History Channel starts series on classic rock music

The History Channel, an infotainment television channel, has launched a 17-part special series on classic rock music.

The series 'History Rocks' was launched Friday with a concert by the Indian band 'Parikrama' in the capital.

It will formally go on air June 5 and will present recordings of memorable concerts, rare documentaries and interviews with the cult figures of music and offer a glimpse into the lives of the rock legends spanning four decades of rock music since the '60s, a communique by the channel said.

'It will be a beautiful series because I watched when it was on television the last time. It is being re-launched with several new additions and new features this time, in a completely new avatar. I am looking forward to its inaugural episode on Metallica's Black, the documentary on Bob Marley and Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of The Moon'.

'There is also a docu-feature on Pink Floyd's signature album, which no other channel has shown before,' Subir Malik of Parikrama told IANS Saturday.

Parikrama played 10 originals, which include two new releases - 'Lechaim' (an Israeli word which means 'two lives') and 'Life is Certain' - for the History Channel concert. Besides, it also paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC and Pink Floyd.

The channel will kick off the rock fiesta with a capsule on Metallica's classic album 'Black', which grabbed headlines in the 1980s. The group was billed as the world's biggest thrash metal band, serving music that was faster and louder than anything that mainstream western music had ever heard.

A documentary June 12 will probe the making of U2's classic album 'Joshua Tree' and a behind-the-scene movie on the iconic 1973 Pink Floyd album 'The Dark Side of the Moon' will be telecast June 19. A documentary on Jimi Hendrix's 'Electric Ladybird' will be aired June 26.

Other episodes, according to the History Channel, will include those on Elvis Presley, Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Who, Queen, Deep Purple and Santana.
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Hindi actors learn Tamil for good performance in 'Leelai'

Two Mumbai based actors, who don't want their lines to be dubbed, are trying to master Tamil to add value to their performance in the Tamil film 'Leelai'.

Shiv Pandit, a radio jockey, and Mansi Parekh, a TV star, have been cast as the lead pair in V. Oscar Ravichandran's 'Leelai'. Usually Hindi speaking stars are asked by directors to mutter 'one-two-three-four-five' with brief pauses at shooting locales to cut costs and save time. Later, dubbing artistes synchronise the lines written to suit the lip movements of the performers. But Shiv and Mansi are determined to speak their won lines.

'In a way, 'Leelai' is a symbol of modern times as a Mumbaiite, Gujaratis and Tamils are collaborating to make it. Like modern day multiplexes uniting films of various genres under a single roof, this film has brought us together for a project in a language hitherto unknown to us,' said Shiv Pandit.

Echoing the same, Mansi, who shot to fame with the TV series 'India Calling' and currently features in the soap 'Remote Control', said: 'To take the analogy further, like dubbed movies from different languages help audiences to comprehend unknown tongues, we too want to emote properly by understanding what we utter because that would add value to our performances.'

Shiv, a R. Madhavan look alike, was spotted by Ravichandran in a soft drink TV commercial, said then publicist of the film.

Three projects of Oscar Films said to have collectively cost over Rs.2.5 billion including Kamal Haasan starrer 'Dasavatharam', touted as the costliest Indian film to date.
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Neetu chandra Kisses Abhay Deol

Neetu Chandra has gone ahead and done what majority of other leading
ladies are doing today i.e. kissing their leading man for a film.

After being in the industry for close to 3 years, she has shared her
first on-screen lip lock with Abhay Deol. No wonder, Deol would be all
pleased and call himself 'lucky' as this happens for their upcoming
flick Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, which, in sweet and simple manner, can be
termed as OLLO.

Confirms a source on condition of anonymity, "Yes, Neetu indeed has a
kissing scene in OLLO. She has always believed in doing whatever it is
best for the film. She didn't think twice about sharing screen
presence with two other girls even as stakes were so high for Garam
Masala."

She goes on to add, "Later she grabbed the opportunity when Madhur
Bhandarkar finalised her for Traffic Signal. It was a big departure
for her to get into a non-glam role after a playing an airhostess in
her debut film. When everyone was still contemplating around her next
move, she took the risk of being one of the four heroines in One Two
Three. Now everyone knows that she was the one who stood out most in
the role of a Jat cop. This is why when she was told that OLLO would
require her to kiss Abhay Deol, she was game for it. She doesn't
believe in creating any unnecessary fuss!"

Over last few months gone by, there also have been murmurs about Abhay
and Neetu being an item. Wouldn't that too have aided in making her
decision easier?

Laughs the source, "Well, off screen and on screen intimacy are two
different things. While I don't want to comment on the kind of
equation that Neetu and Abhay have in real life, I can say for sure
that on screen they do manage to sizzle. The kissing scene would
surely catch many unaware."

In OLLO, Neetu gets to play a typical Punjabi girl belonging to Delhi
whose wardrobe comprises of casual T-Shirt and Jeans. From an
airhostess costume to a 'kathaiwadi' outfit to a police uniform and
now T-Shirt and Jeans - Neetu seems to be doing it all!

Led by Paresh Rawal from the top, OLLO is a UTV Motion Pictures
production and is aiming for a release during the festive season of
October.

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