THE RISING AT LOCARNO

Aamir Khan's anitcipated Bollywood epic, THE RISING, will be the opening film at the Locarno Film Festival, premiering on August 3 with stars Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherjee in attendance. This bodes well since Khan's super-hit LAGAAN kicked off at Locarno back in 2001.

Based on the story of Mangal Pandey a hero of the 1857 Indian Mutiny, the movie has already attracted its share of controversy from the Mangal Pandey Memorial Committee in Nagwa, Uttar Pradesh, who are annoyed that the movie was not shot in Nagwa and features an onscreen kiss. The producers expect the hubub to die out in short order.