7 strangers in a foreign land……. A crime that brings them together….. Drugs, sex, music, rock’n'roll, passion, obsession, temptation and the law….. And the life is never the same again…….

The only afterthought after the truth is revealed - Sometimes it’s best not to ask too many questions!

And the references to ‘Kaante’ could be best ignored. Because after all what it may be - Just a coincidence!

Presented by Inspired movies UK & Motion pictures partner International in association with alpha media, ‘Chocolate’ is produced by Vibha and Ragini from Spice Team Entertainments who have earlier come up with mushy romantic tales - ‘Kaun Hai Jo Sapno Mein Aaya’ and ‘Shukriya’.

‘Chocolate’ is about seven distinct individuals who cross paths with each other on the streets of London. The time is Christmas when the world is having a gala time. There is peace, there is joy, there is snow and there are festivities. But not so for two Indians who are put behind the bars for no fault of theirs by the London police. Why?

Because there has been a crime and some bizarre incidents. Because someone out there is a mastermind behind all this. Because someone needs to be punished !!

There are number of plots and subplots behind the actual crime…and the events that follow. Because ‘Chocolate’ is not about 7 ordinary individuals. It is about those men and women who seem just ‘normal’ in the ‘ordinary’ circumstances. But is everything about them as ‘normal’ as it appears? Or are there some ‘deep dark secrets’ that they are carrying with them? Are there some hidden skeletons in the closet that threaten to pop out?

Meet the people who are going to make ‘Chocolate’, an innovatively titled crime thriller cum comedy (that is touted to be a complete entertainer with right commercial ingredients) to make it one of the most awaited movie of 2005.

Anil Kapoor [as Krish] leads the starcast as a debonair lawyer who is the best in the business. He is sharp, he is intelligent and he has a flair for cigars. A popular player in the game of law, his main strength [or is it his weakness] is to say ‘YES’ to any challenge that comes his way. Call it his ego, but this time the challenge is threatening enough to even shake Krish.

But is he shaken?

Suniel Shetty, who is taking a wise decision to act in (huge) multi-starrers now, stars as Rocker. His body and mind work in close coordination. If his mind boils, his body flares up too. Result? No one messes around with him. And if someone does [especially with his girl], then God save the poor man. A strong willed (read muscled) man, he gets he wants.

But is he going to succeed in his latest endeavor?

Arshad Warsi, who has rose like a phoenix on this side of the millennium after an insipid 90s gets to play a playboy once again in quick succession after a flirtatious ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya’. He is Tubby who loves to sing’n'dance and couple the excitement with the lethal combination of sex and drugs. Playing around with his life day in and night out, he is too carefree to have even forgotten the very basic essence of life.

But will the circumstances make him wiser?

Irrfan Khan, who appears to be only ’stable’ character out of the various players in the game, is innovatively known as Pipi. Pipi, who is ‘real’, who ‘thinks’ before he speaks. Pipi, whose actions speak louder than his words! Because he is the one who doesn’t believe in fooling around. Instead he involves himself in hard work. And this is the reason he is the most ’stable’!

But can the situation shake even the most stable?

Emraan Hashmi, fresh from the success of ‘Zeher’ appears in his biggest multi-starrer and enacts the role of Devaa. A musician by profession, he is the most simple hearted of all. He is a dreamer…a lover. A young man for him most of the things are just perfect - either perfectly good or perfectly bad!

But does destiny allow him to lead a ‘perfect’ life?

Tanushree Datta, the latest beauty queen from the modeling world to join the Bollywood bandwagon, plays Sim. If looks could kill, there would be dead bodies around her on ever nook and corner of the city! She is a temptress who walks away with the murder without anyone realizing.

But will she meet with a different fate this time around?

Sushma Reddy is another popular model who debuts with ‘Chocolate’. As a journalist by the name of Monsoon, she is undeterred by the bad phase in her career. She believes she would be able to pull it off with her hard work and talent.

But would her past allow her to lead a normal life?

Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, who makes a big screen debut after number of projects for the small screen, ‘Chocolate’ is not a feel good love story that could be enjoyed as a slurpy dish. Instead it’s a thriller about gangs, underworld and crime in the corners of London that now threaten to be out in open on the streets. But why ‘Chocolate’? Because the way Mumbai terms a ‘crore’ and a ‘lakh’ as ‘Khokha’ and ‘Peti’ respectively, the West keeps it simple:

‘CHOCOLATE’

Being readied for a late August release, ‘Chocolate’ has already been acclaimed at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards held in Amsterdam.

But will the movie turn out to be exciting as the promos?

We strongly believe so. Don’t you?

‘Zanjeer’ [70s], ‘Ardh Satya’ [80s], ‘Shool’ [90s], ‘AB Tak Chappan’ [2004] - you think of a cop movie and you remember the quartet of four hard hitting films that have arrived in every decade since the 70s.

Now add ‘Sehar’ [morning] to the list, which is expected to be yet another intense movie portraying the functioning of the police force in adverse circumstances.

‘Sehar’ is a small yet promising movie that is already being noticed for its hard-hitting appeal; a movie that marks a tangential shift for Arshad Warsi’s image! If you can visualize Arshad Warsi only in comic characters, be prepared for a surprise. ‘Sehar’ teams up the ‘Kucch Meetha Ho Jaye’ pairing of Arshad Warsi and Mahima Chaudhary along with Pankaj Kapur, Sushant Singh, Suhasini Mulay, Pratima Kazmi and a horde of other seasoned theatre artists and RGV regulars. Produced by Ashvin J Patel, under the banner of Choice Films, Seher is written and directed by debutante Kabeer Kaushik. The movie has music by Daniel B George and lyrics by Swanand Kirkire and Dr. Nilanjana Kishore.

The place : State of Uttar Pradesh.

The department : Special Task Force

The protagonist : SSP Arun Kumar [Arshad Warsi], a young 31 year old man who believes in killing with mind first before taking out a gun.

The opposition : Governance, that is corrupted by issues as different as allotment of railway contracts, involvement of ISI, nexus between politicians, mafia, police and even builders, mushrooming of numerous criminal gangs, ‘babu’ culture encouraging red-tapism and to top it up, birth of criminals from what is considered to be the center of education - Universities!

What happens when a single individual is assigned the task to clean up what is considered to be most dreaded - SYSTEM! And when the system comprises of the ‘opposition’ in the shape of overall governance, even a strong willed person may give up and loose all hopes.

But not Arun Kumar!

No, he is not a superhero who brings out a gun and encounters people left, right and centre. He kills with his mind. He thinks, plans, understands the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and then challenges them in their own game. And for someone who believes in team work, Arun Kumar knows that such a huge initiative cannot be brought to a logical conclusion without support.

Support of those who think alike, who act alike and who have a common mission in life. The mission, that drives them all to challenge the mighty…..and bring home the results!

‘Sehar’s is not a tale about heroism. It’s a tale about realism. The reality that never fails to show its ugly face in each and every corner of our society. The reality that may encompass the little goodness left of the society, if not encountered early enough.

The reality that drives Arun Kumar to change the way things work. Because things may never change by conventional method. They change only when tackled with a different approach.

This is what the Special Task Force in the able leadership of Arun Kumar turns out to be successful in - a different approach! Because to challenge the ’system’, what one needs first is to challenge the approach while encountering the system.

Does the approach work in the end? Is Arun Kumar able to motivate his team long enough to win in the face of adversity? Is he able to wipe away the organized crime completely? And if not completely, does he at least bring about a certain change in the way things work?

Does it bring in a new ‘Sehar’?

To watch the drama unfold, get set for this edge of the seat drama ‘Sehar’ that releases this 29th of July all over.

One more film about the violence in Kashmir? Not really, says director Shoojit Sircar of “Yahaan”, explaining it will show the reality, the people behind the gunfire and the aspirations behind the agony.

“This is the first film to be shot in downtown Srinagar,” Sircar told IANS.

“We have tried to make it as authentic as possible and completely about the people of Kashmir. Otherwise, films on Kashmir become a mix of cliches about the militants and the (Indian) Army.”

The film, which releases later this year and whose stark, almost “Thin Red Line”-ish promos are now on TV, stars Jimmy Shergill and debutante Minissha.

Shergill plays a compassionate army officer and Minissha is a local girl called Adaa who falls in love with Shergill’s character, Captain Aman.

The film delves into their lives and travails as they try to battle for a love against all odds and against the backdrop of a Kashmir set ablaze by insurgent violence.

“These are two young people who have the same dreams and ideas that young people around the world have - and yet their circumstances are such that they cannot fulfill them,” said Sircar, who has made 200 commercials before “Yahaan”.

“But they believe that they can triumph, they believe that they can surpass all odds and make it happen. You see, I don’t think that the lives of the young in Kashmir has really been dealt with in cinema - how does it feel like to be young in Kashmir?

“That’s what I have tried to address,” said Sircar, the man who made the famous “Mann Ke Manjere” video with Shubha Mudgal.

In the film, said Sircar, there is no glossing over or adding glamour to Kashmir.

“It is a very beautiful place and there is phenomenal warmth in people. That’s what I have tried to portray - what is the true nature of ‘Kashmiriyat’, how that culture is unique.”

He said he believes that after more than a decade of relentless violence, Jammu and Kashmir is much misunderstood and people have forgotten the reality of the place.

“All we see about Kashmir in our films is the Dal Lake and I wanted to say that there is more to Kashmir than the Dal Lake.”