But man proposes, Aamir disposes. Aamir insisted that Saif make it to the party at his home last weekend, thereby blowing the whistle on Saif’s carefully-concealed look.

On the eve of his departure to Morocco for the shooting of his second home production Agent Vinod Saif Ali Khan completely revamped his look and went into hiding until he left the country.

According to close friends, Saif was apprehensive about the exposure of his special makeover in as as Agent Vinod. He has lost oodles of weight changed his hairstyle and redesigned his entire body language to play a lean spy.

A friend of Saif says, “If Shahid Kapoor in his dad’s film Mausam has modelled his look on Tom Cruise in Top Gun Saif’s role model for Agent Vinod is Matt Damon in Bourne Identity.”

A special hair styling done by Aalim Hakim clipping off the long tresses that Saif was lately seen sporting had been planned for six months. Saif wanted to delay the haircut until the final moment before his departure from Morocco.

Besides that Saif has been working out frantically and toning his muscles to look sinewy agile and panther- like.

While Saif remained inaccessible for any questions on his makeover for Agent Vinod (he probably thinks even talking about it would invite copycats) his ladylove Kareena Kapoor willingly and proudly spills the beans.

“Saif has never looked cooler. He has lost 9 kilos in three months. He’s all toned and rippling muscles. He was with long hair for so long that I had forgotten how dashing he looks in cropped hair.

Saif has got his hair cropped really short, that’s all I can tell you about his Agent Vinod look. He got it done a couple of days back. Since then he was reluctant to step out of his house.”

So frightened was Saif of revealing his new look that he refused to show it even to his own parents. Only Kareena had the privilege of seeing Saif’s madeover avatar. Until Aamir’s party.

“And that too only because I’ll see how he looks anyway because I’m his co-star, ” laughs Kareena, adding that her look in Agent Vinod would also be unique.

“Aki Nirula is doing my look for Agent Vinod. I don’t think I’ve ever looked the way I would in Agent Vinod. As for Saif he looks like a Hollywood star for the film.I can’t take my eyes off him.”

Priyanka recently shot for Anjana Anjani with co-star Ranbir Kapoor in the awesome locales of Thailand! She was in the lively streets of Bangkok as well as the pristine beaches of Pattaya for the shoot. The team then traveled to New York and Las Vegas where the filming continued.

After wrapping up Anjana Anjani, she began Saat Khoon Maaf in the exotic valleys of Kashmir! The actress was so enamoured by its scenic beauty that she’s planning a family holiday to Kashmir. The tourism department had considered approaching her to be Jammu and Kashmir’s brand ambassador!

PC then arrived in Mysore, where her king-size room at the palace-turned-hotel gave her the jitters! Their schedule was also disrupted by rains, which gave her some respite!

Says a source, “Katrina is the brand ambassador of the airlines. They have signed her on recently and this is her first endorsement of an airlines. It was Katrina who insisted that Farah direct her in the ad. Earlier Khan has directed many stars from Shah Rukh to Kareena.

Kat is thrilled with the sexy glamorous way Farah has presented in Tees Maar Khan. When the airlines asked her who she wanted her to direct for the ad Katrina said she wanted only Farah.”

Farah says, “Yes I am directing Katrina for the airlines. She’s not playing an airhostess but we will be shooting it at their airport lounge in Abu Dhabi. Katrina is flying down for just one day from Spain where she’s shooting for Zoya’s Zindagi Na Milenge Dobara to shoot for the ad.

It will be lovely meeting her after so long. I will also bring the song recording (music given by Vishal-Shekhar) of Tees Maar Khan and get Kat to hear the song. I want her to hear the song and get excited. It’s a rocking solo number which Katrina will be performing to. We will shoot it when she’s back from Spain.”

“Nobody asked me before writing this. There was no kissing scene in ‘Life Partner’ because it was not required. If it was required and if I would have not been comfortable doing it, then they would have cast someone else for the role, ” said Prachi, who made her Bollywood debut as Farhan Akhtar’s on-screen wife in “Rock On”.

She has done some intimate scenes with Emraan Hashmi in her forthcoming film “Once Upon A Time In Mumbai” and says that she didn’t find any difficulty in doing them.

“Even in “Once Upon A Time in Mumbai”, I was told about the intimate sequence in the song. There was nothing I would feel uncomfortable about or I would have to refuse to do. Nothing was actually required in this film. If you see these stories (about being uncomfortable doing intimate scenes), no one is quoting me, ” she added.

Characters

Abhishek Bachchan: Beera

The Undisputed
The Unlawful
The Untamed
Beera Munda – a strong, rugged beast of a man. Anti-establishment, non-conformist, voice of the underdog, and fiercely protective of his people: he’s the beacon of hope for the oppressed lot and the pride and shame of Lal Maati. Nicknamed after the mythological demon Raavan, Beera is a saint and the sinner.

Aishwarya Rai: Ragini Sharma

Conscience
Music
Beauty
Ragini Sharma – a spunky, vivacious woman, passionate about music and art, She is a perfect foil to Dev’s stark, almost rigid demeanor. As ethereal and fragile as the seems on the surface, she is strong willed and tenacious with a mind of her own and doesn’t cow down under pressure. She has her own views and convictions on life and people; and when they are challenged, she resists and fights back but is not afraid of accepting a different viewpoint and seeing the world from the other side.

Govinda: Sanjeevani Kumar

A gregarious, scruffy and unkempt Forest Guard. Sanjeevani is an alcoholic constantly flitting between suspensions from his job. But job or no job, the forest is his home and he knows the deep dark paths of the jungle like the back of his hand. In spite of his admiration for Dev and his work, Sanjeevani has a deep understanding of Beera and his struggle; and though he disapproves of his unlawful means, he is the only person who sees them both for who they really are – as two sides of the same coin, fighting the same battle but on opposing sides.

Chiyaan Vikram: Dev Pratap Sharma

The Punisher
The Law
The Righteous
Dev Pratap Sharma – as tough as nails, aggressive encounter specialist. Determined and steadfast in his ideals, he is willing to go all the way to achieve what he believes is right. Unrelenting in his perception of right and wrong, he firmly believes the end justifies the means, no matter how unorthodox the means employed. He is a man on a mission; and his current mission is Beera.

Synopsis

Dev falls in with Ragini, a spunky classical dancer who is as unconventional as him. They get married and he takes up his new post in Lal Maati, a small town in northern India.
A town where the world of law is not the police but Beera, a tribal who has, over the years, shifted the power equation of the place from the ruling to the have-nots of the area.
Dev knows that the key to bringing order to any place is not to vanquish the big fish; in this case – Beera.
In one stroke Dev manage to rip open Beera’s world, and set in motion a change of event which will claim lives, changes fortune.

Beera, injured but enraged hits back starting a battle that draws Dev, Beera and Ragini into the jungle.  The jungle which is dense, confusing, scary. Beera, injured but enraged hits back starting a battle that draws Dev, Beera and Ragini into the jungle. The jungle which is dense, confusing, scary.

RAAJNEETI is not only ‘Mahabharata’, but also ‘Godfather’. Despite knowing ‘Mahabharata’ or ‘Godfather’, one is not able to presume what games the present-day Pandavas and Kauravas would play in RAAJNEETI. In fact, the story alters constantly, unravelling in a serpentine manner and speed… so much so that you don’t know what’s gonna happen next. It keeps you awed at the constant turn of events. Clearly, unpredictability is the biggest strength of RAAJNEETI. Yet, let me clarify, this is not a documentary, tetchy or preachy film. This one not only entertains, but also enlightens.

The naysayers may point out that the subject material is ‘heavy’, ’serious’ and ‘dry’, but you ought to know that when you adapt ‘Mahabharata’ in the current milieu [present-day politics], you can’t expect ‘item songs’ and ’slapdash humour and mimicry’, for God’s sake. These naysayers may also state that the running time [almost 3 hours] is a no-no in today’s times, but let’s not forget that even 3 hours is too short a duration for a good film and vice-versa, even an hour is too lengthy for a terrible film. RAAJNEETI is a genuinely good product, so you definitely don’t mind its length. But one thing is for sure: RAAJNEETI doesn’t cater to an audience that keeps its brains at home while watching a film. You need to be alert while watching this one.

Final word? Prakash Jha, the persona, is known for qualitative cinema and RAAJNEETI, his new offering, stands tall on the list. Cinema is all about narrating interesting stories on celluloid and for that very reason, RAAJNEETI deserves distinction marks. Of course, the massive star cast and the sparkling performances are the icing on the cake.

Bhaskar Sanyal [Naseruddin Shah], the fire-brand leftist leader, is feared for his single-handed ability to challenge the most powerful of leaders. Until one private mistake of his hurtled him into a self-imposed exile.

Cut to the present day. Prithvi [Arjun Rampal] is the heir to a powerful political legacy and impatient to seize the top position. But his cousin, Veerendra [Manoj Bajpayee], proves his biggest political opponent. He’s a man who believes he was born to rule and who will now stop at absolutely nothing to claw his way back to the top.

Cornered by family and political colleagues, Veerendra plays a new game: He picks up Sooraj [Ajay Devgn], a youngster with anger in his heart and leadership on his mind. Sooraj doesn’t know the secret behind his identity, which, of course, is revealed much, much later.

Prithvi’s brother Samar [Ranbir Kapoor] is an ‘outsider’, with no political aspirations, but he gets sucked into the battle-ravaged arena of family rivalry. Only to turn into a master of the craft of political warfare. Indu [Katrina Kaif], daughter of a wealthy industrialist, is also caught in this web. Last but not the least, there’s Brij Gopal [Nana Patekar], who plays the role of mentor and guide to Prithvi and Samar as the battle gets bloodier by the day.

It requires courage to assemble a mammoth, ensemble cast, pick a story that does justice to each character and give the film the feel of an epic. Also, you ought to have comprehensive knowledge of the subject material – politics, in this case. And for all these and more Prakash Jha deserves all the praise possible. He knows the territory like the back of his hand, having observed the political culture very closely.

At an edited length of almost 3 hours, RAAJNEETI keeps the viewers glued to the goings-on for start to end. Anjum Rajabali and Prakash Jha’s screenplay brings to the fore the ugly face of democracy most realistically and convincingly. The constant twists-n-turns in the story, the characters who change colours faster than chameleons and the blood-bath they indulge in are the highpoints of this film. In fact, there are sequences that merit brownie points, but it wouldn’t be ethical to reveal them here since that would rob the fun while watching the film.

If the screenplay is watertight, the dialogue are equally remarkable. Every line is soaked in acid and only enhances the impact of several sequences. There’s no scope for music in the film and the songs, including the hugely popular ‘Mora Piya’, are interspersed briefly in the narrative. Cinematography is top notch. RAAJNEETI is not an easy film to shoot, given the fact that there are more than 3 or 4 actors in every frame, besides a massive crowd of course.

To slot RAAJNEETI as a multi-starrer film would be erroneous. It’s a multi-actor film and every actor delivers a sparkling performance. The film has some of the biggest names in the business, but the ones who stand out are Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpayee. Ranbir surprises you with every film. Here’s an actor who can give the best in the business sleepless nights. Arjun is a revelation and what a terrific performance he pitches in. He’s like an untamed lion. Manoj delivers his career-best performance. He plays the evil part superbly.

Ajay Devgn is sidelined in the second hour, but you need to give it to the actor for accepting and enacting his part with complete conviction. Nana Patekar is brilliant. He utters the most acidic lines with a smile, which only an actor of calibre could’ve achieved. Actually, you can’t imagine anyone else in this role. Katrina Kaif is first-rate. The sincerity and earnestness shows in every sequence. She sheds her glam doll image and transforms into an actor with this film. Naseeruddin Shah, in a brief role, does well. Sarah is good.

The film has a number of talented names in supporting roles and each remain etched in your memory, especially Dayashanker Pandey, Chetan Pandit, Darshan Jariwala, Shruti Seth, Kiran Karmarkar and Vinay Apte. Nikhila Trikha, as Arjun and Ranbir’s mother, is admirable.

On the whole, RAAJNEETI makes a sweeping impact. A truly admirable effort, this brilliant film is not to be missed.

They speak their hearts out here and the fans love interacting with them virtually.

Big Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, veteran Anupam Kher and even the perfectionist Amir Khan are seen tweeting often.

They have a huge fan following which makes them proud. But what happens, when our heros find no fan following them, suddenly, one day?

On Tuesday, the micro blogging site Twitter remained non-functional for about two and a half hours. This disturbance overlapped with the launch of a new feature, called ‘Twitter Places’ which will allow the users to highlight tweets around a given location.

The worst sufferers were the Bollywood celebrities, who discovered that they had no followers after the incident. In her tweets, Sophie Choudhury said, “In a second, Twitter turned them into zeros from heroes.”

The long list of fans vanished and the celebrities lost their followers. Salman Khan showed his concern about them. The actor tweeted, “I hope that all my industry colleagues are okay with their so called shattered egos.”

The site has said that Twitter may face other technical problems too. But, it is trying its best to avoid the downtime during the World Cup matches.

In a blog post, Twitter spokesman Sean Garrett said, “Last October has been the worst month for Twitter from the perspective of stability and service. We are trying to offer greater stability when it receives a record number of tweets.”

He added, “Twitter will become more trustworthy in the coming days as we are making the necessary changes. We realize that there has been a negative impact on account of the disturbances and we are not happy with it. However, we look forward to the good things, ahead.”

We hope that our Bollywood celebrities get back their followers very soon and the cordial bond becomes even more stronger!

“Woh khabar ek hi din ayi aur bandh ho gayi, na mere ghar par koi CBI ayi, na koi police ayi, aur na hi koi hawaldar aya. Agar isme koi sachayi hoti to koi na koi ghar aa hi gaya hota. (This news was there for a day only. If there was some truth in it, my house would have been raided.

But neither did the CBI nor any police or even a constable come to my house for any enquiry), ” Akshay told reporters at a press meet Monday evening.

The actor added that he felt bothered by such reports, but was getting used to it.

“Such kind of gossip and news keep coming up and sometimes it does create difficulties, but slowly you get used to it, ” he said.

The film is generating a big buzz not only amongst the generation X but also among the trade circles, thanks to its hit music and youthful charm. To top it all it is a Dharma Productions film too.

Our trade sources inform us that UTV, which holds the film’s worldwide distribution rights and is the co-producer of the film, has an offer of Rs. 65 million for the distribution rights of Mumbai circuit alone!

Now that is a quite a good price for a film whose lead pair hasn’t seen success for a long time now. But despite that, confident, that more exciting offers would soon come its way, UTV has still not finalized the deal. The reason being, UTV expects to close the Mumbai deal for Rs. 80 million.

A trade pundit remarks, “Well that is pretty notable, considering that the film stars just Imraan Khan and Sonam Kapoor and is directed by a debutante director, Punit Malhotra.

One can call it either over confidence or full confidence. Imran’s last two films Kidnap and Luck were box office duds and Sonam is yet to taste success.”

Anil’s daughter Rhea who is producing, says, “When I first read the script of Aisha (based on the Jane Austen novel Emma), I realized every character has their individual style reflected through their characters.

Designer Pernia Qureshi and I together created mood boards for every character along with their signature colors, went to New York and shopped. We have also used contemporary European and Indian designers.

The film is about a group of friends seen through Aisha’s perspective and coming into your own. It’s about finding your heart and finding that special someone you can spend the rest the life with.”

Aisha Kapoor (Sonam Kapoor) is an upper class Delhi girl who loves to wear trendy outfits. She’s stylish and feminine yet is very strong. Pernia Qureshi who has designed all the women in Aisha says, “Aisha is very trendy yet girlie and wears lots lace and pretty outfits with polka dots, ribbons, headbands and hats. Her style quotient is the Lady Dior handbag she carries throughout the film.”

Arjun Barman (Abhay Deol) plays an investment banker. Designer Kunal Rawal says his brief was to style Abhay according to his profession.

“Abhay is a clotheshorse. His character is the perfect dresser. Strait-laced yet fun and casual but his outfits are slightly slicker. He’s every girl’s dream. We have given Abhay suits in mixed subtle colors, suits without belts, vintage tie clips, vintage YSL belts from New York in contrasting colors. Arjun loves his brown belts and shoes.”