Amitabh calls me 'Maalkin'...

Not too many people know this. But Mr Bachchan addresses Shefali Shah as 'maalkin'.

"I know!" she laughs. "It's very embarrassing when he called me that all during my husband's film Waqt and now during The Last Lear. Maybe because I was the producer's wife? To my horror he called me that during Last Lear too.

On the first day of the shoot he warned everybody, 'Don't go by her face, Because by and by she'll start changing everything on the sets…Hey,I don't do that! Of course I was critical on Vipul's set. That was my home production. But on another set I wouldn't cross the line. "

After Gandhi My Father Shefali Shah plays her producer Anil Kapoor's wife in the Subhash Ghai production Black & White.

Is she worried about the leap in intention?

"Not really," says Shefali. "Black & White is not a running-around-trees film. It's again a socially relevant film. Anilji is the hero and I'm the conventional leading lady. But I don't wear makeup, good clothes and sing songs."

Shefali informs that it was Anil who recommended Shefali. "But had it not been a good role I wouldn't have done Black & White. But it's not Gandhi My Father. Not at all. …nor is it The Last Lear, the English-language film that I've completed with Rituparno Ghosh."

The vastly talented and grossly under-used Shefali Shah is on the threshold of a new beginning in her career.

Her role as Kasturba in Feroz Abbas Khan's Gandhi My Father is already garnering rave reviews. In fact Akshaye Khanna has gone on-record to say it's the best performance in India by a female actor.

"I know Akshaye said that. And I'm deeply grateful. We've just returned from the film's world premiere and the response was overwhelming. Unfortunately Nelson Mandela couldn't come due to ill health. That was really sad, though he did send a message.

But the South African president and the whole cabinet was there. After the screening there was a stunned silence. They all told me they couldn't believe I look so different in person. A local lady who could barely speak English told me I made her cry.

I feel this film goes beyond boundaries. It's really moving. The premiere was unbelievable. Gandhi My Father is about selfless creation. Every actor and technician believed in what they were doing.

They thought of the film, not of their own interests. We all got an insight into lives that went way beyond art and acting. "

Shefali has been losing weight. "And so has my husband Vipul. I finally look the way I want to."

God forbid, Shefali gets typecast as an old woman after Gandhi My Father, a la Rohini Hattangadi after Attenborough's Gandhi.

"No way!" avers Shefali. "Because I'm the young Kasturba in most of the film. And the cinematographer has made me look look better than ever before….I don't think after this role the industry will typecast me. And even if they do, it's up to me to take or leave their offers. I've always been choosy anyway. Even if I do one film every two years it has to be something special."

Gandhi, she considers, her most important film so far. "Though I feel I could still have done better. I've never been more focused. Obviously I want to be appreciated. And I want the appreciation to be translated into a lot more. I'm at a stage where I think good things will happen to me. People are now willing to cast me in main leads.Somewhere I think I lacked the focus earlier."

Last Lear is another very special for Shefali. "I'm one of the central characters in both Gandhi My Father and The Last Lear. In Ritu's film I play my age and someone who looks after Amitji's character. I must tell you, after Vipul's unit, Ritu's was the most warm and organized unit I've worked with…very caring.

Bade pyar se thande dimaag se kaam hua. I've worked with productions where scenes are written on the sets. Sometimes I've played a character who has nothing to do with the scene given to me."

And yet she did a bit role in Yashraj Films' Mohabbatein.

"I don't regret doing that. It was a small role. But there was one good scene. After Gandhi and The Last Lear I may not do it. I took a break from acting to look after my babies, got back into shape. And now this is like my comeback. I've never felt better."

Big B vs Media: Who will blink first?

It is an unusual war. Angry at the way they were treated during the Abhishek-Aishwarya wedding coverage in April this year, news photojournalists in Mumbai have banned Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and his family.

Hordes of photojournalists turn up at public functions attended by Bachchan and his family, his friend Amar Singh but they refuse to shoot a single photograph. Thrice since the much-hyped April 18 wedding, photojournalists have refused to shoot pictures of Bachchan, clearly annoying the superstar. The background to this open war is the treatment the media received when Abhishek-Aishwarya got married at the Bachchan bungalow, Prateeksha in Juhu in north-western Mumbai. Usually in celebrity weddings, the concerned celebs are sympathetic to the media and make it a point to pose at least one for a few minutes to enable the media to carry on with its work.

India captain Rahul Dravid posed with his Nagpur-based wife Vijeta for a few minutes and politely requested photographers to stop. Sachin Tendulkar's wedding to Anjali had immaculate security but the master blaster made it a point to step out at Jewel of India restaurant in Worli to pose. During Hritik Roshan's wedding to Suzanne, Papa Roshan conceded media request and participated in a photo-op if only for barely two-three minutes.

But, Brand Bachchan was obviously bigger than anything else perhaps. Not only was there heavy security at Prateeksha and Jalsa, the two Bachchan residences in Mumbai, even neighbours were asked not to allow a print or TV camera to peep into the wedding venues. The TV crews had their OB vans equipped with food, water etc. parked at the wedding venue but photojournalists worked in shifts to ensure that they don't miss a picture. They got none for two days before the wedding.

On the wedding day, when Bachchan with the married couple and Amar Singh returned to Prateeksha after a ritual, Amar Singh's black cat commandos got into a scuffle with photojournalists. DNA newspaper's B.L.Soni was kicked and hit with a rifle butt so badly that he spent next four days in the hospital. The local police did lodge a case against unidentified guards but obviously no action was going to be taken against political heavyweights.

Next morning, Bachchan summoned in TV crews still snooping around the bungalow and apologised for the fracas. But, the apology failed to convice photojournalists who vowed to impose a ban of photographs of Bachchan and his family.

They stuck to their word at the glittering premiere of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom where the Bachchans were present. Earlier, this month, Amitabh and Jaya released a commemorative book on Samovar, a restaurant at the Jehangir Art Gallery frequented by top artists, film stars, models and commoners. But no pictures appeared in Mumbai papers.

Yesterday, Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh suddenly arrived in Mumbai to announce the candidature of Rashid Masood, party's MP from Saharanpur, for the Vice President's post representing the Third Front. Astute politician that he is, he quickly realised that photojournalists stood there armed with cameras but none clicked his picture. That's when he tendered an apology for the April 18 attach by his guards.

But that failed to pacify photojournalists. This morning, Bachchan appeared with Hollywood actress Sienna Miller at a IIFA function at a five-star hotel, and photographers did not shoot pictures. Bachchan and Miller were promoting Global Cool, an initiative to create awareness about the perils of global warming.

This is the second time that Bachchan has personally faced such a ban from photographers. In 1970s, when he was the reigning superstar, the photographers who exclusively cover cinema assignments had imposed such a ban

Notice to Amitabh Bachchan for tax evasion

Mumbai, Jun 21: The Bombay High Court Thursday issued notices to Bollywood cine star Amitabh Bachchan, the Union Government, Revenue Intelligence Department and the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a case of alleged tax evasion and cover-up deals.

According to media reports, in the past three months, the Income Tax department had sent at least 37 notices to Bachchan, wife Jaya and Abhishek.

However, the Bachchan family maintains that they have paid taxes regularly.

Source : Asian News International.

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)

Movie Information
Movie Name : Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Year of Release : 2007
Release Date : 15 June 2007
Banner : Yash Raj Films
Presenter : Yash Chopra
Producer : Aditya Chopra

Director : Shaad Ali
Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Bobby Deol, Lara Dutta
Music Director : Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Lyricist : Gulzar
Cinematographer : Ayananka Bose
Dialogue Writer : Habib Faisal
Screenplay Writer : Habib Faisal
Editor : Ritesh Soni
Art Director : Sukant Panigrahy
Costume Designer : Aki Narula
Sound Designer : Rishi Oberoi
Background Sound : Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Choreographer : Vaibhavi Merchant
Playback Singer : Shankar Mahadevan, Neeraj Shridhar, Alisha Chinai, Zubeen Garg, Sunidhi Chauhan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Vishal Dadlani, Vasundhara Das, Sukhwinder Singh
Publicity Designer : Fayyaz Badruddin, Yash Raj Films - Design Cell

Synopsis :

Busy London station. Delayed train from Birmingham. Two strangers waiting for the train... Rikki Thukral (Abhishek Bachchan) born in Bhatinda, living in London; and Alvira Khan (Preity Zinta) more Brit than the Queen herself, however with Lahori blood in her veins. Crowded café. One table to share. Two hours to kill. Perfect setting for the start of a love-story. Hitch? Both Rikki and Alvira are engaged and have come to pick up their fiancés who are coming by the same train. To kill time, they end up telling each other their “how I met my fiancé” stories. Rikki met his fiancé Anaida (Lara Dutta) at The Ritz (Paris), the same night that Princess Diana and Dodi walked out of the hotel and into the paparazzi. As Rikki says, “When two lovers die, another two are a born”. They dance... they sing... they're in love! Alvira, a princess by nature discovers her prince at Madame Tussaud’s. When a gigantic wax model of Superman falls from the ceiling, Alvira is a sitting target. But Steve the Prince (Bobby Deol), a lawyer by profession saves her life but steals her heart! They also sing, they also dance and they also fall in love...Stories unfold, time passes, the two strangers start enjoying each other. That Alvira is a Pakistani Brit and Rikki originally from India... that Rikki is crooked, earthy, and rakish: dabbler in various businesses; that Alvira is prim-n-proper, wannabe blue-blood, stiff upper-lip: Asst. Manager at House of Fraser’s... none of these details matter. They have gotten alarmingly attracted to each other!Their brief encounter has created a complicated quadrangle... Rikki Thukral and Alvira Khan have gotten themselves and Steve and Anaida into a lovely mess... To get out of it both of them bend over backward, thinking quickly on their feet, dancing around each other’s emotions... After all when you’re playing musical chairs with love, there’s nothing you can do but... Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (Dance Baby Dance)!

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.