CAFE
COM:PORT
CHAT JOCKEYS
EVENTS

The Ashok Amritraj Chat

Hello is Mr. Amritraj here yet

Hi Ravi, Mr Amritraj will be with us in 40 mins

Ravi where are you from?

Hi everyone is Mr Amritraj here?

Mr Amritraj, what are the projects that Amritraj-Solomon are working on right now?

Mr Amritraj, please what is Jeans all about?

Hi Ashok, tell me how difficult as it for you to break into Hollywood?

Is Mr Amritraj in ?

Hi Mr Amritraj, What are your plans for Bollywood?

Hi Jitendra Mr Amritraj should be with us in another 10 mins

Hey, Rediff guys when are U bringing Mr Vijay for the chat?

Hi everyone

Mark: By the way do U think, it is good idea for Mr Amritraj to invest in Bollywood?

Jitendra, I think he is making a cautious investment in Bollywood, although Jeans is a mega-budget film

Hi everyone

Farid: What does Jeans stands for, Is it a name of film or some jeans like Lee, Levi Strauss?

Mr Amritraj, what plans do you have for Bollywood

Ashok: Why didn't you pursue a career in tennis?

Hi Mr Amritraj, Sir what kind of films do you plan to make in India?

Having played tennis since the age of 8 and professional tennis for about 7 years, my interest wandered from tennis to another love of mine: The movies. Having come to Los Angeles to play tennis and having a number of friends in the entertainment business, it made the segue into entertainment much easier.

Will Vijay star regularly in your ventures?

Hello Mr Amritraj, How do you feel to be at Hollywood, where Indians are nowhere in limelight.

Amritraj: why have U signed Aishwarya for your film?

Currently I'm making three films in India. They are Jeans, which is a mega-budget Tamil film, Love You Hamesha , which is a Hindi Film, and another Tamil film to be directed by Agathian, the national award winner.

Mr Amritraj, what haven't you entered the mainstream market in Hollywood, your films do not have the respectability of BIG Hollywood, except Double Impact. Which other big budget films like this do you plan to make?

Hollywood is an extraordinary place. Where in my case, dreams have come true. The motion picture industry is a wonder place to be at the present time with all of the new emerging technologies.

Ashokbhai, I am terribly disappointed in you... so parochial of you -- to make two Tamil films. At least you should show some neighbourly sentiments and make a Malayalam film too! Do!

Amritraj: Who inspired U to join the movies. Can U name the person?

Have you thought of making some Tamil movies?

Both myself and my director Shankar felt that Aishwarya has a wonderful quality and would be perfect for our heroine in our film, and having looked at many of the dailies from the shooting we find this to be absolutely true.

Ashok, JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMME AND YOU WERE ACTUALLY ROOMMATES AT ONE POINT OF TIME, TELL US WHAT WAS IT LIKE WHEN BOTH OF YOU WERE STRUGGLING TO GET A FOOTHOLD IN HOLLYWOOD?

Do you really think Akshaye Khanna's all so hot? In Himalayputra he look as expressive as Mt Rushmore on a bad day. So...

Amritraj: But don't U think since her first film Iruvar flopped, that will be a bad luck for your film??

Ashok, really? I mean, you and Van Damme were really roomies? Will you introduce me? *waits expectantly*

MR AMRITRAJ, SIR COULD YOU PLEASE ADDRESS THE PERSON WHOSE QUESTION YOU ARE REPLYING TO? Thanks:-)

I was inspired to join the Hollywood film industry by the films that I grew up with like Sound of Music, Ben Hur and Wuthering Heights . This in association with the people I met in LA like Sidney Poitier and Charlton Heston really inspired me to join the industry

Okay, okay, but you haven't told as about Van Damme?? I am still waiting with bated breath.. so pls?

Ashok, tell us about your meetings with the Hollywood greats like Heston, Poitier, Connery.

Showbiz: In the mid- to late eighties Jean Claude and I spent a lot of time together and have stayed very close friends. Hollywood is a place where regardless of your entry into the business people still expect one to pay their dues. We knocked on a lot of doors for quite a few years until we got our film Double Impact made.

Ashok, tell us about your company Amritraj-Solomon. What is it up to? What are its plans?

HI ASHOK, TELL ME HOW DIFFICULT IS IT FOR A NEW DIRECTOR, PRODUCER OR ACTOR TO BREAK INTO HOLLYWOOD? Could you also explain the reason for your answer