Amitabh Bachchan opens up on Paa
You recorded with the legendary Ilaiyaraaja recently?

Amitabh Bachchan causes rift between IIFI organisers
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has become the bone of contention between the two organisers of the International Film Festival of India (IIFI), with the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) saying that the Directorate of Film Festival did not want to invite Big B. ESG's Red Carpet Committee member Rajendra Talak on Monday told reporters that the ESG wants to invite Bachchan to the festival, but DIFF is not keen on the idea. "We always feel that he should come but what can we do? It is only...

Amitabh Bachchan Creates History With Ilaiyaraaja
It was meant to be a recording by proxy. Amitabh Bachchan had recorded the title song of Paa in the incredibly juvenile voice of his character Auro. And he did it at Aadesh Shrivastava's studio two weeks ago, rendering the track sent by Ilaiyaraaja to perfect in a 12-year-old's voice. The Big B privately regretted the fact that he couldn't record in the maestro Ilaiyaraaja's presence. But how was the Big B or the director Balki to know that the recording in Mumbai would go kaput?...

SRK ignores Big B's b'day wish
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he is still awaiting an acknowledgement for an SMS that he sent to Shah Rukh Khan on his birthday over a week ago. "Nov 2 was Shah Rukh's birthday and I may have been the very early wisher to him, but he still has not acknowledged," Bachchan posted on his blog. "(His) mobile must have crashed with the number of wishes he had continued to receive throughout the day. Maybe I should send him a reminder. (It is) most unlike him. I wished Gauri and him for...

-Paa' Music Review
Film: ‘Paa’; Music Director: Ilayaraja; Lyricist: Swanand Kirkire; Singers: Shilpa Rao, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan and Amitabh Bachchan; Lyricist; Rating: *** ‘Paa’ is a film with an unusual story and music maestro Ilayaraja has composed tunes that gel well with the movie’s subject. Director R. Balakrishnan’s film stars Amitabh Bachchan as Abhishek’s son Auro, who suffers from progeria that causes premature ageing. It also stars Vidya Balan. The album...

Dad was a good son: Pa Abhi
On the occasion of Children's Day, TOI managed a peek into the world of 13-year-old Auro, a very special child who will visit cinema theatres this December 4. Who would've thought that Abhishek Bachchan would actually play a father to Bollywood's biggest legend Amitabh Bachchan someday? The near impossible has happened. In Big Pictures' Paa, the iconic Amitabh and son Abhishek come together to create a never-before-seen magic. Says R Balki, the director of this ambitious venture that is...

Composer Ilaiyaaraja cancels music release of -Paa': PHOTO
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Amitabh, Aamir to discuss marketing strategies for -Paa', -3 Idiots': PHOTO
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Big B sings with Rashid Khan for 26/11 album
Mumbai, Nov 14 (IANS) Amitabh Bachchan has lent his voice to quite a few film songs but now the megastar is singing along with classical maestro Rashid Khan for an album dedicated to the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai last year. ‘Yes, Rashid Khan and I have sung together. The system of recording these days allows a lot of freedom to sing how one is comfortable. That’s how I managed it,’ said Amitabh. Titled ‘Sound Of Peace’, the project has been...

Abhishek Bachchan is a relaxed producer: R. Balki
New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Director R. Balakrishnan says that Abhishek Bachchan, who is acting in and also producing ‘Paa’, is a very relaxed producer and has no hang ups. ‘Paa’, in which Amitabh Bachchan plays Abhishek’s son Auro who is suffering from the premature ageing disease progeria, is being produced under the banner AB Corps Ltd. ‘Abhishek is a relaxed producer. I wish he produces more films. He is someone with whom you can do what you want. He gives...

I would prefer a son like Abhishek: Vidya
Vidya Balan, who plays Amitabh Bachchan's mother in Paa , was so impressed by Abhishek's caring behaviour towards his father during the shooting that she confesses she would like to have a son like Abhishek in real life. "I would prefer a son like Abhishek. I have seen him with his father on the sets... he was so nice to his father that I was touched," Vidya told reporters in Mumbai on Saturday. Director R Balakrishnan's "Paa" is an emotional story of a father-son relationship and Amitabh will...

Amitabh sings with Rashid Khan for 26/11 album: PHOTO
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Mile Surreturns
Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, the song on national integration that used to air on TV in 1988 is about to return with a whole new different look and different stars.

'Karthik Calling Karthik' release shifted to avoid clash with 'Teen Patti'
The release date of Farhan Akhtar’s 'Karthik Calling Karthik' has now been pushed ahead to avoid a clash with Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Teen Patti'.

SRK, Aamir make it for Paa
There's no stopping the juggernaut that Amitabh Bachchan is. His latest, Paa, is close to his heart as it's son Abhishek's production, and Big B is leaving no stone unturned as far as the promotion of the film is concerned. In this interview, he gives TOI a peek into a world - a li'l more than that of the 13-year-old Auro (the character he plays in the film). Excerpts from an interview: Were you shocked, stunned, dumbfounded when Balki (the director of Paa) spoke about a role reversal?...

Big B's AB Corp to focus on quality movies
Amitabh Bachchan's film production company AB Corp, which was on the brink of Bankruptcy some time back, is looking for a revival with upcoming film 'Paa' and Bollywood megastar says that their mantra this time is to 'do little but good work'.

Madhavan soldiers on…despite injured knee: PHOTO
MUMBAI - R. Madhavan, who plays one of the idiots in Rajkumar Hirani's "3 Idiots", is in pain thanks to a knee injury he suffered during the film's shooting. But despite being advised a few weeks' rest, the actor continued working and says he won't slow down until the movie releases.

Karthik Calling Karthik release postponed: PHOTO
The release date of Farhan Akhtar's Karthik Calling Karthik has now been pushed ahead to avoid a clash with Amitabh Bachchan starrer Teen Patti . Teen Patti, a crime thriller, is scheduled to hit the screens Feb 12 next year, while Karthik Calling Karthik will now release Feb 26, said a Press release. Karthik Calling Karthik, co-produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment and Amit Chandrra and Vijay Lalwani's Magic Beans , is a romantic thriller. It is about Karthik...

Bachchan: Bollywood needs to adapt: PHOTO
Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan has told CNN that Indian cinema needs to display greater versatility as the famous Mumbai studios face increasing international competition in their domestic market.

-Karthik Calling Karthik' release shifted to avoid clash with -Teen Patti': PHOTO
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I can proudly tell my kids Big B was my first child: Vidya Balan: PHOTO
NEW DELHI - Bollywood actress Vidya Balan, who is playing Amitabh Bachchan's mother in her forthcoming movie Paa, says that now she can proudly tell everyone that the 67-year-old megastar was her first child.

Dad Abhi didn't beat me: Big B
As an actor, he raises the bar time and again. And Amitabh Bachchan has done it once more. After his genie act in Aladin, Big B will play Auro, a 13-year-old in his next film. And the reason Bachchan senior fits the role is because this character suffers from progeria, a rare disease that makes him age beyond his years. “But the film is not about the disease,” says Bachchan clearing the air, “It's about relationships. It just happens that the kid in the film suffers from progeria. We...

Aamir and Big B join hands before film release: PHOTO
more imagesOn November 15, Aamir Khan met up with Amitabh Bachchan at the latter’s residence because of Amitabh’s desire to meet the perfectionist actor. While the meeting was a personal one, the idea behind it was professional. People close to the two actors have asked them to join hands to cross promote their films, 3 Idiots and Paa.

Shantaram Shelved; Amber Heard & Aaron Echkart talk about The Rum Diary: PHOTO
Shantaram Shelved; Amber Heard & Aaron Echkart talk about The Rum Diary Shantaram Shelved The film adaptation of the bestselling book, 'Shantaram', which was due to feature the dual talents of Hollywood's Johnny Depp and the Bollywood legend, Amitabh Bachchan, has been shelved, Bachchan told me in a flying visit to London this week. The New York-based film director, Mira Nair, who has won plaudits at the Cannes Film Festival for such acclaimed films as 'Salaam Bombay!' and 'Monsoon Wedding',...