Recently, a press conference was held in Delhi at Taj Palace to promote Yuvvraaj. The conference, attended by director Subhash Ghai, the film’s female lead Katrina Kaif and actors Anil Kapoor and Zayed Khan who, comprise the film’s cast, saw Salman at his wittiest best, parrying all media queries about his marriage and his chemistry with Katrina Kaif in the film. The film has been released on November 21, 2008 and has opened to mixed reviews across the country.

Yuvvraaj music success get-together
Where: Whistling Woods International, Mumbai
When: November 17, 2008
Guest List: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor, Zayed Khan, Subhash Ghai, A. R. Rahman, Sonu Nigam, Gulzar

What: Salman and Katrina on the sets of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
Where: Famous Studio, Mumbai
When: November 03, 2008
Present on the sets: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Himesh Reshammiya, Aadesh Srivastava, Pritam, Shankar Mahadevan.

Salman and Katrina graced the sets of Zee Tv’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa to promote their forthcoming movie Yuvvraaj.

As if Akshay Kumar’s historic unveiling of the mammoth banner of Singh Is Kinng at the Silver City Brampton in Toronto wasn’t enough for his cheering fans, the city is set to witness another splash by Kinng Kumar and his latest blockbuster.

Marketed and released worldwide by Indian Films – Studio 18, Singh Is Kinng, the year’s biggest hit, is headed to the glittering Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF 2008), one of the biggest cinematic events in the world. It will be one of the eleven coveted gala presentations to be screened at The Roy Thomson Hall on Sunday, 7th September, 2008.

Singh Is Kinng finds itself in august company with ten celebrated top-notch Hollywood titles that include Caroline Link’s A Year Ago in Winter; starring Karoline Herfurth, Josef Bierbichler, Corinna Harfouch, Hanns Zischler and Mišel Maticevic; Toa Fraser’s Dean Spanley, starring Peter O’Toole, Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill and Bryan Brown; Jodie Markell’s The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Evans, Ellen Burstyn, Mamie Gummer, Ann-Margret and Will Patton; Neil Burger’s The Lucky Ones, starring Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins and Michael Peña; Rod Lurie’s Nothing But the Truth, starring Kate Beckinsale, Vera Farmiga, Alan Alda, David Schwimmer, Noah Wyle and Angela Bassett; Gavin O’Connor’s Pride and Glory, starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich and Jennifer Ehle; Jerry Zaks’s Who Do You Love, starring Alessandro Nivola and Ethan Coen and Joel Coen’s Burn After Reading, starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and Brad Pitt.

Tickets to the gala are always in high demand, being high-profile star-studded events. The Singh Is Kinng celebration at the festival is tipped to be attended by Sandeep Bhargava, CEO of the investment adviser to Indian Films, producer Vipul A. Shah, director Aneez Bazmee, and lead actors, Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif.   Singh Is Kinng has set new records at the worldwide box-office mopping up $25 million (approx.) to date and still going.

A bash to celebrate the enormous success of Singh Is Kinng was held at a five-star hotel in Mumbai on Monday evening……the do was attended by the producer, director and cast of the film including worldwide distributors, Studio 18.

Also in attendance were guests like Dino Morea, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Prakash Jha, Mukesh Bhatt, Kunal Kohli, Aadesh Shrivastava and others.

A champagne toast was raised by Vipul Shah and Akshay Kumar to another kinng, Abhinav Bindra, who brought India honour by clinching a Gold Medal for Rifle Shooting at the Beijing Olympics.

Credit for Pictures: Viral Bhayani

The Indian Films-Studio 18 released Singh Is Kinng took home the box-office gold internationally, emerging as the biggest Bollywood title of 2008 and the numero uno in the career of its protagonist and superstar Akshay Kumar. (Interestingly, Kumar’s all-time No.2 performer, Welcome, was also released by Studio 18 in December 2007.)

In addition to the key overseas markets, US/Canada, UK and UAE, Singh Is Kinng saw a wide day-and-date release by Studio 18 in Trinidad & Tobago, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Mauritius, Fiji, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Australia and New Zealand, among other countries.

Distributed on 275 prints in these markets, Singh Is Kinng mopped up more than INR 12 cr (approx. US$ 3 million) just in its opening weekend.

In North America, on 112 prints (including 28 in Canada – the widest release for a Bollywood film ever), Singh… popped open to a thunderous response ringing up an estimated $1.2 million.

In the UK & Ireland, on 70 prints, it grossed £62,533 on its previews and notched a solid £430,748 over the weekend, taking its cum. to a gigantic £493,281 and placing it at No.7 in the UK Top 10 chart. In terms of per theatre average for the weekend, Singh Is Kinng devoured the prevailing Hollywood blockbusters in the UK, much the same as the US, where it was ranked at No.15.

In the Middle East, on 33 prints, the gross was in excess of 2.02 million AED.

Singh Is Kinng, produced by Vipul Shah’s Blockbuster Movies, features the hit duo, Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, ably supported by Neha Dhupia, Om Puri, Kirron Kher, Sonu Sood, Javed Jaffrey and others. It features a much-hyped collaboration on the title track with legendary rapper, Snoop Doggy Dogg.

After the super success of Jab We Met, Welcome & now Singh Is Kinng, Indian Films – Studio 18 has an impressive slate of international releases in 2008, which include Sanjay Gadhvi’s Kidnap, starring Sanjay Dutt and Imraan Khan, Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal Returns featuring Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitly and Tusshar Kapoor, and Anil Kapoor Productions’ Shortkut, toplining Akshaye Khanna, Amrita Rao and Arshad Warsi.

Be it NAMASTEY LONDON or the forthcoming SINGH IS KINNG … the incorporation of Punjab seems evident in Vipul Shah’s films. And while his latest production is for a universal audience and all communities alike, the emphasis on Punjabi characters, Punjabi lyrics and even a shooting schedule in Punjab cannot be overlooked!

Laughs Vipul, “I am a Gujarati but I think I was a Punjabi in my last birth! On a serious note, I’ve always been fascinated with North India. As a child my father took us to North India for vacations. So I’ve seen it extensively and find that culture very captivating. Punjabis are gregarious, hospital and big-hearted people! Everything about them is grand – their fashion, food, music…… And I think that makes for great viewing! Also, both Akshay and I felt that as people tend to make fun of Sardars in their jokes, let’s break that impression, and present the real heroism and spirit of Punjab. If you track their history, you’ll realise that the Punjabis are a very ‘dilayre’ community. Singh is Kinng celebrates the spirit and passion of Punjabis in an extremely entertaining manner and within the confines of a big commercial Bollywood extravaganza. It is a film that you can sit back and enjoy!” He also reveals, “My forthcoming film after Singh Is Kinng will also have a Punjabi flavour in it!”

Singh Is Kinng is out internationally on Thursday August 7 and is an Indian Films – Studio 18 release.

Years after Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol made Egypt look even more splendid in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif will repeat the Egypt magic on celluloid in their forthcoming Singh Is Kinng. The Labh Janjua-Suzie Q rendered Jee Karda, currently on air, has been shot in Egypt, as is the Rahat Fateh Ali Khan-Shreya Ghoshal number, Teri Orr, which releases on television next week.

Reveals Vipul (Shah), “I wouldn’t say we shot in Egypt just for the glam factor. The story is such that it takes Akshay’s character from Punjab to Egypt and then to Australia. So we have about 7-8 scenes in Egypt as well. We did a complete 15-day schedule there and you won’t believe some of the shots we’ve canned. They’ll take your breath away!”

He adds, “We’d already shown Punjab, which lent a very rustic, earthy, kitsch character to Singh is Kinng. Then we had Australia, which is very modern, neat, and glossy. So we decided to add a third terrain to the film for the exotica and Egypt came about. With these three locales, the audience will find the film constantly evolving on screen. There are parts of Egypt in the film that no one’s seen before on celluloid!”

Singh Is Kinng is out in cinemas on August 8 with previews in select locations on August 7. It is an Indian Films – Studio 18 worldwide release.

While the soundtrack of Singh is Kinng is topping the charts the world over, little has been written about the lyricist who has penned these successful numbers – Mayur Puri. From the emerging breed of young and talented dialogue writers-lyricists, Mayur Puri’s name strikes a chord when one talks about songs with distinct Punjabi flavour.

Also to his credit lies that fact that he has penned most of the chartbusters by Pritam, making them knock-out hits. Talking about his work for Singh is Kinng, Mayur fondly says, “I’ve done some of the most popular work of my career, be it for Dhoom or Pyaar Ke Side Effects with Pritam. So there’s an inherent understanding between us. Also Aneezji (Bazmee) and I had been talking about working together for a long time. Finally everything fell into place with Singh is Kinng. And I’m glad I did it; it’s a project close to my heart as I got to revisit my mother tongue in all the songs.”

When quizzed about his favourite track from the film, Mayur is quick to respond, “Actually I have two favourite songs. Jee Karda for its energy and synergy between the Punjabi and English lyrics, and Teri Ore for its softness.” He also shares how Pritam had initially composed three different tunes for Bas Ek Kinng – the track currently topping the charts, and had almost settled for one of the other tunes. After much deliberation from Mayur he used the current tune. In fact even the lyrics were a little different originally, but then a philosophical twist was added to them to go with the message of the film – Being a Kinng is a derivative of positive attitude in life.

Interestingly, while Punjabi is a binding factor among the songs, Mayur has gotten as authentic as it gets in the Daler Mehndi-rendered Bhootnike – using some of the most rustic expressions found in the language. Talking about this track he says, “I really didn’t want this song to be a run-of-the-mill shaadi number, where people come and wish the couple. This is the first song in the film and it really had to set the tone right. So Aneezji and I came up with the idea of making it as real as possible. If you notice, at a wedding, the groom’s friends are always kidding about the end of his independence, and how he found himself such a good looking wife despite being so ugly himself! Bhootnike was written in the same spirit. Akshay’s character has a blast in the song, and he’s performed it beautifully. I’m confident it’ll leave people laughing!”

If the two songs on air are anything to go by, this album looks set to win listeners’ hearts all over!

One of the most eagerly awaited films of the year; Singh is Kinng holds multiple attractions for viewers. Besides being in the news for some stunning locations in Egypt and Australia, the film is also making waves for the unique look of its actors. While the men will be seen in Pagdis for the first time in Bollywood throughout the film, the women too are not to be left far behind!

News is that in a bid to keep the perfection in her look going, Katrina Kaif flew to Dubai for a day, especially to pick up a perfect outfit for Singh Is Kinng! The result of the shopping spree is evident in this Singh is Kinng poster, with Katrina looking stunning in an orange outfit. (above) According to sources, this expensive and chic orange gown is Missoni – a leading Italian fashion brand based in Milan.

On the other hand, Akshay’s dazzling golden jacket in the second poster of the film (below) is said to be a Burberry Limited Edition picked up from London.