I'm a Shah Rukh fan: Akon

International R&B singer Akon, who is here to record songs for Shah Rukh Khan's film "Ra.One", says he is a big fan of the Bollywood superstar and that he will not only have shows in India during his world tour but would also do more work here soon.

"I am a big fan of Shah Rukh. I am very familiar with Shah Rukh's work. I am meeting Kareena (Kapoor) for the first time today," Akon told reporters in a press conference here Tuesday. He is not only singing but also composing song for "Ra.One". "I am also composing. You know, I will give him (Shah Rukh) a couple of versions of the song, the way I do it. And I will also integrate it with the traditional way the Bollywood films are done. I will give them options and they will decide, which one to use in the film," said Akon.

Produced by "Red Chilies Entertainment", "Ra.One" will see Shah Rukh playing a superhero. Asked if he is planning to do more work with Indian music directors, he said: "You will see me doing more things in India soon." The singer insists he finds African entertainment culture quite similar to what he sees in India. "You know the tradition in Africa is not different from India. There is same type of entertainment going on, the difference is only in language. I always wanted to expand my horizon, explore and enjoy," said Akon who will soon go on a world tour.

He is looking forward to performances in India as well. "The world tour is coming soon and India is one of my biggest market so I will do number of shows here," said Akon.

The singer dedicated two lines from his song "Beautiful" to actress Kareena Kapoor, who was present at the event. She plays female lead in "Ra.One".

Hrithik's a good companion: Barbara Mori

She’s being kept under wraps till such time as the full-blown publicity campaign for Rakesh Roshan’s Kites breaks.

But TOI managed a tete-a-tete with Barbara Mori. Yeah, the Mexican girl loves Mumbai and the movies we make.


How are you today?
I am really excited because Kites is the biggest film I have ever done. I never imagined that I would come to Bollywood and be a part of a film made for audience all over the world. Kites will be very important for my career because this is my first international movie. I can´t wait!

One hears that you have performed some daring stunts in the film? Were you scared? Tell us about some of the stunts...
I was not scared at all, because I like danger. I was really very impressed with the action director and with car crashes and explosions. Hrithik is so good at action, I was learning a lot from him. The action director kept dissuading me from doing my stunts because they were dangerous. But I went to Hrithik and told him I can do it. So he said okay and convinced the action director to let me do my own action stunts. We had a lot of fun. It was the best experience of my career!

Are you open to doing more films in Bollywood post Kites?
Of course, I would love to do more movies in Bollywood. It will be a pleasure for me.

Why have you stayed away from Mumbai for so long? Shouldn’t you be here to publicise your film?
I live in Mexico with my son and my family and I have been working so much in my country. Of course I will come to India soon. I’m looking forward to it.

Are you aware of the entire media circus around your teaming up with Hrithik Roshan?
Working with Hrithik was an amazing experience because he is a very good companion and now a very good friend. As co-stars, Hrithik and I got along really well, he gave me the confidence to do a few scenes that I was initially scared of like the underwater swimming scene.

There is also talk of physical intimacy between Hrithik and you in the movie...
I would not like to comment. Please watch the film.

Akon rocks with SRK for IPL

It’s indeed a treat to see international R&B and hip-hop sensation Akon belt out his chartbusting numbers live, and when Shah Rukh Khan joins him in doing a little jig, it just gets better!

All this and much, much more transpired on Monday night at JW Marriott at Shah Rukh Khan and the man behind XXX, Sachiin Joshi’s IPL bash. Akon was the cherry on the cake, the star performer of the night, and true to his fans, he gave a mind-blowing performance – despite having flown in from the USA barely two hours ago!

It all began when King Khan made a red carpet entry, blowing air-kisses to his fans gathered outside. The temperature got hotter as cricketers Wasim Akram, Sourav Ganguly, Ishant Sharma and Murali Kartik followed in quick succession. And then, at the stroke of midnight, you heard the familiar opening chord of Akon’s iconic number ‘Right Now (Na Na)’.

As girls screamed with hysteria, some jostling to touch the singer, others recording the moment on their cellphones, he rapped to his other popular numbers ‘Smack That’ and ‘I Wanna Love You’. Akon then dedicated ‘Beautiful’ to all the beautiful ladies in the crowd but it was when he began singing his current chartbuster ‘Sexy Bitch’ that the hysteria reached an all-time high. And if you thought it couldn’t get better, then it just did, for SRK joined Akon on stage for a delightful little jig! XXX promised to unleash raw energy, and that’s what Akon’s performance was all about! Electrifying, energetic and exhilarating. Yes, we did Xperience Xtreme Xcitement!

Rani: Lonely in wonderland

Has the fall from stardom resulted in Rani Mukerji becoming a recluse? Sure seems like it as she is no longer the vivacious girl everyone knew and loved.

A source who was earlier close to Rani says, “Rani has stopped communicating with all her friends including Urmila Matondkar, Dia Mirza and Manish Malhotra. She hardly calls them up and at times, she doesn’t even take their calls. Instead, she prefers to spend a lot of time with her niece (Mysha).”

The only person Rani is in touch with from her friend circle is choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant, that too perhaps because she often bumps into Vaibhavi at Yash Raj Films. Vaibhavi regularly works for YRF whose scion Aditya Chopra has been dating Rani for nearly three years.

Why has Rani changed so much? Earlier, she used to attend important social functions particularly hosted by those who mattered to her. But recently, she even skipped Dr RK Agarwal’s daughter’s wedding, and consequently, shocked several of her friends from the industry who expected that she would definitely turn up for the occasion.

“The change in Rani’s behaviour is inexplicable. Her friends want her to be the old Rani again but all she wants is to be left alone. She has become a very, very private person,” adds the source.

Manish said, “I meet Rani. Yes, we haven’t interacted recently but that’s simply because she is shooting in Delhi and I have been busy with my shows and the ongoing fashion week.”

Seems like Aditya Chopra’s reticence has rubbed off on her too. Over to you, Rani.

Remember the time, Shahid?

Everyone knows that Shahid Kapoor is a big star today and charges several crore for a film or endorsement.

However, few people are aware of his extra humble beginnings - he once stayed in a tenement in Andheri’s MHADA colony. Last week Shahid visited a small studio in the same locality and it was quite literally a walk down memory lane for him.

Shahid’s close companion Mamu, who has know his family for decades, was accompanying him when Shahid reached the area. He informed all of the actor’s old friends who live nearby, and they gathered at the studio to meet Shahid. Needless to say, it was an emotional moment for Shahid as well as Mamu.

Said Mamu, “I have known the family and been with them for over 30 years. There was a time when things were very bad and we stayed in the tenement for a brief period in 2000 and 2001 because we had no option. Shahid was learning dance from Shiamak Davar and the financial situation was quite dire. All this was before Shahid got Ishq Vishk and became a star.

Last week when we had gone there and Shahid was inside the studio, a couple of Shahid’s old friends came to know and told me they were keen to meet him, but they weren’t sure if he would be willing to meet them. I said of course he would, and Shahid came out to meet them.”

By this time, a huge crowd had gathered outside and everyone started singing Dhan te nan. Shahid got his pictures clicked with them and chatted with some of his old neighbours.

An emotional Mamu added, “I remember those times - during the rainy season, the roof leaked and I would constantly clean up to keep the place dry so the kids didn’t fall ill. I told Shahid that he has come a long way, ‘bachcha bada ho gaya hai’. When he lived here, no one gave him a second look. Now when we have left, the neighbourhood kids were running after his car. I am very happy for him.”

Dimpy gets drunk like Rahul: Nikunj

Having watched Rahul Mahajan on Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega, you’ve probably wondered how any self-respecting woman would want to commit to a man who ideally should be committed himself ... to an asylum, preferably. For Rahul doesn’t come with a squeaky clean reputation: he talks to aliens, was allegedly a wife beater and was found in a bathtub, after an alleged drug overdose.

Yet, mysteriously, he seemed like great marriage material to besotted young girls (or they put up a very good act, at any rate). Nikunj Mallik, one of the three finalists, decided to stop looking at him through rose-tinted glasses and is now rather vocal about her dislike. She says, “I feel Dimpy is perfect for Rahul as both have similar habits and lifestyles, which is not very acceptable to me. Though Rahul was quite interested in me, which was quite evident, I realised he’s not the kind of person I’d like to spend my life with.”

A man never changes his spots, darling, so what possessed her to go for someone like Rahul? She says, “For the past two years, there has been no negative publicity about him. When at 35, a man wants to settle down and have a family, that worked for me. He is a nice man, but it’s obvious there is no visible improvement. It was the drinking, smoking and Casanova nature that bothered me.” Was there any drinking and misbehaving? She replies, “Was he drunk in the evenings? You can say that. But even when super drunk, he never misbehaved.”

And the drugs? She pauses and says, “I have not seen him taking drugs, so I would not like to comment on that.”

Cynics would say that it sounds like a case of sour grapes, but she says, “I would’ve appreciated if he’d chosen Harpreet, who is very well behaved as compared to Dimpy. Dimply is an antisocial element, who runs away from her house at every given opportunity, she ran away from the beauty contest. She gets drunk, sloshed and wasted.”

What about the fact that he kept touching women constantly? She says primly, “In our society, hugging and pecking on the cheek is acceptable. I always maintained my dignity and made him stay within his limits. If you let him do that, he will do it.”

So, did Dimply ‘let’ him? Pat comes the reply, “Obviously yes, in fact, she forced him. She attracted him and wanted him to do all that.”

Nikunj’s parents also did not approve of the prospective son-in-law. She says, “They verbally bashed him and said don’t bother my daughter with your behaviour.” After the home visit, Nikunj had hinted to Rahul that the marriage wouldn’t work.

After the show, what future is she looking forward to? She says, “I was there for the marriage, not the publicity. It has come my way wantingly or not wantingly (sic) and I will take up opportunities. I would not want to waste my qualification as a designer.”

Will the marriage last, in her opinion? With great disdain she concludes, “I hope it does. If you would’ve taken a national poll, Dimpy’s percentage of votes would have been few. He’s narrowed down his future as a politician by choosing her as his wife.”

Racy exit for Saif, Bips

It was supposed to be a starry conclusion to a high profile racing tourney, what with Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan and Bipasha Basu arriving to give away the awards. All was well in the beginning as a smiling Bipasha and Saif were escorted to the VIP section from where they cheered for the horses.

When time came to reach the enclosure where the awards were to be given away, some youngsters in the crowd were so taken by Bipasha’s presence that some cat-calling started: ‘Bipasha, bidi jalay le!’, ‘Item girl!’

What could have easily been overlooked as harmless attention seeking, not an unusual feature when a Bollywood star is sighted, became an issue. A clearly irritated Bipasha left the venue soon after without giving away any awards. Saif followed her out of the venue and also left.

When contacted, Vivek Jain, the Chairman of the RWITC, said though he was present for the function, he was not aware whether or not Bipasha and Saif were supposed to give away any awards. “But they were there during the ceremony and in fact, I myself gave Bipasha a memento.” When asked why Bipasha and Saif didn’t stay back for the final awards in the paddock as is the norm, Jain said that for this once the ceremony was held on the main track instead of the paddock.

When we finally got through to Bipasha Basu, she said, “It was all good. And the race was really good. I did not face any problem. Saif was there too and he also was comfortable.”