MID-DAY (March 2, 2016)

Amitabh Bachchan just cannot hide his happiness over Leonardo DiCaprio's maiden Oscar win for 'The Revenant'.'

The superstar had, on Monday morning, congratulated Leo on Twitter hours after the big news trickled in, saying: "FINALLY ..! Leonardo gets Best Actor at Oscars .. ! A considerate co star and a thorough gentleman ! (sic)"

Yesterday, Big B once again extended his greetings to the actor. In what seemed like a sudden rush of nostalgia, Sr Bachchan posted two snaps of them together within a space of three minutes.

His tweet read: "Congratulations Leonardo for Oscars .. a much deserved recognition .. considerate costar and a gentleman ! (sic)."


Big B had shared screen space with Leo in Baz Luhrmann's epic romance drama 'The Great Gatsby' (2013). Bachchan had shot for the film in Sydney with the Hollywood star. He had done essayed the role of Meyer Wolfsheim in the film based on F Scott Fitzgerald's novel which had Leonardo as the enigmatic Jay Gatsby.

Amitabh Bachchan and Leonardo DiCaprio had shared mutual admiration during the shoot and also during the promotion of the film. The duo were also together at the Cannes Film Festival lin 2013, where 'The Great Gatsby' was the opening film.

At that time, Leonardo had reportedly stated, "Mr Bachchan impressed me immensely by not just his talent and his ability to act, but what a gentleman he was. I was honoured to work with him. It was great seeing that enthusiasm he brings to even the smallest of roles and I would love to work with him in the future."

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 4, 2014)

Imitation is the best form of flattery but history has taught us that the desi version of a Hollywood production never matches up to the original. And we have two fresh examples.

Mirror was the first to tell you that scenes from the Ragini MMS 2 number Baby Doll were inspired by J Lo’s Dance Again (What a Flying Coincidence, dated February 24, 2014). Now, it seems that Balaji Films has stepped up its ‘inspiration’ game with Ek Villain.

The poster of their latest film, featuring Shraddha Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra, bears a striking resemblance to the publicity material of the 2006 dance drama Step Up.


And when the trailer of the Himesh Reshammiya-starrer The Xpose released, social media platforms called it a copy of the Baz Luhrmann musical The Great Gatsby.

Right from the flapper costumes, champagne toasts and fireworks to Himesh’s tuxedoclad attempt to pass off as Leonardo Di Caprio; the trailer reverberates with the gaudy opulence of the “Baz age”.

When Mirror called up the director, Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, he tried to explain away the resemblance. “If you look at the Bollywood of the ‘60s, it was heavily inspired by what Hollywood looked like in the ‘50s which is the premise of my film,” explained the director.

But The Great Gatsby is a nod to the American Jazz age, set against the roaring ‘20s? “Look, Bollywood and its stars copied the West, lock stock and barrel, and that is what we have tried to reflect through our film. The affluence, the grandeur and the larger-than-life celebrations were emulated without a second thought,” reasoned Ananth.

So does he admit to being ‘inspired’ by the Hollywood hit, one frame at a time? “I’d call The Xpose, Teesri Manzil meets The Dirty Picture. However, if you say it looks like The Great Gatsby then I’d consider it an honourable comparison,” he said.

While Mahadevan was upfront about the influence, Tanuj Garg, CEO, Balaji Motion Pictures, denied having any knowledge of a film called Step Up. He told us that Shraddha’s damsel-in-distress look and Siddharth’s protective demeanour, is a “standard intense romantic pose” and any resemblance to the poster of the Channing Tatum-Jenna Dewan starrer was “purely coincidental.” Now, haven’t we heard that before.

The first look of The Xpose, starring Himesh Reshammiya and Yo Yo Honey Singh, has been unveiled and one can't help but draw parallels with the poster of The Great Gatsby. Also, Himesh is giving a pose similar to the one exhibited by Leonard DiCaprio in the Hollywood film. Take a look.