Latest Movie Review

Dil To Baccha Hai Ji is all set to release on January 28.

2011-01-19T05:36:00.000-08:00

Not wanting his film “Dhobi Ghat” to clash with any other film, Aamir Khan has personally requested his friends on UTV to ask Madhur to change the release date of his upcoming romantic comedy “Dil To Baccha Hai Ji”.

Not only will “Dhobi Ghat” be screened without any interval but it will also run in theatres for one whole week without any interruption from any other major releases.

He wants a clean week for his film without any other releases. A source stated “Madhur and producer Kumar Mangat announced the release date of “Dil To Baccha Hai Ji” as January 26.”

The source said further, “But Aamir realised that Madhur’s film will then run in the first week of his film. So, he requested his friends in UTV to ask Madhur to change the release date to 28th. Since Madhur is on very good terms with UTV, he agreed.”

The source added “Aamir is known to be a marketing genius. He has always maintained that Dhobi Ghat is the best film ever to have come out of his production house.”

The source added, “But he did not want his film to clash with another before the end of the first week.”

Madhur’s upcoming film romantic comedy will now be released on 28th January.

Dhobi Ghat-Preview

2011-01-18T05:31:00.000-08:00

After delivering blockbuster hit “3 Idiots” a year ago, perfectionist Aamir Khan is back with “Dhobi Ghat”, the directorial debut of his wife Kiran Rao.
The film which is slated to hit theatres this Friday is creating a lot of hype. The film displaying Mumbai’s myriad colors stars Aamir Khan, and debutants Kriti Malhotra, Monica Dogra and Prateik Babbar.
Produced by Aamir Khan Productions the background score of the film has been composed by Argentine musician Gustavo Santaolalla.
Keeping a Dhobi Ghat as the backdrop, the story of the film revolves around four people coming from different backgrounds and who suffer from longing, loneliness, loss and love.
Their lives are altered after coming across each other.
This film is Kiran’s tribute to Mumbai, the city of her dreams.
It has been shot in the bylanes of Mumbai and the city’s most famous Dhobi Ghat located at Mahalaxmi to give the film an authentic touch.
Aamir told “Obviously our expectations from the film are that everyone likes it and more and more people come and see it. It’s a very different film and we hope it does well.”

Turning 30 Movie|Turning Movie Rating

2011-01-14T03:07:00.000-08:00

Downward mobility is not what any girl would expect on the eve of turning 30. Dumped by her boyfriend, whom she expected to pop the crucial question, fired from her advertising job, and barraged with unwanted advices from her coterie of friends, the protagonist of Turning 30 steps into mid-life crisis; it’s an age where facial lines begin to show and the insecurity of being ‘jobless’ and ‘manless’ haunts any girl dreading the spinster tag and test tube babies.

In Turning 30, debutante director Alankrita Shrivastava deals us a chick flick that clicks for most of its first half, but eventually turns into a whine- and wine-fest involving the protagonist Naina (Gul Panag) and her bunch of friends - lesbians and cheating hubbies - with evidently affected manners.

You are all but amused at the misfortune and insecurities of Naina. Mid-way into the foreplay, her regular boyfriend Rishab (Siddharth Makkar) unceremoniously announces that he’s leaving her for another girl, younger and richer. At the office, her competitors nick her ideas and bag accolades. To cap it all, people around Naina can’t seem to tire of doling out advices about anything from lingerie to haircut, sex toys to even Naina’s sagging assets (by no means financial).

A little respite comes in the male shape of her ex flame Jai (Purab Kohli) whom Naina laps with open arms and uses no end as her ‘rebound sex toy’, as he puts it. But does she love him? Or is she still pining for Rishabh? Is turning 30, after all, really such a big deal?

The humour in the film stays strictly sophomoric, and indeed, the angst and anxiety of the film’s nerve-wrecked heroine begins to look bloated as she runs pillar to post, parlours to spas, not knowing what she wants. Sex? Love? Pedicure? Botox? A token boyfriend? A normal life? But then, what is normal?

In the end, a viewer comes out feeling that the film was just much ado about nothing. Gul Panag does salvage a lot with her spunky performance and Purab Kohli is reduced to a sorry figure. Siddharth Makkar brings a cocky, snobbish side to his character.

Narrated mostly in English, Turning 30 may have a farm fresh plot, but alas, it’s riddled with clichés you expect from any chick flick desperately trying to look mod.

Yamla Pagla Deewana Movie review| Yamla Pagla Deewana Rating

2011-01-14T02:59:00.000-08:00

Dharmendra’s home production “Yamla Pagla Deewana” starring father-son trio has hit theatres today. This film has the biggest hype among all Deol films post “Apne”.

film-review-yamla-pagla-deewana

The film was expected to have a successful story and finally break the bad time that the Deol brothers are facing for years now.

Despite the cast of the film leaving no stone unturned for the promotion of their film, it did not receive the similar attention as the first theatrical promo had received.

Even the songs, dialogues and dance too are not that impressive and neither up to the mark. Since the release of “Yamla Pagla Deewana” is a massive one, the opening is expected to be good.

This film marks veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra’s 50 years in the film industry. The film stars Dharmendra, Sunny, Bobby Deol, Nafisa Ali, Anupam Kher, Mukul Dev, Johnny Lever, Puneet Issar and newbie Kulraj Randhawa.

The film begins in Canada and travels to Banaras and ends up in Punjab. Directed by Samir Karnik and co-produced by Nitin Manmohan the story of the film is based on a father-son relationship.

The story of the film revolves around Sunny Deol who visits India all the way from Canada in search of his father Dharmendra and his brother Bobby Deol, who were separated from him during his childhood.

The title of the film has been inspired from Dharmendra’s iconic song ‘Main jat yamla pagla deewana’ from his 1975 film titled “Pratiggya”.

The main highlight of the film is Bobby Deol’s replicating Dharmendra’s famous drunkard scene from “Sholay”.

The unbridled goofiness, the Punjabi stereotypes and the Deol chemistry makes this film a must watch.

Hostel -Preview

2011-01-13T04:49:00.000-08:00

Anyone who’s been to college, or even to a boarding school, has witnessed ragging. Sometimes, what begins as banter turns into something altogether ugly when ragging is taken to an extreme. Director Manish Gupta’s film Hostel tackles this theme.

It is a film about a student played by Vatsal Seth who enters a notorious hostel and is ragged by his seniors. It’s not just about one incident but a string of incidents. It shows how students are tortured and harassed in the name of ragging.

Hostel stars Tulip Joshi as Seth’s love interest. Mukesh Tiwari plays a supporting role.

Director Manish Gupta, known for writing hard-hitting scripts like Sarkar and The Stoneman Murders, says about Hostel: “There are many suicides that occur in Indian hostels due to ragging wherein students are beaten up, stripped, paraded naked, starved, tortured, molested and even raped by their seniors. Since victims of ragging find it humiliating to report sexual abuse to their parents or others, most ragging-related crimes go unreported. HOSTEL deals with the serious issue of ragging and through this film I want to show the world what actually a victim of ragging goes through.”

The film has music by Virag Mishra.

‘Hostel’ will release on January 14.

No One Killed Jessica Movie Review

2011-01-07T05:57:00.000-08:00

Manish Bhardwaj (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub) wasn’t No One. A pampered son a politician and therefore high on the sense of power that comes with such pedigree, he cold bloodedly gunned down Jessica (Myra), a model doubling as bartender in an elite Delhi restaurant, with a dozen witnesses to the crime, just because she refused to serve him a drink.

A clear open and shut case it was, or could have been. But Manish’s powerful dad, egged on by the murder’s mother’s constant whine “mere Monu ko kucch nahin hona chahiye” no less than by his blind parental love, pulls the strings, coerces witnesses and manipulates the system to get his pyara beta and his accomplices acquitted. Scot free goes the killer, cocking a snook at everyone with his system-mocking impunity.

Not done, cries Meera Gaity (Rani Mukherjee), a feisty news reporter and anchor given to hardball journalism and smoking ciggies and mouthing profanities, not excluding the F word and the desi G word. Joining forces with Jessica’s sister Sabrina (Vidya Balan) who’s been running pillar to post to seek justice for her dead sister and also taking care of her frail parents, Meera sets out to set the wrong right. “Justice has been denied and I can’t live with it,” she yells at her boss, perched doggedly on his car’s bonnet.

And that’s what the film is primarily about: turning the tables on the powers-that-be and giving the aam aadmi one last say.

No one among us, I’m sure, is unaware of the Jessica Lal case on which the film is based. Perhaps that was the root of a niggling apprehension I had before watching No One Killed Jessica. After all what’s the point of making a film now that justice has been done and the killer is wasting away his youth and mid-age behind bars, not considering the one stray parole he got in 2009 to perform the last rites of his grandmother but was caught clubbing. If the objective of the film was mere documentation of what happened in the Jessica case, one might have better browsed through the archives of national newspapers, the headline of one having inspired the film’s title. But no. No One Killed Jessica goes beyond that. It provides a recollection to the - pardon the cliché - ‘collective conscience’ of us as a society that the gun-toting brats with influential papas and mollycoddling mommies can’t have their way if we the people, including the media, set out to see that justice is done.

Sonam Kapoor is grateful to have a tall : Akshay

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

As the two work together on the sets of Thank You, she says he is the most hardworking actor she has ever met.

"He’s one actor I can wear high heels with! It’s such a relief," Sonam said.

"When I was signed to do Mausam with Shahid Kapoor I remember I had gone to Pankaj Kapoor sir’s office. Shahid measured my height. We were relieved when we were nearly the same height. In fact, he was slightly taller because of his hair."

On the sets of Thank You, Akshay is quite amused each time Sonam walks in with her all-girl entourage.

"I travel with my four companions all the time. Akshay just grins each time he sees them. I’ve never met anyone as hardworking as Akshay. He’s ready before everyone else and rehearses each scene 50 times. And his comic timing is so hard to match."

Luckily Sonam had done comedy, read Aisha, before joining Akshay in Thank You.

"My comedy in Aisha is very Lucille Ball, very Goldie Hawn. But in Thank You, I needed to drop all my inhibitions. I remember me and my girls had seen Houseful and I asked one of my group, Tanya, to go to Akshay on the sets and do that scene where Arjun Rampal points to his eyes to say he was watching Akshay.

"When Tanya did that gesture, Akshay spontaneously did it back. He’s such a sport and so cute. He has a great sense of humour and he knows so much on every topic."

Sonam had the unit of Thank You on hold in Toronto. They heaved a sigh of relief when she joined them.

Director Anees Bazmi being a family friend, she had asked for time to promote her film Aisha in India.

This Bazmi happily granted even as Akshay Kumar grinned and bore the brunt of her absence. He did solo shots and a solo song as everyone waited for Sonam to join the unit.

Says Sonam: "I get along all with my co-stars because I don’t get involved with them. Bobby Deol is so shy. His cousin Abhay is just the opposite. Abhay and Bobby are complete opposites. Me and Bobby love clothes and shopping.”

She admits she isn’t in touch with her first co-star Ranbir Kapoor any longer. “We’ve both been working too hard. We aren’t that much in touch. I’d love to work with him again.”

We Are Family’ is getting kudos for its direction

2010-09-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

His directorial debut ‘We Are Family’ is getting kudos for its direction and elated at this success, Siddharth Malhotra has already started getting things together for his next film which will be a family comedy starring yesteryear superstar Rishi Kapoor. As an icing to the cake, Rishi’s niece and Bollywood’s style diva Kareena Kapoor is being considered to play the role of the daughter for this movie which happens to be based on father-daughter relationship.

Being impressed by Kajol’s performance in his first venture, Siddharth wanted to take Kajol in his next venture, but this would not be possible because of Kajol’s pregnancy. So, he has decided to complete this family comedy first and then go on to his next film which he has written with Kajol in his mind does not want to cast anyone else in her place.

Siddharth also wants to cast Shahid Kapoor opposite Kareena with whom he developed great bonds as the Associate Director of Sooraj Barjatya’s ‘Vivah’ and since then they have been close to each other. The director assures that if given a chance he can present Shahid in a way no one else has done before, but at the same time he would respect Shahid’s choice and judgement.

If Siddharth succeeds in getting Shahid and Kareena together, do we see another ‘Jab We Met’ in the making?

Sharman Joshi seems to be happy

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

Sharman Joshi seems to be taking a cue from his 3 Idiots and Rang De Basanti co-star, Aamir Khan, when it comes to striving for perfection. In his next film, Allah Ke Banday, he plays a slum dweller, who gets involved in crime. Since the film is based on several real-life incidents, Sharman and his director-writer-co-star Faruk Kabir did some serious research and planning for the film. Sharman elaborates, “The film traces the journey into adulthood of two slum kids who grow up in the dark alleys of the city.
To prepare for the role, I visited slums. I also interacted with slum kids, one of whom is also a part of this film.”

Aamir Khan has become Milk man

2010-09-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has had many avatars in his acting career, and now the star will be seen as a milkman in a new commercial.
Aamir, who is the brand ambassador of TataSky, will be essaying the role of a milkman for its new ad.
The ad film is about a situation where a customer of the milkman offers to pay only for the days he was in town. The milkman’s point of view is conveyed in a humorous manner when he tells the customer the cow was not aware of his vacation and hence gave milk every single day.
The milkman forcibly takes money from his customer even for the days he was on a holiday. The depicted situation draws a parallel between other DTH companies and the milkman.

Conceptualised by advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, the core theme of the ad revolves around once-a-year subscription holiday service being offered by TataSky. With this feature, subscribers can discontinue their service while on vacation for a period of 15 days once every year.

We are family:movie review

2010-09-02T06:38:00.000-07:00

How much you are going to be moved by Karan Johar’s latest production We Are Family depends on your EQ, or rather its bent. If the scenes of a terminally ill mother of three kids lying on her deathbed and admonishing her replacement stepmom about taking over the family can fling open wide the floodgates to your tear ducts, then the first thing you should do after reading this review is scoot off to a nearby theatre to book the tickets for this attempted kerchief-soaker. If not, then fall back on your patience to wait for one of the telly reruns of Chris Columbus’s subtly incisive 1998 film Stepmom, whose official remake We Are Family is.

Yes, for a change, Bollywood takes the right route to remake one of the hits from its more gifted though less productive elder cousin across the Atlantic. Handing over the directorial reins to the first-timer Siddharth Malhotra, producer Karan Johar relies on scriptwriter Venita Coelho (don’t be misled by her second name) and dialogue writer Niranjan Iyenger to Indianize the story of an emotional tug of war between two women - a divorced mom (Kajol) of three kids and the present girlfriend (Kareena Kapoor) of her ex hubby. Goes without saying that the former is more efficient in making a family than the latter, who is career-minded and ill-at-ease with kids who expectedly brand her as ‘Dayan’.

Stuck between the two is the man himself (Arjun Rampal), trying his best to do the balancing act between being a loving dad, caring ex hubby and devoted boyfriend. He loves his girlfriend, but can’t live without his kids from ex wife. His girlfriend loves him, so she tries to win over the kids (Aanchal Munjal, Nominath Ginsberg and Diya Sonecha). Thereby the two women end up in the same household. But the question is - can two women make a happy home? Not a chance in hell, some would hold. But it’s possible when one of them is bowing out and the other gradually stepping into the breach.

Deepika Padukone Believe In Dream

2010-09-02T06:36:00.000-07:00

Actor Deepika Padukone, who plays a freedom fighter in Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’, says playing the spirited character of ‘Kalpana’ was a dream come true. Deepika stars alongside Abhishek Bachchan in Gowariker’s period thriller based on the Chittagong uprising during the freedom struggle. The actress, who started her Bollywood journey with Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Om Shanti Om’, will be seen in a new look in the film.
“It is something so new and unique for me. I am very grateful to Ashutosh who thought I was capable to carry off such a powerful role. It is a dream come true and a very important film of my career,” Deepika, who was in the city to launch a designer footwear store, said.

The 24-year-old star seems to be keen on shedding her glamourous image with two back to back films. She last played a blind girl in Yash Raj’s ‘Lafangey Parindey’ with Neil Nitin and now will be seen in cotton sarees in ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’

Talking about her co-star, Abhishek, Deepika said, “He is so much fun to work with. I’m glad that I am getting a chance to work with different kinds of actors.”

’Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’ is based on the book ‘Do And Die’ by Manini Chatterjee and centres around the Chittagong Uprising of the 1930s. The film has been shot mostly in Goa and Mumbai and will hit the theaters in December. Deepika also has Kunal Kohli produced drama ‘Break Ke Baad’ with Imran Khan, which will also release in December. Keywords: Bollywood actress, Deepika Padukone, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, Abhishek Bachchan, Gowariker.

Youngster loves "Anjaana Anjaani" songs

2010-09-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

"Anjaana Anjaani"; Music Directors: Vishal Dadlani-Shekhar Ravjiani; Lyricists: Neelesh Misra, Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Anvita Dutt Guptan, Caralisa Monteiro, Kumaar, Irshad Kamil and Kausar Munir; Singers: Nikhil D’Souza, Monali, Lucky Ali, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shekhar Ravjiani, Caralisa Monteiro, Mohit Chauhan, Shruti Pathak, Vishal Dadlani and Shilpa Rao; Rating: *** 1/2

Music composer duo Vishal-Shekhar hardly go wrong when it comes to judging the pulse of youth and creating music to suit their tastes. After the success of their last venture "I Hate Luv Storys", they are back with their new album "Anjaana Anjaani" that has the potential to rule the charts. The film offers nine tracks.
It opens with the title track "Anjaana anjaani ki kahani", the one that has already become a favourite at DJ consoles. Crooned by Nikhil DSouza and Monali Thakur, this upbeat and peppy song is entertaining and is a perfect dance number. It gets right for the album.

Next comes an instantly likeable song "Hairat", sung by Lucky Ali. The rock song is full of punch and is highly appealing owing to its interesting composition and Ali’s out-of-the-league voice. It will surely become chartbuster.

The album then takes a turn by introducing the soulful voice of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, singing "Aas pass khuda", a sufi-rock track. The moderately-paced song is pleasing to the ears and strikes a chord with the listener.

The song has a duet version where Shruti Pathak joins Khan. This unplugged version is equally enthralling with light orchestration and brilliant vocals by the singers.

Shekhar and Caralisa Monteiro then enter with the love song "Tumse hi tumse". The happy-go-lucky song has nothing extraordinary, but the acoustic guitar strumming makes it a good hear.

Up next is another impressive song "Tujhe bhula diya". The poignant number first starts with Shruti Pathak adding a touch of folk flavour to it and then Mohit Chauhan enters with his silken voice and takes over. Later Shekhar joins in too. The song is nice and has the potential of becoming a favourite since it grows on you with every hear.

The song also has a remixed version called "The dance to forget" mix.

Then there is "I feel good" with Vishal and Shilpa Rao behind the mike. It is average and entails both Hindi and English lyrics. This too has a slight rock feel to it.

Finally, the other title track of the album makes an appearance. Crooned by Vishal and Shilpa again, it has a heard before feeling, thus taking away the interest from the song.

On the whole the album is a robust mix of songs of different genres. It is entertaining and hummable and will appeal to the younger generation.

PM watched the movie 'Peepli Live'

2010-09-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

The PM watched the film along with wife Gursharan at a special screening at their residence.

He had reportedly opined that the film had a message on which they had to act. He also felt that there should be a more inclusive approach to development. The film is a satirical take on the farmers’ suicides in the country.

Earlier, the film had attracted mixed reactions from various sections of people. A group of farmers demanded the banning on the film and felt that ’Peepli Live’ trivialized farmers’ deaths.

After a special screening of the film for NDA MPs, L K Advani praised ’Peepli Live’ for its "realistic depiction of village life". But, he felt that the theme should have been the NREGA, rather than the farmer suicides.

'Kareena is boringly beautiful'

2010-08-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

Sameer Belvalkar’s story could well be what Bollywood stardust is made of. Having shot for big movies like Jodhaa Akbar, My Name is Khan and now, We are Family, it’s impossible to believe that this 34-year-old photographer started his career only six years ago!

Belvalkar claims that photography happened on a whim.

"Photography was never a hobby," he says. "In fact, I gave up my job and then picked up the camera without any knowledge of how to use it. I referred to books, researched on the Internet; followed other photographers’ work and in eight months, I got my first Bollywood film."

Belvalkar takes us through some of his great stills.

Seven new releases go down at box office

2010-08-31T06:55:00.000-07:00

There were altogether seven releases this Friday, out of which Aashayein was expected to do well. But the Nagesh Kukunoor film couldn’t seem to take off right from the beginning.Other releases like Antardwand with rave reviews, Gumshuda, Geng, Hello Darling, Madholal Keep Walking and Soch Lo, all failed to make a great opening at box office with just 0-10% occupancy.

Lafangey Parindey seems to have had lackluster performance at BO, but the movie faired well in its first week with the collection of Rs 17 crore approx. The absence of good films this Friday has benefitted this Yashraj film a lot. The film will also profit its producers with a good satellite rights price.

Aamir Khan’s production Peepli [Live] entered its second week but witnessed a drop in its collection. Now the movie’s two-week total is Rs 27.50 crore approx.

The next film for you is Karan Johar’s production We Are Family which is releasing on September 2.

Mallika and Sharon Ston works together

2010-08-31T06:48:00.000-07:00

Mallika Sherawat, who has made US her home with her living there and working in Hollywood films, has been seen rubbing her shoulders with the Who’s Who of Beverly Hills. However, the person she has recently bonded heavily with is definitely little more special as she is none other than the Basic Instinct star, Sharon Stone. The two were spotted attending a charity event and rooting for the international children’s rights organisation

Operation Smile that provides life-changing surgery solutions to children globally.
An eyewitness reveals that the two bonded like a house on fire from the moment they got introduced. "Sharon had heard about Mallika and from the time they arrived at the function, the two were inseparable. They sat together and right till the moment the event started, kept chatting about the work they are doing respectively for films and philanthropy. Post the event too they bonded again," says the source. When contacted, Mallika confirmed the news to us.

But what’s also interesting about this development is that our sources reveal that Sharon, who is also a film producer, might have discussed the proposition of casting Mallika in one of her films. Gossip is that the film might also have Sharon playing a meaty role.

"They were definitely talking about being friends from then on and planning how they should catch up soon. Sharon is always looking for new scripts to cast talents from across the world. Looks like Mallika has managed to charm Sharon as they have definitely had a talk on working together. The hottest girl in the West pairing up with the oomphy actress from the East will be a good combination to see," says the informer.

'Maa Tujhe Salaam' song is not that impressive

2010-08-31T06:44:00.000-07:00

It is reported that the theme song for XIX Commonwealth Games, composed by AR Rahman failed to impress the CWG Organising Committee’s Executive Board member V K Malhotra

He said that the song, released on Sunday had "fallen short of expectations".

He added, "We had a expected a better anthem for the Games from a composer of Rahman’s status... "He has given some very good songs like ’Maa Tujhe Salaam’ but this song is not that impressive. We hope that the song is made better because there is still some time for the Games," said Malhotra.

At the launch of the song, Rahman had said, "I feel honoured to get the opportunity to compose the theme song for the mega-event. It was not an easy task. I had started composing it six months ago and finished just last night."

Priyanka is furious with Shahid Kapoor

2010-08-28T04:32:00.000-07:00

Chopra are seeing each other. Now, grapevine has it that the power couple had a fall out recently, when Piggy Chops got to hear Shahid’s growing closeness with Asin. This news didn’t go well with Priyanka.

Shahid and Asin bonded really well over while shooting for an ad in Hindi and Tamil. It was the Tamil language, that led to this bonding. Since Shahid does not know Tamil, the ‘Ghajini’ actress was seen teaching him with great interest. They shared a good camaraderie.

“The ad that we were shooting for was in Hindi and Tamil. I could manage it as I know both the languages. But Shahid was struggling with the Tamil part of it, so he took my help in getting the language right. He didn’t know Tamil at all, so the entire exercise turned out to be a fun session,” Asin told.

The situation took a turn when when Priyanka made a surprise visit to her boyfriend Shahid Kapoor. The actress turned pale on seeing Shahid sharing good rapport with Asin.

I can't do films where I just look pretty : Kareena Kapoor

2010-08-28T04:25:00.000-07:00

Kareena plays the same role that Julia Roberts did, but in her own style.

’I am absolutely honoured that Karan (producer Karan Johar) and Sidharth thought that I could do the Julia Roberts role because to me she is the finest actress,’ said the actress who feels the adaptation could have been more contemporary.

’It’s a very desi film. I think it should have been made more contemporary. Indian audiences are ready for that. It’s about the journey of two women. They start off with hating each other and due to unforeseen circumstances they end up loving each other.’

While working with Kajol, Kareena observed that her co-star was quite similar to her sister Karisma when it comes to their child.

’Kajol is a hands-on mother. I have seen Karisma. Both Kajol and Karisma, I don’t know if it’s the trait of that generation, are just there with their children,’ said Kareena.

Asked how it would have been if Karisma had played Kajol’s role, she quipped, ’Oh god! She can’t do that because we can’t marry the same man. No way.’

There are three child stars - Aanchal Munjal, Nominath Ginsburg and Diya Sonecha - in the film, but Kareena didn’t have to handle them. She is all praise for their professional behaviour on the sets though.

’In the film, I didn’t have to be with the kids because they had their mother (Kajol). The children were really lovely, they didn’t get impatient. They were acting like adults, not like children,’ said Kareena.

Salman Khan’s upcoming mega-budget flick ‘Dabangg’

2010-08-28T04:19:00.000-07:00

Salman Khan’s upcoming mega-budget flick ‘Dabangg’ is so hot in the circuit that the owners of some single screen theatres have been refusing even Karan Johar’s upcoming ‘We Are Family’, starring Kajol- Kareena, a two week run at their theatres.
As Salman Khan-Sonakshi Sinha starrer ‘Dabangg’ is set for an Eid release on September 10, the theatre owners’ two week commitment to Karan Johar would affect Salman’s film, as ‘We are Family’ is releasing on September 3.

For instance, Manoj Desai of Maratha Mandir says, ‘I can not take ‘We are family’ for just two shows. If Karan is confident about the film, he should not be asking for the commitment of two weeks. He should let the film speak for itself and let the single screen owners then decide.’

Some theatres like Premiere in Dadar are not prepared to release Karan Johar’s flick ‘We Are Family’ at all as they feel that it would affect the chances of making money with ‘Dabangg’, which is very hot among the audiences.

Even Chandan cinema in Juhu is yet to sign a deal with Karan Johar’s ‘We are Family’, while the deal with Salman Khan’s ‘Dabangg’ has already been signed and sealed. However, UTV officials refuse the argument and say that they had already locked some theatres and even listing was out in newspapers etc.

It may be recalled that earlier Karan Johar’s ‘We Are Family’ starring Kareena Kapoor, Kajol and Arjun Rampal was set to release on Eid, September 10. But due to Salman Khan’s starrer ‘Dabangg’ coming on that date, it had been advanced by one week to September. However, even then two week commitment is creating problems for K Jo’s flick.

The buzz doing the rounds in the industry is that Salman Khan’s films have always been hot due to star appeal and only Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir or Akshay Kumar could have given him competition at the box office. But K Jo’s film does not have any major male stars and female stars were never able to carry the film on their shoulders at the box office.

Hello Darling - Movie Review

2010-08-28T04:15:00.000-07:00

Now, what to say of a film that aims to grab eyeballs through the popping cleavages of its leading ladies and the silly antics of their lustful boss with the name Hardik, very similar to Harddick. Hello Darling, a rehash of the 1980s Hollywood movie Nine To Five, is a sex comedy about the exploitation of women at work places and gender equality.

Mansi (Gul Panag), Candy (Celina Jaitley) and Satvati (Eesha Koppikar) work in an office under a boss (Javed Jaffery) whose life and every action is driven by libido. Ignoring his dowdy wife (Divya Dutta), the incorrigible lecher doesn’t miss half a chance of hitting upon women with the hope of having some ‘good time’ with them.

When things come to a head, the three women decide to teach the horny Hardik a lesson. On the other hand, the boss’s wife (Divya) takes the help of a hubby reforming NGO, Pati Sudharak Samiti, with its hardliner head (Seema Biswas) who adopts shock methods like a volley of slaps to bring the stray husbands back on fidelity track.

There’s confusion galore after a case of mistaken identity. There’s a dead body, eunuchs, thieves, dumb docs and many more as the plot goes haywire and cooks up a hodgepodge in the name of comedy. Sadly, none of it works.

Director Manoj Tiwari hardly gets anything right in Hello Darling. The comedy is not just slapstick and inane, it borders on daftness. The double meaning dialogues don’t add to laughs either. Many situations seem deliberately stitched in the plot to make the proceedings funny. The sequence when the three actresses pose as nurses and kidnap the dead body from the hospital may draw some chuckles.

The film’s three leading ladies seem to be in competition to see who hams the most, a contest which Celina wins hands down. Javed Jaffery as the lusty lech is over the top, while Divya Dutta comes up with the only credible performance.

All in all, Hello Darling is rife with silliness. But if you happen to be a titillation seeker like the testosterone driven boss Hardik, you might find a silver lining in the cleavages of the hot babes.

"I am not upset says Rampal

2010-08-26T06:22:00.000-07:00

"I am not upset... But will miss being part of Don 2. Some characters cannot be taken forward in sequels. Similar thing happened with Jasjit’s (essayed by veteran actor Pran in the original) character. They decided to go ahead with totally new characters," Arjun said.

The film which is a sequel of Akhtar’s remake of the 1978 Amitabh Bachchan starrer will go on floors in October and will be shot in Germany.

Rampal said this goes to prove that there are no favours in friendship.

"Farhan gave me ’Rock On!’ and ’Don’ and we have good memories. But friendship does not necessarily mean that I be part of all his movies," the national award winning actor felt.

Don 2 will see Shah Rukh Khan playing the title role and will also star Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Boman Irani and Om Puri. It will be produced under Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s banner Excel Entertainment. Arjun said he will go to Germany to meet the entire cast and make up for his absence.

Akshay loses his Privacy in hotel

2010-08-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

Actors often complain that losing privacy is the price they pay for their stardom and the advent of cell phones has made them even more vulnerable to fans invading their privacy. So much so that even, Khiladi Kumar, known to be one of the most patient actos in the tinsel town, lost his temper when one of his fans continued clicking snaps with his cell camera despite the actor warning him not to do so.

This Sunday night, Akshay was at a five-star hotel with wife Twinkle. After the couple left the hotel and was stepping into their car, a fan came forward and started taking their pictures on his cell phone. Seeing his wife uncomfortable at being clicked without permission, Akshay asked the person to stop doing so, but the man continued and the angry star walked upto the man, snatched his phone from his hand and threw it on the ground, then crushed it to pieces under his foot. Leaving the cell phone owner stunned, he drove off into his car.

However, sources close to Akshay deny that he lost his temper and told that all that happened was Akshay asking the person politely to take permission before clicking someone and there was no such thing as the phone being broken or so.

Akshay Kumar is very particular about his pictures and he always poses for pictures whenever his fans ask him to do so. He finds it rude when people take pictures when he is dining at a restaurant.

Kareena is in 40th movie

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

Kareena will score 40 with her upcoming film WE ARE FAMILY. And the film is special in many ways. Firstly, it has a dream star cast in the form of Kajol and Kareena coming together. Moreover, the fact that it belongs to the Karan Johar camp makes it the fit 40th film for the actress.

Kareena on her part is equally gung ho about this fact, she says, "WE ARE FAMILY is one of my best works undoubtedly.
I have got an opportunity to portray a different image of myself in the film. I’m playing a mother and the fact that it marks the 40th film of my career makes it extra special for me."

Aishwarya Rai with Hollywood actor Ben Stiller

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

There’s a strong buzz in the industry that Aishwarya Rai is set to do a film with Hollywood comedian Ben Stiller soon. Ash, who has worked with a number of international stars and also did a photoshoot with Kate Winslet recently, is reported to be in contention for bagging the lead role in a film that Stiller wants to do in India.

Incidentally, even Sonam Kapoor was said to be under consideration for a similar project with Ben Stiller. But she hasn’t signed on the dotted line yet. Now, it remains to be seen if Ash will wrest the part from her. If you recall, Ash was also in talks with Michael Douglas for a Hollywood project to be shot in India. However, owing to Douglas’s dwindling health and his diagnosis of throat cancer, that project looks as good as shelved.

Katrina denied work with SRK

2010-08-21T00:54:00.000-07:00

Not very long it was heard that Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif were soon to come together. This had created quite a stir among the fans of the duo. However, Katrina puts an end to the buzz and has declined to work with SRK.

Grapevine has it that Katrina has many projects in her kitty which is keeping her very busy. This has led her to say no to working with Shahrukh. Dostana 2 and an untitled venture opposite Imran Khan under YRF is next on her schedule after Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

Katrina is currently in Spain, shooting for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara along with Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol.

SRK and Salman in Same Location

2010-08-21T00:50:00.000-07:00

Tension shoots up whenever Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan are under the same roof. It happened on Wednesday that the warring Khans found themselves shooting at Mehboob Studios in Bandra at the same time.

Shahrukh was filming for a commercial while Salman was doing interviews for his upcoming film Dabangg. We hear that the loyalists of both the camps had tried their best to ensure that Salman and SRK don’t come face to face. But Salman, who is known to stretch his legs and walk around on the sets in between his shots, did wander out.

His muscles flexed and expression stern, Salman was seen walking with his characteristic swagger towards the set of SRK’s shoot, and for a moment everyone had their hearts stopped. Salman seemed headed for a full and final settlement with his arch foe.

But mid-way, Salman changed his direction and ventured onto another set where he had more work waiting. Shahrukh meanwhile, remained busy with his shoot all this while. Yes, he did spot Salman’s vanity van parked some distance away and paused for a good look.

Earlier, Salman and SRK had come dangerously close at the premiere of 3 Idiots, where Aamir Khan was the obvious buffer between the two.

Priyanka play a Indira Gandhi role

2010-08-21T00:36:00.000-07:00

After Madhuri Dixit backed out from the project on personal grounds, Indian origin US filmmaker Krishna Shah is now considering casting Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra in the lead role in a biopic on late prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Titled “Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story”, it will be a big-budget two-part movie on the life of the Indian leader who was known as Iron Lady. Shah is working on the casting with Academy Award winning make-up artiste Jenny Shircore.

After going through the photographs of many Indian actresses, Shircore believes that Priyanka is the only Bollywood actress whom she can make look like Indira Gandhi after some prosthetic work on her face, Shircore says Priyanka’s face matches that of the late prime minister.

“Yes, I am in conversation with Jenny who thinks that Priyanka is the one who can fit in the character of Indira, but it will be too premature to talk about casting as we have not approached anybody as yet,” Shah said in a statement.

Madhuri could not do the movie because of her mother-in-law’s illness.

Shah is reportedly also in conversation with other actors like Albert Finney, Emily Watson, Tom Hanks and Tommy Lee Jones to play other characters in the film.

The first part of the movie will be based on Indira Gandhi’s life till the 1971 war, while part two will look more into her personal life as a mother to her sons - Rajiv, who succeeded her as the prie minister, and Sanjay Gandhi.

The script of the movie has also undergone changes.

“The script has been reworked after I got my hands on Richard Nixon’s personal tapes related to the 1971 Bangladesh War. My research has changed the script a lot and now we are looking at casting an appropriate face for Indira Gandhi’s character,” said Shah.

Aamir Khan looking forward for his next movie

2010-08-21T00:28:00.000-07:00

After the stupendous success of Peepli Live, Aamir Khan is now looking forward to his next film, Delhi Belly. The entire shooting of the film is complete. Editing is apparently in progress but since the film is in English, international editors will edit the film. Being Aamir, he is quite involved with the post-production as well.

The film is being directed by debutant director Abhinay Deo, who has completed his next venture with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhawni titled Game. The film is reportedly a take off on Robert Ludlum’s novel The Bourne Identity that has been made into a television series and a film. Game has been shot in five countries and stars Abhishek Bachchan, Kangna Ranaut, Sarah Jane Dias, Boman Irani and Jimmy Shergill.

Aamir Khan is busy concentrating on his wife Kiran Rao’s debut directorial venture Dhobi Ghaat. He plans to release Delhi Belly some time next year.

Endhiran is SRK favourite

2010-08-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, but Rajinikanth was not the first choice of filmmaker Shankar, for Endhiran.

Shankar initially wanted either Kamal Hassan or ShahRukh Khan for the role opposite Aishwarya Rai. However things didn’t turn out as expected and the project was grabbed by Rajinikanth.

After giving hits like ‘Sivaji’ with director Shankar, Rajinikanth is extremely happy to work with him again.

Enthiran is a forthcoming Tamil science fiction film co-written and directed by S. Shankar. The film features Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles with A. R. Rahman working on background score and soundtrack.The film will be released worldwide on 24 September this year. It is known for being the most expensive Asian film ever made.

Priyanka Chopra has just stirred up the hornets’ nest

2010-08-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

Ishq Aur Mushq Chhipaye Nahin Chhupte, and in Bollywood, they can’t hide remakes. Well, this is the situation of Siddharth Anand’s next release Anjaana Anjaani which is garnering negative publicity on the plagiarism grounds, and a recent comment on the movie’s beginning by Priyanka Chopra has just stirred up the hornets’ nest.

Priyanka seems to be totally unaware of the situation that Anjaana Anjaani is rumoured to be a remake of the French movie The Girl On The Bridge (La fille sur le pont). At a recent promotional event, PC casually disclosed what she should have kept secret: the Anjaana Anjaani beginning, which is a tad similar to that of The Girl On The Bridge. A girl and a boy, completely strangers to each other, meet on a bridge where they have come to commit suicide.

Siddharth, obviously, is in a state of shock after he came to know what PC has really done. “Has she really spoken about it? Well, the similarity to the film is purely coincidental. I haven’t seen The Girl On The Bridge. I don’t know what it is about. I completely deny any similarity,” the director is quoted as saying.

He has even withdrawn the poster of the film which bears an uncanny resemblance to the posters of the popular films An Education and A Walk In The Clouds. He doesn’t want the film’s poster to look copied, as ApunKaChoice brought to the notice of its readers a few days back.

Ayaan and Ranbir Together again

2010-08-16T00:25:00.000-07:00

The Wake Up Sid pair Ayaan Mukherjee and Ranbir Kapoor will soon be making a comeback together.

After the success of Wake Up Sid, Karan Johar is now toying with the idea of making a film with Ayaan and Ranbir Kapoor. Despite being a low budget film by Dharma Productions Wake Up Sid did come as a surprise but what was more astonishing was that the film went on to rake in big bucks after becoming a box office hit.

However, this time we hear that while Karan Johar will repeat the hit duo it won’t be a small budget movie like the previous one.

While the unit prefers to keep the project under wraps at the moment, the nitty-gritties are being worked upon. The project is scheduled to go on floors in 2011. It remains to be seen if Ayaan can come up with something more interesting than Wake Up Sid

Vidya turned into Item Girl

2010-08-16T00:21:00.000-07:00

Now its time for Vidya Balan to show some latka-jhatkas and we hear that she is set to do her an item number for Santosh Sivan’s next Urumi.

As per what she said two years back, she was never against the idea of doing an item number provided she likes the song. So now that she has agreed and has taken up an item number, the song definitely cannot be any regular raunchy number.

The film is set in the 15th century and revolves around the killer of Vasco Da Gama, in which she will only make a guest appearance for an item song. We hear that the actress will do a traditional version of Mohiniattam dance form.

Mr. Bachchan has been an inspiration for Rajini

2010-08-16T00:16:00.000-07:00

At the music launch of his upcoming sci-fi thriller Robot, south megastar Rajnikant was all praises for the film directed by Shankar and co-starring Aishwarya Rai. So much so that Rajni compared the movie to the cult Hindi film Sholay which has remained unrivalled since its release 35 years ago.

“Around Rs 160 crore has been invested to make the film (Robot). It’s fantastic; technical excellence is there. Sholay made history not because of the money or budget involved, not because it was a multi-starrer, not because of the technicalities, but because of its subject,” Rajnikanth told reporters at the music release of ‘Robot’ at JW Marriot on Saturday.

“Like Sholay,” he added, “in Robot too there is an excellent storyline, excellent character sketches. This is the first Indian story of its type. It’s science fiction and excellently made.”

At the music launch Rajnikanth and Aishwarya were joined by Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan.

Mr. Bachchan and Rajnikanth have had a long working relationship and have continued to remain friends since doing films like ‘Andhaa Kaanoon’, ‘Giraftar’ and ‘Hum’.

Speaking about Rajnikanth at the launch, Big B said: “I am very privileged because I have a long association with Rajni. There is no doubt in my mind that he is indeed son of the soil and he is the person who is greatly, greatly loved and admired by every Indians.”

In response Rajnikanth said Mr. Bachchan has been an inspiration for him.

I’d rather be choosy:Zarine

2010-08-11T06:13:00.000-07:00

“After a debut of that size, alongside Salman Khan, I can’t afford to make the wrong choices and go on signing films by the kilos,” said the actress, who began her tinseltown career with this year’s period film, Veer.

She was in Kolkata to promote a lineup of mobiles launched by Sky Mobiles, a Kolkata-based mobile company, that recently signed her up as their brand ambassador.

“One funny thing is, my name is actually spelt as ‘Zareen’. But throughout the production of Veer and thereafter the media spelt it as ‘Zarine’.

And after Veer I decided to let it be since I’d be labeled a ‘numerlogy-ist’ if I suddenly changed the spelling of my name,” said the actress with a wry smile.

Despite the outcome of her debut film being not exactly very encouraging, Zarine said she had been approached with a lot of movies but was taking her time on deciding on them.

The actress, who said she enjoyed reading the works of Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, said she was spending a lot of time these days reading scripts and studying the world of films.

When asked what kind of movies she was looking to work in, she said said simply, “I am looking for scripts that exploit my potential. “I am working on a movie right now. It goes on floors by the end of this year, but I can’t divulge anything more than that,” said the 26-year-old beauty.

When asked if this ‘movie’ was the sequel to the 2007 Salman Khan starrer Partner where she is rumoured to have replaced Katrina Kaif, she said she say ‘couldn’t comment on that’. On Salman Khan, Zarine still sticks the industry standard ‘We-are-just-friends’ answer.

And on being incessantly pitched against Katrina Kaif, she said, “I guess in the film world, comparisons will be there. Everybody is similar to somebody. We just have to read a bit less into all that.” “I wasn’t supposed to be in the movies. I was going to be a doctor but I ended up here. It’s all destiny I guess,” she said looking at the heavens.

Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai work together

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

If all goes well Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will come together once again in Abhisek Kapoor’s next film that is yet to be titled.

Our source said, “After the success of Rock On! Kapoor was planning to make a sequel to the film. But there has been a change of plans.”

Kapoor feels that Abhishek and Ash are just apt for the plot of his next film. “The director has approahced them and hopes to rope them for this venture,” said our source.

When asked about Abhi-Ash playing the lead in his new venture, Kapoor did not deny the news but said, “I don’’t want to comment on anything right now.”

Our source said, “After the success of Rock On! Kapoor was planning to make a sequel to the film. But there has been a change of plans.”

Kapoor feels that Abhishek and Ash are just apt for the plot of his next film. “The director has approahced them and hopes to rope them for this venture,” said our source.

When asked about Abhi-Ash playing the lead in his new venture, Kapoor did not deny the news but said, “I don’’t want to comment on anything right now.”

Kalki's explicit scenes leaked on web

2010-08-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

They are from her forthcoming ‘That Girl In Yellow Boots’, directed by Anurag Kashyap.

The film has already wowed audiences at international film festivals in Venice and Toronto. The scenes, lasting five minutes, have very bold dialogues as well as some very ’intimate’ scenes. The leaks might have occurred post the screening of the film at the international film festivals.

Kalki Koechlin is an Indian actress of French descent. She played Chandramukhi in ’Dev.D’, a take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s ’Devdas’. Kalki is a talented writer as well; she has co-written the script of ’That Girl in Yellow Boots’ with Anurag.

Deepika and Mallya are friends

2010-08-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

Is love blossoming between the two? The handsome Mallya scion is quite often spotted with the sultry actress Deepika Padukone. Naturally it makes them perfect fodder for rumour mills.

Just days back, the two were seen together at the birthday bash of Salman Khan’s sister Arpita. Now, they walked in together at the special screening of Aamir Khan’s latest production Peepli [Live] in Mumbai.

But that’s not it. The buzz says that Siddharth Mallya is now planning to conduct a special screening of Deepika’s new film Lafangey Parindey prior to its release for his friends but is not getting the permission from Yashraj Films, the producers of the movie. Now, whether he is going to take ‘no’ for an answer is to be seen.

The first instance when Deepika was seen with Siddharth was during IPL matches, and then she accompanied Siddharth to the British Grand Prix in London, last month. According to reports, Deepika’s friends are very happy with recent developments in her personal life after her break-up with Ranbir Kapoor that happened last year.

Priyanka Launched New Website

2010-08-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

A regular on Twitter, she informed her fans about her site through her tweets.

"Now finally launching www.iampriyankachopra.com! It’s my official website which is totally interactive and everything me,’ she posted on Twitter.

The actress says, "My website is a representation of my personality... things I like-dislike... my opinions... we have worked for months to make this happen."

The site provides latest information and pictures of her films. There are sections titled ’There’s Me’, ’My Style’, ’Giving’ and ’Sharing’ on the site. The visitor can interact with the actress as well.

SRK and Katrina join hands again

2010-08-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

Paris-based Indian filmmaker Vijay Singh is set to do what none has been able to in Hindi film industry so far. He’s in talks with Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan for his next project, an 18th century historical love story between an Awadh king and a British girl.

Singh, who has shot critically acclaimed feature films like Jaya Ganga and One Dollar Curry in the past feels that Shahrukh, who has previously played emperor Ashoka, will be perfect as Nawab Naseeruddin Haidar in his third film, The Opium Symphony, based on his book Whirlpool of Shadows.

“I had met Shah Rukh regarding the movie and he had liked the idea. I am planning to approach him again for the role of the Nawab. He ruled Awadh from 1826-36 and fell in love with a British girl but their love did not suit the interest of opium traders at that time,” Singh said in an interview.

The coup is that to play the British girl, Singh has his eye on Katrina Kaif.

“Earlier I was planning to take a Hollywood starlet opposite him for the role of the British girl but I might talk to Katrina Kaif. I have been told she is British and is a fine actress,” Singh said.

Emraan Hashmi isn’t open to playing negative roles

2010-08-06T04:24:00.000-07:00

It’s not that Emraan Hashmi isn’t open to playing negative roles. But he has perhaps played a criminal too often and now wants a change.

Recently seen playing a gangster-turned-don in Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai, Emraan was offered to play alleged serial killer Charles Sobhraj in a film but the actor turned it down.

Director Prawal Raman, who has directed films like ‘Loot’, ‘Zabardast’, ‘Gayab’ and ‘Darna Mana Hai’, wants to bring the life of Sobhraj onscreen and wanted Emraan to play the role.

Emraan, however, declined the offer because he did not want to play another negative character so soon.

“Emraan does not see the point of doing another role on the same lines. He does not want to be type-casted in any particular role. Not that he will never do another role like that of Shoaib, but he wants some gap,” said a source close to the actor.

Sobhraj, who is a French citizen and is of Indian and Vietnamese origin, is serving a life sentence in Nepal for the murder of an American tourist in 1975.

The 66-year-old is alleged to have killed 12 people across Asia in the 70s, earning the moniker of ‘serpent’ or ‘bikini killer’.

Lara Dutta On Her Style Qoutient

2010-08-06T04:10:00.000-07:00

A young woman who is perhaps the best in the business when it comes to comedy and can also sizzle on screen in the best of the designer outfits.

Now that’s Lara Dutta for you, an Ex-Miss Universe, who is currently in seventh year of her professional career and is all positive about playing a long innings for years to come.

What makes Lara confident about this continued run? Well, her “mantra’ of constantly reinventing herself.

“It’s as simple as that. I don’t want to just sit down and say that I have been a model in the past and a Miss Universe with some good Bollywood hits behind me.

So I should just sit back and bask in that glory. Sorry, there is no point in doing that. I have been enjoying a certain standing right throughout my career and.

I am not going to let anyone down”, says Lara whose sole release this year, Housefull, was a success story at the box office.

She is also one of the few leading ladies who have managed to carry off the skimpiest of outfits without.

Even looking vulgarity. No wonder, it’s the style sense factor that has come in handy here. “Thankfully, I can never comes across as someone who is cheap because of the kind of mentality that I have”, she reasons.

“So even if I am playing a bunny in Housefull or walking around on the beach in Blue, there would be a certain sophistication to my attire. I want my audience to react positively to me and thankfully, so far the reactions have been heart-warming enough to make me feel good that I am doing things right”.

While she couldn’t quite get into an action avtar in Blue, she could well be kicking some butt in the sequel to Shahrukh Khan’s Don if the reports of her being signed for the film are indeed true.

“For me, reinvention is the name of the game”, says Lara, “It has always been the case. For my role in Blue, I had to be fit and be in perfect shape since the role required good deal of underwater sequences. Now that’s not something that you normally see a girl to be doing. Then again in Housefull, I had to be totally glam even though I played the role of a wife. All these films have helped a great deal for me personally”.

Priyanka Chopra has released a news about her movie

2010-08-06T04:06:00.000-07:00

‘All the greatest love stories are between strangers’ shrieks the tagline in the promo of the film Anjaana Anjaani. Yes, the first look and teaser of the film is out, and Priyanka Chopra has released it first on Twitter. What a launch!

The short and snappy teaser clearly indicates the fun mood of the film which is about two individuals played by Priyanka and Ranbir Kapoor. If viewers like Priyanka’s dresses and haircut, Ranbir as usual looks dashing in the promo. But what disappoints is the film’s first look, which is clearly taken from the last year’s Oscar nominee film An Education.

Nevertheless, director Sidharth Anand is a happy man. “It has just been a day since the teaser came out and the response has been fantastic.
I was told that it is a much awaited movie this season but the instant feedback that I have received pretty much reaffirms the strong belief that we all had during the making of Anjaana Anjaani”, Siddharth is quoted as saying.

Aisha Movie review

2010-08-06T04:02:00.000-07:00

The thing about shallow people from the beau monde is that they shouldn’t be played shallowly when brought to the screen.

Sonam Kapoor in a ’tailor’-made role (where more moolah seems to have been spent on tailoring her chic outfits than on exploring the locations, sound sights scents and, yes, sense of this embarrassing world of excessive self-preening) gets the Jane Austen character right. Quite a leap for the actress.

When she had played the confused lover-girl in Saawariya, Sonam had imposed her own natural-born confusions on the character - rendering it shaky and disembodied.

In Aisha, Sonam is far more in control of her character’s misguided emotional compulsions. The fact that the young actress knows this label-centric designer world of chic shenanigans so well, helps Sonam master and contour her character’s art of self-deception in a way the original author of the character would have approved.

Sonam’s world harks back to Jane Austen’s giddy-headed British gentry class where match-making was not an idle chatter. It was religion. When placed in the neo-rich spiced-up politically-charged atmosphere of Delhi, Jane Austen’s characters seem to come alive in unexpected spurts of sassy splendour and unbridled joie de vivre. You can’t help laugh at these young, often-aimless, people’s self-importance.

Aisha is a two-hour celebration of pre-nuptial rituals. Though no one says it, every girl in the film wants only one thing. And it isn’t necessarily love, but somewhere close. The bristle and bustle of Delhi comes alive through the slender intellectual faculties of the protagonists.

Let’s not forget that Jane Austen had applied great intellectual strength to her frail and shallow people. Aisha converts Austen’s world into a frail feisty frolicsome fashion fiesta shot with an empowering affection for the natural light that bathes these somewhat affected people.

The cinematography by Diego Rodriguez and especially the songs and background music by Amit Trivedi create a multi-hued skyline in this saga of sophomore socialites, their loves, lovers and love tattle.

Debutante director Rajshree Ojha gets into this world of titillating trivia and designer dreams with a wink and smile that goes a long way in building a showcase around these metropolitan mannequins on a single-minded match-making prowl.

The casting is as dead-on as it can get. While the guys Abhay Deol, Cyrus Sahukar and Arunoday Singh play the Brain, Nerd and Hunk with absolute relish, it’s the girls who keep you chuckling and tch-tch-ing.

Neha Dubey and debutante Amrita Puri put in pitch-perfect performances as sahelis bullied into alliances that seem manipulated on earth rather than arranged in heaven. They have a bright future ahead, single or not.

But the film belongs to Sonam Kapoor, make no mistake of that. She makes the best of a rather rare opportunity for an Indian leading lady to be part of a Bollywood film that salutes Victorian mores and Delhi’s elitist affectations in one clean cool sweep.

Engaging and endearing - Aisha makes you wonder if there’s anything more important in the world than finding the right match.

Katrina Introducing her Sister to Bollywood

2010-08-04T05:44:00.000-07:00

Having already cemented her foothold in Hindi Film industry, Katrina Kaif is now paving the way for her younger sister Isabelle who is no less pretty than her.

Katrina’s game plan is simple. She’s going to launch her own production house soon and one of the films to be made will launch Isabelle into Bollywood. However, Katrina is learnt to be still undecided about the director who will helm the project.

Buzz goes that she’s considering some top-of-the-line directors (probably Karan Johar, or Farah Khan or even Vipul Amrutlal Shah) for the project as she wants a superhit launch of Isabelle into film industry.

Isabelle has been learning acting in New York. Her course is likely to be over by the end of this year, after which she will follow her elder sister’s footsteps.

Priyanka Posted Twitter

2010-08-04T05:40:00.000-07:00

Amitabh’s voice and personality can nevar be matched. Even at his ripe old age, he still gives young actors a huge inferiority complex. But guess who gives the Big B a complex??? It is none other than the curvy Piggy Chops.

“Kitna gym kariyega! Complex de rahi hain aap hum sabko! Kal hi badha deta hun apni timings ko (How much gymming will you do? You are giving a complex to all of us. I will increase my gym timings from tomorrow itself),” Amitabh, 67, posted on 28-year-old Priyanka’s Twitter page.

Priyanka had earlier tweeted, “Phir wahi!! Gym jaa rahi hoon.. But training with friends today.. Should be fun!!! If only I could muster up the energy to walk!!!”

PC has been vigorously going for her gym routine to be fit and fine. She is set to be seen in an adventurous avatar as the host of ‘Fear Factor-Khatron Ke Khiladi’ on Colors TV channel.

Abhi Says that “I didn’t want to rush into anything

2010-08-04T05:28:00.000-07:00

Neeraj Pandey, the director of A Wednesday won acclaim for making a gripping thriller and extracting terrific performances from Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah. But that was back in 2008. Since then, the director has not made another film. Neeraj does not even have a single directorial venture on the floors nor has he started shooting.

Ask the filmmaker why and he explains: “I didn’t want to rush into anything. Also, I’m a slow person. I had many offers but those projects didn’t excite me.” So what had happened to the project Special Chabbis that Neeraj was reportedly working on? He replies, “We will start filming this project in December. It is based on an incident when 26 men, posing as Income Tax officials, carried out a mock raid on a leading jewellery store in Mumbai and jewellery worth millions were ‘seized’ and never returned.” There were rumours that Abhishek Bachchan would star in Special Chabbis but Neeraj clarifies, “Abhishek is not in the film. We were in talks but things didn’t work out. He had not been confirmed for the film, but the news was blown out of proportion.”

John Abraham wants to insure 100 Million for his butt

2010-08-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Bollywood hunk John Abraham, who gave a glimpse of his toned butt in Dostana, wants to insure his derriere for a whopping Rs100 million.

The actor is planning to follow the footsteps of international singer-actress Jennifer Lopez and has apparently decided to buy a policy that covers any risk to his famous body part, said a source close to the 37-year-old.

If it turns out to be true, he would be the first Indian celebrity to go for the policy.

John said, "Yes, there is an initiative from my side but this is a work in progress. I am meeting various people for this. At this point, I would not like to say more."

While insurance for celebrity body parts is not a regular feature in India yet, there are a few companies willing to make an exception for John, who suffered a minor muscle pull recently.

According to the source, the actor will have to pay a high premium for an amount as huge as Rs100 million but John is quite upbeat about it.

For now, the actor is busy promoting his long-pending film Aashayein and will be shooting for Dostana 2 later this year.

Ash set to do cameo in Abhishek’s next

2010-07-30T03:50:00.000-07:00

Bollywood’s favourite couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan seem to be making every effort to spend as much time as possible with each other.After enthralling the audiences with their roles in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, Abhishek and Aishwarya in fact want to do more movies and commercials together. The latest we hear is that Ash is planning to play a cameo in Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum.

Sources inform, “The couple has been seen together in a few commercials, but they have not signed any films together. When Rohan wanted an actress for a cameo, he decided to approach Aishwarya for the role. The actress who often visits the film’s sets to meet her husband, agreed immediately.”

This film marks the coming together of Abhishek and director Sippy after their successful collaboration in Bluffmaster. Abhishek plays the role of a fearless undercover cop in the film. It is said that Abhishek’s role in the film is similar to the role.

That his father Amitabh Bachchan played in Zanjeer during the 60s. The film is an action thriller that deals with the drug mafia of Goa. Abhishek plays a brooding cop on a mission. Set in contemporary Goa, Abhishek was required to study narcotic neurosis and criminal quirks to master the role of the cop.

Priyanka Chopra is looking ahead

2010-07-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

Bollywood’s popular actress Priyanka Chopra is looking ahead so as to provide a huge distraction to all the male contestants of “Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi 3′, the reality show that flirts with danger. The show broadcasts on Colors. She reveals that her goal is to distract the male contestants, so that they fail to do their stunts properly.
The 28-year-old actress dons a particular grungy look in the tele-show.
She wore denim hot pants, a broad belt, knee-length boots, a cropped yellow teamed with a black leather biker jacket. She also wore gloves with the aforementioned for the first promo.

Hello Darling audio released

2010-07-30T03:21:00.000-07:00

Three ultra-beautiful ladies in Gul Panag, Celina Jaitley and Eeshaa Koppikhar are coming together to star in a movie titled ‘Hello Darling’. The coming together of the three heroines need not necessarily mean that the film would be a sentimental one. On the contrary, the film would be a comical one, assures the director.

The trio of heroine would get able support from the experienced cast in Jaaved Jaffery, Chunky Pandey and Divya Dutta. Presented by Malpix Films on behalf of Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts Ltd., ’Hello Darling’ is produced by Ashok Ghai and is being directed by Manoj Tiwari.

Pritam will be the music director while lyrics are being written by Shabbir Ahmed. Director of Photography will be Ravi Yadav while dance choreography would be handled by Remo and Raju Khan.
The screenplay is by Pankaj and Sachin, who wrote the blockbuster comedies ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’ and ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’.

The film’s audio launch is planned to be held on 12th June in Mumbai while the film’s theatrical release might be in the first half of July, or on 9th July 2010, to be precise!

We just can’t wait to watch the beauties in action!

Akshay join hands again with Sajid Khan

2010-07-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

It is now official that the successful producer-director duo - Sajid Nadiadwala and Sajid Khan are no longer a team. There were rumours about a rift between the two and now producer Vashu Bhagnani has signed Sajid Khan to direct his next film. The film will have Sajid’s favourite actor Akshay Kumar in the lead role.

Our sources said, “There were certain issues between Sajid Nadiadwala and Sajid Khan. They did two films together Heyy Babyy and Housefull. However, after the release of Housefull, they grew apart. Both Khan and Nadiadwala have not made their problems public but it is quite evident since Sajid has signed Vashu’s next film. Apparently Vashu has paid Sajid a whopping Rs 12 crores for the film as he has wanted to make a big budget film for some time now. Sajid is in the meantime working on a script which will have the lead role written predictably for Akshay.”

Let’s hope this new association continues.

Karan Johar turns ghost director for Shahrukh?

2010-07-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Just a few days back, Karan Johar packed his bags and flew to London where his soul friend Shahrukh Khan is shooting his mega-budgeted action extravaganza Ra.One.

The film’s director is Anubhav Sinha, but Karan will reportedly chip in for a few days to shoot the romantic scenes between SRK and Kareena Kapoor, who is the film’s leading lady. Though it’s unusual for another director to step in while a project is already being helmed by a director, Karan has reportedly been roped in for two reasons - first, his mastery over presenting romance on screen; secondly, because SRK considers him his lucky mascot.

In fact, it was SRK who invited K-Jo to come to London to shoot the film. Now, he’s happy that Karan came.

“Really sweet to see Karan on an action film shoot. Should blow the cars to ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ music. Kajol in a guest role in the flying cars....ha ha,” SRK tweeted.

However, SRK said that Karan Johar was only assisting the film’s unit.

“Karan assisting us for a day. Hopefully we will make the schedule,” he wrote.

The film’s shooting unit has been divided in two parts. One is under Anubhav Sinha’s command and the other is under Karan Johar’s.

Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai is release on July 30.

2010-07-28T05:49:00.000-07:00

The Bombay high court on Wednesday disposed of an application by Sunder Shekhar alias Suleiman Mirza (adoptive son of former underworld don Haji Mastan) seeking a stay on the release of producer Ekta Kapoor’s movie Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai.

Shekhar had objected to the fact that the movie is based on the life of his foster father and had asked for a preview screening to ascertain if the film contained anything defamatory.

But Justice RC Chavan did not grant such a relief. However, the film’s producer Ekta Kapoor was told to clarify to the media and public through a statement that the film was not based on Mastan’s life.

To be issued today only, the media statement would assert that the film’s producers have never represented before anyone that the film is based on the life of Haji Mastan. The statement would also establish that the film is a pure work of fiction.

Set to release on July 30, the film will also have a disclaimer that will state that the film’s story and its characters have no resemblance to any person living or dead.

The Hindi VTV is going on floors

2010-07-28T05:26:00.000-07:00

Looks like there is no stopping Gautham Menon. Whilst getting ready for the release of two back to back movies produced by his Photon Katha (Nadunisi Naaygal and Veppam), Gautham has simultaneously kicked off the Hindi version of his successful Tamil romance Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa.

The Hindi VTV is going on floors officially from today at The ODE Cafe Gallery on the ECR. Trisha and Prateek Babbar star in the Hindi version. Earlier, Prateek who had arrived in town was put up at The Park, Nungambakkam. Hindi VTV will also have Rahman’s successful score.

The promos of ‘Dabangg’ getting overwhelming feedbacks

2010-07-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

The promos of Dabangg are doing rounds on the smaller screen and must say they are creating stirs. Set in Uttar Pradesh, Dabangg is the story of a corrupt police officer Chulbul Pandey, played by Salman Khan. Making debut with the film is Sonakshi Sinha, the daughter of veteran actor and politician Sharughan Sinha. It was Salman who convinced her parents to let her act in Bollywood. The movie has been produced by Salman Khan’s younger brother Arbaaz Khan and directed by Anurag Kashyap’s younger brother Abhinav Kashyap.

Have a look at the comments on the trailor of ‘Dabangg’:

Imran Khan tweeted, ‘Just saw the Dabangg trailer! It looks like SUCH a fun movie. @BeingSalmanKhan is in top form, kicking ass, cracking jokes and dancing.’

Salman’s co star of many films, Preity Zinta added, ‘Dabangg promo rocks! Just saw it and Really liked it!’

Karan Johar tweeted in his praise to Salman’s co-star and newcomer Sonakshi Sinha, ‘You are looking lovely and have rendered that one line superbly in DABANGG!! Welcome to the movies girl!!!’

Here is what Sonakshi tweeted regarding the feedbacks she is getting on her performance, ‘Spoke to 1 of my fav actresses - the awesome Rani Mukherji last nite. said she loved the Dabangg trailer and me in it! on top of the world!’

Hope ‘Dabangg’ repeats the success story of ‘Wanted’ for Sallu Bhai….

Salman maintains his body

2010-07-26T05:46:00.000-07:00

We’re used to watching Salman Khan button off his shirt and flex those six packs abs many a time. But not every role he gets to play requires him to be fit and brawny.

In brother Arbaaz Khan’s home production Dabangg, for instance, Salman plays a corrupt cop from Bihar. Now, it’s no secret that cops - be it from Bihar or elsewhere - are known more to have pot-bellies than six packs. Since a cop with a well chiselled physique is an oddity, brother Arbaaz reportedly asked Salman to lose his abs.

Asking Salman to have a pot belly was simply not possible. Even if asked, it’s highly unlikely that Salman would have tampered with his vital stats so much to have a beer belly.

Anyway, the superstar did get rid of his abs. He also took off his favourite feroza bracelet because it didn’t go well with his character.

Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika in New Movie

2010-07-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

Talking about Neil Nitin Mukesh, the young star does not seem to be very comfortable with smooch scenes in his film. Be it his first director Sriram Raghavan, who could not convince Neil to kiss Rimi Sen, or his second film, Tera Kya Hoga Johnny, director Sudhir Mishra where Neil was asked to kiss Shahana Goswami and then again his director for ‘Jail’ where the actor refused to lock lips with Mugdha Godse even during a passionate love making scene- all his directors failed to convince Neil to do the act.

However, Pradeep Sarkar, the director of ‘Lafangey Parindey’, made his point clear to Neil that he had to smooch Deepika Padukone for the film as per the demand of the script. Well, so Neil would now be seen smooching Deepika in ‘LP’, and how, we have the little birdie informing us that the lip-lock surely is pretty long and intense. A source from the set said it was a long, torrid smooch comparable in intensity and duration to any sensational smooch scene so far. And guess what! Neil was nervous!

SRK in Popular Show

2010-07-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

Now the 4th season of the popular show, ‘Big Boss’, is facing a host crisis. Since the channel has a policy of not repeating its hosts, they did not approach Big B on the first hand and by the time they realized that getting a good replacement is getting difficult, it was too late because Big B had already committed himself to hosting season 4 of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’.

Then the channel approached SRK for the role but unfortunately SRK did not have dates as he is already booked for Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Don 2’ with Priyanka Chopra. ‘Colors’ even offered him a larger remuneration than Big B but to no avail.

With no options left, the channel is now trying to get Akshay Kumar to play host on ‘Bigg Boss 4’. And if the Khiladi Kumar turns down the offer too, the viewers will have to do with some non-film celebrity as host.

Who is Bollywood's superstar of the future?

2010-07-26T05:01:00.000-07:00

When asked, says actor Deepika Padukone, “From the new generation, I think Ranbir will be the superstar in the next decade. He has the potential and passion for cinema. I have known him well and I think he has the right balance of what a star requires. He is also a very fine actor.”

Interestingly, Deepika and Ranbir share a history of sorts as they were seeing each other earlier. Apparently when their relationship ended, both of them seemed uncomfortable speaking about each other. So it was a pleasant surprise when Deepika chose Ranbir over others in this poll.

Meanwhile, Ranbir returned the compliment by praising Deepika.

He told , “It’s really kind of her. I think Deepika is the future. She is very hard working, very talented and amazingly beautiful. I think we have so far seen only 10 per cent of her on screen.”

Aamir beats SKR again

2010-07-23T02:53:00.000-07:00

In the process, he beat Shah Rukh Khan to the second spot once again. This is the third time that Aamir is selected for this honour.

Aamir won his tittles convincingly as his last three films--’Taare Zameen Par’ (2007), ’Ghajini’ (2008) and ’3 Idiots; (2009)--together had grossed Rs 825 crore. ’3 Idiots’ has been the biggest blockbuster in the history og Bollywood.

Shah Rukh had no releases other than ’Billu Barber’ in 2009 and its boxoffice performance was not at all satisfactory.
Rajkumar Hirani, who directed ’3 Idiots’, is at the third position. At the fourth place is AR Rahman.

Abbas giving more screen-time to his wife than to John

2010-07-23T02:48:00.000-07:00

Such bonhomie between a director and an actor is indeed rare. There have been instances of directors choosing to work with select actors, travel around and even tag along with them to the parties, but no director ever came to the point of packing his bags and moving into the actor’s apartment.

Well, that’s happening now. Abbas Tyrewala, who’s directing John Abraham and his wife Pakhi Tyrewala, in his next film 1-800-Love, is set to move into John’s new apartment at Band Stand.

The duo will live together till the time the rumours of a rift between them die out.

Yes, all the talk about Abbas giving more screen-time to his wife than to John in the film has been affecting the director a lot. To prove the gossipmongers wrong, Abbas is now moving into John’s newly done apartment.

John has confirmed that Tyrewala is indeed shifting into his house. The actor is quite cool about it and says he would be happy to have a friend around the house.

Salman Khan in Dabangg movie

2010-07-23T02:45:00.000-07:00

Salman Khan’s fans can’t ask for more, the first trailer of Dabangg, which looks as promising as blockbuster Wanted, is out.

So get ready to enter the world of Chulbul Pandey, a corrupt police officer, who is also known as Robinhood Pandey. Thanks to ‘Wanted’ action director S Vijayan, the film has Salman doing some awesome stunts.

The trailer also has some dhasu dialogues coming from Sallu like this one, “Hum tum main itne chedd karenge ke, ki canfuse ho jaoge, ki saans kahan se le aur paade kahan se”.

Talking about the newcomer Sonakshi Sinha, she is beautiful and looks very confident on screen. The film produced by Arbaaz Khan also stars Mahesh Manjrekar, Om Puri, Dimple Kapadia, Vinod Khanna, Mahie Gill and Sonu Sood.

Salman Khan is keen to get paired with Asin

2010-07-23T02:40:00.000-07:00

If the latest buzz is to be believed then the Bollywood hunk Salman Khan is keen to get paired with Asin in Ravi Chopra’s next film.

Is she the new favorite of Salman? Asin is working with Salman in Ready too, and speculations were rife that Sallu suggested her name to the director Anees Bazmee who was interested in signing Deepika Padukone. However, later the director denied any such rumour.

Asin was first seen with Salman in the movie London Dreams, which was a dud at the box office, and the actress had a tough time battling the questions of her alleged link up with Salman at that time.

However, for Ravi Chopra film it’s said that the first choice is Priyanka Chopra, but we might see the vivacious Ghajini actress clinching the role with Sallu. The movie will also have Govinda.

Khatta Meetha’ is releasing on 23 July

2010-07-21T06:02:00.000-07:00

‘Khatta Meetha’ recently ran into trouble when the censor board raised objections to a scene in the film where an Elephant is shown pulling a road roller.

The scene has been described as depicting cruelty to animals.

Due to the short notice of the objections and the release date just around the corner the director could not delete the scene but decided to take corrective measures.

The film which is a remake of a Malyalam film is directed by Priyadarshan and stars south siren Trisha Krishnan who is making her bollywood debut and Akshay Kumar who is also the producer of the film.

The film tells the story of an honest road contractor who learns the hard way that how integrated is bribery in the systems and is then moulded into that mould himself.

Ameesha Patel has turned into bikini makeover

2010-07-21T05:51:00.000-07:00

Ameesha Patel, the girl who debuted with ‘Kaho Naa Pyar Hai’, swept the filmdom across its feet with her innocent beauty, but then her career seemed to go through a downslide with rough patches in her personal life too.

In a desperate bid to make a comeback on the silver screen, Ameesha has now resorted to the tried and tested formula of daring and baring it all. She went for a bikini makeover for ‘Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic’, then chose to bare her bosom for Dabboo Ratnani’s calendar and has once again gone topless to send waves through her photo shoot for the July issue of ‘The Man’. She has also given an ample cleavage show for the magazine. In the interview for the mag, she reveals that she wants to play a role Gundi (Gangster) in the days to come.

Check out Ameesha covering her assets with bare hands for ‘The Man’!!

Katrina's Mother talks about her Daughter

2010-07-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

Katrina Kaif may be the number one actress today but if you ever ask Katrina’s mother she will tell you how surprised she is that Katrina is a Bollywood actress. It is said that Katrina’s mother always felt that she will end up becoming a doctor or an engineer. When quizzed about it Katrina laughs and says, “Yeah, even today my mother expresses her surprise. Come to think of it, I was painfully shy as a child, totally into books and scoring A + in every subject. My mother thought that I would end up being a doctor or engineer. The glamour business was totally unexpected.”

Talking about her acting career she adds, “When I came here there was so much to learn-the expressions, the emotions. Since I didn’t come with any preconceived notions about the craft, I could give a new approach to whatever I did. But still I’m learning everyday and I always try and push myself to exceed expectations. I use this ideology in a positive way.”

Her mother now lives in Chennai and works with orphans. Speaking of her, Katrina humbly remarks,“Many people feel that whatever I have earned is because of the goodness of her work.”.”

Neil Nitin Mukesh's bike stunts hurt

2010-07-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

The promos of Neil Nitin Mukesh’s new Yash Raj film, Lafangey Parindey, shows the actor in a totally different light from his usual soft-spoken self - he plays a street toughie doing some daredevil stunts on his bike, including a wheelie and even standing on the bike.
While shooting for these sequences, Neil received training from action director Sham Kaushal. But the old adage - the best laid plans of mice and men - proved to be true when Neil’s bike went over a manhole while doing a stunt;
all the onlookers gaped with their hearts in their mouths. Fortunately for the blue-eyed boy, luck was on his side and he managed to jump off his bike in time and suffered only some minor bruises. As Neil has realised, it’s never easy to play a lafanga.

I Hate Luv Storys Success Bash

2010-07-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

First things first. Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor make an interesting pair. After the Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif coupling, this seems to be the most refreshing jodi that’s jaunting and jiving on screen. Nice chemistry. Nice tu-tu-main-main (sparring). Nice physical compatibility. And a well-balanced emotional quotient. Kudos to the two of them to carry forth a film which once again doesn’t really have anything to boast about in the `storys’ department.

Thematically, I Hate Luv Storys, is extremely simplistic, uni-layered and terribly predictable. Imran and Sonam do begin on the we-hate-each-other note, with Imran squirming at any and everything that’s filmy while Sonam swears by it all: pink teddys, bunches of blooms, candle-light dinners, Karan Johar films, cuddly Cupid’s bows, shooting stars, soppy dialogues and all that made-for-each-other mush. But we all know the way the wind blows, from the word go. Mush shall rule, and how! For all the digs that producer Karan Johar allows on himself (filmmaker Samir Soni is actually a spoof on KJo), we know the film’s going to end up reiterating KJo -- and all he translates into onscreen -- as king.

So, Jay Dhingra, who likes girls, but hates girly stuff, is gonna end up crying like a girl very soon. Of course, first he must ridicule Simran for all her `stoopid’ misconceptions about lurrrv, including her boyfriend Raj who besides being a frumpish bore, wears `fugly’ shirts too. But it doesn’t take long for the tables to be turned, twice over. On the one hand, Simran discovers her penchant for Mr Wrong (quirky, irreverent Imran), rather than Mr Right (politically correct Samir). And on the other hand, sceptic Imran succumbs to the love bug, red roses, rain-drenched songs, airport encounters, et all. Only, their turn-overs are mistimed. So that, when Simran says `haan’, jokey Jay says `nah!’ and when Jay wanna say `yes, yes, yes!’, it’s a punctilious let’s-be-just-friends from the sobered Simran.

Kya khali-peeli confusion, all this babalog blah. But hey, blah can be timepass too. Specially when it has loads of icing on it. Debutant director Punit Malhotra layers his first film with oodles of sugar coating: great locales, mast music (Vishal-Shekhar), a yummy ’n yuppy lead pair, some laugh-out-loud moments and a lot of laugh-on-ourself sequences that ridicule the romcoms that roll out of the Bollywood factory (there are jibes on almost all of Karan Johar films), only to finally reiterate them as pills the public wants. On the performance front, watch out for Imran’s endless emoticons (eyebrow lifts, smirks, smileys) and his pronounced pout. And for Sonam’s svelte form and pleasant screen presence.
Candy floss floats. Popcorn rules. Go, chew on it.

Saif Ali Khan spend time with his ex wife Amrita Singh

2010-07-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

Saif Ali Khan has been busy with the shooting of his home production Agent Vinod from the past few months. The shooting first began in Mumbai and then the unit shifted to Morocco.

Saif, has finally found time and is now is off to London to spend time with his ex wife Amrita Singh and kids. Amrita and the two kids are already in London spending their holidays in their favorite destination.

Wonder what kareena is gonna do while Saif is with his ex wife and kids… Well if romours are to be believed, Bebo is not very comfortable with Saif’s kids and prefers to stay away when her beau is with his family.

However, not very long will she be away from Saif. Bebo would soon be flying to London; to shoot for Shahrukh Khan’s home production Ra.One. But then, work’s a good excuse to be with her dear Saifu once again.

Ram Gopal Varma is back

2010-07-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

Ram Gopal Varma is at it again. While expressing his great admiration for Christopher Nolan’s ’Inception’ on his Twitter account, he took some potshots at a few mainstream Hindi movies.

He tweeted that "With the biggest of budgets they hav thy make avatar nd inception nd wth the biggest budgets we have we make blue nd kambhakt ishq."

Overawed by the brilliance of the Nolan film, RGV says, "I find myself too small to even give a compliment to inception..the idea the screenplay the vision the execution everything overawed me" and that "I feel lesser than an ant in the jungle of christopher nolan."

He also admired the way Nolan sees his audience. "Greatst bout inception is tht mr.nolan assumes enrmous intelligence in the audience unlike mst of us idiot drectors who assume them as fools."

He comments that "Wth great budgets u can get sfx nd production values but evn the biggest of budgets can’t buy nolans brain...But in typical 3rd world 3rd class minds that we hav we will never evr accept that they ar superior to us."

He also takes a dig at those who take pride in the superiority of ancient India: "V pride in our ancestors inventing pushpak vimaan nd aftr 1000s of years of prgress v don’t get it why our mig 21s kp falling off our skies.

Hrithik Roshan's diet as he gets into super shape for Zoya Akhtar

2010-05-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

12 eggs… everyday. Fish and chicken. And not a drop of alcohol! That incidentally, would amount to Hrithik Roshan’s diet as he gets into super shape for Zoya Akhtar’s ’Running With The Bulls.’

Roshan Jr had piled on the pounds and turned plump for his role of a paraplegic in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ’Guzaarish’. Presently, he’s gotten back into shape and although he’s required to gain five kgs, Hrithik’s opted to gain the weight in terms of muscle mass.

Three hours of rigorous gym training and a strict diet regimen is the plan Roshan Jr. has in place towards his fitness.

The actor, who earlier enjoyed a drink or two, has sworn to abstinence from alcohol to achieve the physique he’s aiming for.

Says Hrithik’s personal trainer, "His carbohydrate intake in the evening ranges from low to almost nil. Results are expected in about two months. Hrithik is a very committed actor and although it’s not very easy, Hrithik will achieve the results that we have in mind."

Anushka Sharma will be serenaded by Akshay Kumar in 'Patiala House'

2010-05-10T00:11:00.000-07:00

Confidence could well be her middle name. Anushka Sharma made a remarkable debut with ’Rab Ne Bana De Jodi’, matching acting honours with Shah Rukh Khan, no less! She’s romancing B town hottie Shahid Kapoor in ’Badmaash Company’ and will be serenaded by Akshay Kumar in ’Patiala House’.

"I think that I’ve become much more confident of myself in my second film," says Anushka in a news chat.

Rumours surrounding the Shahid and Anushka bond, have been gathering momentum, though the actress has been swift to deny any romantic link in their friendship.

"I’m too selfish at the moment to be in any relationship," confesses Sharma. "There’s no time for romantic love in my life, because relationships require commitment."

Er, perhaps, Ranveer Singh might like to comment…

Akshay Kumar has been getting an uneasy round of trouble

2010-05-10T00:08:00.000-07:00

Is it useless? Not at all. Considering it has Akshay Kumar in it. With a name like ’Faltu’ for his forthcoming flick, producer Vashu Bhagnani has been getting an uneasy round of trouble.

Initially, he’d approached Sanjay Dutt for a pivotal role in ’Faltu’, but SD reportedly turned him down at the last minute.

Much before ’3 Idiots’ soared their stock, R.Madhavan and Sharman Joshi too were approached for cameos in ’Faltu’. While Maddy readily nodded assent, Joshi declined the offer as he only wanted to enact solo leads!

Incidentally, Faltu is the acronym for ’Fakirchand Academy of Law and Technology’… and will showcase Fakirchand, the real life founder of the Academy in a short appearance too.

Choreographer Remo D’souza’s directorial debut is punctuated with delays. Presently, he’s putting the finishing touches to his script at Shimla and the flick is all set to roll from the second week of May.

Apart from Action Kumar, ’Faltu’ will also feature Jackky Bhagnani (stunningly predictable) and Miss India 2009 Pooja Chopra.

Anil Ambani was absent at the time Irrfan passed the remark

2010-05-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

Irrfan Khan reportedly passed a snide remark at a recent high-profile party. The remark is being so talked about all over tinsel town that he is now beginning to be associated with it just like he’s associated with his matchless acting skills.

Irrfan, who was, apparently, in high spirits at the party, passed some comments that may not have gone down too well with some people. The party was hosted at a suburban five-star hotel a few weeks ago by Tina and Anil Ambani to celebrate the success of Ambani’s production company.

According to sources, Irrfan approached Tina Ambani at the party and said ’Now (Anil) Ambani will teach us what filmmaking is all about, ’ in a sarcastic tone. Although, Anil Ambani was absent at the time Irrfan passed the remark, all those who were nearby were embarrassed and took Irrfan away before he could do any more damage.

Tina and a lot of the other guests at the party weren’t impressed by Irrfan’s comment. The news was, however, denied by Irrfan’s manager, Sunny Shah.

Actress Mugdha Godse and Mithun Purandare spending time together

2010-05-08T00:33:00.000-07:00

Looks like whatever happens, happens for the best. Mugdha Godse, who had a car accident on Wednesday, had one little thing to gain from it - she got her ex-boyfriend, model/actor Mithun Purandare into her life again. Though they aren’t dating again, they have been spending time together.

She relied on Mithun for help when she was in trouble after the accident. As she barely has any close friends in Mumbai, she didn’t know what she wanted to do when the accident turned into a police case.

She realized she needed a man with her as there was a chance of things going against her. That’s when she thought of Mithun. This is the first time she got back in touch with Mithun after their breakup last year.

Mugdha and Mithun became friends when they met for the shooting of a music video directed by Jagdish Mali in 2003. They dated for about five years until their split in 2009.

Mithun got there as soon as he could and accompanied her home after all her work at the police station finished around 1.30pm in the night. According to sources, they spent some time talking to each other in the night and their feelings for each other seemed quite clear.

Akshay Kumar recommends water therapy to Shah Rukh Khan

2010-05-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar are exchanging serious health notes. After his back surgery last month, the Khiladi feels protective towards the Khan who has also undergone back and shoulder surgery and is bravely doing tough stunts in Ra.One without fearing a relapse.

Akki, who went away to Hamburg, Germany for water therapy for back trouble, is not ready for an action film, and feels that SRK, too, ought to exercise more care and caution before plunging into action after an injury.

Waiting it out
Says Akshay, " I am not ready for an action film. I’d like to wait a while before doing stunts again although I’ve been given a green signal to do so. "

The Khiladi strongly recommended hydrotherapy to Shah Rukh. And from the look of it, Shah Rukh has finally been persuaded to go by Akshay’s prescription.

He admits, "Every time I meet him, we talk about his back pain and the remedies. I have discussed water treatment with him at length. I think he took my advice seriously. "

The action star has several dos and don’ts to avoid lingering injury to the back. "Actors tend to get into heavy-duty action scenes without a warm-up. Big mistake!"

Avoid the AC
According to Akki, actors must avoid air-conditioned surroundings after doing an action scene. "And after the stunt, don’t rush into your van. If you have to, switch off the air conditioner. Just relax in normal temperature. And after returning home, soak you for at least half an hour in a bathtub filled with ice. Not warm water, please. "

Far less pressure
The Khiladi’s safety measures are now being implemented at Shah Rukh’s residence Mannat. He concludes with some more advice, "Nowadays, we work under so much less pressure. I remember we used to jump off high-rise buildings without a proper harness. Now we’re provided all safety measures. We need to exercise caution on our own. Then we’ll be fine. "

The Khiladi actor has also recommended hydrotherapy to Sunny Deol who suffers from a chronic back problem.

Actress Jiah Khan to appear in two international productions

2010-05-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

The sultry Jiah Khan is steadily making headway in filmdom. She debuted with the controversial Nishabd opposite the very-senior Amitabh Bachchan and followed it with a meaningful role in Ghajini.

The dusky actress is known for her alluring persona and trademark curly tresses. After charming Indian audiences, she has set her sights on the West. After Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Jiah is the next Bollywood celebrity to head for Hollywood.

The sultry lady is slated to appear in not one but two international productions. A source told us that one is an adaptation of an English play.

Jiah naturally is thrilled to be working in international venture. She is tight-lipped about the details but reveals that both films are mega enterprises with a global appeal. Reportedly, she has been offered roles even before she was seen in Nishabd but she turned them down as she couldn’t relate to them.

Now that the right opportunity has come along, she is all for it! On being quizzed if she was the leading lady, the stunner retorted that the concept of leading lady is different in the West.

She is of opinion that in Hollywood, one can cast three top actresses together and have them all playing important characters! Point taken, Ms. Khan! The girl has sure mastered the art of diplomacy!

Barbara Mori wants to open Mexican restaurant in Mumbai

2010-05-05T23:42:00.000-07:00

After acting in TV soaps and movies, producing plays is Barbara Mori’s newest obsession. Her first theatrical production will be staged later this year.

The actress, who is currently in Mumbai, will return home in Mexico to supervise work on the three-act play that will be staged in her hometown. During her stay in Mumbai, Barbara discussed her plans to turn into a theatre actress with Hrithik and Sussanne, extending them an invitation as well.

Later this year
A source reveals, "Barbara has already started work on her production. Before coming to Mumbai for the Kites promotion she had a meeting with her cast. They plan to stage the play sometime later this year. Now that she’s done TV and films, theatre is something that interests her."

Barbara confirms, "Yes, I plan to do theatre next. In fact, that’s something I have wanted to do for a long time. But since I started with TV and got into a daily soap I never got a chance to experiment with theatre. I will be producing the play and will be acting in it as well. I can only say that it’s a love story."

She even wants her Kites co-star Hrithik and his wife Sussanne to see her on stage, "They have been really good to me and treated me like family. I would definitely want them to come and watch my play when it’s ready."

Mori wants to open Mexican restaurant in Mumbai

Barbara Mori has her hands full promoting her upcoming film Kites, but that has not stopped her from making future plans.

While she hopes that her talks to star in another Bollywood film will work out, she is also making plans to open her restaurant in Mumbai. Of course, the restaurant will serve authentic Mexican cuisine, as the actress is from the Latin American country.

She feels that if Indians and Mexicans have something in common, it is their love for food. Barbara admits that she is not very fond of spicy food, but she loves the non spicy Indian dishes she has tried so far. Barbara would also like to collaborate with Bollywood filmmakers through her production house.

Imran Khan had to 'suffer' the brunt of his director Punit Malhotra

2010-05-05T23:24:00.000-07:00

Imran Khan had to ’suffer’ the brunt of his director Punit Malhotra’s ’creative instincts’ while shooting for I Hate Luv Storys in Goa. The team was filming a club song on the beaches of Goa with a bunch of good-looking guys and girls.

Punit wanted the girls to be all flirty with Imran, who is supposed to be tipsy in the song. The actor wasn’t pleased with this suggestion and asked the director to mellow down the steps.

Unconvinced
The song features Imran, Bruna Abdullah, Sonam Kapoor and Sammir Dattani. Shot on the beach, all the actors were required the actors to let their hair down and have a good time.

When Punit instructed Imran to hold the girls close and get flirty, he objected. Even choreographer Bosco tried to convince the actor that it went with the flavour of the song but the actor wasn’t convinced.

A source from the sets adds, "Punit got Imran drunk during the shoot as his character is required to be in good spirits. He made a really stiff drink for him and by the end of the shoot, Imran was slurring."

Do away with it
The director confirms, "Imran was sceptical about dancing closely with some girls. He kept asking if I could do away with it." About getting his lead actor high, he says, "I somehow managed to get Imran quite drunk during the shoot. Both Imran and Bruna were to have drinks, but I put more alcohol in Imran’s drink and by the end of the night, he was actually slurring."

So did he get the shots he needed? "Well, I can say that I got the footage I required. I think I am an expert at getting work done by hook or crook." I Hate Luv Storys is complete except for some patch work.

"We plan to release the first promo some time mid May. I am quite excited for everyone to listen to the music. Vishal and Shekhar have done an amazing job," concludes Malhotra.

Katrina Kaif is going all out to prepare for Zoya Akhtar's next film

2010-05-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

The actress is learning dirt bike riding and also learn deep-sea diving for Zoya Akhtar’s Running With The Bulls

Katrina Kaif is going all out to prepare for Zoya Akhtar’s next film Running With The Bulls with Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol. Currently the actress is learning dirt bike riding after which she will learn deep-sea diving.

The actress confirms from London, "Zoya’s film is a very contemporary one and I play a very outdoorsy character. I am not an action girl but I get to do stuff like dirt bike riding and deep sea diving, so it’s better than I learn these skills before we start shooting."

Spanish shoot
Kat, who trains with Jasmine Karachiwala, says after she returns, she will enroll in a deep-sea diving course in Mumbai.

"I have done some diving in Mauritius when I was there on a holiday and learnt some basic stuff while shooting for an underwater ad with the equipment used for diving but Zoya wants some hardcore scenes underwater for which I have to be properly trained." The under-sea portions will be shot in Spain."

Though Katrina doesn’t plan to be a certified deep-sea diver she plans to learn it seriously. She wants to take time off from her work schedule and apply herself to it religiously, as she is not entirely comfortable in the ocean.

"I have told Zoya to let me do the scenes in shallow waters as I am bit nervous about shooting underwater. The deep sea is very mysterious and I feel bit scared at finding out what’s there."

Besides that, Katrina is looking forward to working with Abhay, Hrithik and Farhan and her director, "Zoya’s got a definite vision and her genre of filmmaking is to be lauded. Running With The Bulls is one of the best scripts that I have read so far."

Famous last words?

Water babes
Hitlist had reported on Monday that after doing a diving scene in Housefull, Deepika Padukone now plans to take up scuba diving and become a certified diver.

She began lessons during the making of Housefull, and will continue them during her Mauritius schedule of Break Ke Baad.

Deepika loves swimming in the ocean and after doing deep sea diving in Puglia (Italy) she now wants to take it up seriously and get a certificate. She needs to complete a certain number of lessons before getting the certificate.

Lara Dutta was scared of the water but she learnt scuba diving for Blue as her co-star Akshay Kumar recommended that she do it. She has actually managed to overcome her fear of the underwater to do some serious scuba-diving with the ever-sporty Akshay.

Hollywood films shot underwater

The Abyss: James Cameron directs a tale set during the Cold War. When a US nuclear submarine sinks due to unknown circumstances, the navy enlists a team of divers to rescue the missiles and survivors and indirectly prevent World War III.

Lady In The Water: In this Manoj Night Shyamalan film, Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) has to help Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) find a way back to her underwater home.

Waterworld: A mariner (Kevin Costner) has to save a girl who knows how to get to dry land at a time when the polar caps have melted and earth is almost fully underwater.

Fool’s Gold: When estranged couple Benjamin (Matthew McConaughey) and Tess (Kate Hudson) go diving in search of hidden treasure, they inadvertently rekindle their romance.

Into The Blue: Jared Cole (Paul Walker) and his girlfriend Sam Nicholson (Jessica Alba) are searching for treasure in the Caribbean Sea and land in trouble when they accidentally locate an airplane on the sea floor with cocaine on board.

Akshay Kumar's inspiring with his howlarious antics in 'Housefull'

2010-05-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

Akshay Kumar’s inspiring giggles and guffaws with his howlarious antics in ’Housefull’. And in reality too, Action Kumar admits to a clear proclivity for laughter.

"I simply love laughing," asserts the Khiladi star in a news chat. "It’s the best way to a fit and healthy body and mind. And what’s better, you don’t even need to hit the gym for it."

Kumar’s rationale for nodding a swift assent to comedies is simple. "If you look at the list of my hit films in the last five years, you’ll find that 95 per cent of them have been comic entertainers.

I have no choice but to do films that audiences like. When I try and do something different like a ’Tasveer 8 x 10’, few people show up at the theatres!"

Actor Sanjay Dutt doen't hesitate to gush over his spouse

2010-05-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

Two blissful years of matrimony have elapsed, and pleasantly, Sanjay Dutt doen’t hesitate to gush over his spouse. "I depend on Manyata for everything," admits Dutt in a tabloid chat. "It is she who pushed me to get into better shape. Manyata’s greatest asset is her truthfulness, and it may hurt at times. But she always gives me the right perspective."

Seven movies are in his starry grasp and Dutt is elating at having bagged his biggest brand endorsement, till date. The ominous ring of the court cases surrounding the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, did leave it’s dark impact. "I always wanted to do endorsements," he says. "But many shied away because of my court cases. But now that I’ve been cleared of terrorism charges, the ad world now considers me to be a safe bet."

On the personal front, Dutt is readying to unveil his life story via his autobiography. And reportedly, Gregory Roberts, the author of ’Shantaram’ will assist SD in penning it.

"The book will cover everything from my childhood to my marriage," reveals Dutt. "I will write about all the trauma that I went through when my name got associated with terrorism."

Barbara Mori is getting many offers from Hindi filmmakers

2010-05-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

She’s braved cancer at 29 and successfully fought it off! And Barbara Mori valiantly admits that painful experiences in life are generally a reminder sent by God.

"An illness comes into your life to teach you something," says Mori in a tabloid chat. "Cancer taught me to be happy and celebrate life with my son and family."

Even as the promos of ’Kites’ whip curiosity to a fresh pitch, Mori is already grinning at the B town offers trooping in.

"I’ve been getting many offers from Hindi filmmakers, but I’ve said yes to only one of them," she admits. "It’s a love story and you’ll probably hear an announcement about it soon enough."

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh has raw wounds and bruises all over

2010-04-23T23:43:00.000-07:00

Neil Nitin Mukesh is injured from head to toe. And it’s not faked for the camera. He has raw wounds and bruises all over. Neil can barely talk.

Doing traumatic parts has become a part of Neil Nitin Mukesh’s acting karma. Just when he though he had gotten over the ordeal of being strip-searched and jailed in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail Neil is now in the thick of the worst possible physical and emotional trauma.

For his role in Lafange Parinde which he is currently shooting from 11 in the morning past-midnight at Yashraj Studios, Neil is required to get out on the streets and fight man to man with his adversaries, a la Vinod Khanna in Gulzar’s Apne and Nagarjuna in Ram Gopal Varma’s Shiva.

“Except for one detail, ” Neil corrects, as he winces in real pain. “There’s nothing fake about the fists of fury that fly in Pradeep Sarkar’s film. It requires the rawest of physical violence and it can’t be faked.

So if you see me now I’m covered with welters, wounds and bruises, all gifted to me every day while shooting this, the most dangerous film of my career.”

Luckily Neil has moved out of his South Mumbai home to Powai for the duration of the shooting of Lafange Parinde. “Otherwise if my mother saw what I look like she would have freaked out. I’m getting physically hurt every day.

I’m covered in bruises. Because I am light-skinned the hurt marks show up bright red on me within seconds. I look…alarming !!Even to myself in the mirror!”

Neil has temporarily packed off his makeup man. “I don’t need Aseembhai to paint on fake blood. My stunt director Shyam Kaushalji is doing a very good job of making my bruises and lacerations look real…because they are real.”

This isn’t Neil’s first tryst with danger. “Shyam Kaushalji is someone I really respect. I touch his feet every morning although he really puts me through the most dangerous situations.

In New York he made me run across a street with speeding cars. In Aa Dekhe Zaraa he had thrown me off the 18th floor. But nothing had prepared me for what Shyamji has in store for me in Lafange Parinde.”

Though Neil is unwilling to reveal the plot, Lafange Parinde is about rivalry among bike gangs of Mumbai. It requires Neil engage in serious and authentic fights on the streets.

Says Neil, “Fortunately I’m not a stranger to these kind of raw gutter-level combats. I may come across as softspoken now. But I’ve gone through my share of campus fights during my college days.

In fact I’ve a fierce temper problem. So far I had kept it in check. But now in Lafange Parinde I’m disturbed to see the violent ill-tempered side of me emerging effortlessly.”

Then Neil adds, “What surprises me is the deep dark angry side to Dada (director Pradeep Sarkar)’s personality. Who would have thought the man who made Parineeta and Laga Chunri Mein Daag had so much anger and violence in him?”

Tennis star Sania Mirza faced fresh trouble with a city court

2010-04-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

A day after getting back his passport, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and his wife Indian tennis star Sania Mirza Wednesday faced fresh trouble with a city court asking police to look into the complaint that they hurt religious sentiments of Muslims.

A Muslim organisation has complained that Shoaib, Sania, Shoaib’s fist wife Ayesha Siddiqui and 11 others hurt the sentiments of Muslims on the issue of divorce.

The IIIrd additional chief metropolitan magistrate referred the complaint to Banjara Hills police station for investigation and directed the police to submit the report by May 26.

Moullim Mohsin Bin Hussain Al-Kasary, president of Mazlumeen-e-Ummatay Mohammediya organisation, has also named former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin, Sania’s father Imran Mirza and two ’Qazis’ in his complaint.

He said these persons hurt the religious sentiments on the issue of Shoaib’s divorce to Ayesha. He pointed out that the Pakistani cricketer did not officially divorce Ayesha.

"Shoaib had initially claimed that he did not marry Ayesha but later sent divorce papers to her under a compromise reached with the help of other accused. There was no official divorce, but the accused declared that divorce proceedings are over, thus insulting religious feelings of Muslims, " Al-Kasary alleged.

The complainant said two ’Qazis’, appointed by the government, misused their official position and played with the sentiments of Muslims through registered divorce. He also pointed out that the divorce papers carried false name of Shoaib’s father.

The complainant argued that the acts of the accused constitute an offence under section 295 (A) of the Indian Penal Code.

If the police register a case against Shoaib and Sania, this could further delay their departure to Pakistan to attend ’valima’ reception to be hosted by Shoaib later this week.

Shoaib, whose passport was seized by police April 5 after his first wife filed a cheating case, got the travel document back Tuesday following an order by the high court.

Ayesha withdrew her complaint against Shoaib after he divorced her April 7 under an agreement reached with the help of Sania’s family members and some community elders.

The former Pakistani skipper married Sania April 12.

John Abraham needs to make up his starry mind 'Kaakha Kaakha' remake

2010-04-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

It’s a hair splitting issue. Over a thatch of hair above the upper lip, that is. John Abraham essays a cop in Vipul Shah’s untitled venture, a remake of the Tamil winner ’Kaakha Kaakha’. The flick centres around a posse of police officers, all experts in battling organized crime.

And in keeping with the macho and scruffy ’look’ required, Johnny Boy has been asked to show up with a stubble and… moustache.

Stubble’s fine, avers J. Abbs who did sport it to gud effect in ’Jism’. The moustache, however, is a sore factor as Johnny Boy feels that he won’t be able to pull it off! Meanwhile, JA has been working out to bulk up and display a more ’tougher’ look.

Incidentally, Surya and Venkatesh, both sported whiskers in the Tamil and Telugu versions, respectively.

As the flick sets to roll in May, the hunky star needs to make up his starry mind. States Shah in a tabloid chat, "We are having a look test soon and will finalise the ’look’ after that."

Quite a prickly issue. Hah, quite so.

Meghna Naidu doing the jiggie wiggie with cricket ace Andrew Symonds

2010-04-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

Meghna Naidu… high on the bubbly, and spirits… and doing the jiggie wiggie with… cricket ace Andrew Symonds at a plush five star hotel in Mumbai.

Her recent split with steady manfriend Kushal Punjabi has been taken note of, though former love and sex kitten Meghna asserts that they’re "still friends and he’s a great guy."

In response to the Symonds issue, MN states in an on record quote that, "I was quite a fan of Andrew and had met him for the first time, as I was there to support the Deccan Chargers.

Actually, I’m supporting both Mumbai Indians and Chargers, and so was there to cheer them. I’m single now, but don’t read more meanings into my meeting with Andrew."

No, we won’t. Teeeeee heeeee. ;)))))))))

Sameera Reddy had a first hand taste of traffic cop bribery

2010-04-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

Sameera Reddy had a first hand taste of traffic cop bribery, recently. The stunning star was singing along to a chartbuster and driving away near Mumbai’s Santacruz airport… when a traffic cop pulled up, and asked her to shell out money for a fine as she had violated the law!

When Sammy protested that she wasn’t speaking on her mobile… the venal cop, joined by another police man, hinted that he’d let her go… if she greased his palms!

Even as she battling with the classic bribe question… to pay or not to pay… a huge crowd gathered outside her swanky fourwheeler.

The sheepish cops swiftly had her packed off lest she disclosed those ugly bribe details. "I didn’t have to pay a single penny," says an elated Sammy in a news quote. Good car…ma, eh?

AIIMS trauma centre turned into a film set for the under-production

2010-04-21T23:25:00.000-07:00

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) trauma centre Tuesday turned into a film set for the under-production Bollywood movie "No One Killed Jessica" that draws its inspiration from the life of murdered ramp model Jessica Lall.

According to hospital sources, both Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan were at the hospital to shoot for their upcoming film. While Rani is playing the role of a journalist, Vidya is playing the character of the sister of the slain model.

"The shoot was for just one day. It was filmed at both the out-patient department and the adjoining areas, " said a hospital source who did not wish to be named.

However, the source said that the entire filming was conducted without disturbing the patients. "Patients are most important members in a hospital and the film crew was told to take care of this point. Everything went smooth."

Raj Kumar Gupta of "Aamir" fame is the director of the movie.

AIIMS authorities said the film crew shot a few scenes during the day and were happy to get a feel of a trauma centre that treats accident victims every day.

Actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra is never known to be a diplomat

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

Shilpa Shetty-Kundra is never known to be a diplomat. Throw a tricky question at her and she’s bound to come up with a gaffe. Perhaps, that explains why she was an easy prey at Big Brother.

She may be married to NRI businessman but that hasn’t brought about any diplomacy in her. The actress continues to speak from the heart. This was evident at the press conference of Zara Nachke Dikha 2, a show which Shilpa is adjudicating.

Shilpa and her hubby Raj Kundra are among the co-owners of IPL team Rajasthan Royals. As always, some scribe came up with a weird query. This time the lady was asked why her hubby isn’t there in the show.

Hiding her displeasure over the question, Shilpa looked towards Star India EVP marketing and communications Anupam Vasudev and sighed, “Star Plus cannot afford my hubby (laughs). With the money that’s on offer, the channel can only afford me (itne paise mein, main hi aaongi).”

On serious note she adds, ‘No, he won’t be coming on the stage anytime.”

Shilpa’s jokes didn’t end here. Later on, her co-judge Vaibhavi Merchant was answering a query on how big or better the show is, Shilpa butted in to say, “Apart from what Vaibhavi mentioned, people and we too as judges are curious to know what Rakhi Sawant will say this time and what new drama will she create.”

Couldn’t agree more with you Shilpa! The firebrand Rakhi will certainly be up to her dramatics all over again.

Ayesha Gilani is all set to welcome Sania and Shoaib to Pakistan

2010-04-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

Miss Pakistan Ayesha Gilani is all set to welcome Sania and Shoaib to Pakistan. She says that they both are from sports field and make a great pair.

She said that Sania should settle in Karachi as it would be better for Shoaib to be in his homeland.

She gives her piece of advice to the newly married couple that Shoaib should prove to be a good husband and a great father to their children.

Katrina Kaif is carefully studying actress Meryl Streep's character

2010-04-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

It is known news that Katrina Kaif has bought the rights for the French film in her debut as producer.

She is carefully studying Hollywood actress Meryl Streep’s mean character in the film ’The Devil Wears Prada’.

Katrina says that she has to be really selfish, scheming woman who stops at nothing to achieve her ambitions.

She is not copying the actress in the original film but she is having her take on the film. She stated that she doesn’t like such characters in real life.

Dimple Kapadia and Randhir Kapoor will be seen together in Society

2010-04-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

Dimple Kapadia and Randhir Kapoor will be seen together in Rahul Dholakia’s Society for the first time.

The film also has an interesting star cast like Om Puri and Seema Biswas, Sarika, Javed Jaffrey, Paresh Rawal. Dimple said that her love for the Kapoors never dies.

She also said that she needs to behave properly while working with Daboosaab (Randhir) and give him utmost respect. No mauj-masti like she does with Chintu (Rishi Kapoor).

Abhishek Bachchan is indeed the coolest husband in B-town

2010-04-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

Abhishek Bachchan gives his superstar wife, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan details of how his day is progressing.

He calls her at lunch breaks and chai breaks. Also, he tells her the high points of his shoot.

If Abhi is doing media interviews... he even tells wifey dear which journalist he has just finished talking to. Abhi is indeed the coolest husband in B-town and no wonder every other star wife is jealous of Ash.

Sania Mirza is a poster girl no more at some petrol pumps in Bangalore

2010-04-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

Sania Mirza is a poster girl no more... at least for staff at some petrol pumps in Bangalore who have cut out the tennis star’s face off hoardings following her marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

A petrol pump attendant, who did not want to be named, said, "Customers would drive into the petrol pump and ask us why we have posters of the girl who has married a Pakistani. So we decided to remove her face." The owner of the petrol pump said he knew about the cut-outs, adding that he had feared protests from right wing organizations after Sania’s marriage.

L M Motwani, GM: Public Relations for Hindustan Petroleum, expressed total shock: "We have no idea about this. Sania Mirza is our brand ambassador. We’ll look into it immediately." Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar also reacted with disgust, "This act is extremely bad sportsmanship, and shows India in a very mean and parochial light. I’m certain that once she gets back to tennis, it won’t matter whether she’s married a Pakistani or an Eskimo." Sania Mirza could not be reached for comments.

Shah Rukh Khan not nominating for the state's prestigious Raj Kapoor award

2010-04-18T23:51:00.000-07:00

The Congress-led state government has decided to play safe by not nominating actor Shah Rukh Khan for the state’s prestigious Raj Kapoor award for achievement in films. The nominees selected for the award are actor Manoj Kumar and filmmaker Ashutosh Gowarikar.

Following new reports that Khan would be given the lifetime award, the opposition parties had raised objections. The Opposition, especially Shiv Sena, was angry with the government for ensuring release of Shah Rukh Khan starrer My Name is Khan though the latter had announced to stall its release. The Sena was protesting following Khan’s comments that he was keen to hire Pakistani players for his IPL team.

Sources said the names were finalised in a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday. The state government gives awards in the name of Bollywood legends Raj Kapoor and V Shantaram. The awards are given for special achievement as well as lifetime achievement in films. The awards are expected to be announced by the state government on Monday.

Besides, Gowarikar and Manoj Kumar, the state will be give the V Shantaram award to actor-filmmaker Sachin Pilgaonkar and Marathi actress Asha Kale, said the sources. The award distribution ceremony will take place at the Gateway of India as part of the celebration of 50 years of Maharashtra’s formation.

Controversies followed till the final day of Sania Mirza's wedding

2010-04-16T23:39:00.000-07:00

Controversies followed them till the final day of their wedding, but Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik feel their relationship has only got stronger due to the whole episode.

’It was a test for our relationship and it got stronger with the controversy. We learnt a lot. From the very beginning we were very honest to each other and that’s the reason we didn’t have a single argument,’ Sania told NDTV in an interview.

Sania, who was with Shoaib, said: ’The fact is that we are married today and happy. Our family was very supportive, they supported us full heartedly. Nothing would have been possible without them.’

Announcement of their marriage plan made headlines, and controversy followed when a Hyderabad resident Ayesha Siddiqui claimed that she was Shoaib’s first wife and he had not divorced her.

Ayesha filed a police complaint against Shoaib April 4, accusing him of cheating, harassment and criminal intimidation. Police grilled Shoaib and seized his passport.

Facing imminent arrest, Shoaib went on the backfoot and divorced Ayesha April 7 under an agreement brokered by community elders and family members of Sania. Subsequently, Ayesha withdrew her complaint against Shoaib.

The couple, who finally got married April 12, said they will get back to work soon.

’We both are very practical being sportspersons... now as we are finished with one thing and are married... we will move on to other segment,’ added Sania.

According to Shoaib, the controversy has taught him a lot and it will help them in life.

Vidya Balan honoured with the Tejaswini award for young women achievers

2010-04-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan, parliamentarian Priya Dutt and boxer Mary Kom were among those who were honoured with the ’Tejaswini’ award for young women achievers here.

The awards, an initiative of the Young FICCI Ladies Organisation, honours women for their achievements in various fields, from social activism to entrepreneurship.

"I am humbled and feel dwarfed standing on this stage receiving the award alongside the likes of Priya Dutt and Sunita Krishnan (activist) whose contribution is enormous in comparison to me," said the 31-year-old actress who won this year’s Filmfare Award in the Best Actress category for her role as a single mother in ’Paa’.

Dutt who joined politics after the death of her father Sunil Dutt, accepted the award saying that she followed the path of humility preached by Mother Teresa.