Friday, April 30, 2010

Nadiadwala 'hits' it right

The audiences are definitely looking forward to Eros International and Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull which will release on April 30.

The movie is expected to do exceedingly well at the box office with its release right after the IPL season. Sajid’s production house — Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment — has always managed to churn out hit after hit. Their hits include Jeet, Judwa, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Kambakkht Ishq and Heyy Babyy. Housefull is their latest project with Eros International that stars Akshay Kumar along with an impressive plethora of stars and has been directed by Sajid Khan. The production house has an great line up of movies all through the year. Housefull will be followed by Anjaana Anjaani and Kick. Anjaana Anjaana stars Ranbir Kapoor and hottie Priyanka Chopra, and has been directed by Siddharth Anand of Salaam Namaste fame.

Kick brings together the dynamic duo of Sajid and Salman Khan. They have done as many as five films together, and have an amazing success record, with four superhits — Jeet, Judwa, Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. Besides working with superstars like Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ranbir Kapoor, Sajid is very particular about the director he works with. Imtiaz Ali, who has directed Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal, is also slated to work on a project with Sajid. And though the movie is still being planned it has already garnered a load of interest within the industry. Says Sajid, “Nadiadwala Grandson has remained rock steady because of its single-minded desire to only work with the best of talent.” For now, the man who is famously called Mr Blockbuster promises to hold on to the tag with Housefull that promises to entertain the viewers.

Kat, Ranbir's 'topless' games

Okay, so your minds are already running riot with naughty ideas. Hold on, lovelies, story abhi baki hai. Apparently, while shooting for Raajneeti in Bhopal, the pretty Katrina Kaif was determined to learn cricket. And guess who played tutor? ‘Good friend’ Ranbir Kapoor, of course.

The interesting part is that RK looked like true sportsman, minus the clothes. The hottie was topless on-field, even fashionably flaunting his cool blue boxer. No wonder, the rest of the crew couldn’t take the heat (they safely blamed it on the rising mercury), and left the lovely twosome on the field. Katz didn’t give up at that, the gal was so persistent that she roped in Arjun Rampal and the captain of the team, Prakash Jha, to join them. Even after sunset, she had the lights turned on to continue the game. We admire the gal’s sporting spirit, but what we love more is RK’s topless cricket style. We always knew this boy was a true style icon. He could put our ‘real’ cricketers to shame. Only in their SQ (read: style quotient) that is.

Bebo's loss is Vidya’s gain

Vidya Balan may or may not know this. There are rumours that No One Killed Jessica Lal was first offered to Kareena Kapoor and she refused it .

Guess Vidya will bring her own brand of acting to it. She is, after all, the current generation’s Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Nandita Das all rolled into one. Eat your hearts out glam gals.

Dimpy tests Rahul's love

It’s been close to two months since Dimpy Ganguly and Rahul Mahajan tied the knot on national television, and their marriage has already gone through its first agni pariksha - on reality TV. Fitting, did you say, and so predictable? We don’t know about that, but it’s definitely prophetic. Dimpy had told TOI in an earlier interview, after her marriage, “Wouldn’t it be cute to see both Rahul and me in another reality show?” And now, the couple has done their second reality show - Emotional Atyachar.

Unlike others, Dimpy did not get a fidelity test done on Rahul because she was unsure of her partner’s love. So what was the reason? “Since the time we got married, people have been asking me the same set of questions - ‘Why have you married Rahul?’, ‘Do you think he is dependable?’ I opted to get a fidelity test done on him to prove others wrong. I know Rahul truly loves me, and I wanted others to believe that too,” she says.

Rahul, who was caught with Nikunj Mallick, one of the finalists of Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega, on the spycam, was a bit shocked about the incident. “It was pretty odd. Mujhe kuchh pata nahin chala. But soon I realised that it was Emotional Atyachar.

SRK's surprise bash for Barbara

Barbara Mori, who arrived in Mumbai ten days ago to promote Kites and is staying with her brother Kintaro Mori in Juhu, had a surprise party thrown in her honour by Shah Rukh Khan last Sunday.

The Roshans have been more than hospitable to their film’s leading lady in Mumbai and have taken her on shopping sprees and dinners. “They are some of the best people I have met,” said the actress from Mexico. Then came the invite from Mannat. Said Barbara, “Sussanne wanted me to meet her close friend Gauri.”

When she went to the SRK-Gauri home, Barbara found the couple watching the IPL final with Arjun Rampal, Mehr Jessia, Chunky and Bhavna Pandey, Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor, Neelam Kothari and Kajal Anand.

“I don’t follow cricket, so initially I was getting bored. But everyone was enjoying themselves. After the match, we really partied hard. Shah Rukh and Gauri are very nice. I met many other people, some of whom are actors, it was nice of them to welcome me to Mumbai.”

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Sania-Shoaib upset with media

Newly-wed couple Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza, hounded by fans and the media since their arrival in Pakistan last week, have appealed to journalists looking for masala to respect their privacy and lessen the hype about their marriage.

In an apparent bid to address the Pakistani media’s contention that the couple were not making any public appearances or speaking to journalists, Shoaib and Sania gave interviews to some TV news channels. They also recorded their protest with the media for intruding into their life. “The media needs masala (spice), but it must behave in a way that our personal life does not get affected,” Sania said. Shoaib added, “Besides being a husband, I have to play the role of a security guard.” Shoaib said he was happy to see the celebrations in Pakistan following his marriage but called on the media to reduce the hype associated with the event.

Asked by a TV news channel why she had not been seen smiling in public, Sania replied, “I cannot smile if I am stuck in a crowd and people are falling on me. The media reports that I had tears in my eyes when my mother fell after a crowd jostled us in Lahore are not correct. Actually, I got worried as my mother got hurt, and a normal person feels so in such a situation... I am very happy and have no problem in smiling. If I keep smiling all the time, people will think I am mad,” she said. Angered by allegations that he had sold invitations to the walima, Shoaib said, “This is rubbish. Those alleging should get their mental status examined.”

He clarified that he had received many lucrative offers to give coverage rights for the marriage but decided not to do so. “We thought it was a happy occasion and we should not accept such an offer.”

Walima wale din....
For the much-awaited walima, Shoaib was wearing a black formal suit while Sania looked gorgeous in a shimmering bluish-silver outfit. Amongst the high profile guests at the walima were Punjab governor Salman Taseer, Firdaus Ashiq Awam, federal minister of population and welfare, Gilani’s son, Qadir and famous faces from Pak glitterati.

The guestlist was of about 700 people – the who’s who of Pakistan. The Crystal Ballroom at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore was done up beautifully, complete with a red carpet for the guests at the entrance.

The couple’s family members and close friends also attended the ceremony along with the diplomats and cricketers. The function started at 7 pm, the menu had only one dish – Biryani and chicken. Said Ahsan, GM of the hotel, “The venue looked like a dream. We had worked very hard to make it look so glam. Tight security arrangements were in place.”

Celina follows her fans

Celina Jaitly claims she has fans all over the globe. And the actress says the best way to be in touch with them is to talk to them in their own language on the social networking sites.

Celina not only converses with her fans, but also follows them! Celina, who speaks many languages, feels that communicating with these fans in their local dialect makes them happy.

The leggy lass has many fans in Germany, so when her fans leave a message for her in German she makes it a point to reply in the same language.

Celina is overwhelmed with the love and warmth she has been receiving from people all around the world. Looks like language is, definitely, no bar for this actress.

Freida Pinto: Cannes casualty

Freida Pinto will not give jitters to the other actresses at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

Her spokesperson says that Freida can’t be at the most-talked film carnival, because she will be shooting for her film Immortals in Canada around the time.

Her film — You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger — directed by Woody Allen is premiering at Cannes though this year.

Immortals directed by Tarsem Singh is slated to release in 2011. Besides You Will... her other release this year includes Julian Schnabel’s Miral.

I’m confused: Shahid

Shahid Kapoor claims to be completely at sea about his father’s vision for Mausam, says he’s decided to simply toe the line

Shahid Kapoor’s father Pankaj Kapur is turning out to be the most demanding director he’s ever worked with. All information regarding the film, Mausam, is tightly controlled by Pankaj himself, who has expressly forbidden his son from uttering a word about the film, or even taking any decisions on the look he is supposed to sport. In fact, the beard that Shahid has grown for the part may have to go. Apparently after seeing the look, Pankaj decided the beard doesn’t go with the Air Force officer’s role after all. Says Shahid, “Believe me, I’m thoroughly confused. My father keeps telling me to try different looks, and I just obey. He asked me to grow a beard and I happily did it. I don’t know what else he’s going to make me try.”

But wasn’t an Air Force pilot with a beard a contradiction in terms in the first place? “We’ll not go against the logistics of the character, that’s for sure,” Shahid says with certainty. “Dad says he was considering it. Whether it stays or not I don’t know. I’ve reached a point where I’ve surrendered completely to his vision. I’m just going ahead with whatever he wants to do with me. Exactly how I’ll look I won’t know until we actually start shooting.” Shahid says he’s also at his wit’s end about the rumours linking him with Priyanka Chopra. “I didn’t start them, so don’t ask me where and how these rumours keep coming back from. Just because Priyanka and I stay in the same building, people keep making assumptions. There are so many other girls in the same building. Maybe I should just change my home address. I don’t enjoy being written about in connection with the women I am seen with.” At the moment, the actor is getting ready to shoot with his Mausam co-star Sonam Kapoor. Says Shahid, “That’s the story of my career. I’ve been romancing a new heroine in every film for six years and each time there’s a link-up. The rumours may not start this time because Sonam and I are working in my dad’s film. This pairing should be interesting.” On the anvil is a film with Sooraj Barjatya. “I’m dying to work with him again, and I want him to know I’m waiting for him to call me.”

Nana loses it again

A whimsical Nana Patekar showed up for interviews, greeted the media and ... er, simply waltzed out of the office

On Sunday, Prakash Jha was hoping that Nana Patekar would charm the journalists who were to interview him for Raajneeti. Of course, Nana is an unpredictable man and one can't put it past him to do something that might derail all plans for the day.

Several journalists were waiting and Nana showed up on time. He went into one room with Jha, who may have been briefing him.

Nana emerged five minutes later, meanwhile Jha went into another room to look after some editing.

What happened next came out of the blue.

Nana breezily greeted the journalist with uncharacteristic warmth and then breezed right out of the office! There's one star who wasn't coming back.

Jha emerged from his room to find the star attraction of the room missing. He was just as shocked as the waiting journalists. He couldn't explain Nana's erratic behaviour.


The director said, "I don't know what exactly happened. I haven't spoken to Nana about this. I think he must be annoyed with something. Or he must have had a prior commitment."

Ajay Devgan, who was luckily around, saved the day. He spoke to the journalists to save face.

Nana remained unavailable for comment.

SRK's (Ra.)One man army

The past few days have made it amply evident that Shah Rukh Khan believes that the show must go on.

Despite being very upset after his close associate, Red Chillies CEO Bobby Chawla (Juhi Chawla’s brother), was admitted to a suburban hospital on April 4 after suffering a brain hemorrhage, SRK has decided to take care of every little thing in his production house.

Since Bobby Chawla’s hospitalisation has thrown the entire shooting schedule of Ra.One in a complete mess, Shah Rukh has decided to lead from the front to ensure that everything is quickly put back on track.

“A few of Bobby Chawla’s duties have been taken up by Ra.One director Anubhav Sinha too, but it is Shah Rukh who is now holding the reins of Ra.One,” says a source close to the film.

Commenting on what exactly Shah Rukh is doing to get things back on track, the source says that Shah Rukh has taken up all duties which were earlier being handled by Bobby Chawla.

“SRK is mainly taking care of four jobs: calling up every actor of Ra.One and coordinating their dates, discussing their remuneration, making sure that they get their payments on time and talking to technicians (including those coming from abroad) for every single production detail, including the special effects involved in the film,” says the source.

“Come to think of it, SRK is holding the whole film together. There is production related work, which SRK would have never done otherwise.

With Bobby taking care of everything at Red Chillies for all these years, all SRK had to concentrate on was acting.

He completely relies on Bobby and is definitely missing him very much. But SRK has decided that he will not give anybody involved with the film a chance to complain about anything,” adds the source.

Shah Rukh has a tough job ahead but he has gladly taken on additional responsibilities...both as a friend and a boss.

Sallu-Kat decade's 'Hottest Couple'...

Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif may be tight-lipped about their relationship status, but they have been voted the hottest couple of the decade in a poll by MSN India that also declared superstar Shah Rukh Khan the actor of the decade.

The two have beaten the likes of Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai, Bipasha Basu-John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor.

MSN India had conducted an online poll and invited its readers to vote for their favourite Bollywood actors under various categories as part of their Decade Special for Bollywood.

Of the 38,648 readers who responded for 'Hottest couple of the Decade' category, 36 percent opined that Salman and Katrina made for a greater couple than Abhishek-Aishwarya who got 27 percent votes, followed by Bipasha and John with 13 percent votes while Kareena and Saif got only six percent votes.

Katrina also topped the 'Hottest Body of the Decade' poll with 33 percent votes and proved that her curves are more attractive than Bipasha, who got 13 percent votes, Aishwarya Rai Bachcan (10 percent) and Priyanka Chopra (9 percent).

For the 'Actor of the Decade' poll, Shah Rukh topped with 29 percent votes followed by Aamir Khan with 26 percent and Amitabh Bachchan with 16 percent votes.

Ram Gopal Varma's 'Aag' was voted 'Flop of the Decade' and it won hands down with 48 percent votes followed by 'Drona', 'Love Story 2050' and 'Tashan'.

For the 'Hottest Lip Lock of the Decade' poll 39 percent thought that Emraan Hashmi and Mallika Sherawat's kissing in "Murder" was more sincere than Hrithik-Aishwarya in "Dhoom 2" (21 percent). It was followed by Saif-Kareena in "Kurbaan" (16 percent) and R. Madhavan-Vidya Balan in "Guru" (7 percent)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Abhishek impresses Ajay.

Ajay Gehi was awed by Abhishek Bachchan on the sets of Raavan.

Still starry-eyed Gehi says excitedly, “Abhishek’s presence used to make the long outdoor shoots more fun. We would all cook and work-out together. Once he walked to my table holding a big bowl of chicken which he’d cooked!” Gehi says he was overwhelmed to see that Bachchan junior offered the dish to everyone. “I found him to be bindhaas with no attitude. He even lent me his make-up man and trainer sometimes,” he says. Kudos to Abhishek.

Freida gives Cannes a miss

Freida Pinto won’t be attending the Cannes film festival this year .

The actress was supposed to walk the red carpet for the premiere of her film directed by Woody Allen, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. But she’ll be giving the French Riviera a miss as she is shooting for Immortals, directed by Tarsem Singh, in Canada.

Pratik's new Russian girlfriend

Pratik has been linked with several actresses in the past. But now the actor seems to have found a new companion in sunny Goa. He is currently dating a Russian, Inga Malkowa, who he met in Goa recently while shooting for Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum. Inga is a DJ and a lover of music.

On Friday night, both were spotted at a lounge in town. An eyewitness reveals, “They were alone and were cosying up.”

Goa’s relaxed vibe is great for some multicultural flirting. And Pratik just knows how much prettier the sunsets seem with a companion. A source from the unit reveals, “The schedule in Goa lasted for almost two months with intervals. Pratik used to party in several clubs when he had a day off from the shoot.


During one such outing, he met a Russian girl, Inga, at a party at Anjuna beach in Goa. They became friends and started hanging out together. This happened in March and they were often seen together in Goa.”

But the unusual love story doesn’t end there. The source continues, “Now that Pratik is back in Mumbai, not surprisingly, his girlfriend Inga has also flown down to the city. They have been chilling out and he has been also been taking her out to several places.

He has introduced her to most of his friends and has been taking her to get-togethers at private parties. She has also been spotted in his building several times. Pratik lives with his aunt who was not in town for a brief period.”

The young actor isn’t keeping her presence in his life a secret either. A friend of Pratik reveals, “Pratik is really fond of Inga and likes her company. We were surprised when he introduced her to us. She is a DJ and enjoys the hippie lifestyle. He met her in Goa and has become very close to her.” Despite repeated attempts, Pratik remained unavailable for comment.

Akshay makes Karan sleepless..

Akshay Kumar managed to do to Karan Johar what even Shah Rukh Khan couldn’t. He kept the famous filmmaker-cum-television anchor awake through the night and morning.

Apparently, Akki who flew in from Canada for a few days to promote a film, agreed to be the guest on a television show hosted by KJo. The only condition was that Karan would have to shoot at 6 am. Since it was the grand finale, Karan agreed. And as a result he didn’t sleep a wink through the night. In fact, at an unearthly hour like 5 am, Karan drove to the local studio, wore his make-up and waited for the Bollywood Khiladi who was punctual as always.

Sania-Shoaib's reception, a 3.5 cr deal

Shoaib Malik has taken a leaf from the Hollywood book all right. The Pakistani cricketer is said to have demanded an outrageous Rs 3.5 crore for the rights to cover his reception and walima ceremonies in Pakistan.

Many Hollywood weddings – done with an opulence that would put children’s princess fairytales to shame – sell exclusive coverage rights to a particular publication that helps them to recover some or all of the money, and choose the prettiest pictures to go to press. And the amount that publications are willing to shell out for exclusive, official wedding pictures is no less than princely. But Hollywood star weddings are in another league, after all. For one, you’d have millions of people the world over dying to get a glimpse!

While mentioning wedding deals, it’s hard not to mention the most lucrative ones. After all, the plum pudding of the weddings turned out to be more mouth watering than the wedding cakes themselves. Who can forget Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar’s lavish Jodhpur wedding that rivalled royalty itself? But in retrospect, it was money well spent, one would say. The March 2007 wedding’s photo rights were sold to Hello magazine for a reported 2 million pounds, so that the world could ooh and aah at the spectacular show in full Indian splendour.
However, when actress Catherine Zeta Jones married Hollywood royalty Michael Douglas in what was called Hollywood’s wedding of the year, in November 2000, the plum turned out to be a case of sour grapes. Dubbed ‘Hollywood style meets Gotham glamour and Welsh warmth,’ the 1.5 million pound wedding ceremony’s exclusive rights were sold to OK! magazine for 1 million pounds. Security was so tight, guests had to show their hologrammed invitations before being allowed in and private photographs were banned. However, Hello magazine printed unofficial ‘sneaked’ photos of the wedding, ruining Ok!’s exclusivity, and starting a lengthy court battle with the rival tabloid.

But it isn’t just weddings that are ‘sold’ for megabucks. Star kids can be even more money-spinning. Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie capitalised on their brood to laugh all the way to the bank; only this time, all the cash was for charity. They sold their newborn twins’ exclusive photos jointly sold to People and Hello magazines for USD 14 million, making them most expensive celebrity pictures ever sold. Daughter Shiloh’s pics in June 2006 were sold for USD 4.1 million and son Pax Thien’s in March 2007 for USD 2 million.

It has never been officially confirmed, but Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s wedding rights reportedly went under the hammer too. Buzz was that the Bachchans wanted the best deal and were said to have negotiated with Hello, but then sold the rights to a UK TV channel, which was also why the event was strictly out of bounds for desi media. But coming back to Shoaib and Sania Mirza ... actually ... why come back to them at all?

It's Shahid not SRK, Anushka

Shahid Kapoor has a bone to pick with Anushka Sharma say sources.

The news is that while promoting their latest film together, Anushka ended up saying, ‘When I was shooting with Shah Rukh’ instead of saying Shahid. This slip-up, apparently, bugged Shahid who has been shooting with Anushka for close to a year, and wondered how she could still miss his name. Apparently, the actor was sulking with the Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi girl for a while after the interview. But honestly as far as Anushka is concerned, it was purely a slip of the tongue.

Geeta consoles Bhajji

Actress Geeta Basra came to the rescue of her close friend, cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who was a picture of despair when Chennai Super Kings thrashed his team Mumbai Indians at the Indian Premier League 3 final on Sunday night.
She tried her best to pacify him when he was inconsolable.A source said, “Geeta was present in the stands throughout the final match. She was cheering for Mumbai Indians very loudly. She was hopeful till the last over that Mumbai Indians would win the final match. However, when the team could not make it, she put up a brave front for Harbhajan’s sake. She saw a terribly despondent Harbhajan walking to the dressing room. Once there, the player was inconsolable.”

Geeta rushed to offer moral support to him. “Geeta went up to Harbhajan and urged him to take the defeat in the right spirit. However, it took some time for him to gain composure,” added the source.

Geeta confirmed this saying, “All his friends tried to cheer him up. Bhajji plays from the heart. He is okay now.”

She added, “Haar jeet toh laga rahta hai. All said and done, Mumbai Indians was unarguably the best team in IPL 3. Doesn’t the fact that they finished with maximum points say it all?”

Mallika back at Cannes

The first look of Mallika Sherawat’s snake woman story Hisss will be unveiled at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival, starting May 12. Her Love, Barack will also be introduced at the gala event.

Rumour has it that even live snakes would be involved in the unveiling. Directed by Jennifer Lynch and produced by Govind Menon and Vikram Singh Lamba, the movie also stars Irrfan Khan, Divya Dutta and American character actor Jeff Doucette. Mallika’s other movie Love, Barack will also be introduced at the fest. A romantic comedy set during Barack Obama’s campaign for the US Presidency, it was wrapped up last month in Los Angeles.

Ranbir: B'wood's Pied Piper

The fact is that everyone loves Bollywood’s youngest director Ayan Mukerji. His Wake Up Sid has a cult following.

But what the girls in Bollywood find even more interesting is Ayan’s best friend Ranbir Kapoor. Yeah, these boys are thick as thieves, and Ayan is also the safe-keeper of Ranbir’s secrets. The world is aware that five of the top girls in Bollywood are very fond of Ranbir. The joke in B-town is that Ranbir is like Pied Piper... being followed by the top-league heroines. Naturally, RK Jr can’t be friends with all five women at the same time even if he wants to. So what do the girls then hold on to? They seek Ayan. P.S. Ayan’s next script with Ranbir is ready. Can you see that queue outside his door? We can...

John's butt is better: Imran

“Karan wanted to sell me in this cool, sexy look. He wanted me to show my body,” accused Imran Khan, who worked out for two months before he could shed his shirt and pull his pants a wee bit down for this photoshoot for Dharma Productions’ I Hate Luv Stories.

“It’s to show the film’s attitude,” he explained, “My butt’s showing, but I think John Abraham beats me at that.”

For the film, Imran gained a lot of weight. “I did functional training, strength training, rope climbing and played a lot of basketball. I altered my diet, too, ate only fish, steamed veggies, fruits and nuts and no rice at all. And two days before I shot this picture, I stopped the intake of salt completely. I even stopped drinking water,” said Imran who ‘quenched’ his thirst by rinsing his mouth. Working out, he hates — but Imran’s hard work has paid off. He’s never looked better. Karan Johar definitely knows how to make his actors look good.

“There was a struggle between Manish Malhotra and director Punit, who is also his nephew. While Manish wanted this all-perfect look for me, Punit wanted a grungy one. So finally I ended up looking quite stylised with coloured shoe laces, which were untied, ripped jeans, half-buttoned shirts...” said Imran quite impressed with the outcome. Shooting for Karan wasn’t just all work, Imran had a blast in New Zealand with Sonam Kapoor and Punit. “Punit and I had this secret code that nobody understood. So we would communicate in that language driving everybody nuts,” said Imran who bonded big time with Sonam, too. “I have always felt that we two would look great together. Check out our onscreen chemistry.” He plays a casanova in the film who doesn’t believe in love stories. “He enjoys the game of romancing girls but at the same time, he’s not a harami. Karan told me, ‘Whatever you do, don’t make your character look sleazy. You have to be the sweet guy,’” said Imran. In real life, he claims to have been in love ever since he turned 13. “And I love love stories,” smiled the actor who is engaged to be married to sweetheart Avantika. “That will happen somewhere next year. I don’t want to get married in between two films. Shaadi karunga toh style se,” added Imran.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Sri Lanka’s love for B’wood

Sri Lankans are huge fans of Bollywood. With the long-drawn battle with the LTTE over, people of the emerald island are now enjoying the fantasies Bollywood sells, and encouraging Indian filmmakers to shoot there too.

“Hindi films are huge here. My father actually learnt Hindi by just watching Hindi films. That’s how big it is here. Most people here prefer watching a Hindi film than an English film, even though English is widely spoken,” Sri Lankan actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who featured in the Hindi film Aladin, says.

Indian cinema has a large following in the country, with Hindi films shown in theatres throughout the year. There is at least one shown on local television almost every day. Amanthi Gunawardena, a student, says, “Bollywood is very famous here. Many Hindi films release in theatres and we even watch them on local TV with Sinhalese sub-titles.”

Posters of Bollywood actresses Madhuri and Aishwarya adorn many shops. As far as Sri Lankans’ favourite actors are concerned, locals swear by Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. Currently, Shah Rukh’s My Name Is Khan is running in one theatre in the city. “We love SRK, I’ve seen many of his films, like Kal Ho Naa Ho... He is too good. I am fond of Amitabh Bachchan too,” says Asanka, a shopkeeper.

After the end of the civil war last year, the Sri Lankan government is aggressively trying to promote the country as an ideal place to shoot Hindi films. “Hindi films are very popular here and Sri Lanka can become a good place to shoot,” says George Michael, secretary of the nation’s tourism minister.

The last Hindi film shot in the country was Ram Gopal Varma’s Agyaat, which was filmed extensively in the Sigiriya jungles in 2008. In 2004, Deepa Mehta shot her critically acclaimed Water there. She filmed the John Abraham-Lisa Ray starrer just outside of Colombo.

Right now, the Sri Lankan capital is gearing up to host the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards from June 3-5. “We need to develop greater association between Sri Lankan cinema and Indian cinema,” IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan said in Sri Lanka when the announcement was made last week.

Sanju and his friendship woes

Sanjay Dutt is a sweetheart, but he usually attracts lame ducks. Sanju surrounds himself with boys who are happy to take innumerable vacations from work and hang around him, while Dutt actually works.

What’s more, one can imagine the various girls in a man’s life being jealous of one another. Now in Sanju’s case there are multiple women involved because he is very faithful to his wife Manyata. However, his band of boys are all jealous of one another. Most of them can’t stand the other and if they find Sanju giving extra attention to one of them over the other, they go into corners and sulk. Or even bitch about the other guy! Tch..tch...

Amrita’s power-packed rendezvous..

Amrita Rao had a power-packed rendezvous in mid-air recently when she happened to meet the former CM and good friend Riteish Deshmukh’s dad Vilasrao Deshmukh on a flight.

The two were seated next to each other, and while most would’ve expected their conversation to revolve around filmi baatein, Amrita however steered it towards politics. Having a heart-to-heart chat with the politico, she could almost be mistaken for a journalist, with a barrage of questions she had about the state of affairs in the city. From the water problems to traffic congestion, the two discussed just about everything. Convinced with Deshmukh’s vision of making the city into a world city like Singapore, the petite actress even shared her inputs as a citizen. Impressed, Deshmukh even suggested that Amrita consider joining politics at some point. Now, the hottie giving up Bollywood for ‘Poli’wood seems unlikely. However, we’re sure that a pretty face in politics might just prove to be an inspiration for many around, so what say Amrita?

Shabana's 'big' regret

Getting into the skin of her screen character is proving to be as weighty an issue for Shabana Azmi as it had been for Hrithik Roshan recently.

The Bollywood hunk, you remember, after shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish in which he plays a paraplegic, found his narrow waist spreading to a gross 36 inches after stuffing himself silly with khaana-peena from the Mehboob Studios canteen to look the part.

Billed as one of the fittest men in Bollywood, Hrithik went through much agony to shed the flab, and even now is not the lean and mean hottie of Krrrish and Dhoom 2. While Shabana’s is another case. The czarina of method acting who tampered with her metabolism for Gurinder Chadha’s film, is now wondering if the effort was worth it.
It was meant to be for the role, but Shabana now faces a serious health problem thanks to the 25 pounds she put on to play the murderous mom of a marriageable girl in the film. This was followed by the mishap in which she fractured a foot, had her leg in plaster and was plonked for a goodish period in a wheelchair. Not being able to get around actively and lugging around that extra weight, Shabana is now depressed. The cast is out, but the actress is just finding her feet, and at her first performance in the play Broken Images after the fracture, Shabana said on Saturday that she was on painkillers and worried as hell about how to get back to her normal size.

“Over three months, I gorged on samosas, pakoras, chocolates and all things fried,” revealed the actress. “I had a ball having found an official reason to pig out. But the fun came with a pay-back. My back gave way and I had to take sessions with an osteopath through the schedule. When I got back to Mumbai, my cholesterol, triglycerides and thyroid levels had hit the roof! My doctor was furious. He said if I had asked him, he would never have let me do this.”

Twenty-five years ago, throwing herself into her smashing role for Mandi, Shabana had done the same. “But this time the fat that has got deposited in my arteries is there to stay and it was far too risky to do this for a role,” she ruefully admitted. The actress is now on a strict diet and medication. “It’s torture, I simply cannot eat every two hours, which is the way all nutrition plans work these days. I lose weight but the minute I start eating again, I rapidly put it back. I feel like a yo-yo. Age has a lot to do with it. I guess these are the hazards of inhabiting a part. An actor is her own instrument... unlike an instrumentalist. If you play the sitar, for instance, how well you play depends on the dexterity of your fingers plus how finely-tuned the sitar is. But an actor has only her head, heart and physicality to play with and it is her business to tune herself to the demands of the part.”

Maybe Hrithik Roshan should lend his weight to her cause and show Shabana how to get back into shape!

Kat has her cake, but can’t eat it

You’d have never guessed it, but fact is that the English Rose Katrina Kaif loves cakes. And then because she is a primma donna, she won't eat just about any cake.

She loves this particular cake that is available in Dubai; and guess what she has several well-wishers who will bend backwards to fly the cake in for her. However, the last time around when boxes of her favourite cake arrived, Kat was angry. She was staying in this small hotel in Malshej shooting for Tees Maar Khan. And she was on a strict diet so she could show off her nice figure. Kat was happy with the frugal food she was given at the hotel; except that on two days when she came into her room there was a surprise waiting for her. It was her favourite cake. The actress now truly believes that someone got a sadistic pleasure in sending her the cake knowing very well that she couldn’t even nibble at it.

Imran: The dustbin man

Imran Khan can be counted on if you have a good cause. He was gung ho when Karan Johar suggested making a film that would inspire first time voters to get out and cast their vote.

And he is also said to have got super excited when his close buddy Abhay Deol recently suggested that he wanted to gift Imran two dustbins one for wet garbage, and one for dry garbage so that he could make compost from the wet one.

While most stars would have let something like this just ride, Imran actually went out of his way to take time from promoting his upcoming film I Hate Luv Stories to go pose with a dustbin. He told Abhay that he believed in the climate cause as much as him and would do anything to support it fully. Even if it meant romancing a dustbin for a photograph.

Priyanka Chopra goofs up...

Uh-oh, the ever-diplomatic Priyanka Chopra has put her dainty foot in her mouth perhaps for the first time in her politically correct life. But what to do, there are times when even the best slip up. And this seems to have happened to her recently.

The actress was in Srinagar a few weeks ago shooting for Vishal Bhardwaj’s Saat Khoon Maaf. And all through her stay, Priyanka made the right noises. And struck the right poses. From the first day of her shoot in Srinagar, the local press was given a dekho of her look in SKM, and her presence was marked on a daily basis with a regular dose of information on how she loved Kashmir and how she would even consider being the ambassador for J&K, etc.

The authorities and locals were very happy with the interest shown by the Bollywood diva in the long-troubled state. Especially now that J&K is limping back to normalcy and tourism is close to boombing once again. After all, Priyanka is one of the few “thinking actresses” we have. However, the honeymoon for the Kashmiris with PC ended when she landed in New Delhi airport after her stay and reportedly told an electronic channel that she had enjoyed her stay in Kashmir but was happy to be back to ‘civilisation’. Some very sensitive sorts made note of Priyanka’s choice of words and are mighty upset with the actress for saying this.

A source says, “Some locals and even some political heavyweights are annoyed with Bollywood actors who come to Kashmir, sing paens in honour of the state, and then on their return to their homes, become careless in describing their stay in Kashmir. Strife ridden or otherwise, Srinagar is home for a whole load of people. One has to be very careful about what one says. The Kashmiri people are very sensitive about their home, just like any of us is.” Priyanka was unavailable for comment because she’s now in Coorg, doing a further two-month stint in the hillstation for the same film, and Coorg is notoriously poor for cell network reception. But the Coorgis have their antennae up...

Hrithik to romance Kristen now

After Barbara Mori in Kites, Hrithik Roshan is set to romance 20-year-old American actress Kristen Stewart in Shekhar Kapoor’s Paani.


For Kristen, who shot to fame playing Bella Swan in Twilight and its sequel, New Moon, this will be her debut in Bollywood. Shekhar’s film will be in English.

According to sources very close to the filmmaker, he met Hrithik recently to play the part of the lower-class Mumbai rebel, living in the seedier parts of Mumbai sometime in the future, who stealthily visits the more tony sections of the city. Says a source, “This is where Hrithik’s character meets the stunning wealthy beauty and they fall in love...a sort of a Romeo and Juliet story.”


Shekhar needed someone fair, delicate, tall and pretty to play the vulnerable new age Juliet, and he felt Kristen Stewart was perfect.

Says the source, “Shekhar decided to directly ask Kristen. And he did. She was very responsive and has agreed to be part of the film, provided all the terms and conditions fall into place.” Apparently Kristen is a fan of Shekhar’s work And after Robert Pattinson, it would be interesting for her fans to watch her romance Hrithik Roshan.


Shekhar himself is guarded about the topic, “I can’t speak of the cast on record until everything is in place. Too many times I’ve been accused of talking about projects that never happen. But did I announce Buddha or Mandela? No. If people jumped the gun, I can’t help it. But Paani is a film that I’m definitely making, and this year.”

Interestingly, Shekhar met Hrithik after news reports of them working together in Paani came out. Says a source, “Shekhar hadn’t even thought of Hrithik until he read these reports. Then he spoke to Hrithik, they met, and finalised the project.”

After Neil, John it's Dhoni for Asin?

Bollywood and cricket has been a sizzling combination for a long time. Right from the time of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore to the several more recent attractions, between Deepika Padukone and Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Geeta Basra, not to forget, Sushmita Sen and Wasim Akram.

The new friends in town seem to be Ghajini star Asin and Indian skipper MS Dhoni. Apparently, the cricketer visited Asin’s house at Lokhandwala on April 21 to watch the first IPL semi-final between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.

A source said, “Dhoni reached Asin’s house in the evening just before the first IPL semi-final between Mumbai and Bangalore kicked off and he stayed there till the match ended.

There was flutter in the actress’ building when the Indian captain was spotted entering her flat, and everyone was eager to catch a glimpse of him. After the match ended, Dhoni luckily managed to slip out of the building without attracting any more attention.”

Sources say that the Asin-Dhoni friendship began over a year ago. “They have done two commercials together and have been meeting up in connection with the promotion of a particular brand, which they jointly endorse.

Asin was also present during Dhoni’s birthday celebrations last year.

There have been whispers about their relationship in the South film industry where Asin is a huge star. Both seem to be extremely fond of each other.

That Dhoni visited her residence only lends more credence to rumours about their growing friendship,” added the source.

Neither Asin nor her spokesperson replied to our calls and text messages.

Asin is the girl

Asin seems to be the most in- demand girl in Bollywood these days. Her contemporaries beware! Recently there was news that Neil Nitin Mukesh took her to dinner. Then John Abraham and she were bonding over bikes. And now, we have stories of how none other than the reticent Indian Cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has allegedly been struck by Asin’s hospitality and charm.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Bebo turns a teacher

Remember a few days back we told you how Vidya Balan spoke about apna Bollywood at a foreign university.

Well looks like Kareena Kapoor is going to follow her lead. The actress has been invited by the students at Cardiff University, UK, to talk to them about showbiz. Some other universities have also followed their lead and invited her to speak on cinema. A source says, “Kareena is considering several subjects to talk on. However, she is taking her time to narrow them down since she wants to do a good job of it.”

Saif refuses to be Rishi again.....

After Imtiaz Ali’s audacious casting of Saif Ali Khan and Rishi Kapoor as the younger and older versions respectively of the same Sikh character in Love Aaj Kal, it may have seemed like a great gambit to have Saif play the younger avatar of Rishi in Patiala House again. Saif, alas, thought otherwise.

And he turned down the opportunity to play the young Sardarji for Rishi in Nikhil Advani’s film. His argument was that once was more than enough. Now a theatre actor named Kumud Mishra plays Rishi in the flashback scenes.

Rishi confirmed, “I believe Saif refused to do the ‘friendly appearance’. But anyway, Patiala House is looking good.” Nikhil added guardedly, “After Love Aaj Kal we all got excited by the idea of casting Saif as the younger Rishi. But somehow it didn’t work out.” His theatre actor Kumud Mishra doesn’t resemble Rishi at all. “But that’s okay,” reasoned Nikhil, “How much like Rishiji did Saif look?” As to where he got Rishi’s character from, Nikhil revealed, “I was looking at news footage of the 1979 racial riots in Southall and saw this young Sikh. I decided that’s how the younger version of Rishi’s character should look.”

Bonding time for Sanju, Omar

Bollywood superstar Sanjay Dutt and J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah discovered they’re the alumni of The Lawrence School, Sanawar.

And though they were a decade apart in school, Omar — one of the youngest and most dashing politicians of our time — and Sanjay — Bollywood’s latest entrant into the world of politics — found themselves enjoying each other’s company. Producer Bunty Walia (also from Sanawar) is a common contact of the politician and the actor.

And it was Bunty’s Lamha, a film based on Kashmir, that took Sanju to Srinagar on two occasions. “When we were wrapping up a 20-day schedule in Srinagar in January 2009, Omar was in office,’’ says Sanjay. And the actor, who is smitten by Kashmir, was happy to be spending time with the first family of J&K.

A fortnight ago, Sanju and Omar had a cuppa in New Delhi and on April 24, just before Omar went into a fund-raising activity, Sanju and he bonded over some photographs taken by the star.

As it turns out, Sanjay is indeed a first rate photographer. His camera (said to cost around Rs 20 lakhs) with its 600 zoom lens has captured Kashmir like never before.

With child-like pleasure, Sanju displayed his till now virgin collection of photographs taken in the valley. And each picture speaks a thousand words. Whether it is half widows of Dardpura, the army bunker at Pari Mahal, the Dal Lake captured with the char chinar in the centre, the Hazratbal Mosque or cherubic Kashmiri kids — each photograph displays a rare quality.

Says Omar, “I saw a few photos shot by Sanjay in the coffee table Lamha book. Even those I thought were very unique. I haven’t seen this current lot that he has presented me. But I may have to make place for some of these on my wall.’’ The chief minister who is happy that Bollywood film units have started to shoot in Kashmir again, adds, “We’re happy that Bollywood has started to patronise Kashmir. We are not keen to overplay the entire ‘come shoot in Kashmir bit’ — but yes, we would like those producers who are keen to shoot in our state to please come over. Kashmir is not new to Bollywood. Before they discovered Jungfrau, Switzerland, Mauritius and those other exotic foreign locations, Srinagar was always first on their list. We would like to make that possible again.’’

Sanju, who has been to Kashmir for innumerable film shoots and who truly believes that it is aptly describe by the Persian poet Firdaus as heaven on earth, is also batting for J&K. “If I can, I would encourage all my producers to shoot here,’’ says Munnabhai, who wants to spread the message of love in India’s most prized territory.

Karisma, Bebo's private bash

Chef Nikhil Chib was apparently ‘hijacked’ by the Kapoor sisters — Karisma and Kareena — a few days ago.

It is said that the South Mumbai chef, who is very much in demand, came over to Karisma Kapur’s Bandra home to cook a designer meal for just five couples.

One of the couple was said to be the Chief Minister’s son of one of India’s Northern states and his wife. This couple is said to be close friends of Sanjay and Karisma. The Kapurs actually threw a private bash for their powerful friends who flew in on a charter for just one evening. So, naturally, a special chef was asked to come and do the honours of feeding them. The only other couple present on the occasion was Kareena and Saif Ali Khan. Bollywood sure knows how to make inroads into those corridors of power!

SRK the 'problem child'

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan says his friends have started calling him a "problem child" for his constant brush with controversies.

"My friend just called me a 'problem child'... always in trouble. I think it is true...it would be so boring to be a 'solution adult'," Shah Rukh posted on his Twitter page.

In wake of allegations of financial irregularities in the Indian Premier League (IPL), income tax officials had visited Shah Rukh's Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) office in Kolkata and claimed to have unearthed vital clues.

The superstar is hoping that clouds of suspicion and uncertainty will soon be over.

"IPL controversy: fast,furious and too much noise. Like the T20 itself. Hope it gets resolved as fast too for our friend Lalit & franchises," added the actor.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Launch of Rakhi Sawant Beauty Lounge at Lokhandwala,Andheri

Rakhi Sawant started her first beauty lounge with partner Afzal Kapadia in Lokhandwala,Andheri west.She came in black dress for the launching where she invited all her friends and relatives.Siddarth Kannan and Jaya Sawant were the first to come for the launch of Lounge.She introduced all her products to media and guest.Rakhi Sawant told the media that Botox cream is the highlight at her venue.Other guest who came for the launch were Sonu Kakkar,Amar Sidhu from USA,Jhonny Lever,Ishq Bector,Gaurav,Amit Tandon,Rohit Verma,Sanjay Nirupam.All the best to Rakhi Sawant for her new business.

FILMALANI AWARDS

The FILMALANI Awards were announced and presented at a fun filled joyful evening on 7th March 2010 at Mhada, Andheri in a Dance Studio. The Award was Something Special as for the first time in the History of Film Awards, a Star does not take home the award, instead a Fan takes home the Star (i.e, the Award) And the Award - Memento is not a Black Lady or a Golden Lady, but it is a DVD of a latest Hindi Film.
So, in a way, a FAN takes home the STARS.

The Awards were presented in a small gathering, that cheered up to everything... lete lete... awards le gaye! The arrangement for the audience was Not of a Rock Show (standing), nor of an Pin drop silence (Seated) or nor like a Gentleman (Across the table).. It was relaxing.. lete lete....in the bed! With Drinks and Chips to go by, Enjoy the evening on the Bed (talk, gossip, sms, facebook or you want, you can sleep too)...

The Winners of the Filmalani Awards were the Fans, who turned to be Stars collecting the Awards.

The Results were based on My own judgement and on the votings that I had done through the Nominations on various categories:

The Results of FILMALANI AWARDS are:

POORA PAISA VASOOL (100% ENTERTAINMENT) Film of the Year: 3 IDIOTS
Best 'THREE' STAR Films: 3 IDIOTS (Aamir, Maddy, Sharman)
Best TRIANGULAR Starrer Films: DEV D (Abhay Deol, Kalki, Mahi)
BEST ACTRESS (in Comedy Role): ARUNDHATI NAG (Paa)
BEST ACTOR (in Comedy Role): JOHNY LEVER (All The Best)
BEST GUEST SURPRISE STAR: SALMAN KHAN (Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani)
BEST STAR APPEARANCE - ITEM SONG of the year: KAREENA KAPOOR (Marjani - Billu)
Best CHILDRENS Film of the year: LITTLE ZIZOU
Best THRILLER/HORROR FILM of the Year: 13 B
BEST EK KA DO ROLE: SHAHID KAPOOR (Kaminey),
ZARA HATKE Film of the Year: QUICK GUN MURUGUN
WOW...OOH LA LA ... SHE's HOTTT!!! Babe of the year: RAMBHA (Quick Gun Murugun)
NEW ENTRY ON HINDI SCREEN - FEMALE: SHRUTI HASSAN (Luck), KALKI KOECHLIN (Dev D)
NEW ENTRY ON HINDI SCREEN - MALE : OMI VAIDYA (3 Idiots)
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE) : SHARMAN JOSHI & R MADHAVAN (3 Idiots)
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE): DIVYA DUTTA (Delhi 6)
BEST NEGATIVE ACTOR: RAVI KISSEN (Luck)
BEST MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: AR RAHMAN (Delhi 6), PRITAM (Love Aaj Kal)
BEST DEBUTE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: PRABHU DEVA (Wanted), RENSIL DSILVA (Kurbaan)
BEST ENTERTAINING ACTOR (FEMALE): RANI MUKHERJEE (Hadippa), PRIYANKA CHOPRA (Rashee)
BEST ENTERTAINING ACTOR (MALE): SALMAN KHAN (Wanted), RANBIR KAPOOR (Wake Up Sid)
BEST ACTOR (FEMALE): VIDYA BALAN (Paa), KAREENA KAPOOR (Kurbaan)
BEST ACTOR (MALE): SHAHID KAPOOR (Kaminey)
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: AMITHABH BACHCHAN (Paa)
BEST DIRECTOR: RAJKUMAR HIRANI (3 Idiots)
BEST FILM: 3 IDIOTS, PAA, KAMINEY


The celebrities who were there to give away the award were: Stand up comedian Navin Prabhakar (Pehchaan Kaun?), RJ and Director Anirudh Chawla (Balls hai Kya?), Bhojpuri Actor Sunil Upadhyay, Pop Singers Nic n' Nicole, Roadies Winner, Producer Vipul Shah to name a few.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

New Film “A Weekend”


In the upcoming film “A Weekend”, Teena Singh as Dr. Sujhata will be seen in a negative lead role of a very sexy and seductive doctor. She resides in Malaysia and one day she comes to India where she collects human kidneys from Indian forest. She sells them to all over the world illigally. Will she get caught or she will walk away free? Wait till this suspense film comes out.

Monday, April 12, 2010

SRK pays surprise visit to FI

IT seems Shah Rukh Khan is getting more and more involved with the sporting world. At a time when Team Kolkata is fighting it out for a semi-final spot in the IPL, King Khan paid a surprise visit to the Sepang Formula One racing track a day before the Malaysian Grand Prix was scheduled there. And he caught up at the paddock with the only Indian driver on the circuit, Karun Chandhok.

It was the first time that King Khan had an opportunity to see a Formula One car up close. “He spent quite a bit of time with me actually,” Karun told BT, adding, “He (SRK) had a good look at the car and asked me a lot of questions about the technical aspects of the sport. He then sat in my car and wanted to know all about the various buttons and functions of the steering wheel.”

Being brand ambassador of a watch major in India, Karun had met SRK previously at some functions, but this was the first time they met on a racing track. Karun, driving for Hispania Racing team, was always a big fan of SRK’s movies. But once he got to meet the star, he felt that the man himself is bigger than the star. “More than being a great actor, I think the Shah Rukh that you don’t get to see on-screen is the most impressive thing about him. Though he’s the biggest star in the country today, he’s so humble. It’s nice that he met me before the race,” Karun says.

SRK also watched Saturday’s qualifying race from the team garage. No wonder the Baazigar effect worked and Karun finished 15th the following day.

Rajesh Khanna goes topless

Mumbaites driving past Carter Road in their swanky cars, most of them heading towards a gymnasium there say they are often accosted by a strange sight.

Bollywood’s ex-phenomenon Rajesh Khanna who owns one of the most enviable properties on this stretch is often standing in the balcony of his bungalow wearing a lungi but no shirt. Khanna apparently stands staring at the sea across his home, puffing hard on his cigarette. While there is no dress code for people standing in their own balconies (ask Salman Khan), those driving past still feel that while younger stars can go shirtless, Rajesh who is nearing 68, should definitely keep his kurta on.

Barbara's bald and beautiful

Everyone knows that when Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan first set eyes on the Spanish actress Barbara Mori, sparks flew. What BT discovered, however, is that when Hrithik saw Barbara for the first time — the sexy Latino was nearly bald!

The actress had just completed shooting the Spanish film Cosas Insignificantes that spoke of the intricacies of human relations. For her role, the lovely Barbara had shaved her head, because in the film, her screen son is shown having cancer and she expresses solidarity with him this way.

Producer Rakesh Roshan, who flew to Los Angeles to give Barbara a narration, admits that when he saw his future heroine with only one inch long hair, he was hesitant to sign her on. “I was aghast,’’ admits Rakesh. “I asked her how we would shoot with her six months down the line, but she was confident that her hair would grow or else she suggested that she would put hair extensions.’’

But bald is beautiful, and Hrithik and Anurag Basu were immediately sure that Barbara would be their heroine for Kites. They wouldn’t have it any other way.

Rs 300 crores ride on Ash

2010 is the year of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

The actress who will be seen in some of the best work of her career — Endhiran (The Robot), Raavan (Tamil and Hindi) Action Replayy and Guzaarish has the maximum money riding on her this year, say trade experts. It is said that since two of her films (Endhiran said to be India’s costliest film) and (Raavan in which Ash plays Sita in both versions) are bilinguals, there is more money riding on her than even most of the big league heroes. So is Ash the original ‘She’ro for the year 2010?

Ranbir-Kat burn the dance floor

Though Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif avoid being seen together as ‘friends’ in front of the press, once they are away from the prying eyes of the media, the two really have a rocking time.

That’s what happened at Arjun Rampal’s nightclub in Delhi when they had gone to the capital along with the Raajneeti team to promote their film. After the press event, the lead actors quietly slipped out with Arjun to his nightclub and burned the dance floor there.

Arjun and Ranbir, who have become best buddies, saw to it that they dragged Nana Patekar and Manoj Bajpayee on the floor too. “While Katrina and Ranbir had visited Arjun’s nightclub the last time they were in Delhi for Rohit Bal’s fashion show, they were eager to return. But the others, specially Nana, were reluctant to go. However, Arjun pulled him along. Nana later on danced like there’s no tomorrow!” said one of the revellers.
“Everyone danced till morning. We had a blast. While shooting for Raajneeti, we used to constantly joke, poke fun at each other and at ourselves while doing those heavyduty scenes on camera,” said Arjun.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Aamir’s taking a vacation

Aamir Khan, who is still basking in the glory of 3 Idiots (why not, the film is the biggest hit in Bollywood’s history so far), is taking a 20-day vacation with his mother and two kids — Junaid and Ira.

Aamir, who loves spending time with these three, is eagerly looking forward to a vacation overseas with them. Wife Kiran Rao is not joining him though, because she wants to be ready with the final edit of Dhobi Ghat. In fact, when Aamir returns Kiran will probably have the final cut ready to show him. Heard Aamir the husband is very indulgent, but Aamir the producer is a tough guy to please.

Vidya in The Dirty Picture

Believe it or not, Vidya Balan will soon play the doomed sex bomb Silk Smitha. Sounds incredible?

But producer Ekta Kapoor's biopic on Silk Smitha titled The Dirty Picture will not focus on the sleaze but the tragedy behind the mask of the sex symbol who provided titillation to thousands of viewers but died a lonely and tragic death.

Producer Ekta Kapoor says, "I've been waiting for almost two years for the script to be ready. Now my writer Rajat Arora has finally put the finishing touches to the story of a woman who defied all conventions to become a sensation in the South but eventually committed suicide. Let me tell you, this will be my most exhilarating and powerful production ever. It's about women's empowerment and the loneliness behind stardom."

Ekta has signed Milan Luthria, who is currently directing Once Upon A Time In Bombay to direct The Dirty Picture. Reliable sources confirm that Vidya will be playing the lead in this purported study of stardom, exploitation and self-destruction.

Vidya says, "Yes, Milan Luthria has come to me with the film that you're talking about. But it's too early to speak about it at the moment."

Director Milan Luthria says, "It would be premature to reveal on record who's playing the lead. But yes, I'm directing The Dirty Picture for Ekta Kapoor. I was bowled over when I read the script. The story has everything. It's a mirror of our times. Silk Smitha was a cult figure in her times. She spawned so many imitations including Nylex Nalini and Disco Shanti. In fact, I worked with Disco Shanti in Najayaaz when I was assisting Mahesh Bhatt saab."

About Silk Smitha

Silk Smitha was a South Indian actress, who was popular for her sexy image in films. She was born into a poor family in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh and her real name was Vijayalakshmi. She left studies after fourth standard to pursue her ambition.

She got recognition for her first major role in a Tamil film Vandi Chakkaram (The Wheel) in 1979. Silk Smitha went on to act in over 200 Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and also a few Hindi films. Silk Smitha was found dead in her apartment in 1996.

It is believed that she committed suicide. Various reasons such as financial problems, disillusionment in love, alcohol dependency and depression because of loneliness were citied as reasons for her taking the drastic step.

Saif is my man for life: Bebo

After a widely publicised break-up with Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor started dating Saif Ali Khan and she is convinced that he is the man with whom she wants to live the rest of her life.

"One does feel settled in every relationship that one is in, but this time I am with the man I want to live with for the rest of my life," Kareena told her friend and director Karan Johar on the TV show "Lift Kara De". In the episode, to be aired on Sony Saturday, Kareena makes candid confessions about her life and even shows a fun side of herself while making 'chuski' (flavoured ice balls) on the show. Kareena is considered one of the highest paid actress in tinsel town, but she snubbed it saying: "How can I say that when I don't know what the others are earning? Besides, I would never do a film for the money alone."

The actress will be seen next in movies like "Milenge Milenge", "Ra.One" and Hindi remake of Hollywood film "Stepmom".

I'll marry in two years: Katrina

Katrina Kaif, who is busy promoting her forthcoming film "Raajneeti", says she may get married in the next two years.

"I think in two years I will get married. But still two years is a long time. I think I still have some time. Lets see. You know as the saying goes, 'Man proposes, God disposes' - so every time we make a plan God comes and changes it. Let's see," Katrina, who is often linked with Salman Khan, told reporters here.

Katrina, 25, has shed her glam girl image to play a politician in director Prakash Jha's much talked about "Raajneeti". She describes it as a special film in her career. "A lot of people have given tremendous feedback... hopefully audiences will like it and it would be a new step for me in my career," Katrina told reporters at the launch of the wedding line Nakshatra Vivaah here Thursday.

"Raajneeti" takes an incisive look at Indian electoral system where a handful of people control the destiny of millions. It shows how people, who understand power, fight a bitter and violent battle to achieve their unstoppable ambition. Apart from Katrina Kaif, the film also features Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai, Sarah Thompson, Naseeruddin Shah and Nana Patekar.

Though many feel her character in "Raajneeti" is based on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Katrina has denied the speculation. "For me Sonia Gandhi-ji is one of the most inspiring women in India. And personally, she is an inspiration. But this film and my character in the film does not resemble her or is not based on her life at all. I think it's really important to clarify," she clarified.

She is also doing Farah Khan's "Tees Maar Khan" and feels the director should do more films. "Shooting for 'Tees Maar Khan' went off amazingly. That was one of the funniest times I had. My only comment on working with Farah Khan is that she should be doing more films," said Katrina.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Jab Deepika met Shammi

Yesterday Deepika Padukone met the legendary actor Shammi Kapoor at his residence. Deepika reached the veteran actor’s Walkeshwar house in the evening and spent more than two hours with him and his family. The pretty actress was thrilled as she also had dinner with Shammi Kapoor.

Incidentally, the legendary actor had been praising Deepika for a long time on a micro-blogging site and had also expressed his desire to meet her. Deepika had responded by promising him to promptly meet him.

A close friend of Deepika said, “Shammi Kapoor and Deepika had a long conversation. Shammi loved her performance in Om Shanti Om and Love Aaj Kal. Deepika was flattered when he told her that she is one of the finest actresses and that he is her ardent fan. Deepika told Shammiji that his compliments mean the world to her and she considers it as one of the best days in her life.

They also had a long conversation about his experiences and the Hindi film industry. Shammiji advised her on several matters and also discussed several of his hit films. Deepika, who has also seen most of his films, was particularly excited about discussing his trademark dancing style.”

Deepika was reluctant to speak about the meeting and said, “I don’t want to discuss our conversation as it is personal and I would like to keep it that way.”

On being probed further, she said, “It was fun and I had a great evening. He took good care of me and we chatted over coffee and some good food.”

Vidya can't get catty

Vidya Balan may not be scared of taking on difficult roles or dealing with the politics in the filmi world, but there’s something that scares her a lot.

We hear that the one thing that does scare the lovely Vidya is cats! You heard us right, Vidya suffers from Ailurophobia and has a crazy fear of the furry felines. Well, that will at least ensure that she stays away from cats... and maybe catfights too. Meow to that!

Shah Rukh's K-need for speed

After his long battle with back pain and then a shoulder surgery, Shah Rukh Khan is now dealing with a recurring pain in his knee.

The actor had injured his knee some time back and it has been troubling him ever since. This time, he’s not in a mood to take any chances with any quick fix measures — Kolkata Knight Riders’ physiotherapist Andrew Leipus has been assigned the responsibility of treating SRK’s knee.

Earlier, physiotherapist Ali Irani was treating the actor’s knee.

Our source said, “SRK is doing some high energy stunts in his home production Ra.One which will be filmed soon. The last two days of the shoot were cancelled because of Bobby Chawla’s (CEO of SRK’s Red Chillies) health scare. The next schedule of Ra.One is drawing near and SRK hopes the exercises Andrew has prescribed will fix his knee problem in time.”

Earlier, Shah Rukh’s back problem had given him a lot of trouble during an energetic song sequence he did for Boney Kapoor’s Shakti.

“Ra.One is a superhero film and Shah Rukh’s character will have to do several high risk stunts and he really needs to be physically fit to pull them off,” added the source.

SRK remained unavailable for comment.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Shilpa's IPL hugs

If in the last IPL season it was Preity Zinta who distributed her jaadu ki jhappi freely among her team members, this year Shilpa Shetty seems to be doing the honour.

When her team defeated the Hyderabad team, the leggy lass did not only hug bowler Siddharth Trivedi and captain Shane Warne, but she also showered affection on host Sameer Kochhar. Now, that had veteran cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle sulking. He joked that despite spending all these years in the profession, he never received a hug from Shilpa. Well, we hope the leggy beauty is listening.

Ash's secret weakness

We discovered a weakness of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, whose looks have inspired poetry and prose in equal measure.

Apparently, the fair lady has a weakness for sweets. A source, who has shared loads of chocolates and mithai with Ash, says, “She stocks up sweets in her trailer at shoots, and at home, her personal refrigerator is usually stocked with pastries, chocolates, et al. And though she looks like a zillion bucks, she has to indulge her sweet tooth every day.” Ah... and to think we thought that hubby Abhishek was her only weakness.

I'm not dancing naked: SRK

Doesn’t anyone take a joke anymore?” asked Shah Rukh Khan, after his statement that he’d dance naked if his IPL team won their match against Team Punjab.

“Read in some paper that I can be taken to court for my dancing in the buff statement at IPL. When will people develop a sense of humour?” he tweeted, adding, “I just joked about dancing like that... obviously I won’t, even if my team wins ...From now on I am also bathing with my clothes on, ha ha.”

What’s brewing, Sush, Vivek?

They've had their share of relationships but officially, both are single at the moment. So when word got around that Sushmita Sen and Vivek Oberoi have suddenly become quite friendly, it stoked a lot of speculation.

It may be recalled that Sushmita and Vivek were not on talking terms since the time Vivek was dating Aishwarya Rai. They studiously avoided each other at social functions and didn't even exchange pleasantries when they shot together for Subhash Ghai's Kisna.

A source said, “The thaw started only recently when they walked the ramp together for a cancer awareness show. And of late, Sushmita and Vivek have been interacting a lot. The discomfort between them is a thing of the past. In fact, they have become very good friends now,” added the source.

While neither Sushmita nor Vivek were willing to say anything, Vivek's official spokesperson said, “Yes, Vivek and Sushmita are friends. While Vivek has pledged his support to Sushmita's I Am She (a project to groom models for the Miss Universe pageant), Sushmita has extended her support to Vivek's Project Devi (which works for underprivileged girls from Vrindavan).”

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Saifeena’s Presidential date

On April 7 Saif Ali Khan will receive his Padmashri from the President of India, Pratibha Patil. Kareena Kapoor is accompanying her beau for the occasion.

Kareena is said to have ordered a special Manish Malhotra saree for that evening. Sources indicate that there are many in the Rashtrapati Bhavan who are avid movie watchers and all of them are keen to meet Kareena. So besides being present in New Delhi for the presentation ceremony, Saifeena are expected to get a half an hour special audience with the President. The couple is thrilled with this honour.

SRK to dance nude

Shah Rukh Khan kept his followers wondering whether he would be able to make it to the city in time for their game against Team Mohali.

He had flown to Malaysia to fulfil other commitments. But, those spectators who were at the Eden Gardens to catch a glimpse of the superstar, didn’t have to return dissatisfied because he made it to the venue and could be seen sitting in the company of Indian cricket board official, Rajeev Shukla, in the hospitality stand.

What’s more, King Khan has raised the stakes by telling a channel during one of the post-match parties that he would dance naked if his team won the competition at the DY Patil Stadium, come April 25. Game for a Full Monty, guys?

Miles to go...
The IPL fever has gripped Kolkata big time and the owners of Team Kolkata have gone all out to promote the event in the city. Huge hoardings and posters dot the streets, with a stern looking Sourav Ganguly depicted as saying, “Miles to go, promises to keep.”

Many of the Team Kolkata supporters, who until a couple of days ago had begun mocking this slogan owing to their side’s pedestrian performances, are suddenly a rejuvenated lot after the victory against Team Hyderabad. Can Dada & Co. fulfil their expectations?

Sweating it out
The makeshift hospitality stand at the Eden Gardens commands an astronomical Rs 32,000 per seat. But one wonders whether the patrons of this pricy stand were at ease when the game began at 4:00 pm. The sun was beating down and the humidity levels in Kolkata can get to the coolest of people.

What complicated things was the absence of a roof, which would have provided some succour to the VIPs. But temperatures began cooling down by 4:45 pm and they could get down to the business of enjoying themselves.

Desperate fans
With Kolkata keeping their semi-final hopes alive, tickets for their home games have suddenly become hot property. Many of those fans who were desperate to enter the stadium on Sunday but didn’t have the prized tickets could be seen shelling out as much as Rs 1,250 for a ticket which otherwise was available for Rs 500. The black-marketers were the ones having a field day on the eve of the match along with the two sides in the middle on Sunday

Manoj Kumar at it again...

Manoj Kumar is at it again! A couple of years ago he took on choreographer-turned-filmmaker Farah Khan for a spoof in her film Om Shanti Om where he was shown getting beaten up in a theatre. Now, it’s Farah’s brother Sajid Khan who has upset the veteran actor-filmmaker.

Kumar is upset with a scene that, he says, mimics him in Sajid’s forthcoming film Housefull. “This is happening time and again and you can’t allow people to attack your integrity. I have spoken to my solicitor and he will now take them to task,” says Kumar.

Going back to the Om Shanti Om days, Kumar says, “At that time, Shah Rukh Khan apologised for it. He behaved so well and was very nice, so I said forget it. But now, Sajid probably wants to prove that where his sister Farah and Shah Rukh failed, he will succeed. But I won’t let that happen.” He adds, “I’m angry with that sweet boy Riteish too, who is part of the spoof. He is the son of a responsible citizen and politician.”

Isn’t he overreacting and being touchy about mimicry only meant to tickle the funny bone? “Mimicry that humiliates someone, hitting the person below the belt is unacceptable. That’s filth,” he says with some force.

While Sajid couldn’t be contacted, there’s a twist in the tale! Sources connected with the film say there is no spoof on Manoj Kumar, neither in the promo that’s on TV, nor in any other sequence. So now what?

Salman is Dum struck

While it’s no surprise that many Bollywood stars have refused offers from television channels in the past, it’s usually because the star doesn’t want to be part of it. Salman Khan must have never imagined that he would have to opt out of a show on one channel because a competing channel didn’t like the idea.

It transpired that Salman was approached by a particular channel to judge a dance reality show, Zara Nachke Dikha, but another channel, which airs his game show Dus Ka Dum, had strong reservations about the move.

A source said, “Salman spoke to the channel that airs Dus Ka Dum but they were unwilling to let Salman be seen on a competing channel. So they politely but firmly told Salman to forget about judging Zara Nachke Dikha. The actor had no choice but to comply.”

Vasudha Jha, a senior official of the channel that will air Zara Nachke Dikha, said, “Yes, we couldn’t get Salman. Though he was pretty excited about the offer, he had to check with the channel that airs Dus Ka Dum. They said they could only allow it if Zara Nachke Dikha goes on air after the next season of Dus Ka Dum winds up. Waiting that long was not possible. Right now, we are in talks with Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan.”

However, Ajit Thakur, an official of the channel that airs Dus Ka Dum, denied that Salman had spoken to them about Zara Nachke Dikha. “But yes, we do have a certain amount of exclusivity on Dus Ka Dum, since it is a very big show,” he said.