Friday, January 30, 2009

John loves his bike shoot

Bollywood's hot boy John Abraham recently got a chance to spend loads of time with his original love - bikes on a sunny afternoon as he posed for the cover of the latest GQ.

John's the cover boy for the newest edition of the magazine.

Unlike 'Dostana', John is showing no skin here and interestingly he loves doing photo shoots like these more than shooting for movies.

He says, "It's going to be a very retro biker shoot, something that I haven't done in ages. With lots of bikes but the old ones.The whole shoot is shot around these couple of bikes, with tyres lying around, oil and is the kind of space I would want to live in. I am very comfortable in this space."

Photographer, R Burman was super impressed too. He said, "The thing that really struck me about John is that he is very original. He is very organic; he doesn't have any airs, is very down to earth and it's fantastic vibration to work with him."

Johnny Boy's ways are unique indeed.

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Shahid gets himself a cool bike worth Rs. 15 lakh

Shahid is an enthusiastic bike lover. Recently he got himself a new bike. Not many know that that the younger icon of India got this bike only after his parents allowed him to do so. And for that he had to assure them that he would ride safely.

Says a source, "Shahid loves biking. When he was shooting with Ahmed Khan for Ishq Vishk Pyar Vyar, Shahid would go with him for long bike rides along the Western Express highway.

And now, he has gifted himself a new bike but only after his parents approval. Shahid's new bike is a midnight black, air cooled, sportsbike with high torque speed and 1670cc machine, costing around Rs. 15 lakh."

"Shahid chose black as he doesn't like anything bright, flashy and over the top but rather classy, understated and subtle stuff.

He is very possessive about it and insists on cleaning it himself. He has been biking a lot these days especially at nights and also while going for his shoots", siad the source.

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SRK is not ashamed of Slumdog

Many critics and prominent industry people have been fuming about the fact that the Oscar nominated film 'Slumdog Millionaire' highlights the poverty in Mumbai.

But the baadshah of Bollywood SRK has no problems with it.

He thinks that the poverty seen in the film is a reality and thinks it's wrong for people to become cynical when the film is getting international acclaim.

Khan, who has read the original book as well as the script says, "Isn't that (poverty and slums) a reality? If you (critics) have a problem with the word slumdog, why don't you look positively and see that there is a word millionaire or 'crorepati' also."

Khan, has returned from Los Angeles after a month-long schedule of Karan Johar's 'My name is Khan' and testified, "I have just returned from the US and people there have become crazy about the film and its music. The film's sound is also good apart from a good story and screenplay. The film deserves all awards."

However he doesn't regret turning down Anil Kapoor's role in the film.

He says maybe he wouldn't have done justice to the role of a game show host like Anil Kapoor. He was already hosting 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' (KBC) and later 'Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tez Hai' during the time Danny shot the film and will do the new season too.

He adds, "I love awards and I hope to feature in a film comprising Indian cast and crew some day which will go to win these awards. The success of 'Slumdog Millionaire' worldwide is an incentive to all Indian filmmakers."

And we always thought that the baadshah was totally in love with Bollywood only and didn't really care about anything else. It's nice to see him talk with an international perspective for a change!

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When Rishi Kapoor romanced Ranbir's first crush

The newly launched show 'Oye! It's Friday!' has been making waves since weeks now, and this week's episode promises to be one of the best. We bring to you the reasons why this episode will be one that shouldn't be missed.

How often is it that you see the best of two generations together? The answer is quite simple, almost never. Adding another feather to multi-talented Farhan Akhtar's hat is this week's show which promises not just to enthrall but even and as always entertain you. The episode features the chocolate boy of the yesteryears-Rishi Kapoor and the current heartthrob - his son Ranbir.

Farhan's upcoming film Luck By Chance is playing on everyone's mind and Farhan being the genius that he is has crafted this special episode for the film LBC.

There are obvious points of interest that should not be missed which we make easier for our readers:

- Relive the memories of the father-son duo - Rishi and Ranbir during the shooting of the film Luck By Chance along with co-star Isha Sharvani.

- The experienced Rishi Kapoor shares his tale of the tough time he had gone through during the shoot and also reveals the fun moments on the sets.

- While Ranbir Kapoor bares his heart out to Farhan as he confesses about his relationship with the beautiful Deepika Padukone. And yes he also talks about his first crush…

Ranbir pours his heart out and admits that he felt cheated when he saw his dad, Rishi Kapoor, romancing his childhood crush Madhuri Dixit, a source from the channel said.

"Ranbir confesses that as a teenager, he had a huge crush on Madhuri and that he even had posters of her in his cupboard. He talks about the time when he finally got to meet her on the sets of 'PremGranth' only to find his father romancing Madhuri in the film," the source said.



- This 'roller-coaster' episode also features a stylistic and acrobatic dance act by Isha Sharvani, and an entertaining skating performance straight from Germany. It's an all-round expose with the Kapoors' on 'Oye! It's Friday!' on January 30th at 10:00 p.m.IST only on NDTV Imagine.

If all this wasn't enough to get you moving, the special episode also features the ever gorgeous and breathtaking performance by the beautiful Isha Sharvani and her dance troupe.

This Luck By Chance special episode of 'Oye! It's Friday!' promises to be a fun, moving and flexible episode this week. So don't miss it.

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I look up to Sush when it comes to style: Deepika

She is young and beautiful. Her style and attitude reflects through her personality. Being a youth icon she has been offered many fashion brands but being choosy Deepika became brand ambassador of Levis.

We asked her about her personal style and her favorite brands. Speaking about fashion she says, “I think when it comes to fashion there are certain things that will never goes out of style. Anything in black, saris and salwars will never go out of style. Denim is something that is here to stay will never go out of style.”

But who do you look up to when it comes to fashion? “I look up to Sushmita when it comes to style.” Deepika gives more importance to comfort when it come to fashion.

“I like to wear clothes that make me feel comfortable. I am not very band conscious person. One thing is most important for me is comfort. I have to be comfortable in whatever I am wearing.” She adds.


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Mallika Sherawat Hot Sexy In Mini Bikini


Sexy New Bikini Pic Of Mallika Sherawath

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If SRK dances with me I will do it: Chitrangada

After making a comeback through Onir’s Sorry Bhai Chitrangada was in news recently. Apparently this talented actress refused to be part of Aamir Khan’s forthcoming film Delly Belly.

Calling it as a rumour Chitrangada said “No nothing like that has happened. It’s just a misunderstanding. I too heard about it but no one came to me personally about the film. It just got out blow out of proportion. There was nothing like that.”

Chitrangada informs that she would love to work with Aamir in future. The actress doesn’t stop talking about Aamir. “I think Aamir has high credibility. He is amazing. He is a perfectionist and whatever he touches becomes perfect.”

This two film old actress is so much talented and all two films were non commercial films. “If a film makes sense to me I will do it. If Shahrukh dances with me I will do it.” she quips.

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John Abraham's pole stint



John Abraham has hurt his leg badly yet again.

It was while shooting for David Dhawan’s film Hook Ya Crook that the accident happened. A unit hand informed us that John had to slip down a 20-foot pole for a scene. He didn’t get it right and slid quite badly. Unfortunately for John, he landed directly on his leg. Despite being ordered take some rest, John quickly treated himself to some first-aid medication, and went pole sliding all over again. This time he got it right, and then rushed to the X-ray clinic. Talk about wanting to get it right, hook ya crook.
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Emraan Hashmi shares his plans for 'Raaz 3' and fatherhood

His "Raaz 2" has got an encouraging opening and actor Emraan Hashmi (pictured left) is all set to work in the third installment of the spooky thriller. He also feels secure enough to start a family now.

"We're trying for a baby and we should be parents by next year. One is never prepared for fatherhood. And if I wait to be fully prepared, it will never happen. But I'm getting into the mindset now," Emraan, who is married to Parveen Shahani, told IANS.

Talking about "Raaz 3", he said: "Yes we're on," said Emraan. "The third part will also be directed by Mohit Suri and I'll play the lead. The rest of the details are yet to be decided. The cast of the second 'Raaz' film was totally new. And I think I'm going to be the only actor common to 'Raaz 2' and '3'."

Emraan feels vindicated by the audiences' response to "Raaz 2", which also starred Kangana Ranaut and newcomer Adhyayan Suman.

"My wife kept telling me I should try the genre. I had never done horror before. It's believed in the trade that horror films open well and then soon fizzle out. But then it was also believed that a film looking at the seamier side of cricket ('Jannat') would never do well.

"I like to walk the lonely path. That's why you don't see me at parties and functions. Maybe that's why I play the part of the loner and watch another guy take away the girl I love," Emran said, drawing attention to his loser-lover's role in "Awarapan" and now "Raaz 2".

Emraan, who has been lying low during the publicity of "Raaz 2" thanks to all the focus on real-life pair Kangana-Adhyayan, says he didn't feel left out.

"Kangana and Adhyayan were a real-life couple. I can't concoct an affair just to be noticed. I was confident my work would speak for itself. Sure enough I believe people clap when I come on screen the first time. I do have fan base, though it might be small," he said.
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Deepika wants to launch her website

Deepika Padukone is very happy as she has been declared the most searched celebrity on Yahoo! India in 2008, beating competitors like Katrina, Bipasha and Kareena.

Though she is not an internet addict, Deepika is planning to launch her own website in order to stay in close touch with her fans and provide them with an update on her life and career. Apparently, she answers all the emails fans send her.

To begin with, she is searching for a suitable domain name for her website.

Even though Deepika plans to launch her website, she says she uses the internet mainly for emails and is not so much into surfing the internet. For that matter, she doesn’t even like sending an SMS. She prefers the good old telephone when it comes to connecting with her near and dear ones.
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Ash be next to join politics

After 'Munnabhai' Sanjay Dutt, it could be the turn of Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as a Samajwadi Party candidate.

Samajwadi Party workers and leaders in Bihar have decided to offer Aishwarya the party ticket for the Madhepura seat against Janata Dal-United (JD-U) national president Sharad Yadav, a party official said.

In view of the overwhelming demand of the party workers, the Samajwadi Party Bihar parliamentary board has recommended Aishwarya's name to party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Senior party leader Tulsi Singh told IANS that a large number of party workers and people had requested him to convince Mulayam Singh to give the party ticket to Aishwarya from Madhepura. Singh is chairman of the party's state parliamentary board.

The Madhepura seat is held by the Rashtriya Janata Dal's Pappu Yadav, who is serving life imprisonment in Tihar Jail in Delhi for his involvement in the murder of Left leader Ajit Sarkar. His wife Ranjita Ranjan is a Lok Janshakti Party MP from Saharsa.

JD-U leader Sharad Yadav is likely to contest from Madhepura, his old seat.

In the last Lok Sabha polls in 2004, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, the RJD chief, won from Madhepura by defeating Sharad Yadav. Lalu Prasad later resigned the Madhepura seat and opted to retain the Chapra seat.

Madhepura, a rural seat, is dominated by the backward Yadav caste. Last year, Madhepura was hit by devastating floods when the Kosi river changed its course after a breach upstream in Nepal.
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Thank You Priyanka, with love from SRK


Shah Rukh has been taking more than a passing interest in the music for the films he produces. And Priyanka Chopra would vouch for that.

If she declares from rooftops that she is Shah Rukh Khan's biggest fan then it with reason. The man just floors his ladies, without trying to be be charming.

What he did for Priyanka Chopra in Billu Barbar would certify as pure magnanimity and generosity, both as a considerate co-star and producer.

Shah Rukh decided to give away a large portion of his duet in Billu Barbar to Priyanka.

Says the film's excited music composer Pritam Chakraborty, "Shah Rukh took very close interest in each one of the songs. He isn't a musician. But he has an instinctive ear for music. It takes him just a few seconds to approve or cut down a track."

With the songs meant for Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, Pritam faced no problems. "Shah Rukh loved his songs with Kareena Marjana and Deepika Love mera hit hit. They were straightforward dance songs with shared grooves between Shah Rukh and Kareena/Deepika."

The Priyanka song needed special treatment. And Shah Rukh made Pritam re-work and re-record the song.

Divulges Pritam, "Shah Rukh's song with Priyanka Khuda-ae-kher is not an item song. It's a love ballad that the pair playing Bollywood superstars, emote to in front of the camera.

Being a love song Shah Rukh felt there wasn't enough of the female presemce in the vocals. He made me re-record the song with more for the female vocalist (Dominique) to do since he wanted Priyanka to have an equal number of lines."

Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutta who play a rustic couple will later be seen enacting the same Shah Rukh-Priyanka ballad exactly the way the village couple had seen the stars do the song.

From sharing Akshay Kumar on screen in Andaaz to sharing the same love song, the Priyanka-Lara Dutta rivalry sure has come a long way.

Laughs Pritam, "It was entirely Shah Rukh's idea to give Priyanka more lines in the song. He's a very generous entertainer. If you see him on screen he never tries to steal the limelight from his heroines. Even Khai ke paan banaras wala had a lot of Priyanka in Don although it was entirely Shah Rukh's song."

When told about Shah Rukh's gesture, Priyanka stays silent for a while. She then sighs and says, "What do I say? Now do you know why he's my favourite?"

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Is the Asin vs. Jiah battle still on?

There were talks about Asin and Jiah Khan not being able to get along during the making of 'Ghajini'. Apparently Jiah was miffed because Asin had more footage and Asin was insecure about Jiah's presence too.

Now Asin's career seems to be going great guns after a hit with Aamir Khan, what with a big film 'London Dreams' opposite another Khan, Salman as well as Ajay Devgan. There are talks about her acting with SRK too and there's a buzz that she has also signed a contract with Yash Raj Films.

Jiah Khan who got overshadowed in films with Amitabh Bachchan (Nishabd) and Aamir Khan (Ghajini) has not lost heart either. She has a film with Shahid Kapur and the buzz is that she'll work with Khiladi Kumar- Akshay too.

So the battle is on and Asin is spending busy days and sleepless nights. And since the Mallu lass has no time for love, she only dotes on her family and has said that her 'dad is the only man in her life'.

Jiah must be doing the same too. Well these dames sure love a lot of competition. The more the better.

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Shah Rukh to recreate Mogambo



After his tremendous performance as a villain in “Baazigar” and “Darr”, Shah Rukh Khan may again be seen as a villain in a film.

SRK has reportedly been offered the role of Mogambo in the sequel to “Mr. India”.

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur is presently working on the sequel, which is titled “Mr. India 2”. Shekhar, who is very close to Shah Rukh, is said to have made this offer to him.

It will be a role of a lifetime for Shah Rukh if he accepts the offer.

Mogambo was earlier played by the late Amrish Puri and to date remains one of the most iconic negative characters in a Bollywood film. Puri’s performance, especially the line “Mogambo khush hua”, is still remembered by the masses.

Shekhar short-listed Shah Rukh as the actor has given noteworthy performances as a villain and Shekhar feels no one can do better justice to Mogambo’s role than SRK.

Anil Kapoor and Sridevi will also be seen in “Mr. India 2”.

Now we are awaiting Shah Rukh's answer, which we hope be in the affirmative.
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I am a slumdog millionaire myself

I am a Slumdog Millionaire says Anil Kapoor. The actor high on the success of his film draws similarities from the film to his own life when he made it to films. Anil Kapoor who has been in the industry for nearly two decades now says that his life is much similar to the Slumdog in the movie. "I resided in a small house in Chembur and had to struggle and work hard to become a millionaire and stay in Juhu.

The actor who has made it to the top despite his struggles advises the youth of the nation to be focussed. "All I can say at the moment is if one has to come up in life you have to be focussed and work hard. Don't get bogged down by jealousy."

With the success of Slumdog we quiz the actor if he is open to many more international ventures "Why not if something interesting and good comes up I will definitely do it. Right now I am looking forward to the film here in Mumbai and see how people will react to it."

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More honours for Slumdog Millionaire



Danny Boyle's acclaimed film "Slumdog Millionaire" has taken home two more major US film industry awards over the weekend, winning the top prizes from both the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild of America.

Bollywood stars Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, British Indian actor Dev Patel, and newcomer Freida Pinto received the overall cast prize for the Mumbai-set rags-to-riches saga at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday (January 25) night from Anthony Hopkins.

Anil Kapoor, accepting on behalf of the "Slumdog Millionaire" cast, dedicated the award to the slum children shown in the movie.

"They deserve this award. They set our performances," he said. "It's the children who've done it, not us."

The Oscar-nominated film tells the heart-warming story a young man from the slums of Mumbai who risks all for love and for a shot at instant wealth as a contestant on the Indian version of the TV game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".

Patel, who plays the protagonist, and Pinto, his ladylove, introduced the film clip at the event.

"Slumdog Millionaire" also won the top prize from the Producers Guild of America on Saturday (January 24), giving it another boost in the race for the Oscars next month.

The top award from the Producers Guild of America or PGA goes to the movie's producer, in this case Christian Colson, whose previous feature credits consist of three relatively obscure thrillers.

Meanwhile, following its 10 Oscar nominations and expansion into more theatres, "Slumdog Millionaire" has jumped into the North American Top Five for the first time in its 11-week run with its weekend gross soaring by 80 percent to $10.55 million.

Now running in 1,411 theatres across America, up 829 from last weekend, the film has to date grossed a total of $55.92 million, according to the movie website boxofficeguru.com.

The Producers Guild award is considered an important bellwether for Oscar success as its members make up an important constituency of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes on the Oscars.

In its first 19 years, 12 of the PGA's top film picks went on to win the Academy Award for best picture, including last year's champion "No Country for Old Men" although the producers missed the mark for three straight years starting in 2005.
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Preity Zinta back in cricketing gear

Preity Zinta is a very known face in bollywood and now also on the cricket field. She is known to own the biggest and the best team in cricket today. Last year her team Kings XI Punjab performed very well in the T-20 tournament.

Preity knows very well how to boost the confidence of her players and to encourage them. Her players were very motivated through the tournament by Preity's presence during all the games whether they were successful or they lost the match.

Preity now wants to attempt to give chance to budding cricketers to showcase their skills. Her Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will hold a cricket seminar and tournament in Chandigarh and Mohali.

The aim of the seminar and tournament will be to conduct a T-20 tournament between the teams of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and J&K. It will also a platform for the States to connect with different communities of the nation.

The tournament is being conducted in conjunction with the state associations and in particular the PCA.

KXIP Cup matches would be played in a league format among five teams i.e. two from Punjab and one each from the other three states. Each team will comprise of 14 players and two officials. A total of 11 matches will be played in the tournament.

"My aim is to promote cricket at the grassroot level and to nurture new talent. I also want everyone involved to have fun, " says Priety.

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Slumdog is hardly best work of Rahman, Anil

'Slumdog Millionaire', which is presently the talk of the nation for being nominated for 10 Oscar Awards this year, is given an insight by Indian Film industry’s most experienced Director-Producer and pioneer in filmmaking, Mr. Mahesh Bhatt, who is also often referred to as The Encyclopedia.

'Slumdog Millionaire' is going to do no use to India and it is not at all an Indian Film is what he says. “It is Danny Boyle’s film and he is just using India’s finest talent to hit hard at the Oscars this year. I think the film would be very good as is being praised by many and I don’t criticize its content.

But my question is, why is it that the same Indian talent is never recognized by the Oscar Jury when it independently enters the race of awards? When it is a foreign film with Indians, you honor it and when it is an Indian Film of same caliber, why not even have a look at it", asks Mahesh Bhatt.

'Slumdog Millionaire' might be starring Anil Kapoor and Irfaan Khan in the film, but Mahesh Bhatt doesn’t think it to be as best of their works. In fact he believes that there are much better Indian Films that they have worked in.

He says, "Anil Kapoor is just playing a cameo in the film and is not in the main lead. The main leads in fact are not Indian actors even. So it is just like making hay while the sun shines for Danny Boyle, who is using the Indian effect for grabbing an Oscar."

In Delhi to promote his film 'Raaz-The Mystery Continues', India’s most expensive horror film till date which released yesterday worldwide, Bhatt saab very confidently said that 'Slumdog Millionaire' is not the best work of even A.R Rehman.

“If you see his work in the past, he has produced such a quality product that it shouldn’t even take a minute to award this legend. His music in 'Taal', 'Rang De Basanti' or even 'Lagaan', which was nominated for the Oscars, stood nowhere in eyes of the Oscars’ Jury.

However, when his music has a white connection, it comes to the priority list of the awards. Why? So is it that we Indians are incapable of making it to Oscars? Or it is just that we would be used for other’s benefit and just left unrecognized, ” questions Mahesh Bhatt.

He firmly said that India is on path of yet another slavery and if others can’t respect our talent, they have no right to use us. He also said, “In my opinion, if any Indian related to this film gets the Oscar, it should not be kept in India, because we want to actually win the Oscar and not be given as an offering.”

Mahesh Bhatt who is busy promoting his film 'Raaz The Mystery Continues' is very confident about his film and says that “I don’t want to make any comparisons of my film with 'Slumdog'. It may be a very nice film; however I can’t comment on it as I haven’t seen it. But yes, RTMC is what I can guarantee you is the perfect 21st century horror film. Never can a film like this in this genre be made again.”

Emraan Hashmi and Kangna Ranaut saw the first day first show of RTMC film at G3S Cinemas at Rohini in Delhi on Friday amongst the Full House audience and were mobbed for appraisals.

“I am highly touched with audiences’ reaction. The other day, my daughter found a beggar on the streets of Mumbai singing 'Maahi', and there and then I knew that there is nothing stopping Raaz now. It is going to be a genuine hit, ” signs off Bhatt.

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Why Sonam Kapoor likes Abhishek so much?

Rakeysh Mehra’s Delhi6 is all set to release in February. Director Mehra released it’s music on the sets of a reality show.

But while everyone including Sonam to director Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and others participated enthusiastically, lead actor Abhishek was nowhere in the promotion.

When asked about the Abhishek Bachchan, Rakeysh informed us that Abhi was busy shooting for Mani Ratnam’s Ravana somewhere far off, with wifey Aishwarya Rai.

Interestingly both Ash and Abhishek were very much in town to grace another event that happened in the same evening.

It is believed that and promotion that has given more importance to Sonam. It seems that Abhishek is not so pleased by the promos as Sonam is getting lot of attention from the promoters thus AB baby has taken the backseat. When we asked Sonam about Abhishek she said, “I liked working with Abhishek.

He is really a cool guy. He is fun to work with. We all had fun on the set. We both are foodie.”

Hope Abhi feels the same for his co-actress.

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Kangana opens her mouth

The unconventional looking Kangana Ranaut has made it in Bollywood her own way, but she still remains controversy's favorite child.

Be it for the acid attack on her sister Rangoli, her affair with the much older Aditya Pancholi, his outburst against her later and the her liason with Adhyayan Suman, she has always created news. Well, that has helped a lot too, but that's another story.

There have been spats with her current man's parents too.

Recently Shekhar Suman had reportedly yelled at Kangana during a debate on money-making films. He reportedly went on to make a grave remark and blatantly told her that he knew what her knowledge was and how she kept the fire burning in the kitchen. He then went on to give an interview hinting that he really doesn't approve of Kangana much.

But Kangana has a totally different story to tell.

The actress whose 'Raaz — The Mystery Continues', opens today says, "I had a hearty laugh over that bit of news. They seem to be very fond of me. If ever our parents object to our relationship, we will end it. It's family that matters the most."

More over some people have been saying that the dame has had plastic surgery as many felt her looks changed dramatically ever since the publicity promos and release of 'Fashion'.

She says, "I have not had plastic surgery. My face looks different as I have put on weight. I was sick of my thin body. The world is dying to get skinny, and I like to be different. In 'Kites', I will look still more different."

She has learnt the diplomacy game well along with other tactics to survive in the industry. That very well explains her coping up well in the big bad world of Bollywood.

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The Salman-Katrina marriage sham

'Saamna', the famous Marathi daily which also happens to be the Shiv Sena mouth piece had claimed that Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif were married which of course came as a piece of shocking news, no less.

Now the news has been refuted by Salman's father Salim Khan who was reported to have said it.

The interview was for the special supplement to commemorate Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's birthday on Friday. During his conversation, Salim Khan had talked about the secular values of his family and their cool attitude towards religion.

He'd said, "I mentioned how Arbaaz was married to Malaika, a Christian, Sohail to Seema, a Hindu, and Salman's girlfriend Katrina is a Muslim."

Salim said he was misquoted by the newspaper and clarified, "The reporter has translated my comment into Marathi saying that Salman was married to Katrina.The Marathi word "jar" (if) was missing in the operative sentence, which wrongly gave the impression that the two are married"

A senior journalist with the newspaper called it a printing mistake on the condition of anonymity.

Katrina's spokesperson termed the report as "baseless" and he said they will be sending a notice to the newspaper demanding a formal apology.

She's said in an interview, "I definitely think that Saamna should issue a clarification if not an apology because it's not a small thing. It's not the news of a movie or some endorsement that one has signed. It's a big think to make a mistake about somebody's life like this.

And I think a clarification is a must because I know for a fact that Salim sahab has definitely not said anything and one should be careful while reporting for such a major newspaper and while writing articles.

My managers have spoken to the editors at 'Saamna' and they were assured of a corrigendum. People who read 'Saamna' are regulars so when they open the paper tomorrow, there should be a clarification in the paper. They should say that they were misinformed or the misprinted and that's it. I think the matter should be ended then and there."

Katrina sure knows what she wants! It's definitely not marriage or talks of a marriage at this point!

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Lara and Dino keep mum

They might not be as comfortable as Saif-Kareena and Ranbir- Deepika to reveal details of their love life but it seems Dino Morea and Lara Dutta are deeply in love.

There were rumours that the couple had moved in together which they later denied. The buzz is that though they do spend a lot of time together, they do not live together. Lara stays at her apartment and Dino lives in a bungalow nearby.

Rumour has it that since their previous relationships didn't work out; they have decided to keep a low profile.

By the way, Lara was living in for many years with her ex boyfriend Kelly Dorji. Dino Morea and Lara's ex were best friends.

After Lara and Kelly's breakup, she chose friend Dino for emotional support. They reportedly fell in love; have been out on the social circuit and are even traveling the world together. In between there were talks too that they had fallen apart but nothing is clear.

The word is that they would rather want people to pay attention to their respective careers and not their relationship.

If only they had happening careers it would have been far easier for us to do that!

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Monday, January 26, 2009

Teresa Mak "45 Days Lover"

“45 Day Lover” is a much better film than one would expect based on the amount of money spent on it—or at least the amount of money that winds up on the screen, which isn’t much. The story is hackneyed and full of rom/com devices that have been used forever: the poor little rich girl, the amnesia victim, the sudden redemption of a horribly spoiled child, but it works very well. The director, also one of the scriptwriters, stuck to the script and kept things hurtling along making it easy to overlook the lapses in logic necessary for a movie like this to work. With a cast well suited to their characters, simple (and probably very cheap) sets and straightforward cinematography “45 Day Lover” is a 90 minute success.

The delightful Teresa Mak plays Rose as if she was Paris Hilton’s more attractive and more obnoxious Asian cousin. We first encounter her in the the swimming pool. A servant holds an umbrella to shield her from the sun while others stand by to hand her towels and her robe. Rose mocks the accent of her father's mistress, makes scenes in restaurants and enjoys humiliating servants. Her father is a neglectful parent who thinks that giving his daughter everything she could want—a huge house, a big car with a driver, designer clothing and a very luxurious lifestyle—will make up for his inability to show her any love or even much affection.

The route Rose takes to redemption leads through Mainland China to a fisherman's shack. Along the way she suffers a carjacking, a knock on the head, near drowning and amnesia. Rose is convinced by the village psychic that she was a prostitute in a past life and that the person who rescued her this time was a penniless academic who committed suicide over her in a past life--clearly there is nothing for her to do but fall in love with the reincarnated scholar, now a humble fisherman. It is no more or less credible than the plot of any romantic comedy but is presented so simply and earnestly by the cast that we are happy to suspend disbelief.

Mak is terrific in this role. Rose begins as an insufferable bitch whose main interests are shopping and complaining. By the end of the movie she has become a delightful individual, reconciled with her father and is very happy with her new life whose pace is set by the seasons, good neighbors and the simple but profound pleasures of companionship turning to love. This is change we can believe in, due almost entirely to Teresa Mak who has never looked more ravishing and who clearly enjoys her starring role.

Friday, January 23, 2009

I don't have any kissing scenes in Raaz 2

All excited about his next release, Raaz 2 The Myster Continues, Emraan talks to us about his role in the film, his fears and the fact that he won't have any lip locks in the movie.

Role in the film - I play a painter whose name is Prithvi and he can foresee the future of a model Nandita played by Kangana Ranaut. And in my character the audiences will find different grey shades which surely can be spooky. I'm quite excited that finally I'm the part of a horror film. I had always wished that my debut film should be a horror film but didn't happen.

What scares Emraan - Believe it not but I am scared of kisses in the films that I have to do. Also I am scared of the dark so whenever I sleep I always have one dim light on and I am also scared of empty corridors after watching The Shining.

No kissing scenes in Raaz 2 - I don't have any kissing scenes and that's why I'm feeling very relaxed. All the kissing scenes are done by Adhyayan Suman!

On his new lean look in Raaz 2 - Mohit told me to reduce my weight as it was the requirement of the character and so I gave up on all junk food, switched from aata to nachni rotis and gave up bread completely.

Six packs - I am not much of a fitness freak and hate this six pack - eight pack business. I would like to admit that I am a very lazy person when it comes to body building. But I feel all this is just a fad. It is okay if one has to do for a particular role otherwise its silly to flaunt it every now and then in films.

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I admit I have no friends in Mumbai: Deepika

Being a star at 23 is not easy. Deepika has no friends in Mumbai. And she doesn't have any qualms in admitting it.

So busy is the stunning actress that she went off for the North American and London premieres of Chandni Chowk To China just when her sister Anisha was playing at a national golf tournament in Pune.

"Yes Anisha who's five years younger to me and the baby of the family was playing in Pune just when I left for my premieres. I'd have definitely liked to watch her, " says Deepika wistfully.

"But then maybe having family around to watch her play would make her selfconscious. She needs to find her own identity away from the family cocoon. And for that we need to leave her along to swim in the waters and face the storms. So in a way it was good that I wasn't around when she played."

Deepika has been traveling unchaperoned all through the year. "Both me and my sister have been taught to be selfdependent. I am 23 and very proud of it. I'm young and raring to go.

Age has nothing to do with maturity. I started traveling alone at a very young age (12) as a badminton player. That made feel responsible from a very young age. I learnt to travel in a team share dormitories and bathrooms.

You could say I've roughed it out. My parents made sure my sister and I were brought up with normal workingclass values."

She says she isn't into celebrations. "I've never been the partying type. I'm not much into celebrations ever since I moved to Mumbai to become an actress. I don't have any friends to call over.

Earlier when I was in Bangalore I used to call all my friends over for my birthday over and then take them bowling or to watch a movie…"

She trails off. "Now all my free days are spent with my family. My entire family comes down from Bangalore to Mumbai for my birthday every year. It becomes a family reunion time. The came to visit me around my birthday. My Dad, mom and sister were here. We also paid a visit to Tirupathi for my birthday this year."

And now Deepika travelled all across the US, Toronto and London, all on her own.

"Why do you say that? " she shoots back. "I had the Chandni Chowk To China team with me. We were hopping from city to city. The only sleep I got was on flight."

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Men still find Aishwarya a desirable woman

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is proving to be an ageless beauty. She's made to the sexy, hot and beautiful lists around the world many times. Now she's been voted as the most desirable woman in the world. Age han't deterred this woman in any way.

The happily married actress has been ranked 48th in the annual survey titled 'Top 50 Most Desirable Women in the World' conducted by leading men's portal AskMen.

Though her name features towards the end, she still managed to outshine an internationally renowned face like that of singer-actress Beyonce. Ash is the only Indian beauty in the top 50.

Voters were asked to select their ideal partner based on 'intelligence, charisma and ambition' in the survey.

The list is topped by American actress Eva Mendes followed by other names like Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, Rihanna, Angelina Jolie, Heidi Klum and Jessica Alba.

Two years back Ash was voted the 9th most beautiful woman in a survey by Harpers and Queen.

But even after marriage and at 35 she's considered piping hot.

Ash has also cleverly managed her career after marriage.

She has movies like Mani Ratnam's 'Ravana' with hubby Abhishek Bachchan, 'Endhiran' (Robot) with Rajinikanth, a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film opposite Hrithik Roshan, a Farhan Akhtar-Ritesh Sidhwani production co- starring Abhi and a film with Akshay Kumar.

Well, this dame seems to deservingly have all the luck.

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Kareena, Katrina and Yana to dance at beauty pageant

Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Yana Gupta are set to add a dash of glamour at the grand finale of PC Jewellers Miss India Worldwide pageant to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, on January 31.

"There will be a mix of beauty, talent and glamour at the finale of the pageant, with Bollywood beauties shaking a leg with the participants; it will be an evening to remember," host Deepak Tijori said at the press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Deepak's Tijori Entertainment is hosting the show with Kaleidovision.

The 20 finalists will go through a 10-day grilling regime.

"Training is not going to be a cakewalk for them. They will have to go through a tough and hectic regime of around 14 hours a day, which means they cannot take it easy," said Mehar Bhasin, who will look after the grooming of the contestants.

"The finalists will undergo an exclusively designed training and grooming regime that includes fitness, diction, psyche, aptitude, hair and make-up sessions. The training will enhance their confidence not only for the finale, but for further rounds to be held on the international stage as well," she added.

Beauty expert Blossom and Samantha Kochhar will take care of their beauty and hair, while fitness tips will be given by model-turned-actors Milind Soman and Rahul Dev.

Designer duo Rahul and Rohit Gandhi of the label Cue will design cocktail and evening wears for the participant. Madhu Jain and Milind Soman of the label M will design Indian traditional wear for the grand finale.

What makes this pageant different from other beauty pageants is the fact that even short girls may take part.

Tijori said: "This pageant is not restricted by banalities like physical shortcomings; the absence of height criteria and swim suit rounds makes it different from the conventional pageants.

"Majority of the Indian girls do not match the height criteria of other beauty pageants. Though they might have oodles of talent one shortcoming ruins all their chances of applying there. We understood this thing and came with a concept that will cheer up many beautiful and talented girls all over India."

Miss India Worldwide started 17 years ago and the contestants were primarily selected from the Indian diaspora. But it was felt that the pageant without a participant from India would be incomplete.

Then Tijori Entertainment and Kaleidovision took its franchisee from the Indian Festival Committee (IFC), a pioneer organisation conducting Indian pageants and fashion shows, in the US and worldwide.
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Slumdog Millionaire - Movie Review


Starring: Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto
Director: Danny Boyle
Rating:*

Anil Kapoor stood up and cheered lustily into the camera when Danny Boyle won the Golden Golden Globe last weekend. I wish I could share his enthusiasm for Danny's phenomenal flight into frenzy. After all the accolades and awards Slumdog Millionaire (SM) proves to be a deafening blow to the year that saw Mumbai go numb with terror.

SM takes nasty below-the-belt potshots at the underbelly of the city, portraying Mumbai as the armpit among the metropolises.

Mira Nair once paid a warm endearing homage to the street children of Mumbai in Salaam Bombay.Long before, Satyajit Ray in Pather Panchali portrayed rural India as poor but never as a gutter of misery.

It's now Danny Boyle's turn to do a 'Slam' Mumbai. The coming-of-age tale about three orphaned chawl kids bears just a passing resemblance to Boyle's rightly-celebrated Trainspotting where the director trailed a bunch of misfits through the streets of Edinburgh.

Slumdog Millionaire is Trainspotting on steroids. It's a beefed -up look at the scummy side of Mumbai, bewildering in its obsession with discovering life in the chawls of Dharavi (curiously the protagonist Jamal is referred to as "the boy from Juhu") as being a facsimile of that drain-inspector's report which Mahatma Gandhi had discovered American journalist Katherine Mayo's account of India in Mother India to be.

Slumdog Millionaire is worse. It looks at Mumbai as a swarming slum of sleaze sex and crime with characters who seem to have jumped out of Rakesh Roshan's and Manmohan Desai's cinema bruising their deep-focussed emblematic quality while making this huge global leap from 'Bollywood' to 'Hollywood'.

After seeing Boyle's much talked-of film it's crystal clear why this murky and squalid portrait of Mumbai has the Americans preening in delight.

At one point after being thrashed mercilessly our hero Jamal tells American tourists, "You wanted to see real India? Here it is. "

"Now we'll show you the real America," the American lady replies handing Jamal a 100-dollar bill.

This, without any apparent sense of irony.

This isn't the 'real' India. This is India as seen through the eyes of a Westerner who's selling desi squalor packaged as savvy slick entertainment.

There is a very thin line dividing slick from scum. Slumdog Millionaire doesn't stop to make those subtle distinctions. It moves at a frenetic pace creating a kind of sweaty energy that one sees in marathon runners in the last lap of their journey.

Boyle is constantly busy whipping up a hysterical banshee of sights and sounds in Mumbai denoting the embittered angry generation of the underprivileged class that grows up in the slums dreaming of the Good Life.

Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle shoots Mumbai with a gun rather than a camera. Every frame conveys the killer instinct. Every shot ricochets across eternity solidifying sounds and feelings that are otherwise intangible.

Yup, this is a film on a mission. It wants to exploit the Mumbai slums as a hotbed of tantalizing images conveying the splendour of squalidity.

And to think every prominent of the cast and crew went around proclaiming Slumdog Millionaire would do wonders for Mumbai's tourism industry!

Yeah, right. It does as much for the cause of Mumbai as Rolamd Joffe's The City Of Joy did for Kolkata. That much-vilified film at least secreted a core of humanism under its pretentious surface. Slumdog doesn't even pretend to care for the city that it so unabashedly cruises in search of imperialistic tantalization.

From Frame 1 Danny Boyle goes for the jugular. Every scent and stench of the city is converted into a liquid asset.Groups of defecating young boys running out in otherworldly ecstacy when they spot Amitabh Bachchan's helicopter hovering abovehead becomes a celebration of lowly life.

Our protagonist Jamal dunks himself into excreta from head to toe and wades through the disgusted crowd to get Mr Bachchan's autograph.

The star signs calmly, as though exceptionally smelly young boys covered in human waste are the odour of the day.

Such moments define Boyle's attitude to Mumbai. He sees it as city where humour emerges from human waste.

But who's laughing? Even communal riots are not spared of this tantalizing trivilazation of abject misery. Rioters descend on a Muslim locality like Bandits attacking a village in the Chambal valley. A mean Mumbai Mafioso (Ankur Vakil) gouges out orphans' eyes and makes them beg on the streets singing what appears to be his favourite Bhajan Darshan do ghamshyam ad nauseam.

Even Madhur Bhandarkar got it better in Traffic Signal.

There's absoloutely no sense of historic sensitivity in the narrative.

"If it was not for Ram and Allah, my mother would be alive," says our regretful hero Jamal after the riots.

Such corny dialogues, so much a part of Vikas Swarup's novel is minimized in the film. But not enough. Some of the outrageously filmy plot maneouverings from the novel like the game show host (played in the film with cheesy relish by Anil Kapoor) turning out to be Jamal's illegitimate father, are done away with.

But the film nevertheless remains as wedded to kitsch and as ridden with coincidences and implausibilities as any formula Hindi film. In fact the two runaway brothers from the chawl being called Salim and Jamal seems like a backhanded homage to Salim-Javed the pair that wrote the hit films of the era that Slumdog Millionaire adopts, the 1970s

Every sequence is punctuated and edited to accentuate the cinematic aspect of the drama. Each time game-show host Anil Kapoor has to provide our callow hero Jamal a clue, a flackback highlighting the theme of the quiz-question, is conveniently arranged in the plot.

Squalour never appeared designed than it does in Slumdog Millionaire. Bollywood has never been more audaciously honoured. This is an over-hyped and disappointing film that insults Mumbai, culminates with a Bollywood –styled item song on a railway platform.

Mike Myers does it far less self-consciously in The Love Guru.

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Raaz - The Mystery Continues - Movie Review


Rating: ***1/2

The team behind Raaz - The Mystery Continues have often clarified that it's not a sequel to RAAZ, one of the most interesting cinematic experiences, besides being the biggest Hit of that year. Yet, you cannot but draw parallels with the first film of the franchise.

Horror as a genre hasn't been tapped to the optimum in India. We've witnessed spooky fares in the past and some of them have succeeded in making you break into a cold sweat (BHOOT stands tall in this list). Last year's PHOONK and 1920 were scary movies as well.

There's tremendous curiosity to watch Raaz - The Mystery Continues, but does it scare the living daylights out of you? Fortunately, yes!

The story (Mohit Suri) is absorbing and Mohit treats the subject like a veteran, as if he knows the genre very well. There're moments that make your heart beat faster, you watch the events with eyes and jaws wide open.

Sure, there're blemishes as well, but they don't overpower the plusses or make you change your opinion about the film. While the beginning and the middle of the film is engrossing, it's the end that could've been better thought of.

Wanna get scared? Wanna get goose pimples? Buy the ticket for Raaz - The Mystery Continues pronto. It lives up to the hype and expectations completely.

A brooding artist Prithvi (Emraan Hashmi) experiences mysterious and distressing visions about Nandita (Kangna Ranaut), a woman he has never met, while he paints on canvas. Intrigued by these visions, Prithvi tracks her down and warns her that these are not merely paintings of her, but accidents that are waiting to happen.

At first, Nandita refuses to believe him and dismisses him as an eccentric stalker. However, the striking resemblance between Prithvi's paintings and the near-death incidents in her life is hard to ignore.

Now, one of Prithvi's paintings has revealed her as dead. The only way she can change her fate is to unravel this mystery with his help, at the risk of alienating herself from her boyfriend, Yash (Adhyayan Suman). But he refuses to believe in Prithvi's premonitions. Will Nandita risk her love and her life to unravel this mystery?

Most of us have heard, witnessed or perhaps had a first-hand experience of supernatural. The present-day generation may, perhaps, term it as wild imagination or hallucination, while the believers may have their point of view. Mohit and screenplay writer Shagufta Rafique's characters in Raaz - The Mystery Continues are believers and non-believers, both.

Mohit smartly builds up the atmosphere. Sample these: Emraan and Kangna's first encounter at a mall and minutes later, inside an elevator; the New Year bash when Kangna is 'attacked' by spirits; Kangna's experience in her bathtub and also when she looks at the mirror; Kangna almost jumping off a cliff; the highpoint sequence, when angry bulls attack Emraan and Kangna. Incredible sequences all! Mohit has handled the most difficult portions with panache.

However, the entire flashback part, towards the pre-climax, is not as convincing. The ending too could've been better in terms of writing, although Mohit has filmed it exceptionally well.

Mohit's choice of the subject as also the actors is right. This is, without doubt, his finest effort to date. Shagufta's screenplay is watertight at most times. Like always, the Bhatts come up with a lilting musical score and at least two songs -- 'Soniyo' (Raju Singh) and 'Maahi' (Sharib-Toshi) -- are first-rate compositions. Ravi Walia's cinematography is up to the mark. The effects are impressive.

On the acting front, both Emraan and Kangna vie for top honours. Emraan is excellent. He conveys a lot through facial expressions and that's the sign of a proficient actor. He's just getting better and better with every film. Kangna is top notch.

After FASHION, this one's another power-packed performance from the actress. Adhyayan Suman is super-confident and registers a strong impact, especially towards the climax. He shows promise. Jackie Shroff is quite okay in a brief role.

On the whole, Raaz - The Mystery Continues is rich in the horror quotient and that is one of its major USPs, besides the highly competent performances by its principal cast and a lilting musical score.

At the box-office, this one will continue the winning streak of Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh Films. The 4-day weekend (Monday, January 26 in a holiday) will only cement its status further. Go for it!

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Thursday, January 22, 2009

Juhi Chawla wears a new look



Juhi Chawla is wearing blonde highlights in hair hair for her role in Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut "Luck By Chance" (pictured above).

Juhi, last seen in Ravi Chopra's "Bhootnath", will play veteran actor Rishi Kapoor's wife in the film.

"Playing Minty was so much fun! And moreover I got to colour my hair blonde, which was something I had never done before," said Juhi.

"When Zoya offered me the role I was extremely thrilled. Even though I was told it was not a big role, I didn't mind as it was different from all the other characters I have played before, and that was the most exciting part," she added.

"Luck By Chance", releasing on January 30, stars Farhan Akhtar and Konkona Sen Sharma and has a much-hyped guest appearance by superstar Hrithik Roshan.
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