Aishwarya Rai pumps up the Brand Bachchan value

With the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai entering the Bachchan family-fold, the “Bachchan brand” value has now crossed the above Rs 700 crore mark.

According to financial analysts and trade experts, the Bachchan brand value is worth Rs 700 crore as Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan are brand ambassadors for various products.

Ash, becoming a part of the family now, could add to that value by several crores.

Among the actors who endorse products, Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are the highest paid stars who charge between Rs 4-5 crore for a single brand.

Ash, who was chosen by Time magazine’s Asia edition as one of Asia’s ‘100 most influential people’, is the brand ambassador for products like L’Oreal, Nakshatra Diamonds and Lux, to name a few.

Bachchan endorses products such as Reid & Taylor, ICICI Bank, Nerolac, Dabur India, Pepsi, Parker pens and Cadbury chocolates.

Abhishek endorses Ford Fiesta, Omega, Radio Big 92.7 FM, Motorola, LG Home Appliances, and American Express, among others.

Bachchan charges upto Rs 5 crore per ad, followed by Ash with Rs 3 crore per ad while Abhishek is not far behind. Abhishek’s brand value has recently gone up after delivering hits like Guru and Bunty Aur Babli .

The three stars have their own clientele and cashing in on the marriage, L’Oreal has introduced a limited edition lipstick shade under its colour riche range, tender beige for their brand ambassador Ash.

“This is the first time we have done something like this. We have never done this before,” says a L’Oreal spokesperson. The lipstick will be launched later across the country.

The more the Bachchans keep the marriage details a secret, the more people are going crazy. Brands are falling over each other to get the elusive Bachchans and their new bahu together.

Some of the other cricketers/ filmstars who have their own successful brands include Kajol and Ajay Devgan , M S Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Akshay Kumar to name a few.

The Bachchans have a huge fan following and whatever they do, fans emulate them. The products endorsed by them will be purchased by fans, adman Prahlad Kakkar said.

According to the trend today, filmstar marriages not only have entertainment value but are profitable business ventures worth several crores.

The case in point being the recent Elizabeth Hurley - Arun Nayar wedding held in Jaipur, the rights of which were sold to Hello! magazine for one million pounds.

But amidst all this the Bachchans are the main beneficiaries who will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Avoid John, Salman to Katrina

We thought that they had patched up but after watching John talking about Salman at Koffee with Karan the truce between the Bollywood hunks seems like a distant dream

At the show John stated, “If you ask me today also what the problem is between us, honestly, I don’t know, but it’s unfortunate that there is a problem.. And if things get okay it will be nice.”

Neither John nor Salman have spoken openly about the reasons behind their silent war but members of the ‘Rockstar’ team say, “There was definitely a problem between the two on this show and a lot of it was in Salman’s head. You see, Salman had appointed himself the unofficial rock star of the concerts.

But John kept getting as much frenzied applaud on stage as Salman did, if not more. This hurt Salman’s ego. Also the fact that John kept to his own space, hung around with his best friend whom he had taken along on the tour, instead of joining Salman’s coterie, really hurt Salman. He’s basically like a child who wants and needs constant attention.”

He made his dislike for John even more evident, when he recently blamed the second half of Baabul as responsible for the film’s bad performance at the box-office. Incidentally, Salman is present only in the first half of the film and the second half revolves around John. And when asked if he had stopped talking to John, he retorted, “But when did we start talking?”

Salman also seems to be having second thoughts about doing Rituparno Ghosh’s remake of the 1962 classic Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam for which Ghosh has finalised Salman, John and Priyanka Chopra.

Taking the rivalry a step further, Salman has reportedly instructed girlfriend Katrina Kaif not to work opposite John in any film. Kaif, caught between her beau and her career, had to apparently turn down two films opposite John. Katrina had to let go of the UTV produced film Rockstar and the T.Series produced film Chandramukhi.

Not only this, Salman even included John’s girlfriend Bipasha Basu in the enmity. Salman snubbed old friend Bipasha when she greeted him at the GIFA awards in Malaysia. According to sources “Bipasha is irritated with Salman’s childish attitude and has decided not to give a damn either.”

But commendable is the fact that John is still trying to make things fall in place. Perhaps because the last thing he prefers is to get into controversies.

On ‘Koffee with Karan’, John tried to clear his stand, “I think I used to say hello... but he is kind of upset with me... He is a senior...so I don’t get into the way of things... it’s important that I understand that I have come here to work. I have not come here to make enemies. I don’t want to get into the middle of any controversies.”

It was interesting to see the modest John biting his tongue, when one of his fans said that he is the only actor who makes them forget the ultimate macho Salman Khan.

But he tried his best to appease Salman by grading Khan’s physique better than his, in the rapid fire round later. And when Karan asked him which actor comes to his mind when he hears the tagline ‘Just Do It!’ John mischievously replied “Salman Khan”. We hope Salman is listening.

Katrina Kaif Wallpapers

Aishwarya and Abhishek Honeymoon Pictures

Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan walking in California, United States of America during honeymoon

Aishwarya and Abhishek Honeymoon Pictures

Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan walking in California, United States of America during honeymoon

Neha Dhupia is Blacklisted forever

Sanjay Gupta seems to be constantly losing his cool with the women around him. The latest victim of his wrath is Aarti Chabria who has triggered off yet another controversy.

"We already had three cases against our film. Now today we've the fourth. Thanks to Ms Chabria's unthinking statement, the real-life bar girl Tarannum has taken us to court. Aarti went overboard claiming she researched her character on the real Tarannum.

So the real Tarannum who must have been a schoolgirl when the actual shootout happened in 1991, thinks Aarti's character is based on her. Was the real Tarannum dancing as a school girl? I admit Aarti is named Tarannum. And she's a bar girl."

Sanjay Gupta has blacklisted Neha Dhupia from his production company White Faeather. "Her conduct has been thoroughly unprofessional. When we needed her here to promote the film with the rest of the cast she left us in a lurch to strut at some fashion parade, in spite of being given dates and schedules."

Reacting to accusations of bad behaviour with Neha, Sanjay protests, "I'm not capable of behaving badly with any woman. I don't swear and abuse when women are around, forget raising my hand. I'm much too conservative in my attitude to women.

I was very clear in my dealings with Neha. I've completely cut her out of my life and profession. I haven't been taking her calls. She won't work for us again. I know it's no loss for her.And it's no loss for us either."

Another lady. Another controversy.

"You mean Mandira Bedi? There's no controversy there. She couldn't do Alibaug because our dates kept getting shifted since June last year."

As for rumours of his involvement with Ms Bedi, Gupta is pretty much in the dark about their whereabouts. "Mandira and I pretty much hung about in the same group. I'm very grateful to my well-wishers for giving me a girlfriend every day. But it's affecting my efforts to woo my wife back."

To stay away from the womanizer's reputation Gupta has stopped partying and socializing. "Though I love my drinks I don't go out with women any longer. The other night I was out with pals Rohit Roy and Suddhanhu Pande. We went to a club where they played retro music, had our drinks and came home quietly."

So far Gupta has only been able to convince his wife for an occasional lunch, or to accompany him on a road trip to Pune to promote Shootout At Lokhandwala.

"She hasn't budged from her stance to stay separately. She did come with us on the bus to Pune to promote Shootout…We had great fun playing dumb charadeand antakshari"

At Pune the entire cast and crew had to sing.

"Aanchal Dutta who's singing extensively in my films (and mark my words, this girl is going to be a huge singer) led the singing party. But all of us including Diya Mirza and my wife Anu took a turn at the mike.

All the boys –Rohit Roy, Vivek, Tusshar and Shabbir—sang the entire Ganpat song together. Then we danced till 4 am. My wife of course retired early."

As for Chota Rajan disapproving of Shootout. "He hasn't seen the film. Nobody has. Let me clarify. All the characters except Sanju Dutt's, are fictionalized. I'm just sitting back and quietly enjoying the tamasha."

Cheeni Kum - A Movie Review

Be it a soldier, a flamboyant father or a 60 plus photographer in love with a teenager - Amitabh Bachchan comfortably slips into roles that are as different as chalk and cheese. And he dons a new avatar yet again in "Cheeni Kum", a comic love story.

Amitabh plays a 64-year-old arrogant, acerbic chef of London's top restaurant who falls in love and wants to marry a simple 34-year-old woman visiting London, played by Tabu.

Ad guru R. Balakrishnan, who makes his directorial debut with this film, says he scripted it with the one and only Big B and Tabu in mind.

"The idea came to me when I was shooting an ad film for Lifebuoy soap. I met Bachchan and told him about it. He liked it and after that I scripted the story. From the very first day I wanted to make this film with him and Tabu. I don't know what they are in their personal lives, but they were absolutely perfect to play the characters in my film," told Balakrishnan.

The director is not the only one who is in awe of the superstar. Despite the fact that his face is splashed everywhere, his fans across the country are eagerly waiting to see him in "Cheeni Kum".

"Just when you get tired of seeing Amitabh in yet another ad or film, he manages to bounce right back by experimenting with a new character or genre. And at his age too! I Am waiting to see 'Cheeni Kum'," said Ritika Ganguly, a college student.

Well-known film critic Anupama Chopra expressed the same sentiments saying: "It looks like a real fun film. I would love to see Big B with Tabu."

Earlier, Ram Gopal Varma made a film on a similar subject titled "Nishabd" - which shows a man falling for a girl as old as his daughter - with Amitabh in the lead. But audiences rejected the film.

This may not be the case with "Cheeni Kum" though as the Amitabh-Tabu pairing looks exciting.

"I would love to see 'Cheeni Kum' because I love the way Amitabh woos Tabu, who is eons younger to him. He does it very convincingly and does not look out of place and his scenes with Paresh Rawal (shown in the promos) look hilarious," said Anupama, who works with a publishing house.

"Amitabh's new look ponytail doesn't look bad either!" she adds.

Balakrishnan believes the audiences never reject a subject. "They reject the film in totality. It's all about communication. You have to have every shot in place to build a proper communication with your audience," he said.

At the same time, he denies any similarity between "Nishabd" and "Cheeni Kum".

"I really liked Ram Gopal Varma's film. I cant' comment on why it didn't work. But there is no similarity between the two films. Mine is out and out comedy."

The current lot of young directors are vying with each other to cast the Big B in their films. They are scripting stories for him. In fact, he seems to have left younger stars like Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan far behind in this race.

"He is a terrific actor. His talent has withstood time. And it's a dream to direct him. I can imagine all these new directors, who grew up with his films, dying to direct him," said film critic Chopra.

Commenting on the Big B craze, Balakrishnan said: "He is a star actor that the country has ever seen before. He is much more than an actor. Even if he comes on screen and just stands there without saying a single word, people would like to see him like that again and again," said.

The actor has quite a few interesting releases lined up, including Shaad Ali's "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom".

Hrithik Roshan sweats to complete Jodhaa Akbar in Aishwarya's absence

Aishwarya Bachchan's honeymoon and visit to Cannes have messed up the schedule of this film but it has not deterred Hrithik from perfecting his part of the film.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan in a still from Dhoom 2

18 May 2007 (Sawf News) - One of Bollywood sincerest superstars, Hrithik is following a punishing schedule of work to complete Jodhaa Akbar, Ashutosh Gowarikar's magnum opus, says Bombay Times,

"He has to wear extremely heavy amour to look convincing as Emperor Akbar but he carries the weight all day. He wakes up at 5 am every day to reach the location in Karjat (near Mumbai) in time for the shoot and returns home beating the traffic to spend dinnertime with family. He sleeps early to repeat the routine next day."

Aishwarya Bachchan's honeymoon and visit to Cannes have messed up the schedule of this film but it has not deterred Hrithik from perfecting his part of the film.

Source : Sawf

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local - A Movie Review

The film is a comic thriller about two people who miss the last local train at 1:40 am to Vikhroli and have full two-and-half hours before the next local will arrive.

The tale revolves around Nilesh (Abhay Deol), a call center executive and how missing the last train home proves to be a significant episode in his life.

Nilesh bumps into Madhu (Neha Dhupia) who has also missed her train on the same station and because there is an auto strike, the duo finds themselves getting together and soon seated in a desi bar for some time pass before their next train.

The men they meet? Mangesh Chilka (Deepak Shirke), Habiba Bai (Snehal Dhabi), Ponappa (Vinay Apte) and Malvankar (Ashok Samarth).

One thing leads to another and circumstances spiral off into experiences and events, some bizarre and beautiful whereas others unpleasant and uncanny.

Subtle and dark humor take you by surprise and so does the mystery and excitement as the film picks up pace and Nilesh’s life comes on “fast track”.

Kajol-SRK together again?

If all goes as per schedule, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol will feature in Karan Johar's next film that follows the travails of an Indian couple post 9/11.

Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan first starred together in the romantic family drama ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, a film that was so successful it continues to run uninterrupted till date in a theater in Bombay! Their last film together ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam’, produced and directed by Karan Johar, was a huge success too.

Kajol is currently working on ‘U, Me Aur Hum’ in which she is paired opposite her husband Ajay Devgan, who is also the director. In addition she has signed up for Raj Kumar Santoshi's ‘Ramayan’.

According to an industry source, the dusky 31-year-old found it hard to turn down Karan Johar with whom she enjoys an excellent professional rapport. Besides, Kajol feels, while taking on more work may keep her away from her daughter Nysa it will allow her to spend more time with her husband Ajay Devgan.

Interestingly, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam’ featured Amitabh Bachchan, another close friend of Karan Johar besides Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan. However, in view of a simmering professional rivalry between Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan it is moot if he or any of the Bachchans will feature in the new film.

Source : SantaBanta.Com

Life In A…Metro - The Movie Review

Life In A…Metro - The Movie Review Screenplay & Direction Anurag Basu Rating: *** What's the root- cause of Anurag Basu's obsession with heights? In Murder, Gangster and now Metro, characters are seen hanging down or just lounging from the ledge of vertiginous boundary-less skyscrapers. In Metro he even gets his resident rock band to climb atop a building and strum those guitars. And when it isn't the music from the strings it's Irrfan and Konkona playing a mess-matched maritally-challenged couple, getting on a rooftop to scream their lungs out. It's meant to be therapeutic. We'll take Anurag Basu's word for it. God knows, the man knows what he's doing. Metro falters only in parts. Some of the narrative's punctuation marks are over-emphasized. And the spiral of human relationships often seems to replicate Mike Nichols' Closer. And yes, Billy Wilder's romantic comedy The Apartment serves as a direct reference point for the Kay Kay-Kangana-Sharman Joshi triangle. But make no mistake, this is a a highly original film with a voice that seems to reverberate across a limitless canvas of feelings derived from the juices that flow and irrigate the people in the concrete jungle. You know you are being sucked into the lives of characters who are largely losers in the garb of white-collar dreamers, looking for love and warmth in a cold heartless city. After that dark horse of a film Gangster, chalk up another outright winner for Anurag Basu in Metro. A subtle sly sometimes slight, sometimes heavy look-see at a bunch of characters locked in the throes of infidelity. Rather than go for a fiery flow, Anurag harnesses his narrative into a fiesta of reined-in feelings, all indicating the birth and growth of a damnation in a city that cares a damn about your sensitivities. Basu has an incredible eye for performances. Every actor is nearly-flawless in his or her appointed place in the chaos of corroded commitments in the city without pity …Always pithy and witty Metro moves through a laconic labyrinth of laughter and some stifled sobs. Sanjeev Dutta's dialogues are so indicative of the character's inner world, after a while you aren't listening to what the characters are saying. The dialogues slice right into the characters' hearts and give us an insight into the machinations of a people so busy realizing their dreams, they forget to sleep. On the negative side, Metro fails to connect us with the characters beyond their love relationships. If they have a life beyond their heart and below their belts, we don't see it. Metro should be seen as a mellow melancholic sly and sharp look at love and sex in the city. The characters move in and out of some skillfully written scenes. But sometimes you wish they wouldn't invest their emotions in thankless un-productive spirals of bed and break-heart. In spite of a frail chemistry with the over- earnest toy-boy Shiney Ahuja, Shilpa Shetty gives a nuanced and ruminative performance. Bobby Singh's camera captures Shilpa in agonized silhouettes whispering the ultimate flaks of life. Kay Kay as her insensitive husband has a thankless role that he performas with rare understanding. While Sharman and Konkona (the latter, disappointingly pale in spite of her chic styling) are surprisingly chemistry-less in their screen relationships, Irrfan and Konkona come across the warmest and most cuddlesome couple of this gamboling jigsaw of life and a 'dearth'. Watch them in the seashore sequence, and savour the rites and wrongs of out their outstanding emotive faculties. Metro is manouevered forward by a melee of delicious ideas…. like composer Pritam and his rock band appearing as sutradhars to sing ther songs. The rain-motif pelts down on the plot creating pockets of pain desire and longing. Umbrellas never seemed to hide so much. Ear firmly to the ground, Metro could've done with better editing. Akiv Ali cuts the material brutally …but not deep enough. Metro Wallpapers

Shilpa and Dani kiss and make up

Danielle Lloyd and Shilpa Shetty put the Celebrity Big Brother race row behind them when they turned out for the world premiere of the Bollywood star's new film.

The two hugged and kissed on the red carpet in front of fans, but there was no room for Shetty's former Big Brother nemesis Jade Goody.

Shetty's publicist Max Clifford reportedly took Goody off the guest list for the Life In A...Metro premiere after she was originally invited.

Shetty, 31, wore a RockyF pink sari dress to the London event while Lloyd opted for an Eric Way black dress which was slit to the thigh, revealing a little too much when she tried to untangle it from under her heel.

Lloyd, a former Miss England, was vilified after ganging up on Shetty with Jade Goody and Jo O'Meara on Celebrity Big Brother.

Last night, Shetty admitted the Big Brother race row had helped her career, saying: "It made me a stronger person and a more famous person of course."

She added: "This is the first ever Leicester Square premiere for an Indian movie. It's something that I once dreamed of but never imagined would happen."

She said of the film, which features a collection of stories set in Mumbai: "Audiences are ready and looking for something different, for interesting cinema."

Asked about whether she would move to the UK she answered: "I love my country. I am very proud to be Indian."

Lloyd said: "Shilpa invited me here. I've come to support her. "It's my first Bollywood movie and I'm really excited."

The model said fans outside had given her a good reception, despite her reputation taking a nose dive after she appeared on the Channel 4 reality show.

"Everyone has been fantastic. Everyone has been really supportive," she said.

Lloyd added that she was enjoying the single life after splitting up from her second footballer boyfriend, Charlton Athletic striker Marcus Bent.

News Source : Metro.Co.Uk

Shilpa Shetty Wallpapers

Wallpaper Source : Shilpa Shetty

Tara Rum Pum - A Movie Review

Tara Rum Pum

Starring Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Ali Haji, Angelina Idnani, Jaaved Jaffri
Directed by Siddharth Anand
Rating: ***

Now we know why the director is named Anand. Hrishikesh Mukherjee meets Walt Disney in this utterly heartwarming take on life's most serious and cruel jokes.

There's a moment in Anand's film where Rani plays that clichéd sequence where the hero's fallen-on-hard-times wife rejects a fat cheque from her rich father.

"I did the right thing, didn't I?" Rani asks her screen-hubby Saif, who looks aghast. "You turned down a cheque for 50,000 dollars? For that sum of money I'm ready to be compromised every day."

The above sequence is a strangely subverted interpretation of that sequence from Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Satyakam where Dharmendra's idealism was weighed against Sharmila Tagore's ability to ward off temptations.

Tara Rum Pum is like a romp through the highest emotional summts of life's lowest blows. Cleverly Anand situates this rags-to-riches drama of a a spendthrift car racer, his cautious and principled wife and his two adorable kids (Sooraj Barjatya, roll over) in New York where the economically challenged family moves from up-market Manhattan to downtown Queens.

Cinematographer Binod Pradhan captures the underbelly of New York and the empty belly of racing-driver RV's family in a restrained rush of emotional adrenaline.

Anand, God bless his unfettered soul, mixes the business of an absorbing riches-to-rags tale with tons of hyphenated homilies.

In the true Walt Disney tradition, the family makes the best of its challenged morality when it falls on hard times.

There're moments, like the one where Saif's hungry little boy (Ali Haji, delightfully natural) devours a half-eaten burger retrieved from a trash can, where eyes turn to collective moistness.

You can't fault the director for pumping up the tears. Commercial cinema is all about the pleasure you derive in bringing the fundemental emotions of love and life together in a clasp of a giggle and a gasp.

Tara Rum Pum makes you do just that. Anand's screenplay is original from far. Get closer, and you see scenes from Days Of Thunder and a whole chunk from the Russell Crowe boxing film Cinderella Man brought to us in vibrant colours.

Saif, I'd like to believe, is a better actor than Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe. He invests the role of the roguish rugged dare-devilish and impetuous Fallen Hero with pathos and parody.

Watch him in the scene where he tricks his little daughter into staying back in their new run-down home as part of an imaginary reality show (it's a long story….let's just say Siddharth Anand knows Life Is Beautifu and not just for Robert Benigni ). Saif invests even the minutest moment with a tapestried irony.

It helps to have Rani Mukherjee as a co-star. Though her make-up and clothes are all wrong in the first- half, Rani brings a thehrao and a emotional resonance to her supportive wife's part in the second-half where she has to stand by a man who has lost his heroic sheen and is a bit of an embarrassment to the mirror.

Javed Jaffri replicates the role of the star-manager from dozens of Hollywood films. Though his penchant for doing accents (this time Gujarati) is admirable, he doesn't quite blend with the fabric of fertile feelings that irrigate Anand's joyous ride into the raga of richness.

Oh yes the performing stalwart Victor Bannerjee is outstanding…. That is to say, he stands out of the script trying to give a semblance of originality to the role of the heroine's rich snobbish father done by everyone from Madan Puri in Avtar to Sharad Saxena in Pyar Ke Side Effects.

The huggable inspirational tale is buoyed by a bewildering array of songs and dances (including an item where the protagonists dance with animation figures) all choreographed to spotlight the sheer lightness of being a happy family undergoing distressing times.

The initial fifteen minutes could have been more inspired, though. The first 'rave' number replete with hose- pipes going off in the middle of the night, serve as a reminder of how trendy the traditional Family Saga purports to become in present times.

Nothing, not even the tepid songs (Vishal-Shekhar, what were you thinking?) can take away from the sheer weightlessness of the narrative as it moves through several superbly written scenes….take the one at the family dinner where Saif and Rani pretend to be satiated so as the kids could eat properly.

And that one shot where Daughter, Son and Dog stand staring longingly at a confectionary stall, make you wish all your cynicism would dissolve.

Feel-good cinema, anyone? When was the last time you felt so good watching a mainstream Hindi film? Replicating the current international trend towards making films that stress family values (Mira Nair's The Namesake, Gabriel Muccino's The Pursuit Of Happyness) Siddharth Anand gives us a slick slice-of-life served up in courses that go from khushi to gham while your heart goes…tara rum pum pum!

A 'moist' see family film.

Tara Rum Pum Wallpapers

Source : SantaBanta.Com

Aditya lodges FIR against Kangana!

Aditya Pancholi, who has been by Kangana Ranaut's side ever since she stepped into the industry, has now lodged a complaint against the actress with a local police station!

The reason cited behind this complaint is that Kangana is allegedly sending Aditya abusive SMSes.

On the other hand, Aditya also says that it is a personal thing between the two and that he is shocked as to how Kangana could send him such messages. Kangana is yet to issue her comments on this murky matter.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that this supposed couple has come in the public eye for all the wrong reasons. Earlier too, Kangana had accused Aditya of physical abuse and only recently she had filed a complaint against Aditya charging the same.

We exactly cannot figure out things between them and if we ever have to believe Aditya then it is a bad patch that every couple go through.

As for Kangana, it seems this lady is quite close to her character Neha from 'Metro' in real life. Making the right liasons to have a smooth way to the top, er Kangana? Guess Aditya doesn't fit into her scheme of things, any more.

But why in the world make your private affair public and go to the police for refuge? If you think you are getting some free publicity, then guess we should tell you that we are sick of this 'chor-police' game.

Source: SantaBanta.Com

Bipasha Basu turns Pakistani

Bipasha has finished shooting for Vivek Agnihotri's football flick Goal.

Laughs Bipasha, "What makes it special is the fact that John and I are coming together after three years. The last film we did together was Madhoshi. After that I was determined to do only a good film with him.

Also, in Goal I play a Pakistani girl. I wanted to make sure that whenever we come together again our chemistry mustn't be a repeat of Jism. In Goal our chemistry is completely different."

More exciting than the presence of John is the fact that Bipasha plays a girl from the other side of the border. In this she becomes one with Preity Zinta in Veer-Zara and Kareena Kapoor in Refugee.

"I've never played anything like this. Though the focus of the plot is the game of football, I do have a substantial role to play."

She laughs and remembers, "This is my first role as a Pakistani. But I've played a Muslim girl in a Muslim Social called in Ishq Hai Tumse. I got to play a very sweet girl in that. I' excited about Goal not only because it's got John in it, but also because my character stands out."

News Source - SantaBanta.Com

An utterly romantic story - Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai

It is said that Vivek was chafing about the fact that she didn’t have the courage to face him and broke up with him through a text message. But Ash’s friends insist that she was divided between her loyalties for the two men in her life, and even though she was head over heels in love with Abhi, she didn’t want to hurt Viveik.

But all's well that ends well... And now the duo sure has a huge reason to smile!

Thats a TRUE FILMI ISTYLE LOVE STORY

An utterly romantic story - Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai

Destiny brought them together again as they started acting in three films, simultaneously, ‘Umrao Jaan’, ‘Guru’ and ‘Dhoom 2’. It is said that during the making of ‘Guru’ that Abhishek finally dared to tell Ash about his feelings for her. Apparently, Ash reciprocated the feelings. However, she was still with Viveik and didn’t know how to break the news to him.

An utterly romantic story - Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai

Ash broke off with Salman and started dating her co-star of ‘Kyun… Ho Gaya Na’, Viveik Oberoi. According to sources, Abhishek always had a crush on her but didn’t have the guts to mention it to her.

An utterly romantic story - Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai

Rohan Sippy, now one of Abhishek’s closest friends, brought them together again for ‘Kuch Na Kaho’. According to sources, the two seemed attracted to each other, which apparently irked Ash’s then boyfriend, the hotheaded Salman. Sallubhai stormed the sets of the film and went about breaking everything that came his way. But the two obviously had not voiced their feelings for each other, and after the film bombed, they went their separate ways.

An utterly romantic story - Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai

They got along fabulously well, and even if they were attracted to each other, they did a good job of hiding it, because they were seeing different people at that time. Ash was with Salman Khan and Abhi was with Karishma Kapoor.

An utterly romantic story - Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai

Ash and Abhi first met on the sets of Raj Kanwar’s ‘Dhai Akshar Prem Ke’, six years ago.

An utterly romantic story - Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai

If the chronology of events that conspired to bring Ash and Abhi together is to be tracked, it seems like the two were attracted to each other right from the day they met.

Here’s the run down an utterly romantic story full of surprises, action, betrayal and of course, a happy ending.

Young Aditya Narayan is the anchor of Zee's 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007-Sangeet ka Pratham Vishwa-Yudh'

Aditya Narayan : Son of the famous singer Udit Narayan had been in the headlines since his childhood for his wonderful voice and acting skills.

We now have the small kid as the smart, young and cheerful Udit Narayan who signed as the anchor of Zee's 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007-Sangeet ka Pratham Vishwa-Yudh'.

Q: How is it feeling hosting Zee 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007-Sangeet ka Pratham Vishwa-Yudh'?
A: It is feeling nice that I have got the opportunity of hosting such a good show. It is not a new show; it has been on television since the past thirteen years now and has done very well.

So when I was approached by the channel, initially I thought about it but I guess there was no need of thinking. I accepted the show even though I was not planning to begin my career before my studies. Also it is a musical based show, and I'm passionate about music.

Q: So that must be adding a greater responsibility on your shoulders as an anchor?
A: Yes it does add a sense of responsibility. Earlier too the anchors were Sonu bhaiya and Shaan bhaiya who did a very good job here on the show. Actually it is a show which does not have any usual anchors.

I'm not pointing my fingers at other anchors, but here the anchors here have been related to music so as an anchor too one can comment on the performance of the participants. But I will try to do my best.

Q: Do you have any prior experience of anchoring?
A: No I do not have any prior experience.

Q: So are you undergoing any kind of homework or training?
A: I have been watching the show for a long time now and so have a bit of cue. Also I have been with the team of Zee where I had been briefed about how to go about it.

I do have an experience of acting but it is different from anchoring. So I do not have to worry when professionals are guiding me. Also I will learn as time passes by.

Q: Tell us a bit about your academic background?
A: I was doing my graduation here but in between I left for London where I did a Diploma in English Contemporary Music. Now I'm in Mumbai for the past three month and willing to complete my graduation. I have also learnt Indian classical music from Satyanarayan Mishra and also took training under Kalyanji Anandji.

Q: Why Diploma in English Contemporary Music? Was it your choice?
A: See I want to know music to the fullest. Not just Indian or classical, I want to learn international music and in truly international way. It was purely my choice; Uditji did not want me to go abroad, but I forced my decision on him.

Q: So what are your future plans?
A: I have a lot planned for future. I want to do good work where I can utilize my capabilities to the fullest. I want to do good work and put in my best efforts in whatever I would do.

Q: Does it include films too?
A: Yes why not. I have acted before and will do films if I get good work which I can identify with. But my first preference would always be music. But I tell you it will not only be in films but also in other aspects. I want to spread my wings.

Q: So how much does Uditji guide you?
A: Frankly speaking, Uditji guides me in only one way. He only reminds me of my roots. He tells me that there is nothing compared to hard work and effort. He tells me that 'power comes with hard work'. That is all that he guides me about.

Q: Does being Udit Narayan's son help you in some way?
A: If I tell you frankly it does help and it doesn't. See if I did not have talent, I would have still managed some work considering that I was Unit Narayan's son. But till when? At some point, they would have known that I do not have the talent. Now since I'm his son, there is more expectation from me. So there is a plus side and a negative side too.

Q: So do people treat you differently since you are his son?
A: Yes they do sometimes.

Q: Coming on a lighter note, now that you are back, have you united with your old friends?
A: Yes I have and I'm happy to be back with them. I'm enjoying my time here with them.

Q: United with girlfriends too. Do you have girlfriends?
A: See it would be wrong if I say that I don't enjoy the company of men (laughs). I'm just 19 so I do have friends who are girls but basically I'm a reserved person and do not have a girlfriend. But see women following makes a person star (laughs again).

Q: Uditji is a judge in Indian Idol and you are the anchor of challenge 2007. Do you think you will be able to attract more eyeballs?
A: (laughs) I hope so. But I also wish the other show success because my father is a part of it.

Q: We have heard that you wish to work with Jiah Khan?
A: (laughs out loud) Actually I was asked as to who I would like to work with and since I'm young so I think that I would look good with Jiah since even she is young. I don't think I would look good with Rani Mukherjee at this age. Moreover she acts well so what is the problem. (SAMPURN)

Preity Zinta refuses to talk about Ness Wadia

We start, as usual. Preity Zinta begins by announcing categorically that she doesn’t want to talk about her personal life and certainly not about boyfriend Ness Wadia. With some coaxing, she grumbles, “Do I have to talk about my personal life each time I give an interview?”

Well, interest in the personal life of a star is only natural, isn’t it? “I agree,” she says, “But at the end of the day, we end up speaking only about our personal life. I don’t bar the press from asking me personal questions, but I think this constant speculation and intervention in someone else’s life is just not done.”

Does that mean that Preity and Ness have not split, contrary to what the grapevine says? We are greeted with silence. Later, we gather that they are very much in touch with each other.

However, Preity is more than forthcoming about her work. She has just completed her first schedule of Rituparno Ghosh’s English film The Last Lear. She says, “It’s too early to talk about the film, because we have just begun shooting. I think Rituda is a fantastic director, who emphasises on small details. Plus, it is my first English language film, so I am extra-excited,” she says.

Shabana Azmi, Aishwarya Rai, and Sushmita Sen have already worked in films in English. How has Preity’s experience been? “It’s different,” she laughs. “In so many years, I have worked only in Hindi. So, when Rituda gave me the dialogue, I felt somewhat different. Look, I don’t want to give any lectures on cinema and its language, I am too much of a rookie to talk about that,” she smiles.

Preity says visiting Kolkata after many years was a fun-filled experience. She went there last when she was in the eighth standard. “I was too small, and my memory was quite hazy,” she says. “I remember that the roads were narrow and there was too much traffic. But now the city has got a drastic makeover, there are many over bridges and bypass roads. The city is cleaner,” she says. Next time around, she intends to visit the Kali temple. “I will be coming back to Kolkata to shoot some scenes with Amitji,” she adds.

The actress is busy learning Bengali just to communicate with the unit members. “I don’t see any difference between Kolkata and Mumbai as far the work culture goes. In Kolkata they speak Bengali, and I have managed to learn few words so that I can survive comfortably,” she says.

Preity also like to gorge on fish cooked in mustard. “It’s just mouth-watering. Rituda gets yummy food from his place, and pampers me a lot on the sets,” she giggles.

"Coffee with Neha Dhupia"

" I never left my sexy image: Neha Dhupia "

Q: Tell us about your character in 'Ek Chalis Ki Last Local'?

A: I play a character named Madhu. She is the girl who is coming back from her friend's engagement and she misses her last local. She has to go to Vikhorli and tries desperately hard to do so.Here at the station she meets Nilesh, who works in a call centre and has also missed his last local. The story is about how they earn two and a half crore in two and a half hours.

Q: So do you people divide the money?

A: (Laughs aloud) We will do that in the sequel. Don't take it seriously there is nothing planned yet.

Q: You had earlier said that you had a dream of traveling in the locals so you took up this film?

A: I have! I don't see a connection between my dream and the film. I have traveled a lot on trains. Actually we lived in Delhi and the rest of our family lived in Kerala.So I used to travel a lot between the two places. As far as the locals are concerned, I came to Mumbai after I was crowned Miss India. So I did not have to travel on trains.

Q: The locals are the lifeline of Mumbai and you sure would have understood it by now. What else did you learn about Mumbai?

A: I'm glad you asked me this question. I have learnt a lot about Mumbai as a city. There were lots of good and bad. There was an incident when we were shooting at Bhayandar in the middle of the night and there was a huge crowd who was pelting stones at us because we were not meeting them.It was overwhelming for me but we had a job to finish before sunrise and could not give them so much time. There was a day we were shooting in a chawl and this is the place where it is like a maze, one you get in but cannot come out. So we had a lot of difficulty since it was getting hot and mucky and we needed tea. The people there were helping us out in the wee hours of the morning. There was no reason for them to do that but it showed the spirit of Mumbai, the helping attitude for the people.

Q: How was your experience in the chawls?

A: When I saw the chawls, I was shocked. I realized that even after making money why people want to come back to the place. There is so much warmth there. Every one knows everyone and ready to help. I saw six people sleeping in a row in a small house! The more I know the more I learn, the more I discover, the more I want to stay in the city.

Q: Do you think that we ignore this aspect of Mumbai?

A: See I think a lot of us know about this part of Mumbai. It is a matter of convenience. Ignoring is not something that one does out of choice. There is so much that I can voice today but tomorrow I get busy with my work and I might just end up ignoring that. It is convenient for me because I would do what I'm supposed to do rather than take up a cause. But it is very important that people in certain positions should take up that cause. Had it been within my capacity, I would have done it. It is not that people don't think about it. People do lot of social work but it is not getting channelized in the right direction.

Q: How do you get attracted to Abhay in the movie?

A: Why? Are you saying that he is not attractive (Laughs)? Wait till I tell him. See it is a situation where we are alone and there is no distraction. It was just he and me. So in such situations one can get attracted to someone in jut fifteen minutes.

Q: Is there any situation where he fights and saves you from goons?

A: No, in fact I was the one who was fighting and saving him (Laughs aloud). Ask the director, he has written the script!

Q: What homework did you have to undergo?

A: It was challenging for me. Of course Sanjay helped me a lot with everything. I have not stayed in Mumbai and so I had to work on my accent. I had to change my Delhi ka Hindi to Mumbaiya Hindi. I had to learn the mannerisms of Madhu because she is different from me. There were times when Sanjay was spoon-feeding me. We had a week-long workshop which was very exciting.

Q: How was the experience with Sanjay?

A: Sanjay is a pretty young man and the entire unit was young and energetic. He is only 28 and the senior most person on the floor. There was no hierarchy that we were following and enjoyed our work.

Q: How do you rate this film of yours?

A: I can't honestly compare this film to any other film because I have not done anything like this before. It is a cliché when somebody says 'Oh this is something different, its mind blowing' and things like that. But I cannot do that. It is for you to decide. My job is to do a good work and do my best. And from my side I cannot compare my work or any other film made in the past.

Q: Tell us about your look.

A: Well I was very bored of wearing the same costume everyday. There is only one costume but in that I had to break the monotony by knocking off the ear ring, change the style of the dupatta, and open the hair out just to look different. It is Indian look but a grungy Indian look. I have never had this look before. We have tried to make the character look as convincing as possible.

Q: What re you upcoming projects?

A: There is 'Shootout at Lokhandwala' where I'm opposite Sanjay Dutt, 'Mithiya' with Naseer Saab and Ranveer Shourie, 'Kuch Love Kuch Drama' where I play Rajpal Yadav's wife. Here my character's name is Shanti but I actually do not have any shanti in life and Rajpal's name is Santosh and he does not have that too.

Q: You had a sex image which you have changed. Has it affected your career?

A: No, it has not affected anything; it has just made me better. It wasn't a sort of departure from the sex symbol and landing into doing something else. The fact is that as long as work has taken off for me I'm happy.You know people are recognizing me as somebody who does different things as an actress and who is involved in playing her character 100%. And I'm enjoying that. Honestly, today I'm a lot more confident and talented than what I was yesterday and as long as every day is better at work, whether it is for you or for me, we are going to be happy. (SAMPURN)

RAI SUMMONED TO COURT OVER 'OBSCENE' SCREEN KISS

Newly-married Bollywood star AISHWARYA RAI has been ordered to appear in an Indian court next month (May07), after a kiss with co-star Hrithik Roshan in movie Dhoom-II was deemed "obscene".

Rai - who wed actor Abhishek Bachchan in a modest ceremony at the Bachchan family home in Mumbai, India, earlier this month (20Apr07) - is accused by a local lawyer of "offending public sensibility" in the scene where she is kissed lightly on the cheek.

Public displays of affection are taboo in India where under the country's law, a conviction of public obscenity means a potential three months behind bars or a fine. Roshan, along with the owners of the cinema which screened the action film, has also been summoned to court in Muzaffarpur in the eastern state of Bihar, on 30 May (07).

A court official says, "The court also sent notices to the Bihar government for allowing screening of the film despite its 'obscene' content."

The new row over obscenity comes just days after a similar case was brought against Hollywood star Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty, after the Pretty Woman actor swept the beauty into his arms and kissed her several times at an HIV/AIDS awareness event in New Delhi on 15 April (07).

BREAKING NEWS : Abhishek and Aishwarya in New Zealand

Honeymoon in Tahiti for Aishwarya rai and Abhishek Bachchan

Aish abi couple were married 10 days ago in Mumbai and last Saturday morning a Stuff reader said he saw Ms Rai at Papeete Airport. He was boarding an Air New Zealand flight home while she had just come in on the inbound flight.

She was seen to give an autograph to a person at the airport.

Indian media say the couple are honeymooning in France - and Tahiti is part of French Polynesia.

Ms Rai, a former Miss World, is one of India's top female leads while her new husband is the son of legendary Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan.

According to Indian community sources in New Zealand, who did not want to be named, Abhishek has visited New Zealand several times and made movies here.

There were rumours they were honeymooning in New Zealand but these have been discounted.

"If he was coming here we would have heard, and we're 99.9 percent certain that they are not here," the source said.

'I'm glad I've no man in my life'

For those who are wondering how Rani Mukherjee managed to get into those short skirts in Siddharth Anand's Tara Rum Pum Pum Rani has the answer. "Getting slim, my dear.

That's the magic mantra," she reveals while shooting for Pradeep Sarkar's Laga Chunri Main Daag. "The minute I was told about what kind of look I'm supposed to carry off in a major part of Tara Rum Pum Pum I knew I had to get seriously slim. If I had put on those short skirts looking the way I did earlier, I'd have looked pretty cracked.

"For the period that Rani toned her physique for the skirts she made her trainer work over-time. " I made my trainer Satya's life a living hell. I don't think he has ever had a more demanding client."

Besides the slim and svelte look Rani also had to make sure the clothes went with the transitions in the character's life.

"See, at first Saif and I play collegians. Then I gradually go on to being the mother of two growing kids. So I had to have a specific before-and-after look. Surprisingly I've never played a mother before in any of my films."Says Rani, "My dress designer Sureeli Goel was driven up the wall by my demands. See, today the character's LOOK is very important. Not just the heroines, even the heroes devote a lot of time to getting the look right. Earlier I'd constantly have fights about my clothes with Manish Malhotra and Sabysachi. Now it was Sureeli's turn to get the brunt of my exacting nature. All three designers feel I'm one of the most quarrelsome heroines they've worked with."

Rani chuckles hard, and then sobers down when director Pradeep Sarkar drops in to brief her for the day's shooting. They converse in fluent Bengali and obviously have a lot of feelings to share.Sighs Rani, "I don't know where all those stories about me squabbling with Dada came from. Probably from people who want to see us fight and cannot bear to find me getting along with my directors.

Whether it's Siddharth Anand (who incidentally was in college with me) or Pradeep Sarkar, I'm the last person to create any problems." Rani will now finish her solo portions in Sarkar's film and then wait for Abhishek to return from his honeymoon in June before shooting with him. "Almost all of Abhishek's scenes in Laga Chunri Mein Daag are with me. So we'll be shooting together constantly in June. I'm looking forward to that. I'm really happy for Abhishek and Ash. They deserve all the happiness in the world."

What about romantic love in Rani's own life? "I'm not holding my breath for it. Love isn't something that obeys a time frame. When it happens, it'll happen.In a way I'm glad I don't have a man in my life. It gives me the chance to focus completely on my work.

But if and when it happens, I'm not going say no to love just because I'm busy with my career. No way."