Amitabh upset with criticism of the Unforgettable Tour
Spicezee Bureau

Amitabh Bachchan is “rolling on the floor mock laughing at their (read media) disgusting sense of humour”, according to his blog entry dated August 26. Amitabh Bachchan's 'Unforgettable Tour' has received a standing ovation in London, setting benchmarks, creating new standards and leaving the world audiences craving for more, according to recent reports. Shilpa Shetty joined the UK leg of the tour and mesmerized one and all by her dazzling moves. She grooved to some of the most current chartbusters including Race, Beedi, Its Rocking and Mauja Hi Mauja and London couldn't get enough of its favorite star.

However, there has been repeated negative media coverage of his world tour. Hence, Big B used his blog to emphasize the success of his tour and attack the negative media coverage.

Big B candidly wrote in his blog, “I notice some readers showing anger and anguish at some of the negative media reports in Buzz18 and CNN IBN. Well what can I say? Even before the shows started I had made you aware of this and warned you. So they live up to my predictions. This is a glorious moment for me. I dictate, they emulate!”

He ferociously attacked the media, as he wrote, “It is a desperate and futile attempt at defaming, destroying and belittling a well accomplished achievement. One that is done and over with to amazing result. One, sadly, they will never be a part of and one they shall never be able to recreate. They find themselves on crutches. A most despicable condition they brilliantly managed, by, and this is both laughable and ironical, axing their own feet!”

He further wrote, “Entertainment, the euphemism for news channels and internet.coms, compels them to manufacture their own jokes just so they could have a hearty laugh!”

Big B also included some of the text messages sent by viewers to emphasize the 'phenomenal' popularity of his show. “I have all the money in the world seen the world but today thank you for something money could never do. Watching Mr. B today the final bits will live with me till I die. What a great man. Put him on the flag of India thanks mate”, the message said. 

The ‘Unforgettable Tour’ seems to be under constant fire by the Indian press who claim the tickets were well worth an arm and a leg which is why the tour didn’t quite go as well as expected. Big B was quick to put the facts straight claiming it was a rollicking success, through the  phenomenon of ‘blogging’ that has hit Bollywood. He has his own blog!

Israel, after 43 years, is ready for Beatlemania
Ethan Bronner
New York Times

 In 1965, when Israel had no television, and public entertainment consisted largely of kibbutz songfests celebrating the wheat harvest, the Beatles, already international celebrities, were booked for a concert here. To young Israeli fans, it seemed an impossible dream.

And so it was. The official permission required to withdraw precious foreign currency to pay the band was denied because a ministerial committee feared the corrupting influence of four long-haired Englishmen singing about pleasure.

As the committee report put it, “The Beatles have an insufficient artistic level and cannot add to the spiritual and cultural life of the youth in Israel.”

Since then, especially in recent years, Israel has expressed embarrassment about the episode and tried to make amends. Last January, it sent a letter from its London embassy to the remaining Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, asking forgiveness for the “missed opportunity” to have the band that “shaped the minds of a generation, to come to Israel and perform before the young generation in Israel who admired you and continues to admire you.” The artists were asked to consider again coming to perform. 

There was little progress until recently, but now Mr. McCartney has been booked for a huge outdoor concert in Tel Aviv on Sept. 25. And nearly everything about the event - the $8 million price tag borne by a high-flying Israeli financier who expects to turn a profit, the tickets selling for hundreds of dollars that are being gobbled up through Internet sales, indeed its very existence - is a parable of a nation transformed.

The promised concert has led many here to reflect on the cocooned simplicity of life only four decades ago.

“I had just gotten my first LP record for my bar mitzvah from my two best friends, and it was by the Beatles,” recalled Yoel Esteron, 55, editor of the daily business newspaper Calcalist. “And then they canceled the concert. We still had no television and only official radio stations. We were living in a cultural ghetto; the country was Bolshevik. Teenagers and their parents debated it for weeks. Every teenager was furious.”

For Yossi Sarid, a leftist former Parliament member and government minister, the arrival of Mr. McCartney is an opportunity to reminisce and set the record straight about his father, Yaakov Sarid, who was the director general of the Education and Culture Ministry and an official involved in canceling the original concert.

In a front-page article in the newspaper Haaretz on Monday, Yossi Sarid said the real cause of the cancellation was a rivalry between impresarios at the time. One had been offered a Beatles concert in 1962, before their star had risen, by the mother of the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, and had turned them down. When a competitor booked them three years later, the first impresario used his government connections to keep the needed money from being disbursed.

“I can assure you that my father had never heard of the Beatles,” Mr. Sarid said in a follow-up telephone conversation. “The promoter of course didn't come to the government and say, 'I don't like this other guy and I don't want him to get the money.' He said it is a lousy group and will corrupt the spirit of the wonderful, brilliant, pure Israeli youngsters. He exploited their ignorance.”

Israel's leaders in the early 1960s knew almost nothing of global popular culture. There is a famous story told of David Ben-Gurion, the founding prime minister, when he read a headline in a mass-selling paper that said Elizabeth Taylor, then among the world's most famous women, was very ill. “Who's Elizabeth Taylor?” Ben-Gurion is said to have asked.

A glance at the printed tickets for the canceled 1965 Beatles concert, copies of which still exist as collectors' items, and can be viewed on the Internet, tell their own story of a bygone era.

The marked price, in the lira currency, then under enormous pressure and now defunct, amounted to about $7.

The Hebrew name for the group printed on the tickets is also worth noting. The performers may have been universally known as the Beatles, but in Israel, then still trying earnestly to create a culture buffered from foreign words and influence, they were Hipushiot Haketzev, or the Beat Beetles (like the bugs).

It was a laborious if endearing effort that no one would bother with today in a country where English permeates daily speech (“sorry,” “whatever”) and advertising logos, and where many official Hebrew names for new developments simply do not enter the mainstream vocabulary.

Mr. Sarid noted that while the official Hebrew name for the Beatles then was Hipushiot Haketzev, many adults dismissed them as Hipushiot Hazevel, or “dung beetles.”

Mr. Esteron, the editor, like others, said the change in 40 years from an isolated, egalitarian and agrarian society to a market-driven, plugged-in, high-tech haven of enormous wealth - and some alarming poverty - had been dizzying and somehow oddly embodied by the story of its relationship with the Beatles.

Mr. Sarid said he remained grateful to the musicians. Thanks to their canceled concert, he said, his father, a great educator and modest man whose accomplishments would have long ago been forgotten, has earned an eternal place in Israeli history.

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And the tables turn: The Beatles, one of the most legendary bands ever, were once denied a performance in Israel, which the Israelis lament over till date. Back then, Israeli officials maintained they had “insufficient artistic levels.” Its something Israelis’ will never be able to forgive their government for!

Ritu Kumar opening official franchise in Karachi

The boundaries haven't just been blurring for films, but for fashion too. And when it comes to bringing Indian fashion to Karachi, Zeba Hussain is the woman who has made most inroads between both countries. She is responsible for bringing numerous Indian designers, including Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal, Manish Malhotra and Suneet Varma, to the exclusive Carnival de Couture held every year. And she is stocking many of them at her retail store, Ensemble Karachi. Now, Zeba is all set to open the very first Indian fashion franchise within the premises of Ensemble.

None other than Ritu Kumar will be opening by the middle of September and will hold the space between Ensemble and Rehana Saigol's showroom. Ritu Kumar has been stocking at Ensemble for the past one year - apparently doing very good business - and one forsees that her exclusive franchise will work just as well. The great thing about Indian fashion is that it has a stronger handle on sizing and pricing - two things that designers in Pakistan are still struggling with. This will be the perfect time to start - Ramazan and pre-Eid sales are always highest for fashion and it'll be followed by the bridal binge as well as the party season. So if you're in Karachi in September, do check out Ritu Kumar's latest collection.

By the end of October, of course, Ensemble will be richer still by the presence of Bunto Kazmi and Rizwan Beyg pręt a porter collections. Could it get any better for young fashionistas on the prowl to pick up trendy ready to wear?

Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham are going head to head at New York Fashion Week!

The rapidly cooling friendship between Katie Holmes and Victoria 'Posh' Beckham is getting even icier. The news states that Tom Cruise's wife is shaping to eclipse Posh at New York Fashion Week. The 'pals' will be promoting rival clothing lines and are going head to head at the prestigious event.

Posh will promote her new VDB clothing line at the event but has canceled her catwalk show, saying she isn't ready but rumor has it that her dress collection has been cancelled in favor of a private viewing. Katie, on the flip side, will debut her Holmes-Yang collection on the ramp to kick off the week. This has resulted in their friendship going off the boil as it has been reported that Holmes might upstage Victoria at Fashion Week.

“The truth is Victoria doesn't want the inevitable comparisons,” stated a source. “Officially, Victoria's people say no runway show was planned and this has nothing to do with Katie launching her line but the truth is Victoria doesn't want any inevitable comparisons.”Another source stated that no official announcement had been made regarding a Holmes-Yang debut at the New York Fashion Week.

“It isn't quite convincing,” said a source. “Nevertheless, the actress did wear one of her own designs at the recent premier of Tropic Thunder, who knows? I guess anything is possible.”

While Victoria has been one of the most featured and followed celebrities in the fashion world for the past few years, Katie Holmes is just beginning to emerge. NY Fashion Week will definitely see which star shines brighter!

What are people listening to in 2008?
A survey of Pakistani pop through the
words of music shop owners
Strings are the biggest sellers. Shehzad Roy and Atif come a
close second. And album sales for Ali Azmat’s Klashinfolk haven’t really picked up 
yet, but it’s doing really well in Hyderi!
Fatima Zakir
Karachi

2008 has been a very happening year for the Pakistani music industry - and as we enter the last quarter of the year, there is still much to look forward to! Currently, there are a number of Pakistani albums that have been doing the rounds for a while. Looking at the releases, it's been years since one has seen such an exciting year in music: Zeb and Haniya's Chup, Jal's Boondh, Fuzon's Journey, Strings' Koi Aanay Wala Hai, Shehzad Roy's Qismat Apne Haat Mein, Ahmed Jahanzeb's Laut Aao and last but not least Ali Azmat's Klashinfolk. Zeb and Haniya, in their debut album, came out with a different and jazzy sound, while Jal and Ahmed Jahanzeb failed to impress music lovers. Shehzad Roy's album did quite well because of the satirical video for 'Laga Reh', Strings are consistently doing well and Ali Azmat… well, its only been two weeks since he released Klashinfolk.

Instep went around to different music shops across the city to find out, from the source - music shop owners - about the business generated by these music albums.

“Koi Aanay Wala Hai is one album that is consistently selling. We get 10 to 15 albums daily and they are all gone by the end of the day,” says Ali at CD 2000, Park Towers. “Same goes for Shehzad Roy. It's doing pretty well too leaving Najam and Ahmed Jahanzeb far behind. Azal has been running well while Zeb and Haniya with their Chup and Najam with his Najam didn't impress the charts. Whereas, for Ali Azmat… it's surprising that the album isn't doing well in the market.”

Looking at what he's saying one can analyse which albums are doing well and why. Koi Aanay Wala Hai was released in May with a formal press conference followed by a launch at Park Towers that was brimming with fans who cheered the comeback of Strings after four years. They made news headlines, there were posters everywhere and the promos of their title track created much hype mainly because of the presence of Bollywood hunk John Abraham. The video continues to run on music channels and a couple of weeks later, Strings followed it up with another video 'Humsafar' shot in Russia. Another fantastic ballad, it ensured that music lovers were enticed to buy the album.

Ditto with Shehzad Roy's Qismat Apne Haat Mein, because of the 'Laga Reh' video compelled the people to buy his album. It was obviously very relevant keeping in mind the unstable political situation of the country. The song was not only catchy but captured the mood of the nation at the time. 'Laga Reh' ensured brilliant album sales for Shehzad Roy's album but now that the video has been running for sometime and the political scenario of the country is changing, Shehzad needs another video to boost album sales. However, Ali Azmat's Klashinfolk is still striving to get noticed maybe because it didn't have a formal press conference for its release, nor are posters for it plastered everywhere, there isn't a bombardment of promos on TV or a slate of requests on radio stations. Even the 'Gallan' video is not being aired repetitively on music channels. Perhaps this is because Ali Azmat is not in the country and can't ensure that his product is being marketed properly.

“Every album now depends upon the way you market it. The more you are promoted, the more people will get interested in you,” said Muhammad Asif, Shalimar Music House, Saddar. “I don't think a lot of people even know about Ali Azmat's album, it's just his die hard fans who are asking for it right now. Even when 'Laga Reh' was constantly on TV, we sold more albums of Shehzad Roy as compared to the selling rate now. It has gradually decreased with time. But, I guess if Ali will come out with more videos or will appear on TV and radio for the promotion of his album then the sales might get high.”

Of course, with so many channels on television and so many albums out in the market you need proper exposure to sell yourself. And videos are ultimately ads for music albums.

Asghar Ali Sheikh of Royal Music, Sindhi Muslim Co-operative Society agrees and said, “Until and unless you are constantly on TV or radio, you are alive and rocking the music lovers. And when you start keeping a low profile you are soon forgotten. Koi Aanay Wala Hai is so far the best album of the year because they (Strings) came out with their second video within two months of their album release. Azal did pretty well with Road to Infinity because of their song 'Aisi Taisi'. Ali Azmat, on the other hand, is nowhere… no interviews, no news items so obviously the sale is very low.”

Surprisingly, Atif Aslam is believed to have generated maximum revenue despite the fact that his last album, Meri Kahani, was released last year. Nearly every music store Instep visited had Atif Aslam playing in the background. The songs we heard playing at the stores were 'Pehli Nazar' and 'Meri Kahani'. Muhammad Asif further added that Atif's Bollywood tracks sell more than his album and that their customers don't ask for Meri Kahani but want to have 'Pehli Nazar' from Race or 'Bakhuda' from Kismet Konnection.

Asghar Ali Sheikh seconds this point of view. “Doorie did record breaking business ever since I have established my shop and that is some five years ago. Though, it's not a long time still Doorie's response was phenomenal. We used to sell 80 to even 100 albums in a day,” informed Asghar Ali. “We can't compare any of the current albums with Doorie but Strings and Shehzad Roy have saved the market by far. Where we are selling 15 to 20 albums of Strings and Shehzad Roy daily, we managed to sell one or two of Ali Azmat's Klashinfolk.”

Some of the shopkeepers also termed Ali's sound as 'too loud' for Pakistan's music listeners, and said that the success of Social Circus was due of the breakup of Junoon, and people wanted to know what will be Ali's sound without Salman Ahmed. “It was just the Junoon breakup controversy that kept Social Circus running in the markets otherwise Ali Azmat is not what our people want. It's Atif Aslam!” shared Ahmed Hanif who has a music counter in Park Towers.

Here we can disagree with the man, as Ali Azmat's debut attempt was far more than just a test of how he sounded individually. After all, he won several awards for his album and has a huge fan following nationwide. However, Galaxy Music in Hyderi was another eye-opener. “You don't have to put up big banners and irritatingly continuous promos for Ali Azmat's album to shove it in people's face and make them realize… Ali's album is out!” said Arsalan Habib of Galaxy Music. “The name Ali Azmat is enough to sell. It's already doing well and I have to call in for more stock nearly everyday. I am sure with more videos and even little bit of promotion Ali can sell a record.”

It seems that Ali Azmat has a massive fan base in Hyderi. It is a revelation that Klashinfolk is doing better at Hyderi than at Park Towers! Rock singers should take note.

Chup, Laut Aao and Journey have been slow but have not vanished from the markets. Qismat Apne Haat Mein and Koi Aanay Wala Hai and Road to Infinity proved out to be good for the industry while Ali Azmat's Klasinfolk is still trying to reach the top of the charts.  And after surveying different parts of the city to know how this year has been for the music industry, we found out that with so many different sounds, there is a market for everyone out there. These albums must have done diversified business but it's a positive sign for the flourishing music industry. With this we also commend the shopkeepers who have now become more concerned about the stars and their proper promotion.

Now if only someone would collect all the information from music  shop owners across Pakistan… then we could have our own certified Billboard charts, but then again, that is another story. 

"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I believe when you want something from the heart the whole universe conspires to get it for you. (Hey, she's quoting Shahrukh from Om Shanti Om!) I hope that happens for us," she said. Meanwhile, films continue to happen for her and cricket for him. He's "cool" about her work but sometimes expresses insecurity over her hot Bollywood's male co-stars! And she, having heard all the stories about how cricketers score off the field, hates to think of him on long tours. "I keep imagining all kinds of things when I cannot reach him," Sayali said wistfully. We'd love to get Shoaib's take on this…and his alleged wife's too!

Salman Khan shoots a record breaking,
3.5 crore rupee song for Veer

Salman Khan recently filmed a song and dance sequence for his upcoming film Veer that cost the film makers a whopping 3.5 crore rupees, making it the most expensive song ever filmed. Others that feature in the song include Sohail Khan, Mithun Chakraborty and the film's debutante heroine, who sources say is a Katrina Kaif look-alike model.

The producers are not willing to reveal the name of the actress. Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar song Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah , so far believed to be the costliest song ever filmed, cost 2.5 crores. What's the big deal about this son, one might wonder? Well, according to director Anil Sharma, "The cost of the song is so high because of the huge sets that we had specially constructed for this number and the specially designed costumes for everyone who participated in the song sequence, including even the junior artists. Trust me this number is going to be the biggest highlight of the film."

The song has been shot at Mumbai's Mehboob Studios which is just a few minutes walk from Salman's house in Galaxy Apartments in Bandra. According to a source, "The whole concept of the song was basically Salman's. He also gave a lot of creative inputs while the song was being shot. It featured close to 650-700 junior artists, most of them in a Pathani makeover! It took around 11 days to complete the song shoot."

There have been many high budget songs hitting Indian films in the recent past - Sanjay Leela Bhansali is the king of high-budget sets. But apparently everyone seems to be on a mission to break records. Historically, high budget videos have never ensured success for a film or a song - simplicity is the best policy and let's wait and see if it applies to Sallu as well.

Rani is giving Aditya Chopra the cold shoulder…

And since he's responsible for casting her in three of the five consecutive flop films she's done, we don't blame her at all. Rani Mukherjee has lost her box office status in the past two years. Five of her films - Baabul, Tara Rum Pum, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Saawariya and  one other bombed at the box office, leaving her in a very unpopular situation. And she's blaming Aditya Chopra for her deterioration.

Though they have never admitted it publicly, Rani and Adi have been a couple for ages now. Rani is even rumoured to be the main reason behind his split with his wife and they've been together through thick and thin.

Well, we guess in Bollywood its films before friendship. Rani is apparently furious at Adi for casting her in movies that flopped, instead of allowing her to choose other projects. She's not taking his calls and is giving him a cold, even frozen shoulder these days. She has now said she will look beyond the Yash Raj banner and sign films with bigger production houses. Will that work in making Rani the reigning Bollywood queen once again, only time will tell.

Kate Moss immortalized in her weight's worth of gold

She's been immortalised in bronze, painted in oils and photographed all over the world. Now Kate Moss - fashion icon, mother and long time paparazzi favourite - has been paid the kind of compliment normally reserved for Egyptian queens and mythological goddesses. She has been sculpted in gold. The golden girl of the catwalk for years has been given a 1.5 million pound golden makeover. A solid gold sculpture of the model, thought to be the world's largest gold statue built since the time of ancient Egypt, was given its first showing this week.

The metallic Moss, called Siren, is part of a display of contemporary art which will go on display at the British Museum from October. And the 50kg statue has been designed by the British artist Marc Quinn, creator of Alison Lapper Pregnant, which appeared on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth. The sculpture of the English artist, who was born without arms, appeared on the plinth for 20 months.

It is not the first time Quinn has featured Moss in his work. His 2006 sculpture, Sphinx, featured the supermodel in an eye-watering yoga position, with her ankles behind her ears. "I thought the next thing to do would be to make a sculpture of the person who's the ideal beauty of the moment," he said. "But even Kate Moss doesn't live up to the image."

It has to be said that while people may be wowed by the 1.5 million pound price tag for the golden version of Moss, but the sculpture is worth far less than the original. The supermodel is thought to have accumulated a personal fortune of around 45million pounds.