Taking fresh strides into making fashion relatable, accessible and transparent, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), recently announced Amazon India, India’s biggest e-commerce portal, with a momentous digital footprint, as the title sponsor of India Fashion Week; celebrating it’s 25th edition this season.

Being the most coveted fashion extravaganza, showcasing the brightest stars from the design nucleus. With several shows in five days, and innumerable designer stalls at the exhibit area, covering over 12,000 sq. meters., the Amazon India Fashion Week brings you fashion, which permeates the fabric of your life and gives you endless uber chic options.

Here is the review on some of the highlight shows.

Artist Rashmi Kaleka, designer Rakesh Thakore, poet and novelist Jeet Thayil, graphic designer Kunal Lodhia and supermodel Kanishtha Dhankar, among others, walked the ramp amid wild cheering from spectators. The collection was casual and cool with wool blend hand-woven fabrics, khadi and fine silk bandhini dyed in natural indigo.

Sari pants, worker jackets, kimono coats, drawstring hood shirts, khadi-denim engineered jeans and socks-rather than shoes-made for an interesting range for the upcoming season. Blue and red were the main colours, with dashes of black and beige acting as palette cleansing hues.

Label EKA, meanwhile, showcased a chic winter collection of straight-cut silhouettes in pearly off-whites and rustic tones. Cosy fabrics blends and prints in merino wool, chambray herringbone, thick jacquard and chunky basket weaves with checks and stripes lent an English look to the designs.

In contrast, Tanvi Kedia launched her Indian line with a range of saris, anarkalis-churidars and dresses. One half of the range was in white, accentuated with floral motifs embroidered on borders, while the other half comprised a burst of colours with stripes, elephants and horses inspired from Rajasthani miniature paintings.

CAST: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain, Gerard Depardieu, Rafe Spall
Directed by: Ang lee
Produced by: Ang lee
Screen play by: David Magee
Based on : Life of pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi is a remarkable film and is directed and produced by Ang Lee, an academy award winning director, and based on the book Life of pi by Yann Martel. The story is about a teenage boy Suraj Sharma and a Bengal Tiger who survive a massive shipwreck and are stranded together, alone, on a tiny lifeboat in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. On elaborating it’s about man’s innate will to survive even in the most hopeless of conditions. It’s a philosophical meditation on spirituality and man’s relationship with the natural world. This is an exceptionally well-made film as a whole and visual treat on 3D.

Movie Details
Genre: Romance / Drama
Cast: Hrithik Roshan Farhan Akhtar Abhay Deol Katrina Kaif Naseeruddin Shah
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani , Farhan Akhtar
Written by: Reema Kagti , Zoya Akhtar
Release date and status: Releasing on May 27, 2011
Zoya Akhtar’s film ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ is a story about three friends on a road trip and the bond they share with each other. will star Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar and is filmed both in India and abroad. Considering the cast, it may well become a bigger hit than DCH...

Cast : Imran Khan,Sonam Kapoor,Sameer Dattani.
Director : Punit Malhotra
Producer : Karan Johar
Cinematographer :Ayananka Bose
Story Writer : Punit Malhotra
Music Director : Vishal-Shekhar

“I Hate Luv Storys” is written and directed by Punit Malhotra. He has previously assisted well known Bollywood director and producer Karan Johar on blockbusters like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. He worked with Amol Palekar on Paheli and later he worked as creative director with Tarun Mansukhani on Dostana. Lead stars in the movie are Imran Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Sammir Dattani, Samir Soni, Kavin Dave and Khusboo Shroff. Aamir Ali and Pooja Ghai will give special appearance in the movie. Film is produced by Hiroo Yash Johar , Karan Johar and Ronnie Screwvala. Movie will be distributed by Karan Johar’s production house, Dharma Productions. Music for the movie is directed by Vishal and Shekhar while lyrics of songs are written by Anvita Dutt, Kumaar and Vishal Dadlani. Story, screenplay and dialogues are written by director himself while film editor is Akiv Ali and production designer is Amrita Mahal Nakai. Costumes used in the movie are designed by Manish Malhotra and choreography by Bosco Caesar. Movie will be in theater from July 2, 2010.

Story of the movie: Movie is pro love story while name is “I Hate Luv Storys”. ‘I hate luv storys’ is the maxim Jay lives by. Role of Jay is played by Imran Khan. But as an assistant director to Veer i.e. Samir Soni, the most famous romantic filmmaker of Indian Film Industry, Jay has little option but to live with larger than life, glossy, cinematic love on an everyday basis. Things only get worse when he is made to work under the new production designer on the film. Jay shares the strangest first encounter with Simran. Simran loves luv storys; So much so that even her life has begun to resemble one. Role of Simran is played by lead actress of movie, Sonam Kapoor. With her ideal job and the perfect boyfriend, Raj, she lives a blissful, dreamy life; One that is rudely interrupted by Jay’s cynicism. Sameer Dattani will be seen in role of Raj.

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Director : Sajid Khan
Music : Shankar-Eshaan-Loy
Starring : Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Reitesh Deshmukh, Jiah Khan.

Synopsis:

HOUSEFUL is a romantic comedy entertainer to be released on 30th Apr 2010. It promises to be a all round entertainer - well that we will know only after 16th, what we know is that Akshay is hoping to see the theaters houseful for his film Houseful.

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Star Cast:
Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Upen Patel

The Crew:
Director: Rajkumar Santoshi
Screenplay: Rajkumar Santoshi
Writer: Rajkumar Santoshi
Producer: Ramesh S. Taurani
Cinematography: Thiru
Art Director: Nitesh Roy
Music: Pritam

It’s a joyride with a fair amount of bumps and de tours. At places genuinely funny, at times hyperbolized and even begging the viewers to feel sympathy for the self-sacrificing bumbling do-gooder Prem, APGK is a screwball comedy going zig-zag throughout its running course of two and half hours.

The story begins with the showcase of ‘innocence tipping balance to foolishness’ of Prem (Ranbir Kapoor). That’s just the start of many Charlie Chaplinesque comical moments. Prem and his gang of good-for-nothing friends open up the Happy Club; read their hangout place where they try to solve their love problems or simply pass time. It’s when one of Prem’s friend needs to rescue his damsel in distress that his chance meeting of Jenny(Katrina Kaif) happens.

Phir kya! Prem takes up job of making laddoos at a halwai shop and becomes a good son for his dad and mom. All this he does for Jenny; to win her love. And whenever Jenny is in trouble, Prem goes full throttle to help her. He even takes Jenny’s troubles upon himself only to find out that she loves someone else. What follows is for viewers to go and see, but is surely a fun ride.

Ranbir and Katrina truly impress, not only with their individual roles, but also with their on-screen chemistry. The two worked together quite well! With such great on-screen emotion the pivotal scenes were taken seriously throughout the comedy.

Overall, the film is a joy ride with some potholes in the script, characterization, and story. Nonetheless, it’s an ideal family entertainer that most of the masses would enjoy!

Lakme Fashion Week 2009 for spring /Summer in Mumbai is where every Fashion Designers showcase their Best with good collections of Fabrics , Materials and Designs.

Its a 10th year of Lakme Fashion week and Big Fashions designer who already given their impression in Fashion world as well as in the Bollywood showed their collection with some of the New comers.

Designers who participated in the Lakme Fashion week 2009 for spring/summer collections are Manju and Boddy Grover, Monapali, Raghuvendra Rathore, Rina Dhaka, Rohit Bal, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Suneet Varma, Arjun Khanna, JJ Valaya, Aki Narula, Anshu Lason, Tarun Tahiliani, Malini Ramani, Monisha Jaising, Varun Bahl, Ritu Beri, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Narendra Kumar, Manish Malhotra and Anamika Khanna.

Bollywood seems to be not getting enough of Fashion Week. This year we have seen loads of celebrities walking the ramp for their favorite designers. John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha, Katrina Kaif, Diya Mirza, Sameera Reddy and the list is long.

London Dreams is a musical film directed by Vipul Shah. Starring Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan in lead roles. Music is given by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The story revolves around two childhood friends Arjun (Ajay Devgan) and Mannu ( Salman Khan). Arjun (Ajay Devgan) is a trained musician whose dream is to perform at London’s Wembly Arena and to live up to his grandfather’s unfulfilled ambitions. Mannu ( Salman Khan) is a natural talent, but he has little interest in music. Arjun moves to London,which he believes is where he can successfully reach his ambitions. Arjun creates a band with Zoheb and Wasim (Rannvijay Singh & Aditya Roy Kapoor respectively). Arjun invites mannu to London to joins his band. Mannu becomes popular with his unique style of performing. Arjun starts feeling envious of the rising success of Mannu. London Dreams is good movie. London Dreams has superb performances from Salman and Ajay.

Actually Quick Gun Murugun is like a plate of grossly overcooked pasta. It is not the usual fare and could have been tasty if cooked right. But instead ends up being a bowl of unpalatable sludge. And we can only blame the filmmakers for that. A spoof is a spoof – no logic, no storyline just a short while of mindless fun. Try turning that into a film, stretch it for 90 tedious minutes and this is what you'll end up with – sludge! The story begins with QG Murugun dying. It is right about then that you'll realise how the makers are trying too hard to be extraordinarily 'cool' – something which in the nineties would have been referred to as extremely 'Yo!'. Chitragupta for example is a Gujarati man named C Gupta. And 'yamlok' is called the Ministry of Death. Things that would have been funny... in Class II. Come interval, and you'll still be waiting to laugh. Really laugh. Some names here and some actions there might be funny. For example, a song sequence with Murugan (Dr Rajendrakumar) and his Locket Lover (Anu Menon aka Lola Kutty) dancing around trees is cute. It incorporates all the '60s Bollywood clichés right from flowers touching each other to depict an intimate (read kissing) scene to the quintessential park bench romance. However, most of the first half is too violent (for no apparent reason) to be fun. Second half brings in the other character you might be waiting for – Mango Dolly. Rambha as the blonde-haired, bar dancer cum gangster's keep cum Miss India aspirant cum a lot of other things is good. But it's tough for even her to help sustain a film that stretches beyond measure. Her romance with Quick Gun is the only highlight of this half of the film. The extremely corny scenes and dialogues between them is good fun. To give it to the actors, they have really lived up to their exaggerated characters. Dr Rajendraprasad is brilliant as Quick Gun Murugun. He doesn't laugh. He can't look at semi clad women. He winces when he sees Mango Dolly dance. Good! Raju Sundaram's portrayal of Rowdy MBA is also worth a mention. The two women Anu Menon (aka Lola Kutty of Channel V) as Locket Lover and Rambha as Mango Dolly live up to their characters as well. With rich, vibrant colours and well executed special effects, the film has a very comic strip effect. The background score only adds to the effects. Every character has their unique musical track which plays when they enter or exit a scene. The same goes for similar situations. The songs however are nothing worth mentioning. And we could have lived without them. Quick Gun Murugun thus, is a great character. He could have been the Indian Don Quixote. It's a pity, he ends up being an immense bore.

New York is a story of friendship set against the backdrop of a city often described as the centre of the world (New York). Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) has gone abroad for the first time in his life and soon enough he begins to see and love America through the eyes of his American friends – Sam (John Abraham) and Maya (Katrina Kaif).

New York is one such story of 3 young friends whose beautiful lives are turned upside down by larger events beyond their control. At this point enters Agent Roshan (Irrfan), an FBI undercover agent who sets the ball rolling for a series of tumultuous events that turn the lives of these friends into a dangerous and thrilling roller coaster ride.

New York can easily be considered the best film to come out of the Yash Raj stable after Chak De India. Shot entirely in the US, the film not only is on par with the best of the Hollywood films made in this genre but is a completely different experience which the Bollywood audience is not used to. You are completely hooked from the first scene of the film when Neil is arrested by FBI and the interrogation that follows by Irrfan of Neil’s. The first half is extremely well narrated and keeps you constantly guessing as to what will happen next. The interval point is a shocker and you look forward to an exciting second half. But then the pace of the second half somehow doesn’t match up that of the first half and there are some predictable things in store. But nonetheless it is packed with some really great moments. The whole frisking episode of Katrina Kaif by a cop on the road late at night and the sequences that follow it linger on your mind for long. Katrina Kaif has finally got the meatiest role of her career and she has taken full advantage of it. She has closed mouth of her critics that she can only do well in glittery roles and has played emotional scenes pretty well. Neil in a difficult part shines. Irrfan Khan never disappoints and here again he is in great form. His scenes with Neil and also his senior officer have turned out well.The climax though a bit word heavy is superbly shot as well. The torture scenes shown immediately post the interval send a shiver down your spine. Pritam’s music is easy on the ears and there are no lip sync songs to hamper the proceedings.

First up, British director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Sunshine) brings us a story of a boy transcending class and discrimination, rising above his circumstance and prevailing against the odds. This timeless motif comes wrapped up in a truly frenetic, color soaked vision of India’s Mumbai. The stuff cinema dreams are made of. The cinematography is the highlight of the film, the colors it depicts is fantastic. It tells you a rags to riches story of a young boy. The feel good movie of the moment Slum Dog Millionaire, harrowing war drama Defiance; starring blonde bond Daniel Craig, and American comedy Role Models. Jamal K Malik – Played by Dev Patel) from the Slums of Mumbai who becomes a millionaire and wins over his love through many trials and tribulations. He is only helped by his luck and his intelligence. Slumdog Millionaire juxtaposes the past (flashback) – the story of the boy as he tells in the police station, the present – as depicted in the police station and Millionaire game show and climaxes with both the narratives joining on the same platform. Movies like Rang De Basanti and Memento come to mind right away among a plethora of others who use this type of narration and treatment to make simple yet interesting plots work. There’s a romantic aspect to the story as well. Having fallen out of touch with his lady love, the kid decides to appear on the show because he knows she watches it obsessively. The script was written by Simon Beaufoy, who also gave us The Full Monty. Boyle is perfect to tell the story. Trainspotting was great, but he also directed 28 Days Later and A Life Less Ordinary. Not to mention a pair of HIGHLY underrated and overlooked films - Shallow Grave and The Beach. All of these releases are marked by a very distinct visual style which should play well with the jigsaw puzzle-feel that Slum Dog will surely have. On the whole this movie belongs to the technicians who are involved in the project including Danny Boyle/ Lavleen Tandon (Directors), AR Rahman (Music), Resul Pokutty (Sound), Anthony Dod Mantle (Cinematography) and Chris Dickens (Editing). The premise of the Movie has been taken from the Novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup and is adapted for the film by Simon Beufoy.

In a post WALL-E world, it is hard for an animated movie to get by with sub par animation and a less than adequate plot line. This is a memo that DreamWorks and Co. must not have gotten. Madagascar 2 passes the bar set by the first, but not by a very high margin. The first film’s animation seemed like they had taken the easy way out, saving on production time and budget. The second film continues the poor animation but tries to pass it off as a stylistic decision rather then a time saving measure. At the very least, one would have expected the textures to be of a higher quality then those used in the first; they had three years to work on it. Three years not well spent. It is a 2008 sequel to the 2005 film, Madagascar about the continuing adventures of Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, Marty the Zebra and Melman the Giraffe. It is directed by Eric Darnell and written by Etan Cohen. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and was released on November 7, 2008. The film, distributed to theaters by Paramount Pictures, starts as prequel, showing a small part of Alex's early life, including his capture by hunters. It soon moves to shortly after the point where the original left off, with the animals deciding to return to New York. They board an airplane on Madagascar, but crash-land in Africa, where each of the central characters meets others of the same species; Alex is reunited with his parents. Problems arise, and their resolution occupies much of the remainder of the film. It stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer and Andy Richter. Also providing voices are Alec Baldwin, will.i.am, Bernie Mac, Sherri Shepherd. The previous title was "Madagascar: The Crate Escape", which was featured on a trailer with Ben Stiller. The film is rated PG for some mild crude humor. This, along with Soul Men, was Bernie Mac's last film performance. Therefore, this film is dedicated to him. The credits include a dedication: "For our friend Bernie Mac. Thanks for all the laughter." Madagascar is going to be a long standing franchise, as evidenced by the announcement of Madagascar 3 long before this film was finished, and it is believed that Madagascar is a maturing franchise, one that will take many years and sequels before they can be enjoyed by anyone over the age of 6. Hold on, and wait for Madagascar 6, because Madagascar 2 is borderline unwatchable.

Recall the 'Kantaben' episode in Karan Johar's KAL HO NAA HO. The episode is alive even today, in skits, on stage, amongst friends. That was a mere trailer. Picture abhi baaki hain. DOSTANA takes 'Kantaben' episode to another level altogether. Love triangle in Hindi movies often centre around two guys falling in love with the same girl, or two girls choosing to love the same guy. But DOSTANA is a first. It's the first Hindi film that, at the core, is a rectangle [three men loving the same woman], but two of them, guys in this case, pretend to be a couple. To cut a long story short, DOSTANA is not to be missed. Dharma Productions, the late Yash Johar and Karan Johar's film production outfit, has produced several significant films in the past. Add DOSTANA to the list! Miami is the setting for DOSTANA. When Sameer [Abhishek Bachchan] and Kunal [John Abraham] are turned down for an apartment because the landlady [Sushmita Mukherjee] doesn't want two strapping young men to corrupt her young sexy niece Neha [Priyanka Chopra], they hatch a plan: they pretend to be gay to secure the apartment. Director Tarun Mansukhani is here to stay. He deserves kudos for choosing an offbeat story, then making a foolproof screenplay and most importantly, executing it with flourish. DOSTANA merges form and content beautifully, since the film is, technically speaking, sound. Ayananka Bose's cinematography is top notch. The locales of Miami are a feast for your eyes. Costumes and styling are very upmarket. Vishal-Shekhar's music goes well with the mood of the film. It's young, peppy and energetic. 'Desi Girl' and 'Maa Da Laadla Bigad Gaya' are foot-tapping compositions. The latter is bound to be a rage! Both Abhishek and John are fantabulous! Abhishek pulls out all the stops and delivers one of the finest performances of his career. His comic timing is superb! John will make guys and girls drool over his amazing physique. But, most importantly, people will sit up and notice how fine an actor John is. Both Abhishek and John compliment each other so well. In fact, had the chemistry and camaraderie been missing, the story would've failed to look convincing. Two thumbs up for these two guys! Priyanka looks stunning and delivers a first-rate performance. First FASHION, now DOSTANA, Priyanka is back with a bang. Bobby Deol lends the required class to his role. No other actor would've looked so real while underplaying this character. Boman Irani is sure to bring the house down, the auditorium is sure to resonate with laughter in his sequences. Kirron Kher is superb as the Punjabi mom. Watch her throw a fit when she learns that her son [Abhishek] is gay and much later, when she accepts John as family. She's remarkable! Sushmita Mukherjee, as Priyanka's aunt, is fantastic. She's so, so funny. Shilpa Shetty sizzles in the opening track. On the whole, DOSTANA is a winner all the way. In terms of content, it might just prove to be a trendsetter. In terms of business, the film holds tremendous appeal for the youth. The 16 to 25 age-group would go into raptures and bonkers over this film. Its business at multiplexes mainly will be amazing. In Overseas too, the film should emerge amongst the biggest draws of 2008. DOSTANA rocks... have a blast!

Whatever Aamir Khan touches seems to be turning into gold. First Lagaan, then Taare Zameen Par and now Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, although not in the same league, is yet another classic from Aamir Khan productions. What works for Jaane Tu is the well etched characters, performed brilliantly by the actors. Its not just the main characters, but even the supporting characters that add a lot of value to Jaane Tu. Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is about Jai Singh Rathore a.k.a Rats (Imraan Khan), a Rajput who doesnt believe in violence and Aditi Mahant a.k.a Meow (Genelia D’Souza), a cute and violent girl. Aditi feels Jai is a big coward and Jai says her parents should have rinsed her mouth with soap! They fight like crazy but just cant live without each other. They are almost a made for each other couple, their parents know this, friends know it, but they believe they are just great friends, no more, no less. Does friendship turn into love? Director Abbas Tyrewala has executed the script with brilliance. The first half is almost flawless, a simple tale of friendship and love, that either makes you smile or laugh. The second half, could have been better.. it tends to drag a tad bit at times and gets predictable when Genelia is engaged. The writer should have opted for a different climax and made it slightly more believable. The dialogues are witty, hilarious at times and brilliant. The music by A.R. Rehman is perfect for the movie. “Pappu cant dance saala” and “Kabhi Kabhi” stand out. Overall, Jaane Tu is immensely enjoyable and high on entertainment. If your looking for a movie on friendship and love, that makes you smile and laugh at times. Dont miss it! At the box-office, the lacklustre performance of Love Story 2050 along with good word out mouth should ensure a HIT status atleast!