com saying "This riotously overstuffed and enormously enjoyable drama races forward with incredible drive."

Trade publication Hollywood Reporter in a review from Berlin said, "It's well worth the 162-minute journey" noting "Shah Rukh Khan comes to America (although in a Bollywood film) and shows why he is an Indian mega-star."

"The thing about some Bollywood superstars is that they are actually fine actors as well as charismatic performers. So it's not surprising in 'My Name Is Khan' to see Bollywood mega-star Shah Rukh Khan - he's light-years beyond a mere superstar in Hindi cinema's cosmology - challenge himself to expand his acting range and possibly his international fan base."

"This is a movie not built for subtlety, but it does tackle a subject American movies have mostly avoided - that of racial profiling and the plight of Muslim-Americans. It also allows Shah Rukh Khan to display his talent to an even wider audience," it says.

The Los Angeles Times called it "a sweeping epic in the melodramatic Bollywood manner yet emerges as a potent, engaging and timely entertainment." MNIK "is a potent, energetic heart-tugger and Khan and Kajol, major Bollywood stars, are highly appealing and equal to the demand of their emotion-charged roles."

"At its best 'My Name Is Khan,' set mainly in America, is an affecting fairy tale about the perils of goodness," said the New York Times.

"'Khan' is one of a handful of Hindi films ("New York," "Kurbaan") about Indians living in a paranoid, post-9/11 America, and there's something fascinating about looking at this country through a Bollywood lens, even when the story is a kind of fairy tale."

"Skillfully directed by Karan Johar and with an evocative score by Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy, 'Khan' jerks tears with ease, while teaching lessons about Islam and tolerance," the Times said.

ET

Yash Raj Films goes Blue-ray with 11 films

New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) Yash Raj Films (YRF) have released their 11 films on Blue-ray disc to give consumers an experience of high definition viewing through the cutting edge technology format.

The studio has released 'New York', 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', 'Dostana', 'Bachna Ae Haseeno', 'Chak De! India', 'Dhoom: 2', 'Fanaa', 'Veer-Zaara', 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', 'Silsila' and 'Kabhie Kabhie' on the Blue-ray disc.

YRF had also collaborated with Philips and the Blu-ray Disc of 'New York' was available exclusively with Philips Blu-ray Players in India for the first three months. But now it is available everywhere.

The 11 films on Blue-ray disc are available in Music World, Planet M, Rhythm House (Mumbai), Landmark, and Crossword in India. These have also been released in the US, Britain, UAE and other countries.

"Chandni Chowk To China" - comic tale of a cook's ordeals (Preview)

New Delhi, Suspense, comedy, dance, drama and action - director Nikhil Advani has packed it all in his forthcoming movie "Chandni Chowk To China" that releases Jan 16.

The Akshay Kumar-Deepika Padukone starrer is already the talk of the town courtesy its huge promotional activities.

"'Chandni Chowk...' is a story about 'believing in yourself'. It's an old-fashioned Bollywood masala film in its entirety and I hope people enjoy the two-and-a-half hour spectacle," Advani told IANS over phone from Los Angeles in the US.

Co-produced by Ramesh Sippy Entertainment, People Tree Films and Hollwyood-based studio Warner Bros, "Chandni Chowk..." is about an Indian cook, Sidhu, played by Akshay, who goes to China and is mistaken for a martial arts expert.

Deepika, who plays Akshay's ladylove, will be seen in two different avatars.

Shot extensively across China and Bangkok, the film also stars yesteryears' disco sensation Mithun Chakraborty, Ranvir Shorey and renowned Chinese actor Gordon Liu, who marks his debut in Bollywood with the film.

The story goes like this:

Sidhu is the lowest on the social ladder, cutting vegetables at a roadside food stall in Chandni Chowk in Delhi. Sidhu longs to escape the drudgery of his dreary existence and looks for shortcuts by consulting astrologers, tarot readers, and even fake fakirs.

He believes in anything and everything except himself, despite his father figure Dada's (Mithun) best efforts. His redeeming moment arrives when two strangers from China claim him to be a reincarnation of a war hero and take him to their mystic land.

What follows next is a madcap journey from the by-lanes of Chandni Chowk in Delhi to Shanghai and the Great Wall of China, weaved in with rib-tickling gags, breathtaking stunts, spectacular locations and emotions.

The movie has garnered much media attention for its various firsts like it's the first Indian movie to be shot in China and the first to have more than 1,500 VFX shots. And last but not the least -- Warner Bros have bankrolled a Hindi film for the first time.

The film is also being touted as being based on Akshay's life. However, Advani slams the rumours.

"I would like to clarify that the film is not based on Akshay's life but it only has similarities with his life. Just like Akshay went to Bangkok from Chandni Chowk and worked there in a hotel, the character Sidhu is a cook from Chandni Chowk, who goes to China and is compelled to learn martial arts in order to meet his destiny," he said.

"Chandni Chowk..." boasts of a varied soundtrack by multiple composers like Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, Kailash Kher, Bappi and Bappa Lahiri.

The soundtrack also includes a rap song sung by Akshay and composed by Punjabi rapper Bohemia. It has already become a rage among youngsters.

Throwing light on the music scene for the film, the director informed: "We decided to have different music directors to have a different feel about the music of the film. Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy are old friends and they generally don't work with multiple music directors in a project, but I requested them and they agreed.

"Then we requested Bappi Lahiri to do a song and also roped in Kailash to lend a different pitch to the songs. Akshay also suggested that we do a rap song and recommended Bohemia and the response has been tremendous," the director said.

Being the first major release of the year, the film is being hugely promoted globally.

It is also the first Indian movie to have multiple international grand premieres in a row at Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and London respectively on Jan 7, 8, 9 and 10 followed by those in Dubai, Bangkok and Delhi.

Akshay had a stupendous record last year in the blockbuster "Singh Is Kinng", which totted up a gross of around Rs.1.5 billion worldwide. It looks like the actor is all set to scorch the screens again with "Chandni Chowk To China" - his first release of the year.

Source: http://www.bollywoodworld.com/news/bwnews.php?subaction=showfull&id=1231747446&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&