Pokkiriraja, the famous Malayalam film directed by Vysakh, starring Mega star Mammootty, Prithviraj and Shriya Saran will soon reach Bollywood and Kollywood audiences. This out-and-out masala movie is confirmed to be remade in Hindi starring Akshay Kumar in the lead role. Meanwhile, this movie is set for its release in Tamil (dubbed version) by next month, titled Raja Pokkiriraja.

Saif Ali Khan is currently creating headlines for allegedly assaulting a man on February 22, 2012. According to media reports, Saif Ali Khan engaged in a fight and punched a man on his face in a five star hotel’s restaurant in Mumbai last night.

Reportedly, the actor was having dinner with Kareena Kapoor along with Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Arora Ladakh and some other friends. At the adjoining table was Iqbal Sharma, a resident of Mumbai, who was having dinner with his family. Sharma objected to the noise created by Saif and company which didn’t go well with the Khan.

Allegedly Saif started arguing with Iqbal and the dispute grew up so badly that it finally ensued into a scuffle. Reports also suggest that it was Amrita Arora Ladakh’s husband who actually started off the fracas with Iqbal however Saif intervened.

Post scuffle, Iqbal launched a complaint against Khan at Colaba Police Station. And a case has already been registered against Saif for assaulting Iqbal and injuring him.

With Vidya Balan emerging as the numero uno actress of Bollywood post the super-success of THE DIRTY PICTURE; it goes without saying more and more filmmakers are making a beeline to cast her in their films or vying to work with the brilliant actor. However, the lady in demand is eyeing to work with the legendary poet and filmmaker Gulzar saab .

Ask Vidya about her wish-list of filmmakers she is seeking to work with and she discloses, “I want to work with Gulzar. I admire his body of work.”

Amitabh Bachchan said doctors might remove the “central line” inserted in his neck by Wednesday night and that he will be discharged from the SevenHills Hospital in a few days.

“Things looking up… by night they may remove the ‘central line’, after which they give me the permission of discharge in couple of days,” the 69-year-old Bollywood megastar said on Twitter.

The veteran actor has been in hospital for over 10 days.

Amitabh was admitted Feb 11 for abdominal surgeries, after which he complained of acute pain. Doctors decided to keep him under observation by extending his stay.

In the past two days, Big B has been trying to get back to his normal self. His food intake has gone up, he has taken a shower, and now he even walks in the hospital room.

Big B quoted from a poem of his late poet father Harivanshrai Bachchan.

Translating it into English, he wrote: “When troubles overtook me, I cried, When greater troubles overtook me, I kept silent and when even greater troubles overtook me, I laughed – After all I live in this world.”

-source : yahoo

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has been charged with assaulting two fellow diners at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace hotel, police said on Wednesday.

Khan, 41, and his friends are accused of assaulting South African businessman Iqbal Sharma and Sharma’s father-in-law after an argument on Tuesday night.

Police said Sharma suffered a broken nose and his father-in-law was also injured during the scuffle.

Sharma said he complained to the restaurant manager that Khan’s group was making too much noise, which annoyed the actor.

“He said you are an idiot. Don’t you know who I am? If you want peace and quiet, go to a library,” the South African businessman told Times Now television.

Actress Kareena Kapoor, Khan’s girlfriend, was also dining with him at the hotel.

On Wednesday evening, Khan was briefly arrested before being let out on bail.

In a statement, the actor said he had been to the police station as required by law but had filed a complaint himself.

“There was an ugly incident last night where my friends and the ladies with us were abused and I was assaulted,” Khan said.

“I was hit and I defended myself,” he said. “I don’t think any gentleman would have behaved differently.”

- Source : Reuters

Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu said Sunday viewers will get to see the “real Bipasha” in her upcoming film “Jodi Breakers”.

“The viewers will get to see the real Bipasha in ‘Jodi Breakers’. For the first time in ten years of my career I play a character which is the real Bipasha, like what I am in real life. It is quite refreshing,” said  Bipasha who was in the city to promote ‘Jodi Breakers’.

Bipasha plays the role of Sonali who is very modern and a bohemian girl. Bipasaha and Madhavan are the ‘Jodi-Breakers’ who help people who want to break their marriages and start a new life.

Actor Govinda has wished megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is recuperating after undergoing abdominal surgery, a speedy recovery.

“I wish him all the best. I pray for his well being. He has always been very active. I wish him speedy recovery. Amitabh ji is not just a personality, he is an icon. We all are very proud of him. I wish he remain in best of his health always,” Govinda said at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week.

On February 10, Sherlyn Chopra uploaded a picture of hers, with the quote, “The soon to be b’day girl in the b’day suit.”

That photograph was however removed from the site forcing her to ask “Did twitter really delete my b’day pic???”

Following this she posted her another nude pic on her twitter picture, saying, “Thx a ton for all ur wishes!!Here’s one more on public demand !!! I was born this way!!!”

Soul, gospel and pop music greats from the past and present are set to mourn Whitney Houston on Saturday, one week after the sudden death of the singer whose spectacular voice and best-selling albums made her one of biggest pop stars of her era.

Houston, who died in a Beverly Hills hotel room last week, recorded stirring love songs and vibrant, dance tunes during a 30-year career that peaked with her 1992 signature hit “I Will Always Love You.” She was due to be honored by family and friends at a funeral service in her native Newark, New Jersey.

There was a heavy police presence outside the invitation-only funeral on Saturday and streets were cordoned off. Houston’s body was expected to leave a nearby funeral home under tight security en route to the church. Fans have been urged to stay home and watch the funeral on the Internet or television.

Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Houston’s cousin Dionne Warwick will sing and speak at the New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston sang as a child in the choir with her mother, Cissy Houston, who was a backup singer for Franklin.

Hollywood stars Kevin Costner and Tyler Perry and Houston’s mentor, record producer Clive Davis, were also scheduled to speak. Oprah Winfrey, Elton John, Beyonce and Bill Cosby were expected to attend the service.

Houston’s family decided against a public memorial, but fans were expected to crowd the streets around the church and nearby cemetery where she is due to be buried.

Many have left flowers, cards and balloons dedicated to the singer who became a global star with her 1985 debut album that included the hits “Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know” and “Greatest Love Of All.”

Houston was among the greatest singers of the 1980s and 1990s, but her personal life and marriage to singer Bobby Brown was tumultuous. She admitted to heavy use of cocaine, marijuana, alcohol and prescription pills.

Her death at age 48 shocked her family, fans and the music industry. Houston was found underwater in a hotel bathtub on the eve of the music industry’s Grammy Awards. A cause of death has yet to be determined.

SO EMOTIONAL

Houston’s grew up surrounded by gospel and soul music legends like Franklin and Warwick. She later forged new territory for a black, female artist who brought R&B and gospel touches into pop music’s mainstream.

After her debut, her popularity grew exponentially with her second album, “Whitney” (1987), with all four singles – “Didn’t We Almost Have It All”, “So Emotional”, “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” – hitting No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Her music videos featuring her 1980s style and innocent, fun-loving image made her wildly popular around the world. In the 1992 movie “The Bodyguard,” co-starring Costner, Houston played a character not far removed from her real self: an international singing sensation coping with fame.

She made other films including “The Preacher’s Wife,” but the 15-year period when she was married to singer Brown coincided with a decline in the quality and frequency of her albums. The couple, who have an 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, divorced in 2007.

Houston’s powerful voice suffered in recent years. On her last world tour in 2010, she struggled to hit high notes.

She spoke publicly about her struggles with addiction. In a 2002 interview, TV journalist Diane Sawyer asked Houston what was the “biggest devil” among her failings. Houston answered: “Nobody makes me do anything I don’t want to do. So the bigger devil is me, I am either my best friend or my worst enemy.”

- Reuters, By Christine Kearney

If Vidya Balan’s sari-clad, traditional look is reminiscent of the evergreen Rekha, the similarity is meant to be! The actress says she has always been inspired by Rekha, be it her looks, her attitude or her body of work.

At a recent award function in Mumbai, the two actresses looked quite similar, and Vidya only feels flaterred with the compliment.

“This is the biggest compliment. I am inspired by Rekha. She is who she is and I have always admired her. When she was doing films, she was doing commercial as well as non-commercial films. She has been an inspiration on that (front),” Vidya told reporters here.

“Besides, I loved her styling and I love to wear saris. I love kanjeevaram saris. The image that I have of true Indian women, comes from Rekha and my mother. So, if people say I am like Rekha, then I am thrilled,” added the 33-year-old.

Anupam and his brother Raju Kher are not mourning the death of their father Pushkarnath Kher and want people to attend the condolence meet in colourful attires.

“We’re indeed celebrating our father’s death. He lived a full life. He witnessed so many wonderful happenings during his life. He liked to spread happiness wherever he went. I’m sure he’s at this very moment making everyone laugh in heaven,” said Anupam.

His father died on Feb 10. Anupam had left for Goa to attend the wedding of his friend David Dhawan’s son when the news of his father’s death reached the actor. He had to return from Goa airport.

“I’m sure if my father had his way, he’d have urged me to attend the wedding instead of returning.”

“My father was my greatest critic and fan. He would call up from our home-town in Shimla inquiring about every snippet of news that appeared about me in Hindi and English newspapers. ‘Beta, unhonein aisa kyon likha?’ He’d wonder at some insignificant but nasty news item. I had to remind him to just chill,” said Anupam.

As Amitabh Bachchan recovers from his surgery, Sanjay Dutt Sunday visited the megastar at the Seven Hills hospital and said he wishes he gets well soon.

‘As soon as I got the news, I came running to meet Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. He should recover soon. I wish him a speedy recovery,’ Sanjay told reporters outside the hospital. He came in the evening.

Sahara group chief Subroto Roy, too, came to meet the 69-year-old who underwent two abdominal surgeries Saturday.

As soon as Big B was shifted to the ward, his daughter Shweta Nanda was the first to meet him. He is expected to be discharged Monday.

Bollywood fans are supposing that the ‘mysterious’ girl beneath the wet white sheet in the first poster of Pooja Bhatt’s directorial venture ‘Jism 2′ may be Sunny Leone.

The porn actress has posted a picture on her micro-blogging site lately and fans have been deriving similarities between it and the ‘Jism 2′s first poster.

If the derivations are correct, the lady beneath may be revealed before Pooja’s official confirmation.

Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s elder daughter Esha Deol Sunday got engaged to businessman Bharat Takhtani, whom the Dream Girl describes as a “good looking” guy.

“The wedding dates have not been decided yet. However, post ‘Tell Me O Kkhuda’, we had decided that Esha would get settled. We will make an official announcement once we decide the marriage dates,” she told reporters and added: “My son-in-law is very good looking.”

The ceremony, which took place at Hema’s bungalow in Juhu, was a private affair and was attended by close family members and some friends.

The Police on Sunday (February 05) arrested a Tamil film actress, Caroline Mariyathasan, over charges of prostitution from a five star hotel in Pune city of India’s western Maharashtra state.

The police also arrested the actress’s 32-year-old stepbrother, who used to accompany her to different cities. Shockingly, the actress’s father, who runs a photo studio at Versova in Mumbai, ran the racket and would identify clients for his daughter, the police said. He is yet to be arrested.

The woman also revealed that her father acted as her agent. She had come to Pune twice earlier for prostitution. She has been charging as much as Rs 3 lakh for two hours. Her customers were also made to pay for air travel and two suites in the hotels they stayed, one for her and the customer and one for the agent.

Senior police inspector Bhanupratap Barge said the actress recently played the lead role in three Tamil movies, none of which have been released yet. As a child, she had acted in several Tamil films. She has also modelled for the garment and diamond industries in Chennai, he said.

Kareena Kapoor Tuesday rubbished reports that she and her beau Saif Ali Khan are planning to get formally engaged Feb 10.

Setting the record straight, the actress said: “It’s completely false, there are no such plans.”

The actress was in the capital to promote her forthcoming film “Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu”, which is releasing Friday, along with her co-star Imran Khan and director Shakun Batra.

Ever since Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza have tied the knot, Kareena has been stormed with questions about her marriage plans.

When asked, she Dodged the question saying, “There are no plans as of now. We are only looking forward to the release of ‘Agent Vinod’. It will release in March.”

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he is shocked to hear about star cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s illness and prays for his well being.

“Shocked to learn of Yuvraj Singh down with cancer..Yuvraj if you read this, know that we all pray for you..All shall and will be well,” Amitabh wrote on his Twitter page.

Yuvraj has been diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his lung and is currently undergoing chemotherapy at the Cancer Research Institute in Boston, US.

Kareena shared her sentiments in a casual tete-a-tete with her friend and “Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu” producer Karan Johar for “A date with Ek Main aur Ekk Tu” – a show to be simulcast Feb 4 on ETC, Zee TV, Zing, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, Zee Trendz and Zee Khana Khazana.

Johar asked Kareena , “How do you feel when you see Saif in an intimate scene with another hot actress? Say in ‘Race 2′, Saif has a bare-body scene with a Deepika in bikini, what would be your first thought?”

To which, Kareena replied: “I’d be like ‘Wow! How hot Saif looks’,” and added: “I know how he looks bare bodied!”

On a serious note, she said: “I am quite secure in my relationship with Saif and though I don’t want to say too much too soon, I am quite content!”

Director David Dhawan, who worked with Katrina Kaif in “Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?”, is impressed with the actress’ “Chikni chameli” act, and is happy with the success of the song.

The director says he is happier because he credits himself for pioneering not just the trend of raunchy item songs, but also Katrina’s career in commercial cinema.

“I started the trend of raunchy item songs with ‘Sarkaiyee lo khatiya jaada lage’ in ‘Raja Babu’. And now look where it has gone,” said Dhawan.

“When she did her first major film, it was with me — ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?’. Look where she is now! I am very proud of her and of Karan Johar for getting her to do ‘Chikni chameli’,” he added.

Actress Manisha Koirala was recently spotted in a very unpleasant state at a party hosted by Rohit Roy to launch his new movie SHAUKEEN. The actress, who was known for her good looks, looked haggard and disheveled at the affair.

If rumours are to be believed then the lady was spotted in a drunken state and was not in a condition to even reach home on her own. And it seems she was escorted by people around.

Nowadays, when every heroine is jumping on the ‘item song’ bandwagon, specially after Malaika Arora Khan’s Munni and Katrina Kaif’s Sheila created a rage across the industry, our very own Marathi mulgi Mugdha Godse, who will be next seen in Gali Gali Chor Hai, claims that she is not as eager to appear in an item song.

In a recent interview, Godse was quoted to have said, “Frankly speaking, I am not game for item numbers because every actress seems to be doing it, and now its getting monotonous. I think that one needs to change this trend by discovering something new. As far as the film (Gali Gali Chor Hai) goes, we are all playing distinctive characters and I don’t think it is a good idea to suddenly jump on an item song.”

Saif Ali Khan didn’t mince words when asked which of Bollywood’s many Khans does his girlfriend, actress Kareena Kapoor look best with.

Apart from Saif, Kareena has so far worked with Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and will soon be seen with young Imran Khan in ‘Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu’. After working with Saif in ‘Tashan’ and ‘Kurbaan’, she will be seen with him again in the upcoming ‘Agent Vinod’, set for release March 23.

‘Kareena looks good with me and there is no comparison! Apart from me, I don’t see anybody (with whom she looks good),’ Saif told reporters here on the sidelines of the first poster launch of his production ‘Agent Vinod’.

Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma is gearing up to set the stage on fire with three popular telly actors; Nandish Sandhu, Sushant Singh Rajput and Shabbir Ahluwalia at the seventh edition of Chevrolet Apsara Awards.

The “Band Baaja Baaraat” actress will perform a bit of hip-hop dance as well as entertain the audience with some Maharashtrian folk style dance lezim on stage.

She will also share the stage with the three TV actors. While she will groove to “Dum dum” with Nandish, Anushka will be matching the steps with Sushant on “Thag le” and Shabbir on “Jazba”.

Southern actor Dhanush has signed his first Bollywood project “Raanjhnaa”.The movie will be directed by Aanand L.Rai of “Tanu Weds Manu” fame. He says he chose Dhanush for his simplicity.

“For the past six months, I’ve been looking for a simple boy to play the lead in ‘Raanjhnaa’. My requirement was a man who could look vulnerable on screen. When I saw Dhanush in the Tamil film ‘Aadukalam’. I liked him immediately. He looks very ordinary and honest, and that was the demand of the character,” Rai said in a press statement.

If the grapevine is to be believed, the director had approached him for the movie before the success of “Kolaveri di”, sung for his Tamil film “3″.

“It’s a big deal to get a launch like this at the beginning of my career here. Aanand’s script is different from regular cinema; it’s one of those ‘made to make a difference’ kind of films,” said Dhanush.

When we all thought that Jiiva, the heart-throb of millions, will be teaming up with Trisha in director Ahmed next, here comes another interesting scoop. It is said that the director has approached Tamannaah also to play a role in the romantic musical. Sources say that the actress has also shown interest in the project. If all goes well, we will see pretty lasses Trisha and Tamannaah sharing screen space with Jiiva soon. Harris Jayaraj is likely to be the music director.

Actress Angelina Jolie managed to get a promise from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar during an event in Los Angeles for directors competing for the Golden Globe for best foreign language film that he would include her in one of his future projects.

Jolie interrupted an interview she was doing at the entrance of Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre to ask Almodovar, who was arriving, for a role in one of his future films.

“When are you going to give me a part? Someday?” Jolie asked the director of “Hable con ella” (2002).

“Don’t worry, you’re young,” a surprised Almodovar replied.

“But you promise that someday?” Jolie said.

“Yes, absolutely. This is a commitment in front of the cameras,” Almodovar said, reminding the actress that they met in Los Angeles when she had just finished “Girl, Interrupted” (1999) and he had released “Todo sobre mi madre” (1999).

Nanban, the kollywood remake of Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots, released on January 12 has made a record-breaking business at the Box office.

If the trade reports are to be believed, Nanban has raked in Rs 57 crore at the Tamil Box Office in the four-day weekend. Witnessing 90% occupancy on single screens and multiplexes, it collected close to Rs 15 crore on the opening day itself.

Nanban was released in 450 theatres in Tamil Nadu of which 27 screens in Chennai. The movie simultaneously hit the screens in Australia, UK, USA, Malaysia, Singapore, and others countries.

Malayalam film actress Samvrutha Sunil recently announced that she will marry Akhil, a Malayali engineer settled in U.S.A. Samvrutha Sunil announced the news of her marriage at the Asianet Film Awards in Dubai. No other details are known as of now. Samvrutha won the Janapriya tharam award for her outstanding performance in Manikya Kallu.

After looking over the positive reports from both the morgue and the probation department, Judge Sautner commented in court, “I’m pleased to say she’s done it all,” adding, “Just keep doing what you’re doing, you appear to be doing it well. The probation officer has written a favorable report, as has the volunteer center.” Indeed Lohan appears to be quite the model citizen. She successfully completed 12 days of required community service at the morgue and four psychotherapy sessions, while also taking the time to meet with her probation officer on a consistent basis. She sounds like a changed woman to me!

Lohan is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 22, where she is expected to have completed an additional 15 days of community service at the morgue and five more psychotherapy sessions. If Lilo continues to fulfill her court-ordered obligations, her probation will completely end on March 29.

A complaint has been filed against National Award winning actor Dhanush and his elder brother director Selvaraghavan for allegedly defaming women in a song sequence in their recent venture ‘Mayakkam Enna’.

According to the complainant K Ramasubramanian, “The song Kadhal En Kadhal Athu En Kanneerula… in Mayakkam Enna, there are words like “Adida Avala, Othaida Avala, Vetra Avala, Thevaye illa” ( hit her, beat her, leave her, it doesn’t matter) and “Ponnunga ellam valvin sabam” (women are the curse of life).”

Ramasubramanian added: “These words are highly objectionable as they insult women. They are not only derogatory by nature, but are intimidating and also tend to incite hatred and violence towards women.”

Stating that in India women were being treated as the form of Goddess Shakthi, the complainant said Dhanush and Selvaraghavan had insulted them in the song, which was penned and crooned by them. Meanwhile, Selvaraghavan’s wife Geetanjali has denied the allegations, saying “The song was jovial in nature”.

‘Nanban’ and ‘Vettai’ are cashing in a lot on Pongal holidays, which started on Saturday and go on till Tuesday. “Theatres showing Nanban and Vettai are screening extra shows which are packed with full house audience,” trade circles say.

Brimming with hope that the starting of the year itself has turned out positive for them, the sources add: “Last Pongal the box office was dull and made only average collections. But scenes are straight contrasting this harvest festival.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government exempted Vijay starrer ‘Nanban’, directed by Shankar, from entertainment tax, after it found that the film was in adherence to the new standards set by the AIADMK regime led by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

As per the new rules, a movie applying for tax exemption should have a ‘U’ certificate from the Regional Censor Board and should keep within Tamil culture and sensibility. Since the 22-member committee felt ‘Nanban’ followed all the rules, it recommended the movie fit to be exempted from tax.

When it comes to his daughter Trishala, Sanjay Dutt is a very protective father. He does not want her in showbiz.   The 22-year-old was interested in acting but Sanjay didn’t back her.

“Absolutely true and underline it 500 times,” Sanjay told IANS, about his opposition. “If somebody says give me the reason, I am going to show my finger because she is my daughter.”

Trishala is from Sanjay’s first wife Richa Sharma, who was an actress and died of cancer.   The 51-year-old Sanjay, now married to Manyata from whom he has twins, believes women have to struggle a lot in the film industry and he doesn’t want his daughter to face all this.

“If you want the reason, my father (Sunil Dutt) never wanted any female from my family to join the film industry. Not because film industry is a bad place for woman, not because film industry is taboo in the country, only because it’s a huge struggle for women. Being the oldest in the family I can’t give up that legacy,” said Sanjay, whose mother Nargis was a top notch actress of the 1950s and 1960s.

This restriction is not only imposed on his daughter, but his nieces are kept away from the arclight.

“My sisters would have also come… even their daughters, who are so pretty, could also have come,” he said.

Unfortunately, he didn’t spend some quality time in her childhood days with Trishala, who was raised by her maternal grand parents in the US.

“I have never seen the aspect of fatherhood with Trishala. That’s a sad thing and my bad luck. I feel sad for her. Anyways that was my bad luck. I wish I could spend all those moments with her also. Nonetheless, we will make up.”

Vidya’s ‘in character’ appearance

After her sexy Silk Smitha avatar in The Dirty Picture, Vidya Balan created a sensation when she arrived dressed as a pregnant woman for the first look launch of her next flick ‘Kahaani’. Take a look….

Vidya, who plays a pregnant woman searching for her missing husband in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani arrived at the first look launch of the movie ‘pregnant’. Vidya, talks about her role in the flick. She plays Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman who ends up in Kolkatta looking for her missing husband.