Lift kara de
Aanuu Malik (yes, that’s how he spells his name these days) is upset. And this has to with Jaane-E-Mann. He scored the music for the film and most of the songs, especially Sabko maloom hai… which is a super hit. Well, the trouble is that now a 19-year-old boy, G.V. Prakash, is claiming that Malik is taking undue credit for the hit song. Prakash, who is apparently related to A.R. Rahman, claims that it was he who created the music for the song Sabko maloom hai… and now Malik has been given credit for it.
The music director is very peeved with Prakash. Obviously, being bullied by a teenager is not the best thing to happen to an experienced music director. However, given his history of lifting tunes, one wonders how many people will believe Malik?
CAS comeback
Hinduja’s media company IndusInd Media (which operates cable networks in Delhi and Mumbai) has asked the Delhi High Court for clarification on the government order on the conditional access system (CAS) that says that CAS must be implemented in select parts of some metros. CAS means that you will need a decoder to access your pay TV channels through cable. Basically, Indusind Media is pushing for CAS in the whole of Mumbai and Delhi. The company’s representatives are arguing that the government erred in understanding the court order. It says that the high court order does not restrict the implementation of CAS in limited areas of cities. The matter will come up for hearing on December 5.
Magazines galore
That fewer people are reading magazines in India is clear from the results of the latest National Readership Survey and the Indian Readership Survey. But that has not deterred the India Today Group from launching new magazines. The latest to hit the stands is a personal finance magazine called Money Today. The fortnightly will directly compete with the Outlook group’s Outlook Money. The buzz is that the India Today group is ready to launch a slew of magazines and in the pipeline is a special interest consumer magazine and another on the retail industry.
Anonymity blues
Akshay Kumar was in Dubai shooting for Anees Bazmee’s film Welcome when Jaan-E-Mann was released. Akshay Kumar, who stars in the Sajid Nadiadwala film, wanted to watch Jaane-E-Mann and went into a local theatre. The star came away quite upset. Was it because he felt his role was edited out? (The man is often accused of getting other people’s roles edited.) Or was it because he thought Salman Khan had outshone him? The truth is that apparently no one recognised him at the theatre. Or did people think that he really looks like the nerd that he is seen playing in the film?
Don closes doors
Shah Rukh Khan is very angry with the critics who panned his film Don. At a recent event to promote the film after its release, King Khan took a dig at his critics. “Don ke critics kee sabse badi galtee hai ke woh Don ke critics hain,” he guffawed. But for those who know King Khan inside out, this is a very clear warning: do not expect any interviews in the future. Khan then added, “The film is doing very well. I hope that can shut up people who are against this film.”
