School in Bahu's Name - Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan

Lucknow, Jan. 22: Call it playing the perfect pa-in-law.

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan has decided to gift a girls’ school to the people of Daulatpur and the buzz is he will name it after “hamari bahu” Aishwarya.

What exactly the name will be has yet to be worked out, but sources close to Bachchan quoted him as saying “it will bear Aishwarya’s name”.

The school, to be built on a 1.09-acre plot in Barabanki district, has revived whispers about the dispute the actor was involved in last year. But this plot — No. 711 — is different, though close to No. 702 that is now owned by the gram sabha.

The foundation-laying ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, at which Bachchan is expected to unveil a plaque carrying his name. Three former chief ministers — Farooq Abdullah, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chandrababu Naidu — are likely to attend, apart from the star-studded Bachchan clan.

Although Bachchan baiters have been questioning his motive in building the school and even alleging “he wants to clear his conscience”, a former Mulayam minister said the actor merely wanted to contribute his bit to increase literacy among girls.

The actor had floated such a suggestion even in the middle of the legal wrangle last year in which he has been cleared by Allahabad High Court.

“Why didn’t Bachchan talk about the school before the dispute? It has come as an afterthought. But good sense, whenever it comes, is welcome,” a Bahujan Samaj Party leader said.

“We would call it a school to clear his conscience.”

A spokesperson in the Delhi office of Bachchan’s wife Jaya confirmed the Barabanki inauguration on Sunday. He said the proposal for the school had been announced last year.

“Mr Bachchan does not need any counselling from anyone on his social commitments,” Arvind Singh Gope, a Samajwadi member, said.

Samajwadi Party sources said the school was likely to be run by a trust and would provide free education to girls from underprivileged families.

- TheTelegraphInidia

Priyanka Chopra, now Virgin supergirl

Bollywood actress and former Miss World Priyanka Chopra is all set to become a super heroine character in comic books, games and animation films through Virgin Comics.

Priyanka's as-yet un-named character would be an adopted girl who discovers she is of royal lineage and blessed with great mystical powers and has a duty to destroy evil.

For the comic book series, to be launched in 2008, Priyanka will team up with well-known author Deepak Chopra and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

The new role will make Priyanka the first winner of a Miss World crown to feature as a super heroine character in comic books.

"I love cartoons and animation, so being able to create my own original super heroine with Virgin Comics is a dream come true. I hope it will capture the imagination of the Indian youth," Priyanka said about the venture.

Announcing the launch before a select gathering in Mumbai Wednesday night, Sharad Devarajan, CEO, Virgin Comics said: "Priyanka is a real-life heroine who embodies both sophistication and beauty.

Together, we plan to create a new super heroine character that will capture her spirit and carry forward Virgin Comics' mission of redefining the Indian character entertainment industry."

Virgin Comics president Suresh Seetharaman said it would be developed across other platforms, including animation games and theatrical live-action films. "It promises to be an exciting and fun entertainment character cutting across age barriers," he said.

Virgin Comics was founded by Sir Richard Branson in 2005. Apart from Priyanka, it is developing new stories with acclaimed filmmakers, actors and musicians like John Woo, Guy Ritchie, Terry Gilliam, Dave Steward, Ed Burns, Nicholas Cage, Duran Duran and Sachin Tendulkar.

- SantaBanta.Com

Ranbir's Nude scene Deleted

Ranbir Kapoor's female fans are in for a disappointment. The towel in his much-celebrated Jab se tere naina number stays in place.

The shot of the towel dropping has been deleted by the censorboard.

According to the team that accompanied director Sanjay Leela Bhansali to the censoring the director was offered the choice of keeping the nude shot with an Adults certificate.

But the filmmaker didn't want to lose an extremely large crucial portion of the potential audience for one shot.

"In fact several members of the censorboard who loved the film suggested I take the cut and go with the 'U' certificate. Though in principle I'm against any cuts beyond my creativity this one time I agreed. The shot doesn't really make any difference to the flow of my story," says Sanjay.

With the censor certificate, the film is all set for release on November 9.

Sony Pictures seems pleased enough with Saawariya to offer Sanjay Leela Bhansali yet another film.

Says the Sony CEO, Uday Singh, "Saawariya is an extremely high-calibre product. We'd love to have him make another film for us. We can only hope that his experience with us has been as fruitful as our experience of working with him. And that he'd take up our offer of making another film for us."

- SantaBanta.Com

Ash wont do any more Item Number, even for Abhishek

Ash is turning out to be a really docile Bahu for Bachchan clan. Gone are her Dhoom 2 days when she flaunted skin with an aplomb. We hear that queen bee have been regularly rejecting offers on the grounds of excessive exposure including the one from Karan johar. And now the buzz is Ash has refused an item number even in Goldie Behl’s ‘Drona’ which stars her husband Abhishek in the lead role. Behl had plans to rope in Ash for an item number in the film though Priyanka Chopra is the lead heroine for Drona. But Ash reportedly put down both the director and her hubby. Considering the fact that Ash’s kitty is now filled with some prestigious projects and international films like Pink Panther 2, it is not surprising that the former Miss World quietly refused the offer from Behl rendering more importance to her individual career than wanting to add zing to Abhishek’s film. Goldie and Abhishek have now reportedly approached Bipasha Basu for the item number.

- Santabanta.com