Bollywood Flash

Now ride the Yash Chopra train in Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:57:00 +0000

Ever thought of reliving the time Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol spent together while shooting the song Zara sa jhoom loon… in a Swiss train from the film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ). Now, Bollywood fans can actually go that distance and not return disappointed. Jungfra

u Railways in Switzerland recently inaugurated a train named after the Bollywood veteran Yash Chopra. Complete with his signature and name on a signboard, the train was launched by the filmmaker in the presence of Jungfrau Railways CEO Urs Kessler in Switzerland on Friday.

Popular songs such as Tu mere saamne… from Darr with Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla and Zara sa jhoom loon… from DDLJ were shot on Jungfrau Railways' trains. Not many know that Chopra's first visited Switzerland in 1984 to shoot his film, Faasle. However, the last Yash Raj Films production to be shot in Switzerland was Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), directed by Siddharth Anand.

Not just that, a deluxe suite of the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel too has been named after Chopra. Parts of the song, Naa jaane mere dil ko…, which were passed off as being shot in London in DDLJ, were actually located near this hotel. "It's a historical and emotional moment. These felicitations aren't just for me, but for my industry and, my country, India," says Chopra, who was also honoured with the Ambassador of Interlaken award, making him its first recipient.

Chopra, who is often credited for showcasing Switzerland in his films, feels his romance with the country is still going strong. "Generally people try to fleece filmmakers when they go to shoot a film abroad. But here, authorities are genuinely interested in helping you," he says, before recalling an incident where a traffic policeman actually diverted traffic to accommodate the shoot. "I was nervous because I had to wrap up the shot that day itself. I was quite surprised that the traffic policeman agreed to divert the traffic."

Zaheer Khan to marry Isha Sharvani soon

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:56:00 +0000

Another good news is doing the rounds just after India's world cup victory. A new relationship is going to be build between two inseparable arenas, Bollywood and cricket. Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan is going to tie the knot with actress Isha Sharvani. Zaheer and Isha has been dating for quite a long time.

Zaheer fell for Isha way back in 2005 when she performed at an event. Their relationship has also seen many ups and downs. They met in 2005, called in a quit in 2007 but after brief period of separation, the duo bonded so strongly as never to split in life.

After the grand victory, Zaheer Khan's parents wanted him to settle down soon and Zaheer too like an obedient son accepted to fulfill his parents wish. Even though the exact date is not yet disclosed, the wedding bells is assumed to ring very soon.

A source informs, "Ever since they gave their relationship a second shot, they have come even closer than before. Wedding bells are in the offing."

Isha did not deny the news but Zaheer was unavailable for his comments.

Magic of thrillers will return with 'Game':

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:44:00 +0000

Debutante director Abhinay Deo, who is gearing up for the release of his upcoming thriller 'Game', says that he aims to revive the genre of whodunit mysteries in Bollywood with the film.

"Not many filmmakers go for making thrillers as it is difficult to make and write. It is a difficult task. Fewer producers opt for such kind of films as the repeat value is less. With 'Game' I am trying to bring back the magic of thriller..the whodunit classic murder mystery type of films," Abhinay said in an interview.

'Game' is a tale spanning five international cities; a slick edge-of-the-seat thriller with twists and turns involving love, revenge, retribution, and good old-fashioned murder. Everyone is a suspect, and every suspect has a motive. And the director hopes that the flick fares well at the BO.

"I was not sceptical of doing the thriller. I don't think I have taken a risk. I believe that our hard work will show up..we have tried our best, covered every aspect to make it a good film," Abhinay said.

Abhinay, who trained as an architect and later joined the advertisement world in 1993, said, "I am somebody who would direct a film purely on the basis of a script. I liked the script..it was too exciting and engaging. The film has a very interesting concept...an edgy thriller."

Asked if he tried to ape 'Teesri Manzil', the classic thriller movie, Abhinay, said, "There is no similarity between 'Game' and 'Teesri Manzil'. The film is very much original. The writer Althea Delmas Kaushal has done a fabulous job. With 'Game' we are bringing back the genre of thriller and murder mystery films and not recreating the magic of any particular film."

Sonakshi, Ranveer desperately want to act together

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:42:00 +0000

Looks like the 'Dabangg' girl Sonakshi Sinha and 'Band Baaja Baarat' star Ranveer Singh will soon share screen as both of them have been incessantly telling the whole world that they would love to work with each other.

The one film old stars Sonakshi and Ranveer, who managed to hit jackpot in Bollywood after their respective debut films are ideally quite impressed with each other's performances and are looking forward to acting together.

Talking about whether Ranveer and she would be acting together, Sonakshi stated, "We do want to work together. We talked about it, but he is very busy with his project at the moment and my line up of films are also sorted. So we don't have the opportunity now. It will take at least another year before we can work together."

Meanwhile, in a recent interview Ranveer praised Sonakshi's acting prowess and stated that he would love to work with her if given an opportunity.

"We do want to work together. We talked about it, but he is very busy with his project at the moment and my line up of films are also sorted. So we don't have the opportunity now. It will take at least another year before we can work together," stated Bittoo Sharma of BBB.

Ranveer says casting couch exists

Recently Ranveer opened up to reveal that casting couch still exists in Bollywood. However, the actor cleared that these sordid practices don't exist in the high-end studios but happens only among small time directors.

"Unfortunately the casting couch exist in our industry. I don't think it exists in the high rung studios because the stakes are too high, the money involved and the people involved are too professional," stated Ranveer.

Ranveer's experience with casting couch

Ranveer, who had initially faced bitterness while trying to enter the industry, revealed that he had experienced the casting couch phenomenon in the early days of his film career.

"Fortunately or unfortunately, I did have the experience of meeting such sleazy gentleman. So it definitely exists," revealed the actor.

Unconventional and loving it

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:41:00 +0000

Directors seem to like the idea of exploring newer genres with me, says Rana Daggubati

Days before the release of his debut Hindi film, Rana Daggubati describes his state of mind to be 'susegad' to borrow a Goan term. "The word describes my character of a chilled out Goan musician, Joki. Chilled out is my state of mind at the moment and I've always been like that," he says.

Rohan Sippy's Dum Maaro Dum pitches him against Abhishek Bachchan, Prateik Babbar and Bipasha Basu. "Everyone is talking about the way I look in DMD. Come on, I was a khakhi-clad strict, rigid politician in Leader. As a Goan musician, I better look drastically different," he laughs.

Rana landed up in Goa days ahead of the shooting to get the vibes of the city. "I am not a veteran actor. I've just done one movie. I wanted to hang out there and see how I can handle the character. Goa is one of my favourite holiday destinations. We've always seen the touristy side of Goa. DMD unfolds in Goa that we have never seen before on Indian screen," explains Rana.

Getting his diction right was easier said than done. "Hyderabadi Hindi is Hindi that no one else can understand. And I think in Telugu or Tamil and not in Hindi," laughs the actor. "I had a month-long training in Hindi while in Mumbai. We also had a diction trainer on the sets. Add to that, I had to lip sync a Konkani song and say a few lines in Konkani. Now, that's a foreign language to me. I had never heard Konkani before. And thanks to Phalguni and others who worked on my look to ensure that a Telugu guy looked Goan," he laughs.

He is all praise for his co-stars for not making him feel like an outsider. "Prateik and I were the first ones to start shooting for the film. Prateik is younger than me and he is extremely brilliant and honesty in his acting. He holds the beginning of the film and he sounds so true to what he is saying on screen. Abhishek is the only one I knew from before and he was my comfort zone. I had never met Bipasha before and she ensured that I felt at ease working with her," he says.

Eyeing Tamil cinema

Ask Rana about having an unconventional launch in both Telugu and Hindi and he guffaws, "I think every director who wants to move away from his regular genre ends up calling me. Shekhar moved from family dramas to political drama with me. Rohan has never explored the drug-mafia nexus before DMD. Jagan (Puri Jagganath) is doing something different in Nenu Naa Rakshashi. And Selva Raghavan, unlike his earlier movies, is doing a hard hitting action film in my Telugu-Tamil bilingual," he explains.

Up for release is also Nenu Naa Rakshashi, which Rana describes as "a romantic thriller involving two complex characters with saddened lives. The subtext of the film is that suicide is the permanent solution for all our temporary problems. Generally, I like to have reference points. Before Leader, I watched movies like American President to see how actors like Michael Douglas deal with such characters. But I couldn't find a single reference point for Puri's film. Korean films do deal with such issues but they are too dark," he states.

Finally, we ask him about another aspiring actor from his family and Rana laughs, "My brother? He is a Standard XII student. Come to think of it, each one of my family members has had something to do with movies. Cinema is a way of life for us. For a short time, I dabbled with a BPO company but realised that was not what I wanted to do. There is so much madness in movies that makes this journey exciting. Your journey begins from scratch in each movie. No other job in the world can match that," he says, resting the case about why his family will always be in the business of entertainment.

Is Bipasha Basu the reason for Rana Daggubati-Shriya Saran split!

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:39:00 +0000

South siren Shriya Saran and Rana Daggubati have split. The decision to break their five-year-old relationship (they managed to keep it discreet for the first three years) came after Shriya learnt about his proximity to Bipasha Basu during the shooting of Dum Maro Dum, in which he debuts in Bollywood.

Shriya lost trust in her man after rumours of Rana-Bips first surfaced. Then came news of the Bips-John split and her worst fears were confirmed. An insider says, "Though Shriya and Rana never made their relationship public, everyone knew about it. It was understood that they would end up together someday. However, Rana started getting close to Bipasha and that's when Shriya decided to end the relationship rather than wait around for him to outgrow his infatuation. Shriya and Rana are not even on talking terms anymore, even though she is still close to his family."

Bips speak

Says Bipasha, "It's preposterous! Surely a gimmick of some sorts. Rana isn't even my 3 am friend as reported. God knows where all this is coming from... give me a break and some respect, please! Sometimes it's tiring to know about your own self through papers. Bizarre! Rana is a newcomer who is paired opposite me just like Ranbir Kapoor was in Bachna Aae Haseeno and Neil Nitin Mukesh was in Aa Dekhe Zaraa. I believe in making a newcomer comfortable and have a rapport so our work is good together. When I was a newcomer, people made me comfortable by being nice and friendly. Why do people have to read into everything? I'm friends with Ranbir and Neil too, so is that wrong

as well?"

Ananya goes to Bollywood

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:38:00 +0000

After her sterling performance inNadodigal and Seedan, Ananya has got an offer from Bollywood to do a film with Madhavan.

One, A Menon, a former assistant of Ram Gopal Varma is making the film in Hindi.

Ananya says: "Yes I have been approached by Mr. Menon to do the film opposite Madhavan. He also gave me a script narration which sounds interesting."

Madhavan after the success of Tanu Weds Manu has become suddenly hot in Bollywood.

He is now looked as a viable hero for mainstream Hindi films. The Madhavan- Anuya project may kick off by May.

Vintage Debut

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:36:00 +0000

A new actress is set to join the ranks of Bollywood's leading ladies. It's the velvet-voiced Asha Bhosle, who will make her big screen debut later this year in producer Nitin Shankar's first Hindi feature film Maaee.

Bhosle will play the lead protagonist, a woman who is abandoned by her only son and goes to live with her daughter and son-in-law. Revolving around the mother-daughter relationship in contemporary India, the film has Padmini Kolhapure in the daughter's role. "This is something I haven't done so far. The moment the story was narrated to me, I connected with it very strongly, especially with the mother's character even though it was far removed from my own life and experience. I just couldn't let this opportunity pass," says Bhosle. In fact, it was Bhosle's son, Anand Bhosle, who gave the script a thumbs up and urged her to take it up.

Directed by Mahesh Kodiyal, Maaee goes on the floor in April and will be shot entirely in Mumbai. The film is being produced by Subhash Dawar and Nitin Shankar of Alliance Entertainment & Rhythm D'vine Entertainment Pvt Ltd.

Sunny happy to be back in Varanasi for Mohalla Assi

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:34:00 +0000

Bollywood star Sunny Deol returned Varanasi after 15 years to shoot for director Chandraprakash Dwivedi's new movie Mohalla Assi and said the experience is 'refreshing' and 'unique'.

'This film brings me back to the city after 15 years and I am sure that I will have a wonderful time shooting,' said Sunny. 'Even though I have come here after a gap of 15 years to shoot, the experience on the banks of river Ganga is so refreshing and unique.'

Inspired by Kashinath Singh's popular Hindi novel Kashi Ka Assi, the film is a satire on social, political and national issues.

'The script of the film is very interesting. The role is something that I have not done in the past, but I am confident of doing full justice to the character.'

For the first time, Sunny will be seen in the garb of a pundit - he will wear a dhoti, kurta, gamcha and Kolhapuri chappals and sport a 'choti' for his role.

Major portions have been shot in Mumbai studios. In Varanasi Mohalla Assi will be shot on a historical location as well as the ghats of the Ganges.

Dwivedi said: 'Ideally, I would have loved to shoot the entire movie on the ghats of Varanasi, but since Sunny has a huge fan following in this region, it would have been difficult to shoot here as thousands of fans would have descend on location to catch a glimpse of the star.'

Vinay Tiwari of Crossword Entertainment Pvt Ltd is producing the films, slated for release later this year.

SRK to share screen space with Di Caprio?

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:32:00 +0000

If rumors are to be believed, then the Baadshah of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan is gearing up to share screen space with the high-flying Hollywood hunk Leonardo Di Caprio.

Grapevine has it that the Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese is looking forward to cast King Khan and the 'Titanic' star Leonardo Di Carprio together, in his future flick titled 'Xtrme City'.

The planning for this project began at the Berlin Film Festival, which the B-town megastar Shahrukh Khan had attended for his 2010 blockbuster film 'My Name is Khan', and the Hollywood actor Leonardo and producer Martin were there to promote their film 'Shutter Island'.

'Xtrme City' is going to be directed by the 1976s 'Taxi Driver' fame director Paul Schrader.

It's learnt that the Bollywood screenwriter Mushtaq Shiekh will be lending a helping hand to Paul Schrader, in penning down the script for the film.

The forthcoming flick 'Xtrme City' is on the whole a crime story, based on the gangsters of Mumbai. The movie will be largely shot in Mumbai, India.

Disney Film Zokkomon to Clash with Abhishek Bachchan's Dum Maro Dum

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:30:00 +0000

Walt Disney's third Bollywood film, Zokkoman, a family fantasy flick, will hit theaters on April 22, the same day as Rohan Sippy's crime thriller Dum MAro Dum headlining Abhishek Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut and Bipasha Basu.

Zokkomon will mark the directorial debut of Satyajit Bhatkal (part of Lagaan production team, author of Spirit of Lagaan).

The film is an action packed adventure of an ordinary boy who rises from despair and solitude to meet unexpected challenges!

Thirteen-year-old Darsheel Safary plays Kunal, the lead in the film. Originally the female lead role was offered to Asin, but she declined due to monetary issues. Manjiri Phadnis replaced her.

The film additionally stars Anupam Kher and Giselle Monteiro.

The music is scored by musical trio Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy with Javed Akhtar's lyrics.

The Screenplay of the movie is by Lancy Fernandes, Svati Bhatkal, Satayjit Bhatkal and Choreography by Shiamak Davar and Raju Sundaram.

Bhatkal says the story is inspired by an article in the newspaper.

Synopsis:

Kunal is an orphaned boy, who discovers how cruel life is when he is abandoned by his heartless uncle. Left to fend for himself, Kunal discovers the hero within and begins his epic journey of adventure and transformation to become Zokkomon.

Zokkomon was scheduled to debut on May 7, 2010, but its release was delayed by almost a year due to scheduling conflicts with Safary's Bumm Bumm Bole.

Disney's earlier productions in India are computer-animated Roadside Romeo (2008) and the live-action Do Dooni Chaar (2010).

Sussanne Roshan launches another interior store!

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:27:00 +0000

Sussanne Roshan, the coy and beautiful wife of Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan opened another interior store this Sunday in Andheri called The Charcoal project.

This 14,000 square feet store will offer a wide range of décor products ranging from modern eclectic furniture to French antique furniture to home accessories, table linen, dinnerware, soft furnishings, crockery, artefacts, installations, accent pieces and limited edition photo-art.

Along with showcasing her collections, her new store will also showcase the creations of numerous Indian and international designers.

It will also showcase Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla's collections along with British interior designer Andrew Martin's collection.

Holding an Associate of Arts Degree in interior designing from Brooks College, Long Beach, California, Sussane started her first work with her mother Zarine Khan.

The launch of Sussane's new store was attended by the who's who of Bollywood including Aamir Khan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahid Kapoor, Katrnia Kaif, Shilpa Shetty, Anil Kapoor and Twinkle Khanna.

Ranbir in South blockbuster ‘Magadheera’ remake

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:23:00 +0000

These days we are coming across several projects in Bollywood that are remakes of some hit south projects. While few top stars are busy in such films currently, latest to join the remake bandwagon is our Youngistan handsome Ranbir Kapoor.

Buzz is that Ranbir has been approached for the remake of 2009 Telugu super hit film 'Magadheera', starring Ram Charan and directed by SS Rajamouli. The Hindi version will also be helmed by Rajamouli and produced by Madhu Mantena and Allu Arvind. According to sources, the producer wanted to sign in the likes of Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor. However things didn't work as planned and finally Madhu went for Ranbir who is also associated with Madhu's brand management company.

Sources believe that Katrina Kaif will play opposite Ranbir, for the leading lady which was played by Kajal Agrawal in the original. For the records, 'Magadheera' is a reincarnation story that travels 400 years back and forth. The film is about a warrior who lived at a time when Mughals ruled a part of North India around the 17th century. The warrior falls in love with the princess he is to protect but they both die only to be reincarnated again 400 years later. The film had created records by being the highest grosser movie in Telugu.

It is said that Ranbir will feature here in double avatars. And to match the script's character, the actor has been asked to work on his body to get into a macho shape.

However, one has to wait for the confirmation from the concerned parties…. So stay tuned…

Playboy cover girl, Candice Boucher, to step into Bollywood

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:21:00 +0000

Well, this is for the first time that a Playboy Covergirl will step into Bollywood. Talking about South African beauty, Candice Boucher, who appeared on the covers of 'Playboy' April 2010 issue, the girl will be making her debut as a sand artist in director Prashant Chadha's 'Aazaan'. Chadha had made his directorial debut with the Himesh Reshammiyaa-starrer 'Aap Ka Surroor'

The film will have the South African bombshell paired opposite yet another debutant Sachiin Joshi. Sachiin may be yet to make his debut but he does have strong Bollywood connections.

'Aazaan' is an international espionage film about an informant who has to go undercover beyond enemy lines to save the nation from destruction by biological warfare.

"I never imagined myself in a Bollywood film but now I'm looking forward to its premiere. I love your country and I want to see a lot of India," Candice said.

"While scripting the film, I felt that Candice would make the perfect mystery miss. Given that she's a Playboy covergirl, the instant connect is, 'She must be hot.' She is but there's also a certain vulnerability that makes her more appealing," said Chadha, who is all praises for this hot body.

Saif shoots ''Agent Vinod'' in Latvia

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:28:00 +0000

Mumbai, Nov 2 Saif Ali Khan became the first Bollywood producer to shoot his spy thriller ''Agent Vinod in Latvia.

The actor who stars along with girlfriend Kareena Kapoor in the movie, is busy preparing for the Mumbai schedule after completing a grueling two month shoot in Latvia.

"The landscape in Latvia is exceptionally breath taking. We shot in many different locations across the different cities. We got access to some heritage structures, like old ruins, churches and museums. We tried to cover as much variety as the landscape offers," director Sriram Raghavan said.

Though the director managed to capture some breath taking shots but that did not come easy as entire team struggled through the language barrier which turned out to be quite a challenge.

"It was very difficult to understand their language since not many Latvians speak English. But we had a great team of locals who helped us communicate. They ensured we had a smooth schedule and a great stay," adds Raghavan.

''Agent Vinod'' will also be shot in Moscow, Morocco and Paris.

Govinda's daughter plans to debut in Jan

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:27:00 +0000

Govinda's daughter Narmada Ahuja, whose debut film has been delayed, says the script has been finalised and the project will hit the production stage early next year.

"The status of that project is we have finalised the script. Everything is done and we are now working on it. Most probably the first schedule of the film will go on the floor in January or maximum February," Narmada, 20.

The daughter of Bollywood's popular funny man Govinda, Narmada too will start her acting journey with a romantic comedy.

"The film is a young, fresh romantic comedy. Even the production house is not new, but they are coming out with a film after a gap of a few years. That's what made me keen on doing this film. I already have another film lined up after this.

"I can't talk about the project because they will announce the film according to their own convenience. They'll do that probably at the end of this year," said the youngster who learnt the ropes of acting at the London Film Institute.

When asked about her co-actor in the film, Narmada said: "All I can say is that my co-star in the film is not a newcomer. I can't reveal any other detail."

She says her father's suggestions helped her in making up her mind about her career.

"Every father gives tips to their kids before they start their profession. My father too gave me a couple of tips. The most important thing that he told me was that no matter what you do, do it with your full heart; give it your 500 percent; and do it only if you are passionate about it because it shows on camera if you are not really into your work.

"That's one thing that really made me focussed about my career and made me more professional about it," said Narmada.

Since she will be working in a romantic comedy, does she have her father's comic timing?

"I really can't judge that right now because I have not started shooting. But you never know, I might come up with something like he does, once we start working on the film," said Narmada who enjoys her father's hits like "Deewana Mastana", "Swarg", "Hero No. 1" and "Partner".

Narmada also defies the notion that star kids get things easily in Hindi filmdom.

"I don't think it's easy for us to enter the industry. At least it was not easy for me because I myself didn't want to get into the industry without any preparation. Once you know that you are well groomed and you're sure you can deliver, then only you should go for it. That grooming part is not very easy," said the upcoming actress.

Aamir back with Farhan Akhtar in next venture

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:24:00 +0000

He is known as the perfectionist in Bollywood and for good reason. When Aamir Khan decides on making a film or for that matter, starring in one, the audience can take heart that the film will not be just an entertainer, but will be one of the best when it releases.

After the success of 3 Idiots, Aamir had been inundated with scripts. However, being the man that he is, he took his time and has finally selected the script for his next film. The star will be next work on a film directed by Reema Kagti, of Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.

Kagti, who co-wrote the script of the as yet untitled film with Zoya Akhtar, has informed that it will be a suspense drama and will see two actresses cast opposite Khan. The project will also see the reunion of the Dil Chahta Hai team – it is a joint venture between Aamir Khan Productions and Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment.

Speaking about the film, Farhan Akhtar said, "It feels great to be collaborating with Aamir a decade after Dil Chahta Hai. We had been hoping to do a film together since then and I'm thrilled that it is finally happening with this script."

Ritesh Sidhwani adds, "I have been waiting to work with Aamir since Dil Chahta Hai and it's finally happening. It's special this time as we are also producing it together, can't wait to start filming!"

Confirming the news, Aamir said, "I found this script, written by Reema and Zoya, really exciting and I am looking forward to working with Ritesh and Farhan once again."

Kareena Kapoor’s Size Zero no more!

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:23:00 +0000

Gone are the days when Bollywood's Bebo will go out on a crash diet to get a lean mean look for her films. Kareena Kapoor has visibly bulked up and like before is not shy to flaunt her newly acquired body. In a statement released to the media, Kareena Kapoor says that she is all set to burn the big screen with her new sexy image in her forthcoming Bollywood ventures.

Is the new look the result of boyfriend Saif Ali Khan's insistence? If reports are to be believed, Nawab Khan has worked hard to convince Bebo to get back to her previous self and following his advice, Kareena Kapoor has bid a happy farewell to her diet and workout, opting for yoga instead. Bebo and Saif Ali Khan are presently busy shooting for a shoe commercial, where apparently the actress' legs were looking plumper than it should. However, Kareena Kapoor herself was not bothered. In fact the girl feels that she looks better in her bulky avatar, when compared to her previous Size Zero self!

Upcoming films featuring Kareena Kapoor in the lead role, will reportedly see the actress in a sexy avatar, promises the Bollywood lass. Films like Ra.One, Bodyguard and Agent Vinod will bring back the old bubbly Kareena Kapoor back to the Bollywood screen.

Priyanka, SRK top Diwali poll

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:22:00 +0000

Priyanka Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan have topped a Diwali poll and are named as Bollywood "Patakha" and "Bomb" repectively. The online edition of MSN India invited its readers to vote for their favourite Bollywood stars in various firecracker categories like Patakhas, Phuljhadis, Bombs, Grenades and Dhamakas this Diwali.

Priyanka Chopra won two titles - "Bollywood Pathaka" and "Bollywood Phuljhadi" for the hottest actress and the best actress respectively and Katrina Kaif came on the second spot in both the categories, said a press release.

While in the hottest actor or "Bollywood Bomb" category Shah Rukh Khan emerged the winner, Aamir Khan topped the best actor or "Bollywood Grenade" category beating the likes of SRK, Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan.

In the best film category titled "Bollywood Dhamaka", Salman Khan starrer "Dabangg" was the clear winner, beating "My Name Is Khan" and "Robot".

Bipasha to star opposite Josh Hartnett in Singularity

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:17:00 +0000

Bollywood beauty Bipasha Basu is all set to romance Pearl Harbor star Josh Hartnett in her first international film Singularity.

Set in different time periods and directed by Roland Joffe, famous for his movies City of Joy, The Killing Fields and Captivity, the new film will see Bipasha playing an Indian she-warrior, named Tulaja.

The script has been written by Ajey Jhankar and other than Bipasha and Abhay Deol, the movie has a host of international stars including Star Trek actor Chris Pine, Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and Christopher Egan among others. Bipasha will fly to Brisbane soon to rehearse with Hartnett and then start filming from 3rd week of November through last week of December, a statement said.

Joffe was in India in September for the casting of the epic romance and plans to shoot a major portion of the film in the country since the story revolves around Marathas in 1780s. The movie traces an impossible love set across two time periods and continents centered around four characters a British officer in colonial India, the Indian woman he falls in love with, an American marine biologist and his lover, who is a researcher trapped in a wrecked British merchant ship. Only the power of a ring can transcend time and save a life. Joffe, who captured the life of Kolkata's slums in City of Joy starring Shabana Azmi, Patrick Swayze and Om Puri, hopes to release the film by next year.

Paul Breuls' Belgian production is producing the film while Corsan World Sales is handling international sales. Anchor Bay holds the distribution rights for the US, UK and Australia.

Earlier, Aishwarya Rai was rumoured to star in the $33 million project.

Movie Preview : Golmaal 3

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:16:00 +0000

Film: Golmaal 3

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Kunal Khemu, Mithun Chakraborty

Director: Rohit Shetty

Cinematography: Dudley

Story & Screenplay : Yunus Sajawal and Farhad-Sajid

Dialogues: Farhad- Sajid & Bunty Rathore

Music : Pritam

Lyrics: Kumar

Editor: Steven. H. Bernard

Art Director: Narendra Rahurikar

Action Director : Jai Singh Nijjar

Diwali season has traditionally been the bumper season for Bollywood releases. Understandably, the biggest movies release during this time. This year two big films Golmaal 3 (Starring Kareena Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Tushar Kapoor) and Action Replayy (Starring Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai) will release on 5th November, a day before Diwali.

The third part comes back with a new storyline and some additions in the star cast, Mithun Chakraborty the most prominent among them. The story centers around a family who live together, eat together and pray together, but at the same time cannot stand the sight of each other! And while the siblings are busy venting their anger on each other, their respective acts will provide for some rib-tickling moments in the movie. While "Golmaal 3" is more about fun and laughter, there are also dollops of love and other emotions in between, promises Rohit Shetty, thus making "Golmaal 3" an ideal family entertainer.

Bipasha bags her first international project

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:15:00 +0000

After sizzling on Bollywood screen for almost a decade, dusky beauty Bipasha Basu has signed her first international project -- English-French director Roland Joffe's Singularity. The 31-year-old is extremely excited and admits she does have butterflies in her stomach. "I am very excited...but have to admit that I am also a little nervous. Everything happened really fast," Bipasha told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

Bipasha met Joffe in a chance encounter at the Taj Land's End Hotel in Mumbai in September.

The $33 million movie, written by Ajey Jhankar, is a riveting tale of an impossible love set across two time periods and continents.

It is set in the backdrop of the First Anglo-Maratha War of the 18th century and revolves around four characters - a British officer in colonial India and the Indian woman he falls in love with, an American marine biologist and his researcher lover -- who gets trapped in a wrecked British merchant ship.

The film will be shot in Australia and India. Bipasha will be flying to Brisbane in the first week of November.

Bipasha, who will be missing Diwali for the initial rehearsals for the film, says she would have loved to get some more time to prepare for her role.

"I am not getting much of preparation time right now. I have been given just eight days to prepare for underwater scenes and horse riding...I wish I had at least a month's time for preparation," she said.

As much as she would have liked to, Bipasha is also not getting much time to brush up on her history.

"There is just no time before I fly out! I have finished all my pending endorsement assignments and now I will try and grasp whatever I can there itself," she said.

Nevertheless, she is looking forward to working with Hollywood actors.

"The script is fantastic. They have a lot of expertise in their field...it's going to be a whole lot of hard work, and it's going to be great fun to adapt to their system of working," she said.

Singularity also stars Bollywood actor Abhay Deol besides Hollywood stars Chris Pine, Josh Hartnett, Olga Kurylenko, Christopher Egan and Shane Briant, among others.

Bipasha will shoot from the third week of November till the last week of December in Brisbane.

Her upcoming Indian projects include Dum Maaro Dum and Abbas-Mustan's Players.

Bipasha is glad that Abbas-Mustan, who gave her a launchpad with 2001 film Ajnabee, were accommodating enough to adjust their dates so that she could give her nod to Singularity.

The film is tentatively slated for a 2011 release.

I'm always under pressure to promote films: Ajay Devgn

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:14:00 +0000

Bollywood star Ajay Devgn may have appeared in Kaun Banega Crorepati to promote his forthcoming comedy Golmaal 3, but he actually opposes the new marketing gimmick of using TV shows to market movies.

"I am always under the producer's pressure to do such things to promote films. If one is doing it, then another has to do it as well because it becomes a habit for the audience to watch such things," Ajay told IANS in an interview.

He joined Arshad Warsi, Kunal Khemu, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor and director Rohit Shetty on the quiz show hosted by megastar Amitabh Bachchan for Sony. The film is releasing this Diwali.

Special efforts are made to create space for movie stars in television programmes, says Ajay.

"Scenes are written to incorporate the stars of the respective film to promote it (through serials). It's not a good idea. I don't know where it will meet its end. But one can't stop it, will have to do it unanimously. I always do it indifferently," said the 41-year-old.

He had earlier appeared on Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma and also featured in an episode of Crime Patrol to promote Aakrosh, a film about honour killings.

The trend was started by Abhishek Bachchan when he appeared on the hit series Balika Vadhu to promote his 2008 release Drona. In recent times, Akshay Kumar joined the cast of Sasural Genda Phool for the marketing of Khatta Meetha; Salman Khan appeared on Laagi Tujhse Lagan for his recent mega hit Dabangg; and Neetu and Rishi Kapoor featured on the comedy show Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma to introduce their film Do Dooni Chaar.

Promotion strategy notwithstanding, Ajay says Golmaal 3 is a fulsome Diwali treat to the audience and what sets it apart from the last two instalments of the brainless comedies is that this time they have a story to tell.

"The only intention of making sequels of Golmaal is to entertain people, not to find logic. We planned to release it during Diwali because that's the festive season and people want to enjoy a movie with family. That's why we try keeping Golmaal clean.

"There is a very interesting story this time. It's complicated in the sense that there are two groups and how they fight and get together. There is a nice emotional angle to it. With laughs throughout the movie, somewhere it touches your heart and again resumes to be a full-fledged comedy," said Ajay.

Talking about his character, he said: "My character is little crazy and mad. He has got a bad temper, which makes the character completely different from the first two. That's why the character is given a very edgy look."

The actor says in real he is not at all like the character in the movie. "I am not a mad person. That character is too short tempered."

The ensemble cast also includes actor Kareena Kapoor. "In this film we needed more characters. Kunal has done a good job in the film," said Ajay.

The national award winning actor, who featured in three different movies this year - comedy Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?, political thriller Raajneeti and underworld saga Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai - has always garnered rave reviews for his varied performances.

"I feel I am very lucky because firstly I got to work in different genres with good directors at the right time. Secondly, I am very happy that people have liked those films. So, I can do different genres and I think acting keeps getting better with experience," he said.

Asin, Salman's secret pact!

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:13:00 +0000

After the fiasco that was London Dreams, you would think Salman Khan would steer clear of films co-starring the Ghajini girl Asin. Not so!

Not only did Bollywood's macho man readily include Asin in Anees Bazmi's Ready, he was also all set to sign another film — Bodyguard — his sister Alvira's production, with Asin!

According to a source, "Salman was bowled over after he saw the rushes of Kavalan, which has Vijay and Asin in the lead. He wanted to do the Hindi remake and wanted Asin opposite him."

However, we hear, Asin declined the offer. Says the source, "Asin said a polite 'no' to the Kavalan remake for two reasons. After Ghajini, in which she starred in both the Tamil and Hindi versions, another Tamil-to-Hindi remake seemed monotonous to Asin. Moreover, three films in a row with Salman (after London Dreams and Ready) would've sent out wrong signals to Bollywood. Asin would like to work with other stars now."

Reports indicate that the actress is on the verge of signing Hindi films with Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan. Surprisingly, Salman completely understands her point of view. The two have decided not to do any more films together until Asin finds her way in Bollywood.

Asin is guarded in her response to questions about the films she has said no to in Bollywood. "It isn't right to talk about films I didn't do. But yes, I've just wrapped up the Tamil film Kavalan. Salman's sister is remaking it as Bodyguard in Hindi, and I'm not part of it. In fact, when the director — Siddique — made the same film in Malayalam two years ago, I couldn't be part of that. I had promised him I'd do the Tamil version and I did it," the actress clarifies.

Aishwarya’s dress code

noreply@blogger.com (Bollywood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:12:00 +0000

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a clothes horse. The former Miss World has been setting trends since the start of her career in Bollywood.

Even her detractors agree that though she was at the receiving end of some nasty barbs for her wardrobe blunders when she appeared on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival, her fan following remains intact. And she has had Indian women across the globe borrowing styles from her personal and film wardrobes.

Taking this aspect into account, film-maker Vipul Shah has given Aishwarya an extensive fashion line in his film Action Replayy which releases this Friday. Says Vipul, "When you define beauty, the first name that comes to mind is that of Aishwarya. She looks equally stunning in western and traditional outfits.'' The film-maker says his cool romantic comedy, set in 70s offered him scope to dress his leading lady in a variety of styles.

Manish Malhotra actually spent months studying the various retro/contemporary designs to give Aishwarya the perfect look for the various situations in Action Replayy. And it now turns out that Ash's wardrobe in the film has become the talking point.

Vipul says, "There will be many women across the globe who will want to ape her style. Not only is she looking hip and cool in the western outfits, even her look in the Holi song is stunning."

Aishwarya has been getting compliments galore for her bright yellow dress in the song Nakhre. The song Nakhre captures the essence of this romantic comedy. And it was felt that a bright colour would suit the robust mood of the song. In other words, a lot of thought has gone into the dress code.

Chaan Ke Mohalla, the holi song in Action Replayy, where Aishwarya is wearing a traditional salwar-kurta, is set in the 70s and it's the first time when Aditya Roy Kapur sees her. Incidentally a Holi song is a must with Vipul. His films Waqt — The Race Against Times, Namastey London, Singh is Kingg and now Action Replayy, all have a Holi song sequence.