Sarah Jane Dias, ex Miss India World and VJ, has made her presence felt with her glamour in Abhinay Deo’s ‘Game’ especially in hot number ‘Kaisi Sunao Mein Yeh Dastaan’. She had to prepare for the song’s shoot for over a month.

“The song has been choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant and I was trained by her assistant. The track has a burlesque theme and I had to get the steps right as a group of guys would keep lifting me throughout as part of the steps,” she said.

Sarah appears on the cover of Maxim India April 2011 edition. Though Sarah looks her hottest best, the magazine needs to come up with something new for its covers.

Sarah is also in talks for other projects but prefers not to talk about it much. “I am extremely superstitious about all this,” she says.

Dias has also acted in a Tamil movie Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai (Restless Playboy) which released in January this year. Written and directed by Thiru Krishnamoorthy, the film stars Vishal Krishna, Neetu Chandra and Tanushree Dutta.

Check out Sarah on the covers of Maxim…………

The Indian Television Star Gold Lux Sabsey Favourite Kaun Awards is the only Bollywood awards decided by the audience. The red carpet ceremony for ‘Lux Sabse Favorite Kaun 2010’ was jazzed up by the B-Town celebrities with their style and panache. The guest list included the likes of Akshay Kumar, Bipasha Basu, Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar, Farah Khan, Arshad Warsi, Dia Mirza, Mugdha Godse, and other television actors.

Akshay Kumar, Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Ritesh Deshmukh, Shruti Haasan, Prachi Desai and Mugdha Godse performed for the awards night and were also honored for their work.

The winners for ‘Lux Sabse Favorite Kaun 2010’ awards have been selected through a voting campaign spanning across 30 cities along with multiple brand activation and a multitude of voting techniques like the SFK Websites, SMS, among others. The show got a overwhelming response with a collection of over 1.7 crore votes from across the world.

The best part of the night was the wrapping up of it marked by an electrifying performance by Khiladi Kumar who hip-hopped to the hit track ‘Paisa Paisa’ from ‘De Dana Dan’ and later on the remix from ‘Blue’.

The sad ending of Salman Khan and Aishwarya’s love affair has not yet been forgotten by people even after so many years. The ex-lovers too have sore wounds to heal, it seems, as the two could not hide their uneasiness when they bumped into one another while they were shooting at Mehboob Studios, Bandra for their respective films. Ash was there shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Guzaarish’, where as Salman Khan was at Mehboob shooting a promo for his movie ‘Veer’.

As per the reports, as Salman got off from his car and marched ahead talking on his mobile, at the same time Ash stepped out of a studio and walked towards her van. As their paths crossed, and the two actors noticed each other, they did stop for a moment, looked into each other’s eyes and then immediately turned the other way.

While, Aishwarya went into her van, Salman’s uneasiness was quite obvious. Post the incident, Salman wasn’t too keen to shoot, but did so anyway, and didn’t speak too much.

The press meet of SRK-Kajol starrer ‘My Name is Khan’ took place at JW Mariott in Mumbai and as the leading protagonists of the movie unveiled its first look, The fans were impressed by the efforts each took in maintaining the color code- Red and Black.

Kajol exuded elegance in a simple black striped Manish Malhotra saree with a red border. SRK looked handsome as ever in his crisp black suit. Director Karan Johar also sported the red and black theme in his black suit with a red collar. Imressed folks?

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.

Such is her airs that not many men in Bollywood can say no when Sex kitten Mallika Sherawat asks for something. Even Big B couldn’t say no to her when she offered to go for jogging in slow motion on National Television.

But finally one man has emerged to have guts to refuse her. Apparently, it is Kay Kay Menon who turned down the role that Mallika offered him in her home production Hisss.

Mallika and Menon have already worked in Sanjay Chhel’s ‘Maan Gaye Moghal-E-Azam’ and in her promotional interviews for the film she openly praised his work. So, when she came upon the question of an actor for an important and intense role in her film, naturally Kay Kay’s name cropped in her mind. She then sent her team over to him with the script.

However, after few days Kay Kay called Mallika and refused the offer saying that the script was definitely interesting and that he was confident that she would make a good film but he cannot see himself in that part that she has offered him in the film.

Ayusi Mahajan’s art exhibition organized at five-star Leela Hotel in Mumbai night among a number of celebrities was attended by  Bollywood star and former Miss World
Priyanka Chopra. The artistic work of Ayushi Mahajan had prominent impact of nature displaying beautiful, calm, cool and tranquil realistic nature.
She in her paintings, themed precious scenes of nature involving [...]

The most crucial scene of the much awaited film ‘London Dreams’ was shot recently by Salman Khan and Asin. The scene which demands that Salman propose Asin on his kness was shot underneath the beautiful Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Apparently it was Salman Khan’s idea that the scene be shot at this romantic place. It came [...]

Aamir Khan has been dressed by designers Van Heusen in the film Ghajini. Now, as part of promoting the film the apparel major has launched the Ghajini collection in the market with a fashion show and Aamir Khan himself walking the ramp. The ‘Ghajini collection’ of clothing line has been influenced by the film and [...]

With 60, Hema Malini seems to be getting younger each day. This year, she had a though belated, but a rocking birthday party on Saturday night.

“I enjoyed myself thoroughly because all the people I love, all my close relatives and family were there. And of course Dharamji. How could he not be there?” beams Hema.

As for the birthday gifts, Hema said, “I’m too old for gifts. And still, I’m constantly getting gifts on my birthdays. The older guests gave me sarees. The younger ones made cards.

About the special birthday gift from the most special person in her life, Hema revealed, “Dharamji he has given me so much already. For this birthday he gave his gift in advance. It is some very elegant jewellery that I really wanted. Actually, my birthday celebration this year went on for a week. It started with a havan on 14th and ended with the party last night where I had a Bengali couple singing Ghazals (I like to encourage new talent). While they sang our party suddenly turned into a dance party. We all hit the floor.”

And yes, she does have some regrets too about the birthday. She says, “Rekha couldn’t come. I always invite her for all my birthday parties. This time I invited Zeenat (Aman). And she was kind enough to come. It’s good to catch up with colleagues once in a while. I’d have invited Raakhee also. But she wouldn’t come, I’m sure of that.”

Designer Nachiket Bharve, however, did not make much excitement on the ramp in Lakme Fashion Week but he had an exclusive reason to cheer and smile upon due to Jaya Bachchan’s presence over there as she was sitting on the front row to support the young designer and his models.

“He is like family to me,” she told about her relationship ship with Nachiket, otherwise, she would not have turned up at show Big B still under treatment at home. Nachiket’s collection was shown on the ramp at the first day of Lakme Fashion Week.

This was a unique boxing match between two superstars- Akshay Kumar and Vijendra Singh, who matched fists to entertain the kids at NGO Make-a-wish foundation on October the 17th. The match referee was the witty Sajid Khan. The duo met kids from NGO Make-a-wish foundation and distributed gifts which they had wished for. That indeed reveals the soft heart of the two tough hunks.

Watch Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan who joined their daughter- in- law Aishwarya during the premier of ‘Vickey Cristina Barcelona’ at 61st International Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.

Not unknown to Cannes Film Festival anymore, Indian beauty queen Aishwarya Rai, arrived at Cannes, France, with her husband Anbhishek Bachchan. She was given a red carpet welcome by the organizers at Cannes Film Festival, who always give special attention to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She also attended “Kung Fu Panda” Premiere on 15th may.

The blog business gets dirty once again. Not long back Aamir Khan had said, “I would like to ask Shah Rukh, how it feels to be No.2.” Then, SRK had taken it in a good spirit and once again, SRK proves that he has no time or interest in the game of words.

Read an excerpt from Aamir Khan’s blog which goes as, “”Shah Rukh is licking my feet and I am feeding him biscuits every now and then. What more can I ask for?

Now, before you jump to any conclusions let me add that Shah Rukh is the name of our dog. And before you jump to any further conclusions let me add that I had nothing to do with naming him. In fact Shah Rukh is the dog of the caretakers of our house. When I bought this house it came with the caretakers and their dog! Apparently Shah Rukh (the actor) was shooting for a commercial in this house a few years ago, and that very day the caretakers bought a pup…, and named him Shah Rukh. What are the chances of me buying a house which comes with a dog called Shah Rukh!!!

Some of my friends claim that I bought the house just because of the dog. I would have to be a serious fan of Shah Rukh’s to want to do that. Your guess…”

Even before signing off from his blog he takes one final dig at the Baadshah of Bollywood by saying, “Well Shah Rukh is once again begging for my attention, so let me get back to him. He is smelling too much, I think he needs a bath. “Heel boy, heel.”

On this Shahrukh again proves his maturity by choosing to close the controversy instead of bloating it. Says the King Khan of Bollywood:

“Moving towards blogs is a way towards joining the journalist fraternity, I love journalists but I am an actor and would like to keep it that way.”

Shahrukh brushes aside all controversies by commenting:

“Hum log hum umar hai — main, Salman, Aamir. Aur hum jab milte hain toh is se bhi ajeeb batein karte hai. (All three of us — Salman, Aamir and me are the same age and when we meet, we talk stranger stuff than this.) I have to take it with a sense of humour and I do have a sense of humour. If I can do it with others, then I should accept it.”

We guess that with SRK’s cool reaction like this, there could not be a better end to this dog-blog controversy. What say, pals?

At 61st annual Cannes Film Festival bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai arrived on red carpet along with Eva Longoria and Mischa Barton for the premiere of new Julianne Moore flick “Blindness”. Check out aishwarya rai’s latest photographs.

Image Source: Celebrity Gossip

This summer Priyanka Chopra has reasons to be happy for she has not one, not two, but three films in tow awaiting release this July.

The first film to hit the screens on July 4 would be the much awaited sci-fi flick ‘Love Story 2050’ opposite Harman Baweja. The second one (not leeser in hype in any way) is producer Afzal Khan’s ‘God Tussi Great Ho’ scheduled for release on July 11. It has Salman Khan and Big B as Priynaka’s co-stars. Next is Dharmendra’s ‘Chamku’ awaiting release on July 18 opposite Bobby Deol.

However, an industry insider has to say here, “One wonders if Priyanka herself would be happy with three of her films arriving in such quick time. Not just would it too be too many things happening simultaneously in her career, she would also have to work extensively on the promotion of as many as three films simultaneously.”

He goes on to add, “In addition, she can’t really be expecting to catch on some breath even in weeks to follow since barely a month after her third release, she would be seen paired opposite Abhishek Bachchan in yet another high profile film of hers – Drona. A Goldie Behl fantasy costume drama, the film is all set for August 15 release.”

It does not end here. After ‘Drona’ and Goldie Behl’s flick, Priyanka is sweating hard for ‘Dostana’ and ‘Fashion’ too, both of which are expected to release this year end. Pheeewww!! That’s too much to ask from a pretty lady!

She has endorsed big ones like Maybelline, Levis Strauss, Pepsi and Tissot SA. Talking about Deepika Padukone, the girl definitely has things on a move both in professional and personal front. Where she has the current heartthrob of tinsel town, Ranbir Kapoor, in her arms, she has just grabbed another big endorsement deal. Padukone has just added another feather to her cap by becoming the new face of Dubai’s Aspire Real Estate.

The chairman of the company, Harshit Kantaria, is today a proud owner of Dhs5.5 bn portfolio with developments from Business Bay to Jumeirah Village and Dubai Marina, and special focus on waterfront properties as well. The promising company, Aspire Real Estate, chose Deepika Padukone as a brand ambassador because of her image as a true rising star of Bollywood, claimed the chairman Kantaria.

Since, Aspire Real estate is the new kid in Dubai real estate block and is making it big there in the same way as newcomer Deepika is making it big in Bollywood, the Union of ‘Rising Stars’ is the name given by the company to the association.

Madhuri was last seen in her comeback ‘Aaja Nachle’ which failed to create stirs on the box-office. Nonetheless, her fan following has not gone down by an inch. So, do we see M.F.Hussain celebrating already?

Mumbai saw Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan unveil the autobiography, ‘My Country My Life’, written by leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, L.K. Advani. Big B, as always, was not without her much admired daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Also present were other politicians along with LK Advani himself, Pandit Jasraj, ace art director Nitin Desai and Manoj Kumar.

Where the writing skills of Advani is still to be judged, considering the elite guests who honoured the book launch, this book does promise to make a good read.

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.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted Sanjay Dutt bail in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan gave reprieve to Dutt and 17 others convicted in the case on the plea that there was no chance of him fleeing the country and also because he was a first-time offender.Sanjay Dutt has been lodged behind bars in a Pune jail for over a month since receiving a copy of his judgment from TADA court that had in August sentenced the actor to six years of imprisonment for taking guns from gangsters involved in the Mumbai bombings in which 257 people were killed.

Expressing relief over the court’s order, the actor’s sister and Congress MP Priya Dutt told reporters in Mumbai: “We are happy that he would come here soon. We hope for a better tomorrow and want to thank all who have supported us to overcome the situation.”

Dutt’s next release will be his own production ‘Dus Kahaniyaan’. Bollywood has staked on him Rs. 80 to 100 crores with projects like ‘Kidnap’ directed by Sanjay Gadhvi , ‘Alibaug ‘ directed by Sanjay Gupta, ‘Mr Fraud ‘ directed by Abbas Mastan.

Now filmmakers are waiting to hear from the actor who has to give them time to complete all his incomplete and announced projects.

Kareena Kapoor may have been ecstatic signing the three-film deal with Adlabs, but Aamir Khan does not feel the same way. The news is that Aamir Khan has turned down a three-film offer worth Rs. 60 crores from Adlabs apparently because there was no proper script in place.Money has not been the priority for the actor who is said to have charged Rs 20 crore for ‘Ghajini’. Previously Adlabs offered him Rs. 50 crores for the three film deal but when they saw that the actor was not too keen they raised the amount to Rs. 60 crore in a hope to draw his interest. However, they did not have any story, or script in hand when they met Aamir. They simply told Aamir that he would have the freedom to choose three directors of his choice and Adlabs would back those projects.

Aamir refused the offer politely telling them that he does not do film just for money and that the script was of paramount importance to him.

They are superstars. They are mature and diplomatic knowing for sure how to hide their darker sides and keep nasty gossips at bay. So, it was just like SRK and Big B when both these superstars (defying all the rumours of the cold war between them) were seen mingling comfortably with each other on the sets of ‘Bhootnath’.The two of them were spotted on the sets sharing some time together playing cards and other games between shots. If that not all SRK even gifted the Big B some DVD’s of latest games, also they even indulged in a general knowledge game called Trivial Pursuit, where SRK was the official quiz master. By the looks of it the Khan and Bachchan war is finally coming to an end.

This is a fabulous way of celebrating Diwali. This Diwali, Amitabh Bachchan has donated a number of clothes including embroidered shirts, suits and jackets from his personal wardrobe to Oxfam, an international aid agency. The clothes will be sold in an online auction on Dec 1. They will also be exhibited in Oxfam shops for public to see.“I urge everyone to come forward and contribute very generously to this noble cause,” urges Bachchan.

Pushpanath Krishnamurthy of Oxfam said, “We can all do the same at Diwali and by buying Diwali gifts from Oxfam Unwrapped too, we can bring the light of hope to even more people.”

November 9 is a big day in Bollywood for three reasons: Om Shanti Om, Saawariya and Jodhaa Akbar. If the festive day marks the release of the first two mega films, it will also witness the unveiling of the third- a four minute long theatrical trailer of Ashutosh Gowarikar’s much awaited ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ on the official website, ‘www.jodhaaakbar.com’.The trailer goes:

After the Ashutosh Gowarliker Productions logo shines on-screen for over half a minute, the trailer starts off. The first few frames show Akbar( Hrithik Roshan) and Jodhaa( Aishwarya Rai) preparing for their Nikaah. And just when you expect Akbar to whisper ‘Nikaah Manjoor Hai’, he roars, ‘Hamle Ke Liye Tayyar….’

The screen goes black and Rahman’s high on-dholak background score goes wild. What follows is a montage of experior and interior shots from the film.

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.

It is merely not an incident but something pre-destined that brought Aishwarya Rai, who is playing role of Mumtaz Mahal in Ben Kingsley’s film to celebrate her 34th birthday in Agra. She was joined in party with Amitabh and Jaya Bacchan and Abhishek was already there as both reached in Agra for a shoot of an Ad to be performed on Wednesday 31st October 2007.This is Aishwary’s first birthday on November 1st 2007 after her marriage and it is very special for her as she said, “This is my first birthday after marriage and therefore a very special occasion. But that apart, you know me. Spending time with the people I love is my greatest joy. I’m in a very happy place…”

Despite her hectic schedule Aishwarya in US after the shooting of Pink Panther she reached India in time for Karwa Chauth, however, she was complaining about media “I came back from the US from shooting Pink Panther in time for Karwa Chauth. God knows how the tv cameras got our shots, probably from neighbour’s premise.”

As a birthday gift she only wants, “Just blessings and good wishes. Apart from that God has given me everything.”

After a brief hiatus and a short trip to the jail, Salman Khan is back in action. This time he is once again baring his chest for a movie titled “Tarzan” where he gets to play the title role! In fact he might even be seen sans his trousers if his role so demands.With his well crafted muscles, toned body and a shaven chest, it seems that Salman won’t have much problems getting into the skin of the character of “Tarzan”. In fact this handsome dude considers himself lucky to get such a role. “”I was always fascinated by Tarzan stories and I am glad that I have got a chance to do the film,” Salman told mediapersons in Mumbai.

Salman has decided to go in for a different kind of hairstyle for the film which will be shot in the jungles. In fact he seemed quite excited about shooting with animals amidst huge mushrooming trees.

“Tarzan” which will be directed by well known director Aneez Bazmee, will hit the theatres next year. Seeing this Khan bare his chest again, will be a delight especially for all his female fans!!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is keen on playing a good Bahu than playing a steamy romance on-screen with anyone other than hubby Abhishek. However, producer Rohan Sippy is bent on having her in his next film and is planning to fly to Boston to convince her. Sriram Raghavan, who is directing the yet untitled film, and John Abraham, who will play the male lead, too are eager to have Aishwarya. In fact, when their first celluloid pairing in Raghavan’s ‘Happy Birthday’ fell apart, John was bitterly disappointed to have lost a viable co-star.Aishwarya on the other hand is playing safe with her choice of roles. She left Karan Johar’s film because she didn’t want to play a woman who has many men in her life. Now, in Sriram’s film, she’d rather not do an intense romance with John.

A source close to Aishwarya said, “After marriage, Aishwarya’s personal and professional priorities have changed completely. She’ll do nothing that would even remotely compromise her position as the Bachchan daughter-in-law.”

Salman Khan will always remain the same: Unpredictable, unconventional, stubborn and as always popular. The actor got the honour of being the fourth Indian Actor to be featured at the Madame Tussuads Wax Museum in London, but the actor has done what could be least expected of anyone. He refused to have his wax statue at Madame Tussauds, London. Before Salman, only Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan, among all other Bollywood stars, have got this honour.Salman who is currently shooting in Austria for Subhash Ghai’s forthcoming film ‘Yuvraj’ is not available for comment. However his business manager, Vikas Kapoor, has confirmed the news saying, “Yes, Salman has refused the Madame Tussuads offer. He does not want his wax statue to be displayed at the Madame Tussauds as he is not interested in it. Though it is considered as a big honour for people who are selected for Madame Tussuads, Salman considers his fan following as his biggest honour”.

Celina Jaitley is currently working for the director Ken Khan’s movie ‘Love Has No Language’, which is set and shot in New Zealand. Celina and Ken were invited for a party where most of the guests were supposed to be Indians.Since, Ken doesn’t know Hindi, he asked Celina to teach him how to greet the guest in Hindi. Celina got mischievous and taught him to say: “Namastey, tera baap chor hai!”.

Poor Ken did not realize what the words meant and he learnt them by heart. Later, at the party, he addressed the crowd with the same sentence. Ken realized something was wrong only when he read everyone’s shocked expression.

However, later Celina eased everyone by clarifying the whole issue and accepting that she was the culprit.

Two big ambitious projects are ready to hit box-office this festive season- Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Saawariya’ and SRK and Farah Khan’s ‘Om Shanti Om’. Taking a close look at them, one realizes that both are following the same marketing target via different routes.For ‘Saawariya’, there is a rumour going round that RK Banner’s next big hope, Ranbir Kapoor, will be seen prancing around in a see-through white towel (how RK-ish, remember all those RK heroines wet and white?). As for ‘Om Shanti Om’, everyone is quite aware of SRK’s shirtless ‘Dard-e-disco’ and flaunting six-pack abs.

Both the movies have a new female face and where Sonam Kapoor was forbidden to show her face before SLB gave the green signal, Shah Rukh’s co-star Deepika Padukone’s celebrity face was too well-known to be kept in ‘Purdah’.

Also both the directors have kept mum about their basic storyline. Only producer SRK and director Farah Khan are so friendly and fun-loving and Bhansali is so brusque and bristly that one tends to put them both in different categories.

Well, whatever the marketing approach may be, with Ranbir Kapoor’s butt versus SRK’s shirless abs, the box-office this festive season will have fireworks for sure.

Saif Ali Khan’s home production ‘Vinod Agent’ is juggling between two choices for the female lead: Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. This movie is supposed to be India’s answer to James Bond.Where Kareena Kapoor has a favour from Saif Ali Khan( which is but natural given her growing friendship with Chhote Nawab), the only hitch though is that Bebo is not too keen to wear a swim suit which apparently is a perquisite to be a ‘Bond girl’. On the other hand, director Sriram is keen on Deepika, who has already made it clear that she has no qualms about appearing in a bikini.

Initially, the thought was to sign an Indian and an International actress for the movie but, now there seems to be a change in plans as it’s likely that both the actresses could be Indian. While you ponder over the question, which is the better choice, keep watching the space to know which lady finally wins the role.

Sir Ben Kingsley has finally announced the female lead to his movie on the Taj Mahal. And it is Aishwarya rai Bachchan. Ash has been finalized to play the legendary Mumtaz Mahal to Sir Ben’s Shah Jehan. The movie will be shot next year in Agra and Fatehpuri Sikri.Sir Ben, one of the world’s most honoured actors with four Academy Award nominations for his memorable role of Gandhi, apparently considered Aishwarya over Bengali beauty Bipasha Basu. However, the actor feels that his fans may forget him as Gandhi after his work as Shah Jehan.

“May be for a little while they might,” Kingsley smiles, “but I hope to be remembered as Gandhi forever.”

Sir Ben also disclosed, “The movie is on the building of the Taj Mahal. The romance will also include Shah Jehan’s abject isolation for years in a prison cell. I had spoken to Aishwarya last year while we were working on The Last Legion and she very generously agreed to do the movie with me. My production house is working with a screenwriter on the project. I have very clear ideas about how I want to approach the subject.”

The SFX technology does it all. Shirish Kunder (Farah Khan’s husband) did it in ‘Jaaneman’ to transpose Salman Khan with the stars of 60s and 70s. Now, Farah Khan does in ‘Om Shanti Om’ to show gorgeous Deepika Padukone dance with the movie stars of the 70s- Rajesh Khanna, Jitandra and late Sunil Dutt, and that too in a young avatar of these stars. We know by now that Shah Rukh Khan’s production company Red Chillies Entertainment has topnotch technology and equipment available for SFX.The film,

an unusual love story, spans over thirty years. The film has Shah Rukh Khan playing a junior artist and Deepika Padukone playing a big filmstar in 1970s.

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’.

Akshay Kumar who carved his first niche in Bollywood as an action hero slowly got into comedy films. Now, with a long stretch of seven years, Akshay is going to enact in a complete action packed film which will also be Warner Brothers’ first Bollywood film. The film titled ‘Made in China’ will have Deepika Padukone opposite Akshay Kumar. The producers will be Ramesh and Rohan Sippy.Akshay Kumar is undergoing training in the martial art form called Wushu which has been the style largely used by Jackie Chan and Jet Lee. It is well-known that Akshay admires and adores Jackie Chan.

’Akshay has been a martial arts student for years,’ director Nikhil Advani told. ‘The Wushu style is very big in China. Jet Li and Jackie Chan constantly practice it,’ he added.

Advani said, ‘My writer Sridhar Raghavan and my Indian producer Rohan Sippy designed the film with Akshay in mind. It was either Akshay or no one else for the role. We needed a lead pair who could do the action scenes with the grace of dancers. Both Deepika and Akshay are phenomenal dancers and athletes.’

Being India’s first film to be shot in China, the shooting will start in locations like Shanghai, Beijing and a village near the Chinese capital from Jan 2008.

Salman Khan, who had been sent to prison in the Jodhpur jail for the Chinkara poaching case, was granted bail by the Jodhpur bench of Rajasthan High Court on Friday. He reached home in Mumbai later in the day.The actor was in tears when he heard the news of his bail and said, “I am very thankful to my fans who prayed for me. I am not guilty. I want to hold my head high and not hang it in shame.”

Salman had been in Jodhpur Central Jail for the past seven days after a sessions court upheld his five-year jail term in the 1998 Chinkara poaching case. The actor utilized his time in jail painting and has expressed his desire to auction all the paintings that he made in jail.

However the animal activists are not happy with the news, “Its absolutely appalling. This is not even his first conviction. The court hasn’t considered that he has four other cases against him. He has beaten co-stars, run over five people, bribed witnesses, he’s been shown on TV holding a gun in his hand. Isn’t he a menace to society?” animal Rights’ activist Menaka Gandhi said on hearing the news of the actor’s bail.

The revision petition challenging the actor’s conviction will come up for hearing in the Rajasthan High Court on October 24.

When Bollywood actresses go through a down phase, they run towards south and when Bollywood actors go through a slump, they turn to production. That is just what Dino Morea is doing. Since his career as an actor is not soaring high in Bollywood, he has decided to try his hand in production. He will produce a period film and an action movie. As for the idiot box, he has decided to produce a reality show which is quite hot these days.

Sanjay Dutt took an interim breath of fresh air on Monday 20th August after being sentenced to six years imprisonment on July 31. Supreme Court released Dutt on Bail on the ground that the Mumbai court that convicted him had not yet provided him with a copy of his sentence, said his lawyer, Surender Singh. Five other people convicted in the same case were also granted bail on the same technicality.However, this star will have to return to the dark wall of the prison as soon as they are given the copy of the sentence.

Dutt was convicted in November and sentenced on July 31 to six years in prison for illegally possessing three automatic rifles and a pistol. Dutt’s case was part of the sprawling Mumbai bombings trial, which dragged on for 12 years and saw more than 100 people convicted, 686 witnesses and 13,000 pages of testimony.

Sanjay has appealed to Supreme Court and the industry is still awaiting the fate of his three unfinished films which have a bleak future with the fate of the actor still undecided.

Finally, sigh of relief for Sanjay Dutt and exuberance prevailed through the Bollywood film industry as Supreme Court of India on Monday 20th August 2007, grated bail to the actor. He was serving imprisonment for six years after being found guilty of possessing illegal arm from the people involvement in Bomb Blasts in Mumbai in 1993 which killed 257 people. He was convicted in a Judgment of Maharashtra high court on 31st July.
His Lawyer Karan Singh in a statement said “There is a lot of paperwork involved. He is expected to be released tomorrow.”

However film industry is excited after this news as people in the industry feel that actor has already suffered a lot for an unknowingly committing a mistake. They are hopeful; he will complete his three under produced movies.  He was in jail since 31st July and spent his days as an ordinary prisoner, there.

Yes, you have read it right. The name of the movie which is Karan Johar’s next is ‘Khan’ and finally Kajol has agreed to do the movie with SRK. Kajol took a long time to decide and say yes for the movie and Karan had to do a lot of Kajoling for it. ‘Khan’ is based on a story in New York which has many aspects like society, security and terrorism.

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.

Rakhi Sawant was bold enough to admit it. Our dusky Bong beauty was not. Yes, talking about silicone implants, Bipasha Basu got it done by the reputed cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Gupta (the same one who did breast enhancement for Rakhi Sawant) four years back in 2002. She had registered herself under the alias Susan Noodhah and was accompanied by a female friend. She stayed at the clinic for two days and her bustline increased by three inches.However, the babe has not yet paid the doctor his much deserved fee of Rs. 2.5 lakhs. Gupta’s staff frequently called Bipasha to recover Rs 2.5 lakh for the surgery and hospitalisation charges, but the actress is yet to pay up.

Bollwood and Hollywood have seriously fallen for each other. So, its not just actors who look for a leap to Hollywood, our production houses are also keen to collaborate with Hollywood studios. Big news is that Carving Dreams Entertainment with Los Angeles based Hollywood Studios International. And guess what? They have signed Akshay Kumar to romance with Salma Hayek.The two companies have signed a $ 100 million (Rs 400 crore approx.) deal to produce five films over the next two to three years. Sounds grrrrreat!!!

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.

The much talked about Sarkar 2 will not have Abhishek and Aishwarya as husband and wife in the movie, as in ‘Sarkar’. Ramgopal Verma reveals that Sarkar 2 hasn’t been written to play up the Abhishek-Aishwarya relationship.Sarkar ended showing the senior Bachchan in retirement. But in Sarkar 2, Abhishek isn’t willing to take over the mantle. The sotry is picked up from there. Abhishek’s character will be substantially more in the forefront. But like every son in a business empire, he’ll continue to look up to his father for guidance and support.

Should Rani Mukherjee, the star actress of Indian cinema, be shown as a sex-worker? Will people be able to digest this image of the megahit ‘Black’ actress? These are the questions looming over the minds of the director Pradeep Sarkar and Aditya Chopra. The duo had decided to cast Rani in the role of a sex worker for their upcoming movie called ‘Laga Chunari Mein Daag’.According to the story, Rani hails from a respectable middle class family and dwells in a small town. But she is enticed by the city life and eventually gets into the flesh selling business.

Now the makers of the film are struck in a morality debate that whether the Indian audience will like seeing Rani as a sex worker from a middle class family or not. The turmoil has grown after the letdowns of the recent two films ‘Tara Rum Pum’ and ‘JBJ’. A source tells DT that “We don’t know how kindly the viewers are going to take to the fact that a woman from a middle-class family becomes a sex worker in times of crisis. Surely, we are giving it a thought. After the Jhoom Barabar Jhoom debacle we want to play it safe.”

The Underworld don Abu Salem’s revelations have left the whole nation dumbstruck. Salem aka Don who is undergoing trial right now has claimed that he had connections with many Bollywood superstars such as Shahrukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Salman Khan and the forgotten hero Chunkey Pandey. The crime world superstar also revealed that the former Miss Universe, Sush has made several calls on his personal mobile phone in the past. The news was the central topic of discussion on most of the Indian news channels such as Aaj Tak, NDTV, etc.The news has also created a spur in Bollywood film industry. Though several big stars such as Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Govinda have been linked to the underworld dons in the past, yet Abu Salem’s claim in the court was a great shock, especially regarding Sushmita Sen. Sen had maintained a clean and clear image in the industry so far but no one knew that one day she would be accused of being associated with the mafia world in some way or the other.

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.

John Abraham is in South shooting for Nagesh Kukunoor’s ‘Aashayen’. Sources have it that he plays the role of a terminally ill-patient (somewhat like Rajesh Khanna in Anand) and, for that touch of authenticity, he will be losing weight steadily. Since John and Bipasha’s split are giving colours to gossip columns, quite likely that the next coming in would be- John going through a depression and losing weight alarmingly!!

He calls himself a die hard fan of Aishwarya aka Mrs. Junior Bachchan. So, he has launched a film titled ‘Aishwarya Rai’ in which the lead will be played by the actress Ashwini Kale whose face bears resemblance to this Bachchan Bahu. The film will not only highlight Ash’s professional front but also her personal life telling all about her linkups with Salman Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Abhishek Bachchan. Lets see whether the film passes through Big B’s censor board!

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.

The Indian film industry has always produced male-oriented films barring a few exceptions. However, there were some female leads that always took the industry by storm by their great performance and stood high despite all odds. They had their own identity and never were a shadow of their male counterparts. We have listed the top 10 bollywood beauties that have left a great impression on the Indian audience.1. Nutan Behl

Born on 4 June, 1936, Nutan is one of the brightest gems of Indian Film Industry. The eldest daughter of Shobhana Samarth, Nutan Behl, is said to be by far the most attractive and sensitive actresses of Bollywood. She is one of the very few divas who have served the industry for almost five decades playing a variety of roles, starting as a child artist, to leading roles then character roles with great élan.

When Nutan was only 14, she starred in a film directed by her mother Shobhana appropriately titled “Hamari Beti”. That film marked her debut. 1951 set Nutan’s career on a roll with her being crowned the first Miss India and the release of “Hum Log” and “Nagina”. These films announced the arrival of Nutan on the stage of Bollywood.

Her first big break was “Seema” released in 1955, for which she won a Filmfare Award. She followed her success with a romantic comedy, “Paying Guest”, in which she co-starred with Dev Anand. In 1959 she starred in two hit films, “Anari” (with Raj Kapoor) and Bimal Roy’s Sujata (with Sunil Dutt). These movies showed that Nutan’s unique quality, which set her apart from her contemporaries, was that she was a thinking actress who tried to perceive the undeveloped motivations of her characters. Her expressions spoke more than her words.

Nutan’s pairing with Lata Mangeshkar worked wonders and the duo together gave a number of hits. The voice of Lata combined with the expressive emotions of Nutan proved to be a success story. Nutan was also quite daring for her times and she was one of the first actresses daring enough to wear a bikini, which she did in “Dilli Ka Thug”.

Nutan’s personal life had not been as bright as her career. She had an arranged marriage on October 11, 1959 with Lt. Commander Rajish Behl, a boy her mother had chosen for her. A son, Mohnish, was born to them in 1963. When Nutan found out that her mom had been misappropriating her earnings, she filed a Civil suit and broke off all relationship with her. The relationship with her mom remained strained until Nutan was diagnosed with cancer.

Nutan once again came to the limelight with the release of “Bandini” in 1963. Bandini is still remembered as one of the finest performances by an Indian actress. Throughout the 60’s Nutan gave great performances in films like Chhaila, Manzil, Surat aur Seerat, Dil Hi Toh Hai, Chaandi Ki Deewar, Khandaan, Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya, Milan, Bhai Behan etc. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for the fourth time for her performance in Milan.

She again gave award winning performances in “Saudagar” (1973) and “Mein Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki” (1978). She maintained her gracious and sensitive style when she started playing maternal roles in the 80’s. She starred next to Dilip Kumar in the box office hit “Karma” in 1986.

Nutan passed away on February 21, 1991 at the age of 54, but this star of Indian Film Industry will keep shining forever and showing the way for all talented newcomers in Bollywood.

2. Nargis

Nargis was a major Indian star during the ’40s and ’50s recognized for her charisma, tremendous dignity, great intelligence, and ability to play a variety of roles ranging from shy coquettes to westernized women. Nargis was born on June 1, 1929 as Fatima Rashid, the daughter of the Allahabad-based singer, Jaddanbai and Uttamchand Mohanchand. Nargis, her stage name, means “Narcissus”, the flower. She was always credited as Nargis in all of her films.

Nargis started her career as a child artist in “Talashe Haq”, she quickly progressed to playing lead roles and became the top actresses of her era. She made her debut as an actress in “Tamanna” released in 1942. She appeared in a number of movies after that the most popular being Humayun (1945), Nargis (1946), Mela (1948), Aag (1948), Barsaat (1949), Jogan (1950).

Nargis paired well with Raj Kapoor and together they developed both a personal and professional partnership and gave Hindi cinema some of its best classics. Their first was Aag release in 1948. Their first blockbuster an onscreen couple was the unforgettable “Barsaat” released in 1949. The famous hit song Pyaar Hua Iqrar Hua is still considered as one of the finest romantic songs ever. Barsaat was followed by another hit “Aawara” in 1951 and “Shree 420” in 1955. Both films still maintain top positions amongst Bollywood’s finest classics. A portion of their success could be attributed to their fame as real life couple. Their romantic entanglement provided fans with hours of gossipy entertainment as Kapoor was a married man.

Nargis’s best performance came with perhaps Indian cinema’s greatest work Mehboob Khan’s “Mother India”. The film was critically acclaimed and a box office wonder and it topped all charts. The film grossed over Rs. 40 million the highest for any Indian film at that time. The film is still respected by the audience and critics of all ages and generations. It was the first Indian film to be nominated for Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Nargis played the role of a mother who killed her rebellious son for the goodwill of the whole village thus becoming the ‘mother’ of the entire village. She also won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for that role.

One year later Nargis married her co-star of Mother India Sunil Dutt. The marriage seemed scandalous to many at the time, because Sunil had played her son in the movie.

After the marriage, Nargis retired from films to raise her children and to volunteer for charitable work, but she still remained active in the film industry using her friendship with Indira Gandhi to help lobby for better conditions for filmmakers. In 1980 she became a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament).

Pancreatic cancer claimed Nargis on May 3, 1981, ironically the same year her son Sanjay Dutt made his Bollywood debut with Rocky. Nargis and her movies, (approximately 50) which spanned from 1935 through on to 1967, continue to be popular even now.

3. Madhubala

Who can forget the dove-eyed Madhubala who is the epitome of on-screen beauty and still the most beautiful actress Bollywood ever had. She had name and fame but not enough life. The actress died at a young age of 36!! She was born on 14/02/1933 and died on 23/02/1969 and in that period that she acted she did 70 films.

Her early life was full of struggles. Born to Atauallah Khan and Mumtaz Jehan Begum in a conservative family of Pathan Muslims, she started in a cow shed in Jogeshwari courtesy of a Bhaiya from UP. For her first role as a child star, she was paid 50 rupees and then 50 rupees more because the father said he has to accompany her and hence can not do a job.
After about five years of playing child roles, Devika Rani called for her to come for her film Jwar Bhata. She was rechristened to Madhubala. Madhubala got her first break in a lead role in Neel Kamal (1947). Her true success came with the movie Mahal (1949), which literally made her a superstar overnight. The list of movies to her credit is long, some of them being Sharabi (1964) Half Ticket (1962), Mughal-E-Azam (1960), Barsaat Ki Raat (1960), Jaali Note (1960), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Howrah Bridge (1958), Phagun (1958), Mr. & Mrs. ‘55 (1955), Badal (1951), Neki Aur Badi (1949), Amar Prem (1948), Lal Dupatta (1948), Pujari (1946). Not many would know Madhubala had charged twice that was paid to Dilip Kumar for Mughal e Azam when the movie had gone on the floor.

She was romantically involved with a number of men. She worked with most of them and some of them were very respectable film personalities. Be it Latif, Mohan Sinha, Kamal Amrohi, Premnath, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Dilip Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Bhart Bhushan and finally Kishore Kumar. Men just fell for her beauty and charms. The list can go on and on.

To get Dilip interested in her she sent a red rose with a message. Dilip was impressed but got furious when he later came to know that she had done the same with Premnath not long ago and was going strong with him. He never forgave her for that. Never ever, not even when she was on her death bed. Kishore Kumar who was her last love and eventually her husband – married her despite her illness.

Her ailing heart was kept hidden from the industry. Often she would cough blood on the sets. Ultimately she died of her heart problem and Kishore Kumar took no time in forgetting her and remarrying.

4. Hema Malini

Hema Malini was born in the Tamil-speaking Chakravarthy household on October 16, 1948 in Ammankudi, Tamil Nadu. Her dad’s name is V.S.R. Chakravarthy and her mom, Jaya, was a film producer. She was enrolled in the Chennai-based Andhra Mahila Sabha. She was the second South Indian actress after Vyjayantimala to be a successful Bollywood star.

She performed as a dancer in the regional film “Pandava Vanavasam” in 1961. She wanted to start her acting career in 1964, but she was rejected by the Tamil director Shridhar on the grounds that she had no star appeal, but Hema did not give up and made her debut with a bang starring opposite to the legendary Raj Kapoor in “Sapnon ka Saudagar” in 1968. The film’s posters splashed her pictures with the catch phrase Dreamgirl. Though the film flopped, Hema the dream girl had arrived.

Her next films were “Waris” and “Jahan Pyar Mile”. The films failed but Hema survived with “Johnny Mera Naam” in 1970. Her next major success came with her famous double role in “Seeta aur Geeta” in 1972 where she starred next to Sanjeev Kumar and Dharmendra. It was her first successful project with Dharmendra, the couple went on to be one of the hottest on screen couple before they became real life partners when they tied the knot, but it was not an easy marriage. Dharmendra, who was already married to Prakash Kaur, and had two sons, Sunny and Bobby, could not marry Hema as Prakash refused to divorce him. According to the Hindu Marriage Act, a Hindu cannot marry a second time while the first wife is still alive. Dharmendra belongs to a Arya Samaj Hindu Punjabi Jatt family. On August 21, 1979, both Hema and Dharmendra converted to Islam, changed their names to Aisha Bi R. Chakravarty and Dilawar Khan Kewal Krishn respectively, and got married in accordance with Islamic rites.

Hema kept on starring in one hit after the other like Tere Mere Sapney, Gora aur Kaala, Garam Masala, Baabul ki Galiyan etc. “Sholay” released in 1975 gave her career a huge boost. Basanti became an icon in Indian Film Industry and her dance number Jab Tak Hai Jaan Mein Naachungi became one of the most loved dance numbers ever. The movie went on to become the single greatest hit of Bollywood completing its Golden Jubilee.

After Sholay, Hema gave other hits like Charas (1976), Chacha Bhatija (1977), The Burning Train (1980), Satte Pe Satta (1982) etc. With increasing age Hema shifted to playing character roles, but with same grace and style. She appeared in Jamai raja (1991), Hey Ram (2000), Baghban (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), and Baabul (2006) in character roles, playing each one of the with immense élan.

Hema’s priorities have now shifted to politics. She is a member of the right-winged Bharatiya Janata Party, and a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.

5. Rekha

Born in 1954 at Chennai, Rekha is considered to be the “Eternal Diva of Bollywood”. Being the daughter of the well known film superstar Gemini Ganeshan and actress Pushpavalli studio became her playground and she started nurturing her acting skills from a very young age. She started acting from as early as 1966 when she appeared as a child actor in the Telegu film “Rangula Ratnam”. Rekha made her debut as heroine in the successful Kannada film “Goadalli CID 999” with Dr. Rajkumar in 1969.

Her first Hindi release was “Sawan Bhado” in 1970 which was a major hit and made her a star overnight. During the period 1970-1973 she starred in movies like Ammakosam, Barkha Bahar, Rampur ka Lakshman. Gora aur Kala, Dharma etc. Dharma was a major hit and put Rekha in the limelight but the real big hit came with Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s “Namak Haram” in 1973 in which Rekha starred next to the Bollywood kings Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna.

Her pairing with Amitabh Bachchan has been most successful of all and together they gave great hits like Muqaddar ka Sikandar, Mr. Natwarlal, Silsila etc. Silsila with its controversial subject again made Rekha the center of attention. She was rumored to be Amitabh’s real life flame and the film gossip column may have contributed to her success.

She bagged the Nation Film Award for Best Actress in 1981 for her outstanding performance in the bollywood blockbuster “Umrao Jaan”. The movie was commercially successful and was critically acclaimed as well.

Rekha is known to have played a variety of roles from police officer in ‘Insaaf ka Taraazu’, a perfect housewife in ‘Biwi ho toh Aisi’ to sensuous Mansi in ‘Aastha’. Rekha can claim to have one of the widest varieties of roles under her belt and she played each and every one of them with natural perfection.

Recently Rekha’s Bollywood career has taken a backseat with her appearing in very few movies with short roles of a widowed mother (Krrish) or a glamorous stage singer (Parineeta). Rekha’s forthcoming films include Yaatra, Bajirao Mastani and the much awaited Krrish 2.

6. Madhuri Dixit (Nene)

Born on 15th May 1967, Madhuri Dixit is the Marlyn Monroe of Bollywood. This beauty of Bollywood is full of talent with great acting skills, charms and dancing abilities. She is considered to be one of the best Bollywood has ever seen. She has stolen the hearts of everyone of all ages Be it young college students or famous painters like M.F. Hussain her charm has enticed all.

She made her acting debut in “Abodh” in 1986. The film was a box-office disaster and failed miserably. The future looked dim for this diva when this was followed by other flops like Aawara Baap, Swati, Hifazat etc. The year 1988 was the turning point in her career when she was re-launched by Subhash Ghai in the legendary hit. This was followed by Dayavaan and Tezaab. She starred next to Vinod Khanna in the former and the dashing Anil Kapoor in the latter. Tezaab made her a dancing sensation in India and the Ek-Do-Teen girl with her sensational dance and sensuous facial expressions started a new cult in Bollywood.

“Dil” added another accomplishment to her list when her performance in the blockbuster movie won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award. Again the movie was appreciated both by the fans and the critics for years to come and the film completed its Golden Jubilee.

Dil was followed by “100 Days” and “Saajan” in 1991 which were huge success at the box office and established Madhuri Dixit as the crown princess of Bollywood. Then came Indra Kumar’s “Beta” in 1992 which again was one of the biggest box office hits. The film won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award. Her sensuous dance number in Dhak Dhak karne laga established her as the ‘Dhak Dhak’ girl who stole the hearts of millions.

Her famous item number ‘Choli ke Peeche’ in Khalnayak in 1993 placed her in the centre of a huge controversy and again brought her in the spotlight. She was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress Award for the same movie. 1994 was perhaps the best year in the career of Madhuri with two of her biggest hits “Anjaam” and “Hum Aapke Hain Kaun” releasing that year. While her role in Anjaam, where she played a vengeful damsel, was greatly applauded by the critics, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun recorded the single greatest hit ever breaking the record of Sholay. The film won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award for the 3rd time.

Indra Kumar’s “Raja” (1995) was another one of her hits. Though the film had many flaws her role won the critics recognition. Unfortunately after that had been downhill for Madhuri with a series of flops like Prem Granth, Koyla, Mrityudand etc. Critics commented that it was time for Madhuri to pack her bags and leave the industry but then came her performances in Dil Toh Pagal Hai (1997) which once again who her the Filmfare Best Actress Award. She once again starred in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Devdas” in 2002. The film was commercially successful and she proved once again that she has neither lost her acting talents nor her dancing skills.

After her marriage in 1999 films have moved down the priority list for Madhuri and she is devoting more time to her personal life taking care of her two sons Arin and Ryan. She is though starring in a few films the most recent in line being ‘Aaja Nach Le’. Let us hope that we get to see more of this dashing diva of Bollywood.

7. Juhi Chawla

Innocent, sweet and bubbly Juhi Chawla was the first child born to Punjabi father Dr. S. Chawla and Gujarati mother, Mona. She has one brother named Sanjeev. She graduated from Sydenham College, Mumbai, Maharastra. She was crowned Miss India in 1984 and she won the best costume award in the Miss Universe contest that year.

From beauty contests, she moved into film – with her movie debut being “Sultanat” in 1986. The film was not a huge success at the box office. Her next project was the Kannada film “Permaloka” which was a superhit. Her next Bollywood appearance was the superhit film “Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak” where she starred next to Aamir Khan. The pair went on to be one of the most successful on screen couples industry has ever seen.

The next few films were not very successful for Juhi. Love Love Love, Goonj, Kaafila, Swarg all bombed at the box office, but Juhi Chawla hit the hotspot with Dharmesh Darshan’s “Lootere”. A song on the beach in just a plain white shirt was enough for her to be labeled hot.

Her second innings in Bollywood started with a series of hits starting with “Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman” in 1992 followed by “Bol Radha Bol” (1992) and “Lootere” in 1993. Next came Yash Raj’s “Darr” which was a blockbuster hit and one of the greatest hits of the 90’s. With this performance she was suddenly placed right at the top and became one of the toughest contenders for the no. 1 title. Darr was followed by another hit “Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke” for which she won the Filmfare Best Actress award.

Her pairing with Shahrukh has also been successful. Together they gave Bollywood hits like Ram Jaane, Yes Boss, Duplicate etc. Together they also started a film production firm Dreamz Unlimited. The first movie by the production house was “Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani” released in 2000. Her best performances between the period 1997 and 2002 included “Ishq” and “Arjun Pandit”.

Recent years have not been that successful for Juhi and her career seems to be on a low. Lately she starred in “My Brother Nikhil” in 2005 which was not commercially successful but critically acclaimed, “Bas Ek Pal” (2006), Salaam-e-Ishq (2007) etc. Her forthcoming releases include “Swami” and “Bhoothnath” both of which are set to be released in 2007.

Juhi is married to the famous industrialist Jai Mehta. She gave birth to her first child, a girl, on February 21, 2001. Her daughter’s name is Jhanvi. Chawla later gave birth to a son called Arjun.

8. Kajol Mukherjee (Devgan)

Acting runs in her blood and her natural bent for acting is well reflected in the ease with which she plays variety of roles. Yes, we are talking about Kajol, daughter of Tanuja and Shomu Mukherjee. Be it her maternal aunt Nutan Behl or her maternal grandmother Shobhna Samarth and maternal great grandmother Rattan Bai, they wee all yesteryears movie stars. Kajol’s younger sister Tanisha has also joined the industry and has films like ‘Niel and Nikki’, ‘Sarkar’, etc to her credit.

Kajol was born on 5th August 1974 in Mumbai and has a happy and comfortable childhood. She debuted with the film ‘Bekhudi’ in 1992 which was a box office disaster. The came her film ‘Baazigar’ with Shahrukh Khan and the industry started talking about this not-so-glamorous girl who seemed to have acting potentials. Her next flick ‘Udhar Ki Zindagi’ truly brought out her flair for acting. In 1998 she again had a hit with Shahrukh Khan in ‘Kara Arjun’.

Kajol was best paired on-screen with actor Shah Rukh Khan and both make a magical romantic pair. In fact, each of her five movies with him (Baazigar, Karan Arjun, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and Kabhi Khushie Kabhi Gham) have all gone on to become super-hits and blockbusters. She has appeared with her husband Ajay Devgan in movies like ‘Hulchul’, ‘Gundaraj’, ‘Raju Chacha’,,, ‘Ishq’ and ‘Pyar to Hona Hi Tha’ among which the last two were commercially successful.

In her short filmi career, Kajol has got rave reviews along with a lot of awards. The latter includes Filmfare Best Actress Award for ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (1995), Filmfare Best Villain Award and Zee Cine Award Best Actor in a Negative Role for ‘Gupt‘ (1997), Filmfare Best Actress Award and Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ‘ (1998), Star Screen Award Best Actress for Dushman (1998), Filmfare Best Actress Award and Star Screen Award Best Actress for ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ (2001), Zee Cine Special Award for Outstanding Performance- Female for ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ (2001).

Her marriage to Ajay Devgan in February 24, 1999 was a quiet affair where only a few close friends and relatives were invited. The newly wed couple went on a two month honeymoon traveling the world visiting such places as Sydney & Cairo. The couple has carried off their marriage well and compliment each other perfectly as Kajol is known for a bubbly, cheerful and extrovert nature and Ajay is shy, serious and introvert. Post marriage Kajol has cut down the number of movies to spend more time with her family. She had a miscarriage but was blessed with a baby girl in 2003 whom she named Nyasa.

The films which were released after the marriage include ‘Raju Chacha’ (2000), ‘Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi’ (2001), Karan Johar’s ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’ (2001) and ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ (2003). She gave a brilliant performance in ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’. After this movie, she stayed away from the film industry for a while. In 2006, she came back enacting the role of a blind Kashmiri girl with Aamir Khan in Kunal Kohli’s ‘Fanaa‘ which again showed that the journey is not over for this talented gem of Bollywood.

9. Rani Mukherjee

The Bong beauty Rani Mukherjee was born on 21st March 1978. Being the daughter of the famous director Ram Mukherjee and the cousin of one of the greatest actresses Kajol, the road ahead for Rani Mukherjee has been clear. She did a small cameo role in her father’s Bengali film “Biyer Phool” in 1992 at a very young age of 14.

She made her Bollywood debut when Salim Akthar came up with “Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat” in 1996. The film bombed at the box office and Rani’s career took a back seat with her devoting her attention back to completing her studies. She was back with a bang with “Ghulam” in 1998 where she starred opposite to Aamir Khan. Thought the film was very successful at the box office a few critics raised some questions on her acting skills and commented on her hoarse voice. Rani’s response was her brilliant performance in Karan Johar’s “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” where she played the hot and sexy Tina and won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

Again in 1998 she gave another brilliant performance in “Mehndi”. After a few flops like Hello Brother, Baadal, Bichhoo she once again came into the limelight with her controversial performance in “Hey Ram” (2000). The film itself was a centre of discussion with its controversial subject matter and her steamy kiss scene with Kamal Hasan just added spice to the discussion. The film though was India’s official entry for the Oscars.

Between 2000 and 2002 she did quite a few films like Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, Nayak, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Mujhse Dosti Karoge etc. Some of them were commercially successful but none were huge box office hits. Her next big hit was “Saathiya” in 2002. She won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance and was nominated for Filmfare Best Actress Award for her role in that film. The film was also screened at the Casablanca Film Festival.

Again her career went through a quiet phase before the release of Yuva in 2004. The film was a huge box office hit and her role also won critically acclaimed. This was just the beginning, Rani’s career has been on a rise ever since. Yuva was followed by “Hum Tum” for which she won the Filmfare Best Actress Award and “Veer Zaara” which was another box office hit.

But the world had yet to see the best Rani had to offer which came with the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Black” where her role as Michelle won her appreciation, fame and recognition all round. She won both the Filmfare Best Actress Award and the Critics Award that year for this role. The film was screened at the Casablanca Film Festival and The International Film Festival of India.

Black was followed by other hits like Bunty Aur Babli, Paheli and Mangal Panday The Rising in 2005. In 2006 Rani once again topped the charts with “Kabhi Alvida Na kehna” and Baabul. The most recent of Rani’s releases has been “Ta ra Rum Pum” where she stars next to Saif Ali Khan.

With Rani’s career at its peak Rani has a long list of movies queued up for release next in line being “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag” followed by “Saawariya”. With Rani giving one hit performance after the other one gets a feeling that this Bong beauty is just getting started and has a great career ahead of her!

10. Aishwarya Rai (Bachchan)

Born into a traditional South Indian family Aishwarya Rai popularly called as ‘Ash’ is one of Bollywood’s pre-eminent leading ladies. She started modeling at a very young age and appeared in a number of commercials but it was the Pepsi ad with Mahima Choudhary that really brought her into the limelight. In 1994 she was the runner-up to the Miss India contest and became a strong contender for the Miss World crown which she won.

Ash stormed into the Indian movie industry, where she has proven herself a brilliant & genuine actress. Her performance in “Iruvar” (1997) was critically acclaimed. She made her Bollywood debut with Rahul Rawail’s “Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya” (1997). Though the film was not commercially successful it won her the “Screen best female debutant award”. The South Indian movie “Jeans” was her first commercially successful film.

The year 1999 saw a steep rise in the career graph of Ash with her blockbuster hits “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” and “Taal”. Her performances in both the films were highly applauded and she won the “Filmfare Best Actress Award” for the former. These films answered the questions raised by critics on her acting talents and proved that she was not just looks and charms but a rare talent that could deliver emotions, dialogues and dance with great élan.

Between 2000 and 2001 she starred in a number of films like Josh, Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Albela, Mohabbatein etc. and starred next to major actors like Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Govinda etc. In 2002 she landed a role in the lavishly produced “Devdas” next to Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit. The film was a major box-office hit. It won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award and also received international acclaim. The film was screened at the Cannes film festival. It was during that time that Ash signed a few Hollywood projects as well.

After that Rai stormed the international stage and claimed world wide recognition by being a regular at the Cannes film festival. She was a member of the jury in 2003. She was chosen as one of the World’s “100 Most Influential People” by the Time magazine in 2004. She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2. A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. She was also featured on Oprah’s “Women Across the Globe” segment.

Ash’s first foreign film was “Pride and Prejudice” which was followed by the “Mistress of Spices” which though was not commercially successful earned the critics respects.

At the end of 2006 she starred in “Dhoom 2” which again brought her back to attention. She starred next to Hritik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan. Her marriage to the latter was a grand affair in April 2007. With much media attention and hype, Aishwarya joined the famous Bachchan family post a traditional marriage.

Aishwarya Bachchan’s forthcoming releases include Jodha-Akbar, Sarkar 2 (in which she would be starring next to her husband), Raaste and Happy Birthday. She also has a long lineup of her Hollywood releases including movies like The Rebel, Chaos and Singularity in which she is starring with “The Mummy” fame Brandon Fraiser. Looks like the future is bright for the “Queen of Bollywood”.

John Abraham was in town. But for reasons unknown ex-boyfriend Dino Morea accompanied Bipasha Basu and spent an entire evening with her. The occasion was the introduction of fashion designer Rocky S’ Couture Line 2007 at the AZA flagship store with a fashion soiree. Rocky S played the perfect host as he welcomed all his close pals from the film industry which included Bipasha, Dino Morea, Dia Mirza, Shilpa and Shamita Shetty. The highlight of the evening was a beautiful fashion show choreographed by Marc Robinson which had models like Waluscha, Anchal, Tupur and Tapur walking the ramp in Rocky S outfits.Bipasha said,”Rocky and I are such close pals that my name has become synonymous with his. We are great friends.”

By Devansh Patel, IndiaFM

What do you think about the music of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom?

The music of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is outstanding. After a long time I have done a film where in every song is my favourite. There isn’t one song that I can’t say is my favourite. Right from the title track to any track all are very well done.

What do you think about Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Shankar Ehsaan Loy are my lucky music directors. They did the music for Dil Chahta hai, KANK, Kal Ho Na Ho. These are all films of mine in which the music has been outstanding and it’s really done well. It’s gone down well with the audiences and I think they have upped their quotient with Jhoom Barabar Jhoom because they are so good in this movie. The variety they have is so outstanding. I think that’s why they are three of them because each one contributes so much to the film and that gives us a whole picture.

Tell us something about your character in the film

I play Alvira Khan, who is from Lahore. Even though she’s from Lahore she refuses to accept the fact that she is a Pakistani living in London. She’s actually British and more British than the queen herself and that’s the fun part. There’s a lot of layering to her. She’s actually a very endearing sweet girl but she’s not this typical heroine with the salt on her nose. But she has this attitude and this image about herself. She is so into that image about herself that everything else dilutes the equation. She’s a lot of fun and quite mad. I think its one of my most mad and totally energetic and crazy characters that I have played till now.

What was it about the script that made you decide to do this film?

I think the madness in the script. It’s the only film when the script was narrated to me and I didn’t have any point to pick and say that is a problem. It’s very fast, it moves. Well it’s really funny and it’s got great humour. It’s got great back story, each character has a layer. More than anything else when you watch it and come outside you have this whole feeling like phew!! And that’s it!

What was it like working with Shaad Ali Sehgal

Shaad and I started our careers together. He assisted Mani Ratnam in Dil Se and I did Dil Se as my first film. He was an assistant director and I was working in that film. I think nine years down the line we come into a full circle now he’s directing this film and I am in it. I absolutely love Shaad and he’s one director very unassuming even if you joke about him and say he’s the only communist on the set. He also has this madness in him which translates into his cinema. You will see a mad streak in me, in Abhishek, in Lara and also in Bobby and that’s purely because Shaad has directed this film. If there was any other director you wouldn’t have seen that madness streak. I think he’s really relaxed and he’s like a sweet teddy bear with his psycho hair out.

Can you tell us something about your look in this film?

It’s the first time I am working with Aki Narula and it’s been a great pleasure working with him. He’s very talented. He’s this little guy but with a lot of talent. He is always open to ideas and ready to do something new since there is a lot of layering in my character. She is a very hoity toity character so we have a lot of changes. I must say he exceeded my expectations. When Aditya Chopra and Shaad told me that they were going to get Aki I was a little nervous because I had not worked with him before but I think he has done a fantastic job.

Any outfit in the film which you would like to wear even otherwise

All the outfits in the film are very wearable. They are not any filmi outfits that you can only wear it to work and you can’t wear it any where else. Actually I have two outfits in the film which Aki bought for the movie and I also bought it for myself. We didn’t know that and then we ended up having the same outfit. So I had this one dress which is a puffed up ball dress which I wear and the other one is this navy blue tight fitted little dress with a red bow on it so I have two of them.

What was it like working in a multi starrer film?

I started my career with Bobby he was my first co-star, so this film has been quite an emotional journey in a sweet way because I worked with both Shaad and Bobby nine year’s ago. Abhishek is psychotic he’s crazy and I love working with him. Lara again I have never worked with but she’s a very sweet girl and very hard working. We got along very well. I think when you see the film you realize how well all of us got along because there is positivity in the film. There is a Jhoom equation which is happening so I hope everybody had the same experience I had working in a multi starrer.

And about Mr. Bachchan what can you say about him, he is like God and I just love him.

Are you comfortable doing glamorous roles like these

As an actor I would want variety in my career, in my life and off course variety is the spice. In KANK I play a much more serious and much more sober, a little bit more groomed and older character. In Jhoom Barabar Jhoom it’s more fun, it’s younger and of course it’s glamorous. Thanks to Shaad and Adi and thanks to Aki Narula who makes such great costumes.

Any memorable incident during the shoot of the film

We were shooting this dance sequence and it was the first day of the shoot and everyone was really excited. We were like yes we are going to go for it. I was dancing and suddenly I felt this piercing pain in my foot and I looked down, Lara who is 5 ft 8inches tall was wearing a five inches heel that dug into my foot and made a hole in my foot. I went like ahhhhhhhh. And then just when I was recovering from it and I got rid of the stitches and I was getting ready to go on set again, Bobby put his ‘Punjab da haath’ and whacked my face. So I remember falling off and seeing the plane, train and the submarine together. I think leaving this aside whatever happened we had such a blast. I think this is the first time in my career after we shot a song we were just tired and we wanted to go home. The director Shaad just put the track again and besides the actors everyone else started dancing and they danced and danced and danced and I was looking at them.

Is true love real or fantasy according to you?

Love is always real and true love is even more real. I think love is romantic

On working with Vaibhavi as a choreographer.

I think Vaibhavi has done an amazing job. I haven’t danced so much for very long time. I am dancing so much. It’s a bit conceited for us to say we did this and that, I think it’s for the people to say I saw the bits of one song and it’s really well choreographed and it’s very in sync with the film. Vaibhavi is exceptionally talented and she’s very chilled out.

By Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaFMWell if his Dad was known for kutte kameene?Ma ka dudh piya hai to? kinda dialogues, the son is still associated with Ye Dhai Kilo Ka Haath Jab Padta Hai Na?To Aadmi Uthta Nahin Hai?Uth Jaata Hai?Meet Sunny Deol, the media shy star who continues to be a bankable actor at the ticket window after twenty five years in the movie business. And that too in the lead role. First up, his thoughts on the famous dialogue from Damini where he had a power packed supporting role. ?Those films were written well. Dialogues were good. They went with the character and that’s why they are remembered again and again. People give me references of it. But it’s been a long time that we haven’t had that kind of writing,? Sunny said in an exclusive interview with IndiaFM on the terrace of Sunny Super Sound Studio overlooking the calm evening sea.

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the Deols these days. In Anil Sharma’s Apne, Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby shall share screen space for the first time. While Sunny had a release in Ahmed Khan’s Fool N Final last week, kid bro Bobby is looking forward to a turnaround in his career with films like Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom, Naqaab and more around the corner. Of course Dhamendra’s kiss-on-the-sly with Nafisa Ali in Life in a? Metro has been a talking point.

The Music Launch of Apne was one of the biggest events in the film industry in the recent times with thespian Dilip Kumar, eternal style icon Dev Anand gracing the occasion along with Salman Khan, Govinda, the three Deols, Shilpa Shetty, Katrina Kaif etc. ?Dad came in the industry always dreaming about Dilip (Kumar) Sahab. He was his icon. Dilip Sahab was the person Dad adored. Dev (Anand) Sahab was another gentleman with whom he interacted when he first came to Bombay. So, we thought that it’s (Apne) his film and it would give him great honour if they would be there. And that’s why they came. And Papa and Dev Sahab have interacted so much over the years. They have a bond and love for each other that I doubt actors can only dream of,? Sunny said.

You said in an interview recently that your dad’s fans have passed on to you and Bobby. And Dharamji had replied to your statement by saying that you were being generous when you said that. ?When we talk about star sons, we do get an easy launch. But there’s a lot of responsibility. It also depends on how good you are. So, obviously the fans which were there for my dad have rubbed on to us because they thought we are worthy of it.? The Deol family has always had a huge fan base in Punjab. ?It is not just Punjab. The kind of love and affection I get all over the country is the same. Punjab is our hometown, that’s why the respect and love is unbelievable.? Has Apne been shot in Punjab? ?Apne is based in Punjab. It travels to America. Some portions have also been shot in Bangkok but it’s not shown as Bangkok.?

Talking about Apne? can you share its story idea? ?It’s difficult to talk about the story. You can’t describe the whole film in a few words. All I can say is that it’s a bonding film. It’s a family film, family values. It has got a lot of entertaining elements and there are some nice choreographed boxing sequences in the film.? Why did it take so long for the three Deols to come together? ?We’ve been wanting this thing to happen for years and years. But unfortunately we couldn’t get the right script. We didn’t want to do a thing where three stars are there, sell it and don’t worry about the content of the film. We were not getting the right script. We had nearly given up till Sharmaji came up and narrated us the idea. From there were took it up and within a year we finished the film and now we are talking about it.? And why the title Apne? ?That’s what suits the subject. No other reason,? Sunny says.

You’ve delivered one of the biggest hits of Hindi cinema Gadar with Anil Sharma. How do you look back at that landmark film in your career? ?When I had heard the script I had loved it and we went ahead and shot it. We had no inclination what’s gonna happen. We knew it will be a successful film but we never knew that it will be such a successful film. Anything that is successful happens because of the team. When everyone does his bit right then you do hit the bull’s eye.? Music of Gadar was super hit. Music of Apne also seems to be melodious unlike Himesh Reshammiya’s brand of dhinchak music. ?Title song is my favourite. It reminds me of Sandese Aate Hain? there is emotion? the wordings, the melody? it hits the core in your heart basically??

At an Aids awareness function in Delhi a few days ago Shilpa Shetty made headlines worldwide when she was kissed by Richard Gere. Sunny was present at that function. Incidentally Shilpa is paired opposite Sunny in Apne. ?Shilpa is making news. That’s good because it’s very important to be in news these days. Besides that she is a good person. We have worked in a couple of films. She is a nice actress as well,? Sunny said. And does he recall being paired with Bobby for the first time in Dillagi? ?Dillagi was a film I directed with Bobby. I think Bobby had done a great role in that film. Obviously he is my younger brother and at times I do treat him like my son. But Apne is different emotion, different relation. Dad is there, bonding of father son is there. It is do with real life characters. It’s not goody goody film. It has son fighting with his father, brother can have a fight with brother. These things happen in real life.?

Alright? let’s talk about Ahmed Khan’s Fool N Final for a change now. ?We had great fun making the film. Feroze make films with lots of characters? and I am one of them. I’m sure people will like it.? Mr Feroze Nadiadwala said that you performed unbelievable stunts in the film. ?We do so many stunts but it doesn’t make a difference to me as we keep on doing them so many times. I’m a little daring guy. This is how I am since childhood. I wouldn’t advice others to do it. Basically it is coordination and confidence. Obviously everything is dangerous but that’s life.? Shahid in an interview to us addressed you as Sunny Sir. ?That’s because he is younger to me. And that’s the respect one should give to your seniors. It’s very sweet of him,? Sunny said with a smile.

The evening was settling down into a quite relaxing dusk while the sea seemed within a touching distance. It was pleasant to watch a normally reticent Sunny Deol looking fresh and relaxed answering all our questions sportingly. And as he whizzed past in his stylish Mercedes (driving himself), the look of wonder on the faces of a few labourers standing by was hard to miss. Obviously the common man thinks highly of him. And in this multiplex era, it’s these common folks who can still make a star a rock star. So, will Apne do the trick for Sunny Deol? Come June 29th? and you shall get to know.

What is common among all these stars? All of them are struggling to keep their Bollywood careers afloat. However, environment seems to attract their concern more than their sinking careers. So, all of them gathered in Mumbai on the ‘World Environment Day’ to appeal the masses to save their environment.Diya said that she tries her best to do her bit for the environment. She tries to save energy, tries to reduce vehicle pollution, uses paper instead of plastics, and so on.

Vasundhara Das said, “We have become so selfish that we forget that we are ultimately harming ourselves with this extent of selfishness.”

With these stars promoting the cause of saving the environment, the people are sure to open their eyes to more awareness.

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.

‘Cheeni Kum’ has left the director R. Balki in high spirits and he is all set and prepared for his next project ‘Pa’ with the same producer Sunil Manchanda. Apart from the same director and producer, the music director is also the same, Ilaiyaraaja. From the starcast of ‘Cheeni Kum’, Our Big B will be there along with his son Abhishek Bachchan. The film is a light comedy depicting the relationship between a father and a son. Senior and Junior Bachchan will surely pull off the father and son chemistry. As for the leading lady, Aishwarya was being considered earlier, but latest updates say that Vidya Balan may be the ultimate choice.

Bachchans, Bachchans and Bachchans in news…… Now it is that Ram Gopal Verma has finally succeeded in roping in Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek And Amitabh Bachchan for his sequel to “Sarkar”.

By Diti Shah (IndiaFM News Bureau)Blue fever is infecting the nation once again! As the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 kicks off today, India-XI gears up to play the game. Cricket fanatics kneel down and pray. But Bollywood baadshahs believe in much more than prayers …determination, optimism and total action!

Read on, as Bollywood-XI shows India how to get the trophy home…

Aamir Khan: I think India will win the World Cup. I want to tell our team…Go out there and show the world what we are made of. Give it your best shot!

Jackie Shroff: I am looking forward to a few good matches, especially Australia and India. Australia of course is a champ. But some of the Australian players are injured like Bret Lee is injured. Australia is a little shaken up. So if India plays like a team we can definitely win. England is on a high with Monty Panesar. It seems that he is amazing. South Africa is undeterred and Pakistan is also very passionate about the game. India has to play as a team… Agar chipak ke khelega, toh Cup leke ayega!

By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News ServiceMumbai, March 12 (IANS) Amitabh Bachchan is glad that audiences have understood and appreciated Ram Gopal Varma’s “Nishabd”, where the protagonist falls in love with his daughter’s teenaged friend, even though it sparked off an ethical debate.

“I’m happy to see I’ve been appreciated. I did it because it was challenging. I’m happy audiences understood what the film is really about. That’s contrary to how some people in the film trade saw it from the outset … not a single person has disliked it. I’ve got positive feedback from weird places,” Amitabh told IANS in an interview.

The veteran actor pointed out that “Nishabd” was shot in a remote location, away from crowds, which enabled him to perform well. He also stressed that Varma gave ample space to all his artistes.

“There were no crowds, no phones, no connection with the rest of the world. It was just us and the project. It was the silence that stimulated creativity.”

Excerpts from the interview:

By IndiaFM News Bureau

With the World Cup fever in the air how can our very own Bollywood industry stay away from the sport?

Tuesday night saw the send off for the Indian cricket team to the World Cup. Present at the heartfelt event was none other than Shah Rukh Khan who paid his wishes to the Indian cricket team.

Also present at the event were Adnan Sami and Shankar Mahadevan who rocked the fans present at the venue with some foot tapping songs. Priyanka Chopra, the sultry actress, made a special appearance to wish the team good luck.

But the highlight of the event was King Khan who addressed the entire cricket team which was present at the event along with Captain Rahul Dravid. SRK told them that they should do their best and leave the rest. He also apologised to the team no behalf of the media saying that sometimes people are rude to the team and say demeaning things when the team loses. But now we take all that back and the team should go and get back the World Cup.

Captain of Indian cricket team, Rahul Dravid thanked Shah Rukh Khan and millions of cricket fans for their wishes and said that the Indian team will do its best at the World Cup.

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.

By Priyanka Khanna, Indo-Asian News ServiceNew Delhi, (IANS) Signature line of clothing that are inspired, crafted and fine-tuned by film stars themselves is the hottest new trend in the world of fashion.

Jennifer Lopez has it and so do Sarah Jessica Parker, Eminem, Britney Spears and loads of other international celebrities, so why should Indian film stars be far behind.

Not content with merely endorsing clothes brands or gracing the opening of clothes stores, hot and happening Bollywood stars are increasingly getting involved with fashion wear at the sketching stage itself.

John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan lead the list when it comes to adding a very personal touch and bringing out signature fashion collections. While John has tied-up with Wrangler, Hrithik is working very closely with ITC in a bid to find a way into your wardrobes.

John’s involvement with his own line needs to be seen to believed. Each piece of his collection comes with small notes sticking out from the inside pockets containing personal comments from the actor himself on the design, style and how he came up with the look.

Like John, Hrithik’s association with ITC’s John Player began as a brand endorsement but has taken a personal turn.

Atul Chand of ITC said in an interview: “The association benefits both. It brings alive the personality of the brand and helps establish a style statement for the star or a specific character the actor is trying to popularise.”

The much awaited and controversial ‘Nishabd’ portraying the love of a 60 year old man (Amitabh Bachchan) and an 18-year-old girl (Jiah Khan) was released last week. The box office collections are not soaring, but the fire of protest claiming the movie to be a charge on Indian culture, seems to be engulfing the nation.

Hema Malini is angry with Rituparno Ghosh because the director offered a miniscule role to Esha Deol in his film ‘The last Lear’.

The Bachchan family (sans Aishwarya) is to sizzle on screen together in Shoojit Sircar’s upcoming film ‘Johnny Walker’. The film will be a joint venture between Amitabh’s AB Corps and Percept Picture Company. The movie has been written by Renzil D Silva who wrote ‘Rang De Basanti’. The director is Shoojit Sircar who has ‘Yahaan’ (with Jimmy Shergill and Minnisha Lamba) to his credit.

Priyanka Chopra plays a double role for the first time in producer-director Harry Baweja’s ‘Love Story 2050’. The actress was offered the role when Kareena Kapoor walked out of the film and she was quick in grabbing the offer.

He’s literally playing his real self in this one. Saif Ali Khan, son of the Nawab of Pataudi, is playing a prince in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Eklavya. But what Saif is excited about is that he’s working with none other than Amitabh Bachchan for the first time in his career. Apparently, Saif and Bachchan were offered roles together earlier, but things didn’t work out. Says Saif,”Most people have the hoghest regard for Mr Bachchan and would love to work with him. I think it’s because of him that a lot of us in this generation were inspired to join films. It was a magical moment when we did our scenes together and he gave very valuable suggestions which enhanced my performance.” Now we’re sure Saif will turn out a princely performance indeed!

Our iconic actor Amitabh Bachchan is all thanks to his turban for saving his life after he was kicked on the head by a camel while shooting for the film, ‘Eklavya’.

By Anil Sharma, Indo-Asian News Service Jaipur, Jan 16 (IANS) Bollywood’s hottest pair Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, who were engaged over the weekend, may hold their post-wedding party in Jaipur or Udaipur sometime in February with over 6,000 guests in attendance.

“Representatives of the Bachchan family have already started holding talks in this direction with the concerned erstwhile royal families,” informed sources told IANS.

The Bachchans are considered to be close to the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur and chances are that the bash would be held here and be attended by over 6,000 guests, including Bollywood stars, industrialists and politicians.

Sources in the Jaipur City Palace said the Bachchans have expressed a desire to book the entire palace for a day. Their major concern, however, is the security of the high-profile guests coming to attend the party.

The Bachchans’ representatives are also reportedly in talks with some five-star hotels on the Jaipur-Delhi highway for the accommodation of some guests.

Indo-Asian News ServiceMumbai, (IANS) Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan was adjudged best actor for his superhero act in “Krrish” while Kareena Kapoor bagged the best actress for her role in “Omkara” at the Hero Honda Star Screen Awards here.

Raj Kumar Hirani’s “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” won the best film trophy Saturday night at the 13th annual Star Screen Awards nite while Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra walked away with the best director award for “Rang De Basanti”.

Funny man Arshad Warsi won the best supporting actor award for playing Circuit in “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” and Kirron Kher received best supporting actress female trophy for her powerful performance in “Rang De Basanti”.

Arshad later told a TV channel that he had been pretty unlucky with awards so far but is extremely happy about getting the trophy. He thanked Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan and their company ABCL for giving him his first break as an actor in “Tere Mere Sapne”.

Saif Ali Khan bagged the best actor in negative role award for playing Langda Tyagi in “Omkara” and Shreyas Talpade the best comic actor award for “Dor”.

By Priyanka Khanna, Indo-Asian News ServiceNew Delhi, Jan  (IANS) It’s that time of the year again when the Hindi film industry gets into the self-congratulatory mode by awarding itself and everybody is at their diplomatic best.

As the award season gets underway every weekend will be an awards night. Channel surf any time after 8 p.m., and there is a good chance of stumbling upon some Bollywood starlet pirouetting before an audience comprising a smattering of stars – bad props, unbearable anchors and canned applause being common features.

Bollywood award nights are more an exercise in making everyone happy with an ever-widening range of categories for roughly the same number of contenders. Each function features a sickening dose of bonhomie and mutual backslapping and some actors rightfully making their presence felt by their absence. Every year a new award is instituted and this season is no different.

As has been the tradition, most Bollywood film awards throw up roughly the same set of toppers. You cannot blame them. Even in a good year as 2006, the number of flops far exceeded the number of hits. Say, for example, if there were 10 praise-worthy films in 2006, then 50 award functions will felicitate the same 10 films.

By Arpana, Indo-Asian News ServiceNew Delhi, (IANS) Unfazed by comparisons to Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan is busy rehearsing for “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (KBC) and basking in the buzz created by the promos.

The stage is set for the third innings of STAR Plus’s KBC, which is to go on air Jan 22. Shah Rukh is all set to win the audiences over if the warm ad campaign is any indication.

“Shah Rukh is a general knowledge freak and I am a general knowledge fan too. I am eagerly waiting for the show to go on air. Comparisons are unfounded because Shah Rukh has his own style and he will do it in his own way,” Nikhil Advani, who directed the star in “Kal Ho Naa Ho”, told IANS.

Shah Rukh’s determination to win had him put up mock sets of the KBC show at his home – Mannat – so that he could practise. He reportedly rehearses five hours daily with friends like Karan Johar, Farah Khan and Ganesh Hegde.

According to a study by Hansa Research for Optimum Media Solutions, Amitabh is more popular as an anchor among all age groups and genders.

The research showed that 71 percent of those who participated in the poll are willing to give the programme an initial try while eight percent will not watch it at all and 21 percent will watch all episodes.

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 Subhash K Jha, Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai, (IANS) Laying to rest rumours of Ranvir Shorey’s rift with Konkona Sen Sharma, the two will be seen together in cinematographer Anil Mehta’s directorial debut, designed as the former Bollywood queen Madhuri Dixit’s comeback film.

Ranvir and Konkona, who were in Rajat Kapoor’s “Mixed Doubles”, will be seen as a part of Madhuri’s theatre group while Anupam Kher has been penciled in to play Madhuri’s mentor. Apparently, Kunal Kapoor has also been approached to play a role.

“Madhuri has a dream role,” a member of the film’s crew told IANS. “It’s her story all the way. All the other actors are important but supportive. Madhuri plays a theatre actress. It’s her character’s 10-year-old journey that forms the film’s crux.”

Although Madhuri had played a member of a dance troupe in Yash Raj Films’ super hit “Dil To Paagal Hai”, she has never played a role of a theatre actress before. In fact, Anil Mehta’s film would be the first since Gulzar’s unreleased “Libaas” to be set in the theatre world.

By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News ServiceMumbai, (IANS) Top directors and actors choose their five favourite films of 2006.

1. Kalpana Lajmi: Lajmi, who directed Sushmita Sen starrer “Chingaari”, picks up “Dor”, “Rang De Basanti”, “Being Cyrus”, “Omkara” and “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” as her favourite five films.

2.Sanjay Gupta: Gupta’s list include “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”, “Omkara”, “Rang De Basanti”, “Dor” and “Khosla Ka Ghosla”.

3. Rakeysh Mehra: The filmmaker liked “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”, “Volver”, “Krrish” and “The Departed”. “And if I’m allowed my own movie, then ‘Krrish’ would be replaced by ‘Rang De Basanti’”, said Mehra.

4. Shabana Azmi: The veteran actress’ five favourites are – “Rang De Basanti”, “Omkara”, “Dor”, “Krissh” and “Don” (not necessarily in that order).

5. Saajid Khan: TV host-turned director Khan’s choicest films of the year are – “Casino Royale”, “Rang De Basanti”, “Jaan-e-Mann”, “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” and “World Trade Centre”.

By Shyam Pandharipande, Indo-Asian News ServiceMumbai, (IANS) As Sanjay Dutt looks back on 2006 that transformed his magnum screen image from a kind-hearted but fake doctor to a frivolous follower of the Mahatma, it is doubtful if he will find inspiration to pursue the projects on hand as vigorously as he did the previous ones.

There hardly remain any greater heights to be scaled after “Lage Raho Munnabhai”, the wonder flick of the year gone by – or so at least he may think.

As for his tryst with the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) (TADA) court, which will pronounce the quantum of sentence Jan 18 for his links with those who carried out the 1993 Mumbai bombings, it looks like he would be let off on probation. But neither he nor millions of his fans can take such a verdict for granted. Sanjay, however, has been acquitted of terrorism-linked charges.

By Arpana and Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai, Jan 15 (IANS) Dad Amitabh Bachchan is on cloud nine after son Abhishek announced he was marrying Aishwarya Rai – a decision that was hanging fire for more than a year.

Asked when the marriage would take place, Amitabh said: “Not right way. But yes, very shortly. Like every father I’m over the moon, specially at this juncture when Abhishek has delivered such a sledgehammer performance in ‘Guru’.”

The wedding is expected to take place in February.

“Amitabh Bachchan is so happy with this alliance that he himself called up a journalist and said, ‘Congratulations, Abhishek proposed to Aishwarya and she has accepted’,” a source close to the family told IANS.

The engagement Sunday evening of Bollywood’s hottest couple puts at rest all speculation on whether the marriage will happen or not. Close friends feel that their love has withstood the long, rigorous test of time.

Apparently, some of family members were initially against the match but finally they also came around.

“Everybody – be it fans, media or family members – were against their marriage because of Aishwarya’s flings in the past and the myth that she brings bad omen for her boyfriends. They warned Abhishek ‘if you marry her your career will be ruined’ and insisted that she is very unlucky.

“They tried to dissuade him by talking about their age difference (Abhishek is about to turn 31 and Aishwarya is 33) and that she is a manglik (born under a particular astrological configuration that the superstitious believe is not auspicious for the husband). But Abhishek didn’t listen to anybody and withstood all the opposition,” added the source.

Congratulate Bollywood’s #1 couple … comment below!

At last, all the predictions have come true and Abhishek Bachchan formally got engaged to beautiful Aishwarya in her house  on 14th. To grace the occasion, Anil Ambani with his with Tina Ambani and Amar Singh were also present.

The rumours started getting airs when Amitabh had gone with his family and Ash to Baba Vishwanath at Varanasi on 26 December. They had also gone to Sankat Mochan temple and offered special prayers to combat ‘Mangalik Dosh’ of Aishwarya. The duo had gone to Toronto last Saturday to attend ‘Guru’s’ premiere. And as they returned they were engaged on the holy day of “Makar Sankranti”.

It’s not everday that you can pull a fast one on one of the world’s most beautiful women. Abhishek Bachchan has akk the luck. The actor recently played a prank that had Aishwarya Rai blushing. Apparently he went around telling people, including co-star Mithun Chakraborty, that ash was fabulous singer. So when Mithunda saw ash perform, he began praising her talent before the unit, saying, “If I tell you that ash is a beautiful girl, a good dancer etc, you will say ‘big deal’ but did you know that she is a very good singer as well? Abhishek told me so.” Ash who was present, was already blushing at the praise from the veteran actor, she was shocked on hearing the last statement. That was when she realised that Abhu was behind mischief.

On Tuesday, early in the morning, Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan walked bare-footed for about 15 kilometers to Siddhi Vinayak’s temple in Mumbai. Following them was a huge fan crowd. Jaya Bachchan joined them at the temple and the family together offered their prayers. Before the start of the new year, the Bachchans had also offered their prayers at Sankatmochan temple of Benaras.

Now what did they ask God? Was it for the entry of a new member in the Bachchan family in 2007?

Bollywood happens to actors in strange way, folks. While there are thousands who are destined to struggle it out without success, there are a select few who attain celebrity status early. Take yoog Jiah Khan for instance. The actress, who makes her debut opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd is the envy of every young aspiring actress. But, did you know that even her tryst with bollywood happened by chance? The girl was studing at the Lee Strasberg Institute of acting in the US, and had come to india to do a study on indian directors when Ramu discovered her. And the rest, of course, is recent history. Talk about having things on a platter!

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’

Katrina Kaif went back to her roots. Only for a short span of time, while shooting for Namaste London, in the city of london, of course. For the rest of the unit members this was just another foreign location, but for the londoner, Katrina kaif, it felt like going back home. She was elated about taking Akshay Kumar and her director Vipul Shah all around town, to the best shopping places, restaurants and other hot-spots. Well, Akshay returned the sweet gesture too. When the unit moved back to punjab, it was his turn to play host on his home ground. So from the fields to dhabas…. he took them for a joyride in a total punju style of hospitality. Now that’s what we call mixing a bit of work and play. Works well, right vipul?

Shahrukh Khan is undoubtedly the most popular Bollywood star abroad. That is why, when Stardust launched its German edition, the cover page had King Khan on it. And with him was the Bolly queen Aishwarya. The magazine has been named ‘Bollywood Stardust’. On the launch of this magazine, there were a lot of Bollywood stars, Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta, Dino Morea, Shahni Ahuza, Bhushan Kumar, Raza Murad, Arjun Rampal and Amrita Arora. Arjun Rampal joked, “Now another magazine to publish gossips about us and we wont even come to know about it”.

Dia Mirza & Kunal Kapoor

By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News ServiceMumbai, (IANS) Strangely couples created more news this year than single souls. Maybe during the year of “Vivah”, marriage was in vogue. Or maybe two always did it better than one. More so in 2006 than during any other year.

Couples who made news are:

1. Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan: From horoscopes that didn’t match to marriage dates, this was undoubtedly the most talked-about couple of the year. From “Dhai Akshar Prem Ke” to “Umrao Jaan”, Abhishek and Aishwarya didn’t jell as a pair on screen. But off screen there was enough sizzle and seduction in the very idea of the couple making it to the ‘mandap’ to keep heads turning and news-copy churning. At yearend, when the couple made an appearance together at Varanasi with the rest of the Bachchans, the shutterbugs went berserk. This is called star power.

2. Jaya-Amitabh Bachchan: At the beginning of the year she was the pillar of strength when Amitabh, Bollywood’s living legend, spent agonising hours in the hospital. Jaya’s face never gave away the turmoil she felt within. Only close friends know how much she suffered as she played the perfect hostess at the Lilavati. Whether it was trying times at the beginning of the year, or the ‘pujas’ performed at Varanasi during yearend, or looking after her ailing mother-in-law in a hospital, Jaya was the archetypal pillar of strength.

We had let you know about Mallika’s new year eve’s performance, but other pretty ladies of Bollywood are not behind. Be it Mahima Chaudhary or Neha Dhupia, everyone is being paid a bomb for their new year eve’s performances but surely, Mallika is having the largest bite. Neha will perform at the Country Club India Limited (CCIL), Mumbai, and Mahima at its Bangalore branch. Mallika Sherawat is going to perform at the Marlott hotel in Mumbai.

Yesterday, Bolly queen Aishwarya took blessings at Khwaja Muinuddin Hassan Chisti’s Dargah and at the Brahma’s temple in Pushkar. Ash had been at Jaipur for shooting. At around 9:00 a.m. in the morning, she secretly arrived at Ajmer and wore a Black Burka to avoid recognition. Like an ordinary devotee, she went to the Majaar amidst much pushing and shoving. She had her mother and a few friends with her. She offered ‘Chadar’ and flowers at the Mazaar and then went to Pushkar to offer her prayers at the Brahma temple. Hearing the news of her arrival at Pushkar, a huge crowd gathered outside the temple and Ash had much difficulty reaching her car. For us to guess……. What blessings did Ash want? Was it Abhishek’s love?

The Big B continues to be the flavour of the season. And when the man himself is not in the film, it is his name which holds up the flame. Amal Neerad- The cinematographer for Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Darna Zaroori Hai’, ‘James’ and ‘Shiva’- is now directing a film called ‘Big B’ in Malyalam for producer Naushad. Mammootty will play the title role, that of a bodyguard who returns to Kerala after a long stay in Mumbai.

Director Shriram Raghavan will start work on Gaurang Doshi’s film, ‘Happy Birthday’, in March. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham and Aishwarya Rai in a role that Preity Zinta turned down. This will be Doshi’s third venture featuring the Big B after ‘Aankhen’ and ‘Deewar’. Another heroine may join the cast to add a bit of glamour to the film. ‘Happy Birthday’ is being made on a bigger scale than his earlier films, and Doshi is expecting money to come in from corporates. We wish the team a very grand and successful ‘Happy Birthday’!!

Sunny Deol was highly applauded for his heavy dialogues against Pakistan in movies like ‘Border’, ‘Gadar’ and ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’. Now, Sunny is changing courts. He is going to play the role of a Pakistani in Producer-director Amtoji Manna’s movie ‘Kafilaa’. Besides Sunny, other lead roles are played by Pakistani actresses Sana Nawaz and Monalisa.

Abhishek Bachchan is sure acquiring a knack for being the bad boy. After his performance in Yuva was appreciated, Abhishek did yet another ‘negative’ role in Dhoom 2, where despite being the cop, he managed to appear as the bad guy as far as the audience is concerned. And now we hear, he is once in a role with negative shades in Mani Ratnam’s Guru.

Abhishek bachchan admits that it was tough playing an ambitious man who can justify breaking laws without any guilt in the film. Now in AB’s baby trying to make a mark as the anti-hero?

Actress Minissha Lamba, who forayed into filmdom with Yahaan, wil be seenin two different avtars in 2007. In Reema Kahti’s Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd she is paired with Abhay Deol and they play a parsi couple. Minissha says it is one of the sweetest scripts she’s heard to date.

Mumbai, Dec 21: Writer-director Mani Ratnam’s “Guru“, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, will have its world premiere in Toronto on Jan 11 at the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre Centre.

Roger Nair Productions has acquired the Canadian rights of “Guru” from Bobby Bedi’s Kaleidoscope Entertainment. The company has entered the distribution market in a big way for Canada territory and will be buying Bollywood films for North America and Europe as well. This is Bollywood going global.

Amrita Arora, at present, has hardly any movie on which she can bank upon for a big success. She is currently doing ‘Shart’ with Tushar Kapoor. She is working with Rahul Khanna in a Tanuja Chandra’s movie. She has Yagnesh Shetty’s ‘Cheetah’ and ‘Team-The Force’ with Sohail Khan. When asked about her present status (which is definitely not rocking!) in Bollywood, Amrita says that she doesn’t worry much about it. She is just 22 years old and has enough time to prove herself. Will anybody tell Amrita that ‘Time and Tide waits for none’!.

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.

It’s always impressive when an actor enacts an emotional scene on screen. And quite a few actors feel that you need to experience such emotions in real life to be able to portray them realistically on screen. But Priyanka Chopra isn’t one such actor. The actress, in fact, totally negates this necessary. “No, I don’t think you have to go through pain to enact it out on screen,” she informs DT, “You can observe other people and try and act it out. That’s why it is called acting.” Now that’s typically like Priyanka – no frills, only practically.

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!

A porny video clip featuring actress Vidya Balan, which is presently doing rounds on internet and mobile phone, is simply too much to digest. Those who have seen the clips swear that the resemblance of the woman in a one-minute sizzling video clip is incredibly close to Vidya. However, Vidya’s close friends are quick to declare the video as morphed or fake. We may debate whether it’s a morphed video of Vidya some look-alike in the act, but Vidya decided to keep absolutely cool about it. Her secretary said from Mumbai that “she is busy shooting here and does not want to react to this. The issue is totally irrelevant to her and we do not want to encourage any discussion on the topic.”

Talking of ‘Traffic Signal’, the heroine of the film, Neetu Chandra, is now on a high. Neetu has been banking a lot on the film. Though her debut film ‘Garam Masala’ was a hit, it did not get her too many kudos. So Neetu has been trying hard to bag some projects and has been meeting many big film makers to land some plum roles. Clearly, her persistence has paid off as she has bagged a role in Ashok Pandit’s ‘Homeland’. All she needs to do now is to perform well.

Director Milan Lutharia is planning to present Sanjay Dutt in a negative role. Milan has signed Ajay Devgan and Sabjay Dutt for the movie. Milan wanted Saif Ali and Ajay (the same pair which was successful in ‘Kachche Dhaage’), but due to dates problem with Saif, he had to sign Sanjay Dutt. The film is based on a true story of a town in Uttar Pradesh. The story revolves around a brave policeman played by Ajay and a run-away prisoner played by Sanjay Dutt.

Recently, Hrithik Roshan has signed a 35 crore deal with ‘Adlabs’. Sources tell that Hrithik has signed for three movies at one go on an agreement of twelve crores per movie. With this Hrithik becomes the costliest star of Bollywood. Also Hrithik will take the entire money through cheque. The best part is that ‘Adlabs’ has granted him full freedom to choose his co-stars, director and other unit members. So, Hrithik’s really soaring high.

Khabris have heard about red, hot fight between Preity Zinta and Bobby Deol on the sets of Shaad Ali’s ‘Jhoom Bara Bar Jhoom‘ in London. It so happened that a song sequence was being shot and Bobby had to maintain curls in his hair for continuity in the song. Chulbuli Preity hid the actor’s curling iron which sent our Punjabi Munda mad with rage. Although Zinta did apologize but Deol refused to shoot further. Dear Bobby, Good Boys are supposed to make up with ‘Preity’ Gals, isn’t it?

The event was Bombay Dying Gladrags Mrs.India 2007 and many of our Bollywood celebrities were there including Anupam Kher and Sanjay Dutt as judges. The fact we noticed was Preity Zinta’s absence on a Maureen Wadia’s event. Maureen is Ness Wadia’s mother and the lad was very much there to support his mother. (Do we need to introduce Ness Wadia here, who has maintained a very long and more or less stable relationship with Preity?). When Maureen was asked about her straining relations with Preity, she answered, “Have you heard anything like that? I haven’t. So all I can say is ‘No Comments!’”. Hmmm…. I think we hit the right chord, Pals.

In order to get a super sexy figure, Koina Mitra resorted to dieting. She did get a sexy figure (does anybody require a proof?), but she also got Kidney’s stone alongwith it. It is the second time she had to take bed rest this year. After getting health problems, Koina had started taking high protein diet that further aggravated the situation. Doctors had to prescribe complete bed rest for her.

What was supposed to be a couple of days’ break for Hrithik Roshan turned out to be a slightly longer vacation – all thanks to the perfectionist Ashutosh Gowarikar. Hrithik took a quick break to attend a recent function at Malaysia, and was supposed to rush back to Jodhpur where he is shooting for Akbar Jodha. But gowarikar wanted to add finishing touches to the sets of the film, to bring more authenticity to it. Not that Hrithik is complaining, a little more bonding time with his baby roshan is always welcome. Right Papa Roshan?

Germs beware…if there is one ‘body’ that you are not getting close to Mallika’s. The sexy lady credits her robust health to a dedicated round of exercise each day. And what’s more, she also advocates it to anyone calling her with a complaint of any ailment. Recently a  journo spoke to her and casually mentioned his ‘viral attack’. This sent Mallika into a ’spiral attack’ of her own. “Don’t blame the weather, the pollution and diet – it’s all due to lack of exercise. Just hit that gym and workout and Kis virus ki mazaal!” says mallika sherawat. Keeping Ms Sexy Sherawat’s great shape in mind, we will head that advice and pass it on to all you readers out there. But we are worried that it may spawn a new epidemic of ‘faked illness’ from a multitude of men. After all, everyone wants Mallika Sherawat to play doc or nurse to them.

The wheels have come a full-circle in Bollywood. Earlier it was the girls who were propositioned by lecherous producers and if tales are to be believed many top-rung heroines got their first break after spending some time on the casting couch.

We extend our warmest wishes to Thanga Thalaivar Rajnikant. The actor turns 54 on 12th of Dec. Rajni started life as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad and like Johnny Walker worked as a bus conductor before his style and mannerisms attracted the attention of a guy from tinsel town. Rajnikant has over 149 films that include 25 films in Hindi. Although he has aged now, his superstar status remains and any film he touches turns into a surefire hit.

Thirteen Bollywood stars on the ramp! The occasion was the music release of Salaam-e-ishq and the platform was the Salaam-e-ishq’s fashion show. All the stars of the movie rocked the stage with their style including John Abraham, Salman Khan, Govinda, Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ayesha Takia, Juhi Chawla, Isha Koppikar and Vidya Balan. David Dhawan and Bipasha Basu voted Govinda to be their favourite. Director David said, “I obviously have a soft corner for Govinda. He will always be my best.” Bipasha said, “It is the first time I’ll see Govinda on the ramp. I am looking forward to it.”

Celina Jaitley’s last release Apna Sapna Money Money was almost ironical. No, not the film, but her experience while shooting the film. “It was a very emotional time for me. I had just broken up with my boyfriend Sean Teague, and I was still trying to cope with it. And I had to go out there and shoot funny scenes. It was so ironical. But my director and co-stars were very supportive, so I sailed through it. So when I get compliments for the film now, I feel happier than usual, because the emotions attached to it are very different,” explains Celina Jaitley, in a very emotional Tone. Well as far as Celina is concerned, we don’t think the comedy flick was funny at all. But with all the compliments flowing in, we think she’s having the last laugh anyways!

It is an age old argument – which school of actors perform better, the spontaneous actors or the method actors? Every actor has his or her opinion on the same depending on how they have been trained. Ask Priyanka Chopra what kind of an actor she is and she surprises you with her answer. “I have always said there are two kinds of actors – spontaneous actors and myself.” she quips, “I am still finding out what kind of actor I am.” For someone who has delivered hits consistently, this one surely doesn’t have her head up in the clouds!

Mallika Sherawat is not one to mince words or be hypocritical, and that’s probably why her fans love her. Mallika Sherawat recently found that she was the object (as always) of much controversy following reports of her demanding unheard of amounts to do a stage show on New Year’s eve. Well, the actress has apparently taken things in her stride and is clarifying, if not to the media, then to her friends at least – as to her reasons for doing the show. And her clarification is that there is only one reason why she’s doing the show. Guess what? For the obscene amount of moolah ther are offering her ofcourse. It’s more of a confirmation that a denial. Trust Mallika to say it like it is!

Sajid Nadiawala is making a Bollywood version of the movie “Three men and a baby”. Salman Khan is making a special appearance in the movie. Shahrukh Khan too is expected to be in a scene, which is a Qawwali Number, along with Priyanka Chopra. Recently, a special song was shot with Akshay Kumar where some of the top actresses of Bollywood made an appearance. “Hey Baby” also stars Vidya Balan, Fardeen Khan and Ritesh Deshmukh.

Shah Rukh Khan might be all over the place interacting with the media and addressing press conferences. But the man is in real pain. And no, it’s not the hovering media that’s causing him pain. While he was shooting for Chak De which required a lot of physical activity, he suffered a pulled hamstring. It will take sometimes for the muscle to heal, so SRK has been poping pain killers so that he can complete his promotional activities for the upcoming quiz show he will be hosting. That’s called “pulling strings to make things work’. We love king khan for that, don’t we?

Actress Celina Jaitley recently spent a weekend with her brother (who is an army officer) and his unit in jammu border area. When she came back, she heard about the tragic death of her brother’s friend at the hands of terrorists – just three days after she had met him. The fact that the young officer has a beautiful young wife and a daughter who will never see her father ever, is a heart breaking story itself. Celina Jaitley says that these army men who sacrifice their lives for our safety are the real heros and we must never forget their contribution to our well being.

Amrita Arora is in a mood to rock Pakistan film industry. She has been signed for an item song in a Pakistani movie. She says that she is going to perform a very strong role in a Pakistani mega budget movie “Godfather”. Now-a-days, Pakistani film industry seems really impressed by Bollywood actresses. Besides Amrita, many other actresses including Vidya Balan are planning to step into Pakistani film world. First, Bollywood started the trend of giving roles to Pakistani actresses. Now it seems Pakistan plans to repay back the favour.

Nepali babe, Manisha Koirala, is going to play the role of a journalist in brother Siddhartha’s movie ‘Anwar‘. Producer, Rajesh Singh and writer/ director, Manish Jha are going to present Manisha as a TV journalist named Gita. Manisha says that it is the first time she is going to play the role of a journalist and it is definitely a very challenging role for her. She has always wanted to do roles, which are different and challenging. Hmm.. We are really impressed by your confidence and versatility, dear Manisha.

Actress Shilpa Shetty seems to be bitten by the Abhishek Bug. The actress, we hear, has become a prankster on the sets and every unit member is weary of her. Like filmmaker Anurag Basu, who is working with her in his next, titled Metro tell us “Shilpa Always has something up her sleeve and manages at least one victim every single day, and that victim has very often been me. So i am actually scared when I go on to the sets, because I never know what she’s going to be up to.” Now thats ‘metrogal’ for you!

Working with a director of Mani Ratnam’s calibre, even the best of us tend to forget ourselves, and Aishwarya Rai is no exception. Apparently, the actress claims that when shooting with Ratnam, it is often that actors find that they are so immersed in the shooting of the scenes that they sometimes don’t realise what they are doing. The flow of the secne transforms the actors involved into the characters, and when the director finally calls ‘cut’, everyone is a little confused because of the intrruption! Now that’s superb compliment to Mani Ratnam. After all, few directors can achieve what he can. No wonder he manages to make actors dance to his tunes!

Sanjay Dutt’s nephew, Nilesh Sahaya is all set to make his debut in Bollywood. He has been signed for a film called Ek Duje Ke Liye to be produced by Deepak Shivdasani of Julie fame. Nilesh is the son of small time yesteryear actress Zaheeda who is Sanjay Dutt’s cousin. We remember her as Dev Anand’s heroine in the song ‘Churi nahin hai mera dil hai’, in Gambler. She also starred in Dev Anand’s ‘Prem Pujari’.

The much awaited Baabul’s premiere was held yesterday in Mumbai. Abhishek Bachchan was there for his father and with Abhishek an unfailing Aishwarya Rai made her presence felt. Aishawarya’s presence in the premiere gave more gossip matter to the Filmi Khabris who are predicting Ash as the Bachchan family’s would be daughter-in-law. This was a rare occasion when Ash and Abhishek were there with her ex-boyfriend Salman Khan.

On this occasion, Rani Mukherjee said that she was waiting eagerly for Friday as it was the first-day first-show which really decided the success of a film. Mandira Bedi said she would like to see a family drama which would be emotional and a tear-jerker.

He didn’t have much trouble fitting into the Big B’s shoes in ‘Don’, the question is how well will he carry himself as the host of the super-duper game show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’.

Sameer Nair (CEO STAR Entertainment India) said that KBC was the most important show of STAR because it had boosted its ratings and catapulted it to No. 3 from No. 7.
Nair said he was confident that Shah Rukh Khan would take the show on the road to success. “When Amitabh Bachchan declined the offer we thought Shah Rukh is the only person to carry it further. We are thankful to him for accepting the challenge.”
“We have signed a fresh contract and now KBC will be on air till 2012, but it is going to be a seasonal thing. We will have 52 to 60 episodes per calendar year,” said Nair.
Asked whether he would be able to match Bachchan in style and poise, rather “fit into his shoes,” Khan said: “They are too big for me. I am too small for them.” But he was quick to add that it was the show’s concept that made it so popular in as many as 106 countries.
King Khan said he will bring in his personality to the show but “maintain the beauty of Amitabh.” “With all humility, I will do it my way. Please allow me a chance to be me and respect me for that.” The show will be telecast four days a week – Monday to Thursday.

The second Provogue Global Indian Film Awards (G.I.F.A) are being held at none other than the lush locales of Malaysia. And just as expected the event is being action packed by performances of bollywood biggies including Shah Rukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan. Arshad Warsi and Amrita Arora are hosting the awards and the panel of jury members includes Rati Agnihotri, jackie shroff, Shyam Benegal, Sajid Nadiadwala, Smita Thackeray, Sandeep Chowta and the noted film critic Subhash K Jha.

The venue of the award function is in itself a special treat and for everyone who can make it to the event, they are definitely going to have an enthralling experience presented by performances from Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and Amisha Patel. And as if all this is not enough there is an added attraction for a celebrity football match, fashion show, charity dinner and auction during the occasion. Well now that leaves us with nothing more to desire….

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.

John Abraham has had enough of his Baabul co-star’s seemingly inexlicable bouts of snide behaviour in public where Salman Khan has made it amply clear that there’s no love lost between the two actors, despite John trying to extend the olive branch by saying good things about Sallu.

John abraham, in his turn, now makes it clear that this issue has become too petty, and Sallu’s comments too insignificant, for him to give too much importance to. His nonchalance come through when he says, “I am just not bothered.. All I can do is brush it all off with a smile. In fact, the comments and this entire issue have no relevance in my life. I really don’t have time for all this. And i am not being arrogant. I am just being practical.”
SO what about rumours of a squabble between them during Baabul and Rockstars tour? He says, “Well, I had no issues with him any time during the concerts. I didn’t know what was happened until I returned to Mumbai and read reports in the papers about our hostility. And we hardly shot together for the film.”
John abraham adds, “As far as I am concerned I am very comfortable with everyone around me. I don’t like to work under any kind of stress and avoid it as much as possible. I am comfortable in my space, and thats what matters to me.”

It takes one talented actor to admire another talented man. Abhishek Bachchan is total floored by the cinematographer of his own film Guru. The man in question, Rajiv Menon is so meticulous about his job that he doesn’t hesitate to make last minute changes in the lighting on the sets of this Manu Ratnam film. Abhishek was really impressed when rajiv agreed to change the lighting to make sure that everything goes right.