kollywood

Sonu Sood talks about Salman

2010-09-08T06:49:00.000-07:00

Actor Sonu Sood, who plays a pivotal role in ’Dabangg’, says he had fun shooting with Salman Khan who was like a guiding force.

’Salman is a very cool person. He always encourages you. We used to work out together, so he used to tell me a lot about exercising and fitness. On the whole, since he is a more experienced actors, he was like a guiding force for me,’ Sonu told IANS.

The two actors also had a little game going on during the shoot of the film.

’I am a vegetarian and Salman a non-vegetarian. He really wants me to convert to a non-vegetarian, so a lot of times he used to secretly put chicken or mutton pieces on my plate and would tell me to eat it.

’Similarly, I used to force him to eat more vegetarian dishes. So this game of ours used to keep carrying on,’ he added.

’Dabangg’ is slated to release Sep 10.

SRK and Akki to teams up

2010-09-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

Now, it is heard that the superstar duo would be producing a film together and star in it. That would be something to watch out for! Two of the most energetic performers in Bollywood coming together in a film would send the boxoffice into a tizzy, for sure!

The bond between Akki and SRK grew stronger when the latter openly praised the former’s ’Tees Maar Khan’, being directed by none other than Farah Khan. As we know, Farah and SRK had moved away from each other recently as she had signed on Akki for her ’TMK’.

Now, if reports are to be believed, Shah Rukh is using the good offices of Akki to mend fences with Farah, who had been King Khan’s very close friend for long.

Mysshkin and John join hands together

2010-09-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

Mysshkin, who is a name to be reckoned with in Kollywood, will soon be making his big Bollywood debut with a John Abraham film. The director turned into an actor in the highly-anticipated film Nandhalala (which is yet to see the light of day) when he could not find a suitable actor for the protagonist’s role.

Mysshkin, who is busy with the post-production of his next, Yuddham Sei with Cheran, spoke to DC about his Hindi venture in this exclusive interview.

This still-untitled Bollywood film is being produced by UTV Motion Pictures and has John Abraham playing the lead. “Bringing John on board did not happen all of a sudden. I have been interacting with him for quite some time now,” is how he began the conversation. Mysshkin described it as, “A full-on action film in which the story happens over 12 hours. John watched my earlier Tamil film Anjaathe on DVD, to get to know more about my style of filmmaking and he was very impressed. He called me to Mumbai to narrate the script and once he listened to it, he fell in love with the role and decided to go ahead.”

He gave an assurance that this would not be a remake of his Tamil hit, but a fresh script written for the Hindi film. To an enquiry about whether John asked him to make any changes in the theme to make it more commercial, he was quick to respond, “Oh, no. It is an out-and-out action film. So the question doesn’t arise. All the same, I hardly watch Hindi movies, which I guess, is a blessing in disguise. I will stick to my story and whatever it demands will be scrupulously incorporated.” As for the heroine selection, he said no leading lady had been finalised yet. He was still fine-tuning the script and in all probability, the movie would go on the floors in January 2011.

Vishal Dadlani talks About Oscar winner

2010-09-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

Negativity surrounds music director A R Rahman’s Commonwealth Games theme song; people have openly expressed their dislike and said the Oscar winner couldn’t live up to their expectations. But, for composer Vishal Dadlani, a part of Bollywood’s music fraternity, people should understand and appreciate what Rahman has done for music and India.

Vishal has reacted vehemently to all the bad comments about the CWG theme and writes on Twitter, “The only infallible one is god, who sends music to us all. Everyone else is human, including Rahman. We’re all allowed off days. Be nice. All you doubters, and haters, please understand that Rahman has done more for music and India’s international image than almost anyone else.”

Rahman will appear on the show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar that has Vishal as one of the judges. No doubt, Vishal is on cloud nine as he is going to meet the iconic music director for the first time. The episode will be aired soon.

Earlier, song writer Mehboob too defended Rahman and claims that people are forgetting that the number is not for a film but is a theme song for CWG

Deepika Padukone in vishal movie

2010-09-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

Vishal Bharadwaj’s next film is called Dream Sequence and he has roped in Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone for the film. Our source close to the director said, “Though Vishal has been busy with the music sessions and mixing of Saat Khoon Maaf, he has already started working on the script of this movie.”

Apparently, Vishal found Dream Sequence to be an apt title for his film. “It is a very engrossing story. Vishal gave Saif and Deepika a brief description of the plot and both of them are looking forward to the movie.

In fact, Deepika is looking forward to working with Vishal. The movie is all about dreams coming true.

There were stories in the media that Priyanka Chopra was likely to play the lead opposite Saif Ali Khan in Dream Sequence but it seems that Deepika, who pipped Priyanka to bag the role, will be playing the lead in the film.

Akshay interested in Cooking

2010-09-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

As Akshay is gearing up to host the reality show Master Chef in India, the actor is making sure that he hones his culinary skills before the show begins. Sources inform that, “Akshay, who is a superb cook himself, signed up for a culinary course recently to brush up his cooking skills. Akshay has been training hard so that he does not fall short when an emergency arises on the sets. He also wants to have enough knowledge about cooking and recipes so he can be a master chef himself before hosting the show.”
Everyone knows that Akshay started his career as a chef in Bangkok but the actor has forgotten how to fix a quick meal. Akshay does spend time in the kitchen whenever he has some free time after shooting or on a holiday and tries to conjure up a tasty meal for wife Twinkle and son Aarav.
The show will go on air by the end of this year. In the meantime Akshay is busy shooting for Anees Bazmee’s Thank you in Canada.

Currently, the actor is also in talks with the production house on ways to make the cookery show interesting. Akshay who had earlier hosted the reality show Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi for two seasons had done some stunts himself to pep up his contestants. The show was a huge success. Similarly, Akshay will want to whip up a tasty dish for his contestants so that they are comfortable on the show. Will his culinary skills cook up a storm in the ratings? Let’s wait and watch.

Salman Khan rarely loses his temper before the media people.

2010-09-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

Salman Khan seems really upset with the press folks for their consistent queries on his ’troubled’ relationship with beau Katrina Kaif. He asked why his affair was given so much importance while there were so many problems that affected the people in the country.
"...why is Salman-Katrina relationship national news? I am not giving any clarifications, the media can write whatever it want. It is my personal life...," Salman was speakinbg in an interview to a national TV channel. The questions were triggered by the recent quotes by him and Kat, who had said that they were ’single’. Later, Salman denied having said anything of the kind.
The 45-year-old actor said he was very happy for Aishwarya Rai and her marriage with Abhishekl Bachchan. He said, "I am very happy she is married to Abhishek. He is a great guy from a good family. The best thing I can want for her is that she leads a happy life."

On his supposed animosity towards Shah Rukh Khan, Salman said, "I have a lot of respect for Shah Rukh as an actor. We shared some good times playing brothers in `Karan Arjun`. There is no clash between us, but some misunderstandings crop up time and again."

‘Double Dhamaal’ is in launch

2010-09-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

It was all excitement and going down the memory lanes as the cast and crew of ‘Double Dhamaal’ came together for the launch of the movie at the Mehboob Studio this Wednesday. The original cast of the movie remains the same with Riteish Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey and Aashish Chaudhary and actresses Kangana Ranaut and Mallika Sherawat being the additions.

Actors Aamir Khan and Anil Kapoor, too, graced the event of Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria’s ‘Double Dhamaal’ launch getting all too emotional and carried away.

“Anil and I have very fond memories working with Indra and Ashok. As an actor, I have done three films with Indu. We wish all the very best to the whole team and I am looking forward to a highly entertaining film,” Aamir told reporters.

Anil Kapoor said, “Indra and Ashok are like my brothers. They are in the field since I started my career. The first film I did with them was Mohabbat. The mahurat was also in Mehboob Studio.”

Ranbir has the potential to be one:Siddharth Anand

2010-09-03T04:32:00.000-07:00

Now, this is something anyone would think twice before proclaiming. But director Siddharth Anand whose next film Anjaana Anjaani stars Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra says Ranbir has all it takes to be the next Amitabh Bachchan of Bollywood.

“He (Ranbir) has got everything it takes to be the complete Hindi film hero that Bachchan was,” Anand is quoted as saying by a news agency.

According to Anand, Ranbir has to add an action film to his filmography to become an actor on his way to become the next Bachchan.

“The day Ranbir does an action film and does it well, he has the potential to fill the void that Bachchan created,” claimed Siddharth.

He has previously worked with Ranbir in the Yashraj production Bachna Ae Haseeno.

Siddharth added that Ranbir has the versatility like Big B showed in his heydays.

“Ranbir is the perfect guy to play Anthony, he can play coolie, he can play the characters Bachchan played in his prime. There is no one else but him,” Anand gushed.

We aren’t sure how many movie buffs will agree with him.

Saif has his hands full with projects

2010-09-03T04:28:00.000-07:00

The reason being heard is that Saif has his hands full with projects. Currently he is busy with his home production ’Agent Vinod’. His forthcoming films include films by Vishal Bhardwaj and Kunal Kohli.

Abhishek Bachchan is being considered for the role, says our Bollywood source. The film is in the scripting stage and the filmmakers are planning to make film that excels the original in style and glamour.

Of the original cast, Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif would not be present in the sequel. In their place, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka chopra are expected to come in. Anil Kapoor will play one of the male leads.

“I have a huge amount of respect for Aamir and Salman:SRK

2010-09-03T04:24:00.000-07:00

Shahrukh Khan was shockingly self effacing and expectedly generous in his comment about his perceived arch foe Salman Khan and good friend Aamir Khan at a promotional do of Karan Johar’s film We Are Family recently.

In case, you are wondering why SRK - who doesn’t even feature in the movie - cared to give his sound byte, don’t forget he, K-Jo and Arjun Rampal are like a family.

So no surprises that SRK butted in during the promotional interview of the film with the film’s lead stars Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. But what was shocking was SRK’s self-effacing comment in which he said he hoped to become a big star like Aamir and Salman.

Here’s what SRK said.

“I have a huge amount of respect for Aamir and Salman...I think they’re wonderful. I think they’re great stars, I know them personally and they’re great human beings. And they’re much bigger stars than I can ever be. I hope one day I can be like them in terms of work.”

Abhishek Bachchan has completed his first decade in Bollywood

2010-09-03T04:20:00.000-07:00

Abhishek Bachchan has completed his first decade in Bollywood. The actor who made his debut with J.P. Duta’s Refugee in 2000 worked in about 14-15 films before he got his first hit with Dhoom. And the Bachchans are now contemplating throwing a big private bash at their residence to celebrate the same.

Our source said, “The Bachchans have not had a celebration party after Abhishek’s wedding with Aishwarya three years back. Now they want to celebrate this occasion and Big B is also keen. He thinks it is time to thank everyone who has been instrumental in building Abhishek’s career. Amitabh himself is known to be a gracious man and this was evident when he publicly apologised to Salim Khan a few days ago after he learnt that Khan was upset with him.
As part of the celebrations, they plan to invite each and every filmmaker that Abhishek has worked with in the last 10 years. However, the bash is still in the planning stage and things will be finalised in a month or so.

Salman Khan has turned into Producer

2010-09-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Actor Salman Khan has no immediate plans to follow his brothers Arbaaz and Sohail into production. But says he would love to invest in “small and entertaining” films if he does. Asked about his plans on film production, Salman said “Not now. But if I do I would like to do simple, small and entertaining films.”

Dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans, the actor was at the Kingdom of Dreams complex in the suburb of Gurgaon adjoining the national capital to launch the IIFA Buzz Café in Culture Gully and promote his new film Dabangg. He was accompanied by co-star Sonakshi Sinha and brother Arbaaz.

Also present at the launch of IIFA Buzz Café were actor Hussain Kuwajerwala and actress Kashmeera Irani, who are a part of Bollywood musical Zangoora, to be staged at Nautanki Mahal Sep 17 in the Kingdom of Dreams.

Dabangg, which is Arbaaz’s first movie as a producer, has been directed by debutant Abhinav Kashyap, the younger brother of acclaimed director Anurag Kashyap. It is slated for release on September 10.

The film is set in a small Uttar Pradesh town and has Salman in the role of a policeman. It is also the launch vehicle for Sonakshi, the daughter of veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha.

Malaika Arora walks ramp for Jewellery

2010-09-01T07:07:00.000-07:00

Actress Malaika Arora Khan will dazzle in a diamond-studded bustier costing a million euros when she walks the ramp as a showstopper for a jewellery store in the capital Wednesday.

The bustier is crafted from over 500 carats of the finest Belgian diamonds, said a statement from the jewellery store.

Apart from Malaika, models like Carol Gracias, Indrani Dasgupta and Krishna Somani will be showcasing the jewellery, crafted by ORRA’s design centres in London, New York, Tokyo, Antwerp and Mumbai.

Akshay Kumar is little busy right now

2010-09-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Akshay Kumar recently got stuck in a traffic jam and reached the sets of ’Tees Maar Khan’ a little late.

And Katrina, his costar in the lead, followed suit. So, what did didciplinarian director Farah Khan do? She gave them a dressing down!

Hear it in Akki’s own words: "Uh Oh! Over trained this mornin now I’m late stuck in one of Bombay’s finest traffic jams...Farah Khan’s gonna blow her top, luckily I have the excuse of Bombay rains to save me..thank u god :)."

This was what Farah did. "C i told u Farah was gonna kill me 2day:) she came storming out of d studio,screamin & cursing,banging on our van doors 4 nt being on d set."

And, here is the climax. "she scared the life out of Kat but of course was winking at me the whole time, what a woman :)" Kat should have been very uneasy as her delay in turning up at an endorsement appearance made it to the headlines recently.

'Ra.One' release date is not fixed

2010-09-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has clarified that the release date of his superhero film ’Ra.One’ has not yet been decided, unlike what has been reported.

According to certain media reports Tuesday, the actor-producer is planning to release the film June 3, next year. But Shah Rukh has denied it.

’Nice to know that the release date for ’Ra.One’ has been fixed by someone... somewhere. Maybe they can now come and finish it as well,’ Shah Rukh posted on his Twitter page.

’Will work backwards in terms of post-production and announce the release date in tandem with office guys. Should be around June,’ he added.

In another message that seemed like an indirect dig at the recent alleged involvement of Pakistani cricketers in match-fixing, Shah Rukh wrote: ’It seems everything is being fixed everywhere. For a change let’s unfix a few things, get unhooked, unhinged... free from set plans and float a bit.’

Siddharth and Kareena are family

2010-08-30T06:29:00.000-07:00

Six degrees of separation …is all that separates us from one another. Latest instance: Siddharth Malhotra, who is directing Kareena Kapoor in Karan Johar’s We Are Family, is part of her family!

Siddharth is the grandson of the famous villain Premnath who thrived on playing notorious characters. Premnath’s sister is Krishna Raj Kapoor, wife of the legendary Raj Kapoor. Kareena is Raj Kapoor’s granddaughter - so if you know your math, that makes Siddharth and Kareena part of the same family tree. Talk about We Are Family being an apt title.

Salman Khan granted girl wishes

2010-08-30T06:26:00.000-07:00

A female fan of Salman Khan managed to sneak into the press conference the actor held in New Delhi to promote his film Dabangg along with the film’s leading lady Sonakshi Sinha and co-star and producer Arbaaz Khan.

Not to be content with just a glimpse of Salman, the fan, named Komal, wanted to ‘touch’ the 44-year-old star. She was with her husband at the event, when she requested Salman to allow her to touch him once. She said it was her lifelong wish.

Salman was sporty and granted an excited Komal the wish. Not only did he allow her to touch him, he also chatted with her.

“I am happy because he was really nice to me. He asked me my name and waved to my husband in the crowd. And he looks so much better in real life,” Komal told a news agency.

After Salman granted Komal her wish, there were other fans as well who wanted to touch Salman. But security intervened to keep them at a distance.

Producer Sajid Nadiadwala is ready for next project

2010-08-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

Producer Sajid Nadiadwala is all set to announce three major projects and each will have big have names - Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan. The total budget for the three projects is Rs150 crore.

After the box office success of "Housefull" and the positive buzz surrounding his forthcoming "Anjaana Anjaani", Nadiadwala has decided to make more films.

One offing on the cards is a sequel to "Housefull" directed by Sajid Khan starring Akshay, then there is "Kick" with Salman and lastly an untitled film with Saif. All the three projects will be made under his banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt Ltd.

"Sajid Nadiadwala has the knack to recognise out-of-the-ordinary storylines and talents and his belief that no opportunity is beyond reach ensures the cash registers ringing at the box office. He works with the best in the industry since he’s of the belief that the audiences deserve only the best,” said a source close to the filmmaker.

For now, the producer looks forward to his forthcoming film "Anjaana Anjaani". Starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, the film will release Sep 24.

Big B complaints against blog

2010-08-30T05:58:00.000-07:00

Big B says it is months since he has been suffering from the insults of the unknown guy.

He wrote on his blog: "There is a serious effort by a member that writes and comments on this blog to use language and expression that is abusive, filthy and utterly disgusting." He adds, "...This individual has been sending me the most unprintable abuse on SMS on my phone. I have, after great tolerance for months, reported the matter to the police and they will be taking serious punitive action, not just in my country but in the country of the origin of these missives."

The actor said he had lodged a complaint with the authorities regarding this. "I have brought this to the notice of the authorities and (sought) corrective measures to see none of the stuff that comes from this foul mouthed individual shall ever be allowed on this platform. Any further attempt from this person shall now be under legal cyber space action, now very prominently activated in the country."

Amitabh Bachchan a ‘police informer’ in Jharkhand

2010-08-27T06:16:00.000-07:00

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has worked as an “informer” of the Jharkhand Police, or so the police want the people to believe.

The shocking police claim was exposed during a court hearing earlier this week in which the government said money from a police fund was distributed by Jharkhand Police to some bogus informers, including one named Amitabh Bachchan, on the pretext of getting details about Maoists’ activities.

The scam, involving Rs.8 crore, is related to the Secret Service Fund (SSF) of the Special Branch of the state police that is used to distribute money among informers.

The alleged scam was exposed last month by an informer who was made to receive payments under the assumed name of Amitabh Bachchan.

A letter written by “Amitabh Bachchan” to Chief Secretary A.K. Sharma last month gave details of the fraud perpetrated by former director general of police V.D. Ram.

During the hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL), the state government in an affidavit Aug 22 told the Jharkhand High Court that it was not averse to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the SSF scam.

Ram, currently posted as director general of fire brigade services, is under the scanner for misusing over Rs.8 crore from the fund.

The money was withdrawn on two occasions in cash to be distributed among police informers.

The police informer from Giridih district, who wrote to the chief secretary, alleged that Ram forced him to sign a document.

The document on which he signed was related to payment of Rs.21 lakh but he got only Rs.10,000, said the informer.

The informer, in his letter, alleged that two bills of Rs.18 lakh and Rs.3 lakh respectively were signed by him on the instructions of the former police chief.

According to sources, the chief secretary, in his report to the high court, said that Rs.5.60 crore was withdrawn till the end of the 2005-06 financial year from SSF and Rs.2.40 crore was withdrawn in 2006 in the name of “Mission Divide” at Morhabadi by Ram.

Kareena and Saif are going very deep

2010-08-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan are going very strong and their love for each other only keeps growing stronger with every passing day. Its been more than three years, they are seeing each other.

Kareena is very happy with Saif and feels lucky to have him by her side.

“Very few people get love in life and such a supportive partner. Of course, I am very lucky that I have got a partner like Saif. He is a very unique man. His thoughts are much different from others and he always encourages me to work,” Kareena said in an interview.

Kareena says very often Saif is unaware of latest developments in Bollywood, including the new films she’s signed up.

“He is like a Hollywood actor who stays mostly in his own world. He wants to do certain films and produce movies like Hollywood star,” Bebo talks about her man.

The duo have been shooting together for Agent Vinod for some time now.

Americans likes Tere Bin Laden

2010-08-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

Praised in India, banned in Pakistan, Tere Bin Laden, a satire about the world’s most wanted man, is now winning hearts in the US.

The film directed by first-timer Abhishek Sharma and starring Pakistani actor Ali Zafar and new find Pradhuman Singh, was released in the US with a limited number of prints. It has got positive reviews from critics and now the rumour is that none other than the President Barack Obama might watch the film at a special screening.

“Mr Obama has not seen the film as yet. Beyond that, I cannot comment on this at the moment. All I can tell you is that our film has attracted the most unexpected eyeballs in the US,” the film’s director Abhishek Sharma is quoted to have said.

The film tells the story of a Pakistani journalist (Ali Zafar) who stumbles upon an Osama Bin Laden lookalike (Pradhuman). The man is a poultry farmer and is made to impersonate as Osama to record threat messages to the US.

According to Abhishek, the film has got positive reviews from the American media, including New York Times, Variety, Chicago and Daily Herald.

SRK cleared the doubt

2010-08-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has cleared the air over a reported rift with choreographer-director Farah Khan, saying that just because he wasn’t on her next project didn’t mean that they weren’t friends.

He wished her luck for her next film "Tees Maar Khan", for which she signed on Akshay Kumar instead of Shah Rukh.

"My friendship with all is as it was before, love them the same way. Many times if we are not working with each other doesn’t mean that I hate her or end of friendship. I don’t take my wife’s decision, how could I take others. I want to see everyone doing well.

"When I am shooting with someone, I am more in touch with him. This time I am not in touch with Farah but wish her all the success and hope this film (’Tees Maar Khan’) becomes a bigger hit than ’Om Shanti Om’, which was her last film. I just hope she become even a bigger producer. Yes, she is a friend of mine. I am not doing a film with her, which doesn’t mean I don’t love her," said Shah Rukh.

Shah Rukh played the lead role in Farah’s last film "Om Shanti Om".

Neil career has seen a big drop

2010-08-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

The failure of Lafangey Parindey has spelt disaster for Neil. After a spate of flops, with Aa Dekhein Zara, Jail and now Lafangey Parindey, Neil finds himself in a spot of bother. Apparently the producers of The Italian Job have asked Neil to renegotiate his asking price.

Our source said, “Neil was signed for over one crore initially. However, his career has seen a big drop with back-to-back flops. Lafangey Parindey was his big ticket but it failed to even take a decent opening. Given the current scenario, the producers of the Bollywood remake of The Italian Job have told directors Abbas-Mustan to ask Neil to reduce his price by 50 per cent.
The situation is not very encouraging and the director duo are left with no choice. Incidentally, Neil is also not ready to slash his price."

Kajol dismisses the idea of making Karan

2010-08-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

Their friendship is a part of folklore in Bollywood. However, actor Kajol dismisses the idea of making Karan Johar a ‘rakhi brother’, though she does not have a real one.

“Karan is my friend and have always felt that connection with him. Definition of a friend for me is somebody that you chose and not that you are born with,” she said.

Karan is more than a brother. It’s a unique and fantastic friendship, which I am grateful to have in my life,” Kajol told PTI.

She said she believed bonds are made from the heart.

“Friendships, relationships come from the heart and rakhi is a great way to reaffirm that with your brothers. But, if you do not tie a rakhi, it does not makes you a less friend or less of a relationship,” she said.
Speaking about her plans to celebrate ‘Raksha Bandhan’, Kajol said her daughter had lot of cousins. “They are all coming home tomorrow and we are having a party,” she said.

Priyanka chilling role in Next movie

2010-08-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

She’s hardly the dost-host in Rio de Janeiro where the stunts for Khatron Ke Khiladi (Fear Factor) are being shot.According to news filtering out of the beaches of Copacabana where the first batch of stunts were shot last week with the 13 contestants, hostess Priyanka Chopra was not kidding when she had said she would make the contestants hate her with her instructions. According to at least 2 contestants who spoke from the location, Priyanka has transformed into quite a whip-wielding dictator in the sizzling climes of Brazil. She makes the contestants work relentlessly and hardly provides them with a moment of breather to replenish their energy.

Says one of the exhausted contestants, "She carries not a whip, but a whistle which is as good as whip. The whistle is with her throughout from 7.30 am in the morning till late evening when we pack up. And she uses the whistle to intimidate us like no other woman in our lives has ever intimidated us." In fact the contestants are so fed up of the whistle that they plan to steal it and throw it in the ocean.

But Priyanka is relentless in her adherence to the regime. Says a source from Rio, "Priyanka is determined to prove she can orchestrate the contestant’s stunts as effectively as Akshay Kumar in the first two seasons of Fear Factor. She is up at dawn and ready to play hard ball with the contestants by 7.30 am every morning. The stunts start by 8.30 am but not before a very close and careful briefing by the stunt director to make sure no one breaks any bones on location."

Throughout these stunts, Priyanka is as detached dispassionate and ruthlessly professional as a doctor performing an intricate surgery. She does not fraternize with any of the contestants, not even Dino Morea whom she knows well. Says the source, "The only time she loosens up is towards the evening when she seems more relaxed. Otherwise she is so professional, it’s scary."Priyanka says she’s doing her job exactly the way she is supposed to. "We are not here for a picnic. It’s a tough regimen," she says.

Deepika decided to get rid of her sign of ex love

2010-08-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

When Deepika Padukone walked at the recently concluded Jewellery Week, the media was agog at seeing her with a new companion, Siddharth Mallya. But what the lady didn’t try to hide was her beautifully etched ‘RK’ tattoo, reminiscent of her past relationship with Ranbir Kapoor, at the back of her neck.

Now the actress has decided to get rid of her sign of ex love, the tattoo. Deepika is determined to go for the laser treatment to remove the permanent inking, confirms an aide. After her break-up with Ranbir, it was pretty hard for the gal to answer questions related to the tattoo and why she is still carrying it.

During the shoot of Lafangey Parindey, Deeps used concealer to hide it and repeated the same while filming for Ashutosh Gowariker’s periodic drama Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.

Indeed, she has left the past behind.

“I am came from Katrina” Says Salman

2010-08-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

When Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif were a couple, their admission of love came forth in just muted tones. Now, when the industry is abuzz with the talks of their split, Salman has thrown a bombshell by admitting that he and Katrina have indeed parted ways.

“I have broken up with Katrina. We were friends then for everybody, we are friends now,” Salman is quoted to have said in an interview to Headlines Today.

The Dabangg star got a little philosophical when asked about the reason of his break-up from Katrina.

“Koi cheez tootati hain toh isliye kyonki ya toh different ways chali gayi hain, ya ek shakhs ki growth nahin hui, ya ek ne kuch aur path chun liya hai, ya sensibility samajh mein nahi aati, ya thinking galat ho gayi hain (A relationship breaks when it strays off in different directions, or when one of the two has stopped growing, or when the other person has chosen a different path, or when the thinking has got distorted).”

Salman did not specify which of these was the reason for his break-up from Katrina.

“It’s just two people not getting along, something that obviously doesn’t end peacefully. But if you can manage to stay friends, there is nothing like it,” he added

Yes, Salman and Katrina are continuing to remain friends.

Salman taught me drawing says Sonakshi

2010-08-17T05:46:00.000-07:00

I was good at sketching (that’s part of my fashion designer training) but Salman taught me how to raise that art to a new level by introducing me to painting. Painting has a calming effect on me. For now I stick to forms and faces,” the Times of India quoted Sonakshi as saying.

The beautiful said that she took up acting by accident but has fallen in love with it. “I never thought about getting into films though I did have an interest in modelling. Actually, Arbaaz and Salman saw me walk the ramp and approached me for their film. Now I’m hooked to films. I enjoy acting.” Now, she is taking extra care in choosing films.

“I know who I am going to be paired with next, but I can’t talk about it now. And if ever I am going to sign a film it should at least be as good as or better than Dabangg.” She added. Well, she is very lucky to have an actor like Salman to launch her. She has every possibility to become famous like Katrina Kaif, as they share the same mentor in Salman!

Saif Celebrates Kareena Birthday

2010-08-17T05:43:00.000-07:00

Bollywood’s gorgeous, Kareena Kapoor planned a beautiful trip to surprise her beau Saif Ali Khan on his 40th birthday. Well the lady planned a confidential holiday at an undisclosed location. But as we know that celebrities can never keep a secret, and so, Bebo let the cat out of the bag. It is heard that the hot couple had flown to Gstaad in Switzerland to celebrate the birthday of ‘Chote Nawab’.

Gstaad, one of the most picturesque corners of Switzerland, is home to several Hollywood celebrities like Julie Andrews, Elizabeth Taylor, Roger Moore amongst others. Michael Jackson, Prince Charles and Princess Diana used to frequent the place very often at one point of time. Known for its scenic beauty, Gstaad is famous for its skiing resorts.

knowing the fact that skiing is one big turn for the birthday boy, Bebo chose Gstaad as the destination for their six-day vacation.

A source quoted Saif to have saying, “Forty doesn’t feel any different. I’m looking forward to some exciting work. And I’m happy that my girlfriend is giving me this very special vacation.” As she put their passports into the outer pocket of her limited edition designer bag,

Bebo added, “I’ve been asked whether I have bought him any other gifts this birthday. Honestly, I haven’t.
The time I spend with him in Switzerland is my gift to him.”

This is so cute. Hope their love for each other lasts forever.

Amitabh Bachchan began the second phase of shooting

2010-08-17T05:41:00.000-07:00

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan today began the second phase of shooting for advertisements, promoting tourism in Gujarat, at the Sabarmati Ashram here.

Bachchan, who arrived in the city today, has a five-day schedule during which he would be shooting at Sabarmati Ashram, Porbandar and Dwarka, Tourism department officials said.

After completing his shooting today, Bachchan met Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi at the Circuit House here.

The Sabarmati Ashram was closed for general visitors for nearly five hours when shooting for the advertisement was on.

During his previous week-long schedule from May 28 to June 5, the Bollywood veteran had shot for promotional series known as ’Khushboo Gujarat ki’ (Fragrance of Gujarat), at various locations in the state including Bhuj, desert in Kutch, with lions in Gir forests and at the Somnath temple.

Writing about his experience in Gujarat on his blog, Bachchan had said that he was overwhelmed by the warmth and affection of people during his week-long stay in the State.

The actor has documented his experience at every location on his blog and also posted some of the pictures which he himself had clicked.

Sonam domainating Katrina

2010-08-14T04:19:00.000-07:00

Katrina backed out of the project last week citing date problems.

In the movie, Sonam will share screen space with her ’Delhi 6’ hero Abhishek Bachchan. Their costars in the thriller include Neil Nitin Mukesh and Bobby Deol.

Sonam Kapoor is on top of the world as her last two releases--’Aisha’ and ’I Hate Luv Strys’-- have been declared hits. She has been selected as the numero uno in Maxim’s Hot 100, ahead of Bipasha, Katrina and Kareena Kapoor.

Shah Rukh finds a place at New York Madame Tussauds

2010-08-14T04:15:00.000-07:00

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has found a pride of place among the wax figures of the famous at the famed Madame Tussauds wax attraction at the Times Square here.

The 45-year-old star’s wax figure was unveiled Thursday amid a colourful performance by Bollywood Axion dance troupe that dancing to.

The soundtrack from his latest film "My Name Is Khan", one of the highest-grossing. Bollywood titles released in the US. The actor already has a statue at Tussauds Los Angeles branch.

His latest wax figure in New York placed in front of a replica of the Taj Mahal, is dressed in a sleek black suit and white button down shirt.

The actor known as ’King Khan’ is the latest addition to Madame Tussauds brightly-colored, fully-interactive ’Bollywood Zone,’ which allows guests to feel as though they are on a Bollywood film set.

Khan stands in a small room on the 9th floor and is the second waxwork to enter the Bollywood Zone at the Madame Tussauds in New York after Amitabh Bachchan was introduced last year.

In the room next to where Khan was unveiled, there is an exhibition of presidents of the United States and world leaders, which include Mahatma Gandhi, Fidel Castro, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jr., Yasser Arafat and Napoleon.

The unveiling of Khan’s wax figure coincided with the DVD release of the award-winning actor’s latest film "My Name Is Khan", which is now available in stores for the suggested retail price of $27.98 in the US and $43.48 in Canada.

Described by US media as "A potent, energetic heart-tugger" (Los Angeles Times) and "an affecting fairy tale about the perils of goodness" (New York Times), the film relates the story of an Indian man with a unique way of looking at the world.

The protagonist Rizwan (Shah Rukh) moves to San Francisco and meets a vivacious single mother named Mandira (Kajol). They form a special bond and fall in love against all odds, but fate and tragedy conspire to tear them apart. Just when it appears as though all hope is lost, Rizwan embarks on a remarkable journey across America to win back the love of his life.

Timed to India’s Independence Day, the DVD showcases the changing face of Bollywood, the enamouring on-screen partnership of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, behind-the-scenes featurettes about the story, music from the film and more.

The celebrated Bollywood actor, producer and television host, Khan has starred in more than 50 films throughout his career. The star was also named one of Newsweek’s ’50 Most Powerful People in the World’ in 2008 and has a fan following numbering in the billions.

Trisha has singed for Salman Movie

2010-08-14T04:10:00.000-07:00

Even though her Bollywood debut Khatta Meetha received a lukewarm response, Trisha is brimming with confidence.

Recently, the media was abuzz with the news that the Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya actress has singed a film opposite Bollywood hunk Salman Khan. In a bid to clear these rumours, the pretty actress tweeted saying that this isn’t true. Her recent tweet goes like this: “And no, I haven’t signed a film with Salman...as yet”. She has also tweeted that’s she is all excited to dub her own voice for her upcoming film Manmadhan Ambu where she teams up with Kamal Haasan for the first time. Sources say Trisha will be seen in the role of an actress named Ambujam in this film.
The first photo shoot for Manmadhan… took place a couple of days ago in the city and it is expected that the pictures of the same will be out soon.

What relationship Between Katrina and Salman?

2010-08-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

Born as Katrina Turquotte on 16 July 1984, Bollywood’s current hot and most wanted actress who has also appeared in Telugu, Malayalam films other than Hindi films.

Katrina Kaif was born in Hong Kong but later moved to England. She began her modeling career at the age fourteen; her first job was for a jewelry campaign. She continued modeling in London where she walked on the London Fashion Week also. Katrina’s London modeling-work led to her discovery by London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his film Boom (2003). She moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments. However, filmmakers were initially hesitant to sign her because she could not speak Hindi.

But soon Katrina saw moderate success with the 2005 film Sarkar and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (2005). In 2007, Katrina appeared in her first major hit movie, Namastey London. Her run of hit films continued with Partner, Welcome, Race, Singh Is Kingg and the list goes on. But her first release for 2009, New York, was a critical and commercial success.
Her performance was highly regarded.

Katrina’s alleged affair with Salman Khan, her link-ups with Ranbir Kapor is not a mystery. We present to you Katrina Kaif - a superstar super life. You’re in for a surprise!

Ajay sad with Kajol

2010-08-12T05:44:00.000-07:00

Ajay Devgan doesn’t seem to be very happy with his wife Kajol’s upcoming flick ‘we Are Family’.If sources are to be believed, the actor is openly singing paens about his wife’s talent. This is rather strange because Ajay and Kajol have been married for 11 years. And neither has gone gaga about each other in public, until now!
The source says, “Ever since the first interview for WAF appeared, Ajay felt that Kajol should have been positioned differently from Kareena.”
According to information available, it is said that Ajay feels Kajol (quite obviously) is in a different league as an actress as opposed to the younger Kareena. And so he feels that Karan should give Kajol a different kind of placement in the whole publicity campaign instead of making it seem like Kajol and Kareena are on par.”
When we asked Kajol if she was aware of her husband’s “anguish” and as usual she spoke her mind. “Listen I don’t know if Ajay is anguished or any such thing. If you say that he wants me to be more prominent than Bebo in the WAF campaign, I will understand. After all I’m his wife and he is bound to be biased towards me.” Kajol even joked that if this matter is true, then she would go home and advise her husband to take up the issue with her best friend Karan.
Ajay, in defence of his bias, said, “Kajol is the best actress Bollywood has. I will naturally look out for her interests in every way and in every campaign. But honestly, who am I to complain about how Karan should go about with the publicity of his film? Bebo is a friend. I’ve done Golmaal Returns and Omkaara with her.
I’m currently shooting with her for Golmaal 3. This is a very sensitive issue. I won’t be a hypocrite and say that I like Kajol and Kareena equally.”
Of course, when pushed to say who he would give his vote to, Ajay grinned sheepishly and said, “Kajol. She is terrific.

Salman has become complete friend of Aamir

2010-08-12T05:40:00.000-07:00

Salman Khan is in complete awe of his best Khan friend. After watching Aamir Khan’s film Peepli [Live] at a special screening recently the man didn’t allow Aamir to touch him. Sounds strange!

Yes, Sallu miyan is quite scared of Aamir’s touch as he fears that the Peepli [Live] producer can turn him to gold. “I didn’t let Aamir touch me after the film. Agar mujhe gold mein badal deta toh???” tweeted Salman. If you are thinking that’s a silly comment by Salman then it is not.

Rather this is a compliment, as Salman has started calling Aamir ‘Mr Midas Touch’ after seeing Peepli [Live].

“Mr Midas Touch has produced a picture. Midas Touch matlab ke Aamir Khan. Natha. Peepli has a mad-a#*touch,” Salman tweeted.

About praising Aamir, we understood. But what does ‘mad-a#* touch

Karan Johar says about SRK and Salman

2010-08-12T05:24:00.000-07:00

If Karan Johar has decided not to let his production We Are Family clash with Salman Khan’s Dabangg it is because Shah Rukh Khan advised Karan to avert a clash.

Apparently, Shah Rukh felt doubly protective towards We Are Family since it involved two of his closest friends Karan and Kajol. In fact, when Shah Rukh came to know Kajol was expecting he went out of his way to accommodate his dates for Kareena in Ra.1 with We Are Family.

Says the We Are Family director Suddharth Malhotra, “Dabangg and Shankar’s Robot are releasing on Eid. So we have Bollywood’s Rajnikanth (Salman) and Rajnikanth on the same day. It just made no sense for us to release with them. We are coming a week earlier, araam se.”

It’s not just Karan Johar who has gone out of his way for Shah Rukh Khan by doing a bit of shooting for SRK’s Ra.1 in London. SRK too has gone out of his way for his buddy Karan’s film We Are Family.

Throughout the making of the film Kareena’s dates collided with Ra.1. Every time Shah Rukh relented and let Kareena get on with Karan’s picture show.

Says a source, “When Shah Rukh got to know that Kajol was expecting he understood that Karan and his director Siddharth Malhotra’s film needed to be shot with as much speed as possible. He repeatedly let go of Kareena’s dates for Ra.1 for the sake of We Are Family. In fact, he will now let go of Kareena’s dates for the promotion of We Are Family, since Kareena will not have Kajol to support her in the marketing.” So grateful and happy is director Siddharth Anand that he wants to show the first print to Shah Rukh.

Says Siddharth, “Both Karan Johar and I are very eager to show We Are Family to Shah Rukh, who proves that he is indeed part of the family. We also want to show it to Soorajji (Barjataya) as soon as the print is ready.”

Sooraj, who has become ultra-reclusive in recent months, has agreed to watch the film next early next month. Says Siddharth, “Soorajji will be the first to watch We Are Family. My film is just 1 hour 55 minutes long. I hope I make him proud.”

Says Siddharth excitedly, “Soorajji’s MainePyar Kiya and Karan’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai are my two favourite films. When I saw the first I wanted to be part of Hindi movies. When I saw the second I wanted to direct a film. We Are Family is a homage to both Sooraji and Karan. It’s also a homage to my father (Prem Kishen) who’s a big fan of Elvis Presley. In fact, my father used to sing Elvis’ Jailhouse Rock live for me. He still does. That’s how that track has found its way in We Are Family." Karan Johar purchased the rights for Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock for Siddharth’s film.

“We used just the leading refrain of Elvis’ song. The rest of the track has been composed differently by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. And we got Anuskha Manhchandani, Akriti Kakkad and Suraj Jaggan to sing for Kajol, Kareena and Arjun Rampal. The number just brought the house down when we shot it. Who danced the hardest? Me!”

Big B and King Khan expected in Robot Music Launch

2010-08-12T05:21:00.000-07:00

It’s going to be yet another hi-profile audio launch. Yes, we are talking about ace filmmaker Shankar’s Endhiran - The Robot, featuring Superstar Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead and produced by Sun Pictures. This film has music by Grammy Award winner A.R. Rahman’s and the audio of the Tamil version was launched recently in Malaysia on a grand scale. Now, one hears that the music of the Hindi version of this movie, titled The Robot, will be launched at another glittering function with ‘who is who’ of Bollywood expected to attend it.
Talking to this newspaper, Hansraj Saxena, spokesperson for Sun Pictures, confirmed that the Big B and King Khan have agreed to be the guests of honour. “We are making all arrangements to ensure it’s a memorable show. We are inviting Aamir Khan as well, who had said that he would make it if his health permits. Aishwarya will join us from there.
Of course, Rajinikanth, Kalanidhi Maran, A.R. Rahman will also be flying in. The event is scheduled to take place at the Marriot in Mumbai on Saturday.”

Katrina Kaif is not a natural born actor

2010-08-10T05:24:00.000-07:00

Her sceptics may argue that Katrina Kaif is not a natural born actor. Yet no one can deny her colossal star power!

Her enviable record of 10 on 14 is unmatched by any of her contemporaries. Of course, when it comes to her performances.

And her interviews, Kat is always very measured. A tape-recorder is something she looks at bemusedly.

And her answers, especially in recent times, have been more correct than candid. However, after a few meetings with.

This Bollywood youth icon, you realise that when the machine is off, she’s a normal, young woman whose thoughts make for interesting reading.

So what’s on Kat’s mind right now? “Movies, movies and more movies,” says the actress who is working on Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan.

Akshay Kumar in Indo-Canadian Film

2010-08-10T05:19:00.000-07:00

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, who is co-producing the Indo-Canadian film ’Breakaway’ on ice hockey, has roped in Vinay Virmani to play the lead.

The Canada-born actor, who attended the Lee Streesberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York, will share screen space with Canadian actress Emily Van Camp in the film.

’Akshay is very excited about it since he’s had a longstanding bond with Canada and is looking forward to working with the team on the film,’ a source close to the project said.

Robert Lieberman of ’Mighty Ducks’ fame will direct the film that will see Vinay as an ice hockey player who hails from the Canadian South Asian community.

Sonam is hottest girl

2010-08-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

On her way to the top, she has pushed reigning queen Bipasha Basu to the fourth place.

The tall, slender actress who debuted with ’Saawariyaa’ a couple of years ago, has become a favourite of the masses as well as the classes. The hottie with an impeccable fashion sense, she endorses several brands. In ’Aisha’, she appears as a very fashionable girl.

In an interview to a daily, Sonam said on her new title, "It’s really important to me. I like the words ‘hot’ and ‘sexy.’ It’s fun and at the same time, speaks about your sensuality, passion and depth.”

Other entries in the ’Maxim Hot 100’ include Anushka Sharma (at 24th), Amrita Rao (32), Jacqueline Fernandez (35), Trisha Krishnan (93), Lisa Haydon (48) and Esha Gupta (55).

Neil is the biggest fan of his grandfather

2010-08-10T04:51:00.000-07:00

Young actor Neil Nitin Mukesh has a quirk and we have found it. Neil is the biggest fan of his grandfather, the legendary singer Mukesh and has certainly taken the natural gift of cinema from his grandfather and father and tapped into it to face the camera.

As an ode to his grandfather, Neil always wears or uses something from his grandfather’s wardrobe in every movie. He feels when he does that he is paying respect to him. It is also his lucky charm and feels his grandpa’s blessings with him.

In his debut Johhny Gaddar, he sported a navy blue jacket in one of the scenes. In New York, he carried a sling bag which belonged to his grandpa and in Jail he sported one of his grandpa’s watches which is one of Neil’s favorites as well. In his forthcoming release Neil will be seen sporting a thumb ring which belonged to Mukesh.

A close friend of Neil says, “Although Neil never met his grandfather, he would always look up to everything his grandpa had done or achieved. He would love watching his grandfather’s songs that Raj Kapoor would lend a face to ever so often.”

The friend furthers, “When Neil grew older, he got his grandfather’s wardrobe shifted into his room. Neil often goes through it and picks something from it at every momentous occasion. Neil feels like he is keeping his grandfather alive.”

Randeep says the boxing training has helped him a lot personally

2010-08-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

After his suave police officer in Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai, Randeep Hooda is now looking forward to his next in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Deewani, where he’ll be enacting a boxer. The film is being written by Abhishek Chaubey of Ishqiya fame. For his new role, the actor is being trained by none other than Chiranjeevi, the former national coach of India and the film is based on the boxing scenario in the state of Haryana.

Randeep says the boxing training has helped him a lot personally. “It has taught me to hold on to your will when your body gives up,” says the actor. He plays a young boxer from the town of Bhiwani in Haryana, which is hailed as the Mecca of boxers. “Bhiwani is also called the ‘Cuba of India’. In a nutshell I play a boy who tries to come out of there,” he reveals.

For the latest hit OUAT, Randeep has been bagging a lot of accolades. The actor, who was busy training himself in horse-riding until a while back, reveals that he was preparing for the Asian Games during that period. “I was training for horse-riding but director Milan Luthria insisted that I play the role. I am grateful to him now. What he had envisaged about my role came out in the first review of the film,” he says.

However, as of now Randeep says that he won’t be participating in the Asian Games. But he continues to remain positive. “I will do it some day and I won’t come back without a gold medal,” says a spirited Randeep.

Sonam Kapoor tries to fix matches

2010-08-05T05:41:00.000-07:00

It is not just on reel where Sonam Kapoor tries to fix matches; in fact, she is doing it in real too. Her brother Harsh likes Priyanka Chopra, and like a concerned and doting big sister she is trying to get both acquainted. But how?

No worries when Twitter is here. So it was easy for Sonam to convey her message to PC. “My brother thinks you are the hottest woman alive and wants you to know that he is young, single and very good looking,” Sonam tweeted.

Glad to know about the liking of Sonam’s brother, Priyanka replied, “That’s a thought. Please tell him thanks so much and that I am in the same category. Looking forward to getting to know him.”

Tanishaa wants to spend more time with her sister Kajol.

2010-08-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

Tanishaa wants to spend more time with her sister Kajol. It’s one of the reasons she’s doing up her late dad’s Santa Cruz house. PS: She eventually plans to move in there Tanishaa has been redoing her late father Shomu Mukherji’s abode at Santa Cruz. For the past few months, Kajol’s sister has been dealing with an army of masons and contractors to make the house liveable.

"Hopefully, the work will be done in a few weeks. Though my mom (Tanuja) and I stay in south Mumbai, I’m looking at spending more time here now, " she said. There’s also an added reason for her to be in Santa Cruz -- the proximity to Kajol, who stays in Juhu. "I’m eager to be close to her. When the new bundle of joy arrives, I can be there for her. Commuting to and from south Mumbai is time consuming."

Ajay Devgn’s sister-in-law is ensuring that all the work is completed before the new addition enters their family. "My cousin, an interior decorator, is handling the renovation. Kajol’s also taking an interest." Grotto Villa at Santa Cruz was home to Shomu Mukherji and his brothers.

Deb and Joy before they moved on to set up their own homes. Says Tanishaa, "There are a lot of memories attached to the place. My dad was proud of his house and loved to collect stuff for the home. Thought most of it is old and bulky, I’m trying to make it look contemporary."

Tanishaa adds, "After dad passed away in 2008, it was lying closed. I used to drop in sometimes whenever I was at this end of town. It was convenient to hold meetings as the industry folk are all at this end of the town." Redoing the house has also been an emotional connect with her dad. "I’ve got over the loss and the heartbreak. I feel close to him staying in his home."

No glamour says Bipasha

2010-08-05T05:28:00.000-07:00

After getting favourable reviews for her role in Lamhaa, Bipasha Basu is in no mood to swing back into fluffy, ultra-glam roles. The dusky actress says she has more serious stuff lined up - a film on honour killings and another on Goa’s drug mafia.

In fact when actor and beau John Abraham saw Bipasha in Lamhaa, based on the turmoil in the Kashmir Valley, he was so blown away that he advised her to only get into projects that brought out her acting skills.

"John loved me in Lamhaa. He has done a film on terrorism, New York, and he feels we both need to stretch ourselves as actors beyond entertainment," said Bipasha.

So are John and Bipasha looking beyond their great physique and high glamour quotient?

Said Bipasha, "Sure, I’m very proud of my physique. I’ve worked hard on it. But now I’m hungering for challenges as an actress. In Lamhaa, I was not only in a burqa throughout, I also got a chance to understand how life is lived in an atmosphere ofcrisis."

Though she didn’t plan it that way, Bipasha’s next two films - Priyadarshan’s Aakrosh and Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum - again feature her in films and roles that address themselves to socially-relevant issues.

"Until I finished Lamhaa I didn’t notice that the only two films I’ve signed after that are about burning issues," she said.

While Aakrosh is about honour killings, Dum Maro Dum is about the drug mafia in Goa. In both, Bipasha says she’s pulled out all stops to deliver real performances.

"Real doesn’t necessarily mean de-glamourised. While in Aakrosh I play a school teacher in a dusty, small town of north India and wear cottons, in Dum Maro Dum, which is about substance abuse, my character Zoyi is very zany, with it and a girl of today. I’m very glamorous in Dum Maro Dum," the actress revealed.

Both the films would again require her to stretch her limits as an actor. Aakrosh, in fact, has been as exhausting for Bipasha as Lamhaa.

"The way Priyadarshan has dealt with the subject of honour killings is remarkable. Again as an actress I was put in a situation I had little knowledge of. I learnt about honour killings and Kashmir on the job. Not that I don’t read the newspapers. But reading about these things is one thing, seeing them first-hand is another," she said.

Everyone is talking about the sequence in Lamhaa where Bipasha’s character is attacked by hordes of burqa-clad women.

"It was very, very humiliating and painful. I had all these women screaming abuses and hitting everywhere on my body until I fell to the ground. Even after director Rahul Dholakia called ’cut’, I was on the floor sobbing inconsolably. The director kept recording my trauma..."

In Aakrosh too she has a similar sequence of mob trauma.

"At least one could prepare and rehearse in Aakrosh, no such luxuries in Lamhaa. We sometimes literally had seven minutes to shoot in a crowded lane or street of Srinagar and flee before being accosted. That suited me fine because I’m a one-take actor," she said.

Bipasha says she was taken aback by children’s lives in Kashmir.

"I was shocked by how alienated Kashmiris are from the mainstream of Indian life. Innocent children who have nothing to do with politics referred to India as ’aapka Hindustan’ (your India). They actually see Kashmir as an independent state."

"They (children) are not allowed to go out and play. When Sanjay Dutt shot a song in a garden with kids, it was literally a rare treat for them. They had never been to a movie theatre. But the kids had seen some of my movies on pirated DVDs," she said.

Now Bipasha wants to pitch in whatever way she can for Kashmir’s kids. "It’s easy to talk about helping the distressed sections. But assuming an initiative is very difficult."

John and Bipasha will create awareness about Kashmir’s issues in Bollywood. "We can turn a blind eye only if we want to lose Kashmir forever," Bipasha said.

Salman replaces Big B in Big Boss new season

2010-08-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

Bollywood heartthrob, Salman Khan is all set to host the next season of the reality show Big Boss. The channel is sure that Sallu will keep the audiences hooked to its season four.

Buzz is that, both, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar were approached to host the show, but unfortunately, things didn’t work out in either case.

Now, there is going to be a fierce competition between the Bachchan and the Khan for TRPs, since Kaun Banega Crorepati will be aired on another channel in the same time slot as that of Big Boss.

Shrugging off the comparison, Salman says, “This is standard procedure that channels follow,’’.
“I don’t really care about TRPs. I just like connecting with my audience, which is why I’m doing more of television.’’ The actor goes on to say that he’d love to do more television to reach out to his fans. “For me, television is a way of returning the love and affection that I have got from the audience for the past 22 years. Now they get to see me in the comfort of their homes, and that too for free,’’.

So will Salman follow the Bachchan’s style who played a friend, philosopher and guide to inmates of the house?

“He had his style and I have mine. Besides, Mr Bachchan is going to host another show in a different format. All these comparisons are nowhere in my mind.’’

Khan will be his brutally honest and spontaneous best on the show. He added in all seriousness,

“I’m very straight-forward and won’t tolerate hypocrisy or politics in the house. For those who play clean, I’ll be a friend. But those who don’t, can expect the worst,’’

And what happens to Dus Ka Dum, his television debut that is currently on a break?

“It all depends on the channel,’’ says Khan.

Let’s just say, ‘break toh banta hai na, boss.

Sonam says no to Shahid lips

2010-08-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

Now, there could be more hot air than substance to this piece of goss, but the buzz droning through tinsel town is that Sonam Kapoor has refused to kiss her co-star Shahid Kapoor in the latter’s dad Pankaj Kapur’s film Mausum.

Sonam has been shooting the film in Scotland with Shahid. According to grapevine, when the schedule was about to be wrapped up Pankaj Kapur popped his proposal of shooting a passionate kissing scene between Sonam and Shahid. It’s being said that Shahid was the one who gave his dad the idea of including a kiss in one of the scenes.

However, when Sonam was told about the scene, she reportedly refused to do it. She wasn’t told of any kissing scene at the time of script narration and she wasn’t going to be cajoled into it.

Sonam, who is now busy promoting her next movie Aisha, says she did not turn down any kissing scene because there was none to speak of in the first place.

Well, let’s not make much ado about a kiss.

Priyanka Chopra in “Kingdom of Dreams”

2010-08-03T05:36:00.000-07:00

Bollywood celebrities glittered and shone as the likes of Javed Akhtar, Vivek Oberoi, Isha Sharvani, and Shankar-Eshsaan-Loy came together for the launch of “Kingdom of Dreams” in Gurgaon this Friday.

“Kingdom of Dreams” is owned by the Great Indian Nautanki Company, which is a joint venture between Wizcraft International Entertainment and Apra Group of Companies. Javed Akhtar is doing the story screenplay and dialogue, music is by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, choreography by Shiamak Davar, costume - Neeta Lulla, action stunts - Alan Amin, set design - Umang Kumar and the star cast includes Vivek Oberoi, Isha Sharvani and Gauhar Khan.

At the preview, Vivek Oberoi made a grand entry as he was hung in a harness and jumped from the top of Nautanki Mahal. Isha Sharvani mesmerized the audience with her acrobatic performance on “Raat ke dhai baje” and the title track of “Dil Bole Hadippa”. Priyanka Chopra was the chief guest for the night. Check out Piggie Chops as she makes a grand entry at the launch.

SRK has one more Problem

2010-08-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

The shooting of Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One seems to be on in full swing in London. However, the presence of Karan Johar on the sets is raising doubts that all is not well between SRK and his director Anubhav Sinha.

Our source said, “SRK had asked Karan to be on the sets and shoot a couple of scenes as he believes Karan is his lucky mascot. Karan obliged and left for London and even shot for the film. According to media reports, Karan was to shoot some emotional sequences as those are his forte. But he has been shooting for the film for several days now.

No prizes for guessing that Anubhav Sinha is obviously not very thrilled with the fact that Karan is constantly on the sets shooting with SRK and Kareena, while he is shooting montages and other scenes.
Earlier too, there were rumours that SRK and Anubhav were not getting along and with Karan directing some scenes, the rumours have gained momentum. Ra.One is one of the most talked about films this year and Anubhav is feeling let down that SRK will walk away with the credit and Karan’s presence is affecting him.”

It remains to be seen if there are major problems between the director and the King Khan but unless either of them decide to talk about it, no one will know the intensity of their problems.

Rahul has apologized to Dimpy

2010-07-31T02:58:00.000-07:00

A day after walking out of her marital home in Worli after being allegedly beaten up by her husband Rahul Mahajan, Kolkata model Dimpy Ganguly showed signs of reconciliation.

At a press conference on Friday, she said Rahul has apologized to her for his actions.

“We had a conversation. He has regrets about what happened. Both of us are upset. I am deeply hurt and need some time alone to think about this. I want to be left alone till then,” Dimpy said.

She went on to assert that Rahul sincerely regrets his actions.

“Rahul has apologised. He regrets his action sincerely. I haven’t recovered from what happened.”

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is in Town Today

2010-07-31T02:53:00.000-07:00

Aishwarya Rai in town today.Wonder no more. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, A.R. Rahman and Rajinikanth will be in town today.The big stars of India will be here in support of their latest Tamil blockbuster film Enthiran (Robot), directed by famed south Indian filmmaker Shankar and produced by Sun Pictures.

The audio launch for the eagerly awaited movie will be held at Putrajaya International Convention Centre tonight, with a live telecast at 7.30pm on Astro Vaanavil’s Channel 201 and HD Channel 222.

Bollywood superstar Rajinikanth had confirmed his attendance earlier while Aishwarya’s arrival here was kept under wraps as requested. But sources in Astro, the official.

Malaysian partner for Sun Pictures, have assured. The Daily Chilli, a news portal for The Star, that the former Miss World will be arriving in time to witness the audio launch of Enthiran. The actress will be travelling from Mumbai to Kuala Lumpur with A.R. Rahman, the internationally acclaimed composer behind the Oscar-

I am still learning. I will never say I am the best and that I know everything says Ajay Devgn

2010-07-31T02:45:00.000-07:00

After the success of Rajneeti, Ajay Devgn is overwhelmed with the response he has got for his role in Milan Luthria’s Once Upon A Time In Mumbai even before the release of the film.

The actor says that he is very excited about Once Upon A Time… especially because Rajneeti was well received. “If this film gets the same response there’s nothing more an actor can for! Not every actor look for the number one position, our only aim is getting the appreciation of the audiences. At the end of the day it is our hard work which is being recognised and that’s all what we look forward to.”

On being asked about the reason behind his success in the industry so far, the actor says, “There is no set formula for success, but yes people have been talking about the film. I hope the audience enjoys it.”

The actor says that that for him every film is a learning process. “I am still learning. I will never say I am the best and that I know everything. For me being on the sets is like going to school or college everyday. I keep learning new things from my roles and the people around me. I learn little things everyday. You learn with your own good work and mistakes. You also learn from the mistakes of others. You keep on grasping things and don’t even realise when you are making use of them. The day you feel you can’t learn more that is the end for an actor,” he says.

Katrina Kaif goes for a dinner with matadors in Spain

2010-07-31T02:42:00.000-07:00

There is no denying the fact that Katrina Kaif’s beauty is so bewitching and magical that she leaves everyone speechless no matter what part of world she is in. Recently, the pretty actress was in Spain for the shoot of Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Zindagi Mile Na Dobara’. The movie has quite a few sequences being shot there.

When the lady was filming for the shoot of a bullfight there in Pampelona, the matadors present could not resist her charm. They refused to leave until she met with them. Two of them even proposed to Kats, who obliged them with a gala dinner with her.

Katrina Kaif has also done belly dance for a number in Farah Khan’s next project titled “Tees Mar Khan.” In a statement released to the media, Farah Khan, said that the actress were not only good to work with, but also came as a big surprise.

Crazy Bipasha Basu

2010-07-29T03:54:00.000-07:00

The fans of Bipasha Basu who want to be woken up in the morning with the sweet voice of the Bengali bongshell now can have their wish fulfilled by subscribing to a service being provided on Bipasha’s website.

The actress has added a number of exciting features on her website. Among them is a cellphone service in which users can get tips from Bipasha on a variety of issues including health, fitness or relationship woes.

There is also a wakeup call service. Those who opt for this service will get a morning wakeup phone call from the actress.

Speaking about this service, Bipasha said: “People can subscribe to a wakeup call service on their mobiles. The call will be in happy, strict and other tones.”

Guess the ‘strict’ tone will strictly for lazy bums.

Dhobi Ghat premiere at Toronto International Film Festival

2010-07-29T03:50:00.000-07:00

Aamir Khan’s next film as an actor and producer, Dhobi Ghat, which also marks the directorial debut of his wife Kiran Rao, will premiere at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

Organizers in Toronto announced that the film will be part of galas and special presentations at the 35th film festival, which runs from Sep 9 to 19, will have 15 galas and 35 special presentations this year.

Set in Mumbai, Dhobi Ghat revolves around four people who are separated by class and language but drawn together in compelling relationships.

Shai, an affluent investment banker on holiday, strikes up an unusual friendship with Munna, a young and beautiful laundry boy with ambitions of being a Bollywood actor, and also has a brief dalliance with Arun. As they come closer together, their complicated relationship no more remains a secret.

Kajraare will release on Eid

2010-07-29T03:45:00.000-07:00

Bhushan Kumar’s Kajraare that was to hit the theatres on August 6 has been pushed to September 10. The real reason of course is because the film stands to be pitted against two big giants - Arbaaz Khan’s Dabangg and Karan Johar’s We Are Family.

“The promos of Dabangg have caught up in a big way, while We Are Family boasts of an exclusive star cast - where Kajol and Kareena will be seen together again after Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. To release at the same time as movies with such big stars would have been a bad move,” said our source. Though Bhushan Kumar remained unavailable for comment, insiders have it that Kumar is confident that with Kajaare having a Muslim theme, the film will definitely strike a chord with the audience and thus it was apt to release Kajraare on Eid.

Mallika in place of Vidya

2010-07-29T03:40:00.000-07:00

It’s a well known fact that Vidya Balan is not doing Dhamaal 2 anymore. Rumours have it that Mallika Sherawat has replaced Vidya in the film.

Our source said, “Director Inder Kumar had a brief meeting with Mallika recently and he narrated the script to her. Mallika was pretty pleased with the story and instantly agreed to be a part of it.”
Inder Kumar plans to start shooting the film in Dubai soon. The director was concerned not having found a replacement for Vidya as the film had to hit the floors on schedule. But now with Mallika having agreed to be a part of the project, Inder is happy he can start the film’s shooting as decided. Inder Kumar remained unavailable for comment.

Deepika Padukone's dinner date

2010-07-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

Actress Deepika Padukone who is very much single and quite evidently enjoying that status was spotted dining with Siddharth Mallya, son of liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Friday night.

The duo was seen dining together at Indigo cafe at the Palladium.

It’s no secret that Deepika and Siddharth bonded very well during this year’s IPL season. The duo cheered the Bangalore team and were often clicked partying together at the after match bashes.

The two have so far maintained a ‘just friends’ stance, but when this friendship spirals into love, one never knows.

Aamir gets villagers to act

2010-07-27T05:19:00.000-07:00

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan used his charm to convince some of the village folks to act in his latest offering Peepli (Live). It so happened that debutant director Anusha Rizvi who was shooting with the cast and crew in a village wanted the villagers to play themselves in a couple of scenes to make it more authentic. But the villagers were least interested. Anusha pleaded with them but they were not willing. As a last resort she decided to use Aamir’s name as a bait for them to bite. Nothing would make them agree.

“Kahaan hai Aamir? Humne unko aaj tak dekha nahi hai. Aap jhooth bol rahe ho,” they would counter. Anusha finally called Aamir to come on the sets only to show his face to the unrelenting villagers. “Aamir immediately squeezed out some time to be on the sets and meet the villagers,” said our source. “Once they met Aamir they were relaxed and decided to give in to the director’s request and were very happy to be part of the project.”

Priyanka waits for next Movie

2010-07-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

Priyanka Chopra is quite excited about her next film Anjaana Anjaani, which is a love story. And the reason is not because she thinks the movie has any earth shattering concept, but because she feels it is a unique take on a relationship. “It is a different premise and you have not seen that in a love story for sure!” she says. “It is an outstandingly fun film. But it is a love story and not a romantic comedy. It is a story of two strangers who meet under different circumstances and fall in love,” she adds.

Priyanka will be seen romancing the handsome Ranbir Kapoor for the first time in this film. She admits that she will remember the three months she shot for the film for a long time. “We had lots of fun shooting for it. We were in America for almost three months and we were all very badly behaved,” she admits.

Anupam Kher got iPad from his Producer

2010-07-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has got an Apple iPad from "Mausam" co-producer Sheetal Talwar.

"My producer presented me with an iPad in Edinburgh. Today early morning Uday Chopra taught me how to handle (it). It is awesome. Thank you Mr. Talwar for gifting me my new toy and thanks Uday for adding the excitement by downloading some cool applications," Anupam posted on his Twitter page.

The veteran actor is in Scotland with the crew of "Mausam", being directed by Pankaj Kapoor. It features Sonam Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor in the leads.

Arjun Rampal gets new puppy

Actor Arjun Rampal has added a new member to his house - a puppy.

"Today (Sunday) is a very special day, got our new pup Gangsta in the house, drove to Lonavala with the 3 Ms (wife Meher and daughters - Mahikaa and Myra). The whole family is super excited, yippee!" Rampal posted on social networking site Twitter.

The "Rock On!!" actor will soon post a picture of the puppy on Twitter.

"Promise will post his pic up soon, right now he is a bit camera shy, guess we will have to train him not to be, he is beautiful," he wrote.

I won’t mind singing: Sharman Joshi, who said a few lines in the song "Give me some sunshine" in the hit film "3 Idiots", says he won’t mind singing for a film in future.

"I just narrated a few lines. But I won’t mind singing for a movie...actually depending upon the requirement of the scene. If it requires me to do it, I’ll do it," Sharman "But singing is not my forte. It is something that I’ll have to work on for many years and I don’t know if I’ll be able to manage that," he said.

Sharman’s next release is "Allah Ke Banday".

Akshay invited SRK for a special preview.

2010-07-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

There was a time when Akki took potshots at SRK and his supposedly numero uno position in Bollywood.

Now, it seems that the rivalry betwen the two superstars is a thing of the past. Akshay invited SRK for a special preview of his latest release ’Khatta Metha’ and the ’King’ Khan obliged him readily. Since SRK is busy with his ’Ra. One’ shoot in London, he has requested Ashtavinayaka Productions to arrange a print for him, which he will watch at the brand new preview theatre he has built at his home.

Our sources say, there is nothing new about the friendship as the superstars were in touch for the past few months. A few weeks ago, SRK had landed in Film City at the sets of ’Patiala House’ and was seen speaking to Akki for a long time. So, his desire to see ’Khatta Meetha’ is genuine, he added.

Emraan Hashmi is known for playing grey roles

2010-07-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

Emraan Hashmi is known for playing grey roles. Right from Murder, Gangster, Zeher and Jannat, the actor has convincingly slipped into the skin of characters with grey shades. Now, he does it again in the upcoming crime thriller Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai in which he plays a gangster evolving into an underworld don.

“I think I have that kind of face that people approach me with such roles (with negative shades).Till I don’t get clean shaved, film makers are bound to exploit the grey side of my personality,” Hashmi is quoted as saying by a news agency.

The actor admitted that he too loves playing the characters with grey shades.

“Well, there is something always so interesting about playing a guy who is living on the edge and is involved in something which is unethical or illegal but is still not totally black,” he added.

In this season of slapstick comedies, Emraan isn’t least bit perturbed that his next film Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai is a crime thriller set in 1970s.

Speaking about the film, he said: “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai is about an era that has gone by where gangsters and criminals ruled from underworld. The way we perceive them right now is not the way we did then. It was a different world then.”

Hashmi is sure that the audience will like the movie which also stars Ajay Devgan, Kangana Ranaut and Prachi Desai. The movie is directed by Milan Luthria.

Bipasha Basu launch of Gili’s new campaign

2010-07-23T23:45:00.000-07:00

Bipasha Basu and John Abraham have been seeing each other for quite sometime now and the couple has managed to swim through rough patches in their relationship. Recently, Bipasha confesses that whatever jewelry adorns her has all been gifted by boyfriend John.

‘All the jewelry comes to me from John. He is my diamond supplier,’ Bipasha told reporters after

She also expressed what kind of engagement ring she would like and said, ‘Well the engagement ring comes from the other side. You have to ask this to the other side. I hope it’s nice and beautiful; not too big, not too small, just the right size for my finger.’

At the launch of a new ad campaign of Gili, the jewellery brand of Gitanjali, at Taj Lands End, Bipasha also stated that though her mother saves a lot of jewellery for her, but she is happy with her own stuff.

‘My mother saves a lot of gold and diamond jewellery for me. I have not really looked into it. Till now, I am very happy with my jewellery,’ said Bipasha.

Check out Bipasha at the launch of Gili’s new campaign….

Hollywood and Bollywood joined hands with each other

2010-07-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

Hollywood and Bollywood joined hands with each other to bring traffic to a stand still this Tuesday afternoon at Rome, Italy when Ex Miss World Aishwarya Rai and Oscar Winner Kate Winslet along with Taiwanese model Chi-ling Lin shot a commercial for Logines Watches DolceVita collection. This shoot is based on the 1960 drama La Dolce Vita (Italian for “the sweet life” or “the good life”).

The actresses were spotted running through the streets of Rome together with posh cars around and the lovely weather complementing their lovely looks and attire. Kate Winslet is the latest to join the bandwagon of celebrities endorsing Longines after celebs like Aishwraya herself, US athletes Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, and Taiwanese actress Lin Chi-ling.

Check out the triple treat from Longines with Ash, Kate and Lin Chi-Ling…..

Manyata Dutt helped Kangna Ranaut

2010-07-20T05:12:00.000-07:00

Manyata Dutt helped Kangna Ranaut a lot as the actress bought a triplex penthouse apartment on the 11th floor of a Bandra building. It so happened that Kangna expressed her desire for a spacious flat to let her move her family in Sanjay Dutt’s business manager, Dharam Oberoi who in turn, asked her seek help from Manyata as she knew some builders. When Kangna made a call to Manyata, she immediately arranged for a meeting with the builders and Kangna and the deal was struck as a discounted price and easy pay option. The house has attractive facilities like swimming pool, health club facilities, and also a private lift for Miss Ranaut.

Dharam confirms, “When Kangna was searching for a flat in Bandra, Maanayata stepped in and sorted it out for her; plus got her a good deal. The deal is final and the flat will be ready by next year. It’s one of the poshest buildings in that area. She’s really working hard on the payments and plans to move in by next year.”

A grateful Kangna says, “I was looking for a bigger flat as I want my family to live with me. My sister is getting married next year and the 3-BHK flat I stay in, is going to be too small for us. Maanayata has helped me get a good deal.”

Now, Kangna did not hesitate in showing her gratitude to Manyata who is pregnant now. When she was in Dubai, she purchased a lot of gifts for expected mother, baby clothes, toys and maternity clothes from Marks & Spencer.

So, here we have another mutual admiration club, it seems!!

Sonam locked her lips

2010-07-20T05:09:00.000-07:00

Sonam Kapoor has avoided kissing in films so far. But now for the first time she has locked lips with her male co-star in her sister’s production Aisha.

In the movie, based on Jane Austen’s book Emma, Sonam plays a girl who likes to make matches between young couples. Abhay Deol plays a guy who’s a constant annoyance for her, but she also has a soft corner for him. There’s a scene when the two kiss.

Abhay says neither he nor Sonam was nervous before the kissing scene because they had already developed a comfort level with each other while shooting the film.

Not just that, Abhay was pretty impressed by Sonam’s kissing. He calls her “a great kisser”.

He should know, for he has kissed the likes of Neha Dhupia, Neetu Chandra and Mahi Gill in the past. But Sonam, according to him, is the best of all.

Trisha talks about Akshay Kumar

2010-07-20T05:02:00.000-07:00

Trisha Krishnan was reserved and quiet on the sets of Priyadarshan’s comedy film Khatta Meetha. Being her first Hindi film, the girl from South was obviously nervous about delivering her dialogues in Hindi. Akshay Kumar, her co-star in the film noticed this, and prompted her to open up.

“I wasn’t interacting much with people during my early days in ‘Khatta Meetha’. Also, I was a little tense about the dialogues because this is my first Hindi film. Akshay came and told me girls in Mumbai talk so much while I was the opposite as I was so much quieter,” Trisha is quoted as saying by a news agency.

After Akshay’s observation, Trisha did make an effort to loosen up and get more involved in the proceedings. She says that though Akshay is a big star in Bollywood, he always tried to make her comfortable.

“Credit to him actually for making me feel so much more involved. He is such a veteran and could have easily opted to stay in his own world but he still made an effort,” Trisha added.

In the film, Trisha plays a district collector while Akshay plays a road construction contractor. Trisha will be seen mostly wearing saris in the film, but she says that doesn’t mean she can’t pull off a glamourous role with aplomb.

Salman Khan going in big way

2010-07-20T04:56:00.000-07:00

Actor Salman Khan has taken up the cause of girl child education in a big way as he is ready to launch an initiative that will see him help underprivileged girls from both India and Sri Lanka.
This global cause will also have the actor funding education to a selected few right up to college, apart from him doing his bit by campaigning and bringing attention to the right of education through his shows.

A close friend of the actor reveals, “Salman had initially planned the initiative only for India. But when he went to Sri Lanka, first for an award ceremony and then for Bhushan Kumar’s Ready that is being shot now, he saw that girls in the island nation need a lot of support especially in the areas like Jaffna that were most hit by war tragedies.

Salman has also been blown away by the love and adulation that the people of the country have given and he also wants to give back to this country.”

The insider adds, “Salman will try his best to reach out to as many girls as possible. A team from his charity will look at spotting talents who deserve this support.”

Salman had told DNA, “When you set out to do good, you don’t think which gender you will help or if there was a particular community that you will reach out to.”

Genelia D'souza far from the criteria for GD's 'Mr.Right'

2010-05-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

Genelia D’souza’s all hot(ttt) for a KISS. Er, rinse your psyches, it simply stands for ’Keep It Simple Stupid’. Super dishy Genelia knows her mind… and can figure out guys who will make the grade on her list.

No tight tees. No fancy baggy jeans. No kool hair dripping gel. These are far from the criteria for GD’s ’Mr.Right’.

Rather, she likes men who are good at KISS (the acronym, that is), and hates self styled flamboyant braggarts. And males who simply put down others, can beat a hasty retreat from GD.

Well cut, uncrumpled clothes and clean fingernails score high brownie points. And a good dancer… might just salsa into her heart…

Guess, Riteish Deshmukh is all this. And more?

Actor Aamir Khan will provide a cutting edge to 'Delhi Belly'

2010-05-09T23:55:00.000-07:00

Aamir Khan will provide a cutting edge to ’Delhi Belly’. Well, quite so. Supremely unimpressed with the premier cut of nephew Imran Khan’s ’Delhi Belly’, Khan, reportedly has taken it upon himself to deliver his flick more cannily.

Director Abhineo Deo will gain fresh wisdom from... editor Aamir Khan. That might take quite a while though, considering that Khan will first spotlight ’Peepli Live’ and will then move on to put the finishing touches to Kiran Rao’s ’Dhobi Ghaat’ before taking up ’Delhi Belly’

Says Imran in a tabloid chat, "Aamir and Abhinay will be looking at the editing of ’Delhi Belly’ and the post production will happen once they decide everything together."

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai will reportedly share acting honours

2010-05-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

They’re a rocking twosome. Even as the curiosity over ’Raavan’ peaks some more, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will reportedly share acting honours in Rajkumar Santoshi’s forthcoming flick.

Tentatively titled, ’Ladies And Gentleman’ is slated to roll after Santoshi sorts out dates for his present project starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn.

Says a close source, "Santoshi has been very keen to work with Aishwarya ever since they worked together and bonded well in ’Khakee’. He narrated the script of ’Ladies And Gentleman’ to Ash and Abhishek recently, and they loved it! Both of them have given him the go ahead for the film."

Incidentally, Santoshi’s venture is to be produced by a leading ice cream brand. How koooooolllll is that?

Katrina Kaif would join the big league in Bollywood one day

2010-05-08T00:26:00.000-07:00

Katrina Kaif, who usually remains tight-lipped about her relationship with actor Salman Khan, says the star always guided her and genuinely believed she would join the big league in Bollywood one day.

"Salman had been always there, more than anything to guide because I didn’t know anything about the industry. What would remain special in my mind is that from the very beginning Salman told me that I will achieve this success in the industry. And at that point it was too far off," Katrina told in an interview.

"That time I couldn’t see myself one movie ahead, forget 15 movies ahead. I think that he believed it genuinely," the 25 -year-old actor said.

She entered Bollywood in 2003 with the dud "Boom". Her first big hit was 2005 romantic comedy "Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya" in which she teamed up with Salman. After that she gave a string of hits, including "Namastey London", "Partner", "Welcome", "Singh Is Kinng" and critically acclaimed "New York".

But Katrina feels nobody can plan success.

"It’s (success) destiny, no one can plan it. There are many people who are connected with the industry because of their father, mother or other family members; still they are not able to achieve what is termed as success in the industry.

"You can come here, make two or three films, your co-stars could be your friends - all this you can plan but you can’t plan which film would be successful. The miracle that happened with my life has been the success of my films. Because, had those films not been successful, no one would have done anything for me," said Katrina.

She is now eager to take more responsibilities and do more diverse roles like the one she is doing in Prakash Jha’s "Raajneeti’, where she plays a politician.

"Till now I have done a genre of films. People have accepted me, loved me and have given me so much support. I never imagined getting so much. But I feel that there are other types of films to do. See other contemporary actors, they have done much more diverse roles.

"People can say that the success ratio of my films has been very, very good, but I still feel people should see me on other kinds of films too...

"May be something like a remake of ’Sita Aur Gita’...In ’Raajneeti’, I have more responsibility. But you will have to remember that there I am with six very important guys, all have very important roles," said Katrina.

The actress maintains she always wanted to do something unusual in life.

"I always used to make a world in my head and live in that. I always wanted to be something unusual. Some of the dreams I remember, they may sound stupid - I wanted to be a firefighter, I wanted to be a stunt woman, I wanted to got to NASA. Acting was something to fancy," said Katrina.

Bollywood sci-fi genre movies duds at the Box Office

2010-05-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

‘Rudraksh’, ‘Alag’, ‘Love Story 2050’ and ‘Prince’ - all belong to the sci-fi genre, but the other common factor linking these movies is they were duds at the Box Office.

The sci-fi genre suffers due to lack of good storyline and technology, say experts.

"Special effects need patience and a huge budget - either the producers lose their patience or run out of money (while making one) here," said Ashu Trikha, who directed ‘Alag’.

"There is an established corporate investment system in Hollywood and certainly it is different from the investment made by an individual, like Harry Baweja did for `Love Story 2050` here," he added.

Hindi cinema`s saga with sci-fi movies probably started with Shekhar Kapur`s super hit ‘Mr. India’. Starring Anil Kapoor and Sridevi, the movie about a guy who uses a wristband that turns the wearer invisible to fight corruption, set a benchmark in terms of concept, direction and screenplay.

It took 16 years for another such movie to make a mark - it was filmmaker Rakesh Roshan`s ‘Koi... Mil Gaya’. Released in 2003, the Hrithik Roshan- Priety Zinta-starrer, about a mentally challenged boy`s friendship with an alien, was an instant hit.

Roshan was second time lucky when he released its sequel "Krrish" in 2006. The part two saw Hrithik as the mentally challenged boy`s son who inherits his father`s superhuman abilities. Made on a budget of about Rs.50 crore, it rocked the box office.

There were other attempts after that, but none could repeat the same success story.

"Prince", which was considered to be Vivek Oberoi`s comeback movie, could not impress despite its Hollywood style production - slick packaging, sophisticated gadgetry and special effects and a budget of Rs.40 crore.

Something similar happened to the much-hyped sci-fi thriller "Love Story 2050". It was the launch vehicle of Hurman Baweja. His father, filmmaker Harry Baweja, spent a whopping Rs.60 crore on the making of the film about a man who travels in a time machine from present to the year 2050 to bring back his beloved, played by Priyanka Chopra. But the audiences rejected the film.

Mani Shankar-directed ‘Rudraksh’ too bombed at the box office due to a weak storyline and poor special effects. The film came in 2004 and producers Sohail Maklai and Nitin Manmohan had then spent Rs.20 crore on the project that merged mythology with science.

Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Suniel Shetty and Isha Koppikhar formed the cast of ‘Rudraksh’.

Photographer Subi Samuel`s production debut ‘Alag’ starring Akshay Kapoor and Dia Mirza faded from the audiences` memory without a trace. Made at Rs.4 crore, the movie focused on a boy with supernatural powers who has a healing touch and can conduct electricity.

Trikha feels the movie flopped because the audiences failed to understand the concept.

"Star cast plays a vital role in determining the fate of any movie. Sometimes the cast overcomes a story rather than the concept of the movie; that is what happened with `Alag`. Also, many among the audience fail to understand the science involved in it. If `Alag` had got a global market, it surely would have done well," he said.

The phenomenal success of James Cameron`s Oscar winning 3D sci-fi epic ‘Avatar’ has reportedly compelled Rakesh Roshan to defer a sequel to ‘Krrish’ due to the lack of technological logistics here.

But at the same time it inspired Ram Gopal Varma to make two 3D films. However, the filmmaker concedes Bollywood can never match Hollywood`s technical sensibilities.

"I don`t think we`ll ever reach that level because we are like 100 years behind them (Hollywood) so by the time if we even reach, they`ll be 500 years ahead of us. Even to copy what they make takes us decades," Varma told reporters.

Another much-talked about film in the genre is superstar Shah Rukh Khan`s ‘Ra.One’.

" `Ra.One` means `Random Access version One... (I`ve) never done a film like this... whole feel is unreal... the biggest star will be the VFX (visual effects) unit in the film," Shah Rukh posted on his twitter page.

Considering the slew of duds Bollywood has produced in sci-fi movies, will ‘Ra.One’ and Varma`s outings work? Only audiences will tell.

I think cinema is changing-Anushka Sharma

2010-05-06T22:56:00.000-07:00

You may accuse her of retorting with the clichéd ‘demand of the script’ response when asked about her kiss with co-star Shahid Kapoor in this Friday’s release Badmaash Company, but Anushka Sharma does seem to mean what she says.

“I don’t see it as a kissing scene. It’s a part of the screenplay. I think cinema is changing and we are not doing (kissing) for the heck of it. We do not need to do this (kiss) to attract attention,” Anushka is quoted as saying by a news agency.

Rather, Anushka says the chemistry that her character Bulbul shares with Shahid’s character Karan in the film, makes the kiss look very natural between them.

“When you see the film, the kind of chemistry Bulbul and Karan share, the kind of love that’s there between them, you will be able to understand that the scene was justified,” said the 22-year-old girl from Bangalore.

This is Anushka’s second film after Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in 2008.

Karan Johar will bring Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan together

2010-05-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

Bollywood is a strange land, full of ephemeral relations! There was a time, not long ago, when Shah Rukh Khan and choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan shared an enviable relationship.

After a while, once thick friends turned into foes, when Farah signed Akshay for ‘Tees Maar Khan’ instead of her favourite SRK.

News has it that in order to bring SRK and Farah together, Karan Johar is making a desperate attempt to iron out differences between the two. Recently, Karan asked ‘It’s a Wonderful Afterlife’ director Gurinder Chadha to invite both SRK and Farah to a special preview of her latest release in Mumbai. Buzz has it that Karan promised the presence of SRK, his wife Gauri along with Farah and her husband Shirish at the special screening.

Talking to a news daily, Gurinder Chadha confirmed the news and said, “I am planning a screening in Mumbai and have invited everyone I know in the industry. It was Karan’s wish that I invite his close friends at the event and I am doing just that.”

“It seems Farah has said she will attend the event with Shirish. Apparently, even Gauri is keen to attend. But Shah Rukh hasn’t responded yet,” added a close source.

My Name Is Khan has roped in its first award at Los Angeles

2010-05-05T22:55:00.000-07:00

After all the hype and the hoopla surrounding ’My Name Is Khan’ and it’s resounding success amid prickly controversies, Karan Johar is simply beaming away.

Reason: ’MNIK’ has roped in its first award! The MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Council) handed out the honour at the 19th Annual Voices of Courage and Conscience Media Awards in Los Angeles.

Currently in US, K Jo is over the moon with happiness.

"It’s a matter of special pride," exults Johar in a tabloid talk. "The MPAC is a body which addresses Muslim causes especially from the Western perspective. I feel great that they’ve chosen to honour ’MNIK’ because its clear that the film has appealed to a common sentiment cutting across the barriers of age, sex and religion."

Apart from this, there’s more news to gladden K Jo’s heart. ’MNIK’ will be illumined at a screening at the famed art house ’The Angelika’ at New York.

"I’ve prepared a two hour version of the film especially for North American audiences," he says. "Many of those who’ve watched ’MNIK’ have come up to me and told me how various images from the film have made them draw a parallel with their own lives. It’s a great moment of pride for Shah Rukh and me."

Salman Khan shelled out generous funds towards cancer and AIDS patients

2010-05-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

He’s charitable to his very bone. Hah, quite literally. Salman Khan, who’s shelled out generous funds towards cancer and AIDS patients, now intends to turn… bone marrow donor!

Reportedly, SK was appalled to learn about the dismal number of donors in India, since awareness about it was quite marginal. His interest grew after SK learnt that bone marrow donation could prove to be a life saver for patients suffering from tuberculosis and blood cancer.

Says a close source, "Salman will be holding a number of camps to spread awareness about it. He has been encouraging a number of his friends to come forward and donate their bone marrow. And of course, he’s going to do it himself."

Kareena Kapoor scared lady's spirit moves around in a white sari

2010-05-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

Kareena Kapoor’s bearing a "ghostly" brunt. The unit hands of ’All The Best’ had scared Bipasha Basu with a ’ghost prank’.. and were aiming for a repeat scenario with Bebo for ’Golmaal 3’.

The two funsters, Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty, initiated the spooky bit by telling KK about a raging ’ghost’ in their hotel! A close source states, "They told her that the lady’s spirit moves around in a white sari and at one time, had killed a hotel guest too since it was an ’angry spirit’. Bebo is the only girl on the sets and so they made every attempt to scare her."

A valiant KK, though, confesses in a tabloid chat, "The hotel is quite isolated and I do get scared with the news of such ’ghosts’. But I’ve managed to give them a befitting reply by bringing in my ’IPL team’, as I call it." Apart from her pal Lovely Singh, yoga trainer, stylist, make up artiste, hair dresser and spot boy, Bebo’s "IPL team" also includes… Tusshar.

Says Bebo, "I’m a very spiritual person and I don’t believe in ghosts. Nor have I ever seen one." Spirited retort, KK.

The long awaited coming together of Shah Rukh and Vidhu Vinod Chopra

2010-05-04T23:05:00.000-07:00

It was touted as the long awaited coming together of Shah Rukh Khan and Vidhu Vinod Chopra. They had a number of false starts, the last being 3 Idiots.

But the film in question, Ferrari Ki Sawaari, after being offered to Shah Rukh, found its way to Aamir Khan. And even before this Ferrari could be green signalled, an altogether new man seems to be settling behind the wheels - Sharman Joshi.

While he’s a talented actor, Sharman hasn’t quite made the big league in Bollywood yet. Most of his appearances have been in multi-star projects. But after 3 Idiots, where he convincingly held his own against Aamir, the scales have tipped in his favour. And now Ferrari Ki Sawaari could be Sharman’s big break.

Our source says, “SRK was offered Ferrari Ki Sawaari but talks fizzled out. Then Vidhu wanted Aamir . However, the team at Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions voiced their opinion - that only Sharman Joshi could do justice to the character. Talks are finally on between Vidhu and Sharman.

They have apparently already had a couple of meetings. Vidhu though still wants Aamir to do the film, but Aamir has been extremely busy with his three films, so actually there’s only an outside chance that he will do the film.

It seems Sharman will, after all, get the major break he’s been waiting for, and he’s pretty excited by the prospect.”

Meanwhile, the official spokesperson of the film said, “We have just finalised our script and are still in the process of casting.” Sharman will just have to keep his finger crossed and hope Aamir and SRK’s loss turns out to be his gain.

Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor had gone to see Housefull

2010-05-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

One of the most talked about estranged couple in Bollywood seems to be on the road to reconciliation. Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor were spotted together on Friday night with a few of their close friends. The former lovers had gone to see a night show of Deepika’s latest release Housefull in a Juhu theatre.

Once they entered the auditorium, Ranbir and Deepika sat next to each other. Onlookers say that the two looked quite comfortable together and were seen chatting merrily throughout the film. “Everybody present in the theatre was visibly surprised when Deepika and Ranbir walked into the multiplex at 10.30 pm. They saw the 10.45 pm show of Housefull. The audience was quite distracted on seeing them together but it was fun,” says a source. A source from the multiplex confirmed the story.

After they parted ways sometime in October last year, Deepika and Ranbir have been in touch off and on, but they haven’t met publicly since then. It may be recalled that the estranged couple got talking again late last year at a party hosted by jewellery designer Maheep Kapoor and fashion designer Nandita Mahtani.

“The two have never made a public appearance together after their break up. So, this one came as a shocker,” adds the source.

On December 4, last year, Ranbir had told Mumbai Mirror that he hoped he and Deepika would get back together. We wonder if his wish will soon come true. “It is difficult to say if Deepika and Ranbir are developing romantic feelings for each other once again. Only time will tell,” says the source.

Whatever is the current status of their relationship, Deepika might just be keeping her fingers crossed so that she doesn’t have to go through the trouble of getting the RK tattoo erased from her nape. Deepika and Ranbir were unavailable for comment.

Barbara Mori had tuitions on Hindi everyday on the sets of Kites

2010-05-04T23:02:00.000-07:00

Actress Barbara Mori had tuitions on Hindi everyday on the sets of Kites and no other than director Anurag Basu was at the helm of the affairs. He took the onus of teaching Hindi to Barbara, but little did Barbara know about what Anurag was teaching him.

For simple English words such as ‘good morning’ and ‘thank you’ Basu taught the actress bad words of Hindi. “Initially she didn’t realize that she was learning bad words. So she would come to say good morning to everybody on the sets and say the bad word instead that we had taught her and to top it she would say it to everyone on the sets and that too loudly,” exclaims Basu.

While initially Barbara didn’t realize she was doing something wrong, after observing everyone’s reaction for 2-3 days on the sets, she figured something was amiss. Later when the actress was told the fact she was zapped but took it very sportingly.

But this is not the end of the story. The cross cultural collaboration came about when Barbara too taught some unit members words in Spanish without telling them what the actual meaning was. “To settle cores with me and the team, Barbara would teach us Spanish words and never tell us the actual meaning of the words she taught us, but some of us were quick enough to surf the net and cross check whether what she was teaching was correct. By the end, we knew a lot of Spanish bad words and Barbara knew a lot of Hindi but only abuses,” says Anurag.

This is what you call an international collaboration in Anurag’s words!

Arjun Rampal strode right into the high tech Ra.One of SRK

2010-04-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

Arjun Rampal’s aching back… fetched the backing of close pal Shah Rukh Khan. And a recovering Rampal strode right into the high tech ’Ra.One,’ the home production of SRK. A mighty fuss about Vivek Oberoi, the supposed Rampal replacement, and his exit did generate media buzz.

But if close sources are to be believed, there is another aggrieved party: Riteish Deshmukh! Reportedly, Riteish was the premier choice for the role of a baddie in the gaming based flick.

Director Anubhav Sinha who’d earlier helmed ’Cash’, had a kool equation with Deshmukh and was keen on casting the architect actor. His ’look’ and remuneration were under finalisation… when RD was slammed with the rude jolt!

Unceremoniously dropped in favour of Rampal, the star apparently made his displeasure clear to pals and confidantes. And the super trio of SRK, Rampal and Deshmukh have now reportedly hit a sour note in their friendship. Call it the casting ouuuuuuccccchhhhh……

Cricket ace Chris Gayle took a swift shine to the Sherlyn Chopra

2010-04-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

Recently, SRK’s ’Kolkata Knight Riders’ triumphed over Shilpa Shetty Kundra’s ’Rajasthan Royals’ at the Eden Gardens. And a round of jubilation was in order.

The cricket boys were treated to a fashion show followed by a disco night. And insiders were privy to some spicy buzz… as cricket ace Chris Gayle took a swift shine to the sex(xxxy) Sherlyn Chopra whom he spotted at the bar.

The duo took to the dance floor joined by Manoj Tiwari, Ishant Sharma and Murali Kartik. However, the saucy twosome… Sherlyn and Chris… practically scorched the dance floor with their moves, which vaulted ’dirty dancing’ to a level it had never notched before!

The duo were strutting their stuff and flashing those raunchy moves that would send prudes into severe shock! Guess, Sherlyn’s vows of celibacy are readying for some revamping…

The romantic moment between Sonam Kapoor and Imran Khan

2010-04-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

In just a flash the romantic moment between Sonam Kapoor and Imran Khan turned a foul-smelling experience. The duo was shooting in the green landscape of New Zealand for a romantic song for I Hate Luv Storys and one of the shots required the two to embrace after which Sonam leans backwards while Imran supports her with his arm behind her back.

However, director Puneet Malhotra wasn’t satisfied after repeated takes. He told the couple to add more flair and romance to their chemistry.

But this time when Sonam leaned back energetically in Imran’s arm, he couldn’t keep his grip on her and she fell down into a pile of cow-dung in the field. Though Imran too lost his balance and came down, it was Sonam who made maximum contact with dung.

After the fall, the actress rushed for a quick change of dress and thankfully the costume wasn’t required after that shot.

Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha's shooting for a rain song

2010-04-22T23:25:00.000-07:00

There’s bound to be masti on the sets when Salman Khan is in his elements. The actor has been shooting for a rain song for the film Dabangg in Wai with co-star Sonakshi Sinha.

We hear that the two actors have been having a whale of a time while getting wet in the sweltering summer heat for the shoot of the song titled “Tere Mast Mast Do Nain”.

At times while giving a take the duo keep dancing in the rain even after the director calls out a ‘cut’. Moreover, they seem to be in such a groovy mood that at times they break into a jig at whim.

The shoot began from Tuesday and wrapped up on Thursday.

Indian Idol has been looking for a complete package in four seasons

2010-04-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

For last four seasons, `Indian Idol` has been looking for a "complete package", a perfect mix of voice, looks and the "X factor" but not this time.

The music reality show, in its fifth year, is back to basics this time as it searches for the perfect playback singing voice.

`Indian Idol 5` judges Anu Malik, Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant, all well known names in the music industry, are scouting for "a voice that touches million hearts" which might not necessarily have a star quality.

Sunidhi, who will also debut on the small screen with the show said that she is looking for excellence in voice, one that can sing anything from `Ghazhal` to `Rock` on the show which will be telecast from April 26.

"Our focus this time is to find perfect playback voice. People have been complaining that in the process of finding a complete package, we sometimes have neglected that unique voice. So this time we are looking for a competent singer," Sunidhi told reporters.

The winners of the last seasons like, Abhijeet Sawant, Sandeep Acharya, Prashant Tamang, Sourabhee Debbarma went through a total makeover from tip to toe, with designer clothes and funky hairstyles but this time not much attention will be given to the grooming.

"This time grooming will not be a major part of the show.

First the contestant should be an extraordinary singer then we`ll see how he/she can be groomed," Sunidhi, 26, said.

"We have a blind singer this time, who sings so well that we did not even notice her personality. And I am sure she will go further. She`ll be requiring a lot of hard work but this time we will support her till the end," she added.

The shift in the focus can be traced in the popularity level of past winners. They may have had their private albums coming but then the looming question is what next? And there can’t be a bigger platform then Bollywood playback singing which is a more secure career.

Sunidhi’s co-judge at the show, Salim of the famous Salim-Suleiman music composer duo, could not agree less.

Salim feels that Bollywood singers today have a global appeal which makes it a perfect option for the budding artistes.

"If you see, we really don’t have a music industry here. We majorly have Bollywood music and it is becoming huge
day-by-day. Look at AR Rahman after ’Slumdog Millionaire’.

Musicians from different countries want to collaborate with us. So why not find a extraordinary playback singer who can have the best of both worlds," said Salim, who is judging a
reality show for the first time.

"Moreover, the good part is that we are having a lot of experimentation in film music these days giving singers more opportunities to be versatile," he added.

The show bosses are claiming that they have received about one lakh applications this time from big metros to small towns and the judges have already shortlisted 17 out of them who will be presented to the viewers.

However, this time, apart from people’s vote, judges verdict will also play major part.

"This time our opinion will be collaborated with the people’s vote and then only we’ll come to final conclusion about a contestant. Many a times it has happened that a deserving candidate could not garner enough vote and was finally chucked. That would not happen this time," Salim said.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has invited Amitabh Bachchan

2010-04-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has invited the Indian film industry to shoot in the picturesque locales of the country which is experiencing peace after a prolonged civil war.

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who was in Colombo for the official launch of IIFA 2010, met with Rajapaksa and during the 45-minute meeting the two discussed plans to combine the assets and talents of both countries in the area of film production.

Colombo will host IIFA 2010, the largest annual event of Bollywood cinema.

The country is experiencing peace after the government`s military victory against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)last year.

"Bachchan was the guest of President and his wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa. President Rajapaksa and Bachchan discussed aspects of the Indian and Sri Lankan film industries, with emphasis on developing good cinema of the whole sub-continent, combining the assets and talents of both India and Sri Lanka," an official release said.

Bachchan too was appreciative of the opportunities for film production available in Sri Lanka in the current situation of peace, the release said.

Rajapaksa said the Government was keen to develop the Sri Lankan film industry and saw many possibilities of partnership with India in this regard.

"Bachchan was impressed by the work already done in establishing the Mahinda Rajapaksa National Tele-Cinema Park, at Tissamaharama, a southern coastal town, which is a brainchild of the President," the release said.

"Bachchan and President Rajapaksa were agreed on the need and possibility of building bridges of understanding through the cinema," he said.

The President and Bachchan also discussed cricket which both of them follow keenly and the actor praised the Sri Lankan players for their performances in the current IPL series.

Earlier speaking at the IIFA launch, Bachchan said Sri Lanka, even if it is a small country in size, had a big heart.

"According to me, it`s a very big country because it has a big heart and that makes it big. The kind of reception I have got here is by far the best I have got anywhere else," he had said.

Bachchan added that he would urge the Indian film fraternity to explore Sri Lanka as a shooting destination.

"It`s a beautiful country and I will urge my fellow industry members to come and explore this beautiful land," said Bachchan.

Sajid Nadiadwala's Housefull prints hold for Iceland volcano eruption

2010-04-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

In the absence of commercial flights to European countries following volcano eruption in Iceland, producer Sajid Nadiadwala has no option but to hire private jets to take the prints of his forthcoming comedy ‘Housefull’ to Britain and other countries in the region.

"This is most unforeseen. In all my years as a producer, I`ve never encountered such a a crisis. There`re about a 100 prints to be taken to Europe. Air traffic has come to a standstill," Nadiadwala told reporters.

Directed by Sajid Khan, ‘Housefull’ that stars Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal, Lara Dutta and Deepika Padukone, is set for April 30 release. As per the rules, delivery overseas has to be made a week in advance of the opening day.

Volcanic ash disrupted flights and most of air traffic to Europe was shut on Tuesday.

"I`m hiring private jets to carry the prints to the nearest city with an open air base. From there the prints will be taken to various European cities by train or road. I`m so desperate. I`m ready to employ any means of transportation - planes, trains, automobiles, whatever is available."

The added expenditure incurred by the paralysing of air traffic is the least of Nadiadwala`s worries.

"It doesn`t really matter how much money it would cost. The important thing is to get the prints to the European centres on time. Or else the entire overseas release would be affected."

The harassed producer won`t rest easy until a solution to the transportation deadlock is found. "It`s been one crisis after another for me. First, the underworld threats then this volcanic eruption."

So stressed is Nadiadwala that he hasn`t been able to enjoy the completion of his next project ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ that stars Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

"Ranbir Kapoor had a wrap-up party for `Anjaana Anjaani`. But I wasn`t able to attend because of these two back-to-back crises at my workplace. Now I`ll celebrate only when ‘Housefull’ is released properly everywhere."

Imran Khan's fiancée Avantika shares a good rapport with Deepika Padukone

2010-04-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone have become good friends and Imran’s fiancée Avantika also shares a good rapport with Deepika.

Avantika is very fond of Deepika. They have hit some hot spots recently along with few other friends.

It was also good to see that Imran was protective about Deepika. Avantika and Deepika also exchange text messages.

She is even looking forward to travel down to South Africa with Imran and Deepika.

Actress Shilpa Shetty to appear in a dance reality show Zara Nachke Dikha

2010-04-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

Actress Shilpa Shetty, who is soon to appear in a dance reality show `Zara Nachke Dikha` to be aired on STAR Plus, admits that television shows have proven lucky for her and after marriage she wanted to do something which didn`t take much of her time.

"Judging is always a huge responsibility and TV has always been something that has proven lucky for me," Shilpa told reporters.

"I am just married, and so I thought I should spend some time with my family. I wanted to do something that did not take much of my time and at the same time allowed me to have a great time," she added.

Shilpa has teamed up with actor Arshad Warsi and choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant to judge the show.

"As you know, it`s a battle of the sexes and we will try and not have any bias. I have always been very pro-women but I have also been very pro-talent. So if the person is talented, you can`t help but appreciate," Shilpa said.

This is for the third time Shilpa is appearing on television after taking part in the British "Celebrity Big Brother" TV show (2007) and hosting the second season of "Bigg Boss" (2008).

"Well I really liked the concept and as you know that they are bringing it on a grander scale this year. Dancing is always something that I enjoyed. This is my third stint on television and every year it keeps getting better," she added.

Asked how different it would be from other dance reality shows, she said: "Every show is different from the other. The participants are celebrities and the show is dance oriented but the edge will be the battle between men and women, which is always great fun."

"That`s what makes it different. We have got whole lot of dances. It would be more theatrical and cinematically it would be more interesting to watch," Shilpa said.

Celina Jaitly is most certainly the "Queen of Comedy" in the industry

2010-04-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

With many Bollywood actresses experimenting and entering the comedy genre, Celina Jaitly has seen it and done it all. She is most certainly the "Queen of Comedy" in the industry.

The stepping stone into comedy for this ex. Miss India was ’No Entry’ in which she played the role of Sanjana opposite Fardeen Khan. After a couple of other comedy releases, came ’Golmaal Returns’ were in she played the role of Meera which further created her stand in this genre.

But that’s not enough for this sexy actress, she is raring to with her two new comedies - ’Run Bhola Run’ and ’Thank you’. With these films Celina will be working with the top comedy directors- Anees Bazmee and Neeraj Vora.

Sources say, "Celina is very excited for her next two releases and she simply loves doing comedy. Although she has done comedy before, these two movies are very different and people will see Celina in a very different look."

She has definitely won hearts with her characters. We can’t wait to see what this petite beauty has in store for us!

Vidya Balan was recently invited to the Wharton School in Pennsylvania

2010-04-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

Vidya Balan was recently invited to the Wharton School in Pennsylvania where she spoke about mainstream Indian cinema.

Vidya is the flavor of the current Indian cinema because of her latest hits - Paa and Ishqiya.

Vidya told that Indian cinema is now being watched in 90 countries across the globe. Also present with her were Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and music director-singer Shankar Mahadevan.

Vidya is now waiting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Chenab Gandhi which also stars Amitabh Bachchan.

The first one to present Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai as romantic pair

2010-04-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

Director Vipul Shah, who is perhaps the first one to present Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai as romantic pair in his upcoming film ’Action Replayy’, is surprised with their terrific on screen chemistry and wonders why they weren’t cast together earlier.

’Akshay and Ash look terrific together. I am surprised that no one has thought of casting them as a romantic pair. They are outstanding,’ Shah said.

Both Akshay and Aishwarya featured in 2004 movie ’Khakee’, but the actress was paired opposite Ajay Devgn in the movie.

Shah says his film shows a new side of Aishwarya who has done all kinds of movies including period movie ’Jodhaa Akbar’, action thriller ’Dhoom 2’ and real-life based drama ’Provoked’.

’’Action Replayy’ is going to show a new side of Ash. She is playing a character which has lot of humour in it, something she has probably not done very often.

’She is in a retro look. She looks gorgeous in every look but no one has seen her in retro look. It’s fantastic to see her in the new light. Again, it’s a new way of looking at Akshay too,’ said Shah.

He recently judged the acting and dancing skills of the Femina Miss India 2010 Bollywood Diva finalists and says some of the girls have potential to be good actors.

’There are a couple of girls, I have seen, are very good. I saw them for the first time so it’s very early to judge them. They don’t look like models, rather they look like actors. They are still learning, but I could see some potential in them,’ said the director who worked with former Miss World Priyanka Chopra in ’Waqt - Race Against Time’.

Asked if he thinks that Bollywood is the obvious next step after modelling, he said: ’Miss India pageants have always shown interest in entering cinema and Indian cinema has welcomed them. There are so many great stars coming out of Miss India pageants so there is a natural relation. But I doubt, whether every model can become an actor.’

Some of the Miss India winners who made it big in Bollywood are Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya and Priyanka Chopra. But Shah says he can’t imagine Aishwarya, who was crowned Miss World in 1994, as a model.

’Ash was model some century back. She has been actor for such a long time and has given such wonderful performances. I can’t imagine Ash being a model,’ said Shah.

Neil Nitin Mukesh has become the official Brand Ambassador for the Siyarams

2010-04-18T23:38:00.000-07:00

The buzz going around in bolly circles is about the endorsement deal that Neil Nitin Mukesh has bagged recently.Reportedly,Neil has become the official Brand Ambassador for the Siyarams suiting and shirtings clothing line.

He has signed the deal for 1.75 crores.The shooting for the ad promotions were also completed in Mumbai recently.

Neil has been shot with various poses,ranging from the casual to the official to the bohemian look for the ad.Actually,the brand was supposed to be endorsed by Vivek Oberoi.

But,the amount quoted by the actor was not what the company had in mind for the actor.

Ram Gopal Verma is back with another scary flick 'Phoonk 2'

2010-04-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

The maker of ’Raat’ and ’Bhoot’, Ram Gopal Verma is back with another scary flick ’Phoonk 2’ but the director says that we still have a long way to go in exploring the genre when compared to Hollywood.

Bollywood has been churning out horror flicks off late like Vikram Bhatt’s ’Shaapit’ and Sneha Ullal, Shreyas Talpade starrer ’Click’ but the films have not been able to attract the audiences to the theater.

And in comparison, Hollywood’s small-budgeted ’Paranormal Activity’ had a become rage evoking a great response from all over the world.

But Verma chooses to be optimistic.

"The attempt is there. One should understand that for every ’Paranormal Activity’, Hollywood has made hundred flop films. So we need to make hundred bad ones to finally make one super spooky film. Its a process.

And moreover, we are always 15 years behind Hollywood in everything so I think it’ll take some time but as I said attempt is there," Verma said.

But one wonders that how can a filmmaker, who has successfully scared the audiences before not have a perfect formula.

"Some films click and some don’t but one needs to keep on exploring. You see scare can be of two kinds. One, which scares you due to complete helpless situation you catch yourself into and the other which just plain scares your senses. ’Bhoot’ fell into second category and that is why it clicked," Verma said.

Apart from ’Bhoot’, Verma has also given hits like ’Darna Mana Hai’ and its sequel ’Darna Zaroori Hai’ but his ’Phoonk’ could not give a chill in the spine.

But Verma defended and said, "Quite a few people said that it’s not a scary film and there is a reason to that.

’Phoonk’ was not a straight in your face kind of scary film because it was about superstition and it would not effect you until you have been in that situation." So what should be expected from the sequel, ’Phoonk 2’?

"Phoonk 2’s intention is plain and simple as to just scare the audience’s pants off," Verma said.

The 48-year-old filmmaker also comes back with his challenge of Rs 5 lakh to the one who can watch the film without being spooked but this time it is a little more tough.

"During Phoonk we did something like this but the guy could not see the film and he ran off but people thought the challenge was rigged. This time we decided to make it more challenging and transparent. We intend to fit an ECG machine to the contestant and monitor his heartbeat and if it goes higher even once that means he has been scared and the person loses. This will all be shown to the media live," he said.

And Verma claims to have won the challenge as a Mumbai-based contestant Hitesh Sharma could not keep his heartbeat stable after 45 minutes of watching the film.

The sequel takes the story of Rajiv and his family to the next level as the spirit of the evil woman, killed in the first film, comes back from the dead and murders the Tantrik, the family’s only saviour. What follows is the brutalities by the ghost on the vulnerable family.

The Milind Gadagka directed film is set to hit the theaters on April 16.

Director Madhur Bhandarkar to cast character in Femina Miss India

2010-04-16T23:17:00.000-07:00

Director Madhur Bhandarkar, who judged the acting and dancing skills of the Femina Miss India 2010 Bollywood Diva finalists, says that he would be able to decide whom to cast from among the models once the character of his future film is ready.

"Whenever I cast, I give more importance to the character. For me, character is more important. Once the character of my future film is ready, I will see who fits best in it," Madhur told reporters at Novotel hotel here where he had teamed up with actor Anupam Kher and director Vipul Shah for the live audition and screen test of the 18 finalists of the pageant.

Asked about his reaction to the performance of the contestants, he said: "I think the kind of effort they have put in their performance under the guidance of Anupam Kher is commendable. The way they are emoting is very good. There are six, seven girls, who are very talented. I am sure they will become the front-runners in the industry. "

Madhur maintains that films become the next step for the models because walking the ramp becomes monotonous after some time.

"Everyone loves to explore different levels because modelling at one level becomes monotonous. I have made `Fashion` so I know how it is. Mugdha Godse, whom I introduced, was a model for couple of years before she ventured into acting...there are so many people coming from fashion to the film industry," he said.