There could not be a better way for Bollywood stars to welcome the New Year than with a grand extravaganza and walking away with pockets full of money for a one night performance. This is exactly what our Bong beauty Bipasha Basu is set to do for 2010 with her performance in hotel Sahara Star for which she is charging a whopping 2 crore.

The announcement was made in an event organized by the hotel Sahara Star where Mr. Vivek Kumar, CEO, Hotel Sahara Star said, “Hotel Sahara Star bids goodbye to the year gone by and lures you into the New Year with Seduction 2010- the happiest, happening and most sought party of the year, with none other than the dusky diva- Bipasha Basu, who will be performing on the evening of 31st December.”

What has been kept under wraps by the hotel is the song on which Bipasha will rock and the names of other stars who will perform apart from Bipasha.

Shahid Kapoor got a taste of Vidya Balan’s dancing skills while shooting for a promotional video at the Film City for their forthcoming ‘Kismat Konnection’. Though Vidya is a traditional dancer, she finds it difficult learning western steps. With as many as 47 retakes, no doubt choreographer Ahmed Khan was irked but Shahid asked him to keep his cool.

With Vidya in a plunging neckline and black leggings and Shahid in a pair of hot grey pants, satin shirt and a striking blue tie, the couple did look gorgeous. But though the couple is rumored to have developed intimate ‘Konnection’ while shooting for ‘Kismat Konnection’, the dance ‘Konnection’ sure seemed to be missing!

‘Krazzy 4’ can’t get enough of item numbers. After SRK and Rakhi Sawant, now Hrithik Roshan has shot a red hot item number for the flick. The most interesting part is that both King Khan and Hrithik have danced to the same song ‘Break Free’ and it will definitely be a treat to see two Bollywood’s best bodies shaking to gain an edge over each other.Director Jaideep Sen says, “Hrithik’s song is on the same tune (as SRK) but there is a slight change in lyrics. He has danced brilliantly as usual and it shows! I am very lucky that two megastars have danced to the title song for my debut film. Rakhi Sawant’s song is for the masses as she is famous through her item songs.”

Hrithik’s number has been choreographed brilliantly by Ganesh Acharya. ‘Krazzy 4’ is a light-hearted comedy starring Arshad Warsi, Rajpal Yadav, Irrfan Khan, Suresh Menon, and Juhi Chawla. It will release on April 11.

With growing competition, professionalism is the word today. However, some actresses refuse to take off their attitude crown not without losses. So, when actress Tanushree Dutta threw tantrums on the sets of ‘Horn Ok Please’ this Wednesday, producer Sami Siddiqui decided not to give in to her attitude, ousted her out of the project and opted for a more professional Rakhi Sawant instead.It so happened that Tanushree, clad in skimpy clothes, was rehearsing an item song with the film’s choreographer and actor Nana Patekar. Provoked by her outfit some junior artist on the sets passed a lewd comment on Tanushree. To add to the insult, Nana Patekar reportedly said that she should have covered her body up to prevent people from getting provoked. Tanushree was so upset that she refused to perform with Nana. The song is reportedly spicy and Nana was supposed to touch her in some shots. The actress retired to her vanity van refusing to come out of it. This delayed the shoot for over two hours. Irked by Tanushree’s unprofessionalism, the producer cancelled the shoot. Now, the queen of item numbers, Rakhi Sawant, has bagged in the song.

‘Horn Ok Please’ is directed by Rakesh Sarang, and also stars Muzzamil Ibrahim and Rimi Sen.

Image source: GlamSham

Salman Khan and his shirtless avatar have become almost inseparable by now. And it was exactly this avatar of his that the kids got to see on the sets ‘Amul Star Voice of India Chhote Ustad’. First, Sallu Bhai swept the crowd as he stepped onto the stage with his hit song ‘Hai Rama Rama Ho’ from the film, ‘Lucky’. He also danced with the Chhote Ustad’s contestants, Aishwarya, Anvesha and Prakriti. And when the kids requsted him to let them have a look at his well-toned bod, Salman promptly obliged and removed his shirt in the true ‘Salman-i-shtyle’ singing to the tune of his hit song ‘O, O Jaane Jaana’. He flexed his muscles and drove the audience wild.“We all, including the audience went crazy when he took off his shirt. This was the best episodic shoot I have ever experience; it was filled with fun”, said the Chhote Ustad contestant, Aishwarya who has been a big fan of Salman Khan since her childhood.

However, this was not all. The bad-boy-with-the-golden-heart also showed the kids his humane side as he donated around five lakh rupees for the aid of one cancer-afflicted child. What’s more, the actor even let his creative urge take over, as he painted a canvas right on the sets. It was certainly a triple treat for the kids, who just couldn’t get enough of the actor.

Aarti Chhabaria was last seen as a bar dancer Tarannum in ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala’. Then, the actress went for what seems a long hibernation. Well, she is back now and how!!Not being much in news Aarti has been silently working round the clock for her latest film, Shashi Ranjan’s ‘Dhoom Dhadaka’. Aarti plays an actress and item girl in the film. Now, we hear that this Shashi Ranjan’s film has the grandest ever item number which has been picturized on Aarti and is called ‘Hari Om’.

Says the director-producer Mr. Shashi Ranjan, “Hari Om is one the hottest numbers you will ever see on screen….in fact I think it is also the most expensive and grand shoot anyone has ever done in recent times….we shot it on a huge budget for 4 nights outdoors and let me tell you Aarti has never looked as gorgeous as in this song and has performed brilliantly!!”

Adds Aarti, “For Hari Om, I rehearsed for 2 weeks with master Pony who is also very excited about the song…I owe a lot to Shashiji and Pony for presenting me so well in the film…I have really worked on my look for the role in the film and this song, specially has been one of its kind!”

Well, if it really is what it promises, this temperature soaring number is worth watching out!

Shilpa Shetty’s musical ‘Miss Bollywood’ has fallen down with a thud. After failing to receive any financial backing from London’s West End, Shilpa was forced to open her musical in Germany. The premiere received a bad response and the show has been facing harsh critical reviews, costume malfunctions and poor ticket sales.And now lead star Shilpa is down with some mystery illness, consequently failing to show-up at Friday’s performance.

Tour organizer Farhath Hussain says, “Shilpa has been ill all week and it on a course of antibiotics. She needs to take a rest.”

Both Riya Sen and Aarti Chabbaria flayed their tempers at the Police Mela recently. It so happened that both Riya and Aarti were given the same song to perform on. The song in question was ‘Dekha Tujhe to Baji Guitar’ from ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’. However, the girls were not at fault. There was a miscommunication between their choreographers- Swaroop and Pappu Mallu.

Aarti said, “I had practiced on the number for five hours. The number was a part of the medley which I was given. After that I was informed that they were giving that song to Riya. That was not fair. Why should the artists bear the brunt if the choreographers have not communicated with each other? So, I walked out.”

Incidentally Aarti’s manager spoke to the concerned authorities and settled the matter. Aarti got the ‘Dekha Tujhe…” number and Riya gyrated to the ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’ title song.

All’s well that end well!! For your info, the show also had performances from Kareena Kapoor, Himesh Reshammiya, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Raanut, Dia Mirza, Geeta Basra, Sunil Paul, Mona Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan among others.

With ‘Saawariya’ stars appearing in ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja’, how could SRK stay behind? So, ‘Om Shanti Om’ star Shah Rukh Khan made an appearance on the reality dance show ‘Nach Baliye’ as a judge to promote his latest film.

Dancing to the hit track Dard-e-disco from Om Shanti Om, the actor bonded well with item girl Rakhi Sawant and even did an impromptu jig with her.

“I never tell anyone to go watch my film but this time I will say so. That is because if you do so, it will be fun. It’s an entertaining film with lots of drama and good acting,” says Shah Rukh in praise of his ambitious project.

This Friday will decide who wins at last after all the promotion and marketing fundas.

After having charmed the Bong beauty Bipasha Basu off-screen, it was John’s turn of charming Bips …on-screen. John Abraham did so when she shot for a promotional music video for their upcoming film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, in a suburban studio in which he tries to woo Bips in various manners. However, it’s only in the end when he comes as a football player that she succumbs to his charms.‘Goal’ runs with a storyline of Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani as Shaan and Tony Singh trying to revive a dying Football Club. Things take a turn when John Abraham as Sunny Bhasin joins the team. Running parallel to the tale is the love story of Shaan’s cousin Rumana ( Bipasha Basu) with Sunny.

Indiagames Ltd, India’s benchmark mobile and online games company and Bindass – UTV’s Youth channel have teamed up with UTV Motion Pictures to announce the launch of the ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan GOAL FIFA CHALLENGE’ – a national level FIFA gaming championship where deserving contestants will win a chance to watch the movie with the film’s star cast – John Abraham, Bipasha Basu and Arshad Warsi and also win a host of other cool prizes.

Sandhya Mridul who had never really got an opportunity to shake a leg in any of her films due to the roles she played, is now letting herself free on the sets of the dance competition “Jhalak Dikhla Ja”.Apart from this, what has come as a pleasant surprise or rather as a “shock” to Sandhya, is that after seeing her sizzle to the song “Mehbooba Mehbooba”, she has been offered an item song by G.S Entertainment in their forthcoming film which is to be directed by Bunty Walia.

According to a source, Sandhya has agreed to do the item number though she did not feel that her image works upto that of an item girl!

Sandhya who is apparently very skeptical about the whole issue, is considering the offer as a golden opportunity, but has preferred to keep it silent before anything materializes. She is surely excited about her stance in “Jhalak Dikhla Jaa” about which she said, “My world has changed I can now figure out the difference between a cha cha cha and a rock-and-roll and a samba. It is definitely an overwhelming experience for me.”

Sandhya sure is a lucky girl!

He hates the term ‘Item Number’, but this a fact that Dino Morea will do a rocking dance number in a guest appearance for Jahnu Barua’s ‘Har Pal’ to be choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant.“Yeah. It is just a guest appearance. It’s my first item song and that too a really rocking number by Pritam. And I get to play a DJ,” Dino said. He further clarifies the reason for his excitement, “I hate the term ‘item song’. It reduces me to a commodity. But the track was too sizzling to resist and I’m getting to dance with two of the hottest ladies in showbiz. I mean Preity and Isha.”

Dino has quite fond memories of Preity and her friendship, “I know her from the time she first came to Mumbai. We were both new and great friends. I feel so proud to see her taking such confident strides. And she’s also become such a terrific dancer. I’m enjoying the thought of dancing with her and Isha.”

The actor is recently concentrating on his production company. He has shot an ad film with Karan Johar and Kareena Kapoor which has been directed by Tarun Mansukhani. His forthcoming releases are ‘Kabhi Bhi Kahin Bhi’ and ‘Deha’.

Salman Khan has shown his philanthropic side this time. He has recently launched his Salman Khan Foundation. The idea and motivation for this was provided by SRK on his show KBC.Now Salman has decided to work for his trust. Despite of being ill from cold and cough, Salman danced at the wedding of a Mumbai business tycoon’s son. Along with Salman were Shahid Kapur, Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta. All the actors and actresses excluding Salman charged exorbitant amount of money. Guess why didn’t Salman ask for a single penny? The reason was that the business tycoon had bought Salman’s paintings at very high prices and so the money was deposited with his foundation. Thus Salman was obliged by the business man and so he performed despite of being unwell.

Good Salman, you must always remember what good people did and do to you.

Call her eye candy or simply suga candy, the latest lokker doing the rounds of music channels is hot import Rose Dawn. The 19-year-old girl from London is creating quite a stir with Frankfinn Music’s new remix video ‘Kahin Pe Nigahen’ and is already well-versed with celebrity lingo.“Item numbers can be classy and naughty and need not be raunchy,” declared Dawn. Interestingly, the Anglo-Indian beauty claims she knows the basics of Kathak, Bharatnatyam, hip-hop, tap dance, ballet and belly dancing. The dawn of a new dance diva, perhaps?

This is extravagant. A One Crore set has been constructed in Mumbai for a dance number picturized on model-turned actor Upen Patel and Kajol’s younger sister Tanisha. The movie is Kumar Mangat’s ‘One Two Three’ also starring Paresh Rawal, Suniel Shetty, Tusshar Kapoor, Esha Deol and Sameera Reddy.The song choreographed by Ganesh Acharya has another speciality. It features 1500 dances- a first of its kind says the choreographer.

“This is Upen and Tanisha introduction in the film, and I wanted a very grand look, something no one has seen before, so we sat with our art team to come up with something unique” says Ashwin Dheer, the director of the film. Lets see what wonder the crore factor does.

Amrita Arora had created stirs by appearing in a hot video with her boyfriend and supermodel Upen Patel. Now, ‘Meri Beri Ke Ber’ fame Sanobar Kabir follows the same path. She is appearing with a newcomer Kunal in a music video ‘Sanobar and Masti Express’ by T-series. Kunal is Sanobar’s boyfriend and the duo has given body to body hot scenes in the video. Kunal says that the scenes are according to the demand of the situation.

Money has always and will always be the ultimate lure of man. But how far is it right to run after it is the question. Bollywood stars performing at private parties for a big bundle of notes is nothing new. The latest in the buzz is that Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra secretly flew to Turkey and danced on the function of Industrialist Sanjay Vadera’s 40th birthday party in Istanbul. Similar news of Salman Khan, Bipasha Basu and Rani Mukherji performing at Ramesh Shah’s son’s wedding occasion at a five-star hotel in South Mumbai was around.“I think iconic stars have a responsibility towards their audience and to themselves. They shouldn’t reduce themselves to performing on request, for a bunch of star-struck NRIs,” Comments a filmmaker.

Are Esha Deol and Tusshar Kapoor an item by themselves? Hard to tell, though the word is now out that both are pitching in with item numbers for Rohit Shetty’s forthcoming film, ‘Sunday’. While the daughter of Dharmendra and former dream girl Hema Malini will now dance to Shibani Kashyap’s tunes along with actors Ajay Devgan and Arshad Warsi, Tusshar will perform to the music of singer Raagahv being choreographed by Ganesha Acharya. But would the item numbers add any Friday sizzle to ‘Sunday’? That remains to be seen.

Jhoom barabar jhoom song and dance sequences will be a real memory for at least the female leads. Where Preity Zinta landed up with bruised feet, Lara Dutta faced an embarrassing situation while shooting a song in Paris.

Lara sports long hair in a dance sequence, but dancing to foot-tapping songs of ‘JBJ’ while wearing a wig was no easy task. And Lara’s wig actually came off as she swung her neck during the shooting of a song landing staright in Abhishek Bachchan’s hands.

To add to the embarrassment, the song was being shot in front of the famous Eiffel Tower before a huge crowd. Although Abhishek tried to hide the wig to save Lara from embarrassment, but the faux pas was already noticed.

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom manages to do just that with its ensemble star cast exuding charisma and doing justice to its role. As usual the father-son jodi rocks and Akki Narula’s costumes do a great job in defining the personas of the characters. Amitabh appears part rakish and part funny in his knee-length boots and feathered hat. He carries off the costume with panache and delivers another cool performance… he carried off the dock worker’s uniform with panache as well in Deewar… all those years back.The characters are well-etched and loud and they respond to some very different-sounding names; sample these Rikki Thukral, Steven Singh, Alvira Khan, etc. The film is based on those flimsiest of premises – boy meet girl but slick production values, good humor, and fantastic locales make this a must watch.

She made her debut with Vikram Bhatt’s ‘Life Mein Kabhie Kabhie’ and she is also a trained Kathak dancer. Yes, we are talking about the actress, Anjori Alagh who is now utilizing her time reading scripts and polishing her dancing skills. For this, who could be a better trainer than our very old Saroj Khan. So, now Anjori is learning filmi Jhatkas and Latkas from the choreographer.Anjori says, “Well, I have always admired Saroj Khan and the magic she created with Madhuri Dixit is simply brilliant. It can’t get better than her as far as dance is concerned.”

Preity Zinta will never forget the shooting of the dance sequences in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. The difficult steps by choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant made the dancers trip and hurt each other. In a particular dance step, Lara Dutta’s high heeled shoes hurt Preity’s feet so badly that it started bleeding. By the end of the schedule, Preity’s legs were in a terrible state.However, the lady jovially narates the event as,

“I was dancing and suddenly I felt this piercing pain in my foot and I looked down. Lara’s 5 inch heel made a hole in my foot and I went aaahhhhhhhh. And then just when I was just recovering, Bobby’s Punjab da haath landed on my face. I remember seeing stars, planes, trains and submarines at the same time!”

One can easily guess what will Preity think of whenever she sees a high heel!!

Amisha Patel is having a tough time in Surat even though she has not done anything wrong. Amisha was absent at the much talked about charity dance show on June 2 where she had to perform led the spectators to go on a rampage at that place. The local people of Surat got so angry that they ransacked the indoor stadium premises and damaged the state-of-the-art equipment. The organizers are blaming Amisha for pulling out of the show and want to file a complaint against her for the breach of the contract. But according to Amisha, she didn’t appear because she was not given the remuneration on time. After Amisha signed the contract the token cheque of two lakh rupees given to her got bounced and the organizers handed out a demand draft.Amisha’s spokesperson said that “I have never heard of the organisers. We were dealing with their local agent, Shariq. The usual practice is that they pay you the entire amount before you take the stage. They made false promises and the money never came. They even refused to answer our calls for days.” Eventually, she pulled out when they refused to address her concerns.
Amisha’s business manager Sanjay Upadhaya says that the organisers are known for hoarding the money that they raise from shows. “After much probing I have gathered that these guys have a very bad reputation. I’m told that even Priyanka Chopra had a problem with them.”

Raima Sen has always been known for her serious and quality roles. But now, the gal is in a mood to get naughty and has expressed her desire to do an item number. Raima says she would be pleased to shake her booty if the number is carved out well. Any producers out there listening? Please listen to the gal’s plea so that we could also get a taste of her versatility.

Rakesh Roshan is all set to launch his next film ‘Krazy 4’ in which Hrithik Roshan is not playing the lead role.The film which is of the comedy genre stars Arshad Warsi, Irfan Khan, Rajpal Yadav and Juhi Chawla among others. Raja Sen will direct the film and the music will be scored by Rajesh Roshan. Nevertheless, Hrithik will do his first item number for the movie.“Rakesh Roshan is planning a lavish song for Krazy 4 which stars The song will be shot on a huge set as it will be Hrithik’s first real item number and that too in his father film,” informs a close source. The film will go on floors on June 24.

Neha Dhupia, the voluptous beauty of Indian cinema has some high regards fro the versatile Indian actress of the 60s and 70s, Rekha. Delhi Times caught Dhupia on the sets of her upcoming movie ‘I’m 24’. Dhupia who is known for her provoking performances was doing a cabaret and was decked up in jewels from head to toe. This made the people out there compare her with the old yet gorgeous Rekha who had played a cabaret in the blockbuster movie. ‘Parineeta’.Dhupia was quite elated with the comparison and she told Delhi Times that “Rekhaji is simply a wonderful actress. Her beauty, her elegance is so admirable both on the screen and off it. However, I have given my best to the song and I hope everybody loves it.”

Well, let’s hope that Dhupia is only impressed by the reel and not the real life of Rekha.

After making Bollywood dance on the tip of her fingers, Saroj Khan has decided to don on the director’s cap following the footsteps of choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan. She is debuting as a director in Bollywood with ‘Sati…… a burning desire to love’. Saroj Khan has already directed a Bhojpuri film named ‘Dil Diwana Tohar Gayil’. The surprising aspect of the news is that Saroj has chosen Priyanka Chopra as her lead heroine claiming that Madhuri Dixit is unfit for the role. That true…Everyone salutes the rising sun. Madam Khan is no exception!

Sambhavna Seth is known for her item numbers. She has at least two dozen item numbers in Bhojpuri films and also has a special appearance for an item number in Sunny Deol’s forthcoming film ‘Kaafila’. Seth is the same to Bhojpuri films as legendry Helen was to Bollywood films.

By Diti Shah & Moses Navgire, IndiaFM Greek sculptures of centaurs and glittering flashlights adorned the stage at the Max Stardust awards ceremony.

Amrita Arora and Kunal Kohli played hosts, amusing guests with occasional gags. The show opened with a glamourous Kangana Ranaut grooving to a medley. Shiamak Davar’s dance troop did what they do best.

Embellishing the front row seats were Bollywood bigwigs like Sanjay Dutt, Mithunda with son Mimoh, Preity Zinta, Rakeysh Mehra, Sanjay Gadhvi, and Sonali Kulkarni. Not far behind were Boman Irani, Kunal Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Hema Malini, Shamir Tandon, Minissha Lamba and Upen Patel. Award-winners, who might have heard a word or two from little birdies, were also present – Ayesha Takia, Shiney Ahuja, and Kangana Ranaut to name a few. Amitabh Bachchan made a grand entry with to-be bahu Aishwarya Rai, just in time to receive a star-tipped statuette on behalf of son Abhishek. The junior Bachchan bagged an award for the Best Actor in Supporting Role for his stint in Karan Johar’s KANK.

Entertaining dance acts were thrown in to keep the A-list audience alive. Bebo did a Don, inevitably followed by Yeh Mera Dil, which she had also performed with Helen at the Screen Awards. The audience swooned to Emraan Hashmi’s moves. Lara Dutta’s retro act was absolutely hot.

She is the uncrowned queen of the catwalk, hardly an ‘item girl’. So it comes as no surprise when Jesse Randhawa refuses to talk about her dance number in Anurag Kashyap’s ‘No Smoking’, which has been labeled an item song. She will dance her way into Bollywood with this unconventional sequence choreographed by Ashley Lobo. Will this be the first in the long line of other dance numbers? Randhawa is not telling.

There seems to be no end to this youngster’s talent. After bagging a film with Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah khan is decorating her cap with more feathers. the girl, we hear, has even sung the song in the (now) mandatory music video for her film Nishabd. What’s more, she even turned choreographer for the same. Apparently, knowing that Jiah is quite adept at various forms of dancing, the choreographer gave her a free hand and asked her to just do her stuff for the video, and Jiah khan immediately set the stage on fire with her Shakira-style belly dance moves. We don’t know  about jiah, But ramgopal Verma must certainly be grinning from ear-to-ear about his multi-talented discovery.

Bipasha Basu gives credit to playback singer Sunidhi Chauhan for the huge popularity of the item song ‘Bidee’ in ‘Omkara’. The song has become a must at all party and gatherings. Bipasha is flattered when everyone performing to her ‘Bidee’ number and dancing to it like crazy. Bipasha praises Sunidhi for her powerful singing and adds that Sunidhi’s singing gave new dimensions to her dancing. Bipahsa insists that she is still nervous about singing and dancing even after giving a long list of hit item numbers. Well then what more bombs would she explode if she were not tense about dancing.

Subhash K Jha, Indo-Asian News ServiceMumbai, (IANS) Those who have seen her playing a smouldering diva in “Aitraaz” and “Don” would be pretty surprised by Priyanka Chopra’s funny act as a wannabe desperately chasing success in “Salaam-e-Ishq”.

“I play this wannabe, an item girl, who just wants to become successful so desperately. My character is a funny, sassy, saucy screwball. And yes, I had loads of fun doing the role. It’s an ensemble cast. But I’d like to believe my track with Salman Khan is special,” Priyanka told IANS.

Ohter than Priyanka-Salman, five more couples — John Abraham-Vidya Balan, Anil Kapoor-Juhi Chawla, Akshaye Khanna-Ayesha Takia, Sohail Khan-Esha Deol and Govinda-Shannon Esrechowitz — feature in Nikhil Advani’s second film.

Priyanka teams up with Salman once again in her other early 2007 release “God, Tussi Great Ho”.

“It is another comedy. And yes, Amitabh Bachchan plays god! I guess it’s time for me to let my hair down and enjoy myself. It’s writer Rumi Jaffrey’s debut film as a director.”

By Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFMMovies may come and movies may go, trends may emerge and they may fade, but what will never change is Bollywood’s love for its songs and dances. After all this is what makes us different from the rest of the world! There were number of eye pleasing dances in the year gone by. Some were sensual, some were classy, some were funky while some were downright sexy!

1) Jhalak Dikhlaja – Aksar

Undoubtedly the most ‘watched’ song of the year! When ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja’ was heard first, there were no doubts that the song would lead to a chartbuster status. After all the song had enough credentials to be popular just with a great tune by Himesh Reshammiya and Emraan Hashmi to boost. The song came on air, the movie released and the song turned into a smashing success. Such has been the success of the song that it finds a place in every VCD/DVD song compilation and is quite popular even today over all satellite TV music channels. The song rocked in a big way and though there were no vigorous dance steps, it was sheer attitude and Hashmi’s presence that made ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja’ as it is today!

2) Beedi – Omkara

When the song came on screen first, it seemed that it would work mainly in the interiors. Today, it is heard in the most up market Indians pubs and discs in India and abroad. One wonders if even the song’s choreographer would have ever thought the song would be such a rage across the globe. Bipasha Basu may have been dancing to a tune set in rural India but not even one finger can point to her saying that she was vulgar or indecent. Now that’s what a class actress at the helm of affairs for such a song makes a difference. Any other lesser mortal and ‘Beedi’ may have been a sleaze show all the way!

Is Rani Mukherjee going the Protima Bedi way? The actress is keen on performing a series of Odissi dance shows, not just in India but also overseas. In fact, the moment she finishes shooting for her current batch of movies, she plans to take a break and begin her odyssey on Odissi. Rani, who had once given an Odissi dance recital at Brindavan, is now negotiating with sponsors for her shows. Naturally, India’s favourite girl next door will make sure that the deal is lucrative one.

Oh dear, this is cringe worthy he must be getting some stick from his team mates for this!!!

Not a bad bowler though to be fair !

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Was it a publicity gimmick or was it Mika unable to keep his libido in check and kissing Rakhi Sawant. Whatever the case, the incident did give the two their 15 seconds of fame on national television. The incident happened on June 12th on Mika’s birthday bash. Rakhi lodged a complaint with the police and went about town talking about the forcible lip-lock.

We had informed you about Mallika Sherawat’s new year performance for Rs 75 lakh in Marlott Hotel of Mumbai, but for those who had come to enjoy her sizzling performance, it was sheer disappointment.

Mallika was to perform for 45 minutes, but she walked off the stage after just 15 minutes of uncoordinated no show. According to sources Mallika was annoyed at the presence of TV cameras which were Live across the nation. She had already mentioned in her contract that she didn’t want any part of her performance to be telecast anywhere. Now angry Mallika is demanding additional compensation of Rs 15 lakh – failing which she will take the hotel to court for violating the agreement.

No, she’s not visiting temples in hope of being blessed with a good husband, yet. The actress has turned to god in other ways – she brought in the New Year in a very uncharacteristic way. She didn’t party, she didn’t go wild. Sameera Reddy was actually in Rajasthan and brought in the new year performing for a show, and then, early in the morning, reddy did an aarti.

The by-now-infamous cold war between Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan continues into the new year. In fact, this war rang in the New Year, in a manner of speaking. For the entire film industry showed up to celebrate the advent of 2007 at Shah Rukh’s party at Mannat, his home in bandra……except Amitabh. Jaya and Abhishek bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. They were only four conspicuous by their absence at a party that was attended by everyone else in Bollywood, from Vivek Oberoi to Salman Khan. Rani mukherji, Preity Zinta, you name them and they were there. According to those who attended the mega party, SRK and wife Gauri pulled out all the stops in terms of hospitality, this time. Every guest, including the Bachchans and ash, was personally invited by SRK and gauri and sometimes by both. Karan Johar, who played co-host at the bash, also made calls to invite everyone personally. The entire industry ate, danced and drank, well into 2007’s first morning. SRK danced with every guest. Source: ‘Times Of India’

Koena Mitra cannot stop raving about her performance with nelly furtado, A R Rahman, Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapur on december 31st 2006. “It wasn’t just the best live show i have performed in but the best live show i have ever seen. For once, the crowds were totally with us. All of us Felt so alive,” she gushes. Koena is ga-ga about nelly furtado. “She’s truly fantastic on stage. And when she was joined by the NRI band josh, the crowds went berserk,” she says. “In the end we were all invited by AR Rahman on stage to ring in 2007 at midnight. I can’t think of a better way to welcome the New Year,” says koena, adding “the next few days, I am just chilling at home, visiting friends and shopping.”

By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News ServiceMumbai, (IANS) What a sad year for the ear! Very few Bollywood soundtracks stood out; and the ones that did were few.

It was more individual singers making an impact than an entire album. Sunidhi Chauhan rocked the charts with “Beedi” in “Omkara”, arguably the most successful item song after “Kajra re” (“Bunty Aur Babli”).

Isn’t it ironical that Gulzar, a poet known for his immensely profound images, just sizzled at the top of the charts for two consecutive years, first with “Kajra re”, and now “Beedi”.

Gulzar also gave us the most beautiful love ballad in 2006 – “Humko maloom hai” in Shirish Kunder’s directorial debut “Jaan-e-Mann”.

Sunidhi, who ripped through “Beedi”, did a searing ballad “Humko choone paas aayiye” in the underrated “Zindaggi Rocks”.

Interestingly, the two Bong-babes, Bipasha Basu and Sushmita Sen, for whom Sunidhi sang “Beedi” and “Humko choone”, have declared the singer’s hand in making them appear larger-than-life on screen through the two numbers.

So has Sunidhi arrived at a stage where she gives sublime succour to actress’ image?

Not quite. Her “Yeh mera dil” for Kareena Kapoor in Farhan Akhtar’s “Don – The Chase Begins” left much to be desired.

By Arpana, Indo-Asian News ServiceNew Delhi, (IANS) Musically speaking, 2006 wasn’t a great year for Bollywood but lilting, so-called item songs matched with sizzling visuals acted as fillers and provided a pleasing experience for music buffs.

Demand for item numbers soared in the year and many filmmakers – be it candyfloss connoisseur Karan Johar or the crusaders of realistic cinema Vishal Bhardwaj or Madhur Bhandarkar – couldn’t abstain themselves from using item songs in their films.

If “Kajra re”, featuring Aishwarya Rai, was crowned the top song last year, Bipasha Basu’s rustic number “Bidee” is the frontrunner this year. Both of them were penned down by Gulzar.

“I want to single out two item numbers in these past few years that have set a benchmark for all others, whose writers reminded us that any song – whether an item or a nursery rhyme – it requires, foremost, plain good poetry. The first was, of course, Gulzar’s “Kajra re,” and the second was “Man saat samandar” written by Irshad Kamil. These are truly iconic songs that has set completely new standards,” journalist-lyricist Neelesh Misra told IANS.

Misra, who penned down “Lamha lamha” for “Gangster – A Love Story”, described items songs as “great force multipliers”.

Moon Monn Sen’a daughter Riya sen has already carved a niche for herself, be it music videos, or films, and now we hear she’s even planning to turn singer sometime in the future. Of course, this will be all in good time, but seems like starring in all those music videos has certainly given Riya sen and appetite for music, and she’s chalked up that as one more step to take when things go right. Now if you suddenly see her hoardings announcing her album, don’t be surprised!

With the advent of new heroines like Antara Mali and Nisha Kothari, Urmila’s name went down in the list of director Ramgopal Verma’s favourites. But then. Ramu has not forgotten his old adoration for Urmila. Yes, Urmila is going to dance in the song ‘Mehbooba Mehbooba’ in Ramu’s ‘Sholay’ with Himesh Reshamia. It will surely be fun to see the mast-girl in form again.

It seems Karan Johar is tired of working with the same actors again & again.After his film ‘Kabhie Alvida Naa Kehna’, Johar is now trying his hand at animation. “I don’t know how you will interpret this, but as far as I am concerned, this is a novel idea. It is a new territory for me. But at the same time, it will be a complete film for me…… complete as in there will be songs and dances in the film. There will be emotions that people can identify with. Basically, it will be a familiar idea in an alien territory,” says Johar.

According to sources, the film is a remake of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and it’s name will be re-titled ‘Kuchi Kuchi Hota Hai’ and the lead cast will be animated dogs. Yes, you heard it right. The animated movie will be different this time and dogs will be replacing the super-stars. The dogs will be singing and dancing in the film as well. The film will be approximately of 2 hours unlike the 3 hours of the original.

Actress and trained dancer Hema Malini is going to present a Mujra number in Pradeep Sarkar’s ‘Choodiyan’. The shooting for the movie is in progress in Benaras. The ‘Thumri’ song for the Mujra number will be sung by Rekha. Chh! Chh! No, not our old-gold Rekha, But Pradeep Sarkar’s sister Rekha. Hema Malini is in a guest role in the movie where as the title roles are to be played by Rani Mukherjee, Konkana Sen Sharma and Jaya Bachchan.

She herself impressed us with her dance numbers – right from her debut number in Road to the more recent EK Hasina Ek Khiladi and Apna Sapna Money Money. And now Koena Mitra is all set to perform with none other than another favourite Nelly Furtado – the acress will be performing at the singer’s New Year show which will be televised in more than eight countries. Obviously, Koena Mitra is quite excited about the prospect of reaching out to millions of hindi film buffs across the world. DOn’t worry Koena. Considering your movies, it’s gonna be quite easy dancing your way into your fans’ hearts!

This sexy bong babe started her career on the right note. No, we are not talking about the numerous controversies that put her in the spotlight, in fact, Tanushree Dutta has worked with established filmmakers and good co-stars from the begnning. Of course, she was first spotted in a music video but the gal made it clear, “I am not here to be an item gal.” Now the gal is sizzling in the number Signal pyar ka signal and Bhagam Bhaag that’s racing on top of the music charts. Whatever she says, we think that’s quite a signal for her to do more such items. Now she can’t run away from it for too long, can she?

The full-uncut version of Dhoom 2 has created some uproar outside India. The gossip zone claims rocking sexy scenes involving Ash and Hrithik can be downloaded from the Internet. To add spice to the already hot news, a case has been filed against Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai and actor Hrithik Roshan.The case was filed in the court of judicial magistrate first class R K Batham by advocate Shailendra Dwivedi under sections 292 (vulgarity) and 509 (derogatory to women) of the IPC. The complainant has alleged that women felt offended after watching the scene and it promoted vulgarity in society, especially among the youth. The court has fixed December 11 for recording evidence in the case.

With masters like A.R.Rahman and Mani Ratnam around and Mallika Sherawat dancing to the tune, the Magic of Mayya Mayya is sure to rock the nation again. Shaking a leg or two along with Abhishek Bachchan in the song could just add to Mallika’s glory after all she achieved post “Pyaar Ke Side Effects”. Talking about all other songs in the movie having soulful lyrics penned down by legendary Gulzar is surely a “Pure Bliss”. Magic created by the perfect Duo Mani and Rahman after Yuva is a complete treat for your years that cannot be missed. The general buzz about the tracks is though you might not fall for the songs at the first instance but you are sure to revisit the sound track once you see the film.

So for all you music addicts here comes a typical A.R.Rahman treat after a long gap. Now get set and enjoy……

Akshay Kumar has all the luck in the world. The actor will be soon seen grooving with 20 bollywood actresses in his forthcoming film, ‘Hey Baby’. The credit for it goes to debutante director Sajid Khan who has managed to rope in 20 leading ladies for a special appearance in the his film. Currently, the entire unit of the film is busy shooting for the song and dance sequence. Producer Sajid Nadiadwala conforms the news, saying, “Yes, we have managed to get an unbelievable number of actresses to play a camoe in a song sequence, bit I would not be able divulge any further details about the song.”

Delhi Times sources confirmed the names saying that Ameesha Patel, Esha del, Lara Dutta, Sameera Reddy, Juhi Chawla, Bipasha Basu, Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Arora, Preity Zinta, Mallika Sherawat will be in the song with Akshay Kumar.

While the casting of Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay continues to generate curiosity and intrest, the latest actor to have been finalised is Abhishek Bachchan. He will re-create the magic originallycreated by Jalal Agha in Mehbooba O Mehbooba. With this dance Abhishek will shale a leg for the first time with actress Urmila Matondkar. He will share screen space for a popular number for the third consecutive time with his father Amitabh Bachchan. The other hits being ‘Kajra Re’ in Bunty Aur Babli and Rock and Roll Soniye for Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.

Ram gopal varma confirmed the news. “It is true that Abhishek will be doing the song and will feature along with Amitji and Urmilla. The other details are yet to be finalised. We yet have to think about his look in the film,” he said.

Bollywood ‘item girl’ Rakhi Sawant has courted trouble in Patna for a raunchy dance performance.

Amrita Arora who was a resident of Andheri had now moved to Bandra. “It’s a dream house. And my parents have shifted with me. Everyone dreams of owning a house that would be just perfect. I’ve reached that dream, I guess.”

By IndiaFM News BureauUmrao Jaan was not an easy performance for Aishwarya Rai, who has essayed the same role which was played by veteran actress Rekha. Aishwarya is all set to surprise the audience through her latest film. She spoke to IndiaFM about her experience while shooting the movie and more.

Umrao Jaan must have been emotionally as well as physically taxing for you.

This is an emotional journey that follows an entire arch. It goes through all the possible emotions that being a woman you would understand. This emotional journey can be very demanding and draining but at the same time, it’s a catharsis. It was a wonderful experience to get the opportunity to actually go through the arch of emotions. This provided the perfect experience for an actor as I keep repeating myself to get the opportunity to do precisely that. Working with the director like J P Saab has made that process absolutely satisfying, inspiring, challenging and forcing me to deliver possibly my best with every moment on set.

Kareena Kapoor is the new item girl. After pulling out the number in Don, she seems to be flooded with more such offers. But she seems to have finalized only one. She will be doing an item number in Lovely Singh’s debut movie Kya Love Story Hai produced by N.R.Pachisia. Lovely Singh is an ex-assistant director to Satish Kaushik and has assisted him on films like Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, Badhai Ho Badhai, Tere Naam, Shaadi Se Pehle.

DPAHamburg, Oct 8 (DPA) The bouncy beat of Bollywood musical screen extravaganzas has become a booming economic and cultural force across Europe as broadcasters and DVD retailers cater to the latest multi-culti fad to sweep the continent.

Even in European countries such as Germany, which has no sizeable ethnic population from the Indian sub-continent, radio stations pound out listeners’ favourite Hindi, Punjabi, Pakistani, ghazals, Indian pop, filmi and bhangra hits.

Dance schools around Europe are now besieged by people clamouring to sign up for courses in Bollywood-style dancing. Boutiques have glittery costume jewellery designed to make wearers look like Bollywood stars.

In Britain, Bollywood films have started to make more money at the box office than home-grown productions.

This year, 69 Bollywood films have been released in Britain and 14 productions financed by the Indian film industry are being shot there.

Britain’s three largest multiplex chains – Odeon, Vue Cinemas and Cineworld – routinely screen Hindi films that appear in the nation’s top 15 film lists. Ten years ago hardly any Bollywood films made it onto British screens.

“More and more Indian producers are looking at the potential of this market,” according to Pranab Kapadia, British head of Adlabs Films, one of India’s largest entertainment companies.

“They are gearing the productions to suit the South Asian international palette – films which people living (in Britain and Europe) can relate to.”

The gorgeous Aishwarya Rai may set the screens on fire in a sizzling music video for her forthcoming film Dhoom 2 .

Kareena Kapoor may say that she can never match up to Helen as far as her dance number in Don is concerned, but comparisons will be inevitable.

By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News ServiceMumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) It is not often that an Indian choreographer gets an opportunity to train an international star. But choreographer-turned-filmmaker Farah Khan is one of the lucky ones. She was invited to choreograph pop star Shakira’s hit number “Hips don’t lie” for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.

And the Latin pop star is so impressed with her work that she has asked Farah to choreograph a video for her.

“Shakira and I have connected beautifully. She loves the movements that I’ve given her, so much so that she now wants me to do a music video for her. She’s now into classical Indian dancing. In fact, she hired an Indian lady in Chicago to teach her classical mudras (hand postures).”

Apparently, Shakira is a big fan of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.

“She has seen my ‘Chaiyyan chaiyyan’ song from ‘Dil Se’. She keeps pointing to Shah Rukh in the song and exclaims, ‘know that guy.’ I told her he’s the Tom Cruise of India. I’ve promised her I’d put her on top of a train when I do a music video with her.”

Shakira performed her item at Radio City with some mudras last week.