SAAWARIYA TO OPEN SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK ON NOV 7

Saawariya, the first Bollywood production from a Hollywood studio, is to open a prominent festival of South Asian films in New York on November 7 and release commercially two days later in over 80 theatres in North America.

Produced by Sony Pictures and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, it is the much awaited debut film of Ranbir Kapoor (son of actor Rishi Kapoor) and Sonam Kapoor (daughter of actor-producer Anil Kapoor).

Saawariya is the timeless tale of two young star-crossed lovers from different religions whose passions almost take them to the brink of self-destruction. It is based on Dostoevsky's short story White Nights.

It is the main draw at the five-day Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival, which will screen 70 films, including diaspora, Bollywood and short films.

The festival's closing film is The Last Lear by Rituparno Ghosh, considered heir to the legendary Satyajit Ray. The film has Amitabh Bachchan playing an ageing Shakespearean actor who takes on the bard's most challenging role. It is based on Utpal Dutt's play Aajker Shahjahan.

The festival will conclude with six awards being presented for best film, best director, best actor, best actress, best documentary and best short film.

MIAAC film festival's executive director Aroon Shivdasani said 2007 marks a groundbreaking year as Hollywood studios such as Warner Brothers, Viacom, Disney and Sony Pictures have started to invest in Bollywood films.

The festival, now in its seventh year, has earlier featured films by Mira Nair, Ismail Merchant, Deepa Mehta, Gurinder Chaddha and Nagesh Kukunoor.

The festival is organised by the Indo-American Arts Council, which is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes Indian artistes in the fields of performing, literary, visual and folk and fusion arts.

ASIN IS FLYING HIGH IN BOLLYWOOD, GETS READY TO DO AN ENGLISH FILM TOO

Asin is one heroine who has done exceptionally well in Tollywood and moved on to other industries, not because she doesn't have the acting talent or the good looks, only because she has done too many films, and the audience expects beautiful belles to dance around with the aged heroes. So, she has been busy in Tamil and Malayalam. And doing some great films there too.

Now that she has prove her mettle down south, she is slowly inching her way into Bollywood and also paving her way to act in cross-cultural cinema. The kind that directors like Nagesh Kukunoor makes. She is acting in an English film, which will be based on a short story by renowned Malayalam writer, M T Vasudevan Nair. There are huge plans of roping in Kamal Haasan to do the lead role, and if that happens it would be the right shot in the arm for Asin. In case Kamal turns down the offer, Mohanlal may be taken to play the lead. Either way, it is going to be a great break for Asin. And not without reason. The film, we are told, may star some renowned Hollywood actors too. And if that happens, all the attention would be on this Mallu Kutty.

She is already hogging the limelight for her role in the Hindi remake of Ghazni, and she is acting with none other than Aamir Khan. What more, she is also being tipped as the heroine for the Hindi remake of Pokiri, starring Salman Khan in Mahesh Babu's role, and being directed by the boneless wonder Prabhu Deva.

Her next big film in Tamil is Dasavataram, the Kamal Haasan starrer, which is tipped to be the next best thing to happen to Tamil film industry after Sivaji: The Boss.

Good going Asin, may all your ventures yield you tonnes and tonnes of money and admiration.