'Phantom' director happy over shooting in Kashmir shoot of movie!

Kabir Khan, the director of Bollywood film "Phantom", Tuesday expressed happiness over his shooting schedule in the Kashmir Valley and hoped he would be back here to shoot another of his movies soon.

In a tweet to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, at the end of nearly two-week-long shooting schedule in Kashmir, Kabir Khan told, "@abdullah_omar it's great to b able to shoot in Kashmir again. The enthusiasm and hard work of the locals was heart warming. We will be back."

Sajid Nadiadwalla's Bollywood film "Phantom" is based on 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and their fallout.

The film has Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif in the lead roles.

"Phantom" was shot in north Kashmir ski resort of Gulmarg for a week and later also shot in the south Kashmir's Pahalgam hill station.

In the meantime, Abdullah said the ranking of Gulmarg as the 16th best ski resort of the world by CNN has re-affirmed his belief that it has some of the finest ski runs.

"Gulmarg at 16. Always said we have some of the best skiing in the world & CNN agrees World's best ski runs: 100 to 1," he posted, posting the CNN link of the ratings. 

SRK and Salman battle on in Japan also!

It was meant to be an enormous marketing coup with Salman Khan opening up the hitherto dormant Japanese market for Bollywood with a nationwide release of Yash Raj Film's "Ek Tha Tiger". 

Director Kabir Khan flew eagerly into a four-city tour of Japan last week at the invitation of the Japanese distributors Nikkatsu Corporation and the release date was fixed for April 20 in Japan. 

But now, in what appears to be a hasty and clever business maneuver, Eros International has announced the Japanese release of their 2007 Shah Rukh Khan smash hit Om Shanti Om. 

for full story: http://www.gossipsadda.com/garam_gossips/2013/03/SRK-and-Salman-battle-on-in-Japan-also/SRK-and-Salman-battle-on-in-Japan-also.html

Salman Khan is India’s James Bond: Kabir Khan

Ever since working with Salman Khan in Ek Tha Tiger, director Kabir Khan just can’t stop praising the actor. Lately, at the premiere of the new Bond film, Kabir told that Salman is appropriate to become India’s James Bond.

Kabir told, “Salman Khan, I think, has the charisma and the sheer presence that a Bond needs. You look at him, he is strong, silent. But you know when he, sort of, goes into action, there is going to be a lot of thrill.”

“When I was making ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, I was conscious that we didn’t want to do a Bond because I feel that there is a difference between Hindi films and Hollywood films. In our films, even in love stories, our heroes are James Bond, so there has to be a differentiator.” Kabir further added.

But, Kabir Khan did incorporate a few aspects of Bond movies.

“We stayed away from the sort of Bond style of presenting an agent. Yes, the action we took, a lot of effort was taken to make it international and it was probably very similar to the kind of action that you see nowadays in the new Bond films, more realistic,” he told.

In the meantime, Salman Khan is gearing up for Dabangg 2, in which he will return as Chulbul Pandey. The film is slated for a Christmas release this year.

My wife Mini is my greatest critic: Kabir Khan

Whenever Kabir Khan needs an honest opinon on his work, the director relies on his wife, TV anchor Mini Mathur, because she won't dither to tell him that his work is "terrible".

"She is my conscious sounding board. She is the first person who sees my script; she is the first person who sees my film, she is the strongest critic. She knows that nobody will tell me the way my film has come out," Kabir said.

"If there is something that she has not liked, she will clearly tell me on my face. She will say, 'it is terrible'. My wife Mini is my greatest critic.  She is also somebody who loves the kind of stuff I do. We talk about our professional life. She is part and parcel of entire process of all my films," he further added.

When asked whether he would direct Mini in the near future, Kabir told, "Mini, for some strange reason, has decided not to act. Once in a while she does, but that is for a friend. You will not see me directing her."

After critically acclaimed "Kabul Express" and "New York", Kabir is currently gearing up for the release of his third movie "Ek Tha Tiger". Featuring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, it is scheduled for an Aug 15 release.

Real Tiger Salman suggests the Tiger name for the Kabir’s film!

Salman Khan

All right, now here’s an interesting piece of news. Did you know the film ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ was initially offered to Shahrukh Khan??? Well, the director of the movie Kabir Khan himself admitted that Aditya Chopra, the film’s producer approached SRK for the film. However, what’s more interesting is that when Salman Khan was roped in, the title of the movie was remodeled.

“I didn’t meet Shah Rukh, but yes, Adi (producer Aditya Chopra) did approach him. However, the script as it is today is meant for Salman. Which other actor can you call Tiger without it sounding cheesy? It’s about a legend, and with Salman you don’t have to spend screen time establishing one,” tells Kabir Khan.

However, Katrina Kaif is the director’s original choice and he tells that he couldn’t think of anyone else who could play Zoya in ETT.

So how did Salman become the films hero??

Well, Kabir and Salman Khan developed an instant understanding the very first time they met, years ago.

“He took an instant liking to me when we met years ago. I’d narrated Kabul Express (2006) to him without really intending to cast him. And when I approached Katrina for New York (2009), she was unsure since it wasn’t a typical Yashraj movie. When Salman heard I was directing it, he told her, ‘I’ve seen Kabir’s work, you can close your eyes and do the film’.”

Kabir also confirmed that his next film will be outside YRF camp. Buzz has it that he has signed a movie with Ekta Kapoor and Sajid Nadiawala.