August 13, 2008
by Newsdesk

Amul Star Voice of India has served as the ultimate platform for budding singers from across India to realize their dreams; the show has gone on to become the most entertaining and involving show to hit Indian television. Talent is the key which set Amul Star Voice of India apart from the rest in its first season and brought singing talents like Ishmeet Singh Sodhi, Harshit Saxena, Abhaas Joshi, Irfan Khan, Toshi to the forefront.

Audition and find out if you are the Voice of SVOI-Bangkok!!

Saturday Aug 23rd 10am onward at the India Thai Chamber of Commerce, Sathorn

Audition for Star Voice of India International Talent Hunt in Bangkok to win a free ticket to Mumbai and the chance to sing on Indian television (STARPLUS), on a non-competing basis.

The winner will be chosen by judges during the auditions and will win a trip to Mumbai, hotel accommodation and the chance to sing on national television as the Bangkok winner.

Log on to www.jadegrouphk.com for more information and terms & conditions of entry.

Contact This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or call +66-813658880

August 9, 2008
by Joyeeta Dutta Ray

If you are prepared to leave your brains behind, Anees Bazmee’s Singh is Kinng may be well worth your while. If not, you will surely be sneering on your seat.

At the outset, the title itself tickles. Christened with the name ‘Happy Singh’, the strapping Akshay Kumar does anything but spread happiness. He is an honest to goodness, large-hearted Sikh village simpleton with the courage of ‘James Bond’ and the finesse of ‘Mr. Bean’.

The film begins with him unsuccessfully dashing after a hen in an attempt to turn it into butter chicken. Far from being able to transform the bird into an epicurean delight, all Happy Singh does is create havoc in the village. He is the eternal ‘do gooder’ who ends up ruining all those he crosses path with, so much so that his ‘best friend’ (Om Puri) turns against him and plots to oust him from the village. Happy is encouraged to fly to Australia where his brother, Lucky Singh (Sonu Sood), reigns as the King of the underworld. Happy is told to lure Lucky back to the village to meet his ailing dad one last time. The friend knows that Lucky will never leave his throne and Happy, being the committed person that he is, will never return to the village without his mission accomplished. In a twist of comic events, the friend unhappily finds himself assisting Happy on this journey.

On the way, they land in Egypt by a stroke of ‘ill-luck’ where Happy finds the woman of his dreams, (a gorgeous Katrina Kaif). After a song, some action and close-ups showcasing Katrina’s curves, a tired and hungry Happy finally reaches Australia with his best friend where a Florist (Kirron Kher) kindly offers food and shelter. Happy locates Lucky but as expected, Lucky refuses to return to the village. Soon, a bullet paralyses Lucky, leaving Happy to take over the throne as the next underworld ‘King’.

July 12, 2008
by Joyeeta Dutta Ray

You may come in to see this one for Amir Khan’s association. You may leave the hall raving about his nephew, Imran Khan’s contribution.

It’s a story that has been done to death. The only big stars in this film twinkle high up in the sky. ‘Pappu’ honestly demonstrates that he can’t shake a leg. Genelia attempts to be another Kajol in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and ends up as her copy ‘cat’! Yet ‘Jaaney Tu…Ya Jaaney Na’, produced by Mansoor Khan and Amir Khan, written and directed by Abbas Tyrewala, manages to tickle the audience.

Made of sugar and spice and everything nice, Jai Singh Rathore (Imran Khan) is anything but manly. His dairy milk hue, accentuated by a gentle personality, contrast sharply with his tom-boyish, feisty best friend, Aditi (Genelia D’ Souza). Yet, much to the amusement of their friends and family, both display an overenthusiastic sense of loyalty towards each other. Aditi lives with a deeper sense of devotion towards her best friend than her smouldering brother (Prateik Babbar).

Their friends and family can see that Jai and Aditi are in love but the protagonists themselves live in denial. The two part ways to look for love elsewhere but end up evolving with deeper realizations. Saccharine Jai Singh discovers the ‘macho man’ inside him in his quest to win over his girl, much to his sword buckling, departed dad’s delight (brilliantly portrayed by Naseeruddin Shah) and non-violence championing, activist mother, Savitri’s dismay (Ratna Pathak). Aditi loses her curls and finds a manly boyfriend to spend the rest of her days with. How Aditi and Jai are brought together is what differentiates this story from others.

June 21, 2008
by Nita Jatar Kulkarni

De Taali is directed by E.Niwas whose first film Shool won the National Award for the best Hindi feature film way back in the year 2000. He has continued to direct films but none has made a splash. One wonders whether De Taali (his sixth film) will stir audiences.

The movie, a major portion of it shot in Thailand, begins slowly, but within half an hour or so picks up pace and charms you with its story and humour. But then, as we start to approach the end, the pace begins to falter, and during the last 15 minutes we wonder why we are still sitting in the movie hall and why the movie isn’t over. In fact at least half the audience walked out of the theatre during this time, impatient now that they knew what they had to know and the jokes had ended. Three hours was too long for a movie of this kind.

What is it about?

Del Taali is a comedy and it’s about young people. Paglu (Riteish Deshmukh), Amu (Ayesha Takia) and Abhi (Aftab Shivdasani) are childhood friends and the movie zooms in on their life when they seem to be ready to find true love. So De Taali is a love story as well as a comedy….or rather, two love stories.
The movie is light and doesn’t tax your brain. It’s funny, but doesn’t rely on slapstick humour. Initially the jokes are a little flat but they get better and the situations funnier and more bizarre.

Don’t expect to see any breathtaking scenery of Thailand as most of the movie is shot indoors and in small spaces like say outside the airport, or in the tree-house or on the roads.

June 15, 2008
by Newsdesk/IANS

Talented actor Rahul Bose simply loves playing rugby - so much so that he doesn’t mind the broken fingers and nose that he suffers during tournaments. The actor was selected to play for India at the World Cup qualifier for the Asian zone rugby tournament in Bangkok recently.

Speaking of the injuries he has suffered, Rahul said: “I have had two major arthroscopies, six broken fingers, including two shattered thumbs and three broken noses. The most serious one was when dirt was kicked violently into my eyes. I almost lost my eyesight because there were 210 pieces of stones stuck in the corneas of both my eyes.”

The actor, however, admitted that India has a long way to go to reach the World Cup.

“The best 32 nations play the World Cup. India is ranked 83rd and we were recognised only 10 years ago and have decades to go before we reach the World Cup,” Rahul said.

June 13, 2008
by Subhash K. Jha / IANS

Veteran actress Jaya Bachchan has liked the “Sarkar Raj” saga so much that she has urged director Ram Gopal Varma to make another sequel. “Sarkar Raj” starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek and his wife Aishwarya Rai, got a mixed response, but Jaya loved it.

“Varma was asked this question at a press conference in Bangkok and he said he has not thought about it. But Jaya in a rare reaction has urged him that he must do a part three, as did a few others. I personally feel he should not. Better for people to say ‘why not’ than ‘why did you’,” Amitabh told IANS.

Incidentally, she is the most outspoken Bachchan of the family who didn’t think Varma’s remaking “Sholay” was a good idea and who was vocal of her opposition to tampering with an invincible classic.

And now Jaya is excited by the idea of a trilogy in the “Sarkar” series. The latest political thriller ends with the death of Abhishek’s character.

The third part would probably show the senior Bachchan taking charge of the family empire again, with his elder son’s child manoeuvring the Nagre empire by his grandpa’s side. Kay Kay Menon played the elder son in the first part.

Incidentally, the director had thought about another sequel even while “Sarkar Raj” was in post-production.

June 10, 2008
by Joyeeta Dutta Ray

June 6th, 2008 will be marked on the calendars for several blessed Indians in Thailand. Bangkok bonded closer with Bollywood. Siam Paragon took on new meaning. Most importantly, the status quo of the Indian community was gloriously defined.

It was clear where you stood.  Either you were an insider, reigning amongst the ‘Cocktail Clan’, or you were an outsider, waiting amongst the ‘Wallet Watchers’, missing out on all the events!

Closer to the green carpet, three further sub divisions within the ‘Cocktail Clan’ was evident. On the periphery hovered the ‘Bollywood Crazy Bigwigs’ - those willing to shelve out the 300 USD per ticket. The second in reckoning were the ‘Movers and Shakers’, the sponsors and VIPs who held their head high with the film personas on the green carpet. Last but not the least was the lucky ‘Contest Winners’, knighted with ‘exclusive’ passes by virtue of their intellect.

Having purchased two tickets worth a fortune, we had qualified for the ‘Bollywood Crazy Bigwigs’. However, much to our delight, we found ourselves amongst the blessed winners as well. Below is a first-hand account of the shining moments bestowed upon us by the IIFA.

June 9, 2008
by Aparna / IANS

Indians in Bangkok had a brush with their favourite Bollywood stars over the weekend, collecting autographs and taking pictures of top-notch actors who had descended on the city for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards. Enthusiastic fans gathered outside the Dusit Thani Hotel, one of the oldest five-star hotels here, to catch a glimpse of the cine stars during the three-day extravaganza that ended late Sunday.

From Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek, Aishwarya Rai, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor to Fardeen Khan, Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif and Vivek Oberoi - people went ga-ga over the superstars as well as budding actors.

But the Bachchan family was the most popular of them all. Fans turned out in huge numbers to see the Bollywood’s most sought after couple Aishwarya and Abhishek - they had the longest line of autograph seekers.

“IIFA means a lot for us Indians living here. It is a perfect showcasing of India in terms of our stars and glamour,” Ravi Mathur, who works as general manager in a company here, told IANS.

Thailand has a nearly 85,000-strong Indian diaspora, with families of many having settled in the country three-four generations ago.